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RFA operations may cease following federal grants termination

Editor08 mins

The federal grants that fund Radio Free Asia and partner networks were terminated Saturday morning, according to a grant termination notice received by RFA. An executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump late Friday calls for the reduction of non-statutory components of the United States Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, the federal agency that funds RFA and several other independent global news organizations. The U.S. Congress appropriates funds to USAGM, which disburses the monies to the grantee news outlets. The brief order calls for the elimination “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” of USAGM and six other unrelated government entities that work on museums, homelessness, minority business development and more. While the order addresses “non-statutory components” of USAGM, RFA is statutorily established, meaning it was congressionally established by a statute in the International Broadcasting Act . But a letter sent to the president of RFA Saturday and signed by USAGM special adviser Kari Lake, whose title is listed as “Senior Advisor to the Acting CEO with Authorities Delegated by Acting CEO,” notes that the agency’s federal grant has been terminated and that RFA is obliged to “promptly refund any unobligated funds.” It says that an appeal can be made within 30 days. It was not immediately clear how and when operations would cease, but RFA is solely funded through federal grants. In a statement issued Saturday, RFA President Bay Fang said the outlet planned to challenge the order. “The termination of RFA’s grant is a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked in the information space,” the statement says. “Today’s notice not only disenfranchises the nearly 60 million people who turn to RFA’s reporting on a weekly basis to learn the truth, but it also benefits America’s adversaries at our own expense.” An editorially independent news outlet funded through an act of Congress, RFA began its first Mandarin language broadcasts in 1996, expanding in subsequent years to a total of nine language services: Cantonese, Uyghur, Tibetan, Korean, Khmer, Vietnamese, Burmese and Lao. RFA news programming is disseminated through radio, television, social media and the web in countries that have little to no free press, often providing the only source of uncensored, non-propaganda news. Because RFA covers closed-off countries and regions like North Korea, Tibet and Xinjiang, its English-language translations remain the primary source of information from many of these areas. Its parent agency, USAGM, oversees broadcasters that work in more than 60 languages and reach an audience of hundreds of millions. These include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which reported Saturday that its grants had also been terminated. Voice of America and the Office for Cuba Broadcasting, which are directly run by USAGM, put all staff on paid administrative leave Saturday. In a post on Facebook, VOA Director Michael Abramowitz wrote: “I learned this morning that virtually the entire staff of Voice of America—more than 1300 journalists, producers and support staff—has been placed on administrative leave today. So have I.” Committee to Protect Journalists Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna urged Congress to restore funding to USAGM, “which provides uncensored news in countries where the press is restricted.” “It is outrageous that the White House is seeking to gut the Congress-funded agency supporting independent journalism that challenges narratives of authoritarian regimes around the world,” he said in a statement. China watchers cautioned that cuts to RFA in particular could impact Washington’s ability to counter Beijing. “Radio Free Asia plays a vital role in countering China’s influence by providing accurate and uncensored news to audiences facing relentless propaganda from the People’s Republic of China,” Rep. Ami Bera, a California Democrat, wrote in a post on X. “RFA helps advance American values amidst our ongoing Great Power Competition with China and exposes egregious human rights abuses like the Uyghur genocide and Beijing’s covert activities abroad.” Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul called the dismantling of RFA and its sister publications “giant gifts to China,” while Human Rights Watch’s Maya Wang posted that in places like Xinjiang and Tibet: “Radio Free Asia has been one of the few which can get info out. Its demise would mean that these places will become info black holes, just as the CCP wants them.” In a statement issued by USAGM Saturday evening and posted to X by Lake, the agency deemed itself “not salvageable” due to a range of alleged findings of security violations and self-dealing, though few details were provided. “From top-to-bottom this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer — a national security risk for this nation — and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule,” the statement read. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Immigration crackdown in southern China puts Myanmar migrant workers on edge

Editor08 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Undocumented Myanmar migrant workers in southern China are living in fear amid an increase in raids by Chinese authorities on farms and factories near the border, workers and labor activists say. The arrests increased after 500 workers at a factory in Yunnan province protested against poor labor conditions in early March, migrant workers told Radio Free Asia. Ever since, Chinese police have made daily arrests of at least 30 Myanmar migrant workers in the border towns of Ruili and Jiegao who are undocumented or carry expired border passes, which people use to cross the border without a passport, the workers told RFA Burmese. Win Naing, who landed a job at a toy factory Ruili in early January, was issued a border pass so that he could commute to work, but it was short-term and has since expired. But now he’s too afraid to go outside, and isn’t sure when he’ll next see his his wife and three children, who are just across the border in Myanmar. “Since we stay inside the factory, we don’t have to worry as much about being arrested, but we can’t leave at all,” said Win Naing, who earns around 1,500 Chinese yuan (US$210) per month, considered a decent salary. “Without passports, we have to work and live very cautiously.” Most of those detained are being held in prisons in Ruili and nearby Yinjing village, they said, although some have been deported and banned from re-entering China “for several years.” People are desperate for jobs Every day, nearly 10,000 people wait at the border in Muse, in Myanmar, for a chance to cross into China and authorities only issue passes to about 700 of them. Short-term border passes are good for one week of entry into China, and when they expire, holders must reapply for one in Muse. But those who make it across often overstay their pass, said a resident of Shan state’s Kutkai township named De Dee, who is working in Ruili. That puts them at risk of arrest during frequent police inspections in places such as the Htike Li and Hwa Fong markets, where Myanmar migrants are known to live and work. “Chinese officials conduct checks on the streets and even inside homes,” she said. “Around 30 or 40 migrant workers are arrested each day.” The situation is similar in Jiegao, a migrant working there said on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. He said there are frequently “police cars circling the markets,” while authorities regularly “stop motorbikes and arrest people.” A migrant working in Muse told RFA that the amount of time undocumented workers are detained in the Ruili and Yinjing prisons varies, as does the lengths of bans on their re-entry to China. “Some undocumented migrants … are detained for a week, 10 days, or a month,” he said. “Those arrested in early March — mostly women— following the protest were banned from reentering China for about five or six years.” Those banned from re-entry who need to return to China are forced to pay more than 2 million kyats (US$953) — an incredibly steep cost for the average Myanmar citizen — to do so via illegal routes, the migrant added. Aid workers were unable to definitively say how many Myanmar migrants have been arrested in China since the protest earlier this month, and RFA was unable to independently confirm the number. ‘There are so many of them’ Attempts by RFA to contact the Chinese Embassy in Yangon about the arrests of undocumented Myanmar nationals in Ruili and Jiegao went unanswered by the time of publishing, as did calls to the Myanmar Consulate in Yunnan. RFA Mandarin spoke with a Chinese resident of Ruili surnamed Sun who said that police in the town had been targeting illegal Myanmar migrants for at least six months, although the arrests had intensified beginning in March. “Most of them are men who enter the country and go to the industrial park to find work, including jobs making parts for domestic cell phones and daily-use hardware, with salaries of 1,000-3,000 yuan (US$140-420) per month,” he said. Sun said that illegal migrants who are arrested “are usually repatriated, but not fined.” A merchant surnamed Zhang from Yunnan’s Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, where Ruili and Jiegao are located, told RFA that Myanmar migrants also find work in area restaurants and massage parlors. He said that “because there are so many of them, the Chinese police are not in a position to carry out mass expulsions” and choose to repatriate small numbers of them back to Myanmar at a time. Translated by Aung Naing and RFA Mandarin. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Thailand’s power and fuel cuts hurting ordinary Myanmar residents

Editor07 mins

Thailand’s move to cut off electricity, fuel and internet service to an area across the border in Myanmar rife with scam centers is hurting ordinary people more than the crime syndicates it was trying target, residents told Radio Free Asia. The shutoff of the grid since Feb. 4 has resulted in many turning to electric generators, and that’s doubled the price of gas in Myawaddy in just five weeks. Described by some as it’s “most decisive action ever,” Bangkok said the move was aimed at closing down the scamming operations, where hundreds of trafficked workers have been trapped and often tortured. Thailand also banned the export of 12 items, including mobile phones and electrical appliances, to Myanmar. But the criminal organizations are finding their way around the blockade, including often illegal ways to acquire the fuel needed to power their generators and continue their operations, residents told RFA Burmese. Instead of its intended targets, the shutdown is taking a much larger toll on residents in the area, which is controlled by the Karen Border Guard Force and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. “Ordinary people are suffering the most from the Thai government’s fuel cuts,” said a Myawaddy resident who used the pseudonym Thura for fear of reprisals. “Meanwhile, scam call center gangs continue to receive fuel supplies with the help” of region rebel groups. Fuel is hard to buy because demand is high and supply is low. Gas has nearly doubled to 7,000 kyats per liter ($12.64 per gallon), Thura said. In Myawaddy, across from the Thai town of Mae Sot, gas stations are all closed, and residents instead have to buy fuel from residents on the Thai side of the border. The criminal gangs, by relying on their connections with these local armed groups, can get what they need without much difficulty. “In contrast, ordinary people are struggling due to fuel shortages caused by illegal traders.” Attempts by RFA to contact the Karen Border Guard Force spokesperson Lt. Col. Nai Maung Zaw and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army DKBA chief of staff General Saw San Aung, on March 10, for comment on these situations went unanswered. Illegal trade routes Kyaw Naing, a Myawaddy merchant who used a pseudonym for security reasons, told RFA that despite the Thai government’s bans on 12 types of products — which also include batteries, inverters and generators — are still being smuggled in. “Fuel is filled in cars from Mae Sot to be sold in Myawaddy,” Kyaw Naing said. “Buying fuel can be somewhat challenging, but it is still possible since the border routes are not completely closed all the time.” The banned Thai items can also be imported instead from China, to the point that the ban is almost ineffective, he said, adding that the Thai government should reopen the fuel market considering it is a basic need for the people. RFA attempted to contact Thin Thin Myat, chairman of the Myawaddy Border Trade Chamber of Commerce for comment, but she did not respond. With people buying fuel in Thailand to sell in Myanmar, sellers in Mae Sai, far to the north of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border crossing are now requiring that buyers fill up only the gas tanks of their vehicles, not portable containers. Workers repatriated Meanwhile, the Karen Border Guard Force on Tuesday handed nearly 250 Indian and Malaysian workers who had been trafficked and held in Chinese gambling dens and scam centers in Myawaddy to authorities from their respective countries via the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Friendship Bridge. Among those freed were 226 Indian nationals and 24 Malaysians. “Plans are in place to repatriate more foreign nationals in the coming days,” a spokesperson for the Border Guard Force told RFA. Between Monday and Tuesday, 509 Indian nationals had been sent over the bridge to Indian authorities working alongside their Thai counterparts. The Karen Border Guard Force claims to have been conducting anti-scam and anti-human trafficking operations for nearly a month. According to a source at their Investigation Office, around 3,000 scam workers from China, Indonesia, India and Malaysia have been repatriated via Thailand. Translated by Aung Naing and Thane Aung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Chinese defense company builds industrial estate in Cambodia

Editor01 mins

A Chinese defense company and its Cambodian partner have begun developing an industrial park on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, strengthening China’s foothold in the kingdom’s defense sector. Cambodia’s defense minister Tea Seiha, who is also a deputy prime minister, presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for the C-01 industrial park, on Monday in Kandal province outside the capital, according to for their involvement in the development and production of drones for Russian military use in the Ukraine war. China is the largest foreign investor in Cambodia and has provided loans to many major infrastructure projects via the Belt and Road Initiative. As of October 2024, Cambodia had more than 2,300 industrial factories, half of which received investment from China of US$9 billion in total, according to the Kingdom’s industry ministry. Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar junta troops massacre 11 villagers, most too old to flee, residents say

Editor06 mins

Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar soldiers on a sweep through a central village known for its support of anti-junta forces killed 11 civilians, most of them too old to flee, residents of the area who saw the bodies told Radio Free Asia on Monday. The Myanmar military has had an appalling human rights record for decades in its wars against ethnic minority guerrillas in remote frontier regions, independent investigators have said. But violence over the past couple of years has been particularly brutal in central areas dominated by members of the majority Barmar community who, since a popular government was overthrown in a coup in 2021, have for the first time risen up in opposition to military rule. All of those killed in Magway region’s Myay Sun Taw village were elderly apart from two, residents said. “My father was left behind and didn’t escape the village. He’s elderly, so he’s attached to his home and didn’t run away. We were urging and calling for him but he didn’t follow us,” said the son of one of the victims. “As far as I know, he was shot in the head. I feel devastated. This is my village, my people and my parents,” said the son, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. Soldiers from the 101st Infantry Division Headquarters and three other battalions were involved in the sweep through the region that began on March 2, villagers said. There was no battle to explain the soldiers’ actions as they raided the village, though the area is known to support pro-democracy fighters in militias called People’s Defense Forces that have sprung up across the country since the coup, especially in the central Magway and Sagaing regions, residents said. “They were all just civilians,” said one witness of the aftermath of the raid. RFA called the junta’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, to ask about the incident but he did not respond by the time of publication. Destruction after a raid by Myanmar soldiers on Myay Sun Taw village, Magway region, taken on March 6, 2025.(Yesagyo Township Info Committee/Facebook) RELATED STORIES Myanmar junta chief says election to be held by January 2026 Nearly 30,000 civilians displaced by fighting in Myanmar’s heartland Fighting in Myanmar’s Sagaing region prompts thousands to flee to India border Residents identified the victims as a man over 70 named Han Tin, a man in his 60s named Htay Myint, 88-year-old woman Than Ma Ni, 60-year old woman Than Pyae, 86-year-old woman Hla Ngwe, 67-year old man Kyi Htay, 69-year old man Aung Myaing, 35-year old man Thant Zin, 40-year-old man Aung Lin Naing, 70-year-old man Nyunt Wai, and 50-year-old man San Win. Soldiers also burned down nearby Thar Gaung and Za Yat Ni villages, destroying about 600 homes and forcing some 10,000 people to flee. “Soldiers have launched a lot of offensives in this region. Most villages are carrying out actions with armed groups to protect themselves,” said a representative of the anti-junta Yesagyo Township Information Committee, who also declined to be identified in fear of reprisals. “The people killed in Myay Sun Taw were elderly and innocent. The military is malicious and extremely cruel.” Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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‘Free education’ in Southeast Asia often isn’t free

Editor015 mins

Many Southeast Asian countries have adopted a policy of “free education” for students through middle school and, in some cases, through high school. But in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, it isn’t really free. Many additional or hidden costs — for uniforms, textbooks, supplies, transportation, extracurricular activities and sometimes even teachers’ salaries or school maintenance or improvements — make education too expensive for some families to afford. In Vietnam, the Communist Party Politburo recently eliminated tuition fees for public school students from preschool to grade 12, a move parents initially welcomed — before learning about the high costs of other monthly educational expenses. According to a Feb. 28 report by state media, the Politburo decided to waive the tuition fees beginning in the 2025-26 school year, following a recommendation from the Ministry of Education and Training. The move marks the first time Vietnam has ordered an end to the fees, which applied to some 23 million students, on a national scale, said the report. Around 30 trillion Vietnamese dong (US$1.17 billion) will be applied from the country’s budget to make up for the shortfall, it said. The government will provide students at private schools with subsidies equivalent to the public school tuition rate, but private school families will be required to cover the remaining difference of their child’s yearly tuition, the report said. The state media report cited the Department of Education for Ho Chi Minh City as saying that monthly tuition for public high school students ranges from 100,000-200,000 Vietnamese dong (US$4-8), while tuition for preschool students is around 300,000 Vietnamese dong (US$12). A mother of two children in middle and high school in Hanoi applauded the end to tuition fees, but said other costs were higher than tuition. “While this may be a significant cost for the government, a tuition exemption of 200,000–300,000 dong is quite small compared to the other expenses parents have to cover for their children’s education in the city,” the mother told RFA Vietnamese, who like others in this report spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal. The mother said she spends between 1 million and 2 million dong (US$39-78) per month on tuition fees, meals and drinking water. Additionally, families are expected to contribute to a yearly “parents’ fund,” which schools use for events like Teachers’ Day, Vietnam Women’s Day and other extracurricular activities. Another parent, whose child is in high school in Hanoi, told RFA that she remains concerned about monthly education expenses — particularly a 325,000 dong (US$13) fee for the student’s’ afterschool classes. Concerns over high and opaque fees at public schools in Vietnam — which are seen as a burden for low-income families — have been widely reported in both state and social media for years. In 2024, the average monthly income of workers in Vietnam was approximately 7.7 million dong (US$300), according to the country’s General Statistics Office. Schools ‘don’t have enough money’ In Laos, public schooling is free but students are required to pay several other unofficial fees for their education, according to parents. This includes tutoring fees and the cost of textbooks, as well as contributions towards maintenance fees and utility bills. A parent who previously lived in the capital Vientiane told RFA Lao he had to pay up to 650,000 Lao kip (US$30) for “learning and teaching activities” each year his child was in first through fifth grade. “On top of that I had to pay 150,000 kip (US$7) per month for a ‘special tuition fee’ for a subject my child wasn’t good at,” said the parent, who also declined to be named. The same parent recently relocated his family to Khammouane province and noted that schools in the countryside collect less than those in the cities. “They collect money to pay for textbooks for school and everyone has to pay 60,000 kip (US$3) per year for school maintenance,” he said. “But poorer families may not be able to afford it, preventing their kids from getting into schools.” In Bokeo province, on Laos’ northern border with Thailand, another parent told RFA that he had to pay 300-400 Thai baht (US$9-12) for electricity each year since his child first began attending middle school. “When I first learned from the government that school is free, I felt so happy,” he said. “However, the school claims that they don’t have enough money, so they have to collect it from parents.” Speaking to RFA, an educator said that his and other schools have to spend money on things such as “repairing restrooms, painting, fixing sports facilities, building fences and buying materials” each year, requiring them to ask parents to contribute. ‘I am stressed out and exhausted’ Cambodian parents told RFA that while tuition is free, they also find fees at primary and secondary school to be exorbitant and complain that they take up a large part of their daily income. Those who live in extreme poverty often stop their children’s education altogether by 6th grade because of the cost, they said. Some have likened the teaching profession to a “business,” despite free tuition, citing the payments they must regularly make to their children’s schools. A student reads at Banlech Prasat Primary School, Prey Veng province, Cambodia, in an undated photo.(Business Wire/AP) Soeung Sakona, a tailor based in Siem Reap province’s Sala Kamreuk Sangkat, has two daughters studying at a high school in Siem Reap city and said she must spend at least 10,000 riel (US$2.50) in fees on each of them daily. Tutoring — often from the same people who teach at public school by day — textbooks, transportation and other school supplies are among the fees she said she must account for each day, leaving her with little wiggle room for her remaining income. “Every day is very tense for me because I cannot save anything … I spend a lot on them for their daily education to cover gas as well as their private courses,” she said. “I have to work hard to…

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OPINION: Rohingya women are the grassroots advocates behind genocide arrest warrants

Editor011 mins

The global celebration of International Women’s Day is a call to action to support and amplify the efforts of the extraordinary girls and women around the world who are tirelessly working within their communities to defend their rights and to empower future generations. Last month, we saw the Argentinian federal court issue arrest warrants against 25 Myanmar officials, including the seniormost military leaders, for genocide and crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya community between 2012 and 2018. Our thoughts immediately went to the brave Rohingya women who helped make this significant legal action possible. For years, the Shanti Mohila (Peace Women), a group of over 400 Rohingya women living in the refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh, have defied societal expectations and conservative gender norms. They are leaders in their community fighting for recognition and justice for the harms endured at the hands of the Myanmar military. They play a vital role as leaders, educators, and advocates for justice. RELATED STORIES Rohingya women say sexual violence, killings forced them out of Myanmar Rohingya at risk of being forgotten, activists say INTERVIEW: Why an Argentine court filed a warrant for Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrest The 2017 “clearance operations” by the Myanmar military against the historically persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority living in the Rakhine state were a series of widespread and systematic attacks involving mass killings, torture, and destruction of houses that led to the largest forced displacement of the Rohingya community from Myanmar into neighboring Bangladesh. Sexual violence was a hallmark of these “clearance operations,” with young women and girls disproportionately affected by brutal and inhuman acts of sexual and gender-based violence. Yet, despite efforts to destroy them through long-term serious physical and mental harm, Rohingya women fought back. Rohingya refugee women hold placards as they take part in a protest at the Kutupalong refugee camp to mark the first year of their exodus in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Aug. 25, 2018.(Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters) Sexual violence against Rohingya women and young mothers in front of their families, and the accompanying sexual mutilations and forced pregnancies, are some of the most significant reflections of the perpetrators’ desire to inflict severe social and reproductive harm on the community. The SGBV was not only a part of the campaign of mass killings, torture and destruction of property in 2017 but also committed in the context of decades-long propagated narrative that uncontrolled Rohingya birth rate is a threat to the survival of the nation, and state policies that placed significant legal restraint on Rohingya reproductive rights. In a 2023 study on long-term impact of sexual and gender-based violence against the Rohingya men, women, and hijra conducted by the Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), clinical analysis by psychologists and medical doctors revealed that the SGBV against Rohingya had resulted in: permanent damage to survivors’ genitalia impacting their ability to procreate; severe psychological injuries that have left them in a state of extreme emotional distress; damaged the survivors’ family relations including with their spouse and children; severe ostracization of the women and children born of rape; and forced reorganization of the Rohingya households. The evidence of SGBV is critical in that its commission and its enduring and foreseeable impact on survivors clearly shows that the Myanmar military inflicted serious mental and bodily harm and imposed measures intending to prevent births within the community. It also reflects a deliberate incremental step in causing the biological or physical destruction of the group while inflicting acute suffering on its members in the process. Leaders within the Shanti Mohila network have been instrumental in supporting the conceptualization and implementation of studies such as the 2023 report – making them truly the grassroots advocates for the community. Towards holistic justice and healing Alongside these important contributions, the Shanti Mohila members continuously work within the camps in Cox’s Bazar to ensure awareness of the ongoing justice processes and provide peer support to one another and the wider community. Last year, LAW and Shanti Mohila engaged with Rohingya activists around the globe through LAW’s Rohingya Diaspora Dialogue initiative to foster wider recognition and advocacy for the significant work being done by the Rohingya women in Cox’s Bazar on gender equality and to hold the perpetrators of serious crimes responsible. These actions embody Shanti Mohila’s commitment and openness to learning. They are dedicated to remaining bold and effective advocates for their community and being against the illegitimate military regime that continues to commit atrocities against civilians across Myanmar. Shanti Mohila members stand in an embrace in a gesture of support and solidarity, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in 2022.(Ayesha Nawshin/Legal Action Worldwide) The challenges remain plenty since the renewed conflict between Arakan Army and Myanmar military in late 2023 has led to upward of 60,000 Rohingya arriving in Cox’s Bazar in a new wave of forced displacement, joining over 1 million Rohingya refugees already living in the camps. The evolving conflict dynamics in the Rakhine state and its impact on the Rohingya there add to the tensions in the camps. The risk of another surge in the forced recruitment of the Rohingya in the camps by organized groups pressuring youths to join the civil war in Myanmar persists. Amid this, the work and growth of Shanti Mohila can prove to be a stabilizing force, beyond their contributions to women empowerment and the justice process. They can provide an avenue to offset the negative impacts of the deteriorating regional security situation through promoting efforts toward reconciliation and encouraging people to keep the rule of law and justice at the center of their struggle. On this International Women’s Day, we celebrate the groundbreaking work of Shanti Mohila and the power and legacy they are creating for generations of Rohingya women, their community as a whole, and women across fragile and conflict-affected contexts worldwide. Ishita Kumar, based in Cox’s Bazar, is the legal and program adviser on the Rohingya crisis for Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), an independent, non-profit organization of human rights lawyers and jurists working in fragile and…

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Exclusive: World’s ‘largest online black market’ loses banking license

Editor09 mins

Huione Pay, the banking arm of what’s been called the world’s “largest ever illicit online marketplace,” has been stripped of its banking license, the National Bank of Cambodia confirmed to RFA this week. The company is part of the wider Huione Group of Cambodia, a conglomerate which operates several “Huione” products, including marketplaces, banking and finance apps. One of these, a Telegram marketplace, has been identified as a notorious place for crime tied to up to $24 billion in illicit transactions. Huione Pay’s license was withdrawn owing to its noncompliance with “existing regulations and recommendations that may have been made by the regulators,” a National Bank of Cambodia spokesperson told RFA by email on Thursday. The spokesperson did not say when the license was withdrawn or what repercussions the company might face if they continue to operate. Huione did not respond to RFA’s requests for comment before publication. It has previously denied criminal activity– when Huione was identified by the cryptocurrency compliance firm Elliptic to have facilitated millions of dollars in criminal payments, it issued a statement insisting that it was a mere “information publishing and guarantee trading platform” bearing no responsibility for the goods and services others used it to trade. RELATED STORIES World’s ‘largest illicit online marketplace’ is just a download away Report: Online cybercriminal marketplace is part of Cambodian conglomerate Hun To went after the press; who really won? A March 6, 2025 post to the official Telegram channel of Huione Pay offering loans to customers in both dollars and cryptocurrencies.(RFA) However, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC, Huione’s Telegram marketplace has become one of the main arteries of illicit commerce in Southeast Asia, a region grappling with an epidemic of human trafficking and internet fraud. The UNODC’s regional representative, Benedikt Hofmann, welcomed the termination of Huione Pay’s license. The withdrawal “will send an important signal, especially given the high profile of Huione and its outsize role for the region’s criminal ecosystem,” he told RFA. Hofmann cautioned, however, that this latest development would not be a cure-all for the region’s crime epidemic – nor would it necessarily mean the end of Huione. “Huione is in many ways the tip of the iceberg and we will see users shifting to other, similar providers which have emerged in the region,” he added. Much of the money that was being moved through Huione Pay came from illicit activities linked to cyberscamming, the UNODC found. For more than half a decade the region in which Huione operates has been dotted with compounds housing what the U.N. says are hundreds of thousands of enslaved workers forced to perpetrate a type of cyberscam commonly known as “pig butchering”. The practice is estimated to swindle billions of dollars from its victims around the world every year. Elliptic, the cryptocurrency compliance firm, traced billions of dollars flowing from Huione Guarantee, the Telegram marketplace, to Huione Pay. This was “likely so that these criminally-derived funds could be cashed out,” firm founder Tom Robinson told RFA. “I think this will be a blow to Huione Guarantee,” Robinson added. “We have direct evidence of Huione Pay laundering money from scam victims around the world, including the elderly and vulnerable. They are willing facilitators of pig butchering and other fraud, so any regulatory action against them should be welcomed.” The loss of Huione Pay’s license, which has not been previously reported, does not seem to have curtailed the company’s activities, however. As recently as Thursday the company’s official Telegram channel, linked to on its website, was offering loans to customers. A post on February 27th promoted the launch of a Huione-branded Visa card. Visa did not respond to requests for comment by press time. News of Huione Pay’s license being withdrawn was greeted as overdue by a former employee who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. They told RFA it was openly acknowledged within the company that there were two sets of accounts maintained. “They cook the books,” the former employee said. While the company handled billions of dollars, “close to none” of those transactions were made available to the compliance department, which was relegated to the role of advisors, “ whose advice were never taken seriously,” the former employee said. One of Huione Pay’s three directors is Hun To, a cousin of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. Official censure of a company so close to the inner circle of Cambodia’s ruling family is unusual. But Jacob Sims, an expert on transnational crime at the United States Institute of Peace, told RFA that the withdrawal of Huione’s banking license should not be read as a herald of reform. “It all ultimately amounts to a brand switch,” Sims said. “It’s basically an easy thing for the regime to point to and say, ‘Look, we’re cracking down on this’ without doing really anything but consolidating Huione’s available brands.” For Sims, there’s one way the Cambodian government could show it was serious about cracking down on the crime wave Huione has been surfing: “Arrest all the people involved in Huione.” Edited by Abby Seiff and Boer Deng We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar sends first workers to Russia; junta chief to Belarus

Editor06 mins

Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese. Myanmar has sent workers to Russia for the first time with 24 skilled construction employees setting off on Wednesday, Myanmar’s military government said, after the junta leader met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, flew to Moscow on Monday for his first official visit with Putin. Russian media broadcast video of the two hugging as they met. The Myanmar military chief, on his fourth visit to Russia since he ousted a civilian government in a coup in 2021, thanked Putin for delivering six fighter jets to the junta, which has been embroiled in a civil war. Putin thanked the Myanmar leader for giving Russia six elephants last year, media reported. In talks on Tuesday, Myanmar’s military junta predicted Russia’s eventual victory over Ukraine in the three year-long war. The military’s Ministry of Information said in a statement that the first 24 workers had left for Russia under a memorandum of understanding that was still being worked out. “Both countries are looking forward to their friendship and to sending the workers,” the ministry said. The ministry did not say how many workers might follow the first batch of 24 or which industries they might be employed in. A Myanmar employment official said in December the military government was preparing to send workers to Russia at its request, to help make up for a shortage of foreign workers in agriculture and manufacturing amid its war with Ukraine. Charles Myo Thant, chairman of the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Association, said they would take up jobs in agriculture, livestock, construction and factories, and they will need to learn Russian. Myanmar has for years sent workers abroad to places like Thailand and Singapore under government agreements. Many Myanmar people have also moved abroad to look for work, especially since the 2021 coup, which seriously undermined the economy. But junta authorities have recently placed restrictions on people going abroad for work as it seeks to fill the ranks of its armed forces through conscription. People of military age have been banned from applying for work abroad through employment agencies, and those allowed to leave for work have been told they may be ordered back to serve in the military. A labor activist based in the city of Yangon questioned the Russian agreement. “We can’t go to other countries, so why can we go to Russia?” said the activist, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. He also wondered what type of work they would be doing, saying hard labor or with no opportunities for training would not be popular. RELATED STORIES No limits to the lawlessness of Myanmar’s predatory military regime Trump extends ‘national emergency’ declaration for Myanmar Junta forces, Russian navy train together off western Myanmar coast Myanmar junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, with Russia’s President of Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow March 4, 2025.(Myanmar Defense Services) Russia has been a steady supplier of weapons to the Myanmar military and its media reported that Min Aung Hlaing had also discussed cooperation in “all areas of the defense sector” in talks with Russian defense officials. The junta chief traveled from Moscow to the city of St. Petersburg and on Friday he was due to travel to Belarus at the invitation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, the Myanmar military said. Political analyst Than Soe Naing said the focus of Min Aung Hlaing’s trip appeared to be ensuring security “under the umbrella of Russia’s empire.” “Going to Belarus is laying a foundation for security,” he said. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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