LAO AUTHORITIES say negotiations have begun over compensation for the victims of last summer’s Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy Dam collapse, but environmental activists and rights campaigners want the dam’s backers to do more than just pay out money – they should help restore their livelihoods, too.

More than 7,000 survivors of the disastrous collapse of the hydropower dam in southern Attapeu province’s Sanamxay district have been struggling to survive for nearly seven months.

They’ve received little help from the authorities. Aid has come from overseas organisations and private donors.

Now they’ve had their first glimpse of concrete progress with the foreign investors in the controversial dam, who are finally preparing to pay them full compensation.

Washington-based Voice of America Lao (VoA Lao) last week reported that the government and investors had begun negotiating with the affected families over the amounts of compensation they’re due for damage to and destruction of houses and properties.

The investing companies are SK Engineering and Construction (SK E&C) and Korea Western Power, both based in South Korea, and Thailand’s Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL (Ratch).

VoA Lao quoted Sanamxay district chief Bunhom Pommasan as saying negotiations were underway to compensate people whose vehicles were damaged.

“The list of vehicles has been prepared, so negotiations with the dam’s investors can now start in Ban Mai,” Bunhom said. “Once an agreement is reached there, they’ll move on to other affected villages one by one.”

Remedial payments for damage to homes, crops and other property will be discussed later, he said, insisting that the negotiations must proceed step by step.

Dam victims are currently receiving a monthly subsidy of 100,000 kip (Bt400), a daily allowance of 5,000 kip (Bt20) and 20 kilograms of rice per month from the government.

The dam investors last month agreed to pay US$10,000 (Bt320,000) in compensation to the next of kin of each of the 71 people officially declared dead or missing. Most of the relatives reportedly consider the amount too little.

The investors were, meanwhile, providing humanitarian aid and donating money, SK E&C said in a statement issued one month after the disaster last July. The company said it had organised an “emergency response team” to try and alleviate the impact of flooding, restore damaged infrastructure and distribute medicine, food and clothing.

SK E&C also erected temporary housing for displaced persons in the Sanamxay area at the request of provincial authorities.

Ratch said it had donated Bt5 million in disaster-relief aid to officials in Attapeu and launched multiple fundraising efforts, with the cash given directly to the victims or buying them supplies.

Neither company had responded as of publication time to The Nation’s request for an update on their plans for compensating people whose property was destroyed or damaged.

Worawan Sukraroek, a coordinator with the Thai Extraterritorial Obligations-Watch Working Group (Thai ETO-Watch), said the investors’ efforts to date were far from what was needed to help the disaster survivors regain their livelihoods.

The situation clearly showed that the investors did not respect business ethics or human rights, she said.

“They must do more than just giving the people money and moving on,” she said. “They have to provide all necessary aid by any means to help rebuild the people’s livelihoods – to at least the level they enjoyed before the disaster – and as soon as possible.

“In the longer term, the companies must develop an emergency-response plan and ensure the projects they’re investing in will have the least possible impact on people and the environment.”

Noting that the three companies are based in Thailand and South Korea, Worawan said they were obligated to adhere to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

They have to ensure that their projects, both in their own countries and abroad, met the proper rights-protection standards, she said.

The UN Principles make corporations responsible for preventing rights violations in their operations and investments and for mitigating adverse impacts with “appropriate and timely measures”.

They also require governments to ensure that their citizens’ rights are respected and are protected from violations by private firms. They give the victims of violations the right to appropriate and prompt compensation and easy access to communication channels by which to complain to the authorities.

South Korea is also a member of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Worawan noted, which obliges multinational development firms with operations there to follow specific guidelines that set a high standard for good corporate governance.

“We hope that the other transnational companies and the Lao government will show more concern about rights protection at other investment projects,” Worawan said.

This is the fifth in a series on the fallout from last year’s dam disaster in southern Laos. Part 6, the final part, will be published next Monday.

Reporting for this story was supported by a grant from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and Southeast Asian Press Alliance

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which first set up shop in Thailand more than 40 years ago, said the MRO sector offered enormous potential for the country’s aerospace business in the coming years.

France Airbus and national flag carrier Thai Airways International last June launched a joint venture for MRO facilities at U-tapao Airport, in a deal overseen in France by junta chief Prayut Chan-o-cha. Prayut is seeking to extend his tenure as prime minister after next month’s election.

The MRO facility at U-tapao is part of the military government’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) strategy and enjoys strong support from the business community, which has called for its continued rollout after the March 24 election.

“We are looking forward to the future as Thailand has good prospects and potential for [developing] the aeronautical industry, given its strong supply chain based on automobile and electronics industries,” said Sihasak Phuangketkeow, a former Thai ambassador to France in an interview with The Nation. Sihasak helped close the MRO deal last year and is now an adviser to the EEC project.

The MRO will be a key piece of the aeronautics industry in Asean, given that many airlines had bolstered their fleets with new planes in recent years and those aircraft now need maintenance, said Cedric Post, the French Aerospace Industry Association’s deputy director for European and international affairs.

Fast-growing budget airlines such as AirAsia and Vietjet continue to add aircraft, which will require maintenance and even overhauls in the next few years, added Post.

The in-service fleets in the Asia Pacific region will grow in size from 6,900 aircraft to over 20,000 in the next 20 years, according to Airbus.

While other Asean members including Singapore have been in the MRO market for a long time, there is still room for Thailand due to its strong automobile and electronics manufacturing base, said Post.

Singapore is short of land and costly while Thailand’s U-tapao Airport is large enough to serve current operations and expansion, he said.

The U-tapao MRO centre will be one of the most modern and extensive in the region, offering heavy maintenance and line services, said Airbus head of marketing for Asia and North America, Joost van der Heijden.

“We will incorporate the latest digital technologies, specialised repair shops and a maintenance training centre,” he added. “For Airbus, our MoU with THAI is about the opportunity to innovate and to lead the way in the aerospace sector.”

When fully operational, the U-tapao MRO centre is to offer heavy and routine (line) maintenance for all wide-body aircraft types, specialised repair shops including for composite structures, as well as extensive maintenance training courses for technical personnel from Thailand and overseas.

Airbus and THAI are still working on the final details of the deal, while already partnering to address the MRO requirements.

“This will be a major new facility that reflects our confidence in Thailand,” said van der Heijden.

Airbus and Thailand’s Civil Aviation Training Centre (CATC) in January signed an MoU on projects to develop and implement maintenance training and pilot training courses in the country.

The goal is to support the development of the country’s aviation industry by helping to ensure a steady supply of pilots, engineers and mechanics for Thailand’s airlines and MRO centres.

Under the agreement, Airbus and the CATC will deepen their cooperation in training aviation professionals within the country. Airbus has begun working with the CATC on basic maintenance training courses, which could be expanded and also include flight training courses for pilots.

“The main challenge [for the aeronautics industry] is to face the growth and train all required technicians and engineers. Airbus is confident that CATC, with Airbus assistance and cooperation, is able to address this challenge,” said van der Heijden.

The MRO centre is a major step forward for Thailand in the new-growth S-curve industries and its grand Thailand 4.0 strategy, Sihasak said, adding that the country’s next government needed a positive vision of its aerospace industry.

“We need good infrastructure, of course, for the future industry as well as consistent regulations to offer conducive conditions for investment,” he concluded.

The blaze broke out in the port city of Chittagong at about 3.30am and raced through the district of bamboo, tin and tarpaulin homes, said local police chief Pranab Chowdhury.

Destroyed houses are pictured after a fire broke out in a slum in Chittagong on February 17, 2019. – A fire tore through a slum in southern Bangladesh on February 17 killing at least 9 people and destroying hundreds of shanty homes, police said.// AFP PHOTO

    “At least 470 shanties were destroyed by the fire. So far 9 people have died. They included four members of a family,” fire brigade official Hefazatul Islam told AFP.

Fires regularly break out in Bangladesh’s slums, where millions live in squalid living conditions.

Rights groups have in the past alleged some shanty town blazes were deliberate acts of sabotage by developers seeking to free up property to construct multi-storey buildings.

“We have seen fires are used as a weapon to evict poor slum dwellers and squatters from government or private property,” rights activist Nur Khan Liton told AFP.

Around 300 cooks are competing in 40 different dishes over three days at North Korea’s national cooking competition, with winners receiving cookbooks, equipment, diplomas and medals.

Onlookers gathered around each station in the unheated venue, some of them filming the contestants at work on their mobile phones for future inspiration.

“The reason why Korean food is excellent is that it is characterised by its clear and fresh flavour, without any mixed feelings,” said judge Han Jong Guk, a pastry chef by trade.

But the reality is that beyond the restaurant’s granite columns and the privileged lifestyles of the capital’s residents, North Korea is unable to feed itself.

North Korean agricultural yields are well below global averages and the country’s population remains undernourished.

“Chronic food insecurity and malnutrition is extensive,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said in its 2019 Needs and Priorities document this week.

No less than 43% of the population – 10.9 million people – are affected by food insecurity, it said, while one third of children do not receive a minimum acceptable diet.

“Each year, domestic food production falls short by approximately 1 million tonnes,” it added.

As well as the shortage of arable land and periodic natural disasters, the UN also pointed to a lack of modern agricultural techniques.

Kim Jong-un’s answer is: potatoes. Unlike rice paddies, potatoes do not have to be grown on flat land, and Pyongyang is pushing the humble spud as a staple food.

Kim has visited a potato powder factory several times, pictured last year lying back with officials on a mountain of tubers.

According to the official KCNA news agency, Kim said North Koreans should be told about the product’s “advantages and effectiveness, and the methods of making potato powder foods should be widely propagandised to them”.

The Pyongyang cooking competition is part of the recipe.

In one room, groaning tables were laden with dishes made from potato powder – pizzas, dumplings, noodles, even chocolate cake.

Organiser Kim Kum-hun, of the central committee of the Korea Cooks Association is an enthusiast.

“Of course rice is our main food but bread and potato powder can be our staple food too,” he said.

Potatoes, he explained, yield 20 tonnes per hectare, while rice produces less than 10 tonnes.

“Those who are surprised to see a cooking festival here say that because they don’t know our people well,” Kim said.

“Our lives are not affected. We live by the might of self-reliance.”

His Majesty reminded that it was a rule that all mosques in the state must not allow anyone to conduct a ceramah, either inside or around its premises, except if the person received approval from the Johor Islamic Religious Council (MAINJ).

Without mentioning names, Sultan Ibrahim said the political leader should seek an audience with him and submit a written apology and prmoise not to repeat the mistake.

“All mosques in the state are restricted areas for any politics since long ago. This is a tradition in Johor.

“It is a place of worship and to unite the ummah. Any sort of politics will only bring disunity, affect the sanctity of a mosque and community harmony,” Sultan Ibrahim said in a statement posted on his official Facebook page here on Saturday (Feb 16).

Earlier, Sultan Ibrahim received an audience from MAINJ advisor Datuk Noh Gadot and state mufti Datuk Yahya Ahmad.

He decreed that all mosque chairmen and its committee memners must adhere to the ruling issued by the Johor Islamic Religious Department, and must ensure that such a thing did not happen again.

“Consider this the last warning and don’t repeat this. I hope the leader realises the mistake he had made and immediately apologise.

“The mosque is Allah’s house and a place to worship should be kept sacred to all Muslims,” he said.

It is believed that the politician in question is Parti Amanah Negara deputy president Datuk Salahuddin Ayub as there is a video showing him allegedly making a political speech inside a mosque here.

The 45-second clip purportedly show the Agriculture and Agro-based Minister giving a speech to the congregation before Friday prayers on Feb 15.

Following its success with the instant coffee product in Russia, publicly listed food company PT Mayora Indah is expanding into other Eastern European countries.

Mayora’s international group country head Hartono Gunawan said he was optimistic the product would be just as well received in the rest of Eastern Europe.

The company exported 1,000 containers of Torabika Cappuccino to Russia last year, a 30 per cent sales growth from 2017. “Russia has the ninth biggest population and was ranked 11th for GDP [in 2017] in the world. We see Russia as a very important mixed-coffee market,” Hartono said.

Hartono said the company had begun exporting to 10 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and had set its sights on Southeast Europe this year.

“We plan to export 2,000 containers of food products worth around $40 million to Russia this year, especially as there will be a new biscuit product and a new variant of instant coffee to be exported,” Mayora president director Andre Sukendra Atmadja told reporters at a press briefing at Mayora’s headquarters in West Jakarta recently.

Andre said there was a possibility the company could set up a factory in Russia after sales reached $100 million.

“It is very likely we will build a factory in Russia, but we need to reach a certain economy of scale first. Although we have sent 1,000 containers, it is still too small to warrant a factory. Only once the economy of scale reaches $100 million would it be feasible to build a factory there,” he said.

The company has booked a significant increase in exports, which contributed 50 per cent of the company’s revenue last year.

Factories in Indonesia

The company currently operates 24 factories in Indonesia and five factories abroad, which, according to Mayora global marketing director Ricky Afrianto, was sufficient to meet demand.

Despite the stagnant growth of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Mayora is upbeat it can book 15 per cent sales growth.

Ricky expressed optimism the company could see at least 15 per cent sales growth this year and believed the presidential and legislative elections in April this year could also boost the economy and in turn boost people’s buying power.

“We offer affordable products that are needed by people of all backgrounds. The political climate will hopefully not disrupt the FMCG industry,” he said.

Mayora sells its various products, such as Kopiko coffee candy, Kopiko instant coffee, Vietnam butter cookies, Energen breakfast cereal and wafers and Beng Beng and Malkist crackers to more than 100 countries, with Asean and Middle Eastern countries its biggest international markets.

Mayora’s total revenue rose by 16 per cent to 35 trillion rupiah ($2.481 billion) last year, despite overall stagnant growth in the FMCG sector.

“The FMCG industry has indeed been stagnant for the last two years. However, we are lucky that we have seen an overall growth of 16 per cent. It has been difficult for some categories, but they still saw growth nonetheless,” Ricky said.

The growth was seen in all eight of its product categories, Ricky said, and was most notable in its beverage line, such as Teh Pucuk Harum bottled tea, which was Indonesia’s leading product in the ready-to-drink tea segment in 2014, as well as bottled water brand Le Minerale.

Legal experts said it was “unprecedented” for a president to use his emergency powers to overcome Congress’s refusal to fund his wishes, in this case a barrier on the US-Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants.

They also questioned Trump’s categorization of the immigration issue as a national emergency and his tapping military funds for a non-military project.

Hours after the announcement, the Trump administration faced an investigation by the House Judiciary committee and lawsuits from New York, California and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“President Trump is manufacturing a crisis and declaring a made-up ‘national emergency’ in order to seize power and subvert the constitution,” said California Governor Gavin Newsome.

“California will see you in court.”

Trump said he expected a legal fight and predicted he would prevail. “We will have a national emergency, and we will then be sued,” Trump said Friday.

“Then we will end up in the Supreme Court, and hopefully we will get a fair shake, and we’ll win in the Supreme Court.”

– Dangerous precedent –

Trump invoked the 1976 National Emergencies Act after Congress refused to allocate his requested $5.7 billion for a wall in a spending bill.

The White House says the emergency order empowers it to pull around $6.6 billion from other sources, mostly already-allocated funds in the Defense Department budget.

Democrats accused the president of an unconstitutional power grab. “The president’s actions clearly violate the Congress’s exclusive power of the purse,” Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leaders in Congress, said in a joint statement.

It is a precedent-setting move, said American University law professor Jennifer Daskal, adding that the National Emergencies Act had “never been used in that way, for good reason.”

Critics warn that Trump opened the door for future presidents to call on the act whenever they fail to get their way with Congress. A frustrated Democratic president might some day invoke it to get funds to fight ongoing “emergencies” of climate change and gun proliferation.

The White House dismissed this argument, underscoring how a court showdown might proceed.

“This actually creates zero precedent. This is authority given to the president in law already,” said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

“It’s not as if he just didn’t get what he wanted, so he is waving a magic wand and taking a bunch of money.”

– A real ’emergency’? –

Any legal battle will focus on the definition of “emergency.” The emergencies act “does not provide any explicit limitations on what does and does not constitute a national emergency,” Daskal told AFP.

Previous governments have declared emergencies based on the act due to immediate threats such as the September 11, 2001 attacks and the 2009 outbreak of swine flu.

Trump said the emergency now is the flow of drugs and violent criminals across the border. In the abstract, he appears within his rights.

However, said Bobby Chesney, the associate dean at the University of Texas School of Law, “litigation won’t be in abstract.”

“The pretext issue looms large here,” he said in a comment on Twitter. He was referring to the problem of Trump resorting to declaring the border issue an emergency after spending two years in a losing political battle for wall funding.

Trump himself appeared to undermine his argument as he announced the emergency on Friday. “I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster,” he said.

– Land, military issues –

Daskal expects border landowners also to sue to protect their property rights. “A lot of the land that’s at issue is not federal land, it’s private land,” she said.

Chesney points to a challenge over the use of military funds. Defense Department rules say that, even if diverted, construction funds must be for a project that “requires the use of the armed forces.”

The wall, however, has been cast from the outset as a civilian project. “That is the main point of litigation vulnerability,” said Chesney.

Earlier this week, the 18-year-old swim queen tweeted that she had cut short a training camp in Australia after feeling unwell and had been diagnosed with the illness on her return to Japan.

The news sent shockwaves around the sport and well-wishes have flooded in for Ikee, a genuine title contender at the 2020 Olympics in her home city.

“I was shocked,” two-time world champion Daiya Seto said at the Konami Open in Tokyo on Saturday. “With the Tokyo Olympics on the horizon, people will no doubt be urging her to get well and compete.

“But obviously life is more important,” added the Rio Olympic bronze medallist. “I just pray she gets better soon and we can see her cute smile again — all we can really do is pray.”

Ippei Watanabe promised to break his own world record in the men’s 200m breaststroke at the Japanese championships in April to help encourage Ikee in her battle to recover.

“I’m confident of setting a new world record,” he said. “Hopefully that will offer her a little encouragement at least.” Ikee, who shot to fame by capturing a record six gold medals at last year’s Asian Games, was a genuine contender to win the women’s 100m butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics and tipped to push hard on several other fronts.

– Bombshell news –

But her bombshell announcement has left her fellow swimmers stunned. “It looked as if she was really struggling,” said Suzuka Hasegawa, who was also training on Australia’s Gold Coast when Ikee’s health problems began.

“We went shopping together in our free time and I couldn’t have imagined she was sick. When she left (Australia), she just told me she had to leave early. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the news. We will all have to put in an extra shift while she’s away.”

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, Olympic champion in the women’s 100m fly and expected to be Ikee’s rival for the gold medal next year, posted:

“My eyes are filled with tears when I read the news about my friend (Rikako Ikee) being diagnosed with leukaemia. Sending all my strength and love to you!”

Hollywood actor Ken Watanabe, who survived acute myeloid leukaemia in the 1990s, also tweeted a message of support for his countrywoman. “You may be feeling desperate,” wrote the Last Samurai star.

“You might be wondering ‘Why me?’ I hope you will be positive and concentrate on the treatment, trust in your life force.”

Doctors believe they detected Ikee’s leukaemia in its early stages. The swimmer, who has been hospitalised in Tokyo, tweeted: “If treated properly it’s a disease that can be beaten. I will devote myself to my treatment and strive to be able to show an even stronger Rikako Ikee.”