September 2022 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Cambodian officials post photos of 8 Chinese migrants found dead after boat accident

Editor3 years ago06 mins

Cambodian authorities said the bodies of the final eight missing Chinese migrants from a small fishing vessel that sank last week off the Cambodian coast washed up on a Vietnamese island, bringing the total number of dead from the accident to 11. Officials in Preah Sihanouk province initially posted photos of the eight on Facebook after they were found on Phu Quoc, which is off the coast of Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. The photos were later removed from the social media platform. The wooden boat, which was carrying 33 Chinese migrants, encountered problems on Sept. 22 near the Cambodian coastal city Sihanoukville, a popular resort town known for its casinos, and capsized. The Chinese aboard had been promised jobs as fishermen. Twenty-two passengers were rescued by Cambodian authorities and by a fishing boat in Vietnamese waters. Three of the migrants were found dead in the initial aftermath of the accident, while eight remained missing until Thursday. Sihanoukville is a hotbed for human trafficking, with victims from across the region being tricked into working in the casinos or as online scammers, and sometimes being held against their will by employers. According to an earlier report by AFP, the surviving passengers said they had been promised 10,000 to 20,000 yuan (U.S. $1,405-$2,809) to work in Cambodia for 10-20 days. Speaking at the 6th National Inter-Faith Forum Against Human Trafficking on Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday blamed illegal gambling operations in Cambodia as contributing to rampant human trafficking and pledged tough action in response. “It is a complicated issue and it doesn’t only happen in Cambodia,” he told attendees at the conference, organized under the theme “Do Not Use Cambodia as a Destination of Trafficking in Persons.” “If we are not prudent, Cambodia will become a safe haven for criminals to commit crime in our country,” Hun Sen said. “They are using Cambodia as a place to produce drugs and then distribute them to Vietnam, Thailand and other countries.” Ny Sokha, president of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, an NGO known as ADHOC, said he welcomed the prime minister’s commitment to fighting human trafficking, but questioned the government’s ability to follow through. He noted that Hun Sen has made other pledges, such as ending illegal logging in the country, that have not come to fruition. “Human trafficking is not committed by ordinary poor people, and the justice system in Cambodia must prevent impunity because with impunity and corruption, human trafficking can’t be prevented,” Ny Sokha said. Interior Minister Sar Kheng told attendees at the conference that the country was working to prevent trafficking, rescue victims and apprehend ringleaders. “Criminals are committing crimes silently online via cyber-technology and are using other tricks to exploit victims to work overtime [or] to detain, torture and kidnap them,” he said. “Some criminals are armed, and if they are not deterred, they will become a threat to national security in the future.” As of late August, Cambodian authorities received almost 400 complaints about human trafficking, and authorities had rescued about 400 victims, about 55 of whom had been trafficked, according to Cambodia’s Interior Ministry. The victims were from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, the United States, Turkey and South Korea. At least 43 suspects have been brought to justice, and their operations have been shut down, according to the ministry. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Infuriated with Mahsa Amini protests Iran raids Kurdish in Iraq

Editor3 years ago2 years ago17 mins

Iran has hurled missiles and drone strikes across the border into Iraq’s Kurdistan region – killing nine people. The raid comes after the Iranian regime accused Kurdish militias there of stoking turmoil that has rocked the Islamic republic. Dozens of protestors have been killed in demonstrations following the death of Masha Amini, who was killed after being violently apprehended in Tehran for breaching Iran’s strict rules on the hijab. Protests were held for the twelfth night in a row yesterday, despite internet restrictions designed to stop gatherings and contain images of the unrest from being published.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused Iraq-based Kurdish groups of ‘attacking and infiltrating Iran from the northwest of the country to sow insecurity and riots and spread unrest’. According to Iraqi Kurdistan authorities, “A barrage of missiles and drones killed 9 and wounded 32“. A senior Kurdish official told our associate AFP that there were ‘civilians among the casualties’. In Baghdad, Iraq’s federal government summoned the Iranian ambassador over the strikes, while the UN mission in Iraq condemned the attack, saying, “rocket diplomacy is a reckless act with devastating consequences”. The United States said it ‘strongly condemns’ Iran’s deadly strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan and warned against further attacks. ‘We stand with the people and government of Iraq in the face of these brazen attacks on their sovereignty,’ State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, called on Iran’s hardline President Ebrahim Raisi not to use disproportionate force against protesters. Amini had been visiting Tehran with her family on September 12 when she encountered Iran’s notorious ‘Guidance Patrol’ – widely referred to as the morality police – and died after a violent blow to the head. The woman was arrested along with her brother and female relatives after leaving an underground station despite being ‘dressed normally’, one of Amini’s cousins said. ‘The police officer told (her brother), ”We are going to take her in, instill the rules in her and teach her how to wear the hijab and how to dress” Amini’s cousin “Woman, Life, Freedom!” has been the rallying cry in the protests since Amini’s death as women have burned their headscarves in bonfires or symbolically cut off their hair, cheered on by crowds. But Iranian riot police have been deployed in their droves to force protestors to abate. One clip obtained and shared by Radio Farda – a US-funded Persian station based in Prague – showed officers in black body armor shooting up at apartment windows in Tehran’s Ekbatan Town, one of the dozens of places demonstrations have erupted. “We are increasingly concerned about reports of rising fatalities, including women and children, related to the protests,” the UN chief’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Fars news agency said Tuesday that around 60′ people had been killed since Amini’s death on September 16, up from the official toll of 41 authorities reported on Saturday. But the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said the crackdown has killed at least 76 people. More than 1,200 arrests, mostly of activists, lawyers, and journalists, have been made by Iranian police since the protests began, according to authorities, after Iranian judiciary chief, Gholam hossein Mohseni Ejei stressed ‘the need for decisive action without leniency’ against any who are seen to be instigating protests. Attempts by the Iranian authorities to limit the protests have drawn condemnation from around the world. Tensions with Western powers have grown this week, with Germany summoning the Iranian ambassador, Canada announcing sanctions, and Tehran calling in the British and Norwegian envoys. The condition of women in Iran has been miserable due to draconian Hijab Rules and cruel Hijab Police. Spain on Wednesday summoned the Iranian ambassador to express its “objection to the repression of the protests and the violation of women’s rights”. Meanwhile, the son of Iran’s late shah hailed the protests as a landmark revolution by women and urged the world to add even more pressure on the current clerical leadership. Reza Pahlavi, whose father was toppled in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, called for greater preparation for a future Iranian system that is secular and democratic. Other governments must stand with these courageous protesters and hold Iranian officials to account for their abuses US think-tank Freedom House

Model who posted steamy photos gets 6 years for ‘tarnishing Burmese culture’

Editor3 years ago2 years ago08 mins

A military court in Myanmar’s Yangon region has sentenced a former doctor-turned-model to six years in prison for posting provocative content online deemed “harmful to Burmese culture,” prompting condemnation from lawyers and rights groups who called the punishment “unjust.” The Military Court of Dagon Myothit (North) Township on Tuesday ordered Nang Mwe San to serve a six-year jail term for publishing “sexually explicit” photos and videos online in violation of Article 33 (a) of Myanmar’s Electronic Communications Act and tarnishing the country’s cultural image. The sentence marks the first time that someone has been prosecuted under the act, which was enacted during the 2011-2016 administration of former President Thein Sein. Nang Mwe San’s friend confirmed to Ij-Reportika Burmese that the military court in Dagon Myothit issued the sentence after what she said was a nearly month-long closed trial. “The sentence was six years imprisonment, handed down by the military court,” said the friend, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They said [the trial] was faster than usual because the northern part of Dagon is a martial law region.” Attempts by Ij-Reportika to contact Nang Mwe San’s family members by phone for more details about her case went unanswered Wednesday. The junta has yet to release any information about the court ruling. Nang Mwe San participated in street protests after the military takeover on Feb. 1, 2021, and, in March that year, posted comments to social media decrying the junta’s deadly crackdown on the unrest. Shortly thereafter, the junta announced that she would be arrested under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code for defamation against the state and she went into hiding. Sources close to the doctor said that she eventually signed a bond with authorities whereby she was permitted to return to her home in Dagon Myothit (North). However, on Aug. 5, the military arrested Nang Mwe San, along with film actress Thinzar Wint Kyaw, for “distributing suggestive photos and videos on a foreign website for a fee.” Nang Mwe San’s friend told Ij-Reportika that because Thinzar Wint Kyaw is from Yangon’s Mayangone township, which is not a martial law zone, “her case will be decided by a civil court.” Sources close to the Mayangone Township Court said Thinzar Wint Kyaw stood trial on Sept. 14, although further details about the actress’s case were not immediately available. Undated photo of Nang Mwe San who was sentenced to six years in prison for posting photos ‘deemed to harm the Myanmar culture’ by the junta’s military court on Sept. 27, 2022. Credit: Nang Mwe San’s Facebook ‘Protecting’ Burmese culture A veteran lawyer, who did not want to be named for security reasons, called Tuesday’s ruling “unjust” and said it did nothing to promote Burmese culture. “This legal action is just an excuse and I’m sure there are other undisclosed reasons behind it,” he said. “And Myanmar’s culture will not benefit because of this action against [the two women]. Can [the junta] really stop this sort of thing? I don’t think it’s possible.” He added that Section 33 (a) of the Electronic Communications Act is too vague in its definition of what content can be considered “harmful” to the country’s culture. Zaw Ran, a human rights activist from the Yangon People’s Advocacy Network, told Ij-Reportika that instead of sentencing people to lengthy jail terms, first-time offenders who violate Section 33 (a) should be given a warning. “I wonder if these women, Nang Mwe San and Thinzar Wint Kyaw, understand the relevant laws,” he said. “People feel so sorry for them. If they didn’t know about the law, they should have been informed about it before they were punished.” Zaw Ran condemned the military court ruling for its lack of transparency and said Nang Mwe San was denied access to a proper legal defense. Saw Han Nway Oo, a writer, told Ij-Reportika that arresting and jailing women for such actions is a violation of their rights, noting that in nearly every country there are people who earn money the same way. “I think it’s unfair to hand down such a harsh sentence for exposing your body online for a fee,” she said. “There are so many people doing this nowadays, even if they say ours is a country where Buddhism and culture flourish and that this is not compatible with our culture. And I think using this Communications Law to jail them is just wrong.” She added that there are many models showing off their beauty for a living in Myanmar but those who support the military have not been arrested or prosecuted. Artists from the music, film and theatrical industries took to the streets to protest the military takeover in Myanmar, prompting the military to announce that hundreds of celebrities would be arrested and charged under Section 505 (a). Among them, actor Pyay Ti Oo, Eindra Kyaw Zin, Lu Min, pop singer Po Po and make-up artist Win Min Than were arrested. Some were later released while others were imprisoned by the military. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Eight Chinese remain missing from boat accident last week near Cambodia

Editor3 years ago07 mins

Authorities are still unable to find eight of the 41 Chinese passengers who were aboard a small fishing boat when it sank last week off the Cambodian coast near the port of Sihanoukville, police told RFA Tuesday. Sihanoukville Police Chief Chuon Narin told RFA’s Khmer Service that officers are conducting an investigation with the help of the survivors of Thursday’s sinking. “It happened in Cambodian waters, so we are questioning [the survivors],” he said, refusing to provide additional details. Three of the passengers lost their lives in the accident. Cambodian rescuers saved 21 others, and another nine were rescued by a fishing boat in Vietnamese waters, AFP reported. Sihanoukville has become a hotbed for human trafficking, with victims from across the region. According to AFP, the surviving passengers said they had been promised 10,000 to 20,000 yuan (U.S. $1,405 – $2,809) to work in Cambodia for 10 to 20 days. Police should be more transparent about the search and rescue operation, Cheap Sotheary, provincial coordinator for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, told RFA. “I pity the victims. I haven’t received any information,” said Cheap Sotheary. “The Sihanoukville provincial administration hasn’t shared any information about the rescue or the victims’ reasons for coming to Cambodia. “Were they cheated or did they come here for tourism?” she said. Two of the survivors pulled from the water told AFP that they were coming to Cambodia for work and described their ordeal. “Because of the pandemic I was unemployed and stayed at home for the past year,” said Zhu Pingfan. “When I was in the sea, I felt hopeless. I twice thought about giving up, but after a second thought, I decided I should persist for a bit longer.” Huang Qian said she was not aware how far she’d have to travel for the work. “Our boss said he would introduce us to a better job, but we didn’t know it was that far,” she told AFP. “Four days after we got on the boat, the food ran out. After six or seven days, no water either. Around the 10th day, we got a bit more food and water and we changed boats. We had two bags of instant noodles and then no more food,” said Huang. When the boat went down, she survived by holding onto floating debris for hours. “We sat on an ice bucket, floating. Later we saw a fishing boat, so we called for help and they threw a rope to us. I think I will never get on a boat again in the future,” Huang said. Chinese sinking survivors Huang Qian [left] and Zhu Pingfan, 41, lie on their beds at a hospital in Sihanoukville, southwestern Cambodia, Sept. 24, 2022. Photo: AFP Immigration raids Sihanoukville, a popular tourist hub and gambling center, attracts many foreign workers, some of whom are in the country illegally. On Sept. 22, the day the small fishing boat carrying the Chinese passengers went down, local authorities were wrapping up three days of raids in which they questioned around 900 foreign nationals. They found that many were in the country illegally or were involved in criminal activities including trafficking, a statement from the province said. In a raid of eight buildings, authorities investigated 500 foreigners from 10 nationalities, 300 of whom were found to be in Cambodia illegally. Many of the detained workers were involved in illegal gambling, human trafficking and prostitution, the investigation found. Five suspects were sent to the court on trafficking charges. In a separate set of raids, police investigated another 414 foreigners, 168 of whom were found to be in Cambodia without documents. They issued fines to 208 others, while 19 Chinese and Cambodians were detained on charges of illegal detention or kidnapping. U.S Ambassador Patrick Murphy, who was visiting Sihanoukville, expressed his concern Saturday in a tweet, saying he was “taking a moment to reflect on much human tragedy in this area. Unsafe boats, trafficking, scam centers, abandoned buildings, a casino glut. There’s a real need for broad action to address the storm clouds here.” Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Chinese overseas police service stations

China opening Chinese Police Stations outside its territory

Editor3 years ago8 months ago18 mins

The Chinese government is opening illegal police Chinese overseas police service stations all over the world to control its diaspora.

Cambodia urges migrant workers in Thailand to join the ruling CPP

Editor3 years ago2 years ago07 mins

A Cambodian government delegation urged migrant workers at a festival in Thailand to back Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, an opposition activist told RFA. At a celebration for the Cambodian Pchum Ben ancestor remembrance festival on Sunday, CPP officials promised the migrants that the government would help them navigate the process for working legally in Thailand, Pong Socheat, a representative for the banned Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), told RFA’s Khmer Service. “I met the workers, who told me that the Cambodian People’s Party elements came to persuade them to join the CPP. They always promise to help process documents they need to work,” Pong Socheat said. “But the workers are not swayed by that because they do not like the way Hun Sen’s regime rules the country,” Pong Socheat said. The CPP has been targeting the Cambodian diaspora for support in countries like the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea and in neighboring Thailand, where, according to labor NGOs, approximately 2 million Cambodian migrant workers live, both legally and illegally. Cambodia’s Minister of Labor Ith Sam Heng led the delegation of officials and embassy staff as they met with around 4,000 Cambodian migrants at the festival event in Thailand’s Samute Prakan province near the capital Bangkok. Ith Sam Heng told the workers that the Cambodian government is looking after migrant workers, who remit more than U.S. $2 billion to their families in Cambodia each year. “For our brothers and sisters who work in Thailand I wish to re-emphasize that the government … will continue to pay close attention to you by taking an effort to keep your job and business opportunities for you through the strong cooperation with Thailand,” Ith Sam Heng said at the event. He praised Hun Sen, who has effectively ruled Cambodia since 1985, for overseeing an era of peace, development and cooperation with the country’s neighbors “so that we can give opportunities for our brothers and sisters to work here. And he will continue to look after our brothers and sisters” But Pong Socheat said that Ith Sam Heng made a mistake by bringing along State Secretary Heng Sour, who he said was infamous for threatening to kill overseas Cambodian workers who criticize the ruling party. “Even in Thailand, Hun Sen’s regime comes after us and threatens us. Even if we just meet among ourselves and discuss our desire for change, we are worried about our safety, because they threaten us, saying the Thai authorities will cooperate with them,” Pong Socheat said. Many Cambodian migrants have been critical of their government for failing to protect their rights and interests. The Khmer community in Thailand does not believe that government officials back home are trying to help make their lives easier, Chhorn Sokheoun, a representative of the migrant workers, told RFA. For this reason, the CPP will not be able to persuade many migrants to join the party, he said. “The workers attended the Pchum Ben festival in Samute Prakan province because it is our Khmer tradition. But only a very small number would be brainwashed by the CPP’s political ideology,” Chhorn Sokheoun said. “The majority of workers did not attend the gathering because they clearly understand that working in Thailand is difficult. As for the passports and other necessary document issues, the government has not been helpful. It has always ignored the workers’ problems,” he said. Thuch Thy, who is from Cambodia’s western Battambang province but now works illegally in Thailand, said the cost of living in her new home is immense. A permit to work legally costs more than 17,000 baht (about $450), she said. But Thuch Thy said she has no choice but to work in Thailand because her family has debts in Cambodia and the wages offered there are too low. She said Cambodian migrants in Thailand face many problems, including labor rights abuses from their employers, but rarely receive support from Cambodian officials. “I have been working in Thailand for 15 years. I have never seen any [Cambodian] authorities come to provide any emotional or financial support. I have suffered from poverty and survived floods and heavy rains, but I have never seen any aid donations from my government. If Cambodia had job opportunities like in Thailand, I wouldn’t have left my village,” said Thuch Thy. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Is there a possibility of a Military Coup in China?

Editor3 years ago2 years ago05 mins

The world of social media is buzzed with the speculation that Xi Jinping is up for huge trouble. The possibility of a military coup in China is on the cards. From the past 3 days trends #XiJinping, #ChinaCoup and #XiJinpinghousearrest. Following is an analysis of these trends on Google. Google Trends Twitter Trends The analysis for Twitter is also an interesting watch. There were over 86K tweets and over 24.4M impressions just on 23rd September 2022 from all corners of the world containing the word “Xi Jinping” to find out about the News of his coup. Following is the data at a glance. What is happening in China? Many leaders of the CCP got sentenced to death and life imprisonment earlier this month. This was the beginning of all the speculations as China is heading toward the 20th National Congress (NPC). Xi’s participation in the SCO meeting ends a 1,000-day period in which he did not leave China in line with Beijing’s national “dynamic zero COVID” policy that has put the world’s most populous country on virtual lockdown. Xi is facing growing resentment back home due to the Zero-COVID policy that has resulted in mass unemployment, increasing crimes, deaths, suicides, mental health issues, and over 450 protests this year as we reported earlier on Ij-Reportika. People noticed the uneasiness in Xi’s body language in Samarkand and the fact that he left earlier fueled these speculations further. Furthermore, mass cancellation of flights, especially in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and the movement of military convoys towards Beijing were also observed by the Chinese natives. They shared these reports on Weibo, and other world social media users picked up these reports and shared them on Twitter and Facebook. Here is the exact data shared: The Chinese officials famous for their “wolf warrior diplomacy” and Chinese State-affiliated Media houses never cleared the air around all these issues. Moreover, independent media houses around the world pointed out that Xi Jinping Disappeared from the public eye after returning from the SCO summit, and there was a possibility that he was under house arrest. Prominent Media Houses even published articles citing Xi’s absence from the national defense and military reform seminar, which further fueled the speculation of a ‘coup’. All these issues one after another points to something big happening before the 20th National Congress of the CPC. It may or may not be a coup but it is clear from Google and Twitter Trends that it has ruffled a lot of feathers around the world and raised the concerns of common Chinese citizens amid the draconian Zero COVID Policy.

Japanese art platform hits back at Chinese pirates with banned political keywords

Editor3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

A Japanese art and manga website that was cloned by Chinese pirates has hit back by encoding forbidden keywords and hashtags banned by Chinese censors into its code, prompting the authorities to shut the pirated version down. Pixiv, which describes itself as “an online community for artists,” is headquartered in Tokyo, and offers a showcase for artists’ works, as well as a rating system with feedback and user comments. It has been phenomenally successful, garnering more than 3.7 billion page views a month. Then, the entire site was cloned by Chinese pirates, who copied the site’s content almost verbatim, translating tags and titles into simplified Chinese, and offering the pirated site vpixiv to users in mainland China. Pixiv fought back, however, with some of the site’s users adding “sensitive” keywords to their artworks, including “Tiananmen massacre,” which alerted the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s massive, government-backed censorship system. Other sensitive and forbidden keywords included “Free Hong Kong,” “Independence for Taiwan,” and “June 4, Tiananmen Square,” all of which are heavily censored terms behind China’s Great Firewall. Germany-based university lecturer Zhu Rui said the move had deliberately and ingeniously manipulated government censors in China. “The Japanese artists being pirated on Pixiv were forced to take this action as a last resort to defend their rights,” Zhu told RFA. “The pirated website was then shut down by the iron fist of the CCP, which was great to see.” The Chinese pirate site vpixiv was shut down by authorities after illustrators used banned words. Credit: Screenshot of vpixiv website Piracy and plagiarism Zhu said Chinese pirates have a long history of cloning platforms invented elsewhere. “Some [people] plagiarize other people’s creations or steal technology overseas, and then put their name on it back in China, and make a lot of money when it gets famous,” Zhu said. “The vast majority of Chinese Internet users love it.” One comment on a Chinese social media platform joked about Pixiv’s move, saying “insulting China has become the best defense against theft,” while another bemoaned the effect on the country’s overseas image: “Counterfeit China is adding to our international humiliation,” the user wrote. France-based cultural commentator Wang Longmeng blamed authoritarian rule by the CCP for stifling innovation. “This sort of surveillance leads to a lack of freedom and creativity, so China, which has lost the ability to innovate, has become the champion of intellectual property theft,” Wang said. “China’s reputation as a copycat nation is well-deserved.” “Everything, it seems, is stolen, from high-tech to art … I just never expected the magic weapon that would defeat them would be their own sensitive keywords,” he said. “It’s another real-world example of how they shoot themselves in the foot.” Pixiv isn’t the first platform to use this method. Taiwanese YouTubers have been known to add keywords like #WinnieThePooh to their videos to prevent them from being reposted without permission to video-sharing sites in China like Bilibili. All mention of Winnie the Pooh has been banned from China’s tightly controlled internet after users made memes and jokes on social media suggesting that the fictional bear resembled CCP leader Xi Jinping. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Drones level playing field for Myanmar’s armed opposition against powerful military

Editor3 years ago2 years ago08 mins

Nearly 20 months after the military coup in Myanmar, amid a rapidly intensifying conflict, People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary groups are turning to drone technology to level the playing field as they engage with better equipped junta troops. When the PDF formed in the months following the Feb. 1, 2021 military takeover, it’s members were forced to fight Southeast Asia’s second largest army using only slingshots and the same crude flintlock “Tumee” rifles their forefathers used to fight off British colonizers in the 1880s. As the network grew, the groups began to use homemade landmines to target their enemy’s convoys. The latest addition to the PDF arsenal are civilian drones, refitted to drop explosives on junta troops. PDF sources told RFA Burmese that the drones are safe, accurate, and require little manpower to operate during clashes. Boh Lin Yaung, leader of the Khin-U Support Organization (KSO) in Sagaing region’s Khin-U township, said his group took civilian drones used for shooting video and upgraded them to drop bombs on specific locations. “Drones have lots of advantages, so we started buying them,” he said. “Right now, we are working with small drones used for photography, and therefore can only carry small payloads – around half a viss (24 ounces). The main reason we use them is because it’s the safest way for us to engage the enemy.” Boh Lin Yaung said his group had previously sought to obtain automatic rifles, but decided to use drones instead because of how effective they are for such a low cost point against the junta’s advantages in modern military equipment, training, and supplies. Members of Sagaing Region PDFs also reported success using drones, although they acknowledged that they are susceptible to being shot out of the sky. They noted that the junta has been using reconnaissance drones to determine their locations and engage them with heavy weapons and airstrikes. At left, a bomb [blue] begins to fall towards a target. At right, a bomb hits a Myanmar army trench. Credit: Yangon Revolution Force ‘Our drones dominate the skies’ In Kayin state, where the intensity of fighting rivals that in Sagaing, PDFs are using large-scale drones with six propellers that can carry heavier loads. Myo Thura Ko, the information officer of the Cobra Regiment, said PDFs have been using combat and patrol drones in Kayin since December 2021. “The enemy can be easily defeated because the drones unnerve them … They get scared when they hear the sound of the drones flying,” he said. “They carry out a lot of airstrikes, but their planes just drop bombs and leave. For the rest of the time, our drones dominate the skies. Our drones also have the ability to scout at night, so they have become a nightmare for the enemy troops.” Myo Thura Ko said a drone can be equipped with up to five bombs and patrol in dangerous areas using less manpower. PDFs said the junta has recently begun deploying radio frequency jammers to prevent drones from flying near their camps. Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major General Zaw Min Tun about the military response to PDF drones went unanswered. However, at a Sept. 20 press conference in the capital Naypyidaw, he told reporters that anti-drone guns have been installed in strategic locations to protect against attack. Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayningha Strategy Studies Group, a group of former military officers, said PDFs are limited in their ability to attack using civilian drones because of their need for technical support. “The drones used for spraying chemicals in agriculture called ‘Hexacopters’ have six propellers. They can carry a larger payload and are now being used to drop bombs from the air. But if we look at it from a technical standpoint, the triggering mechanism isn’t simple to operate,” he said. “In order to overcome this problem, they require support. So this is not a normal development. It’s not something they can do themselves. It’s obvious that someone else is providing the technical know-how.” Members of Federal Wings prepare two munitions for a drone attack. Credit: Federal Wings Shadow govt drone unit The Ministry of Communications, Information and Technology (MOCIT) under Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) recently formed a “Federal Wings” drone unit manned by tech-savvy youth. The Federal Wings’ social media page claims that the unit has already participated in operations on the battlefield using drones. The NUG Ministry of Defense also said it is seeking funding to consolidate PDF drone attack forces into an armed force. Min Zaw Oo, executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, said he expects both sides to increasingly add drones to their arsenals. “Using drones not only for scouting, but also to deploy weapons, is a development that has come about mostly since the coup,” he said. “Drones are a widely available technology that can be used by both sides. The role of drones is of growing importance to modern warfare.” Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

China, Uyghurs battle for support at UN over Xinjiang rights report

Editor3 years ago3 years ago08 mins

China has vowed to “fight” any United Nations action on human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang cited in a damning report by the U.N. human rights chief, while Uyghurs are pressing the world body to move forward with investigations and other concrete follow-up measures. The report issued on Aug. 30 by U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights Michelle Bachelet concluded that China’s arbitrary detention and repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” Uyghurs and their supporters want the U.S. and other Western countries to follow up with a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution condemning the alleged violations, an investigation, and a special envoy on Xinjiang. China, which rejected the Bachelet report as “based on the disinformation and lies fabricated by anti-China forces,” sent a large delegation to the rights council in Geneva this week to condemn the report and present its rebuttal. “The assessment is based on a presumption of guilt, includes mostly disinformation and lies,” Xu Guixiang, head of the Xinjiang government’s information office, told reporters in Geneva Thursday. “If some forces in the international community – or even anti-China forces – make so-called ‘Xinjiang-related motions’ or so-called ‘resolutions’, we won’t be afraid,” Xu said. “We will take countermeasures resolutely and fight.” Bachelet’s report puts a U.N. imprimatur on many findings in investigative reports issued by rights groups, researchers, foreign media and think tanks in the five years since Chinese authorities began detaining up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in internment camps in Xinjiang, The predominantly Muslim groups have also been subjected to torture, forced sterilizations and forced labor, as well as the eradication of their linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, in what the United States and several Western parliaments have called genocide and crimes against humanity. Beijing has angrily rejected all charges, insisting it is running vocational training facilities in the region to counter extremism. The Chinese delegation in Geneva this week included large numbers of officials who challenged the reports and a group of Uyghurs who claimed to support Chinese policies. “The Chinese mission held a side event at the U.N. yesterday featuring five Uyghurs to promote its propaganda that Uyghurs are free and happy in China,” said Zumretay Arkin, program and advocacy manager at the World Uyghur Congress “Some diplomats from Cuba, Venezuela and Zimbabwe came to support China while some Western diplomats came to hear what China had to say,” said Arkin, who is campaigning for the U.S.-led democracies to introduce a resolution condemning China’s genocide against Uyghurs. Addlet Sabit comforts her daughter as she displays pictures of her father, Ablimit Ablaze whom she has never met, during a hunger strike in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 21, 2022. Credit: Gemunu Amarasinghe/RFA ‘Put our words into action’ Group of 7 Foreign Ministers met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and welcomed the report, pledging to “address these issues with partners, civil society and the international community.” The G7 ministers “remained deeply concerned by the serious human rights violations in Xinjiang and took note of the overall assessment of the report that some of these violations may constitute ‘international crimes’ in particular crimes against humanity,’” said a statement by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, chair of the meeting. The G7 statement Thursday came after U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Sholtz raised rights violations in Xinjiang in their speeches to the U.N. General Assembly. In Washington this week, the Uyghur American Association has been staging a hunger strike in front of the White House by leaders of the advocacy group and by three internment camp survivors to demand U.S.-led steps to translate the U.N. report into concrete action. Chris Smith, co-chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Uyghur Caucus, who visited the hunger strikers outside the White House on Wednesday, introduced a bill calling on the Biden Administration to direct the U.S. mission team in Geneva to sponsor a resolution that would establish a UN commission to investigate the issues raised in the Bachelet report. “The UN’s recent report demonstrates that Communist China is guilty of serious human rights violations that at a minimum constitute crimes against humanity in the eyes of the world community,” said Smith, “We must speak out forcefully on these atrocities and put our words into action at the United Nations,” she added. Kellie Currie, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, called on Biden to “not only introduce a resolution in the Human Rights Council, but you personally need to make sure that it passes by doing everything you can, reaching out to other countries, using political capital and influence that you have with other countries that are on the Human Rights Council to make sure that it passes.” Reporting and translation by Alim Seytoff. Written by Paul Eckert.

Month: September 2022