ASEAN Archives - Page 96 of 145 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Vietnamese artist ‘shocked’ after being ordered to destroy 29 paintings

Editor3 years ago06 mins

Popular Vietnamese artist and poet Bui Quang Vien is vowing fight an order from authorities in Vietnam’s largest city to destroy 29 of his abstract paintings because he showed them in a gallery last month without a permit. The Ho Chi Minh City government on Aug. 9 fined Vien 25 million dong (about US $1,000) and, in an unprecedented move critics called a “step backward” even in a country known for heavy censorship, ordered the destruction of his work for a painting exhibition he held July 15-30 at Alpha Art Station. “I can’t find a word to express my shock,” the artist, who publishes poetry under the pen name Bui Chat. He called the order “unbelievable and unimaginable.” “I knew I would be given a fine because they had established an inspection group of 15-16 people who came and made a record that I had held the exhibition without a permit,” he told RFA Vietnamese in an interview. “I acknowledged that I had organized the exhibition without applying for a permit,” said Vien, who told RFA he was too busy organizing the show and had no idea that he needed to apply for a permit. “I was thinking they would only give me a fine,” he added. The administrative order–signed by Duong Anh Duc, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City government–states that if Vien does not destroy his artwork, they will be forcefully destroyed, while interest will be charged if he pays the fine late. “Over the past year, many exhibitions took place at the same time as or a little bit earlier than mine, almost all in small galleries in Saigon that I know, did not apply for an exhibition permit,” he said. Saigon is the former name of Ho Chi Minh City. “They were held as usual and without any problems. However, my exhibition was punished for not having a permit,” added Vien. Vien, whose 29 paintings that have been targeted by authorities contained no political message or nudity, is no stranger to harassment by authorities in the one-party Communist state. In 2011, under his pen name Bui Chat, he won the International Publishers Association’s 2011 Freedom to Publish Award. However, after returning from a trip to Argentina to receive the prize, he was detained and grilled by the police for two days. Censorship of culture and literature has been a long-standing practice in Vietnam but experts said that censorship of paintings was a new thing. “Vietnam is known for destroying books. However, this is the first incident in the field of painting. Before I had never heard about a case in which a fine given to an exhibition came with the requirement to destroy paintings,” said Hoang Dung, a professor and member of the Vietnam Independent Literature Association’s Advocacy Committee “To put it bluntly, this is a step backwards in culture management. I believe that anyone with a normal conscience would be shocked by such a decision,” added Hoang. Vien told RFA that he would fight to protect his artworks and not easily give up. “The decision says that I can make a complaint or take legal proceedings. Therefore, I’ll see my lawyers to carry out procedures to file a complaint or lawsuit to protect my rights and interests,” he told RFA. “There is no way that I will destroy my artwork.” Translated by Anna Vu. Written by Paul Eckert.

Lao residents call for inspection of development projects to combat corruption

Editor3 years ago05 mins

Residents of a province in northern Laos are calling on the government to take a closer look at local development projects following revelations that state employees had profited illegally from contracts financing the work, Lao sources say. News that state employees and members of Laos’ ruling communist party were involved in corruption followed a 6-month review by Xayaburi province authorities of state development projects, local sources said. The identities of officials accused of wrongdoing were not made public, however, angering local residents who told RFA they want the names revealed. “There are a lot of corrupt state employees now,” one Xayaburi resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “And if the government discovers who they are it should make their names public so that the people can be informed.” Central government authorities should do more now to protect the country’s development budget, another Xayaburi resident said. “All development projects, such as those for building infrastructure, should be thoroughly inspected,” the resident said, also declining to be named. “And if these are found to be substandard and not following proper guidelines, the contracts should be revoked, and the projects should be canceled and not allowed to continue,” he said. “The banks that allocate money for these projects will be upset if they find out that those projects are being investigated for crime,” a third provincial resident agreed. Xayaburi’s six-month review of state development projects in the province show that of 47 projects each supported by investments of 10 billion kip ($656,167) or more, 37 failed to follow proper rules of concession, leading to state losses of over 45 billion kip, according to state media reports. And of 233 projects invested at lower amounts, 79 were examined, with 17 showing losses to the state of 1.62 billion kip. More than 150 projects remain to be examined by the end of the year. Leakage from project budgets is found mostly in the education and health-care sectors, an official from Xayaburi’s inspection unit told RFA, also speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “For example, when money is allocated to build toilets for schools, these are often not up to standard. The money has been used for something else, and the people who gave the money are not happy,” he said. Also speaking to RFA, a second provincial official said that though laws are in place to punish corruption, “we send the bigger cases to central authorities to deal with if we find we can’t handle them at lower levels of authority.” The Lao government has lost U.S. $767 million to corruption since 2016, with government development and investment projects such as road and bridge construction the leading source of the widespread graft, according to the country’s State Inspection Authority. However, despite the enactment of an anticorruption law that criminalizes the abuse of power, public sector fraud, embezzlement and bribery, Laos’ judiciary is weak and inefficient, and officials are rarely prosecuted. Berlin-based Transparency International 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Laos at 128 of 180 countries in the world. Laos received a score of 30 on a scale of 0-100, on which 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya for RFA Lao. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Skyrocketing rice prices another hardship for Myanmar citizens

Editor3 years ago010 mins

The price of rice, a food staple in Southeast Asia, and other commodities has shot up as much as 50 percent over the last two months in Myanmar, another hardship for the country’s beleaguered citizens, many of whom have already had to flee their homes because of ongoing conflict, traders and consumers said. The average cost of basic food on average in Myanmar has risen by 35% in the past year, according to recent data compiled by the World Food Program. A 24-pyi (4.7-pound) bag of Shwebo Pawsan rice, considered locally to be the best quality rice, has gone up even more. A bag that sold for 66,000 kyats (U.S. $31) on July 1 now sells for 90,000 kyats (U.S. $42). In Yangon, traders said the price can spike to 100,000 kyats (U.S. $47) in retail markets. Prior to the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup that sparked the conflict, the price of a 24-pyi sack of the rice was 52,000 kyats (U.S. $25). The inflation has hit hard low-income people who now have difficulty affording even lower quality rice and are dealing with a shortage of jobs since the democratically elected government was ousted, sources said. Low-quality rice that used to cost 25,000 kyats (U.S. $12) is now selling for 45,000 kyats (U.S. $21), said a low-income Yangon resident. “Right now, it’s very hard for manual laborers to earn money,” he said. “Manual laborers need to get money first to have their meals, and then they can buy rice in the evening after work.” The price increases have made lives even harder for the 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled their homes due to the fighting, aid workers said. Most IDPs are living in areas where transportation is difficult. Meanwhile, military checkpoints have restricted the movement of food along major routes, pushing up the cost of supplies, they said. A member of the Mindat township IDP Camps Management Committee in western Myanmar’s Chin state, where fighting between military forces and opposition groups has been intense, said the cost of transporting goods is double what it is in other areas and rice has to be smuggled in. “In faraway places, the price reached almost 100,000 kyats when the cost of transportation, which is about 50,000 kyats, was added to the original price,” said the aid workers, who declined to be identified out of fear for his safety. “We haven’t had any donations for the IDPs for the last two months, so we can’t buy rice anymore,” he said. “We won’t have supplies for distribution for the rest of August or for September and October.” Ye Min Aung, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Federation, blamed the rising prices on COVID-19 virus outbreaks, the country’s political instability and the high costs of production. “COVID-19 issues, political issues and internal instability in central parts of Myanmar along with the rising costs of fertilizer and fuel in international markets are to blame,” he said. “Fertilizer prices have tripled,” he said. “Farmers have to use fertilizers and fuel and so their production costs have also risen. Moreover, rice mills have had to install generators due to the decrease in the electric power supply, resulting in an increase in production costs.” Buckets of rice are seen at a rice shop in Yangon, Myanmar, April 12, 2022. Credit: RFA ‘Fleeing for our lives’ Shwebo Pawson, the most expensive and popular rice in Myanmar, is usually grown in Shwebo, Kantbalu, Khin U, Ye U and Taze townships in northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region, where the fighting between military and opposition forces has been particularly intense. In an effort to clear the area, government troops have burned dozens of homes and other structures in recent weeks. Some farmers have been unable to plant rice or other crops this year, while others cannot properly care for their cultivated fields, said residents of the townships. A farmer in Shwebo township said he and other residents have not been able to work because they have been forced to run from Myanmar soldiers. “We have been fleeing for our lives to safety because of the military attacks, and many of the fields have been left unattended,” said the farmer who did not provide his name because of safety reasons. In the Ayeyarwady region, Myanmar’s rice bowl, farmers have been grappling with a drought amid what is supposed to be the rainy season. They say they are unable to make capital inputs and have had to cultivate fewer acres because of high production costs. Myanmar has more than 17 million acres of rice paddies in production, but the country’s agricultural targets have not yet been met, military junta leader Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said in the capital Naypyidaw on Aug. 8. He warned that officials may need to adjust how much rice is exported and how much is set aside for domestic consumption. But Myanmar still plans to export rice and green beans, he said. An economist, who declined to be named so as to speak freely, said that statement may mean the junta could seize rice stocks to generate revenue, further pushing up the price. “They themselves have announced that they are going to export rice and green beans,” he said. “If they do that, they will look for rice in any way they can get and will hoard it.” With the current shortage of hard currency in Myanmar, the junta appears to be eyeing up rice exports to get badly needed U.S. dollars, the economist said. “They seem to be planning to get dollars directly into their hands from exports,” he said. “The more they do that, the more the prices of commodities will rise, especially that of rice. Besides, traders will find it difficult to buy [rice] and will keep what they have, so that prices will rise even more.” Translated by Khin Maung Nyane for RFA Burmese. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 6 more years in prison

Editor3 years ago3 years ago06 mins

A Myanmar military court on Monday sentenced former national leader Aung San Suu Kyi to six years in prison following her conviction on corruption charges that critics say are without merit. Suu Kyi, 77, now faces a total of 17 years in prison, with today’s 6-year term added to an 11 years already imposed following trials in other cases brought by Myanmar’s military leaders, who overthrew her democratically elected civilian government in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup. The three cases heard on Monday were tied to the acquisition of land in the capital Naypyidaw by the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, which was named after Aung San Suu Kyi’s late mother, and to the construction of a building on that land and of foundation headquarters in Yangon. Naypyidaw Mayor Myo Aung, Deputy Mayor Ye Min Oo, and Naypyidaw Municipal Committee Member Min Oo, who were also charged in the cases, were each given 2-year terms. The sentences imposed by a prison court in Naypyidaw were themselves unlawful, however, as Myanmar’s now-ruling military had seized power illegally, Bo Bo Oo—a former Yangon lawmaker for the National League for Democracy. “This case has been all wrong right from the start,” said the former parliamentarian, whose party’s government was overthrown by Myanmar’s military last year. “To begin with, the military coup was carried out in violation of the law, so it’s silly for them to say that they are now on the side of the law. I don’t recognize their authority,” he said. Calls seeking comment from junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun received no response, but a veteran legal expert told IJ-reportika that Aung San Suu Kyi should not have been prosecuted on corruption charges for a project done for the country’s benefit. Junta allegations that national funds had been lost by the land’s sale at a low price should not have been filed. “When action is taken against nationally beneficial projects like the La Yaung Taw project just because they are connected to Aung San Suu Kyi, this will cause other projects to be stopped that could be helpful to citizens in the future,” he said. “This is just another example of how the junta deals with political problems in Myanmar not by using political means but through hatred and animosity,” agreed Arakan National Party chairman Tha Tun Hla. “People who are tied to political cases should not be punished and imprisoned,” he added. Aung San Suu Kyi now faces charges in 9 more cases, including a case brought under Section 3(1)[c] of the Official Secrets Act, that also carry long prison terms, sources say. ‘Methodical assault on human rights’ Myanmar political observer Than Soe Naing said that by arresting and jailing Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s military is carrying out its goal of removing her entirely from the country’s political life. “However, history will show that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has never bribed anyone or committed financial fraud. Her virtue, integrity and dignity can never be damaged, even a little,” he said. Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said on Monday that the Myanmar military junta’s conviction and sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi is “part of its methodical assault on human rights around the country. “The junta’s fabricated trials, torture of detainees, and execution of activists highlights its broader disregard for the lives of Myanmar’s people. “The United Nations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), European Union, United States, and other concerned governments should press for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all those wrongfully imprisoned,” Pearson said. “This verdict should push them to undertake urgent action against the junta to ensure there’s justice for its victims and a reckoning for its crimes.” Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Hong Kong exodus continues as rights groups pinpoint leaders’ overseas property

Editor3 years ago3 years ago09 mins

Hongkongers are continuing to leave the city in droves amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent under a draconian security law imposed by Beijing. Recent figures from the city’s census and statistics department showed the city’s population has fallen for the third year running, with net departures of permanent residents totaling 113,000 during 2022 alone, and around 121,000 compared with the same time last year. “This is pretty unprecedented,” Chinese University of Hong Kong business school researcher Simon Lee. “[Before this] we saw population growth for a long period.” “Many of these people leaving are young and strong, and it’s too early to tell whether they will come back or not,” Lee said. “This is a blow to our economic recovery in the short term, because fewer people means less economic activity and less consumption.” A social activist who gave only the nickname Peter said it is increasingly difficult for people in Hong Kong to get information about what is happening to those who leave. “There is less news out there, no more Apple Daily, Stand or Citizen News,” Peter said. “In one sense, to a certain extent the government … wants to force people to leave, so they can’t stand together.” Peter said he has started a letter-writing program to allow overseas Hongkongers to support people currently behind bars for their role in the 2019 protest movement or held as part of subsequent political crackdowns. “Everyone has to live their own lives, because it’s hard to even think about the [protest movement] if you don’t do that,” he said. “But while we’re doing that, we can use some of our leftover energy to reconnect [with everyone else].” “Whenever I have time to write a letter, I remind myself why I can’t go back to Hong Kong,” he said. “I can’t go home.” People lie in hospital beds with night-time temperatures falling outside the Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on Feb. 16, 2022, as hospitals become overwhelmed with the city facing its worst COVID-19 wave to date. Credit: AFP Foreign property owners Peter’s initiative has seen letters pour in from the U.K., Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, among other countries, and the democratic island of Taiwan, which has offered immigration options to Hongkongers fleeing the crackdown. The U.K.-based rights group Hong Kong Watch has also called on governments to step up sanctions on the city’s officials, many of whom own property overseas. The group said it had identified property belonging to four Hong Kong officials in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Health secretary Lo Chung-Mau owns a flat in London, while non-official executive councilors Margaret Leung, Moses Cheng and Eliza Chan own property in Sydney, London and Toronto, the group said. “It beggars belief that Hong Kong officials who denounce Western countries so gleefully are destroying their fellow citizens’ basic freedoms and rights [and] continue to own property in the U.K., Australia, and Canada,” the group’s advocacy director Sam Goodman said. The group called on the governments of the U.K., Canada, and Australia to join the U.S. in introducing Magnitsky-style sanctions targeting the assets of Hong Kong officials who are “complicit in gross human rights violations.” Meanwhile, international arrivals have fallen sharply in Hong Kong amid the city’s COVID-19 quarantine restrictions. Passenger volumes have plummeted, with 18 times fewer passengers arriving in Hong Kong via the airport this summer — just over two million per month in July and August 2022 — compared with pre-pandemic figures. People lie in hospital beds with night-time temperatures falling outside the Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on Feb. 16, 2022, as hospitals become overwhelmed with the city facing its worst COVID-19 wave to date. Credit: AFP Losing to Singapore Lee said the recent easing of quarantine requirements for inbound passengers was unlikely to improve things. “With regard to tourists, people won’t come unless they have to for business, because they have a lot of choices for leisure travel,” he said. “Why would they come to Hong Kong? They would only come if they like Hong Kong a lot.” While the government recently eased restrictions in a bid to kickstart the city’s flagging economy, the number of flights arriving in the city is still far lower than those destined for Singapore, which lifted quarantine requirements for arrivals in April. We counted 61 flights arriving at Hong Kong International Airport on Aug.12, compared with 289 flights arriving at Singapore’s Changi Airport, nearly five times as many. The Singapore Tourism Board estimates between four and six million visitors will arrive in the city this year for tourism purposes, with 543,000 inbound tourists in June compared with 418,000 in May, and the figures have been rising for five months in a row. Lee said Hong Kong’s COVID-19 policy had hit its status as an international aviation hub, and the city would struggle to catch up with its main competitor. “It is a short-term phenomenon, but other places returned to normal six months ago,” Lee said. He said the development would likely mean people get out of the habit of booking flights routed through the city. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Four local fighters shot dead in Sagaing region’s Tabayin township

Editor3 years ago03 mins

Junta forces arrested five members of the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in Myanmar’s Sagaing region. They shot four of them, while the other is still missing, residents told RFA. Three of the dead were named as Zaw Oo, Khing Lin and Min Than, according to locals. The other man was not identified. They were shot by troops in Hpoke Tan Taw village. A local resident, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA a military column with nearly a hundred soldiers has been stationed in Hpoke Tan Taw village since last Tuesday. They arrested the PDF members who snuck into the village to assess the situation on Saturday evening “The four people who were shot were hit in their head and their heads were crushed. They were heavily tortured and finally shot in the mouth. When we entered the village this morning, we found dead bodies next to the entrance of the Shwe Gu Gyi pagoda. The four who died are estimated to be aged between 18 and 25,” a local told RFA. This morning, he said the military convoy returned to two villages northwest of Hpoke Tan Taw causing hundreds of residents to flee. More than 800 residents of Hpoke Tan Taw village, which as nearly 300 houses, fled to nearby villages and forests in the past week according to residents. RFA has not been able to independently verify the locals claims. Military columns with hundreds of soldiers have entered villages in Tabayin township since August 2, and arrested more than 50 residents, locals said.

‘Most of us are worse off’

Editor3 years ago014 mins

More than four years after a dam collapse in southern Laos triggered the country’s worst flooding in decades much of the farmland that was underwater remains unusable, leaving some survivors still struggling to scratch out a living. Residents of four villages in Attapeu’s Sanamxay district told RFA they cannot plant rice in their old fields because their land remains covered with mud and debris from the flood, while new land set aside on high and sandy ground cannot sustain rice paddies. “Our lives are now unstable and unsustainable because we lost the most valuable property; that is, our rice fields,” one Thasengchanh villager who asked not to be identified told RFA. Thasengchanh is one of four villages in the district where flood survivors live. The others are Dong Bak, Hinlad and Samong Tai. “Some places are covered by up to one meter of mud and sand, and some other places look like lakes,” the villager said. “They should clean up the mess for us. They’ve swept the surface of some rice fields, but then they stopped, saying they didn’t have any more money to continue the work.” Billions of cubic feet of water from a tributary of the Mekong River poured over a collapsed saddle dam at the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy (PNPC) hydropower project in Champassak province on July 23, 2018. The water surge washed away homes and flooded villages downstream in Attapeu province, killing 71 people and displacing 14,440 others when it wiped out all or part of 19 villages. Those who lost their homes were relocated to other villages. More than 4,160 hectares (10,280 acres) of land, including farmland, was affected by the disaster, with over 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) being severely damaged, 2,263 hectares (5,592 acres) moderately damaged, and 900 hectares (2,224 acres) slightly damaged. The Lao government, which continues to plan and build hydropower dams at blistering speed, despite grappling with crushing debt, has yet to rectify the problem, survivors of the dam break said. Most of the fields in Dong Bak cannot be cultivated because of the mud, rocks, sand, logs and tree limbs that remain, a resident of the village told RFA on Aug. 10. Up to now, Attapeu authorities have handed over 729 new land titles to families in Hinlad, Dong Bak and Samong Tai villages. Some families have been able to clean up their damaged farmland by themselves so they could plant rice this year, while others have had to acquire fields elsewhere in order to grow the staple crop, said the resident, who declined to be named so as not to anger authorities. “But most of the survivors are not able to grow rice on their old rice fields at all; they can only grow cassava and raise chickens and pigs on the new land given to them by the authorities,” he said. “They grow cassava, then sell [it] to buy rice.” Several villagers have been forced to work as laborers in the nearby areas and cities to earn money to feed their families, he said. Small tractors stand idle in a former rice field covered by mud and other debris during flooding from a 2018 dam break, in southern Laos’ Attapeu province, 2020. Credit: Citizen journalist. ‘Nobody dares to grow anything’ In Hinlad, only about 100 families out of nearly 1,000 are now able to reuse their land to grow rice, said a resident of the village who, like other sources, requested anonymity so as not to anger authorities by speaking to the media. New land given as compensation is too high and has too much sand and gravel to grow rice, he said. “We only grow cassava on the land, then sell it to buy rice,” said the villager. “The price of cassava is good, but rice is getting more and more expensive.” Another resident said that most of the villagers have not grown rice since the dam break, as debris, including scrap metal and broken glass, still litters their land. “Nobody dares to grow anything,” he said. “Of course, we want to grow rice, especially during this rainy season, which is the rice-planting season.” “Most of us are worse off,” he said. “We’re poorer than we were before the dam break because we can’t grow rice on our rice fields in our old villages.” More than 120 families in Thasengchanh village received land titles for new parcels but refused to accept them, saying they had been given only one hectare per family, while other villages received one hectare per person. Former owners of the land the survivors were given can still claim it as theirs and block attempts to farm it, the survivors told RFA. Land concession plans An official from the province’s Agriculture and Forestry Department said on Aug. 10 that authorities cannot clean up the debris and clear the mud from rice fields that were severely flooded and damaged. “We’ve allowed some families to grow rice on about 24 hectares of the old rice fields because these fields were not badly damaged by the flood, ” he said. “The total most affected rice fields are more than 1,000 hectares.” “Our provincial authorities have a plan to grant a concession to foreign investors to grow industrial trees on the badly damaged farmland and have asked the survivors to participate in the project,” he said. The villagers would provide their land and labor, while the investors would provide capital, expertise and market opportunities, the official said, adding that the plan is now undergoing a feasibility study. “We have a company proposing to grow bamboo for export,” he said. “The company is gathering information on about 100 hectares of the old rice fields.” By the end of this year authorities are planning to clear a new 200-hectare lot of land for residents of the Thasengchanh village who did not accept the new land parcels, the Agriculture and Forestry Department official said. Soaring inflation in Laos has made a bad situation worse, as people struggle to afford the skyrocketing costs…

A riverfront village on Thai-Myanmar border struggles to recover from pandemic

Editor3 years ago02 mins

The inhabitants of Mae Sam Lab say life in this Thai village along the frontier with Myanmar used to bustle with tourists and a vibrant cross-border river trade. As the people here struggle to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic violence from attacks by Burmese junta forces nearby have made things worse, they say. “The doldrums started with the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourists – Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Korean – were gone. Boat operators, local guides, souvenir shops have been badly affected,” said Chai Pongpipat, an official with the Tambon Mae Sam Lab administration. In the months since the February 2021 coup in Naypyidaw, troops belonging to the Burmese military regime and Border Guard Force have clashed with ethnic resistance forces including in the Karen State, which lies across the Salween River from Mae Sam Lab. “Over two years of enduring COVID, people seemed to be able to adapt to its effects, but the slight COVID recovery was worsened by the clashes between Myanmar forces and ethnic fighters in the areas. The trade activities have stalled,” Chai told BenarNews. Meanwhile, fishermen say their catches have been falling. They’re afraid to fish when it’s dark on the river, which separates the two countries, because of nighttime clashes on the Myanmar side. “Lately, there have been a handful of small boats from the nearby village coming here to buy stockpiles of food and necessities as the fighting is unpredictable,” Chai said.

Pain at the pump for Myanmar motorists as fuel shortage sends prices soaring

Editor3 years ago09 mins

A fuel shortage has forced gas stations to close in major cities in Myanmar and sent prices soaring to their second highest level since the coup, prompting criticism that the junta’s restrictions on imports and manipulation of the exchange rate are to blame. On Friday, the Fuel Import, Storage and Distribution Supervision Committee under the junta’s Ministry of Energy announced that fuel shortages had driven prices up by 600 kyats (U.S. $0.30), or nearly 40% in the five days since Aug. 7. A liter (.25 gallons) of diesel and 92 octane that cost an average of 1,970 kyats (U.S. $0.94) and 1,615 kyats (U.S. $0.77) on Sunday cost 2,550 kyats (U.S. $1.21) and 2,245 kyats (U.S. $1.07), respectively, on Friday. The shortage driving up prices has led gas stations in major cities in most states and regions, including Myanmar’s largest cities Yangon and Mandalay, to close as they run out of fuel supplies, while others have been forced to limit their sales. Sources told RFA Burmese that procuring fuel had become a nightmare. “This morning, when I went looking for fuel, I found some shops selling only diesel oil, some shops selling 95 [octane] and some shops closed,” said a resident of northern Shan state’s city of Muse, near Myanmar’s border with China. “Some shops outside the city limits sell 92 octane for 2,850 kyats (U.S. $1.36) a liter, and they were selling 2,000 kyats (U.S. $0.95) worth to each motorcycle, and 20,000 kyats (U.S. $9.53) worth to each car. There were also roadside vendors selling small bottles of gas at various prices.” The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that motorists in Muse had to pay anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 kyats (U.S. $3.33 to $4.76) for a 1.5 liter bottle of fuel “depending on the vendor,” while smaller bottles were selling for anywhere between 3,000 to 5,000 kyats (U.S. $1.43 to $2.38). He called the fuel situation “the worst I’ve ever seen in my life.” Other sources told RFA that crucial services provided by charity organizations to make up for the junta’s shortfall in administration were being curtailed as a result of the shortage. A spokesman for a Yangon-based charity group that provides assistance to those in need of medical care told RFA that he had been forced to turn away requests for lack of fuel. “In our work, it’s hard to refuse when you get a call from a patient,” he said. “I can’t help wondering if a person had called because they were desperate and really needed us.” The spokesman said that even when the price of fuel is affordable, organizations like his don’t have enough money to buy more than what can fit in their gas tanks. “When the prices rise, we have much bigger problems to deal with,” he said. A driver fuels his vehicle in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug. 12, 2022. Credit: RFA Junta mismanagement Despite domestic fuel shortages and skyrocketing prices, junta chief Snr. Gen Min Aung Hlaing on Aug. 8 announced to a governmental work coordination meeting that the regime is seeking to reduce expenditures by cutting down on its U.S. $1.3 billion annual imports of oil and petroleum products. A fuel distributor, who declined to be named for security reasons, said the fuel shortage and rise in prices is the result of the junta’s restrictions on foreign imports. “The dollar has become so scarce that procuring gasoline has become difficult. When a certain amount becomes available, we are forced to buy it as a group and later divide it among ourselves,” he said. “In the past, we made the purchases ourselves, individually, not as a group. … We can’t do that anymore. Instead, we have to get our supply through the [junta]. It’s going to get worse if things continue this way.” Economists told RFA that the fuel shortage is also the result of controls and fixed U.S. dollar exchange rates set by the junta. One U.S. dollar cost 1,850 kyats in April, but the junta changed the rate to 2,100 kyats on Aug. 5. “Since the official rate has risen, the price of imports will surely go up. And as fuel oil is one of the imports, other prices of imports will also go up,” said one economist, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I believe that’s why they changed the exchange rate, so that fuel importers would be able to get supplies. Otherwise it’d be too difficult because the price is too different.” Economists also noted that the rising cost of fuel is increasing prices across the board for other basic goods as transportation becomes more expensive. Attempts by RFA to contact the Ministry of Energy’s Fuel Import, Storage and Distribution Supervisory Committee for comment went unanswered Friday. According to gas station records, on Jan. 31, 2021, the day before the military seized power in a coup, a liter of diesel cost 720 kyats (U.S. $0.34), a liter of 92 octane cost 695 kyats (U.S. $0.33), and a liter of 95 octane cost 815 kyats (U.S. $0.39). Shortages have caused fuel prices to rise steadily since the coup. By May 31, 2022, diesel cost 2,330 kyats (U.S. $1.11) per liter, 92 octane cost 2,225 kyats (U.S. $1.06) per liter, and 95 octane cost 2,340 kyats (U.S. $1.11). Many gas stations ran out of fuel. In early July, fuel prices began to drop but never went below 1,650 kyats (U.S. $0.79) per liter. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Vietnamese refugees held in Thailand say they fear being forced home

Editor3 years ago07 mins

Two Vietnamese refugees held by authorities in Thailand say they fear for their safety after being visited in detention by Vietnamese embassy staff who urged them to return home, where they face charges as political activists. Nguyen Thi Thuy and Ho Nhut Hung, both members of the civil society Constitution Group promoting freedom of expression and assembly in Vietnam, had fled as refugees to Thailand in September 2018. Both had taken part in protests against proposed laws on cybersecurity and the granting of Special Economic Zones to foreign investors that rocked major cities across Vietnam four years ago, leading to mass arrests. Living on expired UN-issued refugee cards in a province north of Bangkok, Thuy and Hung were detained by Thai Royal Police on July 24, 2022, charged with “illegal immigration and residence” and sent to an Immigration Detention Center in the capital. Speaking to RFA by phone this week, Thuy said that she and Hung were visited in detention in early August by staff from Vietnam’s embassy in Bangkok who tried to persuade them to return to Vietnam. “Surprisingly, they knew my room number and my prison identification number,” Thuy said. “They told us they would create the best conditions for our repatriation, and warned us that if we did not agree and waited instead for help from the UN, we would be in trouble.” Both Thuy and Hung refused the embassy’s request, she said. “We told the embassy that we now use UN identification cards instead of Vietnamese passports, and that we would therefore wait until hearing from the UN, even if we have to die here,” she said. In February 2019, UN refugee officials issued cards with ID codes to Thuy and Hung, but the cards expired last year, Thuy said. Restricted by the COVID pandemic from visiting UN offices in person, the pair were told by phone that their cards had been renewed, but they were unable to pick them up and were still using their old cards when they were arrested, she said. Detainees held at Bangkok’s IDC have only intermittent access to water and are served food lacking nutrition, Thuy said. Her cell normally housing up to 60 women is now less crowded, though, as half of the detainees held there have been moved to other facilities, she added. Social activists in Thailand have raised funds from different sources, including Vietnamese living overseas, to help Thuy and Hung pay around 114,000 baht ($3,233) for bail, fines for illegal immigration, and charges for COVID tests, Thuy said. Release date uncertain Two weeks have now passed since Thuy and Hung were detained, but they still don’t know when they will be released, and Thuy’s calls to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok have rung unanswered, she said. Calls seeking comment on Thuy’s and Hung’s case from Vietnam’s embassy in Thailand received no response this week, but an employee at the UNHCR office in Bangkok said they were aware of the situation and promised to report it to a senior official. Also speaking to RFA, Nguyen Hoan An — a Vietnamese social activist also living as a refugee in Thailand — said that refugees held in detention are normally freed on the same day their bail is paid. Detainees cannot be forced home if they refuse requests from their embassy to repatriate, An added. He noted however that Thai police have recently entered rented rooms without a warrant to arrest illegal immigrants, reporting falsely that the arrests took place in the street. Refugees’ requests to UNHCR and law firms for help are often handled slowly or receive no reply, An said. “We are calling on communities, media groups and especially the organizations responsible for protecting refugees to pay more attention,” An said. “We hope that they will take action quickly whenever refugees are arrested or face security risks so that they are not intimidated and extradited back to Vietnam.” In January 2019, RFA blogger Truong Duy Nhat was arrested by Vietnamese police agents in Bangkok and forced back to Vietnam just a day after submitting an application for refugee status to UNHCR. He was later taken to court and sentenced to 10 years in prison for “abusing his official position” in a purchase of real estate under Article 356 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. Translated by Anna Vu for RFA Vietnamese. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Category: ASEAN