A Promise of Media Freedom in Burma

Saturday, 04 February 2012 11:41 Banyar Kong Janoi

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Download Burma’s president this week pledged to establish a "healthy democracy". He made the comments during a visit to Singapore where he asked for help to modernise the country's economy.

One area that is under going rapid change in Burma is press freedom.  The government is easing restrictions on the press and is in the process of drafting a new media law.

Recently a group of government officials, journalists and members of civil society gathered in Hong Kong to discuss the transition from a military dictatorship to a democracy.

Banyar Kong Janoi went to speak with some of the delegates about media reform in Burma.

For the first time in years or decades people in Burma can now freely surf websites from exile media groups such as the Democratic Voice of Burma…they can also check-out the BBC and CNN sites.

And newspapers are now allowed to publish photographs and reports about the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

These are things that would have been unthinkable just one year ago.

Ma Myint Su works with civil society groups in Rangoon.

“We have seen many developments but in my opinion, I would say this is relaxation; it is not a real change yet. Some things are easier than in previous years but we still need permission from local authority to do things.”

Burma is said to have the world's most heavily censored media.

More than 50 journalists have been put in jail for their work in the past ten years.

But last October the head of Burma's powerful press censorship department called for greater media freedom in the country.

Tint Swe said censorship was incompatible with democratic practices and should be abolished in the near future.

Now the government is holding workshops on the role of media in a democratic society with Burmese journalists and exile media such the BBC and Voice of America Burmese services and the Mizzima News Agency.

The government also says they are in the process of drafting a new media law.

U Ye Htut is a spokesman for the Burmese government.

“The ministry of information has drafted it. Now, the attorney generals office is reviewing the draft. If the attorney general gives it his approval, we will send it to the parliament. To achieve a democratic society, we will create the new law freely and openly under the constitution. According to the president’s speech, if we are moving towards a democratic country we need the media to play a role as the fourth estate. Therefore the media should not only have freedom but they should also take on responsibility. That’s why we are drafting a media law which grants freedom but also makes the media responsible for the betterment of our society.” 

By ‘responsible’ he says the media must be fair and balanced.

In the past, journalists have been arrested and jailed for charges under the electronic act.

“The electronic is not under our control. It’s under the ministry of Communication, Posts and Telegraphs. However, I understand they are also reviewing this law and thinking about amending it because we have to amend all laws which contridict our new constitution.”

But changes to the electronic act and the media law are being done behind closed doors. Information about the details of the new laws have not been released.

But U Soe Thein a Rangoon-based editor from Thought & Vision Magazine says some parliamentarians have approached him for his input.

“They came and ask our opinion about what the media law show be like but the actual drafting committee, the information ministry, has never consult with us. I think what will happen is after drafting the law the upper house and lower house will read the law and compare it to our opinions and demands and then will make a decision whether to pass it or not.”

He says at the moment the situation is far from free and fair.

“Compared to era before the new government came to power now is a lot more relaxed but we still have to have everything approved by the censorship board before publishing. Some times, our stories are edited and some are cut altogether. So as long as that censorship is imposed on us we don’t have  a free press in Burma.”

A Burmese student in Hong Kong who wants to stay anonymous says it is too soon to say if Burma is changing.

“The government officials say they have changed but they are very clever at selecting the right words. I am not sure whether their words will transform into action. We have to wait and see if the upcoming by-election and next term election will be free and fair.”

Rape Being Used as a Weapon of War in Burma

Saturday, 20 August 2011 13:46 Banyar Kong Janoi

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Burmese Rights activists and the US based Human rights watch are accusing the Burmese military of crimes against humanity.

They say the Burmese army is raping civilan women in the conflict zones where there is separatist fighting between the state army and armed ethnic groups who are demanding greater independence.

Banyar Kong Janoi in a village in Kachin State hears the story of one such rape victim.

It is raining when I arrive in a small village in the Kachin state where 35 year old Ma Myit lives.

Ma Myit is not her real name; she asked to stay anonymous.

She says all her life she has lived in fear of Burmese soldiers.  

“When I was about 15 years old, I was out in the woods finding food for pigs along with other girls from our village. There is a Burmese battalion posted near our village and when soliders saw us they tried to catch us. Luckly I escaped then. Some of my friends who couldn’t run fast enough were caught and raped by the soliders.”

But this year on the 20th of June Ma Myit wasn’t so lucky.

“Our village is on the way between Myitkyina and Bhamo. I was heading to Bhamo for a religious meeting. There was fighting on the way, so I was walking around the paddy field instead of going straight to avoid confrontation. Unfortunately, I met the Burmese soldiers in the paddy field and they captured me.”

She says the Burmese soldiers used her as entertainment for five days.  

“The soldiers took me along with their army battalion, passing by many villages. During that time they were raping me every night. I don’t want to recall my experience with them. I feel bad even when talking about it now. I don’t want to recall anything: I just want to forget it. I was forced to sleep with a soldier and a colonel. In the middle of the night, the colonel came to me. I screamed, but the soldier beside me said nothing and neither did other people. The colonel and I struggled. I think he is about 60 years old. In the morning, I told the soldiers that if they continued to assault me this way they would have to kill me first.”  

Ma Myit escaped and ran to a Shan village where she asked for help.

“I was naked and came knocking at a house the village in the middle of the night. The people came out of and pointed with flash lights.”

Then a woman gave her clothes and brought her some food.

The next day they helped her return home.

Ma Myit is one of the many women force to live with the horrors of war.

Ma Naw Myay Sein is from a Kachin womens organization in the provincal capital Laiza.

The group is documenting rape cases taking place in the Kachin State.  

She shows me some documents and pictures of the raped victims.  

“We have documented a lot of rape cases. As an example case, two Burmese officers raped a woman on the way when she went to a rice field. One officer ordered her to perform oral sex and another assaulted her. While one of the officers attempted to kill her, she ran away. There are countless cases we have received but some cases we can not verify so we have to put them aside. In some cases, the victims were able to escape, but some were killed by the Burmese soldiers on the spot.”

They have verifyied 18 rape cases commited by the Burmese soldiers since the fighting broke out in the Kachin state in early June.

Kachin independence activist Htoi Bu says the human rights abuses are politically motivated.  

“In Kachin State, if the Burmese soldiers see a passerby, they asked: ‘Are you Kachin?’ If he or she answers yes, he or she will be killed. In the worst cases, women including young girls are raped and killed by the Burmese army. We have heard that the soldiers get their orders from their senior officers. This kind of act is really inhumane and shameful among Burmese people and in the international community. If the Burmese government is to be genuine in its call to build a united country, they must recognize that Kachin people are their people.”

Elaine Pearson is Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director.  

She says it is time to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the allegation of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.

“Clearly, the Burmese government has shown that they are unwilling to address this kind of abuses unless there is some kind of external pressure. So the number one thing we are calling the commission of inquiry to investigate is this allegation of war crimes. This would then lead to an international independent investigation. And we believe that could indeed play a role in deterring the future violation of human rights and future abuses by the Burmese army.”

The co-ordinator of a relief committee for the Kachin, La Rip said international communities should respond quickly to this emerging humanitarian crisis.

“The fighting should not be excuses for these abuses. Simply people around here would say that ‘aww, it can be because the war is there, because the fighting hasn’t been stopped, so the abuses would happen.’ No, actually, I don’t agree with that. Even the fighting if there has been on dialogue at the moment that kind of abuses should be totally stopped. And if those kinds of abuses are taking place, international organizations, who are responsible to protect civilians, should take immediate actions.”

Is the government really honest to ethnics groups?

I was in a conference of Asian nation’s transition from military dictatorship to democracy. The conference aimed to be closed-door discussion between the Burmese government delegations and academics. 

The Burmese government representatives boldly said there is no human rights abuse in Burma and they blame the ethnic insurgents for disrupting economic growth.

I wonder why they did not mention about corruption and mismanagement of the country economy are obstacles of the growth too.

Ye Htut, the ministry of information, said the ethnic armed groups should not participate in the politics fold because it is unacceptable in international standard. However, the 2008 constitution, which drafted by junta, allows the Burmese military general to take up 25 per cent of seats in parliaments.

Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing, said if we are only pointing out those problem, we can not move on to the next stage. Should we ignore those evidences to build confident among us? The past is a lesson for future. So the government should show different to win the ethnics trust.  

Ceasefires will not Bring about Lasting Peace: Burmese Ethnic Leaders

Saturday, 28 January 2012 12:07 Banyar Kong Janoi

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Burma’s government has held ceasefire talks with ethnic Kachin rebels to end fighting near the northern border with China.

But officials say the preliminary meeting did not yield any major breakthroughs.

The Kachin Independence Army or K-I-A is one of the country's most powerful and well-armed rebel groups.

Earlier this month the government signed a ceasefire with Karen rebels in the east of the country. It has also held talks within the last two months with the Shan State Army.

But as Banyar Kong Janoi reports many are suspicious about these ceasefires.

61 years old, Law Reh sings about the richest of his homeland -- the Karenni state in eastern part of Burma.

He has spent the last two decades in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border because of fighting between an armed group of Karenni National Progressive Party and the government.

Law Reh says he is lucky to be alive after being forced to work as a porter for the Burmese military.

“They used us to clear landmines. I witnessed people being killed and tortured in front of me. One of them was a teacher, who taught Karenni language in our village school. He had his mouth cut out in front us. He finally bleed to death. Around 100 people in our group, including me were going to be shot but then the soliders changed their minds and decided to let us starve. We went with out food for ten days. We some how manage to survive but I was so weak I could not lift my arms. Then we were finally allowed to go home.”

Early this month (January) the Karen National Union and the Burmese government agreed to a ceasefire.

But Law Reh is not convinced that it’s safe enough to leave Thailand and go home.

Hhun Okkar is a spokesman for the United Nationalities Federal Council, an alliance of ethnic armed groups.

He is also suspicious about the recent ceasefire aggrements.

“The ethnic groups have made ceasefire agreements with the military government many times before with past military leaders and now with the President Thein Sein. Although different tactics were used to reach agreements we can see the government’s intention is the same. The government promises to improve economic opporitunites for the ethnic groups but they never aggree to real political power. Now we are expecting that their will be discussions about ethnic political power but we are not sure if it will happen. It’s too early to say the problem has been solved.”

Burma has eight major ethnics groups who make up 40% of Burma's population.

They have been demanding - without success - for greater regional autonomy from the majority Burman-led central government since independence from Britain in 1948.

Khun Oo Reh is the general secretary of the Karenni National Progressive Party.

He says the government needs to understand what ethnic groups are fighting for.

“We have been discriminated against and we have been ignored. The majority Burman ethnic group always wants to control the country. We are not treated fairly. Also we are fighting to protect our ethnic identity. We want self-determination. We want a federal democractic system in Burma.  When Burma gained independence from Britain it was not so that the Burman people could rule but so all ethnic group could have self-determination.  We all have to live and rule together.”

He says it is too early to say whether the nominal civilian government under the leadership of Thein Sein is serious about giving ethnic groups a greater say in how they are governed.

“Throughout history the ruling party in Burma, whether you call it a military dictatorship or the Burmese government, always name us separatist groups. They don’t use the word ‘Federalism’; they only talk about the ‘Union of Burma’. Their slogan is ‘federalism is separatism’. I believe that none of the ethnic groups are demanding an independent state.  What we are fighting for is a real federal democratic system in Burma. There is no guaranteeee for peace unless there is a political solution, ceasefires can be broken at anytime.”

Why Hong Kong Women don’t Want to Have Babies

Saturday, 19 November 2011 12:47 Banyar Kong Janoi

Download The global population just reached seven billion.

But the Hong Kong government wants their women to have more babies.

While Mainland China has a strict one child family policy the Hong Kong territory government is trying to encourage married women to have three children by offering tax incentives.

Hong Kong has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. If current trends continue, a quarter of Hong Kong's population will be 65 or over by 2031.

Banyar Kong Janoi takes a look at why many Hong Kong women don’t want to have babies and if the government’s incentives will work.

A 21-year-old university student, Aman Wong, is determined never to get married.

“I think I am quite selfish so I don’t think I can give up for others. Because of that I don’t think I should just find somebody and then he do everything for me, but I am not doing anything for him. So I feel bad. Second thing is the guys here are not mature enough. You know there is a word ‘kidult’. We call guys kidult because they are adults but they act like kids. A lot of guys, when they go back home, play computer games and just sit in front of the computer. I don’t want to be like I am having a boyfriend and I feel like I am having a child.”

This year’s census has revealed that the number of adult unmarried women in Hong Kong has increased by more than 60 percent in the last two decades.

In response the Hong Kong government is trying to encourage women to have babies with money.

Parents can claim tax breaks worth more than 20,000 US dollars.

Aman says this will not change her mind.

“The government policy, it is good they have the policy to help people and make people to get married because they think one of the concerns is why people don’t get married, is they think it will be too costly for them to get married and have a child so they don’t want to have that. But for me it is not whether to have the economic stability. I think for most Hong Kong people why don’t get married is because they have economic backup already and they have ability to earn money so they don’t think they should get married to rely on men.What Hong Kong government is doing now is “Oh you got benefit when got married” but I don’t think that benefit attracts me a lot.”

But she says some of her friends have been encouraged by the government incentives to get married but they don’t necessarily have children.

“I know some of my friends, they are older than me, they really do get married because of the government policy. They don’t have enough money, they get married, they have their wedding, and they register under the government registration so legally they are couple. But they don’t live together yet. They just have the names so that they can be together so they can apply for the government housing which is much cheaper.”

Local companies are also trying to encourage couples to have children.

DBS Hong Kong Bank introduced a policy earlier this year called “5@5” allowing their employees to go back home at 5pm instead of 9pm.

American Express has introduced flexible work arrangements during school exam seasons when many parents take time off to help their children prepare.

And the accounting giant KPMG offers employees with families up to 40 days more leave than workers without children.

Bonnie Lam who works with a technological equipment selling company says incentives like these do encourage her to have a family one day.

“I think this is a benefit for the employee. For sure, if I have a family, I welcome this policy but even if I don’t have a family; I also welcome this policy because it is good to the workers. It can enhance a sense of belonging to the company and it is good to all employees”

But 33-year-old Bonnie is not in a relationship yet.

“May be too busy during these years, I think so. I am looking for another relationship but no target at this moment so it is OK, just follow my heart and just wait for the new one. I think my social cycle is too small and too busy on working and also too lazy to get out. I think this is the main point.  I am too lazy to get out and I always watch TV.”

Dr. Lau Yuk-king is doing research into the family friendly policies in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

She says Hong Kong women have high expectations when it comes to relationships.

“I think traditional ideology, even our university graduate girl wants to find someone have the same education level or higher education level. Even if she has a very good job and good earning she still wants to find someone who has a better job and a better earning. So it is really difficult. It is extremely difficult for Hong Kong women. Because they have their own comfortable life so they prefer if they can’t find a good mate, they remain single.”

Those that do marry usually have one or two children. Dr. Lau Yuk-king says that it is because the education system is very competitive in Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong is not a good place for people to live. It is a good place for people to earn money but the quality of life is so low in Hong Kong and the competition is so king. So if we have children, we have to worry about them the whole life because there are high probabilities that they will lose in competition if we do not have intensive input on their study, language training or the whole personality development. We have to do a lot of thing to make sure our children do not fail in the competition. So it is burdensome for us not only money but also psychologically.”

In order to slow down the aging population she argues that rather than pushing women to have more babies the government should encourage more migration.

“We may invite more people to come to Hong Kong if replacement rate so low; welcoming outsiders to become us is one of the way but how could to be selected in the process. The government has to think about it. How about domestic helpers? I think if they have stayed over 7 years, we should honor their rights to become one of the Hong Kong citizens because everyone can get this kind of rights. It is not fair to discriminate against them because they are domestic helpers.”

However, the government is still not allowing domestic foreign workers who have lived in the territory for a long time to become permanent residences.

This is despite a court ruling in favor of the domestic workers.

Instead the government would prefer their own women to have more babies.

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Philippine Immigrant Maid Wins Landmark Hong Kong Case

Saturday, 01 October 2011 12:14 Banyar Kong Janoi

Photo: Banyar Kong Janoi

Download Hong Kong's High Court has ruled that a domestic helper from the Philippines should be allowed to apply for permanent residency in the city.

The case was brought by Evangeline Banao Vallejos, who has worked to for the same Hong Kong employer for more than 25 years.

The ruling could lead to more than 100,000 other foreign maids winning rights to residency.

Banyar Kong Janoi takes a look at why the case is so import to the lives of thousands of people.

A group of Filipinos play games, while others watch a culture performance in Victoria Park.

It’s 43 years old Minda only day off. She comes here to forget about work.

“I sleep in the toilet because they don’t give me a room. They put the bed there.”

She says if lunch was three minutes late her boss would get so angry she threw a fork at her.

“She said the water is dirty, I said it is dirty because I’ve cleaned the floor already. So she is angry she gets a bottle of water and throws it to me. I was scare so I called the police.”

She had two weeks to find another employer or she would have had to leave Hong Kong.

“I found another employer but still crazy. You see I have a mark because she hurt me on Monday night. She said I didn’t properly wipe up her daughter because I was taking a bath to her daughter. I didn’t finish to wide her body yet and than she come and peel her, and it is still wet. She gets the towel.”

And she beat Minda. She shows me the red marks on her arm.

In one high profile case a domestic worker from Indonesia had a hot iron placed on her neck by her employer.

“Foreign domestic worker if we complain our abuse, we immediately we lose our job.”

Eman Villanueva is the secretary General of United Filipinos in Hong Kong. They advocate for greater rights for domestic workers.

“So in our case, it will difficult to complain because that would mean losing your job; that would be going back home and that would be no job for me. It is not easy. Especially, if I have my family; I am supporting my children to go to school; if I am paying some debts, that is not acceptable. So I will rather keep silent; I will rather not complain even I am being abused as long as I can bear the abuses. Because of the absence of permanent residency for foreign domestic workers, we become very vulnerable to abuses and exploitation.”

If you live in Hong Kong for more than seven years legally you have the right to become a permanent resident.

But until now, not if you are a foreign domestic worker. This week’s landmark court decision that a Filipino domestic workers can apply for residency changes that.

There are more than 300,000 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

It is thought that around thousand have lived here for more than seven years and now could potentially also apply for residency.

The case has sparked a great deal of debate in Hong Kong.

Some people are worried that their jobs will be taken if more foreign workers are allowed to stay.

The government has argued that it will create a burden on social welfare because workers will bring in relatives and children.

But Eman says that is not true.

“It is superficial. It a made-up belief. For example, they said that once we get the permanent residency half of million people will come. That is the exactly what happened in case of Mainland Chinese. 12 years ago, the Hong Kong government also said the same thing. Because of the court ruling favouring Mainland children, they said 1.67 million Mainland Chinese will come to Hong Kong in span of ten years. Now 12 years after, there is only eight thousand of them who came.”

Back in Victoria Park where domestic workers come to relax on their day off...women say even if they were given permanent residency they wouldn’t want to stay.

“No, I don’t interested because the cost of living in Hong Kong is very high. So if stay out we need to pay for the house, we need to pay our own food and daily affair. I think working in the same employer and without taking permanent residence is okay.”

For them this court decision is not so much about living in Hong Kong, but it is about having the legal power to stand-up for rights at work and having the option to stay.