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Month: September 2022

Myanmar worst for state violence against civilians in first half of 2022

Editor08 mins

More incidents of violence against civilians by government forces were reported in Myanmar than anywhere else in the world during the first six months of 2022, according to a U.S.-based group that compiles data on conflict in developing nations. The Armed Conflicts Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a partner organization of the United Nations, said in a report over the weekend that it had recorded 668 incidents of violence against civilians by state authorities in Myanmar from January to June this year. It ranked Myanmar atop a list of nations that included Afghanistan, Yemen, Kazakhstan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Ethiopia and Iran. The majority of the violence “involved direct attacks with small weapons on individuals who are unarmed and not participating in demonstrations” against the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup, the group said. ACLED documented more than 11,000 reported fatalities in Myanmar over the same period, mostly as the result of battles between the military and anti-junta armed groups. Explosions and remote violence, as well as violence against civilians, were also leading causes of fatalities, it said. The group also counted more than 6,000 political protests in Myanmar during the first six months of the year. “With much of the country in active revolt against the takeover, the military has failed to consolidate control, resorting instead to extreme violence,” ACLED said. “Armed struggle against the junta has continued while anti-coup demonstrations persist.” ACLED said that violence against civilians by state forces took place in all 14 states and regions in Myanmar in the first half of 2022. “Civilians are shot at checkpoints, tortured in prisons, and killed following battles in villages,” it said. “Children have also been targeted, as have family members of anti-coup activists. In several cases, the military has desecrated the bodies of those killed, cutting off body parts and setting corpses on fire.” ACLED warned that political violence and protest trends seen at the start of 2022 “are likely to carry on into the second half of the year.” “As the military incurs further losses and fails to gain control of significant parts of the country, it will continue to target civilians with extreme acts of violence. Resistance to the coup — both armed and unarmed — shows no signs of stopping,” it said. Undated photo of Myanmar junta troops stationed in Mindat, Chin state. Credit: Citizen Journalist Soaring casualties Responding to ACLED’s report, Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of the Thayningha Strategy Studies Group, a group of former military officers, blamed civilian deaths on the armed resistance. “There will be deaths as long as they hide among civilians,” he said, referring to members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group, which the regime has labeled a terrorist organization. “No matter how many instructions are issued by the higher authorities, soldiers return fire at the place where bullets come from. As a result, those people caught in-between get hurt. This is unavoidable.” But political observer Than Soe Naing chalked the high civilian death toll up to the junta’s use of asymmetric warfare in the conflict. “The PDF forces came from the civilians. A lot of people are dying and getting injured because the military offensives make use of air strikes and naval attacks [in addition to ground forces],” he said. “The only way to reduce these casualties is for the PDF to surrender or totally annihilate the junta forces.” Seeking accountability Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the office of shadow National Unity Government (NUG) President Duwa Lashi La, told RFA the junta is committing some of the worst war crimes on earth and “will surely pay the price.” “Those who gave the orders are also responsible,” he said. “You can’t run away from your crimes.” Kyaw Zaw pointed to a Sept. 16 helicopter attack on Let Yet Kone village, in Sagaing region’s Depayin township, that killed 19 people, including six children, as an example of how “there is no army as brutal as Myanmar’s.” In the meantime, he said the NUG is working to provide the people of Myanmar with as much protection as possible. But Kyaw Win, director of the Burma Human Rights Network, called on the NUG to do more to make the international community aware of the violence facing Myanmar’s civilian population. “NUG needs to work more closely with the international community. It needs to be more effective. It needs to bring additional resources into the country,” he said. “Right now, [the junta] is already bullying and killing as many people as it wants.” According to the Burma Human Rights Network, the military is killing more than 100 civilians a month in Myanmar, and Kyaw Win said that “thousands” have died in the 19 months since the coup. Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said authorities in Myanmar have killed at least 2,311 civilians and arrested nearly 15,600 others since the coup — mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests. NUG President Duwa Lashi La put the death toll at more than 3,000 in a speech marking the anniversary of the armed resistance earlier this month. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Junta threatens prison, execution for supporting Myanmar opposition

Editor08 mins

Anyone in Myanmar found to have provided as little as one kyat in financial support to anti-junta groups or engaged with anti-junta content on social media now faces anywhere from two years in prison to execution, according to a spokesman for the military regime. Deputy Minister of Information Major General Zaw Min Tun told reporters at a press conference in the capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday that donating to or supporting Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), ousted lawmakers of the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), or the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group is punishable under Myanmar’s anti-terrorism law. Purchasing treasury bonds or lottery tickets for the groups is also subject to punishment, he said, adding that “donating just a single kyat” – approximately one-five-hundredth of a U.S. cent – could earn the offender a minimum of a decade behind bars. “Whether you ‘like’ or ‘share’ [an anti-junta social media post], you are violating Section 124 (b) of the Penal Code [for incitement to destroy the state]. You can be sentenced anywhere from three years to 10 years in prison and you can also be charged a fine,” Zaw Min Tun said. “The reason you are subject to a 10-year prison sentence or a death sentence for donating just one kyat is because it is in violation of [the Anti-Terrorism Act]. You need to understand that. Even if you don’t understand the law, the law will not forgive you.” In addition to violating Myanmar’s anti-terrorism law and inciting the public against the state, Zaw Min Tun also said such actions are in breach of the country’s Electronic Communications Law. A conviction under the charges is punishable by a minimum sentence of two years in prison and a maximum sentence of death. A resident of the commercial capital Yangon, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA Burmese that the junta is trying to deter support for the opposition through threats. “These tyrants will do anything in their power to stop people from supporting the opposition, but the people will do whatever they can to support them,” she said. “The more they make life difficult for us, the closer we will be to victory [against the regime]. It might be a bit challenging now [to support the opposition], but we will make sure that we can help them.” A veteran high court lawyer told RFA on condition of anonymity that while providing support to anti-junta movements can be subject to prosecution, Myanmar’s law says nothing about jailing people for simply liking posts on social media. “Giving ‘Likes’ [online] is our right. It’s already mentioned in the provisions of civil rights and the basic rights of citizens under the [military-drafted] 2008 Constitution,” he said. “Based on what [Zaw Min Tun] said, action can be taken against someone for the content of their comment or even the way the text is written.” ‘Facing a crisis’ A spokesman from the Dawei Ashaytaw PDF group in Tanintharyi region said the junta is threatening people with legal provisions because its leadership is afraid that the wider public will take up arms to challenge its rule. “We have witnessed the rising number of deaths of military soldiers in Sagaing and Magwe regions,” he said. “We believe that there is a lack of unity within the army. And so, they are making threats to raise morale within the army as well as a deterrent to the people.” The spokesman warned that such threats could lead to a drop in domestic contributions to the armed opposition. Political analyst Than Soe Naing called the junta’s statements “illegal and excessive.” “They are talking too much about the law. But as usual, the law is whatever they say it is,” he said. “So if those laws are used as the basis for action, we must say that democracy in Myanmar has completely fallen into darkness.” Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the office of NUG President Duwa Lashi La, told RFA that the junta is becoming increasingly desperate in its actions. “All they can do now is threaten and terrorize the public. And that is what they are doing,” he said. “Saying that people will be arrested and charged for donating a single kyat … is because they are facing a crisis. They are afraid because they are in their last hour. They know they are going to lose and they know what is coming.” According to Thai NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), junta authorities have arrested nearly 15,600 civilians since the military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup, nearly 12,500 of whom have been sentenced or remain in detention. The group says authorities have killed more than 2,300 civilians over the last 20 months, mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Dud stock trade by senator’s daughter exposes Cambodian tax loophole

Editor022 mins

A Cambodian senator’s daughter gambled U.S. $8 million on the purchase of shares in an American medical technology company through a Singaporean broker – a transaction conveniently completed before the adoption of a double taxation treaty between Cambodia and Singapore – regulatory filings reviewed by RFA show. Had the investment worked out as planned, Lau Sok Huy expected returns in the realm of $50-60 million, and could have avoided up to $12 million in Cambodian taxes. But the investment flopped. Seven years after she became the second-largest shareholder in Tomi Environmental Solutions Inc, Sok Huy is down some $6.3 million and furious, according to the company’s founder and a fellow shareholder familiar with the deal who spoke with RFA. The investment – equivalent to more than 3,000 years of the average Cambodian salary – is one Sok Huy will likely have to write off as a loss. Tomi’s share price has dipped so low that it currently risks losing its listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. But the structure and sequencing of the deal sheds a light on how well-to-do Cambodians stand to benefit from the double taxation agreement. Such agreements are viewed by advocates as a boon to trade and investment between nations, but they can also offer a way for wealthy investors to avoid taxes. Regulatory disclosures filed during Sok Huy’s acquisition of the Tomi shares strongly suggest the deal – in which she loaned the money to her broker who had purchased the shares, and then took the shares as repayment for the loan – was tailored to benefit from the double taxation agreement. The loan behind the deal was signed in January 2016, but was amended in May of the same year, just three days after the tax treaty was signed. Sok Huy’s politically connected background raises questions about whether it was appropriate for her to benefit from the agreement. Her father, Lau Ming Kan, is a longtime senator for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, which has governed the country in one form or another for three decades. One of the final steps in any treaty becoming law in Cambodia – including the double-taxation agreement with Singapore – is ratification by the Senate where he sits. Sok Huy’s parents are also no strangers to investing in Singapore, a regional financial hub viewed by some as a tax haven. Her mother Choeung Sopheap, a confidante of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, holds $36.5 million in shares in a Singapore-based company that owns a Cambodian corporation with an exclusive license to import liquid natural gas to Cambodia. Those assets are among the more than $230 million in assets that RFA has identified as being held in Singapore by politically connected Cambodians. The DTA Double-taxation agreements, often referred to by the acronym DTAs, are designed to ensure that companies or individuals do not get taxed on the same profits twice when doing business overseas. When two countries sign a DTA, the hope is that it will promote trade and investment between both nations. This particular treaty appears to have paid off. By the end of last year, Singapore was Cambodia’s second-largest source of foreign investment, having barely figured in the rankings half a decade earlier. A business consultant with more than a decade’s experience in Phnom Penh told RFA they viewed the agreement as a net positive for Cambodia. “A DTA can help eliminate double taxation, and for investors coming into Cambodia, that’s fairly important. So, in that sense, they’re fairly useful, and also very widespread and standard around the world,” the consultant said, requesting anonymity due to the potential professional repercussions for speaking publicly on a sensitive topic. “Can the wealthy take advantage of them to reduce their tax bill as well? Absolutely,” the consultant added. “But they already have other means of doing so. So, of all the ‘sins’ here [in Cambodia], I wouldn’t see that as being a meaningful one.” That’s not an analysis everyone would agree with. In late 2016, the World Bank published a blog by two of its senior employees – Jim Brumby and Michael Keen – that asked whether tax treaties like DTAs are a “boost or bane for development” in lower-income countries, such as Cambodia. They were not convinced. “Developing countries have used them with the intention of boosting economic development. The evidence for that is weak,” Brumby and Keen wrote. “The problem is that tax treaties – and the international system of taxation more generally – are highly complex and have unleashed unforeseen consequences.” “Multinational companies, with much at stake, can use treaties to route income through third countries to exploit favorable tax treaties. Tax authorities, particularly in developing countries, are finding it hard to counter such ‘treaty shopping,’” Brumby and Keen added. Despite having assets and businesses in multiple countries, Sok Huy does not fit the traditional definition of a multinational company. But her family often behaves like one, as do many other powerful clans in Cambodia – negotiating sweetheart deals with the government that are unavailable to smaller businesses with less political clout and cash in the bank. If the Lau family’s lawyers and accountants have clocked on to the Singapore loophole, it seems likely the financial professionals advising Phnom Penh’s other leading families will have too. So how does it work? People pass by the Nasdaq Market Site in Times Square in New York City, U.S., Feb. 7, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid The deal Between May and July 2015, Singaporean broker Boh Soon Lim snapped up $8 million of Tomi shares, then accounting for roughly 11% of the company, according to regulatory filings lodged with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. stock market regulator. He bought the shares in the name of Arise Asset Management Pte Ltd, a Singapore-registered company in which he is majority owner. In the SEC filings he described the money for the purchase as coming from Arise Asset Management’s working capital. The term refers to the total cash available to the firm…

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Targeted sanctions on arms sales key to ending violence in Myanmar: observers

Editor08 mins

Myanmar’s junta is using weapons purchased from abroad to commit “war crimes” against its people and must be targeted with new sanctions to end violence in the country, former military officers and political observers said Monday. On Friday, the United Nations human rights office in Geneva said in a report that countries should do more to prevent money and arms from reaching the junta, which rules through terror and repression. The office called for further isolation of the military regime, which it said had failed to govern effectively, suggesting U.N. members impose bans on arms sales and more narrowly defined sanctions to prevent its business network from gaining access to foreign currency. While the U.S., Britain, Canada and the EU have imposed sanctions on Myanmar since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, several countries have continued to supply the junta with arms — most notably Russia, China and Serbia.  Speaking to RFA Burmese on Monday, former army Capt. Lin Htet Aung, who is now a member of the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), said sanctions are key to cutting the junta off from the modern weapons and raw materials it needs to maintain its hold on power. “The military’s domestic production capacity cannot provide all the weapons it needs for the army,” he said. “Missiles and heavy weapons and their accessories, as well as ammunition used by its armed forces, are all imported from abroad. All these things, as well as raw materials, have to be purchased from foreign nations.” The CDM captain said the military will continue to commit human rights violations, including bombing attacks on towns and villages, if the international community fails to level effective sanctions. On June 18 last year, the U.N. General Assembly approved a proposal to ban arms exports to the Myanmar military. One hundred and nineteen countries voted in favor of the resolution, while 36 countries — including China, India and Russia — abstained. Russian ally Belarus voted against it. Myanmar junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and his team inspect weapons and equipment at the Higher Military Command School in Novosibirsk, Russia, July 16, 2022. Credit: Myanmar military Ineffective sanctions Observers told RFA that the junta continues to obtain military equipment and technology via large domestic and international arms brokering companies. Hla Kyaw Zo, a Myanmar political analyst based in China, said sanctioning these companies would have a significant effect on ending the junta’s domination. “Western countries consider their own interests and big arms companies are more or less connected with the Western world, so this issue is difficult to discuss,” he said. “If the West blocks [these sales] effectively, it’ll be good, but I don’t think they will press on the issue.” According to a list compiled by NGO Justice For Myanmar, there are more than 150 companies selling arms to Myanmar’s military, 135 of which are based in Myanmar, Russia and Singapore. Yadana Maung, the group’s spokeswoman, told RFA that many companies have been able to evade Western sanctions, meaning financial and military support continues to flow to the junta. Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayningha Strategic Studies Institute, which is made up of former military officers, said using human rights to justify sanctions against Myanmar is “weakening the defense of the country.” “All we have heard so far is the noise they’re making about human rights,” he said. “In reality, what we understand is that they are using that premise to allow those who are pulling the strings to obtain more power.” He said the junta will continue to purchase arms from its allies despite attempts to block them. Propping up a brutal regime In February, former U.S. Rep. Tom Andrews, who serves as U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said in a report to the U.N. Security Council that countries should stop selling arms to the junta, citing a brutal crackdown on civilians since the coup. The report called out permanent Security Council members China and Russia, as well as India, Belarus, Ukraine, Israel, Serbia, Pakistan and South Korea, for selling the weapons, which Andrews said are almost certainly being used by the military to kill innocent people. However, analysts say it is unlikely that the sale of arms to the junta can be cut off completely as Russia and China, which are its main suppliers, wield veto power at the Security Council. In the meantime, junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has visited Russia three times in the 19 months since the coup. During his last trip, earlier this month, he signed an agreement with Russian government officials to build a nuclear reactor factory in Myanmar. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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FBI report of a Chinese agent working at Twitter sparks calls for government action

Editor08 mins

Chinese rights activists overseas have told RFA that they are concerned but unsurprised at recent allegations that an agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working at Twitter, saying such infiltration is part of Beijing’s global influence operation. The FBI informed Twitter of at least one Chinese agent among its employees, according to U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, while hacker and whistleblower Peiter Zatko said the company’s lax security sparked fears that personal data on Chinese users was being collected by authorities in China. Zatko, Twitter’s former head of security,  made the allegations during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, detailing internal clashes between some who sought advertising revenue from China, and others who were concerned about doing business inside China amid rising geopolitical tensions. “This was a big internal conundrum,” Zatko told the hearing, adding that Twitter appeared reluctant to turn away from China. “In a nutshell, if we were already in bed, it would be problematic if we lost that revenue stream,” he said. Zatko said the FBI had told the company that China’s secret service, the Ministry of State Security, had an agent on the payroll. A Twitter spokesperson said Twitter’s hiring process was independent of foreign influence, and that access to personal data was subject to stringent controls, adding that Zatko’s allegations were “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies.” France-based commentator Wang Longmeng said the CCP has long targeted Western social media platforms to wage its overseas influence campaigns, and that some of the company’s regional executives have close ties to the CCP, including Kathy Chen. A Twitter logo is displayed on a mobile phone in an August 2020 file photo. Credit: AFP Whistleblowers Chen’s 2016 appointment as Twitter’s managing director for Greater China raised concerns in particular, as it emerged she had served as a software engineer in the People’s Liberation Army’s strategic missile force. “Kathy Chen, who had a military background, joined [the company], then Fei-fei Li became an independent director,” Wang said. “The CCP’s infiltration of Western media is one of its key strategies.” “It’s not surprising that the whistleblower revealed there are Chinese agents at Twitter, because there have been suspensions and deleted accounts, and yet Twitter still allows CCP diplomats to spread rumors and lies,” he said. China bans Twitter, Facebook and other U.S. social media firms, but government agencies and diplomats use the platforms to reach an international audience Rights activist Zhou Fengsuo, a former student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen protests and the chairman of Humanitarian China, said the U.S. government hasn’t responded adequately to the problem. “Zoom closed our Zoom account for commemorating the June 4 [Tiananmen massacre], and the Zoom employee who was later indicted was part of China’s state security police,” Zhou told RFA. “This has also been played out several times at Twitter, with Kathy Chen, who everyone knows has a military background, hired as managing director for the Greater China region, and then Fei-fei Li’s appointment to the board,” he said. “She has previously expressed her loyalty to the CCP.” “The United States has done nothing to remedy the situation,” Zhou said. “It selectively ignores this massive problem of high-tech companies colluding with the CCP because they want to do business in China.” “I have been calling on the U.S. government to investigate all high-tech companies,” he said. Blocking of sites A blogger known as “the Voice of Surfing” said there are other examples of pro-CCP bias on the platform, including the blocking and banning of the Great Translation Movement, which provides uncensored examples of social media comment from China’s tightly controlled internet. “The Great Translation Movement, which uses Twitter as its main platform, has been repeatedly banned by Twitter officials for violations of the rules,” the blogger said. “With Twitter management infiltrated by CCP forces, employees often take a pro-China stance when it comes to Chinese censorship on the platform,” they said.  “They help the CCP’s United Front Work Department to tell good stories about China, and use their positions to suppress dissent against the Chinese government.” “This shameless practice is also happening on other platforms that have been infiltrated by the CCP.” The blogger said many Chinese rights activists who use Twitter have been subsequently summoned by state security police for posting politically sensitive material, yet the company has remained silent on how much user data is being leaked to the Chinese government. “We often hear about Chinese users being ‘invited to tea’ by the local police because of politically sensitive remarks on Twitter, but Twitter officials have never responded to questions about the disclosure of users’ personal information [to the Chinese authorities],” they said. “Under the influence of CCP capital, Twitter has moved closer to Weibo.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Mortars fired from Myanmar side of border with Bangladesh kill Rohingya youth

Editor05 mins

At least one Rohingya youth was killed and several more young refugees were injured when two mortar shells reportedly fired from the Myanmar side fell and exploded in the no-man’s land along Bangladesh’s southeastern border Friday night, Bangladeshi police said. The youths were all refugees from a camp in the no-man’s land on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) of Bandarban, Md. Reza Sarwar, told BenarNews. The incident occurred amid reports of intense fighting near the Myanmar side of the border lately between Burmese junta forces and rebels in neighboring Rakhine state. The police official said at least five injured Rohingya were admitted to local hospitals. The youth who died in the incident was identified as Mohammad Iqbal, 18, son of Matlab Hossain. The shells reportedly landed in an area that borders Bangladesh’s Bandarban district, Reza Sarwar added. A Rohingya resident from the area, Dil Mohammad, said the shells were fired around 8:30 p.m. Friday. Another resident Md. Kamal concurred. “Two mortar shells landed in no-man’s land at the time. And we were hearing sounds of shelling from afternoon to night. People are scared in the neighborhood,” he told BenarNews. Bangladeshi officials say more than 4,000 Rohingya refugees have been living in no-man’s land for the last five years since a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar military forced the ethnic minority to flee their homes in August 2017. Some 740,000 Rohingya crossed the frontier and took refuge in camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district.   Lt. Col. Faizur Rahman, director (operations) of the Border Guard Bangladesh, told reporters that the agency immediately lodged a protest about Friday’s incident with the Border Guard Police of Myanmar. This wasn’t the first time that the fighting between Arakan Army rebels and the Myanmar military in Myanmar had come close to the Bangladesh border. On Aug. 28, during heavy fighting in Myanmar’s border state of Rakhine, two mortar shells landed in the same area but did not go off. A similar incident also occurred on Aug. 20 as well. This month alone, Dhaka has protested and summoned Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh three times to protest these incidents. Earlier this week, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the country’s border police had reinforced security along the frontier with Myanmar. Amid the tense situation inside Myanmar, a few new Rohingya families have arrived in Cox’s Bazar, where Bangladesh already hosts about one million refugees from Myanmar. One of the new arrivals told BenarNews on Sept. 10 that he saw “several hundred” people clustered along the Naf River that separates Cox’s Bazar from Rakhine state, and who were trying to cross the border several days earlier. It was not immediately clear what happened to those other people apparently displaced by intense clashes in recent weeks between junta forces and the Arakan Army. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.

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Borrowers forced to sell their homes as debt crisis in Cambodia worsens: report

Editor08 mins

An “alarmingly high” number of Cambodians have had to sell their homes to repay credit card and small loan debt, a study of Cambodia’s microfinance sector has revealed. The study, commissioned by the German government’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), surveyed households, held group discussions with villagers, and interviewed local authorities in 24 Cambodian villages.  It found that many of the indebted households had taken out small loans with an 18 percent interest rate, and about half had trouble repaying. Of the households that reported difficulties, 13 percent reported selling their homes over the past five years. When extrapolated for the entire country’s population of borrowers, “[this] would mean 33,480 debt-driven land sales per year, or roughly one sale every 16 minutes,” the study said. Some borrowers tried to lower their debt burden by eating less, and others took their children out of school so they could work to help repay the family debt, the report found. Borrowers in some rare instances suffered from food insecurity or were forced to work in inhumane conditions, or put their children to work to such an extent that it constituted  human rights abuses, it said. The study shows the challenges faced by Cambodians who borrow money, Eang Vuthy, executive director at the Phnom Penh-based Equitable Cambodia NGO, told RFA’s Khmer Service. “When [the microfinance institution] holds land and house titles, they charge an interest rate that doesn’t reflect the ability of each family to make income each month,” he said. “They consider the interest rate based on the value of the land.”  He urged the government and microfinance firms to forgive the debts of poor people who have no hope of ever making enough money to pay it off.  “This is a financial crisis. We have to have a national policy to allow time for people to pay off their debts rather than forcing them to pay or confiscate their land,” he said. RFA was unable to reach National Bank of Cambodia Director Chea Serey for comment. In Channy, president of the local Acleda bank, told RFA that 18 percent interest rates are relatively low compared to the rates credit companies in other countries charge. Acleda provides loans based on its evaluation of a prospective borrower’s eligibility, but sometimes, people lie in their loan application forms while others misuse the loans, he said. “There shouldn’t be any customers losing their land because they are taking loans, unless they misuse the loans,” In Channy said. Kaing Tongngy of the Cambodia Microfinance Association, said Cambodians sell their homes to raise capital for their businesses or because they want to relocate, not because they cannot pay their loans. However, Kaing Tongngy said that some loan officers are unscrupulous and that his institution will provide more training to loan officers. Debtors should discuss their circumstances with their lenders if they cannot pay their loans, he said. “Microfinance companies consider people as clients. People have the right to ask and bargain,” said Kaing Tongngy. “We urge people to talk about finding solutions to reduce tension”  Forced to sell Sources in the country told RFA that they had no way to repay their debts other than to sell their homes. Vann Voeun of Kampong Speu province said that he and his brother sold their homes to repay debt they owed in 2019. He said that their creditors would not allow them to make late payments, and threatened to confiscate their properties, so he sold their land and cows to pay the interest on time. “The most delay they could give us was only one week, otherwise they threatened to foreclose on the properties. We were afraid so we borrowed more money from neighbors even though they charged more interest,” he said. He said that he didn’t misuse the loan but his business failed. He said that the loan led to his brother’s divorce. “A micro financer threatened me. I  hurried to sell my land. The land should have sold for U.S. $20,000 but I sold for only $10,000,” Vann Voeun said. In Banteay Meanchey province, Prin Chhoy sold two lots of her land to pay off her debt. She no longer has her house, but instead lives in a small shelter on her farm. She said her child dropped out of school because the debt became too much. During RFA Khmer Service’s call-in show on Friday, Sok Meng from Takeo province said that he took out a loan for $20,000 to start a business, but he is unable to generate enough money to repay the bank.  “I bought supplies for my business but I’m not making any profit,” he said. “My business doesn’t work. I can’t make any income due to inflation. It is hard to live, I am making $20 dollars [each day], it is hard to pay the loan. I spend more than I can make in income. I will sell my business and sell my land. Things are so hard.”  Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. 

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Six dead, thousands infected in Myanmar by new COVID-19 outbreak

Editor08 mins

At least six people have died and 2,457 have been infected in Myanmar since the start of the month amid an outbreak of a new omicron variant of COVID-19, the junta’s Ministry of Health announced Thursday. The ministry announced the numbers for the two weeks ending Sept. 14, noting that 384 infections and one death had been recorded on Wednesday alone. Charity groups told RFA Burmese that the ministry’s announcement was based only on the number of patients who were treated at junta-run hospitals, suggesting that the actual number of infections is much higher. A doctor who runs a private clinic in Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon said that most patients who come seeking treatment exhibit signs of COVID-19, even if they aren’t being included in the junta’s official count of infections. “There are fewer people wearing masks these days. Many shops have reopened and more people are going to bars and cafes,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Additionally, many people who need cooking oil stand in long lines at charity centers without any regard to rules of social distancing, so COVID is making a comeback.” The doctor told RFA that because the genetics of the disease have changed with the new variant, symptoms such as loss of smell and low oxygen levels have become less obvious. “But the rate of infection is increasing,” he said. “When we perform tests on patients, we find it in nearly all of them.” He predicted that the number of infections will only increase in the country unless measures are put into place to prevent transmission. Yangon residents line up to buy palm oil for cooking, Aug. 26, 2022. Credit: RFA Other priorities A resident of Yangon, who also declined to be named, said that the junta’s mismanagement of the economy has left people more concerned with ensuring that they have enough food to eat than the risks associated with the disease. “People are not very careful about COVID at present. They are working hard to obtain their daily sustenance, so COVID is enjoying a resurgence,” he said. “Most people don’t even know they have the virus. They only find out they have it after getting tested. Low income laborers couldn’t care less about COVID, as their priority is finding enough food to eat.” The Yangon resident called the situation “critical” and suggested that, with the rising cost of medicine due to inflation, the outbreak’s toll is only likely to get worse. Myanmar was hit with a third wave of the coronavirus shortly after the military seized power in a February coup last year prompting the country’s workers – including its health professionals – to strike as part of a nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement. The shortage of doctors and nurses, as well as a dearth of medicine and equipment, allowed the disease to spread largely unchecked. This time around, said Khin Maung Tint, the chairman of a Mandalay-based social assistance association, organizations such as his were prepared, having stockpiled medicine and equipment in case of a new outbreak. “Our main challenge is the rise in petrol prices,” he said. “People are also enduring financial difficulties and so we are currently providing care for free in most cases.” However, he warned that without help from authorities to curb the outbreak, “we could run out of supplies, and that would be difficult for us.” Preventing transmission On Thursday, the junta’s Information Ministry announced to the media that mass infections had been recorded in several schools and workplaces. It said authorities are “working with relevant departments to enforce COVID prevention.” Some 80% of infections since the start of the year occurred in patients who had not received vaccinations, the ministry said. Attempts by RFA to contact junta Ministry of Health spokesperson Than Naing Soe for details on efforts to control the spread of the disease went unanswered Thursday. A CDM doctor, who asked to be identified by the name Olivia, urged the public to follow simple practices such as wearing masks, washing hands and adhering to social distancing guidelines, which she said would go a long way in helping to combat the outbreak in Myanmar. “Prices are rising fast — from basic foods to essential medicines,” she said. “If your health is affected, medical expenses will add a huge burden on your shoulders. So take care now more than ever — even twice as much as the last outbreak.” To date, 617,739 people have been infected with COVID-19 and 19,444 have died since the pandemic first spread throughout Myanmar in 2020, according to the Ministry of Health. More than 36 million of the country’s 54.4 million people have been vaccinated against the disease. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Junta arrests 15 demanding UN extend term of Myanmar rep

Editor05 mins

Authorities in Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon arrested 15 people on Tuesday evening after breaking up an anti-junta protest calling on the United Nations to extend the tenure of the shadow National Unity Government’s (NUG) envoy to the world body. A young man who took part in the protest march on Panbingyi Road in West Yangon’s Kyimyindine township told RFA Burmese that several members of the security forces in civilian clothes pulled up in five vehicles at around 4:30 p.m. and confronted his group. “I can confirm [the identities of] those who were arrested and I’d say they are in a very dangerous situation,” said the man, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “There were a lot of them in civilian clothes. They arrived in two taxis and three private cars, coming in from all four sides. I saw the guy who was arrested in front of me severely beaten, grabbed by the throat, and dragged away.” The man said he was late to join in the march and “heard the sound of gunshots and screams” when he arrived, just as the protest was being broken up. Those who were arrested were members of the Yay Bawai (Octopus) People’s Benevolent Youth Organization, Basic Education Young Students Association (Ah-ka-la-Central), Myanmar Labor Alliance, Burma Youth Network, Pyinnya Nandaw Private School Students’ Union, and the Owl Community, he said. The protesters had been marching with banners calling on the U.N. to extend the tenure of NUG representative Kyaw Moe Tun, instead of replacing him with an envoy from Myanmar’s military regime, which came to power in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup that unseated the country’s democratically elected government. In December, the U.N. Credentials Committee announced that it would indefinitely postpone the decision, allowing Kyaw Moe Tun to retain his seat, in what observers called a serious blow to Myanmar’s junta on the world stage.  On Wednesday, the leader of Yay Bawai, which organized the protest, confirmed to RFA that two men, two women, and a person identifying as gender non-binary were among those arrested from his group. He added that the detainees are being held at the Shwe Pyitha and Yay Kyi Aing interrogation centers. The Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (CTUM) announced on Wednesday that five of its members – two women and three men – were among those arrested. A person who fled arrest told RFA that he saw a few men and some cars – including a Toyota Alphard – parked nearby before the protest started. Soon after the protest began, people in civilian clothes came out of the cars and violently arrested the protesters, he said, adding that shots were fired and at least one protester was injured. Reports by local media said that some journalists covering the protest were among those arrested on Tuesday, although RFA was unable to independently confirm the claim. Tuesday evening’s protest took place on the same street where on Dec. 5 authorities arrested several anti-junta demonstrators after a military vehicle drove into the crowd, hitting several people. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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The Unearthing of the global drug trafficking networks

Editor118 mins

The Unearthing of the global drug trafficking networks Several countries around the globe have waged war against global drugs trafficking networks. Most of them have the most severe punishments for drug dealing as a part of their criminal codes. It includes life imprisonment as well as death/capital punishment. On the contrary, the production, smuggling, and consumption of drugs are increasing exponentially. According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – World Drug Report 2022, in 2020, an estimated 284 million people (more people than the population of 190 odd countries) worldwide aged 15–64 had used a drug within the last 12 months. It corresponds to approximately 1 in every 18 or 5.6% of people in that age group and represents a 26% increase from 2010 when the estimated number of people who used drugs was 226 million and the prevalence was 5%. Seizure data suggest that trafficking is expanding to other regions outside the two main markets, North America and Europe, with increased levels of trafficking in Africa and Asia. The map highlights the significant individual Cocaine seizures in Asia and Africa in 2020-2021 (UNDOC: World Drug Report 2022). It is evident that these two are emerging as the most prominent Cocaine markets and drug network transit regions in the world. The region of South Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran is called the “drug capital of the world“. According to UNODC, Afghanistan alone accounted for 84% of the world’s opium supply from 2015 to 2020, outperforming Myanmar and Laos. The major producers of drugs lie in the Golden Crescent (Iran, Pakistan & Afghanistan) and Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos & Vietnam), and they drive the drug trafficking in the world.  Drug trafficking routes result from several facets like geographic proximity, logistics, profit, the economy & corruption in the country, and risk margins. This investigative report by Ij-Reportika examines the three most significant trafficking routes in the world:  The Northern Route, the Balkan Route, and the Southern Route. The Northern Route After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the anarchy in the former Soviet republics played a significant role in the expansion of the drug market. The northern drug-trafficking route, which originates in Afghanistan, usually passes through Central Asia and the former Soviet Union to connect with the vast market in Western Europe.   According to the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, drugs smuggled through the Northern Route have reported increased seizures in 2022. Tajikistan recorded a 52% rise in drug seizures during the first half of 2022, with its anti-narcotics chief expressing that trafficking had increased since the Taliban took power.  Similarly, in Kyrgyzstan, about six tons of illicit drugs were intercepted in the first six months of 2022, 60% more than in the same period in 2021. Ceaseless trafficking from Afghanistan has also been under the scanner in Russia, the target country of the Northern Route. According to official statistics, Russia has more than 448,100 regular drug users and addicts, and among young Russians, the lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use is up to 40%. Russia has one of the biggest drug cartels of the world. The Northern Route has three branches: Northeast, Central and the Northwest It is the most used of the three branches of the Northern Route and runs from Afghanistan to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and then Russia. This route is gradually gaining prominence in the drug trafficking syndicate, it goes from Afghanistan to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and then Russia. It is the least used passage and runs from Afghanistan to Turkmenistan. The Balkan Route The second is the Balkan route which has attracted drug syndicates the most. Started in 1980, today it is the world’s largest heroin trafficking route with 58% share. The Balkan route runs through the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria from Southeast Europe to the Western European market, with an annual market value of approximately $20 billion. Following are some of the findings of the “EU Drug Markets Report 2022“: Around 1 million seizures were reported in 2020 in the European Union, with cannabis products being the most often seized. The largest increases, expressed in percentage terms, observed in the number of seizures between 2010 and 2020 were for MDMA (+129 %) and methamphetamine (+107 %), while the number of herbal cannabis seizures moderately increased (+19 %). In 2020, EU Member States reported 86,000 seizures of cannabis resin amounting to 584 tonnes (464 tonnes in 2019) and 2,40,000 seizures of herbal cannabis amounting to 155 tonnes (130 tonnes in 2019). Additionally, Turkey reported 8,300 seizures of cannabis resin amounting to 37.5 tonnes and 46,900 seizures of herbal cannabis amounting to 56.3 tonnes. Drug supply offences remain at higher levels than in 2010 for all drugs except heroin. Most of this increase was due to the increased activity on the Balkan Route post the COVID19 pandemic. Balkan Route is the main driver of drugs in EU and it takes three different branches to do so : Northern, Western & Southern. The Northern Branch crosses the Eastern Balkans, Bulgaria & Romania and then heads north into Western & Central Europe. Through the western branch, the drug passes through the Western Balkans through North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina & Croatia before reaching the European market. The southern branch passes through Greece and then Italy to enter the Schengen area of ​​Europe. Many smugglers try to circumvent the Balkan route by smuggling to the global market through Africa. Iran is invariably the first stop for 31% of opium traffic on the Balkan Route. The Southern Route The Southern Route offers significant advantages over the other major smuggling routes since most of it is seaborne (shipping).  It supplies narcotics to most countries globally, starting from Pakistan and Iran, using the Makran coast to enter the Arabian Peninsula, UAE, Kuwait, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf. Its route also goes north from the Red Sea to enter the markets of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The UAE is a noteworthy smuggling country in the Middle East and the Gulf. The traffickers commonly use the free trade junction of Sharjah Port and Dubai’s Mina Rashid & Jebel Ali Ports. They use ships from Pakistan to transport drug shipments to the Gulf, which are out of radar range. The next significant region of the southern route is South Asia. India is a hub of business and a lucrative market in this region. India is a significant producer of acetic anhydride (AA) which is a chemical…

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0