Myanmar
Myanmar: Hanging activists in a ruined economy
The hanging of four activists in Myanmar has created global news but under the political lid, economic difficulties are brewing more loudly. As conflict continues, much less than before but still on, farmers, business people and consumers suffer continuously. Global media focuses on insurgencies and protests but Myanmar economics remains in very worrying shape. The Sri Lankan crisis has finally pushed many to look at this sector more closely as Asia suffers from the global backlash
“Conditions have improved since last year, right after the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, but the country “remains a long way short of a recovery,” said Kim Alan Edwards, a senior World Bank economist.
Myanmar along with Sri Lanka and Laos are hit by soaring prices and weak currencies. The army coup as the pandemic came has stalled with 40% living in poverty. As expected, those already poor have fallen in worse times.
Also read: Myanmar executes NLD lawmaker, 3 other political opponents
Depleting foreign exchange reserve
A 3% growth is possible this year's annual pace in the fiscal year that ends in September. Last year the economy contracted by 18%. It might take another 6 years to reach pre takeover levels according to some experts.
Foreign investment has largely collapsed and companies including energy outfits like France’s Total SA and Telenor of Norway have left. While factories are doing better workers are getting fewer hours and lower wages.
The exact state of Myanmar’s foreign exchange reserves is unclear since the last official data were from late 2020, when they were estimated at about $6 billion-$7 billion. About $1 billion are known to have been frozen by U.S. sanctions.
The World Bank thinks that tourism, low export earnings and costs for imports of oil and gas and materials needed for manufacturing may have dented that reserve a lot. However, it’s not at the level as Sri Lanka is.
In an effort to save hard currency, Myanmar’s central bank has ordered that dollars have to be deposited to banks and converted to the local currency, kyats, at lower rates than the unofficial one.
The rural areas where Myanmar’s poorest live, are suffering the most including anti-regime insurgencies that are going on. It’s disrupting farming and supply of produce to markets significantly. But a 70% jump in the price of fuel and higher costs for fertilizer and transport also are taking a severe toll.
Also read: Southeast Asian MPs condemn barbaric executions of 4 political prisoners in Myanmar
The real bad news is that the bad news is not over and the worst is yet to come. The risk assessment group Fitch Solutions predicts that the country’s lost economic output won’t be recouped until 2028. In fact, due to weak data availability, no clear picture is available and donors and agencies don’t agree on the actual situation. All this adds up to more bad news.
Hanging political opponents is understandable from their point but the dragon at the gate is not anti-military activists but the global economy which is laying its fangs deep into Myanmar
Myanmar executes NLD lawmaker, 3 other political opponents
Myanmar's government announced Monday it had carried out its first executions in nearly 50 years, hanging a former National League for Democracy lawmaker, a democracy activist and two men accused of violence after the country's takeover by the military last year.
The executions, detailed in the state-run Mirror Daily newspaper, were carried out despite worldwide pleas for clemency for the four political prisoners, including from United Nations experts and Cambodia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The four were executed “in accordance with legal procedures” for directing and organizing "violent and inhuman accomplice acts of terrorist killings,” the newspaper reported. It did not say when the executions were carried out.
The military government issued a brief statement confirming the report while the prison where the men had been held and the prison department refused comment.
Aung Myo Min, human rights minister for the National Unity Government, a shadow civilian administration established outside Myanmar after the military seized power in February 2021, rejected the allegations the men were involved in violence.
“Punishing them with death is a way to rule the public through fear,” he told The Associated Press.
Among those executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, also known as Maung Kyaw, who was convicted in January by a closed military court of offenses involving explosives, bombings and financing terrorism.
His wife, Thazin Nyunt Aung, told the AP she had not been informed his execution had been carried out. “I am still trying to confirm it myself,” she said.
Southeast Asian MPs urge ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar to meet National Unity Govt
Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia are urging the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair to Myanmar, the Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, to meet representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, after his recent trip to the country.
During the trip he met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other members of the military junta that continues to try to rule the country after its illegal coup d’état of February last year.
Formed by MPs elected before the military takeover and widely respected leaders from civil society and the ethnic minorities, the NUG was established in April 2022 to oppose the self-styled State Administration Council (SAC) led by Min Aung Hlaing.
The NUG is supported by the vast majority of the Myanmar people.
“Most Myanmar citizens see the NUG as their legitimate government, and that is how the international community at large, and ASEAN in particular, should regard it. If Mr. Sokhonn is serious about implementing ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus, he should publicly engage the NUG, rather than limit himself to meet the leaders of an illegal junta that is committing all kinds of international crimes and throwing the country into chaos while attempting to cement its power,” said Tom Villarin, former MP from the Philippines and Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) on Monday.
Read: Crisis in Myanmar taking an enormous toll on children: UN committee warns
The Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar was signed on 24 April 2021 by all ASEAN leaders and Min Aung Hlaing.
The Consensus prescribes the delivery of humanitarian aid, and calls for an immediate cessation of violence, as well as the commencement of a dialogue process between all the parties involved in the conflict, to be facilitated by the ASEAN Special Envoy appointed by the group’s rotatory Chair.
Since Cambodia assumed the chairmanship of ASEAN this year, its leaders have met Min Aung Hlaing and other representatives of the SAC on several occasions, including a visit by the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, to Myanmar in January; but has never met with any member of the NUG, most of whom are in hiding or exiled.
As Chair of ASEAN this year, Cambodia should hold conversations with the democratic leaders of Myanmar, by inviting them to meet outside Myanmar or online if necessary, given the challenges involved in meeting them in their own country, APHR said.
The SAC has utterly failed to implement any of the five points included in the consensus and the situation has steadily deteriorated in Myanmar.
With at least 2,088 people killed by the junta; over 11,000 political prisoners, a record number in Myanmar’s history; and over one million internally displaced people in the country, Min Aung Hlaing and his men are responsible for “systematic and widespread human rights violations and abuses” that may amount to “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“We at APHR have repeatedly called on ASEAN to hold Min Aung Hlaing and his criminal junta accountable for their crimes and for not abiding to the Consensus they signed to. The military is the main source of Myanmar’s woes and instability, and ASEAN member states should not accept its illegal rule as a fait accompli. Instead, they should engage and support the NUG and Myanmar’s civil society if they truly want to put the country back on the path towards democracy and prevent it from becoming a failed state at their doorstep,” said Villarin.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi testifies in election fraud trial
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi denied the accusations in an election fraud charge against her when she testified for the first time on the case Friday at the prison court in the capital Naypyitaw, a legal official said.
The army seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected government in February last year, claiming massive voting fraud in the 2020 general election, an allegation not corroborated by independent election observers.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won that election in a landslide, while the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party did poorly.
A conviction in the election fraud case could lead to Suu Kyi’s party being dissolved and unable to participate in a new election the military has promised will take place in 2023.
Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted on charges of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, sedition and a corruption charge.
Suu Kyi’s supporters and independent analysts say the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power while keeping her from returning to politics.
Suu Kyi is being tried for multiple charges at a new facility constructed in the prison compound in the capital Naypyitaw, including the electoral fraud charge. She was transferred from a secret detention location to a custom-built solitary facility at a prison in Naypyitaw last month.
The penalty for the offense is three years’ imprisonment. Former President Win Myint and former Union Government Office Minister Min Thu are co-defendants in the case.
The election fraud charge was filed in November by the state Election Commission, whose members were appointed by the military government. The military dismissed the commission’s previous members, who had declared there were no major irregularities in the election.
The new commission accused the defendants, including its own former chairman, of being “involved in electoral processes, election fraud and lawless actions.”
Read:Myanmar says Suu Kyi held alone in new prison quarters
A legal official familiar with Friday’s proceedings said Suu Kyi testified in the court that she did not go beyond the country's constitution in holding the 2020 general election, and did not influence the Union Election Commission in that election, before pleading not guilty. Further details of what she said were not available because of a gag order on her lawyers.
The legal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information, said Suu Kyi appeared to be in good health.
All of Suu Kyi’s trials in the prison court are closed to the media and the public. The prosecutors do not comment on them and the state-controlled media have not reported directly on the proceedings. Suu Kyi’s lawyers have been barred since last year from providing details of the trials under a gag order.
The judge adjourned the election fraud trial for next week, when co-defendant Min Thu will testify.
Win Myint, another co-defendant in the case, gave a courtroom testimony last week denying the accusations against him, the legal official said.
Suu Kyi is also being tried on a charge of violating the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, and 11 counts under the Anti-Corruption Law, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine.
The corruption cases are among a large number of charges under which the military is prosecuting her. If found guilty of all the charges, she could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.
Her lawyers are trying to overturn the two counts under the Anti-Corruption Act in an appeal to the Supreme Court on technical grounds, saying the case should not have been filed. In this corruption case, she is accused of receiving $550,000 in bribes from Maung Weik, a construction magnate.
The army’s takeover in 2021 was met with widespread non-violent protests. After security forces unleashed lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, some opponents of military rule turned to armed resistance in many areas.
Crisis in Myanmar taking an enormous toll on children: UN committee warns
The UN Child Rights Committee on Wednesday urged the international community to take swift action to protect the country’s children warning that time is running out to save Myanmar’s stricken generation.
Citing alarming findings in a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the Committee said 7.8 million children in the country remain out of school, 250,000 are internally displaced, and children have reportedly been abducted and recruited for armed conflicts.
“Children continue to bear the brunt of the Myanmar military's ongoing attacks to assert control over the territory,” said the Committee in a statement.
Read:266,000 grave violations against children verified in conflict situations: UNICEF
At least 382 children have been killed or maimed by armed groups since the February 2021 coup. In addition, over 1,400 children have reportedly been arbitrarily arrested since the coup.
Children who took part or were suspected of having participated in protests, are among those detained by the military.
At least 274 child political prisoners remained in the military’s custody as of 27 May this year.
The military also takes children of human rights defenders hostage to pressure their parents to surrender.
According to the latest report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, at least 61 children are currently being held hostage by the junta.
“Rohingya children have been arrested and detained for alleged migration-related offences. Torture and ill-treatment, including sexual abuse, have allegedly been inflicted on these children,” said the statement.
The number of children being abducted for recruitment purposes is on the rise, as well as children joining local defence groups and being particularly exposed to the danger of being killed or injured.
They have been dispatched to participate in armed conflicts.
The economic and humanitarian crises are having devastating impacts on children and fueling all forms of violence and exploitation.
The Committee is deeply concerned that the military intentionally impedes access to food, funds, medical aid, and communication to weaken the support base for armed resistance and provoke fear.
Child trafficking and child labour are reportedly on the rise in Myanmar.
Read: Children want govt investment in education, health, protection: UNICEF
According to UN figures, the estimated number of internally displaced people since the coup in the country has passed 700,000, including more than 250,000 children, as of 1 June 2022.
More than half of the country’s child population, about 7.8 million, remain out of school. The UN has documented 260 attacks on schools and education personnel since the coup, and 320 cases of the use of schools by armed groups between February 2021 and March 2022.
It is estimated that 33,000 children will die from preventable causes in 2022 merely due to the lack of routine immunizations. In addition, 1.3 million children and more than 700,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women require nutritional support.
As a result, experts warn of a looming food crisis and a dramatic increase in rates of childhood malnutrition.
The rights of children in Myanmar must be respected and protected under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, both ratified by Myanmar, as well as under the international humanitarian law.
The Committee urged Myanmar’s military to cease involving children in the hostilities, stop taking children hostage, end unlawful detention and torture and ill-treatment of children in captivity, and release all detained children immediately and unconditionally.
Perpetrators of atrocity crimes against children must be held accountable before impartial and independent courts.
The Committee also reiterated its call for the UN and civil society organizations to have safe and unrestricted access to deliver assistance and services to Myanmar’s most vulnerable children.
The Committee calls on the international community to urgently reassess and redesign the global response to the crises in Myanmar, prioritize children’s rights over other considerations, and take concrete measures to alleviate their suffering.”
Myanmar says Suu Kyi held alone in new prison quarters
Myanmar’s military government on Thursday confirmed that ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to a prison compound in quarters separate from other detainees.
Suu Kyi was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, when the army seized power from her elected government. She was initially held at her residence in Naypyitaw, the capital, but was later moved to at least one other location. For most of the past year, she has been held at an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw, generally believed to be on a military base.
Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the ruling military council, confirmed in a text message to journalists that Suu Kyi was moved on Wednesday to the main prison in Naypyitaw, where she is being held separately in “well-kept” circumstances. News of her transfer had been reported Wednesday but not officially confirmed.
He said Suu Kyi, having already been convicted in several cases, was transferred to the prison in accordance with the law.
Read:Myanmar's Suu Kyi moved from secret location to prison
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “very concerned” about the latest developments isolating Suu Kyi, which go against U.N. calls for her release and the release of all other political prisoners, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, adding “we are concerned for her state.”
A legal official familiar with Suu Kyi’s court proceedings said she is being held in a newly constructed building with three policewomen, whose duty is to assist her. Her ongoing trials will also be held at the prison, in another newly constructed facility. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release any information about her cases.
Suu Kyi, who turned 77 on Sunday, spent about 15 years in detention under a previous military government, but virtually all of it was under house arrest at her family home in Yangon, the country’s biggest city.
The secret location where she had been held for most of the past year was a residence. She had nine people to help her there, and was allowed to keep a dog that was a gift arranged by one of her sons, said another legal official, who also asked not to be named for fear or repercussions from the government.
The official said neither her assistants nor the dog accompanied Suu Kyi to her new prison quarters.
Suu Kyi is being tried on multiple charges, including corruption. Her supporters say the charges are politically motivated to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power.
She has already been sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment on charges of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, sedition and an initial count of corruption.
Read:Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 5 years for corruption
The prison where Suu Kyi is being held is slightly west of Naypyitaw. It was constructed in 2014 to temporarily hold detainees awaiting trial.
One of the legal officials said Suu Kyi’s first hearing in the new prison courtroom was held Thursday in the case of violating the Official Secrets Act.
Defense lawyers cross examined three prosecution witnesses but details of their testimony was not available. All of Suu Kyi’s cases have been held in closed hearings. Her lawyers are prohibited from discussing the proceedings.
Suu Kyi’s co-defendants in the case are Australian economist Sean Turnell, who had been her advisor, and three former Cabinet members.
Turnell is also being held at the same prison with Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi is also being tried on 11 counts of corruption, each of which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, and an election fraud charge, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.
The military’s takeover last year triggered peaceful nationwide protests that security forces quashed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that some U.N. experts now characterize as civil war.
The ruling military council has said it plans to hold new elections around the middle of next year if circumstances permit. However, critics caution such polls are unlikely to be free and fair.
Tom Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said Thursday that the military has been working hard to “create an impression of legitimacy” after ousting Suu Kyi’s government.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in a November 2020 general election. The army claimed it seized power because the polls were marred by widespread fraud — an allegation was not corroborated by independent election observers.
“Any suggestion that there could be any possibility of a free and fair election in Myanmar in 2023 is frankly preposterous,” Andrews said at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “You can’t have a free and fair election if you locked up your opponents.”
Myanmar's Suu Kyi moved from secret location to prison
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi was transferred Wednesday from a secret detention location to a prison in the country’s capital, legal officials familiar with her case said. Her ongoing court cases will be tried at a new facility constructed in the prison compound, they said.
Suu Kyi was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, when the army seized power from her elected government. She was initially held at her residence in the capital, but was later moved to at least one other location, and for about the past year has been held at an undisclosed location in the capital, Naypyitaw, generally assumed to be on a military base.
She has been tried on multiple charges, including corruption, at a special court in Naypyitaw that began hearings on May 24, 2021. Each of the 11 corruption counts she faces is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Read: Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 5 years for corruption
Already she has been sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment after being convicted on charges of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions. In addition to the corruption cases that are underway, she also has been charged with election fraud and violating the Officials Secrets Act.
Suu Kyi’s supporters and rights groups say the charges against her are politically motivated and are an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power while keeping her from returning to politics.
Many senior members of her government and party were also arrested and tried, and several are co-defendants in some of her cases. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a private organization that tracks government killings and arrests, a total of 11,174 people are currently in detention for suspected opposition to the ruling military council.
Suu Kyi, who turned 77 on Sunday, spent about 15 years in detention under a previous military government, but virtually all of it was under house arrest at her family home in Yangon, the country’s biggest city.
Three legal officials said Suu Kyi’s lawyers were informed Tuesday that a new building at the prison has been completed and all Suu Kyi's remaining court hearings will be held there starting on Thursday. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release any information about her cases.
Read:ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar urged to meet Aung San Suu Kyi
One of the officials said the government intended to put her in solitary confinement after her first conviction last year, but had to wait until the new facilities at the main prison in Naypyitaw were completed.
No government spokesperson was available to confirm Suu Kyi's move.
The secret location where she had been held for about the past year was a residence where she had nine people to help with her living arrangements, along with a dog that was a gift arranged by one of her sons.
Australian economist Sean Turnell, who was an adviser to Suu Kyi, is being held at the same prison where Suu Kyi was sent.
Turnell and Suu Kyi are being prosecuted in the same case under the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, so both are to appear at the court inside the prison on Thursday.
In addition to the 11 counts of corruption, Suu Kyi and several colleagues have been charged with election fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.
Rongiyas rally in Cox’s Bazar demands return home in Myanmar
Rohingyas from 25 of the 34 refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf gathered on Sunday demanding that they are repatriated to their homeland Myanmar.
The rally started at 8 am at the 23 camps of Ukhia and two in Teknaf following staging human chains and demonstration.
Chanting “Back to Home” slogan Rohingyas of all ages from every block of the refugee camps participated in the rally and requested the global communities to ensure their return to Myanmar.
Also read: No alternative to collective plan to tackle cut in Rohingya aid: Experts
Myanmar military junta continues its attempts to hide truth: UN expert
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, will conduct a mission to Malaysia from June 17 to 23.
“As conditions continue to deteriorate in Myanmar, and the military junta continues its attempts to hide the truth, I remain steadfast in pursuing my mandate to document and report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. I will continue to meet with people from Myanmar including those who have fled the country since the coup,” Andrews said.
The Special Rapporteur will visit Kuala Lumpur, where he will meet representatives of Government, Members of Parliament, UN officials, experts who work on Myanmar and ASEAN foreign policy, as well as representatives of civil society and community-based organisations.
Read: Myanmar Crisis: US, ASEAN urged to increase pressure on Myanmar military junta
“This visit is the beginning of a project of deeper regional engagement with the ASEAN region in relation to the crisis in Myanmar,” said the expert.
“Given the central role of ASEAN regarding Myanmar, I hope to visit a number of other ASEAN member states in the coming months.”
The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share his preliminary observations with the media on June 23 in Kuala Lumpur.
A former member of the US Congress from Maine, Andrews is a Robina Senior Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School and an Associate of Harvard University’s Asia Center.
Myanmar military killed at least 142 children in past 16 months: UN expert
The Myanmar military junta has brutally killed children and systematically abused their human rights, a UN expert said in a report released on Tuesday, noting that over the past 16 months, the military has killed at least 142 children in Myanmar.
The report called for immediate coordinated action to protect the rights of children and safeguard Myanmar’s future.
Over 250,000 children have been displaced by the military’s attacks and over 1,400 have been arbitrarily detained, said the report received from Geneva.
At least 61 children, including several under three years of age, are reportedly being held as hostages. The UN has documented the torture of 142 children since the coup.
“The international community’s approach to the coup and the junta’s atrocities has failed,” said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, adding that States must take immediate coordinated action to address an escalating political, economic and humanitarian crisis that is putting Myanmar’s children at risk of becoming a lost generation.
He said the junta’s relentless attacks on children underscore the generals’ depravity and willingness to inflict immense suffering on innocent victims in its attempt to subjugate the people of Myanmar.
The Special Rapporteur said it was clear from the evidence that the children of Myanmar were not only being caught in the crossfire of escalating attacks, but that they were often the targets of the violence.
“During my fact-finding for this report, I received information about children who were beaten, stabbed, burned with cigarettes, and subjected to mock executions, and who had their fingernails and teeth pulled out during lengthy interrogation sessions,” Andrews said.
The junta’s attacks on children constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, he said, adding that Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and other architects of the violence in Myanmar must be held accountable for their crimes against children.
READ: War crimes, crimes against humanity committed daily in Myanmar: UN expert
“For the sake of Myanmar’s children, Member States, regional organisations, the Security Council, and other UN entities must respond to the crisis in Myanmar with the same urgency they have responded to the crisis in Ukraine.”
Andrews urged Member States to work in coordination to alleviate the suffering of children by systematically increasing pressure on the junta.
He urged States that have already imposed sanctions on the military and military-linked companies to take stronger coordinated action that will inhibit the junta’s ability to finance atrocities.
“States must pursue stronger targeted economic sanctions and coordinated financial investigations. I urge Member States to commit to a dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance and unequivocal regional support for refugees,” he said.
“It is scandalous that the international community has committed only 10 percent of the funds required to implement the Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan 2022, causing lifesaving programs for children to be shelved,” he said.
The Special Rapporteur’s report describes the impact of the 1 February 2021 coup on the human rights of children in Myanmar and details the alarming, underreported facts of the violence being perpetrated against them.
Soldiers, police officers and military-backed militias have murdered, abducted, detained and tortured children in a campaign of violence that has touched every corner of the country, the report said.
The junta has intentionally deprived children of their fundamental human rights to health, education and development, with an estimated 7.8 million children out of school.
Following the collapse of the public health system since the coup, the World Health Organization projects that 33,000 children will die preventable deaths in 2022 because they have not received routine immunizations.
Andrews said the lack of action by Security Council was a moral failure with profound repercussions for children in the country.
“World leaders, diplomats and donors should ask themselves why the world is failing to do all that can reasonably be done to bring an end to the suffering of the children of Myanmar,” the expert said.