Alexandra Demetrianova
Rural life and development on Mekong
…Stung Treng, Cambodia
One of the poorest and most isolated provinces of Cambodia, one could easily say, that Stung Treng lies in the middle of nowhere. And that’s the beauty as well as hardship of life in provincial Cambodia. To get to Stung Treng is similarly exhausting and long as when trying to reach other remote provinces like Ratanakiri or Preah Vihear. But the public transport is regular and buses or private minivans are on offer at least twice a day. The main road leading to the provincial capital Stung Treng is a dusty one with no cement, full of bumps and rocks. Dust is part of daily life for the inhabitants of the slash-and-burn fields in this hot flat area, the no man’s land. And yet Stung Treng is one of the most important provinces of Cambodia today for agriculture, fisheries and river transport on Mekong.
Only just over 112, 000 people live in the 5 districts and 128 villages of Stung Treng, making a living mostly through agriculture. About 89 percent of people either own or have access to at least one hectare of land. Many communities live on the river banks, extracting water and valuable fish for protein or to sustain the family income. The majority of people in Stung Treng live on or below the poverty line. Economic opportunities are limited and poverty widespread, so many development projects and agencies are active in the area. Decades of conflict and violence in the history of Cambodia resulted in poor infrastructure in Stung Treng, though recent years have seen quite a boost in tourism. Ecological and socially oriented, it opens many opportunities for river boat trips, taxis and tuk-tuk/motto rides, hotels, guesthouses, food stalls and restaurants. The river and eco tourism are a win-win for the province and tourists alike, who get to see the legendary Mekong river dolphins and wet-lands on kayaks or traditional wooden boats. The area is one of the last natural habitats for large populations of unique fish and birds. The mountains offer trekking and forest experience.
“We’ve had many students over the years from rural villages and communities. After studying elementary or secondary school, they have only few opportunities to study further and usually take the hard jobs on fields or river following in their parents’ footsteps,” says Mr. Sokha from local guesthouse and restaurant in Stung Treng, which runs a program of hospitality education for Cambodian youth. “Here in our guesthouse and school they can learn much about hospitality, develop skills in cooking, serving, room service and tourist services as well as English.” Many students continue on their own and set up businesses in tourism or hotel and restaurant industry, some work at Ministry of Tourism, others become teachers and managers at the guesthouse project. Not only Khmer youth join this project, but also many ethnic Laotians, as Stung Treng borders with Laos. The Laotians integrate well here. “We like them, they’re similar to us. All of us love Thai music and soap operas of course," says Sokha. “Whom we don’t like are the Vietnamese, because they come from Vietnam illegally and steal our jobs. They hang out in front of our guesthouse, but we never interact.” This is common in Cambodia with anti-Vietnamese sentiments running high from historical and current territorial conflicts as well as the strong influence of Vietnam over Cambodia. This often leads to discrimination and even violence towards ethnic Vietnamese, especially during election time.
People in Stung Treng are genuinely nice, warm and welcoming. There is very little to none of the money-chasing and touristy vibe of cities or the coast. English is scarce, but one absolutely enjoys a cup of delicious Cambodian coffee on an early morning of a hot day by Sekong river. Locals are smiling and interested, somewhat shy, but asking questions and reacting cheerfully to small Khmer words and phrases a “barang” can pop out. They are hard workers, inventive and pragmatic as poverty dictates, while enjoying and valuing life in simple ways as taught by Buddhism. Early morning alms and services at local temple are a daily routine and so is worshipping of the river. For river gives life – water for crops and fish for food, but can also take life with floods. That’s why one pays respect to the river, for its life force is greater than human…
Mekong is the second most bio-diverse river in the world after the Amazon. One of the greatest rivers in the world sustains life in Southern China and on the lower stream in Southeast Asia. It literally gives life: water, fisheries and it impacts the fertility of land and rice fields in the river basin. Years of dam development and water electric plants construction along the Northern stream in China have had often devastative consequences on the lower stream in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Local dam development poses similarly great risk to the environment and river communities alike, threatening the life force of Mekong. In Stung Treng province a dam is being developed on one of the two river tributaries of Mekong – the Sesan. Lower Sesan 2 Dam is a 400 MW project and reportedly it will have a “catastrophic impact on Mekong river fisheries and biodiversity,” according to the 2012 study by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Cambodia. There would be an almost 10 percent drop in fish stocks basin-wide, and more than fifty fish species are under threat. The impact is transnational and extends to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, the rice-bowl of the country and region, but will also affect the upstream in Thailand and Laos.
The dam development will have an equally devastating impact on the people living on the banks of Sesan and Mekong. Over 33,000 hectare dam reservoir will gradually evict about 5,000 people including ethnic minorities. The communities, whose knowledge to support themselves and bring food on the table for their families comes from the river, will be stripped off their natural livelihoods and culture. As seen with other environmentally destructive projects in Cambodia, the people will be forced to migrate to cities for obvious economic and survival reasons, where they will join the large population of urban poor and slum dwellers. Local communities in Stung Treng have been opposing the Lower Sesan 2 Dam project for the past five years. Clearing of land for the reservoir began in March 2013, but was halted a few months later for alleged logging outside of designated area by the operator of the construction. Last year international donors, such as Australia, Finland, Japan and USA called on Cambodian government to submit the project to the Mekong River Commission for consultations. This would bring regional decision-making in, based on the argument of transnational impact of the dam.
However, this is one of many issues and conflicts over economic development in fast changing Cambodia. In Ou Rei commune of Stung Treng, just some five or ten kilometers from the main city, three communities fight aggressive development by private companies, which attempt to overtake community land for big economic projects. Whether it is for agriculture or construction of infrastructure, the people living in very basic rural and fishing areas are under threat of eviction and clearance of forests, on which they depend for mushroom and vegetable farming. In most cases, local people and their input are not heard or consulted, because they don’t have enough power, influence and often even knowledge of their rights. Many Cambodians in rural areas are afraid of the local authorities and don’t know how to communicate with them. This is where many development projects – local or funded by international donors – step in. Ou Rei commune has been part of a project funded by EU and implemented by a major international NGO together with local community organizations. The project “Strengthening Partnership Towards Participatory and Accountable Governance of Land and Natural Resources in Cambodia” is taking place over the course of three years in 48 communes in several rural provinces across the country. In Stung Treng’s Ou Rei, the project has helped establish a dialogue between the affected communities and the local government, including Commune Council representatives. The villagers now regularly meet with officials to discuss issues and conflict-resolution in open forums. Many cases end successfully – with a negotiation deal or process with the private companies, allocation or lease of land for the families, to be able to sustain their livelihoods. There is also an education element with villagers being trained in legal matters, land rights, community management, agriculture and technical skills. All of this is supposed to enhance the capacity and participation of the communities and their members. “We are grateful for this project. Without the presence of NGOs, we would lose the land. The pressure from big companies is rising and we had been too weak before. Now we know how to raise our voice and what our rights are. However, more capacity training is needed. I fear that if the project is completed and not continued, our communities will lose this battle,” say Mr. Nutlorn, Mr. Chanphorn and Mr. Mengleang, who lead the three communities in Ou Rei commune.
A special attention is given to women’s participation and rights, and conflict resolution within the families. Women have their own training and meetings in Ou Rei, and in recent years have been very vocal about their hardships and position in their communities. Now there is a special gender representative in the commune and the commune chief is also a woman. In the big picture, the project supports civil and social rights. Democracy is trained and practiced on a local level, while necessarily working hand in hand with the government. This is crucial in the hierarchical and bureaucratic top-down approach in Cambodia. “People are taught their rights and obligations. So are the authorities and this brings good governance on both sides. Mutual accountability and transparency are established, as well as system of checks and balances,” says the local implementer of the project in Stung Treng. With legal titles to land people sign not only to their rights, but also responsibilities, and this means no more cutting of the forest. Community guards their rights against the private sector or government malpractice, but also accepts responsibilities for forest management and good practices among the people.
Justice at last, Cambodia begins to face its history
(updated version of original article published in August 2014)
Forty years ago the bloody regime had exterminated a quarter to third of the population in just four years of its reign. Today, literally everyone in Cambodia is somehow affected by the genocide and has lost a family member. In August last year long awaited and, according to many, long overdue verdict was delivered in Cambodia. Final sentences for the last living Khmer Rouge regime’s leaders were handed out by the UN assisted tribunal in Phnom Penh. Khieu Samphan, regime’s former head of state and Nuon Chea, ex-minister of foreign affairs, were sentenced to life in prison for committing and orchestrating crimes against humanity. Thousands of people attended live screenings of the verdict at more than twenty locations across the country, organized by Documentation Center of Cambodia. The verdict was a relief and many were satisfied with life sentences, while others felt bitter, as both leaders are in dire health and high age. Some people expressed wish, that the former masterminds of the Khmer Rouge genocide serve their sentences in Tuol Sleng prison, where more than 11, 000 people had perished through torture and execution.
Millions of Cambodians hoped closing of the tribunal would bring peace in their hearts and minds. The work of Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), established between 1997 and 2007, was a strong foundation for justice and national reconciliation, says Youk Chhang, director of Documentation Center of Cambodia. “People look at Khmer Rouge as a point zero, because they were so evil and destructive. Like nothing was before that, we can’t pass through it. Unless we face it, deal with it, we can’t restore our identity and move on.” However, the verdict is not the end yet and the work of ECCC provides balance, but not the answer. “We have two choices – to see and to reflect on each other. So we had a trial, but how many people can you actually prosecute? And then what? The aim needs to be education of the youth,” says Youk Chhang adding, that Cambodia still has yet to face its own past, which used to be politicized and now became personal.
From controversial past to post-genocidal education
Despite the brutality and evidence of the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity, Khmer Rouge regime has always been a controversial topic in Cambodia. Years of resistance fighting of the fallen Khmer Rouge resulted in a peace compromise, when UN tried to bring the group to participate in 1993 elections, in exchange for absence of any criticism of the former regime. Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen is himself a Khmer Rouge defector to Vietnam and many other representatives, officials, but also regular people were part of the utopian system of revolutionary society. Teaching of history and especially the genocide era in Cambodian school system has therefore always been struggling with difficulties and to date presents a challenge of educating a nation on its painful past alongside reconciliation and healing efforts.
While in the 1980s, the history teaching about Khmer Rouge was rather a desired propaganda, it disappeared from school curriculum around the peace deal and elections. By 2002, government ordered complete withdrawal of modern history of Cambodia (1953-1998) due to a dispute between two main political parties about their roles in the 1993 elections. Despite numerous protests by Association of Independent Teachers and years of efforts to bring the history textbook back to schools, it wasn’t until 2007, that Cambodian youth was allowed again to learn about their recent and life-changing history. Documentation Center of Cambodia published a 100 page textbook A History of Democratic Kampuchea, which successfully passed government approval after five years of revision. Thanks to cooperation with the state, the textbook was widely disseminated around high schools in the country, says Youk Chhang from DCCAM. “The textbook was written in a soft form, without being overly anti-Khmer Rouge, as we want them to be socially integrated as well, not to alienate them. The aim was to not look at this part of history as propaganda or political topic any longer.”
It took another three years to fully integrate the genocide textbook into compulsory national curriculums. Another issue had arisen soon – how should these classes be taught? So DCCAM published another book – for teachers. “We trained more than 3,000 history teachers, as some of them were also victims, some were Khmer Rouge. Teacher’s Guidebook encourages open questions and modern teaching methods such as group discussions. We also use comparative genocide, so that Cambodians don’t feel alone in this.” High school students learn about genocide in Cambodia, but also those in Germany, Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Iraq. The goal of the textbook is not only to educate about the Khmer Rouge regime, but also to lead national reconciliation. Different forms of art expressions are used as a tool, such as drama, music, poetry or dialogue. Students are also required to interview their parents or other people about the Khmer Rouge, so they can start talking about the topic and open discussion in the society.
Sin Sengky is 13 years old and lives in a touristy street near the riverside in Phnom Penh. His family owns a well-run and busy guesthouse, earning enough money to send both of their sons to private school. Sin is an extremely bright and clever teenager, taking unusual interest in history and military technology and affairs. He wants to be a soldier and knows much about Cambodia’s history. “I haven’t learnt about the Khmer Rouge regime at school – yet. But my older schoolmates learnt very little, just on the surface. The history classes in Cambodia in general don’t go too deep into the story and are very poor in content. I wish we learnt more about our history, like they do in Thailand and other countries.” Sin thinks this is one of the main challenges in history knowledge in Cambodia – quality of school system.
The Khmer Rouge exterminated intellectuals and destroyed education altogether. Left after years of war, famine and fight for survival, was a humanitarian crisis to fix and public schooling system to be rebuilt. Twenty years on, Cambodia is hardly an education leader in Southeast Asia. Mostly rural society suffers from lack of resources to support quality education in the provinces. Private schools have been springing up in the cities, as rising middle class seeks better study options for their children. As of 2007, thousands of primary and secondary schools had been built across Cambodia. But teaching quality and living standards of teachers have not yet been given sufficient attention, according to report by Khamboly Dy Teaching Genocide in Cambodia. The author claims that lack of resources at schools and poverty among teachers and students are the main setbacks in teaching about genocide. Many Cambodians are simply too poor to send their children to school or make it as far as high school, where the genocide subject is taught. Working or gaining technical skills is often more practical to bring food on the table than studying up to the university, which most families can’t afford. Youk Chhang from DCCAM points out, that distribution of the genocide textbook and training in more than 4, 000 villages, brought similar challenges to the spotlight. “Some teachers sold the free textbook given to them, which is understandable. Some teachers are very poor.” Poverty also drives Cambodian emigration for work around the region. Youk Chhang stresses, that as much youth leaves for work in Thailand and other countries, they don’t continue to study. “This is why we need to focus on young people. They form seventy percent of our population, thanks to the Khmer Rouge genocide. Nevertheless, out of that large number not all attend or finish high school. In fact, it’s only about one million, if you take grade 7 to 12”.
Genocide becomes personal, Cambodians seek lost identity
Thirteen-year-old student and military enthusiast Sin knows much about the Khmer Rouge regime from his own family, but he’s taken it further and researched the topic. “My mother told me a lot, about the suffering of people. My grandfather was executed by the Khmer Rouge in 1977. He was fighting for them, but was against the genocide, so he perished like others.” Sin wants to write a book about his family’s memories of that era. Youk Chhang from DCCAM emphasizes, that Cambodian youth has no choice, but to learn about the genocide at home, from their parents, who experienced it first-hand. “They are the first post-genocidal generation. Everywhere you look, there is somebody affected by Khmer Rouge. They may know a lot already, but they have doubts. They hear different accounts from parents, media, neighbors, so there is confusion.” Many people have a hard time accepting, that a ‘Khmer could kill a Khmer’. Being an ancient Buddhist civilization, Cambodians perceive themselves as gentle, soft and peaceful. To accept the consequences of Khmer Rouge actions, violence and cruelty towards their own people, will take at least a generation or two. Also, suggests Mr. Youk Chhang, post-genocidal reconciliation and healing are different in the context of Cambodia. Forgiveness is a Christian concept, but Buddhists see deeds as part of cycle of karma. “In Buddhism people tend to believe in reincarnation, past and next life. Forgiveness is not an answer. Healing through human perspective works better as most people perceive themselves as victims.”
A few hundred kilometers west of Phnom Penh, on the coast, Mr. Okh runs a small, Khmer-style guesthouse on the beach. A father of five works hard all year long, high or low tourist season, to provide for his family. He follows politics closely and was excited that the Khmer Rouge trial was over. In their family, this topic is not discussed, as Okh´s children are too young to understand. “It’s a very difficult era of our history and it is hard to talk about it openly. But now the atmosphere is more relaxed, it’s been a long time. Before it was a taboo, propaganda. Thanks to the trial, things changed.” The topic is less and less politicized in Cambodia, as the country is experiencing rapid economic growth and other issues, such as territorial hassle with neighbors or trade relations, take over news and state agenda. Also, people have other problems with providing for their families daily, admits Mr. Okh.
But one cannot ignore the effects of genocide and Khmer Rouge regime on the state of affairs and human-to-human relationships in Cambodia today. The utopian regime destroyed culture, family, friendships, relationships between men and women, religion was forbidden. The masterminds erased all history prior to the start of the revolution and people were systematically brainwashed at gunpoint. The whole country had to believe in the Angkar (Party) and people were forced to be suspicious to the slightest signs of possible traitors, turning in family members, children their parents. The psychological trauma of survivors was left mostly untreated due to lack of health services. Testifying before the ECCC, director of Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation of Cambodia Dr. Chhim Sotheara, who worked with survivors and provided expert analysis, suggested that trauma and consequent depression among survivors of the genocide led many people to abandon their daily lives and often duties of parents to children. The children then have to work and support traumatized parents. This also very often leads to alcohol abuse, addiction and other health issues. Therefore the effect of genocide trauma on survivors transforms generations, argues Special Report on Mental Health and Human Rights in Cambodia by Leitner Center for International Law and Justice.
“Some people think Khmer Rouge is history, but it’s not. Its impact is still around and present. We are a broken nation and our pieces need to be gently glued together, restored.” says Youk Chhang from DCCAM and stresses, that this cannot be done by more violence. The textbook produced by Documentation Center of Cambodia came under criticism for not being more graphic in portrayal of how violent and cruel the Khmer Rouge regime was. “We have thousands of such photos in the archives. But if you use them, it becomes a propaganda and you alienate ex-Khmer Rouge. If you push them out, they can’t socially integrate. Such photographs can also traumatize survivors. Our aim is reconciliation, not pointing fingers.” Mr. Okh agrees, that history of Cambodia is important, but Khmer Rouge were for too long demonized as savages and cruel criminals. It was an era full of war, cruelty and hardship in Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge genocide had been preceded and followed by two Indochina wars. “Many other parties are responsible for violence and brutality, not only Pol Pot," says Mr. Okh, "You know, I remember, when they called the Khmer Rouge fighters out of the jungle towards the end of war to lay down weapons, they executed many of them without a trial. Look at the current government and how it cracks down on people at factory strikes and demonstrations. We need to make peace with each other and move on.”
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Burma: On the Road to Freedom
Photo exhibition and presentation at Trafacka art space in Nitra, Slovakia, November 2014.
Presentation and discussion about the latest democratic developments in Burma/Myanmar. I had shared my experiences from two rounds of elections so far in the country dating back to 2012 and 2010 as well as the basic political, societal and economic realities of the former British colony. The main theme of the evening were old and new challenges in Burma on its road to democracy. The presentation was accompanied by a week-long exhibition of photographs of daily life in Burma. Below are exhibited photographs, a short summary of the presentation and a few shots from the evening.
To present Burma, Myanmar, to an audience in such a far away reality of Central Europe, necessarily meant going deeper into its history. After all, Burma’s colonial past had definitely been a prerequisite to all current and recent political and societal events in the country. Independent Burma had risen from over a century of British colonial rule, which was anything but calm and happy marriage. Overall three bloody Anglo-Burman wars, as well as favorable political environment after World War II, led to independence in 1948. Unfortunate enough, as the savior of newly free Burma had been, General Aung San was assassinated shortly after Burma’s independence by his political rivals. What had followed, were scuffles for power and iron-fist military regimes, such as General Ne Win’s rule until 1974, as well as coups and power struggles long after his era.
An event standing out in Burma’s recent history, generally understood as the ‘Burmese spring’ or ‘Burmese Tiananmen’, were the symbolic 8.8.1988 student and opposition protests for democracy. More transparency in governance and economic sanity, which the military men in power hadn’t handled well, were demanded by thousands of young people and citizens in the streets of the former capital city Yangon. Bloody crackdown by Burmese army, the Tatmadaw, let to an uncertain, but surely high number of casualties, contested between government of Myanmar and Burmese dissidents. Some say hundreds perished in the bloodshed. It was after these crucial events, when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi stepped in, as the long-gone daughter of General Aung San, an educated young woman with democratic ambitions and vision of freedom in Burma. At the beginning of 1990’s she led the opposition National League for Democracy to elections, which they swept with overwhelming victory. But the military men, after decades in power, were not ready to give up. Instead of handing over the power to democratically elected civilian government, they did the exact opposite – clamped down on NLD. For the next almost 20 years, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was held a prisoner at her own home. General Than Shwe, ruling Burma between 1992 and 2010, made it somewhat his personal stake and goal to not let Aung San Suu Kyi out of house arrest unless she gives up her fight for freedom and democracy. The regime often blackmailed her with her children and husband, who stayed behind in the UK. But she never gave up.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest, repression of civil society and opposition led to years-long international campaign ‘FREE BURMA’. In part thanks to the fact, that ASK was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for her democratic efforts and self-sacrifice. Moreover, in 2007 protests against the regime erupted in Yangon again, this time by Burmese Buddhist monks. Even a symbol of non-violence and viewed as untouchable, thousands of monks in the streets were yet again bloody cracked-down upon by the Tatmadaw. The military junta gave a clear signal, that the affairs of the state in Myanmar were not to be changing, no matter who protested. Again, conflicting accounts of number of casualties exist. As a result of the Saffron Revolution, progressive monks were purged out of the Burmese Sangha or forced into exile. Even heavier international and economic sanctions were thrown onto Myanmar from the West and international community, pushing the country into further isolation than ever before.
Hand in hand with iron-fist military regimes and repression of civil society, went the violent ethnic conflicts of Burma. Dating back to the independence, several of more than 132 ethnic groups, had the ambitions for some kind of autonomy from central government for decades. The Karen, Shan, Kachin, but also Kayin, Kayah and people in Rakhine had been fighting against the government army, Tatmadaw. Some of the areas of the country were sealed off from the rest in order to keep them isolated and purge out the separatists. Landmines were, and still are, widespread, Burma being one of the last countries in the world, that uses landmines against its own people. Accounts of international humanitarian groups also point out, that this form of weapon is or had been used by some of the separatist groups as well. By 2007, Myanmar’s government closed ceasefires or peace-deals with most of the armed groups. However, Karen military wings remain very fragmented and continue fighting against Tatmadaw amid fragile attempts to come to an agreement. As a result of armed conflicts, dubbed by many as the biggest and longest ongoing civil war in the world, many parts and populations of Burma claim war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Tatmadaw, including rapes, recruitment of child soldiers, slavery and forced labor. Although there has never been any official investigation or legal court on these accusations, these issues were also behind such heavy sanctions and isolation of Burma from the international community.
The iceberg moved though, in November 2010, when the military junta announced the first elections in 20 years, to the dismay and unbelief of many. Voting did take place, quietly, without major campaigns or openness to international observers or media. The country was still rather closed, government obviously paranoid of foreigners, and the blacklist of media and undesirable persons from abroad was still in place. Therefore it wasn’t easy to get inside the country and monitor the elections even unofficially. I myself was lucky enough, working for a small public broadcaster somewhere in Central Europe, no one knew my name. Unlike my bigger-name colleagues in Bangkok, I got in! Burma was a surreal experience, like Thailand 50 years ago, they say. With secret police and agents on every corner – no matter if you were a local or a foreigner, they did watch everyone – and regular checks of bags and baggage in public transport. Even so, I managed to get a few sources for my undercover stories, recorded for the radio only secretly and edited very carefully in the privacy of my small hotel room, as the receptionist looked just too keen on knowing everything about my travel, life and passport with tourist visas in it. And yet, Burma was amazingly friendly, genuine and people so willing to have contact and chat with foreigners, share facts and details about their life. I also got to know their political opinions, but strictly in privacy of their homes, of course. With no signs of opposition ‘threat’, as the NLD hadn’t participated, junta-supported political party won the majority of the seats in parliament and then took over the civilian government. One would say that the generals changed uniforms for suits and then sat on the same chairs for a slightly different future of the country. A week after the elections, Aung San Suu Kyi was finally released from house arrest and slowly allowed to travel across the country as well as abroad to meet with foreign representatives.
This experience was far different from the second-round of ‘free’ elections in Burma. It was only small, quite un-important by-elections in April 2012, when only a handful of seats were contested for the parliament. However, for the first time the biggest and most popular opposition party National League for Democracy took part in the run-up and to no surprise, it also won the majority of votes. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also clearly managed to get her seat as a policy-maker. April 2012 was a new era to most – locals, but also foreigners, that were finally allowed inside the country numbering thousands. Foreign media, journalists, correspondents, freelancers, international observers, diplomatic missions, everyone was there! The hotels were full to the fullest, prices soared and simply there wasn’t enough offer for such huge demand for Burma from abroad. This time, sourcing for a journalist was much easier – everyone wanted to talk, even the former dissidents, activists, local analysts and NGOs and most importantly, opposition parties side by side the government party. One thing stood out in the campaigning hysteria though – how much financial, material and foreign support the NLD had, compared to other opposition parties. As huge and enthusiastically chanting ASK’s name as the crowd around NLD was during the rallies, so was the tight control of the party over the access to its leader, or even to her press conference. It must have been clear, that many journalists hadn’t arrived with official media visa, but one wouldn’t get to any press events at NLD headquarters without official press card from Myanmar’s government or letter from the media employer. Suddenly it felt harder to cover NLD than the government-party, or is seemed so. But the outcome of the elections was very positive for Burma and its people. Only the enthusiasm hadn’t lasted very long…
…today Burma is still very far from achieving freedom for its citizens or democracy for its system. Twenty five percent of the parliament seats are by the 2008 constitution given to the army, having enough power over key decisions. In the upcoming 2015 elections, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from running for presidency, as by the controversial constitution a candidate cannot have foreign children abroad, as she does – in the UK, similarly to her deceased British husband. So no matter that most of the sanctions by USA, EU or Australia are gone, and never mind the massive funding coming from the World Bank, IMF or Japan, Myanmar still has a rocky road ahead. Freedom of civil society and media is rather controversial. No effective reform had yet been taken by the government and even the fresh press law fails to be used in trials against media and journalists. Those are regularly convicted by old media legislature and sentenced to maximum prison sentences, such as two years behind bars. Some journalists and activists simply disappear or are found dead in questionable circumstances. Take Par Gyi, a journalist vanishing in Shan state, where he covered the conflict between Tatmadaw and the Karens, later he was found dead. Was he caught in the exchange of fire or was he assassinated? Similarly, journalists and their media outlets are every now and then challenged by the courts for pieces too critical to current government or charged under libel, accused of lies and spreading misinformation. In the end, it’s the bureaucracy of authorities and courts, which still bully media in Burma.
But a new, open Myanmar, after decades of trade sanctions and isolation, is too big piece of a tasty cake for the West and Asia, too. For years, China had been one of the few partners to any development and economic cooperation in Myanmar. Now India, US, EU and also Japan are moving in fast to capture rich natural resources, but also secure a key partner to balance the power and leverage of China in the region. And the government of Myanmar enjoys this attention – many analysts say that it simply had grown fed up with China and its way of doing business. True or false, Burma is turning to other partners willing to cooperate and invest large funds. Apart from World Bank, and ADB, Japan is already a major aid donor and on the road to economic partnership, with EU or the US being more constrained by human rights policies and records. However, the sanctions are off once and for all it seems and now the timber, copper, minerals, jade, coal, water energy and more importantly gas come in. Myanmar is an almost untouched market of 55 million consumers as well as source of cheap labor. There is almost no infrastructure and electricity services, that yet need to be developed. The company and country to secure these deals will profit a fortune. But will these projects bring sustainable development and decent living to the people of Myanmar? Many large development projects had proved violating people’s rights, grabbing their land, forcing them to slave labor and, due to some, fighting had erupted again in conflict areas. Deforestation and non-transparent management of land and resources are notorious and widespread in Burma. Take two mega-projects, Shwe Gas Pipeline to Southern China and Dawei project of port and road connection to Thailand. Both had displaced thousands of people and deprived them of their traditional source of income and therefore left them in food insecurity. Count in destruction of nature and forests, renewed fighting with rebel groups and alledgely slave labor.
Democracy, freedom, elections, reforms - or not, the major challenge in Burma remains overall poverty and low standard of living. Seventy percent of Myanmar’s population is rural and more than a quarter lives in extreme poverty. There is lack of healthcare, education, work, often food, some regions are consumed by violence. Recently another state joined the ranks of violent events with two years mass pogroms on Muslims in the Arakan/Rakhine state. Also elsewhere, there have been anti-Muslim campaigns spreading among Buddhists. The radical xenophobic ultra-Buddhist group 969 and the controversial monk Wirathu have been extremely vocal about Islam as a threat to Myanmar and the Buddhist majority. However, Muslims are one of many minorities in Burma and suddenly find themselves singled out and targeted for their religion. The most frequent victim of this hate-campaign is the Rohingyas, a stateless Muslim group without citizenship or rights. In Burma they call them ‘Bengali’ as to signify their place of origin – Bangladesh. Although this is, where these people often flee, they do belong historically to what is today Burma. The situation concerning Rohingya and other targeted Muslims has grown out of proportions – currently there are as many as 140 000 internally displaced people, living overcrowded in roughly 40 IDP camps, where most have no access to humanitarian help, food or health services. Many analysts openly called the humanitarian crisis a genocide. This is because the Rohingya are not only targeted by majority Buddhists and their radical wings, but also ignored and persecuted by the government. Insiders to the issue, some NGO representatives and journalists I had spoken to suggest, that the violence on Muslims and hate-campaign against Islam in Myanmar are staged by the government. The group 969 is so well-funded, organized and distributed, that many wonder who is behind the movement. Some suggest the Buddhist-Muslim tensions and clashes are a good curtain to close around questionable economic development projects and other key decisions taken by the authorities without much transparency.
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