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Drone attack kills 8, injures 30 in Sagaing region

Editor2 years ago03 mins

Eight people were killed and 30 were injured when a drone bombed a water festival pavilion in a village in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region. Locals said most of those injured in Thursday’s attack on Sagaing township’s Kywei Pon village were junta troops and members of the affiliated Pyu Saw Htee militia who were gathering there to celebrate the Thingyan festival in the run up to Burmese new year. A junta statement released Friday confirmed the number of casualties and said five children were among the dead. It blamed a local People’s Defense Force for the attack, saying the drone dropped four bombs on the building. One resident told RFA the junta built the pavilion on a school soccer pitch. He said junta troops have been stationed in Sagaing township near the village since the February 2021 coup and local People’s Defense Forces often attack them. “I saw three cars transporting injured people to Sagaing’s 200-bed hospital this morning,” said the local, who didn’t want to be identified for safety reasons. “The army fired heavy artillery shells around the village after the incident.” Thursday, the first day of the water festival, was marked by a series of bombings of junta-built Thingyan pavilions. Four people were killed and 11 injured in Shan state’s Lashio town. Bombs also went off in Bago region’s Letpadan township, and Yangon’s Thaketa and Hlaingtharya townships but no one was injured. No group has claimed responsibility for any of Thursday’s attacks. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Trafficked teens tell of torture at scam ‘casino’ on Myanmar’s chaotic border

Editor2 years ago026 mins

It was a clear day when Kham set out from his home in northwestern Laos for what he thought was a chance to make money in the gilded gambling towns of the Golden Triangle, the border region his country shares with Thailand and Myanmar. On that day – a Friday, as he recalled – the teenager had gotten a Facebook note from a stranger: a young woman asking what he was doing and if he wanted to make some cash. He agreed to meet that afternoon. She picked up Kham, 16, along with a friend, and off they went, their parents none the wiser. “I thought to myself I’d work for a month or two then I’d go home,” Kham later said. (RFA has changed the real names of the victims in this story to protect them from possible reprisals.) But instead of a job, Kham ended up trafficked and held captive in a nondescript building on the Burmese-Thai border, some 200 miles south of the Golden Triangle and 400 miles from his home – isolated from the outside world, tortured and forced into a particular kind of labor: to work as a cyber-scammer. Barbed wire fences are seen outside a shuttered Great Wall Park compound where Cambodian authorities said they had recovered evidence of human trafficking, kidnapping and torture during raids on suspected cybercrime compounds in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in Sept. 2022. Credit: Reuters In recent years, secret sites like the one where Kham was detained have proliferated throughout the region as the COVID-19 pandemic forced criminal networks to shift their strategies for making money. One popular scheme today involves scammers starting fake romantic online relationships that eventually lead to stealing as-large-as-possible sums of money from targets. The scammers said that if they fail to do so, they are tortured. Teen victims from Luang Namtha province in Laos who were trafficked to a place they called the “Casino Kosai,” in an isolated development near the city of Myawaddy on Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, have described their ordeal to RFA. Chillingly, dozens of teenagers and young people from Luang Namtha are still believed to be trapped at the site, along with victims from other parts of Asia. The case is but the tip of the iceberg in the vast networks of human trafficking that claim over 150,000 victims a year in Southeast Asia. Yet it encapsulates how greed and political chaos mix to allow crime to operate unchecked, with teenagers like Kham paying the price. This fake Facebook ad for the Sands International is for a receptionist. It lists job benefits of 31,000 baht salary, free accommodation and two days off per month. Qualifications are passport holder, Thai citizen, 20-35 years old and the ability to work in Cambodia. Credit: RFA screenshot The promise of cash Typically, it starts with the lure of a job. In the case of Lao teenagers RFA spoke to, the bait can be as simple as a message over Facebook or a messaging app. Other scams have involved more elaborate cons, with postings for seemingly legitimate jobs that have ensnared everyone from professionals to laborers to ambitious youths. What they have in common is the promise of high pay in glitzy, if sketchy, casino towns around Southeast Asia – many built with the backing of Chinese criminal syndicates that operate in poorly policed borderlands difficult to reach. Before 2020, “a lot of these places were involved in two things: gambling, where groups of Thais and Chinese were going for a weekend casino holiday, or online betting,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch. “Then, all of a sudden COVID hits, and these syndicates [that ran the casinos] decided to change their business model. What they came up with was scamming.” A motorbike drives past a closed casino in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in Feb. 2020. As travel restrictions bit during the pandemic, syndicates that ran the casinos shifted their focus from gambling to scams, says Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. Credit: Reuters Today, gambling towns like Sihanoukville, in Cambodia, and the outskirts of Tonpheung, on the Laos side of the Golden Triangle, have become notorious for trapping people looking for work into trafficking. But besides these places, there are also numerous unregulated developments where scamming “casinos” operate with little outside scrutiny, including on the Thai-Burmese border. Keo, 18, had a legitimate job at a casino in Laos when he was contacted via WhatsApp by a man who said he could make much more – 13 million kip ($766) a month, plus bonuses – by working in Thailand. He could leave whenever he wanted, the person claimed. “I thought about the new job offer for two days, then I said yes on the third day because the offer would pay more salary, plus commission and I can go home anytime,” Keo said. He quit his job by lying to his boss, saying he was going to visit his family. A few days later, a black Toyota Vigo pick-up truck fetched him, along with two friends, and they took a boat across the Mekong to Thailand. Scams By that time, Keo realized he was being trafficked – the two men who escorted him and his friends were armed. “While on the boat, one of us … suggested that we return to Laos, but we were afraid to ask,” as the men carried guns and knives. He dared not jump. “Later, one of us suggested we call our parents – but the men said, ‘On the boat, we don’t use the telephone.’ We dared not call our parents because we were afraid of being harmed,” he said. “So, we kept quiet until we reached the Thai side.” Both Keo and Kham told RFA that they were eventually trafficked to Myawaddy Township, an area some 300 miles south of the Golden Triangle. Kham only remembered parts of the journey, when he was made to walk for miles. Keo told RFA Laos he was transported by a…

Bomb kills 4, injures 11 in Shan state

Editor2 years ago02 mins

Four people have died and 11 were injured in a bomb blast near a pavilion built to host water festival events in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state. Thursday morning’s explosion happened on the roadside at the entrance to Lashio, the state’s largest town, according to a rescue worker who asked not to be named for safety reasons.. “The dead bodies of four men have been found initially,” he told RFA, adding that eight men and three women were also injured. RFA is still trying to confirm their names and ages. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing and the junta has not issued a statement on the blast. Calls to the junta spokesperson for Shan state, Khun Thein Maung, went unanswered. Thursday marks the start of Thingyan, new year’s eve in Myanmar and the start of the country’s water festival. Many civilians have chosen not to take part this year due to the ongoing violence across the country, warnings by anti-regime militia to stay away, and a series of explosions at pavilions built by junta troops. A Yangon-based anti-junta group said it set off bombs at Thingyan pavilions in three townships and People’s Square in Yangon city center last weekend. No group claimed responsibility for blasts in Mandalay city and Mawlamyine city in Mon state, also at the weekend. No one was hurt in those bombings. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Military stymies rescue efforts at scene of Myanmar strike that killed at least 80

Editor2 years ago09 mins

Efforts by workers to rescue the injured and collect the remains of mangled bodies at the scene of a junta air strike that killed at least 80 civilians in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region have been hampered by troops in the area, sources said Wednesday. Tuesday’s air strike, in which junta aircraft bombed a crowd of hundreds attending an office opening ceremony in Kanbalu township’s Pa Zi Gyi village, is one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since Myanmar’s military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat. Witnesses have said that it was hard to tell how many people had died in the attack because the bodies were so badly mangled by the bombs and machine gun fire. As of Wednesday afternoon, rescue workers said they had cremated 83 bodies, including 22 minors. Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government said that at least 116 people had been killed, including 81 men, 16 women, and 19 minors. Amid the carnage, the military has deployed a surveillance helicopter and stationed troops on the outskirts of Pa Zi Gyi, impeding efforts to collect body parts and bring the wounded for medical treatment, residents said. A villager who declined to be named told RFA that his 10-year-old granddaughter and two 50-year-old relatives were among the victims, but said he had been unable to locate their bodies yet. “More than 30 teenagers are still missing,” he said, adding that he is “sure they are dead.” The villager said that the military had attacked the village multiple times on Tuesday. “That’s why we could not collect all the bodies and were forced to leave them,” he said. Another resident, who identified himself as Ko Myo, claimed that rescuers trying to collect bodies are the only people left in the 100-home village, which was otherwise abandoned by inhabitants he said were left in severe psychological shock by Tuesday’s attack. “There is no one [in the village] since we have had to shelter in safe places,” he said. “We have had to let our herds of goats, cattle and chickens run free. We have left our businesses and shops behind and fled [from the village]. The situation is very bad.” Every family in the village is missing members, he said. Differing accounts The military confirmed in a statement on Tuesday evening that it had carried out a “precision” attack on Pa Zi Gyi because members of the anti-junta People Defense Force paramilitary group had gathered there and “committed terrorist acts” in the area. Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun told the military-controlled broadcast channel MRTV that those killed in the strike were members of the PDF, not civilians, and that the large number of casualties was the result of a rebel weapons cache exploding during the operation. But a rescue worker who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns, said that was untrue. The attack on the site was deliberate and thorough, he said, beginning with a jet fighter bombing run and followed by an Mi-35 helicopter strafing the area. “When we approached the scene to rescue the injured people and collect the bodies of victims in the afternoon, [the military] launched another attack,” he said. “So, we can say they attacked three times.” In this April 11, 2023 image grab from a video, a destroyed building structure is seen following Myanmar junta shelling and air strikes on Pa Zi Gyi village, Kanbalu township, Sagaing region. Credit: Citizen journalist Three rescuers were killed during the third attack, the rescue worker said. “There is little we can do and the situation has become extremely difficult,” he added, describing the state of the village’s residents as “panic-stricken.” An official from the Kanbalu township PDF also disputed Zaw Min Tun’s description of the attack, telling RFA that “whenever the junta forces attack civilians, they blame others.” “On the ground, we know best whether [the victims were] PDF members or not,” he said. “There were no PDF members among the victims.” Seeking accountability High Court lawyer Kyi Myint said attacks like Tuesday’s air strike constitute “high treason” in Myanmar and “war crimes” according to international law. “This army is formed by public funds to protect the people, not to kill them,” he said. “Now, they have committed high treason because they are killing people using the funds provided to protect the people.” “According to international law, if a government kills its own people, the perpetrators shall be sent to the International Criminal Court to be prosecuted,” he added. Tuesday’s attack prompted condemnation from around the globe, including from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as well as several Western governments and human rights organizations. Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said the strike and other violent attacks “further underscore the regime’s disregard for human life and its responsibility for the dire political and humanitarian crisis in Burma” since the coup. In a statement, he said that the United States wants the junta to end violence, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and to respect the democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar. Residents of Pa Zi Gyi village and democracy activists have called for an arms and aviation fuel embargo on the junta to end its use of air strikes in the conflict. Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Brazilian kickboxer granted Cambodian citizenship after promoting national sport

Editor2 years ago05 mins

At Prime Minister Hun Sen’s behest, Cambodia has granted a Brazilian kickboxer and his wife citizenship for promoting Kun Khmer, the national sport, in the latest development in a controversy with Thailand, which calls the sport Muay Thai. Hun Sen also gave a U.S.$20,000 sponsorship to Thiago Teixeira, 34, who with his wife Roma Maria Rozanska-Steffen, an American citizen, became naturalized Cambodian citizens by King Norodom Sihamoni through a royal decree dated April 11, the Phnom Penh Post reported. The announcement came after the World Muay Thai Organization, or WMO, stripped Teixeira of a middleweight title that he won at the Apex Fight Series on April 1 in Germany, during which he waved Cambodia’s flag. Teixeira had said he wanted to represent Kun Khmer instead of being a Muay Thai fighter, despite training in the Thai sport for years. The two martial art forms — the most popular sports in their respective countries — are nearly identical and involve punching, kneeing and kicking opponents. But Cambodians argue that the sport originated from their culture, while Thais say it belongs to them. Cambodia has removed Muay Thai from a list of sports included in this year’s Southeast Asia Games, replacing it with Kun Khmer, amid a larger push for the national sport to gain international recognition. The biennial sports event will be held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on May 5-17. Political ploy? Critics said the prime minister was using the issue to try to increase his popularity among Cambodian voters ahead of July’s general election. Legal expert Vorn Chan Lout said Cambodia should be extra cautious before granting citizenship to foreigners because the law requires them to live in the country for three years and understand its culture to be eligible. “Politicians are smart to take advantage of events, but the most important thing is the government needs to have a long-term vision in order to pay gratitude to all athletes,” he said. Cambodia’s Citizenship Law allows foreigners to acquire citizenship through marriage and naturalization, though they must stay in the Southeast Asian nation for three years. Am Sam Ath of Licadho said Hun Sen’s government should support Cambodia’s home-grown martial arts athletes rather than foreign ones. “I urge the government to pay attention to Kun Khmer and to encourage athletes with sufficient training so they are able to fight,” he said. Cambodian kickboxers have complained that they are underpaid in the sport. Veteran Kun Khmer fighter Vong Noy said he stopped fighting because his earnings from the sport were not enough to support his family or pay medical bills for injuries he sustained during fights. “I stopped fighting now because I have been fighting for many years,” he wrote on Facebook. “I got famous, but I am facing financial issues, and I’m afraid that I will become disabled and not make enough money to raise my children.” RFA could not reach Teixeira for comment, but he told local media during a press conference in Phnom Penh after signing a contract with the World Champion Kun Khmer Club, that he already considered Cambodia his home and he would help promote Kun Khmer to the rest of the world. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Junta troops torch over 100 homes in a Mandalay village

Editor2 years ago03 mins

Myanmar’s military has torched more than 100 homes in a Mandalay region village as it continues to target civilians thought to be harboring People’s Defense Forces. Tuesday’s raid happened after anti-junta militias attacked troops leaving a monastery they had been stationed at, in Madaya township’s Kin village, locals told RFA on condition of anonymity. One resident said reprisals started after local People’s Defense Forces triggered land mines as the column of around 50 troops moved out. ”The troops set fire to the village non-stop from 9 a.m. until the evening,” the local said Wednesday. “Over a hundred houses were burnt down. The junta troops left early this morning.” The local defense groups said they killed five soldiers and wounded 12 with landmines and bombs dropped from drones Combined fighters from Mahar Revolution Force; Tike Thane Underground Revolutionary Group; Nat Soe Underground Revolutionary Army; Nagar Nyi Naung People Defense Force; and Daung Sit The said they took part in the attack on the junta column. RFA has not been able to independently confirm the number of soldiers killed and injured. Calls to the junta spokesperson for Mandalay region, Thein Htay, went unanswered. Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun has told RFA in the past troops never set fire to civilian homes. However, he said Tuesday the junta was behind another attack that day in which as many as 100 civilians were killed in an air strike on a Sagaing region village. He blamed local People’s Defense Forces for hiding among civilians in that attack, saying the junta only targeted combatants. The junta’s slash and burn tactics are widespread across Myanmar and locals said the military torched nine villages in Madaya township last month, forcing locals to flee to other villages and makeshift camps. According to Data for Myanmar, which monitors arson attacks, a total of 60,459 homes have been destroyed by fire across the country in the two years following the February 2021 coup. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Philippines, US launch largest-ever joint war games

Editor2 years ago013 mins

Treaty allies the United States and the Philippines kicked off their biggest-ever annual joint military exercises on Tuesday, amid growing regional tensions between the U.S. and China over Taiwan and anti-American protests by Filipinos. The Balikatan Exercise 2023 brings together 17,680 troops – an estimated 12,000 Americans, 5,000 Filipinos, and more than a hundred Australians – who will participate in live-fire drills and other activities until April 28. The drills aim to boost bilateral readiness for cyber-defense operations and maritime security, officials said. “Balikatan,” which means “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog, got underway a day after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought to allay public fears that a beefed up American military presence here would unnecessarily draw the Southeast Asian country into a conflict in case China attacked Taiwan. Gen. Andres Centino, the Philippine military’s chief of staff, said the drills would not only bolster bilateral ties but “contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region in a definitive manner.” Among the drills on the program are a command post exercise, cyber-defense exercise, field training exercise, and humanitarian civic assistance activities. “All these major events are intended to ensure the achievement of the end state of our Balikatan 2023 exercises, which is to fully develop mutual defense capabilities to enhance cyber defense operation and strengthen the country’s maritime security and domain awareness,” Centino said in a speech Tuesday inaugurating the drills. A bilateral command post exercise aims to strengthen the allies’ ability to plan, coordinate, and provide command-and-control of forces against a range of scenarios and simulated challenges. It also trains both militaries to refine tactics and procedures related to maritime security. And during this year’s Balikatan, participants for the first time will carry out a live-fire training with Patriot missiles and Avenger air-defense systems, which Ukraine has used against invading Russian forces. During the live-fire exercise at sea, Filipino and American troops will target and sink a 200-foot-long mock enemy vessel in the waters off Zambales province facing the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea that lies within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. Beijing and Manila, as well as other Southeast Asian countries and Taiwan, have overlapping claims in the strategic waterway. Another new component of the war games is cyber defense. “The cyber domain is very important because a lot of our subsystems in command-and-control, and intelligence all rely on the cyber domain,” said Col. Mike Logico, a Filipino officer and spokesman for Balikatan 2023. Heather Variava, the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, said Balikatan symbolized “the marquee annual event” for the two countries’ alliance. “The U.S. and Philippines share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific that is more connected, prosperous, secure and resilient,” Variava said in her speech at the opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine military’s headquarters in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Gen. Andres Centino, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, speaks during the opening ceremony of the annual “Balikatan” exercises, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippines, April 11, 2023. Credit: Basilio Sepe/BenarNews On Monday, President Marcos tried to calm jitters and criticism among Filipinos about his administration’s decision in February to grant U.S. forces access to four more Philippine bases under an expanded defense pact, as tensions build between China and Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province. He said the bases would not be used for carrying out military attacks. Last week, his government revealed the names and sites of the four bases. Three of these are located on the main and northernmost Philippine island of Luzon, including two sites that face Taiwan. A fourth site, in Palawan province, faces the South China Sea where territorial tensions between China and the Philippine have been high in recent years. Marcos on Monday insisted that the Americans would use the newly selected locations to pre position equipment that they could readily access in times of natural disasters. “Now, the reaction of China is not really surprising because they worry too much. But … the Philippines will not allow the bases to be used in offensive action. The bases are only to help the Philippines if the country needs help,” Marcos told reporters on the sidelines of an event honoring Filipino war veterans. “What we are doing is strengthening our defenses of our territories in defense of the republic,” Marcos said. This largest iteration of the Balikatan drills began a day after the Chinese military concluded three days of maneuvers and war games around Taiwan, including simulated precision strikes. China launched the drills as a response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States early this month, where she met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The unprecedented meeting on U.S. soil further angered China, which also expressed its displeasure over the Marcos administration’s move to grant the U.S. access to other bases in the Philippines. “The U.S. military has been coming all the way from the other side of the Pacific to stir up trouble in the South China Sea and ganging up with its allies from other parts of the world to flex muscle,” the Chinese Embassy in Manila said earlier in a statement. The U.S. has heightened tensions, driven a wedge between China and the Philippines, as well as “upset the joint effort of countries in this region to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea,” it alleged. Opposition to war games Meanwhile on Tuesday, Philippine activist groups held protests outside Camp Aguinaldo and the U.S. Embassy in Manila to express their opposition to the joint military drills in different parts of the country and the expanded access for U.S. forces at local bases. “The Philippines is ours. U.S. get out of our country!” some protesters chanted outside the military’s headquarters in Quezon City. In a separate statement, the anti-U.S. International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) said the Balikatan exercises were “nothing but a blatant display of U.S. imperialism’s military intervention and aggression in the country…

Myanmar’s military bombs village ceremony killing scores of civilians

Editor2 years ago04 mins

As many as 100 villagers have been killed and more than 50 injured when junta aircraft bombed crowds attending an office opening ceremony in Sagaing region’s Kanbalu township, locals said. Most of the injured and dead were women and children, witnesses told RFA. They said it was hard to tell how many people had died because the bodies were so badly mangled by the bombs and machine gun fire. “I saw the bodies of four to six children who had been blown about 100 feet [30 meters from the building],” said a local who didn’t want to be identified. “I saw bodies ripped open and burnt.” People Media, the news agency of the Union Solidarity and Development Party – which serves as the junta’s electoral proxy party – said the army’s Northwestern Regional Headquarters carried out Tuesday morning’s attack on Pa Zi Gyi village. It did not mention the number of casualties. The air strike happened during the inauguration of a public administration office established by Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government, Nay Zin Latt, the National League for Democracy MP for Kanbalu township told RFA. The junta dissolved the NLD last month after the party failed to re-register with the Election Commission but members continue to work with the NUG to try to restore democracy in Myanmar and carry out administrative work in areas not under junta control. Locals said junta troops carry out frequent raids on Pa Zi Gyi. Nay Zin said many people died on the spot after a jet fighter dropped two bombs and an Mi-35 attack helicopter fired over 200 shots from its machine guns. He said more than 800 locals were attending the ceremony. “There was a group of local residents who were discussing how to manage social issues in the community,” he said. “They were bombarded by the air and shot at non-stop with machine guns. The shooting took about 15 minutes.” He said the injured were taken to nearby villages and some local voluntary groups were providing medical treatment. RFA called Aye Hlaing, Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson and social affairs minister, but no one answered. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Anti-junta fighter killed during deportation from Thailand to Myanmar

Editor2 years ago08 mins

One of three Burmese armed resistance fighters who sought medical assistance in Thailand was killed as Thai authorities handed them over to junta authorities en route to Myanmar, Radio Free Asia has learned. The incident prompted Thailand’s opposition Commoners Party on Monday to condemn the Thai government for cooperating with Myanmar’s military regime in what it said was a violation of domestic and international law. The three members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force entered the Thai border town of Mae Sot, across from Myawaddy in Myanmar’s Kayin state, on April 1 seeking medical treatment, but were arrested by Thai authorities at the Thai-Myanmar border immigration gate. On the morning of April 4, they were sent back across the border to Myanmar’s Karen Border Guard Force, who arrested them and transferred them into the custody of junta troops. Following their deportation, reports emerged that the three PDF members – Thiha, the Lion Battalion’s deputy platoon commander, and fighters Htet Nay Win and Saw Phyo Lay – were killed in junta captivity. On Monday, the Lion Battalion spokesperson Anyar Thar told RFA that Saw Phyo Lay was shot as he attempted to escape during the handover and later died from his injuries. The status of the other two men remained unclear. “When [the PDF fighters] learned that they were being handed over to the BGF [Border Guard Forces], they jumped out of the boat that was carrying them,” he said. “Troops from both sides shot at them. [Saw Phyo Lay] who was about to die [from his injuries] was even handcuffed, put back into the boat and sent over to the BGF. This shows how good the relations are between the BGF and Thai authorities.” Anyar Thar said that Thiha and Htet Nay Win have been sent to the junta’s Southeast Regional Military Headquarters based in the Mon state city of Mawlamyine. Neither the junta nor the Karen Border Guard have released any news regarding the incident and attempts by RFA to reach Col. Saw Chit Thu, the head of Myanmar’s Border Guard Force, went unanswered on Monday. Opposition condemnation On Monday, Thailand’s opposition Commoners Party issued a statement criticizing the Thai government for collaborating with Myanmar’s junta and accusing it of perpetrating an “inhumane act” by assisting the junta in committing “war crimes.” The statement also called on Thailand’s Immigration Department to publicly clarify why it violated international and domestic laws by repatriating the PDF fighters after they entered Thailand in need of medical attention. “I do not accept the Thai government’s policy towards Myanmar anti-junta activists and refugee applicants,” Commoners Party spokesperson Kornkanok Khamta told RFA Burmese. “The government is sending them back to unsafe locations. We all have to show that we are one with the people of Myanmar.” Two of the People’s Defense Force fighters from Myanmar are seen in the back of a vehicle before being transferred to Myanmar security forces earlier this month. Credit: RFA screenshot from Twitter When asked about the Thai government’s response to the Commoners Party statement, Kornkanok Khamta said none was provided. “They silently neglect the statements of other organizations as well,” she said. Attempts by RFA to contact Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke went unanswered on Monday. Human rights groups have also called on the Thai government to examine its immigration department’s handling of the three resistance fighters. Speaking to RFA, Patrick Phongsathorn, a legal expert for the NGO Fortify Rights, urged the Thai government to investigate the situation as soon as possible and to prosecute the officer responsible for deporting the PDF members under Thailand’s anti-torture law. Refugees fearful Previously, Thai authorities have arrested Myanmar nationals seeking shelter in Thailand after fleeing fighting between the military and anti-junta forces and warned them to abide by Thai law, but mostly allowed them to stay on humanitarian grounds. One Myanmar refugee in Thailand named Nikki told RFA that members of the Burmese community there are now worried for their safety after the three PDF fighters were arrested and returned across the border. “This incident has seriously scared the Burmese people who are taking refuge in Thailand,” she said. “We are too scared to even go out to buy food. Thai police are regularly arresting Burmese refugees in Mae Sot, targeting the undocumented and political refugees.” Reports of the deportation came amid an April 5-8 attack by a combined force of the ethnic Karen National Liberation Army and the Lion Battalion on military and Karen Border Guard Force bases located north of Myawaddy. Although details of the attacks were not immediately clear, injuries have been reported and nearly 10,000 residents of the area are believed to have fled the fighting to safety. Some of the anti-junta fighters injured in the battle were taken to the Thai side of the border on April 9 and later arrested by Thai police. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matt Reed.

Myanmar’s rebel groups bomb pavilions built by military for New Years water festival

Editor2 years ago010 mins

Myanmar’s New Years, called Thingyan, is normally a water festival in which people can drench each other during the hottest time of the year. And junta troops have been busy building pavilions around the country to create a sense of normalcy in the war-wracked country. But in an apparent attempt to dispel any notions of stability under military rule, rebel groups set off several bombs this past weekend at these pavilions in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Mawlamyine. No one was injured in the blasts, but they have clearly contributed to the turmoil in the country that has slid into civil war since the military’s February 2021 coup d’etat. An anti-junta urban guerrilla group known as the Dark Shadow claimed responsibility for the explosions in Yangon’s Sanchaung, Dagon, and Thar Kay Ta townships, and at People’s Square downtown, in a statement issued on April 8. The perpetrators of the bombings in Mandalay’s Zay Cho Market and in the Mon state city of Mawlamyine remained unknown on Monday. A resident of Yangon named Ye Myo told RFA Burmese that while no one was hurt in the explosions, the junta has responded with increased security at the sites ahead of the April 13-16 Thingyan celebrations. “The bombs that went off in the pavilion in front of the Sanchaung Police Station and the pavilion in front of People’s Square were very loud,” he said. “The junta has increased security after the blasts. We used to see only one or two military security personnel [near the sites], but after the blasts, we can see around 10 security personnel have been assigned to keep watch at night.” Ye Myo said that authorities dismantled at least three pavilions on Sunday in Yangon’s Mingalardon township amid reports that anti-junta forces planned to fire “remote-controlled missiles” at the sites. On Monday, the pro-junta Myawaddy newspaper reported that two members of the anti-junta Special Task Agency were arrested in Yangon’s Alone township for allegedly planning to carry out bombings during the water festival. The report said they were planning to frighten away would-be participants at the festival and that “effective action” will be taken against them. Attempts by RFA to reach the Special Task Agency for comment on the report went unanswered by the time of publishing. Trying to create a celebration Sources said that despite the bombings, the junta is continuing preparations for Thingyan with beefed up security in Myanmar’s various regions and states. They said that in addition to a festival pavilion planned for city hall in Naypyidaw, the junta is preparing some 20 smaller pavilions on Pyinmana-Taung Nyo Road in the capital’s Zabu Thiri township and a water festival parade. But most people have no intention of taking part in Thingyan celebrations this year, a resident of Pyinmana, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA. “I haven’t heard anything about preparations for the celebration by residents so far,” he said. “But I think the junta is trying very hard to create a very big celebration.” The Pyinmana resident said junta troops are on patrol at the pavilion sites “around the clock.” Other sources told RFA that the junta has been ordering civil servants from several government departments to take part in the Thingyan festivities and to organize traditional dance performances. Thingyan pavilions built by Myanmar’s military junta are seen along Inya Road in Yangon on Monday, April 10, 2023. The Yangon-based Dark Shadow (YGN-UG) anti-junta group claimed responsibility for the bombings in that city. Credit: RFA A resident of Mandalay named Ko Moe said that the junta is preparing to hold Thingyan festivities as usual, despite the bombing there, adding that there are “more pavilions this year” than last. “One significant addition compared with last year is the pavilion at Nay Cho market,” he said. “The junta is trying to bring large crowds to that area, too. I think they are building the pavilions at a vast cost with the help of those who support them and people in their inner circle.” He said that last year’s Thingyan Festival parade organized by the junta was a failure as residents boycotted the event. Tin Oo, a resident of Yangon, said that in addition to a pavilion being built at city hall, the junta has instructed each township administrator to build large pavilions for their townships and to organize traditional dance presentations for entertainment. “The junta’s intent is to make this year’s water festival crowded with people, whatever it takes,” he said. Tin Oo said the junta is offering 10,000 kyats (U.S.$5) per day to security guards and anyone who is willing to join celebrations at the pavilions, and 50,000 kyats (U.S.$24) per day and festival wear to dance troupes that are willing to take part. “[These offers are meant] to draw large crowds during the festival, which I think will be impossible,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see if this year’s Water Festival will be crowded or not.” Calls for boycott Anti-junta political groups, meanwhile, are urging people across the country to go on strike instead of participating in the regime’s Thingyan celebrations. Nan Lin of the Ta-Ka-Tha University Students’ Union Alumni Force told RFA that the junta is trying to draw large crowds during the Thingyan festival because it wants to “divide the people” and “make an impression that the situation in the country is under control.” “The junta is forcefully controlling Myanmar’s heartland regions by burning down civilian villages, killing everyone in its way, and committing excessive, forceful and cruel atrocities, but in urban areas, it aims to make an impression that things are back to normal,” he said. “This is part of the junta’s plan to divide the people.” The armed opposition has called on people not to associate with the junta during the Water Festival and not to use military-related products. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcom Foster.

Category: ASEAN