2015 Mtedailyissue 30

HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION
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ISSUE 30 | TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015
Tatmadaw
silent on
Kokang
casualties
LUN MIN MANG
lunminlm@gmail.com
PAGE
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Hundreds of Myanmar fishermen are temporarily taking refuge on Tual Island in

Indonesia while they await the government to confirm their citizenship and repatriate
them. The fishermen were recently freed from up to a decade of forced labour on mainly
Thai trawlers. Thousands more are estimated to still be stranded on remote islands.
Gold mining is choking

the Chindwin River
Residents blame red sludge from rampant illegal gold mining for fouling the Chindwin River,
an artery of the Ayeyarwady. Authorities claim to have given no permits for the area. NEWS 6
DESPITE reports of heavy fighting

between the Tatmadaw and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance
Army in Shan State on April 23, the
government has not released any information about casualty numbers related
to the clashes.
A statement published by state media on April 27 said government troops
had fought with great difficulty in an
attempt to capture Point 2202 Hill near
Xi Tung Suae village in the Kokang SelfAdministered Zone. The report also included a map of the conflict area.
However, the statement did not
indicate whether the Tatmadaw had
succeeded in capturing the hill. It mentioned that some soldiers had died,
some were injured and others were
missing, but it did not supply figures.
The report admitted that government troops had faced limitations
and challenges in executing military
manoeuvres because the battlefield
was near the border with China, and
the Tatmadaw had taken great care to
avoid dropping bombs into Chinese
territory.
MNDAA spokesperson U Tun Myat
Lin said his side had picked up and
buried the bodies of more than 50 soldiers from the government side. However, no confirmation of this number
was forthcoming from the Tatmadaw.
U Tun Myat Lin also said the MNDAA had captured five Tatmadaw soldiers during the April 23 fighting.
Of them, two were injured and one
was severely injured. The other two
were fine, he said, adding that the soldiers were from the 120th Light Infantry
Regiment.
He also supplied figures from his
own side, saying that two MNDAA soldiers had been killed and 12 injured.
No reports of fighting have emerged
from the self-administered region since
the April 23 conflict.
However, the Taang National Liberation Army announced that they had
clashed with government troops near
Nam Kat village in Muse township,
Shan State, on the morning of April 27.
Neither side released any information
on the casualties from the fighting.
www.mmtimes.com
NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com
Chinese timber smugglers

face additional charges
EI EI TOE
LWIN
eieitoelwin@gmail.com
CHINESE timber smugglers sentenced to six months imprisonment

still face charges that could put
them behind bars for up to 10 years,
police said yesterday.
The six-month sentences were
handed down on April 22 at Myitkyina District Court, Kachin State,
local police confirmed.
In January, the Tatmadaw announced the capture of nearly 150
people, mostly Chinese citizens,
in Waingmaw township, Kachin
State. The army also seized 240
logs, a total of 455 vehicles, nine
motorcycles, methamphetamines,
opium and 12,000 Chinese yuan
(US$1920), as well as a document
apparently issued by the Kachin Independence Army that appeared to
permit logging activities.

The Tatmadaw said its operation
was designed to cut off armed ethnic
groups access to natural resources,
which are illegally exported in order
to raise money for arms purchases.
The KIA has denied authorising
illegal logging.
The Chinese suspects were initially charged under immigration
laws, as well as under Section 6 of
the Public Property Protection Act.
Following an initial hearing, the
men were detained in Myitkyina
prison.
Police Lieutenant Myo Aye of
Myitkyina district police told The
Myanmar Times yesterday, The
original charges could have resulted
in sentences of up to seven years
imprisonment. But we decided to
charge them instead under Section
3 of the Public Property Protection
Act, with the permission of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
That section carries penalties of
up to 10 years because of the huge
volume of timber concerned.
Today, the trial judges questioned five plaintiffs from Sadone

police station, and another hearing
is scheduled for tomorrow, said Pol
Lt Myo Aye.
Despite a government decision
to suspend timber exports in April
last year, timber smuggling has
flourished against a background of
instability in the state arising from
sporadic armed clashes between the
We have
instructions to
take severe action
against anyone who
violates forestry
laws.
U Pyae Sone Myo
Forestry Department director
Tatmadaw and the KIA.

Forestry department statistics
show the government seized more
than 140,000 tonnes of illegal timber and arrested 23,175 Myanmar
nationals and 134 Chinese citizens
between 2011 and November 2014.
Forestry Department director U
Pyae Sone Myo said the ministry
had been working with the Tatmadaw and local residents in trying to
arrest both local and foreign loggers
attempting to extract natural resources illegally. We have instructions to take severe action against
anyone who violates forestry laws,
he said.
The Chinese embassy in Yangon
said it had been in close contact
with the government concerning its citizens arrested in Kachin
State.
The embassy has provided consular protection for these Chinese
citizens, Pan Xuesong, spokesperson and chief of information and
public affairs at the embassy, said
last month.
Founder of huge reclining Buddha dies

NAW SAY PHAW WAR
nawsayphawwaa@gmail.com
THE Venerable Win Sein Taw Ya Sayadaw founder of the worlds largest
reclining Buddha image, which is
located in Mon State passed away
on April 26, but his body will be preserved in a glass coffin so visitors to
his monastery can pay respects.
U Myint Oo, chair of the Win
Sein Taw Ya Monasterys board of
trustees, told The Myanmar Times
that Win Sein Taw Ya Sayadaw
Vattanda Kay Thara had stipulated
in his will that his body was to be
preserved after death rather than
cremated or buried.
The sayadaws body will be
kept in a glass coffin inside a special building in the monastery compound where visitors can pay their
respects every day, U Myint Oo
said, adding that a coffin to keep the
sayadaws body has been ordered
from Thailand at a cost of more
than 360,000 baht (US$11,000).
Win Sein Taw Ya Sayadaw died of
a heart attack at the age 95 at Asia
Royal Hospital in Yangon. His body
Photo: Naw Say Phaw Waa

Mourners pay respects at the funeral of Win Sein Taw Ya Sayadaw at his monastery in Mon State on April 27.
was transferred on the same day to

Mawlamyine, Mon State, by the Free
Funeral Service Society.
The sayadaw started construction on the famous 400-metre-long
(1312-foot-long) reclining Buddha

image on February 29, 1992. The
monument is located near Mudon
in Mon State.
U Myint Oo said representatives
from the Mon State government

visited the monastery on April 27
to speak with the board of trustees
about arranging a state-level funeral
for Win Sein Taw Ya Sayadaw.
News 3
Still no
arrests
in ferry
sinking
MRATT KYAW THU
mrattkthu@gmail.com
NEARLY three weeks after a commission of Rakhine State MPs submitted a
report on the sinking of the Aung Takon 3 ferry, the regional government
has yet to take action against those
responsible for the March 13 incident
that claimed at least 72 lives.
The report, submitted to the Rakhine State Hluttaw and the regional
government on April 10, found that
the Aung Takon 3 had been scheduled
to be docked for maintenance in October 2014. However, the work was never
done because no staff from Inland Water Transport (IWT) were available to
make the necessary repairs.
Rakhine Hluttaw MP and commission member U Aung Mya Kyaw, who
represents Sittwe for the Rakhine National Party, said they were told to include their findings in the report, but
not to advise on any course of action.
So even if we knew who was most
responsible for this case, we couldnt
include it in our report, he said.
Commission members said the
regional government was likely to respond to the report during hluttaw
sessions held in the first week of June,
and the commission expected the government to take action against those
responsible for the sinking.
The hluttaw set up the commission
on March 24 because MPs said they did
not trust the results of the government
investigation into the disaster, which accused the captain and crewmembers of
being drunk at the time of the accident.
In the meantime, service along the
route where the incident occurred has
been adjusted over ongoing safety
concerns. The Aung Takon 3 used to
take five days to travel from Taungkok
to Sittwe, passing through the treacherous Naungtaw Gyi and Naungtaw
Lay sections at night. The replacement
ferry, the Aung Takon 7, now takes six
days and tackles the most dangerous
segments during daylight hours.
Still, the accident has apparently
scared off many travellers: Whereas
the Aung Takon 3 used to ply the route
twice a week, the Aung Takon 7 is having trouble attracting enough passengers to run once a week.
The regional government ordered
to change the time, so we did, said U
Than Kyaw, the IWT director at Kyauk
Phyu.
4 News
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THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 28, 2015
Thailand deports dozens of

children over the holidays
KYAW PHONE
KYAW
LAIGNEE
BARRON
OVER water festival, dozens of migrant families in Thailand received

an unexpected early morning visit
from police. The mainly Myanmar
parents were given no explanation for
the intrusion and didnt realize until
they were taken to the border gates
that their children, including infants
as young as six months old, were being arrested and deported, according to accounts from migrant rights
advocates.
The parents did not worry as they
thought that they were going to be
making identity cards for their children, said Ko Sein Htay, director of
the Thai-based Migrant Worker Rights
Network.
On April 17, the hastily awoken
parents and children were taken from
Pathum Thani province just north of
Bangkok to the Mae Sot checkpoint on
the Myanmar-Thai border. Cambodian
and Laotian families were taken to
separate border areas.
According to rights workers who
followed the incident, it was only once
the families reached the border gates
that police began to make arrests and
announce that the children were going
to be repatriated.
Ko Sein Htay blamed the round-up
on Thailands constantly and capriciously shifting policies regarding migrant worker registration resulting in
ill-informed police.
Why did the police do this crazy
thing? I dont know. Maybe they misunderstood their prime ministers
orders, he said.
Following Thailands May 22 coup
last year, the junta began an overhaul
of its migrant worker registration
system, doling out temporary work
permits and residence cards to over
1.5 million otherwise undocumented
foreign labourers including nearly
624,000 Myanmar workers. Initially,
the temporary documents were set to
Families wait at the Mae Sot border on April 17 for what they allegedly thought was a registration process. Photo: Supplied
expire at the end of March, but at the

11th hour the deadline was extended to
account for a mostly incomplete national verification process that would
transition the workers to longer term
documents.
Facing a complex array of temporary paperwork and sliding deadlines,
many of the workers forgot or werent
aware of the need to register their children, according to another Thai-based
migrant rights advocate.
I guess the police

took this time to
crackdown on the
unclear status of
migrant children.
Preeda Tongchumnum
Labour rights coordinator
Many children are not registered

due to the parents not understanding
the details of the registration process
as well as many employers not bringing children to register together with
the parents, said Saw Khu of the International Rescue Committee.
But rarely has the lapse resulted in
migrant children being penalised en
mass, he added.
According to Saw Khus account,
the police roundup during water festival was less of a policy confusion
and more of a calculatedly raid that
included deliberate lies.
[The parents] were informed they
were bringing their kids to do registration in Mae Sot, he said.
But once they got there, the families found not a registration centre but
a plan to repatriate anyone without
the correct paperwork, including 59
Myanmar children all under 13-yearsold.
The registered parents were reportedly told they could return to work at
factories in Pathum Thani, but they
could not bring their unregistered

children. With few alternatives, many
of the parents reportedly crossed the
border with their children in tow, or
called relatives to come and pick them
up from the border checkpoint.
Due to the long holiday in Thailand and not many people working, I
guess the police took this time to crackdown on the unclear status of migrant
children, said Preeda Tongchumnum,
the Human Rights and Development
Foundations labour coordinator.
Rights workers fear a second round
of crackdowns on is imminent, but
filed complaints to the police and to
the relevant embassies.
This action by the police makes no
sense and is unfair. And it is against
international protocols which Thailand signed. The Myanmar government should say something to Thailand, said Ko Sein Htay of the Migrant
Worker Rights Network.
The Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok
yesterday declined to comment on the
incident.
Return to Myanmar
on the horizon for
rescued fishermen
NYAN LYNN AUNG
29.nyanlynnaung@gmail.com
HUNDREDS of Myanmar seamen
who had for years been enslaved on
fishing trawlers plying Indonesian
waters are now awaiting citizenship
verification before a long-awaited
homecoming.
An official Myanmar delegation
collected information from 236 Myanmar migrants out of an estimated
280 currently on the Indonesian island Tual, according to Myanmars
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Over 300 Myanmar, Cambodian,
Laotian and Thai fishermen are taking temporary refuge in Tual after being rescued at the beginning of this
month from even remoter spits of
land in the southernmost end of the
country where they had been forced
by abusive captors to crew mainly
Thai fishing trawlers.
We sent back the data to the Myanmar immigration department and
if the department approves the information we could bring them back,

said U Win Naing Tun, police brigadier general and head of the anti-human trafficking unit.
Thousands more migrant fishermen, mainly from Myanmar, are estimated to still be stranded on Indonesias remotest islands where they
were abandoned by their captors
following crackdowns on expired
or nonexistent fishing licences in
Indonesia, according to the International Organisation for Migration,
which has been assisting in the
rescue efforts. Most of the men are
thought by the IOM to be the victims of human trafficking.
The Myanmar delegation will conduct another search and rescue mission to the further-flung islands on
April 29, according to Pol Brig Gen
Win Naing Tun.
But even as search missions for
more formerly enslaved migrants
continue, the process has hit a fund
Six fishing boats carrying hundreds of fishermen mostly from Myanmar depart
from remote Benjina island following a rescue mission on April 4. Photo: AFP
ing snag, according to the delegation reports. The Foreign Ministry

was not able to answer yesterday
how it anticipates to pay the repatriation costs for thousands of Myanmar migrants should they elect to
return and also receive citizenship
verification.
Just a small number of the fishermen have so far declined an evacuation offer. During the initial rescue
mission conducted by the Indonesian

authorities at the beginning of April,
about 60 Myanmar fishermen declined the opportunity to leave.
It is because they have already
married local women and become like
local people there, said U Sein Oo, a
director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that 700 Thai fishermen
had also elected to continue their
lives on the island.
News 5
www.mmtimes.com
NDF aims to maintain

its third force role
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NDF chair U Khin Maung Swe discusses the future of his political party in
Yangon on April 27. Photo: Kaung Htet
find it difficult to compete against the

NLD and the USDP, but he was confident that he could hold his seat.
He plans to again contest the constituency of Ahlone in November.
If I win the election, I will try to
stand between the big parties and
small parties. I worry that the hluttaw
will be influenced by the big parties.
Especially the NLD and USDP can influence, he said.
NDF representatives have been
If I win the election,

I will try to stand
between the big
parties and small
parties.
U Khine Maung Yi
Pyithu Hluttaw representative
among the most prominent and,

arguably, most effective in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, but their proposals
have not always been popular.
Last year, their representatives in
both the upper and lower houses in
Nay Pyi Taw submitted proposals to
replace Myanmars first-past-the-post
voting system with proportional representation a move that is opposed
by the NLD and most ethnic parties
and would likely benefit the USDP.

In Yangons Pazundaung township, some residents staged protests
condemning their lower house representative, U Aung Zin, for submitting
the proposal.
The proposal was eventually rejected in the lower house after it was
deemed unconstitutional. While proportional representation has been
approved for introduction in upper
house seats, the enabling legislation
has not yet been tabled.
U Aung Zin said he was unsure of
which constituency he would contest
but was confident that his efforts over
the past four-and-a-half years representing Pazundaung would help him
gain re-election to parliament.
We have experience, he said. People will choose the candidates who can
work with ability for their country. Im
not worried about losing the election.
While its push for proportional
representation may be unpopular, U
Khin Maung Swe said it also supports
four protection of race and religion
laws proposed by nationalist monks.
In 2010, the party would have likely
won more seats if not for large numbers of advance votes, which swung
the result in favour of USDP representatives in some constituencies.
But U Khin Maung Swe said he did
not believe advance votes would be an
issue this time around.
We believe the Union Election
Commission has no bias, he said, and
the commission will be clear on the issue of advance votes.
Dala village gets solar power supply

VILLAGERS in Dala township, Yangon Region, are enjoying the benefits
of solar power following the installation of a generator by the Myanmar
Red Cross Society. The project was
funded by the Belgian-based Bright
Foundation.
Ywar Seik Gyi village, which has
about 600 residents but is not connected to the national grid, began
using the US$60,000 generator on
April 24. It can produce up to 40
kilowatt hours of energy a day, according to MRCS.
Dr Maung Maung Hla, director of
DALINVI
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L

for Johnson & Johnson
P. O. Box 60, Yangon
E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 28 April 2015
yeemontun2013@gmail.com
MYINT KAY THI

myintkay94thi@gmail.com
Johnson & Johnson, a corporation organized and existing under

the laws of the State of New Jersey, USA, of One Johnson &
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will be dealt with according to law.
YE MON
THE National Democratic Force has

set its sights on winning up to 100
seats in the coming election, promising voters an alternative to vision to
that espoused by the countrys political giants.
The party will hold a conference in
Yangon on May 16 and 17 to choose up
to 400 candidates for the November
vote, chair U Khin Maung Swe told
The Myanmar Times yesterday.
About 140 candidates have already
been identified, he said, adding that
about half the seats the NDF plans to
contest are in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw,
or national parliament, while the rest
are in state and region hluttaws.
Our party plans to include at least
20 percent female candidates and also
youth candidates, U Khin Maung Swe
said.
He said even winning a small
number of seats could give the party
which boasts more than 40,000
members and 180 offices around the
country significant influence after
the election.
I think none of the big parties will
be able to win a majority and there
will be a coalition government, he
said.
The partys list of candidates will
also include a number of currently
serving MPs. In the 2010 election, the
NDF fielded more than 150 candidates
and won 16 seats, including 12 in the
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. It contested 13
seats in the April 2012 by-elections,
but lost all of them to the National
League for Democracy.
Along with some ethnic minority parties and smaller Bamar parties,
the NDF formed part of what became
known as the third force in 2010 a
middle ground between the USDP and
the NLD.
It was set up mainly by former
NLD members, who quit the party after it decided to boycott the election.
Some are sceptical as to whether
party can command the same level of
support with the NLD also in the race.
U Aye Maung Kyaw, a political analyst and editor of the Pyithuayay journal, said smaller ethnic Bamar parties
would find it difficult to beat either
the NLD or the Union Solidarity and
Development Party in the regions, and
ethnic parties in the states.
I dont think these types of parties
can act as powerbrokers between the
major forces. They wont win enough
seats to have influence, he said.
U Khine Maung Yi, a representative of the Pyithu Hluttaw, or lower
house, said yesterday the party could
TRADE MARK CAUTION
the MRCS Health Department, said

the Bright Foundation had agreed
to provide the solar generator to the
village for five years. If it is connected to government electricity before
then, the equipment will be transferred to another village.
He described the area as very deficient in electricity.
The community will ensure the
maintenance and running of the solar generator thanks to training from
the Bright Foundation, which means
this will be a long-lasting asset managed by the community, for the community, said MRCS president U Tha
Hla Shwe.
Dr Naing Naing, deputy director
of the MRCS Health Department,

said five villagers had been trained
how to use the system. The foundation has also provided one lamp and
one solar battery to each house in
the village.
Benjamin Galazzo, co-founder
and chair of the foundations board,
said similar equipment could be
used to bring electricity to other
areas of Myanmar, where only onethird of households are connected to
the national grid.
Today so many people in Myanmar still need electricity, he said.
This smart and simple technology
will enable them to build a stronger
future.
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6 News
INVESTIGATION
In Hkamti, the slow death of a river

Residents blame rampant illegal mining along the Chindwin River for increasing siltation and environmental damage to the rivers banks
AUNG
KYAW
MIN
aungkyawmin.mcm@gmail.com
UPPER Myanmars Chindwin River, a

tributary to the great Ayeyarwady, is
choking to death on gold. As it flows
through Sagaing Regions Hkamti
township, rich in natural treasures, it
is fouled with red sludge and spoil, the
ruins of former and active mines and
diggings.
The villages of Hman Bin, Phaung
Sai, Kaung Hmu, Kyar Hmaw and Padumone villages are scenes of industrial
desolation. Both banks of the 800-kilometre (507-mile) tributary have been
despoiled by unregulated mining.
In 2012, the Swan Yi Htet Myet
gem mining company started excavations in Hman Bin village tract, leaving piles of waste soil and pits around
the monastery, nearby farmland and
even on the local primary school football field, residents told The Myanmar
Times during a recent visit to the isolated region.
They took advantage of our inexperience. They contributed nothing to
the villages development in education
or health. They handed out rice, oil
and salt and bribed landowners to let
them excavate. Some villagers objected, but they had no official documents
and received no compensation, said a
local teacher, who asked to be identified only as Ma Nang.
The company was working a region
known not for gems but for gold. Environmentalist Ko Aung San Myint alleges it misused its permits in order to
dig for the precious mineral.
The company could not be reached
for comment, but Myanmar Gems Enterprise assistant director for Hkamti
U Ohn Thwin said it had not given any
permits in the Hman Bin area. We
didnt know about the excavations, he
said.
When a gem mining company applies for a permit to the regional Department of Mining, a specialist interdepartmental committee surveys the
Top: An excavator clears soil and rock beside the Chindwin River. Above left: A pump sends water from the river to a nearby mining pit. Above right: Barges moor on
a sandbank on the Chindwin, which is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate when water levels are low. Photos: Aung Kyaw Min
plots proposed for excavation, he said.

According to the 1994 Myanmar
Gems Law, diggings must be located at
least 100 feet (30.5 metres) away from
TRADEMARK CAUTION
Shiseido Company Limited, a Company incorporated and
existing under the laws of Japan, and having its registered office
at 7-5-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, hereby declares that
the Company is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following
Trademark:
IBUKI
Reg. No. IV/16618/2014 (10 November 2014)

The above trademark is used in respect of Soaps, toiletries,
fragrances, perfumeries, and cosmetics: sun care preparations;
beauty care preparations; bath preparations; detergents; essential
oils; skin care, hair care, body care, and make-up products in
Class 3:
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the above mark or
other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law.
Daw Thit Thit Kyaw, LL.B, M.A (Business Law), (H.G.P.)
For Shiseido Company Limited,
c/o BM Myanmar Legal Services Limited (Baker & McKenzie)
# 1203, 12th Floor, Sakura Tower,
339 Bogyoke Aung San Road,
Kyauktada Township, Yangon,
The Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
rivers, houses, religious buildings and

schools.
But illegal mines are also a problem. This is particularly the case
further upriver from Hkamti in the
Tietee region, where a local government administrator, who asked not
to be named for fear of reprisals, said
companies are able to work without
permits due to protection from local
ethnic armed groups.
It is difficult for us to arrest them
because of this protection, he said.
In much of Hkamti, Layshee and
Lahe townships, Naga and Kachin
armed groups hold sway.
Rigs built to sieve gold dust, surrounded by tips of red soil, now straggle along the banks of the Chindwin
in upper Hkamti town, as well as huge
digging machines and water pumps.
Red sludge fouls the river.
Gold mining here is a small-scale
enterprise. The miners have no permit.
Most of the workers are from Monywa, Mandalay and Magwe townships.
When authorities come to inspect,
we hide our machines, and take them
out again when the inspectors leave,
said Sai Kyaw, a 40-year-old Khamti
resident who runs a small gold mining
operation in the area.
But alongside the small fry, large
mining operators come up from lower
Myanmar, working alongside Shan
and Chinese businessmen, he said.
A member of the Chindwin Youth
Network, Ko Aung San Myint, confirmed that a number of larger companies are illegally operating gold mines
in Tietee. The community organisation has submitted complaints to the
regional government and hluttaw, as
well as the Ministry of Mines. If no action is taken it plans to petition President U Thein Sein and the Pyidaungsu
Hluttaw in Nay Pyi Taw.

U Myat Maung, a representative for
Hkamti in the Sagaing Region Hluttaw, said he raised the issue of illegal
mining and environmental damage at
the hluttaw in December. The regional
mining ministry responded only that
it would act carefully to ensure it
does not happen again.
None of the companies could be
reached for comment.
Instead of the flying

fish we used to see,
there is just sludge.
Chindwin Thar Mg Moe
Local author
Waste water from mining works

at Kyar Kite, Ma Lin, Min Sin, Kaung
Hein and Nant Phi Lin villages in the
lower Hkamti has decimated fisheries
resources, residents say.
The Chindwin is in danger of extinction if this goes on. The water is no
longer fit to drink, or even to bathe in,
these last eight years. Now residents
have to dig wells, said local author
Chindwin Thar Mg Moe.
Instead of the flying fish we used
to see, there is just sludge, which could
contain mercury. This has got worse
under this government.
He blamed corruption for the lack
of response to the complaints filed by
local residents.
U Htein Win, director of No 2 Ministry of Mining, conceded that while
some mines were legal, others were
operating without permission.
But he said enforcement of state

regulations had improved since 2012.
Since then, we began stopping
gold mines from operating along the
riverbank. Inspection teams were
formed in the region and the townships to ensure companies follow the
rules, he said.
There was little evidence of inspection teams when The Myanmar Times
visited, but the signs of riverside diggings were all-too-common. Large excavators could clearly be seen on the
denuded banks, while barges carrying
trucks and other equipment upriver
were a common sight.
Aside from the pollution in the water, residents say the mining has contributed to increased siltation. This is
particularly problematic in upper Sagaing Region, where the limited road
and air access, and lack of rail lines
means the river is a vital transport
artery.
That status is now in doubt, however. Sagaing Regions Department of
Water Resources and Improvement of
River Systems says 37 points on the river are becoming increasingly difficult
to navigate when water levels are low.
The Ministry for Transport says it
has spent K1.633 billion between 2000
and 2013 improving the Chindwin waterway, but residents say this is just a
drop in the ocean compared to what is
needed to repair the damage done by
illegal mining.
Ko Kyaw Thet Win, of the Chindwin Youth Network, said the government must take action to stop illegal
mining.
They should address the reason
for the narrowing of the river, he said,
rather than just doing repairs.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun
and Zar Zar Soe
News 7
www.mmtimes.com
Views
Obama: Leading through engagement

US presidents policy of extending a hand to previously isolated regimes has given his country greater influence in Myanmar, Cuba and Iran
ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER
newsroom@mmtimes.com
IN his first inaugural address, US
President Barack Obama offered an
invitation to the worlds most closed
countries. We will extend a hand, he
said, if you are willing to unclench
your fist. This statement encapsulated the foreign policy of engagement
that he endorsed during his first
term - an approach that, despite some
shortcomings, has a lot of merit.
Obama rejected his predecessor
George W Bushs policy of isolating rogue states, recognising that
Americas only hope for influencing
isolated countries behavior was
to engage directly with them in a
bilateral context. And, as a bilateral
strategy, engagement has proved to be
astonishingly successful, having led
to historic openings, first to Myanmar and now to Cuba, while driving
progress toward an enduring nuclear
agreement with Iran.
From the beginning, however,
the Obama administration has made
clear that engagement is not an end
in itself, but a means to various goals,
both bilateral and regional.
In Myanmar, the bilateral goal
was to nudge the government toward
greater openness and democracy
something that has unquestionably
happened. The pro-democracy leader
and Nobel laureate Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi was released from house
arrest; her party won seats in parliament; and millions of Myanmar are
now studying their countrys constitution and have petitioned for
amendments.
To be sure, much remains to be
done. The journalist Martin Woolacott describes Myanmar as a halfway
house between military and civilian
rule, observing that the countrys
generals have been promising to complete the transition to democracy for
several years now, yet remain unwilling to allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to
be eligible for the presidency.
But this should not obscure
the progress that has been made.
Compared to 2009, when Obama
took office, Myanmar and its politics
are unrecognisable. While Obama
would likely acknowledge that US
US President Barack Obama departs the White House in Washington on November 4, 2012. Photo: AFP
policy did not bring about these

changes which resulted from an
internal process of recalculation by
the president, U Thein Sein the US
was responsive and flexible enough to
encourage them.
On the regional front, Obama
hoped an opening with Myanmar
would ensure that the country did not
become wholly dependent on China,
while enabling the US to deepen its
relationship with ASEAN. The resumption of diplomatic relations with
Myanmar was a critical feature of the
Obama administrations rebalancing
toward Asia.
As for Cuba, Obamas primary
goal seems to be to bolster respect for
ordinary Cubans human rights, not
to bring about regime change. While
it is too soon to assess the openings
impact in terms of reducing repression, the opportunity it presents for
Cubans to engage with Americans
first family to family, then business to
business is significant.
In regional terms, Obamas restoration of relations with Cuba merits
a place in the history books alongside
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissingers
opening to China. As grandiose as
that claim may seem, the fact is that
crossing the straits to Cuba signals a
new, more open and far more productive approach to relations with all of
Latin America.
Over the last decade, US leaders efforts to establish productive
frameworks for multilateral cooperation with Latin America including
attempts to reinvigorate the Organization of American States and build up
new forums like the Summit of the
Americas have run aground on their
continued isolation of Cuba. Indeed,
the 2012 Summit of the Americas
in Cartagena became an exercise
in America-bashing, with countries
threatening to boycott the 2015 summit if Cuba was not invited.
Fortunately, the US stepped up to

the challenge and, with Cuba at the
table, the summit was held in Panama
this month. As a result, the Summit
of the Americas and other regional
organisations are better positioned
to address regional crises, like the
coming meltdown in Venezuela, and
opportunities, such as the establishment of a hemispheric energy, trade
and law-enforcement infrastructure.
A nuclear deal with Iran would
have similarly important implications
in the Middle East and Southwest
Asia a prospect that largely explains
fervent opposition to negotiations by
Israel and Saudi Arabia. While the
deal will stand or fall on the extent
to which it pulls Iran back from the
nuclear brink, it can also open the
door to further bilateral negotiations on matters of common interest,
from ending the war in Syria to
cracking down on drug-running in
Afghanistan. Already, Obamas policy
of engagement has led to the most

bilateral interaction since the Iranian
revolution and hostage crisis in 1979.
Whatever Americas Republican
Party tries to claim during the 2016
presidential election campaign,
Obamas policy of engagement has
worked, enabling the US to shape
events in even the most closed countries. So why do pundits continue to
debate Americas supposedly declining global influence? Just last week,
the topic made the front page of the
New York Times, in an article that
quoted a former treasury official as
saying, Were withdrawing from the
central place we held on the international stage.
One answer is that domestic
political dysfunction has severely
handicapped the president in international negotiations. For example,
the US Congress has blocked changes
to countries quota allocations at the
International Monetary Fund. And
a group of 47 Republican senators
wrote a letter to Irans leaders announcing that the next Congress may
not honour whatever nuclear deal
they reach with Obama.
Another source of doubt about
Americas enduring influence lies in
the fact that multilateral engagement
is still needed, and this is always
more difficult than bilateral engagement. Indeed, multilateral leadership requires not only clearer and
bolder rules, but also a demonstrated
willingness to bear the costs of those
rules, whether by creating safe zones
to uphold the responsibility to protect civilians or taking concrete steps
to reduce and eventually eliminate
nuclear arsenals.
Bilateral engagement will prove
to be one of Obamas most important
foreign-policy legacies. But ensuring
that the US can continue to lead in
the 21st century will require a different kind of engagement. That will be
a critical task for Americas next president. Project Syndicate
Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and
CEO of the New America Foundation, is
the author of The Idea That Is America:
Keeping Faith with Our Values in a
Dangerous World.
Managing Myanmars beach boom for the benefit of all
SITHU AUNG
MYINT
DURING the Thingyan holidays, some

locals from Mawlamyine, Mudon,
Thanbyuzayat and Ye townships in Mon
State took their holidays at a new destination that has recently risen to prominence: Kabyar Wa beach.
Similarly, further south, Maungmagan beach near Dawei in Tanintharyi
Region was crowded with many visitors, including foreign tourists. Due to
the lack of accommodation, the few hotels at Maungmagan were fully booked
and prices were much higher than normal.
While little-known outside Myanmar and, in the case of Kabyar Wa,
outside Mon State these two beaches

have the potential to become important
tourism destinations, bringing muchneeded economic development to their
communities. But many more beautiful
beaches around the country are still yet
to be discovered by travellers.
Their future as tourism destinations is far from assured, however. One
important question is how to develop
them in a way so that the benefits are
shared with locals.
Kabyar Wa is located at Khaw Zar
village, about 25 kilometres (16 miles)
from Ye at the southern end of Mon
State. It has a beautiful and broad
coastline, but as visitors have only been
arriving in recent months it has no hotels, guesthouses, restaurants or public
transport. Seeing the regions potential,
however, some rich people have already
sought to buy plots as investments.
Maungmagan in Tanintharyi is better known, but is mostly a local destination, with few foreign visitors. Its
difficult to reach from Yangon, and an
overland route from Thailand only recently opened to foreigners.
There are just a handful of hotels.
Maungmagan Beach Resort recently

opened, while another hotel is under
construction. About 500 metres back
from the beach there is Coconut Guesthouse, but otherwise this prime patch
of seaside land is filled only by bamboo
shacks selling food and drink underneath a row of casuarina trees.
At Ngwe Saung and

Chaungtha, hotels
were allowed to
develop all along the
shore, blocking local
access to the beach.
Both look like cronyowned beaches
rather than public
recreation places.
The access to Dawei through the

Htee Khee border gate has recently
resulted in many more foreigners visiting the area. As a result, Maungmagan
beach has significant potential to become a popular tourist destination.
In order to develop those beaches,
the government needs to provide necessary support across a range of areas,
including management of development
to ensure the benefits are shared with
locals. As an example of what not to do,
they can look toward Ngwe Saung and
Chaungtha in Ayeyarwady Region.
When these two beautiful beaches
were identified, the former government
seized coconut palm plantations along
the coastline from local farmers, paying
meagre compensation. It then allocated
the seized land to a handful of entrepreneurs with which it was friendly, and
gave them permission to build hotels.
The worst mistake made by the government was in how it allocated the
land. Hotels were allowed to develop all
along the shore, blocking local access to
the beach. Both Chaungtha and Ngwe
Saung look like crony-owned beaches
rather than public recreation places.
Beaches in most of other countries

are not like this. Public access to the
beach is given priority over everything
else. In many cases, hotels cannot be
built between the road and the beach,
and are located further inland. Locals
are allowed to run small shops closer to
the beach.
Sadly, in Chaungtha and Ngwe
Saung a handful of hoteliers and bus
lines can take full advantage of business
opportunities, while locals are left on
the outer. Vendors are prohibited and
even violently removed by police from
selling their goods on the beach.
This is simply mismanagement.
Hoteliers are operating under the protection of the local authorities and police, while vendors are unable to even
scratch out a living.
Good management means sharing
business opportunities and profits from
the beach between both investors and
locals. This should be an important consideration when authorities grant permission for the construction of hotels
and resorts at Kabyar Wa, Maungmagan
beach and others that appear in time.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe
8 THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 28, 2015
Business
Mitsubishi to
conduct tests
in Ayeyarwady
AUNG
SHIN
koshumgtha@gmail.com
MITSUBISHI Corporation says it is to

conduct soil tests as the Japanese company proceeds with plans for a coalfired power plant in Ngayokekaung
township, Ayeyarwady Region.
The coal-fired power plant project
will be developed by Mitsubishi and A1
Company as a local partner. The two
parties agreed last year to use Japanese
clean coal technology in the plant.
This is still at the planning stage
pending feasibility studies in the area.
There are many issues regarding land
occupation, soil tests and fresh water resources, said Yukihiro Iwasaki,
deputy general manager of Mitsubishi

Myanmar Branch.
Mitsubishi is collaborating with
J-Power Company in developing the
plant.
After the feasibility study, there
will be further investigations, said
Motohisa Sakurai, chief manager of JPowers Thermal Power Engineering.
Mitsubishi invited a total of 36 local
residents, MPs, political party members,
journalists and civil society representatives from Ayeyarwady to tour two
coal-fired power plants in Japan run by
J-Power, which operates a number of
thermal power plants and consulting
services in Japan and elsewhere.
The delegation visited Takehara
plant in Hiroshima, which comprises
three units with installed capacity of
250 megawatts, 350MW and 700MW
based on sub-critical and super-critical technology. Takehara has been
A Myanmar delegation observes technology that could come to Ayeyarwady, in

J-Powers Isogo coal-fired power plant near Yokohama last week. Photo: Aung Shin
J-Powers Isogo coal-fired power station near Yokohama was toured by a Myanmar delegation last week. Photo: Supplied/J-Power
running continuously since 1967 even

as its technology has been regularly
updated.
They also visited Isogo power station in Yokohama. The plant runs two
600MW units with ultra-super critical
(USC) clean-coal technology, which
generates more power with less fuel.
The two plants burn high-quality coal
from Australia and Indonesia.
USC is one of worlds most advanced and most environmentally
friendly technologies, according to the
Japanese governments International
Centre for Environmental Transfer.
Japans environmental law covers
air and water pollution, odour control,
noise and vibration regulation, private
sewerage, waste management, and
public cleansing.
Environmental conservation in
Japan is the responsibility of government, companies and citizens. Any
resident may file a complaint directly
to the regional court. Environmental
impact is monitored constantly, said
Eiichi Masuda, supervisor of the centres Project Planning Division.
The Myanmar delegation observed
the conservation of air and water quality and the prevention of dust and noise
in and around coal-fired power plants.
WASHINGTON
IMF promotes reforms to boost

private banking sector
AYE THIDAR KYAW
ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com
BANKING in Myanmar is thriving
but requires further private sector
reforms, according to a senior IMF
official commenting on the inauguration in Yangon last week of the
first branches to be opened by three
foreign banks.
Speaking in Washington, Yongzheng Yang, deputy division chief
of the Funds Asia and Pacific Department, explained the measures
the IMF is taking to promote the
further reform of banking and finance in the country.
Assistance will include devising
a regulatory framework for private
banking reform while developing
the monetary policy tools available
to the Central Bank. The opening
up of Myanmars banking sector to
foreign banks this month will spur
the modernisation of the regulatory

framework to support the new activities. This would include better
training for staff, proper risk assessment and internal control of
lending, he said.
IMF will also help the Central
Bank develop tools to control the
money supply and strengthen price
stability in the face of rising inflation fuelled by excess money injection. The Fund has already helped
the Central Bank start deposit auctions to cool the money supply.
Though our main focus will be
on financial stability, we also want
to enhance the development of the
banking industry, Mr Yang told The
Myanmar Times.
Development would entail adjusting the current policy of stateowned banks toward private-sector
activities, he said.
Technical assistance will also
be provided in refining fiscal and

monetary policy, developing foreign exchange markets and pursuing financial sector reforms, and on
improving statistics.
The IMF is coordinating with
other donors such as the World
Bank and the Asian Development
Bank to help local authorities develop critical institutions and policy tools.
We fully support expanding financial access to stimulate development and bring about poverty reduction through inclusive growth,
he said.
The IMF is providing technical
assistance on foreign exchange reforms, said a Central Bank official
yesterday.
The obvious example is the integration of foreign exchange with
the daily auction. We look forward
to further assistance, he said.
We knew how impressive Japanese technology was before we went.

During our visit, we saw that these
coal-fired power stations are perfect, said U Thein Htay, a resident of
Ngayokekaung.
But the possible impact of the
Ngayokekaung coal-fired plant goes
beyond technology, another participant said.
We have no doubt about Japanese
technology. The power stations we visited were 100 percent perfect. But I do
worry about our governments policy
and management of environmental
issues, which cannot be of the same
standard as Japans, said Daw San San
Myint, a resident of Sabarkyi village in
Ngayokekaung.
The Myanmar government has
signed a memorandum of understanding for at least 12 coal-fired power projects around the country with a number
of local and international companies.
All the projects are still at the feasibility
study stage, and are likely to face questions in view of public concern about
environmental and social issues.
This project is one of Mitsubishis
biggest businesses in Myanmar. Mitsubishi will maintain its standards,
and its project implementation will
adhere to Myanmar laws. We promise

not to sell our products or electricity
based on low technology, said Mr
Iwasaki.
The technology does not come
cheap. The estimated cost of a 600MW
USC power plant would be at least
US$2.5 billion, say Japanese officials.
But coal-fired power generation is
looking more attractive for Myanmar
as the countrys electricity consumption continues to rise owing to economic development.
We dont have any other option for
stable power generation, because hydropower projects are also expensive
and harder to implement, natural gas
is limited, and wind and solar energy
are still at the research stage, said U
Tin Lwin Oo, deputy head of the Department of Hydropower Planning of
the Ministry of Electric Power.
Japans environmental conservation standards are much higher than
the World Banks. This is a very promising opportunity to get clean-coal technology at Ngayokekaung, he said.
According to the International Energy Agency, Japan has the lowest rate
of emissions of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides in the world per unit of
electricity generated.
Rice exports grow

HTIN LIN AUNG
htynlynnaung@gmail.com
RICE exports are set to leap by more
than 10 percent this year, setting a
new record, industry experts said
yesterday. U Soe Tun, associate secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation
(MRF), said total exports would reach
2 million metric tonnes in 2015-2016.
The surge is due to a deal regularising exports to China, as well as the
emergence of the United States as a
buyer of Myanmar rice, he said.
Being able to export rice to the
USA is a significant improvement,
MILLION US$
644
Value of rice exports last year
even though the amount is small. We

expect the volume to rise so long as we
can maintain the quality, he said.
Last year, 1.39 million metric
tonnes of rice was exported, plus more
than 400,000 tonnes of broken rice,
earning US$644 million a 40-year
record, overtaking the 1.46 million
tonnes sold in 2012-13 fiscal year.
Myanmar now serves 64 international rice buyers, including the United States, which last year bought 17
tonnes of high-quality pawsan, export
figures stated.
The agreement with China to export 100,000 tonnes is planned to
start with a 3000-tonne consignment
in May.
However, U Ye Min Aung, general
secretary of the MRF, says much still
has to be done to improve export quality and price control. The government has to cut logistics costs in order
to control the price of exported goods,
he said.
Though its economy depends heavily
on rice exports, Myanmar still ranks relatively low among Asias rice exporters.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe
BUSINESS EDITOR: Guy Dinmore | guydinmore@gmail.com
US investors still wary

of Cambodia
Greek crisis looms

over Fed meeting
BUSINESS 10
BUSINESS 11
Exchange Rates (April 27 close)

Currency
Buying
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar
K1172
K299
K802
K33.1
K1083
Selling
K1175
K315
K811
K35
K1086
Property investors cautious over

Kyeemyindaing bridge promises
MYAT NYEIN AYE TIN YADANAR HTUN
ONCE bitten, twice shy. Investors and

speculators who once pushed property prices sky-high on rumours of
major developments have greeted the
announcement of three new bridges
and possibly a tunnel with deafening
silence, industry observers say.
On April 5, the Yangon Region
Ministry of Construction announced
three major infrastructure projects:
the expansion of Thaketa Bridge, doubling its width; an entirely new bridge
further north up the Hlaing River at
Wataya, Hlaing Tharyar township;
and another bridge linking downtown
Kyeemyindaing township with Aye village across the Hlaing River. There is
also a feasibility study for a tunnel under the Hlaing river.
However, little or no movement

has since been detected in property
prices in the vicinity of any of these
future developments.
This is in contrast with the reaction to news about other recent new
projects, including word of a bridge
that would connect downtown Yangon
with Dala, or the project for an entire
new town across the Hlaing River.
In each case, immediate investor
interest created huge price bubbles,
which then slowly deflated in the absence of any move to build these projects. Many speculators were left holding property valued at much less than
they had paid for it.
Investors are no longer willing to
pile on in the hope of making a quick
return, said Ko Htun Htun, of Phoenix
real estate agency, because they are
sceptical about the new projects.
They are waiting to see what happens this time. There is no change in
the market, he told The Myanmar
Times.
U Sai Khon Naung, general manager
of Sai Khon Naung real estate agency

and construction company, said cash
was rare in the property market. Even
if these projects come to fruition, investors are not going to buy properties for
more than K500 million, he said.
In particular, he said, the Yangon
side of the proposed Kyeemyindaing
tunnel was already fully developed,
with new construction proceeding
apace.
Ko Htun Htun said, The property
market in Kyeemyindaing used to lag
behind other townships. But now,
condo prices there can exceed K300
million a unit, and they are not selling quickly. He added that the villages
across the river were not developed,
and unlikely to attract incomers even
if the tunnel were built.
Nor are the proposed developments for Thaketa and Hlaing Tharyar townships expected to cause
ripples. The Thaketa Bridge expansion was expected merely to ease
traffic congestion, while the proposed Wataya Bridge still appeared
A construction site shoots up on Kann Narr Road in Yangons Kyeemyindaing township, where announcements of
infrastructure projects have failed to ignite much property interest. Photo: Aung Khant
Trade tipped to reach US$30 billion

HTIN LINN AUNG
htynlynnaung@gmail.com
MYANMARS foreign trade could reach
US$30 billion in the current 2015-16 fiscal year, representing an 8 percent increase over the year just ended, according to U Maung Aung, a consultant to
the Ministry of Commerce.
He told The Myanmar Times that
the ministry would seek to boost fishery and forestry products, which saw a
fall in exports last year.
Myanmar registered a widening
trade deficit of $4.9 billion in the fiscal year 2014-15 that ended on March
31, according to ministry figures. Total
foreign trade amounted to $27.79 billion, with exports of $11.45 billion and
imports of $16.34 billion.
We havent earmarked a figure yet
for this financial years trading volume.
But it is sure that it will be higher than
last year. It might be $30 billion, U

Maung Aung said. We mainly promote
forestry and fishery products because
these two sectors saw lower export volumes last year.
Trade from April 1 to 17 totalled
$550 million, including $97 million
for exports and $453 million for imports, the ministry said in a statement.
Exports of agricultural products were
up $19 million compared with the
same period last year, while fishery
products rose by $3 million and forestry products by $5 million.
Garment and related exports are
expected to see a significant boost this
year following an influx of foreign investment into the sector last year, U
Maung Aung said.
The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association said yesterday
that garment exports in 2014-15 were
between $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion.
Final official figures are not available.

Fishery exports reached a high in
2012-13 of nearly $700 million. The
sector has seen a downturn because of
falling output from fish farms due to
rising prices of foodstuff and a lack of
investment.
If investors do not receive support
for their investments then it will be
difficult to boost the sector and raise
exports, said U Hnin Oo, vice chair of
the Myanmar Fisheries Federation.
To promote the export quotas
of the fishery sector, it is necessary
to prepare practicable schemes. We
cant do it on paper. The majority of
local investors in the sector cant start
their business because they dont have
enough capital. Moreover, it is also
necessary to upgrade the transportation sector to have better roads and
bridges, U Hnin Oo said.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun
remote, agents said.

Kyeemyindaing property prices
have not changed even though the Aye
Ywar New Bridge will be built in the
very near future. No one is moving to
Hlaing village, said U Kyaw Linn, a local real estate agent. Theres been talk
about a bridge over the Hlaing River
for more than five years, but theres
still no bridge.
Building a bridge there would be
difficult, and will take time. Buyers are
not interested, he added. The Aye Ywar
Bridge will cross the Hlaing in Kyeemyindaing township. An estimated 45,000
people live on the other side, in 11 villages

which could be the site of future development.
Some farmers and hawkers live
in those villages. But the water is not
good and nobody wants to move there
because they are hard to get to. Maybe
that will change if the bridge is built,
said local resident Daw Thu Thu.
Kyeemyindaing township is bordered by Kamaryut township to the
north, the Yangon River and Twante
township to the west, Sanchaung
township to the east, and Ahlone
township to the south.
TRADE MARK CAUTION

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Maenocho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, Japan, is the Owner and Sole
Proprietor of the following Trade Mark:-
Used in connection with:- Class 09: Body weight scales with

body fat analyzers; body weight scales with body composition
analyzers; baby scales; bath room scales; body weight scales;
kitchen scales; industrial scales; scales for commercial use; scales
with food calorie measuring apparatus; scales; pedometers;
activity gauges; sphygmomanometer not for medical use; clinical
thermometers not for medical use; urine glucose meters not for
medical use; alcohol breath testing units; breath analyzers; bad
breath measuring apparatus; residual chlorine meters; oxidationreduction potentiometers; ph meter; water quality analyzers;
air analyzers; body odors analyzers; subcutaneous fat thickness
measuring apparatus; sleeping state analyzers not for medical
use; temperature indicators; hygrometers; thermohygrometers;
salinometers; glutaminic acid meters; glucose meters; pulse rate
monitor for measuring a persons pulse not for medical use; all
other measuring apparatus and instruments; timers with electronic
buzzer; power supply adapters; electric wires and cables; electrical
communication machines and instruments; computer programs
(downloadable); recording mediums on which computer programs
are recorded; all other electronic machines, apparatus and their
parts; electronic publications (downloadable or recorded). Class
10: Body fat analyzers for medical use; Body composition analyzers
for medical use; abdominal fat analyzers; Pulse rate monitor for
measuring a persons pulse for medical use; Sphygmomanometers
for medical use; Clinical thermometers for medical use; Urine
glucose meters for medical use; Sleeping state analyzers for medical
use; Sleeping quality analyzers for medical use; Bone densitometers
and/or ultrasound sonometers for bone density; All other medical
apparatus and instruments.
A Declaration of Ownership of the said Mark has been registered
in the Office of the Sub-Registrar of Deeds and Assurances, Yangon
being No. 1878/2012.
WARNING is hereby given that any fraudulent imitation
or unauthorised use of the same Trade Mark in any manner
whatsoever will be dealt with according to law.
for Kabushiki Kaisha Tanita
10 International Business
OPINION
Chinas AIIB and Singapore after Lee:

Is this the dawn of a new order?
CURTIS S CHIN
THE death of Lee Kuan Yew captured
headlines across Asia last month
and drew foreign dignitaries ranging from President U Thein Sein to
former US president Bill Clinton. All
came to honor Singapores founding
father and the passing of an era. Lee
was the last of Southeast Asias major
leaders to have experienced firsthand
European and Japanese colonial rule,
and then the hard work of building
a nation.
Yet, Lees advancement of a quasiauthoritarian so-called Asian way
focused on nation and community
above any Western notion of individual economic freedom, rights
or liberties lives on. Asian nations
hoping to mirror Singapores success continue to find their own way
forward with mixed success without
Lees same commitment to the rule
of law and good governance, strong
accountability, and anti-corruption
efforts at all levels of society.
As one era ends in Asia, another
begins. Or so too, China might also
have it with the establishment of
the Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank (AIIB).
China has successfully championed a new kind of international financial institution that it may well
hope marks the dawn of an Asia-led
economic order if not perhaps a return to an older order, with the Middle Kingdom at its core.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were founded
under Western leadership as part of
a post-World War II global financial
architecture envisioned in 1944 at
Bretton Woods, in the US state of
New Hampshire. The Asian Development Bank followed in 1966 with Japan and the United States as the key
players at the Manila-headquartered
financial institution focused on poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific.

Now, this new China-led multilateral
development bank, the AIIB, is taking
shape and is well-positioned to help
finance new ports, railways, bridges,
airports and roads across the region as
well as replace ageing infrastructure.
The AIIB will ostensibly help fill
an annual infrastructure financing
shortfall in Asia that the ADB estimates at some US$800 billion. The
new lender could also contribute a
multilateral veneer and funds to realise Beijings vision of a new Silk
Road and new maritime Silk Road,
better connecting China to markets
and resources in and outside of Asia.
When Indonesia last November
announced it would join this new
China-led alternative to the World
Bank, ASEANs largest nation and
economy joined Myanmar and the
rest of Southeast Asia in making resoundingly clear that pragmatism
trumps politics when it comes to financing the regions infrastructure.
Little was to be gained by supporting what many saw as the Obama
administrations poorly conceived
and executed opposition to the new
institution. Both the US and Japan
had expressed concerns about the
new institutions standards in seeking to explain publicly their lack of
support. All this mattered not, as
Britain brushed aside concerns from
Washington and announced in March
that it would join as a founding member of the new international financial
institution. Other Western nations
quickly followed ultimately bringing
the final tally of supporters to more
than 50 countries.
The founding members to sign on
to the AIIB include 16 of the worlds
20 largest economies. The notable
exceptions are the US, Japan, Mexico
and Canada. This may well change
as face-saving ways are found for the
A signboard points toward the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. Photo: AFP
hold-outs to join.
The straight-talking former US
secretary of treasury Larry Summers
summed up the Obama administrations approach to the AIIB as a failure of strategy and tactics. It was also
a failure of imagination an inability
to see how strengthened engagement
with China through the AIIB could
well have been a landmark accomplishment of the so-called US pivot,
or rebalance, to Asia.
With the initial membership debate now over, work must now focusing on creating and shaping an AIIB
for the better. This will require all
the banks shareholders, including
Myanmar, fighting for good governance, strong social and environmental safeguards, and a focus on results,
accountability and transparency.
As did Lee Kuan Yew during his
iron-fisted rule in guiding Singapores success, China may well seek
to advance an Asian way in this
newest of multilateral lenders. For
Myanmars citizens who may well
be impacted for better and for worse
by major infrastructure investments
to be funded by this new multilateral lender, the hope remains that
the AIIB way will find a balance:
building infrastructure and growing economies while also respecting
individuals and their businesses and

communities.
As Singapore evolves after Lee
Kuan Yew and as Myanmar moves
uneasily toward elections, so too
must the AIIB find its own way forward. An active and engaged board
of directors and management will
be important, with or without the
direct involvement of the US and
Japan.
Curtis S Chin is a former US ambassador
to and member of the Board of Directors
of the Asian Development Bank, and
is managing director of advisory firm
RiverPeak Group, LLC.
PHNOM PENH
Uncertainty and corruption deter US firms in Cambodia

DESPITE high-profile US companies
like Coca-Cola announcing plans to
expand their footprint in Cambodia, foreign investment from the US
remains low compared to regional
heavyweights.
Large US businesses appear reluctant in setting up in the Kingdom due
to corruption concerns, an unpredictable regulatory environment and a lack
of economic attractiveness that allows
US interests to thrive.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, the US ranked sixth on the list
of total approved investments from
1994 to September 2014, with US$1.3
billion invested, well below China,
which was ranked first at $10.1 billion.
Meanwhile, total foreign direct investment in Cambodia hit $4 billion
last year, with China, Malaysia, and Japan taking the top three spots.
Corruption remains one of the major factors keeping US companies away.
According to an American Chamber
of Commerce survey for 2015, some
82 percent of American businesses in
Cambodia were dissatisfied with corruption the second-highest in the region after Laos.
But the cost of payoffs to the bottom
line is far from the only worry.
American businesses operating
abroad are subject to the US Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act, a stringent law
that prevents US companies from engaging in bribery. Coupled with unpredictability in Cambodian laws, it can
Burger King is one of the US companies targeting Cambodias rising middle class.
Photo: Phnom Penh Post
make US investors think twice before

committing to Cambodia.
In 2011, the Cambodian government
banned facilitation payments, such as
paying officials fees to speed up regular services, like processing paperwork.
It wasnt until this was made illegal in
Cambodia that this type of fee became
punishable under the FCPA, creating
further difficulties for US businesses
eying the Kingdom.
It used to be you had to pay the guy

who would do your VAT return. Now
thats technically illegal, said Daniel
Mitchell, board member at the American Chamber of Commerce and CEO of
Phnom Penh-based SRP International.
Mr Mitchell said Cambodias government lacked a clear dialogue with the
private sector, especially when compared
with neighbouring countries. American
companies like predictability.
One way of driving foreign investment in developing countries like

Cambodia is through governments development agencies, which, to varying
degrees, pave the way for private companies to enter the market.
However, US development assistance, via USAID, to Cambodia has
largely focused on health, education
and agricultural assistance.
In contrast, Japans development
agency JICA has opened the door for
Japanese investors by playing an increasingly active role in the Kingdoms
infrastructure development.
Once JICA sprinkles the holy water, the gates are open for Japanese investment, Mr Mitchell said.
Although US companies have a
small presence in Cambodia CocaColas new $100 million plant in the
Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone
will be surrounded in a sea of over 40
Japanese manufacturers US-Cambodia economic ties remain critical to the
Kingdoms economy.
The relationship is dominated by
garment exports to the US, leaving
Cambodias endemic corruption to be
tackled by non-US producers across
the Pacific.
The United States is Cambodias
largest single country trading partner, with more than $3 billion in twoway trade in 2014, said US Embassy
spokesperson Jay Raman.
While the US and Cambodian governments persist on the investment
front, repeated Ministry of Commerce

trips to the US have induced few large
companies to come.
But according to Hiroshi Suzuki,
president of the Business Research Institute of Cambodia, the low presence
of US business in Cambodia is not surprising given Cambodias low stage of
economic development.
The US has already graduated
from labour-intensive industries and
concentrates in the high value-added
industries, such as IT and finance, he
said. So, in many Asian countries, the
share of investment by US companies
itself is not so high.
Mr Suzuki saw a bright spot, however, in deepening regional integration.
After the establishment of AEC
[ASEAN Economic Community], such affiliates based in ASEAN could come into
Cambodia, especially in the service sector, such as [fast] food, hotels and retail.
But while Cambodias business environment doesnt yet possess the highend services capacity American investors are looking for, there is potential in
catering to the tastes of the Kingdoms
rising middle class, said Saing Ngorn,
chief executive of RMA Cambodia,
which holds the franchising rights for
US brands such as Dairy Queen and
Krispy Kreme.
With changing lifestyle and standard of living, and emerging middle
class, I am sure that Cambodians,
visitors and residents will enjoy more
choices, he said. Phnom Penh Post
International Business 11
www.mmtimes.com
WASHINGTON
FRANKFURT
US monetary policy meeting

keeps markets on edge
Deutsche
Bank to
make cuts
THE Federal Reserve dropped its reference to staying patient before raising interest rates when it released
its policy statement in March. But
signs indicate that patience could
yet be its stance tomorrow, when it
concludes a new two-day monetary
policy meeting amid a US growth
slowdown and a potential financial
eruption from the Greek crisis.
The Federal Open Market Committee, led by Fed chair Janet Yellen,
has put much of the financial world
on edge for months waiting for its
first rate hike in nearly nine years.
Since last year, it has indicated
mid-2015 for increasing the benchmark federal funds rate from zero
percent, where it has stood since December 2008 to bring the US economy back from a disastrous recession.
That would start a slow tightening of monetary policy, which could
see the federal funds rate around 1pc
at year-end.
The removal of the pledge to remain patient from the policy statement last month was a clear indicator that the first rate hike could come
as early as June, Ms Yellen said at the
time.
But since then, economic conditions have eased, with the strong
dollar itself a function of expected
rising rates hitting US sales abroad,
with inflation still extremely low, and
DEUTSCHE Bank, Germanys biggest

lender, unveiled yesterday details of a
massive strategic shake-up as part of
which it plans to bring down annual
costs by 3.5 billion euros (US$3.8 billion) by 2020.
The restructuring program will also
entail the flotation of the banks Postbank unit at the end of next year, the
closure of up to 200 high-street branches by 2017 and a re-focus of its geographical footprint whereby it would
exit or reduce its presence in some
countries, the group said.
Our course for the next five years
is simple: We are focusing to deliver
value, said co-chief executives Anshu
Jain and Juergen Fitschen.
We are confident that, by 2020,
Deutsche Bank will be better capitalised and less leveraged; more costefficient; wellfunded; more valuecreating for shareholders; and better
governed, with stronger systems and
controls, they said.
Deutsche Bank said it recognised
that the centres of global economic
power are shifting toward key emerging markets and cities.
The group therefore aimed to refocus our global footprint, reducing
the number of countries or local presences by 10 to 15 percent and actively
investing in markets and urban centres
which are most relevant to international and multinational clients, it said.
AFP
with the US labour market showing

some weakness.
That, and concern that Greece
could default on its debts within
weeks and spark more financial
turmoil, are strong reasons why the
FOMC might seek to temper expectations about a June hike this week,
according to analysts.
Speeches by central bank officials in the past few weeks showed
shifts in tone suggesting the Fed is
prepared to be patient again, said
Chris Low, chief economist at FTN
Financial.
Patrick Newport and Stephanie
Karol at IHS Global insight said policymakers are trying to determine
how much of the slowdown in the
first quarter was due to the bad winter or to the stronger US dollar, dock
strikes on the West Coast and a drop
in oil prices.
Recent economic data are not
providing much clarity, they said.
We expect that second-quarter economic activity will be stronger than
in the first quarter, paving the way
for a rate hike in September, but the
Fed will have to feel confident in ongoing economic strength.
But some of the decision hinges
on just how anxious the FOMC is to
get the very first increase out of the
way, so jittery markets can focus on
the medium-term trend rather than
A shop in Athens displays national flags as Greece comes under international

pressure to avert a debt default. The crisis looms over an interest rate
decision by the US Federal Reserve tomorrow. Photo: AFP
the ice-breaker.
Rates cant stay at zero forever,
Fed vice chair Stanley Fischer said
last week.
He suggested that the Fed should
not bend its policy direction for what
is likely a momentary weak spot in
the economy. Were expecting a
pick-up in growth following the first
quarter, Mr Fischer said.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said
the key is still what inflation looks
like the Fed wants it stronger, to

show the economy has momentum.
The trajectory of inflation will be
integral for determining whether interest rate normalisation will begin
this year, they said.
With the impact of the oil price
plunge now mostly figured in, they
said, inflation should pick up toward
2pc the Feds target by the end of
the year.
AFP
World
13
WORLD EDITOR: Fiona MacGregor
Local polls show long

way to go for Japans
womenomics
Kazakhstan
president reelected
with 97% of vote
WORLD 14
WORLD 14
SYDNEY
POKHARA
Indonesia should halt executions

ahead of corruption claims: Australia
AUSTRALIA yesterday urged Indonesia to ensure all legal processes have
been cleared of corruption before executing two of its nationals, as bribery
allegations surfaced regarding their
drug smuggling trial.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop
spoke to her Indonesian counterpart
Retno Marsudi on the evening of April
26 while Prime Minister Tony Abbott
has written to President Joko Widodo
to again plead for the executions to be
halted.
Bali Nine drug traffickers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan
could face the firing squad as early as
today, having been previously given
formal execution notices which are required to give at least 72 hours notice
of death. They are due to be executed
along with others from Brazil, Nigeria,
the Philippines and an Indonesian
prisoner.
Ms Bishop said she had no official
advice on when they might be killed.
She said the men should not be executed while legal questions remain.
I should point out that Mr Chan
and Mr Sukumarans lawyers are pursuing action before the Constitutional
Court in Indonesia, she told ABC radio.
And theres also a separate investigation under way by the Indonesian

Judicial Commission into claims of
corruption into the original trial and
both of these processes raise questions
about the integrity of the sentencing
and the clemency process.
Ive asked foreign minister Marsudi that no action be taken in relation to the proposed executions until
these legal processes have been determined, Ms Bishop added.
Yesterday, Australias Fairfax Media published allegations of corruption by the judges who sentenced the
pair in 2006, claiming they asked for
more than one billion rupiah around
US$77,000 - to give them a prison
term of less than 20 years.
It cited their then Indonesian lawyer, Muhammad Rifan, who claimed a
deal fell through after intervention by
Jakarta, which allegedly ordered they
be handed the death penalty.
He said he decided to go public
given the executions were imminent
and the judicial commission, the Indonesian body that safeguards the probity of judges, had yet to complete its
investigation into the alleged requests
for bribes.
Australias Foreign Minister Julie Bishop speaks during a press conference in

Sydney on April 27. Photo: AFP
This is an extraordinary situation because it is about lives. If they

are dead they cannot be brought back
again, he said.
At least one of the judges in the
case denied to Fairfax there had been
political interference or negotiations
about bribes.
Todung Mulya Lubis, a lawyer for Mr
Chan and Mr Sukumaran, told reporters
the executions must not proceed until
all legal avenues were exhausted.
People should not be executed if
the judgement came out of a defective process, he told reporters near
the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan, where Indonesia puts
condemned prisoners to death, referring to the claims surrounding the
sentencing.
He added that if the allegations
were proven at the judicial commission the whole judgement must be
annulled.
Ms Bishop again warned Indonesia
that its international standing could
be damaged by the executions.
I have made the point publicly and
privately that this could harm Indonesias international standing and when
the secretary-general of the United Nations weighs into the debate I think that
this is a global issue, she said.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon added his
voice on April 25 to appeals for the
convicts to be spared.
Mr Sukumaran and Mr Chan,
along with the others facing the firing
squad, recently lost appeals for mercy
to Mr Widodo, who has taken a hard
line against drug traffickers and refused to back down despite mounting
international criticism.
Asked what the consequences
would be for bilateral relations if the
executions are carried out, Ms Bishop
said, I dont want to speculate at this
point about the consequences if these
executions go ahead because my focus
currently remains on doing everything
I can to secure a stay of execution, she
said. AFP
BANGKOK
Thailand seizes 3 tonnes of African

elephant ivory bound for Laos
MORE than 3 tonnes of elephant
ivory have been found at a Thai port
stashed in a container shipped from
Kenya, customs said yesterday, the
second huge haul of tusks from Africa
in less than a week.
The discovery, which would be
worth millions of dollars on the black
market, was destined for Laos where
the illegal ivory trade flourishes.
Some 511 pieces of ivory, weighing
over 3 tonnes, was found on April 25
in a container marked as tea leaves
transported from Mombasa, Kenya,
and on to Laos, Thai customs said in
a statement.
Scores of whole tusks, some nearly
2 metres long, were among the pieces
seized.
A record 4 tonnes of African elephant ivory was seized at Bangkoks
main port on April 20, in a container
that arrived from the Democratic
Republic of Congo and was also destined for Laos.
Once in neighbouring Laos,
authorities believe the ivory would

likely be sold on to buyers from
China, Vietnam or back into Thailand, countries where ivory ornaments are coveted despite fears the
trade is pushing wild elephants to
extinction.
Laos is increasingly being used
as a major transit point for such
large volumes of illicit ivory and
other wildlife products, Chris Shepherd of conservation group TRAFFIC said.
The increase in large-scale seizures is of great concern. Whether
the ivory is coming from freshly
killed elephants, or from stockpiles
of ivory in Africa, needs to be investigated, he added.
Conservationists say poaching
and conflict has destroyed large
numbers of African elephants in the
wild, prompting experts to warn the
species could be wiped out within
decades.
Thailand
has
launched
a
crackdown on the ivory trade amid

mounting international pressure.
Global regulator Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) has threatened an international ban on Thailands entire wildlife business if it fails to curb the
trade in tusks on its soil.
Under Thai law, registered ivory
from domesticated Thai elephants
can be sold. But experts say that loophole allows criminal gangs to launder
poached African ivory through the
kingdom.
Thailands fishing industry is also
under scrutiny for exploitation of migrant workers and over-fishing.
Last week the European Union
threatened to ban Thai fish imports
unless the kingdom does more to halt
illegal fishing.
Thailand is the worlds third
largest seafood producer and an EU
ban could cost it around US$1 billion annually. AFP
IN PICTURES
Photo: AFP
As visitors escape, locals

query disaster response
CATHERINE TRAUTWEIN
Nepalese rescue
personnel help a
trapped earthquake
survivor buried
under rubble
in Kathmandu
on April 26.
International rescue
teams were flying
into the country to
help local search
teams as they
sought frantically
for survivors of a 7.8
earthquake on April
25 that claimed the
life of more than
3300 people.
KATHMANDU
International rescue teams join hunt for

survivors in Nepal as 3300 confirmed dead
INTERNATIONAL rescue teams
and relief supplies began arriving in
Nepals devastated capital yesterday
to help terrified and homeless survivors of a quake that has claimed
the lives of more than 3200 people
in the impoverished nation.
Equipped with heavy cutting
gear and accompanied by sniffer
dogs, rescue teams were landing
round-the-clock at the countrys
only international airport on the
outskirts of Kathmandu, the normally vibrant capital which has
been devastated by the 7.8 magnitude quake on April 25.
Tens of thousands of frightened
Nepalese were huddled in tents or
under sheets of plastic desperate for
help yesterday. Aftershocks continued to hit as international rescue
teams with sniffer dogs raced to
find survivors buried in the rubble.
UNICEF yesterday said almost 1
million children across the country
were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Officials say more than 3300 people across the region were known to
have died, including 3218 in Nepal
making it the quake-prone Himalayan nations deadliest disaster in
more than 80 years.
Around 90 people have been
killed in neighbouring countries,
including at least 67 in India and 20
in China.
The earthquake also triggered an
avalanche on Mount Everest which
buried part of base camp and killed
at least 18 people.
Families, the sick and elderly
packed into parks and other open
spaces in Kathmandu after losing
their houses, with others too terrified of aftershocks to return home.

This is a nightmare. Why dont
these aftershocks stop? asked
70-year-old Sanu Ranjitkar, clutching her dog and with an oxygen
mask strapped to her face, sitting
under a tarpaulin.
With just sheets of plastic to protect them from the cold and rain,
many said they were desperate for
aid and information on what to do
next.
There is just too much fear and
confusion, said Bijay Sreshth, as
he tried to listen to a radio in the
hope of hearing a message from the
government.
We dont know what to do next
or for how much longer we are
here, said Mr Sreshth, who fled to
a park with his three children, wife
and mother when the quake hit.
A government official said
tonnes of clean water and other
essential supplies were needed for
the survivors as well as stepped up
search and rescue efforts outside
the capital.
We need more helicopters for
our rescue operations in rural areas, home minister spokesperson
Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said.
We also need supplies of essential goods such as food and clean
water to provide relief for survivors, he said.
Aftershocks triggered fresh
avalanches on Everest on March
26 even as helicopters evacuated
some of those worst injured the day
before.
Hundreds of foreign mountaineers had gathered at the worlds
highest mountain at the start of the

annual climbing season, and the real
scale of the disaster there has been
impossible to evaluate with communications all but cut off.
The situation has been exacerbated by power cuts and the countrys
cell phone network is at breaking
point.
The Nepalese government said it
was stepping up efforts to help remote areas closer to the epicentre of
the quake.
Our focus is on rescue, Mr Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said. In far-flung
areas, a larger helicopter will be stationed in the regional headquarters
and smaller ones will shuttle with
survivors.
Announcing the latest death toll
in Nepal, a top disaster official said
that emergency crews would also
step up their efforts to rescue those
trapped in high-rise buildings which
flattened during the quake.

Our efforts today will also be
focused on finding survivors in areas where big buildings have collapsed, Rameshwor Dangal, who
heads the home ministrys national
disaster management division,
said.
The historic nine-storey Dharahara Tower, a major tourist attraction, was among the buildings
brought down in Kathmandu during
the quake.
Police said around 150 people
were thought to have been in the
tower at the time of the disaster,
based on ticket sales.
At least 30 dead bodies have
been pulled out. We dont have a
number on the rescued but over 20
injured were helped out, local police
official Bishwa Raj Pokharel said.
We
havent
finished
our
work there. Rescue work is still
Nepal earthquake
International rescue teams and relief supplies started arriving Monday in the devastated capital
Total affected population

not yet determined
but 35 out of 75 districts
reportedly affected
Epicentre
7.8-magnitude
quake
April 25 11:56 am
Moderate
Slight
Very minor
Pokhara
KATHMANDU
With much of the city lying in ruins,

tens of thousands of residents are sheltering
in makeshift tents
source: USGS/UNOCHA
Very severe
Severe
NEPAL
60 km
Estimated shaking
severity by district
Mt Everest
At least 18 climbers
died in avalanches
continuing. Right now, we are not

in a position to estimate how many
might be trapped.
The Nepalese rescuers were being joined by hundreds of foreign
aid workers from countries such as
China, India and the United States.
Around 70 US aid workers, along
with rescue dogs, headed to Nepal
aboard a military transport plane
which flew from Dover Air Force
Base in Delaware.
The European Commission released 3 million euros (US$3.25
million) in emergency aid for Nepal
which will help fund clean water,
medicine, emergency shelter and
telecommunications in the worstaffected areas.
India meanwhile flew in 13 military transport planes loaded with
tonnes of food, blankets and other
aid.
Yesterday Chinas Xinhua agency
reported that a 55-strong rescue
team affiliated with the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) had left Kunming via PLA Air Force plane for
Nepal that morning.
Another team of 45 soldiers were
due to leave for Nepal today, the
agency said.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed by the disaster, with
morgues overflowing and medics
having to work through the night
to cope with an endless stream of
victims suffering trauma or multiple fractures.
Some surgeons have been operating from makeshift theatres set up
in parking lots with the aftershocks
making patients too scared to stay
inside. AFP
THE buildings were moving. The

earth was shaking so hard. In my
life I have never seen this type of
earthquake.
In Pokhara, Nepal, gem store owner
Mushdaq Hamad Dar was not alone in
characterising the severe earthquake
that struck the country on April 25 as
the worst in a lifetime.
All local people and tourists are
afraid now, said Hotel Tulsi Pokhara
owner Laxmi Narayan Shrestha.
Yesterday, planes were finally taking
off again from Pokhara airport. Local
airlines were providing shuttle flights
to Kathmandu where foreign visitors,
who had been trapped in the tourist
town since the quake, were hoping to
get flights out of the country.
But while Pokhara which lies
73 kilometres (45 miles) west of the
quakes epicenter escaped the devastation that hit the countrys capital,
residents described the pervasive fear
that resulted from the disaster. We are
still in a big shock, said Mr Mushdaq
Hamad Dar.
And they raised concerns that Nepals people needed more help, saying
that although the government has taken action, it has fallen short.
If we talk about this country, were
very poor here, he said. We dont have
arrangements so that we can take very
limited steps. India is taking initiative,
Pakistan, China, but still they need a
huge type of rescue so that they can
save more people.

Mr Laxmi Narayan Shrestha also
called on the government to lay out
plans to protect people from quakes in
the future.
We have to do the planning, like
building roads and parks, he said.
Recovering people and cleanup
should be among actions taken immediately, with urban planning in areas
such as construction by the government following, he said.
Though eyes were turned to Kathmandu, those in Pokhara still showed
signs of distress at the quake and aftershocks, with storefronts shuttered
April 26.
However store owner Mr Mushdaq Hamad Dar said his own town
appeared to have escaped the scenes
of devastation portrayed in rolling
news reports from other parts of the
nation.
We are living better here. In Kathmandu its a big disaster. Theres no
communication working, theres no internet, people are under the open sky
and [theres] no help, he said.
And one man in Pokhara who had
been out of town when the quake hit
confirmed the city had been relatively
fortunate.
Tex Bahadur Gurung was on his
way to visit relatives in Pokhara by
Jeep when the earthquake began. As he
hit the border of the Baglung district,
he witnessed a terrifying sight. Every
house looked like this, he said, collapsing his hands in on themselves.
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For Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.,
14 World
ASTANA
Kazakh president celebrates as he

extends 25-year rule with 97% of vote
KAZAKHSTANS President Nursultan Nazarbayev extended his quarter-century rule over the oil-rich,
ex-Soviet republic with a crushing
97.7 percent of ballots in an election where opposition parties did
not field a candidate, officials said
yesterday.
Mr Nazarbayev, who has run the
huge Central Asian country since before the Soviet breakup in 1991, will
start a fifth term. The Central Election Commission claimed a record
turnout of 95.22 percent on the April
26 polls.
Speaking in the capital Astana
shortly after exit polls pointed to
nearly total voter support, Mr Nazarbayev said he had a mandate for
his plans to make Kazakhstan one of
the 30 most developed countries in
the world.
Without this level of general
trust it would be difficult to work on
realising such aims. The record high
turnout at the vote demonstrated the
unity of Kazakhstans people, their
desire to live in a stable state and
their support for the program I put
forward before them, he said.
However, Mr Nazarbayev tolerates
little dissent and has clamped tightly
down on media and civic freedoms.
The record high

turnout at the vote
demonstrated
the unity of
Kazakhstans
people, and their
desire to live in a
stable state.
Nursultan Nazarbayebv
Kazakhstan president
The countrys deeply marginalised opposition did not have a candidate in the election. The only two
other contenders, figures widely seen
as pro-government, scored less than
3 percent between them.
The strategically located country,
bordering both Russia and China,
has never held an election deemed
free and fair by international monitors. Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) were due to give their
assessment of the latest polls later
yesterday.
Mr Nazarbayevs victory was celebrated in cities across the country
with fireworks and flash mobs, while
some babies born in hospitals on
April 26 and 27 were given electionthemed names.
Many citizens standing in long,
snaking queues at polling stations in
Astana and in the largest city Almaty
on April 26 had cited a civic duty to
vote, although others complained of
having been pressured to go to polling stations by employers,a common
practice across parts of the ex-Soviet
Union.
Elections in Kazakhstan resemble political theatre, Dosym Saptaev,
director of the Kazakhstan Risks Assessment Group, a think tank based
in Almaty, said.
What matters more is what will
happen next. Will we see genuine
political reforms to create the basis
for political life without Nazarbayev?
How will the government fix the
economy?
Economic issues have come to
the forefront in recent months in
Kazakhstan, which is the most prosperous of the five ex-Soviet Central
Asian states.
Kazakhstans domestic producers
have been laying off workers as they
struggle to compete with Russian imports made cheaper by the dramatic
weakening of the sanctions-hit ruble.
Kazakhstan banned a number
of Russian foodstuffs in March and
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev greets his supporters during a celebration rally at a sports centre in Astana on
April 4 ahead of polls on April 25. Photo: AFP
April, citing standards violations,

and has also restricted imports of
Russian fuel. Moscow, traditionally
viewed as a strong ally of the republic, implemented tit-for-tat measures
this month.
Depressed prices for Kazakhstans
main export, crude oil, have created
a headache for the government, with
ratings agency Standard and Poors
downgrading the countrys sovereign
credit rating to almost junk territory
earlier this year.

Mr Nazarbayev claimed victory in
the previous presidential election, in
2011, with 95.5 percent of the vote.
The April 26 ballot, called a year
ahead of schedule, was the fifth he
has contested.
In its interim report on the vote,
the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) raised
concerns about Mr Nazarbayevs institutional advantage.
While Mr Nazarbayevs posters

and billboards were visible throughout the country the other two candidates have distributed almost no
campaign materials, the OSCE said.
The OSCE sent nearly 300 observers to the vote.
Over 9.5 million people in the ethnically diverse country were eligible
to vote at over 9000 polling stations
across the country, according to the
CEC. AFP
TOKYO
WASHINGTON
Polls show struggle for

Japans womenomics
US should put N Korea back on

sponsors of terror list: HRNK report
LOCAL elections in Japan produced

just four female mayors of the 222
positions up for grabs, results showed
yesterday, underlining the challenges
for Prime Minister Shinzo Abes pledge
to put women in 30 percent of senior
roles by 2020.
Nationwide there was an increase
by one in the total number of female
mayors and governors, to 26 of 1788
posts after the April 26 polls.
Now two women are governors,
and 24 are mayors 20 of whom were
not up for re-election this year.
The elections, which also saw nearly 600 municipal assemblies elected,
were the second wave after polls held
earlier in the month.
They come four months after Mr
Abe won re-election as premier and as
he continues to push the notion that
Japan should be a place where women can shine, a policy he has dubbed
womenomics.
That is part of his drive to re-invigorate the economy, partly by getting
more of the nations under-employed
but highly educated women into the
workforce.
But, say observers, the lopsided results show Mr Abes 30 percent target
for women occupying senior roles is
MATERIAL support for terrorist

organisations by North Korea has increased and the country should be
placed back on Americas list of nations
that are state sponsors of terrorism, a
report released yesterday said.
The Pyongyang regime, at the time
under the command of Kim Jong-il,
was taken off the list in 2008 under the
presidency of George Bush, who hoped
to engage the reclusive nation in dialogue.
But according to the new report,
written by North Korea expert Joshua
Stanton for the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK),
Americas standards for defining a state
sponsor of terror are vague and inconsistent.
The report, titled Arsenal of Terror, recommends that the US Congress
and State Department clarify the legal
standards that define state sponsorship
of terrorism and consider re-listing
North Korea as a sponsor.
Since 2008, North Korea has increased its use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and also appears
to have increased its material support
for designated terrorist organisations,
HRNK executive director Greg Scarlatoiu said in a statement accompanying
still a long way off.

As of 2013, the portion of women
employed in senior positions in Japans private sector stands at about 8
percent, and even lower in the public
sector, at around 6 pc.
Four women in mayoral elections
is certainly too low, said Midori Teramachi, a former assemblyperson in
central Gifu prefecture and a member
of a group working to increase the
number of women in local assemblies.
Its difficult for women to run for
elections in the first place because of
gender-based discrimination persisting in the countryside, she said, noting that male candidates rarely have
responsibility for housekeeping and
child-rearing.
Some women were elected in the
April 26 polls, including Rie Saito, a
deaf former bar hostess, age 31, who
was elected to Tokyos Kita ward
assembly on the pledge of ending
discrimination.
Despite its status as the worlds
third-largest economy, Japan ranks
115th in a survey on the ratio of women
in national parliaments below India,
Malaysia and some African countries
such as Zambia and Niger.
AFP
the reports release.

North Koreas recent conduct poses a particular threat to human rights
activists and dissidents in exile. It has
also repeatedly threatened the civilian
population of South Korea and other
nations, including the United States,
he added.
Since 2008,
North Korea has
increased its use
of terrorism as an
instrument of state
policy.
HRNK report
America currently lists Iran, Syria,

Sudan and Cuba as state sponsors of
terrorism, though it is expected to remove Cuba as part of a historic rapprochement with the Communist island.
The report details several instances

of North Koreas alleged support of terrorism.
In 2009, just one year after it was
removed from the blacklist, there were
several interceptions of North Korean
shipments to Iran and its terrorist clients [that] evidenced the importance
of North Koreas role as a supplier of
arms to terrorists backed by Iran, the
report states.
News reports have alleged that
these arms were destined for Irans
terrorist clients, including Hezbollah
and Hamas, Mr Stanton wrote in the
report.
Mr Stanton also detailed several cyberattacks that have been blamed on
North Korea, including last years massive hack of Sony Pictures.
Washington accuses Pyongyang
of being behind the hack that led
to the release of embarrassing company emails and caused Sony executives to halt the debut of the film The
Interview.
The report describes several other
suspected North Korea cyberattacks,
including 35 that took place in 2009
against US and South Korean government and commercial websites.
AFP
World 15
www.mmtimes.com
LANGKAWI
ASEAN warns Chinese

actions may undermine
peace in S China Sea
RECLAMATION work in the disputed South China Sea, where China
has constructed an airstrip and other
structures on coral reefs, threaten to
undermine peace, security and stability in the region, Southeast Asian
leaders warned yesterday.
Beijings assertion of sovereignty
over almost all the sea, also claimed in
parts by several other Asian nations,
has set off alarm bells with its neighbours and beyond as China stakes its
claim with growing boldness.
Malaysias Prime Minister Najib Razak

speaks at the 26th ASEAN Summit in
Kuala Lumpur on April 27. Photo: AFP
A statement to be officially issued

at the close of the one-day summit
in Malaysia yesterday noted serious
concerns over land reclamation on
reefs whose sovereignty is contested.
The work has triggered fears of tightening Chinese control over the seaway.
We share the serious concerns expressed by some leaders on the land
reclamation being undertaken in the
South China Sea, which has eroded
trust and confidence and may undermine peace, security and stability,
said the statement by summit chair
Malaysia, seen by AFP, which did not
mention China by name.
Along with Taiwan, Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
member-states Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim
parts of the sea, which is rich in energy reserves and fishery resources, and
is a vital conduit for much of world
trade.
Satellite photos released earlier
this month provided fresh evidence
of the scale of the Chinese program,
depicting a flotilla of vessels dredging
sand onto a feature known as Mischief
Reef in the Spratly Islands.
Other photos showed a runway
and ship harbour taking shape on
Fiery Cross, also in the Spratlys, which
was little more than a reef when work

began late last year.
Similar work is taking place at
a handful of other sites, according to defence analysts, who say the
construction drive will give China a
permanent forward presence far out
at sea from which to project its growing power.
The closing statement by Malaysia, which holds the rotating chair of
10-member ASEAN this year, instructed the regions foreign ministers to
urgently address this matter under
dialogue mechanisms set up between
the bloc and China.
But it stopped just short of a call
by the Philippine foreign secretary,
who on April 26 challenged ASEAN
to finally stand up to Beijing by
demanding an immediate halt to the
reclamation.
Albert del Rosario had warned his
regional peers in Kuala Lumpur that
China was poised to consolidate de
facto control of the sea.
Malaysia brushed aside suggestions of a stern response that could
antagonise China, but its Prime Minister Najib Razak appealed to Beijing
to avoid destabilising actions.
We hope to be able to influence
China that it is also to their interest
Disputed claims in the South China Sea

CHINA
TAIWAN
(claims Spratly
Islands)
Vietnamese
claim
Chinese claim
Paracel
islands
Philippines
claim
VIETNAM
PHILIPPINES
Brunei
claim
Spratly
Islands
Malaysian
claim
BRUNEI
200 km
MALAYSIA
Sources: D.Rosenberg/MiddleburyCollege/HarvardAsiaQuarterly/Phil govt/ChinaMaritimeSafetyAdministration
not to be seen as confronting ASEAN

and that any attempt to destabilise
this region will not benefit China either, he said.
Despite its unity rhetoric, ASEAN
members have diverging agendas, and
the bloc avoids pushing China too
hard on behalf of its members.
Beijing holds immense trade and
diplomatic leverage over ASEAN
countries, most of which have no
stake in the maritime disputes.
The Philippines and Vietnam have
experienced the most direct face-offs
with China at sea, including a number of tense confrontations in recent
years.
Ian Storey, an analyst with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in

Singapore, said the ASEAN statement
was quite strong compared to mild
past versions.
But he added, The statement will
do absolutely nothing to dissuade
China from completing its reclamation program.
China yesterday said it was willing
to work with ASEAN but defended
the island-building as being within its
sovereign territory.
The accusations made by some
countries against China are not reasonable, a foreign ministry spokesperson said. AFP
the pulse editor: ChArlotte rose charlottelola.rose@gmail.com
the pulse 17
www.mmtimes.com
S he smooths a gold plaque on the glistening flank

of Myanmars most prestigious Buddhist pagoda, a
merchant pays his ancestors the highest honour and
contributes to a bumper year of donations to re-gild the
sacred site.
Shwedagon Pagoda, which rises in a stately conical tower above
downtown Yangon, has been at the heart of Buddhism in Myanmar
for hundreds of years, as well as providing a luminous arena for
political resistance in the former junta-run nations more recent
turbulent history.
Authorities managing the monument are now cladding the
structure with a fresh layer of gold a five-yearly exercise to replace
the older, weather-worn coating.
This round of donations have come at the right time for me. So I
am donating to make merit, Phone Myint Thwin, 40, said, delighted
to finally be able to honour his late grandparents with a gold plaque.
Officials had expected to match their 2010 donations of 9000
gold plates to clad the stupa, but a surge of enthusiasm from
Buddhist faithful means they now have 16,000 plates a gold glut
that will enable more of the structure to be gilded.
People are delighted to witness their own donations on the body
of the pagoda. Then they want to donate again because they can
make the offering themselves, said Tun Aung Wai, deputy officer of
Shwedagon Authority Office.
At K600,000 (US$560) each, the plates are a big expense in a
country where World Bank figures put the per capita gross domestic
product at $1105.
Financial prosperity is still a dream for many in the
impoverished country.
But Myanmars small-yet-growing middle classes are gradually
getting richer, as the economy opens up after years of atrophy under
military rule.
The Asian Development Bank has predicted Myanmars economy
will grow 8.3pc in the 2015 fiscal year, from 7.7pc in the 12 months
to March.
But inflation is also on the march predicted at 8.4 percent in
2015 partially due to expected wage rises.
In a report last year, research group Euromonitor said consumer
product sales boomed in Myanmar over the five-year period to 2013,
with middle-class consumers helping to boost demand for nonessential luxuries like home and beauty care products.
For devout Buddhists it is also essential to donate to pagodas as
well as monasteries and charitable causes to make merit, a sort
of credit for pious living.
This practice helped the Buddhist-majority nation to be named
the joint most-generous nation, with the United States, by Charities
Aid Foundation in its 2014 World Giving Index.
Shwedagon, which according to legend is over 2000 years old,
is particularly sacred because it is believed to house several strands
of hair from the Gautama, whose teachings form the basis of
Buddhism, and relics from three previous Buddhas.
Shwedagon is arguably Myanmars most recognisable building,
its peak soaring above swirling eddies of barefoot devotees who
crowd the pagodas terrace from dawn to dusk, alongside the
burgeoning ranks of tourists.
It has long captured the imaginations of visitors, from author
Rudyard Kipling who called it a beautiful winking wonder after
a visit in the late 19th century to US President Barack Obama in
2012.
It was the site of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyis first
major political speech as student-led protests against the thenmilitary regime swept the country in 1988 and also at the centre of
the 2007 monk demonstrations that ended in bloodshed.
Gold itself has long had a crucial role in Myanmar.
During the colonial era Burmese women wore almost all of their
wealth in the form of jewellery made of gems and gold.
After independence, gold became even more integral as the
juntas socialist policies eviscerated the economy, leaving the
population suspicious of government banks.
Even the word for gold in the Myanmar language, Shwe, is a
hugely popular girls name.
In the jumbled workshops of the central city of Mandalay,
craftspeople hammer gold into slivers for devotees to paper Buddha
statues at temples.
They are considered some of the finest gold artisans in the
country their craft a testament to the countrys deep connection
with the precious metal but competition for machine-produced
gold leaf has raised concerns for their future.
Hla Hla, who has worked in the trade for more than six decades,
shrugged off those worries.
If some like machine-made, they will buy it. But those wanting
handmade will buy from us, she said. AFP
it
ge
t
yo
gers o
n
i
f
n
THE MYANMAR TIMES April 28, 2015
Glittering
year for
Myanmars
golden pagoda
Shwedagon Pagoda. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing
Tourists look at gold leaf souvenirs in a workshop in the central city of Mandalay. Photo: AFP/Ye Aung Thi
Mandalay workers prepare gold leaf for sale. Photo: AFP/Ye Aung Thi
A Myanmar worker prepares gold leaf for sale at a workshop in Mandalay. Photo: AFP/Ye Aung Thi
Gold leaf makers work in a workshop. Photo: AFP/Ye Aung Thi
18 the pulse
toKYo
Gay parade held in

Japan amid calls for
same-sex marriage
Participants with placards and banners march during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride
2015 parade. Photos: AFP/Tomu Yamanaka
OME 3000 people

marched in a gay pride
parade in Tokyo on April
26 as calls grow for Japan
to legalise same-sex
marriage after a lesbian couple held a
symbolic wedding ceremony.
The crowd, mainly from the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) community as well as their
supporters and sex workers, paraded
through the capitals entertainment
and shopping district of Shibuya.
Waving rainbow-coloured flags
and banners, foreign and Japanese
campaigners marched in colourful
carnival and kimono-clad geisha
outfits.
The annual parade came a week
after a lesbian couple tied the knot in
front of some 80 relatives and friends
in Shibuya, although their marriage is
not legally recognised.
The Shibuya district council voted
Participants march during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2015 parade in Tokyo.
earlier this year to issue partnership

certificates to gay couples, the first
such recognition of same-sex unions
in Japan. Other municipalities are
now considering doing the same.
The certificate will carry only
symbolic significance, since the
Japanese constitution identifies
marriage as a union based on mutual
consent of the parties from both
sexes.
We simply want to be with a
loved one, said Fumino Sugiyama,
33, one of the parade organisers.
But [the law] denies our idea. We
are frustrated and dont know what
to do.
While Japan is largely tolerant of
homosexuality, there is no specific
legal protection for gay people, who
say that they may be prevented from
visiting sick loved ones in hospitals
or refused a tenancy because their
relationship is not recognised. AFP
Yangons long-standing bookshop shuts down

Zon Pann Pwint
zonpann08@gmail.com
ONCE a magnet for eager
bookworms, Amay Eain (Mother
House) bookshop is now shuttered
and dark, its shelves empty and
its customers bereft. The oldest
bookshop on Pansodan Road closed
its doors on March 27.
Amay Eain, a sought-after and
respected source of a wide variety of
new and second-hand publications,
opened in 1993 on Pansodan Road
(lower block). In its heyday, the
bookshop was much frequented by
writers and poets, who would spend
hours browsing the shelves amid
tomes that dated back to the 1900s.
The decline in sales is one of the
factors behind the closure. People
dont read, they just play with their
mobile phones, said owner U Nyi
Nyi, gazing disconsolately at the
barred accordion gates.
In 1993, there was only one
bookshop on Pansodan Road, which
was lined with second-hand book
stalls packed with readers. U Nyi Nyi
and his brother decided to open a
shop in their apartment, No 86, when
they saw how people relished reading
books.
We stocked old and new books.
Later, we stocked only new books, U
Nyi Nyi said.
Inspired by their success, Sin

Taung Gyi, Yar Pyae, Pyin Nyar Shwe
Taung and other outlets sprang up
along the same street.
U Nyi Nyi didnt want to talk much
about the closure, which some say was
related to an inheritance issue.
A sharp surge in rental costs and

sagging sales have been contributing
factors in the decline of the bookshop.
In previous years, Sin Taung Gyi
succumbed to soaring rents, while
Pyin Nyar Shwe Taung was reduced to
sharing space with a new art gallery a
year ago. Only Yar Pyae, Sar Pae Law

Ka and Innwa bookshops survive on
Pansodan Road.
Fewer and fewer readers came. I
didnt want to continue the business
so we closed it, he said.
In February he stopped ordering
A street book-binding shop has opened in the front of Amay Eain (Mother Home) bookshops door on Pansodan Road.
Photo: Zon Pann Pwint
books and sold off all his stock. Only

two plastic bags of books were left in
the empty store.
I had a great time in this
bookshop. I have an attachment to
books, readers and writers, he said.
One frequent visitor was writer
Khin Pan Hnin, who used to browse
the shelves whenever she went
downtown.
The books I wanted to buy were
often available at Amay Eain or Pyin
Nyar Shwe Taung. Whenever I went
downtown I would drop in, she
said, adding, The closure of a longrunning bookshop is sad news for the
literary industry.
Khin Pan Hnin said Amay Eain
published books in its heyday. One
of the most popular was Aung Thins
collection of articles about literary
writing.
Its a rare book. It helps younger
people who want to write, she said.
She said the decline in interest
in books was not the only reason for
the closure, since there are many
bookshops still open in Yangon.
Poet Thitsar Ni, another frequent
visitor, said Amay Eain bookshop was
one of the earliest shops opened on
Pansodan Street. Its closure was a
blow to publishers and readers.
A number of poets and writers
featured the bookshop in their
writing, he said.
the pulse 19
www.mmtimes.com
KATHMANDU
Quake deals heavy

blow to Nepals rich
cultural heritage
Nepalese rescue workers and onlookers gather at Kathmandus Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was
severely damaged by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 25. Photo: AFP/Prakash Mathema
educed to piles of
rubble and splintered
wood, Nepals rich cultural
heritage has suffered a
devastating blow from a
massive earthquake that tore through
the country, experts said April 26.
In the heart of Kathmandu,
many of a cluster of temples and
statues built between the 12th and
18th centuries by the ancient kings of
Nepal have collapsed, killing scores
and trapping others underneath.
The nine-storey dharahara tower,
a major tourist attraction in the citys
durbar square with its spiral staircase
of 200 steps, was reduced to just its
base when the 7.8-magnitude quake
struck at lunchtime on April 25.
I had just bought tickets to climb
the tower and was at its base when
I felt a sudden shaking, dharmu
Subedi, 36, said from a hospital bed
in Kathmandu.
Within minutes, the dharahara
had crumbled to the ground with
maybe more than 100 people in it,
Subedi said.
uNeScO was trying to gather
information on the extent of the
destruction, including at three palacefilled squares in the cities of Patan
and Bhaktapur.
We understand the historic
durbar squares of Kathmandu, Patan
and Bhaktapur have been badly
damaged, said christian Manhart,
uNeScOs representative to Nepal.
Several temples have collapsed.
Two temples in Patan have been
completely collapsed, and durbar
Square [in Kathmandu] is worse.
Right now we are assessing the
situation, and collecting information
on what the damage is. All uN
agencies have received a request
from the [Nepalese] government for
assistance, he added.
He said it was too early to
talk about reconstruction of the
monuments and how much assistance
uNeScO could provide.
Manhart said his office was also
trying to determine whether another
uNeScO World Heritage site, that
of Lumbini, the place where Buddha
was born more than 2600 years ago,
had also been hit.
In Kathmandu, residents were
seen clawing through the rubble,
using their hands, buckets and
shovels to try to find those feared
trapped in durbar Square, which had
been crowded on April 25 with local
and foreign tourists.
Large piles of bricks, wooden
beams and other debris were dotted
throughout the historic square, where
minutes earlier stood double-roofed
temples and other monuments built
by the Malla kings.
The monuments are the social,
religious and urban focal point of
the city which has a rich history
of Hindu, Buddhist and Tantrism
religion and culture, uNeScO says on
its website.
Kathmandu with its unique
architectural heritage, palaces,
temples and courtyards has inspired
many writers, artists, and poets, both
foreign and Nepalese, it says.
expert Pd Balaji cast doubt on
whether the monuments could be
completely rebuilt.
What I can say is that its an
irreparable loss for Nepal and the
rest of the world, Balaji, head of the
history and archaeology department
at the university of Madras, said.
complete restoration is not
possible on account of the extensive
damage to the historical sites in
Nepal. AFP
20 the pulse
DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Yangon to MandalaY
Flight
Y5 775
W9 515
YH 909
YH 917
YJ 891
YJ 891
K7 282
W9 201
YH 826
YH 835
YH 909
YH 831
YH 911
W9201
YH 829
7Y 131
K7 266
8M 6603
YJ 751
YJ 601
YJ 201
YJ 761
YJ 233
YJ 211
YH 729
YH 737
YH 727
W9 251
K7 822
YJ 151/W9 7151
K7 622
K7 226
YH 731
Y5 234
W9 211
Days
Daily
1
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
1,2,4,5,6
3
Daily
Daily
3
1,7
7
4,6
2
1
5
Daily
Daily
4
5
6
1,2,4
1,2,4
6
5,7
2,4,6
3,5,7
1
2,5
4,7
1
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
Daily
Daily
4
Dep
6:00
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:00
6:30
6:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:15
8:00
9:00
10:45
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:15
11:15
11:30
12:30
13:00
13:00
13:30
14:30
15:20
15:30
Arr
7:10
7:25
7:40
8:30
8:05
8:35
8:10
8:25
8:40
8:40
8:40
8:40
8:40
8:25
11:05
9:20
10:05
10:10
14:50
12:25
12:25
12:55
12:55
12:25
14:00
13:25
13:25
12:55
16:55
16:45
14:25
14:55
16:40
16:30
16:55
MandalaY to Yangon
Flight
Y5 233
YJ 891
K7 283
YH 918
YH 910
W9 201
YJ 891
7Y 132
K7 267
YH 830
YH 912
YJ 762
YH 832
YH 827
YH 836
YH 910
YJ 212
YJ 212
YJ 202
YJ 602
YJ 762
YH 732
YH 732
YH 728
W9 152/W97152
Y5 776
W9 211
K7 823
8M 6604
K7 227
8M 903
YH 738
K7 623
YH 730
YJ 234
W9 252
Days
Daily
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
Daily
7
Daily
3
Daily
Daily
5
2
4
4,6
3
1,7
1,2,3,5,6
5,7
5,7
1,2,4
7
1,2
6
Daily
1
1
Daily
4
2,4,7
4
2,4,6
1,2,4,5,7
3,5,7
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
6
2,5
Dep
7:50
8:20
8:25
8:30
8:40
8:40
8:50
9:35
10:20
11:05
11:30
13:10
13:20
13:20
13:20
13:20
15:00
15:00
15:30
15:40
16:35
16:40
16:40
16:45
17:05
17:10
17:10
17:10
17:20
17:20
17:20
17:25
17:40
17:45
17:45
18:15
Arr
9:00
10:15
11:30
10:45
10:05
10:35
10:45
11:30
12:25
14:55
13:25
17:00
14:45
14:45
14:45
14:45
16:25
16:25
16:55
17:35
18:00
18:05
18:45
18:10
18:30
18:20
19:15
18:35
18:30
18:45
18:30
18:50
19:05
19:10
19:10
19:40
Yangon to naY pYi taw
naY pYi taw to Yangon
Flight
FMI A1
FMI B1
FMI C1
Flight
FMI A2
FMI B2
FMI C2
Days
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
7:15
10:45
17:00
Arr
8:15
11:45
18:00
Yangon to nYaung u
Flight
K7 282
YJ 891
YH 909
YH 917
YJ 891
YH 909
K7 242
7Y 131
K7 264
YH 731
W9 129
W9 211
W9 129
Days
Daily
1,2,4,5,6
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
3,7
4
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,3,6
4
1
Dep
6:00
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:30
6:30
7:00
7:15
14:30
14:30
15:30
15:30
15:30
Days
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
8:35
13:30
18:20
Arr
9:35
14:30
19:20
nYaung u to Yangon
Arr
7:20
7:20
8:25
7:45
7:50
8:05
8:20
8:35
16:40
17:25
17:35
17:40
17:35
Flight
YJ 891
YH 918
YJ 891
YH 910
YH 910
K7 242
7Y 131
K7 283
K7 265
YH 732
W9 129
Days
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
3,7
4
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,3,6
Dep
7:35
7:45
8:05
8:05
8:25
8:35
8:50
10:10
16:55
17:25
17:50
Arr
10:15
10:45
10:45
9:25
9:45
11:45
11:30
11:30
18:15
18:45
19:10
Yangon to MYitkYina
MYitkYina to Yangon
Flight
YH 829
YH 826
YH 835
YH 831
YJ 201
YJ 201
W9 251
Flight
YH 827
YH 832
YH 836
YH 830
YJ 202
YJ 202
YJ 234
W9 252
Days
5
3
1,7
4,6
1,2,4
3
2,5
Dep
7:00
7:00
7:00
7:00
11:00
11:15
11:30
Arr
9:40
10:05
10:05
10:05
13:50
14:05
14:25
Days
3
4,6
1,7
5
1,2,4
3
6
2,5
Dep
11:55
11:55
11:55
12:30
14:05
14:20
16:20
16:45
Arr
14:45
14:45
14:45
14:55
16:55
17:10
19:10
19:40
Yangon to HeHo
Flight
YJ 891
K7 282
YH 917
YJ 881
YJ 891
K7 242
7Y 131
K7 266
Y5 649
YH 505
YJ 751
YJ 751
YJ 761
YJ 233
YH 727
YH 737
YH 727
K7 828
K7 822
K7 264
YH 731
W9 129
Days
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
Daily
7
3
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
3,7
5
1,2,4
6
1
3,5,7
3
1,3,5
2,4,7
Daily
Daily
1,3,6
Dep
6:00
6:00
6:10
6:30
6:30
7:00
7:15
8:00
10:30
10:30
10:30
10:45
11:00
11:00
11:15
11:15
11:15
12:30
12:30
14:30
14:30
15:30
HeHo to Yangon
Arr
8:50
9:00
9:35
8:45
9:20
9:15
10:05
9:15
12:45
11:55
11:40
11:55
12:10
12:10
12:40
12:40
12:40
13:45
13:45
15:45
15:55
16:40
Yangon to MYeik
Flight
Y5 325
K7 319
7Y 531
Y5 325
Days
1,5
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
2
Dep
6:45
7:00
11:45
15:30
Days
1,3,6
Daily
1,3,5,7
Dep
11:30
11:45
12:00
Days
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,3,6
1,3,5,7
Daily
1,3,4,6
Dep
7:00
10:30
11:30
12:00
13:00
15:45
Flight
Y5 326
7Y 532
K7 320
Y5 326
Arr
12:55
12:55
13:50
Flight
W9 309
6T 612
K7 423
Days
1
2,4,6
Dep
7:00
11:45
Days
3,7
5
2,4,6
1,3,5
Dep
10:30
10:45
11:00
12:30
Arr
10:35
13:10
13:50
12:50
13:35
16:40
Flight
K7 243
YH 506
7Y 413
W9 309
K7 422
Y5 422
Arr
8:10
12:50
Flight
K7 320
7Y 532
Days
3
4,6
1,7
2,5
Dep
7:00
7:00
7:00
11:30
Dep
8:35
16:05
11:30
17:15
Arr
10:05
18:10
13:35
18:45
Days
1,3,6
Daily
Daily
Dep
13:10
13:15
15:10
Arr
14:55
14:20
16:30
Days
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,3,5,7
1,3,6
Daily
1,3,4,6
Dep
10:50
13:10
13:05
14:05
14:10
16:55
Arr
11:45
14:00
15:25
14:55
16:30
17:50
Days
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
Dep
12:25
17:05
Flight
YJ 752
K7 829
K7 829
YJ 752
YH 730
Days
5
1,3
5
3,7
2,4,6
Dep
13:15
15:05
15:05
15:40
16:45
Arr
16:30
15:55
17:25
17:55
19:10
putao to Yangon
Arr
11:00
11:00
11:00
15:25
Air Bagan (W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102
Air KBZ (K7)

Tel: 372977~80, 533030~39 (airport), 373766
(hotline). Fax: 372983
Asian Wings (YJ)

Tel: 515261~264, 512140, 512473, 512640
Fax: 532333, 516654
Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051
Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020
Flight
YH 836
YH 832
YH 827
W9 252
Days
1,7
4,6
3
2,5
Dep
11:00
11:00
11:00
15:45
Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264

Fax: 652 533
FMI Air Charter

Tel: 240363, 240373, 09421146545
Airline Codes
7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines
W9 = Air Bagan
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
YH = Yangon Airways
YJ = Asian Wings
FMI = FMI Air Charter
Arr
13:35
18:10
lasHio to Yangon
Arr
12:45
13:00
13:00
14:50
Domestic Airlines
K7 = Air KBZ
dawei to Yangon
Yangon to putao
Flight
YH 826
YH 831
YH 835
W9 251
Days
1,5
2,4,6
1,3,5,7
2
tHandwe to Yangon
Yangon to lasHio
Flight
YJ 751
YJ 751
YH 729
K7 828
Arr
10:10
10:15
11:30
10:35
11:45
10:45
10:45
11:30
12:25
14:00
16:30
17:00
18:00
18:45
17:25
18:10
18:15
18:50
17:55
19:10
sittwe to Yangon
Yangon to dawei
Flight
K7 319
7Y 531
Dep
9:00
9:05
9:15
9:25
9:30
9:35
9:35
10:20
11:10
11:55
14:20
15:50
15:50
15:55
16:10
16:00
16:30
16:40
16:45
16:55
Yangon Airways (YH)
Arr
8:15
9:05
13:50
17:00
Yangon to tHandwe
Flight
K7 242
YH 505
W9 309
7Y 413
K7 422
Y5 421
Days
7
1,2,4,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
3
Daily
Daily
1,2,3,4,5,6
5
4
1,2
Daily
1,3,5
1
Daily
3,5,7
3,7
1,3,6
MYeik to Yangon
Yangon to sittwe
Flight
W9 309
6T 611
K7 413
Flight
YJ 881
YJ 891
K7 283
W9 201
K7 243
YH 918
YJ 891
7Y 132
K7 267
YH 506
YJ 752
YJ 762
YJ 762
YH 732
K7 829
YH 728
K7 264
YH 738
YJ 752
W9 129
Arr
14:45
14:45
14:45
19:40
Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday
the pulse 21
www.mmtimes.com
InternAtIonAl FlIGHt SCHeDUleS

YANGON TO BANGKOK
Flights
Days
Dep
Arr
PG 706
Daily
6:05
8M 335
Daily
7:40
TG 304
Daily
9:50
PG 702
Daily
10:30
TG 302
Daily
14:50
PG 708
Daily
15:20
8M 331
Daily
16:30
PG 704
Daily
18:35
Y5 237
Daily
19:00
TG 306
Daily
19:50
YANGON TO DON MUEANG
Flights
DD 4231
FD 252
FD 256
FD 254
FD 258
DD 4239
Flights
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
8:20
9:25
11:45
12:25
16:45
17:15
18:15
20:30
20:50
21:45
Dep
8:00
8:30
12:50
17:35
21:30
21:00
Arr
9:45
10:20
14:40
19:25
23:15
22:55
YANGON TO SINGAPORE
Days
Dep
Arr
BANGKOK TO YANGON
Flights
Days
Dep
Arr
TG 303
Daily
8:00
PG 701
Daily
8:45
Y5 238
Daily
21:30
8M 336
Daily
10:40
TG 301
Daily
13:05
PG 707
Daily
13:40
PG 703
Daily
17:00
TG 305
Daily
18:05
8M 332
Daily
19:15
PG 705
Daily
20:15
DON MUEANG TO YANGON
Flights
DD 4230
FD 251
FD 255
FD 253
FD 257
DD 4238
Flights
Days
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
8:45
9:40
22:20
11:25
13:50
14:30
17:50
18:50
20:00
21:30
Dep
6:30
7:15
11:35
16:20
20:15
19:25
Arr
7:15
8:00
12:20
17:05
20:55
20:15
Dep
Arr
8M 231
Daily
8:00
12:25
Y5 2233
Daily
9:45
14:15
TR 2823
Daily
9:45
2:35
SQ 997
Daily
10:25
15:10
3K 582
Daily
11:45
16:20
MI 533
2,4,6
13:35
20:50
8M 233
5,6,7
14:40
19:05
MI 519
Daily
16:40
21:15
3K 584
2,3,5
19:30 00:05+1
YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR
TR 2822
Daily
7:20
Y5 2234
Daily
7:20
SQ 998
Daily
7:55
3K 581
Daily
9:10
MI 533
2,4,6
11:30
8M 232
Daily
13:25
MI 518
Daily
14:20
3K 583
2,3,5
17:20
8M 234
5,6,7
20:15
KUALA LUMPUR TO YANGON
8:45
8:50
9:20
10:40
12:45
14:50
15:45
18:50
21:40
8M 501
AK 505
MH 741
8M 9506
8M 9508
MH 743
AK 503
11:50
12:45
16:30
16:30
20:05
20:15
23:20
AK 504
8M 9505
MH 740
8M 502
8M 9507
MH 742
AK 502
8:00
11:15
11:15
13:50
14:50
15:05
18:25
Arr
0550+1
Flights
CA 905
Flights
Flights
CA 906
Days
Dep
Arr
1,2,3,5,6
7:50
Daily
8:30
Daily
12:15
Daily
12:15
Daily
15:45
Daily
16:00
Daily
19:05
YANGON TO BEIJING
Days
3,5,7
Dep
23:50
YANGON TO GUANGZHOU
Flights
Days
8M 711
CZ 3056
CZ 3056
Flights
Days
Daily
Dep
Arr
CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032
Flights
Days
13:15
15:55
22:10
Dep
Arr
10:50
16:10
VN 956
1,3,5,6,7
Dep
Arr
Flights
Days
2,4,7
Days
CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712
Flights
Days
CI 7915
Daily
Dep
19:10
MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031
Arr
Flights
21:25
Dep
Days
1,4,6
17:05
Flights
Days
Flights
4,7
Daily
Dep
7:55
Dep
0:50
23:55
Arr
11:40
Arr
8:50
07:45+1
YANGON TO HONG KONG

Days
KA 251
KA 251
1,2,3,4,6,7
5
Flights
Days
Daily
Arr
05:45
05:55
Dep
22:10
Arr
06:45+1
YANGON TO DHAKA
Flights
Days
BG 061
BG 061
Flights
Dep
01:10
01:30
YANGON TO TOKYO
NH 914
2
5
Dep
Arr
11:45
19:45
YANGON TO INCHEON
PG 724
W9 607
8M 7702
8M 7502
Days
1,3,5,6
4,7
Daily
4,7
Dep
12:50
14:30
23:30
00:35
Days
2,4,6
1,5
4,7
VN 957
Flights
Days
3,5,6
2
1,5
Flights
Days
VN 943
2,4,7
Flights
Days
Flights
AI 234
AI 228
1
5
Dep
7:00
13:10
14:05
Dep
13:10
Dep
14:05
18:45
MANDALAY TO BANGKOK
Flights
PG 710
Days
Daily
Dep
14:15
MANDALAY TO SINGAPORE
Flights
MI 533
Y5 2233
Days
2,4,6
1,2,4,5,6
Dep
15:45
7:50
MANDALAY TO DON MUEANG
Flights
FD 245
Days
Daily
Dep
12:50
MANDALAY TO KUNMING
Flights
MU 2030
Days
Daily
Dep
13:50
NAY PYI TAW TO BANGKOK
Flights
PG 722
Days
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
19:45
Days
3,5,7
10:35
16:40
15:50
Dep
Arr
7:00
9:50
Dep
Arr
11:50
11:30
14:00
Arr
16:40
Dep
11:45
Flights
Days
KE 471
0Z 769
Daily
3,6
Flights
Days
KA 252
KA 250
4
1,2,3,5,6,7
Flights
Days
Daily
Flights
Arr
Days
2
5
INCHEON TO YANGON
Arr
Arr
Days
2
3,5,6
5
Days
Dep
9:25
13:45
17:20
Dep
9:10
9:20
15:00
Dep
7:00
KOLKATA TO YANGON
AI 227
AI 233
Days
1
5
Dep
10:35
13:30
BANGKOK TO MANDALAY
Flights
PG 709
Days
Daily
Dep
12:05
SINGAPORE TO MANDALAY
Flights
Y5 2234
MI 533
Days
Daily
2,4,6
Dep
7:20
11:30
DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY
Flights
15:15
FD 244
Arr
Flights
Days
Daily
Dep
10:55
KUNMING TO MANDALAY
16:40
MU 2029
Arr
Flights
22:45
11:00
17:20
18:45
19:50
DELHI TO YANGON
Flights
Flights
20:50
14:15
1,3,5,6
4,7
Daily
3,6
Dep
GAYA TO YANGON
Flights
Arr
Arr
Days
Days
2,4,6
1,5
4,7
AI 235
8M 602
AI 233
AI 235
16:40
Dep
8:30
16:30
CHIANG MAI TO YANGON
16:30
17:20
19:45
Dep
11:45
DHAKA TO YANGON
Flights
Arr
Dep
22:50
21:45
TOKYO TO YANGON
NH 913
BG 060
BG 060
Arr
Dep
18:30
19:30
HONG KONG TO YANGON
13:00
21:00
8:20
14:10
15:05
Dep
19:45
Days
Daily
Dep
12:55
BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW
PG 721
Days
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
17:15
Tel: 255412, 413
Air Asia (FD)
Tel: 09254049991~3
Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)
Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102
Air China (CA)
Tel: 666112, 655882
The group reaches the summit of Mt Victoria. Photo: Supplied
Tel: 253597~98, 254758, 253601. Fax 248175
Bangkok Airways (PG)
Tel: 255122, 255265. Fax: 255119
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG)

Tel: 371867~68. Fax: 371869
Condor (DE)
Tel: 370836~39 (ext: 303)
Dragonair (KA)
Tel: 255323 (ext: 107), 09-401539206
Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)

Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999
Fax: 8604051
Malaysia Airlines (MH)
Tel: 387648, 241007 (ext: 120, 121, 122)

Fax: 241124
Myanmar Airways International (8M)

Tel: 255260. Fax: 255305
Nok Airline (DD)
Tel: 255050, 255021. Fax: 255051
Qatar Airways (QR)
Tel: 379845, 379843, 379831. Fax: 379730
Singapore Airlines (SQ) / Silk Air (MI)

Tel: 255287~9. Fax: 255290
Dep
SEOUL TO YANGON
Flights
Y5 252
7Y 306
W9 608
YANGON TO KOLKATA
Days
Flights
QR 918
Arr
8:05
12:50
16:20
Dep
6:15
11:00
14:30
YANGON TO DELHI
AI 236
Arr
3
8:25
Daily
11:10
1,2,4,5,6,7 13:30
HANOI TO YANGON
1,3,5,6,7
PG 723
W9 608
8M 7701
8M 7501
YANGON TO GAYA
8M 601
AI 236
AI 234
Days
Days
14:45
16:20
07:50+1
09:10
YANGON TO CHIANG MAI
Flights
Y5 251
7Y 305
W9 607
Dep
18:10
Thai Airways (TG)
Arr
Tiger Airline (TR)
13:25
DOHA TO YANGON
YANGON TO SEOUL
0Z 770
KE 472
Arr
22:50
HO CHI MINH CITY TO YANGON

Arr
14:25
Flights
YANGON TO DOHA
Flights
QR 919
Dep
19:30
3,6
8:35
1,5
14:40
2,4,7
14:15
TAIPEI TO YANGON
15:55
18:50
18:15
YANGON TO HO CHI MINH CITY

VN 942
Arr
KUNMING TO YANGON
Daily
12:30
3
12:40
1,2,4,5,6,7 14:50
YANGON TO HANOI
Days
Dep
Daily
6:55
Daily
10:05
Daily
10:05
1,2,3,5,6
12:50
Daily
13:40
Daily
13:55
Daily
17:20
BEIJING TO YANGON
Days
3,5,7
Flights
YANGON TO KUNMING
Flights
Days
GUANGZHOU TO YANGON
2,4,7
8:40
3,6
11:35
1,5
17:40
YANGON TO TAIPEI
CI 7916
Flights
All Nippon Airways (NH)
Air India
SINGAPORE TO YANGON
Days
International Airlines
Arr
0459+1
Arr
22:30
23:40
Arr
00:30
23:30
Arr
17:15
Arr
10:45
18:45
Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223

Tel: 371383, 370836~39 (ext: 303)
Vietnam Airlines (VN)
Tel: 255066, 255088, 255068. Fax: 255086
Airline Codes
3K = Jet Star
8M = Myanmar Airways International
AK = Air Asia
BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines
CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines
CZ = China Southern
Arr
11:55
18:10
22:25
23:25
DD = Nok Airline
FD = Air Asia
KA = Dragonair
Arr
10:15
14:35
18:10
Arr
12:10
12:30
18:00
Arr
12:10
Arr
13:20
18:00
Arr
13:25
Arr
16:30
14:50
Arr
12:20
Arr
12:50
Arr
19:15
KE = Korea Airlines
MH = Malaysia Airlines
MI = Silk Air
MU = China Eastern Airlines
NH = All Nippon Airways
PG = Bangkok Airways
QR = Qatar Airways
SQ = Singapore Airways
TG = Thai Airways
TR = Tiger Airline
VN = Vietnam Airline
AI = Air India
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4
5
6
7
=
=
=
=
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Trekking
Natmataung
in Chin State
Mon Thi han
E were students and

professionals from all
over the country who
had come together,
70 of us, for this feat
of endurance, one which no other
Southeast Asian country can offer: a
freezing trek up a mountain.
We were headed for Mt Victoria
(Natmataung) in Chin State. The
journey began on December 27 from
Mandalay to Pakokku, Magwe Region.
On the night journey through the
central plains, we had a foretaste of
what was to come as the cold air forced
us to huddle together for warmth.
The sky was still pitch dark when
we arrived at Pakokku Station, the
platforms barely visible from the few
scant lights. Two trucks took us on
the seven-hour journey to Mindat
township, Chin State, our base camp.
The Chin hills are a vast
mountainous region that form part of
the larger Arakan Mountain range that
extends northward to India. Mindat
is on top a lower hill adjacent to the
highest, Mt Victoria.
Before dawn the next morning we
got up at 4:30am to prepare for the
climb. The monastery we were staying
in let us use their kitchen so we could
enjoy one last proper breakfast before
the ascent. Once on the slopes, the
ordinary pleasures of food would be far
beyond our reach.
A mountain guide led the way. Our
backpacks were heavy with the needs
of the four-day march, and the initial
steep downward slope offered no
handholds. Already it was getting hard
to keep up with the pace.
An hour out of Mindat, we arrived
at the stream that marks the beginning
of the ascent of Mt Victoria. From here
on, it was literally all uphill.
Strung out along the 40-centimetrewide path, we maintained a brisk pace,
there being no space for anyone to rest
without blocking the trail. After about
an hour of knee-trembling climbing
the path broadened out, allowing us to
break up into smaller groups and slow
down a little.
By mid-afternoon, we arrived at Aye
village, almost halfway up. Wooden
houses in the Chin style came into
view, some decorated with the skulls
of buffalos. Women with tattooed
faces and children playing in the street
turned to stare.
Our camp was the villages
school compound. The mountain is
indescribably remote and as quiet
as a lost world. The children there
barely speak the Myanmar language.
Most people are poor and only a few
own motorcycles. All around are
mountain ranges, beneath bright and

unfathomable sky.
By dusk the tents were up, we had
finished our simple meal and we were
wrapped in our sleeping bags against
the chill.
The climb to the summit was long,
winding through dense vegetation and
thick forest. At over 3000 metres (9842
feet), the mountain is silent, unfamiliar
and strange to the point of eeriness.
Some find in it serenity.
We reached the summit, cold and
windy, amid drifting mist. A stupa
marks the highest point, at 3053 metres
(10,016ft) above sea level, one of the
highest peaks in Southeast Asia. As I
stood on the highest geographical point
of the Chin Hills and savoured the
undisturbed view that spread endlessly
before me, I could not help but be in
awe of nature, the earth and beyond.
On our way down, some villagers
sold us eggs, a precious commodity.
At the small church in Aye village, the
New Year celebrations were in full
swing.
On the final trek back to Mindat,
my legs gave way, forcing me to take
the truck along the narrow, rough and
dusty mountain road. The old engine
laboured in the cold, thin air. I knew
how it felt.
Back at the monastery, exhaustion
gave way to fever, for which a local
doctor gave me a shot. I started to
wonder why I was doing this.
The next day, we rode back to
Pakokku in trucks dating back to the
1940s and put up at another monastery
there. The food seemed astonishingly
tasty and plentiful.
Continuing our descent to Mandalay
across the central plains, we saw vast
acres of plantations. Harvesting was
going on, and we saw piles of golden
honeydew at the edge of the fields and
trucks coming in to collect them.
In our world, travelling has become
an extensively commercialised activity
and authentic experiences are often
obscured and transformed by global
tourism trends. Our eerie, serene,
exhausting trek had little in common
with that experience.
Mt Victoria is a very remote part
of a remote country that has only
recently opened up to the world. There
are barely any phone connections,
no internet and no maps as we
climb. Its the ultimate experience of
disconnection from the world we know.
When the journey ended in
Mandalay, I personally was glad it was
over. However, the experience meant
a lot to me. My strength and stamina
are improved. I made new friends and
experienced a part of Myanmar that
was unknown to me. Perhaps also I
learned a little more about myself.
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22 Sport
Motor Sport
Schumacher
Jnr claims
maiden victory
ick Schumacher Jnr enhanced the famous name

on April 26 by claiming
victory in only his third
Formula Four race on
his debut weekend in the sport.
The 16-year-old son of seven-time
world champion Michael Schumacher posted a winning time of 30mins
59.920secs over the 18 laps at the Oschersleben track, between Hanover
and Berlin.
His Van Amersfoort Racing teammate Joey Mawson, 18, of Australia
finished second at 0.518secs back.
The next round of racing will be
held in Austria at the start of June.
Of course, im overjoyed. My first
weekend of racing couldnt have gone
any better, beamed Schumacher,
who celebrated his victory by spraying champagne he is not yet old
enough to drink.
We had a good start, because i still
had fresh tyres and things went well
from there. it only got a bit close at
the end.
All in all, i am completely happy

over the start of the season and i am
looking forward to the next race.
Having started second on
the grid, Schumacher Jnr
led from the front living up to reputation
of his father by controlling the race without any mistakes.
His place on the
podium caps a successful weekend for
the German, who
won the
best rookie title on his debut behind

the Formula Four wheel when he finished ninth on April 25 despite starting 19th on the grid.
Schumacher Jnr then finished 12th
the next morning before winning the
afternoons race.
After a successful karting career, Schumacher Jnr has signed
for the Dutch Van Amersfoort
Racing team in Europes ADAc
Formula Four season, which
runs until October.
With Michael Schumacher still
recovering from a serious
head injury suffered during a skiing accident in
December 2013, his father Rolf Schumacher
was at Oschersleben to
watch his grandson
race. AFP
Schumacher Jnr
celebrates his best
rookiewin. Photo: AFP
cycling
Nibali focussed as Astana doping troubles fade

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Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the above marks or
For Starcom MediaVest Group Inc.,
TOuR de France champion Vincenzo

Nibali said on April 26 he was focussed on the races ahead of him now
that his Astana team had seen the
threat of suspension lifted.
Astana discovered on April 23 that
their World Tour licence, permitting
them to take part in major races such
as the Grand Tours, like the Tour de
France, or Monuments such as LiegeBastogne-Liege, had been confirmed
by the world governing body ucis Li-
cence commission.
A series of doping scandals that
saw five kazakh riders from Astanas
professional World Tour and subsidiary continental Tour teams banned
for taking prohibited substances had
seen the uci recommend to its own
Licence commission that Astanas
right to race be revoked.
But with that weight off his shoulders, Nibali, who while riding for Liquigas came second in Liege in 2012 to
future Astana teammate Maxim iglinsky

ironically one of the five Astana riders
banned for doping last year can now
concentrate on cycling success.
The news [of their licence being
confirmed] came, we didnt celebrate
but we were happy everything was
resolved in the best way for Astanas
riders and staff until 2016, said Nibali.
For me and the team there was
never any pressure, except from the
media. AFP
AthleticS
Radcliffe runs away for last time in London

THE 2015 London Marathon marked
British distance-running heroine
Paula Radcliffes farewell to the event.
Running among the main field,
rather than with the elite competitors,
the 41-year-old was bowing out on the
same course where in 2003 she set a
womens world record of 2:15:25 that
still stands.
However, Radcliffes career has
been blighted by a series of injuries in
recent years, with illness and fitness
problems helping deny her an Olympic title.
Radcliffe crossed the line on April
26 in a time of 2:36:55.
Down the last mile i thought, i
dont care about the time. i just wanted to thank as many people as i could,
Radcliffe told the BBc after embracing
husband Gary Lough and their two
children, daughter isla and son Raphael, at the finish.
There was a big sign at Embankment saying we will miss you, but it
wont be as much as i will miss you.
in the womens race, there was a
shock win for Tigist Tufa as the Ethiopian ended fours years of kenyan
domination in London.
Radcliffe was emotional after the

finishing line in London. Photo: AFP
Tufa was only the ninth-fastest

competitor in the elite womens field
but pulled clear just over a mile from
the finish.
The 28-year-old even had time to

wave to the crowd as she won by some
18 seconds from kenyas Mary keitany
in a time of 2:23:22.
But the kenyans fought back in the
mens race with Eliud kipchoge leading a kenyan clean sweep of the podium places in a time of 2:04:42
The final mile saw former world
5000 metres champion kipchoge
sprint clear of Wilson kipsang, last
years London winner, with world record-holder Dennis kimetto finishing
in third place.
Victory saw kipchoge add the London title to his wins in last years Rotterdam and chicago marathons.
it was a tough race. My training
paid off and it went to plan, said
kipchoge. The crowd were wonderful and lifted me for my sprint finish.
in the wheelchair races there was
an American double, with Joshua
George holding off Britains six-times
London champion David Weir in a
sprint finish, while Tatyana McFadden
surged away in the womens event to
win the event for a third successive
year. AFP
Sport 23
www.mmtimes.com
Flipping perceptions on
the streets of Ethiopia
SKAteBOARDiNG
werving around potholes

and
speeding
through chaotic traffic
makes skateboarding the
crowded streets of ethiopias capital a risky game.
Yet growing numbers of fans are
taking up this once-unknown sport in
Addis Ababa and attracting the support of skateboarders worldwide.
in the bustling market district of
Shiro Meda, gangs of children rattle
down the hills, flipping boards painted in the colours of ethiopia green,
yellow and red as they show off the
latest tricks theyve learnt.
its a tough area, and skateboarding offers moments of fun and escape
for the young people living here.
Theres nothing for the kids in the
neighbourhood, nothing to inspire
them, said israel Dejene, founder of
a local skateboarding group, who said
he was inspired by watching children
slide down the pavements with bits
of plastic fixed to the bottom of their
shoes for fun.
These skate sessions are the only
positive thing they can do, added israel, who named his Megabiskate
project after the ethiopian word
megabi, meaning someone who
gives life to others.
The group aims to use the sport to
help the children, as a tool to engage
the kids, to develop self-esteem, confidence and an alternative lifestyle to
the troubles on the streets.
Skateboarding creates a positive
community. it teaches them to teach
each other tricks and promotes a good
self-image, added the dreadlocked
rastafarian musician, who discovered the sport during a visit to Sweden, where he was fascinated by this
board that seemed attached to the feet
in the air.
The project has won international
admirers: American professional
skateboarders Tony Hawk and nyjah
Huston visited in February, bringing
with them dozens of boards.
Their visit was excitedly reported
on social media, putting the spotlight
on ethiopias small but growing community of skateboarders and inspiring
still more to join.
The highland city of hills and steep
Youths practice thier tricks on a ramp at the Shiro Meda skate-park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo: AFP
roads is a good place to learn, despite

its streets being sometimes crowded
with livestock or trucks feeding its
building boom.
i live on the top of the mountain.
when i leave my house im going
down for miles of hills at high speed.
Addis Ababa is huge for skating, said
Yared gobeze, a young skater.
Yared joined ethiopia Skate, a
group of skateboarders who meet several times a week in the streets of the
capital, doing tricks on boards mostly
donated by skaters in Austria and the

United States.
As soon as people see a new sport
that they cannot picture in Africa
theyre amazed and happy to see it
there. its amazing, Yared said.
Some 200 skaters take part, with
large and cheering crowds gathering
to watch them as they jump curbs, fly
down stairs and often fall hard on the
ground without any protection.
we just try to use whatever there
is in Addis even if the spots are pret-
ty bad we just make the best out of it,

said Abenezer Temesgen, one of ethiopias skate pioneers.
Some even block the flow of cars
to skate across or down the road, as
stunned motorists watch the youngsters speed past, flipping up onto
curbs on battered boards.
well-dressed young women snap
photographs of the stunts with their
mobile phones, while raggedy children plead for a board and their turn
to try.
Skating is growing now weve

got hundreds of kids skating, Abenezer said, noting that the emergence
of skateboarding in ethiopia also reflects a yearning for normality, to be
like other nations and other young
people.
weve been known for being poor,
but ethiopia is bigger than that, he
added. You cant represent ethiopia
just by being poor. Coming here skating with the kids makes me love my
country. AFP
AthleticS
US Olympic hero Bruce Jenner hailed for coming out as transgender

US Olympic champion turned reality
Tv star Bruce Jenner won praise on
April 25 from celebrities and activists
for revealing he is transitioning from
male to female, ending long-running
speculation he identifies as a woman.
in a highly anticipated, two-hour
television interview aired April 24
hailed by transgender rights campaigners and his own family the
65-year-old said he had wrestled
with his sexual identity since he was
a kid.
ive always been confused about
my gender identity since i was this
big, he told ABCs celebrity interviewer Diane Sawyer.
Here i am, stuck and i hate the
word [a] girl stuck in a guys body
... As of now i have all the male parts
and all that kind of stuff.
But asked point blank if he was
a woman, Jenner said, Yes. For all
intents and purposes, im a woman.
Speculation that the actor, racecar enthusiast and 1976 Montreal

Summer Olympics decathlon gold
medallist was undergoing a sex
change has been rich fodder for supermarket tabloids for months.
Supposed telltale signs, based on
paparazzi photos from the streets of
Los Angeles, include shaved limbs,
long hair worn in a ponytail and what
appears to be a sports bra under a
T-shirt.
Jenner said he identifies himself
as her, but not by a specific name.
The ABC interviewer used he and
him throughout, without causing
any apparent discomfort for the former Olympian.
He stressed the difference between gender identity and sexuality.
i am not gay, Jenner said. i am,
as far as i know, heterosexual. ive
always been with a woman, raising
kids.
Just
before
making
the
long-expected announcement, Jenner symbolically let his hair down.
Lets take the damn ponytail
out, he told Sawyer, smiling.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender [LgBT] rights group
gLAAD welcomed Jenners announcement.
Though Jenners journey is one
that is deeply personal, it is also
one that will impact and inspire
countless people around the world,
gLAAD head Sarah Kate ellis said.
Born outside new York in October
1949, thrice-married Jenner became
an American sports hero when he
set a world record with his Montreal
decathlon victory.
Leveraging his fame, he appeared
on boxes of wheaties, a popular
American cereal known as the breakfast of champions, then tried his hand
as a movie actor, with less than stellar
results.
But it was through his marriage
to the former Kris Kardashian that
he once again became a household
name in Keeping Up with the Kardashians in which he appeared as
the sometimes bemused stepfather
of her flamboyant daughters Kourtney, Kim and Khloe.
The couple have two daughters
of their own, but they obtained a divorce in December, 14 months after
separating although he has been
seen still wearing a wedding ring.
not only was i able to call him
my husband for 25 years and father
of my children, i am now able to call
him my hero, Kris Jenner tweeted.
Jenners 89-year-old mother esther hailed her sons announcement,
comparing her pride to that when he
won at the Olympics.
i never thought i could be more
proud of you. But im learning i can
be, she wrote.

Jenners son Brandon tweeted
simply, Proud son, along with an
instagram picture of himself as a
young boy perched on his smiling fathers shoulders.
Step-daughter Kim Kardashian
tweeted, Love is the courage to
live the truest, best version of yourself. Bruce is love. i love you Bruce.
#ProudDaughter.
national Center for Transgender
equality advocacy group executive
director Mara Keisling called Jenners declaration one of the most
profound displays of bravery and
courage ive seen.
Jenner, clearly relieved to have
finally come clean, said, im saying
goodbye to peoples perceptions of
me and who i am.
im not saying goodbye to me because this has always been me.
AFP
Sport
SPORT EDITOR: Matt Roebuck | matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com
Ethiopias
half-pipe dreams
SPORT 23
No Happiness for
Yadanarbon FC
FOOTBALL
Clubs defensive lynchpin barred from entering the Philippines
Yadanarbons Happiness Okapechi (right) executes his defensive duties in a recent match in Myanmar. Photo: Yadanarbon FC website
MATT ROEBUCK
matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com
ADANARBON FC general secretary Aung

Htun Oo is awaiting a
response from the Asian
Football Confederation
following his teams complaint over
the circumstances that saw star defender Happiness Okapechi refused
entry to the Philippines for the
April 15 AFC Cup clash with Global
FC.
But Aung Htun Oo told The Myanmar Times that he doubted the
punishment doled out to the Philippines Football Federation and their
representatives in the second-tier
continental cup would amount to
more than a fine.
They [Global FC] will be happy
with that result. That fine has bought
them three points, said the representative of the Mandalay side.
Taking away our most important
player, one of our two foreign players, its like starting the game with a
red card, he added.
Im so upset, Im so upset, Okapechi repeated as he spoke to The
Myanmar Time. I really wanted to
play the game, he again repeated
throughout the interview.
I just wanted to play football, but
they treated me like a criminal, he
added.
Problems arose following the refusal of the Philippine embassy in
Myanmar to issue Okapechi with a
visa here. Filipino officials insisted
that, as a citizen of Nigeria, he would
have to return home to apply for a

visa there.
We explained that it would not
be possible and [the purpose of the
journey], and it was agreed with the
Philippines Football Federation that
they would be able to support the issuing of a visa on arrival in Manila,
said Okapechi.
But when the Yadanarbon side arrived on the evening of April 13, no
representative of Global FC or the
federation were present, and immigration officials denied any knowledge of the arrangement.
Our liaison officer called the
PFF and Global to ask for someone
to come and solve the matter. They
said they would, but no one came.
We were forced to go on to the hotel
and leave Happiness sitting in immigration in what looked like a jail cell,
said Aung Htun Oo.
A lawyer representing Global FC
visited the general secretary at the
team hotel at midnight and promised
that a letter and visa permitting Okapechi to enter would be issued before
the player was sent back to Bangkok
on the 9:15am flight, April 14.
Being forced to sleep in a chair
in a cage before a crunch continental match-up would have been
bad enough. But at 8am the next
morning, Okapechi was woken and
marched to his departure.
Mr Aung had called me and
explained that my letter and visa
should be ready by eight, and I tried
to explain this again, said the player,
who sits at the heart of the Yadanarbon defence.
I said, I came here to play football, but they took me out like I was
a criminal, like I was being deported
for a crime.
I said to them, I am not a criminal, I am not pushing drugs but
they refused to give me my passport
and passed it to security.
By the time the player had
reached Bangkok and arranged his
flight to Yangon, it was already about
7:30pm Bangkok time. According to
Okapechi, it was then that the PFF
contacted him to say that he could
return to the Philippines on a 10pm
flight that would see him arrive early
in the morning of April 15, the date of
the AFC group stage game.
If I had been the player and I
had been treated like that spent the
night in a cell and then deported I
would not have wanted to return to
the country, said Rene Desaeyere,
the newly appointed Belgian coach
of Yadanarbon.
But passing up the opportunity
to play was not a consideration for
Okapechi.
I missed a game earlier this season through injury but now I am fit,
no injuries. I want to play. I am here
to play, not to eat and sleep. I want
to help the team, said the big centrehalf.
But Philippine Airlines refused to
allow Okapechi to board the flight.
They said if I had a ticket and a
visa then I wouldnt have been sent
back in the first place. I had to hold
myself back. I nearly fought with security because I so wanted to play. I
was so upset. If they [the PFF] had
really wanted to solve this then why

did they not contact the airline?
asked the player.
Nobody came to inform Yadanarbon of Okapechis removal from the
country.
At the pre-match meeting and
press conference, Aung Htun Oo
made it clear that his side intended
to respect the game and play on, but
win, lose or draw, it would be an unfair contest.
Yadanarbons complaint was sent
on April 14, but as yet no response
has been received from the AFC, and
Aung Htun Oo does not expect the
continental association to reply until
later this week.
When the game got under way it
only got worse for Yadanarbon, as
the team was on the receiving end of
two red cards, two penalties, five yellow cards and a dangerous free-kick
on the edge of the box.
We did not deserve all this, said
Aung Htun Oo, whose side eventually lost 4-1.
Had Yadanarbon, which beat
the Philippine side 2-0 at home in
March, come home with a draw then
it would have put them in a much
stronger position on four points and
challenging for the groups second
qualification spot for the knockout
stage.
Instead it is Global FC who went
into the game with only one point
which now joins Malaysias Panang
FA on four points, and Yadanarbon
which has sunk to the bottom of the
group with three points from four
games.
FOOTBALL
Two-Two in
Thailand for
Myanmar
women
KYAW ZIN HLAING
kyawzinhlaing.mcm@gmail.com
MYANMARS senior womens football
team impressed with a 2-2 draw away
to Thailand at the Thai Port Stadium,
Bangkok, having come back from an
early goal before giving away a late
penalty.
The home side took a quick lead
through Khwanruedi Saengchan in
the 4th minute which spurred the visitors into two early responses through
Ye Ye Oo and Khin Moe Wai in the 9th
and 11th minutes respectively.
But as the game progressed the
womens team, who lack talent in
depth, conceded a 75th minute penalty that was put away by Kanjana
Sungngoen to level the game for the
team that will be Southeast Asias only
representatives at the FIFA Womens
World Cup in Canada this June and
July.
Before that both sides will travel to
Vietnam to contest the ASEAN Football Federations Womens Championships from May 1 to May 10 in Ho Chi
Minh City.
Our focus is on every one of the
group matches, said Daw Thet Thet
Win, the Myanmar womens coach, after the draw.
Our first target is to reach the
semi-final stages, at which point we
will come up against stronger opposition, but in those one-off contests we
will try our best to come out on top,
she added.
Before leaving for Ho Chi Minh
City on April 29, the Myanmar team
will continue to train in Thailand.
In Ho Chi Minh, the Myanmar side
who have twice won and twice finished runners-up in the eight regional
competitions held since the championships inception in 2004 will face
Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines
in Group B.
In the most recent edition of the
tournament, held in Myanmar in 2013,
Vietnam beat Myanmar in the thirdplace final. Japan who received a
special invitation to the tournament
beat Australia in the final.
The Australian U20 side will join
Thailand, Indonesia and Laos in contesting Group A.
All tournament games will be
played at the Thing Nhat Stadium, Ho
Chi Minh. Myanmars competition will
kick-off against the hosts on May 2.
Myanmars will soon head to the AFF

Championship. Photo: MFF/Facebook

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HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

ISSUE 30 | TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015

Hundreds of Myanmar fishermen are temporarily taking refuge on Tual Island in

Gold mining is choking

DESPITE reports of heavy fighting

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

Chinese timber smugglers

CHINESE timber smugglers sentenced to six months imprisonment

permit logging activities.

Today, the trial judges questioned five plaintiffs from Sadone

Tatmadaw and the KIA.

Founder of huge reclining Buddha dies

Photo: Naw Say Phaw Waa

was transferred on the same day to

(1312-foot-long) reclining Buddha

from the Mon State government

Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 28, 2015

Thailand deports dozens of

OVER water festival, dozens of migrant families in Thailand received

expire at the end of March, but at the

I guess the police

Many children are not registered

could not bring their unregistered

if the department approves the information we could bring them back,

ing snag, according to the delegation reports. The Foreign Ministry

mission conducted by the Indonesian

NDF aims to maintain

Reg. No. 18845/2014

TRADE MARK CAUTION

find it difficult to compete against the

If I win the election,

among the most prominent and,

and would likely benefit the USDP.

Dala village gets solar power supply

Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L

MYINT KAY THI

Johnson & Johnson, a corporation organized and existing under

Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark

THE National Democratic Force has

TRADE MARK CAUTION

the MRCS Health Department, said

of the MRCS Health Department,

Reg. No. 2920/1996

TRADE MARK CAUTION

Reg. No. 7273/2008

Reg. No. 7274/2008

in respect of Class 3: Perfumery, perfumes, essential oils,

THE MYANMAR TIMES APRIL 28, 2015

In Hkamti, the slow death of a river

UPPER Myanmars Chindwin River, a

plots proposed for excavation, he said.

Reg. No. IV/16618/2014 (10 November 2014)

rivers, houses, religious buildings and

Hluttaw in Nay Pyi Taw.

Instead of the flying

Waste water from mining works

But he said enforcement of state

Obama: Leading through engagement

policy did not bring about these

Fortunately, the US stepped up to

of engagement has led to the most