Monday, May 25, 2015 (Daily Issue 49)

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DAILY EDITION
ISSUE 49 | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015

NEWS 2
Population control law

approved
President signs controversial
legislation opposed by womens
rights groups and the international
community as being targeted at
ethnic minorities.
NEWS 4
Government dusts off

constitution protection law
Government resurrects a longforgotten 1959 law that could
hinder NLD attempts to rewrite
the constitution.
BUSINESS 8
Telecom tower contracts

handed out
Telenor and Ooredoo have awarded
a second round of tower-building
contracts, though so far the winners
are mostly new faces.
BUSINESS 10
PAGE
PHOTO: NAING WYNN HTOON
Siblings of a teenager missing from a Rakhine State IDP camp say they know their sister
has been abducted by human traffickers, after she called from one of the boats on the
Andaman Sea. The Muslim communities say they are facing a surge of kidnappings by
local brokers who allegedly sell children onto trafficking trawlers.
Ministry finds 120

incidents of smuggling
The Ministry of Commerces Mobile
Teams seize illegal imported goods
through Yangons major ports, including
damaged cars to be resold.
Puns son to helm Yoma Strategic

Melvyn Pun is set to become the new chief executive of Yoma Strategic Holdings on July 27, as the firm works to
diversify from property with interests expanding in tourism, transport and food. BUSINESS 9
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following trademark:-
BESTDRIVE
2 News
THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 25, 2015
President signs off on

population control law
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Dated: 25th May, 2015
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GUY
DINMORE
SHWE YEE SAW

MYINT
U THEIN Sein has approved a controversial population control law

sponsored by nationalist Buddhist
organisations but denounced by local
womens rights groups and by wide
sections of the international community as primarily aimed at ethnic
minorities.
Official media reported that the
president signed the Health Care for
Population Control Law on May 19. It
is the first to be finalised of a package of four pieces of legislation intended to protect race and religion,
which visiting US Deputy Secretary of
State Antony Blinken warned in talks
with the president on May 21 risked
exacerbating ethnic and religious
tensions.
The law, which was published in
the state-run Myanma Alin newspaper on May 23, gives local authorities
the go-ahead to request the president
to implement the law in their areas if
they determine through surveys that
resources are unbalanced because
of a high number of migrants in the
area, a high population growth rate
and a high birth rate.
Under the law, women shall
practise a birth-spacing policy defined as leaving at least 36 months
between the birth of each child. Critics of the law say it is left deliberately
vague whether the policy which
follows World Health Organization
guidelines is mandatory. The law
does not lay out any punishments for
women who do not abide by it.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Daw
Thein Thein Htay told The Myanmar
Times that the law would help the
ministry improve the reproductive
health of women and cut the high
rate of maternal mortality. Myanmar
women have a one-in-250 lifetime
risk of maternal death, while the
mortality rate for children under five
is one in 19.
But womens and human rights
groups are convinced that the law

will be applied in a discriminatory
fashion and that a prime target is the
Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine State.
The law was drafted by nationalist
Buddhist monks from the Committee for the Protection of Nationality
and Religion, which also sponsored
three other bills still at various stages
in parliament that regulate religious
conversion and interfaith marriage
while outlawing extra-marital affairs.
Activists with a racist, anti-Muslim agenda pressed for this population law, so there is every reason to
expect it to be implemented in a discriminatory way, said Brad Adams,
the Asia director of Human Rights
Watch.
Activists with a
racist, anti-Muslim
agenda pressed for
this population law,
so there is every
reason to expect it to
be implemented in a
discriminatory way.
Brad Adams
Human Rights Watch
U Wirathu, a Mandalay-based
monk known for his diatribes against
the perceived threat posed to Buddhism by Islam, appeared to confirm those fears. He told Irrawaddy
magazine last week that the law was
designed with the dual purpose of
protecting womens health and stopping the Bengalis that call themselves
Rohingya, who are trying to seize Rakhine State.
Khon Ja who campaigned against
the law as a member of the Kachin
Womens Peace Network, part of a
wider group of womens organisations
opposed to the law said it could be
applied to any particular ethnic community. But she added, The target is
the Rohingya.
She noted that putting the law
into force will require the passage of
by-laws, which could ameliorate or
toughen the provisions, possibly out
of political expediency.
One health sector source, who is
closely following the issue and asked
not to be named, said the Ministry of
Immigration and Population, headed
by a retired brigadier-general, would
be responsible for drawing up the
by-laws.
But U Myint Kyaing, the directorgeneral of the Population Department, said the ministry would only
be involved in the by-law committee,
which is to be headed by the office
of the Union attorney general. The
Health Ministry will also advise.
Taken together, this [population
control] bill and the three others, if
enacted, could further marginalise
members of ethno-religious minorities and undermine their hopes for
democracy, development, and peace,
the US State Department said in a
statement last week.
The dangerous impact of these
bills has already been demonstrated
when some women who spoke out
against the bills were subject to sexual harassment and death threats.
Ma Htar Htar, a Yangon activist
who promotes education about sexual health through the Akhaya womens group, said the law clearly violates the rights of women to choose
when to have children. She called it
a highly politicised law that was
clearly aimed at certain ethnic and
religious groups.
Members of their organisation
had received threats and sexual harassment for campaigning against the
law, she said. Parliament had asked
for civil society groups to make proposals on the law and then ignored
them, she added.
During an election year, it will be
tempting for some politicians to fan
the flames of prejudice for electoral
gain, UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights Zeid Raad Al-Hussein
said in a statement in February in
which he expressed concern over the
legislation.
PUTAO
NLD leader calls for urgent six-way talks

YE MON
yeemontun2013@gmail.com
OPPOSITION leader Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi has called on the government
to convene an urgent session of sixway talks to discuss amendments to
Myanmars constitution, while questioning whether there is a commitment to hold parliamentary elections
on time.
Addressing a rally in Putao in
Kachin State on May 23, the National
League for Democracy leader accused
the government of having no desire
to hold another session of the talks,
which were last held on April 10 and
resulted in a commitment to meet
again in the first 10 days of May.
The NLD wants to amend the
constitution in parliament and we are
trying to do it, she said. Some people
dont want to amend certain sections.
So we try to negotiate amendments
through discussions in the six-way
talks. But I dont see any sign of the
next six-way talks.
U Zaw Htay, director of the Presidents Office, told The Myanmar
Times that the government would
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speaks in Putao,

Kachin State, on May 23. Photo: Ye Mon
hold the talks soon and that it was discussing a date with the president, the
commander-in-chief of the military
and the two speakers of parliament.
The government has to hold the sixway talks, he said.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the
NLD wanted to know the rules and
regulations for the elections, and that
the party would decide whether to
take part after they were laid out by

the Union Election Commission.
People worry whether the NLD
will contest the election. The 2015
election is very important for the
future of Myanmar, she said, receiving a warm welcome from a crowd
of about 1000 mostly ethnic Kachin
supporters.
I cannot say exactly if the government will hand over power if the NLD
wins the elections, she said, speaking
just days before the anniversary of
the 1990 elections, which resulted in
a landslide NLD victory that the military junta refused to recognise.
President U Thein Sein and UEC
chair U Tin Aye have insisted the elections will be held in October or early
November.
The NLD leader said her party
would invite others to form a government of national reconciliation in the
event of an NLD victory.
Our government would work for
the country and together with other
people who truly want good for the
country. Our intention is not to get
power, but to have national reconciliation, she said.
www.mmtimes.com
NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com
News 3
In Rakhine State, Muslim

children are disappearing
Rampant human smuggling from Rakhine State has taken an even grimmer turn with first-hand accounts of quota-driven traffickers
resorting to abducting children and forcing them onto Malaysia-bound boats
LAIGNEE
BARRON
NYAN LYNN
AUNG
A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy is gone. A

16-year-old girl hasnt been seen for
more than 30 days. But a 14-year-old
with fresh scars threading his emaciated back has returned from where its
tacitly understood the children are disappearing: the human slave trade.
Within Rakhine States Rohingya
communities already bitten hard by
the scourge of human trafficking local
brokers are increasingly preying upon
young teenagers, according to accounts
from camp elders and trafficking
survivors.
Local agents, often from the same
or nearby communities as the victims,
have long exploited the extreme poverty and desperation of their neighbours
for a cut of the trafficking proceeds. But
while the industry was formerly fuelled
by job-hungry camp dwellers lured
overseas by promises of high wages or
large gold dowries, survivors, almost all
under the age of 18, are now reporting
being beaten, bound and shoved onto
departing boats.
It didnt use to be like this, said U
Thein Maung, a camp committee member at the Dar Paing camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The trafficking situation has gotten
very, very serious, he said, adding that
the smuggled passengers have shifted
from volunteers who could afford to
go including his daughter and sons
to unwilling victims mistreated and
sometimes killed during the voyage.
Since about December, he said, local agents have been kidnapping kids
from the street, including at least two
from his camp.
Rayzuharnar, 16, is one of the missing. Her family hasnt seen her for almost 40 days.
On Friday we went to the mosque.
She stayed to take care of our mother
who had just had an operation, said
her brother, Marmuh Harson, 20.
When we left around 1pm we saw her,
but when we came back around 4pm
she was gone.
At first the family thought she might
have gone to visit relatives in a neighbouring village, but the relatives hadnt
seen her either. People kept coming

and promising they had information
about Rayzuharnars whereabouts that
they would reveal in exchange for large
sums of money. Harson said they paid
half a dozen people and spent US$500
but still havent gotten his sister back.
Then on May 4 the family got a
phone call.
We know now that shes been trafficked, said Harson, who said his sister
called from a boat in the Andaman Sea.
She said she had been abducted
by a woman whose father-in-law lives
in their camp. The broker sold Rayzuharnar for $200, though the traffickers
wanted $2200 to let her land in Malaysia or else they would sell her off. But
the family couldnt pay, and the calls for
the money stopped coming.
When they heard about boat pushback policies in Thailand, Malaysia
and Indonesia leaving thousands of
Rohingya and Bangladeshi passengers
stranded at sea on floating coffins,
they worried even more.
But even as countries along the regions well-worn smuggling route have
reversed their earlier stance and are
now allowing migrants to disembark,
Rayzuharnars family has yet to hear
from her.
We can only hope and pray she is
okay, said Harson.
The stories from other children who
have now returned to Sittwe camps
from similar ordeals have been chilling.
Fourteen-year-old Mohammad (not
his real name) is one among the scores
of survivors quietly trickling back into
Myanmars IDP camps.
With the crackdown in Thailand
disrupting the regions lucrative human
smuggling trade and leaving traffickers
unable to deliver their human cargo,
some parents have been able to pay
ransoms to have their abducted children returned to shore.
When we left
around 1pm we saw
her, but when we
came back around
4pm she was gone.
Marmuh Harson
Brother of abducted teen
Mohammad (not his real name) shows the lashes he received on his back when he
tried to run away from smugglers who kidnapped him. Photo: Naing Wynn Htoon
Visibly thin and unable to walk

properly, Mohammad said he is still
recovering from 56 days of being held
captive on a trafficking boat that never
set sail.
They fed us just once a week, he
said. We got one cup of water a day
and anyone who asked for more or to
go to the bathroom was beaten.
He has the scars to prove it.
Mohammad said he left his camp
almost two months ago in search of
a job somewhere within the tightly
restricted region of Sittwe township
where Muslim residents are permitted
to travel. He quickly received an offer,
allegedly at a carpenters store. But instead of making furniture, Mohammad
found he had been sold to traffickers.
When I tried to resist they beat me
until I couldnt move, he said. When
Govt to deport rescued Bangladeshis

THE search for five migrant-carrying
boats marooned off the Rakhine State
coast continues, while 200 Bangladeshis rescued by Myanmars navy will soon
be repatriated, according to officials.
Initial accounts by Myanmar authorities stated that all 208 people rescued
were Bangladeshis. However, state-run
Myanmar International TV announced
yesterday that eight of the boat passengers have been identified as Bengalis
from Kyauk Taw township.
U Zaw Htay, director of the Presidents Office, declined to comment on
what will happen to the eight Bengalis
but said all the rescued migrants were
being provided necessary humanitarian aid and medical assistance.
The Bangladeshis have already said
they want to go back to their homeland
so we are working with the Bangladeshi
side to arrange for their return, he said.
U Tin Maung Swe, Rakhine State
executive secretary, said both the navy

and air force are looking for other boats.
A source who claims to be in contact
with the smugglers said that all but one
of the boats has been emptied.
Only seven people from Myanmar
are still on the boat, he said.
The UN was unable to verify the
account. Initial estimates from the UN
Refugee Agency said five boats carrying
up to 2000 men, women and children
were loitering at the edge of Myanmar
waters after a Thai trafficking crackdown disrupted the regional smuggling
route.
According to Muslim community
leaders in Rakhine State, under increasing international pressure and scrutiny
including a sharply worded statement
from US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 22 and a visit from
UN special advisor to Myanmar Vijay
Nambier yesterday Myanmar has
been willing to turn a blind eye to hundreds of Myanmar Rohingya, whom the
government insists on calling Bengalis,
slipping back into the country. Myanmar does not typically allow Rohingya,
who lack citizenship, to be repatriated.
Air and naval searches have also
commenced on the Andaman Sea,
where Indonesia and Malaysia reversed
early policies to turn migrant-laden
boats back to sea. In a statement last
week, the US Pentagon said it was ready
to assist with aerial searches for any remaining smuggling boats.
Yesterday, Malaysia announced it
discovered detention camps feared to
contain mass graves of smuggled migrants similar to the secret trafficking
camps exposed in Thailand.
According to the Star newspaper,
nearly 100 bodies were found in one
shallow grave in Malaysia on May 22.
Laignee Barron and Nyan Lynn Aung
they told me I had been sold I cried and

they beat me more. I felt so trapped.
The traffickers told me I would not see
my family again.
Mohammad said he was held for
several days because the smugglers
were waiting for a permit from the
government to transfer him and 15
other people onto a vessel waiting in international waters. When he was finally
brought onto the boat, a chain and coloured band were put on his wrist. He
was told the first would be taken off if
he could pay for his release in Malaysia,
and the second denoted who he would
be sold to if his family didnt produce
the cash.
He estimated that more than 350
people were stuffed so tightly below
the deck they could only sit with their
knees pressed to their chests.
There were a couple people who

had chosen to go to Thailand or Malaysia, but they were a small percentage. Most of the people on the boat had
been forced, he said.
Most of the passengers, according
to Mohammad, were young Rohingya
from Myanmar like himself, with a
handful joining the ship from Bangladesh. But while the Bangladeshis remained on the boat after the traffickers
discovered and announced they were
unable to proceed to Malaysia, the Myanmar passengers were the first to be
allowed to call their families and plead
for money to get off the boats.
Mohammads older brother said he
found out where the 14-year-old was 25
days after the teen left home.
For 10 days, we thought it was possible he was still looking for a job, said
Mohammads brother. But after 10
days, we knew it was impossible.
The family found the broker, who
said he could return the teen for $300.
The family borrowed money from
neighbours and relatives, and after 56
days of starving at sea, Mohammad
was allowed to come home.
Like all the child victims The Myanmar Times spoke with, Mohammad
and his family said they initially tried
to file a police report. But then the
smugglers paid them a visit.
They told me if I talked to the police again they would arrest me for lying since I have no proof, he said.
Families whose children or relatives are still missing said they have
turned to police, camp committees and
even the local smugglers in an effort
to arrange rescues from the marooned
boats.
U Tin Maung Swe, the Rakhine
State executive secretary, denied that
anyone has left from the camps for
boats, willingly or unwillingly he said
the government does a head count to
make sure and insists all the boat
people are Bangladeshis.
A parent who asked not be named
said police know the kidnappings are
happening but are complicit in, and
are profiting from, a system that makes
it very easy for the Rohingya to leave
and very hard for them to come back.
Every week I meet with local officials and I always inform them of the
smuggling and trafficking situation,
said U Thein Maung, the camp committee member. They reply that they
arent concerned with people leaving,
just with more people coming.
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Constitution protection law to

be based on 1959 predecessor
MRATT
KYAW THU
mrattkthu@gmail.com
A PLANNED law to protect the

2008 constitution will include most
of the original sections from the
1959 Constitution (Protection) Act, a
member of a parliamentary committee involved in the process says. The
act carries minimum two-year prison
terms for anyone found guilty of
advocating the destruction of the
constitution.
The law has been in draft form for
months, but its existence was only
publicly revealed on May 14 when
the Pyithu Hluttaw representative for
Thingangyun, U Thein Nyunt, proposed the 1959 law be abolished.
This prompted parliamentary
Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann, in his
capacity as a MP for Zayarthiri township in Nay Pyi Taw, to submit a proposal urging the government to speed
up the drafting of the bill to protect
the constitution.
The government then revealed the
bill had already been drafted by the
Ministry of Home Affairs, and on April
24 the Attorney Generals Office gave

its feedback on the draft.
Members of the opposition National
League for Democracy are worried that
the bill would jeopardise the partys
campaign to amend the constitution to
loosen the militarys grip on power and
allow party leader Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi to stand for president.
So far no draft of the constitution
protection law has been released,
but U Tin Maung Win, secretary of
the Fundamental Rights of Citizens,
Democracy and Human Rights Committee, told The Myanmar Times
that the bill would be based on the
1959 law.
We suggested that some words be
changed and replaced with modern
words. But the law will be mostly the
same as the original, U Tin Maung
Win said.
Enacted by General Ne Wins caretaker military government as the
country was fracturing along political
and ethnic fault lines, the 1959 law
sought to protect the 1947 constitution
from the threat of dictatorship and to
prevent the destruction of multiparty
democracy, according to U Tin Maung
Win.
However, the law became toothless in 1962 when General Ne Win
launched a coup and suspended the
constitution. The Myanmar Times

contacted around a dozen lawyers and
legal experts this week for comment,
and only one had a copy of the act.
Section 3 sets the penalties at a
minimum of two years imprisonment
and a maximum of three, with the additional possibility of a fine. Five offences are listed, including advocating
the destruction of the constitution,
armed insurgency and the destruction
of a multiparty parliament.
Section 6, meanwhile, states that
the presidents permission is needed
to charge anyone who allegedly commits these offences.
U Thein Nyunt, who leads the
New National Democracy Party, told
The Myanmar Times he had asked to
abolish the law because it only applied
to the revoked 1947 constitution and
thus no longer served any purpose.
However, he said he believed that sections 3 and 6 should both be included
in the new law.
He also revealed that he had submitted the proposal six months ago,
but Thura U Shwe Mann had not allowed it to be tabled until last week.
MPs said it was the first time Thura
U Shwe Mann had decided to submit
a proposal as an MP rather than as
Speaker, prompting some to question
his motives on the issue.
U Win Htein from the NLD said

Thura U Shwe Mann had a habit of
using the law as he wished.
He added that the Speaker should
not urge the introduction of such
a law at a time when ethnic minority parties and the NLD are publicly
campaigning to amend the constitution.
His comments echoed those of his
NLD colleague Daw Khin San Hlaing,
the Pyithu Hluttaw representative for
Pale township in Sagaing Region, who
said she was worried about how the
bill would impact her partys efforts to
amend the constitution.
At the moment, people are waiting
to see how the constitution is amended, what clauses can be amended
there, and if sections 436 and 59(f) are
changed, she said. But at the same
time the Speaker is urging the protection of the constitution.
Ko Jimmy, a member of 88 Generation, said he was confused by Thura U
Shwe Manns actions.
There are a lot more important
things to do more than [re-introduce
the 1959 law], he said.
But prominent politician U Khin
Maung Swe from the National Democratic Force said he did not believe
Thura U Shwe Manns intention was
to block the NLD campaign.
Parties quietly launch election campaigns

WA LONE
walone14@gmail.com
AS political parties begin to shape
up for the elections later this year,
some of the main lines of the likely
campaigns are starting to become
apparent. One feature of the campaign could be a strong effort on
the part of ethnic-based parties to
give the ruling Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP) and the
main opposition National League
for Democracy (NLD) a run for their
money.
In particular, the Rakhine National Party is setting its sights not only
on the 63 constituencies of Rakhine
State, but also on areas where large
concentrations of Rakhine people live
in Ayeyarwady Region. The party is
now selecting its candidates there
with a view to becoming the main rival of the USDP and NLD.
But they know they have their
work cut out. Rakhine National Party
central executive committee member
U Aye Ther Aung told The Myanmar
Times, Villagers are still frightened
of the authorities because they lived
under military rule for decades. The
ruling party knows what to do to win
their votes.
He accused the USDP of using the
power of incumbency to sway peoples votes, and was not above resorting to intimidation, including cutting off electricity or blocking roads
to communities thought to be antigovernment.
Were campaigning all over Rakhine State, U Aye Ther Aung said.
Our focus is not only on the election.
We are also explaining about democracy, and that power derives from the
people.
Nan Khin Htwe Myint, a spokesperson for the NLD, said the party
had been touring rural villages
around the country to educate voters
on the voting system and ensuring
that its supporters were registered to
vote.
We conduct training and voter
education, he said. It would be a
mistake to think people at the village
level dont follow politics.
National League for Democracy supporters cheer as they listen to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speak in Thanbyuzayat, Mon
State, on May 17. Photo: EPA/Nyein Chan Naing
Not that this is part of the political

campaign, which has not yet officially
begun. The NLD says its activities are
related to a celebration of the centenary year of General Aung San. It
It would be a
mistake to think
people at the village
level dont follow
politics.
Nan Khin Htwe Myint
National League for Democracy
was in that capacity that the generals

daughter, NLD chair Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, visited Mon State on May 16
to 17, addressing audiences of thousands, then travelled to Putao township in Kachin State on May 23. U
Tun Tun Hein, a senior NLD official,
said the visit was in connection with
the electoral campaign.
The USDP for its part has
launched a door-to-door information campaign targeting farmers and
workers, including in remote villages
and ethnic areas.
USDP senior official U Tint Zaw
said, In some cases we help people
get national ID cards. We provide
solar power in villages without electricity, we provide healthcare and
fresh water, we assist with land-grab
problems. Weve been doing this ever

since the party was formed in 1993.
The party also offers low-interest
loans.
Our support is growing, U Tint
Zaw said. Were inviting people either to join the party or to contribute
funds.
As one of the partys achievements, U Tint Zaw cited the case of
an electricity-generating project in
Kayan township, Yangon Region, that
had been opened yesterday by USDP
Yangon Region secretary U Mg Mg
Thein. He said the project had been
funded not by the party but by individual donations. U Tint Zaw said the
money had come from senior government officials and local businesspeople who supported the party.
News 5
www.mmtimes.com
Public urged to help fight illegal logging

that cannot be replaced, said U Zaw
Win, noting that timber was exported
through border towns. So far, talks
with border authorities had yielded
no practical results, he said.
Every time I visit China they
pledge to do what they can. But weve
seen no effective action, he said, adding that a new policy of prosecution
could help reduce corruption in the
departments staff. Of the 2000 civil
servants charged with various offences since 2011, some 700 have been
prosecuted for offences relating to illegal logging.
HTOO
THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com
ILLEGAL loggers armed with chainsaws are wiping out the countrys
teak forests, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has warned, complaining that China, a major market
for illegally exported timber, is failing
to cooperate with Myanmar.
U Zaw Win, deputy director-general of the Forest Department under the
ministry, appealed to local authorities
and ordinary citizens to help the understaffed department protect the
countrys natural heritage.
A press conference on May 22
marked a departure for the ministry,
which until recently declined to issue
statistics relating to illegal logging.
U Zaw Win said the department
had only 6228 forestry workers to
protect more than 41 million acres
of forest reserves. Each forestry
worker is responsible for protecting
more than 6000 acres. I would like
to request the local authorities and
citizens to cooperate with us, he said.
Officials say illegal logging is
concentrated in northern Shan and
Kachin states and upper Sagaing Region for export to China.
Illegal loggers are targeting the
high-quality timber in upper Sagaing
Region, said U Zaw Win.
In mid-May, the forestry department carried out a raid in Katha district, arresting 15 people and seizing
more than 1604 tonnes of various
woods, along with 24 circular saws,
22 chainsaws, two trailers, one threewheeled motorcycle, three motorcycles, three carts and six cows.
The department said illegal logging was increasing because of population growth, poverty and unemployment: weaknesses in the rule of
Those trees cant

be brought back no
matter now many
people we arrest.
U Zaw Win
Forest Department
Loggers load timber in the Wa region in Shan State near the Chinese border in April 2004. Photo: EPA/Barbara Walton
law; lack of security; and official corruption. It said some ethnic armed
groups funded their operations from
illegal logging.
Another important factor is the
easy availability of logging equipment,
Country is moving
forward despite major
challenges: President
HTOO THANT
thanhtoo.npt@gmail.com
THE government is not backsliding, said President U Thein Sein
last week. Speaking at the Nay Pyi
Taw International Convention Centre 2, the president said the government had faced serious challenges
in making the transition from a
military regime to a multiparty democracy. But those problems had
been successfully overcome, and
the country would continue to move
forward, he said.
Since the process of developing
good governance is wide and deep,
the country has had to face issues
and challenges like other countries
in transition. We will try to overcome
those challenges, and we will not take
a backward step, he told a workshop
on the Framework for Administrative
Reform.
But the president also cautioned
against unrealistic expectations.
People hope for too much when it
comes to carrying out administrative
reforms. All these things cannot be
done in one single term, he said.
Recalling the political and economic reforms carried out by his
administration, the president said democracy could succeed only if allied
with good governance.
Union Minister U Hla Tun of the
Presidents Office stressing that good
governance required transparency

and accountability, said the quality and capacity of the civil service
should be improved.
The government has shared mandates and transferred accountability to the state and regional governments, he said. However, it found
in doing so that there were serious
differences in the culture, history,
population, resources, and economic
and social conditions in each state
and region. We found varying levels
of effectiveness in implementing projects and plans, and lower capacity
among government servants, said U
Hla Tun.
Weaknesses were also apparent in
transparency and adherence to the
rule of law and accountability. The
authorities had to work together to
ensure that the best people and the
soundest financial management were
applied in order to ensure equal development in all regions and to reduce centralised controls, the minister said. The government would
continue to build the foundation of
good governance for the remainder
of its term.
The two-day workshop, organised
with the help of the UNDP, dealt with
the establishment of an administrative framework to support the actions
of government before and after the
election.
Translation by Thiri Min Htun
including chainsaws, he said. A chainsaw imported from China can be

bought for about K70,000 and used to
cut down a 30- or 40-year-old teak tree
in 15 minutes.
In the past, it took much longer
to cut down a tree using a handsaw,

he said. Those trees cant be brought
back no matter how many people we
arrest.
The destruction of old-growth
trees can also destroy ecosystems
Between 2011 and March 2015, annual losses to smuggling rose from
30,000 to 51,000 tonnes. But in April
this year alone, about 70,000 tonnes
of wood were seized, indicating that
much more wood has been smuggled undetected, said U Zaw Win.
According to the Myanmar Timber
Merchants Association, the smuggled
timber is worth billions of US dollars.
In a major raid conducted by the
Tatmadaw in Kachin State earlier this
year, more than 100 Chinese nationals were arrested and now face decades-long prison sentences.
Last week President U Thein Sein
presented the Tatmadaw and the
Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry with a Presidential
Excellence Award for Forestry Resources Conservation.
Translation by Zar Zar Soe
6 News
Lecturer
who led
protests
sentenced
to three
months
MRATT KYAW THU
mrattkthu@gmail.com
UNIVERSITY lecturer U Wai
Yan Aung was sentenced on
May 22 to three months with
hard labour for leading a student protest in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region.
The Pathein district court
rejected his defence that he was
acting in accordance with the
four-party talks involving the
government and the students,
and that the Ayeyarwady Region chief minister had promised nobody would be arrested
for taking part in the march. He
was convicted under section 18
of the Peaceful Protest Law.
Im not guilty. The government is acting as if its
above the law, said U Wai Yan
Aung before being taken into
custody.
U Wai Yan Aung is the first
protester to be sentenced in
what is expected to be a series
of cases involving students
who were marching on Yangon
to support their demand for a
revision of the National Education Law.
The marches were broken
up by police, often violently,
and dozens of people are now
in custody awaiting trial.
He was charged on March 6
after leading a student march
in Pathein township and a sitin in front of Pathein City Hall
on March 5 in protest against
the National Education Law.
The Pathein group suspended
their march at the request of
prominent monks.
U Wai Yan is also general secretary of the University Teachers Association of
Pathein, but his conviction is
expected to mean his suspension from duty.
The 70 students and activists arrested in the police crackdown in Letpadan face an array
of charges, including unlawful
assembly and rioting.
The next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.
Fears rise that

election will
be very dirty
STUART
ALAN
BECKER
stuart.becker@gmail.com
NOVEMBERS elections will be very

dirty and the results could be a confusing medley, predicts the visiting
head of a Washington-based lobby
group campaigning for a tougher US
policy toward Myanmar.
I dont know how the elections
are going to turn out whether the
military monopoly on power will be
fragmented or whether they can manipulate and stay in power, said Simon Billenness, executive director of
the US Campaign for Burma. From
what we can tell it is going to be a
very dirty election.
Mr Billenness said his group will
continue to try to influence US policy toward Myanmar, which under
President Barack Obama has shifted
decisively away from blanket sanctions and toward engagement with
the reformist government led by
President U Thein Sein.
Last week the lobby group called
on the US government to take
the lead in providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya migrants
stranded on the high seas and to put
pressure on the Myanmar government to end persecution of the Muslim minority.
Mr Billenness also accused the
government of backsliding in its
commitment to democratic reform,
and said his organisation would continue its efforts to keep the spotlight
on the government and its policies in
an effort to maintain the pressure in
favour of positive reform.
During his first-ever visit to Myanmar, just before Thingyan, he
spoke to The Myanmar Times about
how his organisation had helped influence the US government through
corporations and shareholders, and
how sanctions against Myanmar
were inspired by techniques used in
the campaign against the South African apartheid government.
Since the current government
came to power in 2011 and initiated
a broad range of economic and social
reforms, overseas-based activist or-
ganisations have increasingly struggled to catch up with events.

Many, founded by Myanmar citizens who had fled the former military regime to seek refuge abroad,
championed the use of the term
Burma in attempted solidarity with
the opponents of a regime that had
decreed the revival of Myanmar as
the countrys official name.
But as use of Myanmar and
Yangon is becoming more common within and outside the country,
many of these organisations project
the sense that they are fighting old
battles already won and lost. In addition, their often fervent support of
National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has not
taken account of her transition from
an imprisoned icon of democracy to
a campaigning politician positioning
herself to win votes.
Mr Billenness is aware that the
successful continuation of reform
could spell the end for his organi-
I would love to
be out of a job,
but I dont see any
prospect of that
happening.
Simon Billenness
US Campaign for Burma
sation. I would love to be out of a

job, but I dont see any prospect of
that happening, he said, adding that
the government has been backsliding since about 2012 on a number
of fronts. Overseas-based organisations like his may still have a role in
holding the Myanmar governments
feet to the fire on a number of issues.
Evidence of this can be seen in the
preparations for the Oslo Conference
on Myanmars Systematic Persecution of Rohingyas, which opens tomorrow.
We urge the US government to
step up and take leadership to help
these Rohingya refugees, said Mr
Billenness in a statement on May 18.
Farmer burns himself to death in

protest against army land grab
WA LONE
walone14@gmail.com
A FARMER has burned himself to
death in protest against the seizure
of his land by the military. U Myint
Aung, 63, of Yepu village in Taunggyi
township, Shan State, died of burns in
hospital on May 23.
Nearly 500 local farmers turned
out to mourn him.
Written in red on the walls of his
farm was the message, Give back the
lands that the Tatmadaw seized.
Letters found at the scene accused
a government land survey official, Mg
Naing, and village administrator Tin
Shwe of corruption.
Ma Maw, U Myint Aungs niece,
told The Myanmar Times yesterday,
He never drank or smoked and had
a placid disposition. But he may have
heard, wrongly, that I had been arrested while protesting against a Tatmadaw attempt to grab land.
The police at Taunggyi and
Shwe Nyaung declined to comment
on the matter, saying they had no
responsibility.
Ma Maw said the tragedy occurred
in connection with an attempt by
Captain Win Tun Aung of the Tatmadaws Southeastern Brigade to
build a barracks on land in Yepu village on May 20. His request was rebuffed by villagers.
They tried to seize our land and
build huts to show that the military
had taken it over and would not return it to us, she said.
Local residents say the Southeastern Brigade had seized land from
more than 200 farmers since 2004,
renting out the land to tenant farmers
for K10,000 an acre.

Last year, Tatmadaw Commanderin-Chief Senior General Min Aung
Hlaing promised to return seized
farmland to its original owners.
U Tin Maung Toe, the chair of
Taunggyi National League for Democracy, said more than 10,000 acres of
land had been seized by the military
and their allies in the Pa-O armed militia, and none had been returned.
The military grabbed the land
from the residents, leaving the villagers empty-handed. It destroyed their
lives, he said yesterday,
He added that five Chinese companies had been granted authorisation
by the army to grow sugarcane and
corn.
Ma Maw said, Our family needs
the land. We just want it back, and
were so sorry for my uncle.
Simon Billenness. Photo: Nyan Zay Htet
We call on the United States to use

its air and naval resources to help
provide immediate and necessary
humanitarian assistance. Washington should also urge countries in the
region to accept these refugees.
The United States frequently conducts military drills on disaster response and humanitarian assistance
in Southeast Asia. Specifically, the
US military could use reconnaissance imagery and the deployment
of naval and air assets to locate boats
at sea and rescue those in danger,
said the statement.
We welcome the renewal of authority to maintain sanctions as
announced by President Obama on
Friday, May 15. However, more action must be taken to ensure that
President U Thein Sein honours his
responsibility, as stated by the United Nations, to protect and provide
humanitarian assistance to those in
internally displaced camps in western Rakhine State, the statement
continued.
The statement also quoted Jen-
nifer Quigley, the president of the

US Campaign for Burma, as saying,
The impetus of this exodus is the
Burmese governments stripping of
the Rohingya and others of their
only legal documentation, known as
white cards.
Mr Billenness said further aid and
investment from the US government
ought to be conditioned on free, fair
and inclusive elections; on progress
with ethnic minorities; and on negotiating a new political framework.
He cited the arrest of journalists,
the crackdown on students and landgrab episodes as contentious issues.
Though these matters have been repeatedly raised in local media and by
local parties, he felt his organisation
could still play a part in maintaining
international pressure, particularly
through its influence on the US government.
Given the Myanmar governments
recent decision to hire a Washington-based public relations firm to
burnish its image there, Mr Billenness might have a point.
EDITORIAL
Pick election issues carefully

WITH the general elections approaching, there seem to be attempts to
make any issue an election issue here.
Any issue, of course, could become an
element of an election campaign, but
the most controversial could lead to
grave consequences.
Taking a look back to the elections in the 1950s, the ruling party of
those days did make a grave mistake,
perhaps in pursuit of majority votes,
by making campaign promises to minorities. Who would have envisioned
in those heady campaign days that
those promises would cause community violence 60 or so years later in
Rakhine State?
Myanmar is a diverse society
with more than 100 minority groups
of various ethnicities, and making
racial and religious differences into
campaign issues would be very
dangerous now and in the near and

far future.
Trying to build Myanmar toward
becoming a civilised democratic nation after half a century of military
rule, we already have formidable
challenges: poverty alleviation, emigration and immigration, rule of law,
equality and justice for all citizens
and the list goes on and on.
Vying for more votes and more
seats in parliament calls for tremendous efforts by the political parties,
and as always, the public understands
that politics is a nasty game.
Still, all political parties, whether
they are big or small, in power or in
opposition, should be aware that their
decisions to raise election campaign
issues, their actions and their policies
may have impacts on the people and
the nation long after they are gone.
www.mmtimes.com
Views
News 7
Action needed
in the BuddhistMuslim zone
NICHOLAS
FARRELLY
nicholas.farrelly@glenlochadvisory.com
YANMARS troubled
western borderlands
are in the news again.
This year the headlines
are about the trade in
desperation that sees thousands take
to rickety boats each month, seeking
sanctuary and better prospects across
the Andaman Sea.
Gut-wrenching stories from
southern Thailand and Malaysia, now
backed up by the discovery of mass
graves, have jolted regional players
into action. For the distressed people
on the boats some who call themselves Rohingya, others of whom are
Bangladeshis an immediate solution
is required.
Meetings are being convened, official briefings sought and millions of
words welded together. The number
of lives at stake means that action will
need to follow.
We cant forget that people in the
borderlands where Myanmar rubs
against Bangladesh Buddhists and
Muslims alike have been in a desperate situation on both sides of the
international frontier for as long as
anyone cares to remember.
This Buddhist-Muslim hybrid zone
sees old grievances compounded by
recent strife, with nobody quite sure
how the basic issues should be handled. The Bangladesh and Myanmar
governments dwell on their own interpretations of the push and pull
factors that encourage people to cross
the border. Yet some hard facts often
get lost in the duelling stories of what
is going on.
The simple reality is that communal antagonism in both countries
thrives alongside poverty and ignorance. The situation in northern Rakhine State is particularly egregious.
It cant be sustained, and the fear is
that it could get much worse.
Informed commentators warn of
the potential for more mass violence.
Some are anxious that the Rohingya,
deemed ineligible for the rights
enjoyed by Myanmar citizens, face a
slow-burning genocide.
Such strong statements draw fury
from increasingly vocal Myanmar
nationalists. They claim that without
firm government and popular responses, the country faces an ongoing
invasion of Bangladeshi migrants
eager to steal their jobs and land.
Prejudice against Muslims threatens
to create a populist frenzy as political leaders seek the support of the
nationalist core.
At the same time, thinkers in both
countries are wary of the rising tide of
exclusion that anti-Rohingya rhetoric
implies. They have in mind that there
must be a better solution one that
wont involve killing and hatred at
home, or displacement and starvation
on the high seas.
Most proposals for action have
modest and incremental ambitions.
These fit the needs of budget-constrained governments and an international community with a limited
attention span.
If the world wants to avoid the
prospect of even greater disaster, bold

action should be debated in a new
spirit of goodwill.
As a start, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and everyone else, need to start
treating the shared Buddhist-Muslim
hybrid zone as a place of special opportunities and potential. Some major
infrastructure is already planned, but
it cant happen soon enough. Leaving
these borderlands to fester isnt a
solution.
The overall goal should be to eliminate the push and pull factors for
migrants to the extent that this is possible. That means millions of better
jobs on both sides of the border, an
ideology of joint development and an
appreciation that both Myanmar and
Bangladesh, and their citizens, will
enjoy the benefits that cascade from
fairer treatment of the Rohingya.
For now, the Rohingya will continue to be pawns in the domestic
politics of the two countries. Even
the use of the R word draws a fierce
response in Myanmar. That oversized
reaction will need to stop. Creating
awareness that people begin to call
themselves by new names all the time
could be one early activity.
Prejudice against
Muslims threatens
to create a populist
frenzy as political
leaders seek the
support of the
nationalist core.
Done in the right way, the allocation of secure citizenship for the Rohingya might follow in a novel form.
One idea is dual citizenship for those
millions of people, both Buddhist
and Muslim, who have a long-term
connection to both countries. That
would take decisive and courageous
leadership, and an acknowledgement
that the rolling crisis of migration is a
symptom of the underlying citizenship stalemate.
If they were prepared to embrace
a portfolio of such suggestions, Bangladesh and Myanmar could rightly
call on the full backing and resources
of regional and global partners. They
would be well-placed to make major
demands on international donors:
Perhaps instead of building fences,
plans for a bridge across the hybrid
zone could bustle ahead.
We should also re-confirm our
appreciation that Buddhists and
Muslims have lived side-by-side for
generations on both sides of the
border. Making sure that they can
live together peacefully will require
creative input, big money and mutual
compromise, but the avoidance of
further disaster will be worth it.
Nicholas Farrelly is a fellow in the
Australian National Universitys Bell
School of Asia Pacific Affairs and the
co-convenor of the Myanmar Update
Conference, which will be held in
Canberra on June 5 and 6.
Rohingya Muslims rescued by the Myanmar navy sit together at a temporary refugee camp in the village of Aletankyaw,
Maungdaw township, in northern Rakhine State on May 23. Photo: EPA/Nyunt Win
8 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 25, 2015
Business
Bad reception
Telenor and Ooredoo pick new tower firms
Workers erect a telecommunications tower on a downtown Yangon rooftop. Photo: Staff
CLARE
HAMMOND
clarehammo@gmail.com
AFTER months of delays due to intense negotiations over pricing and

terms, Ooredoo and Telenor have
signed a second round of purchase
orders for telecommunications
towers.
But two of the four towers
companies originally hired as official vendors have so far been left
empty-handed, and two newcomers
have been hired instead.
Norways Telenor has placed
a new order for over 700 towers
from Apollo Towers and an order
for roughly 700 towers from a
subsidiary of Young Investment
Group called Eco-Friendly Towers (EFT), according to a Telenor
spokesperson.
Young Investment Group is a
Myanmar conglomerate with interests in a number of sectors including finance, insurance, construction, energy and mining. Subsidiary
EFT is a new entrant to the towers
market. Apollo Towers is so far the
only tower firm to receive a repeat
order from an operator.
Qatars Ooredoo has signed a
new purchase order for 1000 towers with Irrawaddy Green Towers
(IGT) and an order for 500 towers
from Singapore Windsor Holdings,
through its subsidiary Myanmar Infrastructure Group (MIG).

A spokesperson from Ooredoo
confirmed both deals. IGT entered
the market last year as an official
vendor to build and manage 1438
towers for Telenor. It is the first
tower company in Myanmar to sign
with both international operators.
MIG is a new entrant to the market.
Its great that

negotiations have
been concluded and
towers ordered,
but it comes at the
same time as the
beginning of the
monsoon.
Philippe Luxcey
Apollo Towers
Ooredoo has not announced

plans to sign any new purchase orders with its existing official vendors, Pan Asia Tower (PAT) or Myanmar Tower Company (MTC). A
source at Pan Asia confirmed that
the company had not yet signed any
new contracts.
MTC, owned by Digicel Group

and YSH Finance, a subsidiary of
Yoma Strategic, has recently been
put up for sale, along with all its
sites and contracts.
MTC and PAT have been our appointed tower companies since last
year. In order to roll-out faster to
meet the high expectations of the
people of Myanmar, and as weve
committed to reach every state and
region of the country during this
year, weve appointed another two
tower companies, said Ooredoo
spokesperson Daw Thiri Kyar Nyo.
The need for a faster rollout is
clear. In the initial round of orders, the two international operators commissioned a total of 5000
sites from four tower companies,
which were due for completion by
early 2015, but progress has been
much slower than anticipated. It
is estimated that between 3000
and 4000 towers have been built
so far, though no exact figures are
available.
Mobile network operators have a
target to provide coverage to more
than 70 percent of the population
by 2017. To achieve this, 17,300
tower sites will need to be deployed
across the region by that date, according to the 2014 Green Power
for Mobile report, published by
industry body GSMA in collaboration with the International Finance
Corporation.
Telenor and Ooredoo had initially planned to sign a new round of
orders earlier this year, and issued
a joint request for proposals in

January. This was then cancelled,
leading to further delays, as both
sides wasted time preparing the
documents.
Its great that negotiations
have been concluded and towers
ordered, but it comes at the same
time as the beginning of the monsoon. This will mean a slower start
to the roll-out than if wed started
in the sunshine, said Philippe Luxcey, CEO of Apollo Towers.
However, he added that the company learned a lot from building
through the rain last year and that
while it is not ideal weather, construction will not stop.
Generally, tower companies
make the initial investment to build
each tower and provide upkeep and
power for the site. The operators
then pay a rental fee to place their
equipment on the tower.
Some tower companies question
whether their business models will
be tenable over the long term, as
operators are now able to pay lower
rental rates due to increasing competition. One director at a tower
company said that firms agreeing
to the most recent terms outlined
by operators will struggle to make
a profit. This will make it more difficult to raise funding from banks
or other lenders.
One of the original vendors,
MTC, is looking to exit the business
after just a year and is up for sale.
Local competitors and large international players are reportedly bid-
ding for its sites and contracts.

Industry insiders say this is
likely to be the first in a number of
deals that eventually lead to consolidation in the market.
Tower sharing is the best way
for operators to keep their costs
down and speed up the rollout process, while allowing tower companies to generate extra income. But
despite the declared intentions of
both Ooredoo and Telenor to share,
it has not yet happened on a large
scale.
Telenor is focused on building
a long term sustainable cost structure which will allow us to offer the
most affordable services to the mass
market in Myanmar and at the most
remote places in Myanmar; tower
sharing is an important element
to make this happen, said Petter
Furberg, chief executive officer of
Telenor Myanmar in an email.
Tower sharing will become increasingly important as operators
expand their services beyond Myanmars major cities, and the building process becomes more difficult.
Geographically the first round
of towers was aimed at getting coverage up the central spine of Myanmar. Now its going to be much
more spread out, mostly in rural
areas, with fewer rooftop towers,
said Mr Luxcey.
It will become more difficult
in terms of access roads as we begin to build in more remote places,
and theres still a lot of Myanmar
to cover.
BUSINESS EDITOR: Jeremy Mullins | jeremymullins7@gmail.com
CB and Yoma ink deals

for warehouse financing,
though challenges remain
Japans moves to end

illness from overtime
risks backfiring
BUSINESS 10
BUSINESS 12
Exchange Rates (May 24 close)

Currency
Euro
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Singapore Dollar
Thai Baht
US Dollar
Buying
Selling
K1192
K302
K803
K33
K1089
K1212
K315
K817
K35
K1091
Puns son to take over Yoma Strategic

JEMERY MULLINS
jeremymullins7@gmail.com
MELVYN Pun will take over as
chief executive of Yoma Strategic
Holdings, as the firm continues to
diversify from real estate, according to statements from the firm on
May 22.
Mr Pun is the son of Yoma Strategics chair Serge Pun. He will
take the reins from current chief
executive officer Andrew Rickards
on July 27, the date of the firms
annual general meeting, the statements said.
I will continue to be a strong
supporter of the Myanmar growth
story and am confident that Yoma
Strategic will continue to play an
important role in the progress of
the country, said Mr Rickards in
the release.
Mr Rickards could not be
reached for further comment yesterday, though he is to stay on as an
adviser to the company through to

the end of the year.
New CEO Melvyn Pun was the
chief executive of Serge Pun & Associates, a privately owned company also chaired by Serge Pun,
which frequently operates in tandem with Yoma Strategic. He previously worked for US investment
bank Goldman Sachs.
Yoma has highlighted its attempts to diversify from real estate,
and also noted the factors affecting
property sales.
Its revenues for the fiscal year
ending March 31 totalled S$110.9
million (US$83 million), a 10.4 percent increase on the previous fiscal
year.
Property still makes up 81pc of
its revenues, driven by its major
projects include Star City in Thanlyin township and Pun Hlaing Golf
Estate in Hlaing Tharyar township. It is working to move forward
with the Landmark development in
downtown Yangon next to Bogyoke

Aung San market.
While real state continues to
perform well for the company on
the back of Myanmars economic
growth, it noted this is being tempered by a number of headwinds
including increased supply and uncertainty over the outcome of the
forthcoming election.
As a result the Group will be
taking a cautious approach to new
real estate developments over the
next twelve months, it said in a
release.
Mr Rickards said the firm had
turned another record-breaking
year, with consistent performance
over the previous three years. Home
sales have slowed due to increase
supply, though the firm is confident
there will be renewed interest from
buyers due to the price point and
quality of its projects.
Yoma Strategic has been working
to diversify its business away from
real estate, entering several sectors

through new agreements and purchases of existing companies.
Besides real estate, the firm is
active in tourism through Balloons
Over Bagan and a stake in the consortium upgrading and operating
Mandalay International Airport,
as well as automotive, with agreements to service and sell Hino
trucks and busses, and vehicles
MILLION S$
110.9
Yoma Strategic Holdings revenues
for the 2015 fiscal year, a 10.4 percent
increase on the previous year
from New Holland Tractor as well

as Mitsubishi.
It also has agreements in dairy,
coffee, cold storage and vehicle
leasing, and has announced plans
to bring the first KFC fast food outlet to Yangon later this year.
Looking ahead, we are optimistic about both our medium and
long-term growth prospects as we
continue to further strengthen our
core pillars and develop business in
Myanmar that are sustainable and
scalable, said the firms chair Serge
Pun.
Yomas 2015 fiscal year net profits totalled S$39.3 million, a 64.3pc
increase on the previous year.
However, while the firm credited
automotive and tourism for the increase, the firm also saw a S$22.8
million revaluation gain for parts
of its real estate projects.
It also booked a S$6.5 million
fair value loss in its agriculture
businesses.
NAY PYI TAW
CNG refuelling
station to open on
Yangons outskirts
PYAE THET PHYO
pyaethetphyo87@gmail.com
VEHICLES forbidden to enter Yangon will now be able to refuel on
the outskirts, the energy ministry
has decided. In a May 22 statement,
the ministry announced plans to
open a filling station about 35 kilometres (21 miles) north of the city
at Htaukkyant for vehicles fuelled
by natural gas.
More than 1 million cubic feet of
gas has been set aside for Hilux and
other minibuses and trucks, the
ministry said.
The new CNG natural gas station
will open for business on May 30.
This new station

is especially for
vehicles operating
in the suburbs,
primarily minibuses
and Hiluxes in Bago,
Hmawbi, Hlegu and
Taikkyi.
U Minn Minn Oo
Ministry of Energy
U Minn Minn Oo, deputy director of local and foreign information

for the Ministry of Energy, told the
media, This new station is especially for vehicles operating in the
suburbs, primarily minibuses and
Hiluxes in Bago, Hmawbi, Hlegu
and Taikkyi.
The station will be open 24 hours
a day and will be capable of refuelling eight vehicles simultaneously,

serving an estimated 800 vehicles.
The move is a response to complaints that CNG-powered vehicles
could not refuel without entering Yangon, from which they were
banned, said U Minn Minn Oo.
CNG is already available in the
city. We are meeting the request of
vehicle owners outside Yangon. Hiluxes cant enter Yangon because
the Yangon City Development Committee and Ma Hta Tha [the Supervisory Committee for Motor Vehicles] dont allow them to run in the
city, he said.
Hmawbi-Yangon trucks cant
refuel in Yangon because they are
not allowed to enter. We decided to
locate the station at Htaukkyant, U
Minn Minn Oo added.
Htaukkyant is about 35 kilometres north of the city on the YangonMandalay highway. The area is also
the site of the World War II Allied
cemetery and adjacent to Hlawiga
national park.
The ministry started to convert
petrol-, diesel- and LPG-fuelled
engines to take natural gas last
August to reduce petrol and diesel
consumption, then very expensive.
A total of 26,849 natural gas vehicles, 15,585 petrol vehicles, 9078
diesel vehicles and 509 LPG-fuelled
vehicles have been converted to
natural gas use since 2014, and
1677 natural gas vehicles have been
imported.
Natural gas is a preferred fuel
for many of Myanmars drivers, as it
is subsidised and generally cheaper
than petrol.
However, unlike petrol, which
is sold by private companies, the
distribution and sale of CNG is still
directly controlled by government
companies.
Translation by Emoon
A woman waits for a taxi on Bo Aung Kyaw Street. A new company aims to make the process simpler by bringing taxis
directly to customers. Photo: Zarni Phyo
Taxi call centre aims to bring

cabs to customers doorsteps
AYE
NYEIN
WIN
ayenyeinwin.mcm@gmail.com
YANGON will receive its first Taxi Call

Centre in June, aiming to increase convenience for clients and reduce down
time for drivers, according to company
officials.
The call centre aims to make smarter
use of taxis, many of which spend much
of their day stuck in Yangons traffic
jams, pulling in less than K10,000 a day.
I will help provide jobs to low-earning taxi drivers by helping them find
passengers through our call system.
There is no need to find passengers on
the road. The drivers can instead wait
around for a call, said U Win Swe,
managing director of Phay Phay May
May, the company behind the call centre. Every day we can generate K10,000
in income for them, he said.
Yangons taxi drivers frequently do
not own the vehicles they work from,
instead paying a standard rental fee for
the cabs.
Passengers must call the Taxi Call
Centre, which will then assign a nearby
taxi to pick them up. It also aims to fix
the price on specific routes, and improve on returning items forgotten in
cabs to their owners.
The success of the system will depend on having enough cabs on call to
meet their customers needs. Phay Phay
May May is currently looking for cabbies willing to join the company.
U Win Swe said the company aims
to launch its call centre with 1500 taxis
on the books, promising the potential
for higher incomes.
Not all cars will qualify, however, as
U Win Swe said his firm is looking for
particular types of vehicles. One of the

main requirements is that all the vehicles must be fuelled by petrol, rather
than Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Although CNG is generally cheaper,
it is sold by fewer stations than petrol,
meaning the supply is more likely to be
disrupted by electricity outages. U Win
Swe added that the citys busses are
more appropriate vehicles for running
on CNG, and they should have priority
for the fuel. Phay Phay May May will
keep costs low by maintaining a large
pool of vehicles. It will organise insurance on behalf of all its drivers, as well
as improve on vehicle repairs in an
effort to limit downtime.
Potential users of the service say
they like the idea, but it remains to be
seen if it will function in practice as it
is advertised. I think it will work, but
there will be controversies about the
routes, said Ma Sandi, a resident of
Sanchaung township.
10 Business
Mobile
teams find
illegal goods
Banks need incentive to take

grain instead of gold
AYE THIDAR KYAW

ayethidarkyaw@gmail.com
THE Ministry of Commerces mobile
enforcement teams have discovered
illegal items in 120 containers this
month, as they investigated containers
held in port for more than 60 days.
Often, the illegal items were smuggled goods like reconditioned cars and
roof tiles, hidden behind other products such as textiles and food.
Ministry of Commerce director U
Win Myint said some containers have
sat in the ports warehouses for over
two years, with no importer claiming
them.
We have been informed that some
trading companies have closed down,
so they have no desire to claim the containers, he said.
But others are unjust companies attempting to distance themselves from
the contraband. We are contacting the
owners, and we will announce soon why
they cant claim their property, he said.
Myanmars trade policies are being
changed to protect against unfairness
and provide more convenience for traders, said U Win Myint.
Some of the illegal imports are also
dangerous. U Win Myint said some of
this months seized goods are vehicles
which have obviously been in accidents, which importers aim to repair
and resell on the countrys roads. This
has been an ongoing problem, with
government officials discovering in
2013 that five auto import firms were
ordering broken vehicles to repair and
sell in the local market.
The Ministry of Commerces Mobile
Teams formerly enforced trade rules
near the overland border areas. Last
year they relocated to Yangons major
ports, including Myanmar Industrial
Port, Hteedan, Asia World and Bo
Aung Kyaw, though enforcement officials noted they would be difficult areas to work in. A senior Mobile Team
director previously told The Myanmar
Times that the biggest trading companies generally operate through Yangon,
adding they are well versed in tax dodging and often have government connections to back them up.
CLARE HAMMOND
CATHERINE TRAUTWEIN
TWO domestic banks have agreed

to offer loans backed by commodities, allowing farmers to pledge
items like beans and pulses as collateral for access to competitively
priced financing for the first time.
However, the appeal of warehouse receipt financing may be limited, as capped interest rates mean
the lenders have little incentive to
take on the risk.
Yoma Bank and CB Bank have
both teamed up with the Myanmar
subsidiary of Indian warehouse
services firm Sohan Lal Commodity Management, SLCM Limited,
to offer commodity-backed credit.
This is the first time the service has
been made available through official channels in Myanmar.
Despite recent reforms to the
banking sector, financial inclusion
in Myanmar remains very low. Less
than one third of the country has
effective access to credit, savings,
payment and insurance products
from formal institutions, according
to the Myanmar Financial Inclusion
Roadmap 2014-2020 published by
the United Nations Development
Programme.
A major problem is that banks
cannot offer loans that are not
backed by assets. Until now, the
only assets accepted by formal
financial institutions have been
property, gold and gems. This particularly affects rural farmers, who
are often without land or title to
use as collateral.
SLCM Group CEO Sandeep Sabharwal claims the new financing
scheme which allows commodities traders and others to obtain
loans against the value of their
goods has the power to invert
the pyramid.
In Hlaing Tharyar Industrial
Zone, down a road littered with
potholes large enough to cause a
taxi driver to swerve, is one of four
Yangon warehouses run by SLCM.
Inside, Myanmar country head Anubhav Sengar walks the wide avenues bordered by barrels of palm
oil, granite tiles stacked high, and
other sacks and containers of commodities including bitumen, beans
and cookies.
The company vouches for the
quality of the commodities, said Mr
Sengar. Then, in theory, companies
or farmers can take out a loan of up
to 60 percent of their value, from
Yoma or CB Bank.
In the formal banking sector,
interest rates are capped at 13pc
per year, or 1.08pc a month. This is
vastly lower than rates set by informal moneylenders, at around 2pc
to 3pc per month, according to Mr
Sengar.
With cheaper access to financing, more farmers will be able to
afford to store their crops in warehouses and then sell them out of
season for a higher price, he said.
At the moment, many have to sell
their produce as soon as it is harvested, when supply is plentiful
and prices are low.
However, in reality the service is
likely to cater to higher-end clients
such as traders, according to Yoma
Banks CEO Hal Bosher. Since signing with SLCM, the bank has only
issued one commodity backed loan,
of K680 million (US$625,500),
which is backed by milk powder,
Mr Bosher said.
A major problem with the
scheme is that banks are not incentivised to take on the risk of commodity-backed loans, due to the
national interest rate cap of 13pc.
The risks are significant because you need to be able to evaluate the crop youre taking as collateral, discount it appropriately and
store it over the right amount of
PHNOM PENH
Workers stack commodities at the SLCM warehouse. Photo: Aung Khant
time, said Mr Bosher.

[Banks] cant price to risk because the rates are fixed. So the incentives into higher-margin products are limited, Mr Bosher said.
If I can do straight loans backed
by land and property, whats the incentive? Im taking more risk for no
more income.
Furthermore, the scale of
SLCMs warehouses means it is unlikely that Yoma Bank will extend
many loans for the time being, he
added.
As a bank, for somebody to
come in with $5000 worth of pulses, its not going to work. You need
to have scale [and sophistication],
he said. Maybe one day it will happen at that level, [farmers will]
come together as a group and put
everything into a warehouse, but
you need a lot of mobilisation.
SLCM has already started talking to microfinance institutions
and non-government organisations
about rallying farmers towards collective action, according to Mr Sengar.
We are working on a small
project with a few agencies to get
a group of farmers who can store
goods and take out loans in a cooperative way, he said.

Meanwhile, SLCM has been discussing the potential for expansion
with prospective partners including Myanmar Agriculture Public
Corporation (MAPCO), according
to Mr Sengar, as well as educating Myanmar customers about its
services.
In India, the company says
it has helped bring post-harvest
waste down from more than 10pc
to 1pc or less. The aim is to do the
same in Myanmar, where the rate
of waste is twice as high, said Mr
Sengar. There is no official data,
but the figure is likely to be around
22pc, he said.
While the companys operations
and partnerships with Myanmar
banks could help broaden collateral
options for those taking out loans,
roadblocks such as the interest rate
cap mean that waste reduction is
likely to be SLCMs main business
for the time being.
We are going to Mandalay. We
are already talking to traders and
agents there. We want to scale it
up, to a higher level and deep into
Myanmar, said Mr Sengar.
SINGAPORE
Cambodia hopes to increase its Asian Infrastructure

Investment Bank to be
annual China rice quota
A CHINESE trade delegation due to
arrive in Cambodia next week has
added to the hopes that the Kingdoms rice export quota to China will
be drastically raised.
The three-day visit, which will be
led by Chinas vice minister of commerce Gao Yan, begins today and will
discuss strengthening trade ties with
Cambodia, according to Cambodias
Ministry of Commerce.
This time, the visit will discuss the
possibility of expanding trade cooperation between Cambodia and China. A
rice deal and the possibility of exporting more agricultural products from
Cambodia to China will also be on the
agenda, said Ministry of Commerce
spokesperson Ken Ratha.
Cambodian Commerce Minister
Sun Chanthol sent a letter to Gao Yan
in April seeking to double Cambodias
rice export quota to 200,000 tonnes
for the period between May 2015 and
April 2016.
It is expected that there will be
detailed discussion of Cambodias request to double the rice quota to China to 200,000 tonnes, Mr Ratha said,
adding, however, that no agreement
or memorandum of understanding is
expected to be signed.
Hun Lak, vice president of the
Cambodia Rice Federation, said yesterday that he has high hopes for a
positive response due to the successful implementation of the previous
100,000-tonne rice quota between
the China National Cereals, Oils and
Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) and
the Cambodian state-owned Green
Trade Company.
[COFCO] ordered 100,000 tonnes
and we successfully delivered it to
them. It shows that we can supply on
time, he explained.
Mr Lak added that the doubling of
the Chinese rice export quota would
help Cambodia diversify from the European market.
Although the other markets we
supply now are doing well, especially
the EU, we should not be too reliant
on the EU market. We should expand the market in Asian countries,
[and] China is a huge market for
Cambodia.
Export figures released by the CRF
showed that China was the biggest
importer of Cambodian rice for the
first three months of 2015, importing
36,081 tonnes, followed by Malaysia
and France.
Thanks largely to a boost in shipments to China, Cambodia increased
its exports to 75,867 tonnes overall
in March, more than doubling the
37,676 tonnes exported the month
before.
China is also looking to import
more of Cambodias other agricultural products such as corn, bananas
and mangos.
Agriculture and mining are other
sectors that China is eyeing in Cambodia, said Lim Heng, vice president of the Cambodia Chamber of
Commerce.
Cambodias rich natural resources,
agricultural products, cheap labour
costs and investment incentives are
significant attractions for Chinese
investors to choose Cambodia over
neighbouring countries, he said.
We have always encouraged Chinese investors to invest in agricultural processing in Cambodia as the
country has high demand for this
kind of investment, he added.
In late 2012, China and Cambodia
pledged to increase bilateral trade to
US$5 billion by the end of this year.
The Phnom Penh Post
ready for end of year

THE China-led Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) will be operational by the end of this year, prospective founding members said on May
22 after a three-day meeting in Singapore to discuss policies.
The chief negotiators meeting
involving the AIIBs 57 prospective
members concluded discussions and
finalised the articles of agreement
for the AIIB, said a statement by the
banks interim multilateral secretariat.
The articles of agreement are expected to be ready for signing by the
end of June and the AIIB would be operational by the end of this year, the
statement said.
In the three-day meeting, the chief
negotiators also discussed the draft
environmental and social framework
and draft procurement policy framework, among other topics, it added.
The meeting in Singapore, the fifth
round of talks since the bank was
mooted in October, was co-chaired by
Shi Yaobin, Chinas vice minister of
finance, and Yee Ping Yi, deputy secretary of Singapores finance ministry.
The conclusion of the meeting
came a day after Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a US$110
billion investment plan for infrastructure projects in Asia in an apparent
move to counter the launch of the
AIIB.
The sum is just slightly higher than
the expected $100 billion capital of the
AIIB.
Japan and the United States were
the biggest standouts earlier this year
when Beijing began courting members for the AIIB.
Washington led a high-profile, and
ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to
dissuade allies from taking part in the
project, which critics say will not demand the same good-governance and
environmental standards imposed by
other international bodies, such as
the Asian Development Bank, a longestablished body in which Tokyo plays
a key role.
But supporters say fears over undue Chinese influence are overblown,
and that the participation by more
than 50 countries, including ones as
diverse as Britain and Iran, will dilute
Beijings power. AFP
International Business 11
www.mmtimes.com
DjibouTi
Tiny African nation models on Dubai

FOR years the Horn of Africa nation Djibouti was seen by foreign
powers as a far-flung military outpost overlooking the Gulf of Aden.
Now the strategic port wants
to capitalise on its key position on
one of the worlds busiest shipping
lanes, the gateway to the Suez canal.
Djibouti offers an African base
across from the Arabian Peninsula
at the crossroads for cargo traffic
between Asia and Europe.
It may be a tiny country of
around 850,000 people, but it has
a bold ambition to become the
commercial hub of eastern Africa,
building on its role as the main
port for landlocked Ethiopia, Africas second-most populous country.
To achieve that the former
French colony has embarked on a
series of infrastructure projects expected to cost some US$14 billion.
Offshore from historic Djibouti
city, the waters are crowded with a
mix of hulking warships, giant international container cargo vessels
and the traditional wooden fishing
dhows that have plied the seas here
for centuries.
But a short drive away, Chinese
workers are busy building a giant
new terminal dedicated to container ships from Asia.
Work is concentrated on the
Tokyo
Japan,
Korea
talk on
economy
JAPAN and South Korea held the first
dialogue of their financial chiefs in
two-and-a-half years on May 23, agreeing to improve economic ties despite
diplomatic frictions between the two
Asian countries.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro
Aso and his South Korean counterpart Choi Kyung-Hwan held a one-day
meeting in Tokyo, the first since November 2012 and since conservative
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office
in December that year.
We agreed to continue pushing for
bilateral and multilateral cooperation,
Mr Aso told reporters afterwards.
In a joint statement, the ministers
said that during the meeting they
agreed on the importance of addressing the enormous demand for infrastructure investment in Asia. Mr Aso
said they also discussed the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
South Korea is among initial members of the Beijing-backed institution,
but Japan and the United States were
the biggest standouts earlier this year
when Beijing began courting members.
The dialogue came after a 14-yearold currency swap accord between Japan and South Korea was not renewed
in February when it expired, amid
soured bilateral ties.
Relations between the two main
US military allies in Asia are currently
at their lowest ebb for years, dogged
by issues related to Japans 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula
and a long-running territorial row.
Mr Choi was quoted by Jiji Press
as saying, Although there are various
problems, we want to gain a chance to
solve them ... on the principle of separating economics from politics.
The two ministers agreed to hold
another dialogue next year in South
Korea. AFP
first of six new specialised docking terminals each one focusing

on different commodities including
minerals, livestock, oil and gas to
add to the two terminals already in
operation.
More and more shipping lines
are interested in Djibouti. We are
now making the way to be a Dubai,
even Singapore, said Suleiman
Ahmed, a senior executive at Doraleh container terminal.
Cargo trade is booming. It has
increased between 6 and 10 percent
each year, with Djibouti enjoying
growth partly because other regional
ports are struggling.
Kenyas port city of Mombasa is
already overstretched, while the secretive Red Sea state of Eritrea sees
little if any traffic.
And Yemens once key port of
Aden just across the Gulf of Aden
from Djibouti is now in the midst
of a war zone.
Mombasa is congested, Eritrea
is not a welcoming country, but
Djibouti is a strategic and safe location. We rely on it, Mr Ahmed said.
In a volatile region, Djibouti
hopes to build a reputation of stability and security.
It hosts several foreign military
bases, including Camp Lemonnier,
the US military headquarters on
the continent used for covert, antiterror and other operations in Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere across
Africa.
France and Japan also have bases in Djibouti, which has been used
by European and other international navies as a base in the fight
against piracy from neighbouring
Somalia.
Earlier this month, President Ismail Omar Guelleh said that discussions are ongoing, with China
concerning a potential military
base, saying Beijings presence
would be welcome.
Djibouti now wants to position
itself as the gateway for Asia into
Africa.
From Egypt to South Africa,
the eastern coast of Africa has
only nine coastal countries, said
Abubaker Omar Hadi, chair of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, waving his hand over a map of
the continent that hangs on the
wall of his office.
This has created 10 landlocked
countries, 400 million people who
have no access to the sea. They are
the ones we want to serve.
For now, Djibouti mainly serves
Ethiopias 94 million consumers,
but the ambition of Djibouti extends much further across the
entire African continent.

As well as its massive port expansion, Djibouti wants to add two
new airports, a modern railway and
industrial areas.
Even before Dubai,

Singapore and Hong
Kong, the economic
and maritime hubs
in the region were
Aden and Djibouti.
Abubaker omar Hadi
Port authority head
At present, the countrys small

airport sees French Mirage fighter
jets share its one runway with civilian aircraft. But the government
plans to replace that with an international airport with a capacity
of 1.5 million passengers annually,
some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from
Djibouti city.
A total of 14 infrastructure projects
are planned in Djibouti totalling some
$14.4 billion, mainly financed by Chinese banks.

But some are wary of such huge
investments for a country with less
than 1 million people.
There was no market research
and parliament was never consulted, said opposition lawmaker
Doualeh Egueh Ofleh.
He said he was worried about
the financial risk the projects could
pose, claiming some of the spending comes without control.
When we take the loans from
the World Bank and Western institutions, there was some control ...
Now with the Chinese, we take all
possible loans for all projects without any control, he added.
Mr Ofleh predicted Beijing
would control the countrys infrastructure if Djibouti failed to repay
its debts.
But Djiboutis government is
betting on strong African economic
growth to recoup the investment.
Even before Dubai, Singapore
and Hong Kong, the economic and
maritime hubs in the region were
Aden and Djibouti, said port authority chief Abubaker Omar Hadi
in an interview.
We know what to do to regain
our place.
AFP
TRADE MARK CAUTION

having its principal office at Vahrenwalder Str. 9, D-30165 Hannover, Germany is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following trademark:-
BESTDRIVE
(Reg: Nos. IV/3790/2007 & IV/4668/2015)
in respect of: - Vehicle service stations (Repair, maintenance);
vehicle repair and maintenance services; retreading of tires;
vulcanization of tires (Repair); car wash. Class: 37
according to law.
Phone: 372416
12 International Business
LIMA
Railway to heed environment

CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang has
said that the Beijing-funded project to
build a vast railroad between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, across Peru,
would respect the regions environment including the Amazon basin.
The three countries agree on the
fact that the viability of this project
will not only be favourable to our common development but will also protect
the environment, Mr Li said upon arrival in Lima on May 22.
He is visiting Peru on a tour of
South America that also includes trips
to Brazil, Colombia and Chile.
China respects Latin Americas
biodiversity, Mr Li said.
To create the infrastructure, it is
necessary to protect the environment,
he added in a joint declaration made
with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala after they signed 10 cooperation
accords.
Mr Humala noted that China is
Perus principal trading partner.
Commerce between the two countries has more than doubled to US$16
billion since a free trade agreement
went into effect in 2010.
Peruvian exports to China mainly
comprise mining products such as
copper, zinc and iron.
The railroad could cost $10 billion.

Mr Humala said it would consolidate
Perus geopolitical position as the natural entry to South America.
Peru wants to position itself as the
regional hub for trade between Latin
America and the Asia-Pacific region
and already serves as an outlet port for
several regional nations including Brazil. Peru and China have special historical ties due to the arrival in Peru
between 1849 and 1874 of more than
100,000 labourers who helped build
the Peruvian economy through sugar
production, guano collection and the
building of railways. AFP
TOKYO
TRADE MARK CAUTION

(Reg: Nos. IV/3788/2007 & IV/5668/2015)

to law.
Phone: 372416
TRADE MARK CAUTION

(Reg: Nos. IV/3786/2007 & IV/5670/2015)

to law.
Phone: 372416
A businessman sleeping
on a bench at a Tokyo train
station. Photo: AFP
Japan grapples with

illness from overwork
JAPANS push to take away overtime
from high-paid workers has critics
warning it will aggravate a problem
synonymous with the countrys notoriously long working hours karoshi, or
death from overwork.
Teruyuki Yamashita knows the
risks all too well. The now 53-year-old
worked day and night in a senior sales
job, made countless overseas business
trips, and slept an average of just three
hours a night.
Six years ago, his frantic work pace
took a near fatal turn after he collapsed
from a subarachnoid haemorrhage, a
type of brain bleeding, leading to three
weeks in intensive care and the loss
of his sight.
I told a nurse that it was dark.
I didnt realise that I was blind, Mr
Yamashita said, recalling when he
woke up in hospital.
Hundreds of deaths related to overwork from strokes, heart attacks and
suicide are reported every year in Japan, along with a host of serious health
problems, sparking lawsuits and calls
to tackle the problem.
But, last month, Prime Minister
Shinzo Abes cabinet approved a bill to
exempt white-collar employees earning
over 10.75 million yen (US$88,000) a
year, such as financial dealers and consultants, from work-hour rules.
His ruling Liberal Democratic Party
hopes to get parliamentary approval
during the current session.
Advocates, including Japans biggest business lobby Keidanren, say
the changes would reward productive
workers with pay based on merit
rather than just working hours and
give them more flexibility in terms of
how long they spend at the office. If
they get the job done quickly, they could
leave early or come in later, they say.
Backers also say the reforms would

not force change on workers, but rather
let them choose to enter such an agreement with their employers.
Critics charge it would be tough for
employees to refuse an offer of switching to the new model, and deride it as
the no overtime pay bill that would
force people to work longer with no extra pay beyond their agreed salary.
That could increase the number of
overwork-related deaths and health
problems, said Koji Morioka, professor
emeritus at Kwansei Gakuin University.
There are a lot more

people who died or
became ill due to
overwork, but it is
very hard to prove.
Shigeru Waki
Ryukoku University professor
The government wants to create a

system in which companies dont have
to pay for overtime it could accelerate
deaths from overwork, he said.
Mr Morioka added that the bill
seemed to run counter to the spirit
of a law passed last summer aimed at
preventing deaths from long working
hours, which garnered wide support
across party lines. Details of the bill are
being worked out now.
The new law, if passed, would initially affect just 4 percent of privatesector employees, or about 1.8 million
people.
But Keidanren already wants to expand the program by lowering the pay
threshold.
We need to think about relaxing
the income requirement and applying
it to a wider scope of workers, the business lobbys chief said last month.
While the popular image of Japanese salarymen toiling long hours for
the company before taking the last
train home is changing, many still
spend far more hours in the office
than counterparts in other modern
economies.
About 22.3 percent of Japanese employees work 50 hours or more each
week on average, well above 12.7pc in
Britain, 11.3pc in the United States, and
8.2pc in France, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development.
A Japanese government study
found that 16pc of full-time workers
took no paid holidays in 2013, while
others took just half their allotted vacation on average.
In that year, the official tally was 196
deaths and suicides linked to excessive
working hours but that is just the tip
of the iceberg, said Ryukoku University
professor Shigeru Waki.
There are a lot more people who
died or became ill due to overwork, but
it is very hard to prove, he said.
With more employers not required
to keep track of extra hours worked
under the proposed bill, it will make it
even tougher to know the extent of the
problem, Mr Waki said.
The mother of a 27-year-old Tokyo
man who killed himself in 2009 said
his official work hours were much less
than the actual extra hours spent at
his printing company. She opposes the
new bill.
AFP
International Business 13
www.mmtimes.com
WASHINGTON
Peak Google debated as antitrust looms

AS Google faces an antitrust probe
from European regulators, some
analysts are questioning whether
the California tech giants dominance has already peaked.
While Google remains one of
the worlds biggest companies
with overwhelming dominance of
internet search, its prospects are
less rosy in a tech landscape rapidly shifting to mobile devices and
social media, say some industry
watchers.
Debate heated up last year after a blog post titled Peak Google
from technology analyst and consultant Ben Thompson, who argued
that Google is losing momentum.
Mr Thompson said Google may
be in the same boat as IBM in the
1980s and Microsoft around 2000
a hugely profitable company bestride the tech industry that at the
moment seems infallible, but that
history will show to have peaked in
dominance and relevancy.
Google has for years been the
leader in internet search and has
turned advertising linked to those
searches into a highly lucrative
business.
But its shares have struggled
since hitting an all-time high in
early 2014 and it has little to show
for ventures in other areas: selfdriving cars, Google Glass, internet
balloons, healthcare, Google TV,
mobile payments, home automation and its Google+ social network, among others.
Even in online advertising, Mr
Thompson argues, Google is losing ground to rivals like Facebook

which integrate ads in the stream,
sometimes called native ads, in
a different approach from that of
Google.
All of the things that make
Google great at search and search
advertising ... are skills that dont
really translate to the more touchyfeely qualities that make a social
service or content site compelling,
he said.
In the mobile world, its free Android operating system dominates
the smartphone market another
potential concern of EU regulators.
But Google has failed to get a major
revenue lift from Android.
Thats because on mobile devices, users spend most of their time
using apps, which leave Google out
of the picture.
Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates said this shift cuts
into Googles strength.
Growing use of apps such as
Yelp or Open Table takes away from
Googles ability to search and deliver advertising for those queries,
he noted.
Googles business model is
very narrow. Its just a single pillar
which is holding the company up,
said Mr Kay.
Google, which opens its developers conference on May 28, is working to adapt to mobile, but its not
clear if it is too late.
Data from research firm eMarketer shows Googles share of
global digital ad dollars has held

at around 31 percent over the past
three years, while Facebook, Twitter and others have gained.
For mobile ads, Google has seen
its share drop to around 35pc this
year from 46pc in 2013, losing to
others such as Facebook and Chinas Alibaba and Baidu.
I wouldnt say Google is a sinking ship, but they are trying to plug
a thousand leaks, says eMarketer
analyst Jeremy Kressmann.
who each Facebook user is, where

they are located, so they can get
more granular, he said.
Its very attractive to an advertiser to have that knowledge.
While Googles free Android operating system has a market share
of around 80pc, the company gets
little revenue from it.
Android was designed as a way to
feed users into other Google services,
but it hasnt always been effective,
says Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.
All of the things that make Google great

at search and search advertising ... are
skills that dont really translate to the more
touchy-feely qualities that make a social
service or content site compelling.
Ben Thompson
Technology analyst
Mobile is crucial because Google

lacks access to user data on apps
installed on Apple iOS devices,
making it harder to deliver relevant, targeted messages, the analyst said.
Facebook, says Mr Kressmann,
has better data glean from social
network profiles and likes to get
the best ads at the right time.
They know a lot more about
In many ways Google is losing

control over Android and losing a
way to monetise it by using it as an
entry into the Google ecosystem,
he said.
Mr Dawson noted that Google
services are stripped out of Android for most Chinese smartphone
users, and that other manufacturers such as Amazon have forked
the Android system to direct users
elsewhere.
The shift to mobile has also
fuelled interest in new search companies which are trying to outGoogle the leader for smartphone
users.
Investors have poured more
than US$100 million into venturebacked mobile search startups over
the past three years, according to
the research firm CB Insights.
Some of these new firms such
as Quixey, Swiftype, Wildcard and
Vurb aim to help people search
through the app world where Google lacks a presence.
These firms use deep linking,
creating new ways to mimic web
links by allowing users to go directly into different parts of a mobile
app and gaining valuable data on
where those users came from, CB
Insights said.
Mr Kay argues that any effort
by the EU to impose new business
methods on Google could accelerate
the trend which is eroding its dominance, similar to what happened with
Microsoft during its antitrust battles.
If you put Google through a legal wringer it will be very timid, he
said.
But Mr Dawson said Google may
learn lessons from Microsoft, which
is reinventing itself with new products and a different business model.
Google is dynamic and has the
potential to make that transition
more quickly and weather it better, he said.
AFP
14 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 25, 2015
15
World
WORLD EDITOR: Eli Meixler
Cleveland police
officer acquitted in
shooting of couple
Peace activists
make rare Korea
border crossing
WORLD 16
WORLD 18
DUBLIN
BANGKOK
Ireland celebrates after huge Yes

win in gay marriage referendum
Detained Thai students protesters

merely invited for talks: police
IRELAND celebrated a historic referendum yesterday, approving gay marriage, as the once all-powerful Catholic Church reflected on the need for a
reality check to keep in touch with
changing times.
Jubilant Yes supporters partied
into the night after final results on May
23 showed 62 percent of votes in favour
and 38pc against in a country where
being gay was a crime until 1993.
The gay community has given all
of Irish democracy one of its greatest
days, wrote Irish Times columnist
Fintan OToole.
It has given our battered republic a new sense of engagement, a new
confidence, an expanded sense of possibility, Mr OToole said.
It was the first time ever that
gay marriage had been approved by
popular vote and many supporters
of the referendum expressed their
joy through Twitter with the hashtag
#WeMadeHistory.
Ireland will become the 19th country in the world to legalise same-sex
marriages once the necessary legislation is approved as expected by the
summer.
Niall OConnor in the Irish Independent highlighted the role of young
people in driving a colourful campaign in which social media played a
key role.
The Celtic Tiger generation has let
out an emphatic roar, he said.
The once unshakable influence of
the Catholic Church over Middle Ireland has been confronted.
All of Irelands 43 constituencies
except one voted in favour of the
measure and the 60pc turnout was far
higher than in previous referendums,
DOZENS of Thai students who were

dragged away and held overnight by
police after they staged an anti-coup
protest in Bangkok on May 22 were
merely invited for talks, a senior police officer said on May 23.
The student protest was one of a
handful of rare public acts of defiance
that sprung up in the military-controlled
nation as it marked one year since army
chief Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power,
toppling the elected administration of
Yingluck Shinawatra.
Political protests are currently
banned in Thailand, as is any criticism
of the junta.
Angry scuffles broke out late on
May 22 between police and around
50 student protesters after some of
the anti-coup demonstrators tried to
chain themselves together outside a
popular mall in the capital.
Police merely invited them for
talks. They are not arrested, Major
General Chayapol Chatchaidet, commander of Bangkoks zone six, which
covers much of the citys downtown
districts, told AFP.
All 31 students have been freed
this morning. No charge has been filed
against anyone, he added.
Thailands police and military routinely use the phrase invited to talk
to describe detentions that are anything but voluntary.
Local rights group iLaw, which
monitors arrest figures, said May
as thousands of expatriates returned

home on packed ferries and planes to
cast their ballots.
Congratulations poured in, including a tweet from Prime Minister David
Cameron, who legalised gay marriage
in Britain, saying the result made it
clear that you are equal if you are
straight or gay.
US Vice President Joe Biden, who
is of Irish descent, wrote, We welcome Irelands support for equality.
#LoveWins.
A string of Irish celebrities had
backed the campaign and rock band
U2 posted a photo on Instagram with
the words In the name of love one
of their most famous songs.
The referendum asked voters
whether or not they approved the following statement: Marriage may be
contracted in accordance with law by

two persons without distinction as to
their sex.
Legalising gay marriage is a seismic change in Ireland, where the Roman Catholic Church has traditionally
been hugely influential.
The majority of Irish people still
identify themselves as Catholic and
abortion is still banned except in cases
where the mothers life is in danger.
But the Churchs influence has
waned in recent years amid growing
secularisation and after a wave of
child sex abuse scandals that discredited the clergy.
I think the Church needs to do a
reality check right across the board,
Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop
of Dublin, told national broadcaster
RTE. AFP
IN PICTURES
Photo: AFP
Irish Senator Katherine Zappone (left) kisses her partner Ann Louise Gilligan
as supporters for same-sex marriage gathered to celebrate an expected victory
in Irelands referendum on whether to approve same-sex marriage on May 23 in
Dublin. Photo: AFP
BAGHDAD
Rampant jihadists firm up control

of Iraq-Syria border
THE Islamic State group took full
control of a border crossing between Iraq and Syria yesterday,
tightening its grip on the heart of
its self-proclaimed caliphate.
The move gave IS control of the
two main roads between Syria and
Iraqs province of Anbar, as the jihadists pressed their most devastating offensive in months.
The latest success came a week
after IS captured the Iraqi city of
Ramadi and days after it seized the
historic Syrian city of Palmyra, two
of the groups most significant military victories in almost a year.
The jihadists seized Al-Walid
border post early yesterday when
Iraqi government forces pulled back
to a nearby crossing with Jordan.
IS had taken the Syrian side of the
crossing on May 21.
There was no military support
for the security forces and there
werent enough of them to protect
the crossing, Suad Jassem, the head
of Anbars border commission, said.
Daesh [IS] now controls both
sides of both crossings, Ms Jassem
said, referring to another crossing
between Anbar and Syria further
north that the jihadists seized last
year.
The surge by a group described
as the most violent in modern jihad

raised further questions about the
efficiency of the US-led coalitions
eight-month air campaign.
There was no
military support
for the security
forces and there
werent enough of
them to protect the
crossing,.
Suad Jassem
Anbar border commission
Coalition warplanes have conducted more than 3000 strikes in

Iraq and Syria since August 2014
and dozens more were carried out
in recent days in a bid to contain
the rampant jihadists.
There were seven in Anbar alone
in a period of 24 hours straddling
May 22-23 as Iraqi government and
allied forces began to claw back territory from IS east of Ramadi.

On May 23, Iraqi forces retook
Husaybah, a rural town in the Euphrates Valley 7 kilometres (4.5
miles) east of Ramadi.
The areas most prominent Sunni
tribal leader, Sheikh Rafia Abdelkarim al-Fahdawi, deployed his forces,
whose knowledge of the terrain
is key, alongside fighters from the
Hashed al-Shaabi, an umbrella for
Shiite militia and volunteers.
A police colonel said the Husaybah operation also involved local
and federal police, and the interior
ministrys rapid intervention force
as well as the army.
Michael Knights, of the Washington Institute think tank, said the
government and its allies should
waste no time in putting IS on the
back foot in Ramadi to deny it more
control of eastern Anbar.
The Iraqi government needs to
put ISIS on the defensive in eastern
Anbar before Ramadan begins in
mid-June, when the terrorist movement will no doubt try to surge attacks against Shiite religious and
civilian targets in Baghdad and the
shrine city of Karbala, Mr Knight
said.
AFP
A youth waves the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) flag
during an election rally on May 21 in Addis Ababa, ahead of Ethiopias fifth general election
yesterday. The EPRDF has won the last four general elections by a wide margin.
The junta says its power grab restored order after months of protests
against Ms Yingluck left dozens dead
and the economy in a straitjacket.
Supporters of the Shinawatra family say the putsch was the latest assault
by the royalist Bangkok-centric elite
on the kingdoms burgeoning democratic forces.
But while the Shinawatras are
loved by poor voters, particularly in
the culturally distinct northeast, they
are loathed by their establishment
opponents who accuse them of corruption, cronyism and costly populist
polices. AFP
Thai students link arms in demonstration at a shopping mall in Bangkok on May

22. Police arrested several anti-junta protesters marking a year sinceThailands
generals seized power from the elected government. Photo: AFP
KATHMANDU
RIYADH
Saudi IDs bomber in

attack on Shia mosque
SAUDI Arabia confirmed the suicide bomber who killed 21 worshippers at a Shiite mosque had
links with the Islamic State group,
in what the interior ministry
called an attempt to promote sectarian strife.
It was the deadliest attack in
years to strike the Sunni-dominated kingdom, and marked the first
time the jihadist IS group officially
claimed an attack in Saudi Arabia.
His name was Salih bin Abdulrahman Salih al-Ghishaami, a Saudi national, the interior ministry
22 that 751 people have been summoned by the authorities since the
military took over while 166 people
have been arrested while expressing
their opinions in a public place.
Seven student protesters were also
detained May 22 in the northeastern
city of Khon Kaen, a bastion of support for Ms Yingluck and her brother
Thaksin, who was toppled in a 2006
military coup.
Unlike the others arrested, local
police said the Khon Kaen students
were all charged with breaking a junta
law banning protests and released on
a 7500 baht (US$224) bail.
said in a statement carried by the

official Saudi Press Agency.
The militant group had already
claimed the attack on May 22, but
it identified the bomber as Abu
Amer al-Najdi.
The cell was discovered last
month, and so far 26 of its members, all Saudi nationals, have
been arrested, the interior ministry said, raising the number of
wounded from 81 to 101.
The bomber struck during the
main weekly prayers at a mosque
in the Shiite-majority city of Qatif.
A Bahraini Shiite protester flashes the sign of victory May 23 during a

protest in solidarity with the victims of an Islamic State group suicide
bomber attack in SaudiArabia. Photo: AFP
It is the second mass murder

of Shiites in the kingdom since
late last year, and locals in the
city took to the streets Saturday
to protest the attack.
In November, gunmen killed
seven Shiites including children
in the Eastern Province town of
Al-Dalwa.
At the time, authorities said
the suspects were linked to IS.
The IS group, which considers Shiites heretics, has declared
a caliphate in seized parts of
Iraq and Syria. It has claimed
numerous atrocities including
beheadings of foreign hostages.
Most of the kingdoms Shiites live in the east, where the
vast majority of the kingdoms
oil reserves lie but where Shiites have long complained of
marginalisation.
Frederic Wehrey, a Gulf analyst at the US-based Carnegie
Endowment for International
Peace, has written that the
kingdoms vows to counter the
Islamic State group and its sectarianism expose a paradox.
In its own domestic policies, the Saudi government has
institutionalised sectarianism
in virtually every aspect of political, social, and economic life,
Mr Wehrey wrote in a December
article for Foreign Policy. AFP
Push for quake-proof shelters before monsoons hit

AS he braces for the monsoon rains
that threaten to inflict further misery
after Nepals devastating earthquake,
Nawaraj Bista has more faith he will
be safe inside his US$100 quick-build
corrugated iron home than under
bricks and mortar.
Mr Bista, a car salesman, saw his
old home in Kathmandu reduced to
rubble when a 7.8-magnitude quake
ripped through the Himalayan nation
on April 25.
But when a second major quake on
May 12 brought down more buildings
that had already been weakened, his
temporary metal shelter emerged unscathed.
Nothing happened to it, Mr Bista
said of the simple dome-shaped metal
structure.
This place has been a blessing ...
We will live here until the monsoons
are over.
While orange and blue tents dot
Nepals quake-hit settlements, experts
warn of an urgent need to build semipermanent shelters like Mr Bistas
that can withstand the approaching
monsoon rains and aftershocks that

continue to shred locals nerves.
A tent is not a long-term solution,
said Bijay Krishna Upadhyay, a director at the non-profit National Society
for Earthquake Technology (NSET).
We have to move to quake-safe
transitional homes that will outlast
monsoon, even winter.
The twin quakes killed more than
8600 people, destroyed nearly half a
million houses and damaged another
270,000 homes, leaving thousands in
desperate need of food, clean water
and shelter.
In a bid to accommodate thousands of families who need shelter
before monsoons arrive, NGOs and
design firms are moving away from
emergency options like tents to building affordable and potentially permanent homes for quake victims.
Mr Bistas new home was built by
Kathmandu-based Portal Bikes and
was inspired by a design that emerged
in Pakistan after an earthquake in
2005 left 3.5 million homeless there.
The $100 shelter, which layers
corrugated galvanised iron (CGI)

sheets over a semi-circular metal
frame, can comfortably house a family of four and takes less than an
hour to erect.
The design makes sense because
families can reuse the sheets when
they decide to make a permanent
house, said Caleb Spear of Portal
Bikes, an aid group which has built
over 450 such homes so far.
Nepals government has offered
each homeless family $150 to spend
on such transitional homes, while
the countrys only billionaire, Binod
Chaudhary, has pledged to construct

10,000 temporary shelters. AFP
This place has been

a blessing ... We will
live here until the
monsoons are over.
Nawaraj Bista
Earthquake survivor
TRADE MARK CAUTION

NOTICE is hereby given that Astellas Pharma Inc. a company
organized under the laws of Japan and having its principal office
at 3-11, Nihonbashi-Honcho 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following trademark: -
OMNICEF
(Reg: Nos. IV/4765/1995 & IV/5305/2015)

in respect of :- Pharmaceutical preparations and substances
to law.
Earthquake survivor Navaraj Bista (left) and his wife stand near their new shelter
outside Kathmandu. Mr Bista says he has more faith they will be safe from monsoon
rains with his US$100 quick-build home than under bricks and mortar. Photo: AFP

for Astellas Pharma Inc.
Phone: 372416
16 World
CLEVELAND
Officer acquitted in killing of unarmed pair

A CLEVELAND police officer was
acquitted May 23 for his role in the
2012 fatal shooting of two unarmed
people in a car after officers mistook the sound of the car backfiring
as gunshots.
After a four-week trial, a judge
found Michael Brelo, 31, not guilty
of two counts of felony voluntary
manslaughter in the deaths of
Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa
Williams, 30. Mr Russell and Ms
Williams were killed in November,
2012 after they led 62 police vehicles on a chase across Cleveland.
In downtown Cleveland, protests took place as city leaders
called for calm. The verdict follows
rioting last month in Baltimore
over the death of a man who was
fatally injured in police custody
and comes at a time of growing national scrutiny over the use of force
by law enforcement officers, especially against minorities. Mr Brelo
is white, and the two victims were
black.
Mr Brelo, a seven-year veteran,
is the first of six Cleveland officers
to be prosecuted in the fatal shooting. Five police supervisors none
of whom fired shots each face
misdemeanor counts alleging dereliction of duty. No trial date has
been set.
Judge John ODonnell spent
nearly 50 minutes explaining his
decision in the bench trial. He
walked through the conflicting forensic testimony, using two mannequins in the courtroom to show the
trajectory and location of gunshot
wounds to the victims. Ultimately,
he said, multiple officers fired shots
that could have been fatal to the

pair.
The officers acted reasonably
based upon radio traffic that police
were being shot at, he said.
It is Brelos perception of a
threat that matters, Mr ODonnell
said. Brelo was acting in conditions difficult for even experienced
police officers to imagine.
Mr Brelo, who has been suspended without pay, did not testify.
After the verdict, Mr Brelo cried
with his head in his hands. Activists watching from an overflow
room chanted, No justice, no
peace.
The judge heard from forensic
pathologists, the victims siblings,
ballistics experts, a mechanic, useof-force experts and officers.
We are elated, said Patrick
DAngelo, one of Mr Brelos attorneys. This has been a blood fight,
tooth and nail.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor
Timothy McGinty said he was profoundly disappointed with the
verdict but noted that others face
charges in the case.
The trial forced us to examine
how and why so many errors and
flawed assumptions could have led
to the deaths of two unarmed people, Mr McGinty said.
The Justice Department began
investigating Cleveland police in
March 2013 after a string of highly
publicised use-of-force incidents.
The investigation ended in 2014,
concluding that the department
engages in a pattern or practice
of using excessive force. Officials
with Justice and the city are work-
TRADE MARK CAUTION

Friesland Brands B.V. of Stationsplein 4, 3818 LE, Amersfoort,
The Netherlands, is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of following
Trade Mark:
Reg.No.IV/1952/2008 Reg.No.IV/2450/2012
Reg.No.IV/2451/2012 Reg.No.IV/1874/2015
used in respect of Class 29: Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat
extracts; soups; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and
vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; Dairy products; beverages,
snacks and desserts included in this class (if this is not acceptable,
please use dairy-based beverages and desserts); dairy products
for dietetic purposes (not for medical use); dairy-based spreads;
milk and milk products; fermented milk products; preserve
milk products; milk powder, condensed milk; evaporated milk;
buttermilk; yoghurt and yoghurt products; cottage cheese, soft
white cheese; cheese and cheese products; cream, whipped cream,
sour cream, coffee cream; replacements for cream, whipped cream
and coffee cream on a vegetable basis; edible oils and fats; butter,
butter oil (butter ghee); custard; dairy-based meat replacements;
dairy-based preparations used as an ingredient in beverages;
caseine and derivatives, proteins, milk calcium preparations; dairy
products and derivatives as raw ingredient or semi manufactured
ingredient for foodstuffs and beverages; slimming and dietetic
products and food supplements not for medical use, all for human
consumption; foodstuffs for sportsmen included in this class.
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 Friesland Brands B.V.
#205/5, Thirimingalar Housing, Strand Rd., Yangon.
Dated. 25th May, 2015
ing to develop reforms overseen by

a monitor.
After Mr ODonnells verdict,
Justices Civil Rights Division, the
FBI and the US attorneys office
for the Northern District of Ohio
issued a joint statement that they
would review evidence from the
trial and collaboratively determine
what, if any, additional steps are
available and appropriate. That review is independent of the federal
pattern-and-practice investigation,
the statement said.
It is Brelos
perception of a
threat that matters.
Judge John ODonnell
Prosecutions of officers for the

use of deadly force are rare given
that there have been thousands of
fatal police shootings in the past
decade. When criminal charges have
been pursued, officers have most
often been acquitted or cleared, according to a recent analysis by The
Washington Post in conjunction
with criminologist Philip Stinson
and researchers at Bowling Green
State University.
Mr Brelo is the second officer in
Ohio to face charges in a decade.
The other officer also was acquitted.
The fatal shooting of Mr Russell and Ms Williams in East Cleveland in 2012 was the outcome of a
chain of events that began shortly
before 10:30pm. when an officer
in an unmarked car activated his
windshield strobe lights and tried
to stop the 1979 Chevy Malibu for
a turn-signal violation. The blue
Malibu stopped but drove off as the
officer got out of his car.
About five minutes later, the
Malibu backfired as it drove past
police headquarters. Officers mistook the sound for gunfire and began to pursue it.
Old Chevy, on St Clair just
popped a round, one officer radioed at 10:33pm according to a transcript of radio traffic introduced
as evidence at Mr Brelos trial. The
radio transmission set off what
became a 20-mile chase involving
more than a third of the 276 Cleveland police officers on duty that
night, according to prosecutors.
During the chase, some officers
reported that someone was shooting at them from the window of
the Malibu. At least one officer reported that was not the case and at
10:47pm. radioed, Passenger just
put his hands out asking us to stop.
He does not have a gun. He has
black gloves on, the officer said,
according to the transcript.
That didnt stop the pursuit. Seconds later, the Malibu dead-ended
into a middle school parking lot
and was rammed by an officers car.
The Malibu spun to a halt as officers began to open fire.
A state investigator who interviewed Mr Brelo after the incident
testified that Mr Brelo said he drew

on his Marine training to go to an
elevated position and push through
the target.
Mr Brelo stepped onto the hood
of the Malibu, where he fired 15
shots into the windshield, prosecutors said.
Brelo had told state investigators that he did not recall getting
on the hood of the car. At trial, a
state forensic scientist testified that
he matched photos of footprints on
the Malibu to impressions made of
Mr Brelos boots.
The shooting was over in 17.8
seconds. Mr Russell was shot 23
times; Ms Williams, 24. Prosecutors
said evidence showed that Mr Brelo
fired 49 times.
Both Williams and Russell were
homeless, mentally ill and addicted to drugs, family members
and officials said. Police later determined that the pair were under
the influence of drugs the night
they died.
The pair met in a nursing home
where Russell had been undergoing
Mr rehabilitation after a car accident in which he tried to outrun a
police car, his sister Michelle Russell said in court.
Mr Russell, of Maple Heights,
Ohio, had struggled with drugs
and been diagnosed as bipolar,
she testified. He was the father of
an 18-year-old and was a self-employed bathtub refinisher, a trade
he learned after being incarcerated.
He was really trying to get his
life together, his sister testified.
Washington Post
MEXICO
One-sided death toll in Mexico

gunfight raises questions
PUDDLES of blood and bullet shells
are some of the remnants of an intense gunfight on a western Mexico
ranch that killed 42 criminal suspects
and one police officer.
The authorities say superior training and equipment explains the onesided death toll in one of the bloodiest
battles in Mexicos nearly decade-long
drug war.
But experts are raising questions
about what really happened at the El
Sol ranch in western Mexico on May
22, nearly a year after soldiers were accused of executing gang suspects following a similarly lopsided toll.
The gunfight with suspected
henchmen of the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel occurred in a region
considered a bastion of the gang,
which has killed 28 police officers and
soldiers since March.
The growing cartel, which downed
a military helicopter earlier this
month, has become one of the biggest challenges of President Enrique
Pena Nietos administration, which is
fighting gangs in various parts of the
country.
It was a very uneven

fight. A battle where
42 die on one side
and only one on the
other is not a battle.
Raul Benitez Manaut, security
expert at National Autonomous
University of Mexico
Mexican soldiers patrol the ranch in Tanhuat where gunmen took cover during
the firefight. At least 42 people including two officers were killed. Photo: AFP
Authorities say the three-hour

firefight erupted after federal forces
launched an operation against suspects occupying the vast property in
Tanhuato, Michoacan state, near the
border with Jalisco.
It was a very uneven fight. A battle
where 42 die on one side and only one
on the other is not a battle, said Raul
Benitez Manaut, a security expert at
the National Autonomous University
of Mexico.
Mr Manaut said the gang apparently offered no resistance.
Hundreds of police and troops
guarded the area on May 23 while
investigators combed for evidence on
the property, surrounded by corn and
sugarcane fields.
A lot of details are missing. We
dont know how many people participated in the police and military operation. We dont know if the helicopter
[used in the operation] was armed,

said former intelligence agency official
Alejandro Hope.
There are still a lot of doubts. The
number of weapons seized doesnt
match the number of dead and detained, Mr Hope said.
Mr Hope said the burden of proof
was on the authorities.
They have to demonstrate that
this was not another Tlatlaya, he said,
referring to the June 2014 incident in
central Mexico where soldiers killed
22 gang suspects.
All eyes now are on whether the
gang will react.
There appears to be an order to
destroy the cartel before it can consolidate, said Mr Manaut, the security
expert.
A very tough reaction from the
cartel cannot be ruled out.
AFP
World 17
www.mmtimes.com
SAN SALVADOR
Thousandsrejoiceasarchbishop beatified
SALVADORIAN archbishop Oscar
Romero, who was assassinated in
1980 and whose defence of the poor
divided his nation and the Church,
was beatified on May 23 at a ceremony
attended by vast crowds.
An estimated 200,000 cheering
worshippers from all over the world
packed the capital San Salvador and
its main square, where Pope Franciss
envoy conferred the title of blessed
on Romero, putting him one step from
sainthood.
Waving flags and decked out in tshirts printed with Mr Romeros face,
jubilant crowds of all nationalities
flooded the streets, carrying placards
and photos of the archbishop.
Cardinal Angelo Amato read out
a letter from the pope proclaiming to
the frenzied crowd that Mr Romero
henceforth is called blessed.
By virtue of our apostolic authority, we empower the venerable servant
of God, Oscar Arnulfo Romero Gal-
Today, we glorify
the bishop who
championed the
poor and whose
truth prevailed over
lies.
juan Flores
Supporter
Thousands gathered to celebrate the divisive archbishop, nicknamed Voice of

the Voiceless, in Salvador el Mundo square on May 23. Photo: AFP
damez, with the honour, Mr Amato

said to a roar of approval.
After the declaration, a choir burst
into song and a giant portrait of Mr
Romero was unveiled, to more applause and hearty cheers.
Four presidents and delegations
from 57 countries paid tribute to the
man nicknamed the Voice of the
Voiceless, who was shot through the
heart by a sniper on March 24, 1980,
while delivering mass in a hospital
chapel.
Mr Amato said the date would be
celebrated as Mr Romeros feast, part
of a Catholic tradition that associates
each day with one or more saints.
Mr Romeros assassination occurred at the outset of El Salvadors
civil war and propelled the country deeper into a brutal conflict that
raged until 1992, when the right-wing

government signed a peace deal with
the leftist guerrillas of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front
(FMLN).
No one was ever convicted of Mr
Romeros killing, but a UN-sponsored
truth commission concluded it was
carried out by a right-wing death
squad under the orders of Roberto
DAubuisson, a former army officer
who died the year the war ended.
Security was tight in San Salvador, with helicopters and military airplanes hovering over the three-hour
proceeding which concluded with a
spectacular fireworks show.
The late archbishops younger
brother Gaspar Romero represented
his family on stage, with some 100
members attending the event.
As a family, we are honoured

by this gift given to us by our Lord
through the pope. We now have a
saint in the family that everyone already calls Saint Romero of America,
said 85-year-old Gaspar.
For some, Mr Romeros beatification secures his place in history.
We all feel indescribable joy for
his beatification, said 21-year-old Carmen Ayala.
We never met Monsignor Romero
in life, but our parents have told us
about him and his legacy.
Others celebrated his core principle of defending the needy.
Today, we glorify the bishop who
championed the poor and whose truth
prevailed over lies, said Juan Flores,
wearing a Romero shirt.
US President Barack Obama welcomed Mr Romeros beatification, calling him an inspiration and a martyr.
He was a wise pastor and a courageous man who persevered in the face
of opposition from extremes on both
sides, Mr Obama said in a statement.
He fearlessly confronted the evils
he saw, guided by the needs of his beloved pueblo, the poor and oppressed
people of El Salvador.
US Secretary of State John Kerry
called Mr Romero a courageous defender of human rights, congratulating the people of El Salvador for the
beatification of a man who guided
them at a time of deep division and
sorrow.
The movement to make Mr Romero a saint was long resisted by conservative Catholics and the Salvadoran right, who saw veiled Marxism in
his sermons eulogizing the poor and

radio broadcasts condemning government repression.
The petition languished for years
at the Vaticans Congregation for the
Causes of Saints, finally moving forward in February when Pope Francis
named Mr Romero a martyr for the
Church, one of the paths to sainthood.
Though Mr Romero remains controversial in El Salvador, criticism is
more muted than in the past.
Even El Salvadors right-wing Arena party showed its support for the
archbishop in a May 23 newspaper
advertisement.
We join the celebration of the
Catholic Church in the beatification
of Archbishop Romero and share his
message of reconciliation, the ad
read. AFP
Roman Catholicism in Latin America
Catholic population
Sainthood and beatification
36 Mexico
In %
Puerto Rico
3 Ecuador
6 Peru
2 Brazil
Religion in Latin America

Catholics
69%
Protestants
19%
Chile
3 Paraguay
2 Argentina
No religion
8%
Others
4%
Sources: Pew Research Center, ACI Prensa
Activists
suspend
talks after
murder
Liberia struggles with violence along border
ACTIVISTS in Burundi behind weeks

of protests against President Pierre
Nkurunzizas controversial bid to
seek a third term said yesterday that
they were suspending talks with the
government after the murder of an
opposition figure.
Zedi Feruzi, the leader of the
Union for Peace and Development
(UPD), a small Burundian opposition
party, was shot dead on May 23.
The attack risks further fuelling tensions in the capital where a
heavy-handed crackdown on antigovernment demonstrations has left
around 30 dead since late April.
The crisis also sparked a failed coup
against Mr Nkurunziza last week.
Condemning an awful act, activists said in a statement they were
suspending participation in dialogue
with the government.
Burundis crisis, which began in
late April after the ruling party nominated Mr Nkurunziza to stand again
in the June 26 presidential election,
deepened last week when a top general staged a failed coup attempt.
Opposition and rights groups say
that Mr Nkurunzizas bid for a third
five-year term violates the constitution and conditions of a peace deal
that ended a 13-year civil war in 2006.
Mr Nkurunziza, a former rebel
leader and born-again Christian who
believes he has divine backing to lead
the country, argues that his first term
did not count as he was elected by
parliament, not directly by the people.
AFP
former presidents Ivorian Popular

Front (FPI) party.
But UN investigators say Ivorian
and Liberian insurgents have consistently named high-ranking members of the former Gbagbo regime
as being politically or financially
involved in the militant activity.
The UN views the unrest in
the wider context of a regional issue arising from Liberias two civil
wars, which left thousands of former combatants jobless in the mineral-rich forests at its borders.
Many scrape a living on illegal
gold mining and drugs and weapons
trafficking, launching cross-border
attacks to protect their own interests
as much as at the behest of foreign
powers.
Peter Solo, a senior local government official in Liberias southeastern Grand Gedeh County, describes
the Ivorian border, formed mainly
by the Cavalla River, as completely
porous.
-50%
1 Venezuela
1 Nicaragua
9 Colombia
mONROVIA
years of civil war.

Oldman James, a Liberian living
in Zwedru, a provincial capital near
the border, claims to have taken
part in the ambush but says he has
never been pursued.
To be frank with you there are
so many reasons why we took part
in these attacks, the 32-year-old,
using an assumed name to protect
his identity, told AFP.
First and foremost, our brothers
and sisters from the other side of
the river were being harassed, killed
and raped by Alassane forces. We
could not sit and watch this go on.
He added that he had also been
motivated by money, although he
did not say who had paid him to
take part.
The UN Panel of Experts on Liberia voiced concerns in November last year that Liberian refugee
camps were operating as safe havens and convenient recruiting and
staging grounds for cross-border attacks.
Meanwhile British charity Conciliation Resources, which has been
working in the region since 2007,
said in a recent report there was
real concern that plans for UN
troop withdrawals on both sides
would create a security vacuum.
The region risks a spike in violence ahead of the election, the
charity said, describing communities on the border as living in a
persistent state of fear, especially
at night, as rumours of attacks keep
increasing.
An attack on Ivorian troops in
January by 20 armed men which
left two soldiers dead in the border
town of Grabo underlined that the
violence shows no sign of abating.
Accusations of the involvement
of Gbagbo supporters were dismissed as baseless by Pascal Affi
NGuessan, the president of the
50%
2 Guatemala
bujumbuRA
IN February last year a gang of men

with machetes ambushed two villages in western Ivory Coast, disembowelling a soldier and pulling out
most of his organs before slaying
three of his colleagues.
The attack marked the brutal resumption of a campaign of violence
blamed on militants crossing from
Liberia that has displaced thousands and claimed dozens of lives
in the border area.
Experts have warned that the
violence could intensify in the
months ahead of presidential elections due to take place in Ivory
Coast in October.
The crisis was ignited by former
Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbos
refusal to accept election defeat to
Alassane Ouattara in 2010, leading to a four-month conflict that
claimed some 3000 lives.
Thousands of Gbagbos supporters fled the far west, which was
hit particularly hard, across the
700-kilometre (435-mile) border
into neighbouring Liberia when he
was captured in April 2011.
Observers say the pro-Gbagbo
political elites, now mostly in Ghana or elsewhere in west Africa, are
funding incursions into western
Ivory Coast by Liberian mercenaries
and Ivorians recruited in Liberias
refugee camps.
The cross-border violence saw a
significant spike in 2012 that saw
more than 40 people killed.
In the worst incident, seven
United Nations troops from Niger,
10 civilians and at least one Ivorian
soldier were killed while patrolling
villages south of the town of Tai.
Thirteen Liberian nationals were
jailed for life but critics dismissed
the trial as a witch hunt against
the Krahn the ethnicity of former
president Samuel Doe who was assassinated in 1990, sparking 14
+70% +51%
He rejects evidence that attacks

in Ivory Coast are being launched
from across the border, however,
and told AFP there had been no direct threat from Liberia.
An officer at a border checkpoint
said any solution to the unrest
would have to involve Ivory Coast
giving assurances to the ex-Gbagbo loyalists that they could return
without fear of recriminations.
Village chiefs from both sides
have been in talks but the process
has been criticised by Liberian security officials for excluding border
agents on the ground.
When they get through drinking their wine and champagne, they
come and ask us how the situation
is, a Liberian security source told
AFP.
That is not the way to solve the
problem. Those who are actively
working in the field should be involved.
AFP
Police officers patrol near Toe Town, Liberia. A February 2014 cross-border attack
in Ivory Coast marked the resumption of brutal violence that has displaced
thousands and claimed dozens of lives in the border area. Photo: AFP
TRADE MARK CAUTION

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Used in respect of Class 09: Apparatus for recording, transmission
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apparatus and telecommunications equipment; data carriers,
namely compact discs, floppy discs, DVDs, videos, USB flash
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including Apps.
Mark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with
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For Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG
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incorporated in China and having its office at No.178, Guang An
Men Wai Street, Xuanwu District, Beijng, China, is the Owner
and Sole Proprietor of the following Trade Mark:
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in respect of Import and Export Agencies; Demonstration
of goods; distribution of samples; sales promotion for others;
acting as agent for others (purchasing for others); advertising;
shop window dressing; dissemination of advertising matter; online advertising on a computer network; business investigation;
commercial information agencies; professional business
consultancy; organization of Trade Fairs for Commercial or
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18 World
THE MYANMAR TIMES May 25, 2015
PAJU
Peace activists make

Korean border crossing
AN international group of women
peace activists, led by American feminist Gloria Steinem, made a rare crossing yesterday of one of the worlds
most militarised borders between
North and South Korea.
The group of 30 activists rode by
bus through the demilitarised zone
(DMZ) separating the two Koreas in
what Ms Steinem described as a triumph for peace and reconciliation,
dismissing criticism that the women
had allowed themselves to be used as
propaganda tools by the North.
Im so confident that once it is
clear what we have experienced, these
objections will go away, Ms Steinem
told reporters on the South Korean
side of the border.
Detractors argued that the group
had played into the Norths hands by
refusing to directly criticise its dismal
human rights record during their stay
in Pyongyang, where the activists held
a peace gathering with North Korean
womens groups.
They also suggested the interactions at the gathering were less than
genuine given that the North Korean
women had likely been specially selected by the authorities.
I know we had real human exchanges with North Korean women,
Ms Steinem insisted.
Nothing we do can change the image of North Korea. We are trying to
make person-by-person connections,
so that there is understanding, she
added.
Despite its name, the DMZ is one
of the worlds most heavily militarised
frontiers, bristling with watchtowers
and landmines, and crossings through
the land border are extremely rare.
With this year marking the 70th
anniversary of the division of the Korean peninsula, the women said they
wanted to draw attention to the need
for a permanent peace treaty to replace the armistice that halted but
technically never ended the 19501953 Korean War.
The group, which includes Nobel
peace laureates Leymah Gbowee and
Mairead Maguire, has also highlighted
the anguish of divided families who
have had little or no contact since the
separation into North and South.
You can get to human rights when
you have a normal situation and not
a country at war, said Ms Maguire,
who won the 1976 Nobel peace prize
for her co-leadership of the womens
peace movement in strife-torn Northern Ireland.
The sooner we get a peace treaty
signed ... and normalise relationships
... the quicker we will get to human
rights, she added.
On the South side of the border,
the women walked around 1 kilometre alongside the fencing marking the
DMZ to Imjingak a park near the
border where they were met by several
hundred South Korean supporters.
A small group of conservative protesters heckled the group, angered by
reports in North Koreas state media
later denied that some of the women
had praised the Norths founder leader
Kim Il-Sung while in Pyongyang.
Praising North Korea or promoting its ideology is a criminal act in the
South.
In an editorial in The Washington
Post last week, Abraham Cooper of the
Simon Wiesenthal Center and Greg
Scarlatoiu of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea had blasted Ms Steinem and her fellow activists
for allowing North Korea to engage
in human rights theatre intended to
cover up its death camps and crimes
against humanity.
AFP
American feminist activist Gloria Steinem (centre) and South Korean peace
activists make a rare crossing of the demilitarized zone separating the two
Koreas at a military checkpoint in Paju on May 24. Photo: AFP
TOKYO
Japans push to revise constitution

isnt denial of history, says lawmaker
THE Japanese government is not seeking to deny Japans wartime role with
its campaign to amend the countrys
US-written constitution, according to a
key ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
But mounting efforts to allow the
Japanese military to take up arms has
many scholars, at home and abroad,
concerned about the way that the Abe
government is trying to revise the
70-year-old document.
There are some misunderstandings that the Liberal Democratic Party
is trying to deny history, but we dont
intend to do that at all, said Yosuke
Isozaki, a lawmaker in the ruling LDP
and a leader of the group pushing for
constitutional change.
Mr Isozaki, speaking in an interview in his office last week, also addressed the worry voiced by many
observers that the governments intensifying push to ease restrictions on the
military amounts to a bid to revise the
constitution by stealth, short-circuiting the democratic process.
Amending the constitution can
only be done if the people agree, Mr
Isozaki noted. Also, this requires the
agreement of two-thirds of both houses of the Diet, Japans parliament. So
its a very difficult challenge.
Mr Abe, a conservative former
prime minister who was returned to
power at the end of 2012, has made
it a priority to turn Japan back into a
beautiful country. He has focused on
rebooting the economy, and on returning Japan to a more normal footing
after 70 years of imposed pacifism.
Part of the latter process is already

under way. In July last year, Mr Abes
government reinterpreted the constitution with a cabinet resolution
ending a ban on the deployment of Japans military overseas. Now the Diet
is now debating a package of bills that
would revise national security laws to,
among other things, allow Japans selfdefence forces to act in collective selfdefence if the United States, Japans
closest ally, came under attack.
The bills come as Japan and the
United States agreed last month on
new defense cooperation guidelines
that if the Diet approves them allow Japanese troops to be deployed
overseas under a wider range of circumstances. A recent Kyodo news
agency poll found that almost half of
respondents oppose the revised guidelines, while one-third support them.
The proposed changes have also
raised hackles in the region, fuelling
fears on the Korean Peninsula and in
China that Mr Abe wants to remilitarize Japan.
Separately, the government is accelerating its efforts to formally revise
the constitution, if the LDP and its
partners win a two-thirds majority in
upper house elections due next year a majority it already holds in the lower
house. Once approved by parliament,
changes would be put to the public in
a referendum.
To destigmatise the idea of amending the constitution, the government
is expected to start with relatively
uncontentious issues such as envi-
ronmental management and human

rights.
Many experts, at home and abroad,
are deeply troubled by the Abe governments approach of preparing the way
by reinterpreting the constitutions
language regarding the military.
In an interview with the leftleaning Asahi newspaper published
this week, Reiichi Miyazaki, a former
director general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, including during Mr
Abes first term as prime minister, said
the proposed changes were clearly
unconstitutional. They would open
a way to unlimited execution of force
overseas as long as the US requests,
Mr Miyazaki said.
US policymakers, by contrast, have
welcomed Mr Abes moves because
they fit with Washingtons vision of a
more robust Japan capable of acting
as a counterweight to China.
Prime Minister Abe is leading Japan to a new role on the world stage,
President Barack Obama said while
welcoming his Japanese counterpart
to the White House last month, saying
that this was helping strengthen the
US-Japan alliance.
But Craig Martin, an expert on
Japans constitution at Washburn
University School of Law, said that
Americans ought to be a little bit more
circumspect about Mr Abes plans,
which, he said, were entirely illegitimate and could do violence to the
constitutional order and undermine
democracy in Japan.
Washington Post
World 19
www.mmtimes.com
KANDAL
Cambodian demining
team safely dredge bomb
A CAMBODIAN underwater demining
team pulled an American-made bomb
from the Mekong River for the first
time on May 21, as the country battles the wartime legacy of unexploded
mines that have killed thousands.
Nearly three decades of civil war
gripped Cambodia from the 1960s, leaving the poverty-stricken nation both one
of the most heavily bombed and heavily
mined countries in the world.
Teams of Cambodias deminers face
the unenviable task of trying to locate
and safeguard huge quantities of unexploded ordinance that has killed
nearly 20,000 people and wounded
double that number since 1979.
Two years ago, a group from the
Cambodian Mine Action Centre
(CMAC) began training for underwater threats under the guidance of the
Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, a demining charity.
On May 21, they celebrated their
first major success when they safely
dredged the US-manufactured MK82
bomb under 7 metres of muddy Mekong water and defused it.
This task was very dangerous
because we could not see the bomb
under the water, Sok Chenda, head
of the dive team, told AFP after the
operation in Kandal, 35 kilometres (21
miles) east of Phnom Penh.
We were only able to feel our
way with our hands to find the bomb
underwater and make an evaluation,
TOKYO
Thousands protest
new US base in Japan
THOUSANDS of demonstrators
formed a human chain around Japans parliament in Tokyo yesterday, protesting the planned construction of a new US airbase on
the southern island of Okinawa.
The protesters, who organisers
said numbered about 15,000, surrounded the parliament building
holding banners reading No to Henoko, in the latest rally against the
controversial base.
Henoko is a small coastal area
on Okinawa where Tokyo and
Washington plan to relocate the
existing Futenma military facility,
currently situated in built-up Ginowan.
We must stop this construction, said one of the protesters,
Akemi Kitajima, 66.
The government is trying
to force the plan no matter how

strongly Okinawa says no to it.
Okinawa is home to more than
half of the 47,000 US service personnel stationed in Japan as part
of a defence alliance, a proportion
many islanders say is too high.
The plan to move Futenma, first
mooted in 1996, has become the
focus of anger among locals, who
insist it should be shuttered and a
replacement built elsewhere in Japan or overseas.
But both Tokyo and Washington
have repeatedly backed the plan,
with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
last month insisting it was the only
solution.
Yesterdays rally comes a week
after 35,000 people on Okinawa,
led by the anti-base governor, protested the new US base plan. AFP
Cambodian underwater deminers pulled an American-made Mark-82 bomb from

the Mekong River on May 21 - a first for the specially trained team. Photo: AFP
he added.
Many members couldnt even swim
before the training began.
The half-tonne bomb, located just
200 metres from a ferry pier, was
likely dropped by either an American
or Cambodian government aircraft in
the late 1960s or early 1970s against
Khmer Rouge opponents.
It was recently discovered by a fisherman who dived down to release his
net after it became entangled on the
bomb.
Submerged bombs pose a threat
to passing boats, especially fishing
vessels that might inadvertently move

them with their nets and cause the
mines to detonate.
The dive team tied a balloon to the
bomb which was then inflated to remotely lift it from the riverbed.
It was then driven to a nearby location where deminers could safely
remove the still intact fuse.
Demining teams take significant
risks on each operation. A year ago
two Cambodian deminers were killed
when an old anti-tank mine they were
trying to remove from the ground
exploded. AFP
Protesters rally in front of parliament in Tokyo yesterday against a

controversial US airbase on Okinawa island in southern Japan. Photo: AFP
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the pulse deputy editor: toM BArtoN tom.a.barton@gmail.com
THE MYANMAR TIMES MAy 25, 2015
Breakfast
noodles
fit for royalty
Patrons enjoy the laid-back dining area of Princess Irrawaddy restaurant. Photos: Thomas Kean
NyeiN ei ei Htwe aNd NyeiN CHaN May
F you want to start the day right, you cant

do better than a hearty breakfast. And if you
want that breakfast to be healthy and tasty
as well, you need go no further than Princess
Irrawaddy. Even at 6am, the place bustles with
families fortifying themselves for the coming day.
The two-room restaurant on the corner of
Anawrahta and 4th Yankin Street in Yangon opened
in 2011, and still looks as plain and hearty as the
fare it serves: noodles, mainly.
This is the place for sichet (noodles with fried
garlic), meeshay (Mandalay noodle), tobu nwe
(noodles with bean curd) and Shan traditional
noodles. Though the noodles are not made inhouse, they are made in accordance with the
Princess Irrawaddy recipe, which strictly excludes
chemical additives, said Ko Ye Thura, the owner of
the restaurant.
We order only two days in advance because our
noodles contain no preservatives, he said. They
dont contain sweeteners or MSG either.
Its the same with our drinks our coffee and
tea are made here, not instant. We dont even use
soap when we wash the vegetables, he said.
Ko Ye Thuras mother-in-law always made
a special breakfast for her family, and her two
daughters learned to appreciate the value of
healthy food. They put their beliefs to work in their
restaurant.
In Mandalay and upper Myanmar, most people
have noodles for breakfast, said Ko Ye Thura.
By converting what used to be a standard
restaurant into a breakfast place, his income
fell, but the time he could spend with his family
increased. And, he likes to think, the health of his

customers improved.
We earned more money from the old
restaurant, but this one makes us happier, he said.
We have time to meditate now. Im a volunteer
with the Thwe Myittar blood donation group
locating blood donors in Yankin township.
For all its popularity among the early-bird
commuters and health-food fans, Princess
Irrawaddy faces challenges.
Imported foodstuffs like wine for cooking and
soya-bean sauce retain the same taste and quality
whenever we buy. But local products vary in
colour and flavour according to season. Ensuring
consistency of raw materials can be difficult, said
Ko Ye Thura, adding that family members scour
the countryside for the best ingredients. They find
prices variable, too.
Since the price of the dishes is fixed, we have to
work within that margin. Our prices are reasonable
and we dont care about profits when commodity
prices rise, he said.
Our customers trust us, he said, adding that
waiters often advise customers on the best dishes.
Sometimes we dont have what they want. But we
try our best.
The restaurant has no chef. All family members
pitch in with the cooking when theyre not waiting
tables.
If we hired a chef or opened a new branch,
we worry the quality might suffer. So were not
going to, Ko Ye Thura said, as the last few satisfied
customers, set up for the day, filed out.
Princess Irrawaddy is open from 6-11am.
A variety of breakfast noodles are on offer at Princess Irrawaddy.
the pulse 21
www.mmtimes.com
DUBAI
Pianist looks
to Syrias
musical past
to spread peace
Lynne AL-nAhhAs
alek Jandali may only

have been alive for four
decades but the awardwinning composer
insists he feels ancient,
having revived some of the oldest
melodies from his war-torn Syrian
homeland.
Im 8000 years old, said the
pianist in the middle of a world tour
he hopes will spread peace and
freedom three years after leaving
Syria just as war was tearing it apart.
a winner of the 2014 Global Music
awards gold medal, Jandali has for
years sought to uncover ancient
melodies for modern audiences but
says he is now focused on the future,
both in terms of composition and for
the land of his upbringing.
Born in Germany, Jandali grew
up in the central Syrian city of
Homs, once dubbed the capital of
the revolution by activists, before
winning a scholarship to study in the
United States.
Soon after Syrias uprising started
in March 2011, the 42-year-old
pianist and composer performed at a
demonstration in front of the White
House.
His initiative prompted pro-regime
armed groups to attack his elderly
parents in their home in Homs. They
later fled to the US.
Syrian-American pianist and composer Malek Jandali gestures on stage on May 16 in Dubai. Photo: AFP/Karim Sahib
Jandali said it was this attack that

helped him discover the soft power
of music.
The Syrian people are paying a
very heavy price, he said in Dubai
during a tour stopover.
Jandali is aware that music alone
can do little to alter the situation on
the ground, but its raising muchneeded humanitarian aid and muchneeded awareness.
His latest album Syrian
Symphony, released in January,
contains melodies inspired by the
chants of the Syrian people during
their protests against President
Bashar al-assads regime.
I was always trying to ... involve
my own Syrian identity which is now
being targeted ... destroyed, he said.
My duty as an artist is to preserve
and present it in the most elegant
way.
I dont comprehend politics or
religion, said the pianist, a twinkle in
his intense brown eyes. My message
is of peace, unity, humanity and
justice.
although he is accompanied by
Syrian oud player abdulrahim alsiadi
and US cellist laura Metcalf, Jandali
still complains about restrictions
imposed due to the political climate
at some venues.
During my world tour, I faced
I dont
comprehend
politics or
religion ... My
message is of
peace, unity,
humanity and
justice.
Malek Jandali
Pianist
many disturbing incidents of
censorship, such as deleting the
word free from my [tour] title Voice
of the Free Syrian Children in some
countries, he said.
The tour itself was inspired by
children Jandali met after he crossed

illegally into his country in 2012 his
last time in Syria.
Before the war, Jandalis career
often drew on historical compositions
of his homeland.
His 2008 album Echoes from
Ugarit includes melodies based on
the oldest musical notation in the
world, discovered on a clay tablet in
that ancient Syrian city.
We wouldnt have had lady Gaga
or Michael Jackson or even Beethoven
without the musical notations of
Ugarit, he said.
His award-winning work Emessa
was played at the funeral of american
war reporter Marie Colvin, who was
killed in Syrian army shelling on
Homs in 2012.
I went to the church and I heard
my music, the music of Homs
played at the funeral. I still get
goosebumps.
When asked about extremist
organisations that have emerged from
Syrias war, such as the Islamic State
jihadist group, Jandali insisted that
the Syrian people have throughout
history, and even today, embraced all
religions and all cultures.
We have synagogues, we have the
oldest churches on earth where you
can still hear the prayer in aramaic
[the language thought to have been
Yangon Echoes: Inside Heritage Homes
spoken by Jesus Christ].

among the tracks in his latest
album is Samai al-Nahawand,
written by 19th-century Muslim
scholar Sheikh ali al-Darwish.
This is the true Syrian sheikh,
who was a composer spreading music
and documenting and preserving his
rich Syrian identity through music,
he said.
For Jandali, Darwish represents
the real message of Islam peace.
Despite the war that has cost more
than 220,000 lives, Jandali still sees
a much more beautiful Syria in the
future.
What we are seeing today is the
rebirth of the Syrian identity, said
Jandali. People are dancing, funerals
are becoming weddings, people
are celebrating heroes rather than
mourning them.
While he loves his US citizenship
and the freedoms that come with it,
he remains rooted both emotionally
and through his work in Syria.
My memories, my grandfathers
grave, my home. I live in Homs, said
Jandali.
I know they kicked us out, I know
they destroyed my home. I know
they are trying to eradicate my true
cultural identity, but we are becoming
a much more beautiful Syrian
symphony today. AFP
BOOK REVIEW
Virginia Henderson & Tim Webster

Joe WooDs
eVeRY city should have a coffee table
book and now, with the publication of
Yangon Echoes, Yangon has a new one to
add to those that came before. as writer
Ma Thida recounts in her foreword,
while the old capital was demoted by
the regime in 2005, Yangon endures as
the most populous and ethnically
diverse city in the country and thus has
been crying out for visual depiction and
the recording of citizens stories.
The book is beautifully designed but
it is Tim Websters photography that
grabs you and draws you in. He revels
in both the interiors and exteriors of
Yangons heritage buildings, focusing
occasionally on the entire building but
more often on an associated personality,
a portrait or a detail: antique tiles,
termite-eaten books, a dinner gong and
even a hot-water bottle hanging on a
bathroom wall, surely a most redundant
item in Yangon.
He also depicts the grand and the
humble, so that juxtaposed alongside
the neo-classical India House and
Belmont House are more humble
apartments and, disconcertingly,
families living on the roofs of iconic
buildings, under corrugated iron and in
abandoned ministries.
Virginia Henderson sensitively
records the stories of the people in
the pictures. a trained oral historian,

Henderson has wide experience
in cultural documentation. In the
introduction she writes about how
authorised history narratives of
ordinary people is lost, and she sets
out to retrieve aspects of peoples lives
through domestic connections to old
places.
Not every inhabitant is
photographed and some narratives are
more complete than others, especially
womens stories ranging from the wise,
witty and liberal Daw Yin Yin Wal to
Daw Thida who, in describing her
parquet floor, dislodged by earthquakes
and Cyclone Nargis, says, These days
the loose pieces sound like a xylophone.
The book is full of stories of resilience
and making do with what life has doled
out in the last half-century or so in
Yangon.
It is also a book of some sadness
from pictures of fearfully neglected
buildings to their very elderly and
gaunt inhabitants. Some of the buildings
have already disappeared and others
designated as dangerous by municipal
authorities. Many are earmarked for
demolition, to be replaced by pastel or
brown-tiled high rises. Travel writer Paul
Theroux once described Yangon as a
ghost town in which imperial buildings
were preserved by virtue of their being
ignored. This may have been the case,
but the rot was assisted according

to many of these testimonies by Ne
Wins disastrous nationalist mission,
which wiped out business, appropriated
property and land, and sent all
foreigners home.
according to Daw khin lay, who
like many of the older people featured
here was Christian-educated but
remained Buddhist, When the schools
were nationalised, all the nuns were
sent back to Ireland. I didnt make it to
the goodbye party. She has decided to
hold on to her house for her family, to
do whatever they want, in the face of
regular offers for development.
empty houses are also included
too. Former Deputy Prime Minister
kyaw Nyeins house, uninhabited since
1992, is revisited by his three grownup children who reminisce on their
childhood there.
lastly, in a once Persian-owned
and now-traditional guesthouse on
Merchant Street, I was intrigued to
learn that under the same roof was the
long-running english restaurant The
Piccadilly and a Swiss clock showroom.
It shows how much Yangon has
changed and continues to change
and the great service the authors have
done in presenting and resurrecting
narratives of a vanishing world.
RIveR Books, $35
22 the pulse
THE MYANMAR TIMES may 25, 2015
Lab-grown hamburgers:
The future of meat?
eAT despite popular

movements to decrease
the amount humans
consume is still a
central part of diets
around the world. People who live in
industrial countries like the United
States eat roughly 210 pounds (95
kilograms) of it each year. And
consumption in the developing
world, where people eat closer to 66
pounds (30kg) each year, is climbing
fast. Growth is such that by 2030 the
average human is expected to consume
just under 100 pounds (45kg) per year,
10 percent more than today.
Our collective affinity for meat likely
began out of circumstance humans
who lived inland from the coast had
little choice but to hunt in order to live
and has persisted for evolutionary
reasons. Meat carries nutrients like
zinc and protein, promotes growth
and provides energy. It also doesnt
hurt that the price of meat has fallen
dramatically.
But the reality is that there are
several downsides to societys growing
appetite for meat. Cheap meat, for one,
might leave consumers with extra cash,
but it has largely come at the expense
of animal welfare. It also isnt great for
the planet, which the US government
recently noted. Meat is undoubtedly an
environmentally expensive food, Vaclav
Smil wrote in his 2013 book Should We
Eat Meat?
But what if there were a way to
produce meat that would free us
from the need to slaughter animals?
What if we could continue to order
hamburgers without also feeding
the livestock industry as much as a
third of the worlds grain production?
And what if it could be done for a
reasonable price?
Professor Mark Post, who is part of
the faculty at Maastricht University in
the Netherlands, has been asking that
question for almost a decade now. Two
years ago, Posts team of researchers
presented their first major discovery
in the form of a 5-ounce (140-gram)
hamburger patty, which was created in
a lab but still was remarkably similar
to ones sold on supermarket shelves.
The reception was promising: The
media was abuzz, and the BBC made
several food critics try it, one of whom
conceded, This is meat to me, its not
falling apart.
Now Post is working to overcome
some of lab-grown meats biggest
obstacles, including its price. And he
believes its only a short matter of time
before he succeeds.
It was US$350,000 when we first
publicised the patty, said Post. At this
point weve already managed to cut the
cost by almost 80 percent. I dont think

it will be long before we hit our goal of
$65 to $70 per kilo.
That would drop the 5-ounce burger
to below $10, a number that Post hopes
will eventually drop even further.
To understand how its possible
to grow a hamburger that is made
of actual animal tissue rather than
a protein substitute you need to
understand a bit about how muscle
tissue works.
When muscle tissue is damaged,
the body repairs the injured tissue by
calling on a specific type of stem cell
called a myosatellite cell. Myosatellite
cells can be taken from an animal
without causing it harm. They also
can reproduce fairly quickly. And they
tend to form muscle fibres when they
do.
It will have a
positive effect
on many things,
including animal
welfare ... and the
environment
Mark Post
Maastricht University,
The Netherlands
These characteristics, it turns out,
are very useful for someone trying to
replicate the process by which muscle
forms naturally.
The thing is, you can take those
cells and then let them replicate as they
would in the case of injury inside the
body of a cow, said Post. And you can
help them form muscle tissue again.
The process is hardly
straightforward. Rather, it involves
carefully extracting the cells, allowing
them to multiply and then coercing
them into differentiating. Once the
cells have differentiated, which is a
fancy term for the process in which
cells change to assume different
responsibilities, they combine into
muscle fibres, at which point protein
forms.
The result are these little strips of
tissue, said Post. Its the same tissue
grown by cells inside of the body.
except we grow them outside of it.

It takes about 20,000 of them to
make the burger publicised in 2013.
Perhaps the single largest reason
why initial publicity around Posts
futuristic hamburger was met with
such reluctance is that it was less
affordable than most houses in the
world.
Obviously this is all still being
done on a small scale in an academic
environment, Post said. Thats why it
costs so much. Once we scale up it will
be a different story.
Post expects to be able to produce
the patties on a large-enough scale to
sell them for under $10 a piece in a
matter of five years.
Once we can grow the tissue
in a reactor the size of an Olympic
swimming pool, we should be able to
achieve that sort of volume, Post said.
For perspective, half a swimming pool
would allow us to feed about 20,000
people for a year.
Irrespective of how much meat Post
manages to produce, and how cheap it
becomes as a result, there remains the
question of whether society will ever
actually warm up to the idea of eating
lab-grown beef.
Scepticism runs rampant enough
that shmeat, which refers to the sort
of synthetic meat Post had created, was
a runner-up for Oxford Dictionarys
word of the year in 2013. And the
moniker frankenmeat has frequently
been invoked.
But Post is confident that the
benefits of cultured meat will
eventually coerce people to give it a try.
What people need to realise is that
it will have a positive effect on many
things, including animal welfare
because we would need to slaughter
fewer animals our efficiency with
certain resources and the environment,
he said.
Cultured meat, according to a
2011 study, has a significantly smaller
carbon footprint than regular beef, pork
and even poultry production. It also
requires far less land and water than
all three.
The last thing we have to do is
boost protein production beyond
where were at, Post said. Normally,
protein forms through exercise, as it
is in real life with a cow. But you can
also do it through electricity and other
ways. Were very close to a sustainable
process.
I would elaborate, but these
methods are soon going to be
patented, Post said. We actually have
already done it, just not on a large
scale. Its going to be really important
for improving the meats nutrition and
taste. The Washington Post
BUENOS AIRES
Case on rights of orangutan moving in Argentina court
Sandra, a 29-year-old orangutan, was allowed to leave a Buenos Aires zoo that
was her home for 20 years after a court ruled she was entitled to more desirable
living conditions. Photo: AFP/Juan Mabromata
The fate of an orangutan named

Sandra is inching through a court in
Argentina after another court ruled
she was entitled to certain human
rights, including the right to be freed
from the Buenos Aires Zoo.
In a world first, a court in the
Argentine capital ruled in December
that Sandra, a 29-year-old female,
was entitled to some of the same
basic rights as humans, after
lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus
on her behalf alleging unlawful
imprisonment.
So the case on its fate whether
Sandra should keep living at the
same zoo where some animal rights
activists have claimed she looks
depressed made it to court this
month, where Judge elena Libertori

is hearing the arguments and will
rule.
Libertori ultimately is being asked
to make a call on whether Sandra,
who has spent her life in zoos, can
reasonably be released into the wild
or the semi-freedom of an animal
sanctuary.
Sandras attorney Andres Gil
Domnguez said the judge has heard
expert testimony from a witness in
the United States, via Skype, and
testimony from the head of the ...
zoo.
he said that it was innovative for
the judge to have referred to human
and non-human rights.
Sandra born at the Zoo Rostock
in Germany in 1986 and sent to

Argentina in 1994 is known for her
shyness, often hiding from sight in
her enclosure.
Animal activists say that is a sign
of depression, but some experts
say it is normal behaviour for
orangutans.
Sandra has long reddish hair, weighs
about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) and is
almost 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall.
Wild orangutans have a life
expectancy of about 30 to 40 years.
Captives can live longer.
So far, the zoo has proposed
changing parts of Sandras enclosure,
and continues to maintain that the
animal is in good health, according to
Gil Domnguez. AFP
24 the pulse
DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

Yangon to MandalaY
MandalaY to Yangon
Yangon to HeHo
Flight
Days
Dep
Arr
Flight
Days
Dep
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 761
8:40
10:35
YJ 891
7:00
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
9:15
10:25
6T 805
2,4,6
6:30
7:40
6T 806
2,4,6
10:30
11:40
YJ 201
1,2,4
7:00
8:55
YJ 202
11:30
12:55
YJ 201
7:00
8:25
YJ 202
1,2,4
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
16:55
8M 6603
9:00
10:10
YJ 212
15:00
16:25
YJ 601
11:00
12:25
YJ 602
15:40
17:35
YJ 761
1,2,4
11:00
12:55
7Y 242
1,3,5
16:40
18:45
Flight
YH 917
YJ 891
7Y 131
K7 222
7Y 131
YJ 891
Y5 649
YJ 751
YJ 761
YJ 233
K7 224
7Y 241
W9 129
Days
Daily
3
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
Daily
5
Daily
3,5,7
1,2,4
6
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,3,6
Dep
6:10
6:20
6:30
6:30
7:15
7:00
10:30
11:00
11:00
11:00
14:30
14:30
15:30
HeHo to Yangon
Arr
9:15
10:35
9:20
9:30
10:05
9:10
12:45
12:10
12:10
12:10
15:45
15:40
16:40
Flight
YJ 891
YH 918
W9 201
7Y 132
K7 223
YJ 762
7Y 242
K7 225
YJ 602
W9 129
YJ 211
5,7
11:00
12:25
YJ 234
16:50
18:15
YH 729
2,4,6
11:00
14:00
K7 225
2,4,6,7
16:50
19:00
Y5 325
1,5
Dep
9:25
9:15
9:25
9:35
9:45
15:50
15:55
16:00
16:25
16:55
Arr
10:35
10:25
10:35
10:45
11:00
17:00
18:45
19:00
17:35
19:10
MYeik to Yangon
Days
Dep
Arr
Flight
Days
Dep
Arr
6:45
8:15
6T 706
1,3,5
8:25
9:35
YH 737
3,5
11:00
13:10
YH 728
17:00
18:25
K7 319
1,3,5,7
7:00
9:05
Y5 326
1,5
8:35
10:05
11:30
13:40
W9 152/W97152
17:05
18:30
YH 737
11:30
13:40
Y5 776
Daily
17:10
18:20
6T 705
1,3,5
7:00
8:10
7Y 532
2,4,6
15:35
17:40
7Y 531
2,4,6
11:15
13:20
K7 320
1,3,5,7
11:30
13:35
Y5 325
15:30
17:00
Y5 326
17:15
18:45
SO 201
Daily
8:20
10:40
SO 202
Daily
13:20
15:40
W9 251
2,5
11:30
12:55
W9 211
17:10
19:15
13:00
16:45
YH 738
3,5
17:10
18:35
7Y 241
1,3,5
14:30
16:25
8M 6604
17:20
18:30
K7 224
2,4,6,7
14:30
16:35
8M 903
1,2,4,5,7
17:20
18:30
Y5 234
Daily
15:20
16:30
YH 738
17:40
19:05
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 sittwe
sittwe to Yangon
Flight
Days
Dep
Arr
Flight
Days
Dep
Arr
K7 422
2,4,6
8:00
9:55
K7 423
2,4,6
10:10
11:30
Yangon to naY pYi taw
naY pYi taw to Yangon
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
Flight
YJ 201
YJ 201
ND 910
ND 105
ND 107
ND 109
ND 9109
ND 111
SO 102
Flight
SO 101
YJ 201
ND 9102
ND 104
ND 106
YJ 202
ND 108
YJ 212
ND 110
ND 9110
6T 611
Daily
11:45
12:55
6T 612
Daily
13:15
14:20
Arr
Flight
Days
Days
1,2
4
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
6
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
7
Daily
Dep
7:00
7:00
7:15
10:45
11:25
14:55
17:00
18:25
18:00
Arr
7:55
10:20
8:15
11:40
12:20
15:40
18:00
19:20
19:00
Yangon to nYaung u
Flight
YH 917
YJ 891
K7 222
7Y 131
K7 224
7Y 241
W9 129
W9 211
W9 129
Days
Daily
3
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,3,6
4
1
Dep
6:10
6:20
6:30
6:30
14:30
14:30
15:30
15:30
15:30
Days
2,4,6
1,3.5
3
1,2,4
6
2,5
Dep
6:30
7:00
7:00
7:00
11:00
11:30
Dep
7:00
8:10
8:35
9:20
10:00
10:35
13:30
16:00
17:00
18:20
Arr
8:00
13:25
9:35
10:15
10:55
13:25
14:25
16:55
17:55
19:20
Arr
7:45
7:40
7:50
7:50
17:25
17:10
17:35
17:40
17:35
Arr
8:55
9:40
9:50
10:20
15:10
14:25
Flight
YH 918
YJ 891
7Y 132
K7 223
K7 225
W9 129
7Y 242
Days
Daily
3
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
1,3,6
1,3,5
Dep
7:45
7:55
8:05
8:05
17:40
17:50
17:25
Arr
10:25
10:35
10:45
11:00
19:00
19:10
18:45
MYitkYina to Yangon
Flight
6T 806
YJ 202
YJ 202
YH 827
YJ 234
W9 252
Days
2,4,6
3
1,2,4
1,3,5
6
2,5
Dep
9:10
10:05
10:35
11:30
15:25
16:45
Yangon to tHandwe
Dep
tHandwe to Yangon
Flight
Days
K7 422
2,4,6
8:00
8:55
K7 422
2,4,6
9:10
11:30
7Y 413
1,3,5
10:30
11:20
7Y 413
1,3,5
11:35
13:55
W9 309
1,3,6
11:30
13:50
7Y 413
12:05
14:20
7Y 413
11:00
11:50
W9 309
1,3,6
14:05
14:55
Y5 421
1,3,4,6
15:45
16:40
Y5 422
1,3,4,6
16:55
17:50
Yangon to dawei
nYaung u to Yangon
Yangon to MYitkYina
Flight
6T 805
YH 826
YJ 201
YJ 201
YJ 233
W9 251
Days
Daily
1,2
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
6
4
1,2,3,4,5
5
7
1,2,3,4,5
Arr
11:40
12:55
13:25
13:55
18:15
19:40
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
Tel: 09400446999, 09400447999

Fax: 8604051
YH 727
YJ 151/W9 7151
Domestic Airlines
Golden Myanmar Airlines (Y5)
Yangon to MYeik
Flight
Days
3,5
Daily
Daily
2,4,6,7
1,3,5
1,2,4
1,3,5
2,4,6,7
6
1,3,6
Dep
Arr
Mann Yadanarpon Airlines (7Y)

Tel: 656969
Fax: 656998, 651020
Yangon Airways (YH)

Tel: 383100, 383107, 700264
Fax: 652 533
FMI Air Charter

Tel: 240363, 240373, 09421146545
APEX Airlines (SO)

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
7Y = Mann Yadanarpon Airlines
K7 = Air KBZ
W9 = Air Bagan
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
dawei to Yangon
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
YJ = Asian Wings
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
6T 707
3,5,7
10:30
11:30
SO 202
Daily
14:20
15:40
FMI = FMI Air Charter
7Y 531
2,4,6
11:15
12:20
7Y 532
2,4,6
16:35
17:40
Flight
Yangon to lasHio
lasHio to Yangon
Flight
Days
Dep
Arr
Dep
Arr
YH 729
2,4,6
11:00
13:00
YJ 752
3,5,7
16:10
17:55
YJ 751
3,5,7
11:00
13:15
YH 730
2,4,6
16:45
19:10
Yangon to putao
Days
putao to Yangon
Flight
Days
Dep
Arr
Flight
Days
Dep
Arr
YH 826
1,3,5
7:00
10:35
YH 634
10:35
13:55
YH 633
7:00
10:35
YH 827
1,3,5
10:35
13:55
W9 251
2,5
11:30
15:25
W9 252
2,5
15:45
19:40
Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4 = Thursday
5 = Friday
6 = Saturday
7 = Sunday
the pulse 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
2,4,6
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
8M 9506
8M 9508
MH 743
AK 503
11:50
12:50
16:30
16:30
20:05
20:05
23:45
Flights
Days
Flights
Days
Flights
Days
1,2,3,5,6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Dep
Arr
Dep
Arr
Dep
Arr
7:50
8:30
12:15
12:15
15:45
15:45
19:30
YANGON TO BEIJING
Flights
Days
Dep
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
2,4,6
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
15:00
15:15
16:40
18:35
AK 504
8M 9505
MH 740
8M 502
8M 9507
MH 742
AK 502
AI 227
8:00
11:15
11:15
13:50
14:50
14:50
19:00
13:20
Flights
Days
Flights
Days
Flights
Flights
Days
Dep
Arr
Dep
Arr
Dep
Arr
Daily
6:55
Daily
10:05
Daily
10:05
1,2,3,5,6
12:50
Daily
13:40
Daily
13:40
Daily
17:50
1
10:35
BEIJING TO YANGON
Days
Dep
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
CZ 3055
CZ 3055
8M 712
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
Arr
2,4,7
8:40
3,6
11:25
1,5
17:30
YANGON TO TAIPEI
13:15
16:15
22:15
1,2,3,5,6
10:50
YANGON TO KUNMING
16:15
Days
CA 416
MU 2012
MU 2032
Flights
Days
Dep
Arr
Dep
Arr
Daily
12:15
3
12:40
1,2,4,5,6,7 15:20
YANGON TO HANOI
15:55
18:45
18:40
Days
Dep
Arr
Days
Dep
Arr
Days
Dep
Flights
Flights
CI 7915
Flights
Days
MU 2011
CA 415
MU 2031
Flights
Days
Arr
Dep
Arr
Dep
Arr
3
8:25
Daily
10:45
1,2,4,5,6,7 13:55
HANOI TO YANGON
11:50
11:15
14:30
Days
Dep
Arr
Days
Dep
Arr
Days
Dep
International Airlines
All Nippon Airways (NH)
Tel: 255412, 413
Air Asia (FD)
Tel: 09254049991~3
Air Bagan Ltd.(W9)
Tel: 513322, 513422, 504888. Fax: 515102
Air China (CA)
Tel: 666112, 655882
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
Myanmar Airways International (8M)
Even unplugged
teens can still savour
Turkish delights
Nok Airline (DD)
Brigid Schulte
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
Tel: 255260. Fax: 255305
Tel: 255050, 255021. Fax: 255051
Qatar Airways (QR)
Tel: 379845, 379843, 379831. Fax: 379730
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
Singapore Airlines (SQ) / Silk Air (MI)
VN 942
Flights
Flights
AI 701
QR 919
Flights
Flights
2,4,7
14:25
YANGON TO DOHA
17:15
VN 943
1,5
14:05
1,4,6
8:00
YANGON TO SEOUL
Arr
19:50
11:10
Flights
Days
Dep
Arr
AI 401
QR 918
Flights
13:25
Thai Airways (TG)
1,5
7:00
3,5,7
20:40
SEOUL TO YANGON
Arr
13:20
06:25+1
Tiger Airline (TR)
Days
Dep
KE 471
Daily
18:45
0Z 769
3,6
19:50
HONG KONG TO YANGON
KA 251
KA 251
5:55
5:45
KA 252
KA 250
Arr
Flights
Flights
Days
5
1,2,3,4,6,7
Arr
YANGON TO TOKYO
Flights
Days
NH 814
Daily
Dep
21:45
Days
BG 061
BG 061
1,6
4
NH 813
Arr
Flights
Dep
15:35
13:45
YANGON TO INCHEON
Days
Dep
17:00
15:10
Arr
KE 472
Daily
23:30 07:50+1
8M 7702
Daily
23:30 07:50+1
8M 7502
4,7
00:35
09:10
W9 607
4,7
14:20
16:10
PG 724
1,3,5,6
13:10
15:05
YANGON TO CHIANG MAI
Flights
Days
Y5 251
7Y 305
2,4,6
1,5
Days
8M 601
AI 236
Days
AI 236
AI 701
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
Flights
Flights
Dep
6:15
11:00
YANGON TO GAYA
Flights
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
PG 722
PG 722
Days
3
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
20:15
19:30
20:15
Flights
06:50+1
YANGON TO DHAKA
Flights
Flights
Dep
1:30
1:10
Arr
Flights
Arr
Flights
8:20
15:05
AI 235
8M 602
Arr
Flights
Flights
AI 227
Arr
Flights
22:35
AI 675
Arr
Flights
Arr
23:15
22:30
23:15
Days
1,6
4
Dep
12:30
10:40
INCHEON TO YANGON
Days
Days
2,4,6
1,5
Dep
Dep
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
1,5
Dep
10:35
MUMBAI TO YANGON
Flights
Flights
Arr
11:00
Days
1,5
Dep
6:10
Days
Daily
Dep
12:00
SINGAPORE TO MANDALAY
Arr
16:40
Dep
DHAKA TO YANGON
PG 709
Y5 2234
MI 533
Arr
Daily
Days
Daily
2,6
Dep
7:20
11:35
DON MUEANG TO MANDALAY
FD 244
Days
Daily
Dep
10:50
KUNMING TO MANDALAY
Flights
MU 2029
Days
Daily
Dep
13:00
BANGKOK TO NAY PYI TAW
Flights
PG 721
PG 721
PG 721
Days
1,2,3,4,5
3
1,2,3,4,5
Dep
17:00
18:25
17:45
Arr
00:30+1
23:30
BANGKOK TO MANDALAY
20:50
14:15
15:00
Days
AI 235
AI 401
15:05
16:30
Dep
22:50
21:45
TOKYO TO YANGON
Flights
Y5 252
7Y 306
Arr
4
1,2,3,5,6,7
Arr
22:25
23:25
KE 471
Daily
18:45
8M 7701
Daily
18:45
8M 7501
3,6
19:50
W9 608
4,7
17:20
PG 723
1,3,5,6
11:05
CHIANG MAI TO YANGON
8:05
12:50
16:30
19:50
Days
BG 060
BG 060
Tel: 255287~9. Fax: 255290
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
Arr
15:40
Tel: 255491~6. Fax: 255223

Tel: 371383, 370836~39 (ext: 303)
Vietnam Airlines (VN)
Tel: 255066, 255088, 255068. Fax: 255086
Airline Codes
3K = Jet Star
8M = Myanmar Airways International
AK = Air Asia
Arr
14:55
13:05
Arr
22:25
22:25
23:25
18:10
12:00
Arr
10:15
14:35
Arr
12:0
12:30
BG = Biman Bangladesh Airlines

CA = Air China
CI = China Airlines
CZ = China Southern
DD = Nok Airline
FD = Air Asia
KA = Dragonair
KE = Korea Airlines
MH = Malaysia Airlines
MI = Silk Air
Arr
12:20
13:20
Arr
13:20
MU = China Eastern Airlines

NH = All Nippon Airways
PG = Bangkok Airways
QR = Qatar Airways
Arr
13:20
Arr
13:20
Arr
16:30
15:00
Arr
12:15
Arr
12:50
Arr
19:00
19:35
19:45
Hot-air balloons prepare to take flight in Cappadocia, Turkey. The bizarre rock
formations typical of this volcanic region are known as fairy chimneys.
Photo: Bloomberg/Catherine Hickley
SQ = Singapore Airways
TG = Thai Airways
TR = Tiger Airline
VN = Vietnam Airline
AI = Air India
Y5 = Golden Myanmar Airlines
Subject to change
without notice
Day
1 = Monday
2 = Tuesday
3 = Wednesday
4
5
6
7
=
=
=
=
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
As I stood in the basket of the hot-air

balloon at dawn in the fantastical
landscape of Cappadocia, Turkey,
clutching my 13-year-old daughters
arm in terror, I realised that this is
the very reason why travelling with
teenagers can be such an adventure.
Just as they so expertly know how to
push your buttons at home, they can
also push you out of your comfort
zone on a trip. sometimes way, way
out.
Im terrified of heights. My son
Liam also gets a little queasy when
hes too high off the ground. But my
daughter, Tessa, like her father, Tom,
is a daredevil. so as the balloons filled
on that chilly February morning, as
my teeth chattered with cold and
fear, she flung her arms around her
father with a childlike joyful abandon
I hadnt seen in years. Ah, I thought,
there she is. I knew she was still in
there under that growly teen who
thinks Im a dork.
The Voyager hot-air balloon ride
turned out to be a gentle, magical
float above valleys filled with fairy
chimneys tall, thin spires of stone
and ancient settlements cut into
the rock. Tom, Tessa and I were just
as giddy from the experience as any
high wed get from the champagne
the pilots served after we landed.
But honestly, for me the real magic
was that we shared the adventure
together.
I had found a small, quirky and
wonderful little boutique Istanbul
hotel five old townhouses really
set around a lovely courtyard and
the ruins of a 15th-century hamam, or
Turkish bath. The Hotel Empress Zoe,
named for a colourful grande dame
of the Byzantine era immortalised
in one of the breathtaking golden
mosaics in the 6th-century Hagia
sophia, was right in the heart of
the old city in the sultanahmet
neighbourhood.
It was just a short walk up
winding cobblestone streets to the
Hagia sophia, the Blue Mosque, the
Grand Bazaar, the Topkapi Palace
home of the Ottoman sultans for 400
years and that strange and swirling
new world I wanted us all to see.
The best holiday decision turned
out to be serendipitous: We had
brought only one adapter. That meant
that everyones gadgets our four
iPhones, two laptops and an iPad all
died slow, battery-draining deaths.
And Liam and Tessa found out the
hard way that Netflix isnt available

in Turkey.
That meant our teenagers had to
talk to us. At least some of the time.
We felt the difference almost
immediately. Arriving in Istanbul
after a long flight late in the evening,
we left our dead devices in the
family-style room at the Empress Zoe
and wandered up the street to the
Aloran Cafe and Restaurant. Hello
nice family! the host called, and
began bringing heaping plates of the
most delicious meze, or appetisers,
of hummus, olive oil, feta and olives,
followed by lamb kebabs, rice and
baskets of warm, puffy pita bread just
out of the oven.
We made sure seeing sights didnt
become a To Do List to slog through.
When we visited the ruins of the
ancient spa city of Hierapolis, we
made sure we had enough time to
wade in the blindingly white calcite
thermal pools of Pamukkale, and
to swim in the outdoor thermal
Cleopatra Pool, studded with
Greek and Roman columns, which,
though touristy, was a lot of fun.
In Cappadocia, when we finished a
hike through the otherworldly Red
Valley, we left plenty of time for a
long lunch at the Old Greek House
in Mustafapasa. And on a visit to a
ceramic factory, we took our time so
the kids could try their hands at the
pottery wheel.
One day, as we were walking toward
the underground city of Kaymakli, I
mentioned how much fun it was to
explore new places together that, at
home, sometimes it feels like were all
living on different planets. My daughter
turned to me: Yeah. I bet you dont
even know what my favourite colour is.
Its not pink anymore.
How could I, I responded, when
you spend most of your time shut up
in your room?
Its green, I learned. And
sometimes blue. Just as she had
pushed me out of my comfort zone
in the balloon, I realised Id pushed
her out of hers out of her room, out
of our busy routines, away from the
addictive and isolating pull of the
virtual and into the unpredictable
unfolding of the real world. We were
all connecting again. And for me, that
was the best adventure.
As we packed our bags to return
home, Tessa teased me that she still
thought I was a dork. But perhaps a
little less dorky than before.
I smiled. Ill take that.
The Washington Post
26 Sport
FIFA U20 World Cup
Group A
New Zealand
Ukraine
Group A
United States
Myanmar
Group B
Argentina
May 30 - June 5
Whangarei
A total of 52 matches will be played across seven host cities for the 20th
edition of the FIFA U20 World Cup with the final being staged in
Auckland on June 20.
With 24 teams contesting these finals, to reach the knockout
phase and the Round of 16, teams will either need to place in the
top two of their group or be one of the four best third-placed
teams. Those final four teams will be determined first by
points, then goal difference and finally
goals scored from the group stage. If a
tie remains then lots will be drawn
to determine who will advance.
Holders of the trophy,
France, failed to qualify for this
years tournament, the fourth
consecutive title-holder that has
failed to reach the subsequent
edition.
Of the 504 players involved in
squads at this years FIFA U20 World
Cup 100 players, about 20 percent
play in leagues based in countries
other than their home nation. Myanmar
is one of only four teams that feature no
players that ply their trade outside of their own
domestic leagues. They are joined in this distinction
by fellow Group A contestants Ukraine as well as
Uzbekistan and North Korea.
The Kiwi side Wanderers FC and the Uzbeks
Bunyodkor are the club sides who have sent the most
representatives to the finals. Nine of their players each
will strive for World Cup glory. They are closely followed by
Myanmars Yangon United, who have seven representatives in
New Zealand.
Ghana
Austria
Group C
Qatar
Portugal
Senegal
Photo: Facebook/QBE Stadium
Northland Events Centre

United States
VS
Myanmar
May 30 4pm (local) 10:30am (MMT)
Group D
Mexico
Mali
Uruguay
Myanmar
VS
Ukraine
June 2 1pm (local) 7:30am (MMT)
auckland
Wellington
Serbia
Group E
Nigeria
Brazil
Photo: Facebook/Toll Stadium
Group H
Germany
Fiji
Uzbekistan
Honduras
Pos
Club
GK
Zackary STEFFEN - (SC Freiburg, GER)
DF
Shaquell MOORE - (Huracan CF, ESP)
DF
John REQUEJO JR - (Club Tijuana, MEX)
DF
Cameron CARTER-VICKERS - (Tottenham Hotspur FC, ENG)
DF
Matthew MIAZGA - (New York Red Bulls, USA)
MF
Kellyn PERRY-ACOSTA - (FC Dallas, USA)
FW
Paul ARRIOLA - (Club Tijuana, MEX)
MF
Emerson HYNDMAN - (Fulham FC, ENG)
FW
Rubio RUBIN - (FC Utrecht, NED)
10
MF
Joel SONORA - (CA Boca Juniors, ARG)
11
FW
Bradford JAMIESON IV - (Los Angeles Galaxy, USA)
12
GK
Thomas OLSEN - (University San Diego, USA)
13
FW
Thomas THOMPSON - (San Jose Earthquakes, USA)
14
FW
Maki TALL - (Red Star FC, FRA)
15
MF
Marco DELGADO - (Toronto FC, CAN)
16
MF
Russell CANOUSE - (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, GER)
17
DF
Desevio PAYNE - (FC Groningen, NED)
18
DF
Erik PALMER-BROWN - (Sporting Kansas City, USA)
19
MF
Gedion ZELALEM - (Arsenal FC, ENG)
20
MF
Jordan ALLEN - (Real Salt Lake, USA)
21
GK
Jefferson CALDWELL - (University Virginia, USA)
Ukraine
Pos
Club
GK
Roman PIDKIVKA - (FC Karpaty Lviv, UKR)
DF
Taras KACHARABA - (FC Hoverla Uzhhorod, UKR)
DF
Artur KUZNETSOV - (FC Metalurg Zaporizhya, UKR)
DF
Mykyta BURDA - (FC Dynamo Kyiv, UKR)
DF
Yurii TKACHUK - (FC Metalist Kharkiv, UKR)
MF
Viacheslav TANKOVSKYI - (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR)
MF
Yevhen CHUMAK - (FC Dynamo Kyiv, UKR)
DF
Pavlo POLEHENKO - (FC Dynamo Kyiv, UKR)
MF
Vladyslav KABAIEV - (FC Chernomorets Odessa, UKR)
10
FW
Artem BIESIEDIN - (FC Metalist Kharkiv, UKR)
11
FW
Roman YAREMCHUK - (FC Dynamo Kyiv, UKR)
12
GK
Bohdan SARNAVSKYI - (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR)
13
MF
Artem HABELOK - (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR)
14
MF
Valerii LUCHKEVYCH - (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, UKR)
15
FW
Mykyta TATARKOV - (FC Metalurg Zaporizhya, UKR)
16
GK
Yevgen GRYTSENKO - (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR)
17
MF
Viktor KOVALENKO - (FC Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR)
18
DF
Eduard SOBOL - (FC Metalurg Donetsk, UKR)
19
DF
Oleksii KOVTUN - (FC Metalist Kharkiv, UKR)
20
MF
Yevhenii NEMTINOV - (FC Illichivets Mariupol, UKR)
21
MF
Ihor KHARATIN - (FC Dynamo Kyiv, UKR)
Myanmar
Pos
Club
GK
Myo Min LATT - (Kanbawza FC, MYA)
DF
Aung Moe HTWE - (Hanthawaddy United FC, MYA)
DF
Htike Htike AUNG - (Ayeyawady United FC, MYA)
DF
Naing Lin TUN - (Magwe FC, MYA)
DF
Nanda KYAW - (Magwe FC, MYA)
MF
Kyaw Min OO - (Ayeyawady United FC, MYA)
MF
Nyein Chan AUNG - (Yangon United FC, MYA)
FW
Maung Maung SOE - (Magwe FC, MYA)
FW
Aung THU - (Yadanarbon FC, MYA)
10
FW
Than PAING - (Yangon United FC, MYA)
11
FW
Mg Mg LWIN - (Hanthawaddy United FC, MYA)
12
DF
Hlaing Myo AUNG - (Zwekapin United FC, MYA)
13
DF
Yan Lin AUNG - (Yangon United FC, MYA)
14
DF
Nan Wai MIN - (Yangon United FC, MYA)
15
MF
Yan Naing OO - (Zeyar Shwe Myay FC, MYA)
16
MF
Myo Ko TUN - (Yadanarbon FC, MYA)
17
DF
Thiha Htet AUNG - (Yangon United FC, MYA)
18
GK
Pyae Sone CHIT - (Yadanarbon FC, MYA)
19
MF
Swan Htet AUNG - (Yangon United FC, MYA)
20
DF
Myo Zaw OO - (Hanthawaddy United FC, MYA)
21
GK
Wai Lin AUNG - (Yangon United FC, MYA)
New Zealand
North Korea
Hungary
USA
Myanmars first football

World Cup finals
Panama
Colombia
Sport 27
www.mmtimes.com
North Harbour Stadium

New Zealand
VS
Ukraine
May 30 1pm (local) 7:30am (MMT)

New Zealand
VS
United States
Photo: Facebook/Westpac Stadium
Wellington Regional Stadium
June 2 7pm (local) 1.30pm (MMT)

Photo: Wikicommons/Aotearoa
Ukraine
VS
United States
June 5 7pm (local) 1:30pm (MMT)
Myanmar
VS
New Zealand
June 5 7pm (local) 1:30pm (MMT)
Pos
Club
GK
Oliver SAIL - (Wellington Phoenix FC, NZL)
DF
Jesse EDGE - (Vicenza 1902, ITA)
DF
Deklan WYNNE - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
DF
Sam BROTHERTON - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
DF
Adam MITCHELL - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
DF
Bill TUILOMA - (Olympique Marseille, FRA)
MF
Joel STEVENS - (Wellington Phoenix FC, NZL)
MF
Moses DYER - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
MF
Alex RUFER - (Wellington Phoenix FC, NZL)
10
MF
Clayton LEWIS - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
11
MF
Matthew RIDENTON - (Wellington Phoenix FC, NZL)
12
GK
Nikola TZANEV - (Brentford FC, ENG)
13
DF
Brock MESSENGER - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
14
DF
Cory BROWN - (Xavier University, USA)
15
MF
Monty PATTERSON - (Ipswich Town FC, ENG)
16
MF
Te Atawhai HUDSON-WIHONGI - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
17
MF
Andrew BLAKE - (Wellington Phoenix FC, NZL)
18
MF
Andre DE JONG - (East Coast Bays AFC, NZL)
19
FW
Stuart HOLTHUSEN - (University Akron, USA)
20
FW
Noah BILLINGSLEY - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
21
GK
Damian HIRST - (Wanderers SC, NZL)
Sport
28 THE MYANMAR TIMES May 25, 2015
SPORT EDITOR: Matt Roebuck | matt.d.roebuck@gmail.com
FIFA U20 World Cup

Group A Preview
SPORT 26+27
fOOTball
Blatter v Prince Ali as

Figo, van Praag exit
l
UIS Figo and Michael van
Praag pulled out of the race
for the FIFA presidency last
week, leaving controversial
incumbent Sepp Blatter in
a straight fight with Jordans Prince
Ali bin al Hussein.
Former Portugal captain Figo
withdrew with a bitter broadside at
the contentious election campaign
which will culminate in a vote on
May 29 where Blatter is widely expected to hang on to a post he has
held since 1998.
I do not fear the ballot box, but I
will not go along with nor will I give
my consent to a process which will
end on May 29 and from which soccer will not emerge the winner, Figo
wrote on his Facebook page.
My decision is made, I will not
stand in what is being called an election for the FIFA presidency.
Dutch FIFA presidential candidate van Praag also announced he
was dropping his bid, saying he will
back Prince Ali instead.
Van Praag, a former Ajax chair
announced his candidacy in January, saying he wanted to modernise
the world governing body which has
lost all credibility.
FIFA had become ridden with
suspicion, conflicts of interest and
allegations of nepotism and corruption, he said at the time.
Observers say Prince Ali stands
the best chance to unseat Blatter
because the Jordanian had a better
campaign budget and contacts within FIFA, having served on its executive committee since 2011.
Figo used his Facebook announcement to also condemn what
he believes are double standards in
footballs global ruling bodies.
I have seen with my own eyes
federation presidents who, after one
day comparing FIFA leaders to the
devil, then go on stage and compare
those same people with Jesus Christ.
Nobody told me about this. I saw it
with my own eyes, he wrote.
Micheal van Praag (right) shakes the hand of Prince Ali, the man he will now back for FIFA President. Photo: AFP
The candidates were prevented

from addressing federations at congresses while one of the candidates
always gave speeches on his own
from the rostrum.
Does anyone think its normal
that an election for one of the most
relevant organisations on the planet
can go ahead without a public debate?
Does anyone think its normal
that one of the candidates doesnt
even bother to present an election
manifesto that can be voted on May
29? Shouldnt it be mandatory to
present such a manifesto so that federation presidents know what theyre
voting for?
Van Praag, 67, said Prince Ali is
the biggest candidate to unseat
Blatter.
I do believe he is the biggest candidate to mobilise enough votes to challenge Sepp Blatter, Van Praag said at a
press conference in Amsterdam.
Van Praag said he decided to back
Prince Ali on condition that a number of his proposals be taken up in
the Jordanian royals own proposals.
This included human rights aspects for workers employed to build
stadiums and limiting the mighty
world federations presidency to two
terms only.
The issue of workers rights has
become a key feature of the campaign
after a series of damning investigations into the welfare of labourers
employed on construction projects
for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Van Praag said the decision to pull
out of the race was taken at a meet-
ing in Geneva last week with UeFA

president Michel Platini urging the
three to back a single candidate.
He [Platini] played a big role in
getting us together, Prince Ali said.
As we have all seen around
the world, there is a real desire for
change and progress.
I cant predict right now ... but if
things are done in a correct way with
no interference then I truly believe
that we have a great chance of making that change.
The election will be held at the
FIFA Congress in Zurich on May 29.
The winner will need a majority
from FIFAs 209 member federations.
Blatter has received strong public
backing from nearly every regional
confederation except europes UeFA.
AFP
fOOTball
Israel appeals to Platini to sway FIFA from

Palestinian suspension bid
THe Israel Football Association appealed to UeFA president Michel
Platini on May 22 to speak out loud
and clear against the Palestinian
bid to vote the IFA out of FIFA next
week.
The annual FIFA Congress, which
begins on May 28, includes the Palestinian Football Associations proposal to suspend the IFA from world
football.
IFA president Ofer eini told
Platini in a letter that FIFA had
twice refused his request to have
the Palestinian bid removed from
the Congress agenda, mentioning
FIFAs own attempts to have the
item struck.
IFA is facing one of its most
crucial situations since it was established in the year 1928, finding
ourselves in the need to defend ourselves against a proposal which is totally political and has nothing to do
with the objectives of FIFA and the
spirit of football, eini wrote.
FIFA chief Sepp Blatter failed to
convince the Palestinians to remove
their proposal which he objects to
during a visit to the region which
ended on May 20.
The PFA says Israel imposes restrictions on the freedom of movement of their players, and protest the
existence of five Israeli teams in settlements, built on land they want for
a future state.
The IFA says it has no say over
the security issues which can cause
difficulties in players travel within
and from the West Bank, calling the
Palestinian bid an unsportsmanlike
attempt to mix politics with sports.
Israel told Blatter it would set up
mechanisms to ease the movement
of footballers and set up a working
group to monitor the situation.
The time has come now for
UeFA to raise its voice loud and clear
against this proposal, said eini,
whose IFA is part of UeFA.
UeFA should lead the world of

football against this dangerous and
totally unacceptable initiative of the
PFA.
eini called on UeFAs executive
committee to publish a formal decision rejecting the PFA proposal,
requesting all UeFA members to
take legal or administrative steps
to strike down the proposal from the
agenda, or unanimously object it, if it
reaches the vote.
Blatter is seeking reelection at
the Congress. He has received strong
public backing from nearly every
regional confederation, except europes UeFA. AFP
FIFA
candidates
targeted in
blackmail
scam : report
Candidates who launched challenges to Sepp Blatter for the leadership of world football body FIFA
have been targeted in an attempted
blackmail scam, a report said on
May 23.
Prince Ali bin al Hussein and
Michael van Praag, who has now
pulled out of the race, were both
approached by Kenya-based conmen who said Blatter had gathered sensitive information about
them.
Singapores The New Paper and
Dutch daily De Volkskrant said the
men demanded money to hand
over the information from what
they claimed was a smear campaign orchestrated by Blatter.
According to The New Paper,
Jordans Prince Ali, who is now
Blatters sole challenger in next
weeks FIFA vote, and van Praag
both confirmed approaches.
We have had a number of individuals coming forward with similar allegations, a spokesperson for
Prince Ali was quoted as saying.
Our approach has been to try
and set up meetings with these
individuals so we can assess them
and the information they are giving
for ourselves.
The conmen said the director of
an India-based security company
put together a surveillance report
on Prince Ali for submission to
Blatters daughter, Corinne.
But when contacted by The
New Paper, both the investigator and Corinne Blatter denied
all knowledge and said they had
been set up.
I do not know who is behind it
but it is clearly intended to damage
my fathers reputation, Corinne
Blatter was quoted as saying.
According to the report, the approaches by email appeared genuine but details such as the investigators phone number and email
address were wrong.
I have no idea who would want
to set me up, especially on such an
elaborate scam as this, the investigator, who was not named, told The
New Paper.
I have never worked for Ms
Corinne Blatter in any way.
Van Praag received an email
which stated, Some time in late
August 2014, Sepp commissioned
some espionage work on you fearing you might stand against him in
future.
The Dutch FA chief said, What
do you think it would mean for my
image if I were to respond to those
e-mails?
If it is true that they are working on a case against me, then so be
it. I have nothing to hide.
Van Praag and Portuguese great
Luis Figo withdrew from the FIFA
race on May 21, leaving Prince Ali
as the only man standing between
Blatter and a fifth term as president on May 29.
Swiss-based FIFA has been hit
by a succession of scandals, including claims of widespread bribery in
the run-up to Qatars successful bid
to host the 2022 World Cup. AFP

Monday, May 25, 2015 (Daily Issue 49)

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Monday, May 25, 2015 (Daily Issue 49)

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HEARTBEAT OF THE NATION

ISSUE 49 | MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015

Population control law

Government dusts off

Telecom tower contracts

PHOTO: NAING WYNN HTOON

Ministry finds 120

Puns son to helm Yoma Strategic

TRADE MARK CAUTION

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 25, 2015

President signs off on

(Reg: Nos. IV/3789/2007 & IV/4667/2015)

TRADE MARK CAUTION

(Reg: Nos. IV/3787/2007 & IV/5667/2015)

TRADE MARK CAUTION

(Reg: Nos. IV/3785/2007 & IV/5669/2015)

SHWE YEE SAW

U THEIN Sein has approved a controversial population control law

groups are convinced that the law

NLD leader calls for urgent six-way talks

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speaks in Putao,

take part after they were laid out by

NEWS EDITOR: Thomas Kean | tdkean@gmail.com

In Rakhine State, Muslim

A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy is gone. A

seen her either. People kept coming

Visibly thin and unable to walk

Govt to deport rescued Bangladeshis

executive secretary, said both the navy

they told me I had been sold I cried and

There were a couple people who

Myanmar Consolidated Media Ltd.

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 25, 2015

Constitution protection law to

A PLANNED law to protect the

24 the Attorney Generals Office gave

constitution. The Myanmar Times

U Win Htein from the NLD said

Parties quietly launch election campaigns

Not that this is part of the political

was in that capacity that the generals

problems. Weve been doing this ever

Public urged to help fight illegal logging

Those trees cant

governance required transparency

including chainsaws, he said. A chainsaw imported from China can be

to cut down a tree using a handsaw,

THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 25, 2015

Fears rise that

NOVEMBERS elections will be very

ganisations have increasingly struggled to catch up with events.

sation. I would love to be out of a

Farmer burns himself to death in

for K10,000 an acre.

Simon Billenness. Photo: Nyan Zay Htet

We call on the United States to use

nifer Quigley, the president of the

Pick election issues carefully

dangerous now and in the near and

prospect of even greater disaster, bold

8 THE MYANMAR TIMES MAY 25, 2015

Workers erect a telecommunications tower on a downtown Yangon rooftop. Photo: Staff

AFTER months of delays due to intense negotiations over pricing and

through its subsidiary Myanmar Infrastructure Group (MIG).