HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

500
Ks.

WWW.MMTIMES.COM

DAILY EDITION

Students message to military:

Dont ignore 5 million people
About 50 students marched through downtown Yangon yesterday against
the militarys veto of changes to the constitution on June 25, as MPs
yesterday began debate on a second amendment bill before parliament.
FULL COVERAGE NEWS 3

ISSUE 76 | WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015

NEWS 2

Latest deadline passes

for migrants to register
Hundreds of thousands of Myanmar
migrants in Thailand have failed to
register to extend their temporary
permits, amid confusion over whether
they will be able to apply for passports
and threats of a crackdown by the Thai
military government.
NEWS 4

Police seek suspects over

Kachin teachers murder
Police say they believe a husband and
wife, who have since disappeared,
may be connected with the rape and
murder of two Kachin teachers in
northern Shan State in January.

BUSINESS 8

Safety in spotlight after

hotel scaffolding collapse
The death of two workers at a Mandalay
construction site has drawn widespread
attention to workplace safety issues,
with officials admitting that relevant
laws are in urgent need of an upgrade.
BUSINESS 9

Black is back as exchanges

resume kyat trade

Student leader Ko Zayyar Lwin leads a student protest at Mahabandoola Park in downtown Yangon yesterday. Photo: Aung Myin Ye Zaw

Following a temporary shutdown in

June, dollar-kyat exchange centres
are back in business and generally
trading outside the market rate set by
the Central Bank of Myanmar.

Fast-food frenzy as KFC opens

Hundreds flocked to downtown Yangon yesterday to get a taste in many cases, their first of American fast-food
giant KFC, which began a limited opening of its first restaurant ahead of a full launch on July 7. BUSINESS 9

2 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 1, 2015

MAE SOT

Hundreds of thousands shun

registration as deadline passes
Mr Hall said the low number of
applications for temporary passports
under the NV process was because of
rules that required pink-card holders
to furnish a Myanmar ID card and
household list, as well as to return to
Myanmar to submit the application.
As of early June, just 16,394 temporary
passports had been issued by Myanmar, despite almost 700,000 migrants
being eligible.
Weve seen this going on for years
the Myanmar authorities trying to
get workers to go back to Myanmar
to register. Its just an opportunity for
brokers and corrupt officials to make
money, he said.
Whats worrying this time
though is that there is no clear policy from the Myanmar government
[migrant worker registration] is
clearly not a priority for the current
administration.

NYAN LYNN
AUNG
29.nyanlynnaung@gmail.com

THE Myanmar Migrant Network Thailand yesterday called on the Myanmar

government to speed up the process
of issuing temporary passports to migrant workers, who have reported difficulties under the Thai governments
current pink card program.
The Thai government set yesterday as a deadline for pink-card
holders to renew their temporary
documents for another year. It has
threatened to arrest and deport those
who fail to register.
But as of June 29, only 411,908, or
62 percent, of the 664,439 Myanmar
workers and their dependants who
hold the pink cards had applied to
extend them, according to official figures provided to The Myanmar Times
yesterday.
Launched by the Thai military
junta following the May 2014 coup,
the scheme was designed as an interim measure to give workers time to
apply for temporary passports under
the nationality verification program.
Workers were given until October 2014
to register, after which they were supposed to complete the NV process by
March 2015.
However, because of a lack of cooperation from Myanmar, only a handful
of passports were issued and the Thai
government extended the validity of
the pink cards to June 30.
Many workers have now decided
not to renew their pink card because
they believe it is a waste of money, according to MMNT.
The groups secretary, U Moe Gyo,
who is also chair of the Mae Sot-based
Joint Action Committee for Burma Affairs, said pink-card holders in Mae
Sot have faced difficulty applying for
temporary passports.
At first the [Myanmar] government promised to issue passports to
pink-card holders. However, we dont
know what is going on with that process and we could not apply for any
passports so far, he said, adding that
pink-card holders have faced difficulties travelling around Thailand.
Previously, pink-card holders in
Mae Sot could travel to other parts

Previously, pinkcard holders in Mae

Sot could travel
to other parts of
Thailand.
U Moe Gyo
Myanmar Migrant Network Thailand

A migrant worker in Thailand shows her pink card. Photo: Zarni Phyo

of Thailand but now the Thai government does not allow it, he said.
If the [Myanmar] government
accepts applications from pink-card
holders for temporary passports,
workers could go everywhere safely.
On June 28, the group organised
a meeting in Bangkok with other migrant worker organisations to discuss
the challenges migrants are facing.
The meeting was attended by U Soe
Naing, the recently appointed labour
attach at the Myanmar embassy in
Thailand. He repeated earlier promises that the embassy would take steps
to implement the temporary passport
program, according to the groups, and
said it would work with rights groups
to resolve the migrant worker problems properly.

He said Myanmar was also in discussions with the Thai government to

improve the process of issuing temporary passports.
Andy Hall, an international affairs adviser for the Migrant Worker
Rights Network, said a range of factors discourage workers from applying for pink cards, including lack of
information and the requirement
that employers apply on behalf of a
worker.
But he said Thailands pink-card
policy had been a positive step, particularly because it cost less than previous registration programs.
However, it had not been reciprocated by the Myanmar government,
whose response he described as very
disappointing.

It is unclear whether Thailand will

follow through on threats to deport
unregistered migrant workers, who
play a vital role in Thailands economy.
Mr Hall said that during previous
crackdowns the Thai authorities had
arrested and extorted money from
workers, but not deported them.
It will be very interesting to see if
it is different this time.
Workers said they just want Myanmar to begin issuing temporary passports to pink-card holders.
Ma Toe, a pink-card holder from
Mae Sot, said Thai police had stopped
her from travelling to Bangkok last
week because she did not have a temporary passport.
I wish the temporary passport
issuing process would begin as soon
as possible because I want to be able
to travel safely and with confidence,
she said.

Parties
invited to
mediate
election
disputes
MG ZAW
mgzaw.mmtimes@gmail.com
NINE political parties have
agreed to name representatives
to a disputes committee to be
set up by the Mandalay Region
Election Commission. But the
National League for Democracy
is one of five parties registered
in the region which has yet to respond to the request to join.
U Kyaw Kyaw Soe, deputy
director of the Election Commission in Mandalay Region, said
on June 29 that the names of the
Electoral Dispute Negotiating
Committee would be announced
as soon as it was set up.
The commission has invited
members of 14 parties active in
Mandalay Region to take part.
Though we have written to
the parties, not all have yet responded, he added.
Similar dispute negotiating
bodies will be set up in other
states and regions, down to the
township level, according to U
Kyaw Kyaw Soe.
The committee will be responsible for resolving all complaints arising from the election,
including allegations of misconduct, errors on electoral rolls and
disputes over the final result.
The state and region committees will be headed by Union
Election Commission chair U
Tin Aye, while the chair of the
state or region election commission will serve as deputy leader.
Each committee will have
between 30 and 35 members, including one candidate from each
political party.
I was assigned to serve in
this committee, and have notified the commission accordingly.
It seems obvious that there are
likely to be disputes in the upcoming election, said U Khin
Maung Than, a member of the
National Democratic Force in
Mandalay Region, on June 29.
A spokesperson for the regional NLD office said it had not
yet responded to the invitation
because it has not received instructions from its headquarters.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

www.mmtimes.com

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

News 3

Marriage
law nears
parliament
approval
HTOO THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com

Protest leader Zayyar Lwin talks to police during the yesterdays protest in Yangon. Photo: Aung Myin Ye Zaw

Students protest against militarys veto

LUN MIN MANG
lunmin.lm@gmail.com
A SMALL group of university students marched through central
Yangon yesterday in protest against
the militarys veto in parliament of
changes to the constitution.
About 50 students took part in
the unauthorised rally from Theingyi
Market to City Hall, circumventing
police attempts to block their progress. They were joined by about 200
local residents along the way.
Students said they were par-

ticularly incensed by the way unelected military MPs celebrated

their defeat of the vote by clapping
in parliament.
Five million people signed a petition for amending the section [436].
Clapping means celebrating a victory, but they dont respect the wishes
of 5 million people even when they
say they are the peoples voice in parliament, said Ko Zayyar Lwin, one of
the protesters.
While marching towards City
Hall, protesters shouted, Amending the constitution is our duty!

Our duty! We dont want for-show

amendment! Twenty-five percent get
out of parliament! Amending section
436 is our duty!
Ko Min Min, a student from
Dagon University, said they had two
reasons for protesting against the
armys celebration in parliament,
where the military holds 25pc of
seats.
We want genuine constitutional amendments. And 5 million
peoples signatures or wishes have
been ignored by the army representatives in parliament, he said.

Thats why we are here to protest

against the fortress of the military
in the parliament.
Protesters said they had not asked
permission from the local authorities
for their march.
Since it is a protest against the
militarys presence in parliament,
even if we applied for permission,
they would not give it to us, said
Ko Zayyar Lwin, who had also taken
part in protests against the National Education Law that were suppressed by police with mass arrests
on March 10.

Struggle for control of

USDP enters parliament
New round of debates on constitutional amendments highlights rift between president and Speaker

EI EI TOE LWIN

HTOO THANT

THE first day of debate on a second

constitutional amendment bill has
been dominated by questions of
whether the president and vice presidents should be allowed to take part
in political party activities, against
the backdrop of a power struggle in
the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
The debate pitted USDP representatives against military MPs, suggesting the latter would use their
veto to again block constitutional
changes.
Ten MPs three USDP, three National League for Democracy, two
ethnic minority and two military
debated proposed amendments to
sections 62, 63 and 64, which the
bill proposes be removed completely
from the charter.
Sections 62 and 63 block the president and vice presidents from being
members of parliament, while section 64 bars them from taking part
in party activities while in office.
The proposal is closely linked to
the tussle between President U Thein
Sein and Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann for control of
the USDP, and parliaments decision

could have significant implications

for this years election.
U Thein Sein served as party chair
in the 2010 election but handed over
to Thura U Shwe Mann in May 2013.
The party has officially stated that
the Speaker would remain in charge
until this years election, but some
party member and government officials have said that Thura U Shwe
Mann is only a temporary leader and
would have to relinquish the post to
U Thein Sein if the latter decides to
run for election.
U Zaw Htay, director of the Presidents Office, told The Myanmar
Times in an earlier interview that he
believed U Thein Sein is still chair of
the USDP, while Thura U Shwe Mann
is temporary chair.
He said that if the president decided to contest the elections, he
could resume party activities under
the Union Government Law.
Section 7 of the law allows the
president and vice presidents to run
for election and begin campaigning
as soon as the commission announces an election date.
In response to this debate, Thura
U Shwe Mann recently posted on his
official Facebook page that he would
follow the decision of the partys central executive committee.
But last week the Pyithu Hluttaw Bill Committee began to move
against the president, submitting
seven amendment bills that would
prevent U Thein Sein and other sen-

ior government officials, as well as

senior judges, from campaigning in
the coming elections as members of
the USDP. The amendments would
bring legislation into line with the
constitution, said the committees
secretary, who is a USDP member.
Critics of the constitution amendment bill say removing the three sections would weaken Myanmars separation of powers, and that they have

These proposed
changes are also not
in accord with basic
principles ... and
other provisions of
the constitution.
Colonel Khin Maung Tin
Tatmadaw MP

been put forward because Thura U

Shwe Mann wants to control both
the executive and the legislature if he
becomes president.
However, senior USDP member
U Aye Myint said yesterday the proposed changes were simply put forward due to public demand.
We proposed to remove these

sections out of concern for the public

interest, not for the sake of any individual, said U Aye Myint, who is a
member of the USDP central executive committee.
However, military representatives
sided with U Thein Sein on the issue.
They said that removing the three
sections could result in future presidents prioritising their partys interests over those of the country.
Section 62, 63 and 64 are linked
to each other and enacted to ensure
there is no conflict between national
politics and party politics. If we remove section 64, it would strengthen
party politics, said Colonel Khin
Maung Tun. These proposed changes are also not in accord with the
basic principles and other provisions of the constitution. Thats why
we would like suggest not changing
these sections.
Meanwhile, the NLD and ethnic
representatives expressed mild support for the proposed changes. The
NLD MPs proposed having a single
vice president, instead of two.
The constitutional debate will
continue through to at least July 2.
The Speaker has not yet said when
the proposed changes would be put
to a vote, but indicated it is likely to
be next week.
On June 25, the military vetoed five of six proposed changes to
the constitution in the first of two
amendment bills put forward by civilian parliamentarians.

PARLIAMENT has moved a step

closer to approving a law that would
regulate the marriage of Buddhist
women to non-Buddhist men. The bill
is the second in a controversial package of four laws drafted by Buddhist
nationalists with the aim to protect
race and religion.
Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann told
parliament yesterday that MPs had
until July 2 to register their names to
debate the Myanmar Buddhist Women
Special Marriage Bill in a session of the
combined houses at a date yet to be announced. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw will
decide on differences in the versions
already approved by the lower and upper houses.
International organisations, foreign
governments and more than 100 Myanmar civil society associations have
called on the government to either
drop or significantly amend the package of legislation, which they fear will
entrench already widespread gender
and religious discrimination and risk
fuelling further violence against religious minorities.
The Health Care for Population
Control Law, widely seen as targeting
the Muslim minority, was approved
by parliament and signed into law by
President U Thein Sein in May.
The draft marriage bill would govern unions between Buddhist women
and men of other faiths. Under its provisions, interfaith couples would need
to apply to local authorities, gain the
approval of the womans parents if she
is under age 20 and post a public notice
announcing the engagement.
The marriage could only then take
place if no objections were raised. NonBuddhist men who violate the law
would face up to three years imprisonment, a K50,000 fine and mandatory
divorce, and would forfeit their share of
any property and guardianship of children born through the illegal union.
The bill, written and submitted by
the Supreme Court of the Union, was
sent to the upper house on March 13 after debate in the lower house. The upper house made amendments and returned it to the lower house on May 27.
Eleven differences remain between
the two versions of the bill, according
to U Thein Tun Oo of the Joint Bill
Committee, which set out its recommendations in parliament yesterday.
The main difference, he said, related
to the decision of the lower house to
follow the text of the original bill when
resolving disputes related to marriage,
divorce, inheritance and custody of
children between Buddhist women and
non-Buddhist men. The upper house,
however, sought to combine customary
Myanmar law in resolving disputes.
In another difference between the
two versions, the committee backed the
lower house, which amended the law
so that a non-Buddhist man must allow
his Buddhist wife to worship Buddhism
and keep in their house Buddhist images, photos of Buddhist image, photos
of pagodas, photos of Buddhist monks
and accessories related to Buddhism.
Amnesty International and the
International Commission of Jurists
wrote in March that the inter-faith
marriage bill blatantly discriminates
on both religious and gender grounds,
and feeds into widespread stereotypes
that Buddhist women are vulnerable
and that their non-Buddhist husbands
will seek to forcibly convert them.
Two other laws before parliament,
also drafted by Buddhist monks from
the Committee for the Protection of
Nationality and Religion, regulate religious conversion and outlaw polygamy.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

4 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 1, 2015

MUSE, SHAN STATE

Chief Executive Officer
Tony Child
tonychild.mcm@gmail.com
Editorial Director U Thiha Saw
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EDITORIAL
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Editor-at-Large Douglas Long
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News Editor MTE Guy Dinmore
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Business Editor MTE Jeremy Mullins
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World Editor MTE Fiona MacGregor,
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Special Publications Editor MTE Wade Guyitt
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Regional Affairs Correspondent Roger Mitton
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Sub-Editors Peter Swarbrick, Laignee Barron
Chief Sub Editor MTM Aye Sapay Phyu
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Khin Su Wai, Phyo Wai Kyaw
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PHOTOGRAPHICS
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Photographers
Aung Htay Hlaing, Thiri, Zarni Phyo
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Art Director Tin Zaw Htway
Production Manager Zarni

A poster of Kachin women who were found murdered hangs at the site of the crime in Khaung Khar, northern Shan State. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon

Police name local suspects

in Kachin teachers murder

MCM PRINTING
Printing Director Han Tun
Factory Administrator Aung Kyaw Oo (3)
Factory Foreman Tin Win
SALES & MARKETING
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Business Development Director
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YE MON
yeemontun2013@gmail.com

503rd Light Infantry Regiment was stationed there at the time.

The head of column asked me
when he saw the teachers on January
19 whether they were still virgins. He
said if any villager accused the soldiers
of the crime, he would burn our village to the ground. Then, on the seventh day after the womens death, the
regiment donated nearly K5 million in
their memory, he said.
The chief investigator in the case
told The Myanmar Times in Muse that,
based on discrepancies in their statements, they suspected a husband and
wife, aged 44 and 41 respectively, who
lived in the village but have since disappeared. A witness had told investigators that three male villagers, including
the husband, had gone to the teachers
house at midnight on January 19. How-

ever, the other two villagers are not

considered suspects.
In his statement to police, the male
suspect said he went to the teachers
house at 10pm on that night, and then
returned a second time. Shouting had
been heard.
A source close to the investigation
commission, which has offered a K5
million reward for information, said,
He told us he asked the teachers what
happened outside their house, but
they made no reply, so he went home.
The next morning he went to Mone
Paw village, but he knew by 10am that
the teachers were dead.
However, other evidence suggests
that he did not go to Mone Paw, but to
a sugar cane farm. He had also reportedly told other villagers at 7am that
the teachers were killed at midnight.
The discovery of long strands of
hair in the victims hands has suggested to government investigators that a
woman was involved.
We conclude that [the mans] wife
killed the teachers after she saw her
husband rape them, said the official.
Questions have also arisen from
the nature of the physical evidence
at the scene about whether both victims were raped, but investigators say
the murder weapon was a knife from
the teachers own kitchen, suggesting
that the perpetrator was known to
the victims.

The Kachin Baptist Convention

has stated its objections to the conclusions of the government investigators, saying the suspects had lived
in the village since 2005.
We suspect the Tatmadaw. We
have asked the commission to question two army drivers, the head of
column and three soldiers of the
503rd Regiment. The villagers cannot
be the culprits, said the secretary
of the KBC, the Reverend Samson
Hkalam.
However, an investigation commission member said, The main
thing is to arrest [the suspect] and
his wife. If we can arrest them, the
truth will come out.
Relatives of the deceased say they
just want the case to be concluded
and justice done.
I dont care who did it as long as
the culprits are arrested, said Daw
Lu Bu, mother of Tangbau Hkwan
Nan Tsin.
An examination of the DNA of 28
troops and 34 villagers is now being
conducted in Yangon, and the results
are expected shortly.
A senior official at the laboratory
conducting the tests said yesterday
that the results had been received
but they were waiting permission
from the Myanmar Police Force to
send them back to the investigation
commission.

The Myanmar Times is owned by Myanmar

Consolidated Media Ltd and printed by
Myanmar Times Press (00876) with approval from MCM Ltd and by Shwe Myanmar
(P/00302) with approval from MCM Ltd. The
title The Myanmar Times, in either English or
Myanmar languages, its associated logos or
devices and the contents of this publication
may not be reproduced in whole or in part
without the written consent of the Managing
Director of Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

IN an unexpected development,
police have named two civilian suspects in the rape and murder of two
Kachin teachers in northern Shan
State last January and one of them
is a woman.
The news will come as a boost to
army commanders forced onto the
defensive by the widespread assumption that the culprits were men of the
503rd Light Infantry Regiment, which
was stationed in the village of Khaung
Khar when the deaths occurred there
on January 19.
Maran Lu Ra, 20, and Tangbau
Hkwan Nan Tsin, 21, were raped and
killed in their house in Khaung Khar
on January 19. Though two high-profile investigations have been launched,
one by the local authorities and one
by the Kachin Baptist Convention that
employed the two teachers, no arrests
have been made so far.
The suspicions surrounding the
army will not be easily dispersed. U
Mar La, the administrator of Khaung
Khar village, said villagers suspected
Tatmadaw involvement because the

Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

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Hackers shut down U Wirathus blog

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AUNG KYAW MIN

aungkyawmin.mcm@gmail.com
HACKERS have deleted the much-followed website of the hard-line nationalist Buddhist monk U Wirathu, he
confirmed yesterday. The hackers, who
struck on June 27, have announced
that their goal was to attack expressions of religious extremism.
The hackers said in a video yesterday that they targeted proponents of

We suspect the
Tatmadaw. We
have asked them to
question two army
drivers.
Reverend Samson Hkalam
Kachin Baptist Convention

the Buddhist nationalist 969 movement, as well as the posts of Muslim

extremists.
But U Wirathu told The Myanmar
Times yesterday that he thought the
motivation for the attack was a post
about China.
All the information [on the blog]
is gone. The hackers left their logo and
some text. They said they hacked my
blog because it posted wrong news. In
fact, they hacked it because I posted

news about China. They objected to

my June 26 post titled, Dont do ridiculous things, and they struck the next
day, targeting only that post. I believe
they are Chinese atheists who object
to the publication of news about China, he said.
He appealed for anyone with information about the incident to send it
to him.
U Wirathu, a member of the Committee for the Protection of Race and

Religion, also known as Ma Ba Tha,

said he was grateful to the hackers for
not spreading wrong news. His web
page, opened in 2012, has 1,560,000
visitors.
U Wirathu added, I have no IT expert helping me. I would like to recover
that page because it contains records,
so I would appreciate some help. The
post may be gone, but I am unharmed.
I will just open a new page.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

6 News

THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 1, 2015

CRIME IN BRIEF

Police nab
weapons
cache in
Mandalay

MANDALAY

Gate crasher leaves

evidence at the scene

A white Harrier car struck the

level crossing gate at Yay Kyaw,
Pazundaung township, Yangon
Region, on June 28, causing
K120,000 worth of damage,
reported crossing guard Ko Tin
Ko Ko of Mingalar Taung Nyunt
township, who was on duty
there. Police are on the trail of
the hit-and-run driver, whose
number plate fell off after the
collision.

SI THU LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com

Drinking bout ends in

deadly stick beating

A fight between an uncle and

a nephew over drinks turned
deadly. The two were at the
Hlegu township home of Daw
Lei Lei Htay when her 25-yearold nephew allegedly hit her
41-year-old husband over the
head with a stick on June 25.
Police arrested Naing Ko Win
after his uncle died en route to
Yangon Hospital from the North
Okkalapa township clinic,
which had provided initial
treatment.

Arrest made in stabbing

death in Twante

Police have arrested Phoe

Saung, 42, for allegedly stabbing to death a man in Pate
Swe village, Twante township,
Yangon Region, on June 28.
The stabbing occurred near the
house of the deceaseds son.
The victim died while being
treated at Twante hospital.
Toe Wai Aung, translation by
Khant Lin Oo

Eight wanted over illegal

fishing in Sagaing Region

Fisheries officials have asked

police in Thabeikkyin township, Sagaing Region, to arrest
eight fishermen known to have
used nets to fish illegally in
Pinle Nge research lake, near
Koebin village. The men evaded
an attempt by Singu township
fisheries department to arrest them, said U Myint Aung,
deputy head of the department,
yesterday.
Police have launched an
investigation under section 44
of the Freshwater Fisheries
Law, said the head of Mandalay
Region Police. Si Thu Lwin,
translation by Khant Lin Oo

A mobile team carries out spot checks at Nawnghkio in Shan State. Photo: Si Thu Lwin

Mobile team expands

anti-smuggling activities
SI THU
LWIN
sithulwin.mmtimes@gmail.com

COMMERCE officials are to expand a

crackdown on smuggling in Mandalay
Region, particularly to cut down on
the import of food unfit for human
consumption. The mobile team established by the commerce ministrys Department of Trade will start work today on the new routes into Mandalay,
including spot checks and raids.
The team will also include members from Mandalay Traders, Brokers
and Industrialists Association, Customs, the police, information officials,
and township support groups.
Smuggling expanded along the
Madaya route when we started blocking the Nawnghkio route in Shan State.
We are planning spot checks along the
Kyaukse and Patheingyi routes, said U
Aye Min Tun, director of the Ministry

TRADE MARK CAUTION

PERFETTI VAN MELLE Spa a company incorporated in Italy
andhavingitsofficeatViaG.Rossini,120020Lainate(MI),Italy,
istheOwnerandSoleProprietorofthefollowingTradeMark:-

of Commerce and leader of the mobile

team for upper Myanmar.
We have no intention of causing
loss to any business, but we do need
their cooperation, particularly as a
lot of inedible frozen meat is entering
Mandalay Region. Their cooperation
can help us stamp out smuggling, as
well as protect public health.
The mobile teams operations
would encourage legal trading and
prevent poor-quality goods and food
from entering the country, he added.

We have no
intention of causing
loss to any business,
but we do need their
cooperation.
U Aye Min Tun
Ministry of Commerce

Supporters of jailed Mogok

monk plan demonstration
MG ZAW
mgzaw.mmtimes@gmail.com

Reg.No.IV/ 5842 /2015

used in respect of Class 9:allcomputerprogramsandsoftware
regardless of recording media or means of dissemination, that
is, software recorded on magnetic media or downloaded from
aremotecomputernetwork.
AnyfraudulentimitationorunauthorizeduseofthesaidTrade
Mark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with
accordingtolaw.
Khine Khine U, Advocate
LL.B, D.B.L, LL.M (UK)
For PERFETTI VAN MELLE Spa
#205/5, Thirimingalar Housing, Strand Rd., Yangon.
Dated.July1,2015

Over the past eight months, arrests

have been made in 11 cases of smuggling goods worth more than K246.3
million into Mandalay Region through
the Nawnghkio toll gate in Shan State,
Mandalay International Airport and
Gawwein jetty on the Ayeyarwady
River.
Timber smugglers were usually seized on waterways, while jade
smugglers were mostly arrested at
the airport.
We operate at both Kywal Son
jetty and Shwe Kyat Yat jetty. Initially
we had some problems with people
from the jetty, but they accept us now.
Madaya checkpoint will be opening
soon, and if any shootings occur, as
happened in the Muse trading zone,
we will take action under the law. We
wont be negotiating with any company over our seizures, said U Aung
Khine Oo, deputy director of Ministry
of Commerce on June 29.
All routes into Mandalay will be
subject to spot checks from August 1,
he added.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe

FIVE rifles, 252 bullets, a walkie-talkie and 20 amphetamine

tablets wrapped in a sack were
seized by police on June 26 after
they checked a white Toyota Land
Cruiser travelling from Singu to
Shwebo in Sagaing Region.
The day after the arrest,
which occurred at 9pm, police
searched the Mandalay residence of the two brothers in the
vehicle. Authorities uncovered 18
more weapons as well as spare rifle parts at the house, which was
located on 82nd Street between
29th and 30th streets in Chan Aye
Thar San township.
Police Lieutenant General Myint Oo from the Mandalay Region
Police Force said on June 28 that
an air gun was also seized from
two residents of Chan Mya Thar
Si township who were related to
the brothers. Further investigation uncovered yet another hunting rifle at a house on 80th Street
between 22nd and 23rd streets in
Aung Myay Thar San township.
Four people have been
charged at Singu Myoma Police Station under section 19(a)
of the Arms Act, section 67 of
the Telecommunication Law,
and sections 15/16(c), 20(a) and
21/22 of the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Law.
Further charges have been
brought at the Chan Aye Thar
San Police Station and Aung Pinlae Police Station under section
19(a) and (f) of Arms Act.
Rumours have spread in social
media that the brothers are making weapons in a small factory
inside their house. However, a
top-rank official from Mandalay
Regions police force said on June
29 that the rumours were untrue.
The weapons we found are
used for hunting. However, we
have filed charges against them
for possession of weapons, he
said, adding that the brothers are
sons of a deceased police captain.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe

ANGRY supporters of a monk in

Mogok are vowing to take to the
streets in their thousands to protest
against his arrest for illegal mining.
His supporters say Yay Pu Sayadaw,
also known as U Eindaka, has been
wrongly charged and is innocent of
any crime.
The arrest, on June 9, followed
a lawsuit filed by the Gem Traders
Association under section 41(a) and
(b) of the Gems Law in connection
with his efforts to build a new pagoda. The work involved bringing
together relics and holy objects
from 11 old pagodas in the Yay Pu
Monastery compound that had been
demolished.
According to his followers, the
allegation says that the work entailed in sieving the earth and rubble from the demolished buildings
was illegal mining.
Yesterday, U Soe Htay, of Mogoks

88 Generation and Open Society, told reporters, The monk has

committed no offence. They have
charged him unfairly. Thats why his
disciples will demonstrate to insist
on his immediate release.
He added that the abbots supporters had applied on June 26 for
permission for a demonstration by
10,000 people, said to be the monks
closest disciples, on July 5.
We will demonstrate on that
date whether the police give permission or not, he said, adding that
a petition was also being drawn up
for the abbots release in Mogok
town and Thabeikkyin township,
Sagaing Region, where he has many
supporters.
The Myanmar Times was unable to contact U Thein Win, head
of Mogok police, yesterday, because
his phone was turned off.
The Department of Gem Mining, the Ministry of Environmental
Conservation and Forestry, and the
Ministry of Religious Affairs have

all joined the court action against

Yay Pu Sayadaw, said U Soe Htay.
Our committee will do everything possible to secure his urgent
release. We will also continue to
build the Datpaungsu Pagoda and
the new monastery building, said a
spokesperson for the committee for
the implementation of Datpaungsu
Pagoda, adding that the work had
the support of Mogok civil society.
Yay Pu Sayadaw appeared in court
for the first time on June 23 after his
arrest. It is not known when the next
hearing will take place.
Yay Pu Sayadaw was one of the
leaders of a demonstration that took
place in Mogok during the 2007 protests against the military regime,
and he also took a major role in
protests against the construction of
the headquarters of the Gem Traders Association on the shores of the
towns iconic lake.
The association did not comment
at the time of his arrest.
Translation by Emoon

News 7

www.mmtimes.com

Views

Naing Han Thar, the head of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team, speaks to reporters following peace talks in Myitkyina, Kachin State, on November 4, 2013. Photo: Boothee

Reporting on war and peace

THOMAS
KEAN
tdkean@gmail.com

NE of the boldest promises in President U Thein

Seins inaugural address on
March 30, 2011, was to end
the hell of untold miseries
suffered by Myanmars ethnic minority groups.
Just a few months later the
Tatmadaw was in full-blown conflict
mode again, with the outbreak of
fighting in Kachin State. But at the
same time, a nascent peace process
was gathering momentum; in August,
the negotiating team led by Union
minister U Aung Min was formed.
Reporting on these developments
and those that followed the bilateral
agreements, the negotiations toward
a nationwide ceasefire, the outbreak
of fighting in Kachin State and more
has been far from straightforward.
There have been challenges, threats
and mistakes made along the way.
When the government was formed
back in March 2011, The Myanmar
Times had never, to the best of my
knowledge, interviewed any of the
armed group leaders. Due to strict
censorship, coverage of ethnic conflicts and the aspirations of Myanmars armed ethnic groups had been
non-existent limited to occasional
rewrites of what was in the state
media, if it was thought important
enough.
There had also been little coverage of the governments approach

to peace up to that point; obviously,

the failure of the Border Guard Force
initiative was not something that
the censors were keen to allow into
print. This state of affairs continued
through much of 2011. We were not
even able to cover the outbreak of
fighting in Kachin State in June of
that year.
This meant that when censorship
restrictions were relaxed through
2011 and then eventually lifted in
August the following year, we were
not well positioned to cover the
peace process. We had no contacts or
relationship with the armed groups.
We had no experience operating in
areas outside government control.
We had a pretty limited knowledge
about the history of the conflicts and
the major players.
I think this was evident in the way
in which we covered the signing of
the bilateral ceasefires through late
2011 and early 2012 there was often
little more than photos of both sides
shaking hands over the table. Even
sorting out the names and acronyms
was a challenge. We were really
scrambling to get our heads around
what was happening.
During 2012 the coverage began
to improve. The lifting of pre-publication censorship encouraged us to
take more risks we no longer had
to worry that the fruits of our labours
would be pulled at the last minute by
timid civil servants in the information ministry. In June of that year we
sent a reporter and a photographer
into Kachin Independence Organisation territory, via China. We began to
seriously cover the fighting in Kachin
State, which was obviously quite
fierce toward the end of the year, and

elsewhere too, sending reporters out

around the country.
Still, our lack of experience covering ethnic armed group politics has
been apparent along the way. In some
cases we have been at times a little
uncritical of what protagonists in the
peace process have told us. Too often
the focus has been on the high-level
talks, rather than the impact on the
ground.
Im sure on this we were not
alone. Other publications inside
Myanmar will have faced similar

Due to strict
censorship, coverage
of ethnic conflicts
and the aspirations
of Myanmars armed
ethnic groups had
been non-existent.

challenges. Journalists and editors typically have only a few years

experience, but are particularly new
to ethnic conflict. Censorship was
applied to all. Most journalists are
ethnic Bamar, and there is a level of
distrust from armed groups toward
them on ethnicity grounds. Lack of
funds might hinder travel opportunities, and journalists are as is the
case everywhere often forced to
prioritise quantity over quality and
depth of coverage.

This has not necessarily harmed

the peace process in any way. However, the media perhaps hasnt played
the support role that it could have
done. This doesnt mean cheerleading; rather, there was not enough
analysis of the dynamics of what was
taking place, the competing interests
of the participants and the likely
outcomes.
Journalists have also faced pushback from some of the participants,
particularly the Tatmadaw. In late
2012, we printed a cartoon from a
contributor named Harn Lay showing
a civilian minister throwing a peace
dove, and a military figure shooting
it down. It wasnt long before we got
a phone call from the information
ministry suggesting it would be wise
not to print cartoons like that every
week. The military then ran an op-ed
in Myawady criticising us.
Earlier this year we were in hot
water again, when our Myanmar
edition published a cartoon about the
conflict in Kokang. I think these examples are as much testament to the
power of cartoons as the Tatmadaws
unwillingness to embrace freedom of
expression.
But resistance has not only been
on the side of the Myanmar military.
At the Law Khee Lar conference
earlier this month, there was clearly
tension between armed group leaders
and journalists, who were basically
kept prisoner in a compound and
then trooped out for a short press
briefing each day. At one point, a
senior Karen National Union official
accused some of them of working for
military intelligence. Similarly, the
conference at the United Wa State
Army headquarters of Panghsang was

tightly controlled, and only a handful

of journalists were allowed to attend.
These exchanges are a reminder
that we are not only covering peace
talks, but also conflicts. Lives are still
on the line. When youre sitting at
your desk in Yangon, its sometimes
easy to forget that.
The peace process is obviously not
going to end tomorrow, or even this
year. In all likelihood, it will be at
least several years before a genuine settlement can be reached that
convinces armed groups to exchange
guns for peace.
The upshot is that journalists and
editors have now had two, three or
four years to find their feet, and to
understand the motivations and interests of the different groups involved
in the talks. They have often been to
the places they are reporting on, and
interviewed many of the protagonists
on several occasions. Our coverage
this year has been much stronger
and more robust, even as weve faced
new challenges from some of the
stakeholders. While some might feel
threatened by a more empowered
media, on balance it should benefit
the peace process by making it more
transparent and better understood,
both inside Myanmar and abroad.
Thomas Kean is editor of the English
edition of The Myanmar Times. This is
an edited version of a presentation
delivered at the States of Peace in Asia:
Peacebuilding in Asia Scholars Forum,
which was held at Yangon University on
June 29 and jointly sponsored by the
Australian National University, the London
School of Economics and Political
Science, and the University of York.

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 1, 2015

Business
UOB plans $300 million in local loans in 12 months
JEREMY MULLINS
jeremymullins7@gmail.com
SINGAPORE-BASED UOB plans to facilitate US$300 million in investment
in Myanmar over the next 12 months,
according to Ian Wong, UOB Group
head of strategy and international
management.
UOB is one of nine foreign banks
that won a licence last year to open
a Myanmar branch. It subsequently
opened its branch in May.
We are very conscious we need
to bring investment into the country,
said Mr Wong.
The firm is focusing on three areas:

hospitality, infrastructure including

project finance as well as the energy
sector, and manufacturing.
Mr Wong said he reckons overall these three will contribute to significantly to Myanmars GDP over the
comings years.
He also said these play to UOBs
strengths of its regional network and
area of expertise. The three sectors
will also be significant for Myanmars
growth, adding industry in particular
will be helpful by creating jobs and encouraging spinoff investments.
The mandate given by the Central
Bank of Myanmar to foreign banks
is about encouraging foreign direct

investment into the country, he said.

At first, UOB will be working with its
existing international clients looking
to make Myanmar investments.
By initially focusing on existing
clients that it knows as well as understanding the projects, the bank aims to
make sure its loans are to successful
ventures.
Our first focus is to bring the clients
we have been working with around the
world into Myanmar, said Mr Wong.
It had previously been providing
offshore financing for several clients
operating in Myanmar, including to
Asiatech Energy in early 2014 for a
gas-fired power plant in Mon State. It

also provided the first onshore loan by

a foreign bank branch in Myanmar in
May, with a loan to Rangoon Excelsior
hotel.
Most of UOBs initial demand for
loans is in US dollars, though over
time it expects to shift to a combination of dollars and local currency. Foreign banks in Myanmar cannot lend
directly to local companies, which are
more likely to need funding in kyat.
Mr Wong said the liberalisation of
the banking sector to allow the first
foreign banks to enter will assist the
economy.
I think its a good first step by Myanmar authorities to really identify

banks which can help facilitate FDI

into the country, because I think the
country needs it at this point in time,
he said. I think that is an important
first step.
UOB has also set up what it calls
an FDI Advisory unit in Myanmar in
2013, which aims to help businesses
identify and explore opportunities in
the country.
The company had a Myanmar representative office for about 20 years
before opening its branch office in
May. While it was prohibited from
most businesses with the rep office, it
did provide the opportunity to build
up the banks knowledge base.

Workplace safety in need of update

Outdated laws and unsafe practices put workers at risk, experts say, following a deadly, high-profile scaffolding collapse in Mandalay

MYAT
NYEIN AYE
myatnyeinaye11092@gmail.com

THE scaffolding gave way on June

20 at a Mandalay hotel construction
site, killing two workers and injuring another 18 people. Pictures of
the incident were shared widely on
social media, instigating concern
over safety at construction sites.
Yet such accidents are relatively common at construction sites
across the country. Officials and
experts say much of the regulatory framework behind workplace
safety is outdated and in need of
an upgrade.
Adherence to safety standards
varies considerably from site to site.
In the past, people did not have
any awareness about safety standards at the workplace, said U Aung
Koe, a safety officer and trainer with
Global Enchanting Education Centre. Safer practices are gradually
spreading among business owners
and workers, but there is no specific law that everyone follows. Until
there is a law, there will be continuous workplace accidents.
Current rules on safe workplaces
largely hinge on the 1951 Factory
Act. The ministries of labour and of
construction have been working on a
draft Health and Safety in the Workplace law since 2012, but it has not
yet been submitted to parliament.
Experts say the accident at the
future Mandalay Pullman Hotel
highlights the need to move the law
forward.
There is no dedicated organisation for this, and no records for statistics, said U Aung Koe. If there
are statistics on worker accidents, it
can assist with reducing accidents
in the country.
U Aung Koe pointed to Singapores Ministry of Manpower as an
organisation that takes comprehensive statistics on workplace safety.
With the data in hand, it can then
look at ways to make workplaces
safer.
Industry bodies look to improve
data collection.
The Myanmar Engineering Society
plans to organise a group to record
statistics on worker accidents, according to vice president Daw Si Si Than.
There isnt an organisation taking

Surviving workers are hauled from the debris of the Mandalay hotel scaffolding collapse. Photo: EPA

comprehensive records at the moment,

but the engineering society is planning
to organise a safety group to do that in
the future, she said.
The Myanmar Engineering Society has put together seminars
and workshops on safety for both
developers and workers, though it
can be difficult without separate
safety laws.
Workplace safety here very
much depends on developers and
contractors, and the workers, she
said. When there is no law to enforce and no records about destruction caused by accidents, people are
unwilling to become interested in
safety.
U Aung Ko said safety imposes
more costs on developers who follow

better practices, which the more thrifty

developers will try to avoid. Developers
genuinely do not want accidents, but at
the same time they do not want to take
on more costs.
Some companies simply compensate workers out of pocket as
accidents occur. U Aung Koe said
that developers should realise that
if they lower accidents, they will
lower these payments.
This is the reason there must
be rules and regulations that are
followed, so that there are no workplace accidents, he said. Safety
depends primarily on business
owners.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Construction said they have
paused work on the draft of the

health and safety law since 2012,

though are still keen on it to come
out in the future.

Workplace
safety here very
much depends on
developers and
contractors, and
workers.
Daw Si Si Than
Myanmar Engineering Society

U Soe Win Sein, director of the

Ministry of Labours Factories General Labour Laws Inspection Department, said the 1951 Factories
Act does not cover all workers in
all workplaces.
Under the current rules, it does
keep some statistics, but they are
not comprehensive. Instead, they
largely cover for instance different
government departments.
Construction is one industry that
is not covered by the act, he said.
Thats why we have been drawing up a comprehensive health and
safety in the workplace law, said U
Soe Win Sein. Now the law is at the
drafting stage, and the ministry will
keep working according to its procedures to have it come out.

BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com

India has low electrification

rates but an abundance of
power generation

Chinese media notes

a success with Asia
infrastructure bank

BUSINESS 10

BUSINESS 11

Exchange Rates (June 30 close)

Currency
Euro
Malaysia Ringitt
Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar

Buying
K1234
K294
K818
K33
K1116

Selling
K1254
K302
K813
K34
K1119

KFC comes to
town with first
US fast food
JEREMY
MULLINS
jeremymullins7@gmail.com

THE doors opened to the first KFC

Myanmar outlet in Yangon yesterday and the chicken is indeed
from Myanmar.
The first location for the wellknown American fast food restaurant is on Bogyoke Aung San Street
opposite Bogyoke Market. It will
hold the official launch for the location on July 7, and local franchise

KFC Myanmar managing director JR

Ching. Photo: Thiri Lu

SU PHYO
WIN
suphyo1990@gmail.com

holder Yoma Strategic Holdings

plans to open several more Yangon
outlets before the end of the year.
Building the supply chain to an
international level and standard
was our biggest challenge, said
JR Ching, Yoma Strategics chief
financial officer and managing director of KFC Myanmar. And it is
an international level standard that
KFC imposed upon this market.
They didnt give any exemptions or
shortcuts because this is Myanmar.
The firm had an overarching
principle to source as much of its
product locally as possible. KFC has
rigid international quality standards that suppliers must meet, including for its meat.
A lot of people ask me where
the chicken comes from. A lot of
people assume its imported. Its
not. Its all local chicken from
Myanmar, and its delivered fresh
to the store daily, said Mr Ching.
He did not discuss the supplier in
more detail.
The company is actively adding
a few more stores before the end of
2015. It will focus on Yangon for the
next 12 months.
Part of it is operational, part of

Customers get their first taste of KFC chicken in Myanmar yesterday. Photo: Thiri Lu

it is developmental. We see a lot of

opportunity still here in Yangon.
We think the city offers the best
target market for the time being,
said Mr Ching.
That being said, as we develop,
and as we grow, of course well look
at other markets.
Although Mr Ching declined to
disclose where additional outlets
will be, he said important criteria
for selecting sites includes prominent, visible locations, high footfall
or car traffic, and an area that caters to its target audience.
While the majority of Yoma Strategics revenue comes from property, the firm is working with outside
land owners for the KFC business.
Mr Ching said the market is relatively new in terms of quick service
restaurants.
We think KFC is the first global

brand to be entering the market

though of course there are regional
brands like Lotteria and Marrybrown already here, he said. The
firm aims to differentiate itself
through several factors, including
brand awareness, product quality
and the work it is putting into its
restaurants.
There is a large degree of brand
awareness already particularly
among Yangon residents, and people who have been abroad or watch
international television.
That being said, I think were
trying to cater to all Myanmar people, trying to keep our prices accessible so that everyone in Myanmar
can enjoy, he said.
One advantage to being an international brand is that it can look at
other examples abroad to find out
what worked and what did not.

KFC Myanmar has gone with

baskets for serving in-house meals,
rather than the plates used in some
other Asian countries.
Mr Ching said the choice of the
plate versus the basket came down
to more operational considerations
rather than experience.
There is a difference in terms of
the way operations run and weve
learned a lot through our workings with the KFC group from other
markets, he said.
KFC is part of the US-based Yum!
chain of restaurants. The firm has
19,400 restaurants in 120 countries,
including over 500 KFC outlets in
both Thailand and Malaysia, 6500
in China and 240 in India.
Yoma Strategic, meanwhile, is a
Singapore-listed, Myanmar-focused
company helmed by prominent entrepreneur Serge Pun.

Strong bean year on Forex dealers make a comeback

India, China demand
TIN YADANAR TUN
newsroom@mmtimes.com

HTOO THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com
DOMESTIC beans and pulses exports
ought to pick up due to rising demand
stemming from India and China, according to government ministers.
Abnormal weather in India has
lowered bean yields, and its buyers are
turning to Myanmar to import more
matpe, or black gram, and mung beans,
said commerce minister U Win Myint
at a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Nay Pyi Taw on
June 29.
Indian officials had said the growing situation had not been strong this
year, so it will import more beans than
usual, U Win Myint said. Moreover,
administrators from a Chinese province have said they need more rice and
are also keen to import beans, he said
during the meeting, which was a session aimed at enhancing the rights and
welfare of farmers.
A United State Department of Agriculture grain and feed report from
earlier this year said Myanmars beans
and pulses production should rise to 5.1
million tonnes in 2015 and 5.3 million
tonnes in 2016 due to an expansion in
growing area.

It also said exports should reach

1.35 million tonnes in 2015 and 1.4 million tonnes in 2016.
India annually buys more than 1
million tonnes of [Myanmar] beans,
said U Myint Hlaing, minister of agriculture and irrigation.
It wants mainly to import from
Myanmar to meet their needs, and offers to buy them.
Myanmar competes with Canada in
the Indian market, though U Win Myint said Myanmar produce currently
has the upper hand.
In the Indian market, black gram
and mung beans from Myanmar get
higher prices than beans from Canada,
he said.
Domestic bean exporters may also
see future gains from the European
Union. The bloc of countries extended
duty-free access to Myanmar in 2013,
backdated to 2012, under its Generalised Scheme of Preferences. Ministers
said the market is beginning to sprout.
Myanmar exported 7200 tonnes to Europe in 2014-15, receive $250 per tonne.
If the quality of those beans improves, the situation for farmers will be
better because they will have another
market for export, said U Win Myint.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun

THE foreign exchange black market

has returned.
Dealers are again selling dollars at the market, rather than the
official, price, following a period
earlier this month where retail exchanges largely shut down.
The split between the Central
Bank of Myanmars official exchange rate and the market rate
had grown this year, reaching its
widest level earlier this month.
The Central Bank has subsequently
stepped in, driving the two rates
back toward each other, though a
significant gap remains.
Yesterday, the Central Banks
rate was K1110 a dollar, while industry website naungmoon.com
had the market rate at K1181. It is
illegal to trade outside a band of
plus or minus 0.8 percent of the official rate, meaning the ceiling was
K1119 per dollar.
The black market had temporarily near halted earlier this month,
leaving businesses particularly
importers scrambling for dollars.
Dealers had closed up shop due
to volatility in the exchange market
and a clampdown on illegal currency trading.
The Central Bank stepped in

earlier this month to buy up kyat

with dollars, with the market rate
rising as high as K1300 briefly in
early June before the kyat started appreciating to current levels
around K1181.
Five businesspeople were also
arrested on June 11 from Shwe Bon
Thar Street in downtown Yangon
by the Bureau of Special Investigation. The arrests were due to
the five people being suspected of
speculating on currency by purchasing and holding large quantities of dollars.
Following the arrests and the
volatility in the rate, many money
changers stopped doing explicit
business at the market rate, shutting down signboards and only selling kyat buying dollars at the official rate. This created challenges
for those looking to obtain dollars,
as many exchanges were reluctant
to trade at the market rate for fear
of arrest, and would not trade at
the official rate as they would lose
money.
Yet normalcy has now returned
to the black market.
Ko Thura Nay, an agent at an
exchange on Pansodan Road in
downtown Yangon, said the Central
Banks policy moves had strengthened the kyat against the dollar
this month. During the decline, his

shop had slowed business, but now

the market is back to operating as
usual.
Many customers are at the
shop, buying and selling, he said.
We now have enough dollars to
sell, though there was a lack of dollars at first.
Banks are still reluctant to depart from the Central Banks official
band, meaning customers selling
dollars can get better value at exchanges. Institutions following the
official rates also get a lower price
when selling dollars to customers
than those not following the rules,
meaning they can be reluctant to
sell the greenback.
Some banks do not sell more
than 20 dollars at a time, said Ko
Thura Nay. Twenty dollars is a very
small amount for a businessperson,
and if they want a larger amount
they must come to exchanges.
Ko Kyaw Kyaw Thet, an agent on
Yaw Min Gyi Street, said that while
the market price has not met the
Central Bank of Myanmars official
rate, the two are converging.
Volumes in the currency exchange black market are picking up
again, he said.
Agencies are operating as usual, although the market rate has
stopped somewhat short of the
Central Banks rate.

TRADE MARK CAUTION

DAEWOO E & C CO., LTD. of 541, Namdaemounno 5 (0)
ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, is the Owner and Sole
Proprietor of the following Trade Mark:-

10 International Business

THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 1, 2015

NEW DELHI

DAEWOO

Reg.No.IV/3699/2006 Reg.No.IV/4015/2009
Reg.No.IV/4530/2012 Reg.No.IV/6165/2015
in respect of Class 36: Building Sales Services, Licensed
real estate agent services, Leasing of farms, Department store
management [real estate], Real estate appraisal, Real estate
management, Leasing of real estate, Real estate agencies,
Rental of offices [real estate], Super market management [real
estate], Market management [real estate], Apartment house
management, Renting of apartments, House management [real
estate], Accommodation bureaux [apartments], Housing agents,
Convenience stores management [real estate].
Reg.No.IV/3700/2006 Reg.No.IV/4016/2009
Reg.No.IV/4531/2012 Reg.No.IV/6166/2015
in respect of Class 37: Building soundproofing, Building
insulating, Construction engineering Services, Repair of buildings,
Demolition of buildings, Rental of construction equipment,
Installation of building equipments, Construction information,
Construction contracting, Stadium construction, Overpass
construction, Park construction, Factory construction, Irrigation
devices Installation and repair, Bridge construction, Drilling of
wells, Rental of excavators, Grouting Works, Construction of
advertisement stand such as monuments, Guardrail construction,
Heating and air conditioning apparatus Installation, Varnishing,
Construction of dams and water storage facilities, Construction
of highways, streets and roads, Road paving, Paper hanging,
Sand polishing, Carpentering, Plastering, Building of fair stalls
and shops, Waterproofing, dampproofing and fireproofing, Pier
breakwater building, Plumbing, Bricklaying, Boring, Rental
of bulldozers Scaffolding, Building construction supervision,
Office building construction, Commercial building construction,
Construction of water supply or drainage system, Masonry, Works
for preventing and extinguishing fire, Underwater construction,
Asphalt paving, Arcade construction, Apartment construction,
Construction of tenement houses, Officetel construction, Painting,
interior and exterior, Drilling of wells, Canal and waterway
construction, Automic reactor construction, Glazing, Diving
and underwater construction, Electric appliance installation,
Shipbuilding, Construction of houses, Roofing works and zinc
works, Subway construction, Construction of warehouses,
Installation of windows and doors, Steel structure construction
works, Building reinforcing works, Reinforced concrete works,
Railway construction, Construction of condominium, Rental of
cranes [construction equipment], Residential land preparation
works, Tunnel construction, Development of land [construction],
Installation of communication network apparatus, Construction
of pipelines, Installation of Environmental Hygience Treatment
Appliances, Harbour construction.
Reg.No.IV/6164/2015
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said Trade
Mark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt according
to law.
Khine Khine U, Advocate
LL.B, D.B.L, LL.M (UK)
For DAEWOO E & C CO., LTD.
#205/5, Thirimingalar Housing, Strand Rd., Yangon.
Dated. 1 July 2015

Emissions billow from smokestacks at the NTPC Badarpur coal-fired power plant as power transmission lines hang from
electricity pylons in Badarpur, India. Photo: Bloomberg

Indian power plants

struggle to find clients
AT a time when almost one-third of
Indias 1.3 billion citizens have no access to electricity, power plants worth
about US$19 billion are struggling to
find customers.
High interest rates and weak industrial demand have coupled with
Indias unusually cool summer and
unseasonal rains to curtail electricity
usage. Thats left some 20 gigawatts
of capacity enough to power New
Delhi thrice over without long-term
supply contracts, according to Ashok
Khurana, director general at the Association of Power Producers, a lobby
group based in the capital.
New plant initiations have come
to a grinding halt, said Debasish
Mishra, a senior director at Deloitte
Touche Tohmatsu India in Mumbai.
The situation is very discouraging
for anyone planning to set up a power plant in India. If not addressed in
time, we will swing from the current
surplus situation to a major shortage
in a few years.
For JSW Energy, one of the affected power generators, almost half
its capacity lacks long-term buyers,
said chief executive officer Sanjay
Sagar. While Mr Sagar blames tepid
power demand on a downturn in
economic activity, the situation also
reveals structural problems afflicting the next link in the chain of Indias power market.
Power plants sell to electricity

retailers, preferably on long dated

contracts.
And the financial health of
those
retailers,
controlled
by
state governments and forced
to supply power to farmers and
the poor at subsidised prices, is
worsening.
Indias electricity retailers have accumulated losses of 2.5 trillion rupees
($39 billion) and lose 700 billion rupees every year, according to the firstyear report card of Prime Minister
Narendra Modis government. Reviving the distribution companies will be
crucial to Mr Modis election pledge of
providing round-the-clock electricity
to every household in the country by
2019.
Thats the reason why good demand from industrial customers is
so critical for distribution companies
because they are the paying customers, said Mr Khurana. That demand
is missing now.
Indias installed capacity is
272.5GW, according to the power ministry. It costs roughly 60 million rupees
to set up a megawatt, said Sambitosh
Mohapatra, a partner at PwC India, so
20GW translates to about $19 billion.
Indias electricity supply has improved in the three years since a major
power failure darkened vast swathes of
the countrys north. And the government has approved investment of 1.1
trillion rupees to upgrade distribution

and transmission infrastructure across

the nation.
Major Singh, chair at the power
ministrys Central Electricity Authority, couldnt be reached on his office
phone for a comment.
Still, the electricity retailers lose
about 1 rupee on every kilowatt hour
sold, according to the power producers association. And state governments arent always assiduous in making their subsidy payments on time,
forcing distributors to cut purchases
and forcing outages, said Mr Mohapatra of PwC India.
Indias economic challenges are only
bringing the problems out into the open.
High borrowing costs have affected
purchases of houses, cars and appliances, hurting downstream industries
that rely heavily on power such as
steel, cement and aluminum.
Even after three reductions, the
key rate at 7.25 percent is among the
highest in Asia and the growth in power demand has lagged capacity additions in the past year. Steel mills, for
example, are operating on average at
only 80pc of their potential, according
to the steel ministry.
The challenge facing Mr Modis
government is pulling power distribution companies out of the debt trap,
said Rajiv Kumar, economist and senior fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research.
Bloomberg

TOKYO

Sony shares plunge over 8% on

fundraising announcement
SHARES in Sony plunged 8.25 percent yesterday on dilution fears after the Japanese electronics giant
announced plans to raise US$3.6
billion through stock and bond
sales.
The stock closed at 3461.5 yen
on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, down
8.25pc from the previous day, while
the benchmark index ended up
0.63pc.
Sony plans to raise a total of 441
billion yen ($3.6 billion) more
than 10pc of the companys market

capitalisation as of yesterday. It is
the first new share issuance in 26
years, the company said.
Of the 441 billion yen, 321.5 billion yen will be procured though
new issuance and a secondary offering of shares.
The company plans to raise another 119.9 billion yen in bonds that
can be converted into stocks.
The financing is for image sensors for cameras and the shares will
be offered in Japan and overseas,
the company said.

As financing this size is unusual,

its only natural that the stock fell
in accordance with an expected dilution of per-share value, said Hirokazu Kabeya, senior strategist at
Daiwa Securities.
The announcement came with
players unsettled by events in Europe, where Greece is lurching towards a default on its debt.
The timing wasnt good as the
market was already roiled over the
Greek problem, he said.
AFP

International Business 11

www.mmtimes.com
BEIJING

PARIS

French
telco cuts
ties with
Partner

Chinese President Xi Jinping (front centre) poses for a group photo with the delegates attending the signing ceremony for the Articles of Agreement of the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Media sees diplomatic coup

with infrastructure bank
THE creation of the Chinese-led
Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank is a bigger coup for Beijing
than its hosting of the 2008 Olympics, state-run media said yesterday
after 50 countries signed its legal
framework.
China was spurred to create the
AIIB after unfair treatment by
Washington-led institutions, the
Global Times said in an editorial, apparently referring to the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund.
The AIIB has been viewed by
some as a rival to the World Bank
and Asian Development Bank, and
the United States and Japan the

worlds largest and third-largest

economies respectively have notably declined to join.
Under the articles of association,
China will initially have 26 percent
of the votes in the bank, giving it a
veto over some key decisions which
require a 75pc majority including
the choice of the banks president,
suspensions of members, and changes to the rules.
India will have the second-largest
voting percentage at 7.5pc and Russia is third with 5.9pc.
Chinas leadership means its influence is prominent and far-reaching, and it carries more profound

Chinas attempt
to lead the
international
financial institution
may have been forced
by unfair treatment.
Global Times
State-run media in China

significance than successfully hosting an Olympic Games, said the

Global Times, which is affiliated with
the official Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily.
Major US allies including the
UK, France and Germany have all
signed on to the bank.
US allies that have joined the
AIIB do not mean to flatter China,
but they see the benefits will outweigh their relations with Washington, the editorial added.
Chinas attempt to lead the international financial institution may
have been forced by unfair treatment
in other institutions, it said. AFP

FRENCH mobile company Orange

reached a deal with Israels Partner to
retake control of its brand, it said in
a statement yesterday, as it seeks to
move on from a major diplomatic spat.
Orange will pay up to 90 million
euros (US$100 million) to regain direct control of the brand in Israel
within two years, which had been licenced to Partner until 2025.
The discussions were pragmatic,
carried out in an amicable atmosphere
and the two parties have reached a satisfactory mutual agreement, said Pierre
Louette, Oranges vice director general.
It was a situation inherited from
a previous contract that gave a neareternal right of usage of the name,
added Mr Louette.
We had a chance to regain the
brand more quickly, which is a good
thing.
Attempts by the French company
to recover use of its Orange brand in
Israel had led to major diplomatic
strife after the head of the company,
Stephane Richard, made comments
that were interpreted as a desire to
boycott Israel for political reasons.
On June 3, Mr Richard told a conference in Cairo that he would break
the relationship with Partner immediately if it was legally possible, which
was seen as support for a Palestinianled boycott campaign.
Mr Richard later said his comments were misinterpreted and that
he did not support any kind of boycott.
He travelled for talks with Israeli leaders in a bid to smooth over the controversy.
Orange says its intention all along
was to develop closer links to Israel,
particularly related to research and
development.
Mr Richard is also suing over death
threats against him and his family
over the affair. AFP

BANGKOK

HONG KONG

Thai regulator asks for

help on mixed signals

Wild day on Chinese stock markets

THAILANDS
telecommunications
regulator has asked for help from the
UNs International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to set a standard
for cross-border frequency coordination between it and neighbouring
countries.
The move is in line with the fiveyear master plan ending in 2016
of the National Broadcasting and
Telecommunications
Commission
(NBTC).
NBTC secretary general Takorn
Tantasith said the three-day crossborder frequency coordination workshop being held in Bangkok until tomorrow was a collaboration with the
ITU.
Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Malaysia have long faced
spectrum interference in border
areas.
We hope to find a single solution
to manage the cross-border frequency as well as other collaborations to
improve and build up capability in
telecommunications among the five
countries, Mr Takorn said.
Wireless spectrum interference in
border areas, especially between Thailand and Laos and between Thailand
and Malaysia, is a serious problem,
as heavy signals sent across borders

disturb the signals of other countries.

Last year, Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC) was asked by the
NBTC to reduce the power of radio
signals transmitted in Udon Thani
and Nong Khai to reduce interference
on the Thai-Laotian border.
Regulators had found DTACs signals were too powerful and caused
serious disturbance in Laos.
Mr Takorn said proper management of the cross-border spectrum
would also protect customers from
being overcharged for international
roaming rates when travelling in border areas.
Such strong signals from operators can cause problems for customers, he said.
For instance, if we travel along
the border, our mobile could automatically catch the stronger signal.
Even though were still in our home
country, we can be charged the roaming rate. The new standard will help
consumers with this issue.
The NBTC now governs the telecommunications industry under its
2012-16 spectrum master plan, which
is aimed at enhancing coordination
in managing frequencies to maximise
customer benefits.
Bangkok Post

SHANGHAI stocks soared more than

5 percent yesterday after plunging by
a similar amount on another day of
wild volatility, while Hong Kong rose
in line with regional markets despite
fears about Greeces future in the
eurozone.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shot up 5.53 percent,
or 224.19 points, to 4277.22 on turnover of 941.5 billion yuan (US$154.0
billion). It was its biggest rise since
March 4, 2009.
The gains came after a weekend
interest rate cut had failed June 29 to
arrest two weeks of plunging prices.
The Shenzhen Composite Index,
which tracks stocks on Chinas second
exchange, jumped 4.80pc, or 112.83
points, to 2464.23 on turnover of 721.4
billion yuan. Its range was more than
11pc over the day.
Hong Kong stocks ended 1.09pc
higher, adding 283.05 points to
26,250.03 on turnover of HK$155.87
billion ($20.11 billion).
When Shanghai peaked on June
12 it had risen more than 150pc over
the previous 12 months, partly fuelled
by margin trading in which investors borrow cash to invest in stocks,
a practice that enhances both profits
and losses.
Both Shanghai and Shenzhen subsequently fell by more than 20pc, a
common definition of a bear market,

but yesterdays rise took Shanghai out

of that zone.
The early morning plunge was a
continuation of recent falls and the
lowest point the [Shanghai] market
tested in the morning should be the
bottom level that the government can
bear, said Phillip Securities Group
analyst Chen Xingyu.
The rapid run-up, as well as the
quick plunge of Chinese stocks, are
partly caused by immature retail investors, which in a way reflects the immaturity of the Chinese equity market.
Chinas market regulator is also
responsible for the volatile market because all it has done are post-damage
and passive interventions.
On June 27, Chinas central bank
announced an interest rate cut and
reduced the amount of cash banks
must keep in reserve, to boost lending
moves widely seen as trying to shore
up markets rather than addressing

Anything they do
short-term ... [is]
somewhat foolish.
Chad Padowitz
CIO, Wingate Asset Management

economic fundamentals.
Authorities are also considering
new rules allowing some of Chinas
social security funds to be invested in
equities, officials said.
But Chad Padowitz, Melbournebased chief investment officer at Wingate Asset Management, told Bloomberg News government efforts to
protect share prices would only have
short-lived effects.
The only real support they can
provide over time is providing a reasonably balanced, growing economy,
he said. Anything they do short-term,
decreasing interest rates to support
the market or things like that, are
somewhat foolish.
Analysts say the past fortnights
declines were mainly triggered by new
restrictions on margin trading and
accelerated by growing concern that
stocks were overvalued after the markets extended climb.
Heavyweight securities firms led
the gains. Shanghai-listed China Merchant Securities surged 9.47pc to 26.46
yuan while Shenzhen-listed Shanxi Securities climbed 8.91pc to 18.09 yuan.
Hong Kong investors returned
to buying after plunging with global
markets on June 29 in response to
Greeces shock decision to break off
debt reform talks and call a referendum on its creditors austerity
proposals. AFP

12
BRUSSELS

Juncker makes lastminute proposal

IN PICTURES

Photo: AFP

EUROPEAN Commission chief

Jean-Claude Juncker set out a
possible last-minute solution to
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
to reach a debt deal before a bailout
referendum, a Commission source
said yesterday.
Having been in contact with
PM Tsipras yesterday, the President
explained how a last-minute deal
could look like, the source said.
In Athens, a euro-MP from Mr
Tsiprass Syriza party, Stelios Kouloglou, said, The Juncker plan must
be studied.
Mr Juncker told the Greek premier that a deal would involve
accepting reform proposals that
Greece EU-IMF creditors made at
the weekend and backing a yes
vote in July 5s plebiscite, another
EU source said.
Tsipras would have to send a
letter to Juncker, Dijsselbloem,
Merkel and Hollande in which he
accepts the proposal of the three
institutions from Saturday [and]
committing to a yes campaign on
this basis, the source said.
German
Chancellor
Angela

Carrying banners calling for a no vote in the forthcoming

referendum on bailout conditions set by the countrys
creditors, protesters gather in front of the Greek parliament.

WASHINGTON

IMF loses credibility

over Greece default
NOBODY in the halls of the International Monetary Fund in Washington has any illusion: Greece was set
to default, delivering a new blow to
the global crisis banks credibility.
Just weeks ago, the fund refused
to accept the idea that Athens, which
has received some 32 billion euros
from the IMF to rescue its economy
since 2010, would be unable to make
the 1.5 billion euro (US$1.7 billion)
payment.
At the beginning of June, managing director Christine Lagarde
insisted she had the assurance of
Greek leader Alexis Tsipras.
The prime minister said, Do not
worry, she said confidently. A fund
spokesperson reiterated that confidence again last week.
But Mr Tsiprass announcement
of a referendum on an adjusted bailout plan which he urged his people
to reject made clear that the country is not going to reach a deal with
official creditors in time to finance
any new debt payment.
Is it possible the creditors are
waiting for the IMF payment while
our banks are being suffocated? Mr
Tsipras asked.
Greece will be the first country to
default on the IMF since Zimbabwe
in 2001 and, in terms of standards of
living, the wealthiest.
The IMF will undoubtedly wait
to the final minute before declaring Athens in arrears, but then the
country will be immediately cut off
from further IMF aid, including disbursements planned on the existing
bailout program.
The IMF has less at stake than
Greece in that event, but still stands
to lose, experts said.
A default by Greece, even if a
short-lived one, would stain the

reputation of the IMF and make

it less likely future IMF programs
would trigger private [capital] inflows into troubled countries, said
Eswar Prasad, a former Fund official.
It is not the first time that the IMF,
traditionally called on by economically troubled governments to help
when they run short of liquidity, faces
the breakdown of a bailout program.
And it has already confessed errors in prescribing austerity as a
cure when that ended up stifling
economic growth.
The institution has been criticised from outside as well as inside.
Some member states have objected
to the way rules have been bent to
keep supporting Greece.
They note that the Fund can only
lend to a country if its debts are
judged sustainable, and Greeces
clearly are not. A default by Athens
will only aggravate that open wound.
Non-payment would signal in a
way that is clear to the person in the
street worldwide that IMF engagement with the euro and Greece has
gone very badly wrong, said Peter
Doyle, who used to work for the IMF
European Department.
What happens with Greece could
also impact the IMFs likewise highrisk loan program for Ukraine, said
Mr Doyle.
In March, Kiev obtained a new
lifeline from the IMF amid huge
questions over whether its debt load
is sustainable.
The fund has more to guard than
its image: It needs to protect the
hundreds of billions of dollars provided it by its 188 members.
It has been able to, without much
controversy, write off loans made to
certain countries, mainly those in
the most dire circumstances.

That includes Haiti, whose $268

million in debt was forgiven after
the devastating 2010 earthquake,
and $100 million written off for the
West African countries hardest hit
by Ebola last year.
But the Greek case is different.
The size of the loans is many times
larger and the losses would impact
the IMFs financial integrity.

A default by Greece,
even a short-lived
one, would stain the
reputation of the
IMF.

Merkel, French President Francois

Hollande and Jeroen Dijsselbloem,
the head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers from the 19-country eurozone, have been key figures
in the five months of talks to reach
a Greek debt deal.

The Juncker plan

must be studied.
Stelios Kouloglou
Euro-MP, Syriza party

If Mr Tsipras accepted it could

pave the way for another Eurogroup meeting to finalise the agreement, the source added.
At an emergency meeting on
June 28, the Eurogroup rejected
Greeces request for an extension to
its EU-IMF bailout program past its
planned expiry yesterday, the same
day it is set to default on a big IMF
loan repayment. AFP

MADRID

Spain leader presses

for Greek voters to
accept bailout deal
SPAINS Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy yesterday became the first
European leader to openly back the
departure of Greeces far-left government as he urged Greeks to accept bailout proposals in a crucial
referendum.
Mr Rajoy said a yes vote in the
July 5 referendum would be good
for Greece as it would allow its
creditors to negotiate with a new
government in Athens.
If the referendum takes place
and if [Greek Prime Minister
Alexis] Tsipras loses the referendum, this would be a good thing
for Greece because the Greeks will
have said yes, we want to stay in the
euro, and we could negotiate with
another government, he told radio
Cope.
If the no side wins, Mr Rajoy

said Greece would have no alternative but to leave the euro.

Mr Rajoys conservative Popular
Party government is facing the rapid
rise in Spain of new far-left party
Podemos, which is a close ally of Mr
Tsipras ruling Syriza party. AFP

JULY

The date Greek Prime Minister

Alexis Tsipras has set for a national
referendum on bailout conditions

Eswar Prasad
Former IMF officiasl

The fund needs Greece to keep

going and eventually pay up, but
has few cards left to play, Mr Prasad said.
Its in no ones interest to escalate the implications of this missed
payment, said Domenico Lombardi,
a former board member of the IMF.
Theyre going to play that down
in the hope that this is not going
to jeopardise the start of future
negotiations.
Ms Lagarde clearly understands
that.
Over the weekend, with Greeces
default in motion, she took a measured approach, withholding criticism and saying the fund stands
ready to provide assistance as
needed. AFP

Protesters participate in a demonstration calling for a no vote in the

forthcoming referendum on bailout conditions set by the countrys creditors, in
front of the Greek parliament in Athens. Photo: AFP

www.mmtimes.com

Business 13

14 THE MYANMAR TIMES July 1, 2015

15

World

World ediTor: Kayleigh Long

Qatarss migrant
worker policies in
the spotlight again

First arrest made

following Tunisia
beach attack

World 17

World 16

War crimes and Peace Corps:

Muth plays host to volunteer

MEdAN, NorTH SUMATrA

WASHINGToN

EU slams Thai juntas pursuit of

sedition charges for students
THE European Union hit out at Thailands junta yesterday for pursuing
sedition charges against a group of
anti-coup student activists, describing their arrest and prosecution in
a military court as a disturbing
development.
The 14 detained students are part
of a small network of pro-democracy
campaigners who have dared publicly
to challenge Thailands military rulers after they seized power from an
elected government last year and severely curbed civil liberties.
They were detained on June 26
after holding a protest at Bangkoks
Democracy Monument the previous
day and were charged with sedition,
which carries up to seven years in jail.
Their case is being handled by a
military court, which usually holds
hearings behind closed doors. There
is no right of appeal once convicted.
The arrests of 14 students on
the basis of charges brought against
them for peacefully demonstrating ...
is a disturbing development, the EU
said in a statement yesterday.
Respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms must be upheld, and military courts should not
be used to try civilians, the statement added.
The EU condemnation was echoed by the United Nations Human
Rights Office (OHCHR), which released a statement yesterday calling on Thailand to drop criminal

charges against the protesters and

release them from custody.
The students can be held by police
for up to 84 days in pre-trial detention, although their incarceration
must be renewed every 12 days by a
court. The next hearing at Bangkoks
military court is expected next week.
Sirikan Charoensiri, one of a team
of lawyers representing the students,
said the students were refusing to request bail in protest at being tried in
a military court.
They reject the military courts
jurisdiction, she told AFP, adding
they have remained in good spirits
since their arrest.
Its really quite serious to charge
peaceful protesters with sedition.
Their activities were entirely peaceful, she added.
The groups refusal to seek bail
appears to have caught the military
government off guard.
Normally those who were
arrested must seek bail so why do
these students not want to get bail?
Anusit Kunakorn, secretary-general
of the National Security Council,
asked reporters yesterday.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu
Krea-ngam said it was impossible
for students to demand that they
want to be tried in civilian court.
Rights groups have described the
arrests as a serious escalation in repression by the junta.
Charles Santiago, a Malaysian law-

maker and the chair of the ASEAN

Parliamentarians for Human Rights,
described the arrests as a disgrace
in a recent statement.
But police and senior junta officials have vowed to go after those
supporting the students.
Officers in the northern city of
Chiang Mai confirmed yesterday that
three people who protested on June
29 in support of the students were
detained.
They were released after talks
with army and police in which they
said they will not protest again, local officer Major Prasong Nafun told
AFP.
Thailands generals claim the May
2014 coup was essential to restore order after months of often violent protests against the elected government
of Yingluck Shinawatra.
But opponents say it was the latest
manoeuvre by Bangkok-based royalist elites, backed by large swathes of
the military, to scupper democracy
and protect their interests.
The coup was the latest crisis in
the countrys bitterly divided politics
that roughly pits the capitals elites
against working-class voters in the
northern provinces who are loyal to
ousted premiers Thaksin Shinawatra
and his sister Yingluck.
The Shinawatras parties have
won every election since 2001 and
are known for their pro-poor policies.
AFP

ToKYo

Man self-immolates aboard train

A MAN set himself on fire on board a
moving bullet train in Japan yesterday,
killing himself and one other person,
in an unprecedented incident on a network with an enviable safety record.
Several other passengers had to be
treated for smoke inhalation after the
man doused himself in flammable liquid and lit a cigarette lighter on the
train as it hurtled through the countryside around 70 kilometres (45 miles)
southwest of Tokyo.
The Yomiuri Shimbun daily said a
blast was heard from a toilet stall at the
front of the train, filling the front carriage with choking white smoke, and
provoking an emergency stop.
Media reported that the driver
of the 300-kilometre-per-hour train,
which had around 1000 passengers on
board, found the still-burning body of
the man after the emergency stop.
We have been informed that there
was a passenger in a car on the train
who covered him or herself with oil
and set it on fire, a spokesperson for
operator JR Central told AFP.
The train involved in the incident
a super-fast Nozomi bullet train was
travelling from Tokyo towards Osaka,
when the blaze erupted near Odawara,
southwest of the capital.
We received information indicating that a fire broke out near a toilet
and two people were in cardiopulmonary arrest, a spokespersonb for
Odawara Fire Department said. The
term is often used by first responders
in Japan, who are unable to officially
certify someone as dead.
NHK reported the two dead were
found on the floor of the front car, but

Passengers look at a departures board to check the situation outside the bullet
train, or shinkansen ticket barrier at Tokyo station on June 30. Photo: AFP

at opposite ends of the carriage.

Broadcaster NTV said the dead man
was 71 years old, while local officials
said the other deceased was a woman.
An official at the local disaster prevention office said one man remained
in a serious condition, while three others were badly hurt.
The Disaster Management Agency
said about 20 others had to be treated
for the effects of smoke inhalation.
Television pictures showed all the
doors on the stationary train were open
and passengers were being carried out
on stretchers.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set up
a task force to respond to the incident,
his office said, and all bullet trains running between Tokyo and Nagoya were
suspended.

The motive behind the public suicide was not immediately clear, but
self-immolations are relatively rare in
Japan, a country where the culture of
political protest is subdued.
Mental illness carries a considerable stigma, and critics say support
networks for those suffering from psychological illness are inadequate.
In November 2014, a man reportedly burned himself to death at a park in
the heart of Tokyo in an apparent protest against Japans controversial move
to expand the role of its military.
Another man also set himself ablaze
June 2014 on a pedestrian walkway in
Shinjuku, one of Tokyos busiest districts, after giving a speech opposing
Mr Abes plan to reform the countrys
pacifist constitution. AFP

Meas Muth, a former navy chief of the Khmer Rouge and alleged war criminal, smokes a cigarette at his house in
Battambang province last week. Photo: AFP

People look at the rubble left after a military plane crashed in Medan on June 30. The Indonesian military transport plane crashed on June 30 shortly after taking off with 113
people on board, exploding in a ball of flames in a residential area. Photo: AFP

No survivors as Indonesian
military plane crashes in city
AT least 116 people are feared dead
after an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed yesterday into a
major city shortly after take-off and
exploded in a fireball, officials said.
Buildings were left in ruins and
cars reduced to flaming wrecks
when the Hercules C-130 came
down in a residential area of Medan, a city of 2 million on the island
of Sumatra.
Air force chief Agus Supriatna
said the manifest showed there
were 113 people on board the plane
12 crew and 101 passengers
when it crashed, and he did not believe any had survived.
No, no. No survivors, I have just
returned from the site, he told AFP
in answer to a question.
So far, 49 bodies had been recovered and taken to hospital, he said.
Many passengers were likely to
be family members of servicepeople, said a spokesman for Medan
airbase, where the plane took off.
At least one child has so far been
confirmed killed.
The local search and rescue
agency also said that three people
were killed on the ground when the
51-year-old plane went down near a
newly built residential area, hitting

a massage parlour and a small hotel.

A rescue operation swung into
action, with ambulances ferrying
bodies from the site, and crowds of
anxious residents gathering around
a police cordon to view the smouldering wreckage.
Residents of Medan described
the terrifying moment just after
midday when the plane came down.
It was very scary, said Novi, an
employee of an international school
who goes by one name, describing
how she heard the plane and saw
it flying very low before the crash.
Another local resident Januar,
26, said the aircraft appeared to be
in trouble just before the accident.
I saw the plane from the direction of the airport and it was tilting
already, then I saw smoke billowing.
Medans police chief described
the bodies as crushed by debris of
the buildings and the fuselage.
Indonesian President Joko
Widodo expressed sorrow at the
accident, tweeting, May the families be given patience and strength
... May we remain protected from
disaster.
The plane took off at 12:08pm
(0508 GMT) from the airbase and

crashed in the city about two minutes later, about 5 kilometres (3

miles) from the base, according to
the military.
Shortly after take-off, the pilot
had asked to return to base, Mr
Supriatna said, adding the aircraft
might have suffered engine trouble.

I saw the plane

from the direction
of the airport
and it was tilting
already, then I saw
smoke billowing
Januar
Crash witness

But he added the plane was

in very good condition and had
made several stops before arriving
in Medan.
It was the second time in a decade that Medan had suffered a fatal
plane accident. A Mandala Airlines

domestic flight crashed shortly after take-off in 2005 into a densely

populated suburb, killing at least
150 including passengers, crew and
people on the ground.
Medan is the biggest Indonesian
city outside the main island of Java
and is a major economic centre.
The Indonesian air force has suffered accidents before.
At least 11 people were killed
when a Fokker-27 military jet
crashed into a housing complex in
the capital Jakarta in June 2012.
In April an F-16 fighter jet
caught fire as it was about to take
off from an airbase in Jakarta,
prompting the pilot to jump to
safety as flames and thick smoke
engulfed the plane.
The pilot escaped with minor injuries from the jet, which had been
due to provide security at a summit of Asian and African leaders in
Indonesia.
Indonesia also has a poor civil
aviation safety record, and has suffered many fatal crashes in the past.
An Indonesia AirAsia plane
crashed in December en route from
Indonesias Surabaya to Singapore,
killing all 162 people on board.
AFP

A CURRENT volunteer for the United

States Peace Corps program in Cambodia lived with alleged Khmer Rouge
war criminal Meas Muth for several
months last year as part of his official
service in Battambangs Samlot district,
the program has acknowledged.
Mr Muth, 76, lives freely despite being charged in Case 003 by the Khmer
Rouge tribunal for allegedly executing,
enslaving and torturing enemies of the
regime, including many foreigners,
during his time as one of the Khmer
Rouges top commanders.
But that history didnt stop the
Peace Corps from selecting Muths son,
Meas Sophors, as the host father for
volunteer Ben Larracey in 2013.
Peace Corps host families are paid,
which means the federally funded program compensated Muths family a little over $100 a month for almost two
years.
Mr Larracey settled into Sophors
house at the start of his two-year service in September 2013, moving in with
Mr Muth only a few months later at the
start of 2014.
Larracey has since returned to live
with Mr Muths son, who remains close
to his father and lives in the same remote district.
In an interview at his home last
week, Muth said he allowed the volunteer into his family because he no longer had any desire for revenge against
his former enemy.
I have not forgiven my enemy, but
my enemy does nothing to me [now],
so I will not do anything back against
them, he said as he puffed on tobacco
wrapped in leaves under his stilted
house in Samlot.
While Mr Muth said the volunteer
only stayed at his sons house, it is wellknown in Samlot that a Peace Corps
volunteer once lived at Muths nearby
home for reasons that remain unclear.
Mr Larracey and Mr Sophors both
declined to comment for this story.
According to Hout Sokhom, the director of the Samlot high school where
Larracey had taught English as part of
his service, the volunteer lived with Mr
Muth while his sons house was undergoing repairs.
Mr Larracey was due to finish teaching at the school in July, Sokhom said.
Former Battambang Peace Corps
volunteer Nicholas Branch remembers
visiting Mr Larracey at Muths house

one day in the summer of 2014, six or

seven months after Larracey began
living there.
Branch said he was performing a
site visit with Alissa Bellot, Peace Corps
Cambodias director of programming
and training.
Every Peace Corps person gets
their site visited just to see how theyre
doing, Branch said, adding that he and
Bellot met Muth during the visit.
Mr Branch described the alleged
war criminal as a very quiet guy.
Ms Bellot did not reply to later
questions about the site visit, but had
previously said that we have a very
extensive vetting process for all of our
homestay families.
When asked for comment, the Peace
Corps office in Washington, DC, did not
explain why a volunteer once lived at
Meas Muths home and was hosted by
Muths family.
Nevertheless, the Peace Corps said
it had taken quick action following the
enquiry, removing Larracey from the
family of Meas Sophors on June 25 and
saying it would re-examine its procedures.
As soon as Peace Corps Headquarters learned of this situation, immediate action was taken and the Volunteer
in question was removed from their
site. Peace Corps will review its processes, as volunteer safety and security is the agencys top priority, a statement from a Peace Corps spokesperson
reads.
Peace Corps takes the responsibility to place volunteers in safe and productive homestays extremely seriously.
When he was visited last week, Mr
Muth said Larraceys stay came out of a
newfound goodwill toward his former
sworn enemy.
If they agree to give me happiness,
I can also give happiness back.
According to Mr Muth, Larracey
would periodically come to visit his
house on Saturdays while he lived with
his son, and eat jackfruit or durian
although the volunteer always paid for
the fruit.
I am a man who does not like to
talk much, so I just say hello and how
are you? in the Khmer language to
him.
On March 3, Khmer Rouge tribunal investigating judge Mark Harmon
charged Mr Muth in absentia with
murder, extermination, enslavement,

imprisonment, persecution on political

and ethnic grounds, and other inhumane acts for actions the former navy
commander allegedly committed at the
S-21 and Wat Enta Nhien security centres, on islands, and at sea.
Although Meas Mr Muth is wanted
by the ECCC of which the United
States is a major donor he has never
been put on trial for his alleged crimes
due to vociferous opposition from
Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has said
prosecuting any cases beyond the current Case 002 would foment a civil
war.
Earlier this month, documents released by the ECCC revealed that Cambodian judicial police had failed to act
on a December arrest warrant issued
to bring Mr Muth to trial, prompting
renewed allegations of government interference in the courts proceedings.
Muths defence, however, in a statement released on June 26, rejected the
legitimacy of the warrant, saying it is
invalid because it lacks the signature
of Harmons national counterpart, You
Bunleng.
It remains unclear exactly how the
Peace Corps allowed a volunteer to
stay with a highly politically sensitive
alleged war criminal, especially as the
United States says it long supported
the goal of prosecuting those most responsible for the atrocities perpetrated
by the Khmer Rouge regime in a statement from its embassy last August.
But the ball may have started rolling with Lot Bunthoeun, who lives
close to Meas Sophors house.
Mr Bunthoeun said he had been approached by the US Embassy to host a
Peace Corps volunteer, but he declined
the request as he was moving soon.
He referred them to Mr Sophors
house instead.
The condition of renting the house
was to provide food for Peace Corps in
the evening, and [in return] they give
us $110 per month, he said.
The first group of Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Cambodia in 2007,
according to Peace Corps Cambodias
website. Since then, over 300 volunteers have served in the country.
Living with a family helps our
volunteers integrate into the communities in which they work, study local
culture and traditions, and learn to
speak Khmer, the local language, the
site reads. The Phnom Penh Post

TRADE MARK CAUTION

PERFETTI VAN MELLE Spa a company incorporated in Italy and
having its office at Via XXV Aprile 7, 20020 Lainate (MI), Italy, is
the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following Trade Mark:-

Reg.No.IV/7368/2012 & Reg.No.IV/5843/2015

used in respect of Class 30: Confectionery, bubble gum, chewing
gum, chocolate, coffee, cocoa, chew candies, candies, drops, jellies
(confectionery), lollipops, lozenges, mints, pastry, sugar, sweets,
toffee, licorice, pastilles;
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said Trade
Mark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with
according to law.
Khine Khine U, Advocate
LL.B, D.B.L, LL.M (UK)
For PERFETTI VAN MELLE Spa
#205/5, Thirimingalar Housing, Strand Rd., Yangon.
Dated. July 1, 2015

TRADE MARK CAUTION

CASTROL LIMITED, a company organised existing under
the laws of England and Wales, of Wakefield House, Pipers Way,
SWINDON, Wiltshire, SN3 1RE, England, is the Owner of the
following Trade Marks:-

LIQUID ENGINEERING
Reg. No. 7196/2005

ITS MORE THAN JUST OIL

ITS LIQUID ENGINEERING

Reg. No. 7710/2005

in respect of Class 1: Chemicals used in industry, science,
photography, horticulture and forestry; chemical products for use
in industry and/or for use in manufacturing processes; synthetic
materials for absorbing oil; detergent additives to petrol; chemical
additives for fuels, lubricants and greases; adhesives for industrial
purposes; anti-freeze; brake fluids; brazing preparations; degreasing
preparations for use in manufacturing processes; oil dispersants;
fluids for hydraulic circuits; soldering chemicals; transmission
oils and fluids; cutting and grinding fluids and oils; coolants;
chemical products for use in treatment of cooling systems. Class 4:
Industrial oils and greases; lubricants; lubricating oils and greases;
fuels; non-chemical additives for fuels, lubricants and greases; dust
absorbing, wetting and binding compositions; illuminants. Class
37: Servicing, lubrication, maintenance, and repair services for
vehicles, engines and machinery; inspection services relating to the
aforesaid; anti-rust treatment for vehicles; tyre fitting and puncture
repair; motor vehicle wash services; service station services. Class
42: Analysis, testing and monitoring of oils, coolants, greases and
lubricants; monitoring of fuel and lubricant levels in machines and
in vehicles; analysis and diagnosis of wear rates, defects and faults
in engines and machinery; advisory services based upon the results
of the aforementioned analysis and diagnosis; monitoring services
relating to the servicing, lubrication, maintenance and repair of
vehicles, engines and machinery; monitoring services relating to
the servicing, lubrication, maintenance and repair services for
vehicles, engines and machinery.
Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Marks
will be dealt with according to law.
Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L
for CASTROL LIMITED
P. O. Box 60, Yangon.
Email: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm
Dated: 1 July 2015

16 World

THE MYANMAR TIMES July 1, 2015

PORT EL KANTAOUI, TUNISIA

First arrest made after

shock beach attack
TUNISIA has made its first arrests
after a beach massacre that killed 38
people, as European officials paid tribute to victims of the countrys worst
ever jihadist attack.
Tunisias Interior Minister Najem
Gharsalli said the authorities had arrested a significant number of people
from the network that was behind this
terrorist attack on a popular tourist
resort in Port El Kantaoui.
I promise the victims ... that these
criminal killers will be brought before Tunisian justice so they are justly
punished, he added, warning that
anyone who provided any logistical
or financial assistance to the attacker
would be arrested.
On June 26, a Tunisian identified as 23-year-old Seifeddine Rezgui
pulled a Kalashnikov assault rifle from
inside a beach umbrella and went on
a bloody rampage at the five-star Riu
Imperial Marhaba hotel near Sousse,
south of the capital Tunis.
Visiting the scene of the attack
where up to 30 British people are
thought to have died in the attack,
British Home Secretary Theresa May
pledged to defeat those who undermine our freedom and democracy
and vowed that the terrorists will not
win.
She and counterparts from Tunisia,
Germany and France laid a wreath at
the beach to honour those killed in the
attack, which has been claimed by the
Islamic State group.
The massacre was the deadliest
for Britain since the 2005 London
bombings, but May said there was no
evidence to suggest the Britons were
targeted because of their nationality.
The attack, the second against
tourists in Tunisia this year, sent thousands of holidaymakers fleeing the
country and sparked fears it could
deal a heavy blow to the vital sector
which employs some 400,000 people.
Late on June 29, Tourism Minister
Selma Elloumi Rekik told reporters
she feared Tunisia may lose a billion
dinars (US$515 million) in tourism
earnings this year.
I think thats just the minimum,
but its still an estimate, she told reporters, announcing a string of emergency measures aimed at attracting
visitors from abroad and emergency
loans to help local tourism businesses.
If tourism collapses... The economy falls apart.
Shocking amateur footage from the
attack has emerged on social media,
showing the gunman walking calmly
along the shore and bloodied bodies
on the sand.
Intermittent gunfire can be heard
in the 11-minute sequence recorded
by a Tunisian man using his mobile
phone who can be heard asking, Why

Tourists take part in a gathering in solidarity with Tunisias tourism industry, on

June 29. Photo: AFP

do you kill people? Why?

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essie said Mr Rezgui had been mainly
radicalised online but added that it
was unclear if he had been to neighbouring Libya, a hotbed of militant
training camps.
There is some information that he
belonged to an organisation and he
was very, close to a mosque that provided intellectual training, Mr Essid
told CNN.
Handwritten messages could be
seen next to the flowers on the beach,
reading We are sorry and We are
Muslims, not terrorists.
British Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to mount a full investigation and called for a response at
home and abroad to violent Islamic
fundamentalism.
The attack prompted authorities
to boost security at attractions and
along its 1000 kilometres (620 miles)
of coastline.
Officials have said they will deploy
1000 armed officers from July 1 to reinforce the tourism police who will
also carry guns for the first time, and
there are plans to close 80 mosques
accused of inciting extremism.
Tunisia has struggled to deal with a
rise in extremism since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
A spokesperson for British Prime
Minister David Cameron said Britain
had identified 18 of its nationals were
among the dead, but warned that the
number may rise to around 30.
Tunisia says 25 victims have been
identified, among them three from

Ireland, two Germans, one Belgian,

one Portuguese and one Russian.
US President Barack Obama expressed condolences to Tunisian leader Beji Caid Essebsi, and offered to
help investigate the attack.
Another 39 people were wounded,
including 25 Britons. Late on June 29,
a Royal Air Force Boeing C17 flew in
to fly wounded people back to Britain.
Some 4000 tourists have been
flown home to Britain since June 26,
travel companies Thomson and First
Choice said.
Frances travel agencies union said
80 percent of flight and package holidays booked for Tunisia in July have
been cancelled, with customers rushing to change destination.
But some tourists chose to stay in
Port el Kantaoui, among them Britons
John and Lesley Edwards.
Its a lovely place and people are
great. We didnt want to leave. We feel
pretty safe with the police and the
army. There is more police now, John
Edwards said.
We feel sorry for the staff. We
stayed mainly for them. Even if our
family calls us every day to tell us to
come back.
At the beach, Ted and Dawn from
Suffolk in eastern England laid down
fresh flowers in memory of the dead.
We did pack [to leave early] but
we changed our minds, Dawn told
AFP.
I have been afraid to get out of the
complex but one has to try ... These
things, you see them on TV, you hear
about it, but you never think youll live
it. AFP

SEOUL

S Korea fires warning shots over N

Korea posturing in maritime standoff
A SOUTH Korean naval ship fired
warning shots yesterday to chase off
a North Korean patrol boat which
crossed their disputed western sea
border, military officials said.
The incursion came at 10:20am
(0120 GMT) as military tensions run
high across the Yellow Sea maritime
boundary, a scene of sporadic battles
between South and North Korean vessels, the Souths defence ministry said.
The North Korean boat sailed into
the southern side of the sea boundary
but retreated after our naval ship fired
warning shots, a ministry spokesper-

son told AFP, adding details would be

disclosed later.
It was not clear whether the incursion was intentional. North Korean
patrol ships sometimes sail into southern waters to track Chinese vessels
fishing illegally near the sea border.
The two Koreas remain technically
at war since the Korean conflict was
concluded with a ceasefire rather than
a peace treaty, and small border incidents in the past have been known to
escalate swiftly.
In November 2010, North Korea
shelled a front-line island, killing four

South Koreans and briefly triggering

concerns of a full-scale conflict.
In March this year, the North
threatened to fire on sight without
warning at any South Korean naval
vessels violating the sea border.
Cross-border tensions have remained high this year due to a series
of North Korean ballistic missile tests,
nuclear threats and annual US-South
Korean military exercises.
Pyongyang sees the joint drills as
a rehearsal for invasion. South Korea and the US say they are purely
defensive. AFP

World 17

www.mmtimes.com
TEHRAN

Iran talks heat up as deadline looms

IRANIAN Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived back in Vienna yesterday for nuclear talks with
world powers after holding a day of
consultations in Tehran, Iranian officials said.
Mr Zarif was accompanied by
Irans nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi,
as well as President Hassan Rouhanis
brother and close confidante Hossein
Fereydoun. Mr Zarif was due to meet
US Secretary of State John Kerry later
Tuesday, US officials said.

After almost two years of talks, a

nominal deadline of midnight (2200
GMT) for an accord was widely expected to be missed, but officials say
the negotiations will only last for a few
more days.
In what may be a positive sign, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
was also due to arrive. It was unclear
when their counterparts from Britain,
Germany and China might arrive.
EU foreign policy chief Federica
Mogherini indicated late on June 29

Iran nuclear deal

A deal reached on April 2 set out the parameters for an accord on
Irans nuclear programme
Major facilities
(approximate locations)
Nuclear site
Reactor
Uranium mine

Karaj
Holds some
enrichment
equipment

CASPIAN
SEA

FORDO
ARAK
IRAQ

Bushehr
1,000 MWe
pressurised water
reactor went online
September 2011

Tehran
Main nuclear
Parchin research center
Military base

the ministerial talks were useful, but

work still needed to be done to seal a
deal.
I would say that the political will
is there. Ive seen it from all sides, Ms
Mogherini told reporters.
Weve tasked negotiating teams to
continue work immediately tonight
on the texts for an accord, she added.
A US official warned on June 29
there are real and tough issues that
remain which have to be resolved as
Mr Kerry said Its too early to make
any judgements.
In April Iran and the P5+1 group
the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany agreed on
the main outlines of a deal they hope
will end a 13-year standoff over Irans
nuclear ambitions.
Under the framework, Iran will
dramatically scale down its atomic
activities in order to make any drive
to make a weapon an ambition it denies having all but impossible.
This includes slashing the number of
centrifuges enriching uranium, which
can be used for nuclear fuel but also in

a bomb, reducing its uranium stockpile

and altering the Arak reactor.
In return, the powers have said
they will progressively ease sanctions
that have suffocated Irans economy,
while retaining the option to reimpose
them if Iran violates the agreement.
But turning the 505-word joint
statement agreed in April in Lausanne, Switzerland, into a fully-fledged,
highly technical document of several
dozen pages and around five annexes,
has proved hard work.
It sounds easy, but its difficult,
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on June 28.
Key sticking points are thought to
include the pace and timing of sanctions relief, the mechanism for their
snapback and Irans future development of newer, faster centrifuges.
Another thorny topic is role of the
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) watchdog, whose chief Yukiya
Amano met Mr Kerry on June 29 and
who has been spotted several times
entering the luxury Viennese hotel
where the talks are being held.

Under the mooted deal, it will be

up to the IAEA, which already keeps
close tabs on Irans declared nuclear
sites, to verify that Iran really does reduce its capacities.
But the P5+1 also want the IAEA to
have wider inspection rights to verify
any suspicious activity that might indicate work in secret on a nuclear
bomb.
This could include the IAEA visiting
military bases, something that Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
last week rejected as a red line.
A probe into allegations of such activity, before 2003 and possibly since,
has been stalled for some time but
clearing up these claims is a key condition of the six powers for a deal.
The senior US administration official stressed global powers were not
asking for access to every Iranian military site.
But global powers had proposed a
way forward as part of the Lausanne
guidelines that we believe will ensure
that the IAEA has the access it needs.
AFP

NATANZ

Sagand
Isfahan
Research
Ardakan
reactors,
Yellowcake
uranium
production plant
conversion Anarak
Nuclear
waste
Reported
disposal
uranium
Gashin
reserves:
4,400 tonnes
GULF
GULF OF OMAN

Under the deal

ARAK
Reactor to be
redesigned to prevent
production of
weapons-grade
plutonium

NATANZ
To be the only
enrichment site.
Advanced centrifuges
to be removed,
or unused for 10 years

FORDO
To be used for
research
and development.
No enrichment for
15 years

Stockpile of low-enriched
uranium to be reduced from
10,000 kg to 300 kg for 15 years

Slash the number of uranium

centrifuges from about 19,000
to 6,104 for 10 years
Sources: IAEA/NTI/ISIS/USNRC/World-nuclear.org

An Iranian man walks past a mural displaying the Iranian map adorned in the colours of the countrys national flag, on
June 29. Photo: AFP

DOHA

Debate revived again on migrant worker kafala system

DESPITE claims of its imminent
demise, Qatars controversial kafala
sponsorship system which critics say
is a direct cause of misery and abuse
for many foreign workers clings
stubbornly to life.
On June 30, in a sign of how entrenched the issue has become, Qatars
normally quiet government used its
new communications office to make
a rare public statement and reassure
critics that change to the system,
which limits the rights of movement
for foreign workers, really is on the
way.
The Council of Ministers will now
prepare the final draft of the kafala reform legislation, which is expected to
be completed before the end of 2015,
a statement read.
That deadline echoed an earlier
wish by the minister of labour and
social affairs, Abdullah bin Saleh alKhulaifi, that kafala likened by some
critics to modern-day slavery would
be consigned to history by the end of
the year.
Others are not so confident.
I dont think theres any chance
whatsoever that we will see an announcement in 2015, Human Rights

Watchs Gulf Researcher Nicholas McGeehan told AFP.

The December deadline is not the
first that Qatar has announced.
Last November, the labour and
social affairs ministry said it would
make an announcement on scrapping
kafala early in 2015.
That deadline passed but the ministry then said it hoped to announce
the end of kafala early in May. That
has now slipped to December.
The latest roadblock came earlier
this month when the Shura Council,
Qatars main advisory body, questioned proposed reforms, sent the
legislation back to committee for further consultation and even proposed
some amendments of its own for good
measure.
That prompted a furious reaction
among rights groups and trade unions
which questioned Qatars commitment to reform.
The latest spat demonstrates that
despite its many critics, kafala still
has many supporters, and crucially
powerful ones.
Behind the closed doors in the corridors of power, it appears there is
a struggle between those who back

All Qataris have

domestic workers
and unfortunately,
fuelled by the racial
discrimination we
see in the Gulf, feel
the need for control
mechanisms to stop
workers running
away.
Nicholas McGeehan
Human Rights Watch

wholesale reform and those who are

more cautious.
Mr McGeehan calls it a battle
between conservatives and ultra-conservatives.
Royal United Services Institute
research fellow Michael Stephens,
head of RUSI Qatar, said reform was

proving difficult because theres not

enough willingness among business
operators to change.
People are doing very, very well
out of the system.
At the centre of the current argument, says a prominent Qatari lawyer, Yousuf Ahmed Al-Zaman, are two
troublesome proposals, Article 7 and
Article 21.
As it stands, the kafala system limits the rights of movement for foreign
workers.
Under the proposals, limits remain
but are relaxed.
Article 7 will allow the 1.6 million
foreign workers in Qatar to leave the
country after informing the interior
ministry but crucially without approval from their employer, as is the case
currently.
This is viewed as a step too far by
some on the Shura Council, says Mr Zaman, who believes a compromise allowing the employer a say will be found.
When a worker wants to leave
Qatar, the councils objection was the
need for the worker to inform the employer. This is not big, he said.
Article 21, which the Shura Council
also objected to, would allow foreign

workers to change jobs without the

consent of their boss.
Those with fixed contracts will, under any reform, be allowed to change
jobs at the end of the contract; those
on flexible contracts can change after
five years.
Mr Zaman believes the councils
concerns will be overruled, allowing
the 2015 deadline to be met.
Internationally, the struggle over
reform is largely fought through labourers toiling on World Cup projects,
but Mr McGeehan points out that
Qatari concerns may have more to do
with how the new laws affect domestic
workers.
All Qataris have domestic workers
and unfortunately, fuelled by the racial
discrimination we see in the Gulf, feel
the need for control mechanisms to stop
workers running away, he said.
One other factor for the delay may
be the constant criticism of Qatar
from the West.
I think theres a bit of that, said
Mr Stephens.
People are becoming tired of
being bullied and pushed about. They
feel they have been set upon.
AFP

18 World

IN PICTURES
Photo: AFP

THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 1, 2015

Indian forestry officials stand near the carcass of a one-horned rhinoceros which was killed and de-horned by
poachers in Burapahar, a range in the Kaziranga National Park, some 250 kilometres east of Guwahati on June
29. Illegal rhino horn trade is one of the major environmental issued faced in the rhino-protected areas of Assam,
with authorities reporting that some 12 one-horned rhinoceroses have been killed in the area in 2015.

ASHDOD

Israel blocks aid flotilla

ISRAELS navy has halted a flotilla
seeking to defy its Gaza blockade
without the deadly force that marred
a similar attempt in 2010 and escorted one vessel to port.
Among the passengers on the
commandeered ship were Tunisias
former president Moncef Marzouki
and Arab-Israeli lawmaker Basel
Ghattas.
A flotilla of four boats carrying
pro-Palestinian activists had been
seeking to reach the Gaza Strip to
highlight the Israeli blockade of the
territory that they called inhumane
and illegal.
Three boats were said to have
turned back while the fourth, the
Marianne of Gothenburg, was boarded by the Israeli navy.
An AFP photographer said the
Marianne, accompanied by a number of Israeli vessels, arrived at the
port city of Ashdod and docked after
nightfall, at around 1830 GMT.
The Israeli military had closed off
the dock to the media.
The activists campaign came
as Israel faced heavy international
pressure over its actions in Gaza,
with a UN report last week saying
both the Jewish state and Palestinian militants may have committed
war crimes during a 50-day conflict
in the besieged coastal enclave last
summer.
The reconstruction of thousands
of homes destroyed during the
fighting between Israel and Hamas,
Gazas Islamist de facto rulers, is yet
to begin, and both Israels blockade
and a lack of support from international donors have been blamed.
After the overnight operation to

Israeli army helicopters fly over the Mediterranean sea at sunset near the
Israeli port city of Ashdod on June 29. Photo: AFP

intercept the flotilla, Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the navys actions and insisted his government was right to take action against
Hamas.
In accordance with international
law, the Israeli navy advised the vessel several times to change course,
the military said in a statement.
Following their refusal, the navy
visited and searched the vessel in
international waters in order to prevent their intended breach of the
maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.
A military spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that the vessel was the
Swedish-flagged Marianne of Gothenburg, part of the so-called Freedom Flotilla III.
Organisers of the flotilla said the
vessel was a fishing trawler carrying

medical equipment and solar panels

with 18 people from nine countries
on board.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition
questioned Israels version of the operation and said on its website that it
had no reason to believe that Mariannes capture was uneventful.
Hamas, in a statement as well as
in comments on Twitter, condemned
the kidnapping of the activists,
adding that this ship succeeded in
showing the crime of the blockade.
The other three ships had
changed course and were heading
back to their ports of origin, according to a statement by Canadian Boat
to Gaza issued by the activists before the Israeli navy commandeered
the Marianne.
Mr Netanyahu dismissed the or-

ganisers goals.
This flotilla is nothing but a
demonstration of hypocrisy and lies
that is only assisting the Hamas terrorist organisation and ignores all of
the horrors in our region, he said in
a statement.
Mr Netanyahu said the blockade
was necessary to stop weapons from
arriving in the Gaza Strip by sea and
that the operation was done in accordance with international law.
A spokesperson for Israels immigration authority told AFP the
foreign activists would be granted
a hearing before being deported, as
was the case with Gaza-bound boats
intercepted in 2012.
Ghattas was expected to face a
hearing in a parliamentary committee on whether he should face sanctions.
Israel imposed its blockade on
Gaza in 2006 after Hamas captured
an Israeli soldier, and tightened it a
year later when Hamas consolidated
its rule.
Israel controls the waters around
Gaza and residents are not allowed
to travel more than six nautical miles
from the coast.
Land crossings are also strictly
controlled by Israel, apart from the
Rafah checkpoint with Egypt.
A number of flotillas had reached
Gaza prior to May 2010, when 10
Turkish activists aboard the Mavi
Marmara were killed in an Israeli
raid on a six-ship flotilla.
Since then, several ships manned
by pro-Palestinian activists have
tried to reach the shores of Gaza, but
they have all been repelled by the Israeli navy. AFP

OTTAWA

Russia
slapped
with fresh
sanctions
CANADA has announced fresh sanctions on Russia over its support for
rebels in Ukraine, targeting youth
leaders, the pro-Moscow Night
Wolves motorcycle club and several
companies.
Ottawa imposed a ban on the
import and export of goods from
Crimea in this 15th round of penalties
in collaboration with allies.
Until there is real peace, until
occupying forces are withdrawn, and
until Ukraines territorial sovereignty is restored, there must be ongoing
consequences for President Putins
regime, Prime Minister Stephen
Harper said in a June 29 statement.
Members of the Night Wolves
rode down en masse to Ukraines
Crimea peninsula just after it was
annexed by Russia in March 2014
and members have also fought with
pro-Russian separatists in eastern
Ukraine.
The biker group started up in
1989 just before the fall of the Soviet
Union and has around 5000 members across the former USSR.
Also listed was the Eurasian
Youth Union, a nationalist Russian
group said to recruit fighters to join
the rebels, subsidiaries of defence
company Rostec, an aircraft manufacturer and several energy sector
firms including Gazprom.
AFP

THE MYANMAR TIMES July 1, 2015

www.mmtimes.com

the pulse 21

it

ge
t

yo

gers o
n
i
f
n

DEPuTy PulsE EDiTor: ToM BArToN tom.a.barton@gmail.com

Museums and looted art:

the ethical dilemma of preserving world cultures

KanishK Tharoor

the illicit trade. He sees a parallel between the trade in antiquities and
the drug trade: demand in Western countries makes both possible. As
VERY month produces new cases of the repatriation of
long as theres a lucrative market for looted goods, for objects with
antiquities from American museums to their countries of
uncertain provenance, there will be an illicit antiquities trade, he
origin.
said.
In late May, Italian authorities displayed 25 looted
Tess Davis, a lawyer with the Antiquities Coalition, praised the
artefacts retrieved from the United States. They included
Cleveland Museum of Art for voluntarily returning the Hanuman
some objects smuggled by the infamous dealer Giacomo Medici,
statue, but argued that it should never have been allowed to
convicted in 2004 for selling thousands of stolen pieces of Grecoenter the collection in the first place. The Hanuman first
Roman art from Italy and the Mediterranean. A few weeks earlier,
surfaced on the market while Cambodia was in the midst of
the Cleveland Museum of Art returned a 10th-century statue of the
a war and facing genocide, she said. How could anyone not
Hindu god Hanuman to Cambodia. The idol had been hacked
know this was stolen property? The only answer is that no one
from the Prasat Chen temple in Siem Reap in the 1960s before
wanted to know.
journeying via a litany of dealers into the holds of the Cleveland
American museums are largely self-regulated, though
Museum of Art in 1982.
many subscribe to the stricter guidelines adopted in 2008 by
In April, homeland security agents relieved the Honolulu
the American Association of Museum Directors governing the
Museum of Art of seven ancient Indian artefacts believed to have
acquisition of archaeological material. Museums have rarely
been acquired through Subhash Kapoor, a New York-based art
been forced by legal rulings to give up artefacts; instead, they have
dealer.
voluntarily sometimes pre-emptively handed over the dodgy
Kapoor, who currently languishes in police custody in
objects in their collections.
India, presided over a vast criminal operation whose full
No one wants to be promoting the illegal trade, said James Cuno,
scope authorities are still trying to understand. An ongoing
CEO of the Getty Trust and a major proponent of universal museums.
investigation dubbed Operation Hidden Idol spans four
Collectors have to be very careful about both the authenticity of the
continents in trying to untangle Kapoors network. For
object and the legality of a transaction.
decades, he funnelled stolen antiquities from India and southBut Cuno fears that universal museums in the West face a
east Asia to private collectors and major museums in the west
deeper challenge from nationalists around the world. Governments
to the tune of over US$100 million and perhaps even more
and their deputised national museums often couch their demands
than that.
for repatriation in terms of repairing the integrity of the nation.
Some of the big American institutions connected to
Cuno argues that these claims are more theatrical than moral,
Kapoor include the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
making cultural property about politics and the political agenda
York, the Art Institute in Chicago and the Asian Museum of
of ruling elites.
Art in San Francisco.
In his view, the universal museum remains the best context in
Operation Hidden Idol has piled further pressure on
which to engage with art. Works of art have not adhered to modern
American museums to ensure that their collections are not
political borders, he said. They have always sought connection
home to illegally acquired artefacts. In the last 10 years, public
elsewhere to strange and wonderful things.
collections including the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the
The ongoing destruction of ancient sites in the Middle East by Islamic
Met have given up hundreds of tarnished objects. In acquiring
State has galvanised the case for the universal museum, with advocates like
these illicit antiquities, museums failed to do due diligence in
Gary Vikan, the former director of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore,
determining the authenticity and provenance of objects. They have
arguing that only institutions in the west can preserve the worlds cultural
since lost millions of dollars.
heritage. ISs cultural atrocities will put an end to the excess piety in favour
But its not just the financial pain that worries curators and
of the repatriation model, he told the The New York Times.
museum chiefs. The headlines generated by such scandals threaten
From another perspective, that defence smacks of Western privilege.
the very acquisitive enterprise of Western museums; mounting
Colonialism is alive and well in the art world, Davis said. So-called
demands for repatriation make more difficult the project of building
leaders in the field still justify retaining plunder in order to fill their
universal institutions presenting the art and history of the world.
universal museums where patrons can view encyclopaedic collections
Sometimes, these claims have little to do with the illicit trade.
from all over the world. A noble idea, in theory, but in practice, a
Writing in the The New York Times, Hugh Eakin decried the
Western luxury. The citizens of New York, London, and Paris may
strong-arming tactics of art-rich countries like Turkey, Greece
benefit, but those of Phnom Penh? Never.
and Italy. Museums relationships with foreign governments have
Felch, who has spent years investigating the practices and
become increasingly contingent upon giving in to unreasonable,
acquisitions of institutions like the Getty Museum, understands the
and sometimes blatantly extortionary, demands, he wrote. As
problematic history of universal museums in the West, but still
China and India grow on the geopolitical stage, so too have
sees great value in their encyclopaedic character. Many collections
Chinese and Indian demands often by private groups
were built during colonial times, but Im not tilting at
and individuals rather than governments for the
windmills, trying to undo history, he said. I wish there
restitution of artefacts from the West.
were encyclopaedic museums elsewhere in the world.
As a result, defenders of museums believe
He suggests that the many large, well-resourced
that their diverse and cosmopolitan collections
museums in the West must help facilitate loans
are under attack from governments and groups
and exchanges with museums in other parts of the
with narrow, nationalist agendas. Critics of
world.
Western museums accuse them of complicity in
While at odds with Felch on other counts,
the illicit trade, and at a more general level, of
Cuno agrees that institutions like his have a
perpetuating the gross inequalities between the
global mission. Any museum that argues for
west and the rest of the world.
cosmopolitanism and cultural diversity has the
According to Jason Felch, author of Chasing
obligation to encourage that access everywhere,
Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the
he said. There is no reason to believe that people
Worlds Richest Museum, museum culture in the
elsewhere are not curious about the world.
US has been slow to sensitise to the realities of
An 18th-century bronze rabbit head, on display at the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre
The Guardian
Berge art collection in 2009, was claimed by China. Photo: EPA/Christophe Petit Tesson France and Belgium Out

Sam Shum, specialist in Chinese works of art, examines an allegedly looted Chinese Bronze Horse Head at Sothebys
Hong Kong in October 2007. Photo: Epa/Alex Hofford

Chinese art collector Cai Mingchao bid for two sculptures, looted from Beijing
in the 19th century, in a Christies auction in an effort to repatriate them with no
intention of paying. Photo: EPA/Ym Yik

Cylinder seals (right), clay nails (centre) and clay letters looted from Iraq stand on a table during a press conference in
Berlin, Germany, on January 21, 2010. Photo:EPA/Hannibal Hanschke

22 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES July 1, 2015

Clucking mad for chicken

NaNdar auNg
nandaraung.mcm@gmail.com

TS here. Youve been waiting

for it, we all have. Ever since
the news was corporately
leaked out that KFC was going
to open an outlet in Yangon,
weve all been, well, just agog really.
We still are.
As of June 30, the image of
Colonel Harland David Sanders,
known the world over for his white
moustache and his Kentucky recipes,
officially graces our city.
KFC has many branches in many
countries. But this one is ours.
On the evening of June 25, KFC
hosted a private party for 75 of their
Facebook fans. It was a kind of
reward, really, for loyalty etc.
But yesterday was when history,
in the fried chicken sense of the
term, really began for the rest of us
ordinary people. Yesterday was when
the doors opened.
Everybody, just everybody was
there, of course, scrambling and
salivating alternately as they made an
orderly queue.
Here I am on the first day. Ive
been waiting for an hour to order my
food. I ordered a Spicy, but they got
it wrong. It doesnt matter. I like it
anyway, said Hein Htet Aung, 22, a
student from Pazundaung township,
Yangon.
Other fried chicken restaurants
serve food that is spicy and tender.
But this is spicier and tenderer, he

screen scene
Trump dumped by TV channels over Mexican
immigrant comments
NBC and Televisa severed business ties June 29 with Donald Trump, joining a chorus of
protests over the mogul turned US presidential hopefuls remarks about Mexican immigrants.
It means the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants for which Trump owns the
broadcast rights will not be aired on NBC, which is a unit of Comcast.
And Trump, 69, will no longer appear in the NBC reality show The Apprentice, where he had
been a star attraction.
Just hours later, Mexicos Televisa the worlds largest Spanish-language network also
announced its decision to cut business ties with the billionaire property developer turned TV
star.
Mr Trump has shown neither understanding of nor respect for Mexican migrants and has
offended the entire population of Mexico, a Televisa statement said.
Trump has angered many in America with comments he made in a rambling 45-minute
Republican presidential nomination speech, saying, When Mexico sends its people, theyre not
sending their best.
He added, Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those
problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. AFP

Customers and staff crowded the newly opened home of chicken. Photo: Thiri Lu

avowed, adding, without apparent

irony, Im lovin it!
Not everyone came to feast. Some,
recognising a new icon in town, just
came to be seen, and spotted, and
Facebooked. I know its weird, but
thats how some people are. You cant
blame them. After all, its KFC were
talking about.
I saw their advertisement on
Facebook. I told all my friends. Now
weve got a new place to hang! said a
boy who should have been in school.
In a strictly no-surprises gambit,
KFC offers fried chicken (one piece
for K1300), burgers, fried potatoes

Dinosaurs far from extinct in box office figures

and other fried things, together with

soft drinks, at 375 Bogyoke Aung San
Road, Pabedan township.
Ive liked KFC since I first
sampled it in Bangkok. Ever since,
Ive been hoping they would open up
here. Now my dream has come true.
I feel thankful and grateful. Also, its
cheaper than Lotteria, confided Ma
Khin Yadanar, 24, who came all the
way from Sanchaung township.
So there, Lotteria, and take that
Mary Brown, Hawaii Chicken, and
you too, Harleys. The real thing is in
town now. And the world will never
be the same again.

US director Colin Trevorrow (left) and US actor Chris Pratt pose during a
photocall for the film Jurassic World. Photo: EPA/Britta Pedersen

The dinosaurs of Jurassic World stayed atop the cinematic food chain this weekend, snapping
up another US$54.5 million to keep Pixars Inside Out in second place at the North American
box office, figures showed June 29.
Jurassic World completed its third weekend in US and Canadian cinemas with an overall
haul of $500 million, shattering US and worldwide records, according to box office tracker
Exhibitor Relations.
The film just bested Inside Out, the well-received animated tale depicting the emotions
inside the mind of a young girl, which pulled in another $52.3 million in its second week.
The movie which is generating major Oscar buzz has so far taken in $185 million in
North America.
Ted 2, the sequel to Seth MacFarlanes 2012 hugely successful raunchy comedy starring
Mark Wahlberg about an antisocial slacker teddy bear that comes to life, opened in third place
at $33.5 million.
Another new film, Max, about a boy who adopts an ex-military dog that had served in
Afghanistan, opened in fourth place with $12.2 million, despite scathing reviews and a low 38
percent critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Comedy Spy grabbed $7.9 million in ticket sales for the fifth spot. The film follows a CIA
analyst (Melissa McCarthy) who leaves her desk job to go deep undercover to avenger her
former partner (Jude Law).
Earthquake thriller San Andreas starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson took home $5.4
million for sixth spot. Coming-of-age film Dope came in seventh place with $2.8 million.
The prequel and third iteration of the Insidious supernatural horror films, Insidious: Chapter
3, got $2 million in sales for the eighth spot.
Dystopian action flick Mad Max: Fury Road starring Charlize Theron got $1.8 million in ticket
sales for the ninth spot.
Rounding out the top 10 was Avengers: Age of Ultron, which pulled in another $1.7 million,
bringing its total haul to $452.5 million since its official US release in early May.

Actors Arnold Schwarzenegger (left)and

Sylvester Stallone arrive at the premiere
of Paramount Pictures Terminator
Genisys at the Dolby Theatre on June
28 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Jason
Merritt/Getty Images/AFP

Actor Paul Rudd (left) and comic book

icon Stan Lee attend the premiere of
Marvels Ant-Man at the Dolby Theatre
on June 29 in Hollywood, California.
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images/AFP

the pulse 23

www.mmtimes.com

Tollywood epic to be most expensive Indian film ever

n epic battle movie

likened to American
blockbuster 300 is set
to become Indias most
expensive film ever,
but its a lesser-known industry,
not Bollywood, that will smash the
record.
The two-part Baahubali,
costing still a fraction of the cost
of Hollywood blockbusters, is
being made in the Telugu and
Tamil languages for the so-called
Tollywood and Kollywood markets
respectively.
Its release shines a welcome
spotlight on southern Indias
lesser-known film industries, which
are often overshadowed by the
glitz and glamour of the countrys
internationally bankable Hindilanguage Bollywood films.
Director SS Rajamouli said the
movie, which eager cinema-goers are
also comparing to Hercules, will break
the previous big-budget Indian film
record by a whopping US$17 million.
There are still over a hundred
days of shooting left, followed by
post-production for the second part.
The budget will definitely be over 250
crore rupees [$40 million] for both
parts, Rajamouli said.
Baahubali, literally meaning The
one with strong arms in English, is
laden with special effects and tells the
fictional story of two warring brothers
battling for control of an ancient
Indian kingdom.
The opening part of the ambitious
spectacle, Baahubali - The Beginning,
is due for release in India on July 10,
with the final instalment scheduled to
hit screens next year.

Indian Bollywood actresses Anushka Shetty (left) and Tamannaah Bhatia (second from left) pose with writer and director
SS Rajamouli (centre) and actors Prabhas (second from right) and Rana Daggubati (right) as they attend the trailer launch
of their forthcoming film Baahubali. Photos: AFP

Indian cinema produces films in

39 languages and dialects. Last year,
216 Hindi or Bollywood movies were
released, fewer than the 287 in Tamil
and 255 Telugu-language films.
Bollywood centred round the
western city of Mumbai is Indias
biggest-grossing movie industry,
accounting for $565 million in box
office revenues in 2013 according to
Deloitte.
But Tollywood and Kollywood
were not far behind, raising a total
of $468 million, and despite their
relative anonymity abroad have form
when it comes to releasing big-budget
blockbusters.
Baahubali will overtake the 2010
Tamil movie Enthiran (Robot), which
cost an estimated 1.5 billion rupees
($23 million) to make, as Indian
cinemas most costly film so far.

Movie critics and fans who have

watched a short teaser released last
month say its vast battle scenes
draw comparisons with 2006 hit
movie 300, which starred Gerard
Butler.
Its the simple story of a father
who has been back-stabbed, a mother
who has been enchained for no wrong
of hers and the story of a son who
takes revenge. The two parts span two
generations, explained Rajamouli.
There was nothing simple about
the 42-year-old filmmakers ambitions
for the project, however, with one
battle scene taking four months to
shoot. It constitutes about 20 minutes
of the film.
It was challenging to get
1000 soldiers into costume, with
weapons and onto the location,
said Rajamouli, whose previous hits

include Magadheera (Great Warrior)

and Eega (Fly).
We worked with 2000 extras and
about 500-600 technicians, horses,
elephants and equipment. It was
quite a task, but we managed,
added the Hyderabad-based director
on a recent visit to Mumbai.
Some 600 artists from 17 visual
effects studios across India,
South Korea and China
have been involved in
creating the films 4500
visual effects and
computer graphics.
Shobu Yarlagadda,
CEO of Arka
Mediaworks
and producer
of Baahubali,
said it was
a calculated

decision to release the film in two

parts to help recoup production costs.
We would not have been able to
recover the cost even if it had been
a single film because the storyline
would not have allowed us to make it
under three hours long, he explained.
So we decided to increase the
budget some more and make it in two
parts and in two languages, Tamil and
Telugu, which are our main markets, to
make it more viable, said Yarlagadda.
The budget, however, is far
off those in Hollywood where a
blockbuster often costs more than
$200 million to make, and a single
film can rake in more than 1 billion.
Baahubali, which has been three
years in the making, stars Indian
actors Prabhas, who generally goes
by one name, Rana Daggubati and
actress Anushka Shetty. It was almost
entirely filmed in Hyderabad, in
Telangana state, where the Telugu
film industry is based.
It will be dubbed into
Hindi and the producers
are also considering
releasing a shorter
version for international
audiences. AFP
Indian Bollywood
writer and
director SS
Rajamouli
gestures as
he attends
the trailer
launch of the
forthcoming
film Baahubali
in Mumbai.

24 the pulse

THE MYANMAR TIMES JULY 1, 2015

DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

YANGON TO MANDALAY

MANDALAY TO YANGON

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

YANGON TO HEHO
Arr

Y5 775

Daily

6:00

7:10

Y5 233

Daily

7:50

9:00

W9 515

6:00

7:25

W9 201

Daily

8:40

10:35

YH 917

Daily

6:10

8:30

YJ 891

1,2,3,5,6

8:40

10:35

YJ 891

1,2,3,5,6

6:20

8:25

7Y 132

2,4,6,7

8:50

10:45

7Y 131

2,4,6,7

6:30

8:35

K7 223

1,3,5

8:55

11:00

K7 222

1,3,5

6:30

8:40

YH 918

Daily

8:30

10:25

6T 805

2,4,6

6:30

7:40

6T 806

2,4,6

10:30

11:40

YJ 201

1,2,3

7:00

8:55

YJ 202

1,2,3

12:00

13:25

W9 201

Daily

7:00

8:25

YJ 761

1,2,4

13:10

17:00

W9201

7:00

8:25

YJ 212

15:00

16:25

8M 6603

9:00

10:10

YJ 212

15:00

16:55

YJ 601

11:00

12:25

YJ 602

15:40

17:35

YJ 211

5, 7

11:00

12:25

7Y 242

1,3,5

16:40

18:45

YJ 761

1,2,4

11:00

12:55

K7 225

2,4,6,7

16:50

19:00

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

14:00

YH 728

17:00

18:25

YH 737

3,5,7

11:00

13:10

W9 152/W97152

17:05

18:30

YH 727

11:30

13:40

Y5 776

Daily

17:10

18:20

W9 251

2,5

11:30

12:55

W9 211

17:10

19:15

7Y 241

1,3,5

14:30

16:25

YH 738

3,5,7

17:10

18:35

K7 224

2,4,6,7

14:30

16:35

8M 6604

17:20

18:30

Y5 234

Daily

15:20

16:30

8M 903

1,2,4,5,7

17:20

18:30

W9 211

15:30

16:55

YH 730

2,4,6

17:45

19:10

W9 252

2,5

18:15

19:40

YANGON TO NAY PYI TAW

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

NAY PYI TAW TO YANGON

Flight

Days

Dep

Flight
YH 917
YJ 891
7Y 131
YJ 891
K7 222
7Y 131
Y5 649
YJ 751
YJ 761
YJ 751
YJ 233
YH 737
YH 727
K7 224
7Y 241
W9 129

Days
Daily
1,2,3,5,6
2,4,6,7
4,7
1,3,5
Daily
Daily
3,5
1,2,4
7
6
3,5,7
1
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,3,6

Dep
6:10
6:20
6:30
6:30
6:30
7:15
10:30
10:30
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:00
11:30
14:30
14:30
15:30

HEHO TO YANGON
Arr
9:15
9:10
9:20
8:45
9:30
10:05
12:45
11:40
12:10
12:10
12:10
12:25
12:55
15:45
15:40
16:40

Flight
YJ 891
YH 918
YJ 891
W9 201
7Y 132
K7 223
YJ 762
7Y 242
K7 225
YH 728
YH 738
YJ 602
YJ 752
W9 129

Arr
8:15
9:05
8:40
13:20
17:00
10:40

Flight
Y5 326
6T 706
7Y 532
K7 320
Y5 326
SO 202

YANGON TO MYEIK
Flight
Y5 325
K7 319
6T 705
7Y 531
Y5 325
SO 201

Days
1,5
1,3,5,7
2,4,6
2,4,6
2
Daily

Dep
6:45
7:00
7:30
11:15
15:30
8:20

Days

Dep

Dep
9:00
9:15
9:25
9:25
9:35
9:45
15:50
15:55
16:00
16:15
16:25
16:25
16:45
16:55

Arr
10:10
10:25
10:35
10:35
10:45
11:00
17:00
18:45
19:00
18:25
18:35
17:35
17:55
19:10

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

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020

Days
1,5
2,4,6
2,4,6
1,3,5,7
2
Daily

Dep
8:35
8:55
15:35
11:30
17:15
13:20

Arr
10:05
10:05
17:40
13:35
18:45
15:40

Arr

Flight

Yangon Airways (YH)

Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264
Fax: 652 533

FMI Air Charter (ND)

Tel: 240363, 240373, 09421146545

APEX Airlines (SO)

SITTWE TO YANGON
Days

Dep

Arr

Arr

K7 422

2,4,6

8:00

9:55

K7 423

2,4,6

10:10

11:30

7Y 413

1,3,5,7

10:30

12:20

7Y 414

1,3,5,7

12:35

13:55

W9 309

1,3,6

11:30

12:55

W9 309

1,3,6

13:10

14:55

6T 611

Daily

11:45

12:55

6T 612

Daily

13:15

14:20

YJ 201

1,2,3,4

7:00

7:55

SO 101

Daily

7:00

8:00

ND 910

1,2,3,4,5

7:15

8:15

YJ 202

1,2,3,4

8:10

13:25

ND 105

1,2,3,4,5

10:45

11:40

ND 9102

1,2,3,4,5

8:35

9:35

ND 107

11:25

12:20

ND 104

1,2,3,4,5

9:20

10:15

ND 109

1,2,3,4,5

14:55

15:40

ND 106

10:00

10:55

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

2,4,6

8:00

8:55

K7 422

2,4,6

9:10

11:30

YANGON TO THANDWE

Domestic Airlines

Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

MYEIK TO YANGON

YANGON TO SITTWE
Flight

Days
4,7
Daily
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,2,4
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
1
3,5,7
6
3,5
1,3,6

THANDWE TO YANGON

Tel:95(1) 533300 ~ 311

Fax : 95 (1) 533312

Air Mandalay (6T)

Tel: (+95-1) 501520, 525488,
Fax: (+95-1) 532275

Airline Codes
SO = APEX Airlines

ND 9109

1,2,3,4,5

17:00

18:00

ND 108

1,2,3,4,5

13:30

14:25

K7 422

ND 111

18:25

19:20

YJ 212

16:00

16:55

7Y 413

1,3,5

10:30

11:20

7Y 413

1,3,5

11:35

13:55

SO 102

Daily

18:00

19:00

ND 110

17:00

17:55

W9 309

1,3,6

11:30

13:50

7Y 413

12:05

14:20

K7 = Air KBZ

ND 9110

1,2,3,4,5

18:20

19:20

7Y 413

11:00

11:50

W9 309

1,3,6

14:05

14:55

W9 = Air Bagan

Y5 421

1,3,4,6

15:45

16:40

Y5 422

1,3,4,6

16:55

17:50

YANGON TO NYAUNG U

NYAUNG U TO YANGON

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

YH 917

Daily

6:10

7:45

YH 918

Daily

7:45

10:25

K7 222

1,3,5

6:30

7:50

7Y 132

2,4,6,7

8:05

10:45

7Y 131

2,4,6,7

6:30

7:50

K7 223

1,3,5

8:05

11:00

K7 224

2,4,6,7

14:30

17:25

K7 225

2,4,6,7

17:40

19:00

7Y 241

1,3,5

14:30

17:10

W9 129

1,3,6

17:50

19:10

W9 129

1,3,6

15:30

17:35

7Y 242

1,3,5

17:25

18:45

W9 211

15:30

17:40

W9 129

15:30

17:35

YANGON TO MYITKYINA

YANGON TO DAWEI

DAWEI TO YANGON

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

6T 805

2,4,6

6:30

8:55

6T 806

2,4,6

9:10

11:40

YH 826

1,3.5.7

7:00

9:40

YJ 202

1,2,3,4

10:35

13:25

YJ 201

1,2,3,4

7:00

10:20

YH 827

1,3,5,7

11:30

13:55

YJ 233

11:00

15:10

YJ 234

15:25

W9 251

2,5

11:30

14:25

W9 252

2,5

16:45

Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines

YH = Yangon Airways

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

K7 319

1,3,5,7

7:00

8:10

YH 634

2,4,6

12:15

13:25

YH 633

2,4,6

7:00

8:25

K7 320

1,3,5,7

12:25

13:35

6T = AirMandalay

SO 201

Daily

8:20

9:40

6T 708

3,5,7

14:15

15:15

FMI (ND) = FMI Air Charter

6T 707

3,5,7

10:30

11:30

SO 202

Daily

14:20

15:40

7Y 531

2,4,6

11:15

12:20

7Y 532

2,4,6

16:35

17:40

YANGON TO LASHIO
MYITKYINA TO YANGON

7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines

LASHIO TO YANGON

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

YJ 751

3,5

10:30

12:45

YJ 752

3,5

15:40

17:55

YH 729

2,4,6

11:00

13:00

YJ 752

16:10

17:55

YJ 751

11:00

13:15

YH 730

2,4,6

16:45

19:10

Dep

Arr

Flight

Days

Dep

Arr

YANGON TO PUTAO

PUTAO TO YANGON

Flight

Days

18:15

YH 826

1,3,5,7

7:00

10:35

YH 827

1,3,5,7

10:35

13:55

19:40

W9 251

2,5

11:30

15:25

W9 252

2,5

15:45

19:40

YJ = Asian Wings

Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday

the pulse 25

www.mmtimes.com

InternAtIonAl FlIGHt SCHeDUleS

Flights

YANGON TO BANGKOK
Days

Dep

Arr

PG 706
Daily
6:15
8M 335
Daily
7:40
TG 304
Daily
9:50
PG 702
Daily
10:30
TG 302
Daily
15:00
PG 708
Daily
15:15
8M 331
Daily
16:30
PG 704
Daily
18:20
Y5 237
Daily
19:00
TG 306
Daily
19:45
YANGON TO DON MUEANG

8:30
9:25
11:45
12:25
16:55
17:10
18:15
20:15
20:50
21:40

DD 4231
Daily
8:00
FD 252
Daily
8:30
FD 254
Daily
17:30
DD 4239
Daily
21:00
YANGON TO SINGAPORE

9:50
10:15
19:05
22:45

8M 231
Daily
8:25
Y5 2233
Daily
9:45
TR 2823
Daily
9:45
SQ 997
Daily
10:35
3K 582
Daily
11:15
MI 533
2,6
13:45
MI 519
Daily
17:30
3K 584
2,3,5
19:15
YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR

12:50
14:15
14:25
15:10
15:45
20:50
22:05
23:45

8M 501
AK 505
MH 741
MH 743
AK 503

11:50
12:50
16:30
20:05
23:45

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

1,2,3,5,6
7:50
Daily
8:30
Daily
12:15
Daily
15:45
Daily
19:30
YANGON TO BEIJING

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Flights

BANGKOK TO YANGON
Days

Dep

Arr

TG 303
Daily
7:55
PG 701
Daily
8:50
Y5 238
Daily
21:30
8M 336
Daily
10:40
TG 301
Daily
13:05
PG 707
Daily
13:40
PG 703
Daily
16:45
TG 305
Daily
17:50
8M 332
Daily
19:15
PG 705
Daily
20:15
DON MUEANG TO YANGON

8:50
9:40
22:20
11:25
14:00
14:30
17:35
18:45
20:00
21:30

DD 4230
Daily
6:20
FD 251
Daily
7:15
FD 253
Daily
16:20
DD 4238
Daily
19:30
SINGAPORE TO YANGON

7:05
8:00
17:00
20:15

TR 2822
Daily
7:20
Y5 2234
Daily
7:20
SQ 998
Daily
7:55
3K 581
Daily
8:55
MI 533
2,6
11:35
8M 232
Daily
13:50
MI 518
Daily
15:15
3K 583
2,3,5
17:05
KUALA LUMPUR TO YANGON

8:45
8:50
9:20
10:25
12:55
15:15
16:40
18:35

AK 504
MH 740
8M 502
MH 742
AK 502

8:00
11:15
13:50
14:50
19:00

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Dep

Arr

Daily
6:55
Daily
10:05
1,2,3,5,6
12:50
Daily
13:40
Daily
17:50
BEIJING TO YANGON

Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

CA 906
3,5,7
23:50 05:50+1
YANGON TO GUANGZHOU

CA 905
3,5,7
19:30
GUANGZHOU TO YANGON

22:50

8M 711
CZ 3056
CZ 3056

3,6
8:40
1,5
14:40
2,4,7
14:15
TAIPEI TO YANGON

10:25
16:30
15:50

1,2,3,5,6
7:00
KUNMING TO YANGON

9:55

Flights

Flights

CI 7916
Flights

Days

Dep

Arr

Flights

2,4,7
8:40
3,6
11:25
1,5
17:30
YANGON TO TAIPEI

13:15
16:15
22:15

CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712

1,2,3,5,6
10:50
YANGON TO KUNMING

Arr

16:15

Flights

CI 7915

Arr

Flights

CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Daily
12:15
3
12:40
1,2,4,5,6,7 15:20
YANGON TO HANOI
Days

15:55
18:45
18:40

Dep

Arr

Days

MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031
Flights

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

Arr

Arr

3
8:25
Daily
10:45
1,2,4,5,6,7 13:55
HANOI TO YANGON
Days

11:50
11:15
14:30

Dep

Arr

VN 956
1,3,5,6,7
19:10
21:30
YANGON TO HO CHI MINH CITY

VN 957
1,3,5,6,7
16:50
18:10
HO CHI MINH CITY TO YANGON

VN 942

VN 943

Flights

Flights

QR 919
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

2,4,7
14:25
YANGON TO DOHA

17:15

1,4,6
8:00
YANGON TO SEOUL

11:10

Arr

Arr

Flights

Flights

QR 918
Flights

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Days

Dep

KA 252
KA 250

Arr

Flights

Days

5
1,2,3,4,6,7

Arr

YANGON TO TOKYO

Flights

Days

NH 814

Daily

Dep

21:45

06:50+1

YANGON TO DHAKA

Flights

Days

BG 061
BG 061
Flights

Dep

1:30
1:10

1,6
4

Dep

15:35
13:45

YANGON TO INCHEON
Days

Dep

Days

Dep

Arr

Arr

Flights

Y5 251
7Y 305

8:05
12:50

2,4,6
1,5

YANGON TO GAYA

Flights

Days

8M 601
AI 236
Flights

Days

2
1,5

Dep

13:10
14:05

YANGON TO KOLKATA
Days

AI 228
Flights

Dep

3,5,6
7:00
2
13:10
YANGON TO DELHI

AI 236
AI 701
Flights

6:15
11:00

1,5

Dep

14:05

YANGON TO MUMBAI

AI 773

Days

1,5

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO BANGKOK

Flights

PG 710

Days

Daily

Dep

14:05

MANDALAY TO SINGAPORE

Flights

MI 533
Y5 2233

Days

2,6
1,2,4,5,6

Dep

15:55
7:50

MANDALAY TO DON MUEANG

Flights

FD 245

Days

Daily

Dep

12:45

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

19:30

Arr

Arr

8:20
15:05
Arr

Dep

Days

Dep

Flights

9:25
13:45

GAYA TO YANGON
Days

Dep

2
9:20
3,5,6
9:20
DELHI TO YANGON
Days

2
1,5

Dep

9:20
7:00

KOLKATA TO YANGON
Days

AI 227

1,5

Dep

10:35

MUMBAI TO YANGON

AI 675

Days

1,5

Dep

6:10

BANGKOK TO MANDALAY

Flights

Days

Daily

Dep

12:00

SINGAPORE TO MANDALAY

Y5 2234
MI 533

Days

Daily
2,6

Dep

7:20
11:35

DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY

Flights

15:00

FD 244

Arr

Flights

Arr

12:30
10:40

Days

2,4,6
1,5

Flights

Flights

22:30

Dep

INCHEON TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

16:40

1,6
4

AI 235
8M 602

PG 709

Arr

Days

15:40
Arr

14:55
13:05

Days

Daily

Dep

10:50

KUNMING TO MANDALAY

MU 2029

Days

Daily

Dep

13:00

BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW

Flights

PG 721

Days

1,2,3,4,5

Dep

17:00

Air China (CA)

Tel: 666112, 655882

Air India

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

Thai Airways (TG)

Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223

Tel: 371383, 370836~39 (ext: 303)
Tel: 255066, 255088, 255068. Fax: 255086

Airline Codes
3K = Jet Star
8M = Myanmar Airways International

BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines

CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines
CZ = China Southern

Arr

10:15
14:35

16:30
20:50
14:15

11:00

Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)

Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102

AK = Air Asia

Arr

Y5 252
7Y 306

Flights

Arr

Daily

Dep

DHAKA TO YANGON

Flights

Arr

Arr

TOKYO TO YANGON
Days

Arr

00:30+1
23:30

18:10
12:00

AI 235
AI 401

22:35

Dep

22:50
21:45

Arr

22:25
23:25

W9 608
4,7
17:20
PG 723
1,3,5,6
11:05
CHIANG MAI TO YANGON

16:30
19:50
15:05

4
1,2,3,5,6,7

Flights

BG 060
BG 060

16:10
15:05

Days

NH 813

17:00
15:10

W9 607
4,7
14:20
PG 724
1,3,5,6
13:10
YANGON TO CHIANG MAI
Flights

Flights

Tel: 09254049991~3

Vietnam Airlines (VN)

06:25+1

5:55
5:45

Flights

Air Asia (FD)

Arr

3,5,7
20:40
SEOUL TO YANGON

KA 251
KA 251

Tel: 255412, 413

Tiger Airline (TR)

13:25

KE 471
Daily
18:45
0Z 769
3,6
19:50
HONG KONG TO YANGON

All Nippon Airways (NH)

Arr

2,4,7
11:50
DOHA TO YANGON

0Z 770
4,7
0:35
9:10
KE 472
Daily
23:30 07:50+1
YANGON TO HONG KONG

International Airlines

Arr

Arr

12:0
12:30
Arr

12:20
13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

13:20
Arr

16:30
15:00
Arr

12:15

DD = Nok Airline
FD = Air Asia
KA = Dragonair
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

Arr

12:50
Arr

19:00

Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday

4
5
6
7

=
=
=
=

Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

26 Sport

THE MYANMAR TIMES JuLY 1, 2015

SYNCHRoNISED SwImmING

Hair today,
gone
tomorrow
for Japans
waterboy

APANS top male synchronised swimmer Atsushi

Abe has been likened to
an old lady for slapping on
too much make-up and described as Dracula with a bad haircut and thats just by his coach.
But bad hair days and coagulating
mascara are only part of the problem
for the 32-year-old as he prepares to
represent his country in the mixedgender duet at the swimming world
championships, which begin in Russia
at the end of this month.
Abe, who took up the sport after
watching the hit Japanese movie Waterboys about a group of schoolboys
who start a synchronised swimming
team, is acutely aware of how important it is to win over sceptics after the
swimmings world governing body
FINA voted to allow men to compete.

There have been many male synchronised swimmers in the past who
werent able to make it into the sunlight but diligently battled on regardless, Abe told AFP after training with
partner Yumi Adachi.
Mixed duet has been introduced at
the world championships and I want
to show my deep gratitude to those
swimmers who went before me. Its
because of them that men have been
accepted into synchronised swimming
and now as a comrade I want to help
grow the sport.
Abe is mindful that Russia was
one of the most vocal opponents of
letting men in, with swimmers and
even government ministers blasting a
decision which could threaten Russias
stranglehold on a sport in which it has
swept every Olympic gold medal this
century.

ASIA

Atushi Abe (right) and his partner rehearse for the world championships. Photo: AFP

It also jars rather awkwardly with

the traditional image of masculinity
the Russian government vigorously
promotes.
I think more men will come into
synchro and I have a duty to help
them feel its not out of their reach and
that anyone can do it, added Abe. Im
aware its important to cooperate with
foreign athletes to attract as many
men to the sport as possible.
however, he still has plenty of work
to do.
Breathing, Abe says with a wry
smile when asked about the hardest
part of bobbing upside down wearing
a nose peg while executing a lungbusting array of elements, from the
side fishtail to the egg-beater.
Practising the elements is fine, but
when we put them together Im still
running out of puff. Were increasing

our stamina training and people have

said were improving, but clearly theres
still some way to go.
And then theres the hair hastily
cropped short after taking the pairs
Phantom of the Opera routine a
touch too literally.
Oh God, that hair! cried Abes
coach Masami hanamure, referring to
a flood of negative feedback over his
bouffant backfire at the Japan nationals last month.
We were going for a sort of cute
Dracula look so he grew it out and
greased it back, she winced. It was awful and bombed spectacularly so we sent
him off to get a haircut, poor thing.
As if hair and cosmetic disasters
were not bad enough, Abe caught
more flak for a wardrobe malfunction
in Tokyo when his costume made it
difficult to tell him and Adachi apart.

It looked like there were two

girls in the pool, sighed hanamure.
Were groping in the dark to be honest. his make-up made him look like
an old woman. Maybe its best to have
him wear just trunks to show off his
muscles but then he isnt as buff as
[American] Bill May so hell have to
hit the gym.
Abe, who spends 10 hours a day in
the pool and eats his way through over
3000 calories daily to bulk up, refused
to let his coachs gentle-natured ribbing get him down.
Its a process of trial and error,
he said. Were fumbling for the right
formula and the right balance of masculinity. I had no idea my make-up
looked effeminate. Im no expert but
we want to stress the difference between the genders in the water so Ill
have to do my homework. AFP

Sumo

Heavyweight hopes for Mongolias would-be sumo stars

The slapping sound of colliding flesh
reverberates through a basement in
Mongolias capital, as Tsogt-erdeniin
Mendsaikhan hones fighting skills in
pursuit of his dream sumo wrestling
in Japan.
The teenager is inspired by
hakuho, a Mongolian grand champion, or yokozuna, who in January
broke a more than four-decade-old record when he won his 33rd emperors
Cup, awarded to the champion of the
bi-monthly top tournament.
The feat was absolutely amazing,
said Mendsaikhan, clad in a black
loincloth, or mawashi, at a practice
session at Ulan Bators sole amateur
sumo wrestling club.
A Mongolian reached the peak of
Japanese sumo and raises it higher
and higher.
Kublai Khans attempts to subdue
Japan more than 700 years ago failed
when divine winds or kamikaze
are said to have scattered his ships, but
over the past quarter-century a new
invasion has seen Mongolian wrestlers
take over the countrys proud national
sport.
No Japanese has won a top division
tournament for nine years, and all
three rikishi, or wrestlers, currently
ranked as yokozuna are Mongolian.
The last Japanese to hold the coveted
title, Takanohana, retired in 2003.
Yokozuna must not only be adept
at slamming opponents out of the dohyo, the mound of clay and sand that
serves as a ring.
Sumo is also heavily imbued with
the values of Japans indigenous Shinto religion and yokozuna perform
rituals in the ring and out, including

Tsogt-Erdeniin Mendsaikhan (left) and Ochirkhuu Usukhbayar take part in a

training session at a sports club in Mongolias capital Ulan Bator. Photo: AFP

one for the New Year at Tokyos Meiji

Shrine, donning a sacred white rope,
clapping their hands and slapping
their bare feet onto the ground.
When foreigners first approached
the sports pinnacle in the 1990s, conservative voices asked whether they
had sufficient understanding of the
countrys culture and manners often
described as hinkaku, or dignity to
fulfil that traditional role.
Such sentiments are heard less frequently now, although hakuho found
himself at the centre of controversy
earlier this year for taking issue with a
judges decision a sumo no-no.

Still, Japanese schoolteacher Yuko

Asakawa said the Mongolians have
helped to revive sumos popularity.
hakuho is performing with quite
a lot of dignity, very similar to Japanese, she added.
Of course, as Japans national
sport its better if there are a lot of
Japanese, she said outside the sports
premier venue in Tokyo, where the latest tournament in May was again won
by a Mongolian.
Mongolians are not the only foreigners active in sumo, with current
rikishi from as far afield as Bulgaria
and Brazil, but except for two from

hawaii and American Samoa who

became the first foreigners to reach
yokozuna in the 1990s, none have had
the success of the hulking heroes of
the Mongolian steppe.
Sumo is said to date back some
two millennia in Japan, while there
are variants of traditional wrestling
across Asia a similar activity is
depicted in bas relief at Angkor in
Cambodia, and in tomb art of the
ancient Koguryo kingdom in what
is now the Korean peninsula and
northeast China.
In Mongolia, the countrys traditional form of wrestling or bokh is
a revered national sport, known as one
of the three manly skills along with
archery and horsemanship. It also carries a spiritual side, with grapplers
performing a pre- and post-match
eagle dance, flapping their arms in
symbolic flight.
But the Mongolians dominance in
Japan has prompted soul-searching
akin to english self-doubt around
their teams perennial failure to win
footballs World Cup.
Retired Japanese rikishi Shuhei
Mainoumi published a book last
month titled Why Cant Japanese Become Yokozuna?
he says the youth of his country
have grown soft in one of the worlds
richest societies and lost the drive that
Mongolians retain.
Sumo winnings may be modest
compared with other professional
sports, but can go far in Mongolias
smaller and still developing economy,
he adds.
Unlike Japanese, they have a hungry spirit, he wrote.

Some wrestlers have returned to

Mongolia, leveraging their Japan experience into prominent careers outside
the sport.
Davaagiin Batbayar, who competed as Kyokushuzan until 2006, went
into politics, serving in parliament
before becoming a special adviser on
Japan to Prime Minister Chimediin
Saikhanbileg.
he reckons there are currently
about 25 Mongolian wrestlers, including hakuho, that he has sent to Japan.
Still, he cautions that for many postsumo life can be tough.
They are so respected in Japan
and then come back to being regular
people in Mongolia, he said.
People will just say, Ah, so-andso was a sumo wrestler, he added,
stressing they must work hard and
develop themselves beyond the sport.
Mongolias first yokozuna Dolgorsurengiin Dagvadorj, who wrestled
as Asashoryu, won 25 championships
and now concentrates on business interests, including banking.
his tumultuous career was cut
short after outside-the-ring scandals,
though he stresses his time in Japan
left a lasting impression.
Wrestlers are exposed to values
such as trust, honesty, punctuality and
diligence there, he told AFP. There
are many things Mongolia can learn
from Japan.
he also stressed that sumo carries
aspirations for Mongolians as baseball
does for Japanese pitchers and sluggers pursuing their American Dream
in the US Major Leagues.
The Japan Dream for Mongolian
boys is sumo. Its the same. AFP

Sport 27

www.mmtimes.com
TOUR DE LANCE

paris

Armstrong to ride One Day

Ahead of this years Tour
L
ance armstrong expects a
welcoming reception when
he returns to France for a
charity bike ride that will
cover each stage of the 2015
Tour de France a day before the real
race, despite the hostility he has faced
in the country in previous years.
armstrong has signed up for former england footballer and fellow
cancer survivor Geoff Thomass One
Day ahead event.
Stripped of his seven Tour titles for
a litany of doping offences, armstrong
has been criticised by UcI president
Brian cookson and Team Sky general
manager Dave Brailsford, among others, for getting involved.
But the controversial american expects no backlash from cycling fans in
France and cites the doping cases at
Kazakh team astana as proof that the
sport has bigger problems on its plate.
I could be wrong Ive been
wrong plenty in my life but Ive been
to France since all this happened and
if you walk into a cafe or a restaurant
or walk down the street, thats not the
reaction I get, armstrong, who plans
to take part in only two or three
stages of the charity event, told a small
group of reporters including aFP.
People think I have this bitter relationship with the country, with its people. I like going there. I love France.
The people are what they are. Its like
any place. Some people are cool, some
people arent cool.
I dont know Brian cookson. Ive
never met him, never really had a conversation with him, dont know what
his vision is for the sport. I dont know
if he is even able to form a vision. I
dont know anything about the man.
But I do know that me and Geoff
riding in France for this cause is the

Lance Armstrong (left) and his Astana teammates enjoy happier times at the 2009 Tour de France. Photo: AFP

least of his problems.

He added, I absolutely dont think
cycling is in a better place. You guys
[the media] can decide if hes done a
good job, if hes been tough on astana,
whether hes stuck with his mission
statement.
Plenty of people would argue hes
laid down on a lot of things. If he is
making public comments, he needs to
be talking about other things because
this sport is not in a good place for a
variety of reasons.
a lot of it has to do perhaps some

would say with me. But he doesnt

need to worry about this.
armstrong, 43, was speaking to
journalists at his home in aspen,
colorado, after inviting Thomas and a
group of his charity riders to join him
for a training weekend.
He says that the cycling community
has nothing to fear from his involvement in Thomass project and that he
has no desire to become involved with
the professional sport again.
But he feels that the cycling Independent Reform commission (cIRc)

report into doping published earlier

this year, to which he contributed, was
a missed opportunity to draw a line in
the sand.
The thing comes out and it gets
panned, he said. Its almost dismissed. I know you dont think about
the cIRc report unless someone
brings it up, but we havent had that
adult conversation, I dont think.
armstrong continues to feel aggrieved that cookson and the UcI
wrote him out of the record books,
when other riders still have their

names on the lists of winners despite

positive drug tests.
Whos that character in Harry Potter they cant talk about? Voldemort? Its
like that on every level, armstrong said.
If you watch the Tour on american
TV, if you read about it, its just as if
you cant mention him. and that will
not be the case forever, because it cant
be the case forever. That wont work.
People arent stupid.
When you look at the history
books, everybody at this table knows
what went on in the 1990s and 2000s,
but if you see the results and you still
see theres no winners, theres a bunch
of seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths, that
all just doesnt make any sense. Ten
years from now, people arent going to
accept that.
armstrong has also warned cookson
that he will not find it easy to rid the
sport of former UcI president Hein Verbruggen, who ran cycling from 1991 to
2005 and was heavily implicated in the
doping scandals of the era.
cookson has called on the Dutchman to stand down as honorary president of the world governing body,
which Verbruggen has refused to do.
cookson is not very good at taking people down, said armstrong. I
wouldnt discount Hein Verbruggen if
I was Brian cookson.
Its easy to say, Oh, hes an old guy,
hes a little crazy, he says these weird
things. Hes an old-school guy.
The way those guys work you
think [world football governing body]
FIFa is bad, and wed need another day
going into IOc [International Olympic
committee] stuff we havent heard
the last of Hein Verbruggen.
When his back is against the wall,
hes going to come out swinging in
whatever capacity that is. AFP

aspen, coLorado

Armstrong at risk of financial ruin in Landis lawsuit

Lance armstrong admits that he
will risk financial ruin when his
US$100 million whistleblower lawsuit goes before a jury in the United
States later this year.
The latest of the disgraced cyclists
many legal problems has seen his
former US Postal Service teammate
Floyd Landis, the man whose evidence helped to expose armstrongs
doping offences, bring a case to court
for damages.
Due to the team being sponsored
by the american post office, the US
federal government has joined Landis
in claiming $100 million, one-third of
which would be awarded to Landis
himself for originally bringing the suit.
armstrong, who revealed he has
sought counselling following his public doping confession, is confident of
victory in the legal battle, but the fallen seven-time Tour de France winner
concedes that he is worried.
I mean, the whistleblower case is
a $100 million case. If I lost, we would
not be sitting at this table anymore,
armstrong told a group of journalists,
including aFP, at his home in aspen,
colorado.
We wouldnt be sitting in this
home anymore. We wouldnt be sitting in any home. I dont have $100
million.
We like our case is all I will say.
Im not going to jinx myself. But I
dont know. How do you guys see it?
Say the jury says, Pay up $100 mil-

lion. Floyd Landis gets $33 million.

Is everybody at this jury happy
with that? I would think what everybody thinks. Theres no logic to that.
Few athletes few people have
ever suffered such a calamitous fall
from grace as armstrong, who inspired millions by beating cancer and
going on to win one of the worlds
hardest sporting events multiple times
before being exposed for drug abuse.

Listen, if I could
walk the world
and face-to-face
apologise, I would.
Lance armstrong
Disgraced cyclist

While he insists that he is not in

the dark place that anti-doping former cyclist christophe Bassons recently claimed he is, armstrong does
admit to seeking professional help.
counselling is so funny because
people are like, are you weak or
something? But we hire coaches in
every other facet of life, whether its
cycling or another sport or business,
said armstrong.
I have been going to counselling

off and on for a while. and more

and more lately, actually. We can all
be better people. and God knows I
could.
although the 43-year-old admits
that he was a complete dick for a
long time, he says he cannot apologise for everything.
Im not going to be sorry for certain things, he said. Im going to be
sorry for that person who was a believer, who was a fan, who supported
me, who defended me, and ended up
looking like a fool.
I need to really be contrite and
sorry about that. and I am. Im more
worried about Mary-Jane in Ohio,
and Doug in Pennsylvania, or Liam in
Birmingham or wherever.
Listen, if I could walk the world
and face-to-face apologise, I would.
armstrong, who claimed he lost
$75 million in sponsorship and endorsement income on the day he
confessed to his serial doping three
years ago, is also still in touch with
the US anti-Doping agency (USaDa).
USaDa ceO Travis Tygart has offered a reduction in armstrongs lifetime ban from competitive sport in
return for further co-operation.
armstrong believes such a lifting
of the suspension is highly unlikely,
but in any case, the Texan claims he
has nothing new to offer Tygart.
He continues to harbour regrets
over the impact of his doping rev-

Lance Armstrong takes part in the 2009 Tour de France. Photo: AFP

elations on Livestrong, the charitable

foundation he formed in 1997, which
subsequently severed its ties with him.
I see the negative side of it, real
people really hurt by it, he said. I
dont have to make a case for me, but
you can at least see what its done to
the sport.
I do know it had a real negative effect on the fact that chris Froome or
whoever, theyre still answering questions about some old guy. Sponsors left,
races folded, the media totally turned.
The industry, just look at the trend.
You guys [in the British media] probably live in a bubble because Britain

has ridden this wave behind [Bradley]

Wiggins, Froome and Sky, but theres
been a lot of negative fall-out.
Most importantly, I can tell you
exactly what happened to the Foundation, what a drop in fundraising
[there was] which directly relates to
helping real people.
You are talking about an organisation that was raising $50 million a
year serving 500,000 people. So say
they do $25 million thats still a lot of
money, but they serve 250,000 people.
Still a lot, but its 250,000 people without services. Thats a lot of
people. AFP

Sport
28 THE MYANMAR TIMES July 1, 2015

SPORT EDITOR: Matt Roebuck | matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com

Japan turns from

sumo to synchro
SPORT 26

BOxing

Lethwei fighters train

their sights on the world
Kyaw Zin Hlaing
kyawzinhlaing.mcm@gmail.com

India Olympic
star Vijender
Singh inks
pro deal
IndIas Olympic bronze-medallist
boxer Vijender singh announced
June 29 that he has turned professional, after signing a multi-year agreement
with Britains Queensberry Promotions.
singh, who became a household
name after winning a bronze at the
2008 Beijing Olympics, inked the
deal in London meaning he will not
be able to represent India at the Rio
Olympics next year.

YanMaRs practitioners of traditional boxing, or lethwei, have

been speaking of their
excitement at the opportunity to step into the cage of
mixed martial arts.
The fighters will form part of the
undercard when they take part in the
One Championship-promoted Kingdom of Warriors event on July 18 at
Yangons Thuwunna Indoor stadium.
Im a specialist in lethwei, but
Ive long wanted to compete in mixed
martial arts and display my talent, so
I was delighted when One Championship got in touch, Tapyay nyo,
winner of the recent Golden Belt
lethwei tournament at 67 kilograms,
told The Myanmar Times yesterday.
I believe I can become a champion in this sport and Ill work hard
to achieve that goal. I dont fear what
my opponents have to throw at me,
he said.
Tapyay nyos path to his fight
dreams will begin with his MMa
featherweight contest at 65.8kg
against Htit Htit Lay.
I hope my MMa career will see
me travel abroad to fight with the
best the world has to offer, added
the combatant.
One Championship, headquartered in singapore, believes mixed
martial arts provides the opportunity for asian nations to develop world
champions of their own, rather than
adopting those of the West. Four of
their seven divisional belts are currently held by asian fighters.
July 18 will see Myanmar fighters compete in two weight divisions,
MMa featherweight and lightweight
(70kg).
Both weights see the belts slung
over the shoulders of asian champions. at featherweight, Tayyay

BOxing

I want to train hard

and perform for
my country at the
global level.
Vijender Singh
Boxer

Lethwei fighters compete at the recent Golden Belt championship. Photo: Zarni Phyo

nyo and his rivals Min Htet aung

and Myo Man Thit who will also
square off on July 18 must set their
sights on Jadamaba narantungalag.
The Mongolian is ranked at 28 in
the world and number one in asia
by Fight Matrix, an independent
ranking system recognised across
the sport.
Lightweight contests for the night
will pit saw Ba Oo against dawna
aung, Tway Thit aung and saw The
Oo. Those fighters must look up to
Japans shinya aoki, also number
one in asia and 23rd in the world.
In the past we were only able to
dream of participating in MMa competitions as we watched them on television. now I have the opportunity
to compete, said dawna aung, who

said he hoped he would adapt well to

the different fight style.
In lethwei we fight for three
minutes per round over five rounds.
MMa fights are held over five-minute
rounds, though our contests will only
have two rounds, he added.
One fighter dawna aung will
no doubt have watched is aung La
n sang, the Myitkyina-born Kachin
fighter who now lives in the United
states and fights out of the Crazy 88
Jiu-Jitsu gym in Baltimore.
signed to the One Championship books and now fighting at middleweight, the Burmese Python
whose past fights can be found
at street dVd stalls across Yangon
finished his last contest ranked
around the 250 mark in the MMa

middleweight division and peaked

at 88 in light-heavyweight contests
back in 2009.
Thein aung, president of the
Myanmar Traditional Boxing Federation, was excited about the opportunity to put lethwei on the international map.
We have a plan for the Myanmar
champions who emerge from these
fights: They will continue to train as
mixed martial artists with the aim of
entering international competition,
said Thein aung.
The night will also feature a lethwei contest between Phan Tway and
soe Htet Oo. This will be our opportunity to demonstrate our traditional
contest at a world-class event, he
added.

Im excited to turn pro and looking forward to the new chapter of my

life, 29-year-old singh said in a statement. I want to train hard and perform for my country at the global level
... My immediate goal will be to work
hard and make a good boxing record
in the next year or so.
Hailing from the northern state of
Haryana, singh will now base himself
in Manchester and train under Lee
Beard to fight a minimum six times in
the first year. AFP
Photo: AFP

Vijender Singh (right) in action.