Category Archives: Volume 07

POLITICAL TRANSITION IN INDIA’S NEIGHBOURHOOD AFGHANISTAN AND MYANMAR

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Under the broad agenda of ‘Nations in Transition’ and their internal political dynamics, Zakir Husain Delhi College had organised a conference on “Political Transition in India’s Neighbourhood: Afghanistan and Myanmar” on 11th April, 2014. The dilemmas of political transition in Afghanistan and the nature of democratization in Myanmar are issues which require critical interventions. Therefore, the conference aimed to compare and contrast the nature of transition and current political developments in both the countries, particularly in the wake of the Presidential elections in Afghanistan and the recently conducted census in Myanmar.

The various sessions focused on a comparative analysis between Afghanistan and Myanmar and the similarities in the transition that both the countries are undergoing.The Conference was organized in collaboration with American Centre, Sarcist and Bookage Publishers and discussed the issues of state building in the context of post-conflict society of Afghanistan and national reconciliation process in Myanmar.

It provided a forum for discussion and interface between the Diplomats, academicians, media persons, research scholars, policy analysts and practitioners representing various institution in India as well as abroad. The outcome of the conference serves as an important contribution for future academic research on political transition and change in these regions.

CONCEPT NOTE

Today the region in India’s neighbourhood stands at the crossroads of history. Political uncertainties, growing internal and regional insecurities, weakening social fabrics, economic hardships despite the mirage of growth and systemic human rights violations define the political climate of the south Asian region.

India’s neighbourhood particularly Afghanistan and Myanmar, on the west and east respectively, are undergoing a rapid political transition embrowned with a number of possibilities. Political transition in both the countries affects not only the life of the people of the two countries but also has tremendous bearings on peace, security, stability and development of the entire region. However, the nature of the political turmoil, historical background, geopolitical imperatives and undergoing transition in the two countries and their implications for the region and India in particular are very much different.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan’s predicament is the result of a mix of:

  • ·  Legacy of cold war
  • ·  US-Pakistan post-cold war lopsided policies
  • ·  Post 9/11 US militarism
  • ·  Obama’s half-hearted approach towards Afghanistan’s reconstruction and lack of clarity in his Pakistan’s policy
  • ·  Afghans’ collective inability to reach a comprehensive political reconciliation.
    The Afghanistan challenge is the challenge of post-conflict nation and state building in a country still rooted in tribalism and absence of a viable economy. The stumbling blocks on the path of stabilization in Afghanistan are as follows:
  • ·  Taliban’s extremism
  • ·  Opium cultivation
  • ·  Warlordism
  • ·  Resistance to the authority of centralized state
  • ·  Dependence on foreign donors’ money
  • ·  Pakistan’s elusive search for strategic depth against India

There are allegations of rampant corruption under Karzai government and his uneasy relations with the US have delayed the signing of the Afghanistan-US Bilateral Security Agreement despite its approval by the National LoyaJirgah.
There are mixed signals of whether Afghanistan will be able to maintain peace and stability and prevent the reemergence of Taliban from forcibly capturing state power or preventing a civil war reminiscent of the days of post -Soviet withdrawal in 1989. Taliban has been no doubt weakened but it remains a serious contender for power. The conduct of elections to Presidency and Parliament is a challenge which hopefully will be carried out and new government may sign the Bilateral Security Agreement. The US and international assistance in non-combative role and financial assistance will be required for a long time to come. Lots of stakes of the international community and India are involved in peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and maintenance of its independence and sovereignty.

MYANMAR

The new democratic regime in Myanmar is now taking its baby steps and embarking on a new era of democratic reforms on the path of – ‘disciplined democracy’. At this stage, it has to face a number of teething troubles and has a long way to go from infancy to adolescence. As it moves forward in its growth and maturity, we hope these problems can be overpowered with the emergence of a more open and mature democracy. The newly established national and regional parliaments are the centerpiece of the country’s reform process. Still, the new Constitution greatly inhibits the creation of a genuine civilian government in Myanmar. One reason is the reservation of 25 per cent of all seats in the National Parliament for military personnel.

(LEFT TO RIGHT: MR. M. ASLAMPARVAIZ, PROFESSOR S. D. MUNI, AMBASSADOR RAJIV KUMAR BHATIA IS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF INDIAN COUNCIL OF WORLD AFFAIRS, MR. SIDDHARTHVARADARAJAN AND DR. UMA SHANKAR)
(LEFT TO RIGHT: MR. M. ASLAMPARVAIZ, PROFESSOR S. D. MUNI, AMBASSADOR RAJIV KUMAR BHATIA IS THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF INDIAN COUNCIL OF WORLD AFFAIRS, MR. SIDDHARTHVARADARAJAN AND DR. UMA SHANKAR)

It also assigns key ministerial portfolios such as Defense and Home Affairs exclusively to military representatives. The other controversial clause relates to Article 59(F) which prohibits any citizens whose parents, spouse or children owe any allegiance to a foreign power.

Moreover, ethnic nationalities have also been demanding a federal constitution, granting them greater autonomy. Although, the change is coming slowly to the isolated country, but still, it has a long way to go. With the elections being held and release of Aung San Suu Kyi, there is a ray of hope for democracy and change in Myanmar. The entry of Suu Kyi and her party to the parliament has been a means of legitimizing newly established civilian regime’s mandate to govern and enhance its own reform credentials. The regime needs Suu Kyi in the parliament to bolster the authority of its own political system and spur on easing Western sanctions. However, Suu Kyi needs the military perhaps more than anyone else if she is to advance politically and amend the constitution, given a quarter of seats are reserved for the military. The reform process, however, in Myanmar is scared by the reformists and hardliners in the army. The hardliners have become more concerned after the last bye- elections when military backed USDP could just get one out of the 45 seats.

Nevertheless, resolving the ethnic issue will be Myanmar’s biggest challenge now. Overcoming of sixty year old ethnic conflict will not be easy and the government will have to do a great deal to build the trust necessary to move beyond temporary ceasefires to resolve the underlying political issues. These developments, therefore, have a significant implication for the dynamics of power struggle and future road map to the presidency in Myanmar in the 2015 elections.

The dilemmas of political transition in Afghanistan and the nature of democratization in Myanmar are issues require critical interventions.

TRIBUTE TO U WIN TIN

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Win Tin (12 March 1930 – 21 April 2014) was a Burmese journalist, politician and political prisoner. He co-founded the National League for Democracy (NLD). He was imprisoned by the military government for 19 years (1989–2008) for his writings and his leadership position in the NLD. He served as the editor-in-chief of Kyemon (The Mirror), one of Burma’s most popular newspapers at that time after it was nationalized and original founder, U Thaung, was imprisoned in 1964. In 1969, he was appointed as editor-in-chief of a State owned new daily newspaper, the Hanthawaddy Daily in Mandalay by Ne Win’s military government. It became a successful one within a few years. But thanks to his unwillingness to compromise his editorial independence and his proclivity to run stories criticizing the regime, the paper was shut down and he was dismissed in 1978.He wrote Search for beauty under the pen name Paw Thit. Translations of Northern Light and Queed were his well- known works. He also wrote books on his tours in communist countries. His autobiography, “What is the Human Hell”, was published in 2010 and described in detail of inhuman torturing and interrogation practices in prison Win Tin served a 20-year sentence on charges including “anti-government propaganda.” He had tried to inform the United Nations of ongoing human rights violations in Burmese prisons.In 2001, Win Tin was awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for his efforts to defend and promote the right to freedom of expression. That year, he was also awarded the World Association of Newspapers’ Golden Pen of Freedom Award. From 2006 onward, he could not receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

At 81, he was in a poor state of health, exacerbated by his treatment in prison, which included Page-28-Image-31torture, inadequate access to medical treatment, being held in a cell designed for military dogs, without bedding, and being deprived of food and water for long periods of time. D Wave, NLD official periodical, was started in prison by his hand writing.He was freed on 23 September 2008, after serving 19 years in prison. After his release from prison Win Tin made efforts to re-organize the NLD. He re- launched the weekly meetings of the party’s Central Executive Committee which had been irregularly held since 2003. He also resumed a regular roundtable called “Youth and Future” which Aung San SuuKyi had participated in the past. Win Tin visited families of political prisoners to offer moral support.

According to The Economist, he viewed Aung San SuuKyi as being “too soft and much too pro-establishment,” someone who “negotiated with the generals, where he never would, and was revered by party members in a way which he thought was bad for democracy. He set up U Win Tin Foundation to help former political prisoners and their families including scholarships for university education in 2012. Most of the awarded money was used for that purpose.“U Win Tin was the exemplar of dignified courage and principle against decades of brutal military rule,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director. “Human Rights Watch campaigned for his release for many years. We are deeply saddened by his death – an irreplaceable loss for Burma’s human rights community.”U Win Tin was a leader to future generations in Burma, encouraging younger activists and journalists to stand up to misrule and corruption, and to promote basic freedoms of assembly and free expression. He convened an NLD youth group to promote greater inclusion of younger activists into politics. He also helped former political prisoners reintegrate into the Burmese community, and financially assisted, within his small means, their families, who the authorities had also victimized for many years.

THE MEMORIAL SERVICE IN YANGON SAW MANY DONNING BLUE OUTFITS AS A SIGN OF SOLIDARITY
THE MEMORIAL SERVICE IN YANGON SAW MANY DONNING BLUE OUTFITS AS A SIGN OF SOLIDARITY

Myanmar Youngsters Clamour for Languages Lessons

Foreign language study is booming in Myanmar as political change fuels young people’s hopes of opportunities at home and abroad of which their parents never dreamed. Myanmar’s linguistic spree is part of a broader re-emergence of a historic cosmopolitanism in a country at Asia’s heart that has seen millennia of immigration but was sealed off from the wider world. Some students are relishing the opportunities for study overseas that renewed international engagement is bringing, with many sanctions rolled back since the political transition began. Others are preparing for the world to come to them, as international excitement grows over the commercial prospects in a resource-rich country.

British Intl School Set to Open in Yangon

The British International School – a new international school, teaching to UK standards, will open its doors to students in August 2014. Located in Yangon- Insein Road near Inya Lake, the school will accept 100 to 150 students in its first year and is aimed primarily at the children of a large number of expatriates who have recently entered the country as it pursues its political and economic reforms. “For multi-national corporations, the shortage of high-quality international schools is already proving to be an important barrier to their investment in Myanmar. The school will follow the English national curriculum. The school will cater both to the expat community and to local residents seeking an international education for their children.

MYANMAR OPENS ONLINE DIGITAL LIBRARY FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE

With the support of Ministry of Education, the ‘eLibrary Myanmar’ project will for the first time provide local academics and students online access to a comprehensive and multidisciplinary collection of scholarly resources. The project is funded by the Open Society Foundations’ Higher Education Support programme and is implemented by EIFL, an international not-for-profit organisation working with libraries around the world to enable sustainable access to digital information. Burmese academics and students will have direct access to a comprehensive range of high quality digital resources, including journals, books and reference materials. In order to maximize awareness and use among academics and students, the team will roll out a series of training so students will be equipped to make the best use of the available content. The project is to improve the quality of education and research, and in time social and economic development.

“Bringing iconic universities, such as the University of Yangon and the University of Mandalay, to life, will not only mean helping their communities gain access to the most current thinking, inspiring scholarship and novel resources,” said Oleksandr Shtokvych, Senior Manager at the Open Society Foundations’.

It will also mean including their students and scholars as active participants in the production of new knowledge and critical thinking, and bringing the unique and rich legacy and current developments in Myanmar into the limelight of international scholarship.

MANDALAY LEADS TOURISM SECTOR WITH 302 NEW HOTELS

DEPARTURE TERMINAL AT YANGON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
DEPARTURE TERMINAL AT YANGON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Between July 2013 and February 2014 – 1,102 travel firm licenses, 190 transportation licenses and 3,341 tour guide firm licenses have been issued across the country.Out of 960 hotels granted operating licenses across Myanmar over the last year, 302 have been opened in Mandalay while 238 have opened in Yangon Region. This year is expected to attract 3 million visitors. Local investment in hotels and tourism is up by US$ 526.79 million by March 2014.

SUBCOMMITTEE TO EASE IMPORTING OF FOREIGN GOODS

To ease restrictions on the importing of wine and other foreign goods, the Trade Development Sub Committee (TDSC) has been in discussion with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. Over a trial period in early February, online applications for import/export entrepreneur licenses as well as business agent licenses were initiated. This would in turn allow businesses to no longer ask for permission from the Myanmar Investment Commission. Also, foreign companies can import goods such as wine, oil and other foreign products by avoiding cumbersome bureaucratic procedures. The new licenses also grant private businessmen permission to import lubricants through ports not just in Yangon, but also in Mawlamyine, Pathein and Sittway. Moreover, they allow the import of edible oil without weight restrictions and for daily updating of money exchange rates at border trade camps.

 

MYANMAR AIMS TO BECOME REGIONAL AVIATION HUB

While Myanmar looks set to become Asia’s next aviation growth market, the Ministry of Transport revealed that it also plans to transform the country into the region’s main aviation hub.

Minister of Transport U NyanHtunAung, at the Myanmar Civil Aviation Development Conference at Traders Hotel, said the government has “set a vision that aims at making Myanmar the major logistics hub in Asia”. “For fulfilling this vision, we have defined a mission that will drive us to develop and strengthen the safe, secure, efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly aviation industry in the country,” he said.

He said the ministry plans to implement four strategic plans to achieve its goals: pursuing liberalisation of economic regulations, establishing new air linkages to worldwide destinations, promoting national airlines and improving infrastructure. U Tin NaingTun, the director general of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), said the ministry will first conclude air service agreements with new bilateral partners and revise some old agreements with more liberal provisions. “Then we will establish new air linkages in line with the second strategic plan. We have linked to some emerging economies like India, China and Japan at present. In the foreseeable future, we will expand our air route networks to access worldwide destinations, especially to Europe, the US and Australia,” he said. In order to speed up the plans; he said the ministry is launching a public-private partnership scheme “in accord with the country’s economic trends”. According to DCA statistics, total passenger traffic was 6.49 million in 2013, a 16.5-percent increase from 2012.

THINGYAN, MYANMAR WATER FESTIVAL

Thingyan, Myanmar Water Festival takes place towards the end of the hot, dry season and ushers in the Myanmar New Year. This festival is also celebrated in neighboring Theravada Buddhist countries; Songkran in Thailand and Laos, ChaulChnamThmey in Cambodia. The festival lasts three or five days. The festival revolves around standing on bamboo stages erected along the streets wherein people splash water on passersby. Powerful water pipes douse people driving by in jeeps and trucks. Children use water pistols to drench their friends, relatives, and anyone else in range – only monks and the elderly are safe.

CHILDREN CELEBRATING THINGYAN WATER FESTIVAL ON THE STREETS OF MYANMAR
CHILDREN CELEBRATING THINGYAN WATER FESTIVAL ON THE STREETS OF MYANMAR

KASON – BANYAN TREE WATERING CEREMONY

In Myanmar,the traditional festival of pouring water on the Bohdi tree is held in Kason. Tree worship was one of the prehistoric beliefs and it was quite prevalent in Stone Ages. Later, it was passed down to early civilizations. Myanmar indigenous races have the custom of worshipping tree-god (the guardian spirit of tree) called Yokka-soe who is believed to be benovolent to humans. On the occasion of Kason festival, it is customary practice of Myanmar Buddhists to move fish and turtles from nearby dry ponds and lakes to places where there is abundant water. This merit is regarded as a life-saving act of charity.