Category: Middle East

Authorities in Vietnam’s Nghe An province have officially charged seven people in connection with a clash with riot police over the demolition of a local road earlier this month, family members said Wednesday. Ha Thi Hien, Tran Thi Nien, and Bui Van Canh were charged on July 22 with “resisting against officers on official duty,” while Tran Thi Hoa, Bach Thi Hoa, Ha Thi Thoa, and Ha Van Hanh were accused of “disturbing public order,” relatives told RFA Vietnamese. Family members said they had only learned of the charges – each of which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison – after receiving a notice from the Nghi Loc District Police Department on Wednesday. “I am very worried about my wife. They [the police] said she would be held for two months before trial,”  Nguyen Van Duc, the husband of Ha Thi Hien, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service. “All of my neighbors feel sorry for her, saying that Hien had never said or done anything bad, and ask why she was taken away. Since her arrest, our two young kids have been crying and asking for Mom every night,” he said. Riot police guard a fence build to stop protestors preventing the demolition of a hundred-year-old road on July 13, 2022. Photo: Citizen Journalist On July 13, hundreds of riot police descended on Binh Thuan parish in Nghe An’s Nghi Thuan commune as a similar number of protesters attempted to remove a fence blocking a road that connects the parish to an area highway. The road, which had been in use for more than 100 years, is located on land the government granted to a private company for a planned industrial zone. Police tried to disperse the protesters with smoke grenades and explosives but they fought back. Ten people were arrested in the clash, during which officials said protesters had “used bricks, stones, bottles, sticks [and petrol bombs], attacked and detained a police officer and injured five other police officers,” according to a statement issued after the incident. Authorities released one woman the same night and two men three days later. However, the other seven had remained in custody for two weeks before their families were notified of the charges against them on Wednesday.  The seven are being held at a temporary detention facility during an investigation of their case, which is expected to last until Sept. 10, according to the notice from the Nghe An Police Department, which also claimed that all of the accused had “refused access to a defense lawyer, or did not request one.” Duc said his wife Hien is innocent and was “only watching the protest” when she was arrested. She did not act against the police, he said. Duc said he has had to take leave from work to care for his two kids, aged three and six, and his mother, who is more than 80 years old. Attempts by RFA to contact the Nghi Loc District Police and the lead investigator for the case, Hoang Doanh Toan, went unanswered Wednesday. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

The families of seven people arrested during clashes with police over the demolition of a road in Vietnam’s Nghe An province say they are desperate for information on the detainees, who have been held for nearly two weeks. Hundreds of riot police descended on Binh Thuan parish in Nghi Thuan commune on July 13, where a similar number of protestors were trying to remove parts of a fence built around the road, which was handed over to a private company by the government to make way for an industrial zone. The road connecting the parish to a main road has been used for more than 100 years. Police tried to disperse the protesters with smoke grenades and explosives but the locals fought back. Nge An provincial police issued a news release on July 13 saying locals “used bricks, stones, bottles, sticks [and petrol bombs], attacked and detained a police officer and injured five other police officers.” Police arrested 10 people, releasing one woman the same night and two men three days later. The men claim they were beaten and threatened into signing confessions. One woman, 72-year-old Bach Thi Hoa, was treated for her injuries in the district hospital, according to the two men who were released. She was accompanied by police at all times and her family were refused permission to see her. Two protesters are being held at the Nghi Loc district detention center. The other four are at Nghi Kim detention center. Police say they are collecting evidence to clarify their claims of “causing public disorders,” “resisting on-duty state officials” and “illegal detention.” Nguyen Minh Duc, the husband of detainee Ha Thi Hien, said although the police issued an arrest warrant for his wife on the day of the riot he only received a copy a few days ago. “They took the paper that day. They sent it the next day but the commune did not immediately give it to my family,” he told RFA. Duc said other detainees’ families are also struggling to get information and meet daily to tell each other what they know. Locals say they have heard from an unofficial source that Nghi Loc district police transferred two women to Nghi Kim detention center on July 21 when they no longer had the authority to hold them. Article 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that a person can be held in custody for three days and the detention can only be extended for two further three-day periods. If police want to hold someone for more than nine days they need the approval of the district or provincial procuracy to investigate further. State and local media have remained silent on the story for the past week. RFA called the leaders of the People’s Committees of Nghe An province and Nghi Loc district as well as the police agencies and the provincial and district procuracies but no one answered.

Junta forces cut phone and internet access in Myanmar’s Magway region on Monday at the start of a scorched-earth operation that is still raging. Residents of Gangaw and Tilin townships said they believed their telecoms were cut off because of strong resistance by local People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) against junta troops. The People’s Administration Organization of nearby Saw township said that the cutting of internet and phone lines meant junta troops would soon raid local villages. “There is a news blackout in Tilin and Gangaw. We heard there were some attacks in the area but we don’t know exactly where they are happening because we don’t have phone connections. Normally, if the phone and internet lines are cut, it means they’ll be attacking the villages. Villages will be destroyed and burned so we have to be alert when the lines are cut. The movements of the revolutionary forces [PDFs] will also be seriously affected.” Locals said the military launched airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday near Zibya village and Shounshi village in Gangaw township. A resident of Myin Thar Village in Gangaw, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said he was very worried for his family. “I’ve been calling [my] village for four days now and I can’t get through. The internet and phone lines have been cut, and I’ve heard that they’ve been bombed by military aircraft. I don’t have all the information yet. I just heard that villages west of Gangaw and Hakha Road have been bombed but I can’t get any specific information because the phone lines have been cut.” A resident of Gangaw’s Sanmyo village, who is now in Chin state and also declined to be named, said he had heard reports the junta’s aircraft had attacked some villages but he did not know the exact facts. “Both the phone and lines have been completely cut off on our side. We have heard reports of bombings by fighter jets,” said the resident who added that the city has been hit as hard as the villages. “The entire Gangaw area has been completely shut down and we can’t reach anywhere.” A woman from Tilin, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said while lines were down some people managed to get a signal. “We could make some calls for the western side of our village so we had to go there to contact our relatives. But we can’t reach people in Gangaw,” she said, adding that villagers are concerned they won’t be warned in advance about attacks by aircraft and ground troops because lines have been cut. The woman eventually travelled two miles to the Magway-Chin border, where she was able to use her phone and the internet to gather information. Covering up junta war crimes The Human Rights Minister of the shadow National Unity Government, Aung Myo Min, said the military cut the internet and phone lines so as not to leave any evidence of the war crimes.“These cuts by the military council are to block the flow of information especially about their brutality, and war crimes committed by them on the ground and to cut off humanitarian aid,” he said. “Because when the news of their actions comes to light, it will definitely be used as evidence to international tribunals. Cutting off information has become a military strategy. It is obvious they do not want to leave any evidence that can be used when legal action is taken.” RFA called military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, director-general Myo Swe of the Department of Communications at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the spokesman at the Magway Regional Government Office, but there was no response from any of them. Junta’s history of telecoms blackouts According to the General Administration Department, there are more than 200 villages in Gangaw and Tilin townships in Magway. More than 180,000 residents living in these townships are now losing their right to information due to the interruption of internet and phone lines. The military cut off all phone lines and the internet for the entire day of the coup on Feb. 1, last year. The internet was completely cut off on Feb. 6 and 7, 2021, only to be restored on Feb. 8. The military also cut off the internet in some townships and slowed it in others when the military launched attacks on armed PDFs in Magway, Sagaing and Mandalay regions and Chin and Kachin states. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane for RFA Burmese.

A man detained for protesting the demolition of a road in Vietnam’s Nghe An province says he was tortured into confessing by police while another detainee claims he was also forced to sign a confession. They were among 10 people arrested as hundreds of police clashed with locals demonstrating against the destruction of an old road connecting their village to a main road. A local, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, told RFA that police at Nghi Loc district police headquarters handcuffed a 55-year-old prisoner to a chair and slapped him. “The investigator, who was a uniformed officer, put one foot on his thigh to scare him then slapped him on both ears. He still has tinnitus. He was also hit on the back of the head,” the local said. Later the same day the resident claims the prisoner was slapped by another policeman named Toan, but not hard enough to cause any injury. He said the arrested man was told by police “if you don’t tell the truth you will be killed.” They ordered him to confess to the crimes of “disturbing public order” and “resisting a law enforcement officer in performance of his/her official duties.”  “He was forced to admit to causing disorder even though he said he didn’t cause trouble but was only seeking justice,” said the local. “They said he went to a crowded place [where people were] causing disorder. They forced him to confess.” “The policeman wrote the minutes himself, read them out and told him to sign. There were many passages he didn’t accept and crossed out but in the end he still had to sign.”  A 50-year-old man, who has also been released, said he was also forced to confess and was charged with “disturbing public order” and “resisting public officials.” Of the 10 arrested protesters one woman who wasn’t a local was released the same night. Seven people are still in custody. Binh Thuan parish resident Nguyen Van Hien said that, as of this Monday, the families of those still being held had not been allowed to visit and had not received any documents from the police about the cases against their relatives. Hundreds of police and plain clothes officers were mobilized on the morning of July 13 to stop the protest, building barbed wire fences around the road, which is on land the government has handed over to a company to build an industrial zone. A new road has been built to replace the old one but locals said they are worried the company that owns the road may close it and force them to leave the area their families have occupied for generations. Protestors removed part of the fence to occupy the old road and clashed with riot police armed with batons and shields. Video of the scene shows police firing tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse the crowd, some of whom responded by throwing petrol bombs. State media say five police officers were injured. A 72-year-old woman was taken to hospital, but her family were not allowed to see her. The 55-year-old man said he heard about the clashes with police in the morning and went to the scene to calm people, urging them to protest peacefully. He said he left when police fired smoke grenades and tear gas and returned to his village. When police started searching the village he hid on the second floor of a partially built house. He said police spotted him, threw him to the floor, beat and handcuffed him, dragging him along the ground. He said the beating left him with a lump on his head, facial bruising and blood in his eyes. The Investigation Police Agency of Nghi Loc district said they are collecting documents and evidence and investigating acts of “disturbing public order,” actions “against law enforcement officers” and claims of “illegally arresting people,” in accordance with Vietnamese law.

Around 4,000 locals were forced to flee junta airstrikes on around 15 villages in Myanmar’s northwestern Sagaing region on Thursday. The attacks are part of a three-day scorched-earth campaign that continued Friday. It involved around 100 troops, targeting residents of a township that has fiercely resisted military rule. Four helicopters carried out raids on the villages in Depayin township, killing a man, identified as Khin Maung San, and injuring another man and a woman. “Khin Maung San died on the spot and the injured woman was critically wounded in the bladder. She was treated by military council forces,” a local told RFA on condition of anonymity. “The residents fled and didn’t return until the military left. The conditions on the ground are very bad.” The local said around 100 residents who could not flee were interrogated and had the contents of their mobile phones searched by the military to check whether they had contacted People’s Defense Forces (PDFs). These are not the first air strikes on Depayin this month. Residents said two military helicopters fired on three villages on July 2. Township residents have fiercely resisted the junta that have been ruling the country since the Feb.1, 2021 coup, offering support to local PDFs. The junta has tried to control opposition by cutting off mobile phone and internet access. More than 100 residents of Sagaing region were killed by junta forces in the first 15 months after the coup. Casualties across Myanmar have risen above 2,000. Calls to the military council spokesman by RFA to ask about the raids on Depayin went unanswered on Friday.