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Junta helicopter shot down by anti-junta force in northern Myanmar

Editor04 mins

A junta helicopter has been shot down in Waingmaw township of Myanmar’s northern Kachin State by an anti-junta Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, on Wednesday afternoon, according to a KIA spokesperson. The helicopter was leaving the township after delivering supplies to the Nar Hpawt junta military camp in the area before it was shot down, and the KIA is currently investigating further details, Col. Naw Bu, KIA’s information officer, told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.  “I can confirm that the helicopter has crashed, and it was our front line that fired upon it. But it is not fully known whether it crashed due to a technical defect or our attack,” said Naw Bu.  “Now the reports from the ground said that the junta council’s jets are hovering around the site where the helicopter crashed. And the locals said that air strikes are being conducted near the location.” The specifics regarding the type of helicopter that crashed, the number of people on board, and any casualties are still unknown, Naw Bu added.  Local residents in nearby village Nam Sang Yang told RFA that they witnessed a military helicopter descending slowly in an upside-down position, while emitting smoke. One resident said that he observed a military helicopter plummeting in a burst of smoke near Nam Sang Yang village, shortly before noon on Wednesday. “It [the helicopter] was shot at around 11.50 a.m. Two helicopters came to drop supplies and one was hit when it took off after completing the delivery. It crashed near a hill not far from Nam Sang Yang village,” said the resident.  Junta’s Nar Hpawt camp is located in the area under the control of the KIA Brigade(5), which is defending KIA’s headquarters in nearby Laizar city. RFA was unable to reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comments about the helicopter. According to weapons experts, the Myanmar Air Force is utilizing Russian-made military helicopters for both transport and combat purposes.  Activists group Justice For Myanmar revealed that Sky Aviator Company Limited, known for its ties to the military leadership, acquired these helicopters from Russia in 2019. Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.

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Thai cannabis drinks find their way to Lao markets

Editor08 mins

Thailand’s easing of laws governing the sale of marijuana last year has led to a proliferation of cannabis products on the market, some of which are ending up in stores in neighboring Laos, where authorities aren’t laughing. In June 2022, Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize marijuana, prompting a proliferation of related shops across the nation where the drug has always been easy to access, but with the risk of stiff penalties. Among the more popular products being offered for sale in Thailand are so-called “happy drinks,” or juice and carbonated beverages that under the new law may contain a relatively low dose of up to 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC – the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.  The drug, which can produce a sense of relaxation and euphoria, was previously only available for medical use to alleviate a variety of conditions, including stress and depression. But the new market that has sprung up in Thailand is an exception in Southeast Asia where, in most other countries, the use of cannabis and other drugs is illegal and punishable with lengthy jail terms. Some nations, such as Indonesia and Singapore, execute criminals convicted of sale, possession or consumption. In neighboring Laos, laws prohibit the production, trade and use of cannabis for recreational purposes. A police officer in the capital Vientiane, separated by the Mekong River from Thailand’s Nong Khai province, confirmed to RFA that only cannabis products “authorized by the Lao Ministry of Health to be used for medical purposes” are permitted for sale in the country. “The sale of cannabis is prohibited,” said the officer who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “We regularly inspect shops and stores, and if we see it, we’ll confiscate it.” But residents told RFA that has not stopped happy drinks produced in Thailand from finding their way across the border and onto the shelves of stores in the capital. One resident of Vientiane told RFA Lao that happy drinks are now on offer at minimarts along the Mekong River – if one knows where to look. “In Laos, the sale of this kind of drink is not legal yet,” he said. “Some individuals sell the drink secretly and if they’re caught, they’ll be arrested.” Another resident of Vientiane, who researches how cannabis can be used for medical purposes, confirmed the availability of the drinks in the city. “This is a new drink and consumers must be careful,” he said. “It’s available but prohibited by law.” RFA’s own investigations found happy drinks openly sold at several markets in the capital, including a brand produced by Thai beverage company Srinanaporn Marketing PLC that is marketed as “fruit juice with cannabis water.” It comes in flavors such as mixed berry, pineapple, lychee and lime. Growing demand among youth But while the beverages are increasingly available in Laos, several business owners told RFA that smuggling them into the country isn’t worth the trouble, citing tough laws and a clientele largely uninterested in such products. “I don’t know whether other stores have cannabis juice, but we don’t,” said one store owner in Vientiane. “We don’t import it because it’s against the law.” A bartender at a nightclub in the capital told RFA that his establishment “serves only beer.” “Unlike Thailand, Laos still bans cannabis,” he said. “Besides, the fruit drink containing cannabis juice is not popular among Laotians yet.” They appear to be gaining fashion among members of the country’s younger generation, however. An officer with Vientiane’s Saysettha District Police Department told RFA that happy drinks containing cannabis and other banned ingredients “are popular among youngsters,” who drink them to “have fun and dance.” One such drink contains kratom – an herbal substance that can produce stimulant-like effects and is also legal in Thailand. Oulayvanh Phonesavanh, the deputy head of the emergency department at Vientiane’s Friendship Hospital, recently told local media that around five patients are admitted to her ward each day due to kratom juice poisoning – most of whom are between the ages of 16 and 35. A young man from Vientiane’s Pak Gneum district said that, despite the risks, happy drinks aren’t going away any time soon. “As their name implies, happy drinks are often drunk at parties,” he said. “Those who drink them can expect to be happy, excited and having fun all night.” Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

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‘End of junta is near’ amid mass surrenders: Myanmar’s shadow govt

Editor04 mins

The end of the junta is near amid mass desertions and surrenders of junta troops, said Myanmar’s shadow government on Monday.  “We have seen the mass deserting and surrender of the military council soldiers unprecedented in military history … Looking at these, it can be said that the end of the [junta] military council is near,” said Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG) during his new year’s address.  “Junta troops are facing the situation where its soldiers are either surrendering or being captured in battles on a daily basis,” said the interim leader, adding that 550 military junta soldiers have surrendered during Operation 1027 by the anti-junta Three Northern Brotherhood Alliance. He also cited a statement by the Karen National Union, or KNU, as saying that more than 18,000 military council soldiers have been killed in the KNU-controlled areas since the coup.  The acting president’s speech came a few days after an intense battle between the anti-junta Arakan Army (AA) and junta troops in Paletwa township, Chin state, on Dec. 29, 2023. As a result of the battle, more than 80 military junta soldiers crossed the border and fled to India’s Mizoram state, according to Paletwa residents. India-based the United News of India (UNI) reported on the same day that 83 junta soldiers entered Tuisenlang village on the Mizoram-Myanmar border.  UNI stated that the junta soldiers would be sent back to Myanmar, noting that there were four instances in November and December last year when junta soldiers escaped to the Indian state of Mizoram. Junta troops who fled to India’s Mizoram state on Dec. 29, 2023 (Citizen Journalist) A Paletwa resident who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals told Radio Free Asia last Thursday that the military council troops had fled to the Mizoram side, fully armed. The resident added, however, he could not confirm whether the junta soldiers were repatriated to Myanmar.  As of Tuesday, the junta’s military council has not commented on the soldiers who fled to India.  Aung Cho, junta council’s spokesman for Chin state and Chin state’s secretary, by phone, has also not responded to RFA’s inquiries.  Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.

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An uncensored history of modern China

Editor09 mins

A partly anonymous team of journalists and historians is setting up an archive of uncensored historical material to allow the Chinese people to “reclaim their history” from the ruling Communist Party’s official narrative, according to its founder. The China Unofficial Archive, founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former China correspondent Ian Johnson, is “dedicated to making accessible the key documents, films, blogs, and publications of a movement of Chinese people seeking to reclaim their country’s history” since the Communists took over in 1949. It includes books, films and documentary records from key points in China’s recent history, including the Great Famine of the late 1950s to early 1960s under late supreme leader Mao Zedong, memoirs of the political turmoil of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution and former Beijing Mayor Chen Xitong’s personal account of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. “We believe that public domain books, magazines, and films should be widely available, and that there is an inherent value in making different voices heard,” the bilingual Archive’s About section reads. The non-profit archive was co-created and is co-maintained by Chinese journalist Jiang Xue and others “who prefer to remain anonymous,” it says. Johnson, whose recent book “Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future” portrays the same people his archive hopes to serve, told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview he hopes that more Chinese people will gain access to materials through the archive that are unavailable in China due to government censorship. “I noticed talking to a lot of people that … although there’s a lot more information possible to share in China, like people emailing PDFs and that sort of thing … it was sometimes difficult to find more information,” Johnson said. “Somebody might send you a book about a topic, but it would be difficult to find other books on the topic or other authors on the topic.” Providing access Currently, the archive has a backlog of around 175 films that are currently being digitized that have yet to appear on the site, which Johnson said is around “75% or 80%” focused on people still living under censorship, with the remainder aimed at non-Chinese overseas. Johnson had the idea to set up a “clearing house” for useful historical research material for those who lack access to big research libraries in major universities like Harvard. “My primary goal was to help people who are doing this kind of research to simply have access to existing materials, all the books and the documentary films, etc,” he said. Ian Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former China correspondent, is the founder of the China Unofficial Archive. (Cai Yaozheng) Johnson was careful to note that he doesn’t endorse any of the material on his site as better or more truthful than any other material. “We have chosen these titles because we think that they’re useful and important,” he said. “But we aren’t saying necessarily that we agree with everything written by this author or that sort of thing, so in that sense, it is a bit like a library.” “We think there’s maybe an inherent value in a better flow of information,” he said, adding that the website aims to serve the needs of ordinary people and “citizen historians.” The site is unlikely to be accessible to internet users behind the Great Firewall of government censorship in China unless they employ special tools to get around government blocks and filters. “That’s to be expected,” Johnson said. “We’re looking to reach the people who are trying to research and, and write their country’s history.” “The raw numbers of people is small, but I think they can also be influential people in the long run,” he said. ‘Just the beginning’ The archive has plans to keep on adding new resources from what Johnson termed “a huge amount of potential material.” “What we’ve put on the site right now is just the beginning,” he said.  Not everything is eligible, either. Johnson and his team will steer clear of posting any book that is currently still on sale, although they plan to post an entry signposting readers to publishers and bookstores in the case of some publications. Books that are still readily available in libraries around the world are unlikely to get a spot, whether they’re on sale or not. But books that are out of print, or whose publishers have been shut down, or have been banned from sale will be made available, according to Johnson. “We don’t want to hurt [anyone’s] ability to earn a living,” he said. Even with that content ruled out, there is plenty of new material being published by what Johnson described as “an amazing explosion” of citizen historians in the past two decades in China. “Sometimes in Hong Kong, sometimes just as a PDF, sometimes they make a film and put it on YouTube or some other place like that,” he said. “I don’t think many people, certainly outside of China, realize how much has been done about that.” “It’s remarkable that it’s primarily written by Chinese people inside China under often difficult conditions and without the benefits of being a professor at a big university and a budget and graduate students to help you do all the dirty work, right?” “These are people often working on their own and under quite difficult circumstances,” Johnson said. “And so I thought it was an important trend that needed some highlighting and in this way by putting it all together.” “It shows the scope of this movement.” Edited by Luisetta Mudie and Malcolm Foster.

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Women and children suffer amid Myanmar’s civil war

Editor011 mins

As Myanmar’s civil war approaches its third year, intensified fighting across the country this year between ruling junta forces and resistance fighters has destroyed villages and parts of towns, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, most of whom are women and children.  The number of internally displaced persons, or IDPs, reached more than 1 million this year, nearly 11,000 of whom fled to neighboring India and Thailand, according to a United Nations report. “The lives and properties of our people were destroyed,” said Zin Mar Aung, foreign affairs minister under the parallel National Unity Government, noting the junta’s burning of villages, air strikes targeting civilians and mass killings. At least 330 women died this year as a result of attacks by junta forces amid the escalation of armed conflict, said Tin Tin Nyo, general secretary of the Women’s League of Burma. “The number of civilian casualties increased due to artillery attacks and air strikes,” she told Radio Free Asia. “Most of the victims were women, children and the elderly.” A woman killed by an artillery shell fired by Myanmar junta forces is carried by rescuers in Noe Koe village in Kayah state’s Loikaw township, Aug. 31, 2023. (Karenni Human Rights Group) Since the end of October, the number of internally displaced persons also increased, with most being women and children, Tin Tin Nyo said.  “After a country falls under the rule of dictators, it loses the rule of law and justice,” she said, adding that her organization has seen an uptick in gender-based violence, abuse by husbands amid economic decline, and a growing number sex workers.  “These are both visible and invisible challenges,” said the women’s rights advocate. “2023 was full of severe hardship for women.” ‘Lost hope’ Yu Yu, a woman who fled amid armed clashes in eastern Myanmar’s Kayah state, said she has suffered trauma as an IDP. “We are surviving on the food of donors as we have no jobs,” she said. “We have lost hope.” Women who left their jobs to join the Civil Disobedience Movement, or CDM, to resist the military rule following the February 2021 coup say they’ve had difficulties making ends meet while caring for children or aging parents. “My father is 80 years old, my mother is also elderly, [and] they are not in good health,” said Khin May, who used to teach at a private high school in Bago region but quit to join the CDM. “It is very difficult for us while I have no job,” she said, adding that she believes the resistance forces will triumph over the junta in 2024.  Hla Win, who lost her leg to a landmine, walks with crutches at a camp for internally displaced people near Myanmar’s Pekon township, July 29, 2023. (AFP) Children have suffered amid the civil war as well, and more than 560 have died since the military seized control from the civilian-led government in the February 2021 coup, according to Aung Myo Min, the NUG’s human rights minister. Since Dec. 21, four children between the ages of 8 and 11 were killed in Rakhine state’s Mrauk-U township, a 9-year-old child was killed in Namtu in northern Shan state, and a seven-year-old girl died in an attack by junta troops in Sagaing region’s Paungbyin township, according to figures compiled by RFA. “This is a war crime,” said Aung Myo Min. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to protect children at all times, but we have seen almost every day that killings are taking place where there are children as they sleep alongside their families, as well as the deaths of pregnant mothers.” Utter despair The death of children are often directly linked to women dying mid the fighting, said Thandar, head of gender equality and women’s development under the NUG’s Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs. “For example, in Sagaing and Magway regions, grown men are performing revolutionary duties, while the women, the elderly and vulnerable groups like children are fleeing together,” she said. “So, if women are hit, children are hit, too.” According to Shan Human Rights Foundation based in Thailand, 28 children were killed due to the junta’s attacks from Oct. 27 to Dec. 27 during the the Three Brotherhood Alliance rebel offensive that has put junta forces back on their heels. People flee a village after renewed fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army in Pauktaw township in western Rakhine state, Nov. 19, 2023. (AFP) Air- and land-based artillery strikes are the most common cause of death, and children are among the mass casualties when such attacks occur, death counts indicate. On Apr. 19, nearly 20 children under the age of 18 were killed in an air strike during a gathering in Pa Zi Gyi village in Sagaing region’s Kanbalu township. Eleven others died during an attack on Mon Laik IDP camp near the headquarters of an ethnic army in the town of Laiza in Kachin state on Oct. 9.  And eight more children were killed during an aerial bombardment of Vuilu village in Matupi township in western Myanmar’s Chin state on Nov. 15. Roi Ji, 40, told RFA that she was in utter despair because all five of her children died in the attack on the Mon Laik IDP camp. “I can’t think about anything anymore,” she said. “I’m in a state of derangement.” Precarious futures Children who live in war-torn areas no longer have access to schools or adequate nutrition, and face bleak futures. Nwe Nwe Moe, a former teacher at Shwebo Technical College who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement and has since become a member of Yinmarbin-Salingyi multi-village strike committee in Sagaing region, said she dare not think about the future of the children living among the chaos of war. “I’m concerned about whether the children will be able to develop into capable young people because there is no safety, no access to study, health care, or nutritious food for them,” she said. “I have a sinking feeling about those who are in life-threatening and emotionally insecure situations.” People…

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Ethnic armies’ ‘Operation 1027’ put Myanmar junta on defensive in 2023

Editor010 mins

Myanmar’s ethnic armed organizations and other resistance groups made significant gains against the country’s military dictatorship in 2023. “Operation 1027,” launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance in northern Shan state in October, was a surprising success. Along with the efforts of local People’s Defense Forces, or PDFs, and ethnic armed groups in Kayah, Kayin, Chin, and Kachin states, anti-junta forces put the ruling military junta on the defensive.  The junta lost hundreds of outposts as rebel forces captured towns and several key border crossings in November and December, suggesting the tide could be turning in the country’s civil war that erupted after the military overthrew a democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup d’etat “The military council suffered great losses in 2023, while the people’s revolution has stepped forward gradually,” said Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG. “It is the victory of the people.” The number of junta troops surrendering to resistance forces increased after Operation 1027 began.    People’s Liberation Army forces from China fight Myanmar junta army troops near northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region, Nov. 23, 2023. (Reuters)     On Oct. 30, more than 40 members of Light Infantry Battalion 143 in Kunlong township, northern Shan state, surrendered to the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. A day later, the military junta’s 15 local militia members laid down their weapons and turned over their arms and ammunition. Reports of junta units submitting to resistance forces have continued over the last two months. “Many have contacted us to surrender,” said Maung Maung Swe, spokesman for the NUG’s Ministry of Defense. “If we can have more collaborative fights, the military council will soon topple.” Junta troops have lost motivation and confidence in their fighting ability because of Operation 1027, political observer Than Soe Naing said.  “They have realized they should not sacrifice their lives for corrupt senior military officials,” he said. “They will surrender if they are defeated, and will flee from the military if they have an opportunity. It’s become a common idea among soldiers.” We were unable to reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment about junta forces surrendering.  Local administrations Ethnic armies and officials from the NUG, which is mostly made up of former civilian government leaders, have been setting up interim administrative bodies in areas they control.  In other areas of the country, resistance leaders have started to think about what Myanmar would look like if the junta was defeated.  In Sagaing region, a hotbed of resistance to military rule that saw a resurgence of anti-junta protests in 2023, more than 170 resistance forces held a forum on May 30-31 to discuss the armed revolt and local administration.   Ta’ang National Liberation Army troops prepare to launch a drone during their attack on a Myanmar junta military camp in Namhsan township in Myanmar’s northern Shan state, Dec. 12, 2023. (AFP)      “The forum was held to continue the revolution collaboratively as it has been for more than two years,” Sagaing Forum spokesman Chaw Su San said. “It also aims to forge more cooperation among anti-military dictatorship forces in Sagaing region.” On Nov. 17, democratically elected representatives from Sagaing, Tanintharyi and Magway regions convened regional parliaments and approved a preparatory bill for an interim constitution, supported by the dissolved National League for Democracy. But revolutionary groups objected to the measure, saying they wanted to ensure equal rights for negotiation, participation and collective leadership by all resistance groups, said Soe Win Swe, another Sagaing Forum spokesman. “We concluded that the recent approval was intended just for the interest of a single organization, so we objected to it,” he said. “The Sagaing Forum firmly stands on collective leadership.” Draft constitutions In western Myanmar, armed ethnic Chin groups have also gone on the offensive since October. “Our resistance forces could capture only four or five military outposts in the past two and half years,” said Salai Timmy, the secretary of the Chinland Joint Defense Committee.  “However, after launching Operation 1027, we controlled about nine outposts,” he said. “Meanwhile, the military troops abandoned about 12 camps.” The Chin National Front, an ethnic Chin political organization whose armed wing has battled junta forces, along with local administration organizations, established Chinland — Chin state’s new name – following the approval of a new constitution on Dec. 6. The Chinland Council, the new governing body, will form a legislature, an administration and a judiciary branch within 60 days, said Salai Htet Ni, first joint secretary of the council.    Members of the Myanmar Army’s Light Infantry Battalion 129 surrender to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in northern Shan state, Nov. 12, 2023. (Three Brotherhood Alliance)      In eastern Myanmar, ethnic Karenni forces launched Operation 11.11 — their own version of Operation 1027 — in November, seizing at least nine military outposts in Kayah state, said Khun Bedu, chairman of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force. “The junta soldiers abandoned their camps,” he said. “We are moving on to capture more outposts.” Resistance forces in Kayah state set up an Interim Executive Council, or IEC, on June 12, putting in place local administrations at village, village-tract and township levels, IEC General Secretary Khu Plue Reh said. NUG is working with the IEC without intervening in administrative procedures, he said. “We also work together to provide public services especially in education, health care and humanitarian assistance,” he said. With its own public support, the establishment of the IEC could be an initial step toward the establishment of a federal union in Myanmar — a long-running goal of ethnic political organizations and their respective ethnic armies. In adjacent Kayin state, the Karen National Union, or KNU, battled junta troops, while providing training to local PDFs.  The KNU’s Karen National Liberation Army and PDF forces took control of Mon township in early December — the first town captured in Bago region. Resistance forces…

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Relatives say imprisoned Vietnamese journalist’s health declining

Editor05 mins

A Vietnamese journalist who is serving an 11-year prison sentence told family members that his health has declined to the point that he can no longer consume food without vomiting, a relative told Radio Free Asia. Le Huu Minh Tuan, a member of the Vietnam Independent Journalists’ Association, was arrested in 2020 on a charge of “conducting propaganda against the state.” He’s now serving an 11-year term at Xuyen Moc Prison in southern Vietnam’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. Tuan, 34, said during a visit on Tuesday that “he is too weak to bear any more” and that he “cannot hold on” much longer, according to the relative, who wished to remain anonymous. Tuan has had digestive issues since late last year and has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and hepatitis by a medical officer at the prison. He contracted scabies in mid-2023, and that has now spread to his whole body, according to the relative.   Although his family has sent medication several times, he has not been allowed to receive them and can only take medicine provided by the prison, the relative said.  Tuan received a cursory examination at a local hospital in November, according to the relative.  On Tuesday, family members could only see Tuan through a thick glass partition and were allowed to talk to him only via telephone. He was able to walk by himself but moved slowly.  “He has only bone and skin left now, very pale. He could not consume anything because his body could not digest food. He just drank milk and thin porridge,” the relative said. ‘His life quite clearly depends on it’ Tuan is a former editor of the Vietnam Times online newspaper and a member of the Vietnam Independent Journalists’ Association, which fought for press freedom in Vietnam but was not recognized by the Communist-led government. Tuan was prosecuted alongside Pham Chi Dung, the association’s president, and Nguyen Tuong Thuy, a blogger for RFA and the association’s vice president. Dung was given a 15-year prison term, while Thuy was sentenced to 11 years. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, called on the government to immediately release Tuan. “Since Vietnam’s prisons provide virtually no health services to start with, Le Huu Minh Tuan should be immediately and unconditionally released so that his family can get him the support and medical care that he urgently needs,” he told RFA. “There should be no excuses, his life quite clearly depends on it.” Many international organizations, including Amnesty International, have criticized Vietnam for its inhumane treatment of prisoners of conscience and for holding them in harsh conditions with malnutrition and poor medical care. Family members have sent an urgent petition to the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Prison Management and to Xuyen Moc Prison with a request to give Tuan proper treatment and a thorough examination at a hospital. RFA’s calls to Xuyen Moc Prison and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provincial People’s Procuracy to verify information went unanswered. Translated by Anna Vu for RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Matt Reed and Roseanne Gerin.

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Junta raid kills 10 Rohingyas, injures 17 in Myanmar’s Rakhine state

Editor07 mins

Ten Rohingyas were killed and another 17 injured in the Buthidaung and Mrauk-U townships in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, as a result of airstrikes by the junta on Thursday, local residents told RFA Burmese on Friday. At around 9 p.m. on Thursday night, heavy artillery fired from a junta camp struck Zay Di Taung village in Buthidaung township. The attack resulted in the loss of six family members, including three Rohingya children who were at home asleep, and left another member of the family critically injured, according to the residents. The casualties included Zafaul, a 60-year-old man; Ansaula, a 19-year-old man; Sotyod Ahmed, a 5-year-old boy; Norol Ahmed, a 3-year-old boy; Halayar, an 11-year-old boy; and Tausmi Nara, a 20-year-old woman. “Three heavy weapons fell into the village on Thursday night. One [of three] fell directly on the houses. All six members of the family who were sleeping in the house died and it was also burned down,” a Rohingya resident of Zay Di Taung village, who wished to remain anonymous for his security reasons, told RFA Burmese Friday.  “So the bodies were also burnt. The other one was injured while trying to evacuate,” said the resident, adding that the heavy artillery was fired by the junta camp at Thone Se Ta Bon Zay Di hill in Buthidaung township. Rohingyas are fleeing due to battles in Mrauk-U’s Myaung Bway village on Dec. 28. (AK/Citizen journalist) Locals said that there are more than 60 households with more than 300 population in the Rohingya-dominant Zay Di Taung village.  Despite the pervasive fear among villagers caused by the casualties from the conflict, Rohingya Muslims remain restricted from moving freely, even within Rakhine state. Consequently, they are compelled to stay in their village, lacking any refuge to flee to in times of danger. Zay Di Taung village is not alone. Four Rohingya were killed and 16 others were injured in junta’s Thursday airstrikes on Rohingya villages, including Kaing Taw, Bu Ta Lone and Baung Dut villages in Mrauk-U township, according to the locals. The junta raid came after anti-junta force Arakan Army (AA) attacked the Myaung Bway, also known as Myaung Bway Chay, Police Station in Mrauk-U township on Thursday, a resident, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told RFA Burmese on Friday.  “The AA attacked the Myaung Bway Police Station on Thursday. Then the junta army attacked with heavy artillery and airstrikes, causing casualties when the nearby villages were also shot. The homes were also burned down. The junta opened fire from the side of Mrauk-U and Minbya, and shot them with jets,” the resident said.  The AA claimed on Thursday that the junta attacks were “deliberately” carried out.  The junta said in a Friday statement that no air strike had been carried out on Mrauk-U’s Myaung Bway village and surrounding area on Thursady.  It also claimed that when the AA used the drone to attack the Myaung Bway police station from a distance, the junta security forces used anti-drone weapons, or jammers, which made drone bombs fall near the surrounding villages. The statement made no mention of the death of Rohingyas in Buthidaung township’s Zay Di Taung village. Rohingyas are fleeing due to battles in Mrauk-U’s Myaung Bway village on Dec. 28. (AK/Citizen journalist) Based on records gathered by RFA, 40 civilians lost their lives and over a hundred were wounded during the clashes between the AA and the military junta, which reignited for over a month from Nov. 13 to Dec. 29. Following the military clearance operations and assaults in 2017, over 700,000 Rohingyas from Northern Rakhine sought refuge in Bangladesh. Presently, over a million Rohingyas are residing in refugee camps along the Bangladesh border, as reported by the United Nations and various international organizations. It is said that about 1.4 million Rohingyas still remain in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, and these Rohingyas are enduring food scarcity and severe limitations in Myanmar, while also grappling with criminal activities and gang violence in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Consequently, they are taking perilous sea journeys to reach Indonesia or Malaysia. Since last November, over 1,500 Rohingyas have reached Indonesia’s Aceh province by boat. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has pledged temporary aid for these Rohingya refugees, yet there is resistance from the local population. This situation has raised alarms among human rights groups. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.

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Disinformation campaign spurred student attack on Rohingya shelter, Indonesian activists say

Editor010 mins

Human rights activists and some observers on Thursday alleged that university students who stormed a Rohingya shelter in Aceh province the day before had been influenced by an “organized” disinformation campaign, which some even linked to the upcoming general election.  Their comments came amid a flood of condemnation of the “inhumane” incident, which resulted in the students forcing the 137 terrified refugees in Banda Aceh, mostly women and children, into trucks to another location. The Rohingya will now be guarded by security forces, a top minister said Thursday. Observers noted that the mob action on Wednesday – which was captured on video and widely circulated – was not typical of student protests in Aceh.  Hendra Saputra, the project coordinator of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Indonesia, an NGO in Aceh, said he suspected that Wednesday’s incident was not spontaneous, but “organized and systematic.” He told BenarNews that the students were influenced by social media posts that spread hate and misinformation about the Rohingya. “[The posts] also accused the refugees of taking their food and land, and of sexual harassment and other bad behavior. But these are all false accusations,” he said, adding that no evidence was presented to substantiate the claims.  Besides, the refugees couldn’t be a burden because the government is not spending money on them, Hendra said. “There’s no government budget allocated for refugee management,” he said. A Rohingya woman reacts as she is relocated from her temporary shelter following a protest demanding the deportation of the refugees, Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Dec. 27, 2023. [Riska Munawarah/Reuters] Aceh, a predominantly Muslim province that has special autonomy status in Indonesia, has a history of welcoming the Rohingya refugees, who are also Muslim.  However, as more than 1,500 Rohingya have arrived since mid-November, the province’s villagers have been demanding they be sent back, claiming there weren’t enough resources for the refugees as well. Those demands grew to small protests, which on Wednesday escalated to the student mob charging into the Rohingya shelter, kicking their belongings and creating mayhem, as many of the refugees sobbed uncontrollably or looked on, frightened and shocked. The government will move the 137 Rohingya refugees to the local Indonesian Red Cross headquarters and the Aceh Foundation building, said Mohammad Mahfud MD, the coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs. “I have instructed security forces to protect the refugees because this is a humanitarian issue,” Mahfud told journalists in Sidoarjo, East Java. Newly arrived Rohingya refugees return to a boat after the local community decided to temporarily allow them to land for water and food, having earlier rejected them, Ulee Madon, Aceh province, Indonesia, Nov. 16, 2023. [Amanda Jufrian/AFP] Some analysts have attributed the hostility towards the Rohingya to deliberate misinformation. Chairul Fahmi, a Rohingya researcher and law lecturer at Ar-Raniry State Islamic University in Banda Aceh, said some of this disinformation could be linked to political actors who have an interest in exploiting the refugee issue for their own agenda. “The authorities might have had a hand in the Rohingya disinformation campaign. The protest yesterday did not reflect the typical student movement,” he told BenarNews. “There is a possibility that the students were instructed.” Political parties or groups could try to stir up anti-Rohingya sentiment ahead of the general election in February, suggested Ahmad Humam Hamid, a sociologist at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh. “Aceh should not be used as a battleground for the presidential election over the Rohingya matter. It would be very dangerous,” Ahmad told BenarNews. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, the frontrunner in the Feb. 14 presidential election, was in Aceh on Thursday, and spoke about the Rohingya. He said that while Indonesia should be humanitarian towards the stateless Rohingya, it should also prioritize the welfare of its own people. “Many of our people are struggling, and it is unfair to take in all the refugees as our responsibility, even if we feel humanitarian and sympathetic,” Prabowo said, according to local media. Newly arrived Rohingya refugees wait to board trucks to transfer to a temporary shelter after villagers rejected their relocated camp, in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Dec. 27, 2023. [Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP] Della Masnida, 20, a student at Abulyatama University who took part in Wednesday’s incident at the shelter, accused Rohingya refugees of making “unreasonable demands.” “They came here uninvited, but they act like this is their country. We don’t think that’s fair,” she told reporters on Wednesday. The student mob collectively issued a statement saying they rejected the Rohingya “because they have disrupted society.”  “We all know that President Joko Widodo has stated that there is a strong suspicion of criminal acts of trafficking among them. Even the Aceh police have said that this is an international crime,” they said in the statement issued Wednesday. The Rohingya are a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar, who have been fleeing violence and oppression in their homeland for years. Close to one million live in crowded camps in Bangladesh. With few options after years of a stateless existence, many Rohingya are desperate to leave and that makes them susceptible to exploitation by human traffickers, analysts have said. Gateway to Malaysia Most of the Rohingya who arrived in Aceh recently had left violent and crowded refugee camps in Myanmar’s neighbor, Bangladesh, where 740,000 of them took shelter after a brutal crackdown by the Burmese military in 2017. For the Rohingya, Indonesia is a gateway to Malaysia, which is a top destination for migrant workers from many South Asian and Southeast Asian nations. The Indonesian government, which has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention, has said that it does not have the obligation or the capacity to accommodate the Rohingya refugees permanently, and that its priority is to resettle them in a third country. Earlier this month, government officials complained they were overwhelmed and Indonesia was alone in bearing the burden of the Rohingya. Mitra Salima Suryono, spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR in Indonesia, believes nothing could be further from the truth, and cited…

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Burmese city hit by huge job losses amid Chinese factory closures in Dec.

Editor04 mins

About 3,000 workers were left unemployed and without full compensation following the ongoing shutdowns of Chinese garment factories in December in Pathein, Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar, according to workers on Wednesday.  Since the first week of December, the three factories – Haubo Times, He Shan, and North Shore – have been shut down, and it’s planned that some of the remaining employees will be laid off by the end of the month, a women from Haubo Times who was laid off told RFA Burmese.  “Hubo Times was closed this December. They [the factory officials] pay workers for four to six days of their work (in the first week of the month). After that, there are only a few workers left until Dec. 20,” said the woman, adding that some sections of the factory are still operational, but workers there were also asked to work only until the end of December.  Labor activists close to the matter said the closure was due to the lack of power supply, difficulties in purchasing fuel for generators to run the factory, a lack of demand and raw materials shortage. The activists noted that while the affected workers did receive compensation equivalent to three months’ salary from the factories, they have not been given overtime pay and social security benefits by their employers that are provided by the junta council’s Ministry of Labor. An activist in Pathein township, preferring anonymity due to fear of repercussions, highlighted that the compensation process was handled unjustly, disproportionately impacting workers with longer tenures. “Workers with longer tenures should receive more compensation based on the labor law. They expect that too. It’s demoralizing and disappointing for them when the company does not abide by this law,” the activist told RFA Burmese.  The three garment factories as well as Aung Thein Win, the junta council spokesman for Ayeyarwady region and a regional minister for social affairs, have not responded to RFA’s inquiries as of this writing. There were about 15 garment factories in Pathein before the military coup, but now more than half of them have been closed, a local resident told RFA Burmese.  Pathein is not alone. The garment industry in the Yangon Industrial Zone also suffered rising raw material prices, difficulty securing the materials and extreme power outages among other issues. As of August, there were 817 factories in the whole country that are members of Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, or MGMA, according to the association. Among them 546 were up and running, while 271 were reportedly closed down, it said. Of these 546 operational, 311 were China-owned factories. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.

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