Myanmar Morning News For January 24

Jailing of Myanmar soldiers ‘only a start’
The jailing of six Myanmar soldiers for killing three Kachin refugees is a rare move but human rights lawyers say more reform of the country’s military and civilian justice system is needed.
— Ucanews

UNHCR steps up call for unhindered access in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State
Two months ago, the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on an arrangement for the voluntary return to Myanmar of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees currently living in the Cox’s Bazar area in Bangladesh. The bilateral arrangement outlines important commitments by both governments to ensuring the voluntary and safe return of refugees to their places of origin in Myanmar.
— UNHCR

2 armed ethnic groups agree to join Myanmar ceasefire pact
Two ethnic insurgent groups in Myanmar said Tuesday they will sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, which would make them the first to join the pact under the government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Government to accept only low-interest foreign loans as debts rise
Foreign loans are mounting under the current National League for Democracy government, but care has been taken to accept only loans with low interest rates, said U Khin Cho, a member of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar businesses urge closer ties with Kanchanaburi
HIGH POTENTIAL of Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region could be unlocked only if the government attempts to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the neighbouring Kanchanaburi Province, according to Ye Htut Naing, president of Tanintharyi Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI).
— The Nation

Rice industry targets increasing exports in 2018-20 with better finances
The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) will prioritise scaling up exports for rice between 2018 and 2020, according to the MRF’s SME development plan, which was announced on Sunday.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar declares war against corruption
Myanmar’s anti-corruption chief U Aung Kyi has declared war on bribery and corruption, describing corruption as common enemy, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.
— Xinhua Net

Myanmar’s Case Against Two Reuters Reporters Is a War on the Truth
It’s hard to hide a massacre, but that hasn’t stopped Myanmar from trying. Satellites see the destruction, survivors speak out, and few things make reporters more determined fact-finders than being told their senses have tricked them. Though as hard as it is to conceal, the truth is also difficult to prove; courts require layers of evidence.
— Time

Thailand Fails to Reduce Trafficked Fisherman From Myanmar And Cambodia: HRW
Thailand has failed to live up to its commitments to change illegal and abusive employment practices and working conditions in its fishing industry, especially concerning migrant workers from Myanmar and Cambodia, according to a report issued by an international human rights group on Tuesday.
— Radio Free Asia

These sisters escaped slaughter in Myanmar. Then they had to find each other
Momtaz Begum, a 30-year-old member of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority, was raped, beaten, and locked inside a house that soldiers then set on fire. Myanmarese troops killed three of her four children and her husband, and methodically massacred hundreds of civilians in her tiny village of Tula Toli.
— VOX

NEC eyes collaboration opportunities with Myanmar
Japan IT services provider Nippon Electric Company (NEC), is eyeing projects providing technological solutions for public safety and security in Myanmar in collaboration with the Union government and the private sector.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar Court Delays Bail Request For Detained Reuters Reporters
Prosecutors in a case against two Myanmar journalists from Reuters news agency accused of violating the country’s colonial-era Official Secrets Act blocked a request by their lawyers on Tuesday to grant them bail, with the judge saying he would issue a decision at the next hearing on Feb. 1.
— Radio Free Asia

Rakhine State reels after Mrauk U violence, arrests
Rakhine State remains the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons after a police crackdown on protests at Mrauk U on January 16 left at least eight people dead. Tensions were heightened even further after two prominent Rakhine figures were also arrested for a January 15 speech deemed critical of the government.
— Frontier Myanmar

New admissions process to start at 11 universities
Eleven universities in Yangon and Mandalay regions will implement the new student admissions system for the 2018-2019 academic year, according to U Aung Aung Min, deputy director-general of the Department of Higher Education.
— Myanmar Times

Myanmar’s biggest LGBT event returning to Yangon
Organisers of the fourth installment of the &PROUD LGBT Film Festival are planning to bring a gay pride atmosphere to the city, with a series of events held over two successive weekends.
— Frontier Myanmar

Few farmers can afford to grow onions
Farmers preparing the ground for onion crops after the floods.
Not many farmers can afford to re-grow onions after floods destroyed 90 per cent of onion fields in Magway Region, sources say.
— Eleven Myanmar

Feature photo Brian Holsclaw

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Myanmar morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Myanmar news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Myanmar Morning News For January 24 added by Leakhena Khat on January 24, 2018
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.