Myanmar Morning News For March 14

Myanmar: UN blames Facebook for spreading hatred of Rohingya
Facebook has been blamed by UN investigators for playing a leading role in possible genocide in Myanmar by spreading hate speech.
— The Guardian

Myanmar Rejects Reports That It Committed Extreme Human Rights Violations
Two reports to the United Nations have found that Myanmar has carried out extreme human rights violations against the Rohingya people, abuses that are most likely crimes under international law.
— NPR

Myanmar’s diaspora returning to aid economic development
Previously exiled Myanmar citizens are returning to their native land armed with knowledge and skills to share with their countrymen and help rebuild the country. Ate Hoekstra reports from Yangon.
— Deutsche Welle

Myanmar begins militarisation of the Rohingya homeland
Myanmar is militarising Rakhine state at an alarming pace, building security bases and bulldozing Rohingya villages, making the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees an even more distant prospect, Amnesty International reported on Monday.
— The Nation

PM Hasina calls on Myanmar to help repatriate Rohingya
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar continue to trickle into Bangladesh and are a heavy burden on a poor country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said as she pressed Yangon to honour its promise to repatriate them.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Remembering Two Deaths that Changed the Course of Myanmar’s History
She used to wake her younger brother every day; for Daw Mar Mar Ei, it had become a morning ritual. But this pleasant routine came to an abrupt end one sultry summer day when she found herself staring at the young man’s dead body lying on a trolley in the bleak old concrete morgue of Yangon General Hospital.
— The Irrawaddy

Rohingyas could face further violence if they return to Myanmar, UN adviser warns
“Rohingya Muslims have been killed, tortured, raped, burnt alive and humiliated, solely because of who they are,” said Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, following his visit to Bangladesh, where almost 700,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar had arrived in the space of just six months.
— UN News

Vietnamese façade firm Eurowindow expands into Myanmar
Eurowindow, the Vietnamese doors and facades maker, will open a representative office and showroom in Yangon, its first ever overseas office, on March 16. It is also planning to build a factory to meet anticipated market demand in 2019.
— The Myanmar Times

Yangon is very unsafe, but the New York Times totally fails to explain why
Back in October, we first summarized Yangon’s placement in the Safe Cities Index 2017 with an article titled “Yangon ranked second most unsafe city in the world.” We received a lot of frustrated feedback from readers who live in or have visited Yangon, most of whom professed they have never personally felt unsafe in this city.
— Coconuts Yangon

Efforts made to ‘cleanse’ Rohingya, UN genocide adviser says
The UN’s top official on preventing genocide said on Tuesday (Mar 13) efforts were made to “cleanse” the Rohingya and that returning the persecuted Muslim minority to Myanmar risked further atrocities against them.
— Channel NewsAsia

Companies to establish $300 million Agribusiness Services Center to help farmers
The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF), Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation (MAPCO) and China’s CITIC will partner with the private sector to develop and establish a $300 million Agribusiness Services Center (ASC Project) to help farmers improve post-harvest conditions and to boost productivity and production in Myanmar,
— The Myanmar Times

MFF to establish fish, shrimp farming zones
The Myanmar Fishery Federation (MFF) has submitted projects to the union government on establishing fish and prawn farming zones.
— The Global Newlight of Myanmar

Myanmar levels former Rohingya villages to build camp for returnees
One rights group describes the imagery as evidence of an escalating push to demolish former Rohingya land and militarise vast swathes of northern Rakhine State – the flashpoint for violence that last year drove out more than 671,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh.
— Irin News

Microfinance institution goes digital to educate migrant factory workers
On the heels of a new financial product designed specifically for factory workers in Yangon’s industrial zones, VisionFund Myanmar (VFM), the second largest microfinance institution in Myanmar, recently partnered with Opportunities NOW (ONOW), to launch ‘Mr.Finance VFM’ – a ground-breaking chatbot platform that provides user-friendly financial literacy to microfinance borrowers, VFM said in a statement.
— Mizzima

Objective, balanced approach needed for challenges in Rakhine
Myanmar continues its efforts at putting Rakhine State back on the road to development and stability while still facing terrorism, funded and inspired from abroad.
— The Global Newlight of Myanmar

Watch this stirring documentary about MMA fighter Aung La Nsang and his family
The main conflict in the life of Kachin-American MMA fighter Aung La Nsang would seem to be between him and his opponents in the ring. A more astute observer might say that in his never-ending quest to improve, the fighter wages an even more important conflict with himself.
— Coconuts Yangon

Ks 15 billion earmarked for bean purchase
The government has kept Ks 15 billion in reserve to purchase beans when bean prices decline below the production costs, said Aung Htoo, Deputy Minister for Commerce.
— Eleven Myanmar

Boosting productivity in the agricultural sector
The government has laid down many economic and social objectives in its efforts to establish a developed country based on agriculture. Among them, one of the major economic objectives is to boost the all-round development of the economy based on agriculture sectors.
— The Global Newlight of Myanmar

Health and educational proposal of Naga Region submitted to Sagaing Parliament
MONYWA-Sagaing Region Parliamentary Committee for Education, Health, Sports and Culture yesterday submitted a proposal for health and education development in Naga Self-administered Zone, to the Sagaing Region Parliament.
— Eleven Myanmar

Feature photo Jaume Escofet

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 March 14 added by Leakhena Khat on March 14, 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.