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Category: ASEAN

Hun Sen favors cronies with parcels of drained lake land

Editor010 mins

Cambodian’s autocratic Prime Minister Hun Sen has doled out at least 900 hectares of land reclaimed from one of the last large natural lakes in Phnom Penh to his sister, a wealthy tycoon and ally, and top military officials all benefiting from the largesse, according to a domestic land rights organization. The privatization and filling of Boeung Tamok Lake, also known as Beoung Tumnup Kabsrov, has picked up during the past few years, with little left of the body of water on the northwest side of the capital city. The lake spans six communes in Prek Pnov and Sen Sok districts and is home to a diverse ecosystem of birds and fish. It is also home to 300 families and 1,000 people, many of whom earn a living through fishing, aquaculture farming and home-based businesses, according to the Cambodian NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT). Most of the families live in dilapidated and poorly built housing, with 30% residing in makeshift shelters. The lake’s boundaries were officially demarcated in 2016 when the Cambodian government declared Boeung Tamok’s original 3,240 hectares as state public property, according to an April 2021 report by the NGO. As part of a land privatization drive, the government granted dried-out parts of the lake to ministries authorized to resell the land for urban development projects and to oligarchs and cronies close to the government, STT reported. In more than four years, the government has issued more than 40 directives to reclaim parts of the lake or to give away the land, according to STT, which assists poor communities to protect their rights to land and housing. As of late 2021, the government had reclaimed more than half of the lake area, or about 1,670 hectares. Hun Sen-approved land giveaways that went to 11 government ministries and institutions, including the Interior, Justice and Health ministries, Phnom Penh City Hall and the National Police, according to STT and to reports by VOD, a local independent media outlet. The Ministry of Interior, for instance, sold the allocated land to finance the construction of a new building headquarters on the old site. In addition, 22 individuals also received reclaimed lake land from Hun Sen. Among those who have benefited are his sister, Hun Seng Ny, who received 20 hectares of land. Vong Pisen, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces; Sao Sokha, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces; and other senior military officers each received more than 36 hectares, VOD reported based on information in subdecrees signed by Hun Sen. Kok An, a wealthy tycoon close to the prime minister, received 155 hectares of land. Hun Sen also handed over 100 hectares to Chheng Thean Seng, the younger sister of wealthy real estate businesswoman Chheng Sopheap, also known as Yeay Phu, who has been implicated in several land grab scandals in Cambodia. Say Sophea, wife of Phoeung Phalla, a two-star general of the Special Forces Parachute Unit, received 75 hectares, VOD reported Environmental activist Thon Ratha, who was jailed for criticizing the government’s reclamation of Boeung Tamok, said he fears that the lake could soon disappear, like other natural lakes in Boeung Tumpun and Boeung Choeung Ek districts. The fact that individuals close to Hun Sen received parcels of the restored land raises a suspicion of corruption, he said. “Whether to sell or rent, how much to sell for, or whether to rent it and for how long — we seem to have no information about these questions other than the decision to give parts of the lake to this person and that person,” he told RFA. “That’s why I’m still skeptical. We’re worried that there may be a systematic conspiracy or corruption.” A map shows Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tamok Lake and the Tompoun/Cheung Ek Wetlands. Credit: RFA graphic ‘It belongs to the state’ Government spokesman Phay Siphan said that those who acquired land bought it from the original owners. He also said that before the government offered the land for sale, state institutions assessed the impact on local communities living there, though he did not know if the reclamations had forced some residents to leave their homes. “They bought it from the people in two stages, during which they asked for a [subdecree] to cut away part of the land from the lake,” he said. Seang Muy Lai, director of the Housing Rights and Research Project at Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, said that Boeung Tamok should be kept for the benefit of the public. More than 200 poor families living on the lake face eviction, Seang Muy Lai said. “It is unreasonable to give away parts of the lake that are two to three meters deep,” he said. “There should be no one occupying it. It is illegal to allow anyone to occupy the lake because it belongs to the state.” The environmental watchdog group Mother Nature Cambodia has urged the government to stop the development of reclaimed areas of the lake because of the negative impact on communities that rely on the body of water for their livelihoods and significant flooding in the city as the result of runoff during heavy rains. Lim Kean Hor, Cambodia’s minister of water resources and meteorology, has clashed with Hun Sen over the issue for expressing growing concern over the encroachment on the riverbanks and waterways that are properties of the state and has warned that warned that flooding is connected to landfilling developments such as Boeung Tamok. “The bank of the river, the river, the creek, the canal, and the lake, these are all public properties, so all provincial authorities and governors must take measures to facilitate the prevention of abuse from dumping land which is not in compliance with the law,” he said in a May 2020 letter issued all municipal governments and provincial authorities. Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Cambodian activist safe in Thailand after 6-day flight through jungle

Editor09 mins

A prominent Cambodian activist who fled her country in a six-day journey through the jungle safely arrived in Thailand, where she plans to seek asylum with the U.N. In Cambodia, meanwhile, government officials said they would not call foreign officials as witnesses in a “treason” case against another critic of the country’s ruling party. Sat Pha, who has supported the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), told RFA that she fled after a hand-written threat, which she believed was from the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, saying she could be “disappeared” was tacked to her door. “Authorities know how to assault, arrest and imprison [activists],” she told RFA’s Khmer Service. Opponents of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) have been targeted in a 5-year-old crackdown that has sent leaders of the CNRP into exile and landed scores of its supporters in prison. Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 in a move that allowed the CPP to win all 125 seats in Parliament in a July 2018 election. Sat Pha is one of the many Cambodians who has become disenfranchised in land disputes with the government or developers. She has also protested the detention of former CNRP politicians, and, she says, been beaten by governmental officials. “The authorities attacked me until my legs were injured. Has the govt. arrested any authorities? As a leader [Hun Sen] he doesn’t protect citizens. He knows how to assault, arrest and imprison. Killers are never brought to justice,” she said. Sat Pha said she became ill in her journey but is now in a safe location in Thailand. She said she is in the country illegally and is running low on food. She plans to request asylum from the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) office in Thailand. Sat Pha was released from prison in Cambodia six months ago after serving a year in detention for inciting social unrest during a peaceful protest in front of Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh.  RFA was unable to contact Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesman San Sok Seiha for comment.  However, Cambodian People Party spokesman and lawmaker Sok Ey San told RFA that he believes Sat Pha fabricated her story to earn sympathy. “Police have a duty to look for the suspects. There is a need for cooperation between the victim and the police. It might be a personal dispute,” he said. Sok Ey San previously denied that the threat came from CPP leadership. Sat Pha has the right to ask NGOs for help when she doesn’t have any confidence in the authorities, Soeung Seng Karuna, spokesperson for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association told RFA. “It is normal for a victim who is threatened to seek asylum,” he said. Kem Sokha Trial In the treason trial of CNRP former leader Kem Sokha in Phnom Penh, prosecutors on Wednesday refused to summon representatives of any foreign governments that he is accused of colluding with.  The prosecution citied the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international agreement that codifies diplomatic immunity. Defense lawyer Ang Odom told RFA after Wednesday’s session that the convention does not forbid representatives of foreign governments from testifying, adding that the prosecution told the defense they could ask the foreign governments to testify. “They need to do it, but they asked us to instead,” he said, adding that the defense plans to officially request that the prosecution summon foreign government representatives to testify in next week’s session, scheduled for April 27. “All relevant parties will help the court seek the truth. They need to speak the truth about the alleged collusion to commit treason,” he said. The government claims Kem Sokha was in league with Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Australia, the United States, Canada, the European Union, Taiwan and India in plots to commit treason against Cambodia. The government may have a legitimate point regarding the Vienna Convention, Cambodian American legal analyst Theary Seng, who is herself on trial in Phnom Penh for treason and incitement, told RFA. “Rarely do I have the opportunity to agree with this regime’s political tool [the court], but in this instance it is right to deny the defense’s request. First, there is clear international custom and provision enshrined in Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that gives diplomats immunity from criminal proceedings as a charged person or a witness,” she said. “Second, it is not politically feasible that any country, especially a superpower, would give way to an incendiary charge as ‘treason’ in another country’s court system, as that carries countless criminal and political implications,” she said. Theary Seng said that putting a diplomat on trial would be a loss of face for the country he or she represents. “It is understandable that Kem Sokha’s lawyers will look to influential figures or countries to come their client’s defense in denying this most serious charge of treason. But it is a dead-end road. Rather, the defense lawyers should place the onus on the prosecutors and court in demanding why the regime did not expel the diplomats or close down the embassy, making the diplomat persona non grata or communicating to the sending state the extremely serious nature of the change,” she said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Water release from Chinese dam causes Mekong River to rise downstream

Editor06 mins

Residents in Laos said they were surprised to find water on the Mekong River rising this week due to unannounced releases from the Jinghong Dam upriver in China, although there were no reports of significant damage. The Mekong in parts of Laos rose more than 30 centimeters (0.98 feet), according to a notice issued Wednesday by water authorities in Thailand. Water levels rose higher in Thailand, to between 70 and 80 centimeters in Chiang Khan district in Loei province and Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai province, Thailand’s Office of National Water Resources said. Officials in Laos and in Thailand said they were not notified of the release from the dam in in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. China has 11 massive dams, including two large storage dams, along the mainstream of the Upper Mekong Basin, known as the Lancang in China. Laos has two hydropower dams in operation on the Mekong mainstream and dozens more on its tributaries as part of the government’s aim to bring in revenue by exporting electricity to the country’s richer neighbors. A Lao fisherman who lives in Tonpheung district said he noticed higher water on Wednesday. “At 10 a.m. on April 20, the Mekong River water level in front of Tonpheung district was about 30 centimeters higher than it was the day before, and it is expected to be higher today and tomorrow,” he said. “So far, we haven’t been affected yet. We’ve already secured our boats by tying them up to the stakes on the riverbank.” The dam near Jinghong includes a 1,750-megawatt hydroelectric power station, and water is sometimes released to generate more electricity. But sudden releases of water can pose a threat to communities downstream. The Office of National Water Resources said that the Mekong’s water flow rose to 1,626 cubic meters per second, from 970 cubic meters per second, following the release at Jinghong. Thai water authorities and the Mekong Dam Monitor, which tracks water levels in the river, expect levels to increase between 80 centimeters and 160 centimeters, or 1.6 meters, on Thursday and Friday. Lao officials received no notice about the increased water discharge from China, an official at the Natural Resources and Environment Department of northern Laos’ Bokeo province said. “Usually there must be some kind of a notice or a letter informing us of the discharges so that we can issue a warning to our residents,” said the official, who like other sources in this report requested anonymity for safety reasons and to speak freely. An estimated 80% of the nearly 65 million people who live in the Lower Mekong River Basin depend on the river for their livelihoods, according to the Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental organization representing Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam that manages the shared water resource. Agriculture and fisheries production in the Lower Mekong River Basin can be harmed by either higher or lower levels of water discharge from China. A resident of Bokeo’s Tonpheung district, which sits along the Mekong River, told RFA that locals heard about the upstream water release from the crew of a Chinese cargo ship. “Oh, the water level is now inching up,” he said. An MRC member told RFA that it also did not receive any notice or warning from the Chinese about the dam discharge. A member of the Hak (Love) Chiang Khong Group, a Thai nonprofit environmental campaign in Chiang Rai, told RFA that the Jinghong Dam has discharged more water nine times since the beginning of the year, including twice in April. “We believe that the dam will release more water whenever it wants to produce more electricity or to raise the Mekong River’s water level so that Chinese cargo boats can navigate down to Laos and Thailand,” he said. Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Self back patting in Myanmar

Editor01 mins

Myanmar’s military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing did not let such problems as a civilian death toll topping 1,700, international pariah status and a ruined economy stand in the way of awarding himself the country’s two top honorary titles—Thiri Thudhamma and Maha Thray Sithu—that traditionally recognize those who have done great work for the country. The leader of the Feb. 2021 army coup also marked the Burmese New Year by bestowing the highest honors on previous military dictators from Myanmar’s five decades of army rule.

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Analyst suspects China pressure as Philippines suspends oil exploration

Editor06 mins

The Philippines has suspended oil and gas exploration activities in the disputed South China Sea, a presidential spokesman said, under what an analyst described as “coercion” from China. Martin Andanar, spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte, told reporters on Tuesday in Manila that the Security, Justice and Peace Coordinating Cluster (SJPCC), or the government’s security advisors, decided to suspend all exploration activities within the disputed areas in West Philippine Sea. West Philippine Sea is the name used by the Filipinos for the part of the South China Sea over which Manila claims sovereignty. Local companies in the Philippines have been test drilling two sites at Reed Bank, also known as Recto Bank, off Palawan province for survey purposes, but the Department of Energy (DOE) has now ordered them to stop. Andanar said that the DOE has requested the government to reconsider the suspension because “under international law, a geophysical survey is perfectly legitimate activity in any disputed area.” In 2018, Manila and Beijing signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for joint oil and gas development in contested areas and those two sites were identified by the DOE as possible sites for joint exploration with China. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said Beijing has been pressuring Manila to accept its exploration terms or to stop drilling. “Through diplomacy and the actions of the China Coast Guard, Beijing has been trying to coerce Manila to stop conducting seabed exploration and research activities in the West Philippine Sea until the latter submits to China’s conditions for joint development,” Batongbacal said. The Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam all hold claims in the South China Sea but China’s claim is the most expansive, occupying nearly 90 percent of the sea. In 2016, the Philippines brought a case against China to an international tribunal and won but Beijing refused to accept the ruling. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he meets cabinet officials at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines, March 7, 2022. Credit: Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP Joint exploration in contested waters In 2014, under Duterte’s predecessor President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines imposed a ban on oil and gas exploration in the disputed areas of the South China Sea in protest against China’s aggression. Duterte lifted the moratorium in 2020, paving the way for joint development with China, hoping to attract new investment from the biggest player in the region. There were also fears that unilateral exploration activities might hurt the Sino-Philippines relationship. Yet until now, the MOU the two countries signed in 2018 has not resulted in any actual project. All efforts made to date by other countries in prospecting for oil and gas in the South China Sea have made little progress because of heavy opposition from China, said Fitch Solutions, a global market analysis agency. “China has formally claimed the rights to explore and exploit hydrocarbon resources in the disputed waters, but has not done so in practice and appears content to prevent others from exploring the area,” said Fitch Solutions. “There is limited scope for the current deadlock over the South China Sea to ease,” it added. Tensions have been high between the Philippines and China in the last few months of Duterte’s presidency. In the latest incident, the Philippines lodged a diplomatic protest against China after a Chinese coastguard ship maneuvered dangerously close to a Filipino vessel in the disputed Scarborough Shoal in March.

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1 in 100 displaced by conflict since Myanmar coup, UN says

Editor09 mins

One out of every 100 citizens of Myanmar became displaced by conflict in the nearly 15 months since the junta seized power, according to the United Nations, pushing the total number of internal refugees to a staggering 912,700 and pushing the country ever closer to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.  In a statement on Tuesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 566,100 people — or more than 1% of Myanmar’s population of around 55 million — were made refugees since the Feb 1, 2021, coup, adding to some 346,000 people already identified as internally displaced persons (IDPs) prior to the takeover. The agency said that for the first time, displacement in the northwest, where the military is carrying out a scorched earth campaign in Chin state and the regions of Sagaing and Magway, exceeded 300,000 people. Eastern Myanmar, which includes the embattled states of Shan, Kayah, and Kayin, also saw substantial displacement since the coup. Junta troops killed at least 1,600 people, including some 100 children, since the coup, the U.N. office said. Many of the victims died in military airstrikes, artillery strikes or as the result of triggering landmines. “Hundreds of thousands of men, women, boys and girls have fled their homes for safety since the February military takeover, many of them forced to move multiple times exposing people to grave protection risks,” the statement said. The U.N. said in mid-January that the number of people displaced in Myanmar since the coup totaled 320,000, suggesting an increase of nearly 600,000 in the past three months alone. The displacement has placed a tremendous strain on resources and IDPs are in desperate need of assistance. “Overall, humanitarian actors, in close coordination with local partners, continue providing critical life-saving assistance to the most affected people but face ongoing challenges in addressing urgent needs due to access constraints and funding shortfalls,” the U.N.’s humanitarian office said. “To meet their obligations to people in need, humanitarian actors, including the U.N., international and national NGOs, need quicker, simpler and more predictable access processes.” Among the needs of IDPs identified by the agency were funding for educational activities, food security, health care, nutritional supplements, protection from violence, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene. The smoking remains of homes destroyed by the military in Khin-U township’s Ngar Tin Gyi village, April 4, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist Scarce supplies and food shortages Speaking to RFA’s Myanmar Service on Wednesday, a refugee in Sagaing’s Yinmabin township said that obtaining things like rice, cooking oil and salt must be done in the city but are subject to seizure by junta troops at checkpoints. “Many people are facing starvation. Our homes have been burned down. The fire has also destroyed our storage and all our supplies for the entire year. We are sharing what is left among the villagers,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal. “We went to Monywa to purchase some bags of rice, but [the soldiers] seized them on the way home. We are not allowed to transport large bags of rice or other food supplies.” He said those displaced are forced to scrape by trading their remaining rice supplies with nearby villages. In Kayah state, food transport routes have been cut off by fighting between the military and anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitaries, forcing people to ration what they have left. An IDP from Kayah’s Demoso township, which has been the center of intense clashes in recent weeks, told RFA that his group of refugees is at risk of running out of food. “We cannot find more foods. The roads are closed, so we must ration what we have,” said the IDP, who also declined to be named. “We can use cooking oil only once or twice a month. We prepare foods without cooking, often by grinding it into a powder. We skip some meals. We have only one meal instead of two meals a day. We adults try to adapt and give priority to the children.” A volunteer helping IDPs in Kayah’s Hpruso township said his aid group is working to obtain extra food supplies in anticipation of future scarcity. “It has become more difficult to transport food. We can’t carry as much as we need. For example, we order 100 rice bags, but we are allowed to transport only 50 — the authorities are controlling things very strictly,” he said. “I think we need to save up more food for the future because we expect things will become even more difficult. Whenever there is fighting, we face shortages.” In Chin state, a volunteer told RFA his group can’t transfer food because of fighting near the roads. Additionally, he said, troops require permits to transport food and other commodities along closed routes, leading to price hikes in local markets. Attempts by RFA to contact Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the junta’s deputy information minister, for comment on the military closing roads in conflict regions went unanswered on Wednesday. Salai Za Oak Lein, the deputy executive director of the Chin Human Rights Organization, accused the military of closing roads to prevent aid from reaching IDPs. “This action shows that they lack humanitarian spirit. The military is trying to weaken the local resistance by cutting of food supplies, but they are impacting local civilians,” he said. “They intentionally create food shortages and force people to abandon their homes. These are horrible human rights violations.” Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

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Hun Sen’s call for fair local elections this June in Cambodia raises eyebrows

Editor06 mins

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that he would not stump for his party in local elections in June and urged authorities to remain neutral during the campaign, an appeal that did little to comfort the beleaguered opposition. After a spate of violence and harassment directed against aspiring candidates, however, critics and political opponents told RFA that Hun Sen must allow real challenges to candidates from his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in the nationwide elections. Hun Sen’s comments came during a ceremony for a flood prevention and improvement project in Phnom Penh. He said local officials must work to ensure the June 5 elections are free and fair. “If CPP wins the election, all people can live together. Now we have 17 parties participating in the election,” he said. “I won’t … campaign, but I want to stress that we please don’t allow any types of violence during the election process.” Earlier this month, the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, an electoral watchdog, criticized Hun Sen for appealing for votes while on official duty, a violation of the country’s election laws. A CPP spokesman said the prime minister was simply promoting his administration’s accomplishments. Cambodian authorities also barred 100 candidates from the emerging Candlelight Party from participating in the elections. The party, has been gaining steam  despite a crackdown against it and other opposition parties. On Wednesday, Hun Sen said that all political parties should have equal rights during the election, including parties that oppose his government.  “I appeal to all places, to allow people to participate in the election so they can vote for their candidates freely,” he said. Hun Sen has made similar statements in the past, but the situation for his political opponents continues to worsen, Thach Setha, vice president of the Candlelight Party, told RFA’s Khmer Service. “If he talks without taking any measures against the perpetrators [of violence], it can’t guarantee a good election environment free from intimidation and assault,” Thach Setha said, noting that many political activists remain in prison. “This needs to end to ensure that the election will be free and fair. Please stop using the court to issue warrants and summons” to political opponents, he said. On Monday, RFA reported that Seam Pluk, president of the National Heart Party, is in hiding after an arrest warrant for forgery of documents for June local elections was issued. Critics said his charges were trumped up amid a government crackdown on the opposition. Hun Sen’s appeal Wednesday for fair elections will be ineffective without concrete action, Kang Savang, a monitor with the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, told RFA. Several NGOs have asked the government to ensure a safe election environment, but the government has so far not acted on their request, Kang Savang said. “If there is only a message without an order toward the local authorities it is not enough,” he said. Opponents of the CPP have been targeted in a 5-year-old crackdown that has sent leaders of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) into exile and landed scores of its supporters in prison. Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 in a move that allowed the CPP to win all 125 seats in Parliament in a July 2018 election. The June 5 election will decide who serves in a total of 11,622 seats in local districts known as communes across Cambodia. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Amnesty International blasts new proposed social media regulations in Vietnam

Editor010 mins

An international rights group condemned the Vietnamese government’s plan to adopt new regulations to tighten control over social media platforms in the communist one-party country where leaders already have little tolerance for public criticism or dissent. The planned amendments to existing law will require social media companies like Facebook and TikTok to remove content and services deemed illegal within 24 hours, block illegal livestreams within three hours of notice, and immediately remove content that endangers national security, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Companies that do not comply with the requirements risk having their social media platforms banned in Vietnam, the report said, adding that it is expected that Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will sign the new regulations in May. The Vietnamese government is finalizing the amendments for June 2013 decree on the management, provision and use of internet services and online information for both domestic and foreign companies and individuals. The government has been using the decree to ask companies that run popular social media platforms in Vietnam to take down “anti-government” content. Human rights organizations expressed concern that the restrictive internet environment in Vietnam will become worse under the new regulations. “In Vietnam, social media, including Facebook, is one of very few places for local people to express their opposition,” said Ming Yu Hah, deputy regional director of campaigns in East and Southeast Asia for London-based Amnesty International. “They face the risk of being imprisoned for years if their posts are deemed to violate the law. “Such harsh laws are an existential threat to the freedom of expression in Vietnam,” she added. Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter are popular foreign social media platforms in the Southeast Asian country, used by citizens to express their opinions of and dissatisfaction with the government and politics. However, many Vietnamese have been sent to prison for their expressing their opinions via social media. In March, for instance, RFA reported that a court in Hanoi sentenced independent journalist and activist Le Van Dung to five years in prison for discussing political and socioeconomic issues in livestreamed videos on social media. Reuters said that Vietnam’s communications and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment. Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube and Google, and Twitter Inc. declined to comment. TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., said it will continue to comply with applicable local laws and would remove content that violates platform guidelines. For years, the Vietnamese government has demonstrated its desire to control foreign social media platforms via the decree passed in 2013 and a cybersecurity law that entered into effect in 2019. In November 2020, Facebook announced that it had been forced to increase content censorship as requested by the Vietnamese government, after being threatened with a ban if it did not comply. The move drew heavy criticism from rights groups that have accused social media companies of putting profits before human rights and the freedom of expression. Amnesty’s Ming Yu Hah called on social media companies to protest the forthcoming regulation and “put human rights above profits and market access rights.” About 60 million-70 million Vietnamese use Facebook, generating about U.S. $1 billion in annual revenue for its parent company, according to the Reuters report. YouTube has 60 million users in the country, while TikTok has 20 million. Open letter to Biden In a related development, more than 40 NGOs and 40 individuals signed an open online letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, calling for him to raise concern with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chinh at a U.S.-ASEAN Summit in mid-May about the government’s antagonistic policies toward religions that do not submit to government control. “Of particular concern is the intensifying state-directed and state-supported propaganda that promotes hate speech and incites violence against religious and lay leaders with real and deeply disturbing consequences,” the letter says. The letter says organized mobs known as Red Flag Associations have used social media to slander Catholic priests, characterize respected monks of the Unified Buddhist Church’s Sangha as “bad forces” who “distorted the nature of religious freedom in Vietnam,” and call on the government to eliminate the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ in Dak Lak province. “So far, Red Flag members have enjoyed complete impunity,” the letter says. “Their messages promoting hatred and violence have rapidly multiplied throughout Vietnam’s society.” Certain government units also have incited hatred against ethno-religious minorities, including the Department of Public Security of Gia Lai Province, which characterizes Montagnards who have converted to Catholicism as a cult and in December 2020 declared that it had completed the heretical religion. The United Nations Human Rights Committee singled out the Red Flag Associations as a source of incitement to hatred and violence following a review of Vietnam’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2019. “In light of this worrying trend, we ask that you communicate directly to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam and urge his government to comply fully with both Article 18 of the ICCPR, which guarantees the right to religious freedom or belief, as well as with the requirement of Article 20 that incitement to violence be prohibited by law,” the letter says. On Monday, a coalition of Vietnamese NGOs and individuals issued an open letter to U.N. member states, asking them not to elect Vietnam to the U.N. Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term. Among the organizations that signed the letter were the Vietnam Human Rights Network, Defend the Defenders, Assembly for Democracy of Vietnam, Humanistic Socialist Party, the Great Viet Party, Vietnam Democracy Federation, the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam, and Vietnam Democracy Radio. They noted that Vietnam voted against a U.N. General Assembly resolution on April 7 to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council over its invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people. “Before looking for membership of the council, the Vietnamese government must improve its human rights record, strictly enforce international human rights…

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Biden nails down a date for ASEAN summit but not a full invite list

Editor09 mins

President Joe Biden, keen to showcase American interest in Southeast Asia, has secured a date to celebrate 45 years of U.S. ties with the far-away region, but not all of ASEAN’s leaders are coming to the party. Myanmar’s junta chief, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, won’t be welcome because of the military coup he launched a year ago. And Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who leaves office in June, is also expected to be a no-show. He has not visited Washington during his six years in office that have been characterized by turbulent relations with the United States. The May 12-13 summit between the U.S. and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an opportunity for Biden to forge a closer bilateral partnership with ASEAN and counter China’s influence in the region. The White House is keen to advance its vision of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific. The summit will mark U.S.-ASEAN relations, which began in 1977. It will be only the second such summit with Southeast Asian leaders hosted by an American president in the United States. Barack Obama welcomed ASEAN leaders to Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in February 2016. While next month’s meeting will therefore carry heavy symbolic value, it will make for some unusual diplomatic bedfellows for Biden. Cambodia’s foreign ministry says that Prime Minister Hun Sen – whose government has faced U.S. sanctions for its suppression of democracy – will be there. Cambodia is the current rotating chair of the 10-nation bloc. “Of course, Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen, as the ASEAN rotating chair, will co-chair this summit with the president of the United States,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesman Chum Sounry told Radio Free Asia (RFA), the parent company of BenarNews. He was using the honorific adopted by Hun Sen, who has ruled for 37 years. It translates roughly as “glorious, supreme prime minister and powerful commander.” But officials indicated that Min Aung Hlaing – who recently awarded himself two of Myanmar’s highest honors for services to his country despite the current, violent chaos there – won’t be invited to Washington. “The consensus among ASEAN is (that) Myanmar should be represented by a non-political representative,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah of Indonesia, which is the bloc’s coordinator for U.S.-ASEAN ties. He told BenarNews on Tuesday that Indonesian President Joko Widodo plans to attend.  In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah confirmed that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri will also join the summit. He further noted: “I don’t think Myanmar should be represented. I am not so sure if Washington invited Myanmar.” However in Bangkok, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the prime minister and ex-junta chief, was “considering the journey” to Washington. ASEAN has been grappling with a 14-month-old crisis in Myanmar, where the Burmese junta’s forces have bombed and burned swathes of the country to quell resistance to the military’s overthrow of an elected government in February 2021. In late March, the junta blocked ASEAN envoy Prak Sokhonn, who is Cambodia’s foreign minister, from meeting with deposed Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, setting back efforts to forge a political resolution – and backtracking on a commitment the junta chief made to ASEAN to allow access to all stakeholders in the country. ASEAN itself has excluded Min Aung Hlaing from its own summits. The Myanmar military council’s spokesman said on Tuesday that Myanmar has not been invited so far to the Washington summit, and they would only attend anyway if they had equal representation. “If, as in the past, we could only attend with someone who does not hold political office, we absolutely would not attend any meeting. Our position is to engage only at equal rank,” the spokesman, Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, told RFA. Myanmar has been subject to U.S. asset seizures and sanctions since the coup – including restrictions levied against Min Aung Hlaing himself. No such restrictions are faced by Duterte. The Philippines is a U.S. treaty ally, meaning the two nations are committed to each other’s defense if they come under attack. The U.S. is bound to Thailand by a similar treaty. But Duterte, who has sought closer relations with China despite recurring disputes in the South China Sea, has sworn repeatedly that “he will never go to the U.S.” At one time he even called America “lousy.”  BenarNews asked an aide to Duterte whether that position has changed in view of the upcoming summit, and was told it had not. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment to media about it. There’s another reason for the Philippine leader to skip the Washington summit: The two-day meeting falls just three days after May 9 elections in the Philippines. It is customary for any Filipino leader to avoid foreign travel during an election season, particularly when the election is for the position they will be vacating. Jason Gutierrez in Manila, Tria Dianti in Jakarta, Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok, Nisha David in Kuala Lumpur, and RFA’s Cambodian and Myanmar Services contributed to this report by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service.

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2 children among 6 Rohingya killed after escaping Malaysian detention center

Editor09 mins

Hundreds of Rohingya detained for two years in northern Malaysia escaped Wednesday following a pre-dawn riot, but six were killed by vehicles as they tried to cross a highway, in a tragic turn of events highlighting conditions at the country’s secretive immigrant detention centers. Close to 400 people had been recaptured by evening, officials said, while human rights groups called for a probe into what had provoked the unrest. They also demanded to know how many detention centers, where immigrants are held indefinitely and incommunicado, were operating across the country. “I have instructed the Royal Malaysia Police and the Immigration Department to conduct a detailed investigation of what caused them to act in such a way,” Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin said of the escapees late Wednesday. Multiple agencies from two states were working to track down more than 100 people still at large, he said. “All 528 detainees who escaped were ethnic Rohingya refugees transferred from a camp in Langkawi after being arrested for trespassing in Malaysian waters and violating the Immigration Act in 2020,” he said. Langkawi is an island group in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of the northern Kedah state. Police in Bandar Baharu, Kedah were alerted to a riot and escape at the Sungai Bakap Temporary Immigration Depot at around 4 a.m., according to the state police chief, Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad. Prior to the riot, 664 people were housed there – 430 men, 97 women, and 137 children, he said. He told reporters that no serious injuries were reported during the riot and that its cause was under investigation. Detainees smashed a door and fence at the depot before making a run for it, he said, adding that the 23 security personnel on duty were quickly overwhelmed. “Because there were so many of detainees in a cramped space, things got out of control and the detainees took the opportunity to break out,” he told a press conference in Kedah. “The fatal accident involving the escapees happened about six to seven kilometers from the depot. Two men, two women, and two children (a boy, and a girl) were killed after being hit by vehicles when they tried to cross a highway while fleeing,” he said. Villagers living near the immigration facility said they were afraid to leave their homes with escapees still at large. “The detainees were everywhere, running out from the depot, and they headed to our village before they went into the bush,” a man who gave his name as Hashim told BenarNews. Another villager, Ahmad Husin, said they could be hiding in nearby palm oil plantations. Earlier, “some of them came to us looking for water because they were thirsty but no one dare to give them any because they were afraid of any untoward incident,” he told BenarNews. The Kedah police chief warned residents of nearby villages against helping the escapees, saying to do so was an offense punishable by law. ‘Traumatizing’ Tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and other countries to escape persecution in Myanmar, their home country, and dire living conditions in cramped refugee camps in Bangladesh. Malaysia, however, does not recognize refugee status. Since 2020, the country has rounded up thousands of refugees and housed them in crowded detention centers, in what the authorities say are measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. An estimated 180,000 UNHCR cardholders currently live in Malaysia, much higher than the estimated 38,000 in 2013. Jerald Joseph, a member of the Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), called on the country’s immigration authorities to allow representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to meet with the detainees. “The Immigration Department has to give access to UNHCR so they can determine whether the ones detained were really Rohingyas. If so, they should be freed like the 150,000 Rohingyas who are here in the country,” he said. For its part, Amnesty International Malaysia demanded the government fully and transparently investigate the events “including the desperate circumstances within Sungai Bakap immigration detention center that led to detainees trying to escape, resulting in the loss of six lives.” Suhakam should investigate how many temporary immigration detention centers are in existence across the country, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, said in a statement. “Conditions at these immigration detention centers should be documented, given past incidences of human rights violations in immigration depots in Malaysia,” she said. She called indefinite detention “traumatizing.” “The government therefore needs to answer not only on the deaths of the six individuals but also why so many refugees, including children, are being detained,” she said. Yusof Ali, chairman of Kedah Rohingya Association, also appealed to the Malaysian government “to look into the Rohingya issue detained at the Immigration Depots in the country.” Asked why the breakout occurred, he said, “Maybe because they have been in there far too long. Some of them have temporary documents and UNHCR cards, but when they showed it to the authorities, the office in charge will arrest them and allege that the document or the card are fake. No other countries want to accept our ethnic group. It is now up to the Malaysian government’s discretion,” he said. Zul Suffian in Penang, Malaysia and Iskandar Zulkarnain in Kedah, Malaysia contributed to this report by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service..

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