Corruption in Myanmar: take down the real villains
Naing Ko Ko
Special to The Nation
Instead of focusing on low-salaried bureaucrats as the main cause of graft, advocates need to go after those at the very top of the centres of power
When I started to write about anti-corruption issues in Myanmar on the East Asia Forum, a number of scholars suggested that corruption in Myanmar is principally linked with low wages at governmental institutions. But the logic that the low salaries of public officials increases the amount of corruption does not work accurately in Myanmar. What about corruption among the state’s leadership? There are many factors which underpin corruption in Myanmar, such as the lack of a robust political system, weak governmental institutions, opportunity for corruption, monopolistic leadership mechanisms and a moral and value system based on corruption.For Myanmar’s Kachin Rebels, Life Teeters Between War, Peace
Filed by KOSU News in World News.
Despite progress in its transition to democracy, Myanmar has struggled to end all the ethnic insurgencies that have long divided the country.
Now the Kachin — the last of the insurgent groups that have been fighting the government — have signed a preliminary agreement that could end the conflict.
The agreement falls short of an actual ceasefire, but calls for both sides to work “to end all armed fighting.”
Two years ago, Myanmar’s army broke a cease-fire and launched an offensive against the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA. The fighting displaced more than 100,000 Kachin people, a hill tribe who live on both sides of the Myanmar-China border.Unexploded Bombs Discovered in Burma
Authorities say one unexploded bomb was found Monday in Mandalay, while another was discovered in Rangoon.
Two people were killed on Friday when an explosion ripped through a guesthouse in the town of Taungoo, about 200 kilometers north of Rangoon. Two blasts in Rangoon on Sunday injured several people.
A police spokesman in Rangoon said the device found Monday was successfully defused before it could go off.
Burma concerns raised in House of Commons
By JACK GOODMAN
British MP Valerie Vaz addressed the House of Commons last week to discuss the findings of an eight-day cross-party delegation to Burma in August. She met afterwards with DVB’s Jack Goodman to discuss the delegation, British foreign policy towards Burma, and Aung San Suu Kyi.
INTERVIEW
Question: Am I right in saying that your relationship with Burma began before you were elected as an MP?
Answer: As a lawyer I was interested in human rights before I became an MP. I thought Aung San Suu Kyi’s story was very similar to Nelson Mandela’s. It was one of the campaigns I thought was important to be involved in.
On a political level I felt I had to raise my voice as well, which is why when I was elected to parliament in September 2010 and had my first opportunity to ask the Prime Minister [David Cameron] a question, I asked what he was going to do about Burma.What’s the best passport in the world for travellers?
By Robert Upe
Travel and Tourism Writer
The Aussie passport has been ranked as one of the best in the world for travellers, based on the number of countries Australians can visit without a visa.
The best passports are from the UK, Finland and Sweden, according to an index by Henley & Partners, a consultancy in residence and citizenship planning.
Each of the top three passports scored 173 in the rankings, meaning they can be used to enter 173 countries and territories without a visa.
The joint second-ranked countries are Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg and the US with a score of 172.
Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands hold a joint third rank of 171, followed by Canada in fourth with 170, then Switzerland, Austria and New Zealand fifth with 168.Burma’s long road to democracy
Press Releases
Press Release: Statement of ARNO on the juntas election
ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION
ARAKAN, BURMA
Press Release
(18 August 2010)
Statement of ARNO on the junta’s election
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) denounces the holding of a general election on November 7, 2010 by ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) without creating conducive political environment in Burma.
Today is the 65th birthday of Burma democracy icon, noble peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION
ARAKAN, BURMA
Press Release
(19th June 2010)
Today is the 65th birthday of Burma democracy icon, noble peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She is spending her birthday in detention away from her relatives and friends. She has spent almost 15 years in detention since 1989.
Time and again the United Nations, with the international community, and the world leaders expressed that her arrest is illegal and is a clear violation of international law. But no real action has yet been taken to secure her release as well as the release of all political prisoners. Like an ostrich the military regime is unheard of the Burmese people’s clamours and international outcries, and is busy with its own undemocratic roadmap trying to legitimize its military dictatorship, with worst record of human rights violations and crimes against humanity, in the country.
Press Release: ARNO supports the NLDs decision
ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATIONARAKAN, BURMAPress Release(31 March 2010)ARNO supports the NLD’s decisionArakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) fully supports the decision of the National League for Democracy (NLD) not to register as a political party...
Press Release: ARNO welcomes and supports Mr. Tomas Ojeea Quintanas call for a UN Commission of Inq
ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION
ARAKAN, BURMA
Press Release
(16 March 2010)
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) sincerely welcomes and supports the recommendation of the United Nations Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojeea Quintana to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry with a specific fact-finding mandate to address the question of international crimes perpetrated by the ruling military SPDC in Burma.
As a state policy, the Burmese military regime has long been committing grave human rights violations and abuses across the country and are widespread, systematic and consistent, particularly against the ethnic peoples, which amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes under the terms of Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court.
In This Issue:
- Editorial: Rohingyas are in a geopolitical crossroad: Global Powers and Competing Interests
- Rohingya Resilience in Exile: Rebuilding Lives in Refugee Camps
- Containing Arakan Army: A Security Imperative for Myanmar and Bangladesh
- Ending Digital Violence against Women and Girls
- Myanmar’s Election: Conflict, Exclusion, and a Crisis of Legitimacy
- Rohingya Families in Maungdaw Prepare to Flee Amid Forced Conscription Fears
- Arakan Army Orders Rohingya to Surrender Household Registration Lists
- Fire Tears Through Rohingya Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Injuring Three Children and Destroying Dozens of Shelters
- Rohingya Men and Women Forced to Join Armed Group in Maungdaw
- ARNO Welcomes UN Third Committee Resolution on Rohingya Rights, Demands Accountability for Armed-Group Abuses
Reports
A Rohingya boy’s escape story
NARATHIWAT _ He was 10 years old, but Rohingya Nu Rahasim decided to set a journey to the sea for a better life after his parents were killed by Myanmar soldiers.
The migrant, his fate now in the hands of Thai officials and international diplomats, was one of 139 Rohingya rounded up in Songkhla’s Sadao district on Sunday, the third group arrested in the district in less than a week.
On Tuesday, he and 17 other Rohingya aged 9-12 were sent to a children and family emergency home in Narathiwat’s Muang district for temporary stay, pending police investigation.
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