• contact@ij-reportika.com
Ij reportika Logo

Category: ASEAN

Myanmar junta chief calls for improved ties in talks with Russian defense ministry

Editor012 mins

Myanmar junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing held talks with officials from Russia’s Ministry of Defense in Moscow this week, according to media reports, raising fears the junta is seeking new weapons to turn the tide in its fight against the country’s armed opposition. The regime leader met with unspecified “Russian defense ministry officials” on July 11, a day after he arrived in Russia for a “private visit,” the junta said in a statement on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Reuters news agency quoted a Russian defense ministry statement as saying that Min Aung Hlaing had met with “top officials” from the ministry and “discussed ways to strengthen bilateral military cooperation.” The official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday that after being welcomed on his arrival by Deputy Minister for Defence of the Russian Federation Colonel General Alexander Vasilievich Fomin, Min Aung Hlaing also held meetings with the Russia-Myanmar Friendship Association, the Russia-ASEAN Economic Council, the Rosatom State Corporations of Russia, and Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos. Notably, no mention was made of a meeting between Min Aung Hlaing and his counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin, or even the country’s Minister of Defense, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu. The trip marks the junta chief’s second visit to Russia in the more than 17 months since Myanmar’s military seized control of the country in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup. While Western nations were quick to impose sanctions on Myanmar over the coup, Russia has continued to supply Myanmar’s military with weapons and helicopters despite its continued and documented crackdown on civilians, killing at least 2,081 since coming to power. International media had reported that Myanmar purchased at least six SU-30 multi-role fighter jets from Russia before the military takeover, a transaction that was confirmed to RFA Burmese by Capt. Zay Thu Aung, a Myanmar air force officer who has since defected and joined the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement. Zay Thu Aung said at least two of the six jets have been stationed in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw since March this year and that a team of Russian pilots and technicians has been training Myanmar pilots and crews. “Six were purchased, but only two of them had been delivered by 2020. The rest won’t be delivered until this year,” he said. “It was agreed beforehand that Russian crews would be sent to train local officers on aircraft assembly and maintenance. Once the jets are ready, Russian test pilots will arrive to test the aircraft before handing them over. It was agreed to in advance.” Attempts by RFA Burmese to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the sale of the jets went unanswered Wednesday. Sukhoi Su-30 jet fighters perform during the MAKS 2021 air show in Zhukovsky, Russia, July 24, 2021. Credit: REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva Airstrikes on ethnic armies Thein Tun Oo, director of the Thayninga Strategic Studies Group, a Myanmar-based think tank run by former military officers, said he knew the military had been ordering SU-30 fighter jets “for some time.” “It’s been a long time since the SU-30s were ordered. The delivery has long been delayed,” he said. “We heard all kinds of news about the aircraft, such as that they were ‘being updated’ and made more ‘compatible for Myanmar.’ Anyway, it’s time they should be delivered. Taking into consideration the time of production of the aircraft and signing of the contracts, it’s the right time for delivery and I think it’s very possible that they will be here soon as we are hearing about them [from the military] now.” Thein Tun Oo noted that Myanmar and Russia have a history of military cooperation and said it is customary for experts from the country where the equipment was purchased to come and train local crews. Each two-engine SU-30 fighter jet, produced by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, costs about U.S. $30 million. Thein Tun Oo said the all-weather fighter can carry a wide array of weapons, including precision-guided missiles, rockets, and anti-ship missiles. The 70-ton SU-30 fighter jet can also fly across the 1,275-mile north-south expanse of Myanmar, if needed, without needing to refuel, owing to its large fuel capacity, according to weapons experts. Observers say Myanmar’s military regularly purchases Russian-made fighter jets and other powerful weapons to fight groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which are among the country’s most powerful and well-equipped ethnic armies. In June, the junta carried out airstrikes on KNU and Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) coalition forces who had attacked a military camp in Ukrithta village, in Kayin state’s Myawaddy township. Days of fighting ended with heavy casualties on both sides. KNDO leader, General Saw Nedar Mya, told RFA that the military has yet to deploy sophisticated fighter jets like the SU-30 in airstrikes, opting instead to use older Russian-made MiG-29s. “They used jet fighters in the airstrikes on Ukrithta. They attacked us every day, for five days, day and night,” he said. “Since the military dictator is getting support from China and Russia, the West should be backing us. But even though [the junta is] buying all kinds of fighter jets and other weapons, their people lack a fighting spirit. Our people have conviction and are in high spirits.” Relations at ‘unprecedented level’ Australia-based military and security analyst Kyaw Zaw Han said relations between Moscow and the junta have reached “an unprecedented level” since the coup. He said the military’s use of sophisticated weapons, including fighter jets, in Myanmar’s civil war could lead to an increased death toll for the armed resistance. “The junta seems to have viewed Russia as a strategic partner from the beginning. This seems to be the case for both countries. And since the Feb 1 coup, the number of reciprocal visits has increased to an all-time high,” he said. “Russian-made weapons are increasingly being used in the civil war and they have had a huge impact … The use of these warplanes in the internal conflict has resulted…

Read More

US ambassador-nominee to Bangkok promises to help Thais pressure Burmese junta

Editor09 mins

The Biden administration’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Thailand told a Senate committee Wednesday that he would press Bangkok to reduce its dependence on oil and gas from neighboring Myanmar, where the ruling military junta is committing “horrifying atrocities.” Robert F. Godec made the pledge in response to a question from Sen. Ed Markey, who, citing a statement from Human Rights Watch, noted that Thailand receives 80 percent of oil and gas exported by Myanmar’s government. “We are seeking ways with the Thais to increase the pressure on the Burmese regime. All options are on the table, that includes further action in the oil and gas sector,” Godec told a Senate Foreign Relations panel here questioning him and three other nominees for ambassador posts in the Asia-Pacific region as well as a nominee to serve as the U.S. representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Godec promised committee members that he would focus on efforts to work with Thailand to pressure its neighbor. “The Burmese regime continues to carry out horrifying atrocities. It is critically important that this stop,” he said using the old name for Myanmar. “Burma and the Burmese regime’s horrifying actions have been a top issue in discussions with Thailand.” According to the statement released by Human Rights Watch in January, the state-run Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) is responsible for the largest gas revenues paid to junta-controlled accounts through its purchases of about 80 percent of Myanmar’s exported natural gas from the Yadana and Zawtika gas fields. It said natural gas generates about U.S. $1 billion in foreign revenue annually. “I’ve repeatedly called for the United States to take a page out of the EU’s playbook and sanction the Myanmar oil and gas enterprise,” Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Godec, referring to the European Union. Since seizing control of Myanmar through a February 2021 coup that ousted a democratically elected civilian-led government, the Burmese junta has jailed opposition leaders and launched attacks that have killed more than 2,000 civilians, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an NGO based in Thailand. Then-U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec (left) helps his wife, Lorri Godec Magnusson, hold a candle during the 20th commemoration of the 1998 bombing of the U.S Embassy in Nairobi, Aug. 7, 2018. Mrs. Godec was left paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair after the bombing. Credit: AP Blinken visit The hearing on Capitol Hill followed Sunday’s visit to Bangkok by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who took a hardline stance against the Myanmar government after meeting with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the former Thai army chief and ex-junta leader who spearheaded a coup in 2014. Blinken said the Thai and other governments in Southeast Asia must push the Burmese junta to end its brutal violence and steer the country back on a path to democracy, as he called on Myanmar to institute the Five-Point Consensus it agreed to in April 2021. The consensus, hashed out during an emergency summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Jakarta that month, called for an immediate end to violence in the country, the distribution of humanitarian aid, dialogue among all parties and the appointment of an ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar who would be permitted to meet with all stakeholders. “Unfortunately, it is safe to say that we have seen no positive movement. On the contrary, we continue to see the repression of the Burmese people,” Blinken said, noting that members of the opposition were in jail or in exile. “The regime is not delivering what is necessary for the people.” In its January statement calling out PTT for its oil purchases, HRW noted that petroleum giants Chevron and TotalEnergies had announced plans days earlier to pull out of Myanmar. Months earlier, the New York-based human rights watchdog had joined 76 NGOs in calling for PTT to not expand its oil business ties with the junta, noting that the state-owned petroleum company had been involved in exploration in Myanmar for three decades and had paid billions of dollars to the neighboring government. “But with production declining in recent years, the company has ramped up its midstream and downstream investments in the country, with the stated goal of becoming the ‘top Myanmar provider’ of petroleum products,” HRW said in May 2021. Thailand’s military-dominated government has enjoyed close ties with the Burmese military and been slow to criticize its neighbor since the generals seized power there last year. Earlier this month, Prayuth played down reports of a Burmese fighter jet entering Thailand’s airspace amid fierce fighting across the border, even though the Thai air force had scrambled two jet-fighters during the incident. “It looks like a big deal but it’s up to us to not make a mountain out of a mole hill – we have a good relationship,” he said at the time. Godec, a long-time diplomat served most recently as acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, a post he assumed on Jan 20, 2021 – the date of President Joe Biden’s inauguration – until Sept. 30, 2021. He had previously served as ambassador to Kenya. The Senate committee did not take any action at the end of Wednesday’s hearing. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Read More

Junta troops kill 4, including teenage girl, after raid in Myanmar’s Sagaing region

Editor09 mins

Residents of Pale township, in Myanmar’s embattled Sagaing region, said four people, including a teenage girl, were killed by junta troops after they returned to their village to feed their livestock following a military raid in the area. Sources from Pale’s Taung Ywar Thit village identified three female victims as Aye Win, 45, her daughter Moe Yee, 15, and their relative Nyo Kyin, 54, and one male victim as Tin Maung, 64. Around 100 junta troops entered the village on July 10, forcing all residents to escape into the jungle, the sources told RFA Burmese. One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the victims were killed when they returned to the village that afternoon to feed their animals, thinking the troops had left. “At about noon on July 10, [the troops] came in from the eastern part of the village. The whole village fled,” the resident said. “The two women and the girl returned to the village at about 3:30 p.m., thinking the soldiers had left. We found the girl lying dead on her belly. Daw Nyo Kyin was lying dead on her side. The old man was shot dead with a rope around his neck. The bodies of the women were found near the toilet [behind the village].” The troops finally left the village on July 11. Residents discovered the bodies upon returning to the area the following day, the source said. Residents told RFA that Tin Maung’s body was found hastily buried in a shallow grave just outside the village tract. Moe Yee’s earrings had been removed from her body, they said. It was not immediately clear which army unit raided Taung Ywar Thit on July 10. Residents said that while the troops had left the area, they dare not return to their village, fearing another attack. Another resident of Taung Ywar Thit, who also declined to be named, told RFA that evidence of the killings had been documented on video. “They went to feed their cows and pigs in the village and were shot dead by the junta soldiers,” the resident said. “[The military has] no regard for human life. People were tortured and killed. We have video files recorded at the site of the murders of the women and the shallow grave — about 1.5 feet deep — where the man was buried.” The resident said copies of the video files had been sent to a local unit of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group, which said they would be forwarded to representatives of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG). PDF sources told RFA that the victims were civilians and had nothing to do with the armed opposition. Clothing lies scattered inside a home following a military raid in Pale township’s Taung Ywar Thit village, July 12, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist Strategic route Boh Naga, a member of a Pale township-based PDF group known as the Tawwin Nagar (Royal Dragon) Army, told RFA that junta troops have been attacking villages along the highway that snakes west through Sagaing and neighboring Magway region into Chin state every day since the beginning of July. He said that people from several villages, including Taung Ywa Thit, have been arrested and killed as the military, which orchestrated a putsch on Feb. 1, 2021, tries to gain control of the strategic corridor. “They seized power in a coup because they do not care about the people, and now they are focusing on crushing the armed resistance, giving priority to areas where the opposition is strong,” he said. “The road from [the Magway city of] Pakokku and the road from [the Sagaing city of] Monywa meet here in Pale before proceeding north through [the Magway town of] Gangaw and on to Chin state. It is a strategic communication and transportation route for them, and as we are in full control of the area, they are attacking places where there are no PDF units and harassing and arresting ordinary people.” Taung Ywar Thit village, where the bodies of the four victims were discovered on Tuesday, lies about 18 miles outside of the seat of Pale township, near the border with Magway region. The village comprises around 500 homes with a population of some 2,000 people. Boh Naga said the junta is carrying out less of a military operation than “a brutal crackdown on civilians.” Repeated attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun about the July 10 killings and other military raids along the route to Chin state went unanswered Wednesday. ‘Completely defenseless’ A resident of Pale township, whose name was withheld over concerns for their security, told RFA that the military needs to be held accountable for its actions — particularly the crimes committed by members of its lower ranks. “The military junta is trying to rule by fear and those responsible need to be prosecuted under the country’s anti-terrorism laws because their soldiers are committing torture and rape at gunpoint,” they said. “Civilians are fleeing for their lives and those who cannot escape are arrested or killed. The people are completely defenseless and we are regularly seeing troops kill women and the young.” The discovery of the victims in Taung Ywar Thit village came amid reports by area PDF groups on Wednesday that junta troops set fire to around 100 homes in Htay Aung village, located only one mile away in Magway’s Myaing township. Thailand-based NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says that junta forces have killed at least 2,081 civilians in Myanmar since the coup last year, but acknowledges that its documentation is incomplete, suggesting the death toll is likely much higher. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Read More

China lashes out as U.S. Navy destroyer sails near disputed islands

Editor07 mins

A U.S. Navy Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Wednesday has drawn a strong reaction from Chinese military officials who said the U.S. warship “illegally trespassed” into its waters. A spokesman from the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), whose areas of responsibility include the South China Sea, said in a press release that the command “organized air, naval forces to track and warn away USS Benfold destroyer that illegally trespassed into Chinese territorial waters off Xisha Islands.” Xisha is the Chinese name for the Paracel archipelago, claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan but entirely under Chinese control. The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet meanwhile released a statement saying its Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Benfold (DDG 65) “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law.” The destroyer then “exited the excessive claim and continued operations in the South China Sea,” according to the statement which said that the U.S. “challenges excessive maritime claims around the world regardless of the identity of the claimant.” “Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations,” the 7th Fleet said. “Under international law, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, the ships of all States, including their warships, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea,” it said. A MH-60 Sea Hawk conducting flight operations aboard the USS Benfold. CREDIT: U.S. Navy China’s illegal claims Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam hold competing claims over parts of the South China Sea and some islands in it but the Chinese claims are by far the most expansive, covering up to 90% of the sea. Beijing also developed islands that China occupies in the South China Sea to back up its claims and has fully militarized at least three of them. The U.S. Navy has also challenged China’s self-proclaimed territorial waters around the Paracel Islands. An international tribunal in 2016 ruled that the Paracels are in fact not islands and the occupying nation – China – cannot claim territorial sea around them.  The lengthy statement by the U.S. 7th Fleet said by conducting this FONOP, “the United States demonstrated that these waters are beyond what the PRC [People’s Republic of China] can lawfully claim as its territorial sea.” “U.S. forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis, as they have for more than a century,” it added. An F/A-18F Super Hornet launches from the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), July 13, 2022. CREDIT: U.S. Navy In another development, a U.S. carrier strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan has moved into the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy said in a press release the strike group is operating in the South China Sea “for the first time during its 2022 deployment.” It includes the USS Ronald Reagan, the navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, with aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and crews from Task Force 70 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15. The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) are also involved in the operation, according to the release. “While in the South China Sea, the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units,” it said. “Carrier operations in the South China Sea are part of the U.S. Navy’s routine operations in the Indo-Pacific.” China’s South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) think-tank said that, according to the latest flight trajectory of the carrier-borne C-2A Greyhound cargo aircraft, the USS Ronald Reagan is sailing on Wednesday just south of the Spratly Islands, some 1,000 kilometers from the Vietnamese city of Danang. Vietnamese sources told RFA last week that the Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier plans to visit Danang in the second half of July, an event that would draw criticism from China. The U.S. Navy declined to confirm the visit, saying “as a matter of policy, we don’t discuss future operations.”

Read More

Man dies in custody after cockfighting arrest

Editor06 mins

A middle-aged Vietnamese man died after 10 hours in custody at the Ke Sach district police headquarters in Soc Trang province. Nguyen Ngoc Diep, 49, was arrested with 10 others who were watching a cockfight at the Chi Be Ba restaurant on the afternoon of July 1. Betting on cockfighting is illegal in Vietnam but popular, particularly in the south of the country. Diep, who worked growing fruit trees, only had the equivalent of 90 cents on him when he was arrested, according to his family. They said Diep suffered from a stomach disorder and they brought food and medicine to the Ke Sach district police headquarters, asking officers to give it to him. Despite repeatedly telling the police about his medical condition Diep’s family said the police ignored them. The family asked the police to let Diep out of jail, since they didn’t think watching cockfighting was a serious offense and only warranted a fine. They said Diep would return the following day to answer police questions. However, the police refused to let him go home and interrogated him repeatedly about betting on the fight. Diep reportedly collapsed the same night and died. “I warned them that if they kept him locked up for a while, it would be dangerous for him because he’s very sick,” Diep’s wife Nguyen Thi Hong told RFA. “They didn’t care and I had to wait outside. I told the police my husband had a serious stomach complaint and would not be able to stand a long detention. At 11 p.m. he fainted and died. The police took him to hospital but the emergency doctor said he was dead on arrival.” Diep’s brother, Nguyen Van Do, witnessed the forensic examination of his brother’s body by Soc Trang provincial police the following morning. He said Dieps lungs were swollen and blood had pooled in his heart. “There was a small bruise on the bottom of his eyelid but the medical examiner said that was not the cause of death,” he said. Diep’s body was returned to the family after the medical examination. As of this Tuesday the family had not received the autopsy report. The district police have not commented on the case and did not sent a representative to offer condolences, according to the family. RFA called the Soc Trang Provincial Police Director, but he hung up as soon as the reporter introduced himself. The Deputy Directors did not pick up the phone and the Ke Sach police chief also failed to answer RFA’s calls. State media have not reported on the incident. Diep’s wife said she did not believe her husband died from a beating during interrogation. However, she said the family was upset about the police ignoring their repeated warnings about Diep’s health and she believed he died from being confined too long with no rest. “The family wants the police to be held accountable for my brother’s death because they were warned [about his health] but disregarded it,” Diep’s elder brother said. “They have to properly explain it to our family.” The district police released the other prisoners directly after Diep’s death, the family said, asking them to report back to the station in the following days to deal with paperwork related to illegal beatings. At the end of 2014, Vietnam’s National Assembly ratified the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Treatment. In spite of the law numerous suspects and prisoners have been tortured to death or seriously injured in police stations across the country. RFA statistics, based on information from state newspapers, show that at least 16 people died in police stations and prisons from 2019 to the end of last year.

Read More

Cambodian farmers call for government help during extended drought

Editor04 mins

A severe drought in northwest Cambodia has destroyed at least 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of rice and farmers are calling on the government to provide irrigation and other assistance. Chak Mao from Mongkol Borey district of Banteay Meanchey province told RFA that thousands of hectares of rice are drying up due to the four-month drought. She said her six hectares will be destroyed and her family would be forced to seek jobs in neighboring Thailand if there is no rain or assistance from the Cambodian government. “We have a serious drought,” Chak Mao said, adding that villagers are praying for rain. She urged the government to help the farmers by providing irrigation systems or reservoirs. A farmer who declined to be named said he stands to lose a significant sum of money because he hired workers for 20 hectares of land his family owns in addition to the three hectares they farm themselves. “We have some irrigation systems, but we don’t have reservoirs to store water, so when there is no rain,” he said. “We don’t have water.” Farmers in Thailand have access to stored water so their crops don’t dry up during periods without rain, he said. Hoeuk Heng said farmers like him face financial ruin: “If we don’t have rain, we will abandon it. We will abandon it, and it will die.” As she watched her husband pump water onto her rice field, Chhun Sory said they had collected some rain from a shower the night before. But they still need help. “I’m afraid that we don’t have any more seedlings to farm,” she said. “I want an irrigation system and for the government to help us so we have water for farming.” Commune head Chea Ty said he will continue to work to get the water for farmers. Roth Da Sinong, governor of Mongkol Borey district, said the drought has affected three communes there, though he did not know exactly how many hectares of crops were destroyed. Theng Savoeun, cofounder of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community, urged the government to prepare long-term measures and to provide seedlings free of charge. “During the drought with a lack of water and lack of markets, local authorities must play a vital role to resolve the crisis for the people,” he said. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Read More

Laos to increase minimum wage starting Aug. 1 in response to inflation

Editor07 mins

Laos’ minimum wage will increase to 1.2 million (U.S. $80) per month starting on Aug. 1, the country’s government announced, despite complaints from business owners that say they cannot afford the increase. The Lao National Labor Committee announced the raise on July 8, which boosts the minimum wage by 100,000 kip (about U.S. $6.70) per month.  Business owners told RFA that they are still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, which sharply reduced their revenue. “I was not informed of this, and I have not made any increase for my workers,” the owner of a water and ice business in the capital Vientiane told RFA’s Khmer Service. “I see that the Lao economy is not going well, and business operators will have a hard time if they have to increase minimum wage at this time.” A garment worker in Vientiane agreed that businesses need more time. “Some companies are seeing losses or they are not earning any profits right now,” the garment worker said. “For example, the company I am working for is facing losses and the company owner is still keeping the business running, but has to cut costs here and there to survive. … I only survive month-to-month with this wage.” The wage increase is designed to help Laotians cope with rampant inflation in the country. But it isn’t clear how extensively the new pay minimum will be applied. The government cannot force business owners to increase wages if they have reached an agreement with their workers on pay and other benefits, an official from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare’s Department of Labor Management told RFA. “If they mutually agreed that the business operators provide food and accommodation to the workers, the business operators and workers can keep wages the same,” the official said.  “We cannot force the business operators to increase the minimum wage because companies or business operators have their own conditions and policies with their hired workers. If there is any case of taking advantage of the workers, we, as a government body, can go to workplaces and investigate problems,” the official said. An official from the Lao Federation of Trade Unions told RFA that the union will encourage workers to add language to their employment contracts forcing businesses to adhere to minimum wages set by the government. “The government has suggested to all business operators to increase the minimum wage. However, it depends on each company or business’s decision to increase to this suggested minimum wage. Each company and business operator has its own policy and conditions,” the trade union official said. Even with the increase, the minimum wage is not enough to keep up with the cost of living, several Lao workers told RFA. A worker from Vientiane told RFA that the government should mandate an even higher increase and also do more to moderate food prices. Fuel shortages and an overreliance on imports have sharply raised the cost of living in Laos. Foreign currency reserves have grown scarcer, leading to a devaluation of the kip, which in turn adds pressure on prices.  “They will add around $6.50 to the current minimum wage per month to about $79 per month,”  the worker said. “This will not help very much. Even though I earn over 1.3 million kip, or about $85 per month, I still find it very hard to survive.” After the Aug. 1 increase to 1.2 million kip, the minimum wage should increase to 1.3 million kip by May 1, according to the National Labor Committee. The increases are targeted at workers in the manufacturing and service sectors working a minimum of 26 eight-hour days per month, or six days per week. The minimum wage does not apply to overtime pay. Business owners have to pay an extra 15 percent of minimum wage to workers performing duties that are hazardous. The move to 1.2 million kip minimum wage comes after Phonesane Vilaymeng, vice president of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions, told state media on May 1 that the current wage of 1.1 million was no longer viable considering the higher cost of living. An official of the organization also told state media that the country would lose more workers to neighboring Thailand if it kept the minimum wage so low. The Lao Federation of Trade Unions in March proposed in March that the minimum wage be raised to at least 1.5 million kip, or about $99 per month, by May 1,  International Labor Day. Translated by Phouvong. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Read More

ICJ to rule on Myanmar’s objections to Rohingya genocide case this month

Editor07 mins

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) plans to deliver its judgement on Myanmar’s objections to the genocide case brought against it by The Gambia, on July 22. In a statement issued Monday the ICJ said a public sitting of the court will take place at 3 p.m. at the Peace Palace in the Dutch city of The Hague. The President of the Court, Judge Joan E. Donoghue, will read out the ICJ’s decision. A Rohingya Muslim in Buthidaung Township in northern Rakhine State, who was subjected to human rights abuses by the military, told RFA that the perpetrators should be brought to justice. “There is evidence of genocide against Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar’s army in 2017,” he said. “On-site inspection is available. The villages of Buthidaung and Maungdaw were destroyed. The residents fled to Bangladesh in fear of being killed by Myanmar’s army. No matter how much they deny it, we know our people suffered. Therefore, we want effective action against their genocide in accordance with the law.” The Gambia’s parliament approved the plan to bring genocide charges in July 2019, after the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) proposed to the West African Nation that it should prosecute Myanmar. It instituted proceedings in November of the same year alleging genocide through “acts adopted, taken and condoned by the Government of Myanmar against members of the Rohingya group.” The Gambia has not denied that it received funding for the legal action from the OIC. In the initial hearing The Gambia said that “from around October 2016 the Myanmar military and other Myanmar security forces began widespread and systematic ‘clearance operations’ … against the Rohingya group. The genocidal acts committed during these operations were intended to destroy the Rohingya as a group, in whole or in part, by the use of mass murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as the systematic destruction by fire of their villages, often with inhabitants locked inside burning houses. From August 2017 onwards, such genocidal acts continued with Myanmar’s resumption of ‘clearance operations’ on a more massive and wider geographical scale.” The military council’s delegation protested at a hearing on Feb. 25 this year, saying the ICJ has no right to hear the case. Christopher Staker, a lawyer hired by the military council, argued the international community should not be allowed to prosecute Myanmar and the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case.   Calls to the military council spokesman by RFA went unanswered Tuesday. Some local media outlets quoted an unnamed senior foreign ministry official as saying Myanmar’s delegation to the ICJ, led by the Military Council’s International Relations Minister Ko Ko Hlaing, plans to travel to The Hague to hear the ICJ’s judgment. The ICJ said the hearing at the Peace Palace will be closed to the public to observe Coronavirus restrictions. Only members of the Court and representatives of the States party to the case will be allowed to enter the Great hall of Justice. Members of diplomatic corps and the public will be able to follow the procedures on a live webcast on the Court’s website as well as UN Web TV. The Gambia has called on Myanmar to stop persecuting the Rohingya, punish those responsible for the genocide, offer reparations to the victims and provide guarantees that there would be no repeat of the crimes against the Rohingya. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and was established in 1945 to settle disputes in accordance with international law through binding judgments with no right of appeal. The U.S. has also accused Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ruled in March this year that “Burma’s military committed genocide and crimes against humanity with the intent to destroy predominantly Muslim Rohingya in 2017.” That was the year the military cleared Rohingya communities in western Myanmar, killing, torturing and raping locals. The violent campaign forced more than 740,000 people to flee to squalid refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. The State Department said the military junta that seized power in the Feb. 2021 coup continues to oppress the Rohingya, putting 144,000 in internal displacement camps in Rakhine state by the end of last year. A State Department report last month noted that Rohingya also face travel restrictions within the country and the junta has made no effort to bring refugees back from Bangladesh.

Read More

Refugees International: Thailand should allow delivery of humanitarian aid to Myanmar

Editor09 mins

Thailand should allow delivery of cross-border humanitarian aid into Myanmar and not push back people seeking refuge from threats to their life and freedom in that country, a U.S.-based NGO is urging in a new report. Thousands of Burmese have crossed into Thailand along the porous 2,400-km (1,500-mile) frontier to flee the conflict in the wake of a military coup that toppled an elected civilian-led government and installed a junta in Naypyidaw early last year. “The military junta has committed widespread atrocities and blocked international humanitarian groups from delivering aid to areas that desperately need it,” Refugees International, a Washington-based group, said in its report released Tuesday. “In the meantime, delivery of international aid through Myanmar’s neighbors, particularly through local groups active along the Thai-Myanmar border, presents an underutilized path for getting assistance to those in need.” The report comes two days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a visit to Bangkok, urged Thailand, other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to press the Burmese junta into ending violence against Myanmar’s people and moving that country back toward democracy. Led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s military toppled the democratically elected government in February 2021 and has thrown its civilian leaders in jail. Fighting between junta forces and opposition groups across the country has forced mass displacement amid growing humanitarian needs. “Thai authorities must also live up to their commitments to non-refoulement and refrain from pressuring people fleeing violence in Myanmar from returning before it is safe to do so,” Refugees International said. Thailand, long considered a linchpin in relations between ASEAN and member-state Myanmar, has been criticized as being relatively soft on the post-coup crisis that has divided the 10-member regional bloc. “Thailand is reluctant to do anything to incentivize more refugees coming into the country, but failure to allow cross-border aid – and thus allowing conditions for people across the border to deteriorate – could do just that,” Refugees International said. Myanmar refugees walk across the river to enter Thailand’s Mae Sot district, Jan. 15, 2022. Credit: AFP Myanmar crisis During the fighting inside Myanmar, the junta’s forces have detained more than 14,000 people, while more than 2,000 civilians have been killed, according to Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. About 1.1 million people have been displaced in Myanmar, including 758,500 forced to flee their homes as of June 20, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). An estimated 14.4 million people, or a quarter of the country’s population, need humanitarian assistance due to the conflict. In recent months, the most intense fighting has occurred in Chin, Sagaing and Magway states in northwestern Myanmar and in Karen and Karenni states in the southeast that borders Thailand. Junta forces have burned thousands of homes while fighting and airstrikes have caused more than 500,000 to flee their homes, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). For its part, Thailand has restricted cross-border aid, Refugees International said in the report, adding that the Burmese junta controls main roads and has allegedly seized or destroyed aid while attacking humanitarian workers. Similarly, Refugees International said, Myanmar’s rugged terrain limits informal aid for thousands who need humanitarian assistance in the interim and those living in areas not under junta control. Thailand-linked cross-border organizations have been providing some aid to residents in Karen and Karenni states. These groups have been operating since the 1990s when ethnic armed groups were fighting the Myanmar military. Myanmar refugees ride on a boat after receiving aid in Mae Sot, Thailand, Jan. 4, 2022. Credit: Reuters Aid barrier One of the Thai government’s main challenges in delivering aid across the border is Bangkok’s concern with its relationship with the junta, Refugees International said, alleging that officials are “seeking to balance economic and security interests” by refusing cross-border aid officially. The NGO called on the Thai and other governments to get involved. The “largest and most consistent barrier” to humanitarian assistance is the lack of funding, it said. “While a few governments are supporting local groups involved in aid efforts, donor countries should step up support for these underutilized and low-profile mechanisms,” it said. Because the report by Refugees International was embargoed for publication until Tuesday afternoon (Bangkok time), BenarNews could not immediately reach Thai officials to get a response. Refugees International also said Thailand should provide protection and rights to thousands of people who have crossed the border from Myanmar to seek temporary or long-term refuge since the coup. Salai Bawi, a research fellow at Chiang Mai University, said the Thai government had not taken the call for aid seriously because Thai people do not see the need to help the refugees as urgent. “For decades, the Thai government left the burden and responsibility of Myanmar refugees to international organizations, while it remained just a facilitator,” he told BenarNews. In the past, Thai authorities stressed that they had not forced refugees to return, adding that many had chosen to go back to Myanmar.  Local media, NGOs and human rights activists, on the other hand, have alleged that Thai authorities pressure displaced Myanmar people into returning to their country, Refugees International said. As of February 2022, the Thai government estimated that 17,000 Myanmar refugees had crossed into Thailand since the coup, but according to a report published by UNHCR in June, only 246 refugees remain in two Thai military-controlled sites where conditions are reported to be deplorable. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service. Kunnawut Boonreak in Chiang Mai, Thailand, contributed to this report.

Read More

Vietnam cracks down on Coast Guard oil smuggling ring

Editor04 mins

The wife of a former Coast Guard regional commander has been prosecuted for accepting bribes for her husband’s role in smuggling oil from Singapore to Vietnam. The indictment from the Central Military Procuracy accused Phan Thi Xuan, wife of former commander of the 3rd Coast Guard Region Maj. Le Xuan Thanh, of receiving the equivalent of U.S.$80,000 from gasoline smuggler Phan Thanh Huu in 11 installments, state media said on Monday. On Tuesday the military court of Military Zone 7 was set to open a first-instance court hearing, to hear charges of smuggling, accepting bribes, and helping those involved flee abroad. The defendants include Le Van Minh, former commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard’s Fourth Region and former Third Region commander Le Xuan Thanh Others facing prosecution include Maj. Luu Duc The, former deputy head of Reconnaissance 2 at Coast Guard Command; Col. Nguyen The Anh, former commander of the Border Guard of Kien Giang Province; and Col. Pham Van Tren, former commander of the Border Guard of Tra Vinh province. All have been charged with accepting bribes. Col. Nguyen The Anh and one other person have also been charged with helping people flee Vietnam. Col. Phung Danh Thoai, former Head of the Petroleum Department’s Logistics Department at the Coast Guard Command was charged with smuggling. The charges date from between March 2020 and Feb. 2021 when the director of Phan Le Hoang Anh Trading, Phan Thanh Huu, and his accomplices smuggled about 200 million liters of gasoline, worth about U.S.$130 million, into Vietnam. Col. Phung Danh Thoai is said to have helped finance the operation and share in its profits to the tune of U.S.$941,000. Former commander Le Van Minh was accused of abusing his position and power to receive U.S.$295,000 paid by Phan Thanh Huu to his wife and children. Investigations into all the defendants recovered more than $1.5 million. The former commanders of Coast Guard Region 3 and Coast Guard Region 4 returned all the money they are accused of receiving. The Procuracy of Dong Nai province also recently cracked down on oil smugglers, issuing an indictment against Phan Thanh Huu and 72 accomplices. It prosecuted Cpt. Ngo Van Thuy of the Team 3 Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department of the General Department of Customs for taking bribes. The case dates back to Sept. 2019 when Phan Thanh Huu and Ocean Hai Phong Director Dao Ngoc Vien conspired to smuggle petroleum from Singapore to Vietnam. Col. Phung Dah Thoai and his accomplices are said to have contributed $2.3 million to finance the operation.

Read More

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