South Asia Archives - Page 45 of 98 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

Uyghur event in NY goes ahead despite Beijing’s warning

Editor2 years ago011 mins

The Chinese government is increasingly moving Uyghurs from internment camps to the regular penal system while claiming it is closing the camps, experts and foreign diplomats told a forum on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Chinese diplomats over the weekend tried to hamstring the event by sending out a letter to foreign missions to the United Nations warning them against attending. The panel of diplomats and human rights experts slammed Beijing’s attempted interference. “Thank you also for being here, notwithstanding the PRC’s continued attempts to intimidate and to silence those speaking out on human rights,” said Beth Van Schaack, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, using an acronym for China’s government. She described the Chinese U.N. mission’s letter as “yet another example of a global campaign of transnational repression” against the Muslim minority, most of whom live in China’s far-west Xinjiang region. “I’m also pleased to see that their efforts have only increased international scrutiny on the situation within Xinjiang, and particularly the atrocities against the Uyghur people,” Van Schaack said. A detention facility in Jiashi County in Kashgar Prefecture in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region in July 2023. The Chinese government is increasingly moving Uyghurs from internment camps to the regular penal system while claiming it is closing the camps, experts and foreign diplomats told a forum on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. (Pedro Pardo/AFP) Sophie Richardson, the China director for Human Rights Watch, brandished a copy of the letter, which was first obtained by National Review, and said the “strong recommendation” from China that nobody attend the event made it more important that the room was full. “Any government that’s going to go out of its way to bother doing this, first of all, has no business sitting on the U.N. Human Rights Council, but also it’s essentially confirming that it’s got a lot to hide and it knows it,” Richardson said, defending the event as a moral imperative. The panel’s job was “to talk about the facts,” she said, “because we can, and because they don’t want us to, and because Uyghurs can’t.” Radio Free Asia contacted the Chinese Embassy in Washington, which said questions should be directed to China’s permanent mission to the United Nations. But Chinese diplomats at the U.N. mission could not be reached by phone and did not respond to an emailed request for comments. Diplomatic pushback Two European diplomats also spoke during the event. Peter Loeffelhardt, the German Foreign Office’s director for Asia and the Pacific, referred to China’s warning letter, which accused the panel of “plotting to use human rights issues as a political tool to undermine Xinjiang’s stability and disrupt China’s peaceful development.” “It is a false and dangerous narrative to say that human rights are an obstacle to development,” he said. “Human rights always need to be part of the discussion. When we address human rights violations, bilaterally and multilaterally, it is not an interference in internal affairs.” Belén Martinez Carbonell, managing director for multilateral affairs at the European Union’s foreign relations arm, said Europe believed the repression of the Uyghurs was “a very important topic that we would not like to be missed” among all the issues at the General Assembly. “In the European Union, we are concerned for many issues, such as political reeducation camps, mass arbitrary detentions, widespread surveillance, trafficking and control measures, systemic and severe restriction of the exercise of fundamental freedoms,” she said. Those included “the use of forced labor, torture, forced abortion and sterilization, birth control, and family separation policies and sexual and gender based violence.” “What a long list,” she said. Martinez Carbonell also said the European Parliament was working on Europe’s own version of the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bans the import of any product that was made even partially using forced labor of Uyghurs interned in Chinese camps. Shifting repression Gady Epstein, a senior editor at The Economist magazine and the forum’s moderator, noted that “stories about Xinjiang have faded a little from the headlines or from the front pages” in recent times, being replaced by some about the closure of certain internment camps. Uyghurs living in Turkey protest in Istanbul in March 2021 against China’s treatment of Uyghurs in Turkey. (Emrah Gurel/AP) Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said the decrease in attention was not due to any changes on the ground. “The situation has not changed in its essence,” Callamard said. “It may have shifted a little bit in the forms that certain violations have taken, but it has certainly not shifted in the essence of the violations.” Callamard said Uyghurs still enjoyed no freedom of movement, or religion or culture, or to “equality and non-discrimination.” She added that even the claims of camp closures were disingenuous. “It is a fact that we are witnessing more and more arbitrary detention [and] the shifting of individuals into formal prisons,” Callamard said. It was a concern mirrored by Van Schaak, the U.S. official. “We are now particularly concerned about the dramatic increase in prosecutions with long-term sentences in Xinjiang, including the reported transfer of some detainees from so-called re-education or vocational training centers into more formal penal prisons,” she said. “Of the more than 15,000 Xinjiang residents whose sentences are known, more than 95% of those convicted – often under very vague charges, like separatism or endangering state security – have received sentences of 5 to 20 years, and in some cases of life.” Bittersweetness Rayhan Asat, a Uyghur human rights lawyer and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, which organized the panel, told the panel that another enduring part of Beijing’s repression campaign was the cruel methods it often used to silence Uyghurs living outside China. “Uyghur-Americans living in America are still subject to China’s long-arm reach,” Asat said. “What they are using is our families, our loved ones, their lives. They are literally keeping them hostage.” She explained that…

South Korea Presidents clash over North Korea policy

Editor2 years ago09 mins

Five years ago, when leaders of the two Koreas exchanged a historic handshake in Pyongyang, the Korean people looked on with hope, wishing that this masterpiece of diplomacy may finally put an official end to the seven-decade-long war on the peninsula. But as time surges forward, the once-celebrated inter-Korean agreement stands vulnerable, overshadowed by North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats, and its leader, Kim Jong Un reinforcing ties with his fellow authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin of Russia. Now, South Korea grapples with a growing divide on whether to uphold that deal. The debate is set to intensify on the back of former South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s attendance of the commemorative event of the fifth anniversary of the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration in Seoul on Tuesday. “The [current] government and the ruling party have expressed their intentions to reconsider or possibly scrap the military agreement,” Moon said at the event. “However, it’s crucial to note that the inter-Korean military agreement has been instrumental in preventing military confrontations between the two Koreas.” Moon’s comments are largely seen as a warning against the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol for its hardline policy on North Korea. “It would be irresponsible to remove the last safety pin in place,” Moon added. “As relations between the two Koreas deteriorate and military tensions escalate, it’s imperative for both sides to uphold the agreement.” His remarks may potentially improve public opinion of South Korea’s progressives before the general election in April. Should that happen, it would conversely work against Yoon’s hardline policy on Pyongyang. Under the 2018 inter-Korean military deal, the two Koreas agreed to “end hostility” and to “take substantial steps to make the Korean Peninsula a permanent peace zone.” “Military accords should be honored and respected to the fullest extent to ensure dialogue continues and to prevent dire consequences,” Moon said. The former president was supported by key officials from his administration – his foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha and unification minister Kim Yeon-chul at the event. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with South Korean President Moon Jae-in inside the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea on April 27, 2018. (Credit: AP) South Korea’s progressives see consistent engagement with North Korea as a potential catalyst for altering Pyongyang’s hostile behavior and its actions of violating human rights. They believe that integrating North Korea into the international stage would foster transparency, open avenues for dialogue, and gradually shift the North’s stance towards global norms and values. Conservatives, on the other hand, have long protested against what it defined as far-fetched engagement, saying that excessive aid to North Korea despite its continued provocations would only foster its nuclear ambitions. The conversative Yoon administration is thus adopting a hawkish policy on North Korea, aimed at pressing Pyongyang to forfeit its nuclear weapons. The ongoing debate is set to gain its momentum, as Yoon’s Defense Minister nominee Shin Won-sik has opined about his inclination to scrap the inter-Korean military deal last week. Some analysts consider the deal invalid, with North Korea returning to its brinkmanship diplomacy after its high-stakes summit with the United States collapsed in Hanoi February 2019. For instance, in November 2019, North Korea fired coastal artillery near the maritime buffer around the border island of Changlin-do. In May 2020, North Korea fired gunshots towards a South Korean guard post at the inter-Korean border, and in September 2020, a South Korean civilian was shot dead at the maritime border by the North and subsequently incinerated. Further complicating matters is North Korea’s amplified nuclear and missile threats. The threats are expected to further intensify with Putin vowing to aid North Korea in developing its satellite technology. Rocket technology can be used for both launching satellites and missiles. For that reason, the UN bans North Korea from launching a ballistic rocket, even if it claims to be a satellite launch. South Korea’s internal disagreement surrounding its North North Korea policy could potentially undermine that of the allies. The lack of a unified stance – be it hardline or dovish policy – risks disabling Seoul and Washington to form a coherent strategy that could be implemented in the long-term. Experts, however, noted that the main reason for this policy inconsistency is due to Kim Jong Un’s altered stance on his diplomacy after the fallout in Hanoi in 2019. “North Korean inconsistency is what leads to South Korea having to change its policy. If Pyongyang had continued to engage post-Hanoi summit, I think that both, Moon first, and Yoon now would have probably sought to try to accommodate this. Alas, this hasn’t been the case,” said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Professor of International Relations at King’s College London and the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Brussels School of Governance of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. “Likewise, I think that it was domestic instability in North Korea in the late 2000s, due to Kim Jong Il’s health condition, and then the transition process to Kim Jong Un, [being] the main reason behind the end of the inter-Korean engagement. So liberals and conservatives may not fully agree on how to approach North Korea, but I actually think that Pyongyang is the main reason why Seoul changes its policy.” Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang.

Cambodian farmer says raising rats for food has boosted his family’s income

Editor2 years ago04 mins

The rats squeak as Muy Chameroun nears their cages to feed them foods like corn, rice, potatoes, grass and anything else that is healthy for them.. But these rats number more than 100 and they are not his pets. Muy Chameroun is a farmer, and he is raising the rats as food. Rats are not only consumed in Cambodia, but also in other countries in the region, including Thailand, China, and India. From his small farm in Kdol Tahen commune, Bavel district, in the western province of Battambang, Muy Chamroeun breeds and raises a type of rat that he imported from Thailand. He used to work in the construction industry in neighboring Thailand, but found that he could make more money raising the rodents that he has fond memories of eating in his childhood. In the four years he has been raising rats, Muy Chamroeun has been able to lift his family’s standard of living. The business has allowed him to save 2 to 2.4 million riel (US$486-583) per month. Growing an Industry Other farmers in the area are foregoing swine and cattle to try to get in on the rat racket, and Muy Chamroen sells them adults from his mischief to help them get started. He has also set up a Facebook page called Sovanrachna Rat Farm to share tips on raising, feeding and upkeep. Sum Pina, one of his customers, says the rats do not cost a lot to raise. The largest expense is building a shed to house them in, and their food is negligible, he says. Additionally, these Thai rats are better than the local domesticated and wild breeds because they do not emit such a foul odor, he said. Rat farmer Muy Chamroeun holds a rat at his farm in western Cambodia’s Battambang province, Sept. 14, 2023. Credit: RFA Once the rats have matured and fattened up to around 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) or more, they can be taken to market and sold for 20,000 to 25,000 riel (about $5-6) per head. Theng Savoeun, President of the Association of Cambodian Farmers’ Communities, said that raising rats for meat can help reduce Cambodia’s meat imports of meat and improve the livelihood of farmers. There are no domestic regulations on breeding or raising rats or selling their meat, so it is an easy business to get into. Muy Chameroun wants to sell his rat meat overseas, and to do that he would need a license from the Ministry of Agriculture, but currently there are no regulations or procedures for doing that – yet. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Eugene Whong.

Hanoi fire that killed 56 draws attention to lax safety standards in Vietnam

Editor2 years ago010 mins

The fire that tore through the nine-story Hanoi apartment building this week and killed 56 people has shed light on Vietnam’s lax fire safety standards. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has ordered an investigation, along with tougher regulations for smaller apartment buildings, according to a government statement. One tenant whose family has been living in a tiny 30-square meter (323-square feet) unit in a five-story building for many years said that after Wednesday’s fire in the Thanh Xuan section of Hanoi, he checked the fire prevention system in his building and realized there was none. “Prior to the tragedy, I had already studied our building layout and the surrounding area to see how to escape or how to jump to a neighboring house if a fire occurs,” said the man, who requested anonymity for security reasons on Friday. “Our building doesn’t properly equip tenants with any fire prevention equipment.” Burned motorbikes and damaged ground floor of a 10-storey building after a major fire at an apartment block in Hanoi on Sept. 13, 2023. Credit: Nhac Nguyen/AFP His building is located in a small alley in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh district. The road is so narrow that it would be impossible for fire trucks to get to the building if a fire were to break out. Also, there are no hydrants near the building, nor is it equipped with hoses. He said he has grave concerns for his family’s safety, but the landlord does not seem to care. “After the incident, I’ve been waiting to see whether the landlord or the company managing the building would issue any alerts or provide any firefighting equipment but haven’t received any notification, warning, or any equipment at all,” he said. Living in such an unsafe space is not a choice, he said. It is the only place they can afford. “For people migrating from a rural area to the city like us, we don’t have many options,” said the man. I have always had a desire to live in a place safe from fire and floods, but our current incomes only allow us to rent out here in the slums.” Mini-apartments Hanoi is home to around 2,000 similar mini-apartments, while Ho Chi Minh City in the south has around 4,200 of them, according to media reports. Many in his neighborhood are in worse shape than his, the man said. He once inspected a seven-story building in the district where his friend lives. “The landlord told me that they had built the seven-story building illegally but the local government did not know,” he said. “From the outside, the building looks like a beautiful house, but when you enter, you will notice that it is divided into many small rooms for students and low-income people to rent.” “Mini-apartment” is not an approved category of domicile under Vietnamese law, Hoang Anh Tuan, the Director General of the Ministry of Construction’s Administration of Construction Management told the local Pioneer (Tien Phong) newspaper. Relatives weep as they wait outside a funeral house to identify victims of a major fire at an apartment building in Hanoi on Sept. 13, 2023. Credit: AFP The director general of the ministry’s Department of Science, Technology & Environment, Vu Ngoc Anh, said that the mini-apartments had operated similarly to residential apartment buildings, but without fire and safety systems required by law. Units in similar buildings are available to rent all over the city. A Facebook group called “Renting Houses, Houses for Rent, Mini-Apartments, and Cheap Rental Rooms in Hanoi” advertises a newly opened 27 room mini-apartment building in the city’s Nam Tu Liem district. But the person who posted the ad would not respond to RFA’s questions regarding fire prevention and evacuation measures. What to do The man who lived in a mini-apartment said he and his wife have discussed fire prevention measures and agreed on a plan in the event of a fire. “I have instructed my family on how to use electricity and gas or what we should do when a fire occurs,” said the man. “For example, we must unplug electric appliances after use or always check whether there is a gas leak.” The family has also mapped out the local area and developed plans for what to do with the kids and their valuables. “If a fire breaks out, we must stay calm and figure out the best solution for our family,” he said. He said the building’s electrical system is overtapped, and with so many people living in a cramped space, the floors are cluttered. “I think if a fire breaks out, it would be challenging for the people there to escape, and they would be in a situation similar to the Thanh Xuan fire.” Fire safety After the Thanh Xuan disaster, the demand for fire prevention equipment has sharply increased. The price for some items has even doubled, sources told RFA Vietnamese. Nguyen Dinh Ha, a resident living in the upscale Vinhome Times City building in Vinh Tuy district, said that his and other newly built residential buildings in the capital had to fulfill the city’s fire prevention requirements before they were handed over to end-users. Therefore, these residential buildings are not subject to the city’s upcoming examination of fire prevention work at multi-family buildings. A security guard sits as residents watch from far after a major fire at an apartment building in Hanoi on Sept. 13, 2023. Credit: Nhac Nguyen/AFP He suggested that the city pay attention to the fire prevention of houses in small alleys and mini apartments as their construction did not follow the city’s standards like projects on residential building development. He also recommended installing fire prevention equipment in older residential buildings to enable them to meet the current standards. Minh Tuan, a Hanoian who moved out from a residential building in Me Tri ward, Nam Tu Liem district, told RFA that after the deadly incident in Thanh Xuan, his building had introduced stiffer fire prevention measures, requiring residents not to recharge their…

Hypocritical? Christening of new North Korean submarine raises eyebrows

Editor2 years ago07 mins

With supreme leader Kim Jong Un looking on, the foreign minister smashed a bottle of champagne against the hull of North Korea’s latest nuclear submarine, prompting the crowd of sailors and factory workers to erupt in thunderous cheers and applause. But the reaction to the smashed bottle among the general public was less than smashing. Many North Koreans saw the ceremony, involving Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, as puzzling and even hypocritical in a country that suppresses superstitious activities – which is how the submarine christening appeared to many. “Everyone was surprised to see the female foreign minister come forward and break a liquor bottle by hitting it against the hull,” a resident from the northeastern city of Rason told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “The authorities have been cracking down on the simple rituals of fishermen performing ancestral rites and pouring alcohol to ensure the safe navigation of boats, defining them as superstitious practices,” he said. In this North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency released photo on Sept. 8, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claps after Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui smashed a bottle of champagne against the hull of a new submarine during a launching ceremony in North Korea. Credit: KCNA via Reuters North Korean fishermen have traditional ceremonies whenever they take a new boat out to sea or when they repair an old boat, and sometimes they involve elements of superstition that have been passed down over generations. Those rituals, which can involve a pig’s head and copious amounts of alcohol, are, like the submarine christening, meant only to wish for the safety of ships at sea, the resident said. Punishing ‘capitalist’ behavior Though anti-superstition laws have long been on the books they were not strictly enforced all the time, but the recent passing of a new “anti-capitalist” law caused authorities to be less tolerant of superstitious activities. The 2020 Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Act, is aimed at preserving the purity of North Korean socialist ideals by harshly punishing people for watching foreign media, speaking like a “South Korean,” wearing “capitalist” fashion, or even dancing like a “capitalist.” The law does not specifically mention superstitions and the fishermen are emulating their own ancestors rather than “capitalist” fishermen in the South, but authorities have interpreted their activity as “reactionary ideology” brought in from the outside. Fishermen have therefore been secretly holding these ceremonies under cover of night to avoid being punished. In this North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency released photo on Sept. 8, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a launching ceremony for a new tactical nuclear attack submarine in North Korea. Credit: KCNA via Reuters “I couldn’t help but be surprised that a ceremony that the authorities say is a punishable superstitious act was held in front of Kim Jong Un,” the resident said, adding that the small ceremonies fall under Article 256, a different law that forbids fortune telling, divination, and exorcism as superstitious acts. According to that law, punishments can range from “up to a year” in a disciplinary labor facility to “a minimum of three to seven years” depending on how serious the act is. “After seeing the reports of the submarine launch ceremony, fishermen and other residents are saying that the authorities are two-faced, and they should no longer have to do their own ceremonies in secret,” the resident said. It was the first time that a ship christening was reported in state media, a resident of Rason’s surrounding North Hamgyong province told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “It is deeply contradictory for the authorities to tell residents not to believe in superstitions and not engage in superstitious behavior, but then to do something similar [themselves.]” he said. “People are mocking the authorities by asking, ‘Do [the authorities] believe in superstitions, too? Is it okay to do superstitious acts in front of Kim Jong Un?’” Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

Organizers of rally to form Cambodian political party detained

Editor2 years ago05 mins

Six members of Cambodia’s opposition Candlelight Party, or CLP, remained in police custody after they were detained on Friday and Saturday for holding a rally in support of a new political party. Rights groups slammed the detention as the latest bid by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, to eliminate its political rivals. They say the CPP has used other tactics – including onerous bureaucracy, legal technicalities, and intimidation – to keep would-be competitors off of the country’s ballots and maintain its grip on power. Police arrested Banteay Meanchey province CLP leaders Sin Vatha, Tep Sambath Vathano, Long Lavi, Tuot Veasna, Chhum Sinath Van Siw and 17 others on Sept. 8 and 9 in connection with a rally they held to collect enough people’s fingerprints to register a new opposition party, former Banteay Meanchey Provincial CLP Secretary Suon Khemrin told RFA Khmer. Authorities detained the rally’s organizers despite having obtained authorization from the Ministry of Interior to form the new Panha Tumnerp – or Intellectual Modern – Party, said Suon Khemrin. The former CLP secretary, who was among those arrested, was released along with 16 others on the afternoon of Sept. 10, after more than 30 hours in custody, he said. Suon Khemrin said that while in detention, police asked him who was behind the new party, but he told them he had only had seen an Aug. 18 letter from the Ministry of Interior granting Im Sognet the right to form the Tumnerp Party and requiring him to collect enough fingerprints to register the party within 180 days, according to the country’s political party law. He told RFA that the six men who remain in detention were being held at the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Police Station “for further questioning.” “Before I was released, the police told me to sign a document that was noticeably vague in its wording,” he said. Attempts by RFA to contact Banteay Meanchey Provincial Police Chief Sithi Loh for comment on the arrests went unanswered. ‘Violation of political rights’ Seung Senkaruna, the spokesperson for local NGO the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, or ADHOC, told RFA that the arrests are a violation of citizens’ political rights. He said that the formation of a new party is a “legitimate political action,” and that authorities should facilitate such actions. “[The authorities] have been doing this to the opposition party and its members for some time now, but it only draws more criticism and can be seen as politically motivated,” he said. “It only proves that the oppositions’ accusation of persecution is real.” According to the Law on Political Parties, any Cambodian citizen who is aged 18 or older and is a permanent resident of the country has the right to form a political party simply by notifying the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior must reply in writing that it has received the notification within 15 days. The law states that in order to be valid, political parties must apply for registration with at least 4,000 members, depending on the province where the party is based. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Report: Forest encroachment for maize cultivation increased in Lower Mekong

Editor2 years ago011 mins

Industrial-scale maize cultivation to produce animal feed, one of the two main reasons behind annual smog in the three Lower Mekong countries, has grown on a massive scale, satellite data analysis has revealed. More than 11.8 million rai (1.88 million hectares) of forested area in the northern regions of Thailand, Myanmar and Lao PDR has been converted since 2015 to make way for maize cultivation, Greenpeace Southeast Asia said in its latest report, released on Sept. 6. The report analyzes land-use changes in the Shan state of Myanmar, eight northern provinces of Thailand, and seven Lao provinces in the Lower Mekong region that are facing transboundary haze problems in recent years, mainly due to wildfires and widespread agricultural burning. Between 2021 and mid-2023 alone, more than one million rai of the region’s forest was lost to maize farming, Tara Buakamsri, the country director for Greenpeace Thailand, told Radio Free Asia on Friday. That is equivalent to more than 220,000 soccer fields, or more than twice the size of New York city. Northern Lao PDR saw the most forest encroachment, with about 5.7 million rai converted to maize farms since 2015. In Myanmar’s Shan state, 3.1 million rai of forest was destroyed, while northern Thailand saw 2.9 million rai turned into corn cultivation. “Mass maize farming is moving from northern Thailand to Myanmar and Laos, where it’s harder for us to monitor and engage with local communities due to the political situation,” Tara said. In total, maize farming increased more than 38% from 13 million rai to 18 million rai – almost the size of Belgium – between 2015 and 2023, according to Greenpeace. The report also showed that the hot spots – areas with fires according to satellite data – in maize farming areas during the cultivation season grew from 31% in 2020 to 41% this year. Another 42% of this year’s hot spot was attributable to forest fires. The rest was rice paddy and other crop plantation-related hot spots. “Our study shows that the maize industry continues to play a key role in destroying forests in the Mekong subregion,” Tara said. “It is also primarily responsible for the toxic air pollution that has become an annual affair… It shouldn’t have been a ‘haze season’ every start of the year.” Culprits of worsening air pollution Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand are among the top 30 countries with the worst air pollution, according to a study released on Aug. 29 by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). The fine particles PM2.5 count for Southeast Asia’s most polluted country, Myanmar, was almost 35 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3), seven times worse than the World Health Organization’s air quality guideline, according to EPIC’s Air Quality Life Index. In Lao PDR, the PM2.5 was around 27 μg/m3, while in Thailand, it was around 23 μg/m3. Earlier this year, many areas in northern Thailand, Myanmar and Laos remained blanketed in toxic haze for weeks due to out-of-control wildfires and agricultural burning, with more than two million people hospitalized with respiratory issues in Thailand alone. Experts say the deteriorating air pollution during the region’s crop cultivation season started after Thailand imposed zero tariffs for maize imported from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia to support the cross-border contract farming program about two decades ago. Thailand is now among the world’s largest animal feed producers, and one of the largest for pork and poultry too. Maize is the primary ingredient, making up over a third of the animal feed. A smoggy view of Mai Sai city in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, April 5, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA Despite the smog, many maize farmers in the region continue to burn the remains because it is the easiest way to get rid of the stubble to prepare for subsequent cultivation. However, smallholder farmers should not be solely blamed since they do not have an alternative, experts have told RFA. “We observe heavily indebted and disempowered farmers with weak land tenure, severe soil erosion, constantly engaged in land conflicts with the state, virtually forced to encroach upon forests, and blamed by society for widespread air pollution at a regional level,” said one research paper published this month in the Resources, Environment and Sustainability journal. “The corporate players are the winners in this system, whereas farmers and the environment are losers.” RFA Burmese made several calls to contact Myanmar military officials but did not get a response. Shan state’s junta-appointed government spokesperson, Khun Thein Maung, told RFA that local government officials from Myanmar and Thailand are discussing the issue. “In fact, there was no burning on our side. There is no proof,” he said, adding that corn plantation areas have expanded by a few acres but “not doubled or tripled” to meet demand for local animal feed and foreign export. “Residents are benefitting from it. Farmers make money from the business. It supports the socio-economic life in the region,” he said, adding that no big agro-industry is involved. A Shan state-based environmental activist, who asked not to be named, fearing retribution, told RFA that maize cultivation increased during the previous NLD government. “49% of corn cultivation in Myanmar is in Shan state, contributing to 55% of the total production. But little has been done to educate local farmers about shifting cultivation and burning of stubble [which often] causes forest fires,” he said. In Laos, the “government has taken strict measures to reduce slash-and-burn cultivation,” an official from the agriculture and forestry department of Oudomxay Province told RFA. “The provincial authorities in northern Laos have issued notices telling farmers to stop burning forest and to prevent the forest fire and prevent it from spreading.” This combination of pictures created on May 1, 2023 shows buildings amid high levels of air pollution on Feb. 2, 2023 (top) and the same view amid moderate levels of air pollution (below) on May 1, 2023 in Bangkok. Credit: AFP. The Thai government did not respond to RFA requests for comment,…

First library, learning center dedicated to Dalai Lama opens in United States

Editor2 years ago07 mins

The first library and learning center dedicated to the Dalai Lama in the United States has opened in upstate New York to preserve the teachings of the leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The center, officially named His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama Library and Learning Center, opened on Friday, Sept. 8. It includes a digital audio archive with 40,000 hours of the Dalai Lama’s teachings, about 4,000 books with translations of ancient texts on the evolution of Buddhist thought, and Buddhist artifacts from India and Tibet. “It’s been more than 60 years since His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived in exile and he has contributed immensely in promoting the basic human values of compassion, forgiveness and tolerance to this world,” said Ven. Thamthog Rinpoche, abbot of the Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, India, who attended the inauguration. “So, this learning center will serve across all ages, faiths, and education levels to understand His Holiness’s teachings on secular ethics and human values.” The center’s opening comes at a time of intensified suppression of Tibetan Buddhism, culture and language by Chinese authorities, who view them as a threat and are trying to erode Tibetans’ beliefs and way of life. Authorities have restricted Tibetans’ access to religious sites, banned religious gatherings, destroyed Buddhist places and symbols, and subjected monks and nuns to political reeducation, according to the 2023 annual report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Ithaca College, hosted the opening ceremony. Founded in 1992, the institute serves as the North American seat of the personal monastery of the Dalai Lama and offers Westerners the opportunity to study authentic Tibetan Buddhism in a monastic setting. The institute chose Ithaca, about 282 kilometers (175 miles) northwest of New York City and where Cornell University is located, in 2016 as the location of the new center, approved by the Dalai Lama. The new His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama Library and Learning Center in Ithaca, New York, includes a digital audio archive with 40,000 hours of the Dalai Lama’s teachings and about 4,000 books with translations of ancient texts on the evolution of Buddhist thought. Credit: Screenshot from RFA video ‘Peacemaking center’ Ven. Tenzin Choesang, president of the Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca, said the learning center will be a physical space and virtual repository of all the works of the current and previous Dalai Lamas. “It will also offer free and low-cost classes, meditations, and talks,” he said. The Dalai Lama, who resides in exile in Dharamsala, did not attend the opening ceremony but sent a recorded message. “Buddhism is not just a matter of routinely reciting prayers,” he said. “It has to do with using intelligence and wisdom to bring about a transformation in the way we think based on the three types of understanding drawn from study of scriptures, that conviction comes about through reflecting on the meaning of what you have learned and experienced of that gained through meditation.” HOLT Architects of upstate New York designed the two-story, 9,230-square-foot library and learning center. Its exterior colors of red, yellow and white are reminiscent of the colors of Potala Palace, the traditional winter home of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century and a symbol of Tibetan Buddhism. “We started working on this in 2016 and it has been a long and interesting process,” Steve Hugo, principal architect and the company’s vice president told RFA. “I am overwhelmed, and I think the building was always a combination of reflecting Tibetan culture, but also recognizing that it was built in the United States.” Speaking at the opening ceremony, donor Diane Brandenburg said she and her late husband first met the Dalai Lama in California in 2009 and that he “turned our lives around in so many ways.” “His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, has taken a huge step to create this sacred space, a meditation and peacemaking center, a teaching center for anyone who wants to come and study to learn about Buddhism and other religions,” she said. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibet. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Close call as Chinese ships again harass Philippine ships in Manila’s EEZ

Editor2 years ago014 mins

The Chinese ships began to swarm around the BRP Cabra soon after 7 a.m. on Friday, sailing uncomfortably close to and hemming in the Philippine Coast Guard ship as it escorted civilian boats toward Ayungin Shoal. A China Coast Guard ship, with bow number CCG 21616, was the first to arrive on scene some 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) from the shoal located in South China Sea waters within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. A BenarNews correspondent and other reporters, who were given special permission to travel aboard the Cabra and another coast guard ship for the resupply mission, witnessed the tense moments at sea. Similar scenes where Chinese ships acted aggressively had played out lately during previous Philippine missions to deliver supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusty old navy ship that serves as Manila’s military outpost at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. “Philippine vessel, you are approaching the waters of China. To avoid miscalculation and misunderstanding, please inform your intention,” the China Coast Guard ship radioed to the BRP Cabra at around 6:30 a.m. The Cabra radioed back, saying it was “conducting lawful routine maritime patrol within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in accordance with international and Philippine laws.” “Request to stay clear from our passage in accordance with collision regulations,” the radio operator said from the Cabra’s bridge. About 30 minutes later, at least three other CCG ships and vessels from China’s maritime militia fleet joined the fray. The Chinese ships then executed maneuvers to try to impede the civilian boats’ passage that Philippine Coast Guard officials described as dangerously close. A CCG vessel, with bow number 21551, repeatedly tried to cut the Cabra’s path to separate it from one of the supply boats. After failing to overtake the Cabra from the right side, CCG 21551 then sped up to overtake it from the left side. As the Chinese ship executed this maneuver, it sailed toward the Cabra and then abruptly stopped only three to five meters (9.8 to 16.4 feet) from the Philippine ship, PCG officials said. During the standoff, at least a dozen more radio exchanges as well as challenges and counter-challenges ensued between the Philippine and Chinese ships. “Your behavior has infringed upon [the] authority, security, and interest of China. I warn you, please leave the area immediately. Any consequences will be borne by you,” a voice from CCG 5305, the largest of the China Coast Guard ships present, warned the Cabra’s crew. After being separated from their PCG escort ships, as the Chinese ships had intended, the Filipino civilian boats managed to sail on, reach the Sierra Madre, pick up Philippine Navy personnel and deliver food and other supplies. The coast guard rated the latest mission a success, despite the tense encounter with the Chinese vessels. “The routine RoRe [rotational and resupply] mission was again subjected to dangerous maneuvers, jeopardizing the crew members’ safety aboard the PCG vessels and Philippine supply boats,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard spokesman on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), said in a statement to media. This photo taken by a drone shows the Philippine Coast Guard Ship BRP Cabra surrounded by Chinese coast guard and maritime militia ships in South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) waters near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, Sept. 8, 2023. Credit: Handout/Philippine Coast Guard During Friday’s incident, the PCG said it had recorded 10 instances of dangerous maneuvers carried out by four CCG ships and four Chinese maritime militia ships toward the BRP Cabra and another Philippine Coast Guard ship, the BRP Sindangan. Two Chinese warships from the People’s Liberation Army Navy were also spotted monitoring the area. At one point, CCG 5305 blew its horn three times while crossing the bow of BRP Sindangan at a distance of approximately 50 to 60 yards. The BRP Cabra, for its part, was corralled by five Chinese ships: three maritime militia vessels and a CCG ship in front, and another CCG ship behind. Overnight journey The crews of the Cabra and Sindangan, 44-meter-long (144.3-feet-long) coast guard multi-purpose response vessels, and the journalists aboard them had left the Philippine island of Palawan at around 9 a.m. on Thursday. The coast guard ships were deployed to escort two small supply boats, the Unaizah May 1 and Unaizah May 2, which the Philippine Navy had commissioned for its routine rotational and resupply mission. The wooden boats were transporting food, supplies, and a new batch of sailors headed to the Sierra Madre, a decrepit World War II-era ship. In 1999, the Philippines deliberately ran it aground in Ayungin Shoal, which lies in the contested Spratly Islands, in response to China’s occupation of nearby Mischief Reef. The two Unaizah May boats and the PCG vessels met up near Sabina Shoal late Thursday night, with the two smaller ships sailing between the coast guard ships. “That was the instruction to us, protect the Unaizah May boats,” Emmanuel Dangate, the commander of the Cabra, told the reporters aboard his ship. Emmanuel Dangate, commanding officer of the BRP Cabra, looks out from the ship’s bridge as Chinese vessels try to cut its path and maneuver close to it in waters near Ayungin Shoal, Sept. 8, 2023. Credit: Camille Elemia/BenarNews View from the bridge During Friday’s standoff, the atmosphere on the bridge of the Cabra was quiet and sober as the Chinese ships closed in on the PCG ship. Some of the crew were even smiling and joking around. Dangate, the Cabra’s skipper, remained calm as he gazed ahead from the bridge and gave orders to his crew. “During this kind of mission, it ignites our patriotism and dedication,” the commanding officer told the select group of reporters, who had been allowed to travel to get a rare first-hand view of one of the Philippine resupply missions. From time to time, he would look through his binoculars and ask brief questions to his team. “Does that ship have an AIS [automatic identification system]?” he asked, pointing to a distant vessel…

G20 ends on high note for Indian host

Editor2 years ago08 mins

The G20 wound up on Sunday with leaders visiting a memorial statue to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, a day after adding 55 new member states via the African Union and coming up with a compromise communique soft on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the African Union to join the G20 as a permanent member on Saturday in his opening remarks, calling on members to end a “global trust deficit.” “It is time for all of us to move together,” Modi said. Despite widespread anticipation that this year’s summit would be a damp squib, it appeared to have featured some significant pushback on China’s apparent unwillingness to play ball with the developed world. Modi announced on Saturday that negotiators had resolved deep differences over the wording on the war in Ukraine, but the phrasing – not invasion by Russia but “war in Ukraine” – was clearly a bone to Russia and China, whose leaders did not attend. China and Russia were opposed to any joint statement that censures Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden skipped the final session of the summit, heading to Vietnam, where a Whitehouse official said the two nations would elevate their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, putting it on a par with Beijing and Moscow’s engagement with Hanoi. U.S. President Joe Biden leaves for Vietnam after attending the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Credit: AP Modi pronounced the summit a success. “On the back of the hard work of all the teams, we have received consensus on the G20 Leaders Summit Declaration. I announce the adoption of this declaration,” Modi told the G20 leaders in New Delhi. “#G20India has been the MOST ambitious in the history of #G20 presidencies. With 112 outcomes and presidency documents, we have more than tripled the substantive work from previous presidencies,” said India’s G20 Sherpa representative Amitabh Kant on social media. Commentators said that it was significant that India appeared to be ready to take a more assertive role in global politics. Modi ended the summit by passing on the ceremonial gavel to Brazil’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country takes over the bloc’s presidency. Welcome Africa The announcement of permanent inclusion of the 55-nation African Union (AU) is likely to be a blow for Chinese president Xi Jinping, who did not attend the summit for unknown reasons, and recently heralded the new membership of six countries in the BRICS grouping as “historic.” The AU’s young population of 1.3 billion is expected to double by 2050, when it will account for a quarter of the global population. It’s strategically important to both China, Africa’s largest trading partner and one of its largest lenders, and Russia, its leading arms provider. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shares a light moment with African Union Chairman Azali Assoumani upon his arrival at Bharat Mandapam convention center for the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. Credit: Pool via Reuters Meanwhile, in what will likely be seen as a challenge to Xi’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), U.S. President Joe Biden, Modi and allies announced a rail and shipping corridor connecting India with the Middle East and ultimately Europe. The project will include the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and other countries in the G20. Commentators speculate it will enable greater trade and be an ambitious counter to China’s massive BRI, through which it has sought to invest and lend its way to making its economy better connected with the world. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands next to U.S. President Joe Biden on the first day of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, Sept. 9, 2023. Credit: AP/POOL The moves on Saturday, which were roundly seen as pushback against China, came against a background of speculation as to why China’s Xi was not present and calls for Beijing to explain itself. “It’s incumbent upon the Chinese government to explain” why its leader “would or would not participate,” Jon Finer, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, told reporters in Delhi. He said there was speculation that China is “giving up on G20” in favor of groupings like BRICS, where it is dominant. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who attended the summit as a representative of Xi, called on the European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for greater unity and cooperation between the two sides to counter global uncertainties, according to a statement on Sunday from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Li urged the EU to provide a non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies, as the bloc becomes warier of the risks of engaging China, seeing it as a “systemic rival” since 2019. Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan.

Category: South Asia