Day: September 22, 2022

The U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal held its final session Thursday, rejecting an appeal by the last surviving leader of the brutal regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-79, one of only three men convicted in the 16-year trial process.

Led by the notorious Pol Pot, the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge killed some 1.7 million Cambodians through starvation, overwork, or execution in a bid to create an agrarian utopia. They were finally removed from power by Vietnam, which invaded Cambodia in 1979.

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal, formally called the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), was set up to hold former Khmer Rouge leaders to account for the deaths.

Khieu Samphan, 91, lost his appeal of his 2018 conviction and life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for his leadership role in Khmer Rouge.

Khieu Samphan, who is serving a life sentence for a 2014 conviction for crimes against humanity, had argued he was the titular head of state without decision-making powers in the Khmer Rouge regime during its bloody revolution and reign of terror.

His appeal against his 2018 genocide conviction asserted that the lower court had made more than 1,800 errors, but the ECCC Supreme Court rejected virtually all his arguments.

“I am unhappy with the Supreme Court’s misunderstanding about the facts of the case that led to the conviction. The misunderstanding including his role in the Khmer Rouge,” said Khieu Samphan’s lawyer, Kong Sam Onn.

A ‘clean person’

Khieu Samphan, his lawyer said, was “a clean person among other Khmer Rouge leaders” and “didn’t have the power to make any decisions during meetings.” 

“The court wanted to convict him before he dies. The court wanted to speed up the case to make sure the verdict is released before Khieu Samphan dies,” said Kong Sam Onn.

While many welcomed the verdict, some former Khmer Rouge soldiers defended Khieu Samphan and said members of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) who were former Khmer Rouge leaders should be brought to trial as well.

Former Khmer Rouge soldier Thong Thun in the western Cambodian province of Pailin said agreed with Khieu Samphan’s defense that he didn’t have power during his time as a ruler.

“The court shouldn’t put him in jail for the rest of his life. It is embarrassing,” he told RFA Khmer.

“Those other killers are still walking free and only a few were convicted,” he said, referring to members of the CPP who were former Khmer Rouge.

Hun Sen, who was a middle-ranking commander with the Khmer Rouge before defecting, has ruled Cambodia with an iron fist since 1985.

Another former soldier, who asked not to be named, dismissed the trial as a show to punish some former Khmer Rouge leaders while letting others get away with crimes.

“The court shouldn’t put (Khieu Samphan) in jail for the rest of life, he is getting old,” he said.

Lasting record

Some observers have questioned the merit of a legal process that took $337 million and 16 years to but convicted only three men, two of whom are dead.

Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge’s No. 2 leader and chief ideologist, was convicted along with Khieu Samphan and was serving a life sentence when he died in 2019 at age 93.

The tribunal’s third convicted Khmer Rouge figure was of Kaing Guek Eav. Also known as Duch, commandant of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, he died in 2020 at age 77 while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity, murder and torture. The top Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, died in the jungle in 1998 at age 72.

Patrick Murphy, the U.S. ambassador in Phnom Penh, issued a statement saying the tribunal “leaves an important legacy detailing some of the worst crimes against humanity in modern history and making contributions to truth, reconciliation, and justice in the Kingdom of Cambodia.”

Former ECCC investigator Craig Etcheson told the Associated Press the court “successfully attacked the long-standing impunity of the Khmer Rouge, and showed that though it might take a long time, the law can catch up with those who commit crimes against humanity.”

“The tribunal also created an extraordinary record of those crimes, comprising documentation that will be studied by scholars for decades to come, that will educate Cambodia’s youth about the history of their country, and that will deeply frustrate any attempt to deny the crimes of the Khmer Rouge,” said Etcheson, who was chief of investigations for the prosecution at the ECCC from 2006 to 2012.

Translated by Samean Yun. Written by Paul Eckert.

North Korean officials are inspecting air-raid shelters in factories and other businesses to assess their wartime readiness, although some poorly maintained bunkers are winning approval due to bribes, sources said.

The random inspections usually occur during times of increased tensions with the U.S. or South Korea, a company official in the eastern province of South Hamgyong told RFA’s Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“This inspection is a project to complete war preparations so they can implement the party’s civil defense policy to protect the homeland,” said the source.

“The Civil Defense Department of the Central Committee issued a directive to each organization and company to be well-equipped for air-raids, following joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. conducted in August,” he said.

Tensions ratcheted higher on Sept. 8 when the country’s leader Kim Jong Un declared to the Supreme People’s Assembly that North Korea would never give up nuclear weapons. Earlier that same day the assembly passed a law that lays out situations where Kim would be authorized to order a preemptive nuclear strike.

Other sources told RFA that the inspections could be a reaction to the recently held high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group meeting between South Korea and the U.S., and Washington’s deployment of B-1B strategic bombers and nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific region.

The South Hamgyong source said the air-raid shelter inspections assess shelter capacity, interior lighting, durability and the functionality of loudspeakers.

“Most factories and companies already have air-raid protection. But not all employees are able to evacuate, and the shelters aren’t really all that safe,” said the source.

“The Civil Defense Department is aware of this situation. They randomly inspect the air-raid shelters of institutions and companies to keep them on their toes for shelter maintenance,” he said. “If their company or organization receives a poor evaluation, managers and lower-level party secretaries will be scolded.”

But sometimes bribes can convince inspectors to overlook deficiencies. A factory in Unhung county in the northern province of Ryanggang passed its inspection, despite its poor condition, a source there told RFA.

“They call it a shelter, but all of the necessary preparations were not met at all,” the second source said on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “There are two air-raid shelters in our factory. They are so small that they can only protect half of our 120 workers.”

The factory had been putting off maintenance of the shelter for a long time, according to the second source, so they scrambled to get it ready for the inspection.

“It has been a while since the roof of the air-raid shelter collapsed and the entrance door fell off. However, it was left unattended until now. The factory mobilized workers to fix it and rebuilt it ahead of this inspection,” he said.

“Since the air-raid shelter is dug out of the ground, during the rainy season, the rain collects inside, which causes its soil walls to collapse. Every time an inspection happens, the workers struggle to fix the air-raid shelters in a hurry,” the second source said.

The civil defense officials are aware that the shelter is not up to snuff, but they pass it anyway because factory officials bribe them, he said. 

“They can get meals or packs of cigarettes to cover up any deficiencies if the condition of the air-raid shelter is not severe. It makes me laugh to hear that they have completed preparations for war after making a shelter that really is only a small crypt space,” the source said.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

President Joe Biden on Thursday met face-to-face in New York for the first time with the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos, the new leader of Washington’s longtime Indo-Pacific ally, to discuss the disputed South China Sea, among other global issues.

The two presidents met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, four months after Marcos, the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, swept to power in a landslide electoral victory.

The Philippines and the United States are allies in a mutual defense treaty dating back to 1951, and Biden on Thursday said Washington and Manila were in a “critical, critical relationship.”

“For decades, the alliance has strengthened both of us, I believe,” Biden said to Marcos before they started their bilateral meeting, according to a transcript released by the White House.

“[I] expect we’ll discuss the South China Sea and disputes in a critical global … throughway. I’ve spent a lot of time with – with not only the President of China but others about the international waters and how they have to be respected.”

During the meeting, according to a readout from the White House, the two leaders reflected on the importance of the US.-Philippine alliance and Biden “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines.”

Apart from discussing the situation in the South China Sea, they talked about energy security, climate action, infrastructure, the impact of the Russian war in Ukraine on energy prices and food security, and the crisis in Myanmar, among other matters, the readout said.

In the South China Sea, the Philippines and China have overlapping territorial claims.

Beijing has never accepted a 2016 international arbitration tribunal that ruled in Manila’s favor and said that China’s claims had no legal basis. Beijing also consistently encroaches on Manila’s waters in the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

Before taking office on June 30, Marcos promised he would assert the 2016 arbitration court ruling, an issue that his immediate predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, was widely criticized for overlooking.

On Thursday, the Philippine president said “the role of the United States in maintaining the peace in our region is something that is much appreciated by all the countries in the regions and the Philippines especially.”

“[I] hope that we will be able to discuss further the roles that our two countries will play together and individually as we continue down that road, maintaining peace despite all of the complexities that have arisen in the past few months,” he added, according to the transcript from the White House.

The U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty calls on both countries to aid each other in times of aggression by an external power. The Pentagon previously said it was prepared to assist Manila if it invoked the treaty amid threats from other nations.

In March, the two nations conducted one of their largest-ever joint exercises with officials, saying they hoped it would convey a message of strong bilateral military ties in the face of maritime challenges from China.

Additionally, Washington conducts regular freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, where several Southeast Asian nations have overlapping claims with that of China’s.

In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Marcos alluded to the South China Sea when he urged respect for an “open, inclusive, and rules-based international order that is governed by international law and informed by the principles of equity and justice.”

He also said then that Manila would “continue to be a friend to all, and enemy of none,” implying it wouldn’t take sides in a superpower rivalry.

Human rights

As they prepared to go into Thursday’s bilateral meeting, Biden also said that he hoped to discuss human rights with his Philippine counterpart.

According to a readout from their meeting, the two men also discussed “the importance of respect for human rights.”

The U.S. president’s comment came a day after the 50th anniversary of Ferdinand E. Marcos’ martial law declaration, a painful memory for thousands of Filipinos who saw their rights trampled upon. Activists have documented thousands of cases of deaths and enforced disappearances that took place during 14 years of martial law.

As thousands marked the anniversary in the Philippines, Marcos, issued no statement from New York.

More recently, the Marcos administration said it was seeking to block efforts by the U.N.’s International Criminal Court to investigate alleged abuses and thousands of officer-involved killings committed by his Rodrigo Duterte, in the Philippine war on drugs.

Camille Elemia in Manila contributed to this report by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service.

Myanmar beauty queen Han Lay, who called on the international community to help her country regain democracy during last year’s Miss Grand International pageant in Thailand, has been detained by Thai authorities in Bangkok, she told RFA Burmese on Thursday.

Han Lay was taken into custody on Wednesday night by immigration officials at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as she returned from a three-day trip to Vietnam, she said in a phone interview.

She said she believes the military regime reported her to Interpol as being wanted for illegal activities in Myanmar, as retribution for her anti-junta activism at home and in Thailand.

“As I returned from Vietnam to Thailand, the system set off a ‘red notice’ when my passport was processed, saying that my name is on the Interpol list, so Thai authorities denied my entry into Thailand,” she said, adding that her passport was confiscated by Vietnamese airline officials and is now listed as “lost.”

“The normal procedure is to return the detainee to the country they left. But I refused to go back to Vietnam [for fear they would deport me to Myanmar]. So they have kept me in the airport.”

Thai immigration authorities released a statement saying that Han Lay was “denied entry to Thailand because she lacked the required travel documents under Thai immigration law.” The statement said immigration officials are “negotiating with the airline authorities to deport her,” but made no mention of her being under arrest.

Han Lay said the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) is working with the Thai government on her case.

“I hope they will help me to secure the best option, whether it is re-entry to Thailand or entry to a third country,” she said.

Visa renewal

Han Lay was a participant in the 2020 Miss Grand International pageant, held in Bangkok just a month after Myanmar’s military seized control of the country in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. After using the stage to appeal to the international community for the release of Myanmar’s ousted leaders, Han Lay remained in Thailand on a tourist visa, knowing she would likely face persecution back home, where she has since been charged in absentia for “high treason.”

After more than 18 months in Thailand, she had overstayed her visa and was unable to extend it any longer, so she traveled to Vietnam with the hope that she could reapply upon her return.

“It was easier to depart Thailand and apply for a new visa to return,” she said.

“Before my departure, I tried to confirm whether I would have any trouble upon my return to Thailand. [The Thai authorities] told me it would be fine, so I left. But I guess the authorities in Myanmar spoke with their counterparts in Vietnam before I returned to Thailand.”

Han Lay told RFA that Thailand cannot deport her to Myanmar while her case is being reviewed by the UNHCR, but she is unsure of what will happen to her after that. Attempts by RFA to reach Thai immigration authorities for comment on Han Lay’s status went unanswered on Thursday.

She noted that she could be sentenced to death by the junta if she were to return to Myanmar.

“I think an entire military division would be waiting for me upon my arrival at the airport [if I was deported home],” she said, noting that the charges she faces are even more severe than those under the country’s anti-terrorism law that are more commonly used to prosecute opponents of military rule.

“They wanted me to show support for the coup, but I said otherwise, so they accused me of offending the state. It’s pretty obvious what they are doing.”

‘I acted of my own free will’

But despite the uncertainty of her situation and the likelihood she will be unable to return to Myanmar while the junta controls the country, the beauty queen said she stands by her decision to condemn the military rule on the world stage.

“I believe what I did was the right thing to do … nobody convinced me to do it — I acted of my own free will.

“I got into this trouble not because of something I did wrong, but because I stood up for justice. I am hopeful that concerned organizations around the world will offer to help me out of this situation.”

Han Lay said that life for her in Thailand had been “a struggle” and expressed her appreciation to the Miss Grand Pageant organization for supporting her over the last 18 months.

“I am ready to start a new life if I get a chance to resettle in another country,” she said.

Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung for RFA Burmese. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

A Vietnamese YouTube content creator told RFA that local police in Ho Chi Minh City beat him twice and destroyed his camcorder, adding that he has been bleeding and experienced nausea and vomiting the day after the beating. 

Tran Dinh Son, a 29-year-old Vietnamese YouTuber from the city’s Cu Chi district, runs the channel Đời thường TV, which has just over 10 followers.

He told RFA that communal police in the Tran Phu Trung district attacked him while he was making a fishing video on Monday. Son said he went fishing at a lake that also grows lotuses at the Tan Phu Trang industrial park, hoping to capture content that he would later put on his YouTube channel.

But Son says a security guard then came from the industrial park and asked him to stop fishing. After the two men argued for a while, Son says the guard called local police to come, who also asked him to leave. When he refused, Son says one of the police officers and the security guard took turns beating him. 

“A police officer slapped me two or three times and then held me so that the security guard could beat me. The three cops were very big while I was small. They hit me on the head and threatened me. While beating me the guard screamed ‘Give me your address, I’ll come kill your parents!’” Son said, recounting the details of the incident. 

Son says the police then subdued him and took him to the commune headquarters, where they confiscated the GoPro5 that he uses to create YouTube content, two cellphones, and his motorcycle before leaving. When other officers were assigned to deal with his case, Son says they asked him to write a report about the incident, which he refused to do, and demanded to know why he was violently beaten while he had not committed a crime. 

“At the police station, I was beaten again. They hit me a lot on my head and my arm with their bare hands. A police officer named Tai hit me and kicked me. Another strangled me and one who appeared to be the boss elbowed me in my face. Then they handcuffed me, knocked me down to the floor and dragged me to a room nearby and left me alone there.”

As Son shouted for help, a woman heard him and informed his mother, a local teacher. When Son’s mother, Nguyen Thi Ty, arrived at the headquarters, he said police agreed to remove his handcuffs and then repeated their request for him to write a report about the incident, where he would admit to “illegally” fishing at the park. 

Son says the police added that they would return all his belongings on condition that he deleted the videos of them beating him.

When police returned his belongings, they asked him to fill out a handover note. However, Son says some parts of his GoPro 5, which costs VND4 million (around USD $170), were destroyed. 

When the officers left for a break while he was filling out his paperwork and did not return, Son and his mother left the station. Another group of police officers, however, stopped him from going to the hospital to treat his injuries, he said.

One of the officers, surnamed Hai, asked Son to return the handover note that he filled out at the police station, threatening him with charges of “stealing state data” if he refused. 

In a video filmed at Son’s home, Hai, who was in uniform, denied having beaten Son. 

RFA contacted the Tan Phu Trung commune police office to verify the incident. However, the officers who answered the phone said they could not provide a response unless a reporter came directly to their office.

Translated by Anna Vu. Written by Nawar Nemeh.

A Lao government order this month banning LGBTQ+ beauty pageants has sparked concern over rights violations among the community and supporters, who questioned the need for the measure , sources in the Southeast Asian country told RFA.

While Laos’s population appears to be moving towards acknowledging the rights of its LGBTQ+ community, many fear that authorities in the one-party Communist state will reject any legal changes. 

“Those who run the country right now are mostly from an older generation, therefore their understanding of this issue is not up to date like people in the new generation,” another local source told RFA. 

On social media, musicians, actors, and other prominent Laotians condemned the Sept. 9 order, asking why the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union issued it without making clear its context or aim. Historically, many pointed out, beauty pageants have not required government approval. 

While Laos does not have any maj0r LGBTQ+ beauty pageants planned, the order seems to be targeting smaller events and performances that occur at festivals, temple gatherings, nightclubs, or bars, said a source familiar with the scene.

“Most people go to Thailand for the larger contests,” the source from Champassack, who declined to be named for safety reasons, told RFA.

Behind the order is the government’s dislike of people participating in these contests abroad, said a person who helps organize trips for Lao LGBTQ+ people to participate in pageants in Thailand and other countries

“Last year, there was one Lao LGBTQ+ person who entered the pageant without notifying the government, and she said something they deemed not suitable on stage,” the source said. 

The new regulations issued by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union restrict participation of individuals in contests to their assigned birth gender, effectively banning transgender people in Laos from taking part in pageants.