2022 - Page 6 of 108 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

More than 550 doctors fired by Myanmar junta for refusing to work in protest

Editor2 years ago011 mins

The junta’s Ministry of Health has fired 557 government-employed doctors who left their jobs to protest against the military government, revoking their licenses at a time when medical professionals are in short supply, sources in the country’s medical community said Tuesday, citing an official list. The striking doctors joined other government workers in what has come to be known as a nationwide “Civil Disobedience Movement,” or CDM, refusing to do their jobs to take a stand against the military government that took power in a February 2021 coup. A doctor who has been in hiding for more than a year after the junta issued a warrant for her arrest on charges of “incitement” told RFA that she and others on the list have no intention of ending their commitment to the anti-coup movement, regardless of the suspension of their licenses. “We knew the junta would take this step,” she said, adding that she only learned of her suspension after being informed by a medical colleague. “Revoking my license won’t make things any worse for me now and it won’t change my stance.” The first group of doctors to join the Civil Disobedience Movement did so in Mandalay on the day after the coup and gained a following so large that junta-run hospitals and clinics were unable to function. The movement has had such a large impact that it was listed as a nominee for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize by the Nobel Prize Committee. But news of the dismissals comes amid a shortage of doctors in the country due to those participating in the movement and stretched by COVID-19 and widespread conflict. That’s prompted the junta to relax requirements for applying to medical school this year. As part of the dismissals, the junta-controlled Myanmar Medical Council began issuing one-year suspensions of the doctors’ licenses to practice, known as the Sa Ma certificate, beginning in February – one year after the Feb. 1, 2021 putsch, the sources told RFA’s Burmese service. A physician who joined the CDM movement told RFA that while suspensions began nearly nine months ago, there had been no public announcement and the affected doctors only learned of the move after the list of names went viral on social media. “They are revoking the licenses of doctors, phase by phase. Sometimes they revoke 20 [at a time], sometimes 25. But the lists came out sporadically and most of these doctors were not aware of the change,” said the physician, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal. “Many of them are still providing treatment and running [private] clinics. They were all surprised to learn about the news because the ministry never notified them.” Of the approximately 60,000 doctors who joined the movement since the coup, around 45,000 remain, according to a group called the CDM Medical Network. The Ministry of Health said it had suspended the licenses of 14 doctors in February, 50 in March, 41 in April, 66 in May, 60 in June, 61 in July, 80 in August, 87 in September, and 98 in October – the list of which included several veteran medical practitioners. Targeting ‘the people and their profession’ The doctor-in-hiding acknowledged that those on the list are “facing hardship” now that the junta has also distributed it to private hospitals and clinics and begun conducting impromptu inspections, however. RFA requests to Myat Wunna Soe, the director general of the junta’s Ministry of Health, seeking comment on the suspensions were referred to the Myanmar Medical Council, but calls to the council went unanswered Tuesday. A document circulated internally at the medical council – a copy of which was obtained by RFA – states that the doctors were suspended for violating Article 45 (D) of the Myanmar Medical Council Act, citing “a failure to abide by the code of medical ethics” and “patient abandonment.” However, a Civil Disobedience physician who gave her name as Olivia noted that suspending the licenses of medical professionals for their political beliefs impacts both doctors and their patients. “The suspension also seriously affects the well-being of their patients and patients’ family members … This impacts both the people and their profession,” she said. In this March 16, 2021 photo, medical students mourn as others flash the three-fingered salute at the funeral of a fellow medical student who was shot in the chest two days earlier by junta security forces during a protest against the military takeover in Yangon, Myanmar. Credit: AP Photo Lowered application requirements Amid the dismissals of CDM doctors, the junta lowered the requirements for applicants to medical school in 2022, citing the need to fill the gap created by large numbers of physicians joining the anti-coup movement. A second-year medical student who dropped out of school to protest the coup told RFA that becoming a doctor requires several years of training, and questioned the junta’s plan to replace Civil Disobedience physicians by offering applicants a shortcut. “They are trying to show that we are dispensable and they can replace us easily … with new people who will submit to their rule,” said the medical student, who also declined to be named. But he suggested that few of the applicants would be willing to provide care in Myanmar’s remote regions, while in urban areas, where many doctors practice, patients will simply “flock to a handful of high-quality doctors.” Movement impact Lwan Wai, a doctor from a branch of the movement known as the Yangon Medical Network, said that with the number of medical professionals already unable to meet demand in Myanmar, the suspension of nearly 600 physicians will have a serious impact on access to healthcare in the country. “The ratio of medical staff to patients is already lopsided,” he said, noting that the number of casualties from armed conflict has skyrocketed in recent months, while people are still dying from COVID-19 and other diseases. “This decision won’t benefit anyone. The patients will become more hopeless. I expect that many people will die because they…

Opposition officials in Cambodia refuse to denounce Sam Rainsy

Editor2 years ago07 mins

Local commune councilors affiliated with Cambodia’s main opposition Candlelight Party on Tuesday walked out of a meeting where they were asked to publicly condemn Hun Sen’s exiled political rival Sam Rainsy, the party told Radio Free Asia. Commune chiefs from Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, summoned several of the Candlelight Party’s commune councilors from Kandal province and demanded they sign and add their thumbprints to a petition which said they denounce the opposition figure. Sam Rainsy is a co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was the previous main opposition party before the country’s Supreme Court dissolved it in 2017. He has been living in self-exile in France since 2015, when he fled a series of charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, threatened last month that he would dissolve any party that associates with Sam Rainsy and accused those who support him of being against Cambodia’s king. The Candlelight party then attempted to distance itself from Sam Rainsy by condemning those who insult the king, without naming any specific person. This statement should have been enough to ease any and all concerns, the Candlelight Party’s Kong Narith, who is the second deputy chief of a commune council in Kandal’s Takhmao city, told RFA’s Khmer Service. Kong Narith said that he has maintained his position and has acted in accordance with the law, especially in respecting the will of the voters who elected him and others in the party. Long Seng Bun, who is the first deputy of another Takhmao commune, said that forcing him and other members of Candlelight to sign these types of petitions is illegal and a violation of political rights, and that is why he refused. “I told them that I won’t do anything against the law,” he said. “The voters voted for me so I will serve my constituencies.” Commune councilors from the Candlelight Party have been pressured by their colleagues from the CPP four separate times to denounce Sam Rainsy not only in Takhmao, but also several other Kandal province districts, sources said. The CPP officials threatened the opposition party commune councilors, saying that if they don’t do what they are told, they will be punished according to law. Illegal coercion Candlelight’s vice president Thach Setha told RFA that any coercive, threatening or persuasive action by the ruling party officials is a serious illegal act. He said that his party’s statement against those who are against the king has already been accepted by Hun Sen, so there is no reason for the CPP officials to continue to intimidate the Candlelight members of commune councils. He urged the Ministry of Interior to take action against anyone who engages in coercive activities against Candlelight party members. “We are representatives from a legitimate party and have already issued a letter of condemnation,” he said. “Why are they not recognizing that?” RFA was unable to contact the ministry’s spokesman Khieu Sopheak or Kandal province governor Kong Sophorn for comment as of Tuesday. Anyone who refuses to sign the petition that condemns Sam Rainsy is a traitor and has ties with the exiled political figure, the ruling party’s spokesperson Sok Ey San said. Social development researcher Seng Sary said that the local ruling party officials are acting beyond their superiors’ orders. He added that local officials should recognize the decisions and orders of their superiors without exacerbating the political situation. “I believe that the political situation in Cambodia can’t be resolved by law, so it is necessary to resolve it through political negotiations,” Seng Sary said. “And more importantly, easing the political heat in this situation is one way to resolve it.” The Candlelight Party, which has more than 2,000 commune council seats across the country, last week issued a letter calling on authorities to stop acts of political intimidation and coercion. Their statement said that these actions violate Cambodia’s constitution and the people’s civil rights, political rights, and their rights to freedom of expression. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Myanmar junta bans Irrawaddy news agency after months of harassment

Editor2 years ago010 mins

Myanmar’s junta has officially banned online news outlet The Irrawaddy and charged the outlet’s registered publisher for violating national security laws, state media reported over the weekend, following months of legal harassment. The ban is the latest on at least 20 media groups – news agencies, publishing houses and printing presses – since the military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup and began a crackdown on press freedom in Myanmar. The Irrrawaddy, founded in 1993, is known for its breaking news coverage and investigative pieces that shed light on government abuses in both Burmese and English. Its editorials were critical of the military rule, and it had ceased operations in Myanmar after the February 2021 coup, moving production and editorial staff outside the country. Because of that, the practical impact of the ban on The Irrawaddy was limited, although Ye Ni, the executive editor of The Irrawaddy’s Burmese language section, called the ban yet another example of “the many tragedies affecting Myanmar since the military coup,” in an interview with RFA’s Burmese service. In a statement carried by pro-junta news outlets on Saturday, the military regime’s Ministry of Information said the outlet is now prohibited from publishing on any media platform in Myanmar, online or otherwise. But the news agency vowed to continue to publish online. The junta also said it had charged the news agency’s former director, Thaung Win, arrested on Sept. 29, with violating the Publishing and Distribution Act by reporting news that “negatively affected national security, rule of law and public peace.” “Thaung Win is facing troubles because he lent his name to his journalist friends, but he has nothing to do with” the editorial decisions of the Irrawaddy, Ye Ni said. ‘Relentlessly prosecuted’ Since taking power, the junta has moved aggressively to shut down media outlets. It has also detained more than 140 journalists, 60 of whom remain in prison and four of whom have died in custody. A Myanmar-based journalist, who declined to be named citing fear of reprisal, told RFA on Monday that reporters are facing unprecedented challenges in the country since the coup. “While you can say that the ban has no effect on its exiled journalists or the organization itself, those who are still in the country working for them are being relentlessly prosecuted and are likely to endure more severe punishments,” the journalist said. “The arrests are still going on. Local journalists aren’t being released as often as in the coup’s early days. They are all being indicted and sentenced to severe punishments.” One month after the coup, authorities abolished local outlets Mizzima, the Democratic Voice of Burma, 7 Days, Myanmar Now, and Khit Thit. In total, the military regime has banned 14 news agencies, four publishing houses and two printing presses in the last 20 months since the coup. They include the Myitkyina Journal, 74 Media, Tachileik News Agency, Delta News Agency, Zeya Times News Agency, Kamayut News Channel, Kantarawaddy Times, and Mon News Agency. Irrawaddy News reporter Zaw Zaw covers a story in Thibaw, Shan state, Myanmar on Aug. 18, 2017. He has since been arrested and sentenced to three years by a junta court. Credit RFA No surprise The Irrawaddy’s management told RFA that the order came as no surprise, following a series of unannounced lawsuits, raids, arrests and other moves targeting the outlet since the coup. In March 2021, the regime brought a lawsuit against the Irrawaddy for “disregarding” the military in its reporting on anti-coup protests, making it the first news outlet to be sued by the junta. Authorities raided the Irrawaddy’s office in Yangon twice later that year. In August, a special court inside Mandalay’s Obo Prison sentenced former Irrawaddy photojournalist Zaw Zaw to three years in prison for “incitement,” while another staff member was temporarily detained earlier this year and the home of one of the outlet’s editors was recently raided. Thaung Win, a member of the 88 Generation student activist group, applied for a publishing license for The Irrawaddy following a pledge by former President Thein Sein to implement democratic reforms through his quasi-civilian government, which ruled Myanmar from 2011 to 2016. The Burmese journalists who founded the outlet in exile relocated to Myanmar in 2012 and began operations there after the publishing license was granted. The status of Thaung Win remains unclear, a source close to his family said Monday. Saturday’s announcement followed a vow by the junta only two weeks earlier to take action against the Irrawaddy and BBC Burmese for airing what it called “fake news” about the military. Targeting the media ‘out of embarrassment’ Soe Ya, the chief editor of the Delta News Agency, which shut down its operations in Myanmar following a crackdown by the junta last year, told RFA that the military regime is targeting all of the country’s independent news outlets. “It seemed that the military thought early on that the media would be on their side once they were in power after the coup. But quite contrary to their expectation, civil disobedience movements broke out and the media covered the truth, so the junta began to speak out against it just as much as its political enemy the [shadow National Unity Government] NUG,” he said. Soe Ya noted that even former journalists are being arrested and punished, and said the people of Myanmar have lost their right to the truth, as the media can’t even report the news out of fear of persecution. “They accuse us of being ‘subversive media outlets aiming to destroy the country.’ I think they target the media even more out of embarrassment, since they haven’t been able to run the country as they had hoped.” Translated by Myo Min Aung. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Authorities allow Tibetans in Lhasa to travel in region amid COVID wave

Editor2 years ago05 mins

Chinese authorities have relaxed severe COVID-19 lockdowns in parts of the far-western Tibet region, allowing Tibetans residing temporarily in the regional capital Lhasa for work or other reasons to return to their hometowns beginning Monday, sources in the region said. A wave of coronavirus infections hit the restive region in August, where China, wary about independence movements, has strengthened its governance in an effort to prevent frequent unrest of the repressed Tibetan minority group. The latest move came days after hundreds of angry demonstrators took to the capital’s streets on Oct. 26-27 to protest harsh “zero COVID” measures, including lockdowns in place for about 80 days. During the lockdown, people complained of food shortages and poor conditions in mass quarantine facilities, RFA reported earlier. Many of the demonstrators were Han Chinese migrant workers demanding permission from authorities to return to their homes in eastern China because they could not earn money amid the lockdown, city sources told RFA. The Chinese migrant protesters dispersed after authorities agreed to process applications for them to leave the Tibet Autonomous Region, while Tibetans from towns outside the capital area had to remain in place. Now authorities are allowing Tibetans living in Lhasa who are natives of the cities and towns of Shigatse, Kongpo, Lhoka, Nagchu, Chamdo and Ngari to return to their homes. But they can do so only after first getting in touch with their respective points of contact as set by regional authorities for “swift processing,” according to an official notice dated Oct. 31. They are prohibited from returning on their own. Authorities will provide Tibetan migrant workers in the Lhasa area with transportation services to return to their hometowns once the regional office makes the contact points public, the notice said, and provided no further details. Despite the relaxation of COVID lockdowns in Lhasa and Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city with about 800,000 people, as of Oct. 29, the capital remains under lockdown for three more days, said sources from Tibet, adding that they did not know the reason behind the move which was not publicly announced. Tibetan sources indicated that Chinese government officials treated Tibetans differently when it came to giving them permission to leave Tibet for other places in China, noting that authorities accommodated Chinese migrant workers who agitated against the lockdown. “Tibetans who study in high schools and universities in mainland China were supposedly planning to visit China three months ago under special circumstances, but that didn’t happen,” said the source, who declined to be named for safety reasons. As of Monday, Tibet recorded 18,653 confirmed coronavirus cases in the region of roughly 3.65 million people, according to the latest Chinese government census data. Two new asymptomatic COVID-19 infections have been found in Lhasa in the last 24 hours, and 33 asymptomatic cases have been detected in the northern region of neighboring Qinghai province on Oct. 29, according to an official Chinese announcement. Local authorities in Xining, capital of Qinghai province near the Tibetan Plateau, reported 70 new COVID-19 infections on Oct. 28. Translated by Tashi Wangchuk for RFA Tibetan. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Southeast Asia remains world rice bowl as pockets of region suffer crop disasters

Editor2 years ago013 mins

Rice crops in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have taken a hit from flooding and conflict this year, casting a shadow on a mostly sunny outlook for Southeast Asia’s output of the key grain as the region deals with other potential longer term supply troubles, farm officials and researchers say. Poverty and hunger are stalking some rural communities in peninsular Southeast Asia, also called Indochina, as a result of lost crops, hitting populations still struggling to recover from lost income and other fallout from widespread economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, the poorest Southeast Asian nations, are not major players in rice production in a sector dominated by Thailand and Vietnam, which lead the world in exports of the grain. Southeast Asia accounts for 26 percent of global rice production and 40 percent of exports, supplying populous neighbors Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as Africa and the Middle East, according the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. But their harvest shortfalls have to be made up from other suppliers, and any serious deterioration in rice output could have ripple effects on import-dependent countries in Asia. The challenge is more acute at a time of deepening worries over food security and rising food prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has removed those countries’ key grain exports from global supplies. A man transports bags of rice in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 17, 2019. Credit: AFP Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management reported early this month that floods inundated some 770 villages in 22 provinces, including Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Pursat, Siem Reap, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear. More than 150,000 hectares of rice paddies were flooded more than 100,000 families were affected by the floods, a committee official told local media. Banteay Meanchey farmer Voeun Pheap told RFA that floods destroyed more than four hectares of his farm and brought immediate hardship to his family as it wiped out his crop and the hope of paying off what he borrowed to plant. “I couldn’t make much money, I lost my investments, and I am in debt,” he said. In Laos, an agriculture and forestry official in Hua Phanh province told RFA that flooding in two districts had wiped out rice crops and left 200 families with no harvest to eat or sell. “Sand is covering the rice fields all over due to heavy rain, which destroyed both rice paddies and dry rice fields,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “Families that have been affected will go hungry this year. The damage is so enormous that villagers will have to seek food from the forest or sell other crops that were not affected,” the official added. People reach out to buy subsidized rice from government officials in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 27, 2008. Credit: AFP Fear, fighting leave fallow fields More than 18 months after a military coup toppled a popular civilian government and plunged Myanmar into political and military conflict, the country of 54 million faces security threats to its rice supply on top of the environmental and economic problems faced by its neighbors. “I am too afraid to leave my home,” said Myo Thant, a local farmer in the town of Shwebo in the Sagaing region, a farming region in central Myanmar that has been a main theater of fighting between ruling army junta forces and local militias opposed to army rule. “I can’t fertilize the fields and I can’t do irrigation work,” he told RFA “The harvest will be down. We will barely have enough food for ourselves,” added Myo Thant. Farmers groups told RFA that in irrigated paddy farms across Myanmar, planting reduced due to the security challenges as well as to rising prices for fuel, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Growers are limiting their planting to rain-fed rice fields. “Only 60 percent of (paddy) farms will grow this year, which means that the production will be reduced by about 40 percent,” Zaw Yan of the Myanmar Farmers Representative Network told RFA. Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the Myanmar junta chief, told a meeting August that of 33.2 million acres of farmland available for rice cultivation, only 15 million acres of rainy reason rice and 3 million acres of irrigated summer paddy rice are being grown. Brighter regional outlook This year’s flooding has caused crop losses and concern in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, but so far it doesn’t appear to have dented the regional outlook for the grain, thanks to expected big crops and surpluses in powerhouse exporters Thailand and Vietnam. World stocks have been buoyed by India’s emergence as the top rice exporter of the grain. In this June 5, 2015 photo, workers load sacks of imported Vietnam rice onto trucks from a ship docked at a port area in Manila, Philippines.Credit: Reuters Although Myanmar is embroiled in conflict and largely cut off from world commerce, Cambodia exported 2.06 million tons of milled and paddy rice worth nearly $616 million in the first half of 2022, a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2021, the country’s farm ministry said in July. Laos was the world’s 25th largest rice exporter in 2020. A report released this month by U.S. Department of Agriculture saw continued large exports from Thailand and Vietnam likely into 2023, offsetting drops in shipments of the grain from other suppliers. While the USDA has projected that Southeast Asia’s rice surplus will continue, a research team at Nature Food that studied rice output in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam suggested the region might lose its global Rice Bowl status. The threats include stagnating crop yields, limited new land for agriculture, and climate change. “Over the past decades, through renewed efforts, countries in Southeast Asia were able to increase rice yields, and the region as a whole has continued to produce a large amount of rice that exceeded regional demand, allowing a rice surplus to be exported to other countries,” the study said. “At…

Chinese sportswear brand apologizes after fashion likened to Japanese WWII uniforms

Editor2 years ago05 mins

Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning has apologized after some of its latest fashion clothing sparked public anger in China over a perceived resemblance to Japanese World War II military uniforms. The company, founded by retired Olympic gymnast and billionaire Li Ning, made the statement after being deluged with complaints that its “Chasing Dreams Airport Collection” of down khaki parkas, hats and hoodies looked like vintage Japanese uniforms. Some items from the Sept. 20 fashion shoot were slammed as copies of Japanese war-time clothing, with users posting photos side-by-side for comparison. The company described the collection, which included hats with earflaps commonly associated with Japanese uniforms, as being inspired by “ancient Chinese helmets.” “Li-Ning sincerely apologizes for the perplexity and doubt caused by some of the products in its Chasing Dreams collection, the design and appearance of which have sparked online discussions in recent days,” the company said in a statement on its official Weibo account. “The Chasing Dreams collection took aviation as its theme, finding inspiration in the clothing worn by pilots, to show how humanity continues to search the skies for its dreams,” the statement said. “The inspiration from the pilot hat that sparked the most discussion came from an ancient Chinese helmet,” Li-Ning said. “We will continue to listen carefully to people’s feedback and suggestions.” The statement didn’t appease everyone on Weibo, however. “Shouldn’t the very first words be an apology?” @Big_head_girl_one commented, while @I_met_you_in_my_dream said it was an unacceptable response from a native of Nanjing, whose elderly population still remember the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, in which the International Military Tribunal for the Far East estimated at least 200,000 murders and at least 20,000 cases of rape. “As a native of Nanjing, I can’t accept this … because I keep hearing the older generation talk about their experiences in that year,” the user wrote. “I’m never buying Li-Ning again,” added @warm_winter_sun_cf566, while @small_windy_mud commented: “Speechless.” Trolls at work? Others, however, thought the complaints were far-fetched, and the work of trolls. “It’s like people who can’t tell the difference between a Nazi [swastika] and a Buddhist [manji] criticizing Buddhists for using Nazi symbols,” @Yuanxi_21711 commented, while @half_a_catty_and_eightyli said the clothing looked nothing like Japanese uniforms. “This isn’t a standard Japanese flight suit — the shape and color are different,” the user wrote. “Is Li Ning being trolled by his opponents?” Ho Tsung-hsun, chairman of the Taiwan Citizen Participation Association, said the “fragility” of online comments were linked to Beijing’s authoritarian brand of nationalism. “This isn’t the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last,” Ho told RFA. “If they hadn’t apologized, their business and public image could be affected.” “This is a dictatorship, and its people are so fragile.” Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Local officials linked to Cambodia’s opposition party forced to condemn Sam Rainsy

Editor2 years ago06 mins

Cambodia’s main opposition Candlelight Party on Friday called on authorities to stop trying to force local officials to publicly condemn Hun Sen’s exiled political rival Sam Rainsy. In a statement, the party urged the Ministry of Interior to advise local authorities to stop “intimidating activities” to ensure that the upcoming 2023 general election can be free and fair. Sam Rainsy is a co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was the previous main opposition party before the country’s Supreme Court dissolved it in 2017. He has been living in self-exile in France since 2015, when he fled a series of charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Cambodia has convicted and sentenced Sam Rainsy in absentia several times during his exile, including handing him a life sentence this month on bogus claims that he attempted to cede four Cambodian provinces to a foreign state. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, threatened last week that he would dissolve any party that associates with Sam Rainsy and accused those who support him of being against Cambodia’s king. Several Candlelight Party members who were elected to local commune council seats in elections this summer were then told to sign petitions declaring they rebuke Sam Rainsy. “This is a serious violation against the constitution and universal declaration on civil and political rights and freedom of expression,” the Candlelight Party statement said. The party is gathering evidence and will file an official complaint, vice president Thach Setha said. RFA was unable to reach Ministry of Interior Spokesman Khieu Sopheak for comment Friday. One Candlelight Party commune councilor told RFA’s Khmer service that when he refused to sign the statement, he was asked by his colleague from Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP to appear at the commune office to declare his stance in regards to Sam Rainsy. “I told [the commune chief] that I am waiting on orders from the party but he said he also received his orders from the top,” said Sorn Meang, who sits on the council of Da commune in the southeastern province of Tbong Khmum. “This is a threat against another commune councilor,” he said Chhoyy Mao, the commune chief told RFA that he did ask Sorn Meang about Sam Rainsy but denied he forced him to sign or say anything. “Only the CPP councilors placed their thumbprint next to their names, but none from the Candlelight Party did,” he said. “I explained the reason but [Sorn Meang] said he was waiting for orders.” On Thursday, the Candlelight Party said that political dialogue between Hun Sen and the party has resumed after the party issued a public statement to distance itself from Sam Rainsy by condemning those who insult the king, without naming any specific person. Hun Sen posted that statement on Facebook with a comment saying he appreciated the party for following his request. CPP spokesman Sok Ey San denied that the party had instructed party activists to threaten the Candlelight Party. However, he said those who refuse to condemn Sam Rainsy are insulting the king. “There is no threat,” he said. “People nationwide have condemned [Sam Rainsy] and those who disagree have revealed their stance on the nation, our religion, and our king.” Local authorities have abused the Candlelight Party’s commune councilor rights, according to Soeung Seng Karuna, spokesperson for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association. He said allegations over the king stemmed from political conflict between the CPP and the dissolved opposition party. “In a democratic countries they value free thoughts, ideas and political affiliations,” he said. “The authorities are abusing people by preventing them from making free decisions and trying to affect their political will.” Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Top Vietnamese leader heading to China on Sunday to meet Xi

Editor2 years ago07 mins

Vietnam’s top leader Nguyen Phu Trong will travel to China on Sunday to visit President Xi Jinping, the first foreign leader to do so since Xi’s re-election to a third five-year term last weekend. The two countries have had territorial disagreements in the South China Sea but are generally considered allies. The two men are expected to discuss strengthening ties and underscore their will to cooperate on a variety of issues. The three-day visit will also be Trong’s first trip abroad since he suffered a stroke in 2019. Xi’s re-election last Sunday at the Chinese Communist Party’s national congress signals that there will be little change in China’s foreign policy, and it is an opportunity for Vietnam to reaffirm that it has no intention to counter China by allying with a third nation, such as the United States, Vu Xuan Khang, an International Security Ph.D. candidate at Boston College, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. “Despite territorial disagreement in the [South China] Sea, the Communist Party of Vietnam attaches significance to its comradeship with the Communist Party of China and hopes that the two sides can maintain their good relationship in the future,” said Khang. China, meanwhile, extended the invitation to make sure the Asian neighbors continue their dialogue and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, Khang said. “China doesn’t want to have conflicts with Vietnam as the Taiwan issue is way more important,” he said. China may use the meeting to draw Vietnam closer and deter Hanoi from getting too close to Washington, Nguyen The Phuong, a marine security expert, told RFA. Vietnam needs China more than China needs Vietnam, especially when it comes to economic issues, said Phoung. But he said Xi chose Trong to be the first leader to visit since the end of the congress as a gesture to show that China does value the relationship. Containers are transferred from a truck to cargo ship at the international cargo terminal of a port in Hai Phong city, Vietnam, Aug. 12, 2019. Vietnam’s import-export activities heavily depend on China, says researcher Nguyen The Phuong. Credit: AFP “Recently, Vietnam’s relations with western countries, especially with the U.S., have improved rapidly,” he said. “From China’s perspective, letting Vietnam freely get closer to western countries is also a strategic threat.” Beijing has several tools at its disposal to prevent Hanoi from falling into Washington’s orbit, Phoung said. “Economically, Vietnam’s import-export activities heavily depend on China, especially in terms of raw material imports and border trade,” he said. “Therefore, by creating economic pressure only, China would already be able to send the message that Vietnam should not go too far.” Additionally, China would be able to put pressure on Vietnam by increasing military presence in the South China Sea. It can also persuade the Vietnamese Communist Party that a closer relationship can help maintain the party’s power, Phoung said. Ironing out disagreements The two countries have also tangled over the Mekong River, as China has built a series of dams in the Upper Mekong that have adversely affected Vietnam and other downstream countries in Southeast Asia. But the visit will likely seek to avoid any overt conflicts as the two sides try to smooth over relations, a researcher who requested anonymity for safety reasons told RFA “Vietnam will perhaps not mention the Mekong very much. However, it will try to put forth the Eastern Sea issues to resolve differences through negotiation by the two countries,” he said, using the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea. Phuong said these issues would be secondary to maintaining their harmonious relationship. “If mentioned at all, the two sides would still emphasize dialogue and cooperation and not promote an image of insurmountable challenges in Vietnam-China relations,” said Khang. Instead, the two sides will likely play up strategies for building the party and fighting corruption. They may have differences in foreign policy, “but the two countries have many things in common when it comes to domestic policy,” he said. These commonalities include the mechanism of party leadership, state management, a socialism-oriented market economy, and economic development based on export and foreign investment, Khang said. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Protests spread in Lhasa over COVID-19 restrictions

Editor2 years ago010 mins

Protests over COVID-19 restrictions in the Tibetan capital Lhasa spread to at least four different areas of the city Thursday, prompting “scuffles” with authorities in some cases, sources told Radio Free Asia, as ethnic Chinese migrant workers demanded permits to return home from the region. RFA was able to confirm that many of the protesters were ethnic majority Han Chinese migrant workers who likely obtained permission to reside in Lhasa for jobs that pay daily wages. Sources in the city, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said that the migrant workers have been demanding that local authorities issue them permits to return to their homes in eastern China because they have been unable to earn a living during the nearly three months of lockdown in the city. In footage from one video obtained late on Wednesday, a man claiming to be a police officer pleads with protesters in Mandarin Chinese to return to their homes, and tells them their concerns have been relayed to senior officials. “Please return to your homes. Why? If you [don’t] go back and block up this area, what might happen? You’ll infect each other,” the apparent officer says. “We’ve already reported to the higher ups, okay? Please go home.” “We understand your pain. We’re going to make a report soon,” he goes on to say. ”Please everybody understand, we will report to the relevant authorities.” On Wednesday, RFA Tibetan reported that scores of people had taken to the streets in what appeared to be Chengguan district’s Chakrong area, in eastern Lhasa, as well as the Payi area of the city, based on video obtained by sources in the region. By Thursday, protests had spread to include the districts of Lhalu and Kuang Ye, sources told RFA, with newly obtained video footage showing crowds growing more restless. In one such video, protesters appear to engage in a yelling and shoving match with authorities, while in another, a group of people appear to push a large iron gate off of its hinges. Trying to contain Sangay Kyab, a Tibet expert based in Spain, told RFA that Chinese authorities likely did not resort to violence to crack down on the protests in Lhasa because they were related to COVID-19 restrictions, and because Beijing doesn’t want the situation to escalate. Sakar Tashi, a Belgium-based China and Tibet watcher, took it a step further, suggesting that authorities wouldn’t have responded as peacefully to a protest held exclusively by Tibetans. “Han people in Lhasa protested against the epidemic control policy. Tibetans are also involved,” he wrote in a post to Twitter. “Most who led & participated were Han – if it were Tibetans, it would have been bloodily suppressed long ago.” RFA was able to contact an officer with the Lhasa Public Security Bureau who insisted that no protest had taken place over the past two days. “There was no gathering, assembly or protest,” he said. “Everything is in an orderly manner. We did not arrest anyone.” When asked how many people were able to obtain permits to leave the region, the officer replied that “anyone who meets conditions can receive permits and leave Tibet freely.” When pressed further about the status of the protests, the officer said that “everyone is fine, everyone went home.” Other sources inside the city appeared more wary about discussing the incidents, including some who had provided RFA with updates on Wednesday. However, accounts provided to RFA by some Lhasa residents on Thursday appeared to confirm the officer’s explanation of events. Residents said that protesters dispersed after authorities agreed to process applications for Chinese migrant workers to return to their homes outside of the region. RFA was unable to independently verify whether such an arrangement had been made. COVID-19 restrictions Reports of the protests in Lhasa – believed to be the largest in the city in more than a dozen years – came days after the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region issued an Oct. 24 statement announcing that a harsh COVID-19 lockdown in Lhasa would be “loosened.” The lockdown in Lhasa began in early August as COVID-19 numbers there and throughout China continued to climb. Lhasa residents have said on social media that the lockdown order came without enough time to prepare, leaving some short on food, and making it difficult for those infected with the virus to find adequate treatment. Despite Monday’s announcement by authorities, residents of Lhasa told RFA on Thursday that the lockdown remains in effect and claimed even more stringent measures were being implemented. One video obtained by RFA appears to be taken inside a bus full of people who the narrator says are Tibetans being rounded up and taken to an undisclosed location. “Look, they are taking all these people who aren’t even sick,” a man’s voice says, urging viewers to “please share this on Douyin,” referring to a popular video-hosting website in China. Chinese state media had reported more than 18,000 cases of COVID-19 infection as of early October, with at least 60,507 people now held in quarantine in conditions described as harsh by sources inside the Tibet Autonomous Region. In a Sept. 26 statement, the Central Tibetan Administration – the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan government-in-exile – said Chinese authorities are holding Tibetans in quarantine camps without adequate food, water or medical care. Camp managers have routinely placed infected persons with others still uninfected, resulting in a further spread of the virus, it said. Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago, following which the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India and other countries around the world. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting separatism in Tibet. Translated by Kalden Lodoe, Rita Cheng and Chase Bodiford. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Wife of slain Cambodian activist accepts compensation, but still demands justice

Editor2 years ago03 mins

The widow of a slain Cambodian opposition party activist said she received compensation for her husband’s death, but had not agreed to withdraw charges against the assailant as court officials claimed she had. Wen Kimyi, whose husband Po Hin Lean was shot on his way to go fishing early on the morning of Oct. 16 in the southeastern province of Tbong Khmum, told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday that she received $12,000 in compensation from a Cambodian court. But when she received the compensation, court officials read a document stating that she had withdrawn her criminal complaint and agreed not to press charges against her husband’s killer. “They read me a letter saying that my husband resisted arrest, and so the police shot him, according to the police officer,” said Wen Kimyi. ”I don’t allow the police to release my husband’s killers. I want to find out: who is my husband’s killer?” She said she accepted the compensation money to pay for her husband’s funeral. The court in Tbong Khmum province only said that a security guard named “Vet” was detained for the killing and charged with involuntary manslaughter. RFA was unable to confirm if he was released after the victim’s wife accepted compensation. A court spokesperson discussed the case with a local radio station in Cambodia and said that the matter is being handled by an investigative judge. Po Hin Lean’s killing was part of a series of attacks targeting opposition activists across Cambodia, especially those linked to the relatively new Candlelight Party. Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party has had a firm grip on Cambodia’s government since 1997. In the most recent communal elections, several opposition candidates and activists reported being harassed and targeted in the run-up to the vote. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Nawar Nemeh.

Year: 2022