Month: January 2022

North Koreans were forced to attend propaganda lectures last week lionizing the achievements of their country’s two previous leaders in celebration of their birthdays, sources in the country told RFA.

Kim Jong Il (1942-2011), the father and predecessor to current leader Kim Jong Un, was born on April 15, a date now known as the “Day of the Shining Star.” His father, national founder Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), was born on February 16, or the “Day of the Sun.”

The lectures and celebrations seek to solidify the cult of personality surrounding the Kim family, which has now ruled North Korea for three generations. In addition, the central government is hosting public discussions promoting the achievement of Kim Jong Un as North Korea prepares to usher in a new era of so-called “Kimjongunism” to mark to 10^th anniversary of his ascension to power on April 13.

“A six-day political education event that emphasizes the achievements of previous leaders is starting today for everyone in the People’s army, to celebrate the upcoming Day of the Sun and Day of the Shining Star,” a military source from the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA’s Korean Service Jan. 24.

“All soldiers and officers must attend for one hour each day, every day this week. In the past, political education for military personnel has been conducted ahead of special occasions, but it is very rare for all the officers to participate for one hour each week,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

As planned, the first three days were to be dedicated to study, with the final three days set aside for self-criticism. Self-criticism sessions typically happen once per week. Citizens must confess their shortcomings, and then criticize their colleagues for their mistakes.

“On the last day, individuals renew their determination to participate in upcoming celebration,” the military source said.

“In these kinds of lectures, they claim that the happiness of the people is possible because the previous leaders carried the country through a long journey, personally covering over 35,000 miles,” said the source, referring to the total documented distance traveled across the country by the first two leaders in personal visits meant to advise and encourage the people.

The source said that the authorities would likely also demand that officers and soldiers concentrate efforts into completing their winter training assignments more efficiently.

“They argued that we should identify what problems appear in combat preparations and take advantage of that as an opportunity to improve as we welcome the Days of the Sun and Shining Star.”

Every institution — the military, businesses, and cooperative farms — must participate, an official in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA.

“Selected lectures from senior members of each institution are the primary focus of the lectures, which will be held for six days through 29th. They keep attendance to ensure that all residents participate,” said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely. 

Even people who are not affiliated with a company or institution must attend. This can be problematic for some because the wages from a government-assigned job is nowhere near enough to support a family, and adult family members who are officially not working actually bring in most of the family’s income by running a family business.

“They have to attend the lectures for an hour every morning, so they cannot go to the market for business and are having a hard time making a living,” the second source said.

Birth of Kimjongunism

North Korea held a widely publicized discussion that praised the achievements of Kim Jong Un on Jan. 25, state media reported.

Experts in South Korea said that it was a signal that the government is preparing to officially formulate a specific ideology of the current administration, which could be called Kimjongunism.

The term harkens back to Kimilsungism, or the ideas and policies of Kim Il Sung, and Kimilsungism-Kimjongilsm, which updates those ideas for the era when Kim Jong Il ruled.

North Korea has already begun using Kimjongunism internally, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported during the National Assembly’s audit of state affairs in October.

The discussion, called the “Symposium on Greatness and Exploits of Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un,” included high-ranking North Korean officials who are experts in ideology and governance theory. These included the Korean Workers’ Party’s Propaganda and Agitation Secretary, Ri Il Hwan, and the president of the Kim Il Sung Military University, Han Chang Sun.

“They said that the past ten years marked by dynamic advance under the leadership of Kim Jong Un were meaningful days when the validity and vitality of the Party’s revolutionary ideas were fully demonstrated,” the state-run Korea Central News Agency reported.

“They praised the general secretary as a brilliant thinker-theoretician and distinguished statesman who shows the road ahead of revolution with his outstanding ideas and ushers in a new era of great changes by giving full play to the mental power of the popular masses,” the report said.

The symposium is just one of many examples of North Korea’s drive to idolize Kim since the beginning of this year, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the official beginning of his rule in April.

“This is part of an effort to transition to Kimjongunism,” Chung Young Tae, chair professor at South Korea’s Dongyang University told RFA. “To officially call it that, they are first showing a general pattern of reporting that will emphasize his achievements. This will intensify.”

Chung said that North Korea was politicizing its current economic difficulties. A closure of the Chinese border and suspension of trade two years ago at the start of the coronavirus pandemic have taken its toll. The economy is in shambles and nearly everything is in short supply. Though China and North Korea resumed rail freight earlier this month, recovery remains a long way off.

“North Korea attributes the reason for its economic hardship to external factors, such as pressure from the United States. They try to strengthen internal solidarity by highlighting Kim Jong Un as a divine being who can overcome difficulties,” Chung said.

Since last year, North Korea has been promoting Kim’s achievements in an effort to draw comparisons between him and his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, Director Cheong Seong-chang of the Center of North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute told RFA.

Kim Il Sung founded the country and its Juche ideology of self-reliance and holds the most revered status in North Korea’s cultural psyche.

“They want to promote Kim Jong Un as a great leader like Kim Il Sung. This symposium is an opportunity to spread that idea throughout society,” Cheong said.

Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Intense clashes between local ethnic militias and junta forces that began in the eastern Myanmar town of Demoso have spread to the Kayah state capital, a year after the military seized power from the democratically elected government of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, state residents said.

Demoso was the site of the first clashes between junta forces and civilian-led anti-coup protests a few months after the coup on Feb. 1, 2021. The fighting has since spread to f Hpruso township and now to the state capital Loikaw, which is about 11 miles north of Demoso.

The fighting has forced nearly 180,000 people — more than half of Kayah’s population — to flee to safety, according to the Karenni Social Network. Nearly 200 civilians have been killed there since the coup, according to the Karenni Civil Society Network.

There is now daily fighting between the military and the joint forces of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and the Karenni Army in Loikaw. Myanmar soldiers have been shelling the town every day since Jan. 6, destroying homes and forcing residents to flee.

Kayah is Myanmar’s smallest state and its least developed region, largely inaccessible to foreigners. The intense attacks have prompted the Karenni National Progressive Party, along with the Karen National Union and the Chin National Front, to issue a joint request to the United Nations and the international community on Jan. 20 to establish safe demilitarized zones for civilians because junta forces are launching daily air strikes.

Residents of Demoso began staging anti-junta protests amid a nationwide eruption of initially peaceful demonstrations following the coup. Armed resistance began on May 21 when clashes broke out between the military and the combined forces of the KNDF and local People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Demoso’s Daw Ngan Khar ward.

Local civil society groups say about 70,000 people in Demoso township have fled the fighting and have been unable to return to their homes.

Morrow, who fled his home in Demoso, said the war-torn township is now deserted and lifeless.

“Since the war started last May after the coup, there has been no traffic in the famous Ngwe Daung Dam area,” he said, referring to the scenic man-made Ngwe Daung Dam, a tourist attraction about 10 miles south of Loikaw in Demoso township.

“There have been no tourists. Many people used to go fishing in the Ngwe Daung Dam, and the whole place was busy and so lively. Now you won’t see anyone fishing there,” he said.

During the early days of the conflict, the dam area and Demoso turned into a battle ground littered with corpses after heavy artillery fire from the junta’s 427th Light Infantry Brigade and 102nd Infantry Battalion based near Ngwe Daung village hit both homes and churches where people took refuge.

‘We are paying the price’

Gabriela, a vendor in Demoso’s central market who fled the town several months ago, said that even though her house was not destroyed by fighting it still required a significant amount of effort to make habitable again after months of disuse.

“I went back as soon as people said the coast was clear,” she told RFA. “When I got there I found the whole house covered with vines and bushes.

“I then looked around other people’s houses to see how much destruction there was,” she said. “Some people’s houses were damaged quite badly.”

Gabriela also said that her stall in the market, previously one of the busiest sites in Demoso, was destroyed by artillery fire. The market used to be full of shoppers when it was open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, but now is it like a cemetery, she said.

Amid the turmoil, junta forces massacred 35 civilians, including children, in Moso village near Demoso on Dec. 24, 2021.

In response, junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, said the soldiers followed the rules while carrying out the military operation.

“PDFs in civilian clothes attacked our units, taking cover in the buildings in the village,” he said. “When they were successful, they claimed credit. When they failed, they said civilians were killed. These are common allegations from them.

“We follow the rules and regulations,” he said. “They are the ones who are the perpetrators, and they claim that every death is a civilian death.”

But state residents, most of whom are from the mainly Christian Karenni ethnic minority group, have accused the military council of committing crimes against civilians there.

But Theik, a member of the KNDF, a network of civilian resistance fighters, Karenni organizations, and armed groups, said the coup and its violent aftermath have caused great suffering among the people of Kayah state and elsewhere in Myanmar.

“We are paying the price for their actions,” he said. “It is not only in Kayah state where homes and villages were destroyed; it is happening in other states across the country. We have sympathy for all the brethren, and the main culprit is the junta.”

“Once the military council is overthrown, we will have the kind of federal union we want and the freedom we want,” he said.

Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

A Tibetan monk jailed for six years for taking part in Tibetan freedom protests is still being watched by police years after his release despite being crippled by beatings while in custody, Tibetan sources say.

Geshe Tsewang Namgyal, formerly a monk at the Draggo monastery in Sichuan’s Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was released in failing health on Jan. 24, 2018, and is now in critical condition, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA.

“He is succumbing to weak health due to the beatings he received in prison, and is now in critical condition with both his legs crippled,” RFA’s source said, citing contacts in the Draggo area and speaking on condition of anonymity to protect his sources.

Still closely monitored by Chinese police, Namgyal was arrested on Jan. 23, 2012, after taking part in a peaceful protest in Draggo against China’s rule that turned deadly when police fired into the crowd. Namgyal was later released from prison on several conditions, the source said.

“He was not allowed to return to Draggo monastery, could not take part in any gatherings or own a cell phone, could not describe his experiences in prison with anyone, and had to obtain permission from the police before traveling or seeking medical treatment in a hospital.”

Arrested with Namgyal during the protest in Draggo were the monastery’s accountant, Dralha, and Khenpo Tenga, a religious instructor. Both are now also in failing health, the source said.

“Dralha has lost his vision, and due to severe injuries to Khenpo Tenga’s head, he cannot hear and has difficulty sleeping,” the source said.

“But in spite of their deteriorating health, the Chinese government is constantly watching them and their daily activities, and they can’t obtain proper medical treatment for their injuries because they can’t afford it,” he said.

Wangden Kyab, a researcher at London-based Tibet Watch, criticized the excessive attention paid by police to the three former prisoners.

“Even after these Tibetan political prisoners had served their sentences and were released in failing health, the Chinese authorities are keeping an eye on them because they want to be sure they don’t engage in such activities again, and because they want to eventually wipe them out,” he said.

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force 70 years ago.

Tibetans living in Tibet and Tibetan areas of western China frequently complain of discrimination and human rights abuses, and say they fear Beijing is pursuing every more aggressive policies aimed at eradicating their national and cultural identity.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Richard Finney.

The U.S., Britain and Canada on Monday imposed new sanctions on businesses and individuals tied to the Myanmar military junta that overthrew the country’s elected civilian government a year ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The latest set of sanctions comes a day before the one-year anniversary of the coup that ousted the National League for Democracy-led government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which won Myanmar’s November 2020 election in a landslide, prompting still-unproven army accusations of voter fraud.

In the capital Naypitaw, military junta chief Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and the National Defense and Security Council agreed to extend the “Nationwide State of Emergency” declared at the Feb. 1 coup for six months, a military statement said. 

Junta security forces have since the takeover violently suppressed widespread opposition to military control, killing at least 1,503 and arresting 8,835 others during protests calling for a return to civilian rule, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The U.S., Britain and Canada have already imposed several rounds of sanctions following the coup, targeting Min Aung Hlaing and members of the ruling State Administrative Council, as well as major military business conglomerates. Sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of those listed and bar Americans from dealing with them.

In a statement Monday, Blinken said that sanctions have been imposed on Myanmar’s Directorate of Procurement of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services; on Tay Za, a prominent business supporter of the regime, and on his adult sons Htoo Htet Tay Za and Phy Phyo Tay Za.

Also sanctioned are junta-tied businessman Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung and his KT Services and Logistics Company Ltd., whose businesses hold land leases with Myanmar’s military and broker arms deals and the sale of related materiel for junta forces.

Three other junta officials — Supreme Court Chief Justice Tun Tun Oo, Union Attorney General Thida Oo, and Anti-Corruption Commission Chair Tin Oo — have also been sanctioned “for their role in enabling the regime to undermine the rule of law and Burma’s democratic institutions,” Blinken said, referring to Myanmar by its colonial-era name.

In a companion statement Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department said that pursuant to Executive Order 14014, “all property and interests in property of the persons named above that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control].”

“In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked,” the Department said.

Monday’s actions are being coordinated with the U.K. and Canada to demonstrate the international community’s “strong support for the people of Burma and to further promote accountability for the coup and the violence perpetrated by the regime,” Blinken said.

“The United States will continue to work with our international partners to address human rights abuses and press the regime to cease the violence, release all those unjustly detained, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and restore Burma’s path to democracy.”

A Lao human rights activist living in Thailand as a UN-recognized refugee is being held for deportation back to Laos, where he faces arrest for his advocacy work, Lao sources say.

Khoukham Keomanivong was arrested Saturday on a charge of overstaying his permission to be in the country and was tried Monday afternoon at the Don Mueang district court in the capital Bangkok, an officer at the Thug Song Hong police station told RFA.

“He was transferred to the immigration bureau after he was found guilty of overstaying his visa,” the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Authorities held Khoukham’s one-day trial behind closed doors, citing COVID-19 concerns, and RFA reporters were not allowed inside the court building.

Court officials did not provide information on the case following the proceedings, and calls seeking comment from Thailand’s immigration bureau received no response on Monday.

Khoukham, a member of Free Laos — a group set up in Thailand to promote human rights and democracy in Laos — is currently being held at the Suan Plu detention center pending deportation, sources said.

Angkhana Neelapaijit, a former national human rights commissioner, said she is now working with colleagues to seek bail for Khoukham.

“I’m working with various networks who help foreign refugees and hope to lodge a request tomorrow,” she said, speaking to RFA and BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. “In the case of UNHCR-protected individuals, the immigration authorities could grant bail with a bond and guarantor. Such individuals should not be forced to go back to face harm.”

Khoukam is a formally recognized UNHCR refugee, “and under no circumstances should Thailand send him back to Laos, where he would certainly face arrest and abuse,” added Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“The Thai authorities should release him immediately and enable him to seek protection in a third country if that is what he wants,” Robertson said.

Laos deals severely with dissidents who call for democracy and respect for human rights in the one-party communist state, “and there is no doubt that he would face arrest, imprisonment, and perhaps worse if the Thais send him back into harm’s way in Laos.”

A third country would grant asylum to Khoukham if requested by HRW, Robertson said. “But we have to make sure he doesn’t get sent back first.”

Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Richard Finney.