Day: October 3, 2022

A prison court in Myanmar’s Magway region has sentenced at least 20 National League for Democracy (NLD) members to lengthy jail terms on charges of violating the country’s Counterterrorism Law, officials from the ousted political party said Monday.

The 20 NLD members from Magway’s Pwintbyu and Sidoktaya townships – which included senior officials from the party’s executive committee – were each sentenced to jail terms of 20 years or more in a closed trial at the Daungnay Prison Court on Sept. 30, the officials told RFA Burmese, speaking on condition of anonymity citing security concerns.

Sources within Myanmar’s judicial system and NLD members called the hefty punishments “politically motivated” and typical of how the military regime has threatened and harassed the party whose democratically elected government it sidelined in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup.

Pwintbyu Township NLD Executive Committee member Win Zaw Oo, and party members Zaw Myo Htet, Zaw Win, Win Kyaing, Ni Thway, Kyi Linn, Chit Nyi Nyi, Hlaing Win, Kyaw Win Sein, San Htay and Than Htay were each sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Similarly, Pwintbyu party members Kaw Zin Min, Tin Maung Htun, Nyi Nyi Aung, Than Soe, Nyo Win Aung, Sann Lin Aung, Zaw Myo Aung and Bhone Kyaw, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison.

An NLD party official from Pwintbyu who declined to be named told RFA that authorities also sentenced Aye Aye Aung, chairwoman of the Women’s Affairs Committee for the NLD in Sidoktaya township, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating the Counterterrorism Law. The chairwoman had been arrested on Dec. 18, 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism, and last week’s conviction brings her total term to 40 years.

A member of the NLD in Pwintbyu told RFA that those sentenced had been arrested “for various reasons,” without providing further details.

He also accused authorities of using questionable methods to arrest the two NLD executive committee members.

“[Win Zaw Oo] had been in hiding [with his brother-in-law] in the Sidoktaya area to avoid arrest … He was arrested [on Sept. 21, 2021] after authorities took his family members hostage and used them for leverage,” the party member said, adding that Win Zaw Oo was known for his charity work in the region.

“[Aye Aye Aung] was arrested in Salin township. [Junta] authorities tricked her into thinking she would meet someone she knew and then arrested her.”

Another NLD official in Pwintbyu called Aye Aye Aung’s sentencing “heart wrenching.”

“She was given another 20 years sentence on Sept. 30, as they charged her for a second time under the same articles,” the official said.

Sentences for ‘political reasons’

Speaking to RFA on Monday, a veteran attorney in Myanmar noted that all of the sentences delivered on Sept. 30 were “the maximum penalty under the law.”

“The [junta] always lectures the people about the rule of law, but they do not respect the law themselves,” he said.

“They always give the maximum penalty to NLD leaders … so we can conclude they [are doing it] for political reasons.”

Bo Bo Oo, a former NLD lawmaker for Yangon’s Dala township, said he had seen similarly lengthy punishments handed to members of the party in his region.

But he called the tactics of the junta authorities in Pwintbyu and Sidoktaya townships “particularly unlawful and underhanded.”

“In these cases, authorities arrested or harassed family members and friends when they couldn’t arrest the person they wanted,” he said. “They are increasingly using this tactic throughout the country.”

NLD members say that in addition to arrests, authorities have been confiscating and sealing off properties belonging to the party and its supporters.

According to party records, the military regime has arrested 972 members and killed 55 between last year’s coup and Sept. 23, 2022.

Speaking to the media during a Sept. 20 press conference in the capital Naypyidaw, junta Deputy Information Minister Major General Zaw Min Htun warned the public that anyone who donates as little as one kyat to anti-junta groups could be persecuted under the Counterterrorism Law.

Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) says that authorities in Myanmar have killed at least 2,332 civilians and arrested 15,744 others since last year’s coup – mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests. At least 12,569 of those arrested remain in detention, the group says.

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

North Korean authorities have banned the movement of residents between cities and counties again to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, though the country declared victory over the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two months ago, sources inside the country said.

“The National Emergency Quarantine Command has blocked the movement of residents between cities and counties on the grounds of intensive anti-epidemic measures,” an official from North Hamgyong province told RFA on Sept. 27.

“This is because the Central Committee has issued an order to heighten the quarantine atmosphere across the country to prevent seasonal flu.” 

The quarantine command in North Hamgyong has prohibited the movement of people among cities, counties and districts in the province since Sept. 20, citing an order from the country’s National Emergency Quarantine Command, said the source who did not want to be named so he could speak freely.

Though the latest restrictions were put in place to prevent the spread of seasonal flu, residents believe the measure is meant to stave off further spread of the coronavirus because authorities have never restricted the movement of residents to prevent the flu, he said. 

“The authorities couldn’t just declare a ban on movement due to the coronavirus, because they have been touting that [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un’s excellent leadership was the reason for the win against the coronavirus,” said the official. 

“It seems that they are using seasonal flu prevention as an excuse,” he said, adding that the measure means that province authorities are not issuing travel certificates to residents who need to go to other cities or counties for family celebrations or for funerals. 

“An acquaintance of mine received a call that his mother, who lives in another city, had been ill for a long time and was in critical condition,” the source said. “My acquaintance urgently applied for a travel certificate, but it was not issued. Due to the sudden action of the authorities, he couldn’t be there for his mother’s last moment [before she died]. He was outraged at the fluctuating behavior of the authorities.”

North Korea claimed to be virus free throughout 2020 and 2021, but finally acknowledged publicly that a major outbreak occurred as the result of a massive military parade in April 2022, and declared the national maximum emergency the following month.

Officials in the diplomatically isolated country confirmed the first COVID-19 case on May 8 as a country-wide lockdown was ordered to prevent spread of what officials referred to as a “fever.” 

In early August, Kim Jong Un declared victory over the virus during a speech at a nationally televised COVID review meeting and ordered restrictions at bathhouses and restaurants nationwide be lifted, ending the “maximum emergency” order that had been in place since May.

Government officials have never disclosed the total number of confirmed infections.  

But even when the coronavirus situation was severe, authorities still issued quarantine and travel certificates for citizens who had to travel for special circumstances, such as the death of one’s parents, the source said.

“It wasn’t easy, but people were able to get quarantine certificates and travel certificates,” he said. “However, the authorities, who declared the end of the coronavirus situation, have abruptly stopped issuing travel certificates. It is causing a huge disruption to the livelihoods of the residents who greatly resent it.” 

‘It won’t get better’

A source from neighboring Ryanggang province told RFA that residents have been banned from moving between provinces, cities, and counties across the country since Sept. 20 when the National Emergency Quarantine Command’s order went into effect. 

After the COVID review meeting was held in August, authorities lifted emergency quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and residents were able to cross boundaries after they obtained travel certificates, he said. 

“However, since the 20th, no one can go outside the city or county where they live,” said the source who declined to be named so as to speak freely. 

Each neighborhood watch unit in Hyesan, the provincial capital, conveyed the order at residential meetings, saying the reason for the new ban on movement was to prevent respiratory diseases such as seasonal colds and bronchitis, he said. 

“When the ban on the movement of residents was issued, the atmosphere of the marketplace was completely frozen,” said the source. “The authorities did not say that it was because the coronavirus is on the rise again, but the people are worried about making a living in the future, saying that the respiratory disease [they have referred to] means COVID-19,” he source said. 

Authorities have predicted that the current ban will be lifted in November, though some North Koreans are skeptical.

“When the weather gets colder, it will get worse, whether it’s COVID-19 or the common cold,” the source said. “It won’t get better.”  

Translated by Leejin J. Chung for RFA Korean. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Around 700 Malaysian migrant workers are being detained in a China-owned casino and hotel resort in northern Laos, where they face abuse by resort managers demanding a large ransom for their release, according to Lao sources.

Lured by promises of employment to the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Bokeo province, most are being put to work as online scammers, with compliance enforced by beatings and torture, sources say.

“I see a lot of Malaysian workers in the SEZ,” one Lao worker in the Golden Triangle zone told RFA on Sept. 29, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect his safety.

“Actually, I see people here from many different countries, including Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia. They work at many different jobs, but most of them here at the Golden Triangle work online as scammers,” RFA’s source said.

Speaking to RFA, a Lao worker who escaped the Golden Triangle after working there as an online scammer, said it is difficult for foreign workers at the SEZ to leave the zone or find protection from abuse.

“Their Chinese employers confiscate their passports and cell phones, and most of the workers are confined to their buildings,” the source said, also declining to be named. “Foreign workers like the Malaysians also have trouble complaining to the Lao authorities because of the language barrier,” he said.

“When foreign workers are abused by a Chinese employer, they don’t know whether they should report the abuse to the government’s SEZ Task Force or to their own embassies,” he added.

Foreign workers trapped in the Golden Triangle SEZ endure “harrowing conditions” including beatings and torture, with some workers reportedly shot for refusing to obey orders, Malaysia’s New Straits Times said in a Sept. 25 report.

“Some workers were believed to be sold from one agent to another, from one company to another, or worse, traded between different countries,” the New Straits Times said. “The fraud syndicate also demanded ransom money from the victims’ families that ranged from RM50,000 [U.S. $10,782] to RM100,000 [U.S. $21,565] to release the victims,” according to the report.

Protest in Kuala Lumpur

On Sept. 26, members of Malaysian rights groups and parents of trapped workers protested in front of the Lao embassy in Kuala Lumpur, calling on Lao authorities to help secure the workers’ release.

Speaking at the protest, Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim — secretary general of the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organization — said in a video released after the event that many Malaysian workers trapped in Laos had asked for help from Lao police but received no response.

At least four Malaysians have now escaped Laos, with six others receiving help from the Malaysian embassy in the capital Vientiane, “but most them continue to be exploited, trafficked or even killed,” he said.

Speaking to RFA on Sept. 29, a Lao official said he had recently seen Malaysia’s embassy in Laos contact the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Interpol, asking for their help in freeing the trapped Malaysian workers.

“The Lao Foreign Ministry often responded to those requests,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss the matter. “I don’t know how the Malaysians ended up working in Laos, but I know that most of them are working in the Golden Triangle SEZ in Bokeo province.”

Reached by email and phone for comment, an official at the Malaysian embassy in Laos said, “Right now we’re doing some research on the issue before we can answer your questions.”

The Golden Triangle SEZ is a gambling and tourism hub catering to Chinese citizens situated along the Mekong River where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet. In 2018, the U.S. government sanctioned the Chinese tycoon who is said to run the SEZ as head of a trafficking network.

Translated by Max Avary for RFA Lao. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Filipino and U.S. Marines kicked off large-scale joint drills Monday in and around Philippine islands facing the South China Sea and in Japan, with Japanese and South Korean military personnel participating as observers for the first time, officials said.

The Kamandag 6 war games, which involve about 2,550 U.S. Marines and 630 Filipino counterparts from the marines and navy, run through Oct. 14. The joint force comprises the largest combined number of troops from the longtime defense allies participating in a military exercise since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June.

The exercise is not only a two-way collaboration between the U.S. and the Philippines but an effort to engage allies Japan and South Korea, whose participation is crucial “in a volatile security environment,” Philippine Navy chief Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia said during an opening ceremony on Monday.

The drills are unfolding against the backdrop of tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

“I hope that we will continue to stand together as allies and partners, armed with the commitment to uphold the values and the principles of freedom, democracy and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific,” Valencia told reporters.

“I look forward to these opportunities that we have in this training exercise as we continue to collaborate in addressing collective security concerns in the region and world-wide.”

Drills will be held in the western island province of Palawan that faces the South China Sea, and in Batanes, a province on Luzon island that lies across the Luzon Strait from Taiwan, according to a news release on the U.S. Marines’ website. At the same time, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members will host American Marines in similar training exercises on Hokkaido island.

Kamandag will include a combined live-fire exercise in central Luzon featuring aircraft and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, as well as amphibious operations along the island’s eastern and northern coasts, the news release said.

“Kamandag” means “Cooperation of the Warriors of the Sea.”

Valencia said the joint exercises would deliver a “platform where nations or participants or observers alike can express their commitment to regional peace and stability.”

The exercises are taking place amid Chinese military expansionism in the South China Sea, where Beijing is locked in territorial disputes with the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. Beijing claims historical rights to much of the region, including waters reaching rivals’ shores.

“Exercises like the Kamandag allow us to work together multi-laterally, not only to enforce our commitments to our partner nations, but also to expand our regional relationships. Exercise Kamandag also prepares for a wide-range of challenges protruding (from) traditional security threats on the global scale and non-traditional security concerns such as disaster response operations through a series of field and combined interoperability exercises,” Valencia said.

During the 12-day exercise scores of personnel from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and Korean armed forces will serve as observers and are expected to participate in disaster response drills.

Rear Adm. Derek Trinque, the exercise director on the U.S. side, said the joint drills “will help us carry on this important work together, to ensure our nations’ defense and preserve peace in the region.”

Trinque said the drills would help both forces “to be more prepared to address real-world challenges.”

He said U.S. armed forces enjoy partnerships with like-minded nations across the Indo-Pacific region.

“While it’s always a privilege for us to work bilaterally with the Philippines, with Japan, with the Republic of Korea, when we can bring our allies and partners together, if we can be part of that then we are pleased to do so,” he said.

“As the admiral (Valencia) stated, this is bilateral and the forces of Japan and Korea are observing this year. We are here on the invitation of the Philippines and so if in the future we have opportunities to work multilaterally, then we welcome that from the United States, but we would never try to tell the Armed Forces of the Philippines how they run their exercise,” Trinque said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.