South Asia Archives - Page 61 of 100 - Investigative Journalism Reportika

China imprisons 2 Tibetan monks for sending donations to Dalai Lama

Editor3 years ago07 mins

Chinese authorities in Tibet have sentenced two monks from the Kirti monastery in Sichuan province to prison for sending prayer offerings to the Dalai Lama and the abbot of their monastery, both living in exile in India, Radio Free Asia has learned. The two monks, Rachung Gendun and Sonam Gyatso, had both sent the donations to Tibet’s foremost spiritual leader and Kirti Rinpoche, sources said. In both cases, details surrounding their trials and sentencing are not known in detail, but Chinese authorities consider it illegal for Tibetans to contact exiles. They are particularly sensitive about contacts made with the Dalai Lama, who fled to India 70 years ago and has been living there ever since. Sources said Rachung Gendun was sentenced to three years in prison, and Sonam Gyatso to two years. They are both currently detained at Menyang prison (in Chinese Mianyang) near the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province. Rachung Gendun had been strongly opposed to the Chinese government’s “patriotic education” campaign, a Tibetan source inside Tibet said. Beijing has run the high-profile campaign among Tibetans since unrest spread across Tibetan regions from Lhasa in March 2008, requiring local people to denounce the Dalai Lama, whom the government rejects as a “splittist.” Rachung Gendun voiced his opposition to the program, and was interrogated and detained for a few months. Chinese authorities also raided his quarters and confiscated photos of the Dalai Lama and several other times. A Tibetan living in exile said Rachung Gendun had been arrested on April 1, 2021, from his quarters at the monastery, and his family did not know where he was until three months later. “Later, after his arrest was known, his family members hoped for his release, but for the past year or so his family have not been able to see him even once,” the exile source said. Sonam Gyatso in an undated photo. Credit: citizen journalist Sonam Gyatso A few days later, authorities arrested Sonam Gyatso, on April 3, 2021, in Chengdu while he was vacationing there, a source inside Tibet told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “Since then, he has been under constant interrogation from the police at a detention center near Barkham [Maerkang] and they didn’t reach a verdict for more than a year,” the source said. “We have learned that he is sentenced to two years in prison but we don’t know about his current health condition or any other related information,” said the source. Sonam Gyatso became a monk at a very young age and studied Buddhism at the Kirti Monastery, obtaining the Geshe degree, a higher academic degree in Buddhist philosophy, according to the source. Afterwards, he worked in the monastic department and became a mentor at the monastery. While working there, he encountered many problems with the local Chinese authorities, the source said. “Geshe Sonam’s older sister, Tsering Lhamo, was also detained by the Chinese authorities a year ago for an unknown reason. She worked at a bank in Ngaba [Aba] county,” a Tibetan living in exile told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. No further information on Tsering Lhamo’s current status is known, the source said. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists around the world, and is a global representative advocating for the protection of Tibetan culture, language and history. He fled Tibet into exile in India in the midst of a failed 1959 Tibetan national uprising against China, which sent troops into the formerly independent Himalayan country in 1950. Displays by Tibetans of the Dalai Lama’s photo, public celebrations of his birthday, and the sharing of his teachings on mobile phones or other social media are often harshly punished. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on Tibet and on Tibetan-populated regions of western China, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to imprisonment, torture and extrajudicial killings. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Xinjiang party secretary visits areas where COVID lockdown protests occurred

Editor3 years ago09 mins

Xinjiang’s Communist Party secretary on Monday visited districts in the capital Urumqi in northwestern China where rare protests against severe coronavirus lockdown measures occurred last week. Local police officers confirmed the demonstrations and authorities punished three Han Chinese men for spreading rumors about the highly contagious respiratory infection. Ma Xingrui visited districts and counties in Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi) hit by the recent wave of COVID-19 that struck Xinjiang in early August and impacted by the protests His visit included the Tianshan, Shayibak, Shuimogou, High-tech Zone, and Midong districts of Urumqi, following last week’s protest, to inspect and investigate epidemic prevention and control measures, community management services, and hospitals, according to a Monday report by state-controlled Xinjiang Daily. He also went to the Xinjiang Medical University next to the Liyushan Road where one protest took place. Ma emphasized the need to resolutely implement the decisions of the Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council, and to adhere to the overall strategy for epidemic prevention and control. The article did not mention the protests, though the article mentioned that Ma stressed “strengthen[ing] the management and control of online public opinion” concerning the epidemic and “crack[ing] down on fabrication and spreading rumors in accordance with the law. Meanwhile, two new videos of public protests appeared on social media over the weekend, though RFA could not independently verify them. In the videos, the protesters are speaking Mandarin Chinese, not the language spoken by Xinjiang’s indigenous Uyghurs, who face persecution from Chinese authorities in the region. “Don’t be afraid! You’re right! Today we must lift the lockdown!” the protesters can be heard saying on one of the videos. Police cite ‘state secrets’ Officers at two Urumqi police stations confirmed to RFA Uyghur that the protest occurred. Two others declined to answer on national security grounds. Some police officers in Urumqi contacted by RFA declined to provide information due to heightened alert and the sensitivity of the protest, while others cited national security grounds, and two confirmed that the protest occurred. A police officer at the Urumqi Midong South Road Police Station said the protest didn’t take place in his district. “It took place at Xinshiqu [New Town] district,” he told RFA. Another officer at the Urumqi Hetan Road Police Station said he didn’t know how many people attended the protest in his area. “Too many,” he said, adding that the protesters were demonstrating against the COVID-19 lockdown. When asked about their demands, he said that the police officers would have a meeting soon to learn about the details. The officer went on to say that he didn’t know how many people were detained for participating in this protest, but that it was illegal. “Any act that’s against the lockdown is illegal,” he said. When RFA asked a police officer at the Urumqi Yinchuan Road Police Station if the protest on the Liyushan Road was still happening, he refused to provide information “This is information on state secrets. We cannot tell you anything,” he said. Another policeman at the Urumqi Hangzhou Road Police Station also said he could not provide any information on the protest without the approval of the Urumqi Public Security Bureau. “This is confidential information belonging to state secrets,” he said. Authorities detain three men On Nov. 3, the Urumqi Public Security Bureau announced the detainment of the three Chinese for encouraging the public to protest against the COVID lockdown. Urumqi’s Public Security Bureau issued a notice on Nov. 3 that it has handled many cases of citizens violating epidemic prevention and control regulations, such as the spreading of “rumors” about COVID. “Those who violate the relevant regulations on epidemic prevention and control will be seriously investigated and dealt with by the public security organs,” the announcement said. Authorities cited the case of Mou Mouhong, 33, of Tianshan district, who received a 10-day administrative detention penalty for posting comments on a WeChat group on Nov. 1 that incited people to protest, causing a risk of the spread of the virus. Another Han Chinese, Wang Moubiao, 32 who lives in the city’s Economic and Technological Development Zone, was detained for five days for posting “inflammatory remarks related to the epidemic” on WeChat on Nov. 1. Authorities also detained Ming Mouqin, 46, who resides in Urumqi’s High-tech Zone, for five days for inciting residents to protest via a WeChat group. Chinese officials imposed strict lockdowns in Xinjiang in August and September that resulted in some deaths of Uyghurs from starvation and a lack of medicine or medical care. Authorities detained 600 Uyghurs from a village in Ghulja (Yining) in the northern part of Xinjiang after they protested the lockdown. Prior to the protest, state-run Xinjiang TV had warned residents that they would be arrested for separatism, a charge often used to detain Uyghurs, if they “spread rumors” about a COVID outbreak in the area. Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in the region also have been subjected to severe human rights violations during a years-long crackdown that Beijing has said is part of a broad “anti-terrorism” campaign. A report issued in late August by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that “the scale of the arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang ‘may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” China denounced the report, which it said was the result of pressure from western governments. Translated by Alim Seytoff and Shahrezad Ghayrat for RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Interview: “Freedom and democracy won’t come without effort”

Editor3 years ago011 mins

Vietnamese lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan spoke to RFA about a Nov. 1 meeting with U.S. officials in the run-up to the 26th U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue. On Nov. 1, Vietnamese rights lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan attended a meeting between representatives from the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and family members of several jailed political dissidents at the eve of the 26th U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue held on Nov. 2. Radio Free Asia spoke to him about the meeting on Nov. 3. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. RFA: What were your recommendations for the U.S. government at the meeting regarding human rights in Vietnam? Ngo Anh Tuan: The meeting was held on the eve of the annual U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue. I came to the meeting at their [the U.S. government’s] invitation and was the only lawyer there. I can’t repeat what I said verbatim but here are the key things that I raised: Firstly, Vietnam should hold dialogues with political dissidents and utilize their knowledge and talents for the country’s development. President Ho Chi Minh did this after establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which had been seen as an appropriate policy. Unfortunately, they [the current Vietnamese government] don’t do it now. Secondly, [Vietnam] has to amend or remove the harsh provisions relating to freedom of speech in its current Penal Code as they contradict Vietnam’s 2013 Constitution and human rights treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory. Thirdly, [Vietnam] must immediately stop using its Departments of Information and Communications (DOICs) to assess people’s thoughts and ideologies and accuse them [instead of] investigation and procuracy agencies and judges. As long as these practices aren’t eliminated, DOIC assessors should be summoned to trials to clarify what they have assessed and respond to defense lawyers. Currently, DOIC assessors avoid attending hearings. While the current law stipulates that all the evidence to accuse a defendant must be clarified at the trial, I’ve never seen any judiciary assessors at any trials that I have attended. RFA: Were there any lawyers giving similar recommendations? What are your expectations for the implementation of these recommendations? Ngo Anh Tuan: I did not ask how many lawyers they had invited but I was the only lawyer at the meeting. I don’t expect all of my recommendations will be implemented right away as it would be too ambitious for a dialogue like this. It would also be challenging to realize the easiest thing in my first recommendation. Some minor issues can be done at the moment. RFA: Suppose they could only implement one of the three recommendations, which one would you like to prioritize? Ngo Anh Tuan: We want all of them to be implemented. However, what I think they can do now is the third one, i.e., the assessment of people’s thoughts and ideologies. I believe people from investigative agencies, the procuracy and the courts realize this legal flaw. If assessors are allowed to [freely] make accusations, they will be able to easily charge people for so many things. It is unacceptable that they [the assessors] examine the ideological side and then conclude the objective side of a crime. By doing so, they have made accusations before [the judicial system]. This goes against all legal principles of both Vietnam and the world. Lawyers have raised this issue many times with them and I think they also want a change. However, they won’t be able to do so if the current regulations are not amended. RFA: Lawyers often encounter unpleasant or even illegal acts from authorities. Why didn’t you raise this issue in your recommendations? Ngo Anh Tuan: I think the oppression against lawyers is not that serious but the disrespect for lawyers is a matter of fact. However, we [lawyers] put clients’ interests before ours. If we face difficulties, we still can fight against them while our clients are in much more disadvantaged situations. Our clients and ordinary people out there are much more vulnerable and disadvantaged than us. It is more appropriate for the Vietnam Bar Federation or provincial bar associations to speak up for lawyers’ rights. I choose to speak up for people’s rights as people’s interests should outweigh lawyers’. RFA: You have said that freedom and democracy won’t come without effort and we have to create them and create opportunities for people around us instead of waiting for others to bring freedom and democracy to us. Could you elaborate on this? Ngo Anh Tuan: I believe most intellectuals are knowledgeable enough to realize this but they may think this is someone else’s job, not theirs. They also understand that we need to join hands to make the country a better place but they also think it’s OK if that does not include their hands. A Vietnamese saying goes: “Lead the charge if it’s a party. Follow others if it’s a march across waters.” They would think: As the pioneers have raised their hand, we can stand behind them and will raise our hand when success is almost there. Politics is not something super. It affects everyone, including us and our family members. For example, an inappropriate administrative decision creates difficulties for ordinary people, including us. Familiar things like land and salary issues are also politics. Society will be better if everyone speaks up against injustice and wrongdoings. Everyone can make contributions but many chose to forgo their rights. If everyone thinks we don’t need to speak up since the person next to us will do it, society, of course, will be at a standstill. RFA: Do you hope that human rights in Vietnam will be improved after each human rights dialogue between the U.S. and Vietnam? Ngo Anh Tuan: In this meeting, an officer asked me if they [the U.S. government] could help in any way. I bluntly asked back: Why did you ask that question? Can you really help? I also attended a similar meeting with the EU’s…

Laos rescues 11 Indian nationals trafficked to work as phone scammers

Editor3 years ago09 mins

Authorities in Laos have rescued 11 Indian nationals who were lured to the Chinese-run Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in the north of the country and put to work as phone scammers, according to the Indian Embassy. The operation shines a light on the murky enclave in Bokeo province – home to the Kings Roman Casino resort – where many foreigners who were promised lucrative jobs end up held against their will by trafficking rings that exploit them under threat of violence. The Golden Triangle economic zone is a gambling and tourism hub catering to Chinese citizens situated along the Mekong River where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet. In 2018, the U.S. government sanctioned the Chinese tycoon who is said to run the SEZ as head of a trafficking network. Last week, Lao authorities acted on a tip from the Indian Embassy to rescue 11 Indians who had been held for more than a month by traffickers in the zone. They were recruited by unscrupulous middlemen to work as IT specialists in Dubai, Singapore and Thailand with offers of well-paying jobs and pre-arranged flights, visas and passports, according to Indian Embassy sources who discussed the situation off the record because they were unauthorized to speak to the press. Instead, they wound up in northern Laos, where they were forced to work in call centers largely unmonitored by authorities, calling people to solicit money for fraudulent investment schemes or engage in cryptocurrency scams. Rights groups estimate that at least 1,000 people from South and East Asia have been lured to work as scammers at the Golden Triangle zone, many of whom continue to be held against their will there. Extricated by Lao officials last week, the 11 workers were brought to the Lao border with Thailand and handed over to a team from the Indian Consulate in Chiang Mai, before being repatriated to India over the weekend via Bangkok, the Indian Embassy in Laos said in an announcement posted to its Facebook page. RFA Lao was unable to reach Lao authorities operating in the Golden Triangle economic zone or officials in the Indian Embassy in the Lao capital Vientiane for comment on the rescue operation. Conditions at scam centers A Lao national who previously worked as a scammer in the zone told RFA on condition of anonymity that trafficking is rife there and said several foreign nationals were being held against their will at the call center where he was located. “There were three or four Indians and as many as 20 Thais working as scammers [when I was there],” he said, adding that most foreign nationals being held at the zone at the time were Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese, although he also met Indonesians and Malaysians. The former scam center worker from Laos told RFA that if they follow orders, trafficked workers could earn U.S. $450-725 per month, depending on the number of people they scammed, while those who could speak Thai, Chinese, or Vietnamese could earn even more. But rules were strict and anyone who left the call center without informing members of the trafficking ring or escaped and was caught “would face a serious punishment,” he said. Despite the restrictions and the threat of punishment, the Lao national said that he planned to return to the zone again because “I know how to do the work and they will hire me right away.” In addition to luring unsuspecting foreign nationals through middlemen, scam centers also “recruit” workers through other means, the Lao national told RFA. During an outbreak of COVID-19 in August and September 2021, authorities in Bokeo province temporarily closed the Golden Triangle economic zone to force employers based there to allow their workers to return home and renegotiate hiring contracts, due to the slowdown of the economy. Instead of allowing them to return, he said, many of the centers simply “sold” their workers to trafficking rings who forced them to do the same work stipulated in their existing contracts, threatening them with beatings and imprisonment if they refused. Meanwhile, the worker said, Lao authorities cannot easily enter the Chinese-run zone, which operates largely beyond the reach of the Lao government, and are often unable to arrest ring leaders because the victims of the scams rarely report their losses to police. “Nobody takes them to court because there’s no proof,” he said. “Those who lose money dare not tell the police or take legal action.” Foreigners targeted Chinese-run enclaves in Southeast Asia have come under heavy scrutiny in recent months after hundreds of Taiwanese nationals were rescued after being lured into human trafficking and abusive jobs scams in Cambodia, with many victims taken to work in Chinese-owned casinos in the coastal city of Sihanoukville. The government has so far registered 1,267 workers in the Golden Triangle zone, only a fraction of the total, although the exact number employed there is unknown, according to Lao officials. Efforts to register workers to protect them from human trafficking and other abuses have met with limited success because workers balk at paying the fees and fear that signing up will get them sent home, sources have told RFA. In addition to the 11 Indian workers rescued last week, authorities freed 44 Pakistanis from the zone on Oct. 20 and seven Malaysians on Oct. 6. Malaysian authorities have said there are 50-100 Malaysians still being held by traffickers in the zone. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Uyghur doctor jailed for treating a ‘terrorist’ dies after release from prison

Editor3 years ago3 years ago08 mins

A Uyghur doctor sentenced to eight years in prison in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region for removing a bullet from the foot of a suspected criminal, died shortly after being released from prison in September, local police and people with knowledge of the situation said. Tudahun Nurehmet, also known by the surname Mahmud, was the former chief of the Achatagh Hospital in Uchturpan (in Chinese, Wushi) county, Aksu (Akesu) prefecture. In 2013, he was sentenced for treating a person Chinese authorities identified as a terrorist who was wounded during a clash in Aksu’s Aykol (Ayikule) township in August of that year. On that day, a brawl between Muslim Uyghurs and police broke out during a security check of a mosque on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr Islamic festival marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. During the altercation, police fired at unarmed people, killing three Uyghurs and wounding 20 others, RFA reported. Those who were wounded either were taken to the hospital or left the area and sought treatment on their own, according to a policeman who was at the scene. It was at one of these hospitals that Tudahun apparently treated one of the wounded, fulfilling his role as a doctor – which later got him arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison because the patient was identified as a terrorist. Kidney disease in prison Tudahun was released to his family because of his deteriorating health and died of kidney complications on Sept. 18, according to a person named “Nurxenim Uyghur” who posts information about the deaths of Uyghurs in Xinjiang on Facebook. A police officer in the town of Achatagh said Tudahun served his sentence in Urumqi’s No. 6 prison, though he did not have information about the physician’s death. A village policeman from Achatagh said Tudahun, the father of two children, was released one year ago and had a severe kidney problem and could not walk. He was healthy before his arrest and died due to a kidney disease that developed during his prison time, the police officer said. A second village police officer from the area told IJ-Reportika that Tudahun was accused of protecting “a crime suspect” because he treated that person’s wound, but he could not provide the suspect’s name or the place where he received medical care. “They did not tell us whom he treated,” he said. “It was due to an incident that took place on Eid day.“ Tudahun “was taken away on the third day of Eid,” the village policeman said. “I don’t know if the wounded people came to the hospital or if he went to treat them. I heard he treated ‘the terrorists’ and was therefore accused of aiding them.” A village Communist Party secretary in Achatagh said Tudahun was sentenced to eight years for removing a bullet from the foot of a wounded suspect involved in the “August 8th incident” in Aksu, referring to the deadly clashes. “He was arrested because he hid the situation of a person who got shot, and he treated him,” he said. But he said Tudahun was a very skilled physician who treated patients from other towns and villages. The party secretary said Tudahun treated the suspect on the day the incident occurred, and when the suspect was arrested on the second day, he exposed Tudahun, and police subsequently arrested the doctor. “He was taken from his home,” the secretary said. As for the suspect, he left after receiving medical treatment and was later arrested at another location. Another death after release In a similar case of an Uyghur individual dying after being released from prison, 27-year-old Alimjan Abdureshit from the town of Toqquzaq (Tuokezhake) in Kashgar (Kashi) prefecture, died on Oct. 2, about 40 days after his release from a prison or an internment camp, according to the same the Facebook page of “Nurxenim Uyghur.” He was detained for five years for participating in “illegal religious activities.” A staffer at a neighborhood committee in Kashgar Yengisheher (Shule) county told IJ-Reportika that police took away the body of Abdurishit, who died from a combination of illness and starvation during a recent coronavirus lockdown there. IJ-Reportika reported earlier that authorities in Xinjiang have been collecting the bodies of deceased Uyghurs, many of whom died of starvation or lack of medical treatment during lockdowns, without informing their relatives whether their corpses would be handled according to Islamic burial rituals. Abdureshit lived in downtown Toqquzaq when police took the former school security guard to the internment camp in 2017, said an expatriate from the county who has knowledge of the situation. A neighborhood committee staffer in Kashgar Yengisheher said authorities took Abdurishit away to receive so-called “education” while he was working at a middle school. Abdureshit was healthy before his detainment, he said, though he did not know if the young man had been ill when he was released or if he died because of starvation during the lockdown. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Reported in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Myanmar Junta officially bans the popular independent media THE IRRAWADDY

Editor3 years ago3 years ago17 mins

After banning 14 news agencies, 4 publishing houses and 2 printing presses in Myanmar since coup, Junta government has banned the popular independent media THE IRRAWADDY.

Opposition officials in Cambodia refuse to denounce Sam Rainsy

Editor3 years ago07 mins

Local commune councilors affiliated with Cambodia’s main opposition Candlelight Party on Tuesday walked out of a meeting where they were asked to publicly condemn Hun Sen’s exiled political rival Sam Rainsy, the party told Radio Free Asia. Commune chiefs from Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, summoned several of the Candlelight Party’s commune councilors from Kandal province and demanded they sign and add their thumbprints to a petition which said they denounce the opposition figure. Sam Rainsy is a co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was the previous main opposition party before the country’s Supreme Court dissolved it in 2017. He has been living in self-exile in France since 2015, when he fled a series of charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, threatened last month that he would dissolve any party that associates with Sam Rainsy and accused those who support him of being against Cambodia’s king. The Candlelight party then attempted to distance itself from Sam Rainsy by condemning those who insult the king, without naming any specific person. This statement should have been enough to ease any and all concerns, the Candlelight Party’s Kong Narith, who is the second deputy chief of a commune council in Kandal’s Takhmao city, told RFA’s Khmer Service. Kong Narith said that he has maintained his position and has acted in accordance with the law, especially in respecting the will of the voters who elected him and others in the party. Long Seng Bun, who is the first deputy of another Takhmao commune, said that forcing him and other members of Candlelight to sign these types of petitions is illegal and a violation of political rights, and that is why he refused. “I told them that I won’t do anything against the law,” he said. “The voters voted for me so I will serve my constituencies.” Commune councilors from the Candlelight Party have been pressured by their colleagues from the CPP four separate times to denounce Sam Rainsy not only in Takhmao, but also several other Kandal province districts, sources said. The CPP officials threatened the opposition party commune councilors, saying that if they don’t do what they are told, they will be punished according to law. Illegal coercion Candlelight’s vice president Thach Setha told RFA that any coercive, threatening or persuasive action by the ruling party officials is a serious illegal act. He said that his party’s statement against those who are against the king has already been accepted by Hun Sen, so there is no reason for the CPP officials to continue to intimidate the Candlelight members of commune councils. He urged the Ministry of Interior to take action against anyone who engages in coercive activities against Candlelight party members. “We are representatives from a legitimate party and have already issued a letter of condemnation,” he said. “Why are they not recognizing that?” RFA was unable to contact the ministry’s spokesman Khieu Sopheak or Kandal province governor Kong Sophorn for comment as of Tuesday. Anyone who refuses to sign the petition that condemns Sam Rainsy is a traitor and has ties with the exiled political figure, the ruling party’s spokesperson Sok Ey San said. Social development researcher Seng Sary said that the local ruling party officials are acting beyond their superiors’ orders. He added that local officials should recognize the decisions and orders of their superiors without exacerbating the political situation. “I believe that the political situation in Cambodia can’t be resolved by law, so it is necessary to resolve it through political negotiations,” Seng Sary said. “And more importantly, easing the political heat in this situation is one way to resolve it.” The Candlelight Party, which has more than 2,000 commune council seats across the country, last week issued a letter calling on authorities to stop acts of political intimidation and coercion. Their statement said that these actions violate Cambodia’s constitution and the people’s civil rights, political rights, and their rights to freedom of expression. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Southeast Asia remains world rice bowl as pockets of region suffer crop disasters

Editor3 years ago013 mins

Rice crops in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have taken a hit from flooding and conflict this year, casting a shadow on a mostly sunny outlook for Southeast Asia’s output of the key grain as the region deals with other potential longer term supply troubles, farm officials and researchers say. Poverty and hunger are stalking some rural communities in peninsular Southeast Asia, also called Indochina, as a result of lost crops, hitting populations still struggling to recover from lost income and other fallout from widespread economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, the poorest Southeast Asian nations, are not major players in rice production in a sector dominated by Thailand and Vietnam, which lead the world in exports of the grain. Southeast Asia accounts for 26 percent of global rice production and 40 percent of exports, supplying populous neighbors Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as Africa and the Middle East, according the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. But their harvest shortfalls have to be made up from other suppliers, and any serious deterioration in rice output could have ripple effects on import-dependent countries in Asia. The challenge is more acute at a time of deepening worries over food security and rising food prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has removed those countries’ key grain exports from global supplies. A man transports bags of rice in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 17, 2019. Credit: AFP Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management reported early this month that floods inundated some 770 villages in 22 provinces, including Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Pursat, Siem Reap, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihear. More than 150,000 hectares of rice paddies were flooded more than 100,000 families were affected by the floods, a committee official told local media. Banteay Meanchey farmer Voeun Pheap told RFA that floods destroyed more than four hectares of his farm and brought immediate hardship to his family as it wiped out his crop and the hope of paying off what he borrowed to plant. “I couldn’t make much money, I lost my investments, and I am in debt,” he said. In Laos, an agriculture and forestry official in Hua Phanh province told RFA that flooding in two districts had wiped out rice crops and left 200 families with no harvest to eat or sell. “Sand is covering the rice fields all over due to heavy rain, which destroyed both rice paddies and dry rice fields,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. “Families that have been affected will go hungry this year. The damage is so enormous that villagers will have to seek food from the forest or sell other crops that were not affected,” the official added. People reach out to buy subsidized rice from government officials in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 27, 2008. Credit: AFP Fear, fighting leave fallow fields More than 18 months after a military coup toppled a popular civilian government and plunged Myanmar into political and military conflict, the country of 54 million faces security threats to its rice supply on top of the environmental and economic problems faced by its neighbors. “I am too afraid to leave my home,” said Myo Thant, a local farmer in the town of Shwebo in the Sagaing region, a farming region in central Myanmar that has been a main theater of fighting between ruling army junta forces and local militias opposed to army rule. “I can’t fertilize the fields and I can’t do irrigation work,” he told RFA “The harvest will be down. We will barely have enough food for ourselves,” added Myo Thant. Farmers groups told RFA that in irrigated paddy farms across Myanmar, planting reduced due to the security challenges as well as to rising prices for fuel, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Growers are limiting their planting to rain-fed rice fields. “Only 60 percent of (paddy) farms will grow this year, which means that the production will be reduced by about 40 percent,” Zaw Yan of the Myanmar Farmers Representative Network told RFA. Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the Myanmar junta chief, told a meeting August that of 33.2 million acres of farmland available for rice cultivation, only 15 million acres of rainy reason rice and 3 million acres of irrigated summer paddy rice are being grown. Brighter regional outlook This year’s flooding has caused crop losses and concern in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, but so far it doesn’t appear to have dented the regional outlook for the grain, thanks to expected big crops and surpluses in powerhouse exporters Thailand and Vietnam. World stocks have been buoyed by India’s emergence as the top rice exporter of the grain. In this June 5, 2015 photo, workers load sacks of imported Vietnam rice onto trucks from a ship docked at a port area in Manila, Philippines.Credit: Reuters Although Myanmar is embroiled in conflict and largely cut off from world commerce, Cambodia exported 2.06 million tons of milled and paddy rice worth nearly $616 million in the first half of 2022, a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2021, the country’s farm ministry said in July. Laos was the world’s 25th largest rice exporter in 2020. A report released this month by U.S. Department of Agriculture saw continued large exports from Thailand and Vietnam likely into 2023, offsetting drops in shipments of the grain from other suppliers. While the USDA has projected that Southeast Asia’s rice surplus will continue, a research team at Nature Food that studied rice output in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam suggested the region might lose its global Rice Bowl status. The threats include stagnating crop yields, limited new land for agriculture, and climate change. “Over the past decades, through renewed efforts, countries in Southeast Asia were able to increase rice yields, and the region as a whole has continued to produce a large amount of rice that exceeded regional demand, allowing a rice surplus to be exported to other countries,” the study said. “At…

Local officials linked to Cambodia’s opposition party forced to condemn Sam Rainsy

Editor3 years ago06 mins

Cambodia’s main opposition Candlelight Party on Friday called on authorities to stop trying to force local officials to publicly condemn Hun Sen’s exiled political rival Sam Rainsy. In a statement, the party urged the Ministry of Interior to advise local authorities to stop “intimidating activities” to ensure that the upcoming 2023 general election can be free and fair. Sam Rainsy is a co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was the previous main opposition party before the country’s Supreme Court dissolved it in 2017. He has been living in self-exile in France since 2015, when he fled a series of charges his supporters say are politically motivated. Cambodia has convicted and sentenced Sam Rainsy in absentia several times during his exile, including handing him a life sentence this month on bogus claims that he attempted to cede four Cambodian provinces to a foreign state. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, threatened last week that he would dissolve any party that associates with Sam Rainsy and accused those who support him of being against Cambodia’s king. Several Candlelight Party members who were elected to local commune council seats in elections this summer were then told to sign petitions declaring they rebuke Sam Rainsy. “This is a serious violation against the constitution and universal declaration on civil and political rights and freedom of expression,” the Candlelight Party statement said. The party is gathering evidence and will file an official complaint, vice president Thach Setha said. RFA was unable to reach Ministry of Interior Spokesman Khieu Sopheak for comment Friday. One Candlelight Party commune councilor told RFA’s Khmer service that when he refused to sign the statement, he was asked by his colleague from Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP to appear at the commune office to declare his stance in regards to Sam Rainsy. “I told [the commune chief] that I am waiting on orders from the party but he said he also received his orders from the top,” said Sorn Meang, who sits on the council of Da commune in the southeastern province of Tbong Khmum. “This is a threat against another commune councilor,” he said Chhoyy Mao, the commune chief told RFA that he did ask Sorn Meang about Sam Rainsy but denied he forced him to sign or say anything. “Only the CPP councilors placed their thumbprint next to their names, but none from the Candlelight Party did,” he said. “I explained the reason but [Sorn Meang] said he was waiting for orders.” On Thursday, the Candlelight Party said that political dialogue between Hun Sen and the party has resumed after the party issued a public statement to distance itself from Sam Rainsy by condemning those who insult the king, without naming any specific person. Hun Sen posted that statement on Facebook with a comment saying he appreciated the party for following his request. CPP spokesman Sok Ey San denied that the party had instructed party activists to threaten the Candlelight Party. However, he said those who refuse to condemn Sam Rainsy are insulting the king. “There is no threat,” he said. “People nationwide have condemned [Sam Rainsy] and those who disagree have revealed their stance on the nation, our religion, and our king.” Local authorities have abused the Candlelight Party’s commune councilor rights, according to Soeung Seng Karuna, spokesperson for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association. He said allegations over the king stemmed from political conflict between the CPP and the dissolved opposition party. “In a democratic countries they value free thoughts, ideas and political affiliations,” he said. “The authorities are abusing people by preventing them from making free decisions and trying to affect their political will.” Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Protests spread in Lhasa over COVID-19 restrictions

Editor3 years ago010 mins

Protests over COVID-19 restrictions in the Tibetan capital Lhasa spread to at least four different areas of the city Thursday, prompting “scuffles” with authorities in some cases, sources told Radio Free Asia, as ethnic Chinese migrant workers demanded permits to return home from the region. RFA was able to confirm that many of the protesters were ethnic majority Han Chinese migrant workers who likely obtained permission to reside in Lhasa for jobs that pay daily wages. Sources in the city, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said that the migrant workers have been demanding that local authorities issue them permits to return to their homes in eastern China because they have been unable to earn a living during the nearly three months of lockdown in the city. In footage from one video obtained late on Wednesday, a man claiming to be a police officer pleads with protesters in Mandarin Chinese to return to their homes, and tells them their concerns have been relayed to senior officials. “Please return to your homes. Why? If you [don’t] go back and block up this area, what might happen? You’ll infect each other,” the apparent officer says. “We’ve already reported to the higher ups, okay? Please go home.” “We understand your pain. We’re going to make a report soon,” he goes on to say. ”Please everybody understand, we will report to the relevant authorities.” On Wednesday, RFA Tibetan reported that scores of people had taken to the streets in what appeared to be Chengguan district’s Chakrong area, in eastern Lhasa, as well as the Payi area of the city, based on video obtained by sources in the region. By Thursday, protests had spread to include the districts of Lhalu and Kuang Ye, sources told RFA, with newly obtained video footage showing crowds growing more restless. In one such video, protesters appear to engage in a yelling and shoving match with authorities, while in another, a group of people appear to push a large iron gate off of its hinges. Trying to contain Sangay Kyab, a Tibet expert based in Spain, told RFA that Chinese authorities likely did not resort to violence to crack down on the protests in Lhasa because they were related to COVID-19 restrictions, and because Beijing doesn’t want the situation to escalate. Sakar Tashi, a Belgium-based China and Tibet watcher, took it a step further, suggesting that authorities wouldn’t have responded as peacefully to a protest held exclusively by Tibetans. “Han people in Lhasa protested against the epidemic control policy. Tibetans are also involved,” he wrote in a post to Twitter. “Most who led & participated were Han – if it were Tibetans, it would have been bloodily suppressed long ago.” RFA was able to contact an officer with the Lhasa Public Security Bureau who insisted that no protest had taken place over the past two days. “There was no gathering, assembly or protest,” he said. “Everything is in an orderly manner. We did not arrest anyone.” When asked how many people were able to obtain permits to leave the region, the officer replied that “anyone who meets conditions can receive permits and leave Tibet freely.” When pressed further about the status of the protests, the officer said that “everyone is fine, everyone went home.” Other sources inside the city appeared more wary about discussing the incidents, including some who had provided RFA with updates on Wednesday. However, accounts provided to RFA by some Lhasa residents on Thursday appeared to confirm the officer’s explanation of events. Residents said that protesters dispersed after authorities agreed to process applications for Chinese migrant workers to return to their homes outside of the region. RFA was unable to independently verify whether such an arrangement had been made. COVID-19 restrictions Reports of the protests in Lhasa – believed to be the largest in the city in more than a dozen years – came days after the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region issued an Oct. 24 statement announcing that a harsh COVID-19 lockdown in Lhasa would be “loosened.” The lockdown in Lhasa began in early August as COVID-19 numbers there and throughout China continued to climb. Lhasa residents have said on social media that the lockdown order came without enough time to prepare, leaving some short on food, and making it difficult for those infected with the virus to find adequate treatment. Despite Monday’s announcement by authorities, residents of Lhasa told RFA on Thursday that the lockdown remains in effect and claimed even more stringent measures were being implemented. One video obtained by RFA appears to be taken inside a bus full of people who the narrator says are Tibetans being rounded up and taken to an undisclosed location. “Look, they are taking all these people who aren’t even sick,” a man’s voice says, urging viewers to “please share this on Douyin,” referring to a popular video-hosting website in China. Chinese state media had reported more than 18,000 cases of COVID-19 infection as of early October, with at least 60,507 people now held in quarantine in conditions described as harsh by sources inside the Tibet Autonomous Region. In a Sept. 26 statement, the Central Tibetan Administration – the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan government-in-exile – said Chinese authorities are holding Tibetans in quarantine camps without adequate food, water or medical care. Camp managers have routinely placed infected persons with others still uninfected, resulting in a further spread of the virus, it said. Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force more than 70 years ago, following which the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India and other countries around the world. Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting separatism in Tibet. Translated by Kalden Lodoe, Rita Cheng and Chase Bodiford. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Category: South Asia