Such wonderful news that Australian engineer Robert Pether has finally been freed from detention in Iraq and allowed to depart the country. Robert spent more than 5 years in several Iraqi prisons and later, on bail in Baghdad, and was subject to grave mistreatment during his initial arrest and interrogation, including allegations of torture. Robert suffers from a number of health conditions including suspected melanoma and will finally be able to access the specialist medical treatment he so desperately needs. I am thrilled for Robert's wife Desree and the couple's children, who have campaigned tirelessly for Robert's freedom and who have suffered alongside him throughout this ordeal. I understand that this was a humanitarian gesture on the part of the Iraqi government. While of course it would have been great to see Robert's ordeal resolved sooner, this case is ultimately another success for Australian diplomacy. smh.com.au/politics/federal/…

Warmest congratulations to Honorable @MiltonDickMP on being elected as the new President of @IPUparliament! Looking forward to seeing strong leadership in strengthening global parliamentary diplomacy, democracy, and international cooperation. Wishing you a successful term! #CRPHMyanmar

What do these two stories about the Min Aung Hlaing regime's gross economic malfeasance have to do with the horrific #HumanRights situation in Myanmar? Lots, as it turns out. The regime is deeply incompetent at managing the Myanmar economy for growth, just as they are deeply incompetent at every other task that involves governing the country in a way that is not corrupt, self-serving and/or for the benefit of its external partners. But they are very good at extracting from the economy for their own benefit, and because of Myanmar's abundant natural resources there is plenty to extract. Military-run Myanmar has always been this way: the SitTat military is a parasite that preys upon the human and natural resources of the country in order to keep itself in power--even if this means impoverishing and destroying the rest of the nation it claims it exists to protect. If you can work with the regime in extracting from the country, then you too can prosper. (See, e.g. China) This self-preservation instinct drives the SitTat to make decisions that are not in the best interests of the people because it can't: managing the economy for broad-based and sustainable growth would require it to loosen control, reduce the endemic rent-seeking and corruption of its patronage networks, divert state resources from weapons and payoffs, and engage in trade that was open to scrutiny and market discipline. So instead of thriving, the economy is mired in out-of-control inflation, and a fiscal situation that is untenable. The whole economy is now a conflict economy because that is the best way for the regime to siphon off the resources it needs to continue to wage war on the Myanmar people. More jet fuel and missiles to blow up markets, schools, health clinics and places of worship. And what the regime and its allies can't get from controlling natural resources and cross-border trade, the extract from the people through elaborate legal corruption mechanisms. Need a new ID? That will be 1 million Kyat Need a birth or marriage certificate? 1 million Kyat Want to avoid being sent to the front lines as cannon fodder in a war that was begun by one man's egomania? 1 million Kyat and rising (or if you are in Thailand trying to avoid conscription, 30,000 Baht and rising) Want to open a business? Here is your business partner who will take an onerous percentage of your profits as part of a protection racket where you do all the work and they bleed you to death. (And who are they protecting you from? Themselves, of course!) And on it goes. For everything. Getting your electricity turned on. Getting the Internet to work. Getting a new apartment. Getting a job. Getting a permit for a car or motorbike. Everything. The state is the mafia and the mafia is the state. If you're a selfish outside power that just wants to extract from a weak and dependent Myanmar and doesn't care if the Myanmar people suffer, and you're willing and able to use your power and influence to protect your interests in Myanmar, this is a great set up. But what about the other countries that are hoping to use engagement with the Min Aung Hlaing mafia to manage a domestic political issue or address transnational issues? You should understand that you are the frog and the regime is the scorpion. Whatever good thing you hope will come out of your engagement with them, it's not going to happen. This regime won't deliver on any promise unless doing so helps them to stay in power--that is their only non-negotiable. So your engagement with them will inevitably be helping them to stay in power, at the expense of the people of Myanmar and their future. You're paying the protection racket too. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/as…