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Year: 2024

Myanmar resistance fighters burned alive stokes outrage

Editor011 mins

Two young men in shackles are interrogated by armed men. As villagers look on, the men are suspended from a tree and set on fire. Their screams are heard over the flames as a unified cheer goes up among observers. Video footage of this atrocity has gone viral in Myanmar, fueling outrage in a nation already hardened to the depravity of war after three years of increasingly bloody conflict since the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup d’etat.  Sympathizers have circulated artwork on social media to pay tribute to the men who died, Phoe Tay, 23, and Thar Htaung, 22. The art includes symbolic images of two stars hanging from a tree under a campfire. The video shows their deaths in graphic detail. They were captured Nov. 7, 2023, in fighting between pro-junta forces and resistance fighters at Myauk Khin Yan village in Magway region’s Gangaw township.  According to a local official from the administration of the shadow National Unity Government, the video was taken by a villager who fled the area on Dec. 12 and Dec. 13. It’s unclear who first posted the video that began circulating widely this week. The two young men were members of the local Yaw Defense Force that attacked positions held by junta troops at Myauk Khin Yan and then retreated when reinforcements from the pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia arrived, according to the YDF. The two young men were left behind after they both sustained leg wounds. The YDF said every household in Myauk Khin Yan was told to send one person to witness the executions. The video starts with the two young men being questioned by armed, uniformed soldiers while shackled at the legs and their hands tied behind their backs. The video then shows them dragged in chains to a nearby tree where they are hung as a fire is set just underneath. A crowd of people in civilian clothes can be seen in the background. Sporadic laughter from people apparently located closer to the violence can can be heard in the video. Local sources, who declined to be name for safety reasons, said Phoe Tay was a first year university student and Thar Htaung was enrolled at a secondary school. Both were apparently enrolled in the resistance force. Radio Free Asia spoke to the father of Phoe Tay. The father, Myint Zaw, already knew of his son’s death but has not seen the video – partly because he lacks adequate internet access in his village. He voiced horror and anger.  “Yes, it is Po Tay, my son,” Myint Zaw said. “He is gone. His life as a human is over. At that time, they were tortured. There was blood on the head. I didn’t witness it, but I learned that he was beaten on the head, beaten on the knees.” “We could not retrieve the body. Nobody could go there because Myauk Khin Yan is the stronghold village of Pyu Saw Htee [pro-junta militia],” he said.   Myint Zaw said of the video: “I haven’t watched it. But there are reports about it, and many people are talking about it.” “His friends in the village are horrified by it,” he said. “People are deeply hurt. They cannot accept such an act.” Online outrage Since the coup three years ago, reports of torture, beheadings and burning of corpses by junta forces have become commonplace, but the graphic nature of the Nov. 7 video has triggered a wave of revulsion in Myanmar and beyond – and sympathy for the dead.  Hundreds of people have commented on Facebook and others have posted online images and memes that feature the two young men. “I could no longer watch that video. How merciless they were,” said Facebook user Ko Zaw, who lists himself as a resident of Kuala Lumpur. “May you two avoid such a fate in your next lives. Please have compassion with each other, Myanmar citizens.”  Burmese social media has seen an outpouring of AI-generated art tributes to Phoe Tay and Thar Htaung after the nature of their deaths became public. (Clockwise from top left: AIMasterPieces, Christine Ang, ChanHlong, Hein Htut Aung, Crd-AungYeWin and UKhaing) Among the social media artwork are images depicting two stars hanging from a tree, a phoenix rising from the ashes and two young men looking down into a cloud-covered valley. “Whenever I check my phone, I see your faces, brothers,” said Facebook user and Bangkok resident Thein Lin Aung, who added that the amount of graphic photos and videos being reposted was bordering on the reckless. “Even those without any blood relationship feel such a heavy pain,” he wrote. “Please think about their parents, families and relatives.”  ‘Justice must be sought’ RFA’s calls this week to junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the video went unanswered.  But the junta-appointed Information Ministry claimed in a statement on Wednesday that the video was fabricated by militia groups and the two young men were killed by a rival People’s Defense Force. “The illegal subversive media is only circulating fake news at the right time to mislead the public and the international community that the security forces are carrying out such inhumane and brutal acts of terrorism, which are being committed by the terrorists from the so-called PDFs,” the ministry said. NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt told RFA that the NUG’s Ministry of Home Affairs has started building a case against the alleged perpetrators. However, several sources told RFA that village residents have expressed their fear of identifying the culprits. After the killings, nearly 200 people fled the village because they felt threatened by Pyu Saw Htee militia members, local people said. Gangaw township includes a significant number of supporters for the military junta and members of the Pyu Saw Htee militia, which the military has supplied with weapons and provided with training. Aung Myo Min, the human rights minister for NUG, noted that some of the perpetrators in the video weren’t wearing a military uniform. He described the…

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Myanmar junta kills 6 internally displaced women and children

Editor04 mins

Junta troops shot and killed women and children living in eastern Myanmar, a human rights group told Radio Free Asia.  The group was attacked while fleeing a junta offensive in Kayah state’s Shadaw township, Karenni State Interim Executive Council secretary Zue Padonmar said Wednesday. After being captured in the forest outside their village, they were taken alive as hostages.  “It happened on Feb. 5. Three women and three children were killed. One of the women who was killed was pregnant,” she said.  “The children who were killed were very young. This kind of incident rarely happens. They are war-torn displaced people … They were taken as human shields.” The victims included two disabled women in their 50s, a 33-year-old pregnant woman, and three children between the ages of three and seven. The women’s bodies were found with wounds on their faces and legs, likely inflicted during their interrogation, said Banyar, director of the Karenni Human Rights Group, who goes by one name. They were later shot in the head. The group was captured when a special operations force launched an offensive in Kayah state. The column was reinforced at Shadaw Byuhar Hill by a helicopter of troops who captured the women and children, along with a man, to use as human shields, Banyar said. Only the man was able to escape.  The regime’s targeting and killing of civilians is a war crime, Zue Padonmar told RFA. The Karenni Interim Executive Council said it is preparing to take legal action against the junta in domestic and international courts. Zue Padonmar also urged the international community not to cooperate with the junta or sell them aviation fuel. RFA contacted junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun to confirm details about the alleged shooting, but did not receive a response by time of publication. The junta also carried out an aerial bombardment on a school at Daw Si Ei village in western Demoso township on Feb. 5, killing four children and injuring at least 10, according to local defense forces.  A total of 4,500 civilians have been killed across the country in the three years since the military coup, according to a statement by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners on Feb. 7. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Arakan Army captures two junta battalions in Rakhine state

Editor010 mins

The Arakan Army has captured two key military units in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, giving it effective control of Minbya township and putting it in a position to challenge junta control of the state capital, according to an ethnic rebel alliance and sources in the region. On Tuesday morning, the Arakan Army, or AA, routed Light Infantry Battalions 379 and 541 – the two junta battalions that remained in Minbya after the ethnic rebels captured the 380th battalion on Jan. 28 – the Three Brotherhood Alliance, of which the AA is a member, said in a statement. “All junta soldiers surrendered to the AA,” said a resident who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. It wasn’t clear how many soldiers this entailed, but the latest estimates by military experts suggest most battalions in the Burmese Army have around 200 men. The takeover means “the AA now controls Minbya,” he said. People are worried about possible airstrikes by the military and “don’t dare go outside.” ​​The advances are the latest in a series of victories for the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which launched a campaign in October on junta forces in the northern and western parts of the country. In northern Rakhine and neighboring Chin state, the AA seized arms and ammunition during several attacks on junta positions in January. On Jan. 16, nearly 300 junta troops surrendered to the AA after it took control of two major military junta encampments in Kyauktaw township. And on Jan. 24, the Three Brotherhood Alliance said in a statement that the AA had won full control of Pauktaw, a port city just 16 miles (25 kilometers) east of the Rakhine capital Sittwe. The takeovers follow the AA’s occupation of the entirety of western Chin’s Paletwa region – a mere 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the border with Bangladesh – in November, after it ended a ceasefire that had been in place with the junta since the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat. The Three Brotherhood Alliance claimed in a statement late on Tuesday that the AA has now captured all but two of the 10 light infantry battalions under the aegis of the No. 9 Military Operations Command in Kyauktaw. They include the 379th, 380th and 541th battalions in Minbya; the 374th, 376th and 539th in Kyauktaw; and 378th and 540th in Mrauk-U township – the last two of which were also taken on Tuesday morning, the alliance said. The two remaining light infantry battalions under the No. 9 Military Operations Command are 377th in Mrauk-U and 375th in Kyautaw, according to the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which added that the AA had also taken control of Artillery Battalion 377 in Kyauktaw. Central Rakhine offensive No. 9 Military Operations Command in central Rakhine’s Kyauktaw township is one of three junta command centers in the state, the other two being No. 5 in southern Rakhine’s Toungup township and No. 15 in northern Rakhine’s Buthidaung township. A Rakhine-based military observer told RFA that the AA is focusing on taking control of No. 9 Military Operations Command so that it can launch offensives from the region against battalions under No. 5 and No. 15. “If the AA can capture the [Operations Command] in Kyauktaw, then they will control the central area of the state,” the observer said. “This area is important for military offensives, so the AA could use it to launch strategic attacks on the military in other areas.” The observer noted that the junta is ceding battalions and townships despite its use of the air force, navy and ground troops, suggesting that it no longer has the capacity to counter AA offensives. Arakan Army forces display arms and equipment seized after the capture of the Myanmar army’s Light Infantry Battalion 540 in Minbya, Feb. 2, 2024. (AA Info Desk) He also suggested that if the AA is able to take complete control of Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw, it would likely push on to fight for control of the capital Sittwe and Ann township, where the junta’s Western Military Headquarters is located. “If the junta loses these towns, it can be assumed that the next phase of battles will occur in Sittwe … and Ann,” he said. “It may then spread further to Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships.” The AA has yet to issue any statements about the junta battalions they have captured, casualties suffered in the fighting, or the number of military troops who have surrendered. Rapid gains Another resident monitoring the military situation in Rakhine told RFA that the AA could assume control of as many as five townships in the north of the state by the end of February, before advancing south. “We earlier thought that the AA would proceed with attacks in southern Rakhine only in 2025, after first taking control of the north,” he said. “However, they have made significant gains in Ramree and Toungup townships in a short span of time. The junta soldiers have fled [across the borders] to Bangladesh and India, and more soldiers will surrender soon.” In its statement on Tuesday, the Three Brotherhood Alliance said it also expects that the AA will fully capture the Taung Pyo Let Wei and Taung Pyo Let Yar border outposts north of Rakhine’s Maungdaw township along the border with Bangladesh, days after launching attacks on the two areas. The alliance claimed that AA fighters had located the bodies of several members of the junta-affiliated Border Guard Forces killed in the fighting and confiscated a large cache of arms and ammunition, adding that “more than 200 junta soldiers fled the area to Bangladesh.” Meanwhile, fighting remains fierce in Ramree township, where the AA launched attacks on a military outpost in December, residents of the area said. More than 10,000 civilians have fled the clashes and at least 60 homes were destroyed in military airstrikes and artillery attacks, they said. The junta has yet to release any statements related to the military situation in Rakhine state….

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Myanmar junta troops seize over 300 hostages

Editor03 mins

One woman died and over 300 villagers were arrested after a junta raid in central Myanmar, residents told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday. Troops shot 21-year-old Khin Soe Wai while she fled her village in Mandalay township, locals said.  Over 50 soldiers stormed Kan Swei village following a clash with local resistance forces on Sunday. Mandalay and Myingyan People’s Defense Forces attacked junta troops with drones only half a mile away. After shooting Khin Soe Wai, villagers said the column occupied the village’s monastery, interrogating more than 100 villagers on Tuesday and burning down three homes.  Troops took more than 30 of them to a village in nearby Natogyi township. After arriving in Na Nwin Taw Bo, soldiers arrested over 300 more villagers, who have not been released yet, Myingyan-based defense forces member Bo Moe Kyo told RFA on Wednesday. “On the fifth, a woman from Kan Swei who ran away was shot dead,” he said. “About 150 villagers in Kan Swei were detained in the monastery. They were beaten and tortured. About 30 of them were taken by the junta troops.” Since the raid, some 5,000 residents from eight villages in Myingyan township and Natogyi township have been forced to flee due to the junta column, he said. “Na Nwin Taw Bo was raided by the column again. There were no casualties. But they arrested everyone they met: children, adults and women,” he said. “More than 300 villagers were arrested. They are still being held as hostage.” Calls by RFA to Mandalay’s junta spokesperson Thein Htay to learn more about the raid went unanswered on Wednesday.  In January, four women and five men from Mandalay region’s Myingyan township were arrested and killed by junta troops. As of Feb. 6, over 4,400 people across the country have been killed since the military seized power three years ago, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Senate confirms Kurt Campbell as No. 2 US diplomat

Editor03 mins

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden’s top Asia foreign policy aide, Kurt Campbell, as deputy secretary of state.  Campbell, previously the Indo-Pacific Affairs coordinator on the White House’s National Security Council, was confirmed in an overwhelming 92-5 vote to replace Wendy Sherman, who retired in July. During his confirmation hearing in December, Campbell said he would prioritize the strategic threat posed by China if confirmed, and coax the Senate to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea to help push back against Beijing’s expansive South China Sea claims. “Even our allies and partners say, ‘Hey, wait a second. You’re holding China to account to something you yourself haven’t signed up for?’” Campbell said at the time. “We’ve gotten very close in the past; I’d love to get that over the finish line. It’ll be challenging. I’m committed to it.” During the hearing, he was praised by Democrats and Republicans alike, with Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee who was the ambassador to Japan during the Trump administration, praising Campbell for his “most helpful, most insightful” guidance. In the Obama administration, Campbell was credited as being the architect of the president’s “pivot to Asia,” which aimed to reorient U.S. foreign policy away from the Middle East toward East Asia. In the current White House, he has been credited with reinvigorating “the Quad” dialogue between the United States, Australia, India and Japan. Campbell’s appointment shows the Biden administration’s increasing focus on China in its foreign policy. The longtime public servant was described as being possibly “the biggest China hawk of them all” by Politico upon his appointment to the White House in 2021. However, he also led the charge in organizing last year’s high-profile summit in San Francisco between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, which paved the way for the ongoing easing of diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing. Edited by Malcolm Foster

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Myanmar resistance army deports nearly 60 Chinese nationals

Editor04 mins

An armed resistance group in northern Myanmar handed over nearly 60 Chinese nationals accused of online fraud and owning illegal weapons, according to the army’s statement on Monday night.  The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which occupies Kokang region on the country’s border with China, deported 59 Chinese citizens between Sunday and Monday, the army’s information department said.  One group of 36 people was arrested on Sunday and another 23 were captured on Monday. The army announced it had investigated the Dong Chein and Swan Hauw Chein neighborhoods of Shan state’s Laukkaing city during a crackdown on drug trafficking and illegal weapons. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army’s Special Police Department seized mobile phones and weapons from the 36 suspected of online fraud, according to a statement from the Kokang Information Department. Monday’s suspects were arrested in relation to online money laundering. All those arrested were handed over to Chinese authorities at an internally displaced persons camp called BP-125 on the China-Myanmar border in Laukkaing, according to Kokang Police. The arrested Chinese nationals were transferred to Chinese authorities by Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army forces on Feb. 5, 2024.  (The Kokang) Security forces have been conducting daily inspections in the city to combat drug and weapons smuggling, as well as online scam groups, a Laukkaing resident told RFA on Tuesday. “Now the forces conduct searches of homes and people every day,” he said. “People who work for a money scamming gang were arrested. The rest of the people were suspected [gang] leaders. They’ve also been arrested.” In Kokang region, local resistance forces have encouraged residents to report illegal online activities since Feb. 1. They are also registering foreigners residing in the area legally and allowing them to obtain temporary residence permits. Since the launch of Operation 1027 at the end of October, the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, has committed to fighting online fraud in Kokang region. In late January, China issued arrest warrants for 10 people believed to be gang leaders, including the former chairman of the Kokang regional junta administration group.  From September to December 2023, more than 44,000 Chinese nationals were deported by both the junta and the United Wa State Army.  More than 50,000 foreigners who entered Myanmar illegally from Oct. 5, 2023 to January 2024 have been sent back to their respective countries, regime leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing announced during a security and defense meeting on Jan. 31. Of those who were returned, 48,120 were Chinese nationals and 1,810 were from other countries, he added. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Arakan rebels in Myanmar’s Rakhine seize outpost on Bangladesh border

Editor012 mins

The anti-junta Arakan Army seized an outpost manned by the military-affiliated Border Guard Force along western Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh on Sunday, confiscating arms and equipment, according to residents and an alliance of ethnic rebels. The attack marked the latest blow to Myanmar’s military in Rakhine state, where the ethnic Arakan Army, or AA, ended a ceasefire in November that had been in place since the junta assumed power in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat. The AA took control of the Taung Pyo Let Yar outpost in Maungdaw township on Sunday afternoon, taking prisoners and prompting nearly 60 fighters with the Border Guard Force, or BGF, to flee towards the border, the Three Brotherhood Alliance – of which the AA is a member – said in a statement. The statement by the alliance, which also includes the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, said that AA fighters were killed in the battle, although it did not provide details of the number of casualties. It said the AA is also attacking a nearby BGF outpost called Taung Pyo Let Wae. The two outposts, located just north of the seat of Maungdaw township, are vital to the junta and each were manned by at least 100 soldiers, residents told RFA Burmese. Local people bring a man wounded by a gunshot to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Ukhia, Bangladesh, Feb. 4, 2024. (Tanbir Miraj/AFP) Photos and videos of the battle posted to social media appeared to show BGF troops running towards the Bangladesh border amid volleys of gunfire, as well as wounded BGF fighters. Media reports cited officials in Bangladesh as saying that at least 95 Myanmar border guards, some of whom are wounded, have fled across the border over the last few days. Reports said the Myanmar border guards had been provided shelter at Bangladesh Border Guard outposts and that at least 24 of them had been sent to hospitals in neighboring Cox’s Bazar district to be treated for their wounds. Fierce fighting continued in the area on Monday, residents said, and the military sent a jet fighter to carry out an airstrike. One resident of Maungdaw who declined to be named due to security concerns said the AA began attacking the outposts on Saturday, forcing villagers to flee to the border for safety. “Some local residents fled to Bangladesh, while others dug bunkers and took shelter,” he said. “Fighting is ongoing … so [people] don’t dare stay there. A plane came and attacked two or three times.” More than 1,000 people live in the Taung Pyo area, including residents of nearby Thin Baw Hla and Mee Taik villages who were displaced by fighting between the military and anti-junta forces in 2022. The junta has not released any information about the attacks on the BGF outposts in Maungdaw or troops fleeing to Bangladesh. Calls by RFA to Hla Thein, the junta’s attorney general for Rakhine state, went unanswered Monday. Fighting spills across border At least two people in Bangladesh – a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya refugee – were killed on Monday when a mortar shell fired from Rakhine exploded on the woman’s house in Bandarban district near where the fighting was happening, media reports said, citing Bangladeshi government officials. Police identified the two victims who died in the mortar explosion as Hosne Ara, 50, a local resident, and Nobi Hossain, 65, a Rohingya laborer who was working at her house. “Firing and shelling had intensified since the morning. Suddenly, a mortar shell landed in my sister’s house and exploded. She died,” Shah Alam, Hosne Ara’s brother, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news outlet, on Monday. A Bangladeshi boy displays a bullet, allegedly shot from Myanmar during fighting between Myanmar security forces and Arakan Army, in Ghumdhum, Bangladesh, on Feb. 5, 2024. (Shafiqur Rahman/AP) Iman Hossain, the son of the dead Rohingya laborer, said his family had received the news that his father was killed in the explosion. “We came to Bangladesh from Myanmar to save our lives. But my father died in a Myanmar mortar shell [explosion]. What else can be more painful than this?” Nobi Hossain told BenarNews. Some 1 million ethnic Rohingya refugees have been living in Bangladesh since 2017, when they were driven out of Myanmar by a military clearance operation. ‘AA will press further’ Another resident of Rakhine’s Maungdaw township, who also spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal, said only 10 BGF battalions and three BGF tactical forces remain there and in nearby Buthidaung township. “I believe the AA will press further,” he said. “If the outposts of Taung Pyo are captured, I think that [cross-border] trade will resume in Rakhine state. Also, I think, the rest of the outposts in the area will be attacked, too.” The resident said the AA is likely targeting outposts along the border to reestablish trade routes with Bangladesh, which had been blocked by the military. “When the junta blocked the roads to Rakhine, all goods became scarce, so the AA feels they have the responsibility to reopen them,” he said. “Therefore, it can be assumed that the main reason for the attacks in Maungdaw are to reestablish trade with Bangladesh.” Smoke rises from a Myanmar Border Police post following fighting with Arakan Army forces near Ghumdhum, Bangladesh, Feb. 5, 2024. (Shafiqur Rahman/AP) The AA announced in December that it had captured more than 60 BGF outposts since November, when fighting resumed in Maungdaw township. The group claimed that junta troops retreated from most of the outposts because they were “afraid of being attacked.” The AA has launched offensives against junta bases in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Kyauktaw, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun and Ramree townships. Rohingya refugees Meanwhile, in Rakhine’s Taung Nyo township, where clashes between the military and the AA are now raging, the junta has set up temporary camps to receive some of the Rohingya refugees who have been living in Bangladesh. Khin Maung, an aid worker who is assisting…

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Cambodian leader to discuss border issues, trade on first Thailand visit as PM

Editor06 mins

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will on Wednesday make his first visit to neighboring Thailand since succeeding his strongman father Hun Sen six months ago. Hun Manet is scheduled to meet Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in Bangkok for talks on economic development of border areas, bilateral trade, closer transport connectivity and tourism, Thai officials said Monday. The two leaders may also discuss overlapping territorial claims in the Gulf of Thailand and a longstanding dispute over Preah Vihear, an ancient Hindu temple complex located between the two countries, according to analysts. Hun Manet, a graduate of U.S. military academy West Point, was in command of Cambodian forces around the temples when the two countries clashed several times over ownership between 2008-11. Thousands of troops are still deployed along both sides of the border and access to the temple from the Thai province of Sri Saket province remains off limits.  Pumin Leeteeraprasert, a lawmaker from Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party, said he hoped that Srettha would address the issue of the Preah Vihear and reopening the border gate to help promote tourism.  “The prime minister acknowledged our request. It’s up to him to raise the matter with PM Hun Manet,” Pumin told RFA affiliate BenarNews. “The Thai-Cambodian relationship is in good shape, but we have to wait and see the result.”  In 2013, a judgement by the International Court of Justice ordered Thailand to withdraw its forces in honor of a 1962 resolution that awarded the temple to Cambodia. Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet salutes during an inspection of troops at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Cambodian Army in Phnom Penh on January 24, 2024. (AFP) The temple dispute is not the only source of tension between the Southeast Asian neighbors. Thailand and Cambodia both assert control over an area of ocean covering roughly 27,000 square meters in the Gulf of Thailand. The overlapping claims area could hold 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, large quantities of condensate and oil, according to CLC Asia, a government affairs and corporate advisory firm headquartered in Bangkok.   “The two new prime ministers may want to solve both land and maritime disputes,” Panitan Wattanayagorn, an independent scholar on security and foreign affairs, told BenarNews.  The two leaders could look to share resources in the gulf, possibly by creating a Joint Authority for exploration and exploitation such as the one agreed to by Thailand and Malaysia in 1979, said Panitan, who once served as a security advisor to former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha. Former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, walks in front of the National Assembly in Phnom Penh Aug. 21, 2023. (AP) Hun Manet took over leadership of Cambodia when his father, Hun Sen – who built a decades-long reputation for corruption and repression – stepped down in August last year.  Last week, ahead of Hun Manet’s visit, three exiled Cambodian activists were arrested by Thai immigration authorities for threatening to protest his arrival. They included Kong Raiya, who was jailed twice for his outspoken criticism of the Cambodian government; Lim Sokha, a senior member of the banned opposition Candlelight party; and opposition activist Phan Phana, who was arrested with his wife and two children, aged two and four. The three activists had recently fled to Thailand to seek asylum and had been granted refugee status, Phan Phana told Radio Free Asia. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

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Why nonviolent resistance is the key to a democratic China

Editor015 mins

The principle of nonviolence is rooted in the idea that justice can only be achieved through just means. Since Mahatma Gandhi founded his nonviolent resistance movement that eventually won India her independence, the idea has become accepted around the world, and the United Nations has designated Oct. 2 “International Nonviolence Day.” The nonviolent resistance theory of the late American scholar Gene Sharp, a lifelong advocate for this form of resistance, has been credited with inspiring color revolutions in former Soviet bloc countries, the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, and the Arab Spring. Nonviolent resistance is also emerging as the fundamental mode of protest against authoritarian rule for Chinese citizens, and sthe one that has the most impact. From the fearless action of Peng Lifa on Beijing’s Sitong Bridge in October 2022, to Nanjing University of Media and Communications student Li Kangmeng, who was the first to silently raise a blank sheet of A4, kicking off the “white paper” protests that were to spread across China and make global headlines a few weeks later, there are plenty of examples. In my view, nonviolent resistance isn’t just the main practical way to oppose authoritarian states today. It also holds significant implications for China’s future ability to achieve a peaceful political transition and establish a democratic government. We need to uphold this fundamental concept. Protesters hold up blank pieces of paper and chant slogans as they march to protest strict COVID-19 measures in Beijing, Nov. 27, 2022. (Ng Han Guan/AP) It’s a practical, feasible approach that ordinary people can incorporate into their daily lives. Its various forms, 198 of which were set out by Gene Sharp, are easily adopted, applied, and disseminated by the general public, making it unpredictable, and hard for authoritarian regimes to counter preemptively. And it’s gaining traction among the people. The goal in engaging in such tactics today is to end the totalitarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party and secure human rights and civil liberties for China’s people. To achieve this, we must build unity among various civil forces. Nonviolent resistance is our only option today, not just because we lack firearms or because it aligns with our moral principles, but because it’s a necessity for the future – for pushing ahead towards a constitutional democracy, and eventually achieving democracy through peaceful means. Because the collapse of authoritarian tyranny doesn’t automatically lead to constitutional democracy. Following the collapse of any authoritarian regime, there is the daunting task of clearing away the rubble and constructing a new political community, something that may prove much harder than overthrowing totalitarian rule in the first place. When China enters its post-Chinese Communist Party era, people from different regions and ethnicities will have diverse ideas and demands. The complexity of addressing these contradictions and disputes may well surpass that of any other country in the world. Peaceful, rational communication, negotiation, and cooperation will become urgently necessary. Violence could emerge Commitment to nonviolent resistance means that we must consider our interests, but also those of our children and future generations to come, and we must continue to adhere to the principle of nonviolence throughout the whole process: in standing up to the tyranny of an authoritarian government today, but also in opposing the tyranny of the majority and protecting everyone’s human rights and civil liberties tomorrow. Only then can we lay a solid foundation on which to build our future democracy, and prevent our progress towards democracy from being interrupted by a series of crises, as it was a century ago. What’s more, violence may emerge at any stage of China’s political transition, and we must prepare to deal with it. Plenty of those killed by the Chinese Communist Party, including Lin Zhao, Yu Luoke, Liu Xiaobo, and the students on Tiananmen Square in 1989, didn’t engage in violence, yet they still lost their lives at the hands of the authoritarian regime. So we know that we’re facing an authoritarian regime that has no regard for the basic principles of humanity and no moral boundaries. Yet nonviolent resistance doesn’t mean people can’t defend themselves when the sword of authoritarian tyranny is raised against them. Under such circumstances, keeping to the path of nonviolent resistance becomes even more challenging, requiring unwavering conviction, courage, wisdom, and long-term resilience.  We need to unite more people in this effort, because violence may be part of the reality of China’s political transition. Many in China and overseas worry about potential chaos in China if Communist Party rule were to suddenly collapse, leaving a power vacuum and societal breakdown. Security guards stop journalists from entering the apartment house where Liu Xia, wife of Liu Xiaobo, stays in Beijing, Oct. 8, 2010. Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for “his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human rights.” (Andy Wong/AP) In such a scenario, Chinese refugees might overwhelm neighboring Asian countries or even Europe and America, disrupting global peace and stability. Back home, long-suppressed hatred could erupt into acts of violence. Such fears are not unreasonable. China lacks a universally respected leader, a law-abiding culture, or any kind of guiding force transcending the political realm. But that risk doesn’t justify continued authoritarian rule in any way. On the contrary, it underscores the need for us to oppose violence and use the power of the law to hold criminal elements of the authoritarian regime to account for their crimes against the people, to ensure justice is done. Complex and arduous transition To achieve this, we will need to work together to maintain normal economic and social life, minimize acts of violence, reduce social unrest, and lessen the social cost of China’s political transition.  Only then can we gain genuine support from the international community and help the Chinese people to achieve effective political change. Later, there may also be dissenting opinions and conflicts among the various forces that previously united against authoritarian rule. We must respond to this in a reasonable manner, and engage in democratic negotiations using…

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Planned dam sparks concerns that Luang Prabang could lose World Heritage status

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A satellite photo comparison dated Feb. 2, 2024 (left) and Feb. 7, 2021 (right) shows vast construction in preparation for a controversial hydropower dam across the Mekong River, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) upstream of the historic Lao town of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Lao government is playing down speculation the dam project puts the UNESCO status at risk. (Planet Labs) Speculation that the historic Lao town of Luang Prabang could be stripped of its World Heritage status because of a massive dam planned upstream is worrying local residents. Although the Lao government denies there is cause for concern, a former senior UNESCO official has reportedly warned that it’s a real threat hanging over one of the country’s main tourist attractions. Luang Prabang was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 for its “unique, remarkably well-preserved townscape.” It’s known for its daily parade of monks collecting alms, vibrant night market, well-preserved Buddhist temples, including the 16th-century gilded Wat Xieng Thong, and colonial-era architecture.  Nearly 780,000 foreign and domestic visitors in the first nine months of 2023, according to Lao tourism figures.  Miss Laos New Year carries a replica of King Kabinlaphom’s head during the annual Laos New Year or ‘Pi Mai’ celebrations at the Wat Xiengthong Buddhist temple in Luang Prabang, Laos, April 15, 2019. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP) Questions about the town’s status arose after Minja Yang, a former deputy director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told Nikkei Asia in January that Luang Prabang was at risk of losing its status because of increasing development related to a hydropower dam project about 25 kilometers (16 miles) upstream on the Mekong River.  In March 2023, UNESCO issued a report recommending that Laos continue efforts to ensure that the Luang Prabang Dam would not have a negative impact on the town’s heritage sites, and take measures to regulate tourism-related activities and infrastructure development. The US$3 billion, 1,460-megawatt dam project on the Mekong mainstream is located between the upstream Pak Beng hydropower project and the downstream Xayaburi Dam, and will provide power for export to Thailand and Vietnam after completion in 2027. It is one of many dams the Lao government is building along the Mekong River in the country’s quest to become the “battery of Southeast Asia.” French colonial row houses are seen along a street in Luang Prabang, Laos, March 2023. (Courtesy photo) The U.N.’s Paris-based cultural agency requested that Laos submit to the World Heritage Centre an updated report on the state of conservation and the implementation of the measures by Feb. 1, 2024, to preserve the city’s “outstanding universal value.” “If the second dam is indeed constructed, I believe Luang Prabang should be delisted,” Yang told Nikkei in an email. “Without the World Heritage status, ill-conceived projects of shopping malls and casinos aimed for certain categories of tourists that we have so far succeeded in stopping over the past 20 years, will now cave into various vested interests,” Yang told Nikkei. “So, I can only imagine what the future of the town will be.” RFA could not reach Yang or officials in UNESCO’s Bangkok office for comment. Mixed reactions An official from the World Heritage Department of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism,  who wanted to be identified only by his first name Pheune, told RFA on Feb. 2 that Luang Prabang would not be delisted and that UNESCO officials had expressed concerns outlined in the March 2023 report. Pheune also said that construction of the Luang Prabang Dam would not affect the town’s World Heritage status because the site is far from the city. A Luang Prabang province official, who like the other sources in this report requested anonymity for safety reasons, agreed. “To delist the town of Luang Prabang is not easy,” he said.  “Yes, many Chinese are leasing buildings and transforming them to hotels and restaurants, and some of them might not be complying with the rules and regulations of UNESCO, so our city officials should be aware of those issues and should step up the control,” he said. A girl wears a traditional Lao costume at the Wat Xiengthong Buddhist temple on Lao New Year or ‘Pi Mai’ in Luang Prabang, Laos, April 15, 2019. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP) But other Lao officials and city residents say they are concerned that Luang Prabang might be at risk because of too many Chinese-backed developments, as Chinese investors lease more buildings and turn them into hotels and restaurants. A Lao businessman in the city said he heard about the delisting rumor, but believes that Luang Prabang is still preserving its heritage, culture and tradition, especially in the city center.  The development is occurring mainly in the suburbs, and builders must receive permission before erecting structures, he said. The man cited the example of a Chinese company that wants to build a cable car line near the town, though city authorities have not yet given it the green light. But a town resident was not so optimistic, noting that Chinese investors in various businesses are not interested in preserving local tradition and culture.   “I heard that Luang Prabang could be stripped of its World Heritage status because there are too many Chinese businesses here,” he told RFA. “Don’t forget, getting World Heritage Site status is not easy. Our government should be careful because Luang Prabang as a World Heritage Site attracts a lot of tourists from around the world. We, the residents, enjoy better living conditions because of that status.” A tourist visits the Haw Pha Bang temple in the grounds of the Palace Museum in Luang Prabang, Laos, Sept. 8, 2014. (Mark Baker/AP) Another resident raised concern about the future dam.  “What would happen if the dam broke in the future?” he asked about the fate of Luang Prabang, which lies in a valley at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. “Certainly, that break would wreak havoc on our town and people.” Phakhanxay Sikhanxay, director general of the Heritage…

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