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Category: South Asia

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.

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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…

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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…

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Kissinger meets China’s President Xi

Editor07 mins

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with veteran diplomat Henry Kissinger in Beijing, in what some see as a snub to U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, who left the Chinese capital the previous day. However, the South China Morning Post, quoting a “source,” said the “private visit” had been planned months earlier and the fact that it coincided with Kerry’s trip was coincidental. The source said that the 100-year-old Kissinger would share his impressions of talks with China’s senior leadership with the U.S. government when he returns home. Xi met Kissinger at the Diaoyutai state guest house in Beijing, where he told Kissinger Chinese people place a high value on friendship. “[W]e will never forget our old friend and your historic contribution to promoting the development of US-China relations and enhancing the friendship between Chinese and American people,” Xi said. Kissinger played a key role in normalizing U.S.-China relations when he was then-president Richard Nixon’s secretary of state in the 1970s. He continues to be held in high regard in China. In this Thursday, May 3, 1973 photo, Henry Kissinger, President Nixon’s foreign affairs adviser, briefs newsmen on Nixon’s annual State the World report to Congress at the White House in Washington. Credit: AP Photo Kissinger met with sanctioned Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Tuesday, and on Wednesday he met with Wang Yi, China’s top foreign affairs official. Wang reinforced China’s position on Taiwan, telling Kissinger independence was “incompatible with peace across the Taiwan Strait,” according to a statement by China’s foreign ministry. It is likely that China is nostalgic for a time when it could seemingly do no wrong, and Kissinger is seen as the right man to call on Washington to be more conciliatory.  “The current U.S. policy toward China is eager to transform China or contain China, which will not succeed and it is doomed to fail. Wang delivered this message to the Biden administration through the talks with Kissinger, urging the incumbent US officials to have the political courage to adjust their China policy,” Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. The U.S. State Department indicated that Kissinger was not representing the U.S. in Beijing. “I will say he was there under his own volition, not acting on behalf of the United States Government. And I don’t have any further updates on his trip,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.  Miller added that it was not his understanding that Kissinger’s meeting violated any sanctions. “In fact, we have said that we believe … our own secretary of defense could meet with the sanctioned defense minister, and that would be appropriate to do so,” Miller added. Political demands During John Kerry’s climate talks in Beijing this week, Xi warned that China will not have its path to curb emissions dictated by others. “The path, method, pace and intensity to achieve this goal should and must be determined by ourselves, and will never be influenced by others,” Xi said at a national conference on environmental protection, according to state broadcaster China Central Television. In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng during a meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Credit: Xinhua via AP But Vice President Han Zheng, who met with Kerry on Wednesday, said that Beijing would be willing to work with the U.S. to mitigate the climate crisis, as long as its political demands are met. Han told Kerry that addressing climate change was “an important aspect of China-U.S. cooperation,” but was predicated on mutual respect, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. He said it must proceed “on the basis of U.S. attendance to core issues that concern both parties, fully engaging and exchanging ideas.” It is not unusual for China to seek leverage even in areas of shared or global interest, as is the case in global warming. The two countries are at odds on multiple fronts – China’s claims on Taiwan and the South China Sea, its human rights record and over technology transfers, which the U.S. wants to restrict in its national interests. U.S.-China relations have frequently in recent months been described as being at a historically unprecedented ebb. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Russia grounds plane, arrests North Korean mother and son on the run

Editor05 mins

Russian authorities grounded a Moscow-bound flight to arrest a North Korean diplomat’s wife and son who went missing from the far eastern city of Vladivostok last month, residents in Russia familiar with the case told Radio Free Asia. RFA reported on June 6 that Russian authorities announced that they were searching for Kim Kum Sun, 43, and Park Kwon Ju, 15, who had last been seen on June 4 leaving the North Korean consulate in Vladivostok. Kim had been working as the acting manager of two North Korean restaurants in the city in place of her husband, considered a diplomat, who traveled to North Korea in 2019 but was unable to return to Russia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 7, the day after the announcement, Kim and Park were arrested after boarding a  Moscow-bound flight departing from the central Russian city of Krasnoyarsk, a resident of Vladivostok, who requested anonymity for personal safety, told RFA’s Korean Service. “Their flight to Moscow departed from Yemelyanovo International Airport located on the outskirts of Krasnoyarsk as normal, but to arrest the mother and the son, the Russian public security authorities forced the plane to return to the airport,” he said. “When the plane landed …, the authorities arrested them.” They would have gotten all the way to Moscow if not for the consulate getting Russian authorities involved, the Vladivostok resident said.  As of Tuesday, Russian media has made no mention of Kim and Park’s arrest. RFA was not able to confirm with Russian authorities that they grounded the flight to arrest the pair. Higher priority? It was also not clear if Kim and Park had been accused of any crimes. But it is standard procedure for the North Korean consulate to fraudulently accuse missing personnel of crimes so that Russian authorities place a higher priority on the case, a Russian citizen of Korean descent from Krasnoyarsk, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA.  “North Korea reports missing people by framing them for crimes,” he said. “So the escapees are in danger of being executed without the protection of the local state and the international community.” But if they were accused criminals, the runaways would not be eligible for international protection, he said.  The Krasnoyarsk resident confirmed that the authorities ordered the plane to return to the airport to arrest Kim and Park. “There has been an increasing number of escape attempts among North Korean trade officials and workers in Russia recently,” he said.  They may have been inspired by other North Koreans who successfully fled, including a computer engineer, a work unit manager, a work site manager, a doctor and a soldier from the General Staff Department of the North Korean military. “The United Nations and the international community must take an active role in helping those who risk their lives to escape from the dictatorship,” the Krasnoyarsk resident said.  “Instead of [arresting them] as demanded by the North Korean authorities and sending them to a place where death awaits them, [Russian authorities] should open the way for them to receive refugee status according to the regulations set by the United Nations.” Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

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In Myanmar, nearly 2 million people have been displaced by civil war, UN says

Editor09 mins

Nearly 2 million civilians in Myanmar have been displaced from their homes by the civil war raging in their country, with 40,000 displaced in the past month alone, according to the U.N.’s humanitarian agency, which appealed for food and other supplies. Myanmar has been wracked by violence since the military overthrew the democratically elected government in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. Junta forces have faced stiff resistance from various ethnic armies that have teamed up with local anti-regime People’s Defense Forces — civilians who have taken up arms to fight the military.  Of the total 1.9 million internally displaced persons, the largest number — nearly 800,000 — are in Myanmar’s northwestern Sagaing region, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said in an update on the situation on July 15.     “Countrywide, restrictions on humanitarian access have increased in multiple states and regions, notably in the Southeast and Kachin [state], further impeding timely and efficient aid delivery to affected and displaced communities,” the report said. “Sustained support, including financial assistance, from the international community is crucial to allowing partners to stay and deliver in challenging circumstances,” it said. The humanitarian situation remains urgent as families continue to grapple with the devastating aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, resulting in significant ongoing needs for shelter and food, OCHA said. The tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean hit western Myanmar’s Rakhine state and parts of Bangladesh in May. “After a brief suspension, humanitarians have been able to restart their regular programs in Rakhine, but the humanitarian cyclone response remains paused by the SAC,” the report said, referring to the State Administration Council, the ruling junta’s official name. The strictness of junta authorities on humanitarian aid is tightening throughout the country and the situation is worse in the southeast of the country and Kachin state, according to OCHA’s statement. Food shortages worsen Displaced people in Sagaing, Chin and Kayah states complain that food shortages are getting worse as military authorities restrict humanitarian aid access.  A day after OCHA published the figure, military troops raided Sagaing’s Khin-U township, prompting roughly 10,000 residents from about 20 villages to flee to safety.  A resident of the township’s Inn Pat village told Radio Free Asia that the soldiers unexpectedly raided his community at 5 a.m., putting elderly people who could not flee in imminent danger. “It caused a great deal of trouble,” said the person granted anonymity to ensure his safety. “Elderly people and the disabled who couldn’t run, had to remain in the village, hiding in the alleys between houses.” Displaced civilians from Mindat township in western Myanmar’s Chin state hide in the jungle, May 2021. Credit: Citizen journalist Civilians living in villages where military troops and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militias have been stationed cannot return to their homes, he added.  More than 50,000 internally displaced people, or IDPs, are  in western Myanmar’s Chin state, according to OCHA’s report. Civilians there also fled their homes because of fighting and face life-threatening challenges on a daily basis because of the junta’s heavy artillery shelling and airstrikes, said a management committee official for the IDP camps in Chin’s Mindat township. “Many people have been injured by the shelling,” said the official who declined to be named for fear of his safety. “The junta planes fly over the area every night. That’s why everyone is panicking and can’t sleep well. It’s a pretty bad situation.” Mounting casualties Three civilians, including a nine-year-old girl and a breastfeeding mother, were killed by an airstrike by junta forces on Mindat’s Wun Khone village on July 8.  A resident of Moebye township in southern Shan state, where junta troops and ethnic Karenni joint forces engaged in fierce clashes, said IDPs are having a hard time getting food because military troops have banned the transportation of rice to the area.  “We can buy only dry food and gasoline in small quantities,” the local said. “The rice transportation routes have been totally blocked by the junta.” Aid and relief groups said 28 civilians were killed during the 40 days of fighting in Moebye from May 25 to July 4. The armed assaults on civilians, forcing them to flee their homes, are a crime against humanity, said Banyar Khun Aung, executive director of the Karenni Human Rights Group. “The junta intentionally planned their attack to force them out of those places that they call home,” he told RFA. “It’s not just in one location. They junta attacked many places using many different strategies to force the local residents to leave their homes.”   RFA could not reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment.  Armed conflicts continue in 255 of 330 townships in Myanmar, according to the latest annual report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued on March 3.  The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution last Dec. 21, calling for the immediate cessation of violence, the release of all political prisoners, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid in Myanmar.  Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

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Junta blames ‘terrorist drones’ for Sagaing bombing

Editor04 mins

A bomb blast in Myanmar’s Sagaing region injured eight locals, junta-backed messaging channels reported Monday. Pro-military Telegram groups said “terrorist drones” attacked a market in Shwebo township on Sunday morning. They said three children were among the injured. They said an eight-year-old girl was severely injured after bomb fragments hit her in the neck. But a local, who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals, told RFA junta troops fired heavy artillery at the market. “There is U Aung Zeya Palace to the west of Shwebo Market. Kha Ma Ya-42 Battalion was stationed there. They opened fire,” said the local. “One shell exploded outside the market; the other exploded in the market stall of a greengrocer. “Two people were hit in the waist and chest. They were sent to Mandalay Hospital,” the local said, adding that those with minor injuries were taken to Shwebo’s public hospital. Locals said that the market had been temporarily closed and junta troops were searching the neighborhood. RFA could not confirm either of the reports and Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson, Saw Naing, did not return calls on Monday. Motorcycle bomb In another attack Saturday, 12 Shan state residents were injured by a bomb blast outside a jewelry store in Lashio’s township’s market. A local, who also requested anonymity, said the bomb was planted in a motorbike outside the Zwe Htet store. “Of the 12 people injured, 11 are jewelry store employees,” the resident said. “Among them, two men and two women were seriously injured.” Residents say aid groups took the injured to the local hospital. They said many stores in the market are closed as the junta has stepped up security in Lashio. Debris outside the Zwe Htet jewelry store, Lashio township, Shan state, where a motorcycle bomb exploded on July 15, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist In April a bomb went off near a water festival pavilion in Lashio, killing four people and injuring 11 after People’s Defense Forces warned people not to take part in Water Festival celebrations sponsored by the junta. Nobody has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s blast. Junta-media was silent on the bombing and Shan state junta spokesperson, Khun Thein Maung, didn’t return RFA’s calls. Junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said on July 13 that there had been 489 explosions nationwide since the start of this year, resulting in 782 fatalities. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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Two days of junta attacks in Myanmar’s Sagaing region leave 4 dead

Editor05 mins

Junta forces targeted three Sagaing townships this week, killing four civilians and injuring 17, as they continued to try to impose martial law in the region, locals told RFA Friday. On Wednesday the army turned its heavy artillery on Shwebo township, bombarding Tet Tu village twice, killing a man and injuring 11 people including a four-year-old child. “The child was hit in the abdomen and another seven people were critically injured,” said a local, who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals. “The other three were slightly injured.” On Thursday the guns turned on Kale township, killing two people and injuring six. “A heavy artillery shell hit a house in See San village, killing a couple in that house,” said a local, who didn’t want to be named for safety reasons. “A child and a woman near her house were also injured.” The other locals were injured in attacks on two neighboring villages. Locals said troops shell their villages nearly every day, and mine explosions are also common. A house in See San village, Kale township, Sagaing region, destroyed by heavy artillery fire on July 13, 2023. Credit: Chin National Organization The junta also sent ground troops into Wetlet township Thursday, burning around 100 homes. Locals said an elderly man died in his home in Thone Sint Kan village. “The column spent the night in Thone Sint Kan village Wednesday night and troops torched the houses when they left on Thursday morning,” said a local, who also requested anonymity for safety reasons. “An old man who was paralyzed died in the fire.” Around 40 homes are still standing but residents have fled the village and say they are afraid to return home until troops have left. The junta has released no statement on the incidents and junta spokesperson for Sagaing region, Saw Naing, did not return RFA’s calls. The junta placed Shwebo and Wetlet under martial law last February but has struggled to seize control of the townships. Junta leader Senior Gen.Min Aung Hlaing told a military council meeting in Naypyidaw Thursday that he needed to step up security due to serious violence in Sagaing region, Chin and Kayah states. The continuing violence has brought widespread international condemnation and calls on this year’s Association of Southeast Nations chair Indonesia to put more pressure on ASEAN member Myanmar to end the fighting and restore democracy. The latest came from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta Friday, he said Myanmar’s military rulers must be pushed to stop violence and implement the “five-point consensus” peace plan they agreed with the rest of the 10-member grouping two years ago. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

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More than 2 dozen bodies of Uyghur inmates released in Kashgar prefecture

Editor07 mins

Authorities at a prison in the Xinjiang region released the bodies of at least 26 Uyghur inmates before the Eid al-Fitr holiday in late April, police in various towns have told us. We contacted 10 police stations in Kashgar prefecture’s Maralbeshi county to confirm that authorities at Tumshuq Prison had released the bodies.  Five of the inmates were elderly and died of heart and lung diseases, while one other died of diabetes, sources said.  A Maralbeshi resident said many of them died of starvation because the inmates fasted in secret during Ramadan and couldn’t eat during breakfast or after sunset because of jail rules. Officials contacted by us did not comment on the matter. In June, a source told us that authorities at the prison had released the bodies of dozens of individuals, including that of his brother, just before the Islamic holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. To obtain more information, we followed up by contacting police in the 10 towns, including speaking to officials in Sériqbuya, Awat and Chongqurchaq.  When we contacted the police station in Awat, a Maralbeshi market town, to inquire about the body distribution on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, one officer said he was aware of the distribution of 18 bodies of dead prisoners, but he declined to disclose any information regarding the identities or their respective family members. “We have knowledge of the events and circumstances surrounding their deaths as they were under our supervision, but I am unable to share further information,” he said. “I believe the overall count of deceased individuals amounts to 18,” he said. “However, I am unable to disclose their identities.” The police officer did not say whether prison authorities took the bodies directly to family members of the decedents, to the police station, or to a mortuary. We previously reported that other bodies were taken to a police station before being handed over to families. The process took place under the supervision of county, village, and people’s committee officials and police. Additionally, authorities monitored the families for several weeks. Tumshuq Prison housed locals arbitrarily arrested during the 2017 crackdown on prominent and ordinary Uyghurs alike, jailing them in “re-education” camps and prisons for alleged extremist behavior, such as previous trips or contacts abroad or religious activities.  China has come under harsh international criticism for its severe rights abuses of the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, including forced labor. The U.S. government and several Western parliaments have declared that the abuses amount to genocide or crimes against humanity. A police officer from Seriqbuya told us in April that prison authorities delivered five bodies to his police station, and that most of them had been in their 70s or 80s and had been ill.  “It appears that most of them passed away due to ineffective medical treatments,” he said. The police officer also confirmed that one of the corpses was that of Abdugheni Qadir. A person familiar with the situation told us that Abdugheni Qadir from Seriqbuya was the son of Qadir Toxti, principal of Sériqbuya Primary School. Authorities arrested him in 2017 while he was doing business in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The other three dead prisoners were Memettursun Metniyaz, Haji’ahun and his wife Mehpiremhan. Metniyaz was a Uyghur motorcycle repairman jailed in early 2017 for completing the hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, years before. He died of diabetes in jail and his body was delivered to his family, a local residential committee member who oversaw the return of his corpse told us in a May report.   Haji’ahun, a hatmaker, and his spouse Mehpiremhan, residents of Maralbeshi county, were each sentenced to 10 years in Tumshuq Prison in 2019 for “illegal” religious activities, people with knowledge of the couple’s situation told us in a June report. Translated by us Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.

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Bangladesh police: Rival Rohingya militant groups in deadly gunfight at refugee camp

Editor09 mins

At least five members of rival Rohingya militant groups were killed in a gunfight Friday at a refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, police and other sources said. Separately, following a four-day visit to refugee camps in that southeastern district, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan urged the world to provide more humanitarian support because, he said, Rohingya were missing meals after the U.N. World Food Program had cut monthly aid to U.S. $8 from $12 on June 1. The killings in Friday’s shootout before dawn marked the latest bloodshed between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO). Up until relatively recently, Bangladesh officials had denied that Rohingya militants had a foothold in the sprawling refugee camps near the Myanmar border, where security has deteriorated sharply. “The gunfight that left five dead this morning was between two Rohingya armed groups, ARSA and RSO,” Md. Farooq Ahmed, an assistant superintendent with the Armed Police Battalion, told BenarNews.   Sheikh Mohammad Ali, officer-in-charge of the Ukhia police station, said law enforcers recovered the corpses of those killed in the gunfight, which took place around 5 a.m. at the Balukhali camp.  Camp resident Nur Hafez said gunshots woke him. “I heard a hue and cry. Rushing to the scene, I found some blood-stained injured people lying on the ground. The police took them away after a while,” he told BenarNews. “Due to contests among different groups inside the camp, the killings are increasing,” Hafez said. Syed Ullah, a Rohingya camp leader, said that the feud between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Rohingya Solidarity Organization had surfaced over efforts to exert dominance in the camps. “The ordinary Rohingya people have been living in a terrified atmosphere,” he said. The population of the densely crowded camps has swollen to about 1 million after about 740,000 Rohingya crossed the border into Bangladesh as they fled a brutal military offensive in their home state of Rakhine in Myanmar. That followed a series of deadly attacks by ARSA forces on Burmese military and police posts in Rakhine in August 2017.  Ullah said uncertainty over efforts to repatriate the Rohingya to Myanmar had caused frustration, leading to an increase in criminal activities at the camps. “We at the camps have faced two-pronged difficulties – our monthly food allocations have been reduced twice and now we face the danger of being killed by the armed groups,” he said. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan speaks to reporters in Dhaka following his first visit to Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, Feb. 27, 2022. (BenarNews) Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, visited the camps to interview Rohingya about atrocities they suffered before fleeing to Bangladesh.  He had made a similar visit in February 2022 after the Hague-based ICC authorized the investigation in 2019, but that was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pre-trial chamber concluded at the time that it was reasonable “to believe that since at least 9 October 2016, members of the Tatmadaw [the Myanmar military], jointly with other security forces and with some participation of local civilians, may have committed coercive acts” against the Rohingya people that constitute crimes against humanity, according to a 55-page court document. In a separate investigation, the International Court of Justice allowed a case to proceed that the Gambia had brought against Myanmar’s military regime alleging genocide against Rohingya.  The ICJ in May ruled to allow Myanmar officials until Aug. 24 to present arguments and evidence “necessary to respond to the claims” made against them. Following his four-day visit, Karim Khan expressed concern that Rohingya are going without meals. “[U]p to March, Rohingya men, women and children were given three meals a day, they were given enough money to eat three times a day. And since March, they have (been) eating twice a day, and not even twice,” he told reporters at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Dhaka hours after flying in from Cox’s Bazar. Mohammad Alam, a leader of Leda camp in Teknaf, had told BenarNews that the new monthly allocation translates to about 28 taka (25 cents) per day per person or about nine taka (eight cents) per each of three meals a day. “Is it possible to feed a family with such an allocation,” Alam asked. During his news conference, Karim Khan, who said he discussed the issue with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, expressed similar concerns. “What could you do with nine taka – I was told one egg is 12 taka,” he said, pointing out that some meals are skipped. He said children would ask their parents, “‘Where is lunch?’” “The heart should note that this is an area where the world should give support,” Karim Khan said while urging the World Food Program and other United Nations agencies to step up. “[I]t is a symptom of a malaise in which we have to show that every human life matters, that we give resources fairly and adequately wherever possible, that we realize 1.1 million people in a camp, the government of Bangladesh also needs support,” he said. “If people are hungry and there is no hope, it will lead to tension and difficulties.”  BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

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