The Geopolitical Weaponization of Maps by China
The investigative report by Ij-Reportika aims to scrutinize the contentious matter of Chinese maps throughout history.
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Month: March 2024
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Embattled Hong Kong women rights defenders deserve support and solidarity
On International Women’s Day, as we celebrate the rights of women around the world and shine a spotlight on inspiring women, the women of Hong Kong who have paid a high price for fighting for equal rights and for basic rights and freedoms under an increasingly intolerant government. Women human rights defenders face gender-based challenges and restrictions that drive them to use alternative strategies in their activism to achieve their goals and overcome obstacles. They have demonstrated immense bravery and perseverance in the Hong Kong that has emerged since the imposition in 2020 of the National Security Law. During the 2019 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, young women were prominent in protests, and many faced gender-based and sexual violence. In particular, a number of women reported sexual assault and harassment by the Hong Kong police when they were in detention or in other forms of custody. Few of these cases were prosecuted and the perpetrators have not been held accountable to this date. Many women from Hong Kong said that gender-based and sexual violence was a known phenomenon, particularly at the hands of the police. They added that they would not file a complaint, because the investigation would also be conducted by the police, who were unlikely to hold their own officers accountable. Riot police detain a woman as anti-government protesters gather at Sha Tin Mass Transit Railway station in Hong Kong, Sept. 25, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) The women acknowledge the violations that they faced were an unfortunate part of pro-democracy activism, and although they did what they could to avoid assault and protect themselves, it was still worth the risk when fighting for democracy and rights and freedom in Hong Kong. In 2023, I wrote a submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on behalf of Hong Kong Watch, about these issues. I provided statistics and case studies, and interviewed women human rights defenders about their own experiences of gender-based and sexual violence, as well as what they observed around them. It was chilling to learn that such violations against women were normalized and that there were so few tools for accountability. But it is nevertheless inspiring to see these strong women persevere. At the United Nations in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women did raise concerns about women’s rights in Hong Kong. The body urged the Hong Kong government to hold perpetrators accountable and strengthen the framework to protect women’s rights. They also warned the Hong Kong government against using national security and public order measures in a way that could violate women’s rights. A year on, the Hong Kong government has yet to implement these recommendations or show that they are taking women’s rights seriously. Chow Hang-tung At the top of the list of women deserving support on this day is Chow Hang-tung. The former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Chow was charged with “inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly” for a Tiananmen Square Massacre vigil in 2021. Remanded in custody since September 2021, Chow, an activist and lawyer, faces a potential 10 years in jail if convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” in a trial that is expected to begin in late 2024. Having reviewed her circumstances, the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Chow was arbitrarily detained, should be released immediately, and that her treatment is in contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Hong Kong is a signatory. Activist and barrister Chow Hang-tung arrives at the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on June 8, 2023. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP) Chow faces a number of very serious violations to her rights and freedoms, some of which are related to her gender. One thing is clear: she deserves to be free and to exercise her rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Chow remains calm and poised and a source of hope for many of us who stand up to the Hong Kong government, as well as the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. She has not given up and shows no sign of doing so. This year, Chow was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Swedish MP Guri Melby. Her brave and principled peaceful activism against the Chinese Communist Party makes her a deserving candidate. Chow has made immense sacrifices for the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, as well as the people of China. Article 23 advances Many more women in Hong Kong languish behind bars, many of whom are political prisoners, in the jurisdiction that has the highest percentage of women prisoners in the world. This includes women who have been arrested and charged under the 2020 National Security Law and the sedition law. Also on the list are women who were former key personnel at Apple Daily, former members of the Legislative Council, former district councilors, and many others. International Women’s Day this year coincided with the publication and Legislative Council reading of the Safeguarding National Security Bill, under Article 23 of the Basic Law in Hong Kong. Lawmakers take part in reading the draft of the Safeguarding National Security Bill at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on March 8, 2024. (Li Zhihua/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) This fast-tracked law is set to prohibit new types of offences, and has proposed provisions which are vague and will criminalise the peaceful exercise of human rights while dramatically undermining due process and fair trial rights in Hong Kong. The bill will contribute to institutional violations of human rights, including women’s rights, in Hong Kong, and it is something the world must condemn and stand up against. Many human rights defenders, including many women human rights activists, are taking action today to raise awareness and coordinate responses to this Bill. On International Women’s Day, the strong women of Hong Kong who have fought for equality and against…
Kachin army storms northern Myanmar, taking 14 camps
A rebel army in Myanmar seized over a dozen junta camps in the north, an official told Radio Free Asia on Friday. Since the Kachin Independence Army launched an offensive on Sunday, it has captured 14 camps near its headquarters in Lai Zar city on the Chinese border, said information officer Col. Naw Bu. Several townships in Kachin state have been caught in frequent conflict as junta troops and Kachin Independence Army soldiers fight for control of the area’s jade mines, highways, and border areas. Since China brokered a ceasefire between the Three Brotherhood Alliance and junta forces, Kachin state’s largest army – not in the alliance – has been a formidable opponent for the military in both Shan and Kachin states. Rebel soldiers seized camps on Myitkyina-Bhamo road on the fifth day of the six-day attack. “The largest camp, Hpun Pyen Bum where 120 millimeter heavy weapons are based, was captured on Thursday evening. Ntap Bum camp was also captured,” he said. “Most of the junta’s small defensive camps around Bum Re Bum and Myo Thit were captured. Now, these small defensive camps are being used [by the KIA] to attack big camps, like Bum Re Bum and Ka Yar Taung.” The junta army has been firing heavy artillery at the Kachin Independence Army’s headquarters in Lai Zar since Thursday, he added. The bombardment has impacted not only Lai Zar, but also the border with China. Shells fired by junta troops killed three civilians, including a child and a woman on Thursday. Three more fell across the Chinese border, destroying property, locals said. RFA contacted the Chinese Embassy in Yangon and national junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun to confirm the army fired shells into China, but neither responded by the time of publication. A Lai Zar resident told RFA this morning that the sounds of fighting could be heard everywhere as the junta continued to attack the city with heavy weapons. “Since this morning, gunshots have been heard in many places. There were more than eight rounds of artillery fired this morning until 8 a.m.,” he told RFA on Friday. “The shells landed on the other side of Lai Zar city, on the Chinese side and burned houses. Many people in the city have been fleeing to safety.” Grounded Flights and Closed Roads The Kachin Independence Army has not had control of these camps since 2011, Col. Naw Bu said, adding they also plan to reopen Bhamo-Myitkyina Road. The highway was closed in July after fighting erupted between the junta and Kachin Independence Army in Nam Sang Yang village, near Lai Zar. Bhamo Airport, Kachin state in Feb. 2024. (Citizen Journalist) Clashes in Kachin state’s capital have also impacted transportation in and out of the state. An airline ticket sales representative told RFA resistance groups began attacking multiple flight locations across the region. On Thursday, the Kachin Independence Army and allied People’s Defense Forces attacked the junta air force headquarters with short-range missiles. The groups also fired heavy weapons at Bhamo Airport, forcing it to close indefinitely and suspend flights. “Bhamo Airport has been closed since Thursday. The airport authorities have shut down the airport and are not sure when the planes will be allowed to land again,” a representative told RFA, asking to remain anonymous for security reasons. “I am not sure if the canceled flights will be replaced so I am just refunding people’s money.” A Bhamo resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons said fighting in the city continued into Friday. “The airport was attacked by a short-range missile and the runway was hit and damaged a little. People who are traveling urgently and the sick are having a hard time now the airport is closed,” he said. “Heavy weapons were also firing all night last night. I couldn’t sleep.” RFA contacted Kachin state’s junta spokesperson Moe Min Thein regarding the closures and conflict, but he did not respond. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
Myanmar’s junta imposes multiple death sentences on activists
Lawyers and human rights experts in Myanmar have condemned the junta’s liberal use of the death penalty, including several recent cases where anti-junta activists received multiple death sentences. Such sentences are meant to terrorize opponents of the junta, which is losing ground to ethnic armies and resistance fighters in a civil war now in its third year, but the absurdity of doing so is turning the judicial system into a farce, rights groups say. “No one should be sentenced to capital punishment twice,” Kyaw Win, executive director of the Burma Human Rights Network, told Radio Free Asia. “The death penalty for these cases is more than enough, giving twice makes the legal system a joke.” Since taking control of the government in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup, the military junta has sentenced a total of 164 people to death, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. On Feb. 29, the military junta sentenced seven people to death – five of them for the second or third time. The seven – Thura Phyo, Tun Tun Oo, Kyaw San Oo, Ko Ko Aung, Aung Moe Myint, Win Myat Thein Zaw and Kaung Si Thu – were convicted of murdering two women from the Ayeyarwady region’s Pyapon township, who they believed were junta informants, sources familiar with the situation told RFA Burmese. Five of the seven had already been sentenced to death on Oct. 20, along with two other defendants, San Lin San and Wunna Tun, the latter of whom has been sentenced to death twice himself. That case was over the killing of ward administrators in Maubin, Pyapon and Bogale townships. But four of those five had been involved in an even earlier case, meaning they have now received the death penalty three times. In addition, the defendants in all three cases received prison sentences ranging from 15 to 45 years. Imposing multiple sentences is unprecedented in Myanmar’s judicial history, lawyer Kyee Myint told RFA. “Only one [death] sentence must be given,” he said. “Sentences should not be imposed again and again. It is against the law.” Thike Tun Oo, a leading committee member of the Political Prisoners Network-Myanmar, said that in addition to the repeated death sentences, long-term prison terms are not the fair punishments for the crime. “The death penalty should not be imposed on them at all as they have suffered the same penalty,” he said. “In addition, some were sentenced to 45 years after the death penalty. It is a totally unfair sentence.” RFA Burmese attempted to contact the family members of the sentences by telephone, but were unable to reach them. RFA also attempted to contact Khin Maung Kyi, the minister of social affairs for the Ayeyarwady region, but received no response. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
Myanmar’s Arakan Army draws closer to region’s capital
An ethnic rebel army captured a city near the capital of western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, locals told Radio Free Asia on Thursday. The Arakan Army continued its offensive through the state by claiming victory in Ponnagyun city, which sits just 24 kilometers (15 miles) east of capital city, Sittwe. The rebel army has captured six townships across Rakhine state and another in neighboring Chin state to the north since breaking a year-long ceasefire in November. Arakan Army soldiers captured Ponnagyun on Monday, the first city in Sittwe district. A Sittwe resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons told RFA that the nearby battle alarmed residents in the city, causing them to flee en masse before the army could advance toward the coastal capital. “Since the Arakan Army captured Ponnagyun, we don’t have electricity in Sittwe. Many people are fleeing because the fighting is getting closer to Sittwe,” he said, adding that about 300 people are fleeing daily. “Mainly elderly and young people are fleeing.” Most locals are heading to townships already captured by the Arakan Army, such as Pauktaw, Kyauktaw, Minbya and Mrauk-U, he said. Others are escaping to Yangon by air. Sittwe airport, Rakhine state on Nov. 20, 2023. (RFA) Rakhine state does not have a functional railway, and junta-imposed travel bans have made it difficult for people to escape by land and sea. Junta soldiers based in Sittwe have still enforced a curfew, residents said, adding that signs of military preparation are noticeable in the city and countryside as the Arakan Army approaches. Escalating Conflict Sittwe township is home to nearly 150,000 people, and residents say half of the township’s population has left. However, RFA has not yet been able to independently confirm the claim. Many residents forced to stay in Sittwe amidst war preparations simply can’t afford to leave, they explained. According to a statement by the United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released on Wednesday, the escalating battles have displaced some 148,500 people since fighting began on Nov. 13. On Feb. 29, junta troops fired a shell into a crowded market in Sittwe, which killed 12 and critically injured 18 more. Residents are also feeling the junta’s grasping attempt for control on other cities in Arakan Army territory. In Rakhine state’s Minbya township, junta aerial attacks have damaged an elementary school and several houses. Troops dropped explosives on Ann Thar village late at night on Wednesday, residents said. An Ann Thar resident told RFA on Thursday that the only school in the village was completely destroyed. “A jet dropped four 200-pound bombs at around 11.40 p.m.,” he said. “The casualties are still unknown and the telecommunication has been cut off.” The village was attacked on Feb. 29, when another jet dropped explosives and damaged four homes, he added. RFA contacted Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein for more information on fighting in Sittwe district and Minbya township, but he did not answer the phone. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
Forced recruitment underway in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region
Junta authorities in southwestern Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region are compiling lists of draft-eligible residents amid a roll-out of the country’s conscription law, sources told RFA Burmese. On Feb. 10, the junta enacted the People’s Military Service Law, prompting many civilians of fighting age to flee Myanmar’s cities, saying they would rather leave the country or join anti-junta forces in remote border areas than serve in the military, which seized power in a 2021 coup d’etat. The junta has sought to downplay the announcement, claiming that conscription won’t go into effect until April, but RFA has received several reports indicating that forced recruitment is already under way across the country. Residents of Ayeyarwady region’s Ingapu, Kyon Pyaw, Yae Kyi and A Thote townships said that junta authorities called a meeting of ward and village administrators in the third week of February and ordered them to gather lists of residents eligible for military service. A resident of Kyhon Pyaw’s Inn Ma village, who like others interviewed for this report spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, told RFA that authorities checked residency lists in the village and compiled a list of 35 people, both men and women, for conscription. “There are 10 wards here and the heads of 10 households in each ward collected the lists, and handed them over to the respective ward administrators,” he said. “They didn’t need to collect the lists door to door, as they can find the information from the family lists. The disabled and ill were exempted from military services.” Recruiting one from each village In Ingapu, the junta’s township administration ordered ward and village administrations to recruit one person from each village-tract for military service, residents told RFA. A resident of Ingapu’s Thet Kei Tan village said that the village administrator gave superiors the name of one young man in nearby Chin Kone village, who he said “seemed willing to join the military.” “On the other side of our village, each household had to pay 10,000 kyats (US$5) if they did not want to serve,” he said. Southwestern commander Brig. Gen. Wai Lin meets with militia members from townships in the Ayeyarwady region on Sept. 22, 2023. (Myanmar military) In nearby Bogale township, junta authorities organized military training for teachers in front of the town hall around mid-February, residents said. On Feb. 20, leaflets were distributed in area markets persuading people to join the military. Township authorities called a meeting with respective ward administrators and instructed them to “focus on youths who have no parents and few relatives” for recruitment, a resident told RFA. “It wasn’t mandatory to recruit one person from each household,” he said. “Authorities recommended at the meeting that the recruitment focus on youths with no parents and those who are willing to join the military to earn a salary.” In another Ayeyarwady township called Myan Aung, a resident told RFA that the recruitment process began around Feb. 15 in the wards and villages. He also said that the junta conducted military training for 30 people at the headquarters of Infantry Battalion 51 in the seat of Myan Aung township on Feb. 27. Residents of the township were made to pay for the cost of two sets of military uniforms and the daily wages of the trainees, he said. A member of the Ayeyarwady parliament, who declined to be named, told RFA that the junta leadership has focused on his region to recruit soldiers as it is their “stronghold.” “However, I don’t think they will get the numbers they had hoped for,” he said. Another Ayeyarwady lawmaker condemned the junta’s use of forced recruitment to implement the conscription law. “Although they use the term ‘military service,’ people are actually being forced to work as porters or act as human shields on the battlefield,” he said. “It’s a grave violation of human rights.” Hundreds held in Mandalay RFA also received reports on Wednesday that hundreds of youths aged 20-30 who had been recruited for military training from around the country are being stationed in Mandalay region’s Yamethin township. “Around 200 or 300 youths are being held at the No. 1 Police Training Depot for military training,” said a resident of the township. “They have to live in dormitories there and no one is allowed to leave.” Another resident of Yamethin told RFA that, beginning on March 1, security had been strengthened at the facility. “It’s not the regular training period for new police officers,” he said. “Authorities are inspecting all passers-by.” Myanmar junta authorities conduct inspections at the Dedaye bridge checkpoint in Pyapon district, Ayeyarwady region. (We Love Dedaye) The junta’s Information Ministry said in a social media post on Feb. 27 that there had been some “misinformation” circulating about the collection of personal data of men aged between 18 and 35. It also dismissed reports that junta security forces and administrative organizations are forcibly arresting people for military service. Similarly, pro-junta newspapers said Wednesday that reports of youths being held for military training at the No. 1 Police Training Depot in Yamethin are false. On Feb. 15, pro-junta media quoted spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun as saying that around 50,000 people will be drafted into military service each year in accordance with the country’s conscription law. He added that 13 million people are currently eligible for service in Myanmar, based on a 2019 census. Missing for more than a month Reports of the forced recruitment in Ayeyarwady came as a resident of the region told RFA that four people arrested by junta authorities in Dedaye township for alleged possession of weapons remain missing one month after their detention. Hlaing Myo Kyaw, Naing Myo Shwe and his wife Su Mar, and Htet Myat Soe from Dedaye’s Kyeik Taw and Ka Wet Chaung villages were arrested on Feb. 4 with drones and weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, or RPGs. Two others from the township – former political prisoner Wai Yan Oo and his mother – were also detained at the time. Two…
China says upgrade, trade-in policy creates billion-dollar market
China’s top state planner has projected a multi-billion-dollar market from Beijing’s policy pushing for industries to upgrade their equipment and citizens to trade in their old vehicles and home appliances for new ones. The domestic consumption push, an integral part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s latest mantra to unleash “new productive forces,” is seen as instrumental to Beijing’s efforts to revive growth. Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, also assured the media that Beijing’s 5% GDP goal is achievable. “This goal is in line with the annual requirements of the ‘14th Five-Year Plan’ and matches the potential of economic growth, a goal that can be achieved with positivity and hard work,” he told reporters at a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress Wednesday. Zheng said the economy is recovering and showing new results, without specifying. One such potential result could be the over 5 trillion yuan (US$694 billion) that is forecast to be created annually as industries and companies upgrade their equipment to raise development quality. “Chinese industries and the agricultural sector last year invested about 4.9 trillion yuan in equipment. The push to raise quality development will only increase demand for equipment upgrade,” he said at the joint briefing with China’s finance minister, commerce minister, central bank chief, and head of the securities regulator. The campaign will focus on industrial, agricultural, construction, transport, education, cultural tourism and healthcare, where the upgrade will foster reduced carbon emissions, safety, digital transformation and smart intelligence, Zheng added. Similarly, Zheng described the trade-in market for vehicles and home appliances as “huge” and in the “trillion yuan” level, given that car and white goods ownership last year reached 336 million units and 3 billion units, respectively. The upgrade and trade-in drives could enhance China’s efforts to build a circular economy, he noted. “The promotion of such large-scale equipment upgrade and consumer goods trade-in is a systematic project … to be supported by fiscal, financial and tax policies.” “New productive forces” was coined by President Xi during a trip to the rustbelt Northeast region last September, where he highlighted the need for a new economic model. In Xi’s China, the state’s role is expanding and the private sector is retreating. Central government agencies and local governments are now focused on putting the new vision into play. Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his maiden government work report on Tuesday called for a “new leap forward” to modernize the industrial system and accelerate the development of new productive forces across sectors like electric vehicles, hydrogen power, new materials, life sciences and commercial spaceflight. To support the domestic demand policy, Beijing will issue 1 trillion yuan of special long-term bonds this year, and more in the next few years. The thrust of China’s economic policy direction is “seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through advancement, and in construction before destruction,” according to the Chinese premier’s work report. As such, authorities could be banking on “new productive forces” to buffer the structural challenges that clouded the outlook of the Chinese economy, like a deepening real estate market crisis, local government indebtedness and economic issues due to demographic shifts. Li’s report offered little details on structural reforms which some analysts said are crucial to address fundamental problems. Externally, China’s foreign trade will face a severe situation, commerce minister Wang Wentao said at the press conference. Echoing the complexity and unpredictability of the external environment, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng stressed that the central bank will leverage on monetary policies and intensity macro-control policies to ensure stability. “China’s monetary policy toolbox is still rich [with tools at our disposal], and there is still sufficient room for monetary policy [adjustments],” Pan said, adding that the bank will keep the yuan basically stable. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
Junta imposes martial law in rebel-controlled Shan state townships
Myanmar’s junta has declared martial law in three northern Shan state townships seized by ethnic rebels during an ongoing offensive, prompting concern from residents who fear the military is planning a push to retake the areas. The junta has declared martial law in more than 60 townships across the country, including in Sagaing, Magwe, Tanintharyi and Bago regions, as well as in Chin state. The designation has been used as a justification by the military to impose heavy punishments on residents on the basis of suspicion alone. Observers say the junta had refrained from declaring martial law in Namhsan, Mantong and Namtu townships in northern Shan state with the hope the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, would join a ceasefire agreement. The declaration, announced Monday, is an indication that negotiations have stalled, they said. The TNLA, the Arakan Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army together make up the ethnic Three Brotherhood Alliance, which in October launched an offensive known as Operation 1027 against the military in northern Shan state, which borders China. Less than two months after the start of Operation 1027, the TNLA captured Namsan, Mantong and Namtu, on Dec. 15, 22 and 28. Since then, the ethnic army’s top leadership has regularly conducted public meetings with what they say is an emphasis on a “community-based governance system” in the townships. In Namtu, municipal, healthcare and electricity services have been restored, according to residents, and inhabitants who fled earlier fighting have mostly returned home. While the TNLA remains the de facto leadership in the three townships, the junta’s imposition of martial law technically transfers their administrative and judicial oversight to the commander of the military’s Northeastern Command, based in the region’s largest town Lashio. Residents told RFA Burmese that the declaration of martial law came “just as the situation began to stabilize,” and said they now fear renewed clashes between the military and the TNLA. “We are now under TNLA governance, and the junta no longer exists here,” said a resident of Namtu who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. Now that martial law has been declared, it’s as if they could attack us whenever they want.” All three townships are within 160 kilometers (100 miles) of the Northeastern Command, the resident noted, which “adds to our unease.” “We may need to prepare trenches and bomb shelters once again,” she said. ‘Even less secure’ A resident of Namsan told RFA that while the situation in her township wasn’t safe before, “now it feels even less secure.” “The use of airplanes to drop bombs and the indiscriminate use of heavy weaponry add to our concerns,” she said. “While some people have not yet returned to their homes, others have just come back.” An official from the TNLA news and information department told RFA that the junta’s declaration of martial law in the three townships was no surprise. “That’s just what they do,” he said. “During the height of fighting, the junta declared martial law in [eight northern Shan state] townships … now, post-battle, announcing martial law in these three townships aligns with their strategic approach.” On Nov. 12, as Operation 1027 reached a crescendo, the junta declared martial law in the townships of Lashio, Kutkai, Kunlong, Hsenwi, Namhkam, Muse, and Chinshwehaw, as well as in Laukkai, in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. A curfew remains in effect in the townships, with movement restricted between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am. The Three Brotherhood Alliance captured 16 cities in Shan state, including Muse and Chinshwehaw, as part of the offensive before agreeing to a ceasefire in China-brokered talks with junta representatives on Jan. 11. An ex-military official later said it was not sustainable and less than a week after the agreement, both sides were accused of violating it in a skirmish. Last week, the two sides met again in the Chinese city of Kunming for talks that focused on reopening parts of the border with China that had been shut down during the fighting and preserving the ceasefire. ‘It’s clear they’ve given up’ But a political commentator and former military officer told RFA that peace in northern Shan state remains tenuous. He said that while the junta had been holding out hope that the TNLA would join Myanmar’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, or NCA, the declaration of martial law in the townships under its control indicates that the military leadership no longer sees that as an option. “[The junta was] indecisive from the beginning, and even was vacillating [on how to deal with the TNLA],” he said. “Now, it’s clear that they’ve given up trying [to bring them into the NCA].” The NCA was introduced in 2015 to end years of fighting over minority rights and self-determination. Since then, some 10 ethnic groups have signed the agreement. Ta’ang National Liberation Army troops pose after capturing a Myanmar junta camp in Mantong on Dec. 23, 2023. (PSLF/TNLA News and Information Department) The junta’s declaration of martial law in Namhsan, Mantong and Namtu follows a Jan. 28 declaration in the Shan state townships of Mongmit and Mabein. The two townships had earlier been seized by the Kachin Independence Army. The latest declaration brings to 13 the number of townships under martial law in Shan state. Township captured The imposition of martial law on Namsan, Mantong and Namtu came amid reports on Tuesday that the Arakan Army, or AA, had captured Ponnagyun township in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where it continues to battle the military despite the Three Brotherhood Alliance ceasefire in Shan state. In a statement, the AA claimed that Ponnagyun is under its “complete control” after 13 days of fighting, from Feb. 21 to March 4, culminating in the capture of the military’s Light Infantry Division 550 base there on Monday. It said its fighters had seized “several bodies” of junta troops, including that of junta Tactical Commander Col. Myo Min Ko Ko, Light Infantry Battalion 208 Commander Col….
Junta airstrike hits passenger bus in Myanmar, killing woman
Junta forces dropped an explosive on a passenger bus, killing an elderly woman, locals told Radio Free Asia Tuesday. Regime troops dropped the bomb from a Soviet-produced Mi-2 helicopter on Monday while battles raged nearby. Five passengers on board were injured, residents said, adding that the bus was enroute to Dawei, the capital of Myanmar’s southernmost Tanintharyi region. Fighting in Dawei has already left thousands homeless. On Sunday alone, 1,000 residents fled five villages in the township after a local defense force attempted to capture a junta camp, villagers told RFA Burmese On Feb. 17, a junta offensive on Dawei city’s eastern side near the Thai border initiated a 10-day battle with local resistance groups. The fighting left 7,000 Tanintharyi residents stranded and in need of food and medicine. Troops dropped the latest explosive on top of a bus parked on Myeik-Dawei No. 8 Road in Thayetchaung township around 4 p.m. The victim was a 60-year-old woman passengers could only identify by the partial name of Aung, according to an official from the No. 2 Battalion of Dawei district’s People’s Defense Force. “An elderly woman who was traveling with Mandalar Minn Express bus died. She was hit on her back, underarm and face,” he said, declining to be named for security reasons. “Her body was cremated on Monday. Her belongings are being kept by the No. 2 Battalion until they can be given to her family.” The defense force has not been able to reach Aung’s relatives, and no further identifying information could be confirmed at this time. Intense fighting near the Win Wa Police Station in Thayetchaung township, 28 kilometers (17 miles) south of Dawei city, caused the bus to park on the road, the official added. Dawei defense force’s Oak Awe column spokesperson Yaung Ni told RFA the junta army bombed other villages in Thayetchaung township and a strategic hill nearby. Battles continued into Tuesday when a junta artillery unit based in Dawei township’s Za Har village fired heavy artillery. The blast exploded in Maung Mei Shaung village’s Shin Dat We Pagoda compound, injuring two civilians. RFA contacted Tanintharyi spokesperson Thet Naing to confirm these claims, but he did not respond. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
Authorities urge ‘stability’ amid restrictions on Tibetans due to dam protests
Chinese officials have told local ethnic Tibetans and monastic leaders in Sichuan province to maintain stability following the arrest of more than 1,000 protesters over a hydropower dam, and made clear that the project would continue, two Tibetans with knowledge of the situation said. If built, the Gangtuo Dam power station on the Drichu River could submerge several monasteries in Dege’s county’s Wangbuding township and force residents of at least two villages near the river to relocate, sources earlier told RFA. “Chinese officials have held meetings in the Wonto village area where they ordered local Tibetans to comply with the government’s plans and regulations and called for the leaders of the local monasteries to mobilize the locals to toe the party line,” said one source who hails from Dege and now lives in exile. On Feb. 25, Dege County Party Secretary Baima Zhaxi visited Wangbuding and neighboring townships to meet with Buddhist monastic leaders and village administrators, during which he called for “stability” and urged residents to comply with regulations or else be “dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations,” according to a local news report. “As the stability maintenance period in March and the national Two Sessions approach, we must implement detailed stability maintenance measures to promote continued harmony and stability in the jurisdiction,” Zhaxi was quoted in the report as saying. The Two Sessions refers to China’s annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, being held this week in Beijing. “We must continue to carry out the investigation and resolution of conflicts, risks and hidden dangers, and effectively resolve conflicts and disputes at the grassroots level, and nip them in the bud,” Zhaxi said. Zhaxi’s visit comes ahead of Tibetan Uprising Day on March 10, a politically sensitive date that commemorates the thousands of Tibetans who died in a 1959 uprising against China’s invasion and occupation of their homeland, and the flight of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, into exile in northern India. Keep building Zhaxi also visited the dam construction site and told the leaders of the coordination team to adhere to their work orders and make arrangements for “the next step of work,” according to a local Chinese government announcement. Zhaxi told residents about “the great significance and necessity of the construction of hydropower stations” and indicated that the government would “protect the legitimate interests of the masses to the greatest extent.” “Abide by the law, express your demands in a legal, civilized and rational manner, and do not exceed the bottom line,” Zhaxi told locals during the on-site visit, according to the same news report. “Otherwise, you will be dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations.” Tibetans in exile hold a rally in Amsterdam to support dam protesters in Dege county, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, March 1, 2024. (Netherlands Tibetan Community) On Feb. 23, police arrested more than 1,000 Tibetans, including monks and residents in the county in Sichuan’s Kardze Autonomous Tibetan Prefecture, who had been protesting the construction of the dam, meant to generate electricity. Authorities continue to heighten security restrictions in Dege county on the east bank of the Drichu River, called Jinsha in Chinese, and in Jomda county of Qamdo city in the Tibet Autonomous Region on the west bank of the river, said the sources who both live in exile and requested anonymity for safety reasons. Strict surveillance Residents are forbidden from contacting anyone outside the area, the sources said. Chinese officials continue to impose strict digital surveillance and tight restrictions on movement in Wangbuding after rare video footage emerged from inside Tibet on Feb. 22 of Chinese police beating Tibetan monks, before arresting more than 100 of them, most of whom were from Wonto and Yena monasteries. Since then, authorities have carried out wide-scale rigorous interrogations of the arrested Tibetans, even as information from inside Tibet has been harder to come by amid a crackdown on the use of mobile phones and social media and messaging platforms to restrict communication with the outside world, sources said. The protests began on Feb. 14, when at least 300 Tibetans gathered outside Dege County Town Hall to protest the building of the Gangtuo Dam, part of a massive 13-tier hydropower complex with a total planned capacity of 13,920 megawatts. Over the past two weeks, Tibetans in exile have been holding solidarity rallies in cities in the United States, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia and India. Global leaders and Tibetan advocacy groups have condemned China’s actions, calling for the immediate release of those detained. Last week, Chinese authorities released about 40 of the arrested monks on Feb. 26 and 27, RFA reported. Additional reporting and editing by Tenzin Pema for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
