Day: April 12, 2023

Efforts by workers to rescue the injured and collect the remains of mangled bodies at the scene of a junta air strike that killed at least 80 civilians in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region have been hampered by troops in the area, sources said Wednesday.

Tuesday’s air strike, in which junta aircraft bombed a crowd of hundreds attending an office opening ceremony in Kanbalu township’s Pa Zi Gyi village, is one of the deadliest attacks on civilians since Myanmar’s military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat.

Witnesses have said that it was hard to tell how many people had died in the attack because the bodies were so badly mangled by the bombs and machine gun fire.

As of Wednesday afternoon, rescue workers said they had cremated 83 bodies, including 22 minors. Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government said that at least 116 people had been killed, including 81 men, 16 women, and 19 minors.

Amid the carnage, the military has deployed a surveillance helicopter and stationed troops on the outskirts of Pa Zi Gyi, impeding efforts to collect body parts and bring the wounded for medical treatment, residents said.

A villager who declined to be named told RFA that his 10-year-old granddaughter and two 50-year-old relatives were among the victims, but said he had been unable to locate their bodies yet.

“More than 30 teenagers are still missing,” he said, adding that he is “sure they are dead.”

The villager said that the military had attacked the village multiple times on Tuesday.

“That’s why we could not collect all the bodies and were forced to leave them,” he said.

Another resident, who identified himself as Ko Myo, claimed that rescuers trying to collect bodies are the only people left in the 100-home village, which was otherwise abandoned by inhabitants he said were left in severe psychological shock by Tuesday’s attack.

“There is no one [in the village] since we have had to shelter in safe places,” he said. “We have had to let our herds of goats, cattle and chickens run free. We have left our businesses and shops behind and fled [from the village]. The situation is very bad.”

Every family in the village is missing members, he said.

Differing accounts

The military confirmed in a statement on Tuesday evening that it had carried out a “precision” attack on Pa Zi Gyi because members of the anti-junta People Defense Force paramilitary group had gathered there and “committed terrorist acts” in the area.

Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun told the military-controlled broadcast channel MRTV that those killed in the strike were members of the PDF, not civilians, and that the large number of casualties was the result of a rebel weapons cache exploding during the operation.

But a rescue worker who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns, said that was untrue. The attack on the site was deliberate and thorough, he said, beginning with a jet fighter bombing run and followed by an Mi-35 helicopter strafing the area.

“When we approached the scene to rescue the injured people and collect the bodies of victims in the afternoon, [the military] launched another attack,” he said. “So, we can say they attacked three times.”

Three rescuers were killed during the third attack, the rescue worker said.

“There is little we can do and the situation has become extremely difficult,” he added, describing the state of the village’s residents as “panic-stricken.”

An official from the Kanbalu township PDF also disputed Zaw Min Tun’s description of the attack, telling RFA that “whenever the junta forces attack civilians, they blame others.”

“On the ground, we know best whether [the victims were] PDF members or not,” he said. “There were no PDF members among the victims.”

Seeking accountability

High Court lawyer Kyi Myint said attacks like Tuesday’s air strike constitute “high treason” in Myanmar and “war crimes” according to international law.

“This army is formed by public funds to protect the people, not to kill them,” he said. “Now, they have committed high treason because they are killing people using the funds provided to protect the people.”

“According to international law, if a government kills its own people, the perpetrators shall be sent to the International Criminal Court to be prosecuted,” he added.

Tuesday’s attack prompted condemnation from around the globe, including from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as well as several Western governments and human rights organizations.

Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said the strike and other violent attacks “further underscore the regime’s disregard for human life and its responsibility for the dire political and humanitarian crisis in Burma” since the coup.

In a statement, he said that the United States wants the junta to end violence, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and to respect the democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar.

Residents of Pa Zi Gyi village and democracy activists have called for an arms and aviation fuel embargo on the junta to end its use of air strikes in the conflict.

Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

At Prime Minister Hun Sen’s behest, Cambodia has granted a Brazilian kickboxer and his wife citizenship for promoting Kun Khmer, the national sport, in the latest development in a controversy with Thailand, which calls the sport Muay Thai.

Hun Sen also gave a U.S.$20,000 sponsorship to Thiago Teixeira, 34, who with his wife Roma Maria Rozanska-Steffen, an American citizen, became naturalized Cambodian citizens by King Norodom Sihamoni through a royal decree dated April 11, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

The announcement came after the World Muay Thai Organization, or WMO, stripped Teixeira of a middleweight title that he won at the Apex Fight Series on April 1 in Germany, during which he waved Cambodia’s flag.

Teixeira had said he wanted to represent Kun Khmer instead of being a Muay Thai fighter, despite training in the Thai sport for years. The two martial art forms — the most popular sports in their respective countries — are nearly identical and involve punching, kneeing and kicking opponents. But Cambodians argue that the sport originated from their culture, while Thais say it belongs to them.

Cambodia has removed Muay Thai from a list of sports included in this year’s Southeast Asia Games, replacing it with Kun Khmer, amid a larger push for the national sport to gain international recognition. The biennial sports event will be held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on May 5-17.

Political ploy?

Critics said the prime minister was using the issue to try to increase his popularity among Cambodian voters ahead of July’s general election.

Legal expert Vorn Chan Lout said Cambodia should be extra cautious before granting citizenship to foreigners because the law requires them to live in the country for three years and understand its culture to be eligible. 

“Politicians are smart to take advantage of events, but the most important thing is the government needs to have a long-term vision in order to pay gratitude to all athletes,” he said.

Cambodia’s Citizenship Law allows foreigners to acquire citizenship through marriage and naturalization, though they must stay in the Southeast Asian nation for three years. 

Am Sam Ath of Licadho said Hun Sen’s government should support Cambodia’s home-grown martial arts athletes rather than foreign ones.  

“I urge the government to pay attention to Kun Khmer and to encourage athletes with sufficient training so they are able to fight,” he said. 

Cambodian kickboxers have complained that they are underpaid in the sport.

Veteran Kun Khmer fighter Vong Noy said he stopped fighting because his earnings from the sport were not enough to support his family or pay medical bills for injuries he sustained during fights. 

“I stopped fighting now because I have been fighting for many years,” he wrote on Facebook. “I got famous, but I am facing financial issues, and I’m afraid that I will become disabled and not make enough money to raise my children.” 

RFA could not reach Teixeira for comment, but he told local media during a press conference in Phnom Penh after signing a contract with the World Champion Kun Khmer Club, that he already considered Cambodia his home and he would help promote Kun Khmer to the rest of the world. 

Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

An overwhelming majority of Americans hold negative views about China and think Beijing’s ties with Moscow and tensions over Taiwan are “serious” problems for the United States, a new survey says.

The survey by the Pew Research Center found that 83% of Americans hold negative views of China, up from the 47% in 2017. At that time, 44% of Americans had positive views of China – but now only 14% do.

Older Americans are the most likely to say they have negative views of America’s main geopolitical rival, with 60% of those aged over 65 and 53% of those aged between 50 and 64 having “very negative” views. 

That compares to the 29% of Americans in the 18-29 age bracket and 37% aged 30-49 who hold “very negative” views. Those Americans are more likely to hold “somewhat negative” views (at 45% and 43%).

Among all respondents, 90% say China’s ties with Russia present a “serious” problem for the United States, while 84% say the same about tensions over Taiwan and 83% about China’s human rights policies.

“Concern about tensions in China’s relationship with Taiwan has also intensified, with a record high share of Americans saying cross-strait tensions are a very serious problem (47%),” the Pew report says. 

“Such worries about a strained relationship between China and Taiwan are more common among Americans with a favorable view of Taiwan, as well as Republicans and those ages 65 and older.”

Bipartisanship

Despite the growing bipartisan consensus on China in the U.S. Congress, there is a partisan divide amongst regular citizens, according to the Pew survey: 58% of Republicans have a “very negative” view of China, compared to 34% of Democrats.

But large majorities of all voters hold at least “somewhat” negative views of China – 89% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats.

“Where the parties differ most tends to be the intensity of the sentiment,” the Pew survey report says. “And in terms of ideology, conservative Republicans are often particularly negative toward China, even relative to more moderate and liberal Republicans.”

“Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party, for example, tend to be much more amenable to working with China on all key issues mentioned than Republicans or GOP leaners.”

Enemy or competitor?

After a year of heightened U.S.-China tensions, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August, the spy balloon fracas in August and this month’s trip to the United States by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Americans’ understanding of their country’s relationship with Beijing has also dramatically hardened.

Americans are 10 percentage points less likely than a year ago to describe China as a “competitor” rather than as an “enemy” or “partner.” That’s still the majority view, at 52%. However, the share who say China is an “enemy” has jumped from 25% to 38%.

That has been driven most by Republicans, a slim majority (53%) of whom now describe China as an “enemy” – up 11 percentage points in a year, and now ahead of the 41% who prefer the term “competitor.”

But there has also been growth among Democrats who see China as an enemy. That share has grown 12% to 27%, even if a clear majority of Democrats (62%) say the term “competitor” is more apt.

Only 6% of Americans consider China to be a partner, Pew says.

Edited by Malcolm Foster.

An increase in Myanmar’s defense budget of nearly U.S.$1 billion will fuel the country’s brutal civil war and lead to more civilian deaths, observers said Wednesday, calling for urgent action by the international community to cut off the junta’s access to income.

The increase comes after junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged that the military only effectively controls around two-thirds of the country, despite a nationwide offensive by junta troops who have visited death, arson, sexual violence, and torture on the people of Myanmar in the 26 months since the military seized power in a coup d’etat.

It also follows an Armed Forces Day speech by the military commander in which he vowed to “eradicate” the country’s opposition.

According to the budget, which Min Aung Hlaing approved on April 5, defense spending for the fiscal year 2023-2024 was set at 5.6 trillion kyats (U.S.$2.7 billion). The new figure represents an increase of U.S.$920 million over the previous fiscal year’s budget of U.S.$1.8 billion.

Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a group made up of former military officers, defended the increase, saying that it is intended not to suppress internal armed conflict, but to “upgrade” the military to a more “modern standard.”

“It’s not surprising that the military budget has to be increased in order to keep up with advancing defense technologies,” he said, adding that he estimates upgrading the military “will require two-thirds of the entire budget.”

But Aung Myo Min, human rights minister for the shadow National Unity Government, told RFA that the size of the military’s budget is directly proportional to the number of civilian deaths in the country.

“The more weapons the military buys, the more people suffer because, throughout the period of military expansion, there have been more and more killings of innocent civilians, more air attacks using the jet fuel imported from foreign countries and more burning of civilian properties,” he said.

“Increasing the budget to expand the military under the current circumstances is literally reinforcing the junta with more weapons to kill more innocent people. It will definitely cause more civilian deaths.”

Aung Myo Min said that the international community needs to take urgent and effective legal action against the junta to hold it accountable for the atrocities it has committed and block the sources of income that enable it to increase its military budget.

Fight for control of the country

According to Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), authorities in Myanmar have killed at least 3,240 civilians since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup – many during the military’s widespread scorched earth offensive against anti-junta armed groups and ethnic armies.

And yet, after more than two years in power, Min Aung Hlaing recently acknowledged that he is only in control of 198 of the country’s 330 townships. Since making the comments, military forces have accelerated clearing operations in Sagaing, Magwe, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, as well as Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Mon and Shan states.

Sai Kyi Zin Soe, a political analyst, believes that the increase in the junta’s military spending is part of a bid to complete these operations.

“The military needs a larger budget to meet quotas within its armed forces and to attack the resistance forces more severely,” he said.

“The junta chief announced in his March 27 [Armed Forces Day] speech that the military will crush the resistance forces. He said he will crush not just the increasing number of resistance forces across the country, but also the ethnic armed groups that support those forces. I think that is the reason for the junta’s increase in military budget.”

The junta has increased its defense spending every year since the 2020-2021 fiscal year, when Aung San Suu Kyi’s deposed National League for Democracy last set the military budget at 3.4 trillion kyats (U.S.$1.6 billion).

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matthew Reed.

Two attacks on opposition activists over the last week have prompted leaders of the opposition Candlelight Party to renew calls for police investigations into suspected political violence, which appears to be increasing ahead of July’s parliamentary elections.

The two incidents are the latest in what party officials claim have been dozens of similar violent attacks on their activists in the capital, Phnom Penh, and elsewhere over the last few years. No suspects have been arrested or charged in any of the incidents, they said.

Last Thursday, Thorn Chantha, president of the party’s youth movement, was struck by a baton by two assailants who then chased him to his car and smashed the driver’s window with a rock.

“This violence is to intimidate opposition party activists who dare to conduct political activities ahead of the election,” Thorn Chantha said.

The attack happened on the streets of Phnom Penh as party activists were planning a demonstration in front of its headquarters – the first in several years. 

A couple days later, Keat Sokchan, a member of the Candlelight Party’s youth movement, told Radio Free Asia that he was beaten by two suspects who used a steel baton to hit him about 10 times on his arms, shoulders and head. 

He said earlier this week that he was still being treated at a hospital.

“My arms are so painful that I can’t lift them up,” he said. “I want the authorities to imprison the suspects for the sake of youth safety across the country.”

No follow-up from police

Party organizers have also faced threats, harassment and arrest on what they say are trumped-up charges as they prepare for July’s parliamentary elections.

Authorities still haven’t followed up on Thorn Chantha’s complaint, he told RFA.

“I don’t have any confidence that police can find any suspects in my case and other cases,” Thorn Chantha said on Tuesday. “So far, they can’t find any suspects.”

Another activist, Nol Pongthirith, told RFA that he was struck on the head in July 2022. He said he also hasn’t received any information about an investigation. 

“If the suspects are not brought to justice, political parties’ activities will be reduced due to security concerns,” he said.

National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khouen has previously told RFA that police have been unable to find any suspects because victims haven’t cooperated with authorities. RFA couldn’t reach him for comment this week.

The spokesman for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, Sok Ey San, denied that there have been politically motivated attacks. In some cases, police have just needed more time to gather evidence, he said. 

“I guarantee you that there is no difference between an investigation to the ruling party and the opposition party,” he said. “Authorities investigate all incidents.”

Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

The jailing of Chinese dissidents Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi to more than a decade apiece for “subversion” on Monday has sparked international condemnation, amid fears another lawyer may be in line for an equally harsh sentence.

“I am very concerned that two prominent human rights defenders in China – Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong – have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, at variance with international human rights law standards,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement.

“Human rights law requires that people not be prosecuted or otherwise punished for voicing their criticism of government policies. It also requires respect for fair trial and due process rights, and proper investigations into any allegations of ill-treatment,” Türk said, adding that he would “follow up” with Beijing about the cases.

The United States also condemned the sentences – 14 years to Xu and 12 years for Ding – calling them “unjust.”

“These sentences demonstrate the PRC’s expansive effort to intimidate and silence all aspects of civil society,” the State Department said in a statement on its website, calling for the pair’s immediate and unconditional release.

“We similarly call upon [Beijing] to release others who were unjustly detained or imprisoned, to reinstate the lawyers who were unjustly disbarred, and to allow all individuals to exercise their fundamental freedoms,” it said.

The Linshu County People’s Court in the eastern province of Shandong handed down a 14-year jail term to Xu Zhiyong and a 12-year sentence to rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi on Monday after finding both men guilty of “subversion of state power” – a charge often used to target critics of the government – after they attended a 2019 dissident gathering.

Activists attended a dinner in Xiamen

Ding and Xu, the founder of the “New Citizens’ Movement” campaign for government transparency, were detained after they attended a dinner with prominent activists in December 2019 in Xiamen in southeastern China.

The lengthy jail terms have sparked fears that another lawyer who attended the gathering, Chang Weiping, could also soon receive a similarly harsh sentence, according to his wife, Chen Zijuan.

“The trial will be held soon, and I worry that my husband will also receive a harsh sentence,” she told Radio Free Asia.

“It seems the Xiamen gathering cases are being wrapped up now, and I expect Chang Weiping’s sentencing to come soon,” she said.

Chang – whose lawyers say he has suffered torture in incommunicado detention – was tried in secret on identical charges at the Feng County People’s Court in the northern province of Shaanxi in July 2022.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a minimum jail term of 10 years.

“It’s clear that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to make an example of [people who went to the Xiamen gathering], and suppress civil society in China with these heavy sentences,” Chen said, adding that Chang’s case, like Xu’s and Ding’s, has been subjected to repeated delays.

“A regular criminal case typically takes about four months to get to trial in China, but in Chang Weiping’s case, it has been two-and-a-half years,” Chen said. “They drag these things out because they hope that the international attention will die down, and people will get distracted by the next news story.”

Chen voiced fears for her husband’s health after such a long time in pretrial detention, saying he had lost a lot of weight. But he has also been denied visits from his legal team since last year’s trial, leading her to fear that he could have been tortured again.

“The lawyer who saw him during the trial said he was looking very thin, only weighing around … 50 pounds,” she said. “What kind of state is his health in now? Why won’t the police allow visits?”

Zhou Fengsuo, founder and director of the U.S.-based rights group Humanitarian China, said he is very concerned about Chang, Xu, Ding and fellow activist Li Qiaochu, who was sent to a psychiatric hospital in the eastern province of Shandong following accusations of “subversion of state power.”

“China’s human rights record is a threat to the whole world,” Zhou said. “The international community needs to get tougher on this, not just speaking out, but also coming up with tougher policies.”

“The best way would be to link trade policy with the human rights situation in China, which would make international pressure more effective in the long term,” he said.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Matt Reed.