• ijrepjournalism@gmail.com
  • contact@ij-reportika.com
Ij reportika Logo

Category: Europe

China is the tech abettor of global autocracy

Editor08 mins

Lost in recent news about China’s spy-base in Cuba was the fact that Huawei employees are working for the Latin American dictatorship. The Chinese telecoms giant isn’t just helping maintain an intelligence-gathering facility. It’s also helping Cuba oppress its own citizens.  This is a common thread in Chinese diplomacy: Giving authoritarian regimes the technological tools they need to surveil, repress, and punish dissidents.  Huawei, whose links with the Chinese Communist Party are well established, has been Cuba’s main technology provider for the state telecommunications company since 2017.  According to a Swedish study, this is part of China’s support for “digital authoritarianism,” and Huawei’s eSight Internet management software that filters web searches is also in use across Latin America. When the Cuban people staged massive protests in July 2021, the government controlled and blocked the internet using technology “made, sold and installed” by China, according to Senator Marco Rubio.  Then there’s Africa. In September 2018, Djibouti started surveillance system construction in collaboration with the state-owned China Railway Electrification Bureau Group. The video surveillance system covers major urban areas, airports, docks, and ports in the city of Djibouti.   In Asia, China is reportedly cooperating with Myanmar’s military government in constructing a surveillance post on Great Coco Island. In December 2020, Myanmar applied 335 Huawei surveillance cameras in eight townships as part of its “Safe City” project.  China’s President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, April 28, 2019. Credit: Madoka Ikegami/Pool via Reuters The cameras have facial recognition functions and alert authorities if surveilled persons are on a wanted list. In July 2022, Reuters reported that Myanmar’s military government installed Chinese-made cameras with facial recognition capabilities in cities across the country. The equipment was purchased from Dahua, Huawei, and Hikvision.  In another case of close Chinese support for an authoritarian ruler in Southeast Asia, it was confirmed in February 2023, that China has a naval base in Ream, Cambodia. In June 2019, the Deputy Commissioner of the General Commissariat of the Kingdom of Cambodia Police and Chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Police visited Chinese companies including Huawei and Hikvision, expressing interest in China’s “Safe Cities” surveillance systems and other police equipment which he hoped to introduce for “improving public security and combating crimes.”  In October 2022, according to Voice of America, Cambodian human rights activists suspected Cambodian local police of using drones and surveillance cameras supplied by Chinese companies to monitor labor rights protesters.  Belt and Road Initiative In Pakistan, China has installed Chinese technology for domestic surveillance since at least 2016. That’s when the so-called “Safe City” project commenced operations in Islamabad, in collaboration with Huawei and other Chinese companies like e-Hualu. The project has established checkpoints and electronic police systems along major city thoroughfares, enabling citywide vehicle monitoring. In 2017, Huawei collaborated with the Punjab Safe Cities Authority in Pakistan to build a safe city system in Lahore. The project includes an integrated command and communication center, 200 police station sites, and 100 LTE base stations. In Central Asia, Huawei and Hualu surveillance systems are throughout Dushanbe, ostensibly to combat what local authorities say is “terrorism and extremism.” In May 2023, the head of Sughd Province Tajikistan met with Huawei representatives to discuss its 25 million USD “Safe City” project in Khujand, its provincial capital.  A staff member sits in front of a screen displaying footage from surveillance cameras, at the Hikvision booth at Security China, the China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security, in Beijing, June 7, 2023. Credit: Florence Lo/Reuters Much of China’s global provision of domestic surveillance tools is through its Belt and Road initiative, through which it has sent technology to Egypt and Nigeria, Uganda, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Angola, Laos, Kazakhstan, and Kenya. There’s also Serbia, where a political dissident claimed that the objective of the country’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative is to “hunt… down political opponents.”  Technology surveys show that around the world, at least 79 states have bought into Huawei’s surveillance package. They include liberal democracies like Italy, Netherlands, and Germany. A Huawei contract can thus signal entry-level affiliation with Xi Jinping’s New World Order, where “a future and destiny of every nation and every country are closely interconnected”—by invasive Chinese technology that abets oppression. That doesn’t belong in America’s backyard, in Cuba, or anywhere else in the world. Aaron Rhodes is senior fellow at Common Sense Society and President of the Forum for Religious Freedom-Europe. Cheryl Yu is senior researcher at Common Sense Society. The views expressed here are their own and do not reflect the position of RFA.

Read More

China’s coal use increased to a record high in 2022, IEA says

Editor06 mins

China’s coal consumption grew by 4.6% in 2022 to a new all-time high of 4.5 billion metric tons, dragging with it global coal demand offsetting declines in Europe and North America, a new report by an energy watchdog said.  The coal market globally rose by 3.3% to hit a fresh new record of 8.3 billion metric tons in 2022, and will stay near that record level this year due to solid growth in Asia for both power generation and industrial applications, said the Paris-based organization International Energy Agency. Continued strong growth in Asian economies offset declines in Europe and North America, highlighting the need for more robust policies and investments to accelerate clean energy development, IEA said in their mid-year Coal Market Update, published on Thursday. Demand in China was higher than expected last year due to lower quality coal that resulted in higher-than-expected volumes, while more coal than expected was gasified to produce synthetic liquid fuels, plastics and fertilizers that increased the demand for non-power by 7%. Coal demand in Indonesia soared by about 36% to 201 million metric tons, making Indonesia the fifth largest coal consumer after China, India, the United States, and Russia.  The IEA said 10,440 terawatt hours were generated from coal in 2022, which accounts for 36% of the global electricity generation. Coal, being a fossil fuel, exerts a significant toll on the environment. Environmental organization Greenpeace has labeled it “the most environmentally harmful and polluting method of energy production.” “Coal is the largest single source of carbon emissions from the energy sector, and in Europe and the United States, the growth of clean energy has put coal use into structural decline,” said Keisuke Sadamori, IEA’s director of energy markets and security.  “But demand remains stubbornly high in Asia, even as many of those economies have significantly ramped up renewable energy sources. We need greater policy efforts and investments – backed by stronger international cooperation – to drive a massive surge in clean energy and energy efficiency to reduce coal demand in economies where energy needs are growing fast.” Coal consumption will grow in 2023 China is the world leader in renewable energy, but it also continues to devour coal, mainly to continue with its economic growth trajectory and tackle power failures due to heat waves and drought. In 2023, global coal demand is estimated to have grown by about 1.5% in the first half to about 4.7 billion metric tons. It was mainly due to the two largest consumers, China and India, growing by over 5%, more than offsetting declines elsewhere. Global coal consumption, 2021-2023. Credit: AFP IEA projected China, India and Southeast Asian countries together are expected to account for 3 out of every four metric tons of coal consumed worldwide. “In total, we expect China’s coal demand in 2023 to grow by about 3.5% to 4.6 billion metric tons, with demand from the power sector up 4.5% and demand from non-power uses growing by 2%,” the report said. China and India account for two-thirds of global coal consumption, which means they use twice as much coal as the rest of the world combined.  In 2023, the duo could account for nearly 70% of the world’s global coal consumption, while the United States and the European Union could account for just 10%, IEA said. Meanwhile, on the production side, the three largest coal producers – China, India and Indonesia – all produced record amounts in 2022.  IEA said China and India set new monthly records in March this year, with China surpassing 400 million metric tons for the second time ever and India surpassing 100 million metric tons for the first time.  That month, IEA said that Indonesia exported almost 50 million metric tons, a volume never shipped by any country before. Edited by Joshua Lipes.

Read More

Landmine kills 4 children in Myanmar’s Bago region

Editor03 mins

Four children died when a landmine exploded as they played in a field in Myanmar’s central Bago region, residents told RFA Thursday. They said the mine went off in Phyu township’s In Pin Thar village on Tuesday, killing five-year-olds Poe La Pyae, Wa Than Moe and Nga Pauk, and 12-year-old Aye Chan Maung. Six-year-old Htein Lin and 50-year-old Min Naing were injured in the blast. “Right at the top of In Pin Thar village, there is a small library,” said a resident who didn’t want to be named for fear of junta reprisals.  “The children were hit while they were playing behind the wall where there are bushes and a drinking water pot.” The local said junta troops often enter In Pin Thar village which is about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) from their base in Hpa Yar La Har village He said the landmine was planted and left behind when the junta troops were last in the village, but RFA has not been able to confirm this independently. RFA’s calls to the Bago region junta spokesperson, Tin Oo, went unanswered Thursday. Myanmar’s youngsters continue to be the victims of indiscriminate shelling and landmine blasts. On July 22, three people, including a 12-year-old child, were critically injured when a junta shell exploded in a village in Bago region’s Kyauktaga township, according to locals. The fighting is also leading to an increasing number of internally displaced people. Nearly 100,000 residents of eastern Bago have fled their homes since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, according to the United Nations Office for the Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

Read More

Democrats question proposed part of AUKUS deal

Editor014 mins

A key part of the AUKUS security pact aiming to create a “seamless” defense industry across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States appears at risk after congressional Democrats raised doubts about Canberra’s ability to protect U.S. military designs from China. The concerns were raised during a session of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, just days before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrive in Brisbane, Australia, for talks with their Australian counterparts. Democrats including Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the party’s ranking member on the committee, said that they opposed two bills introduced by the Republican majority to exempt Australia and the United Kingdom from the Arms Export Control Act of 1976. The law created the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, which forces foreign entities, except for those in Canada, to apply for licenses when importing sensitive U.S. defense technology.  Meeks argued that Australia and the United Kingdom could seek exemptions from the State Department under the standing law, and said a blanket exemption would circumvent important checks. “Prematurely lifting them risks compromising our national security by allowing unfettered transfers of our most sensitive defense technology including to private-sector foreign firms, which risk exposure to or theft by our most capable adversaries, especially China,” he said. The former committee chair pointed to Australian intelligence chief Mike Burgess’s comments earlier this year that more Australians are being targeted by foreign spies, due in part to the AUKUS pact. “The U.K. faces similar intelligence threats,” he said. Roadblocks Experts in Australia have warned that the U.S. arms-control laws are a roadblock to the so-called “pillar 2” of the AUKUS pact, which aims to create a “seamless” defense industry across the three countries and could be hampered by bureaucracy without a blanket exemption. Those concerns have been echoed by top Australian officials. Australia’s ambassador in Washington, Kevin Rudd, told a forum in Washington last month that the so-called “pillar 2” of AUKUS “could be even more revolutionary than the submarine project in itself” but said it had a “complex process” ahead of it to get through Congress. Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak [second right] walks during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden [second left] and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese [left] at Point Loma naval base in San Diego, Calif., on March 13, 2023, as part of AUKUS. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP) On Wednesday, Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas who has served as chairman of the committee since the start of this year, said providing Australia and the United Kingdom similar exemptions as those given to Canada would cut “red tape” with minimal risks. “This licensing exemption will add more submarine capabilities to the South China Sea as we see a more aggressive China on the march,” he said. “It also removes restrictions on innovation, and collaborating on quantum computing, autonomous vehicles and long range weapons.” McCaul argued the 1976 law was “outdated” and from “a time when the U.S. dominated defense innovation in defense technology,” which he said was no longer. He noted the United States had “never denied a sale or license to Australia” after the lengthy approval process. “Times have changed,” McCaul said, “and we now need to rely on our allies and partners, many of which out-innovate us in key areas.” Five Eyes partner Wearing a koala pin on her lapel, Rep. Young Kim, a Republican from California who introduced the bill for the exemption for Australia, said she could not understand the Democrats’ reluctance. Kim, who titled the bill the “Keeping Our Allies Leading in Advancement Act,” or KOALA Act, said Australia had already proven itself a trusted partner as part of the Five Eyes intelligence pact that also includes Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. “Australia is one of our closest allies and is one of our Five Eyes partners. We let the Australians have access to some of the most sensitive intelligence we have,” Kim said. “So why shouldn’t we expedite collaboration with them on sensitive technologies?”  Rep. Young Kim says Australia has already proven itself a trusted partner of the United States as part of the Five Eyes intelligence pact. (Ken Cedeno/Pool via AP file photo) It was disingenuous, the second-term lawmaker added, to “grant them access to some of our most sensitive intelligence but say we’re concerned that the Australians will let this technology fall into the hands of the CCP,” referring to the Communist Party of China. Kim also tabled a July 24 letter in favor of “an expedited AUKUS process” that she said was signed by a number of Obama administration officials including former director of national intelligence James Clapper and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. McCaul summarized the letter as making the case “Australia has sufficient safeguards in place already” as a Five Eyes member, and dismissed the argument that Canberra and London can apply for Canada-like exemptions from the U.S. State Department. “State will not issue the exemption,” he said. “State has shown it will never certify Australia or the U.K. for an exemption, because it does not want to give up its bureaucratic power over licensing.” A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the issue but pointed to May 24 testimony to the committee by Jessica Lewis, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, in which she suggested bulk approvals of AUKUS-related exemption requests. “Every transfer between AUKUS partners will not be subject to case-by-case review, but will be pre-approved” if the case meets certain criteria laid out by the State Department, Lewis said at the time. Charles Edel, the Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Radio Free Asia he believed changes to the law were needed that protect U.S. defense secrets while also allowing Australian, American and British companies to collaborate easily. He said the speed of the current approval process was the issue. “The question surrounding export controls,” Edel said, “is not whether…

Read More

Myanmar junta’s new banknote causes gold prices, currency value to fluctuate

Editor07 mins

The introduction of a new banknote by Myanmar’s ruling junta has pushed up the price of gold and affected the value of the country’s currency, with shadow government officials saying the move is meant to alleviate some of the regime’s financial difficulties. The State Administration Council, the official name of the junta regime that has ruled Myanmar since seizing power in a February 2021 coup, said on Sunday that it will issue a limited number of 20,000-kyat banknotes, roughly equivalent to a US$10 bill, on the last day of this month.  The junta said the new banknote was designed to commemorate the completion of a Buddha statue. The bills, which feature the image of a white elephant, will be limited to a maximum of three per person when they are exchanged with old unusable banknotes of the same value.  After the military-owned Myawaddy news agency announced that the junta-controlled central bank would issue the new banknotes, the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, said the regime came up with the high-denomination notes because of the financial crisis plaguing the country. Myanmar’s economy went into a tailspin following the coup, as professionals walked off their jobs to join a civil disobedience movement opposed to the regime.  The junta’s financial mismanagement – and economic sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom – have curtailed some revenue streams. NUG officials also said the junta had no right to issue new banknotes because it is not an official government.  Min Zayar Oo, the shadow government’s deputy minister of planning, finance and investment, said the junta is issuing the banknotes because international sanctions have blocked  its foreign income. “When the junta faced financial difficulties due to sanctions, it started printing money,” he said. “Although they initially said that they would circulate only a limited number of the denomination, it is just the introductory step for their larger purpose which is to solve their financial difficulties.” NUG spokesman Nay Phone Latt agreed that the junta is printing new currency because of its dire financial circumstances and said the value of the kyat would likely depreciate. “We consider this currency to be printed by a terrorist organization,” he said. RFA could not reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment. Forex havoc The move comes just after the NUG began a trial run of an online bank that uses cryptocurrency in an effort to disrupt the flow of foreign currency to banks run by the junta, including the country’s central bank.  The new crypto bank was developed to prevent the junta from violating bank regulations by blocking user accounts, seizing deposits, and providing personal account data to the authorities. In the meantime, the junta’s latest move has led to unstable foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in the price of gold.  Following the announcement about the new banknote, the exchange rate for one U.S. dollar rose to 3,400 kyats from 3,100, landing on Tuesday at 3,300 kyats. The exchange rate for Thai baht rose to 96 kyats from about 90 kyats, while the exchange rate for Chinese yuan increased to 460 kyats from 430 kyats. Forex instability has prompted Burmese businesses that import goods from abroad to temporarily suspend transactions.  A Burmese national who recently bought gold jewelry told Radio Free Asia that one tical, a unit of weight that is approximately 16.3 grams, of 23-karat gold was worth about 3.1 million kyats on July 23, but rose on Tuesday to more than 3.5 million kyats. Another Burmese citizen who visited gold shops said establishments in Yangon, the commercial capital, closed on Monday due to the instability of the price of gold, though some reopened on Tuesday. Now, 24-karat bars of gold cannot be purchased at all as a safe investment, he said. The Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association has set the price of one tical of 24-karat gold at over 2.3 million kyats – more than 1 million kyats less than the actual market price. The trade group issued a statement on Monday asking merchants to refrain from business transactions that would destabilize the price of gold because of news about the new banknote. Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.

Read More

Who are the 18 parties running in Cambodia’s election?

Editor015 mins

Eighteen political parties will compete in Cambodia’s parliamentary election on July 23 – the country’s seventh national vote since the United Nations organized and ran the 1993 election two years after the Paris Peace Agreements. The National Election Committee in May ruled that two parties – the main opposition Candlelight Party and the Khmer United Great Nation Party – could not appear on the ballot, citing inadequate paperwork. The Candlelight Party is widely believed to be the only party that could have mounted a serious challenge to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party, but its exclusion means the ruling CPP is expected to win the large majority – and possibly all – of the National Assembly’s 125 seats. Even if it doesn’t, most of the other parties are deferential to the CPP and Hun Sen. Many officials from the smaller parties have been appointed to the Supreme Consultative Council, an advisory body created by Hun Sen following the 2018 election to bolster his power with the appearance of multi-party support. Here’s a look at every party on the ballot. _ Beehive Social Democratic Party: Radio station owner Mam Sonando founded the party in 2016. He had been a vocal critic of Hun Sen’s government, and his independent Beehive Radio station was once described by Human Rights Watch as “a key platform for promotion of human rights and democracy.” But after the 2018 election, the prime minister appointed Mam Sonando to the Supreme Consultative Council. Since then, the Beehive Party has repeatedly come out in support of the government. _ Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Democracy Party: The party was formed in early 2017 and is headquartered in Mondulkiri province. The president is Blang Sin, an ethnic Pnong who has participated in the Supreme Consultative Council. The party has not had an active campaign presence. _ Cambodian Nationality Party: Chaired by Seng Sokheng and first registered as a party with the Ministry of Interior in 2011, the party supports Hun Sen’s leadership and attacks opposition activists. It also participates in the Supreme Consultative Council, a body Hun Sen created. _ Cambodian People’s Party: Originally known as the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party, it was formed in 1951 as part of Ho Chi Minh’s Indochina Communist Party.  Hun Sen is its president and has been in power in government since 1985. The party has listed his eldest son, Hun Manet, as a National Assembly candidate in Phnom Penh. Hun Sen has said that he wants Hun Manet to eventually succeed him as prime minister – a transition that could happen soon after the election.  _ Cambodian Youth Party: The party was founded in 2015 by Pich Sros, a former garment worker. Along with Funcinpec, it filed a complaint in 2017 against the Cambodia National Rescue Party – then the country’s main opposition party – that led to that party’s dissolution. After the 2018 general election, Pich Sros was promoted to the rank of senior minister when he agreed to participate in the Supreme Consultative Council. He has been active in criticizing the opposition. _ Democracy Power Party: Formed in 2020 by Un Visethkun, the former vice president of the Cambodian Youth Party. The party praised and supported Hun Sen’s policies. In February, the party issued a statement supporting the government’s decision to revoke the license of independent media outlet Voice of Democracy.  _ Dharmacracy Party: Formed in 1998, party officials did not take any action until 2017. After the CNRP was dissolved, the party participated in the 2018 general election. Its president, Por Tey Savathy, and her husband, vice president Tan Chanphal, have been appointed to the Supreme Consultative Council. The party follows Hun Sen’s political line. _ Ekpheap Cheat Khmer Party: The party announced in 2022 that it had expelled its vice president, Un Chim – a former Buddhist monk from California – following accusations that he faked a voice message from Hun Sen. The acting president of the party at the time, Lak Sopheap, told reporters in January 2022 that the fake message was sent to party members in Cambodia and the U.S. as a way of attacking her and other party leaders. The contents of the message have not been revealed to reporters. The Ministry of Interior later recognized Un Chim as the party’s new president. In February 2022, Un Chim expelled Lak Sopheap and another top official. _ Farmer’s Party: Established in 1988. The president is Meas Bo Pov, a former CPP member who has been connected to a number of public land disputes. The party follows Hun Sen’s political line. In May, it published a statement supporting the NEC’s decision to disallow the Candlelight Party from the election.  _ Funcinpec: Formed in March 1981 as a resistance movement to the Vietnam-backed regime of the 1980s. It signed the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and formed a coalition government with the CPP after the 1993 election.  Internal conflicts and Hun Sen’s separatist strategy have weakened the party over the years. Nhek Bun Chhay of the Khmer National United Party was the party’s secretary-general from 2006-2015. The current president is Prince Norodom Chakravuth, the grandson of the late King Norodom Sihanouk and the eldest son of the late Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who served as co-prime minister from 1993-1997. Most voters no longer associate Funcinpec with the country’s royalist past, especially after Ranariddh’s decisions at various times over the years to align with the CPP. _ Grassroots Democratic Party: Formed in 2015 by a group of senior intellectuals, leaders and members of civil society. It’s led by Yeng Virak, former president of the Community Legal Education Center, a Phnom Penh NGO that works on land issues.  While some senior party officials have recently left to join the government, the party continues to criticize alleged violations of law and human rights committed by Hun Sen’s government, including the recent passage of an election law amendment that prohibits those who don’t vote in this month’s elections from running for office in the future.  _ Khmer Anti-Poverty…

Read More

After jailbreak in Myanmar, prison guards sentenced to 3-6 months

Editor07 mins

A Myanmar junta court handed down sentences of three to six months to seven prison employees, including a warden, after a jailbreak in May in which 10 prisoners overpowered guards, seized their guns and escaped, said three sources with knowledge of the situation.  Ten inmates, including nine fighters with the anti-junta People’s Defense Force, escaped from Taungoo Prison in central Myanmar’s Bago region on May 18 as they were being taken from their cells to a small prison courtroom for their trials. Among them was a woman and two inmates sentenced to death.  The warden, Kyi Oo, officially the deputy director of the town’s prison department, was on Monday given three months in jail, while Than Tun and Tun Tun Oo, the two prison chiefs, Lt. Than Zin Win, Lt. Oo Toe, and staffers Khant Si Thu and Pho Kauk received sentences of six months each, said the sources close to Taungoo Prison.  In addition to being sentenced to jail, they were expected to be fired, said the sources, who declined to be named so they could speak freely. The move comes as the military, which overthrew the democratically elected civilian government in a February 2021 coup d’etat, cracks down on prison staff to ensure they do not help or let political prisoners escape. Nyo Tun, a former political prisoner who was recently released, said the ruling military junta is taking more stringent action against correctional employees to suppress lower-ranking officials. “In the past, I have only seen actions taken against the prison authorities, such as removing them from duty or demoting them in positions,” he told Radio Free Asia. “It’s not like that now [because] they are even being imprisoned.” “By doing so, the junta hopes that the prison authorities and staff in other prisons will be pressured to continue to oppress our political prisoners with stricter rules and stricter methods,” he said. The prison staffers’ trial was held at the Taungoo township courthouse, said one source, though he did not know the specific charges for each. Afterwards, they were taken back to the prison. A person close to the family members of political prisoners serving time in Taungoo Prison also told RFA about the staffers’ sentences. “The warden was accused of having connections to the PDF, and they said they had a lot of proof,” the person said.  “They were also going to be removed from their official positions along with their prison terms,” the source added. Security boosted Since the escape, security at the prison has been tightened, with the installation of new closed-circuit video cameras, watchtowers and outdoor bunkers, the source said, as well as an increase in military forces there. RFA could not reach Naing Win, deputy director general and spokesman of the Prisons Department, for comment. Similar action has been taken against prison staff elsewhere in the country. At Daik-U Prison, also in Bago region, eight prison employees, including Yan Naing Tun, the deputy director, were arrested and have been under investigation since late June on charges of helping political inmates communicate with PDFs, sources close to the detention center said. On July 4, Sgt. Nay Myo Thein and a deputy sergeant who worked at Myingyan Prison in central Myanmar’s Mandalay region were fired and each sentenced to six months in jail for allegedly helping inmates, according to people close to the detention facility. Following the Taungoo jailbreak, authorities interrogated and beat some political prisoners in jails in Myingyan, Daik-U and Tharyarwaddy, killing some and putting others in life-threatening situations, prisoner relatives and sources close to the prisons told RFA in an earlier report. More than 60 such inmates were sentenced to three additional years in prison each on July 6 for their alleged involvement in a riot that took place in Pathein Prison in Ayeyarwady region. In May and June, 15 inmates died of torture during interrogation or for other reasons, including shootings for trying to escape during jail transfer, according to an RFA tally.  The military junta has detained more than 19,500 people, of whom roughly 6,850 have served prison terms, since the February 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group based in Thailand. Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Read More

Hun Sen deletes Twitter post linking Thai election to Cambodian opposition

Editor05 mins

Prime Minister Hun Sen has removed a Twitter post that attempted to connect the Cambodian opposition to a Thai politician’s failure this week to win enough parliamentary votes to become the country’s next prime minister. Pita Limjaroenrat and his Move Forward Party fell short of the 375 votes needed to clinch power in an initial round of voting on Thursday. Hun Sen tweeted that Pita’s setback was also “a major failure” to Cambodia’s exiled opposition activists. He was most likely referring to Sam Rainsy, the former head of the now-disbanded opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party who fled to France in 2015. “These traitors always expected that when Pita becomes the prime minister of Thailand, they would use Thai territory to do a campaign against the Royal Government of Cambodia,” Hun Sen wrote in the tweet. “Now the expectations of the brute opposition group have vanished like salt in water,” he said. In May, Sam Rainsy told Radio Free Asia that if a new pro-democracy Thai government is formed, he would look into traveling to Cambodia through neighboring Thailand.  Thailand’s progressive Move Forward Party was the top vote getter in the May 14 general election. It heads a pro-democracy coalition trying to unseat an administration with deep military ties that has ruled Thailand for almost a decade. Hun Sen has asked Thailand to arrest Sam Rainsy if he travels there. Last month, he publicly threatened to attack Sam Rainsy with a rocket launcher if he led workers from Thailand into Cambodia.  “Do not do politics that depend on somebody else,” the prime minister wrote in Thursday’s deleted tweet. “This is my goodwill message for the extremist groups.” Move Forward Party leader and Thailand prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat speaks to the media in Thai Parliament after the parliamentary vote for the premiership in Bangkok on July 13, 2023. Credit: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Online reaction After it drew angry online comments, Hun Sen removed the post from Twitter. “Absolutely ludicrous,” wrote Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director.  Thai journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk tweeted that the 70-year-old Hun Sen is “a political dinosaur comfortable in the company of dictators.” “When he looks at Pita, he sees the [political] liberalization & reform he fears might some day come to Cambodia,” he wrote. Hun Sen posted another message on both Twitter and Telegram on Friday, writing that he doesn’t oppose Pita’s candidacy for prime minister.  “I respect the decision of the Thai people and I will not interfere in the internal affairs of Thailand,” he wrote. “I am ready to work with Thailand’s leader, regardless of who or which party.” He added that Cambodian opposition activists should stop using Pita’s name – “who does not know he is being used” – to oppose the Cambodian government. Finland-based political commentator Kim Sok said the first message made it seem like Hun Sen doesn’t understand diplomacy and politics, even though he served as Cambodia’s foreign minister during the 1980s. “Normally, a leader of a country uses good words and avoids bad words to other countries’ politicians, especially those who win the election,” he said in an interview with Radio Free Asia on Friday. Translated by Chandara Yang. Edited by Matt Reed.

Read More

Cambodian ruling party spokesman rejects criticism of Theary Seng conviction

Editor07 mins

Renewed calls from the U.S. State Department and a U.N. working group for the release of Cambodian-American lawyer Theary Seng are a violation of Cambodia’s sovereignty, the spokesman for the country’s ruling party said on Thursday. “Our court jurisdiction is under the laws of Cambodia as an independent and sovereign state,” said Sok Ey San, spokesman for the Cambodian People’s Party. “The court convicts [any person] based on the laws and the facts. She caused chaos in Cambodia for being a holder of foreign nation’s passport. She stirred chaos in Cambodian society.”  In June 2022, Theary Seng was sentenced to six years in prison on treason charges, prompting condemnation from rights groups and the U.S. government.  Her conviction was “a direct result of her exercise of her right to freedom of expression, which is protected under international law,” a U.N. working group of independent human rights experts said in a report released on Wednesday. “Her detention resulted from her long-term, high-profile criticism of the prime minister and her pro-democracy activism,” the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said in the 17-page opinion.  State Department comments Asked about the working group’s report, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States continues to condemn the conviction and sentence of Theary Seng, who holds dual Cambodian and U.S. citizenship.  When pressed by a reporter, Miller said the department still hasn’t determined whether she is “wrongfully detained” – a designation that could involve the department’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. “With respect to this case, there is no higher … pressure we can bring to bear than the secretary of state himself personally raising a case with his counterparts,” Miller said at Wednesday’s daily briefing. In August 2022, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed Prime Minister Hun Sen to free Theary Seng and other activists during a visit to Phnom Penh. Other U.S. officials, including Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, USAID Administrator Samatha Power and Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy, have also called for her immediate and unconditional release.  Theary Seng was sentenced along with 50 other activists for their association with the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, once the main opposition in the country before it was dissolved by the Supreme Court in 2017. The specific charges stemmed from abortive efforts in 2019 to bring about the return to Cambodia of opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has been in exile in France since 2015. Theary Seng and the other defendants denied the charges. Foreign intervention fears Last month, Hun Sen said he wouldn’t pardon Theary Seng or opposition party leader Kem Sokha, who was sentenced in March on treason charges widely condemned as politically motivated. Hun Sen said the decision was necessary in light of recent foreign intervention in Cambodia. He added that even though Theary Seng has dual citizenship, her case applies only to Cambodian law. In recent months, the prime minister has frequently invoked the specter of national security threats at public appearances ahead of the July 23 parliamentary elections, which he has framed as a referendum on who can best maintain Cambodia’s sovereignty.  “From now on, those who seek foreign intervention will stay in prison,” he said last month. “We don’t release you. Don’t include them in prisoners who will be pardoned or have a reduced prison term. We are stopping foreign intervention in Cambodia.” Theary Seng’s case was submitted to the U.N. working group by the Perseus Strategies, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Freedom House organizations, which represent her pro bono. “Theary Seng’s case is emblematic of the many people jailed in Cambodia for exposing human rights abuses, advocating for free expression, and calling for free and fair elections,” said Margaux Ewen, director of Freedom House’s political prisoner’s initiative.  “The Working Group’s judgment comes at a critical time. As democracy and internet freedom are under threat globally and in Cambodia, we need the international community’s support of brave individuals like Theary Seng – and the rights for which they fight.” Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

Read More

Junta airstrikes kill 2, injure 4 in Myanmar’s Kayah state

Editor03 mins

A junta fighter jet repeatedly strafed a village in Myanmar’s Kayah state, killing an 11-year-old boy and injuring two more locals, Karenni Defense Force Officials told RFA Wednesday. The plane attacked Kyauk Su village three times on Tuesday night, said an information officer of Hpasawng township People’s Defense Force who did not want to be named for security reasons. “A jet fighter came and bombed at night,” the official said. “The injured are not seriously hurt. A Christian church and around six homes were also destroyed.” On Wednesday a jet attacked the Daw Noe Khu displaced people’s camp on the Thai-Myanmar border, killing a 32-year-old man and injuring two women. More than 4,000 people were sheltering at the camp, according to Karenni Progressive Party Joint Secretary, Aung San Myint. “The jets came around 1:00 a.m. and dropped bombs four times,” he said, adding that a school was destroyed by the bombing and a medical clinic and some houses were damaged. The officials of the Karenni Defense Force said that the junta is launching an offensive from Hpasawng township in order to fully control Mese township and is sending its forces to the region by air. Hpasawng People’s Defense Force said the army has had no opportunity to launch ground offensives so it relies on airstrikes and heavy artillery to attack civilian targets. The junta has not released a statement on the attacks. RFA called junta spokesperson for Kayah state Aung Win Oo by phone, but nobody answered. On July 4, three civilians, including a two-year-old child were injured when the air force bombed a displaced people’s camp in the western part of Demoso. The founder of the Karenni Human Rights Group, Ba Nyar, said that the attack was a war crime. The junta has carried out 527 airstrikes in Moebye (Moe Bye), Pekon and Pinlaung townships in southern Shan state and Kayah state since the February 2021 coup, according to the latest figures released by Progressive Karenni People’s Force. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Read More

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