BANGKOK // On Sunday, Myanmar will hold its first elections in 20 years. The country's charismatic pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, will not be among those casting a ballot as she remains under house arrest in her lakeside residence in Yangon, where she has spent 15 of the past 21 years.
Recently senior government officials have been hinting that she may be released in the coming weeks when her current term of detention expires. But most people in Myanmar remain sceptical.
"Only when Aung San Suu Kyi is released will there be true democracy," a young university student, Aung Win, said. "So I won't be voting in these sham elections." "This is not my election," said Soe Maung, a taxi driver in Yangon. "This is the military's election."
In May 1990, two years after the junta had seized power in a bloody coup, the National League for Democracy (NLD) convincingly won the elections. With its ally, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, they took more than 80 per cent of the seats. This time neither of the parties is competing as they refused to re-register as a political party earlier this year and are effectively barred from participating in the polls.
"How can we accept the elections when our leader is not free," U Tin Oo, the deputy leader of the NLD, said recently. "We cannot field candidates as that would mean accepting the fraudulent constitution that the junta has forced on us while keeping us out of the drafting process," another senior NLD leader said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press.
Under the current constitution, 25 per cent of the seats in the two houses of parliament are reserved for serving soldiers. The president has to have a military background and the commander-in-chief reserves the right to dismiss the parliament if it is felt to be endangering national security.
Twenty years ago people came out in droves, including soldiers and their wives, to vote. "At that time NLD was not really a party," Ms Suu Kyi said in a telephone interview after her release in July 1995. "It was more of a movement that represented the people's aspirations for a freer, fairer and democratic government."
But there is no doubt that they also came to vote for Ms Suu Kyi because she had dared to stand up to the generals. For most people, her name and that of the NLD were synomous.
Ms Suu Kyi is the daughter of General Aung San, an independence hero and the founder of the Burmse army. He had led the liberation struggle against the British, but was assassinated along with several other leading politicians in 1947.
Ms Suu Kyi was hurled into the front line of the country's democracy movement after she arrived in Myanmar in 1987 from the UK, to look after her sick mother, Daw Khin Kyi. While in Oxford, England, she was a housewife married to the British don and Tibetan scholar Michael Aris, who died of leukaemia in 1999.
She soon proved to be a major thorn in the side of the country's military rulers. She was arrested in July 1989 after she began campaigning. Authorities were concerned about the support she was attracting and her criticism of the former military despot, Gen Ne Win, who had seized power in 1962 and surprisingly stood down in 1988 in the face of months of pro-democracy demonstrations that had brought the country to virtual standstill.
"She posed a constant challenge to the military junta," Justin Wintle, a British academic and biographer of Aung San Suu Kyi said in an interview. "She was articulate, intelligent and energetic."
Ms Suu Kyi, now in her sixties, still represents the main opposition to the military rule. She continues to advocate peaceful protest.
She and the NLD are urging a boycott of the elections, which has angered the top generals. The public is being warned that anyone who boycotts the vote will be dealt with harshly. Several university students have been sentenced to three years in jail for handing out pamphlets promoting the boycott.
Internationally, the elections are also being seen as a means of prolonging military rule. Even Myanmar's allies and neighbours find the elections less than credible.
"The elections are a farce," the Philippine foreign secretary, Albert Romulo, said in an interview between meetings at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Hanoi last weekend. "It certainly is not inclusive - as UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has demanded - without opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi being allowed to run. It is not free or fair with her party, which won more than 80 per cent of the seats in the 1990 elections, being effectively barred."
"What happens after the elections may be more critical than the polls themselves," said Surin Pitsuwan, the general secretary of Asean. "There will be opportunities, openings and new space after the polls," he said in an interview at the end of the summit.
What is certain is that Ms Suu Kyi detention will expire and the new government will not be able to ignore her.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWomen%E2%80%99s%20race%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Tigist%20Ketema%20(ETH)%202hrs%2016min%207sec%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Ruti%20Aga%20(ETH)%202%3A18%3A09%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Dera%20Dida%20(ETH)%202%3A19%3A29%0D%3Cbr%3EMen's%20race%3A%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Addisu%20Gobena%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A01%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lemi%20Dumicha%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A20%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20DejeneMegersa%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A42%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE squad
Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Tickets
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5