November 2023 - Page 6 of 6 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Pakistani police crack down on Uyghurs at risk for deportation

Editor2 years ago07 mins

Pakistani authorities began conducting unexpected house raids on the homes of Uyghurs living in Rawalpindi just before a government order to expel all illegal migrants who had not left the country by the start of November took effect, according to Uyghurs involved in the matter. Officials issued a warning in early October, stating that migrants without a legal residence permit in Pakistan had to leave by Nov. 1 or face deportation. The measure affects nearly 20 Uyghur families — or about 100 individuals — living in Rawalpindi, the fourth most populous city in Pakistan. Pakistani officials issued the expulsion order after dozens of people were killed in two suicide bombings in late September. Though they said that most such bombings this year were conducted by Afghan nationals, they decided to expel all migrants without a valid residence permit – including 1.73 million Afghan refugees – if they didn’t leave on their own. Most of the affected Uyghurs are descendants of individuals who migrated decades ago from Xinjiang to Afghanistan and later to Pakistan. They lack Afghan or Chinese passports and Pakistani residence permits. The Uyghurs, who have been living in a state of uncertainty in Pakistan for the past month, said authorities began sudden house raids at midnight on Oct. 31. “They are raiding homes at midnight or at 1 or 2 o’clock,” said a Uyghur man named Turghunjan who is married and has two daughters and a son. “The landlords are also telling us to leave, but we will have nowhere to sleep.” Landlords who rent homes to the Uyghurs reported some of them to the authorities, and on Nov. 1, a man named Amanullah was detained during a house search by police as part of the effort to investigate illegal migrants, the Uyghurs said. Police released Amanullah on bail five hours later. It remains unclear if authorities will deport the Uyghur families. Stopped by police Turghunjan, a relative of Amanullah, said he was abruptly stopped by police on his way home from work on the evening of Oct. 31, during which the officers checked his identity and warned him of a potential search the following day. “While I was on my way home, the police stopped me and asked me questions,” he said. “They slapped me on the face three or four times and said they would search me after Nov. 1.” “We are not Afghan, and if they deport us, where will we go?” he asked. RFA could not reach police in Rawalpindi for comment. The Uyghur families are concerned that their safety will be at risk under current Taliban control if Pakistani authorities deport them to Afghanistan. They also fear being forced back to China, where Uyghurs in the far-western Xinjiang region face repression and are subjected to severe rights abuses. “They are not leaving their homes, [and] the landlords are reporting them to the police,” said Omer Khan, founder of the Pakistan-based Omer Uyghur Trust, who has been assisting the families. Though police have threatened some Uyghurs over the past days, they have not yet arrested or deported anyone, he said. The Uyghurs sought help from the U.N. refugee agency’s office in Pakistan for years without success. But this October, the agency collected their names, addresses, and details about their families, following an early October report about their plight by Radio Free Asia. At the time, the agency also said it was investigating the situation of the Uyghur families facing deportation if they failed to comply with the government order expelling all illegal migrants. Khan said he received a reassuring call from a representative of the U.N. refugee agency, officially the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, on Nov. 2 while the Uyghurs faced harassment by police. “We didn’t ask them to come and take us,” he said. “We just need a response and decision from the U.N. about refugee status.” Neither the U.N.’s refugee agency in Geneva, Switzerland, nor its office in Pakistan responded to inquiries from RFA. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Myanmar’s navy arrests over 200 Rohingya fleeing Rakhine

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Junta navy officials have arrested 226 Rohingya fleeing Myanmar by boat since Oct. 27, communities in western Myanmar told Radio Free Asia. They were attempting to escape to Malaysia and Thailand. On Thursday, the navy apprehended two boats carrying 167 Rohingya off the coast of Ayeyarwady region, a source close to the region’s police force said Friday. “They were caught when they left to go to Thailand. They were caught at sea,” he told RFA, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “There were 80 men and 87 women on the boat.” Ten Myanmar crew members are also being prosecuted, he added. The group of 167 Rohingya originated from Rakhine state. They traveled in boats called Thuta Kyaw and Zeya Aung and were sailing northwest from Hainggyikyun in Ayeyarwady region, some pro-army channels on the messaging app Telegram reported. Junta navy warship 553 caught the boats while patrolling the area. Navy officials took the arrested Rohingya to an unknown location from Hainggyikyun police station, said a local close to the junta council administration. Their whereabouts is still unknown. Similarly, officials arrested nine men and 12 women on Monday after the group entered Rakhine state from Bangladesh’s refugee camps. They intended to go to Malaysia, but were arrested in the sea near Rathedaung township’s Done Paik village. On Oct. 27, junta officials arrested 38 Rohingya enroute to Malaysia. The boat was caught near Ah Ngu Maw village in Rakhine’s Rathedaung township. The following day, the group was taken to Sittwe police station to be prosecuted, according to a press release from the junta-controlled Rakhine Daily Telegram page. In relation to the three cases, police arrested six more people, including boat owners, crew members and a broker. Rohingya regularly leave by boat for neighboring countries because it is more difficult for them to survive in Rakhine state, one Rohingya refugee from Sittwe told RFA. “This leaving is normal and there is no way to stop it. People are going in droves, although they know the way is deadly,” he said, asking to remain anonymous. “About half of those who left have arrived. But there is absolutely no way to stop it. Because it’s difficult to live here – job scarcity and unemployment, no freedom. And people are leaving because the resentment is growing day by day.” They are trying to leave by paying brokers up to 10 million kyats (US$4,762) per person, he added. Rohingya are often arrested by the Myanmar navy while leaving on boats. RFA contacted Ayeyarwady region’s junta council spokesman, Maung Maung Than for comment on the arrested Rohingya, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Unofficial Vietnamese church members languish in detention

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Four members of an unofficial church in southern Vietnam’s Dak Lak province who invited the country’s newly appointed president to attend their services remained in custody Thursday, in violation of a law that requires detainees be released within three days, said a religious watchdog group. Protestant Christians Y Phuc Nie, Y Nuer Buon Dap, Y Thinh Nie, and Y Cung Nie were arrested on Oct. 31 and are being held at the Cu Mgar District Police Headquarters, Y Quynh Buon Dap, a member of Thailand’s Montagnards For Justice group said. “Two of them were invited to a meeting on religious affairs [and detained], and the other two were taken from their homes to the Cu Mgar District Police,” Y Quynh Buon Dap told RFA Vietnamese. “Three days have already passed, but none have been allowed to return home.” In a letter dated Oct. 30, Cu Sue Commune People’s Committee Chairman Dang Van Hoan requested that Y Cung Nie come to his office the following day to discuss an invitation he sent to President Vo Van Thuong in May to attend his church’s services. On the same day, the chairman of the Ea Pok Town People’s Committee requested that Y Nuer Buon Dap meet with him on Oct. 31 to discuss “guidance on procedures to establish religious service locations.” However, police arrested the two Protestants upon their arrival for the meetings, their family members told RFA. “The police arrested him right after he arrived at the office of the Commune People’s Committee early on Oct. 31 and then escorted him to the Cu Mgar District Police headquarters,” said Y Cung Nie’s relative, who declined to be named for security reasons. “Since then, they have held him but haven’t said anything to our family.” Y Phuc Nie and Y Thinh Nie were both arrested at their homes. Y Cung Nie’s relative confirmed that “three other [Protestants] are also being held at Cu Mgar District Police headquarters.” When family members went there to ask for information about them, police did not respond. RFA contacted the Cu Mgar District Police on Thursday, but the person who answered the phone said that they could only provide information in person. A source with the Montagnards For Justice group told RFA on Thursday that the Cu Mgar District Police had released Y Phuc Nie, but arrested his wife, H Tuyen Eban instead. RFA was unable to independently verify the claim. Limits on detention According to Vietnamese law, a person accused of committing an administrative violation can only be held in custody for 12 hours – or 24 hours under extenuating circumstances. Those accused of a crime cannot be held for more than three days – a period that can be extended twice for three days each with special permission. All cases requiring temporary detention must be approved by the Procuracy at the same level as the investigating police department and the status of the case must be communicated to the family of the accused. Despite the requirements, the families of the four Protestants have yet to receive any notification on their situation from authorities. According to a document obtained by RFA from the Montagnards For Justice, the four Protestants sent an invitation in May to new Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, who was appointed two months earlier, and representatives of the People’s Committees of all communes in Dak Lak to attend their church service in June. The purpose of the invitation, they said, was to prove to authorities that their unofficial church services do not include any anti-state ideology, and that they would not affect public order. It said that if local authorities attended the service, church members would document the event to post on social media and include in any reports to international organizations. Three-day propaganda lecture The unofficial Protestant church in Cu Mgar district claims to have 165 members, 150 of whom are from Cu Sue commune’s Sut M’dung village and 15 from Ea Tar commune’s Drai Si village. Montagnards For Justice’s Y Quynh Buon Dap told RFA that the church had sent invitations to attend services to local authorities four times since the beginning of the year, but has yet to receive a response. He said that in addition to detaining the four Protestants, authorities required members of the church to attend a three-day propaganda lecture, beginning Oct. 30. In two-three hour sessions, local authorities urged the community not to take part in the services of their church or any other unofficial church, including the Evangelical Church of Christ of the Central Highlands and Good News Mission Church. Those that do would be “dealt with according to the law,” they said. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Ethnic armed alliance captures 3 cities on China-Myanmar border

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Allied ethnic armed groups captured three cities in northeastern Myanmar in a six-day battle, a representative of one of the groups told Radio Free Asia on Thursday. Junta troops were forced to abandon their posts on Friday when allied soldiers attacked three cities in northern Shan State, the military confirmed in a statement released Wednesday. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and Arakan Army gained control of the cities in an operation called 1027. Fighting took place in several townships until Monday, when the military gave up the cities of Chinshwehaw, Hpawng Hseng and Pang Hseng near the China-Myanmar border, according to junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun. “Here we see all kinds of propaganda that almost all the cities in northern Shan state have been controlled [by ethnic armed groups], and about where they will continue after that,” he said on junta-controlled television channel MRTV. “At this time, there are places where our government and administrative organizations and security forces have failed.” The northern allied groups have started implementing administrative systems, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army spokesperson Yan Naing told RFA. “Right now, we have full control over Chinshwehaw and Hpawng Hseng. The administrative mechanisms have been restored,” he said. “Chinshwehaw township was reformed by our administrative team. We are working to restore electricity and everything. We are working hard to make people’s lives comfortable.” Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army forces gained control of Theinni on Friday, but have not yet been able to seize the military’s camps on the other side of the town, he added. The group seized Hpawng Hseng on Monday and Pang Hseng in Muse township on Wednesday. The alliance claimed they captured nearly 90 junta army bases during the battle, but RFA has not been able to independently confirm this number. Conflict in Pang Hseng ended on Wednesday afternoon, said a local woman asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “Now, the situation has gone quiet. We stay at home and do not dare to go anywhere. If people go to market, they trade early in the morning and return home,” she said. “I heard the sounds of gunfire and small ammunition yesterday evening, not the heavy artillery anymore. If the sounds of heavy weapons are close, we run to the houses with basements.” During a routine briefing on Thursday, China’s foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called for an immediate ceasefire. China tightened border security when the fighting began, locals said. “The Chinese side opens the gate if there is an emergency patient, but it is said that the war refugees are not allowed to get in,” the woman from Pang Hseng said. RFA contacted the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Junta battalion surrenders amid Shan state ethnic offensive

Editor2 years ago08 mins

An entire military battalion has surrendered to rebel forces amid an offensive by an alliance of three ethnic armies in northern Myanmar’s Shan state, according to sources with the armed resistance who called the capitulation the first of its kind in the region. All 41 members of Light Infantry Battalion 143, including a deputy commander and two company commanders, agreed to lay down their arms on Monday following talks with the Northern or “Three Brotherhood” Alliance a day earlier, Yan Naing, information officer of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, told RFA Burmese on Wednesday. “It is true that the 41 [troops] surrendered – it happened on [Oct.] 30,” said Yan Naing, whose MNDAA, based in Shan’s Kokang region along the border with China, is one of three members of the ethnic army alliance along with the Arakan Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Representatives of the Three Brother Alliance had urged commanders of the Kunlong township-based battalion to give up on Oct. 28, a day after it launched “Operation 1027” – named for the Oct. 27 date of the offensive – and simultaneously struck junta positions in the strategic Shan cities of Kunlong, Hseni, Chin Shwe Haw, Laukkaing, Namhkan, Kutkai, and Lashio, the state’s largest municipality. The MNDAA’s information department said Monday’s surrender marked the first time that a whole battalion had capitulated during an operation in northern Shan state, adding that the alliance had also confiscated a weapons cache as part of the agreement. It said 15 pro-junta militia fighters had also surrendered with their weapons on Tuesday. As part of a deal to entice junta forces to surrender, the MNDAA paid 1.5 million kyats (US$715) to each soldier from the battalion and pro-junta militia fighters that lay down their arms and escorted them to territory under their control, the group said. Operation 1027 making gains The MNDAA claims that more than 100 junta troops and pro-junta militia fighters have surrendered during Operation 1027, although its claims could not be independently verified. The Irrawaddy online journal cited the Three Brotherhood Alliance as saying that, from Oct. 27-31, it took control of 87 Myanmar military camps and three towns in Shan state – Chinshwehaw, Nawngkhio, and Hseni. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the alliance urged junta troops to give up their camps and outposts or face attack. It said those who surrender will be guaranteed safety, medical care, and other assistance that will allow them to return to their families “with dignity.” United Wa State Army soldiers participate in a military parade in Myanmar’s Wa State, in Panghsang on April 17, 2019. Credit: Ye Aung Thu/AFP The junta has yet to release any information about the surrender of its troops. Calls to junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. General Zaw Min Tun went unanswered Wednesday. Local resistance groups – including the anti-junta People’s Defense Force, or PDF – have joined in Operation 1027, which the Three Brotherhood Alliance says was launched to stop military attacks on ethnic armies in the region, get rid of online scamming rings in Kokang, and build a federal union. UWSA staying ‘neutral’ One group that will not be joining the operation is the ethnic United Wa State Army, or UWSA, which confirmed it was staying out of the campaign in a statement on Wednesday. Wa troops will “adopt a principle of neutrality” and avoid armed conflict in the Kokang region, but will retaliate against military intervention of any kind in its region, the statement said. A UWSA official confirmed to RFA that the information contained in the statement was correct. The UWSA said that the troops involved in the current conflict should “exercise restraint and pursue negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire.” It also said that humanitarian assistance had been provided to displaced persons who fled into the region due to the fighting. On the day Operation 1027 was launched, Kokang forces attacked Chin Shwe Haw, which was controlled by the United Wa State Army. The fighting forced some 10,000 residents of the town to flee to nearby Nam Tit for shelter, the UWSA official said. Another ethnic armed organization called the National Democratic Alliance Army, or NDAA, based in eastern Shan state has said it will not take part in the offensive and was adopting a principle of neutrality, but would “continue to maintain peace and stability” in the border region. The Three Brotherhood Alliance armies are also members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee, or FPNCC, led by the UWSA. The seven-member coalition also includes the Shan State Progressive Party, the Kachin Independence Army, and the NDAA. Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Man dies during Myanmar junta interrogation

Editor2 years ago04 mins

A man from southwestern Myanmar died during a military interrogation between Oct. 19 and 20, revolution groups told Radio Free Asia on Monday. Military officials arrested 20-year-old Soe Paing Oo for allegedly communicating with a People’s Defense Force in the country’s northern region of Mandalay. The Ayeyarwady region local, as well as three others, surrendered to the junta on Oct. 5 during a ceremony at Pathein’s Southwestern Regional Military Headquarters. Junta officials reported the four men defected from resistance groups and that they gave each one 300,000 kyats (US$143). Although locals disputed that the arrested men were resistance fighters, junta officials presented the men with certificates noting their surrender. In the following days, the military officers interrogated Soe Paing Oo, who is from Kan Thone Sint village in Kyonpyaw township, as well as another man from Ngathaingchaung township, the revolution group told RFA. “They were welcomed with a ceremony at the Southwestern Regional Military Headquarters. [Previously], they were living under house arrest,” members of the revolution group said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “A man who surrendered to the junta from Kyonpyaw township was taken and interrogated by the Kyonpyaw army officers. I heard that he died during the interrogation and was cremated directly in the military headquarters.” Details about Soe Paing Oo’s death are still unknown, and it is likely he was not affiliated with any People’s Defence Force, they added. In Ayeyarwady region, many civilians are currently seeking the protection of resistance groups. After protesting during the 2021 coup, they are sheltering with People’s Defence Forces to avoid arrest and will sometimes surrender to junta troops if the group is attacked. Despite their alleged civilian status, locals told RFA that police were already investigating Soe Paing Oo and the three other men before they surrendered. RFA could not confirm the condition of the Ngathaingchaung man who was arrested with Soe Paing Oo. Around 20 people in Ayeyarwady region surrendered to the military in the region’s capital of Pathein, according to junta officials. In October, junta troops were accused of forcing Ayeyarwady region locals to meet recruitment quotas for military training, including minors. Calls by RFA to Ayeyarwady region’s junta spokesperson Maung Maung Than went unanswered. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan

Candlelight Party officials vote for alliance with Khmer Will Party

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Top officials from the opposition Candlelight Party voted on Tuesday to align with the smaller Khmer Will Party as it prepares for upcoming district and Senate elections. The move will allow the Candlelight Party – which has been stymied in its efforts to regain official status – to register candidates under the Khmer Will Party name in next year’s district elections. The Khmer Will Party did not appear on the ballot in the July general elections, but it maintains a recognized registration status with the Ministry of Interior. “The Candlelight Party has spent time and money and paved obstacles,” said Phal Sithon, a senior Khmer Will Party official. “We owe it gratitude.” After the former main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved by the Supreme Court in 2017, the Candlelight Party began organizing and gathering support. Many of its leaders were once part of the CNRP. But in May, the National Election Committee ruled that the Candlelight Party couldn’t compete in July’s parliamentary election because it did not have the original registration form issued by the Interior Ministry. With no real opposition, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, swept to victory. The president of the Khmer Will Party is Kong Monika, a former senior member of the Candlelight Party. His father, Kong Korm, was once a senior adviser to the Candlelight Party. Phal Sithon said the Khmer Will Party will allow the Candlelight Party to register its candidates under its party’s name in next year’s district elections. However, he wouldn’t specify how the two parties would choose which of their candidates would appear on ballots. “We can’t say the percentage but they have been working on their candidates so we must respect that,” he said. Checks and balances The Candlelight Party announced earlier this month its intention to form an alliance with several minor parties, including the Khmer Will Party. The alliance will also look to field candidates in the 2027 commune elections and the 2028 general election. Last week, Candlelight Party Vice President Rong Chhun said it may also form an alliance with the newly formed National Power Party. Legal scholar Vorn Chanlot on Tuesday told RFA that the Khmer Will Party most resembles the Candlelight Party compared to the other two parties in the alliance – the Grassroots Democratic Party and the Cambodia Reform Party. “People need an opposition party that has a will and wisdom for the sake of social benefit for checks and balances over the government,” he said. Also last week, the ruling CPP unveiled its own alliance with 27 minor parties. Speaking at the CPP’s headquarters, Hun Sen alleged that an unnamed group “has plans to topple the government and destroy peace.” The longtime leader, who stepped down as prime minister in August but remains the CPP’s president, was likely referring to Candlelight’s recent efforts to form ties with other parties. “I would like to affirm that we must collectively destroy this political extremist group. I have already directed a plan to destroy this political organization,” Hun Sen said, adding that he succeeded in neutralizing the remnants of the Khmer Rouge in the 1990s. Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

Month: November 2023