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Category: ASEAN

UN expert: Member-states should engage with NUG to find Myanmar crisis solution

Editor08 mins

Other United Nations member-states should follow Malaysia’s lead and engage with Myanmar’s parallel civilian National Unity Government in efforts to help resolve the post-coup crisis in that country, a U.N. expert said Thursday. Additionally, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations needs a new approach in dealing with the Burmese junta to ensure it puts Myanmar back on the democratic path like it agreed to more than a year ago, said U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Tom Andrews, at a press conference at the end of an eight-day visit to Malaysia. “The five-point consensus is meaningless if it sits on a piece of paper,” he said, referring to an agreement struck between ASEAN member states, including Myanmar, on how the junta should move towards restoring democracy.  “Its only chance to make a difference is to put it into a meaningful action with a strategy, with an action plan, with a time frame, precisely as the [Malaysian] foreign minister has called for,” Andrews said, referring to Saifuddin Abdullah. Malaysia, which has strongly criticized the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, has also been consistently calling for stronger action from the regional bloc to make the Burmese junta accountable to the consensus it had agreed to in April 2021, but then ignored. “ASEAN must go back to the drawing board and implement a more detailed roadmap to achieving the five-point consensus within an appropriate timeframe,” Saifuddin said at a Shangri-La Dialogue panel in Singapore earlier this month. The five-point agreement reached between ASEAN leaders and Burmese military chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on April 24 last year included an end to violence, the provision of humanitarian assistance, an ASEAN envoy’s appointment, all-party dialogue, and mediation by the envoy. ASEAN has not succeeded in implementing any of these points, and most analysts have said the regional bloc, which famously operates by consensus, is to blame for this. Not every country in the 10-member ASEAN is in favor of piling the pressure on its fellow member, which means the bloc cannot be very effective. ‘What Malaysia did is significant’ Last October, Malaysia’s outspoken foreign minister had said Kuala Lumpur would open talks with the NUG if the Burmese junta kept stonewalling in cooperating with ASEAN’s conflict resolution efforts. In February, he met his NUG counterpart Zin Mar Aung via video conference, following that up with an in-person meeting in Washington on May 16 after the United States-ASEAN Special Summit. During an interview in May with BenarNews, Saifuddin had said that many in ASEAN were frustrated that the Myanmar military was ignoring the five-point consensus. “I think we need to be more creative and that is why, for example, we [need to] start naming the stakeholders …the NUG, … all of them,” Saifuddin told BenarNews. The U.N.’s Andrews said he believed talking with the NUG was a correct move by an ASEAN member-state such as Malaysia – one that other nations should follow. “Let’s be clear who is legitimate here and who is not legitimate,” he said. “The National Unity Government is made up of people who were elected by the people, and also people who represent ethnic communities that are critically important to the fabric and the future of Myanmar. I highly recommend – and I am glad the [Malaysian] foreign minister here has engaged with the NUG and I [am] recommending – that all countries in the United Nations…do the same.” ASEAN’s engagement with the NUG will be a good initiative, said analyst Md. Mahbubul Haque of University Sultan Zainal Abidin. “If anyone really supports the struggle for democracy and the overall human rights situation in Myanmar, it is very necessary to engage with the NUG. Currently the NUG is representing major political forces including various ethnic minorities,” he told BenarNews. “What Malaysia did is significant because it came from an ASEAN member-state. But right now, we cannot expect that all members will follow the Malaysian stand, because of [their own] geopolitical interests.” Another analyst, Aizat Khairi of Kuala Lumpur University, said that ASEAN’s engagement with the NUG would give the Burmese junta the required push it needs. “The junta will not be happy but it will provide the pressure needed to make them be more open and ready to go to the next level of negotiation with other parties in Myanmar,” he told BenarNews. The U.N. expert said in a statement issued Thursday that Saifuddin had urged ASEAN to move from a policy of “noninterference” to one of “non-indifference.”  BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.

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Former police captain sentenced to three years in prison

Editor06 mins

Former Vietnamese policeman turned self-styled corruption buster Le Chi Thanh has been sentenced to three years in prison for defaming an unnamed deputy minister of public security This was the second sentence for the former captain, who was an officer at Ham Tan prison camp. The People’s Court of Ham Tan district in Binh Thuan province opened the trial on Wednesday, sentencing Thanh the same day. The defendant was charged under the crime of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals,” under Article 331 of the Criminal Code. Thanh was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. According to lawyer Dang Dinh Manh, who defended Thanh, the prosecution relied on videos posted by the accused on Facebook as evidence against him: “The prosecution agency relied on clips allegedly made by Le Chi Thanh himself, and posted on the social network Facebook with content that was ‘distorted and untrue’ infringing on state agencies such as courts, the police, a deputy minister of public security and an individual who is his former supervisor.” Mr. Thanh’s former supervisor is Col. Le Ba Thuy, chief of Ham Tan prison, who was accused of corruption by Thanh. According to the online news site VnExpress, Thanh claimed that Col. Thuy, the superintendent of Z30D Prison, had land and properties worth tens of billions of dong which he had received from an unknown source. Thanh reportedly asked the Central Party Committee of Public Security and Government’s Inspectorate to investigate his claims of corruption and confiscate the assets. The police said that Col. Thuy and his wife only had a house in Tan Duc commune, Ham Tan district and that his family bought property in An Phu ward, Thu Duc city in 2014 with money accumulated from wages, livestock farming, and grocery trading. The trial panel also said that a video posted on Facebook by Thanh, in which he claimed a deputy minister of public security abused his power to discipline Thanh, was misleading and untrue. Thanh was disciplined by the Prison Management Department (Ministry of Public Security) for the allegation and expelled from the police force in July 2020. After being sacked Thanh became active on social media, making live broadcasts monitoring the activities of the traffic police. On April 14, 2021, he was arrested under the charge of “resisting on-duty state officials” and later sentenced to two years in prison by the Thu Duc city court in January 2022. With the new sentence, Le Chi Thanh will serve two sentences at the same time with a total of five years in prison. Commenting on the outcome of the trial, lawyer Dang Dinh Manh said, although the sentence was lighter than could have been handed down under Article 331, his view was that using articles such as 331 or 117 in the Criminal Code was unjust: “because I think it goes against the freedom of speech that Article 25 of the Constitution provides.” “In the case of [the accused making] statements that unjustly affect the reputation, honor and dignity of agencies, organizations and individuals, they have the right to initiate civil lawsuits to request compensation for damage and that is enough. This is also consistent with the treatment given in many countries in the region and around the world,” he said. Thanh’s mother, Le Thi Phu, said he would not file an appeal. Instead she plans to continue lobbying high-level officials in the police agency to reduce her son’s prison term.

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Myanmar civilian death toll surpasses 2,000 since coup-NGO

Editor06 mins

The toll of civilians who died at the hands of Myanmar’s military junta since it overthrew the country’s elected government 16 months ago reached 2,000 this week and is rising, according to a Thai-based activist group that has closely tracked deaths The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the milestone of 2,000 deaths since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup was reached June 20 and that recent deaths in anti-junta hotbeds Sagaing and Magway regions had pushed the figure to 2007. “This is the number verified by AAPP. The actual number of fatalities is likely much higher,” the AAPP said in a statement. The 2,000 deaths were memorialized by the U.S. and EU diplomatic missions in Yangon, with Brussels’ office posting a black cover on its social media page to express its condolences and Washington calling for accountability. “The inhumane atrocities committed by the military against the people of Burma across the country are a result of the lack of accountability among responsible persons on the part of the military. It highlights the urgent need for accountability,” the U.S. Embassy said. The AAPP report came five weeks after Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP Myanmar), a local think tank, said in a report that it had documented at least 5,646 civilian deaths between the Feb. 1, 2021, coup and May 10. The ISP figure included people killed by security forces during anti-junta protests, in clashes between the military and pro-democracy paramilitaries or ethnic armies, while held in detention, and in revenge attacks, including against informers for the regime. At least 1,831 civilians were killed in shooting deaths, the largest number of which occurred in war-torn Sagaing region, where junta troops have faced some of the toughest resistance to military rule in clashes with People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries that have displaced tens of thousands of residents since the coup, the ISP report said. Former political prisoner Tun Kyi said the AAPP’s list does not capture the full death toll. “People are seen as criminals and arrested illegally. People are tortured and killed. Whole villages are set on fire,” he told RFA Burmese. “The current AAPP list shows 2,000 deaths. In fact, there are more than that.” The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the milestone of 2,000 deaths since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup was reached June 20. Arbitrary detentions and torture The military has disputed or rejected the figures released by NGOS. Junta-controlled newspapers said last month that 2,796 non-combatants had been killed between the coup and May 15.  The military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party said 3,107 people have been killed after being accused of being military informants, 690 people died in armed clashes and 18 were slain by the pro-junta militia Thway Thauk, or Blood Comrades. Coup opponents in Yangon told RFA they were still committed to resisting the military regime. “The military made arbitrary arrests and detentions and tortured and killed peaceful protesters,” said a member of a Yangon-based protest committee who used the name Jewel for security reasons. “As a result, this revolution has been going on for more than a year, with the conviction that the military dictatorship must be uprooted,” she said. “No matter how much the people have lost, we see that this is the last game and I will continue to fight with this in mind,” added Jewel. Kyar Gyi, a spokesman for the Htee Chaing Township PDF, said the army would continue to arrest and kill anyone who opposed the junta. “It is routine for them to arrest or kill anyone who opposes them. They are still doing it. Homes are being set on fire and people killed,” he told RFA. “We will continue the fight as long as it takes for the military dictatorship to fall.” Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written by Paul Eckert.

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Myanmar junta forces kill 2 militiamen, torch villages near copper mine

Editor07 mins

Myanmar junta soldiers killed two local militia members and torched over 20 villages near the Chinese-owned Letpadaung copper mine in northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region on Tuesday, forcing more than 10,000 civilians to flee, residents said. About 100 soldiers guarding the Chinese company Wanbao’s mining site fired heavy artillery shells and raided Moe Gyo Pyin village in Salingyi township and set ablaze between 300 and 400 houses, locals said. Sagaing has seen some of the fiercest armed resistance to junta rule since the military seized power from the country’s elected government in a February 2021 coup. As fighting between the military and the PDFs has intensified there in recent months, junta forces have conducted an arson campaign targeting rural villages, killing civilians and burning hundreds of homes, leaving thousands displaced. The junta stepped up raids of villages near the mine site after 16 local People Defense Force (PDF) militias opposed to the military regime issued a statement on April 21 calling for a halt to the controversial Letpadaung copper project, locals said. A Moe Gyo Pyin resident who lost his home said he had watched from a distance as the soldiers set fire to the village. “I could see my village being burned from a distance,” he said. “We were all men, not cowards, but we couldn’t do anything except just watch with clenched fists and grit our teeth, looking at each other with tears in our eyes. There was nothing we could do about it.” The exact number of houses that were burned down is unknown, but about two-thirds of the raided villages are gone, said another resident, adding that the troops left a monastery near the village untouched. “We heard they’d be coming yesterday morning and left two guys as sentries,” said the resident who did not want to be named for security reasons. “They shelled the village from afar before the raid. Some houses in the village were burned down in the morning and later, the whole village was set on fire in the afternoon. The two men we left behind as sentries were arrested and killed.” Soldiers cut off the arms of one of the guards — members of a local PDF — and stabbed the other in the abdomen, he said. After the soldiers left Moe Gyo Pyin during the night, residents returned to the village and found the bodies of the two dead PDF members and cremated them on Wednesday, the villager said. Villagers march along a road during a protest against a Chinese-backed copper mining company in Salingyi township, northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region, Dec. 30, 2019. Credit: Tint Aung Soe Another village raid Military troops detained about 60 people inside the monastery the same day after they entered the old village of Se-de, about two miles from Moe Gyoe Pyin, a resident there said. Others in the village fled. “We ran from the village straightaway and did not even dare to look back,” the resident said. “Some people carried some of their belongings as much as they could, but others did not. We were so afraid of them. Those who could not run got arrested.” RFA could not reach junta spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, for comment. He said on May 29 that governments have a responsibility to protect foreign investments in Myanmar. In retaliation for the military’s use of force against the villages, local PDFs said they fired 100 mortars at a power distribution site and the acid tanks inside the mine project site on Tuesday, though the extent of the damage is unknown. Zwe Htet, a member of Salingyi Revolutionary Army, a local militia group, pledged to attack the Chinese copper mine project daily if the regime’s forces continued burning down area villages. “Long-range shooting is our main strategy now,” he said. “We used 60 mm, 80 mm and 120 mm shells. The main attack was on the acid tank and the power plant. I saw some fires inside.” “The main purpose of the revolution is to overthrow the military regime,” he said. “They are now setting fire to villages in Letpadaung. Soon, the military situation will be tense.” Those who lost homes are moving to places near the monastery and other nearby villages, though Letpadaung area residents said their phone lines and internet service were still down. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane for RFA Burmese. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Myanmar junta representative attends ASEAN defense meeting

Editor06 mins

A representative of Myanmar’s military regime attended the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Wednesday, despite an appeal from hundreds of pro-democracy organizations in the war-ravaged country that the Southeast Asian regional bloc not engage with the junta. Myanmar Gen. Mya Tun Oo became the most senior official to represent the self-styled State Administration Council (SAC) at a ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since the military ousted the country’s democratically elected government in February 2021. The 10 ASEAN member states have appeared divided on how to deal with the junta, with some fearing that engagement might signal acceptance or endorsement of the regime and its bloody crackdown on its opponents. Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have all expressed to the 2020 ASEAN chair Cambodia that the junta should be excluded until there is an indication that hostilities in Myanmar will end. “Even though there is participation from Myanmar involving a representative from the State Administrative Council in the meeting today, this does not mean that Malaysia has recognized the SAC as the legitimate Myanmar government,” a statement from Malaysia’s Defense Ministry said. “Malaysia has always stressed that SAC should expedite the enforcement of the matters which were agreed on based on the 5 Point Consensus to find a solution to the political crisis in Myanmar,” it said, referring to the agreement reached between ASEAN’s leaders and Burmese military chief Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on April 24, 2021. The agreement sought an end to violence in Myanmar, the provision of humanitarian assistance, the appointment of an ASEAN envoy, and talks among the various groups in Myanmar to be mediated by the envoy. Cambodia’s Defense Minister Tea Banh, meanwhile, said that Mya Tun Oo’s participation in the meeting showed that the regional trade bloc is unified on security issues. “This is a participation to find solutions and this accusation, that accusation, we can’t respond to all of them,” he said during a news conference, responding to criticism over including Myanmar in the meeting. Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto told his counterparts to put aside their differences to safeguard their mutual interests. “We must not allow outside powers to divide ASEAN and drag us into their competition. The future of ASEAN and our people rests on our shoulders, and I believe we all share the same view that we want peace and not conflict, cooperation rather than competition,” he said. A coalition of 677 pro-democracy organizations in Myanmar last week co-authored an open letter to the ASEAN defense ministers, urging them not to invite a representative from the junta. The organizations said Mya Tun Oo’s representation would be inconsistent with other ASEAN decisions to exclude representation from the junta, such as at the 2021 ASEAN Summit and the 2022 Foreign Minister’s Retreat. “ADMM’s engagement with the junta, which has included military exercises, may likely amount to the aiding and abetting of the junta’s war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the letter said. “In allowing the junta to participate in ADMM, ASEAN is further risking complicity in the junta’s atrocity crimes by providing support and legitimacy to the military and emboldening a military that is waging a nationwide campaign of terror.” Cambodian state media reported that the ministers agreed in a joint declaration issued after the meeting to enhance cooperation between ASEAN defense forces for COVID-19 containment, boost support for ASEAN Women Peacekeepers, further collaborate between defense-oriented educational institutions, and share information to enhance maritime security. Additional reporting by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

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Laos shuffles top Cabinet posts amid economic slowdown

Editor05 mins

The Lao government this week reorganized its ruling Cabinet, adding two new deputy prime ministers and replacing heads of the national bank and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce as an economic crisis grips the Southeast Asian country. The move, approved on Monday by the Lao National Assembly, comes just a year into the new administration of Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh. Laotians say it has become increasingly difficult to eke out a living in the one-party communist country, given the rising costs of gasoline, food and other daily necessities. Laos’ inflation rate stood at 12.8 percent in May — one of the highest in Southeast Asia. Hundreds now line up each day outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vientiane to renew or apply for passports to search for jobs in neighboring Thailand. And a government plan to increase the country’s minimum wage from 1.1 million kip (U.S. $75) to 1.3 million kip (U.S. $88) per month may not be enough to keep them home. The number of deputy prime ministers in the Lao government has now moved from three to five following the promotions of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith and former Minister of Public Security Vilay Lakhamfong. Governor of the Bank of the Lao PDR Sonexay Sitphaxay has now been replaced by Deputy Minister of Finance Bonleua Sinxayvoravong, while President of the State Audit Organization Malaythong Kommasith has now replaced Khampheng Saysompheng as Minister of Industry and Commerce. Speaking to RFA on Wednesday, several Lao residents said they welcomed the shuffle of top leadership jobs but voiced caution as to the chances for positive change in the near term. Monday’s switch of Cabinet posts shows the government is now fully focused on the country’s economic and financial problems, said one faculty member at the Lao National University. “This is a period of transition, and the government will make some changes to the economy. However, everything will probably stay the same for now,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely. “Whoever takes these posts, it seems that things may stay the same,” agreed another Lao citizen, also declining to be named. “I will have to wait to see how decisive he or she will be in solving our problems. “The government should recruit talented and educated people to put in these positions,” he added. Another Lao citizen said the government should do more to encourage participation by the country’s young in managing the economy. “Our problems will not be solved just by people with a strong spirit of nationalism,” he said. “There will be solutions only when we encourage our young people to also take responsibility. But if things continue as they are, I have no idea how all of this will turn out. “There is nothing I can do myself,” he said. Translated by Phouvong for RFA Lao. Written in English by Richard Finney.

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12 militia members killed in Magway region shootout

Editor04 mins

Twelve members of a People’s Defense Force (PDF) have been shot dead and three others arrested after fighting near Mae Zali Bridge in Myanmar’s central Magway region, according to police, a PDF official and local residents. Locals said a six-wheeled red truck driving from Salin township was inspected by junta security forces at around 6 a.m. Wednesday. Fighting then erupted on Pathein-Monywa road in Pwint Phyu township, killing 12 PDF members in the vehicle. PDF official Ko Kyar Gyi confirmed the incident and told RFA that the PDF members were not from Pyint Phyu Township. He said the PDF is still trying to find out where they came from. “PDF groups from other townships confronted the junta forces at the Mae Zali bridge. There were some casualties and arrests from our side by junta forces and also their side had some casualties,” he said. “Our township’s PDF group was asked for some help after the fighting and we are assisting. We can explain in detail when the remaining members are safe. It will be announced on our township [social media] page.” The local news outlet Myay Latt Voice said that the PDF members killed Wednesday morning were from Thayat and Kanma Townships in Magway region. It said the vehicle was carrying weapons from Sagaing region and was attacked by the military forces on the way back. A confidential telegram from Pwint Phyu Police, seen by RFA, stated that a red-six-wheeled vehicle driving along the Pathein-Monywa road from Salin township was stopped by junta forces led by Brigadier General Min Paing Soe near Mae Zali bridge and fighting broke out. It says that 12 PDF members were shot dead and three captured alive. Two of the arrested are said to be in critical condition. Rifles and a grenade launcher captured by security forces after the shootout. CREDIT: Citizen journalist Police confiscated 25 KA-25 rifles and a 40 milimeter grenade launcher according to the telegram. Residents said 12 people died when a rocket propelled grenade was fired at the vehicle carrying PDF members by security forces guarding the Mae Zali bridge. They said the vehicle was carrying weapons provided by the National Unity Government. RFA could not independently verify the claims and calls to a military council spokesman went unanswered. Photographs from pro-military websites show the bodies of the 12 dead PDF members were badly mutilated. Myay Latt Voice quoted a PDF spokesman as saying members were killed when their vehicle was shot by heavy artillery at close range by military forces. Magway is Myanmar’s second largest region and PDFs there have fought fiercely with junta forces since the coup on February 1 last year.

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CAN calls for immediate release of Vietnamese anti-coal activist

Editor06 mins

The international environmental group Climate Action Network (CAN) has called for the release of Vietnamese anti-coal activist Nguy Thi Khanh. In a news release Monday CAN condemned Nguy’s sentencing on tax evasion charges, saying she was one of a number of environmental activists targeted by state authorities in Vietnam. Nguy leads the Green Innovation and Development Center is also chair of the board of Climate Action Network South East Asia (CANSEA). “It is apparent CANSEA Board Chair Nguy Thi Khanh has been imprisoned for her environmental work, especially against coal use, as part of an effort to silence dissent from environmental groups,” said CANSEA director and regional coordinator Nithi Nesadurai. “Her arrest has already had a chilling effect on other environmental civil society groups advocating for environmental protection and addressing the effects of climate change, on behalf of the Vietnamese people. We call on the government to release her immediately and all those detained on the pretext of other charges for doing their work on climate protection.” CAN said that Nguy has dedicated her life’s work to fighting against an increase in the production and use of coal and trying to promote a transition to sustainable energy sources. The group said Nguy had succeeded in influencing the Vietnamese government to commit to a faster transition from coal to green energy. It said the Goldman Environmental Prize winner and Eisenhower Fellow was key to the implementation of the 1 million solar rooftop homes in Vietnam program. Nguy was arrested earlier this year and her office was ransacked. CAN said the raid was part of a crackdown on climate activists aimed at protecting what it called “powerful vested interests,” which have increased the risks faced by environmental activists in Vietnam. State media has been silent on the case but people familiar with trial said that Nguy was found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced on Friday to two years in prison. Michael Sutton, the Goldman Environmental Prize executive director, called for Nguy’s release, saying: “We believe that the legal charges leveled against her are part of a wider effort to silence environmental leaders in Vietnam.” CAN cited the recent murder of indigenous leader Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Brazilian Amazon as a reminder that those aiming to expose environmental wrongdoing are putting their lives on the line and that those in power will use any means possible to stop them.  “The repression, harassment and targeting of environmental defenders and civil society leaders is a dangerous trend across the world and highlights the enormous risks so many activists continue to take to simply do their work to protect people and the planet,” said CAN executive director Tasneem Essop. “There is no climate justice without social justice and the protection of basic human rights – the rights of people to protest, to challenge the status quo and the state and the freedom to engage in our work without fear of repercussions. We call for the immediate release of Nguy Thi Khanh and all other civil society activists recently targeted by the Vietnamese authorities. We are closely watching the situation, not only in Vietnam, but also elsewhere in the world. We stand in solidarity with all those fighting for a better, safer and just future. An injury to one is an injury to all.” CAN claims to be the world’s biggest climate network, made up of more than 1,500 civil society group in over 130 countries.

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Newly elected commune chief from Cambodian opposition arrested for 2002 ‘robbery’

Editor05 mins

Authorities in Cambodia arrested a newly elected commune chief over his alleged involvement in a robbery case 20 years ago, sources in the country told RFA. As a candidate for the opposition Candlelight Party, Nhim Sarom won a seat on the council of Chamna Lue commune in the central province of Kampong Thom during local elections on June 5. Police took him into custody on Tuesday afternoon, while he was working in the commune hall. The arrest warrant for his involvement in an incident in 2002 was obtained by RFA. It is dated June 21, 2012, but only enforced, signed by Kampong Thom Provincial Police Commissioner Vorn Sophorn, on June 21, 2022.   Khat Kheang, Nhim Sarom’s wife, told RFA’s Khmer Service that her husband was innocent, and that his arrest was a violation of political rights and the will of the people. “I request that the authorities release my husband,” she said. “My husband is not in the wrong, my husband is clean, let the court help release my husband.” Kampong Thom Provincial Court Investigating Judge Sik Vanna accused Nhim Sarom of robbery for an event that occurred 20 years ago. The arrest and charges are politically motivated, Thach Setha, the Candlelight Party’s vice president, told RFA. “The alleged case occurred in 2002 and there was an arrest warrant in 2012, but they never arrested him,” Thach Setha said. “Why did they arrested him only after he was elected to be commune chief?” According to Thach Setha, the charge is related to the seizure of property for debt repayment. “Nhim Sarom took a motorbike from a man who owed him money. He took the bike to the police station to try to find a solution,” Thach Setha said. “The two men later reconciled, and the problem was resolved. …This is political intimidation,” said Thach Setha. The 20 years between the incident and the arrest was “strange,” Soeung Senkaruna, spokesperson for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, told RFA. “As far as this case is concerned, it looks like a political issue. It is something that we think will have a significant impact on political competition,” he said. Arrests like this one can undermine the public’s confidence in Cambodia’s political and legal systems, said Soeung Senkaruna. Nhim Sarom was one of three Candlelight Party candidates elected to commune councils in Kampong Thom province on May 5, and the second newly elected local official from the party to be arrested following victory in the election. Ley Sokkon, who won a seat in Battambang province, was arrested June 8 for allegedly violating housing rights when he filmed local authorities of the ruling party registering people to vote on election day. RFA was unable to reach Kampong Thom Provincial Police Commissioner Vorn Sophorn for comment on Nhim Sarom’s arrest. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

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Lao authorities rescue nearly 500 workers from Golden Triangle SEZ

Editor07 mins

Police in northwestern Laos’ Bokeo province rescued nearly 500 trapped workers in the past year, including about 200 women who were victims of human trafficking in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, a provincial official said. Bokeo Deputy Gov. Khamphaya Phompanya told Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune, Laos’ deputy prime minister and chairman of the National Committee on Anti-Human Trafficking, during a June 14 meeting that police rescued 477 workers between May 2021 and May 2022. The smallest and least populous province in the landlocked country is home to the SEZ, a gambling and tourism hub catering to the Chinese situated along the Mekong River where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet. In 2018, the U.S. government sanctioned the Chinese tycoon who is said to run the SEZ as head of a trafficking network. Most of those rescued have been Lao nationals lured by middlemen to perform jobs as scammers trying to convince people to invest or buy shares in the Kings Romans Casino. When they couldn’t meet their sales quotas, they were detained against their will, and in some cases sold off to work in the sex industry. “Our police department estimates that there are a lot of workers who are still being abused in the Golden Triangle SEZ in Bokeo province and haven’t been rescued,” Khamphaya said during the meeting. “Rescuing workers in the SEZ is not easy because the SEZ is controlled by the Chinese, and not accessible by the Lao authorities.” Lao authorities cannot easily enter the Chinese-run zone, which operates largely beyond the reach of the Lao government. Provincial police officers have been able to rescue workers being held against their will by their employer only after the women have contacted the authorities. At the end of the meeting, Kikeo said that the Lao government began implementing a five-year anti-human trafficking plan to crack down on human trafficking nationwide in 2021. Bokeo province officials have put in place their own measures to protect SEZ workers. In February, they began requiring all employers to sign labor contracts that ensure workers have a safe workplace, insurance benefits and fair wages. The authorities also prohibit forced labor and require regular monitoring and reporting of work and living conditions to the provincial management office. Once the contracts are signed, workers receive a province-issued smart card showing their identity and the name of their employer. Labor contract disputes A Bokeo province police officer, who like other sources requested anonymity for safety reasons, told RFA that authorities know there are still many more abused and trapped workers in the SEZ, but they don’t know the number. “[M]any Lao and foreign workers have been abused [while] having labor disputes with Chinese employers,” he said. “For example, they couldn’t do the jobs, and the employers wouldn’t give them any food and water, or would detain them or sell them to massage parlors and brothels.” “We don’t know the number because the SEZ is a Chinese territory,” the police officer said. “We can go in there only when we’re allowed to.” A member of Bokeo’s anti-human trafficking unit said it also was difficult to rescue trapped workers because they have signed employment contracts. “We can’t help many workers such as those who have labor contracts with their employers for six months or one year,” he said. “They have to abide by the contracts. We can help only those who are abused and didn’t sign the contracts.” A Lao woman who recently escaped from the SEZ confirmed that human trafficking is still occurring despite the Lao government’s efforts. “Right now, they [human traffickers] are still recruiting Lao and Thai girls, women and men to work in the SEZ,” she told RFA, adding that recruiters usually are paid 15,000 baht (U.S. $425) for each person they recruit. “Many workers experience all kinds of hardship and still continue to work in the SEZ because they come from very poor families,” she said. “They have no other choice but to work there.” Another former SEZ worker said when middlemen tried to sell him women, he declined because he pitied them. “In the SEZ, a woman can be sold for sex for 2,000 yuan (U.S. $300) per night or 400 yuan (U.S. $60) for one time.” Translated by Max Avary for RFA Lao. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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