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Year: 2023

Police out in force during Lhasa religious festival

Editor03 mins

Chinese police were out in force during a major religious festival in Tibet’s regional capital of Lhasa on Thursday, residents told Radio Free Asia. It was the latest effort by China to suppress Tibetan religious and cultural expressions by sending a large police force to religious gatherings to surveil attendees.  Marked by displays of butter lamps and candles, the Gaden Ngamchoe festival commemorates the death of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, a revered 14th century scholar.  It is observed on the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar, which falls on Dec. 7 this year.   But police in Lhasa prevented followers from gathering in large numbers and restricted the number of those trying to go on a pilgrimage to the Jokang Temple and Potala Palace, a resident there told RFA Tibetan on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The Chinese government has deployed police in great numbers, and checkpoints to screen and restrict the mass public gatherings to observe the Ganden Ngachoe prayer offerings in Lhasa,” the resident said. “Drones are used to track people’s movement.” In video footage RFA obtained from a trusted source, a heavy police presence can be seen all around the Tsuglakhang Temple. The police use high beam flashlights to disperse the crowds around the temple and tell the devotees to keep moving.  The enhanced surveillance came without warning, another resident said.  “Without any prior announcement, the Chinese authorities are distressing devotees from entering Tsuglakhang Temple on this auspicious day,” the second resident said. “There are so many police deployed all around Tsuglakhang and police holding guns can also seen above the temple.”  Though they were allowed to enter the temples, the police were there to ensure that the gatherings did not grow to be too big, the second resident said. “They are dispersing the devotees in sections and screening us and checking our phones at the checkpoints.”   Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Edited by Eugene Whong.

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Junta bombing kills 5, including a child, in northern Myanmar

Editor04 mins

A heavy aerial attack in northeastern Myanmar killed five civilians, an official from an anti-junta women’s organization told Radio Free Asia on Friday.  On Wednesday night, junta aircraft bombed a village in Namhkan township in northern Shan state.  The victims included 46-year-old Tar Ah Swe; 56-year-old Yar Ah Ba; 50-year-old Yar Kham Li; and a 35-year-old male teacher, Yai Lay. A five-year-old girl, Lway O Dae, also died in the attacks, according to Lway, an official from the Ta’ang Women’s Organization.  “The teacher, Yai Lay, is from Namhkan’s Man Pu village. He is sheltering in Ho Nar village because the [military] situation in Namhkan is bad. Tar Ah Swe and Yar Ah Ba are a couple from Pang Long village in Manton township,” she said. “Yar Kham Li and Lway O are mother and daughter. They were all sheltering in a tea trading house to flee the fighting.” Four others, including two six-year-old children, were injured and sent to Namhkan Hospital, she added. Half an hour later, the junta bombed nearby Pang Law village. Seven houses were destroyed in the attack, residents said. The junta’s air force dropped the bombs despite there being no fighting beforehand, a Ta’ang National Liberation Army information official said, confirming five civilians were killed. However, daily battles are erupting at Sa Kham Thit military camp outside of Namhkhan city, about 13 kilometers (eight miles) from the site of the bombing. “The junta bombing was far from the village. There was no fighting in these villages,” he said. “The junta used a 500-pound [226 kilogram] bomb. We can tell because of its intensity.” RFA reached out to Shan state’s junta spokesperson Khun Thein Maung to investigate the group’s claim that the junta dropped 500 pound bombs, but he did not return calls on Friday. During a resistance military offensive called Operation 1027, in which three allied groups won several Shan state cities, the group’s forces also took control of Namhkam, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army said. The group is fighting with junta forces daily to gain control of Sa Kham Thit Hill, more than 1.6 kilometers (one mile) from Namhkan city. Since Operation 1027 launched on Oct. 27, 103 civilians, including 20 children, have been killed according to data compiled by the Ta’ang Women’s Organization. Small weapon fire, heavy artillery and airstrikes, have injured nearly 170 people in northern Shan state.  Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Vietnam repatriates more than 1,000 of its citizens from Myanmar

Editor05 mins

Updated Dec. 7, 2023, 5:25 p.m. ET. Vietnam this week flew home just over 1,000 of its citizens who were stranded in wartorn Myanmar, Hanoi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, embassies and consulates in Myanmar organized nine flights to repatriate exactly 1,020 Vietnamese.  Most of the repatriates were stranded in the northern areas of Shan State, where fighting between the junta and ethnic armed groups has intensified, with anti-junta forces making significant gains there in recent months.  In the past, Vietnam has organized flights to evacuate its citizens from troubled areas in the world, including an effort during the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in a massive scandal as officials skimmed off the top of repatriation funds and accepted bribes.  The ministry stressed that expenses for all repatriation flights from Myanmar were paid by the Vietnamese government. RFA reported earlier this month that 166 Vietnamese citizens who had been trafficked to northern Myanmar but were rescued by authorities, remained stranded in a war zone. On Thursday, a mother of one of the 166 told RFA Vietnamese that her daughter had returned home that day to Phu Quoc Island City in Vietnam’s far southern Kien Giang province. “Everything was free of charge,” she said. “The government helped bring my daughter back to Moc Bai [the border gate between Vietnam and Cambodia], and my family paid for her travel from there to Phu Quoc. I am very, very happy.” She said the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar was very supportive, though the repatriation process was a bit complicated due to high volume. In August, RFA reported that 15-year-old Le Thi Tuong Vi was among a group of teenagers who were trafficked first to Laos, and were believed to be headed to either Myanmar or China. Vi was among those repatriated from Myanmar, her mother told RFA, but did not elaborate because her daughter is still recovering from her trip. But Trinh Khanh Hoang Anh, another teenager in the group, has yet to be repatriated, his father Trinh Huu Phuoc told RFA via text message. “There are 166 [Vietnamese] people who have been rescued and were living in a refugee camp of the military,” he said. “This morning, the kids were taken to Myanmar’s Border Gate 127 to verify information but there have been no results yet.” He said the Kien Giang provincial Department of Foreign Affairs advised the family that Anh’s paperwork has been completed but it has not yet arrived at the Vietnamese Embassy. According to the embassy, a number of Vietnamese still remain stranded in northern Myanmar due to ongoing fighting, state media reported. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.  Update corrects the days that the flights were organized for.

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Myanmar junta recruiting former resistance fighters to bolster numbers

Editor03 mins

Resistance fighters who surrendered to the junta in southwestern Myanmar are now being enlisted by the regime’s military, anti-junta militia members told Radio Free Asia. Junta soldiers are bribing revolutionary groups with money and food, said one official from the Pathein Urban Guerrilla Group on Wednesday. In the last two weeks the pressure has grown to bolster troop numbers by recruiting resistance fighters from Kyonpyaw, Yegyi and Pathein townships in Ayeyarwady region, he said. Both regime soldiers and former resistance group leaders who have surrendered are reported to be stepping up their recruitment tactics.  “Especially [those in] various forms of leadership among the surrenderers. They are called to meet up and recruit others to serve in the [junta-led] militia,” the official said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “The steps of organizing each other and asking people to organize to serve in the militia have escalated in the past two weeks.” This month, the junta also recalled retired military and police personnel from Thabaung township, he added. More than 100 people have surrendered to the junta in Ayeyarwady region in the past two years. Members of People’s Defense Forces surrendered by contacting junta forces to give up their positions.  Ayeywarwady residents also accused junta troops of recruiting teen soldiers and pressuring locals to fulfill quotas in October. Pro-military militia members, including those in the Swan Ar Shin militia, have been undergoing military training since September, said a Pathein resident close to the junta army. The training is being provided at several military bases in Ayeyarwady division, including the Kyonpyaw-based Infantry Battalion 36, according to the Pathein Urban Guerrilla Group. In October, a 20-year-old man from Kyonpyaw died during an interrogation by members of Battalion 36 after being accused of communicating with People’s Defense Forces in Mandalay region. RFA has not been able to independently verify the claims made by anti-junta militias. Calls by RFA to Ayeyarwady division’s junta spokesperson Aung Thein Win seeking comment went unanswered. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Indonesia faces criticism over plan to deport Rohingya to Myanmar

Editor012 mins

Human rights activists and observers on Wednesday criticized a plan by the Indonesian government to return nearly 1,500 Rohingya to their home country of Myanmar, where they have faced persecution and violence, according to a report from BenarNews, a news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia. The Indonesian government announced the plan a day earlier without giving a deportation date, saying Aceh province, where boats carrying Rohingya mostly land, was running out of space and money. In addition, residents were rejecting the foreigners’ presence. “We’ve been lending a helping hand, and now we’re overwhelmed,” said Mohammad Mahfud MD, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs. “We will discuss how to return them to their country through the U.N. I will lead the meeting.”  The ministry reported that 1,487 Rohingya were in Indonesia, according to media reports. President Joko “Jokwoi” Widodo had tasked the minister with leading government efforts to deal with the issue. Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, however, proposed a different solution: Relocate the Rohingya to an island near Singapore where the Indonesian government had sheltered Vietnamese refugees who escaped their country in the 1980s and 1990s. Nadine Sherani, an activist with KonstraS, a Jakarta-based human rights group, said that by sending the Rohingya to Myanmar they could be exposed to atrocities linked to the junta, which seized power in a military coup in February 2021. “That step will transfer them to the hell they have experienced before,” Nadine told BenarNews.  “Does the government think about the long-term impact of repatriation? The main actor of violence in Myanmar is the junta. That is the reason they left the country,” she said. Oppressed people The Rohingya are one of the world’s most oppressed stateless people, according to the United Nations. They have been denied citizenship and basic rights by the Myanmar government, which considers them illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.  Following a military offensive in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017 that the U.N. described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” about 740,000 Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh. Seeking to escape difficult living conditions in Bangladesh refugee camps in and around Cox’s Bazar district, thousands of Rohingya have risked their lives on perilous sea journeys to reach Indonesia and other destinations. On Wednesday, police in Cox’s Bazar reported that four Rohingya had been killed within 24 hours during gunfights between members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and the Arakan Solidarity Organization gangs in the Ukhia refugee camp. Those killings brought the death toll to 10 in the sprawling Rohingya camps over the last 15 days and a total of 186 fatalities linked to violence in the camps since 2017. Meanwhile in Aceh province, the Rohingya presence has caused resentment and hostility from some locals who have accused them of being a burden and a nuisance.  On Nov. 16, a boat carrying 256 Rohingya was initially rejected by at least two groups of villagers in Aceh but was finally allowed to land after being stranded for three days. Another boat carrying more than 100 Rohingya landed on Sabang island on Dec. 2 after locals threatened to push it back to sea. ‘Urgent appeal’ Since then, UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency, issued “an urgent appeal to all countries in the region, particularly those in the area surrounding the Andaman Sea, to swiftly deploy their full search and rescue capacities in response to reported vessels in distress with hundreds of Rohingya at risk of perishing.”  In its statement issued on Saturday, UNHCR said it was concerned that Rohingya on two boats would run out of food and water. “[T]here is a significant risk of fatalities in the coming days if people are not rescued and disembarked to safety.” Mahfud MD said Indonesia had shown compassion by taking in the Rohingya even though it was not a party to the U.N refugee convention, an international treaty that defines rights and obligations of refugees and host countries.  “We could have turned them down flat. But we also have a heart. They could die at sea if no one wants them,” he said. Vietnamese children sit aboard an Indonesian Navy ship at Galang island as they wait to be repatriated from the island’s refugee camp, June 26, 1996. [Reuters] Ma’ruf, the vice president, suggested the Rohingya be settled temporarily on the island near Singapore. “We used Galang island for Vietnamese refugees in the past. We will discuss it again. I think the government must take action,” Ma’ruf said on Tuesday. Galang housed about 250,000 Vietnamese refugees, known as “boat people,” from 1979 to 1996. The UNHCR built healthcare facilities, schools, places of worship and cemeteries. Ma’ruf said the government could not turn away the Rohingya, but also had to consider local people’s objections and the possibility of more refugees arriving. Angga Reynaldi Putra, of Suaka, a Jakarta-based NGO that advocates for the rights of refugees, said Indonesia was bound by the principle of non-refoulement – or the forced return of refugees to their home countries – because it had ratified the anti-torture convention through a law in 1998.  “The anti-torture convention ratified by Indonesia also states that there is an obligation to prevent a person from returning to a situation where he or she experiences torture,” Angga told BenarNews. He added that Indonesia issued a presidential regulation in 2016, which mandates providing assistance and protection for refugees in coordination with the regional government, the International Organization for Migration and the immigration office. Angga warned that putting Rohingya on Galang island could limit their access to basic rights, such as health and education. “If we consider human rights, there is a right to freedom of movement. Being placed on a certain island, their movement would be restricted,” he said. Women and children Mitra Salima Suryono, a UNHCR spokeswoman in Indonesia, said she hoped the issue could be resolved humanely. “We are optimistic and hope to see the same strong spirit of solidarity and humanity as before,” Mitra said. She said the Rohingya who arrived…

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Myanmar’s dead and wounded civilians trapped in battlezone

Editor04 mins

Fighting between the junta and three allied resistance groups in Myanmar’s north has trapped over 500 civilians, a rescue team told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.  A trade zone in Shan state’s Muse township is now at the epicenter of an escalating humanitarian crisis, where charity workers attempting rescues are being shot at, the group added. Violence has only escalated from Nov. 29 until Tuesday, a Muse-based social assistance worker told RFA. “A woman was injured when a heavy weapon dropped near her house at 105-mile [trade zone] yesterday. She died because she could not be rescued in time,” he said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.  “There were some calls for help from those who were injured and trapped. We could not go. If a [rescue] van goes there, it gets shot at. So we can not do anything to help. There are people who died and their bodies could not be picked up either.” Workers and injured civilians are trapped on the road in the direction of Kyin San Kyawt border gate, he added, and some families were trapped in a village near 105-mile trade zone. There are three bodies and other injured people near Ton Kan village on Kyin San Kyawt road between 105-mile trade zone and Muse city, according to rescue workers. More than 10 civilians, including three children, were killed in fighting that lasted over a week. The actual number of the casualties could be higher, they added, and at least 2,000 people have fled Muse and are displaced due to fighting.  However, rescue workers said they could not confirm the exact number of casualties and trapped people because internet access and phone lines were disconnected in the area. If the fighting lasts longer, people remaining in 105-mile trade zone would face food shortages, since food can no longer be sent, said a Muse resident who wished to remain anonymous to protect their identity. Junta troops are stationed at the exit of Muse city because there is a military camp at 105-mile Hill, residents said, adding the three northern alliances currently occupy Kyin San Kyawt Road. Both military junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun and Li Kyarwen, a spokesperson from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, one of the three allied forces, said the battle was intense at Muse’s 105-mile trade zone. However, neither disclosed exact details regarding casualties or injuries.  Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Laos deports 462 Chinese nationals with alleged ties to Bokeo scam rings

Editor07 mins

Authorities in Laos have deported 462 Chinese nationals arrested for crimes, including human trafficking, from the lawless Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in the country’s north that has been described as a de-facto Chinese colony, according to officials. They were arrested on Nov. 28 during a raid on the gambling and tourism hub in Laos’ Bokeo province and deported to China the following day via the Boten-Bohan International Border Checkpoint, said a statement posted on the website of the Lao Public Security Bureau. The individuals appeared to be involved with call centers where scammers try to trick people into fake investments. Radio Free Asia has reported that these call centers often exploit their employees by holding them against their will and subjecting them to beatings and other forms of torture if they refuse to work or fail to make scam quotas. Attempts by RFA Lao to contact the Bokeo Provincial Police and authorities operating within the special economic zone, or SEZ, for comment went unanswered by the time of publication. The latest round of arrests and deportations of Chinese nationals follows one in mid-September, when Lao authorities sent 164 home, including 46 who were arrested in the Bokeo SEZ, another economic zone in the province operated by a Chinese tycoon who the U.S. government has sanctioned for running a human trafficking network. Ordinary Laotians welcomed the news, saying it would make the country safer.  “It’s good that the Lao and Chinese authorities are cooperating again in cracking down on the scamming gang in Laos,” said one person who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity citing security concerns. “I hope that the number of Chinese scammers continues to dwindle in the Golden Triangle SEZ and throughout the country.” Entrance to the Kings Romans casino, part of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone run by Chinese company Jin Mu Mian in Laos, Golden Triangle in 2012. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters) But others expressed concern that the deportations won’t address the reasons such crimes persist in Laos. “My question is, ‘Is this all?’ My answer is, ‘No,’ said a resident of the capital Vientiane. “It’s going to take a lot of time and effort to nab all of them.” Regional cooperation needed The resident of Vientiane said that while the latest arrests may deal with the problem in the Golden Triangle SEZ, scam gangs may simply move to another place where they can operate without much oversight by authorities, such as Tachileik, a town in Myanmar’s Shan state along the Lao border. “Then [the deportees] will just come back to Laos again,” he said. Chinese suspects linked to telecom frauds are brought back to China from Laos at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Chongqing, China, in Sept. 2023. (Chen Chao/China News Service via Getty Images) A third Laotian suggested that the only way to effectively eradicate scamming networks is through the cooperation of domestic and foreign security forces across the region, rather than each country individually. “Here in Laos, [Lao and Chinese forces] are focusing only on the [SEZs],” he said. “The scam rings are everywhere and many of them are still operating. Laos alone doesn’t have the resources to do it all.” Criminal enterprises expanding Meanwhile, Yos Santasombat, a professor of social studies at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, warned that as criminal activity goes largely unchecked within the SEZs in Bokeo province, gangs are expanding their existing operations and adding new services. “I went to the Golden Triangle SEZ two months ago and I noticed that the place was huge and expanding,” he said. “[As it grows] it might attract other businesses besides gambling and tourism, such as money laundering.” Sources from the region have previously expressed concern that authorities only arrest “the small guys” who aren’t responsible for running the scam rings, and have failed to address unemployment and inflation in Laos, which allow ringleaders to lure workers with offers of good-paying jobs. In early September, Myanmar police repatriated 1,207 Chinese criminals arrested from a call center in Myanmar. Thailand, Myanmar, China and Laos have set up a special unit to crack down on human trafficking but the problem still persists. Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Joshua Lipes.

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Myanmar militia arrests and shoots villagers near India border

Editor04 mins

Junta-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia members shot four villagers on the Myanmar-India border, locals told Radio Free Asia.  Over the course of two days, soldiers raided the village in Sagaing region’s Tamu township, burning down houses and a Christian church, residents of Htan Ta Pin said. They also arrested roughly 100 locals and later released them. “We have been fleeing from the village for a long time. The rest of the villagers, about a hundred, were taken to [the military’s] Four Mile Camp by the Pyu Saw Htee group,” said one villager, declining to be named for security reasons. “Villagers were sent to Tamu from there. Detainees were released in Tamu.” Some of the released villagers went back to check on their houses and gather the remainder of their belongings, he added.  “Four villagers were shot dead when they came across Pyu Saw Htee members at the village,” he said. “The village was torched on Sunday and Monday. I can see the smoke from a distance.” The identity of the four victims could not be confirmed by residents, as they have not been able to return due to the militia’s continued presence. RFA could also not confirm the extent of the fire damage, as villagers have fled.  RFA reached out to Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson Sai Naing Naing Kyaw for more information on the attacks, but he did not answer calls. Nearly all Htan Ta Pin residents have sheltered near the Indian border, locals said. Those released from junta custody have fled to churches or relatives’ homes in Tamu township.  Htan Ta Pin village has fewer than 300 houses and is roughly 1.6 kilometers (one mile) from the Indian border. Fighting between local defense groups and Pyu Saw Htee militia in Htan Ta Pin on Nov. 21 is believed to be part of the reason for the attack, locals said.  During the November battle, local defense forces killed two Pyu Saw Htee members and arrested four others. The arrested included Myint Aung, a former member of parliament for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party and a leader of Pyu Saw Htee group. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Junta ban on aid vehicles leads to humanitarian crisis in Kayah capital

Editor06 mins

A ban on aid vehicles entering Myanmar’s Loikaw city amid intensifying clashes between junta troops and the armed resistance has led to a humanitarian crisis in the Kayah state capital, relief workers and residents said Monday. A member of a charity organization in Loikaw who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke to RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal, said he left the city on Nov. 24 after the junta ordered groups to stop using their vehicles two weeks earlier. “There are no more volunteers for relief aid, as we all fear for our security,” he said. “In the past, we evacuated [civilians] trapped in the city. We carried people hit by artillery shelling to hospitals and buried the bodies of people killed. Now our hearts are broken because we can’t provide relief to people in need.” Loikaw city is located about 225 kilometers (140 miles) east of Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw by car. Charity groups told RFA that more than 10,000 civilians are “trapped” in the city amid the recent fighting that has seen the rebels advance on junta-held territory. Aid workers said that junta troops also confiscated two of their trucks on Nov. 11, suggesting they might fear that members of the People’s Defense Force, or PDF, paramilitaries will use ambulances or other vehicles to disguise themselves and carry out attacks against the military in the city. “However, aid organizations have never done this kind of thing,” another member of a charity group said. “Also, the PDF doesn’t seek medical treatment [for their fighters] at Loikaw Public Hospital because they have their own medical treatment facilities.” Sources in Loikaw told RFA that the junta had tightened security in the city after pro-military netizens “spread misinformation” on social media platforms about local aid groups providing assistance to the PDF. Need for aid urgent There are at least five charity organizations in Loikaw, but all of them stopped providing services after the junta banned them from using vehicles on Nov. 11. A resident told RFA that the need for humanitarian assistance in the city is still urgent, noting that following an attack by the military on PDF forces on Nov. 26, at least one injured civilian died from blood loss, which could have been prevented if they had access to basic treatment. “A woman was wounded in her thigh and abdomen after soldiers shot her on her motorbike in the downtown area,” the resident said. “No charity group could rescue her. She fell down in the middle of the road and, as no one helped her, she died.” Members of volunteer organizations help evacuate displaced persons in Myanmar’s Karen state, Nov. 28, 2023. (Shwe Nyaungbin Charity Organization) The junta has not made any announcement prohibiting charity organizations from operating in Loikaw. Attempts by RFA to call Myint Kyi, the junta’s social affairs minister and spokesperson for the Kayah state government, went unanswered Monday. Ban akin to ‘rights violation’ Banyar, the founder of the NGO Karenni Human Rights Group, said that the ban is “a form of human rights violation” that will likely lead to unnecessary deaths. “No charity organizations are working in Loikaw as armed conflict is intensifying and artillery attacks may hit any time,” he said. “The prohibition will lead to loss of lives … People will die from their injuries if they do not receive first aid.”  At least 76 civilians were killed in Loikaw, as well as the Kayah townships of Pekhon and Moebye from Nov. 11-27, including a dozen minors, the group Karenni Humanitarian Aid Initiatives said in a Nov. 28 statement.  A recent offensive by the armed resistance in Kayah state saw ethnic Karenni forces seize Loikaw University and several military outposts. The groups say they have no plans to end their attacks on the junta’s administrative mechanisms in the city. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

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Tourist rubles ensure warm welcome for Russians in Thailand

Editor023 mins

>>> Read the more on Bear East Ask any Russian person which country in Southeast Asia they have heard about and you’d probably hear “Thailand.” Russian tourists are crowding its beaches, bars and even its Orthodox churches. That’s not just a sign of Thailand’s legendary reputation for hospitality and knack for catering to foreign visitors that has earned the country the moniker “Land of Smiles.” Thailand welcomed 11.4 million foreign tourists in 2022. But with Russians increasingly limited on where they can visit because of international restrictions imposed on Moscow relating to the war in Ukraine, Thailand has kept its doors open. From Russia with love On the southern island of Phuket, some areas have turned into something resembling a resort town on the Black Sea with Russian men and women lounging on the beach, trying to soak up as much sun as possible.  There are signboards in Cyrillic, Russian mothers pushing strollers around and new Russian restaurants that offer a taste of home. Russian real estate agents, tour companies and even Russian tour guides cater to the visitors – which rankles locals in the tourist trade, who say they are losing business. “Russian people love Thailand, the people, the climate, the nature and the delicious food,” gushed Olesya, a young Russian businesswoman. She and her husband, Denis, have been to Phuket five times.  Tourists take photos on Patong Beach in Phuket, June 20, 2023. Credit: Tran Viet Duc/RFA Olesya said they felt welcome here and “have not sensed any negative vibes” against Russians – although they were shy of speaking to a journalist and requested to be identified by their first names only. Thailand is America’s oldest ally in Asia, and was for decades a bulwark against Soviet influence in Southeast Asia during the Cold War, but it’s also a nation with a storied past with Russia.  Diplomatic relations date back 126 years, when the then-Kingdom of Siam’s modernizing monarch, Chulalongkorn, also known as King Rama V, traveled to St. Petersburg in 1897. Despite the international maelstrom over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Thailand has not condemned Moscow and has abstained from several votes against Russia at the United Nations. But perhaps more significantly, there are still ways for Russians to spend their money in Thailand, which relies heavily on tourism earnings. Due to U.S. and U.K. sanctions, Russians can’t conduct transactions via the global SWIFT electronic payment system. But they can still use China’s UnionPay – the world’s largest card payment network – or use cash or cryptocurrencies.  Shops catering to Russian tourists have sprung up in Pattaya, Thailand, June 22, 2023. Credit: Tran Viet Duc/RFA Cornering the condo market The Thai Tourism and Sports Ministry said that between January and June this year nearly 800,000 Russian nationals visited the Kingdom, and the number is expected to reach more than 1 million by the end of the year. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has set an ambitious target of receiving 2 million Russian visitors in 2024. Half of them are expected to fly to Phuket. A free 45-day visitor visa and direct flights between the two countries make the goal easier.  Maetapong “Oun” Upatising, president of the Phuket Real Estate Association, says that the Russian market bounced back quickly after the COVID downturn, both in tourist numbers and property demands. Russian visitors prefer to rent villas and condominiums instead of hotels when staying longer than three months, and the number of rental units in Phuket alone is more than ten thousand a month, he said. There is also a growing number of rich Russians who obtained long-term resident visas that let them stay in Thailand for five to 10 years or more. Those so-called “elite visas” cost at least U.S.$20,000 yet the number of elite visa holders from Russia is increasing steadily.  Between 5,000 and 10,000 wealthy Russians are thought to have obtained long-term visas and become residents in Phuket. Last year Russian buyers purchased nearly 40% of all condominiums sold to foreigners on the island, according to the Thai Real Estate Information Center. Russian investors also put large sums of money into other types of properties, among which luxury villas are the top buy. Those villas come with hefty price tags, starting from 25 million baht ($730,000), according to Maetapong from the Phuket Real Estate Association. Anton Makhrov [left], editor of Novosti Phuketa newspaper, and Jason Beavan, general manager, are seen in their office in Phuket, June 19, 2023. Credit: Tran Viet Duc/RFA Organized crime Phuket even has its own Russian newspaper. Despite the comparative ease with which Russians can travel to Thailand, the paper’s editor gripes that his countrymen get a bad rap. “Right now, it’s legitimate not to like the Russians,” said Anton Makhrov, the editor of Novosti Phuketa, who likens it to a kind of xenophobia against Russians in Thailand. “When you get on Facebook, you’ll see lots of comments such as ‘the Russians are aggressive and arrogant, we don’t like you’ but when you talk to people they all say they have good relations with some Russian friends,” he said, speaking in the weekly paper’s office in a small alley in Kathu district of Phuket. Russian visitors have also often been blamed for bad behavior, as well as petty crime such as drunk-driving and theft. The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 also appears to have dimmed Thais’ perception of Russian people. Katherine Aliakseyeva, principal of the Russian Dance Academy “Katyusha” in Bangkok, says she’s worried about the safety of her staff and students. The school has been regularly taking part in cultural events organized by the Russian Embassy. There are also long-held suspicions that Russian “mafia” operate in Thailand. A December 2009 cable by the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok that was declassified in 2019 said that “Russian organized crime circles established a presence in Thailand in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.” According to the diplomatic cable, U.S. and Thai law enforcement agencies reported that “criminal networks composed of mostly…

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