October 2024 - Page 5 of 5 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Thousands flee Myanmar airstrikes after rebel ambush

Editor2 months ago06 mins

About 10,000 villagers in Myanmar’s Sagaing region are fleeing junta airstrikes launched after forces loyal to a shadow pro-democracy government inflicted unusually heavy casualties on a military column, residents told Radio Free Asia. The heartland central region of Sagaing has seen some of the worst violence over the past year with pro-democracy guerrillas, largely from the majority Burman community, hounding junta forces who often respond with heavy artillery and airstrikes. On Wednesday, air force planes bombed Maung Htaung village in Budalin township, about 110 kilometers (68 miles) northwest of the city of Mandalay, destroying buildings and wounding at least two people, a resident said. “A bomb fell on the school and another was dropped near a Buddhist religious building. A third bomb hit a clinic,” said the resident who declined to be identified for fear of reprisals. “A man and a woman were wounded.” Residents of about 10 villages in the area were too frightened to stay in their homes and some took shelter in woods by their fields while others headed to the nearest monasteries and towns, villagers told RFA, estimating that about 10,000 people were displaced, many in urgent need of food. The airstrikes came after anti-junta People’s Defense Force fighters ambushed an infantry column on patrol from a camp in Ku Taw village on Monday. Nearly half the soldiers in the patrol were killed and most of the rest were captured, according to a spokesman for one of the groups involved in the ambush called the Student Armed Force. “There are 32 dead junta soldiers and 42 were captured,” the spokesman, identified as Maj. Okkar, told RFA. “The detainees are being held in accordance with the Geneva Convention, in accordance with agreement of the National Unity Government affiliates and local PDFs.” Four PDF members were wounded in the battle, he added. RFA has not been able to independently verify the account and calls to the junta’s Sagaing region spokesperson, Nyunt Win Aung, went unanswered by the time of publication. Democracy supporters of the government ousted in the 2021 coup set up the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, to oppose military rule and organize the PDFs operating around the country. The guerrillas released photographs of what they said were captured junta soldiers. The U.N. refugee agency estimated that 3.1 million people have been displaced internally by fighting in Myanmar since the military overthrew a civilian government in early 2021. Nearly 70,000 have fled to neighboring countries, the UNHCR said in a report published on Thursday. Residents fleeing fighting in Khin-U township, Sagaing region, on March 25, 2024. (Khin-U township Right Information Group) The military has increasingly resorted to airstrikes over recent weeks, in different parts of the country including Sagaing, Shan state in the northeast and Rakhine state in the west, particularly since the junta chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, vowed early last month to recapture areas lost to guerrilla forces. More than 130 people have been killed and more than 70 wounded by airstrikes from Sept. 1 to Sept. 24, across eight states and regions, RFA data shows. RELATED STORIES A new generation in Myanmar risks their lives for change No limits to lawlessness of Myanmar’s predatory regime Month of fighting leaves once-bustling Myanmar town eerily quiet Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Traders in Myanmar struggle as borders with China remain closed in rebel-held areas

Editor2 months ago04 mins

Merchants of Chinese goods in Myanmar are reeling as China keeps its borders closed to areas of the Southeast Asian country that are controlled by anti-junta ethnic rebels, residents in Myanmar told Radio Free Asia. Since the junta took over Myanmar in a coup in February 2021, cross border trade between junta ally China and northern Shan state has amounted to a total of US$9 billion. But after rebel groups seized control of the area, Beijing shut down its border crossings, disrupting the livelihood of those in Myanmar who buy, sell and ship Chinese goods. “Many drivers have faced many difficulties,” a truck driver who works in northern Shan state told RFA Burmese. “In the past, we could drive cargo trucks. Now we have no jobs.” The trucker said that the owners of transportation firms are trying to get work in areas where the borders remain open, out of consideration for their drivers. Rebels control six border crossings with China on the Myanmar side. Five of these are under the control of the Three Brotherhood Alliance – which is made up of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Arakan Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army – while the sixth is under the control of the Kachin Independence Army. Man Wein gate near the Chinese border, Sept. 2019. (RFA) Daily trade at the Kyin Sang Kyawt gate in Shan state’s Muse township was around US$6.6 million daily when it was open. A resident of Pang Hseng township, who sells produce to Chinese buyers, said the closed border is creating hardship. “We rely on this border gate by selling vegetables to make a living,” the resident said. “Some others buy Chinese products to be sold here. But with the border gate closed now, all of us are facing many challenges, and unemployment has also increased.” Singbyu gate in Muse township is the only open trade route to China in northern Shan state, with limited time for crossing, and the junta has increased custom duties and restrictions. As a result, prices of imported Chinese goods have sharply increased. RFA tried to contact the junta’s spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun to learn more about the situation at the border, but he did not respond by the time of publishing. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Eugene Whong. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Residents of Myanmar’s Lashio flee relentless airstrikes

Editor2 months ago05 mins

Hundreds of civilians in the rebel-controlled northeastern Myanmar town of Lashio are fleeing in the face of relentless junta air attacks as the military presses on with an offensive aimed at retaking territory captured by insurgent forces, residents said on Wednesday. Insurgents captured Lashio on Aug. 3, one of the most significant victories for a three-party guerrilla alliance that has made major advances since late last year against the junta that seized power in early 2021. But the junta now appears determined to recapture the town on a major trade link to China and is unleashing its air power to do so, residents say. “The planes normally come when night falls,” one Lashio resident who declined to be identified for security reasons told Radio Free Asia. “We worry about where they’re going to bomb, my home or others .. we pray no one gets hurt,” said the resident who is aiming to flee to the town of Taunggyi, about 25 kilometers (155 miles) to the south. “It’s happening almost every night so we just can’t stay anymore and have to flee again.” Lashio had a population of nearly 250,000 but more than 200,000 have fled to Taunggyi, and other towns in Shan state such as Kalaw and Nyaung Shwe, as well as to the main cities of Mandalay and Yangon, residents say. RFA tried to contact Khun Thein Maung, a military council spokesman for Shan state, to ask about the situation in Lashio, but he did not answer phone calls. A damaged vehicle in the town of Lashio on Aug. 25 (RFA) The intensifying conflict in Myanmar’s civil war has displaced more than 3 million civilians, the United Nations says, and there’s no sign of the situation improving. The military has been shifting troops from southern to northern Shan state in a bid to recapture Lashio and other towns it has lost to insurgent forces in The Three Brotherhood Alliance, but at least for now it is mostly relying on its air power, rebel officials and residents say. The fighting comes despite peace efforts by neighboring China, which has brokered several short-lived ceasefires over the past year, and a vow by the main rebel force in Lashio, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, to cease fighting and end its cooperation with the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, set up by pro-democracy politicians. China has major investments in Myanmar including oil and natural gas pipelines running from Rakhine state on the Indian Ocean coast through Shan state to its border. Lashio residents said that the telecommunications and internet access in the town had been cut since Tuesday, adding to a growing sense of panic. “I can no longer communicate with home and the planes are bombing every day, so I’m worried,” said another city resident, who also declined to be identified. Residents said it appeared that the MNDAA had cut communication links but RFA was not able to confirm that or to contact an MNDAA spokesperson for comment. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Interview with Lucio Pitlo: Philippines’ Foreign Policy and China’s Influence

Editor2 months ago1 month ago015 mins

In an exclusive interview with IJ-Reportika, Lucio III Pitlo, a seasoned foreign policy and security analyst, shares his insights on the Philippines’ current foreign policy under the Marcos administration. He discusses the nation’s balancing act between major powers like the U.S., China, and Japan, ASEAN’s role in regional security, and how China’s growing influence impacts Southeast Asia. Pitlo also explores the challenges and opportunities facing the Philippines as it navigates complex geopolitical landscapes.

North Korea swaps soybean-based doenjang paste with wheat-based imitation

Editor2 months ago07 mins

Read a version of this story in Korean North Korean authorities are providing the public with “foul tasting” wheat paste as a substitute for doenjang, the fermented bean paste that is a staple in Korean cuisine, residents told Radio Free Asia. Something magic happens in the traditional making of soy sauce: when the salty liquid is siphoned off the top, the urn it’s been fermenting in still holds a treasure. It is the pungent paste of legend, doenjang – a key ingredient in Korean soups, stews, sauces and even snack foods. Doenjang is the subject of South Korean rap songs and tops ice cream dishes served at the Biden White House. The paste has been made on the Korean peninsula for millenia. But North Korea, which has been suffering from food shortages, recently boosted wheat production at the expense of other crops. Packaged gochujang and bara gochujang sold at Pyongyang department stores and markets. Gochujang is a spicy red chili paste made with meju, fermented blocks of mashed boiled soybeans, a precursor to doenjang and soy sauce. (RFA) The result has been an excess of wheat and a shortage of soybeans, leading to the unlikely production of doenjang using the former. But people find it disgusting, a resident of the eastern province of South Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Starting this year, wheat-based doenjang is being supplied to residents in the city of Sinpo instead of soybean-based doenjang,” she said, adding that most residents are saying they can’t eat it. “They say it is because the white color of the paste is unsightly and the taste is foul compared to the soybean-based doenjang which was previously supplied.” She said the wheat paste’s quality is poor because the production process leaves part of the wheat husk in the final product. “The eater ends up chewing on the husk and smelling a strange, sourish odor.” She said that even after a deadly famine in the 1990s, when the government had almost no food to give to the people, supplies of doenjang never completely ran out. But now, the situation is so dire that the government is trying to pass off an inferior substitute. Because it is a fermented food, doenjang has a very long shelf life. An urn can be buried in the ground and used for several years. So in 2000, North Korea upscaled production, putting doenjang factories in every province and major city. But there’s a shortage of soybeans these days, the resident said. “The doenjang you could get in the grocery stores up until last year was not 100% soybeans. It was mixed with corn,” she said. But even the corn-soybean mix doenjang was better than the wheat substitute, she said. Wheat-based doenjang is unpalatable, a resident of the northeastern city of Rason told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. A lemon bar ice cream with fresh berries, mint ginger snap cookie crumble and doenjang caramel dessert dish is displayed during a media preview, Monday, April 24, 2023, in advance of Wednesday’s State Dinner with South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) She said that the municipal government did give out soybean-based doenjang to residents, but only as a gift on the four major North Korean holidays–New Year’s Day, the two birth anniversaries of leader Kim Jong Un’s late father and grandfather, who were his predecessors, on Feb. 16 and April 15, and the founding day of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party on Oct. 10. Additionally on holidays, residents of Rason “sometimes got small amounts of soy sauce,” she said. While the government-supplied doenjang was made with soybeans, it wasn’t as good as homemade varieties, “it was still good enough to eat.” “Many families, who cannot make their own doenjang or buy it homemade from others, had relied on soybean doenjang supplied by grocery stores,” she said. The wheat doenjang is a poor substitute, they say. “Many people say it is too salty and stinks because it is not stored properly,” she said. “They wish that they could just get doenjang made from soybeans.” Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

South Korea unveils missile that can hit the North’s bunkers

Editor2 months ago08 mins

South Korea unveiled its latest domestically produced ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5, on Tuesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea that it would face the end of its regime if it attempted to use nuclear weapons. Dubbed the “monster missile,” reflecting a destructive capacity that South Korean media says is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, the Hyunmoo-5 can carry a warhead weighing up to 9 tons and is capable of striking deeply buried command centers. It incorporates an advanced cold-launch system, which uses compressed gas to propel the missile from its launcher before ignition, minimizing damage to the launcher and increasing operational stability, South Korean media has reported. Media have drawn parallels between the Hyunmoo-5 and China’s Dongfeng-31 intercontinental ballistic missile, with the former estimated to have a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles), capable of targeting critical infrastructure in North Korea and beyond. The new missile is a centerpiece of the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan, designed to respond to damage caused by a North Korean nuclear weapon by targeting its leadership and military headquarters in a retaliatory strike. “Our military will immediately retaliate against North Korea’s provocations based on its robust combat capabilities and solid readiness posture,” Yoon said at a ceremony to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the founding of South Korea’s armed forces, where the new missile was showcased for the first time. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a celebration to mark the 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day, in Seongnam, South Korea, Oct. 1, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/Reuters) “If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the South Korea-U.S. alliance. That day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” Yoon added. Denouncing North Korea for threatening the South with its nuclear weapons and missiles, as well as other provocations, Yoon urged the North to abandon “delusions” that nuclear weapons could guarantee its security “False peace, based on the enemy’s goodwill, is nothing but a mirage. History has proven that the only way to safeguard peace is by strengthening our power so the enemy cannot dare challenge us,” he added, vowing to build a strong military and strengthen security based on the strong alliance with the U.S., as well as trilateral cooperation involving Japan. The South Korean military would reportedly aim to use dozens of Hyunmoo-5s to destroy the North Korean military command’s underground bunkers and devastate Pyongyang in the event of an emergency. RELATED STORIES INTERVIEW: Former ‘Office 39’ official on how North Korea finances nukes North Korea may conduct nuclear test after US election: South’s spy agency Satellite photos show expansion of suspected North Korean uranium enrichment site ‘Never bargain’ Some 5,000 troops and 340 pieces of military equipment, including the Hyunmoo-5, K9 self-propelled howitzers and four-legged robots, were mobilized for an anniversary ceremony parade that began at Seoul Air Base in the city of Seongnam, according to the South’s defense ministry. The ministry said the event was organized to show South Korea’s “overwhelming” capabilities to powerfully retaliate against enemy provocations. The showcasing of the Hyunmoo-5 came amid growing concern in South Korea as North Korea has intensified its nuclear posturing with the first public disclosure of its uranium enrichment facility last month. North Korea’s envoy to the U.N., Kim Song, said on Monday that the North would never bargain over its “national prestige,” reaffirming the isolated country’s adherence to its nuclear weapons program. “When it comes to the right to self-defense, a legitimate right of a sovereign state, we will never go back to the point in the far-off past,” he said during a general debate at the U.N. General Assembly, repeating North Korea’s accusations of America’s “hostility” and claiming that its nuclear weapons were “just made and exist to defend itself.” “When it comes to national prestige, we will never bargain over it with anyone for it was gained through the bloody struggle of the entire Korean people,” he added. The ambassador also said that no matter who wins the U.S. presidential election in November, North Korea would only deal with “the state entity called the U.S., not the mere administration.” “Likewise, any U.S. administration will have to face the DPRK which is different from what the U.S. used to think,” he said, using the acronym of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, without elaborating. Edited by Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Prominent Cambodian journalist arrested: rights groups

Editor2 months ago06 mins

Award-winning Cambodian freelance journalist Mech Dara, who reported regularly on trafficking and cyberscam compounds, was arrested in the southwestern part of the country on Monday afternoon, a rights groups and local journalists’ association said, though his whereabouts remain unknown. Six police cars intercepted Dara’s car at the Srae Ambel toll booth in Koh Kong province while he was driving to Phnom Penh, a relative who was with him told human rights group Licadho. Last year, Dara won the U.S. State Department’s human trafficking Hero Award for his coverage of Cambodia’s scam-compounds, where an estimated 100,000 have been forced to work – under threat of violence – as the perpetrators of online scams targeting people across the world. Dara’s reporting included stories for Voice of Democracy linking Cambodian businessman Ly Yong Phat to scam compounds. Known as the “king of Koh Kong,” Ly Yong Phat and his LYP Group conglomerate were sanctioned earlier this month by the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged abuses related to the treatment of trafficked workers in online scam centers. “Arresting one of Cambodia’s bravest journalists will have a devastating effect on access to information for all Cambodians,” said Naly Pilorge, outreach co-director at Licadho. Dara sent a text message to Licadho informing them of his arrest, but as of 10:30pm they had not been able to determine where he was being held, said Pilorge. RFA Khmer attempted to contact government officials but were unable to get any confirmation of the arrest. The Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association, or CamboJA, said it had confirmed the arrest with Eng Hy, a military police spokesman, who did not reveal the reason or where the journalist had been sent. Facebook photos of quarry While the reason for the arrest remains unknown, the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association said in a statement it came one day after Dara reportedly posted since-deleted photos to Facebook that appeared to show how a quarry operation had destroyed the concrete stairs leading to a pagoda in Prey Veng province called Ba Phnom, a local tourist destination. The Prey Veng provincial administration on Monday released a statement condemning the post and accusing the journalist of causing “social disorder.” The same day, Fresh News, a government-friendly outlet, on Monday published an article labeling Dara’s post “fake news.” Dara previously reported for The Cambodia Daily, which shut down in 2017 citing government pressure; The Phnom Penh Post, which was purchased by a government-friendly businessman in 2018; and Voice of Democracy, which had its license revoked by the Cambodian government in February 2023. His arrest set off a flurry of concerned social media posts from local and international journalists and others, who highlighted his fearless reporting. “There is NO SCENARIO in which this is not a politically motivated arrest,” J Daniel Sims, a visiting expert on transnational crime with the United States Institute of Peace, posted on X. Mech Dara “has been a leading voice shedding light on state-affiliated criminal industries for years amidst mounting repression. Concerned govts must call on @Dr_Hunmanet_PM to release him immediately.” A State Department spokesperson told RFA they were aware of the reported arrest and were “following developments closely with great concern.” Additional reporting by Alex Willemyns. Edited by Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

Month: October 2024