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Category: ASEAN

Rohingya refugees drown fleeing Myanmar’s war as concerns mount

Editor08 mins

Twenty-six members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority drowned when their boat capsized as they were trying to flee to Bangladesh, witnesses said, an accident likely to compound fears that the largely Muslim community is facing a new round of genocide. Rohingya living in Rakhine state in western Myanmar have been caught in crossfire between ethnic minority insurgents fighting for self-determination against Myanmar’s military, with both sides accused of killing them. Some analysts have warned that the latest attacks are worse than those inflicted on the community in 2017, when a Myanmar military crackdown against Rohingya militants triggered an exodus of some 700,000 people to Bangladesh. As then, Rohingya are again fleeing the violence to Bangladesh, many crossing a border river in small boats. On Monday, a crowded boat crossing the Naf River to Bangladesh sank killing 26 of those onboard, witnesses said, the latest in a spate of deadly accidents on the river. “There were 30 people on the boat including 18 children. Only four survived. The rest died,” said one of the witnesses who declined to be identified because of security fears. Rescue workers searching for bodies had found seven victims, including four children and a pregnant woman, he added. Aung Kyaw Moe, deputy minister of human rights for Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, said the boat was heading to Bangladesh because of intense fighting in Maungdaw township on the border between junta troops and the Arakan Army, or AA, insurgent group. “They fled for their lives. They were worried about where the heavy artillery would fall,” he said. “The Naf River is dangerous because of the ebb and flow of the tide. They had to risk their lives.” Aung Kyaw Moe said the situation in Rakhine state was confusing because some areas were controlled by junta forces while others were in the hands of the AA, with tens of thousands of Rohingya caught up in the conflict. The AA draws its support from the largely Buddhist ethnic Rakhine community, the majority in the state. The rebels are fighting Myanmar’s military for greater autonomy, in alliance with ethnic minority forces from other areas and democracy activists who took up arms after the army overthrew an elected government in 2021. Both sides have been accused of killing Rohingya, with AA fighters blamed for attacking people believed to be supporting junta forces. On Aug. 5, dozens of Rohingya people were killed by fire from heavy weapons as they waited for boats to cross to Bangladesh, survivors told Radio Free Asia. Some survivors said the AA was responsible though the insurgents denied that. RELATED STORIES Arakan Army seizes key town in southern Myanmar Attacks against Rohingyas ‘now worse than 2017 Rebels evacuate 13,000 Rohingyas amid battle for Myanmar’s Maungdaw Torched homes On Aug. 12, Human Rights Watch said both the junta and the AA had committed extrajudicial killings and widespread arson against Rohingya, Rakhine and other civilians in Rakhine state. “Ethnic Rohingya and Rakhine civilians are bearing the brunt of the atrocities that the Myanmar military and opposition Arakan Army are committing,” said the group’s Asia director Elaine Pearson. “Both sides are using hate speech, attacks on civilians, and massive arson to drive people from their homes and villages, raising the specter of ethnic cleansing.” The recent attacks on Rohingya were “worse than in 2017” and represents a “second wave of genocide”, two experts told a press briefing in the United States this month. There were about 60,000 displaced people in Rakhine state before the latest round of fighting resumed late last year but now there are more than 500,000, aid groups there say. Echoing growing concerns about the Rohingya, the U.K.-based Burma Human Rights Network, or BHRN, called on Wednesday for the international community to protect Rohingya, particularly those in Maungdaw. It cited witnesses as saying many Rohingya had been killed in boat accidents or from bombs on the banks of the Naf River. The group cited witnesses as saying AA fighters had torched Rohingya homes in Maungdaw.  “These problems started when the junta forcibly recruited Rohingya for military service,” Kyaw Win, director of Burma Human Rights Network, told RFA. “If there are violations by AA troops on the ground, the AA needs to be exposed and action needs to be taken.” The AA, in an Aug. 18 statement, accused “Muslim armed forces” of setting fire to homes and it warned that rights activists making accusations could affect harmony between ethnic groups. The AA said it had evacuated nearly 20,000 people, including Rohingya, from embattled Maungdaw town and would move more to safety. Kyaw Win said forces opposed to the junta throughout the country, including the National Unity Government and other insurgent groups, had been reluctant to criticize the AA, their anti-junta ally.  But he said the international community should investigate the AA’s actions and take measures, including sanctions, if necessary. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Myanmar rebels capture last junta base in township on China border

Editor06 mins

One of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent armies has taken full control of a strategically important township in Kachin state on the border with China, its information officer told Radio Free Asia. The Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, together with People’s Defense Forces loyal to the shadow National Unity Government, defeated junta forces to capture their last remaining battalion base in Momauk township in northern Myanmar on Monday, Col. Naw Bu said. “We were able to completely seize Infantry Battalion 437,” he said. “The military council launched airstrikes but now we can say we have taken control of the whole of Momauk township.” There were casualties on both sides, Naw Bu said, but he declined to give details. RFA telephoned the junta’s Kachin state spokesman and social affairs minister Moe Min Thei to ask about Momauk but he did not answer. The KIA, fighting for self-determination against the forces of the junta that toppled a democratically elected government in 2021, launched an initial attack on Momauk on May 7, then began their final push, along with their allies, on July 24. Momauk is about 130 kilometers (870 miles) south of the Kachin state capital of Myitkyina, and only about 14 kilometers (9 miles) east of the town of Bhamo where the junta’s Operations and Command Headquarters 21 is based,  Naw Bu said. Junta forces had withdrawn towards Bhamo, which is on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, he said. The KIA and its allies have captured more than 20 junta camps in the township since late July and about 200 junta camps in the whole of Kachin state since the beginning of the year, he said. RELATED STORIES China fires into Myanmar after junta airstrike on border, group says Fighting flares near state capital in north Myanmar Northern Myanmar residents caught up in fighting, dozens hurt Residents flee fighting Junta airstrikes, artillery attacks and arson led to the destruction of more than 100 homes in Momauk and more than 3,000 people had fled, many to the safety of areas under KIA control, residents said. One displaced resident sheltering near the Chinese border said he was afraid of more fighting. “The town is being cleared up but I haven’t gone back,” said the man, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons.  “I would like to check my home if I could but I’m still worried that there will be more fighting,” he said, referring to Bhamo and Mansi towns where junta forces are based. “There are so many difficulties when we flee and shelter with relatives”. The KIA is one of several insurgent forces to make significant gains against junta forces since late last year. An alliance of three rebel factions has pushed junta forces out of major towns in Shan state, to the southeast of Kachin state, while the military has lost ground to ethnic minority insurgents in Rakhine state in the west, and in Kayah and Kayin states in the east, as well as in parts of the deep south. The junta has responded with airstrikes including on the KIA headquarters at Lai Zar on Aug. 15. That attack unsettled neighboring China, which fired warning shots at junta jets, according to the KIA. The United Nations says about 3 million people have been forced from their homes by the fighting in Myanmar, many since clashes surged at the beginning of the year.  Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Photos: Myanmar motorists queue for hours as fuel shortages persist

Editor03 mins

Residents in northern Myanmar’s Mandalay city and Taunggyi city in Shan state have been queuing all day and – in some instances – overnight to keep their spot in line for the limited amount of gasoline being sold.  Citizen photos provided to RFA show hundreds of motorists in Taunggyi on Aug. 18, queuing to purchase fuel.  A Taunggyi resident told RFA that when gasoline sells out for the day, they have to line up in front of the stores a day in advance to get the fuel that won’t be sold until the next day.  “As soon as the gas distribution quota for the day runs out, people must queue for the next day’s distribution, leading to a full day’s wait,” the resident said.   “Without queuing, getting fuel is quite difficult. Additionally, with more people moving to Taunggyi from other areas, the number of motorcycles and cars in the city has increased.” Similarly, in Mandalay, locals say that they have to wait in line overnight because there isn’t enough fuel for cars. Last week, RFA reported that petrol stations in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were closed because of a severe shortage that has forced gasoline suppliers to ration fuel. It’s the latest evidence of an economy struggling with a multitude of problems since the military overthrew an elected government in 2021.  The root of the shortage appeared to be the plummeting value of the kyat currency, and the junta’s efforts to rein in the inflation that the weak kyat is causing, along with the economic disruption stemming from the conflict that has swept the country since the military takeover.  However, the Myanmar junta’s Fuel Import, Storage and Distribution Supervisory Committee stated through junta media outlets on Aug. 14 that there is no fuel shortage. Waiting for hours, motorists queue for fuel in Taunggyi city, Shan State, Myanmar on Aug. 18, 2024. (Citizen Photo) Motorists queue to buy gasoline in Taunggyi city, Shan State, Myanmar on Aug. 18, 2024. (Citizen Photo) Hundreds of motorists wait to purchase gasoline in Taunggyi city, Shan State, Myanmar on Aug. 18, 2024. (Citizen Photo)

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South Korea jails scam group leader for 8 years over Laos, Myanmar operation

Editor06 mins

A South Korean court sentenced the head of an online scam group that operated in Laos and Myanmar to eight years in prison for luring South Koreans with a false promise of “making big money” and forcing them to commit fraudulent crimes. Nearly 60 victims lost more than 23 billion won (US$17 million) between May and October last year after the scam group imprisoned victims in offices set up in special economic zones in Laos and Myanmar to commit fraudulent crimes, the Daegu District Court revealed.  The court also sentenced a senior officer and a recruiter of the group to four years in prison each. Ten other group members, including a “consultant,” were jailed for up to to three years. Online gambling and scam centers that have proliferated in Southeast Asia in recent years. University of Texas researchers estimated in a March report that scammers had tricked investors out of more than US$75 billion since January 2020.  The South Korean scam group targeted financially struggling individuals by presenting them with falsified data, convincing them that there were promising investment opportunities in Laos and Myanmar, the court added.  “The victims are complaining of extreme economic and mental suffering as a result of the crime and are pleading for severe punishment for the defendants,” the court said, explaining the reason for the sentences. Lured by offers for jobs such as Korean language interpretation and cryptocurrency sales, South Korean job seekers are forced into illegal activities such as voice phishing, investment scams, romance scams, and sex trafficking, according to South Korea’s foreign ministry.  Employers compound the abuse by confiscating passports for “visa processing,” and then demanding payment for travel and living expenses. Victims can be detained and assaulted. Given the increase in criminal activities targeting South Koreans, the ministry in January imposed a travel ban, known as a level 4 alert, for the Lao Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone from Feb. 1. As of Monday, the ban was in place. South Koreans must obtain a special government permit if they wish to stay in areas under a level 4 alert, the highest of a government travel warning system. Those who remain in a country without permission face criminal penalties under the passport law. In November last year, South Korea announced that 19 citizens had been rescued by Myanmar police after being held by an  illegal business in a town in eastern Myanmar on the Thai border.. RELATED NEWS Laos orders Golden Triangle scammers out of zone by end of month Laos concerned over scam ring influx amid China’s Myanmar crackdown Myanmar police rescue 19 South Korean captives Southeast Asia’s scam centers are increasingly raising concern around the world and governments in the region are being pressed to take action against them. Authorities in  Laos recently gave illegal call centers operating in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone until the end of the month to clear out or face police action.  Following an Aug. 9 meeting between the governor of Bokeo province, high-ranking officials from the Lao Ministry of Public Security, and Zhao Wei, the chairman of the Golden Triangle SEZ, Lao authorities ordered all scam centers to be “completely shut down by Aug. 25,” according to state media reports and an official from the public security ministry. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, told RFA Lao on Monday that the centers were given the opportunity to “remove all of their belongings by the deadline.” “After that, we’ll set up a special force to enforce the order,” he said. Edited by RFA Staff. 

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China fires into Myanmar after junta airstrike on border, group says

Editor07 mins

China opened fire across the border into Myanmar apparently as a warning to Myanmar military aircraft that attacked an ethnic minority insurgent base, an insurgent force spokesman and residents told Radio Free Asia. Myanmar junta forces attacked the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, at Lai Zar, close to Myanmar’s northern border with China on Thursday after Kachin fighters captured two junta force positions in Hpakant township earlier in the day. Chinese forces on their side of the border then opend fire across the border, said Col. Naw Bu, a KIA Information Officer. “We assume the Chinese fired shots because of their security concerns,” Naw Bu said. “I don’t know what they fired but the sound was quite loud. There were explosions in the sky. They fired more than 10 times from the Chinese side. They weren’t firing flares.” Naw Bu did not say whether the earlier junta airstrikes on the KIA headquarters caused any casualties or damage. The Chinese embassy in Myanmar did not respond to a request from Radio Free Asia for comment on the incident. The junta’s spokesman for Kachin state, Moe Min Thein, did not answer telephone calls seeking comment. The KIA, one of Myanmar’s most powerful insurgent groups, has made significant gains against junta forces this year, as have allied rebel groups in other parts of Myanmar. The KIA and its allies have captured more than 200 junta camps in Kachin state since the beginning of the year, Naw Bu said. China has been alarmed by the fighting on its border, in Myanmar’s Kachin state and Shan state in northeast Myanmar, and the threat the turmoil poses to its economic interests in Myanmar, which include energy pipelines, ports and natural resources. China maintains close relations with the junta but also has links with ethnic minority forces, especially those that operate along its border. China has repeatedly called for Myanmar’s rivals to settle their differences through dialogue and even managed to broker two short-lived ceasefires in Shan state this year.   RELATED STORIES China top diplomat meets Myanmar leader, junta denies coup rumors Northern Myanmar cut off by state-wide communications blackout China’s frustration with the Myanmar junta’s incompetence is mounting China hopes for stability A Lai Zar resident who did not want to be identified for safety reasons said Chinese planes had also been in the sky on Thursday, after the junta planes bombed the Kachin rebel base. “I don’t know which side of the border the bombs fell. It was a bit far from Lai Zar,” the resident said of the junta attack that triggered the Chinese response. “There were also Chinese planes and the Chinese side fired more than 10 warning shots,” the resident said. Earlier on Thursday, the KIA seized control of La Mawng Kone, a strategic hill held by junta troops, along with a military camp in Taw Hmaw village, both in Hpakant,  Naw Bu said. Hpakant is famous for its jade mines, and since the beginning of the year Kachin fighters have been closing in on the town and the junta forces stationed there. The Chinese fire into Myanmar came a day after its foreign minister, Wang Yi, was in Myanmar for talks with junta leaders. Wang raised China’s concerns with junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing at a meeting in the capital Naypyidaw, according to China’s foreign ministry. “Wang Yi expressed his hope that Myanmar will earnestly safeguard the safety of Chinese personnel and projects in Myanmar, maintain peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border, step up joint efforts to crack down on cross-border crimes and create a safe environment for bilateral exchanges and cooperation,” the ministry said. Analysts say China is also keen to limit the influence of Western countries and India in Myanmar and is becoming increasingly frustrated with Min Aung Hlaing and the junta’s failure to end the conflict. It is pressing for an “all-inclusive” election as a way to resolve the crisis, they say.  Wang also had talks this week with a former Myanmar military leader, Than Shwe, who called on China to help Myanmar restore stability, the Chinese ministry said.  Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Myanmar’s rivals compete to win over young hearts and minds

Editor05 mins

Both sides in Myanmar’s civil war are trying to win over young people, offering opportunities in education to the third of the population who have faced disruption and disappointment since a 2021 military coup triggered bloody turmoil. Myanmar society, strictly regimented over decades of military rule, went through an unprecedented opening up from 2011, with young people, especially in towns and cities, plugging into the world via social media as civilian politicians looked to a more prosperous, stable future. But the coup shattered those hopes and young people were at the forefront of nationwide protests against the military takeover that the army crushed. Now the junta, struggling with an economy in crisis, is trying to win back the disaffected youth, promising eight new universities across the country to “nurture science and technological human resources,” state-run media reported this week. “It is necessary to organize youths to play a crucial role in digital transformation and meeting the sustainable development goals,” the junta leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, told an event marking International Youth Day on Aug. 12. Myanmar possesses “a massive workable force of youths” who make up 33% of the population, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported Min Aung Hlaing as saying. The new polytechnic universities, to open through 2024 and 2025, would encourage research, “beefing up science, technology and innovation,” as well as “nurturing science and technological human resources,” the newspaper added. University students across the country boycotted classes after the coup as part of their protest against military rule. The junta later reopened at least 250 universities and training colleges but those institutions had lost 90% of their students by early this year, according to statistics from the junta’s education department. With their dreams shattered, and a military regime looking to draft young people into its embattled army, many young people have left the country to places like Thailand, hoping to find work or continue their education. The junta has responded to the exodus with travel restrictions, preventing young people from leaving by air and creating new bureaucratic hurdles for prospective overseas workers and students.   ‘Nourish the skills’ Myanmar’s civilian shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, which opposes the junta, says it sees education as key to ending military rule once and for all and fulfilling the dream of a democratic Myanmar. The NUG said on Wednesday it had opened 21 online and in-person universities, in addition to an existing 16 educational institutions it already supported, attracting more than 20,000 students. “The purpose of vocational education is to contribute to the future federal, democratic Myanmar where we would work to nourish the skills of the public,” the NUG’s deputy minister of education, Sai Khaing Myo Tun, told an online press conference.  Colleges have been opened in areas under the control of anti-junta insurgent forces, offering degrees in the social sciences, political science, teacher education, arts and sciences degrees, he said. “Educational access for many students has been improved.” Editing by Taejun Kang

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China top diplomat meets Myanmar leader, junta denies coup rumors

Editor013 mins

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Myanmar ruler Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday and highlighted Beijing’s continued support for the military regime, even as the junta had to dispel rumors of a coup. Pro-junta media reported that the two men held a closed-door meeting in the capital Naypyidaw during which Wang expressed China’s hope for Myanmar’s stability and development, expressed appreciation for Myanmar’s continued endorsement of China’s claim to sovereignty over the democratic island of Taiwan, and pledged China’s steadfast support in international forums. The meeting came amid calls from junta supporters for the removal of Min Aung Hlaing over his failure to eliminate the armed opposition and rumors circulating on social media that he had been deposed by a fellow general, which the military regime’s True News Information Team denied. During Wednesday’s talks, Wang emphasized the need for all stakeholders to be represented in an election that the junta has promised for next year, but which critics say will be an illegitimate sham. Wang also offered China’s assistance with election-related matters and technical support for a census in preparation for the vote, media reports said. Myanmar’s military ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in early 2021, jailing her and hundreds of party colleagues and supporters, dissolving her party and banning other parties. The coup touched off a nationwide civil war as the junta sought to cement its control, pitting it against various paramilitary groups and ethnic armies on multiple fronts in the country’s remote border regions. The junta has promised to hold elections but critics say a vote would be meaningless with Suu Kyi and so many pro-democracy politicians and activists behind bars. At Wednesday’s meeting, Wang expressed Beijing’s opposition to attacks by ethnic armed groups on towns and villages in northern Shan state, which borders China. Junta officials responded by saying that Myanmar would not permit any actions that could harm China’s interests and is placing special attention on China’s stability, development and security, reports said. Beijing has not released any information regarding the meeting or discussions with the junta and details of Wang’s statement were not carried by pro-junta media. ‘Push for broad dialogue’ Speaking to RFA Burmese, Kyaw Zaw, the spokesperson for the presidential office of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, suggested that “China’s statements were misrepresented by the junta” to align with its interests and stabilize the border region. “The Chinese Embassy has also issued a statement [ahead of the meeting],” he said. “Their primary concern seems to be the border areas of Shan state and aiming to halt the fighting in Myanmar – particularly due to fears about the impact on their own border regions.” Attempts by RFA to contact junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for his response to the NUG’s claims went unanswered Wednesday. In this Kokang online media provided photo, fighters of Three Brotherhood Alliance check an artillery gun, claimed to have been seized from Myanmar junta outpost on a hill in Hsenwi township, Shan state on Nov. 24, 2023. (The Kokang online media via AP) Hla Kyaw Zaw, an expert on China-Myanmar affairs, said that Wang met with Min Aung Hlaing as part of a bid by the Chinese government to “maintain a positive relationship” with the junta. “The situation [in northern Shan state] won’t be resolved by a ceasefire alone,” he said. “There is a push for a broad dialogue that includes all stakeholders involved in the Myanmar issue to find a comprehensive solution. But the junta appears to be displeased with this approach.” RFA sources in Naypyidaw said that Wang Yi’s visit to Myanmar was also scheduled to include meetings with retired Senior Gen. Than Shwe and former President Thein Sein, who led Myanmar’s quasi-civilian government prior to the November 2020 elections that brought Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party to power. Wang Yi’s meeting with Min Aung Hlaing follows talks he held in June with Myanmar’s former President Thein Sein at the State Guesthouse in Beijing. The Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Myanmar is his second since the military coup, following one in June 2022. Rumors of coup The talks in Naypyidaw came amid rumors swirling on social media that Min Aung Hlaing had been detained as part of an internal coup orchestrated by a military adjutant general on Tuesday evening. The claims, which originated from a social media account called “Captain Seagull,” were quickly dismissed by the junta’s True News Information Team as “baseless rumors spread by fake accounts aimed at destabilizing the country.” The information team also said that military officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, were continuing to perform their duties as usual. RELATED STORIES Myanmar rebels claim capture of town on road to China Resistance forces take control of two Chinese-backed joint ventures in Myanmar Top Myanmar army officers seized by insurgents in Shan state, junta says Myanmar rebel group vows to protect China’s interests A former military officer, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, told RFA that the disinformation is part of a broader effort to create social and political instability in Myanmar. “The notion of a military disintegration due to an internal coup is creating false hope among the public,” he said. “In reality, the political situation remains stagnant. The military, having been built up over decades, cannot be expected to collapse in just three years.” The rumors come amid frustration from junta supporters over Min Aung Hlaing’s handling of the conflict, which has seen the armed opposition make substantial gains in recent months. Market shelled Myanmar’s military has increasingly turned to airstrikes and artillery fire as its troops suffer battlefield defeats, often with deadly results for the country’s civilian population. During busy hours on Tuesday, at least 11 civilians were killed and 10 others injured when junta troops in Sagaing region’s Monywa township fired a 60-millimeter rocket that landed in a market in Hta Naung Taw village, residents told RFA. Those killed in the attack included eight…

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Relatives urge prison officials to move environmental activists to capital

Editor06 mins

Lawyers and family members of five imprisoned environmental activists said the activists are still being held at separate remote prisons, making it time-consuming and costly to visit them. The mother of Phoun Keo Raksmey told Radio Free Asia that she visited her daughter at Pursat Provincial Prison on Aug. 9 and found her to be much thinner compared to a month ago. She complained of cramped and isolated living conditions, no electricity and bad food. “It is difficult to eat there and everything is much more expensive,” said Raksmey’s mother, Kong Manit, who said it costs her between US$100 and US$200 to travel to Pursat.  Several relatives told RFA they have been working with lawyers to submit transfer requests in writing to have the five activists from the Mother Nature group moved on humanitarian grounds to Prey Sar Prison in Phnom Penh. Such a move would make it easier to meet with the lawyer who is defending the activists and is organizing their appeal.  “They are far away, and we need to meet them one by one,” the lawyer, Sam Chamroeun, told RFA.  Ten Cambodian environmental activists receive prison sentences of six to eight years each, July 2, 2024, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP) A Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge sentenced a total of 10 activists in the case to between six and eight years in prison after they were convicted on July 2 for conspiring against the state. Five of the 10 defendants are either in hiding or live outside of the country and were tried in absentia, including the Khmer-speaking founder of the Mother Nature group, Spanish environmentalist Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, who was deported from Cambodia in 2015. Intended to demoralize The other five were immediately transported from Phnom Penh to different prisons – some of them in remote provinces. Raksmey is imprisoned at the foot of the Cardamom Mountains in Pursat, which is about 220 km (136 miles) from Phnom Penh. Long Kunthea is being held in northern Preah Vihear province near the Thai border. Thon Ratha is at Trapeang Thlong Prison in Tbong Khmum province near Vietnam.  Ly Chandaravuth is imprisoned in Kandal Provincial Prison in Takhmau, just a few kilometers south of Phnom Penh, while Yim Leang Hy is being held in Kampong Speu Provincial Prison, about 52 km (32 miles) west of the capital. Hong Srey Mao, the wife of Yim Leang Hy, said she just delivered their second child and hasn’t been able to visit her husband. Their 5-year-old often asks about his father’s whereabouts. “I am sad and lack harmony because the government arrested my husband unjustly,” she said.   The government has sent other high-profile prisoners to remote locations, including Cambodian-American lawyer Theary Seng, who was convicted of treason in 2022 in another case that was criticized as politically motivated. She was held at first at Preah Vihear Prison before her eventual transfer to Prey Sar. RELATED STORIES Cambodian prison officials stop family from visiting environmental activists Why environmental activism survives Cambodia’s destruction of civil society 10 Cambodian environmental activists sentenced to prison Prosecutors play videos of environmental activists at Cambodian trial Sending the five activists to different prisons was intended to demoralize them and their families, said Ny Sokha, the president of human rights group Adhoc. The charges against the environmental activists – first filed in 2021 – were also widely condemned as politically motivated. The case stemmed from several instances of activism, including the 2021 filming of sewage draining into the Tonle Sap River in front of Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace.  Three of the 10 were also convicted of insulting King Norodom Sihamoni.  The activists can submit a transfer request to the Ministry of Interior, according to prisons spokesman Nuth Savana. In the meantime, inspectors will be sent to Pursat to look into conditions at the prison there, he told RFA. Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed.

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Hun Sen warns of more arrests related to Vietnam-Laos cooperation deal

Editor05 mins

Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen on Monday again threatened to arrest anyone who tries to organize a demonstration in the country against an economic cooperation agreement with Vietnam and Laos that has been a subject of online debate over the last month. The 1999 agreement between the three countries was aimed at encouraging economic development and trade between Cambodia’s four northeastern provinces and neighboring provinces across the border. Last month, three activists were arrested on incitement charges after they spoke of concerns that the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Triangle Development Area, or CLV, could cause Cambodia to lose territory or control of some of its natural resources to Vietnam. The activists made the comments in an 11-minute Facebook video. An angry Hun Sen ordered the arrests and has spoken publicly about the CLV several times since then. On Monday, Hun Sen warned in a Facebook post of more arrests after overseas Cambodians set up a chat group on the Telegram app where plans for an Aug. 18 demonstration in Phnom Penh against the CLV were being discussed. The Telegram group was created following a weekend of protests against the CLV among overseas Cambodians living in South Korea, Japan, Canada and Australia. “My message to all brothers and sisters in this group, I listened to your conversation in the group long enough,” he said. “You are being incited by overseas people.” ‘Try it’ Hun Sen said he has spies in the Telegram group who have sent conversations and names to his private account. He added that he wouldn’t order the arrests for anyone who left the group. “We cannot let a few people destroy the peace of 17 million people. Some have seen the events in Bangladesh and compared the events in Cambodia,” he said. “Try it. If you consider yourself a strong person, please try.” Hun Sen stepped down as prime minister last year but remains a powerful force in the country. His son, Hun Manet, succeeded him as prime minister.  Last week, Hun Manet warned Cambodians against protesting against the government, citing Bangladesh’s recent demonstrations in its capital that turned into deadly clashes and caused that country’s leader to resign. RELATED STORIES Cambodia’s prime minister warns against Bangladesh-like demonstrations Police arrest activists after Facebook video angers Cambodia’s Hun Sen Hun Manet has also tried to reassure Cambodians about the CLV, saying that the agreement won’t result in the loss of any territory. Soeung Senkaruna, the former spokesman for human rights group Adhoc, said Cambodians both inside and outside the country have the full right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Constitution and international law.  Using force to keep people from expressing their opinions shouldn’t happen in a country “that the government claims enjoys democracy and peace,” he said. Translated Sun Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed.

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Opponents of Myanmar junta skeptical on any Thai help for census, vote

Editor07 mins

Opponents of military rule in Myanmar have criticized the possibility that Thailand will help conduct a census in preparation for an election that the Myanmar junta has promised but which critics say will be an illegitimate sham. The possibility of Thai support for Myanmar’s Oct. 1-15 census and for an election next year was discussed by the Thai  ambassador, Mongkol Visitstump, and the head of Myanmar’s Election Commission, Ko Ko, and Immigration and Population Minister Myint Kyaing in Myanmar’s capital of Naypyidaw on Aug. 7, junta-backed media reported. Myanmar’s military ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in early 2021, jailing her and hundreds of party colleagues and supporters, dissolving her party and banning other parties.  The junta has promised to hold elections but critics say a vote would be meaningless with Suu Kyi and so many pro-democracy politicians and activists in jail. A spokesman for a civilian shadow government largely made up of politicians from Suu Kyi’s party told Radio Free Asia the international community, including Thailand, should focus on restoring human rights and stability, not supporting any “illegitimate” junta plan. “I would request the international community not to support and help this illegitimate Myanmar military junta against the will of the people,” said Kyaw Zaw, spokesperson for the Office of the President of the National Unity Government, or NUG. “This is a time for the international community to support Myanmar people and Myanmar people’s resistance against the fascist military and prepare for the post-military era,” he said.  Thailand’s embassy in Myanmar and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.  Thailand has been at the forefront of efforts to press Myanmar’s rivals into resolving their differences peacefully.  RELATED STORIES Myanmar junta orders its workers to pay it part of their Thai wages Thailand should end Myanmar junta’s control over migrants: NUG Thailand’s offer of aid to Myanmar gets mixed reaction It says that it is the country that shares the longest border with Myanmar, and which has for decades served as home for hundreds of thousands refugees fleeing conflict  in Myanmar, it has a particular interest in seeing stability restored. But despite the efforts of Thailand and its neighbors in the Association of South East Asian Nations, fighting has escalated as  junta forces face battlefield setbacks in several parts of the country. ‘Step up attacks’ Kyaw Zaw said the junta had no ability to conduct a “meaningful, useful census,” and that the international community should focus on other human rights and development efforts.  The junta has not set a date for an election but the earliest would be early next year. Under the constitution, an election must be held within six months of a state of emergency being lifted. A state of emergency in effect since the early 2021 coup was extended for another six months on Aug. 1.  The junta chief, Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, has said an election will be held in 2025 but acknowledged that voting in some places may not be possible in the absence of “peace and stability”. Insurgents control 73 towns across the country, according to data from the Myanmar Peace Monitor.  A political observer close to one of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic minority insurgent groups, the Arakan Army, dismissed the possibility of an effective census and election given the amount of territory the insurgents control, adding that attempts by the junta to organize a vote would likely only exacerbate the fighting. “It is very likely that [they] will step up attacks on the liberated areas, especially targeting the civilians as collective punishment,” said the political observer, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue. The Arakan Army controls nine townships in Rakhine state in western Myanmar as well as territory in neighboring Chin state. “Neighboring countries should speak out, that the SAC needs to stop attacks on civilians and initiate dialogue and only then can genuine elections come out of these,” he said, referring to the junta, which is officially known at the State Administration Council. Edited by Taejun Kang.

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