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Activists face new threats as pro-junta militias spread in Myanmar

Editor09 mins

Death threats against pro-democracy and anti-junta activists are on the rise across Myanmar as militia groups loyal to the military regime expand their presence in the country’s urban areas and other more densely populated regions, sources said Tuesday. In late April, eight members of the deposed National League for Democracy (NLD) and their supporters were found brutally murdered in Mandalay with badges or cards on their bodies displaying the insignia of a group calling itself the Thway Thauk, or “Blood Comrades,” militia. Since the killings, similar groups have emerged in Bago, Tanintharyi, and Irrawaddy regions, as well as in the capital Naypyidaw, issuing death threats on social media against the NLD, activists, journalists, and members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group, sources said. Among them are the Thway Thitsar (Loyal Blood) in Naypyidaw, the Yangon Castigate Group (YCS) in Yangon, the Patriotic Coalition in Bago region’s Pyay township, and the Soon Ye (Kite Force) in Tanintharyi region. An anti-coup protester in Tanintharyi region’s Dawei township told RFA’s Myanmar Service that opponents of the military regime feel increasingly unsafe as the groups spread. “What I am worried about is my family members, not myself. I’m worried that my family members will be killed,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Neither side has complete control on the ground and so people are in a very precarious situation.” On May 2, a group in Tanintharyi’s Launglon township calling itself Soon Ye said in a Facebook post that it had the addresses of anti-coup protesters and would harm their family members if they did not stop their activities. A day later, the Dawei District Democracy Movement Strike Committee said in a statement that Soon Ye members shot and killed three villagers in their homes in Launglon’s Pandale village on April 28 and killed another man on the road between Dawei and Launglon on May 3. In Bago’s Pyay township, a group calling itself the Patriotic Coalition began posting threats in recent days, according to residents. On May 5, the Thway Thauk posted a statement on its Telegram social media account that claimed an anti-coup protester was killed in nearby Wethteegan township’s Hlwa-zin village, although sources in the area told RFA no such killing had occurred. Kyaw Zeya, a former Member of Parliament for the NLD in Pyay township, said such threats are part of a bid by pro-junta forces to cut off support for the PDF and the country’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG). “They are trying to discourage people from supporting the NUG government and to stop engaging in political activities,” he said. “Those who have been very active on the political scene and their families could become their targets. So, this is a time for everyone to be extremely cautious in their movements.” A former NLD MP for Irrawaddy region’s Maubin township named Ei Ei Pyone said in a Facebook post that her family received an online threat from a group calling itself the Maubin Thway Thauk on Monday. A day earlier, the same group opened fire on a resident of the town named Zaw Win Myint, while other sources reported hearing gunfire in the area that evening. ‘A downward spiral’ Aung Thu Nyein, director of ISP-Myanmar, a research institute, told RFA that rule of law “has totally collapsed” in Myanmar and said no political stakeholder is safe. “It’s a downward spiral, with one side killing the other and so on,” he said. “In this situation, when people have no security, who would dare to set up a political party?” Observers have speculated that the military regime may have been behind the recent bloodshed attributed to the militia groups, but junta Deputy Minister Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun denied the claims in an April 27 press conference and said they were carried out by the PDF to create “confusion and instability.” He also rejected accusations that the military regime had ignored the killings, although no suspects have been arrested in any of the cases. According to RFA reporting, pro-junta militias are responsible for killing at least 18 people between April 25 and May 10. The dead include NLD members and party supporters, family members of PDF paramilitaries, and civilians from Mandalay, Yangon, Kyaukse, Singhu and Launglon townships. A high court lawyer told RFA that the junta assumed responsibility for such killings after it seized control of the country in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. “The political rivalry is gradually growing stronger and stronger, and the situation is getting out of control at the grassroots level,” said the lawyer, who also declined to be named. “The rule of law has collapsed and the regime, which has taken control of state power, is fully responsible for the situation.” Political analyst Than Soe Naing told RFA that Myanmar had become “a failed state.” “This is a natural outcome when two sides are competing for dominance, and so we cannot say which side is right or wrong,” he said. “All of this happened as a result of the junta’s violent repression of the people, and now our country is in ruins.” Junta security forces have killed at least 1,833 civilians and arrested nearly 10,600 others since last year’s coup, according to Thailand-based NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners — mostly during peaceful protests of military rule. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Deaths and arrests rise in Myanmar’s heartland

Editor011 mins

Junta security forces have killed at least 155 civilians and arrested 683 others in Myanmar’s Magway region — the heartland of the majority Bamar people — since the military seized power 15 months ago, according to reporting by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Local sources said that troops had destroyed more than 2,100 houses by arson in Magway over the same period — making it second only to Sagaing in regions hit hardest by the attacks since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup. In the first week of April alone, at least 20 villages were razed in Magway’s Pauk township, where the armed opposition has gained a foothold in recent months. Sources told RFA that nearly all the incidents occurred in the Magway townships of Magway, Pakokku, Seik Phyu, Gangaw, Saetottara and Myaing — all pockets of strong resistance to military rule. Much of the reporting on abuses by junta troops to date has focused on Myanmar’s remote border regions, where armed ethnic groups seeking independence have battled the country’s military for decades and established a patchwork of self-administered territories. The new statistics from Magway, where the population is more than 95% Bamar, suggest that not even members of the Myanmar’s majority ethnic group in the country’s central region are immune to attacks by the military. Daw Aye, a 56-year-old woman from a village in southern Pauk township, told RFA that her home was destroyed in two fires set by the military and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militiamen on April 10 and 24. “My house was a decent building with a separate stable for the animals … and now it’s all gone,” she said, adding that her destroyed property was valued at around 20 million kyats (U.S. $10,800). “I don’t know if I’ll ever live in that kind of house again. We have no place to live even if we could go back to the village. We no longer sleep peacefully at night. We cannot eat our meals in peace. We must always be alert.” Residents of Gangaw township’s Taungbet village said troops and Pyu Saw Htee fighters set two fires that destroyed 36 houses there after accusing them of providing haven to anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries, which the military regime has labeled a terrorist group. More than 800 people were forced to flee the village in the attacks, they said, adding that at least 695 houses in 17 Gangaw villages have been destroyed by arson since the coup. Lay Lay Win, a resident of Pauk’s Htan Pauk Kone village, told RFA that her husband Than Tun Oo was arrested on Feb. 21 while he worked on the tract’s water tower by a 30-man column of junta troops from the military’s Pakokku-based 101st Brigade, who brutally murdered him the same day. “My husband was said to be tortured and stabbed. He was hit in the face with rifle butts and was vomiting blood before he died,” she said. “We only learned of his fate when some of the young men who were arrested that day and later released told us what had happened.” Lay Lay Win, who has two young children and is pregnant with her third child, said that Than Tun Oo was targeted after informants told the military he was assisting the local PDF. She said the military did not inform her of her husband’s death or return his body to their family. Gangaw township, which borders Myanmar’s restive Chin state, was one of the first centers of armed opposition to junta rule. Fighting between the local PDF and the military has been frequent there since early 2022, as it has been in the nearby townships of Saw and Htee Lin. Residents of the area told RFA that every time the two sides clash, the military raids nearby villages, targeting them with arson attacks and even air strikes. Refugees on the rise Meanwhile, the number of refugees forced to flee their homes amid the fighting in Magway has risen in recent months, according to residents. In Htee Lin township alone, some 1,400 people have been displaced since the coup. Kyaw Aye, a resident of the township’s Kyin village, told RFA he and his family had to flee their home four times on April 17, the day of the Burmese New Year, due to repeated air strikes. “On New Year’s Day, we heard gunshots near the village. Our whole family huddled together at home because we were scared and we had to flee in the evening as a plane flew over the village and fired randomly,” he said. “We’ve been on the run again and again — once four times in one day [on New Year’s Day],” he said. “We’re now taking refuge in a nearby village after spending two nights in the jungle.” Kyaw Aye said he was among 70 people, including children and the elderly, who fled his village during the most recent military attack and were forced to find shelter in the jungle. When asked about the arrests and killings in Magway, junta deputy minister of information, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, attributed them to PDF groups moving between the region and Chin state. “In the northern part of Magway region, there have been some fake reports that the army was burning villages. But when we captured some PDF members, they said that the army didn’t do it,” he said. “We captured a nurse and a health worker, and their statements were already released to newsmen. This group is making up stories about what is really happening.” History of resistance Despite the army raids, Boh Cross, the leader of the Myaing Township PDF, told RFA that the armed opposition is gaining significant territory in northern Magway. “The situation is much better than before,” he said, adding that there are now eight PDF units in Myaing township alone, with a strength of more than 10,000 fighters. “Our organizations … are all working together.” Pauk Kyaing, a resident of Pauk township, told RFA that Magway region has long…

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Struggling businesses ready to welcome tourists again as Laos reopens

Editor07 mins

Laos fully reopened its borders to foreign visitors Monday after more than two years of coronavirus restrictions, a move applauded by business owners who rely on tourism to the landlocked Southeast Asian nation. Laos’ economy is likely to still feel the effects of the pandemic, however, as China, a major economic partner, is keeping its borders closed after a resurgence of the virus in many of the country’s major cities. The Lao Prime Minister’s Office issued a notice May 7 indicating that it would lift nearly all restrictions, including reopening all international border checkpoints and entertainment venues in the country. Everyone aged 12 and over who is not vaccinated, including Lao citizens, have to show negative COVID-19 tests within 48 hours of their departure for Laos. But they do not need to submit to tests following their arrival, and vaccinated people do not have to be tested at all, the notice said. “As the notice indicated, we’re now wide open,” an official of the Information Culture and Tourism Department of the Lao capital Vientiane told RFA’s Lao service Monday on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “All the Lao-Thai friendship bridges are open and everybody is free to enter or exit Laos and can travel all over the country,” the official said. A Thai immigration officer at a bridge between Laos’ Savannakhet province and Thailand’s Mukdahan province told RFA on Monday that traffic has already picked up. “They’re required to have only their passport and a proof of vaccination,” the Thai officer said. “Many Thais and Laotians have crossed the bridge today.” That is welcome news to many Laotians who have struggled to keep businesses afloat without the benefit of tourism. “We’re happy because we’ve been struggling for more than two years,” a restaurant owner in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist town in Vientiane province, told RFA. “We all hope that the tourists come to our town and our country soon, so that we can have some badly needed income.” That sentiment was shared by a hotel employee in Vientiane. “I’m happy that we have the opportunity to receive more foreign tourists,” the source said. “The country is completely open like before the pandemic, and I am happy to return to my job and see all the night clubs and karaoke bars open again.” Laos relies heavily on its tourism industry: the 4.8 million foreign visitors it welcomed in 2019 accounted for 5.9% of its gross national product (GNP). Tourism fell off a cliff in 2020 when the pandemic hit. Only 886,400 visitors arrived in Laos that year, the latest data from the World Tourism Organization, generating just 1.2% of GNP. Tourism from Thailand is especially important to Laos, accounting for more than 2 million of the 2019 visits. But more than 1 million Chinese also visited Laos that year, and until China relaxes its border restrictions, tourism is unlikely to reach pre-pandemic levels. Exports to China will also remain limited, further delaying a full economic recovery. “We’ve been open since yesterday, but the Chinese side hasn’t opened yet because China hasn’t lifted their COVID-19 restrictions,” a Lao border official stationed at Boten, the main crossing point between China and Laos in Luang Namtha province, told RFA on Tuesday. “They are only allowing a maximum of 300 trucks a day into their country.” Trucks from Laos must wait more than a week to get into China, a Lao trucker said. “They’re not open. It’s getting more difficult to get into China and it takes at least seven days to cross the border,” he told RFA. An official at Luang Namtha’s Public Works and Transport Department told RFA that the Chinese authorities are overly strict. “When are they going to open their border? The answer is ‘I don’t know,’ because the number of COVID-19 cases in China is still on the rise, several thousand a day,” the source said. In the most recent outbreak, newly confirmed daily cases in China peaked in late April at more than 30,000. But major cities across the country remain under strict lockdowns as part of the country’s zero-COVID policy. The number of active COVID-19 cases in Laos is in decline, with only 110 new cases on Monday. About 67 percent of the country’s population of 7.2 million are fully vaccinated. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the country confirmed 208,535 cases and 749 deaths, according to statistics from the health ministry. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Chinese border police ‘clipping’ passports of citizens as they arrive back home

Editor09 mins

Border police in Guangzhou have stepped up controls on incoming Chinese citizens, questioning them about their overseas activities and confiscating passports, amid ongoing controls on people leaving the country. Passengers arriving in Guangzhou aboard China Southern flight CZ3082 from Bangkok on Sunday morning were all questioned individually by immigration officials at the airport, according to a social media post from one of the passengers. Border guards wanted to know what they had been doing in the countries they were returning from, why they were coming back to China, and whether they planned to leave the country again, the post said. Some passengers had their passport corners clipped, invalidating them for further travel, the post said. The report came days after the National Immigration Administration held a news conference announcing “strict reviews” of travel documents and visas, and calling on Chinese nationals not to leave the country unless absolutely necessary. Spokesman Chen Jie said immigration authorities were “continuing to maintain the highest level of prevention and control,” resulting in “low levels” of outbound passengers at border crossings and airports. A Chinese national surnamed Zhang said border guards often use passport-clipping as a way to prevent people from leaving the country, and anyone hoping to leave must first get an exit permit, signed by their local police station. “My passport was clipped two or three years ago now,” Zhang said. “There has been a strict requirement for exit permits for two years, and basically the border guards don’t want people to leave on Chinese passports.” Students blocked from travel Reports continue to surface on social media of people leaving China for foreign study having their passports clipped as they tried to board a plane, and also from people who had been denied passports when they applied for them. “There have been a lot of posts saying that people are being rejected when they apply for passports, or when they try to renew them,” a current affairs commentator surnamed Lu told RFA. “It shows that the Chinese government is trying to reduce the number of Chinese people leaving the country,” he said. “They are worried that if they do, they’ll find out what the situation is in the rest of the world.” An employee at an overseas study consultancy surnamed Huang said the government has suspended permission for minors in primary and secondary school to study abroad. “The government has said that nobody should leave the country unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Huang told RFA. “Parents aren’t allowed to send their children overseas too young either.” “Before, parents could send their kids to secondary school in Thailand or the U.K., but they’ve stopped allowing that now,” she said. “They’re only allowed to go overseas at university level.” “What does this have to do with the pandemic? They just don’t want so many people leaving,” Huang said. She said the government is concerned that children will be inculcated with “Western values” overseas. “Then, they’ll be less easy to control after they get back,” Huang said. “The more they know, the more ideas they get; they don’t need them to know much, just be a simple worker. Too many ideas and they raise objections to every suggestion: how is that manageable?” Huang said she expects the restrictions to stay in place even after zero-COVID controls have lifted. ‘Illegal entry and exit’ The immigration authorities said a crackdown on “illegal entry and exit” was under way. “The police have … strengthened full-time and all-region patrols, controls and investigations, closely cooperating with law enforcement in neighboring countries to crack down hard on illegal entry and exit activities,” the agency’s Chen said at the April 27 news conference. “People are coming in and out through illegal channels,” Chen said. “Border guards at land, sea and air checkpoints … are taking measures appropriate to local conditions and circumstances.” But Chen didn’t explain which “illegal channels” were being used. Police in the central province of Hunan in April confirmed to RFA that that residents had been ordered to hand over their passports to police, promising to return them “when the pandemic is over,” amid a massive surge in people looking for ways to leave China or obtain overseas immigration status. A March 31 notice from the Baisha police department in the central province of Hunan posted to social media ordered employers to hand over the passports of all employees and family members to police, “to be returned after the pandemic.” An officer told RFA that the order would be rolled out nationwide. China’s zero-COVID policy of mass compulsory testing, stringent lockdowns and digital health codes has sparked an emigration wave fueled by “shocked” middle-classes fed up with food shortages, confinement at home, and amid broader safety concerns. The number of keyword searches on social media platform WeChat and search engine Baidu for “criteria for emigrating to Canada” has skyrocketed by nearly 3,000 percent in the past month, with most queries clustered in cities and provinces under tough, zero-COVID restrictions, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Beijing. Immigration consultancies have seen a huge spike in emigration inquiries in recent weeks, with clients looking to apply for overseas passports or green cards, while holding onto their Chinese passports, they said in April. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Philippines’ Marcos Jr. will likely seek closer ties with Beijing: analysts

Editor07 mins

Philippines’ president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will likely seek to turn the country to an ally of China, despite lingering anti-Beijing sentiment, analysts said following his landslide election victory on Tuesday. “Bongbong” Marcos, the son of long-ruling dictator Ferdinand Marcos, garnered more than 30.8 million votes by an unofficial count on Monday, and looks likely to take office in June. Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of incumbent Rodrigo Duterte, is expected to serve as his vice president. Marcos has already said he wants to pursue closer ties with China, including disregarding a 2016 ruling from The Hague invalidating China’s massive territorial claims to the South China Sea. Marcos has sought to distance himself from the ruling, which has been rejected by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing, and said he will likely continue to develop Duterte’s policy of closer ties with China. Zhuang Jiaying, associate professor of politics at Singapore’s National University, said Marcos’ election is a milestone in the political life of the Philippines. “There are several reasons why this Philippine presidential election is more important [than previous ones],” Zhuang told RFA. “During the campaign, Marcos continued to whitewash his family’s unrestrained abuse of power during authoritarian rule.” “There was also a campaign of harassment targeting supporters of rival candidates, … raising questions about whether democracy is taking a backward step, and whether [Marcos] will continue the current wave of authoritarian leadership.” “[Marcos’] comments seem to favor a more pro-China stance, but whether those ideas can be realized in terms of policy is another matter,” Zhuang said. “When Duterte came to power, China promised a lot of investment, but it didn’t live up to expectations.” “That gap caused disappointment in the Philippines, whose defense and security forces have become more suspicious of China because of its unrelenting pressure regarding the South China Sea dispute,” he said. “Even if Marcos himself wants a good relationship with China, he will meet with a certain amount of doubt and resistance.” U.S. ties run deep Jeremy Chiang of the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation said there had been a certain amount of popular support for the Marcos regime among Filipinos, despite the former dictator’s ouster by a “people-power” revolution. “When Marcos fell, not all Filipinos opposed him,” Chiang said. “In particular, the Marcos family had a positive image in their political heartland, and also in the popular imagination, and some still miss being part of a strong nation and economy at that time.” “This image has been fed to young people via social media, so young people have a fairly good impression of Marcos,” he said. Chiang said Marcos had only narrowly lost the last presidential race six years ago to Duterte, and had hung onto his supporter base since then. However, he said it could be hard for Marcos to wean his country off military and security reliance on the United States. “Military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States has evolved into a long-term strategy, with many people in the Philippines military and diplomatic service cherishing that relationship,” Chiang said. “That kind of relationship with such a solid foundation was hard to shake off during Duterte’s term, despite the fact that China had [offered] more financial resources and aid programs,” he said. Analysts have also cited anti-Chinese government sentiment among much of the Philippine population who see their fishermen’s livelihoods being threatened and lives being endangered by alleged harassment on the part of Chinese navy and coast guard ships. Manila is Washington’s biggest ally in Southeast Asia, where an increasingly assertive China is encroaching on other claimant nations’ exclusive economic zones in the disputed South China Sea. During his term, Duterte tested the U.S.-Philippines relationship, threatening to drop one of many bilateral security agreements and vowing never to set foot in the United States while president. Domestically, the Philippine economy is just recovering after being in one of the world’s longest lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Imagery shows China still building on Subi Reef in South China Sea

Editor05 mins

Recent satellite imagery shows that China is continuing to actively develop its facilities on the disputed Subi Reef in the South China Sea, two months after a top U.S. commander said Beijing had “fully militarized” it. Simularity Inc., a U.S. geospatial intelligence company, said that an analysis of satellite imagery from May 5 has revealed new structures and seven active construction sites on Subi, the coral reef occupied by China since 1988 but also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. In March, the U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino said that the construction of missile arsenals, aircraft hangars, radar systems and other military facilities at Subi Reef, as well as Mischief Reef and Fiery Cross “appeared to have been completed.” Subi is one of several major bases that China built during a massive dredging and artificial island-building campaign in the Spratlys that began in 2013, creating 3,200 acres of new land and giving it a new strategic foothold in the South China Sea. In its natural state, Subi is what is known as a low-tide elevation and an international tribunal in 2016 ruled that as it is submerged at high tide, Subi is not an island but considered “sea bed” and the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) constructions on the reef are illegal.  China rejected the ruling. Until now, China has reclaimed 976 acres on Subi, according to the Asia Maritime Initiative (AMTI) at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The seven active construction sites are located in the northern and southern parts of the reef, with visible presence of trucks, construction equipment and material, Simularity said. “A significant amount of sand” is seen at the sites, indicating new roads and structures are being built. At one site in the south, there are new walls and parking lots, Simularity said, without drawing further conclusions about the possible function of the sites under construction. Extensive development Subi (Zamora in the Philippines) Reef lies just 12 nautical miles from the Philippine-administered Thitu Island, which is the second largest natural feature in the Spratlys after Taiping (Itu Aba) Island, occupied by Taiwan. China has developed it into a military base that can accommodate a garrison of 200 troops and a helipad, according to Philippine officials. AMTI says there are a number of important structures on Subi, including a large lighthouse, five hangers that each can accommodate 20 combat aircraft, and an over 3,000-meter airstrip, completed in early 2016. A satellite image of Subi Reef, taken May 6, 2022. Credit: EO Browser, Sinergise Ltd. Aquilino said in March that the function of China’s artificial islands is “to expand the offensive capability of the PRC … They can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems.” “They threaten all nations who operate in the vicinity and all the international sea and airspace,” he added. China’s Civil Aviation Authority said it successfully tested a civilian flight on Subi in July 2016, using a Boeing 737 airplane, “further enhancing its capability to provide public services as a responsible player in the region.” The Philippines and Vietnam both protested against the test flight which is not known to have become regularly scheduled.

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PDF clashes with junta troops guarding mines in Myanmar’s Sagaing region

Editor07 mins

Prodemocracy People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries clashed with junta security forces guarding two Chinese-owned copper mine projects over the weekend in the country’s war-torn Sagaing region after the military attacked two villages in the area, PDF fighters said Monday. The fighting broke out on Sunday when junta troops, who had been sent to defend the mines following threats by local PDF groups, entered the villages of Shwe Pan Khaing and Thedaw Gyi in Sagaing’s Yinmarbin township, Myaunk Yamar PDF spokesman Ko Khant told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “It was a military security column guarding the Yangtse and Wanbao projects,” he said, referring to the Chinese companies that operate the two mines in collaboration with the military’s Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) company. “They left from Yinmarbin township on May 5 and spent the night in Wadan village and Tal Bin Kan village, in [neighboring] Salingyi township. They then started an offensive against Shwe Pan Khaing and Thedaw Gyi villages on the Yinmarbin township side.” Ko Khant said that the PDF did not attack the troops guarding the copper mine projects and only engaged with them after they began raiding the villages, adding that the fighting had lasted for around four hours. Last week, the junta vowed to defend the suspended copper mines, seen as a key source of revenue for the military regime, after the PDF threatened to destroy them if owners resume operations. Following the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup, employees walked off the job to join the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), reducing the mines’ operating capacity by more than 80 percent. In early April, junta Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in eastern China’s Anhui province in what analysts said signaled Myanmar’s desire for deeper economic ties to its northern ally. Not long after the trip, residents of Salingyi reported that workers were being called back to the mines to restart the projects after more than a year of downtime, prompting threats from the PDF. Sit Naing, spokesman for the Salingyi PDF, told RFA that his and other PDF groups “will not attack them if they do not resume the projects.” “We didn’t start the fight in this incident – they began using weapons to threaten residents of nearby villages, telling them not to come close to the projects. It appears that the projects are being restarted, given this kind of action.” Sit Naing said that around 200 troops have been deployed to guard each project. At the Wanbao mine, machine guns were positioned around the project targeting the villages, he added. “They have even fired 120-millimeter guns into the villages,” he said. “Tensions between the junta troops and the PDF have been high for three days. The junta forces fired three artillery shells at villages in Yinmarbin township last night.” Sit Naing said the three shells had set fire to several houses and caused residents to flee, but no one was hurt. Heavy artillery shelling was reported in other villages on Monday, he said. No official statement was released by the junta in connection with the clashes. Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Minister of Information Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun about the clashes went unanswered on Monday. Residents of the area where the copper projects are located have held daily protests demanding that Beijing respect the wishes of the people of Myanmar by shutting them down, and on April 25, nearly 560 prodemocracy groups sent an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping urging him to stop supporting the junta through the mines and other China-backed development projects. According to Myanmar’s Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, 32 Chinese garment factories were set on fire in the early months of the coup, while PDF attacks on Chinese projects have damaged the water supply pipeline to one of the mines in Sagaing, as well as a gas pipeline and nickel plant in Mandalay region. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Myanmar’s 4 strongest ethnic armies reject junta invitation to peace talks

Editor012 mins

Myanmar’s four most powerful ethnic armed groups have rejected an olive branch from the junta, saying there can be no peace talks until the military regime allows the country’s shadow government and the paramilitary group that fights on its behalf to take a seat at the table. On April 22, junta chief, Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, called for negotiations that he promised to personally attend and gave the ethnic armies until Monday to accept the offer. But the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the Karen National Union (KNU), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Chin National Front (CNF) all rejected the invitation. They said that by not offering all stakeholders the chance to participate, the junta showed it is unwilling to meet halfway. “We recognize that political issues need to be addressed through a political dialogue,” KIA information officer, Col. Naw Bu, told RFA’s Myanmar Service, when asked about the decision not to register for the talks. “We are not attending the meeting this time because it’s clear to us that we will not be able to reach a point at which we can discuss real political issues.” The four ethnic armies are Myanmar’s largest, most experienced and best equipped, and together have accounted for some of the strongest resistance to military rule. KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Tawney said that in addition to refusing to allow the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and the prodemocracy People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group to attend talks, the junta had failed to honor commitments it had made to his and other ethnic armies, such as reducing its troop presence in their territories in the country’s remote border regions. “If the talks are not held in an inclusive environment, the consequences will be indescribable for the country,” he said. The junta has rejected requests from ethnic leaders and the international community to let the NUG and PDF participate in the talks. Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly said that the junta will not talk with “terrorists,” and vowed to continue to crack down on the groups. Padoh Saw Tawney said that if the military has good intentions, it should “leave politics” so that the rest of Myanmar’s stakeholders can form a federal democracy and begin the process of rebuilding the country. “We cannot go without these preconditions,” he said. Other ethnic leaders, such as KNPP First Secretary Khu Daniel, told RFA that peace talks without the NUG and PDF would be “meaningless,” and suggested that the junta peace offer was part of a bid to create a schism within the armed opposition. “The NUG formed political alliances with our ethnic groups,” he said. “The junta intends to separate them from these groups. But without them, there will be no solution to this problem.” Khu Daniel acknowledged that some ethnic armies had agreed to join in negotiations but noted that they have smaller forces and hadn’t made much headway in fighting against the military. “Our groups, which are really fighting, are not attending. So, nothing will come out of it,” he said. Myanmar’s Commander in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (C) poses for a photo during the second anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in Naypyidaw, in a file photo. Credit: Reuters Armies that accepted In addition to the KIA, KNU, KNPP, and CNF, the other ethnic armies to reject the invitation were the All Burma Students Democratic Front and the Lahu Democratic Union — two of the 10 groups that have signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the government since 2015. The United Wa State Party, the Shan State Progressive Party, and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) have said they will attend the peace talks. So have the Arakan State Liberation Party, the Shan State Rehabilitation Council, the Karen National Peace Council, the Democratic Karen Army, the New Mon State Party, and the Pa-O National Liberation Organization — all of which are members of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) of NCA signatories. The 10 groups that signed the NCA have suggested that the deal remains in place, despite an already flailing peace process that was all but destroyed by the unpopular junta’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup. Previously, all 10 said they would not pursue talks with the military, which they view as having stolen power from the country’s democratically elected government. PPST spokesman, Col. Saw Kyaw Nyunt, said his group decided to accept the junta invitation with the hope that it would lead to broader negotiations. “It’s a start with the aim of finding a way to have inclusive talks,” he said. “We’ll try to determine how to create such an inclusive political environment, even though we have not yet held a political dialogue to build a federal democratic union.” The three northern alliances — the Kokang National Democratic Alliance, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army — have said they are still negotiating among themselves over Min Aung Hlaing’s offer. Speaking to RFA at the end of last week, junta deputy information minister, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, told RFA that “most” of the ethnic armed groups had accepted the invitation. On Monday, he said that “a total of nine groups” had confirmed they would attend talks — NCA signatories Democratic Karen Army, Karen National Peace Council, Pa-O National Liberation Organization, New Mon State Party, Arakan State Liberation Party, and Shan State Rehabilitation Council; and non-signatories United Wa State Party, Shan State Progressive Party, and National Democratic Alliance Army. “Some groups have issued statements saying they will not attend, and we are waiting for others to make their decision,” he said. Zaw Min Tun said the junta is committed to pushing the peace process forward, adding that it is willing to “openly discuss the establishment of a union based on democracy and federalism.” ‘Effort to buy time’ Naing Htoo Aung, permanent secretary of the NUG’s Defense Ministry, said that 15 months after seizing power, the junta has led Myanmar to ruin, and its rule is…

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Lao central bank blames depreciating kip on currency converter manipulation

Editor09 mins

Laos’ central bank is blaming the depreciation of the country’s kip currency on money exchange businesses colluding to manipulate the market, but a lack of foreign reserves and an import-export imbalance appear to be the true causes, sources in the country told RFA. According to Asia News Network, the kip depreciated by six percent against the U.S. dollar between Jan. 4 and April 8. At the same time, prices for imported household goods rose by 15-50 percent between April and January, the Vientiane Times reported. A report from the Bank of Laos (BOL) acknowledged the decline, saying that from February this year, the kip entered a period in which it set records for decreases in valuation relative to the U.S. dollar and the Thai baht. The central bank claimed that the currency was depreciating as a direct result of manipulation by illegal currency conversion shops, but sources who operate those businesses deny that they are to blame. “We exchange money based on a free-market mechanism and the banks cannot control anything. … The depreciation of the Lao kip is because imports exceed exports. We import more and more,” a money changer and gold seller in the central province of Borikhamxay told RFA’s Lao Service. “For example, there are many businesspeople who import all kinds of products ranging from fertilizer, seafood and snacks from Thailand and they need a large amount of baht or U.S. dollars to do this. They cannot get foreign currency at the banks, even though the banks set the exchange rate very low. They have to use our service to get foreign currency to continue their businesses,” the moneychanger said on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Because the moneychangers must buy foreign currency at a high rate, they must also sell it for an even higher rate to remain in business, the moneychanger said. The economic police from the Ministry of Public Security and officials from the BOL last month raided illegal money exchange shops as part of a broad crackdown, state media reported. The intent was to stop the kip’s depreciation against the baht and the dollar. It would have worked if there was actual collusion between the moneychangers, rather than the simple result of supply and demand, the Borikhamxay moneychanger said. Under normal circumstances, business owners would rather deal with the banks, but the banks have few reserves, forcing the owners to go to moneychangers, both legal and illegal. “We cannot exchange our kip for baht or dollars at any bank. Even if we could, they would limit the amount of money we can have, and this wouldn’t meet our needs,” the moneychanger said. Another moneychanger told RFA that depreciation feeds on itself. Fewer people want the kip as it falls further in value. “Many people do not want to hold the kip and it is losing value very fast. Thus, many people are scrambling to get foreign currency in their pockets and wallets,” the second moneychanger said. A trade expert in the southern province of Savannakhet, who asked not to be identified, said the fact that a trade deficit with Thailand has had a destabilizing effect on the kip. In 2021, Laos recorded a trade surplus of about $1 billion according to the Chinese news outlet Xinhua, but this included a trade deficit of $813 million with Thailand, data from the Lao Trade Portal showed. The most recent data from trade portal, from March, indicated a $100 million surplus, but with a $162 million deficit with Thailand. Banks withholding Thai baht forces prices higher and higher. “Even when people try to withdraw baht from their baht-denominated accounts, they can only get out 200,000 baht, or $6,000 per each account per day. For the big enterprise owners and business people, this policy makes everything difficult. The only thing they can do is to go to the exchange shops and accept their high exchange rates,” the expert said. Another expert, who declined to be identified, told RFA that a crackdown on illegal moneychangers would do little to stabilize the kip. “It would be far better to promote the exports to be stronger, and finally the kip will become strong itself under the free market,” he said. He said Laos’ lack of foreign currency reserves were the main reason why the kip is weak against its trading partners’ currencies. “Countries like China and Thailand have a much larger amount of foreign exchange reserves that would last several months. If the BOL wants to solve the problem of the depreciation of the kip, it would be better to let the exchange rate be based the free market, … or try to increase the foreign exchange reserves or get more foreign currency to meet the market needs, which is very challenging,” he said. A BOL official agreed that most banks do not have enough foreign currency to sell to consumers, although there are some that could sell foreign currency on a limited basis. “Anyone who wishes to exchange kip for foreign currencies has to be a legal entity, for example, a company, enterprise, or organization declaring to make payment in foreign currencies to companies overseas. The exchange will also have limitation and not everyone will get the amount he or she wants,” the official told RFA, on condition of anonymity for privacy reasons. According to the the Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public, the official exchange rate for the kip was 12,666 kip per dollar on May 6. A Vientiane moneychanger told RFA that the free market rate on the same day was 14,050 kip per dollar. Translated by RFA’s Lao Service. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Detained former opposition chief meets with Cambodia’s Hun Sen

Editor010 mins

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met with the detained former leader of a dissolved opposition party on Sunday, weeks before local elections are to be held in the Southeast Asian nation. Few details were released about what the two men discussed, but one Cambodian political analyst said that the meeting was unlikely to lead to any significant changes in the political climate of the country, where opposition candidates continue to face harassment. Kem Sokha, who led the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), faces up to 30 years in jail on treason charges over an alleged plot purportedly backed by the United States to overthrow Hun Sen and his government. Kem Sokha and the prime minister met in Kampong Cham province during the funeral of Hun Neng, Hun Sen’s 72-year-old brother, who died on May 5. For about four hours, the two discussed national policy issues, including measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the status of the vaccination campaign and post-crisis economic recovery, Muth Chantha, a close aide to Kem Sokha, told news website Cambodianess. It was not disclosed whether Kem Sokha, whose trial resumed in January after two years of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, asked Hun Sen to help resolve his case. “Today, I and my colleagues went to pay homage to the soul of Samdach Oudom Tepnhan [honorific] Hun Neng at his home in Kampong Cham. On that occasion, I and Samdach Techo Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, discussed many issues, especially the country’s issues. And the Khmer people too,” Kem Sokha said on his Facebook page on Sunday. The funeral meeting comes days before Hun Sen begins a rare visit to Washington for a summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden for leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The U.S. has been critical of the rapid shift to authoritarian rule in Cambodia that began with the arrest of Sokha in September 2017 and the banning of the CNRP two months later. Exiled political analyst Kim Sok said while the meeting was unexpected, he does not believe that it will lead to Hun Sen allowing Kem Sokha to participate in local commune elections on June 5. “It may be just a slight relaxation, for example, to allow Kem Sokha to meet his supporters without such restrictions,” he told RFA. “But will there be a political solution to release Kem Sokha so he can lead the CNRP again or launch a new party to engage in politics to his full potential? “This is not the time for Hun Sen to be thinking that he should give in to Kem Sokha, or else he should wait until he [Sokha] is no longer a rival to him and his son,” Kim Sok said, referring to Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, an army commander expected eventually to succeed his long-ruling father. Since being charged with treason, Kem Sokha has met with Hun Sen one other time. The two talked for almost an hour at Hun Sen’s residence on May 5, 2020, when Sokha paid his respects to the prime minister’s deceased mother-in-law. Harassment of Candlelight Party activists Sunday’s meeting came two days after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Cambodian government to stop persecuting political opponents ahead of the local elections next month and a national election in 2023. But there is no indication that the two are related, and Thach Setha, vice president of the Candlelight Party, a small opposition party that has itself been gaining support, told RFA on Monday that officials from Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) continue to harass candidates and activists from his party. Khem Monikosal, president of the Candlelight Party in Pailin province, was called by a local prosecutor to appear in court for second time on May 11 to face incitement and discrimination charges in connection with a Facebook post criticizing government health care workers for not performing their duties in a COVID-19 quarantine center in 2021. Khem Monikosal, a former health officer, told RFA that the summons was meant to intimidate him after authorities fired him from his post in 2021. “We are busy with political activities, organizing work, but the court summoned me twice, causing a lot of trouble,” he said. “This is an oppression of political party activists, and especially of me because I represent the Candlelight Party in Pailin.” Chea Sa, deputy prosecutor of the Pailin Provincial Court, told RFA that he could not comment on the matter. The Koh Kong Provincial Court meanwhile issued a summons for Pal Kep, a Candlelight Party member running to be Stung Veng commune chief, in response to a complaint filed by CPP lawyers. The complaint accuses Pal Kep of forgery, falsifying public documents to endanger national security, public defamation and illegal election campaign activity. Pal Kep said he applied for an adjournment with the provincial court on Monday. He said the summons is an effort to intimidate him. “The accusation against me is very cruel, but I will use my legal rights to protect me and to confront this,” he said. Wai Phirum, deputy governor of the Koh Kong Provincial Court, denied that the case was politically motivated, in an interview with RFA. RFA could not reach the CCP’s Koh Kong lawyers for comment. Ny Sokha, president of the rights group Adhoc, said that the cases against the Candlelight Party members was meant as a political threat. “We think that in order to create a pre-election atmosphere in which political parties can compete in a free and fearless [arena], the court system should not be used to charge or detain or intimidate for political motivation purposes,” he said. Translated by Sum Sok Ry for RFA’s Khmer Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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