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Displaced Burmese want Thailand to set up safe zone as sanctuary from fighting

Editor2 years ago07 mins

Burmese citizens displaced by fighting and who have sought refuge on both sides of the Thai border want Thai lawmakers to approve a proposed safe zone to protect them from daily air raids and artillery attacks by Myanmar’s military, refugees and aid workers said. The IDP Assistance Committee in Kayah state’s Hpruso township said internally displaced civilians need the zone initiated to provide adequate aid and safety. Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house on Aug. 10 proposed the implementation of the safe zone on the Thai border in the south of Myanmar as a refuge for those who from Kayah and Kayin states who have been repeatedly displaced by fighting between junta and rebel forces. Kanawee Suebsaeng, an MP from Thailand’s Fair Party, suggested that the zone be established 5 kilometers (3 miles) into Myanmar from the Thai border. “This area could lessen the impacts on the Thai people along the border as well as on the evacuees who enter the area so they can stay safely,” he said. About 300,000 internally displaced people are living next to the Thai border in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi and Ranong districts, according to the lawmaker. The Karen Human Rights Group and Karenni Human Rights Group estimate that more than 200,000 people in Kayah state and nearly 600,000 in Kayin state have been displaced since the coup. Others have lost their lives as a result of fleeing the fighting, including 141 such deaths in Kayah state as of July, according to the Progressive Karenni People’s Force, an ethnic political organization. Refugees and aid workers support the measure given the growing intensity of the armed clashes since the Myanmar military seized power from the democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup. A junta air strike destroyed this house in Myanmar’s Kayah state near the Thai-Myanmar border, July 12, 2023. Credit: Karenni Human Rights Group ‘No safety and security’ A displaced person from Kayin’s Myawaddy township who now lives in a camp that is a temporary home to about 600 refugees, said residents are not safe in their present location. “There is no safety and security in our area,” she said, adding that 100 people came to the camp for shelter following recent fighting in Let Khet Taung near Myawaddy. “The sound of the battle is getting closer. We have to run away.” Nearly the entire population of adjacent Kayah state, which also borders Thailand, have fled their homes due to fighting. An official from the Hpruso West Refugee Assistance Committee said a safe zone would be convenient for displaced people who are constantly worried about artillery shells and air strikes. When RFA contacted Kanawee Suebsaeng on Wednesday, he said Thai lawmakers would push for humanitarian aid for Myanmar refugees. He also said hat next week he and others would submit a letter to the house speaker detailing the issue and propose that top government officials issue a comprehensive outline of solutions. Thai officials must consider practical factors before implementing a safe zone, said Saw Nanda Hsue, spokesman for the Karen Human Rights Group, an independent community-based organization working to improve the human rights situation in Myanmar. “The questions of how long-term it will be, how many years it will accept refugees, and whether there are already donors to support refugees in the safe zone are major considerations,” he said. Aung Thu Nyein, the Thailand-based communications director for Myanmar’s Institute for Strategy and Policy, said it may not be easy to establish the safe zone which requires approval from Thailand’s national security council led by military authorities. “Even if the Thai parliament approves the implementation of the safe zone, the Thai government will have to have discussions and negotiations with the Myanmar military,” he said. RFA could not reach the Thai Embassy in Myanmar for comment. Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for Myanmar’s National Unity Government, said the shadow government has urged the international community to help establish a safe zone and to provide cross-border assistance to Burmese IDPs. Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

World

Landmine kills inmate and driver during Myanmar prison transfer

Editor2 years ago03 mins

Two people died and five others were injured when the truck taking them from Sagaing region’s Monywa prison to prisons in Mandalay region hit a landmine, a member of a pro-democracy group told RFA Thursday. The 12-wheel truck was the lead vehicle in a convoy with four other military vehicles, taking around 100 political prisoners to Obo and Myingyan prisons on Wednesday afternoon. Civil Disobedience Movement doctor, 33-year-old Zaw Htwel Aung and the unnamed driver of the truck were both killed when the vehicle hit a mine near Monywa township’s Myay Ne village, according to Aung Nay Myo of the Monywa People’s Strike Steering Committee. He said another political prisoner, Arkar Nyein Chan, who was shackled to the doctor was critically injured. Dr. Zaw Htwel Aung was serving a 10 year prison sentence for alleged terrorism offenses. Thike Tun Oo, a Political Prisoners Network official, told RFA the doctor died on the way to hospital.. “We know that about five people were critically injured along with him,” he said. “And we heard that another mine was triggered when they drove a bit further and about 20 more people were injured.” It’s not known who laid the landmines on the Sagaing-Mandalay road. The junta has not released a statement on the incident. RFA called the junta’s Sagaing region spokesperson, Tin Than Win, but there was no response. Three months earlier, two women political prisoners were injured when the vehicle they were in hit a landmine as it traveled from Monywa prison along the same road. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Bangladesh bank freezes accounts belonging to U.S.-sanctioned Myanmar banks

Editor2 years ago2 years ago07 mins

Bangladesh’s Sonali Bank has frozen the accounts of two Myanmar state-owned banks due to U.S. sanctions against them, its chief executive officer said Wednesday. Confirmation of the action came after the United States Embassy in Dhaka sent a letter to the government requesting that Bangladesh comply with such sanctions, which was then forwarded to the Bangladeshi state-owned bank, according to documents seen by BenarNews. But Md. Afzal Karim, Sonali Bank’s chief executive officer, and managing director, said action had already been taken against the accounts of Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank. He did not say precisely when. “We have already frozen the accounts of the two banks due to the OFAC sanction,” Karim told BenarNews on Wednesday, referring to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, an agency under the U.S. Treasury Department that enforces sanctions. Karim said the two Myanmar banks had total deposits of US$1.1 million in Sonali Bank. “This money cannot be transacted [on],” he said. “For more than a month, the accounts of the two banks [in Sonali Bank] are not being used for any transactions.” Karim said that after Sonali Bank had frozen the accounts, the Myanmar junta had requested Bangladesh to make the accounts available for a transaction. “We were requested by Myanmar to open the account. However, it will not be possible to open until the sanction is lifted,” Karim said. He said he was relieved that Sonali Bank did not have many funds in accounts in the two sanctioned Myanmar banks. “We don’t have much money there. One bank has 17,000 euros, another has [200,000] dollars,” he said. “They have more money with us.” In June, Washington announced its sanctions against three entities, including the two banks controlled by the Burmese military, which overthrew an elected government in February 2021. The U.S. Treasury said the two banks “facilitate much of the foreign currency exchange within Burma and enable transactions between the military regime and foreign markets, including for the purchase and import of arms and related materiel.” Since the military coup, the Burmese junta has cracked down on mass protests, killed nearly 4,000 people, and arrested thousands more, according to human rights groups. The United Nations said more than 1.8 million people had been forced to flee their homes in Myanmar because of violence since the coup. The United States, in a letter to the Bangladesh foreign ministry dated Aug. 3, reminded it of the sanctions on the two Myanmar banks and urged Dhaka to “take appropriate action.” The ministry then sent a letter to the Sonali Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Bank of Bangladesh informing them about the U.S. embassy letter. “On June 21, we imposed sanctions on three entities in response to atrocities and other abuses that the regime committed against the people of Burma,” according to an excerpt from the embassy’s letter. “These designations reinforced our objectives of denying the regime access to foreign currency and further preventing the regime from purchasing arms that could be used to commit atrocities and other abuses.” BenarNews contacted the U.S. embassy in Dhaka for details but did not immediately hear back. Bangladesh-Myanmar trade is small. The South Asian country mainly exports potatoes, biscuits, and plastic products to Myanmar, and imports wood, frozen fish, ginger, and onions. In fiscal year 2022, Bangladesh imported goods worth around $128.5 million from Myanmar, its next-door neighbor, and exported items worth $3.9 million to Myanmar. The U.S. sanction on the two Myanmar banks that have accounts in Sonali Bank should not be a financial burden on Bangladesh, said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank. “Since Bangladesh does not have a large amount of business with Myanmar, there will not be a significant bottleneck due to this reason,” he told BenarNews. “There is no reason to worry about it.” BenarNews is an Ijreportika-affiliated news service.

Heavy artillery kills child in Myanmar’s Sagaing region

Editor2 years ago03 mins

Junta heavy artillery killed a nine-year-old boy in Sagaing region’s Yinmarbin township, residents told RFA Wednesday. They said the boy, Kyaw Thiha, died Tuesday when a shell hit his home in Pay Kone village. Five other people were injured in the shelling and are being treated locally. Locals blamed the attack on troops who are providing security for the China-owned Kyae Sin Taung and Letpadaung Taung copper projects situated nearby. The military commander of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force stationed between Yinmarbin and Salingyi townships told RFA there was no reason for the shelling because his force was not fighting with junta troops Tuesday. Bloodstains on Myauk Yamar bridge, Sagaing region, where locals believe junta troops killed three villagers they arrested five days earlier, August 16, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist Separately, villagers found the bodies of three men near a bridge over the river that runs between Yinmarbin and Salingyi townships on Wednesday, a local eyewitness from Yinmarbin Township who didn’t want to be named for security reasons told RFA. “Three bodies were found near the Myauk Yamar bridge this morning,” he said. “Two can be confirmed to be from Lel Ngauk village and the whereabouts of the other one is still under investigation. The bodies were cremated this morning.” He identified two of the dead as 44-year-old Thein Wai and 47-year-old Kyaw Nyan. Residents say the villagers were arrested around five days ago when they encountered a column of nearly 100 troops heading towards Yinmarbin township. Photographs obtained by RFA show bloodstains on Myauk Yamar bridge which locals say indicate the men were killed there. The junta spokesperson for Sagaing region, Tin Than Win, told RFA that he didn’t know about the killing of the men or the shelling of Yinmarbin. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

Court sentences Cambodian land activists who tried to travel to capital for protest

Editor2 years ago05 mins

A provincial court on Tuesday sentenced 10 activists to one year in jail in a case that stems from several long-running land disputes that have triggered protests in Cambodia’s southwestern Koh Kong province. The activists were arrested in late June after they tried to travel to Phnom Penh to submit a petition to the Ministry of Justice. The Koh Kong Provincial Court convicted them of malicious denunciation and incitement to provoke chaos. They were ordered to pay 10 million riel (about US$2,400) to tycoon Heng Huy, whose company is involved in one of the land conflicts in the coastal province near the Thai border. Illegal land grabs by developers or individuals are not uncommon in Cambodia, where officials and bureaucrats can be bribed to provide bogus land titles. Disputes over land are one of the major causes of social disturbances throughout Southeast Asia. “The activists have endured numerous disputes dating back as far as 2006, after companies linked to tycoons Ly Yong Phat and Heng Huy established sugar plantations on community land,” the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or Licadho, said in a statement. “However, the activists’ efforts to protect their land have been continually met with authority-led harassment,” it said. Police threatened other community members who gathered in front of the provincial police station on June 30 after the arrests. They later prevented people from gathering in front of the provincial court. But on Tuesday, about 100 people were able to demonstrate in front of the provincial court to show support for the defendants, activists told Radio Free Asia. One defendants’ sentence was fully suspended, while the remaining nine intend to appeal, activists told RFA. Other recent decisions One of the defendants, Kert Nov, told RFA that she is worried about how her family will be affected if she is jailed. “I won’t accept the one-year jail conviction because I didn’t breach any law,” she said. “I will appeal the decision.” Radio Free Asia was unable to reach court spokesman Sou Sovannara and provincial Gov. Mithona Phuthong for comment on the sentences. Several other court decisions were issued this month related to Koh Kong land disputes. The Supreme Court on Aug. 4 upheld additional convictions of malicious denunciation and defamation against Det Huor, a representative of Koh Kong villagers who has led demonstrations in Phnom Penh. On Aug. 2, the provincial court found two women activists, Phav Nheung and Seng Lin, guilty of defamation and incitement to provoke chaos. Both were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and ordered to pay 40 million riel (approximately US$9,600) in compensation. In Koh Kong, hundreds of villagers have also accused Ly Yong Phat, a senator from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and casino tycoon with business interests in the province, and the Chinese-backed Union Development Group, UDG, of encroaching on their land. UDG is building a US$3.8 billion project that includes a seaport, resorts and casinos in Koh Kong. Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed.

World

Myanmar military kills 4 villagers in Sagaing region raid

Editor2 years ago02 mins

Junta troops killed four civilians in a raid on a village in Sagaing region’s Myinmu township, residents told RFA Tuesday. More than 40 soldiers took part in Monday’s raid on Ywar Thar Lay, burning down three of the village’s 50 homes. A resident, who didn’t want to be named for security reasons, told RFA a 30-year old man and three men in their 40s were shot dead by the troops. “They had crossed the Ayeyarwady river to escape the fighting,” the local said. “Four displaced people were killed and two were injured when the junta troops in Myinmu township raided Ywar Thar Lay village where those people were staying.” Locals said the column has now left the village but junta raids continue on the other side of the river in Mandalay region. On August 5, troops killed a 60-year-old man in Yae Lel Thaung, sending villagers fleeing across the Ayeyarwady, thinking it was safer in Myinmu township. The junta hasn’t released a statement on the fighting. RFA called the junta spokesperson for Sagaing region, Saw Naing and the spokesperson for Mandalay region, Thein Htay, but they did not answer. Nearly 4,000 civilians have been killed by the junta since it seized power in a February 2021 coup according to independent monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

Beaten in prison for marking Martyrs’ Day, two Burmese inmates die

Editor2 years ago2 years ago05 mins

Two Burmese political prisoners beaten by the ruling military junta’s prison authorities for participating in a ceremony marking Martyrs’ Day have died of their injuries, sources with knowledge of the situation said. They were among four inmates authorities physically assaulted in Tharrawaddy Prison in Bago region on July 19 for marking the national holiday. The holiday marks the memory of renowned fallen figures within Burma’s independence movement, including Gen. Aung San, father of deposed and jailed former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, seven other independence leaders, and one bodyguard who were gunned down by a group of armed men in uniform while holding a cabinet meeting in Yangon on July 19, 1947. The holiday is marked annually by both pro-democracy groups and the military junta, which seized control of the elected government in a February 2021 coup and later sentenced Suu Kyi to 33 years in prison following trials that rights groups have condemned as shams. The two inmates — Than Toe Aung, organizer of the National League for Democracy’s youth group in Yangon’s Thanlyin township, and Hla Soe from the town of Thone Sal in Bago’s Tharrawaddy (Tharyarwady) district — died after they were taken to the prison hospital, sources close to the prison told Ijreportika on Monday. The other two beaten inmates also received treatment in the prison hospital. They were among the inmates in the men’s section of the detention center who held a saluting ceremony and discussion to commemorate Martyrs’ Day, while female prisoners in the women’s section wore black ribbons. Solitary confinement Because of these activities, prison guards placed 16 male inmates and 15 females in solitary confinement. Four of them were severely tortured and had required medical treatment in prison since July 21. Prison authorities have not notified the victims’ families about their deaths, Nyo Tun, a former political prisoner and a friend of Than Toe Aung, told Ijreportika. “The news that the two political prisoners have died came from not just one source, but from two or three from the prison,” he said. Than Toe Aung, serving six years in prison for violating the Explosive Substances Act, died on Aug. 5 from severe head injuries. Hla Soe, serving 20 years for violating the Counter-terrorism Law, died on Aug. 8. Thaik Tun Oo of the Myanmar Political Prisoners Network said he was able to confirm the death of the two prisoners. Ijreportika could not reach the spokesman of Myanmar’s Prison Department for comment. Prison guards have allowed some of the female inmates who participated in commemorating the holiday to return to their cells, while the situation of the men’s section remains unknown, said people close to the prison. As of Aug. 14, more than 19,700 pro-democracy activists and civilians had been detained by authorities under the military junta since the February 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based rights group. Translated by Myo Min Aung for Ijreportika Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

Will US break APEC rules if Hong Kong leader barred from summit?

Editor2 years ago09 mins

Chinese authorities claimed that it would be a “violation of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) rules” if the United States bars Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu from attending the APEC leaders summit in San Francisco in November. The claim came after media reports that Washington plans to prohibit Lee from attending the meeting of 21 regional economies. But the claim is misleading. APEC guidelines state visiting delegates are responsible for arranging their visas if they require them. The Hong Kong leader is under sanctions that bar his entry into the U.S. In a report published on July 27, The Washington Post cited unnamed White House officials as saying that the U.S. has decided to bar Lee from participating in the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meetings (AELM) to be held in San Francisco from Nov. 15 to 17, 2023. In response to the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that refusing to invite Lee due to current U.S. sanctions against him was a mistake which “blatantly violates APEC rules and gravely contravenes the U.S. commitment as the host.” Lee currently cannot obtain any U.S. immigrant or non-immigrant visas due to an earlier U.S. presidential order and subsequent sanctions imposed on him and 10 other Hong Kong officials implicated in a 2020 government crackdown against democracy protestors. Hong Kong’s government pointed out in a separate statement that as the host of AELM, the U.S. had a basic responsibility to invite Hong Kong’s leader to the meeting. However the claim is misleading. Below is what AFCL discovered. Is the AELM host responsible for inviting the leaders of all APEC members? Yes. Article 4 of APEC’s guidelines for hosting meetings state that the host is supposed to send official invitations at least eight weeks in advance of the meeting, after deciding upon the meeting’s location and time. The guidelines also say: “APEC Leaders implicitly understand that they are invited to attend this meeting; the letter of invitation from the host economy’s leader is simply a formality.” But Matthew Goodman, a former National Security Council staff member who personally helped prepare for APEC meetings, told AFCL that APEC’s guidelines are neither related to international law nor legally binding. The explanation of rules concerning invitations and visa preparations for countries participating in APEC meetings. (Screenshots taken from APEC’s official website) Will invited representatives always be able to attend AELM? No. Section 12 of the guidelines states that all delegates invited to attend APEC meetings are responsible for arranging any required travel documents themselves. The section does not state that the host is required to issue them visas or waive policy or laws that would prohibit a person from entering its borders. “Given that the domestic laws of host countries must be respected, it isn’t right to claim that the U.S. is violating APEC’s rules,” Goodman says. What will happen to Lee? Unknown. A State Department spokesperson told AFCL that members of a foreign delegation must abide by U.S. laws and regulations when participating in APEC activities. “The U.S. will work with Russia and Hong Kong to ensure they participate in AELM ‘in an appropriate way’,” said the spokesperson without elaborating further. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in a similar situation to Lee as a result of U.S. sanctions put on him following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022. This means Both Lee and Putin would need to secure a special visa waiver from the U.S. in order to attend this year’s AELM in San Francisco. The APEC Secretariat has not responded to inquiries about Hong Kong and Russian leaders as of press time. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Office reiterated its earlier call on the U.S. to abide by APEC’s rules when inviting leaders to attend AELM. “Hong Kong will attend the APEC meeting in accordance with APEC rules, guidelines and practices,” the spokesperson told AFCL. APEC guidelines state that representatives can remotely attend AELM and other preparatory meetings leading up to the conference. Is there a history of a host refusing to invite APEC member economies to AELM? Yes – particularly in the case of APEC member Chinese Taipei, as Taiwan is referred to by the 21-member grouping. China strongly objects to Taiwan’s participation as it regards the island as part of China although Taiwan is self-governing. When China hosted AELM in 2001, it did not invite any Taiwanese representatives, despite then-Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian’s expressed desire to attend in person. South Korea, the host of AELM in 2016, also refused to invite then-President of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan Wang Jin-pyng to the meeting, requesting that Taiwan instead send an economic official rather than a political figure. Australia, which hosted AELM in 2007, rejected Tsai Ing-wen, who had just left her position as vice premier of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan, for similar reasons. Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian expressed regret and dissatisfaction over China’s refusal to allow Taiwan’s delegates to attend the APEC meeting (Screenshot taken from the official website of Taiwan’s Office of the President) Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mat Pennington. Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) is a new branch of RFA established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. Our journalists publish both daily and special reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of public issues.

China pumps up narrative of happy Uyghurs in Xinjiang among Pakistanis

Editor2 years ago010 mins

“Chinese Rahat Abdullah” has become a regular on Pakistani social media channels, YouTube and Facebook, wearing Atlas silk dresses, Pakistani clothing, or traditional Chinese outfits. Regarded as a Chinese internet star, she also sings in Urdu on local radio and cooks Uyghur dishes on Pakistani TV programs – though she refers to the dishes as Chinese food. Her sudden rise in popularity has raised questions among Uyghurs living in Pakistan about Beijing’s efforts to use local Uyghurs as pro-Chinese Communist Party propaganda tools to downplay the Chinese government’s horrific treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. China has come under harsh international criticism for its severe rights abuses against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, including forced labor. The U.S. government and several Western parliaments have declared that the abuses amount to genocide or crimes against humanity. Abdullah is believed to hail from the city of Ghulja – or Yining in Chinese – in Xinjiang. Information on Pakistani social media platforms says she earned a law degree in China and arrived in Pakistan in 2010. She has been known to teach Chinese at various universities in Pakistan and is portrayed in the videos as a messenger of friendship between China and the predominantly Muslim Pakistan. But Abdullah doesn’t mix with local Uyghurs, according to Omar Uyghur, the founder of a trust that provides assistance to Uyghur refugees in Pakistan. “She doesn’t come to the weddings or funerals,” he said. “Uyghurs don’t meet with her either. She spreads propaganda in the Pakistani media on how Uyghurs are living happily.” At a time when Uyghurs in Pakistan cannot freely return to Xinjiang and some Uyghur women married to Pakistanis are being detained by Chinese authorities in the region, Abdullah was able to visit Ghulja last June. During her visit, she participated in a wedding and recorded Uyghur songs and dances there, later posting them on Facebook and other social media platforms to give her Pakistani followers the impression that Uyghurs live happy lives. In June 2023, Rahat Abdullah visited Ghulja in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, where she recorded Uyghur songs and dances to give her Pakistani followers the impression that Uyghurs live happy lives. Credit: Screenshot from Rahat Abdullah Facebook Television host and actress Until recently, Abdullah had about 10 social media followers, but her follower count has climbed to more than 40,000, largely due to her appearances on Pakistani TV. She recently became a host of the “Ni Hao” program – Mandarin for “Hello” – on Pakistan’s Kay2 TV, a channel that has received investment from China. She also has portrayed a Pakistani woman married to a Chinese man in a TV series that highlights the friendship between China and Pakistan. On June 4, Abdullah sang a Pakistani folk song on an Eid al-Adha TV program in Islamabad while wearing a traditional Uyghur Atlas dress and introducing herself as “Chinese Rahat Abdullah.” Photos on her social media accounts indicate that she has had connections with the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and other Chinese organizations there since 2017. Abdullah, who is relatively unfamiliar to Uyghurs but is gaining popularity through local broadcasts in Pakistan, did not respond to Radio Free Asia’s requests for comment via messages sent to her social media accounts. Other efforts with Pakistanis Abdullah’s new notoriety comes as China and Pakistan have strengthened ties across various sectors in recent years, and as Beijing has invited some influential Pakistanis on trips to Xinjiang. On July 18, Ma Xingrui, Communist Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and Xinjiang government chairman Erkin Tuniyaz welcomed a delegation of Pakistani scholars in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital. During the meeting, Ma told his guests that they have created a free and happy living environment for the people of Xinjiang. He also criticized Western countries that have followed the lead of the United States in condemning China for human rights violations. Alleged atrocities against the Uyghurs have included detention in “re-education” camps and prisons, torture, sexual assaults and forced labor. Qibla Ayaz, chairman of Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology and leader of the visiting delegation, affirmed the participants’ unwavering support for China and expressed admiration for the progress in Xinjiang’s development and the peaceful lives of its Muslim population. The participants also expressed hopes for creating closer connections with Xinjiang through the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, a 3,000-kilometer Chinese infrastructure network project under the Belt and Road Initiative to secure and reduce travel time for China’s Middle East energy imports. Pakistani student Muhammad Usman Asad holds the flag of East Turkestan, Uyghurs’ preferred name for Xinjiang, in front of a billboard announcing a Dragon Boat Festival event at the National University of Sciences & Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan, June 10, 2022. Credit: Mumahhad Usman Asad An ineffective measure Some Pakistanis have expressed growing concern that their government has remained silent about the abuses in Xinjiang. Pakistani scholar Muhammad Usman Asad, who has spoken out on behalf of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, said when China invites Pakistani religious scholars to tour Xinjiang, news about their visits always appears on Chinese social media, but not in the Pakistani media. “These so-called religious scholars are not the kind of scholars that the Muslim masses in Pakistan would listen to,” said Asad, who staged a solitary sit-in in Islamabad in June 2022 to protest China’s repressive policies against Uyghurs. “They are only pro-government and government-sponsored Islamist organizations, so their false propaganda about China will have little effect.” Nonetheless, China is extending its attempts to sanitize its image, Asad said, following heavy criticism from Western nations about the government’s brutal treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang. “Just as China’s campaign to improve its image through the religious sphere has been ineffective, its campaign in Pakistan through English-speaking Chinese or Pakistani internet stars has been equally ineffective,” he said. Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matthew Reed.

Expanding settlement prompts rise in croc attacks in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwaddy Delta

Editor2 years ago011 mins

Ko Min was making his way across a creek near his home where he regularly goes to catch crabs when he suddenly felt himself grabbed and pulled under water. “At first I thought I’d been hit by a log until I touched it and realized that it was a crocodile,” said the 20-year-old from Myanmar’s Ayeyarwaddy region. “It dragged me deep into the water and rolled me over and over, before smashing me against the riverbed.” Recounting the attack of just over a year ago, Ko Min said that while he could barely swim because he was wearing boots and clothing, he managed to fight off the crocodile and escape. “I was able to hit it with the crab hammer I had in my hands and run away up onto the shore,” he said. Ko Min was taken by fellow residents of Bogale township’s Baw Ga Wa Di village to nearby Ka Don Ka Ni Village District Hospital, where he was treated for severe wounds to his thigh and pelvis. Doctors told the young man he was lucky to survive. The incident highlights the dangers associated with settlement expansion in southwestern Myanmar, where people and wild animals are coming into increasing contact with one another in their search for food. Others have been less fortunate in attacks that residents of Bogale township say are increasingly common as endangered fresh and saltwater crocodiles of up to 5.5 meters (18 feet) in length spread out from their habitat in the Mein Ma Hla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary some 30 kilometers (18 miles) downstream and villagers expand their farmland. The 500-square-kilometer (190-square-mile) protected area is an mangrove-covered island that is home to diverse wildlife situated in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, where the Bogale River empties out into the Andaman Sea. At least two people from Baw Ga Wa Di village have died in crocodile attacks in the last year alone, while others say they have had to fight for their lives to escape the encounters. Call for authorities to act Khin Pa Pa Hlaing said her husband, Ye Naung Tun, was killed by a large crocodile while removing a fishing net from the water near their village on July 27. The 29-year-old has a four-year-old daughter and became a father for a second time, just a month ago. Khin Pa Pa Hlaing told RFA that local officials have done nothing to help her family since Ye Naung Tun died, but she said she isn’t interested in financial assistance. “What I want is for them to catch and kill the crocodile that killed my husband – that will satisfy me,” she said. “I don’t want these crocodiles swimming free. I don’t want to hear of other people who met the same fate as my family, nor do I want to experience it again … I don’t want anybody to suffer like me.” A 13-year-old girl from Baw Ga Wa Di named Sapal Aye was also killed in a crocodile attack in the past year. U Myint, a member of Sapal Aye’s family, told RFA the young girl was a “good student” who was attacked while “fetching water from the river to wash her clothes and to cook.” Authorities provided Sapal Aye’s family 300,000 kyats (US$142) in compensation for her death. In the coastal villages of Bogale township, people are killed every year in crocodile attacks. In addition to the two Baw Ga Wa Di villagers in the past year, a child from the village was killed by a crocodile four years ago, prompting authorities to put up signs warning residents not to enter the water. Nonetheless, a man from Baw Ga Wa Di named Thant Zaw Oo was attacked by a crocodile in the past year, while residents of nearby Hlay Lone Kwe village have had to be hospitalized recently due to crocodile attacks. Fresh and saltwater crocodiles are protected by Myanmar’s Forestry Department, and killing them is prohibited. A wild crocodile lies on a stream bank in a village in Bogale, Myanmar, Feb. 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist Out of respect for the ban, Baw Ga Wa Di Village Chief Soe Khaing has called on officials to act. He said that while he informed local police about Ye Naung Tun’s death, they did not inform the Forestry Department about the incident. “The people are afraid that they will have to go to jail if they [take action to] defend themselves against the crocodiles,” he said. “Even though [authorities] have put up a sign warning villagers not to go into the water, the people will starve if they don’t. We use the water to earn a living. What we want is for the authorities to drive the crocodiles away.” Attempts by RFA to contact Ayeyarwady Region Social Affairs Minister Maung Maung Than for this report regarding the conservation of crocodiles in Bogale township went unanswered. Need for buffer zones, awareness A high-ranking official with the Environmental Conservation Department told RFA that incidents involving crocodiles and humans in Bogale township are on the rise because village populations are growing and inhabitants are clearing the mangrove forests and swamp land to farm. “As a consequence, crocodiles have fewer places to live and their need for food has grown as well,” said the official, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns. “An undeveloped country like Myanmar cannot sufficiently create space for animals to safely coexist with people, as in developed countries, so incidents like these continue to occur.” The official said that while the crocodiles involved in attacks were likely looking for food, “they don’t intend to eat people.” He called for an expansion of conservation areas for the crocodiles, as well as “buffer zones” that people cannot enter and an increase in awareness efforts. An expert working on wildlife conservation in Myanmar noted that because crocodiles are protected, their number will only increase, creating a need for blocking off areas from human access beyond the Mein Ma Hla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary. “Everyone knows that…

Category: World