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Category: ASEAN

Dissident US monk faces terrorism charge in Myanmar

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. A Myanmar court has charged a dissident Buddhist monk, who is also a U.S. citizen, with terrorism, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison, as well as other charges used by the military to crush dissent, sources said on Friday. Pinnya Jawta, the 60-year-old abbot of a monastery in Buffalo, New York, returned to Myanmar in November on a religious visit. A former political prisoner, he took part in anti-military protests in 2007 known as the Saffron Revolution, and in earlier activism against military rule. Senior monks appointed by the authorities to oversee the Buddhist clergy had ordered him to disrobe, so he appeared in the Mingaladon court in Myanmar’s main city of Yangon in ordinary clothes on Thursday to hear the charges, a lawyer observing the case said. “Depending on the circumstances of the case, section 50-J is punishable by a minimum of 10 years up to a life sentence,” said the lawyer, referring to the most serious charge levelled, which is used against those suspected of funding, organizing or participating in terrorism or harboring terrorists. He was also charged under section 505-A of the Penal Code, which is an incitement charge used to punish anyone deemed to have encouraged members of the civil service or security forces to mutiny, said the lawyer, who declined to be identified in fear or reprisals by the authorities. It has been used against numerous opponents of military rule since the generals ousted an elected government in February 2021. The third charge was under section 66-D of the Communications Act, which covers defamation. Rights groups say the law is incompatible with international human rights law and standards and is used to limit freedom of speech. Since the monk did not have a lawyer, he was not able to defend himself at Thursday’s hearing, the lawyer said. The U.S. embassy in Myanmar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. RELATED STORIES Rubio as US top diplomat could be a win for Southeast Asian human rights International criminal court seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief Junta chief vows to complete Myanmar census by year-end — then hold elections Myanmar has been in turmoil since the long-ruling military ended a decade of reform in 2021 and ousted an elected government led by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi. She and hundreds of political colleagues and supporters have been locked up while democracy activists have taken up arms and joined ethnic minority insurgent groups battling the military. U.N. experts said on Monday the world must pay more attention to Myanmar’s civil war and work harder to deny the military junta access to the weapons it has used to carry out a reign of violent terror against its civilian population. Military intelligence officers arrested Pinnya Jawta in Yangon on Nov. 13. He was later transferred to the city’s infamous Insein Prison, sources close to him told RFA. “I know he’s being detained in a cell block at Insein, not a big one,” one of the sources said. “He’s around 60 and he’s also suffering from diabetes.” He entered the country on a religious visa issued by the Myanmar embassy in the United States, they said. The Yangon region’s junta spokesperson, Htay Aung, told RFA he did not know about the case. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar’s Arakan Army captures Ann town, focus now on army HQ

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Insurgents in Myanmar’s Rakhine state have captured the military’s last posts in Ann town and have turned their attention to a nearby army headquarters, residents said on Tuesday, another major step in the rebels’ aim to control the entire state. The Arakan Army, or AA, is fighting for self-determination in Myanmar’s western-most state and has made unprecedented progress over the past year, pushing forces loyal to the junta that seized power in 2021 into a few pockets of territory. Residents of Ann, which is 220 km (135 miles) west of the capital, Naypyidaw, said the AA had seized the junta’s last posts in the Myo Thit, Lay Yin Kwin, Aut Ywar and Ah Hta Ka neighborhoods by Saturday, taking complete control of the town. “The Arakan Army has captured the entire town except the Western Command headquarters,‘’ one resident told Radio Free Asia. “Junta forces from their battalion areas captured by AA have gone to gather at the headquarters and are defending there,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. The military had fired at the advancing insurgents, setting fires in some of the town’s neighborhoods but the extent of the damage was not known, said the resident, adding he had no information about casualties in the fighting. AA fighters were now trying to seize the military headquarters on the southern side of Ann, where the defenders were being supported by extensive airstrikes, residents said. “The junta is protecting the Western Command day and night with massive firing from the air,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. Only a few civilians had remained in Ann and the AA had taken them to safety so the town was now empty, the resident said. “There are people staying in the forest in shelters they’ve made waiting to go home if the situation improves,” the resident said. RFA tried to telephone AA spokesperson Khing Thukha, as well as military council spokesman Hla Thein to ask about the situation but neither of them answered phone calls. RELATED STORIES EXPLAINED: What is Myanmar’s Arakan Army? A year after offensive, rebels control most of Myanmar’s Rakhine state Myanmar rebels capture town on main road to Chinese-built port The AA, which largely draws its support from the state’s Buddhist majority, has made steady advances over the past year, from the state’s far north on the border with Bangladesh, through central areas to its far south, and it now controls about 80% of it. On Nov. 20, the insurgents captured the town of Toungup in the centre of the state, which is on a road hub including a link to the the Kyaukpyu economic zone on the coast, where China is funding a deep-sea port, and has energy facilities including natural gas and oil pipelines running to southern China. Residents said that AA was attacking the military’s Number 5 Operation Command headquarters, to the south of Toungup on the road to the town of Thandwe. In the far south of the state, fighting is getting closer to the junta-controlled town of Gwa township, residents there said. The AA has fully captured 10 of Rakhine state’s 17 townships as well as Paletwa township in neighboring Chin state. Edited by RFA Staff We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Kachin, Shan residents face hardships as China and Myanmar block trade

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Read a version of this story in Burmese. Closures along Myanmar’s shared border with China have cut off residents of Kachin and Shan states from humanitarian aid and sent the prices of goods skyrocketing, sources from the regions said Monday. Myanmar’s civil war in the aftermath of the military’s Feb. 1, 2021 coup d’etat prompted China to close all its border gates in Kachin state beginning on Oct. 19, and all border crossings in northern Shan state except for Muse township since July. Meanwhile, Myanmar’s junta has imposed restrictions on the transportation of goods to Kachin state from the country’s heartland, as the rebel Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, now controls all 11 of the state’s border gates with China, including the major trade checkpoints of Kan Paik Ti and Lwegel townships. In Shan state, the junta has also restricted the transportation of goods from Muse to areas of the state under the control of ethnic armed groups. The restrictions have left residents of the two border areas, and especially civilians displaced by fighting, feeling the squeeze, sources told RFA Burmese. A civilian sheltering in the Jay Yang camp for the displaced near Kachin’s Laiza township, where the KIA’s headquarters is located, said that between the border closures and junta restrictions on goods transported from the Kachin town of Bhamo and the state capital Myitkyina, “the situation has become dire.” “Residents are enduring severe hardships,” he said. “We are facing an uncertain and bleak future.” The displaced civilian said that the price of food items in Kachin state has risen dramatically, making it difficult for camp residents to afford basic necessities. RELATED STORIES Myanmar junta chief seeks China’s help on border stability Myanmar’s Kachin insurgents take control of their border with China Myanmar rebels seize major border gate near China Nearly all prices have doubled since the border closures, he said, with eggs at 1,000 kyats from 400; a viss (3.5 pounds) of pork at 50,000 kyats from 20,000; a viss of fish at 30,000 kyats from 15,000; a viss of chicken at 40,000 kyats from 20,000; a viss of beef at 60,000 kyats from 30,000; a viss of potatoes at 10,000 kyats from 6,000; and a cup of chili peppers at 3,000 kyats from 1,500. Meanwhile, a liter (.26 gallon) of cooking oil now costs 25,000 kyats, up from 10,000, and a liter of gasoline costs 15,000 kyats, up from 7,000. At the time of publishing, the official exchange rate was 2,100 kyats to the U.S. dollar, while the black market exchange rate was 4,300 kyats per dollar. Prior to the border closures, relief groups had been providing camps for the displaced with rice, oil, salt and chickpeas, but now can only distribute around 30,000 kyats per person, camp residents told RFA. Displaced suffer shortages Residents said that since the KIA seized the Kan Paik Ti border gate on Nov. 20 and Chinese authorities shut down the crossing, food prices had increased in Myitkyina, and the Kachin capital is now enduring a fuel shortage. A resident of the Sha Eit Yang camp for the displaced, located in a KIA-controlled area along the border, told RFA that the gate closures had made life extremely difficult. “There is no work to earn money in the area near our camp, so we can only find jobs far away from the camp,” he said. “With all the border gates closed, we can’t earn any income.” A Chinese flag flies over the border wall between China and Myanmar in Ruili, west Yunnan province on Jan. 14, 2023. Residents said that the TNLA has also blocked the transportation of fuel and food from Nam Hkam to Muse since Sunday, although TNLA spokeswoman Lway Yay Oo insisted that her group had imposed no restrictions on the flow of goods. RFA also tried to contact the junta’s spokesperson and economic minister for Shan state, Khun Thein, for comments on the commodity blockades, but he did not respond. Residents reported that restrictions have caused the prices of goods to “more than double” in Muse and Nam Hkam. Additionally, traders and drivers are out of work due to the closure of trade routes, traders in Muse told RFA. The restrictions imposed by China and Myanmar’s junta have impacted most of the nearly two million people who live in northern Shan state’s 20 townships, residents said. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matt Reed. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Insurgents in Myanmar’s Chin state capture four military camps, group says

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By RFA Burmese Ethnic minority insurgents battling Myanmar’s junta in Chin state have captured four camps from the military, killing 15 soldiers, said a spokesman for a rebel force in the northwestern state on the border with India. Conflict has consumed much of the remote Chin hills since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021, forcing many thousands of villagers over the border into the neighboring Indian state of Mizoram, complicating a tense communal situation there. Fighters from two ethnic Chin insurgent forces, the Chin National Army, or CNA, and the Chinland Defense Force, captured four military camps between the towns of Hakha and Thantlang on Saturday after 10 days of fighting, said Salai Htet Ni, a spokesman for the CNA told Radio Free Asia. “We were able to capture the military council camps above Hakha town, between Hakha and Thantlang towns. Two junta’s captains, including a battalion commander and a police major, were killed in the battle. In addition to that, 11 bodies of soldiers were found and 31 were arrested by our forces,” he said. He said Chin forces suffered no fatalities but six fighters were wounded. He identified the captured camps as Thi Myit, Umpu Puaknak, Nawn Thlawk Bo and Ruavazung. He said the camps were important for the military’s control of the area, which is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the east of the border with India. Radio Free Asia tried to contact the military’s main spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, to ask about the situation but he did not answer phone calls. Salai Htet Ni said Chin forces were continuing to attack other military positions in the area. RELATED STORIES Food shortages reported in rebel-controlled areas of Myanmar’s Chin state Myanmar fighters capture hotly contested northwest town Rebel Chin forces in Myanmar capture town on Indian border Since the 2021 coup, anti-junta forces in Chin state have captured 11 towns, while the Arakan Army, which is based in Rakhine state to the south, has captured two Chin state towns near its border. According to civil society groups, about 200,000 people in the largely Christian state have been displaced by the fighting in Chin state, either to safer places within Myanmar or over the border into India’s Mizoram state. Some Hindu groups in India say the arrival of Christian refugees is exacerbating tensions between Hindus and Christians there. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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China's then-Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu salutes the audience before delivering a speech during the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 4, 2023

China probes top military official Miao Hua for ‘serious violations of discipline’

Editor08 mins

The ruling Chinese Communist Party has placed Miao Hua, a high-ranking defense official, under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” a phrase often used to denote an internal party corruption probe. “Miao Hua, member of the Central Military Commission and director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, is suspected of serious violations of discipline,” defense spokesperson Col. Wu Qian told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday. “After research by the Party Central Committee, it has been decided to suspend Miao Hua from his duties pending investigation,” Wu said. The announcement came a day after the Financial Times newspaper reported that Admiral Dong Jun, who was named as successor to Li Shangfu in December 2023 after Li was fired for corruption, was himself being investigated for graft. Wu dismissed the report on Thursday as “pure fabrication and rumor with ulterior motives.” “China does not accept such reports,” he said, but gave no further details of the investigation into Miao Hua. Miao Hua, right, China’s director of the political affairs department of the Central Military Commission arrives at the Pyongyang Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. While holding talks with the defense chiefs of New Zealand, India, and Malaysia, as well as the ASEAN secretary-general, Dong refused a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Beijing blamed it on Washington for undermining China’s “core interests” by providing weapons to Taiwan. A native of Shandong province from where Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan also hails, Dong –- as well as his predecessor Li Shangfu -– was believed to be appointed by Xi. Yet Dong wasn’t promoted to the Central Military Commission, the top military leadership of the Communist Party, nor was he appointed to the State Council, or the national cabinet. In China, defense ministers are usually members of both those bodies and Dong’s non-appointment had raised questions about his position. Former ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe were expelled from the Communist Party for “grave discipline violations” such as taking bribes and causing great damage to the images of the party and its senior leaders, according to official statements. Series of sackings The investigation into Miao follows a slew of sackings at the highest levels of the People’s Liberation Army in recent months. Just after Dong was appointed, China expelled nine military officials from its parliament, including three former commanders or vice commanders of the PLA Rocket Force, one former Air Force chief and one Navy commander responsible for the South China Sea. Analysts said they believed that the expulsions were related to the corruption over equipment procurement by the rocket force. But they also link the purges to ongoing dissent within the Chinese military about its readiness to stage an invasion of democratic Taiwan, which has said it has no wish to submit to “peaceful unification” under Beijing’s territorial claim on the island. An academic who gave only the surname Song for fear of reprisals said Xi’s enthusiasm for an invasion may not be shared by actual military commanders, who fear China may not win such a war. “Even if the current boss [Xi] wants to attack Taiwan and work with Putin to change the global order for a century to come, real soldiers and generals know whether or not such a war can be won,” Song said. “The actual military commanders are the ones who know whether their forces are up to the fight, and whether the morale is there.” “The last two defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, were removed because they knew it couldn’t be won, and mustn’t be fought,” he said. “That, I think, is the most important reason.” China froze top-level military talks and other dialogue with the U.S. in 2022 after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking U.S. official in 25 years to visit Taiwan. The island has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, nor formed part of the People’s Republic of China, and its 23 million people have no wish to give up their sovereignty or democratic way of life to be ruled by Beijing, according to recent opinion polls. China, which hasn’t ruled out an invasion to force reunification, was infuriated by the Pelosi visit and canceled military-to-military talks, including contacts between theater-level commanders. President Joe Biden persuaded his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to resume contacts in November 2023, when they met on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Woodside, California.   We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative ReportsDaily ReportsInterviews Surveys Reportika

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Civilians forced to clear landmines in central Myanmar by junta: source

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Troops stationed at junta security checkpoints are forcing civilians passing through a major highway in central Myanmar to perform landmine clearance operations, residents told Radio Free Asia. Landmines have become an increasingly common and deadly problem since insurgents across the country took up arms to fight the military who took power in a 2021 coup. While deadly warfare with rocket launchers, explosives and guns has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians, both rebels and junta troops have denied responsibility for mines and their casualties. “They started doing it from the first week of November…They ask us to cross through fields they assume have landmines. If they ask us to do one check, it’s for about one hour,” said a resident in the Burmese city Monywa. “At their gates, they don’t stop and ask every car to do the inspections, some don’t have to,” the resident added, declining to be named as talking to the media. Travelers are being selected from three of the 11 junta security checkpoints that stretch across the Monywa-Mandalay Highway, connecting the capitals of Sagaing to Mandalay region, some 132 kilometers (82 miles). The practice is particularly rampant near Myay Ne, Mon Yway and Taw Pu villages, residents said, adding that they’re often told to go look for landmines after soldiers inspect their vehicle. Junta soldiers typically select middle-aged people, asking them to go to areas they’re suspicious of, said another resident who added that no casualties had been reported yet. “Until the 26th, they were still asking us to cross the field. I haven’t heard of anyone having their arms or legs cut off because of crossing the landmine fields yet,” they said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. Travelers along the Monywa-Mandalay have decreased following forced clearance operations, residents said. Myanmar military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun has not responded to RFA’s inquiries. RELATED STORIES Junta raids in Myanmar’s Sagaing force thousands from homes Myanmar tops grim world ranking of landmine victims Thousands flee fighting in Myanmar’s heartland As of 2023, Myanmar saw the highest record in landmine and heavy weapons-related deaths at 1,003, according to a report published on Nov. 20 by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. It was also the first time that Myanmar had the most recorded landmine deaths out of any country worldwide. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Junta raids in Myanmar’s Sagaing force thousands from homes

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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar’s military has launched an operation to clear pro-democracy insurgents from a contested central area, sending nearly 10,000 villagers fleeing for safety, an aid worker and residents said on Thursday. Junta forces have suffered significant setbacks in fighting over the past year but the army commander has vowed to recapture lost ground this dry season, when the military can take its heavy vehicles on dried roads into rebel zones. “They’re worried for their security, they can’t go home. We’re watching the situation and waiting,” an aid worker said of the situation in Kyunhla township, 175 kilometers (108 miles) northwest of the city of Mandalay. About 200 junta troops had raided more than 10 villages in the township in what the aid worker told Radio Free Asia was a violent campaign launched eight days ago. Residents said some homes were torched while soldiers had also occupied some homes. Kyunhla is in Sagaing, a heartland region populated largely by members of the majority Burman community that has been torn by violence since democracy activists set up militias to battle the military after the 2021 coup. RFA tried to reach Sagiang’s junta spokesperson, Nyan Wing Aung, but he did not respond by the time of publication. The aid worker, who declined to be identified for security reasons, said many of the villages had sought shelter in the woods near their fields. “If they have rice, oil and salt, they’ll be OK. At the moment, it’s very chilly, and for the people with fevers, they need blankets and medicine,” the aid worker said. RELATED STORIES Children make up nearly 40% of Myanmar’s 3.4 million displaced: UN Thousands flee fighting in Myanmar’s heartland Perhaps it would be better if Myanmar’s civil war became a ‘forgotten conflict’ The United Nations said on Wednesday more than 3.4 million people aredisplaced in Myanmar, an increase of 250,000 over the past few months, because of the conflict, severe flooding in July and September and economic collapse. “Compounding these challenges, high inflation, sharp currency depreciation, and ongoing trade disruptions due to conflict and border closures by neighboring countries have reduced access to essential goods, further straining communities,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. Myanmar has received only $279 million, or a mere 28% of the overall funding requested for 2024, the office said. “Without immediate additional funding, the worsening crisis will push more people into extreme hardship, deepen vulnerabilities, and limit the potential for recovery for millions across Myanmar,” it 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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EXPLAINED: Who are Myanmar’s Arakan Army?

Editor09 mins

The Arakan Army insurgent group in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state has made rapid advances against the junta over the past year and controls more territory and people than any other rebel force in Myanmar. Rakhine state, or Arakan as it used to be known, was a separate kingdom until it was conquered by Burmese kings in 1784. Now the Arakan Army, or AA, could be on the brink of a major step towards fulfilling what it calls the “Arakan Dream”, of once again securing self-determination for the state of more than 3 million people, some 60% of whom are ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and about 35% Muslim Rohingya. As the AA advances towards its goal of driving out junta forces, scrutiny has turned to how it sees Rakhine state’s future in Myanmar, how it would handle the state’s Muslim minority, amid accusations of serious rights abuses, which the AA denies, and how it would accommodate China’s economic ambitions. Lightning progress The AA was founded in 2009 by members of the ethnic Rakhine community, led by former student activist Twan Mrat Naing, seeking shelter with the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, in northern Myanmar. The AA recruited some of its first fighters among Rakhine men working in jade mines in Kachin state. They gained experience fighting the military alongside the KIA and other insurgent forces in Shan state, before filtering back into Rakhine state from around 2014. The AA burst onto the scene in Rakhine state on Jan. 4, 2019, with Independence Day attacks on four police stations. Aung San Suu Kyi, who led a civilian government at the time, ordered the military to crush the “terrorist” force but the two sides later agreed to a ceasefire. The AA condemned the military’s February 2021 coup but did not immediately resort to arms. Over the next two years of on-again, off-again ceasefires, the AA built up its administrative capacity through its political wing, the United League of Arakan, including a COVID-19 vaccination drive. In November 2023, it launched a large-scale offensive in coordination with two Shan state insurgent forces, as part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance. The AA made lightning progress, initially in northern Rakhine state and a southern part of neighboring Chin state that it claims, seizing military outposts, bases and towns, as well as large amounts of arms and ammunition. Arakan Army soliders with captured arms and ammunition in a phto posted on the group’s website on Feb. 13, 2024. The AA claims to have more than 30,000 fighters though independent analysts suspect its strength is around 20,000. The AA controls about 80% of Rakhine state – 10 of its 17 townships and one in neighboring Chin state. In townships it does not control, it has pinned junta forces into pockets of territory, such as the state capital, Sittwe, the town of Ann, home of the military’s Western Command, and the Kyaukpyu economic zone on the coast where China has energy facilities. RELATED STORIES Arakan Army treatment of Rohingya minority poses challenge to Myanmar opposition Arakan Army’s gains enough to enable self-rule in Myanmar’s Rakhine state International criminal court seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief Confederation While all of Myanmar’s insurgent forces want to throw off military rule, they differ when it comes to ultimate aims. Most ethnic minority forces and pro-democracy militias drawn from the majority Burman community aspire to a democratic, federal union but the AA has called for a vaguely defined “confederate status” for Rakhine state. “We will see whether a Federal Union of Myanmar will have the political space for the kind of confederation that our Arakanese people aspire for,” AA leader Twan Mrat Naing told the Asia Times newspaper in a 2022 interview. The prospect of the AA governing Rakhine state is bound to raise fears for the Rohingya. The AA’s position on the persecuted Muslim minority community has shifted over the years, from seemingly moderate and inclusive to accusations of mass killings this year. The catalyst for the hardening of the AA line on the Rohingya was a campaign by the junta to recruit, at times forcibly, Rohingya men into militias to fight the AA. U.N. investigators said they documented attacks on Rohingya by both the AA and the junta. On Aug. 5, scores of Rohingya trying to flee from the town of Maungdaw to Bangladesh, across a border river, were killed by drones and artillery fire that survivors and rights groups said was unleashed by the AA. The AA denied responsibility. As well as capturing large volumes of weapons from the military, the AA has been helped by its insurgent allies in the northeast, analysts say. For revenue, it says it relies on taxes and donations from Rakhine workers overseas. It denies any link to the flow of methamphetamines from producers in Myanmar to a booming black market in Bangladesh. The role of China is likely to be crucial as it seeks to bring peace to Myanmar. China has extensive economic interests in its southern neighbor including a hub for its Belt and Road energy and infrastructure network in Rakhine state at Kyaukpyu, where China wants to build a deep sea port. Natural gas and oil pipelines begin at Kyaukpyu and run across Myanmar to southern China. The AA, like other insurgents in Myanmar, has not attacked Chinese interests, though it has surrounded Kyaukpyu. Some analysts say the AA, with its northeastern Myanmar connections, has links to China. However, there has been no public indication that China is pressing the AA to make peace with the junta, as it has done with groups in northern and northeastern Myanmar. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Laos detains staff at hostel linked to backpacker poisonings: media

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Police in the Lao tourist town of Vang Vieng have detained staff at a backpackers’ hostel linked to the death of six tourists from suspected methanol poisoning, media reported on Tuesday. Two young Australian women, a British woman, two young Danish women and an American man have died, and about a dozen more people were reported to be sick, after consuming drinks suspected to have been laced with methanol on Nov. 12 in the town that has for years been a laid-back stop for young Western travelers. The Laopost news site reported that the 34-year-old manager and seven employees at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, where at least some of the victims are known to have stayed, had been arrested. Media reported earlier that the hostel had been temporarily closed. Laos has not officially confirmed the cause of the poisonings though a Thai hospital, where one of the victims died, said it was methanol, a clear, tasteless liquid that can be used to boost the alcohol content of drinks, often with fatal consequences. Mass methanol poisonings occur with grim frequency around the world. RELATED STORIES Mayor of Lao tourist town hit by poisoning promises justice for victims 6 tourists dead after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos Australian, American take death toll from tainted alcohol in Laos to 4 Details of how the tourists came to drink tainted alcohol in Vang Vieng are sketchy and it is not clear if they were all drinking at the same place. While authorities have ordered inspections of tourist venues and are carrying out an investigation of the incident, business owners in Vang Vieng told RFA Lao there had already been a drop in tourism in the town. “Yes, we’ve started to see some impact,” said one bar owner. “We’ve seen a decrease in the number of foreign customers,” she said, adding that foreign tourists are “much more careful” when they visit her establishment. District mayor Bounchan Malavong told media on the weekend that authorities had responded quickly to the deaths, investigating and taking measures including inspecting restaurants and entertainment venues to ensure that safety standards are upheld and to protect tourists. Edited by Taejun Kang. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Mayor of Lao tourist town hit by poisoning promises justice for victims

Editor05 mins

The mayor of the Lao tourist town of Vang Vieng has promised justice for the six foreign tourists who died after consuming drinks suspected of being laced with methanol on a night out in the riverside backpacker hub, the Laotian Times newspaper reported. District mayor Bounchan Malavong told media on the weekend that authorities had responded quickly to the deaths, investigating and taking measures including inspecting restaurants and entertainment venues to ensure that safety standards are upheld and to protect tourists. Two young Australian women, a British woman, two young Danish women and an American man have died, and about a dozen more people were reported to be sick, after going out for drinks on Nov. 12 in the town that has for years been a laid-back stop for young Western travelers. “Bounchan Malavong … addressed the media about the ongoing investigation and the measures being taken to bring justice to the deceased,” the newspaper reported. “The mayor acknowledged that the incident has negatively impacted the image of tourism in Vang Vieng and Laos but reassured the public that tourism in the area remains strong, with both domestic and international visitors continuing to come.” The Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condolences on Friday and emphasized its commitment to investigating the incident and holding those responsible accountable. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” the ministry said. Laos has not officially confirmed the cause of the poisonings though a Thai hospital, where one of the victims died, said it was methanol. The Laotian Times said investigations were underway to determine the cause and the results, once confirmed, would be shared with foreign countries. RELATED STORIES 6 tourists dead after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos Foreign journalists at ASEAN find Lao restrictions frustrating Lao blogger who criticized failed response to flood freed from prison Details of how the tourists came to drink tainted alcohol in Vang Vieng are sketchy and it is not clear if they were all drinking at the same bar. However, a cheap hotel where at least some of the victims are known to have stayed, the Nana Backpackers Hostel, had been temporarily closed, the Laotian Times reported. The hostel’s Vietnamese manager has been detained for questioning, according to the AFP news agency, which didn’t name them. Several governments, including the Australian, British, New Zealand and U.S., have updated their travel advisories to warn of the dangers of tainted alcohol in Laos. “Please be alert to the potential risk of methanol poisoning, especially when consuming spirit-based alcoholic drinks,” the U.S. embassy said. “Purchase alcoholic beverages and drinks from licensed liquor stores, bars, and hotels. Avoid homemade alcoholic drinks. Check liquor bottles for signs of tampering or counterfeiting, such as labels with poor print quality or incorrect spelling.” Methanol is a clear, tasteless liquid that can be used to boost the alcohol content of drinks, often with fatal consequences. Mass methanol poisonings occur with grim frequency around the world. The aid group Doctors Without Borders said some 1,200 people have fallen ill from drinking methanol-laced drinks in the past year, with 394 deaths worldwide, many of them in Asia. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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