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Category: South Asia

Laos to grant honorary citizenship to foreigners who invest US$1.5 million

Editor08 mins

Laos will allow foreign nationals to acquire honorary citizenship if they donate and invest roughly U.S. $1.5 million, but critics worry that the program could result in a massive land grab by wealthy Chinese investors. According to Decree No. 14 issued in September, honorary citizens are exempt from visa requirements for entering and exiting the country and may live in Laos permanently. Additionally, they will be able to buy land on state-owned property for a set duration and they can lease public and private land, the Laotian Times reported. To become an honorary citizen, investor applicants must donate $500,000 towards the country’s socio-economic development, and also invest $1 million before they apply, the report said. The stated purpose of the program is to bring in foreigners with knowledge and expertise to help Laos develop. But this will likely mean that Chinese investors will buy up land and leave Lao people with fewer places to live and less access to natural resources, said a resident of the capital, Vientiane, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons. “It’s not right, what they are doing,” the source said. “If someone has money they can buy anything, including land and other things. But the Lao people are poor, and after a while the people will not have any land to grow crops.” The decree would allow investors to purchase unlimited amounts of land, a source from the northern province of Luang Prabang told Radio Free Asia. “We already have a lot of Chinese investors here in our country as it is,” the second source said. “When they come to get their land concession, it affects rural villagers. They won’t  have land to grow rice to feed their families any longer.”  China is Laos’ largest foreign investor and aid provider, and its second-largest trade partner after Thailand. Growing resentment Reports have increased in recent years of growing resentment in Laos over Chinese business presence in the country, over Chinese casinos and special economic zones linked to human trafficking and crime, and over the often high-handed treatment of Lao workers by their Chinese bosses. But a government official pointed out that the program is not only available to Chinese citizens. “It is open to all foreigners who have the money to invest,” the official, from the Lao Ministry of Justice, told RFA. “We do not choose what nationality to give the honorary citizenship to. They can be Thai, Chinese or Vietnamese,” the official said. “All have the same right to get honorary citizenship from the government.” An honorary citizen has some, but not all, of the rights of a full-fledged Lao citizen, a second official said, particularly that honorary citizens can gain concession to use land but cannot own it. But since all land in Laos is owned by the state, residents can be forced off their land with little or no compensation as they are pushed out to make room for development projects. RFA was not able to determine exactly how honorary citizenship differs from full-fledged citizenship. The honorary citizenship program has both positives and negatives, a law professor from Lao National University told RFA. “The good point is that it will allow foreign investors to more easily invest in our country,” he said. “But the bad point is that in the future there will be many foreign investors coming to Laos, and this could force Lao people to move out from their rural villages.” Several other countries in the region offer either permanent residency or citizenship to those who invest in large amounts. Singapore grants permanent residency to foreign nationals who invest at least $2.5 million, while South Korea will grant it to those who invest $5 million, or who live in the country for three years after investing more than $500,000. In both countries, permanent residents can become citizens after living in the country for a specific period of time. The “Cambodia My Second Home” program, meanwhile, allows foreign investors to acquire a visa with a five-year path to citizenship with an investment of $100,000 or more. Cambodian law also allows for investors to bypass minimum residency requirements with an investment of about $312,000. Similar programs exist in Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia. In Cambodia, some have been able to bribe their way to obtain immediate citizenship. Independent news outlet VOD reported last month that interior ministry official Oknha Duong Ngeap admitted in court to taking $120,000 each from Chinese and Taiwanese clients in exchange for granting them Cambodian citizenship. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Written in English by Eugene Whong. 

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China’s Xi Jinping gets third term, packs ruling committee with loyal ‘minions’

Editor020 mins

China’s ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping began a third five-year term in office on Sunday, packing the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee with his close political allies, in a consolidation of personal power not seen in Beijing since the personality cult surrounding Mao Zedong. The first plenary session of the party’s 20th Central Committee re-elected Xi to the post of general secretary, breaking with decades of political precedent by granting him a third term after his predecessors were limited to two. Former Shanghai party chief Li Qiang has succeeded outgoing economic reformer Li Keqiang as Xi’s second-in-command and therefore most likely candidate for premier, while Xi stalwarts Zhao Leji and Wang Huning remain in the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee. They have been joined by newly promoted former Beijing party chief Cai Qi, former party general office director Ding Xuexiang and former Guangdong party chief Li Xi, all of whom were formerly members of the Politburo. New members of the Politburo Standing Committee, front to back, President Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, and Li Xi arrive at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Xi also revealed an all-male politburo for the first time since 1997, following the retirement of former vice premier Sun Chunlan. No woman has ever sat on the Politburo Standing Committee. All but Li Xi have previously worked under Xi as he made his way up through party ranks, either in Zhejiang or Shanghai, and were promoted after that point, indicating that it was his favor that propelled their careers. The party congress also amended the Communist Party’s constitution to enshrine Xi and his personal brand of political ideology as a “core” leader, giving Xi free rein to take China in whichever direction he chooses, analysts told RFA. No obvious successor Former 1989 student protest leader Wang Dan said there is nobody with enough of their own political capital to serve as an obvious successor to Xi.  “It’s obvious looking at the line-up that Xi will also want a fourth term,” Wang told Radio Free Asia. “He has made no arrangement whatsoever for a successor.” “There won’t even be a fourth term: he’s going to do this until he dies,” he said. Xi himself was clearly identified as a successor to president Hu Jintao, under whom he served as vice president for five years before taking the reins of the party at the 18th congress in 2012. Xi’s third term as president will likely be confirmed at the National People’s Congress annual session in March 2023. A screen shows live news coverage of China’s President Xi Jinping speaking after introducing China’s new Politburo Standing Committee, at a restaurant in Foshan city, in China’s southern Guangdong province on October 23, 2022. (Photo by JADE GAO / AFP) Chinese political commentator Chen Daoyin said Li Qiang forms the cornerstone of Xi’s power in the new leadership line-up. “It could be said that Xi Jinping has absolute trust in him, and that Li Qiang is absolutely loyal to Xi Jinping,” Chen told RFA. “This absolute loyalty manifests itself in his absolute implementation of Xi’s political line.” “Li Qiang has been widely criticized internationally for the damage he caused with the Shanghai lockdown, but his unwavering implementation of Xi’s zero-COVID policy reflects his loyalty,” he said. Protests at home and abroad Xi’s smooth transition to an unprecedented third term in office has been marked by rare public protest, including against his zero-COVID policy, both at home and overseas.  On the eve of the congress, a lone protester dubbed “Bridge Man” unfurled a banner with anti-Xi slogans on a highway overpass before quickly getting carried off by police. Chinese authorities were quick to shut down social media accounts circulating images of the banner, but photos and videos of the incident got wide attention among Chinese living overseas. In London, more than 1,000 protesters braved torrential downpours to march to the Chinese Embassy on Sunday, using the slogan “Not my president!” and showing placards with Xi crowned as emperor, to protest the beating of fellow activist Bob Chan by Chinese consular staff in Manchester on Oct. 16. One protester carried a sign on their back and head that read “To CCP: Don’t pull my hair,” protesting the involvement in the melee of Chinese Consul General Zheng Xiyuan, who said he thought it was his duty to pull Chan’s hair, as he had “insulted my leader” with a cartoon poster of Xi Jinping. A protester in London wears a devil mask of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s face in this Oct. 23, 2022, photo. (Credit: RFA London Correspondent Amelia Loi) A protester who gave only the surname Auyeung, who was wearing a satirical devil mask of Xi Jinping’s face, said he was there out of anger over the Oct. 16 attack. He said the protests, as well as the summary removal of a reluctant Hu Jintao from the rostrum at the CCP 20th party congress in Beijing on Saturday, had showed the world that Xi still faces “huge opposition.” Similar protests took place in a number of other British cities on Sunday. “Digital totalitarianism” But analysts said the new line-up means Xi is highly likely to continue with the highly authoritarian style of government already developed during his past 10 years at the helm. “This is digital totalitarianism with Chinese characteristics,” Chen Daoyin said. “He will have far greater enforcement powers than during the Mao era … [and can] achieve a state of total and absolute control and security.” “[China’s more aggressive] ‘wolf warrior’ foreign policy is unlikely to change,” he said. Feng Chongyi, an associate professor at the University of Technology in Sydney, agreed. “Cai Qi, Li Qiang, Ding Xuexiang and Wang Huning are all basically his stenographers,” Feng said. “They have no ability or experience when it comes to running the country.” “Their main selling point is that they execute Xi’s orders at all costs,” Feng said,…

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Outside of China, concern exceeds optimism as Xi Jinping begins third term as ruler

Editor021 mins

The Chinese Communist Party wrapped up its 20th National Congress at the weekend, granting an unprecedented third five-year term to CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping. Xi, 69, is set to have his term as state president renewed by the rubber-stamp National People’s Congress in March. RFA asked experts on key aspects of China for their impressions of the congress and expectations of Chinese policies as Xi enters his third term after already a decade at the helm of the world’s most populous nation. China-U.S. relations and foreign policy Oriana Skylar Mastro, Center fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and author of The Costs of Conversation: Obstacles to Peace Talks in Wartime: The bottom line is, the next five years is undoubtedly going to be more rocky for U.S.-China relations and for other countries with security concerns in the region. The issue is not that Xi Jinping really has nailed down the third term. It wasn’t the case that his position was so precarious that he couldn’t be aggressive before. However, it was unlikely that he was going to take moves to start some sort of conflagration that would extend into the party Congress. So the party Congress did serve as a restraint in so far as it was useful to wait until afterwards to take any more aggressive actions against Taiwan, for example. But the reason it didn’t happen previously is largely based on China’s military capabilities. Xi Jinping has been relatively clear since he took power in 2013, where his goals were in terms of promoting territorial integrity, is trying to define that and resolving a lot of these territorial issues, enhancing their position in Asia to regain their standing as a great power. The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and a dominant position in Asia of which it had previously been decided not only by Xi, but by strategists, analysts and pundits ever since. [Former President Barack] Obama mentioned in his State of the Union that he wouldn’t accept the United States as number two. It had already been decided that there was going to be conflict with the United States if China wanted to be number one in Asia. And so Xi Jinping has been on a trajectory, China has been on a trajectory that’s been relatively consistent, that includes an improvement in military capabilities and thus a heavier reliance on those capabilities to achieve their goals over time. So with the frequency and intensity of competition and conflict, the general trend is that it increases over time. Denny Roy, Senior Fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii and author of Return of the Dragon: Rising China and Regional Security: At least two messages from the CCP’s 20th Party Congress bode ill for China-U.S. relations.  The first is that a shift in the international balance of power creates an opportunity for China to push for increased global influence and standing.  This is a continuation of a reassessment reached late in the Hu Jintao era, and which Xi Jinping has both embraced and acted upon.  There is no hint of regret about Chinese policies that caused alarm and increased security cooperation among several countries both inside and outside the region, no recognition that Chinese hubris has damaged China’s international reputation within the economically developed world, and no sense that damage control is necessary due to adverse international reaction to what has happened in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.  Instead, Beijing seems primed to continue to oppose important aspects of international law, to resist the U.S.-sponsored liberal order, and to extoll PRC-style fascism as superior to democracy.  This orientation portends continued if not increasing friction with the United States on multiple fronts, both strategic and ideological.  Secondly, while the Congress expressed optimism about China’s present course, it evinced increased pessimism about China’s external environment, especially what Chinese leaders call growing hostility from the United States.  Not long ago, PRC leaders perceived a “period of strategic opportunity” within which China could grow with minimal foreign opposition.  Increasingly, however, PRC elites seem to believe that alleged U.S. “containment” of China will intensify now that the power gap between the two countries has narrowed and China has become a serious threat to U.S. “hegemony.” PRC efforts to undercut U.S. strategic influence, especially in China’s near abroad, will continue.  Beijing will try to draw South Korea out of the U.S. orbit, and may wish to do the same with Japan and Australia, although in those cases it may be too late.  Beijing will continue to try to establish a Chinese sphere of influence in the East and South China Seas, while laying the groundwork for possible new spheres of influence in the Pacific Islands, Africa and Central Asia. Human rights William Nee, Research and Advocacy Coordinator at China Human Rights Defenders: To some extent, the 20th Party Congress will not see any dramatic break from what is happening thus far–and that’s exactly the problem. China is experiencing a human rights crisis: human rights defenders are systematically surveilled, persecuted, and tortured in prison. There are crimes against humanity underway in the Uyghur region, with millions of people being subjected to arbitrary detention, forced labor, or intrusive surveillance. The cultural rights of Tibetans are not respected. And now, Xi Jinping’s ‘Zero-COVID’ policy is wreaking havoc on China’s economy, and particularly the wellbeing of disadvantaged groups, like migrant workers and the elderly. But there have been no signs whatsoever that the Communist Party is ready to course correct. Instead, after the 20th Party Congress, we will see a new batch of promotions, with these Communist Party cadres more indebted to Xi Jinping’s patronage for their positions of power. In other words, Xi Jinping will have created an incentive structure in which these sycophantic ‘yes men’ will only repeat the ‘thoughts’ of the idiosyncratic leader to prove their loyalty. This makes it even more unlikely that Xi or the Communist Party will even see the necessity…

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Japan, Australia deepen security cooperation as they keep wary eye on China

Editor06 mins

U.S. allies Japan and Australia said they would deepen their security relationship, allowing Japanese self-defense forces to train in Australia and greater sharing of intelligence, as both countries respond to a more assertive China. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed an updated security cooperation pact and other agreements on Saturday, following bilateral meetings in the western Australian city of Perth, according to a report by RFA-affiliated online news service BenarNews. Kishida, during a joint press conference with Albanese, also vowed to increase Japan’s defense spending significantly over the next five years and to consider all options for national defense including “counter strike capabilities.” Albanese said he strongly supported that commitment. “We recognise that our partnership must continue to evolve to meet growing risks to our shared values and mutual strategic interests,” said a joint declaration on security cooperation issued after their talks. The declaration did not name China but alluded to it in affirming their “unwavering commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”  “A favorable strategic balance that deters aggression and behavior that undermines international rules and norms” would be among things underpinning this commitment, Australia and Japan declared.  China’s expansive claims to the entirety of the South China Sea, a busy global shipping route, and its forays into Taiwan’s airspace have contributed to heightened tensions in East Asia for several years. More recently, Beijing’s burgeoning influence with small island nations in the Pacific has also concerned the United States and allies such as Australia. “Japan and Australia, sharing fundamental values and strategic interest, have come under the increasingly harsh strategic environment,” Kishida said after the signing of the security agreement.  The updated Australia-Japan Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation “will [change] the direction of our security and defense cooperation in the next 10 years,” he said. The pact said the two countries would strengthen exchanges of strategic assessments through annual leaders’ meetings, foreign and defense ministers’ meetings, dialogues between senior officials and intelligence cooperation.  “We will consult each other on contingencies that may affect our sovereignty and regional security interests, and consider measures in response,” it said.  Japanese and Australian forces will conduct joint exercises in the north of Australia, enhancing the ability of the two countries’ militaries to work together, the document said. In late 2021, Australia tightened its security ties with the United States and the United Kingdom under a plan for Australia’s military to eventually be equipped with nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement infuriated France as the so-called AUKUS pact meant that Australia ditched a deal to buy French-made submarines. Japan and Australia also signed an agreement that would help secure supplies of critical minerals from Australia for Japan’s manufacturing industries. China’s official annual spending on its military meanwhile has swelled in the past decade, giving the Asian superpower new offensive and defensive capabilities. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s third aircraft carrier was launched in June and is undergoing trials, Radio Free Asia (RFA), an online news service affiliated with BenarNews, has reported. China’s annual military spending will reach U.S. $230 billion this year compared with $60 billion in 2008, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which cites official Chinese government figures.  Some defense analysts say China’s actual spending on its military is likely closer to $290 million. U.S. military spending was nearly $770 billion in 2021 while Japan’s was about U.S. $56 billion, according to CSIS.

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Trappings of North Korean leader’s lavish lifestyle visible by satellite

Editor012 mins

Bruce Songhak Chung is the deputy director of the Geo Satellite Information Research Institute at Kyungpook National University in South Korea. Using Google Earth, he identified as many as 30 luxury villas and several private islands used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family on vacation. He also spotted a fleet of five supersize yachts, one of which has a four-lane, Olympic-sized swimming pool. The extravagance of the Kim family lifestyle is a stark contrast to the living conditions of the majority of North Koreans, who struggle to make ends meet in an economy devastated by international sanctions and a lengthy trade pause with China due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sanctions, imposed in response to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, are supposed to prevent imports of luxury goods into the country, but, as Chung’s research shows, they have not prevented the first family from continuing to live the high life.  Chung recently presented his findings to RFA’s Korean Service. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. RFA: How many of Kim Jong Un’s luxury villas have you identified through satellite images? Chung: There are 20 to 30 exclusive luxury villas in North Korea used by the family of General Secretary Kim Jong Un. Among them, General Secretary Kim is particularly fond of his villa in Wonsan, Kangwon province, his hometown. The Wonsan facility, as seen from the satellite images, is equipped with luxurious cruise ships, a marina, a horse-riding range, a shooting range, a water play area and many other splendid entertainment facilities. In 2013, Dennis Rodman, a former basketball player from the United States, was invited there twice, in February and September, as Kim showed off his luxurious pleasure facilities. North Korean leader’s villa in Wonsan, as well as one of his yachts, can be seen in this January 2022 image. Credit: Maxar Technologies RFA: What does the Wonsan facility look like in the latest satellite imagery? What facilities can you see? Chung: There is a long, soft, white sand beach in front of the Wonsan villa. The sandy beach is famous for its outstanding scenery. His father, [former leader] Kim Jong Il, also enjoyed fishing and swimming here. The length of the white sand beach is 530 meters (0.3 miles), and there about 10 large and small villas located on the beach, and they have good views. If you look at the satellite image taken in January 2022, you can see the 50-meter (164 ft) long cruise ship with a blue roof in front of the villa. In front of the beach, you can also see a building where Secretary Kim had lunch with Rodman. The walking trails and gardens are well maintained. At a glance, you can tell that it is a large-scale villa complex. RFA: You also were able to identify Kim Jong Un’s cruise ships. Is it true that one of them has an international standard-sized swimming pool and a waterslide? Chung: Yes, General Secretary Kim owns luxurious cruise ships. We identified four cruise ships so far at the Wonsan villa. The lengths of cruise ships are 50, 55, 60 and 80 meters (262.4 feet). Besides these, he owns many smaller luxury boats. On the deck of the 80-meter cruise ship, we can see a 2.5-meter wide pool that has four 50-meter lanes. That makes international standard size and four people can compete at the same time. We can also see four circular slides. Recently, the 55-meter long cruise ship has been refurbished. Its roof deck has been expanded from 20 meters to 40 meters and freshly painted. Three of Kim Jong Un’s yachts can be seen at the port of Wonsan in this Dec. 2019 image. Credit: CNES/Airbus RFA: Was it confirmed that one of Kim’s luxury cruise ships disappeared? Chung: Yes. So far, a total of five luxury cruise ships have been identified in the satellite images. One of them has now been retired, and only four remain. That one was 60 meters long and nine meters wide, and it disappeared in November 2017. According to foreign media reports, the cruise ship had reached the end of its lifespan and it was dismantled and decommissioned. General Secretary Kim’s cruise ships were all generally introduced in the 1990s. Each ship’s life expectancy is estimated to be about 30 years. RFA: Has anything in these luxury ships violated U.N. sanctions against North Korea? Do we have any satellite evidence of sanctions violations? Chung: I believe that these cruise ships were introduced in the 1990s under Kim Jong Il. The U.N. sanctions against North Korea were implemented from the mid-2000s because of North Korea’s continuous missile and nuclear tests. Therefore, these cruise ships must have been introduced before that. Luxury goods are prohibited items from trade with North Korea by U.N. sanctions, but North Korea secretly purchases luxury items such as cars, boats and expensive whiskey, so they seem to be able to find a way to purchase these items. RFA: After Rodman visited the area, he had a lot to say about some of the surrounding islands. Are they visible on the satellite photos as well? Chung: There are three beautiful islands. Their names are Sa-do, Tongdok-do and Chon-do. Each island has ship berthing facilities and their own villas too. Rodman, who visited North Korea twice in 2013, said in an interview with The Sun, a British daily, that the luxury villa on one of those islands was like a seven-star luxury hotel. If you look down on the island, the villa is situated in a forested area. Rodman said it was more fantastic than a luxury vacation in Hawaii or Spain. Even the richest people in the U.S. would not have been able to enjoy such luxury. I can’t imagine how big the interior [of the villa] is. However, if you look at the satellite image, you can see that each island has well-established recreational facilities and is well organized. RFA: Kim Jong Un’s villas, luxury cruise ships…

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Australia announces substantial aid boost for the Pacific

Editor06 mins

Australia will increase its aid to the Pacific by more than half a billion U.S. dollars over four years, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Friday, as the country steps up efforts to keep influence in a region that has increasingly turned to China for development assistance. The aid will help Pacific island nations respond to climate change, reduce pressure on government budgets and support aviation links in the region, Wong said in a speech at the Pacific Way conference, held in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. “Australia is committed to working with all in the Pacific to achieve our shared aspirations and address our shared challenges,” Wong said. The boost to Pacific development assistance forms the largest part of an increase to Australia’s foreign aid spending that will be further detailed in the Australian government’s annual budget due on Tuesday. It follows a period last decade when Australia’s foreign aid dwindled due to budget cuts under the conservative Liberal party, which was in government from 2013 to 2022. During this time, Canberra’s relationship with Pacific island countries soured. “Without these investments, others will continue to fill the vacuum, and Australia will continue to lose ground,” as it did under previous governments, Wong said, according to Australian broadcaster ABC. She said Australian foreign aid would be increased by 1.4 billion Australian dollars (U.S. $877 million) over four years, with 900 million Australian dollars of that allocated to the Pacific. Australia’s last annual budget, for its fiscal year ended June, had allocated 3.73 billion (U.S. $2.3 billion) to foreign aid. Wong said Australia would also increase its infrastructure finance fund for the Pacific from 3.5 billion to 4.0 billion (U.S. $2.5 billion) and lend on favorable terms to Pacific island countries. “We recognize that as a major lender in the region, we have a responsibility to ensure that Australia is a partner that won’t impose unsustainable debt burdens,” Wong said. Over the past two decades, Beijing has amassed substantial goodwill with economically lagging Pacific island countries by building infrastructure and providing other assistance on easier terms than countries such as Australia. China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands, signed in April, amplified concerns in the United States and Australia that Beijing aims for a military presence in the region. China’s government also has been providing training to Solomon Islands police. ABC reported Friday that Australia’s increased aid would include funds for Australian police stationed in the Solomon Islands following riots there last November. Last month, the United States promised more than U.S. $800 million in assistance over a decade as it tries to rebuild relationships with Pacific island countries after a period of neglect. Australia is also trying to repair its relationship with the Pacific. Wong became Australia’s foreign minister in May after the center-left Australian Labor Party won national elections. Since then, she has visited 12 Pacific island nations and territories, which was “an expression of the priority that the new Australian government attaches to this region,” she said Friday. She also reiterated her support for regional organizations such as the Pacific Islands Forum, which has been challenged by tensions with Micronesian member countries over the forum’s leadership and Kiribati’s departure as a member. Working through the forum ensures each member country’s sovereignty is respected and that “the responsibility for Pacific security remains in the hands of the Pacific,” Wong said. Canberra’s increase in aid comes a day after Australia and Fiji signed a Status of Forces agreement, which allows the presence of one country’s forces in another. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news outlet.

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Hun Sen threatens to dissolve political parties that associate with Sam Rainsy

Editor05 mins

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday said he would dissolve any political party that dares to associate with Sam Rainsy, a threat that opposition party officials believe indicates he is still afraid of the exiled opposition leader’s political clout ahead of the 2023 general elections. Sam Rainsy was a co-founder of the now banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP. He fled to France in 2015 to avoid various political charges his supporters say are politically motivated. In 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP, a move that allowed Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP,  to capture every seat in the National Assembly in 2018 general elections. Hun Sen said he was not afraid of bloodshed and would beat down anyone who dared to stand up against him. “I succeeded in destroying the Khmer Rouge,” he said at a press conference in Kandal province, vowing to do the same to Sam Rainsy. “Now I appeal to the Khmer people who believe in this traitor – and any parties that want to associate with Sam Rainsy – we will file complaints against them to dissolve those parties,” he said. “The law states that we need to dissolve parties that commit crimes.”  A former Khmer Rouge member himself, Hun Sen defected to Vietnam with a battalion under his command in 1977 and returned during that country’s 1979 invasion of Cambodia. Following the defeat of the Khmer Rouge government, Hanoi installed him as deputy prime minister. He then rose to become prime minister in 1985 and has ruled the country ever since. Leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) Sam Rainsy [center] arrives at a Paris courthouse for proceedings in a defamation lawsuit filed by Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Sept. 1, 2022. Photo: AFP Hun Sen said he supported Wednesday’s decision by the Phnom Penh court to sentence Sam Rainsy to a life sentence and strip him of all political rights, on charges of conspiring to hand over Cambodian territory to a foreign state. “Cambodia doesn’t have a law to execute prisoners, otherwise the court would have ordered the execution of Sam Rainsy,” he said. “People must understand this traitor’s behavior. People who are involved with these traitors will be punished, so please stay away.”  Hun Sen’s threats reveal that he himself still feels threatened by Sam Rainsy’s popularity, Um Sam An, a senior CNRP official, told RFA’s Khmer Service. “People, including the armed forces, continue to support Sam Rainsy, so Hun Sen is afraid of Sam Rainsy’s influence after he urged voters for a change in the 2023 election,” said Um Sam An. The court’s ability to dissolve a political party is an incorrect interpretation of the law, Kang Savang, an election monitor with the independent Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel), told RFA. “Political parties are facing difficulties because of the law,” he said.  “Their interpretation of the law is not clear, specifically over issues of national security and foreign collusion.”   Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. 

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Myanmar’s junta bans family visits, food deliveries to seven prisons after bomb blast

Editor06 mins

Myanmar’s military junta on Thursday banned family visits and delivery of food and other necessities to inmates in seven prisons across the country after an explosion at Yangon’s Insein Prison killed eight people the day before, relatives and lawyers of the prisoners said. Many prisoners in Myanmar rely on food from families and friends to supplement their poor prison diet. One woman said her sister, locked up in Insein Prison after the February 2021 coup for setting off explosives, suffers from a stomach disease they believe was caused by prison food.  “She can’t eat it – horrible quality of rice and tasteless meals. That’s why we cook and send her plenty of food every 15 days,” said the woman, who asked that she remain anonymous. “Now that we can’t send any food, I can’t even imagine how difficult their lives inside the prison could be.” In addition to Insein Prison, the junta indefinitely banned family visits and sending food to prisons in Pyay, Thayarwaddy, Obo (Mandalay), Taungoo, Thayet and Bago. RFA Burmese was unable to reach prison department officials for comment, and no official statement confirming the ban was released. The ban is likely to take a psychological toll on inmates, said Tun Kyi, a former political prisoner. “The prisoners who usually receive food and mental support from family and friends now feel both physically and mentally discouraged, and that can lead to bodily and mental illness as a consequence,” Tun Kyi said. Trials at secret courts within Insein Prison were also suspended, a lawyer with knowledge of the prisons courts told RFA.  “Family visits, sending parcels to the prisoners, the prison courts are all suspended,” he said. “When we ask how long this ban is going to be in effect, they say they can only answer when they get the order from the Ministry of Interior.” A parcel-reception location at the entrance of Insein Prison was damaged by an explosion in Yangon, Myanmar, Oct. 19, 2022. Credit: Military True News Information Team via AP Shadowy Group A little-known rebel group named Special Task Agency of Burma, or STA, claimed responsibility for the bombing. Efforts to reach the group were unsuccessful. Anti-junta groups in Yangon said STA was not linked to them, and that they knew little about the group, which has operated independently in the past. Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government and various anti-junta groups condemned the attacks and called for those responsible to be held to account. In fact, the NUG also issued a statement saying it would take legal action against any attack that leads to civilian casualties, regardless of who or which group performs it.  After the blast, a member of the STA confirmed via social media that their group was responsible for Wednesday’s bombing, which killed eight and injured 18. “Yes, we are the ones who did the attack,” the statement said. “We targeted the prison warden. We can confirm at least three prison employees, including the prison warden, were killed by the blast.” RFA could not verify the STA’s claim of the death of the warden in the blast. The military junta’s press statement said five prison employees were killed. One of the dead was 54-year-old Kyee Myint, the mother of a political prisoner named Lin Htet Naing, said a parliament lawyer with knowledge of the case. The family visit ban is a great loss for the prisoners and those who planned the attack should not have targeted the places where civilians could be victimized, a regular volunteer visitor to Insein Prison told RFA.  “It’s a loss of prisoners’ rights. The attackers should have thought of that in the first place. They said they targeted the prison chief,” he said, “but the civilian visitors have to suffer firsthand and all prisoners throughout the country have to suffer, too.”  Translated by Myo Min Aung. Written in English by Malcolm Foster.

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Cambodia sentences Sam Rainsy to life in prison, concludes trial of Kem Sokha

Editor08 mins

UPDATED at 7:31 p.m. EDT on 10-19-2022 A court in Cambodia sentenced exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy to life in prison on the same day that it concluded two years of proceedings in the trial of his apparently estranged former ally Kem Sokha. The two opposition politicians in 2012 co-founded the Cambodia National Rescue Party, or CNRP,  which had been the country’s main opposition to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, before it was legally dissolved in 2017. Sam Rainsy has lived in self-exile in France since 2015. Kem Sokha, who was arrested in 2017, has been on a trial that started in January 2020 in what critics say is the government’s attempt to keep him out of politics. Their time apart has apparently taken their toll on their relationship. Kem Sokha in June declared during a session of his trial that his alliance with Sam Rainsy was over, although Sam Rainsy was quick to dismiss the comments as the result of legal pressure. Wednesday’s life sentence against Sam Rainsy, handed down in absentia, was a result of his conviction in August, also in absentia, for trying to cede four Cambodian provinces to a foreign state. In addition to adding life to the 47 years he has already racked up in prior convictions, the court also removed all his political rights.  Sam Rainsy’s defense lawyer, Yong Phanith, said the latest verdict was based on insufficient evidence. The conviction and sentence are in connection with Sam Rainsy’s meeting in the United States in 2013 with the Montagnard Foundation, an organization that works to protect the rights of indigineous minorities in Vietnam, the Bangkok Post reported. Sam Rainsy promised to defend the rights of Cambodian indiginous people during the meeting. Speaking from France on Wednesday, Sam Rainsy told RFA that the sentence is an example of Hun Sen’s regime attempting to exact revenge on him for his acquittal earlier this month from defamation trials that Hun Sen and another Cambodian official filed in France. Both sides claimed victory in the defamation trials, with Hun Sen saying that they absolved him of crimes that Sam Rainsy alleged he committed. Sam Rainsy dismissed the charges and sentence as bogus. “I have not ceded territory to any country. I only recognized the rights of the indigenous people we call Khmer Leu in the Northeast of Cambodia,” he said of his 2013 meeting. “I just took the 2007 U.N. statement on the rights of indigenous people, and I said that in the future, when the country is a true democracy, we will respect the rights of indigenous people,” Sam Rainsy said. RFA was unable to contact the presiding judge of the case, Sin Sovannaroth, for comment. The sentence is politically motivated, social development monitor Seng Sary told RFA. “Hun Sen has been doing all this because he wants to kick Sam Rainsy out of politics,” He said. “That court case in France was like pouring gasoline on a fire.” The conviction and sentence were to be expected from the Cambodian legal system, veteran political analyst Lao Mong Hay told RFA. Authorities use the courts as tools for their political purposes. End in sight Kem Sokha on Wednesday asked the court during the 63rd session of his treason trial to issue a verdict and put an end to his suffering. He was previously under house arrest, but was released from that prior to this trial starting. He was arrested in 2017 after the CNRP performed well in local commune elections, and charged with treason. Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved and outlawed the party, which paved the way for the CPP to snag every seat in the country’s National Assembly in the 2018 general election.  The ban on the CNRP kicked off a five-year crackdown on political opposition, with many of those affiliated with the party arrested and detained on charges like conspiracy, incitement, and treason. While the court finally decided to end questioning, it asked that any final submissions be made by Dec. 21. Defense lawyer Chan Chen welcomed the end of the proceedings but expressed regret that the 2-year-long would drag on another two months – and five years since his client’s arrest.  Now that the trial has a definite ending date, national reconciliation is necessary, Yi Soksan, a senior official of the local Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (Adhoc) told RFA. “Both sides should find a common ground to negotiate an end to this political matter,” he said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report listed Sin Sovannaroth as the president of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. He is is the presiding judge in the case.

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Wife of Cambodian opposition supporter mulls compensation to drop murder case

Editor07 mins

The wife of a slain supporter of Cambodia’s Candlelight Party said Tuesday she has rejected a compensation offer of U.S. $7,000 from the alleged assailant in exchange for dropping the criminal case, but has said she would consider accepting a larger sum because she doesn’t have money for her husband’s funeral. Wen Kimyi also urged police to arrest the suspect who shot dead her husband, 49-year-old Po Hin Lean, early in the morning of Oct. 16 while he was on his way to go fishing. She told RFA that police in Ou Reang Ov district of Chak commune in Tbong Khmum province, where her family lives, summoned her to the police station and told her that the suspect offered to pay her if she would drop charges.  The widow said she wants the money, but that her family also wants justice. “The police said there were two suspects, one of whom had the gun that killed him,” Wen Kimyi said. “I didn’t get a chance to see the suspect to ask [the reasons]. I will accept the compensation because I don’t have money for the funeral. But I won’t accept $7,000; I will need $15,000.” Police told her that the suspect is a “security guard” or “neighborhood watchman” for the commune, but declined to disclose where he put the weapon or his motive for the shooting. Cambodia’s Ministry of the Interior established a network of such local guards to provide security to villagers in communes and districts, though they are not supposed to carry weapons.  RFA could not reach Vong Sophy, the police chief of Ou Reang Ov district, or On Sam On, police chief of Chak commune for comment on Tuesday. ‘Embarrassing for the authorities’ Leng Seng Han, a provincial coordinator for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, also known as ADHOC, said the murder cannot be resolved through compensation and that the suspect must be brought to justice. “It is wrong for [police] to be involved in meditation outside the court,” he said.   Eng Sroy, a Police Academy lecturer and president of the Candlelight Party​ working group in Tbong Khmum province, said he is dismayed that authorities have not yet apprehended the suspects and urged them to conduct a transparent investigation to show they are providing good security.  “It is embarrassing for the authorities if they can’t arrest the suspects,” he said. “The authorities must differentiate between black and white and remain neutral during the investigation.”  There have been numerous physical attacks this year on activists and supporters of the Candlelight Party, an opposition party that emerged from the ashes of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was banned and dissolved by Cambodia’s Supreme Court in November 2017. This April, Candlelight Party candidate Khorn Tun was attacked by unidentified men who threw rocks at her home in Tbong Khmum province during the campaign period for local elections held in June. Prak Seyha, a party youth leader for Phnom Penh’s Kamboul district, was attacked and beaten by a mob. Those incidents followed the death of Phnom Penh Candlelight candidate Choeun Sarim, who was attacked from behind and killed in traffic while riding a motorbike, following threats and assaults. The killing of the man in this case, Po Hin Lean, came a day before Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to arrest Sam Rainsy, head of the banned CNRP, who has lived in exile in France since 2015, if he returns to Cambodia.  Sam Rainsy, 73, was sentenced in absentia in March 2021 to 25 years in jail for what supporters say was a politically motivated charge of attempting to overthrow the government. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, made the comment at a graduation ceremony where he spoke, in response to recent remarks by Sam Rainsy criticizing the strongman’s plans to appoint his son, Hun Manet, as his replacement. Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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