village – Radio Free https://www.radiofree.org Independent Media for People, Not Profits. Thu, 19 Jun 2025 08:37:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.radiofree.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-Radio-Free-Social-Icon-2-32x32.png village – Radio Free https://www.radiofree.org 32 32 141331581 India: Police Raid Indigenous Village inside Tiger Reserve https://www.radiofree.org/2025/06/19/india-police-raid-indigenous-village-inside-tiger-reserve/ https://www.radiofree.org/2025/06/19/india-police-raid-indigenous-village-inside-tiger-reserve/#respond Thu, 19 Jun 2025 08:37:31 +0000 https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=159189 Forest Department officials break down the shelters of Jenu Kuruba people who had reclaimed their old village inside Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. This morning more than 250 police, forest guards and tiger force members raided a village which Indigenous people had reclaimed in a tiger reserve six weeks ago. The security forces tore down seven forest […]

The post India: Police Raid Indigenous Village inside Tiger Reserve first appeared on Dissident Voice.]]> jenu kurubaForest Department officials break down the shelters of Jenu Kuruba people who had reclaimed their old village inside Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.

This morning more than 250 police, forest guards and tiger force members raided a village which Indigenous people had reclaimed in a tiger reserve six weeks ago. The security forces tore down seven forest shelters where women, children and older people were living, at Karadikallu Atturu Kolli village, in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.

“They are forcing people to destroy their own homes on their own lands. This is a grave violation of human rights as well as the rights guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act,” said a source from inside the village.

Jenu Kuruba people were violently evicted from Nagarhole 40 years ago to make way for a tiger reserve. More than 50 families returned on May 5 to live in their former village and to assert their claims in accordance with India’s Forest Rights Act. It’s believed to be the first time Indigenous people in India asserted their rights to return to their homes after eviction from a Protected Area.

“It is outrageous that the Jenu Kuruba are being thrown out of their home once again. The authorities must stop this persecution of the Jenu Kuruba, who are just trying to live in peace on their own land,” said Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International. “As we’ve seen time and again, conservation – in this case a Tiger Reserve – is being used as a pretext to violate Indigenous rights. It is time to stop this abusive and colonial model of fortress conservation.”

The Jenu Kuruba had lived alongside and worshipped tigers for generations. They decided to return because their sacred spirits, who still dwell in the old village location, became angry at being abandoned when the community was forced from the forest in the 1980s.

The post India: Police Raid Indigenous Village inside Tiger Reserve first appeared on Dissident Voice.


This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Survival International.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2025/06/19/india-police-raid-indigenous-village-inside-tiger-reserve/feed/ 0 539858 This Alaska Native fishing village was trying to power their town. Then came Trump’s funding cuts. https://grist.org/indigenous/this-alaska-native-fishing-village-was-trying-to-power-their-town-then-came-trumps-funding-cuts/ https://grist.org/indigenous/this-alaska-native-fishing-village-was-trying-to-power-their-town-then-came-trumps-funding-cuts/#respond Thu, 12 Jun 2025 08:45:00 +0000 https://grist.org/?p=667521 For the fewer than a hundred people that make up the entire population of Port Heiden, Alaska, fishing provides both a paycheck and a full dinner plate. Every summer, residents of the Alutiiq village set out on commercial boats to catch salmon swimming upstream in the nearby rivers of Bristol Bay. 

John Christensen, Port Heiden’s tribal president, is currently making preparations for the annual trek. In a week’s time, he and his 17-year-old son will charter Queen Ann, the family’s 32-foot boat, eight hours north to brave some of the planet’s highest tides, extreme weather risks, and other treacherous conditions. The two will keep at it until August, hauling in thousands of pounds of fish each day that they later sell to seafood processing companies. It’s grueling work that burns a considerable amount of costly fossil fuel energy, and there are scarcely any other options.

Because of their location, diesel costs almost four times the national average — the Alaska Native community spent $900,000 on fuel in 2024 alone. Even Port Heiden’s diesel storage tanks are posing challenges. Coastal erosion has created a growing threat of leaks in the structures, which are damaging to the environment and expensive to repair, and forced the tribe to relocate them further inland. On top of it all, of course, diesel generators contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and are notoriously noisy. 

“Everything costs more. Electricity goes up, diesel goes up, every year. And wages don’t,” Christensen said. “We live on the edge of the world. And it’s just tough.”

In 2015, the community built a fish processing plant that the tribe collectively owns; they envisioned a scenario in which tribal members would not need to share revenue with processing companies, would bring home considerably more money, and wouldn’t have to spend months at a time away from their families. But the building has remained nonoperational for an entire decade, because they simply can’t afford to power it. 

Enormous amounts of diesel are needed, says Christensen, to run the filleting and gutting machines, separators and grinders, washing and scaling equipment, and even to store the sheer amount of fish the village catches every summer in freezers and refrigerators. They can already barely scrape together the budget needed to pay for the diesel that powers their boats, institutions, homes, and airport. 

The onslaught of energy challenges that Port Heiden is facing, Christensen says, is linked to a corresponding population decline. Their fight for energy independence is a byproduct of colonial policies that have limited the resources and recourse that Alaska Native tribes like theirs have. “Power is 90 percent of the problem,” said Christensen. “Lack of people is the rest. But cheaper power would bring in more people.” 

In 2023, Climate United, a national investment fund and coalition, submitted a proposal to participate in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, or GGRF — a $27 billion investment from the Inflation Reduction Act and administered by the Environmental Protection Agency to “mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis.” Last April, the EPA announced it had chosen three organizations to disseminate the program’s funding; $6.97 billion was designated to go to Climate United. 

Then, in the course of President Donald Trump’s sweeping federal disinvestment campaign, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was singled out as a poster child for what Trump’s EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin claimed was “criminal.”

“The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,” Zeldin said in February. He then endeavored on a crusade to get the money back. As the financial manager for GGRF, Citibank, the country’s third-largest financial institution, got caught in the middle. 

The New York Times reported that investigations into Biden officials’ actions in creating the program and disbursing the funds had not found any “meaningful evidence” of criminal wrongdoing.

On March 4, Zeldin announced that the GGRF funding intended to go to Climate United and seven other organizations had been frozen. The following week, Climate United filed a joint lawsuit against the EPA, which they followed with a motion for a temporary restraining order against Zeldin, the EPA and Citibank from taking actions to implement the termination of the grants. On March 11, the EPA sent Climate United a letter of funding termination. In April, a federal D.C. district judge ruled that the EPA had terminated the grants unlawfully and blocked the EPA from clawing them back. The Trump administration then appealed the decision. 

Climate United is still awaiting the outcome of that appeal. While they do, the $6.97 billion remains inaccessible. 

Climate United’s money was intended to support a range of projects from Hawai’i to the East Coast, everything from utility-scale solar to energy-efficient community centers — and a renewable energy initiative in Port Heiden. The coalition had earmarked $6 million for the first round of a pre-development grant program aimed at nearly two dozen Native communities looking to adopt or expand renewable energy power sources. 

“We made investments in those communities, and we don’t have the capital to support those projects,” said Climate United’s Chief Community Officer Krystal Langholz.

In response to an inquiry from Grist, an EPA spokesperson noted that “Unlike the Biden-Haris administration, this EPA is committed to being an exceptional steward of taxpayer dollars.” The spokesperson said that Zeldin had terminated $20 billion in grant agreements because of “substantial concerns regarding the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program integrity, the award process, and programmatic waste and abuse, which collectively undermine the fundamental goals and statutory objectives of the award.” 

A representative of Citibank declined to comment. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service did not respond to requests for comment. 

Long before most others recognized climate change as an urgent existential crisis, the Alutiiq peoples of what is now known as Port Heiden, but was once called Meshik, were forced to relocate because of rising seawater. With its pumice-rich volcanic soils and exposed location on the peninsula that divides Bristol Bay from the Gulf of Alaska, the area is unusually vulnerable to tidal forces that erode land rapidly during storms. Beginning in 1981, disappearing sea ice engulfed buildings and homes.

The community eventually moved their village about a ten-minute drive further inland. No one lives at the old site anymore, but important structures still remain, including safe harbor for fishing boats.

The seas, of course, are still rising, creeping up to steal the land from right below the community’s feet. In a region that’s warming faster than just about any other place on the planet, much of the land is on the precipice of being swallowed by water. From 2017 to 2018, the old site lost between 35 and 65 feet of shoreline, as reported by the Bristol Bay Times. Even the local school situated on the newer site is affected by the shrinking shoreline — the institution and surrounding Alutiiq village, increasingly threatened by the encroaching sea. 

Before the Trump administration moved to terminate their funding, Christensen’s dream of transitioning the Port Heiden community to renewable sources of energy, consequential for both maintaining its traditional lifestyle and ensuring its future, had briefly seemed within reach. He also saw it as a way to contribute to global solutions to the climate crisis. 

“I don’t think [we are] the biggest contributor to global pollution, but if we could do our part and not pollute, maybe we won’t erode as fast,” he said. “I know we’re not very many people, but to us, that’s our community.”

The tribe planned to use a $300,000 grant from Climate United to pay for the topographic and waterway studies needed to design two run-of-the-river hydropower plants. In theory, the systems, which divert a portion of flowing water through turbines, would generate enough clean energy to power the entirety of Port Heiden, including the idle fish-processing facility. The community also envisioned channeling hydropower to run a local greenhouse, where they could expand what crops they raise and the growing season, further boosting local food access and sovereignty.

In even that short period of whiplash — from being awarded the grant to watching it vanish — the village’s needs have become increasingly urgent. Meeting the skyrocketing cost of diesel, according to Christensen, is no longer feasible. The community’s energy crisis and ensuing cost of living struggle have already started prompting an exodus, with the population declining at a rate of little over 3 percent every year — a noticeable loss when the town’s number rarely exceeds a hundred residents to begin with. 

“It’s really expensive to live out here. And I don’t plan on moving anytime soon. And my kids, they don’t want to go either. So I have to make it better, make it easier to live here,” Christensen said.

Janine Bloomfield, grants specialist at 10Power, the organization that Port Heiden partnered with to help write their grant application, said they are currently waiting for a decision to be made in the lawsuit “that may lead to the money being unfrozen.” In the interim, she said, recipients have been asked to work with Climate United on paperwork “to be able to react quickly in the event that the funds are released.” 

For its part, Climate United is also now exploring other funding strategies. The coalition is rehauling the structure of the money going to Port Heiden and other Native communities. Rather than awarding it as a grant, where recipients would have to pay the costs upfront and be reimbursed later, Climate United will now issue loans to the communities originally selected for the pre-development grants that don’t require upfront costs and will be forgiven upon completion of the agreed-upon deliverables. Their reason for the transition, according to Langholz, was “to increase security, decrease administrative burden on our partners, and create credit-building opportunities while still providing strong programmatic oversight.”   

Still, there are downsides to consider with any loan, including being stuck with debt. In many cases, said Chéri Smith, a Mi’Kmaq descendant who founded and leads the nonprofit Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, replacing a federal grant with a loan, even a forgivable one, “adds complexity and risk for Tribal governments.” 

Forgivable loans “become a better option” in later stages of development or for income-generating infrastructure, said Smith, who is on the advisory board of Climate United, but are “rarely suitable for common pre-development needs.” That’s because pre-feasibility work, such as Port Heiden’s hydropower project, “is inherently speculative, and Tribes should not be expected to risk even conditional debt to validate whether their own resources can be developed.” This is especially true in Alaska, she added, where costs and logistical challenges are exponentially higher for the 229 federally recognized tribes than in the lower 48, and outcomes much less predictable. 

Raina Thiele, Dena’ina Athabascan and Yup’ik, who formerly served in the Biden administration as senior adviser for Alaska affairs to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and former tribal liaison to President Obama, said the lending situation is particularly unique when it comes to Alaska Native communities, because of how Congress historically wrote legislation relating to a land claim settlement which saw tribes deprived of control over resources and land. Because of that, it’s been incredibly difficult for communities to build capacity, she noted, making even a forgivable loan “a bit of a high-risk endeavor.” The question of trust also shows up — the promise of loan forgiveness, in particular, is understandably difficult for communities who have long faced exploitation and discrimination in public and privatized lending programs. “Grant programs are a lot more familiar,” she said. 

Even so, the loan from Climate United would only be possible if the court rules in its favor and compels the EPA to release the money. If the court rules against Climate United, Langholz told Grist, the organization plans to pursue damage claims in another court and may seek philanthropic fundraising to help Port Heiden come up with the $300,000, in addition to the rest of the $6 million promised to the nearly two dozen Native communities originally selected for the grant program. 

“These cuts can be a matter of life or death for many of these communities being able to heat their homes, essentially,” said Thiele.

While many different stakeholders wait to see how the federal funding crisis will play out, Christensen doesn’t know what to make of the proposed grant-to-loan shift for Port Heiden’s hydropower project. The landscape has changed so quickly and drastically, it has, however, prompted him to lose what little faith he had left in federal funding. He has already begun to brainstorm other ways to ditch diesel.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “I’ll find the money, if I have to. I’ll win the lottery, and spend the money on cheaper power.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline This Alaska Native fishing village was trying to power their town. Then came Trump’s funding cuts. on Jun 12, 2025.


This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Ayurella Horn-Muller.

]]> https://grist.org/indigenous/this-alaska-native-fishing-village-was-trying-to-power-their-town-then-came-trumps-funding-cuts/feed/ 0 538229 Myanmar village targeted by junta despite ceasefire declaration https://www.radiofree.org/2025/04/28/myanmar-village-targeted-by-junta-despite-ceasefire-declaration/ https://www.radiofree.org/2025/04/28/myanmar-village-targeted-by-junta-despite-ceasefire-declaration/#respond Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:18:51 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=67d6d2de18ff4ccd82a2b174e8d6dc8b
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2025/04/28/myanmar-village-targeted-by-junta-despite-ceasefire-declaration/feed/ 0 529963 Roma People Beaten And Brutally Harassed In Village That Calls Itself ‘Roma Free’ https://www.radiofree.org/2025/04/01/roma-people-beaten-and-brutally-harassed-in-village-that-calls-itself-roma-free/ https://www.radiofree.org/2025/04/01/roma-people-beaten-and-brutally-harassed-in-village-that-calls-itself-roma-free/#respond Tue, 01 Apr 2025 07:00:06 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=9297bf1bb060b13373f508c19b87168a
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2025/04/01/roma-people-beaten-and-brutally-harassed-in-village-that-calls-itself-roma-free/feed/ 0 522901 Homemade banana chips brings in tourists to rural Cambodian village https://rfa.org/english/cambodia/2025/03/02/cambodia-banana-slices/ https://rfa.org/english/cambodia/2025/03/02/cambodia-banana-slices/#respond Sun, 02 Mar 2025 17:44:23 +0000 https://rfa.org/english/cambodia/2025/03/02/cambodia-banana-slices/ Dozens of families in Cambodia’s Battambang province have developed a thriving side business: selling bags of homemade banana chips to foreign and Cambodian tourists.

Wives and children in Battambang’s Kdol Daun Teav commune earn extra money by slicing up bananas, laying them out to dry on bamboo skewers and then selling them as snacks to people who travel to the area to visit Wat Ek Phnom, an Angkor-era temple.

Making the banana chips requires patience, according to Nuon Chamnan. It takes a long time to peel bananas, and some days she has to peel and slice bananas until midnight to meet orders.

“Sometimes there are so many foreign visitors and then there are no leftovers for other customers,” she said.

A journey to Wat Ek Phnom is a popular day trip for people staying in Battambang town, which is about 9 km (5 miles) away from Kdol Daun Teav, where residents grow rice and gather fish from the Sankae River.

Over the last few years, word has gotten around that tourists can see the traditional livelihood of Cambodian villagers while also buying a unique snack.

Nuon Chamnan said she slices about 50 bananas a day, and can make about 50,000 riels (US$12.50) in sales. The business doesn’t require much of an upfront investment – just a lot of work, she said.

“It’s not like we do it with machines,” said another banana seller, Khun Srey Lek.

“We use our hands to do it normally, so it’s not tiring,” she said. “We just do it from morning to night, so we do it lightly, like a house chore.”

Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Khmer.

]]> https://rfa.org/english/cambodia/2025/03/02/cambodia-banana-slices/feed/ 0 515862 ‘Turn it into a retirement village’: Inside the war of words over Eden Park https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/28/turn-it-into-a-retirement-village-inside-the-war-of-words-over-eden-park/ https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/28/turn-it-into-a-retirement-village-inside-the-war-of-words-over-eden-park/#respond Tue, 28 Jan 2025 09:56:21 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=110186 After lengthy, torrid and emotional debate a critical decision for the future of Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau is being made in March. One party will celebrate; the other will slink back to the drawing board. But will it really settle the great Auckland stadium debate?

SPECIAL REPORT: By Chris Schulz

It resembles a building from Blade Runner. It looks like somewhere the Avengers might assemble. It is, believes Paul Nisbet, the future.

“It’s innovative, it’s groundbreaking, it’s something different,” says the driving force behind Te Tōangaroa, a new stadium mooted for downtown Auckland.

He has spent 13 years dreaming up this moon shot, and it shows. “We have an opportunity here to deliver something special for the country.”

Located behind Spark Arena, Te Tōangaroa — also called “Quay Park” — is Nisbet’s big gamble, the stadium he believes Tāmaki Makaurau needs to sustain the city’s live sport and entertainment demands for the next 100 years.

His is a concept as grand as it gets, a U-shaped dream with winged rooftops that will sweep around fans sitting in the stands, each getting unimpeded views out over the Waitematā Harbour and Rangitoto Island.

An artist's impression of Quay Park stadium, Auckland.
Located behind Spark Arena, Te Tōangaroa is also called “Quay Park”. Image: Te Tōangaroa

Nisbet calls his vision a “gateway for the world,” a structure so grand he believes it would attract the biggest sports teams, stars and sponsors to Aotearoa while offering visitors a must-see tourist destination. Nestled alongside residential areas, commercial zones and an All Blacks-themed hotel, designs show a retractable roof protecting 55,000 punters from the elements and a sky turret towering over neighbouring buildings.

He’s gone all in on this. Nisbet’s quit his job, assembled a consortium of experts — called Cenfield MXD — and attracted financial backers to turn his vision into a reality. It is, Nisbet believes, the culmination of his 30-year career working in major stadiums, including 11 years as director of Auckland Stadiums.

“I’ve had the chance to travel extensively,” he says. “I’ve been to over 50 stadiums around the world.”

Tāmaki Makaurau, he says, needs Te Tōangaroa — urgently. If approved, it will be built over an ageing commercial space and an unused railway yard sitting behind Spark Arena, what Nisbet calls “a dirty old brownfields location that’s sapping the economic viability out of the city”.

He calls it a “regeneration” project. “You couldn’t mistake you’re in Auckland, or New Zealand, when you see images of it,” he says.

The All Blacks are on board, says Nisbet, and they want Te Tōangaroa built by 2029 in time for a Lions tour. (The All Blacks didn’t respond to a request for comment, but former players John Kirwan and Sean Fitzpatrick have backed the team moving to Te Tōangaroa.)

Concert promoters are on board too, says Nisbet. He believes Te Tōangaroa would end the Taylor Swift debacle that’s seen her and many major acts skip us in favour of touring Australian stadiums.

“It will be one of those special places that international acts just have to play,” he says.

The problem? Nisbet’s made a gamble that may not pay off. In March, a decision is due to be made about the city’s stadium future. Building Te Tōangaroa, with an estimated construction time of six years and a budget of $1 billion, is just one option.

The other, Eden Park, has 125 years of history, a long-standing All Blacks record and a huge number of supporters behind it — as well as a CEO willing to do anything to win.

The stadium standing in Te Tōangaroa’s way
Stand in Eden Park’s foyer for a few minutes and history will smack you in the face. It’s there in the photos framed on the wall from a 1937 All Blacks test match. It’s sitting in Anton Oliver’s rugby boots from 2001, presumably fumigated and placed inside a glass case.

More recent history is on display too, with floor-to-ceiling photographs showing off concerts headlined by by Ed Sheeran and Six60, a pivot only possible since 2021.

Soon, the man in charge of all of this arrives. “Very few people have seen this space,” says Nick Sautner, the Eden Park CEO who shakes my hand, pulls me down a hallway and invites me into a secret room in the bowels of Eden Park. With gleaming wood panels, leather couches and top-shelf liquor, Sautner’s proud of his hidden bar.

“It’s invite-only . . . a VIP experience,” says Sautner, whose Australian accent remains easily identifiable despite seven years at the helm of Eden Park.

The future of Eden Park if a refurb is granted.
The future of Eden Park if a refurb is granted. Image: YouTube

This bar, he says, is just one of the many innovations Eden Park has undertaken in recent years. Built in 1900, the Mt Eden stadium remains the home of the All Blacks — but Eden Park is no longer considered a specialty sports venue.

Up to 70 percent of the stadium’s revenue now comes from non-sporting activities, Sautner confirms. You can golf, abseil onto the rooftops and stay the night in dedicated glamping venues. It’s also become promoters’ choice for major concerts, with Coldplay and Luke Combs recently hosting multiple shows there. “We will consider any innovation you can imagine,” Sautner tells me. “We’re a blank canvas.”

Throughout our interview, Sautner refers to Eden Park as the “national stadium”. He’s upbeat and on form, rattling off statistics and renovations from memory. His social media feeds — especially LinkedIn — are full of posts promoting the stadium’s achievements. He’ll pick up the phone to anyone who will talk to him.

“Whatsapp is the best way of contacting me,” he says. Residents have his number and can call directly with complaints. After our interview, Sautner passes me his business card then follows it up with an email making sure I have everything I need. “My phone’s always on,” he assures me.

He may not admit it, but Sautner’s doing all of this in an attempt to get ahead of what’s shaping up as the biggest crisis of Eden Park’s 125 years. If Te Tōangaroa is chosen in March, Eden Park — as well as Albany’s North Harbour Stadium and Onehunga’s Go Media Stadium – will all take a back seat.

If Eden Park loses the All Blacks and their 31-year unbeaten record, then there’s no other word for it: the threat is existential.

The future of Eden Park if a refurb is granted.
Called Eden Park 2.1, Sautner is promoting a three-stage renovation plan. Image: YouTube

Ask Sautner if he’s losing sleep over his stadium’s future and he shakes his head. To him, Te Tōangaroa’s numbers don’t stack up. “If someone can make the business model work for an alternative stadium in Auckland, I’m all for activating the waterfront,” he says.

Then he poses a series of questions: “How many events a year would a downtown stadium hold? Forty-five?” he asks. “So 320 other days a year, what’s going to be in that stadium?”

He is, of course, biased. But Sautner believes upgrading Eden Park is the right move. Called Eden Park 2.1, Sautner is promoting a three-stage renovation plan that includes building a $100 million retractable rooftop. A new North Stand would lift Eden Park’s capacity to 70,000, and improved function facilities and a pedestrian bridge would turn the venue into “a fortress . . . capable of hosting every event”.

He’s veering into corporate speak, but Sautner sees the vision clearly. With his annual concert consent recently raised from six to 12 shows, he already thinks he’s got it in the bag, “Eden Park has the land, it has the consent, it has the community, it has the infrastructure,” he says. “I’m very confident Eden Park is going to be here for another 100 years.”

Instead of a drink, Sautner offers RNZ a personal stadium tour that takes us through the exact same doors that open when the All Blacks emerge onto the hallowed turf. There, blinking in the sunlight, Sautner sweeps his arms around the stadium and grins. “I get up every day and I think of my family,” he says. “Then I think, ‘How can I make Eden Park better?”

The stadium debate: ‘It began when the dinosaurs died out’
It is, says Shane Henderson, an argument for the ages. It never seems to quit. How long have Aucklanders been feuding about stadiums? “It began when the dinosaurs died out,” jokes Henderson.

For the past year, he’s been chairing a working group that will make the decision on Auckland’s stadium future. That group whittled four options down to the current two, eliminating a sunken waterfront stadium, and another based in Silo Park.

He’s doing this because Wayne Brown asked him to. “The mayor said, ‘We need to say to the public, ‘This is our preferred option for a stadium for the city.'” It’s taken over Henderson’s life. Every summer barbecue has turned into a forum for people to share their views.

“People say, “Why don’t you do this?'” he says. Henderson won’t be drawn on which way he’s leaning ahead of March’s decision, but he’s well aware of the stakes. “We’re talking about the future of our city for generations to come,” he says. “It’s natural feelings are going to run high.”

That’s true. As I researched this story, the main parties engaged in a back-and-forth discussion that became increasingly heated. Jim Doyle, from Te Tōangaroa’s Cenfield MXD team, described Eden Park’s situation as desperate.

“Eden Park can’t fund itself . . . it’s got no money, it’s costing ratepayers,” he said. Doyle alleged the stadium “wouldn’t be fit for purpose”. “You’re going to have to spend probably close to $1 billion to upgrade it.” Asked what should happen to Eden Park should the decision go Te Tōangaroa’s way, Doyle shrugged his shoulders. “Turn it into a retirement village.”

Eden Park’s Sautner immediately struck back. Yes, he admits Eden Park owes $40 million to Auckland Council, calling that debt a “legacy left over from the Rugby World Cup 2011”. But he denied most of the consortium’s claims.

“Eden Park does not receive any funding or subsidies from Auckland ratepayers,” Sautner said in a written statement. He confirmed renovations had already begun. “Over the past three years, the Trust has invested more than $30 million to enhance infrastructure and upgrade facilities . . . creating flexible spaces to meet evolving market demands.”

Sautner said Doyle’s statement was evidence of his team’s inexperience. “We are extremely disappointed that comments of this nature have been made,” he said. “They are factually incorrect and highlight Quay Park consortium’s lack of understanding of stadium economics.”

Do we even need to do this?
As the stadium debate turns into a showdown, major stars continue to skip Aotearoa in favour of huge Australian shows, with Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue and Oasis all giving us a miss this year. New Zealand music fans are reluctantly spending large sums on flights and accommodation if they want to see them. Until Metallica arrives in November, there are no stadium shows booked; just three of Eden Park’s 12 allotted concert slots are taken this year.

Yet, Auckland City councillors will soon study feasibility reports being submitted by both stadium options.

On March 24, Henderson, the working group chair, says councillors will come together to “thrash it out” and vote for their preferred option. There will only be one winner, and The New Zealand Herald reports either building Te Tōangaroa or Eden Park 2.1 is likely to cost more than $1 billion. Either we’re spending that on a brand new waterfront stadium, or we’re upgrading an old one.

“Is that the best use of that money?” asks David Benge. The managing director for events company TEG Live doesn’t believe Tāmaki Makaurau needs another stadium because it’s barely using those it already has. He has questions.

“I understand the excitement around a shiny new toy, but to what end?” he asks. “Can Auckland sustain a show at Go Media Stadium, a show at Western Springs, a show at Eden Park, and a show at this new stadium on the same night — or even in the same week?”

Benge doesn’t believe Te Tōangaroa would entice more artists to play here either. “I’m yet to meet an artist who’s going to be swayed by how iconic a venue is,” he says. Bigger problems include the size of our population and the strength of our dollar.

No matter the venue, “you’re still incurring the same expenses to produce the show,” he says. Instead, he suggests Pōneke as the next city needing a new venue. “If you could wave a magic wand and invest in a 10,000-12,000-capacity indoor arena in Wellington, that would be fantastic,” he says.

An artist's impression of Quay Park stadium, Auckland.
Would a new stadium really lure big artists to NZ? Image: Te Tōangaroa

Live Nation, the touring juggernaut that hosts most of the country’s stadium shows, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Other promoters canvassed by RNZ offered mixed views. Some wanted a new stadium, while others wanted a refurbished one. Every single one of them said that any new stadium needed to be built with concerts — not sport — in mind.

“We’re fitting a square peg in a round hole,” one said about the production costs involved in trucking temporary stages into Eden Park or Go Media Stadium. “Turf replacement can add hundreds of thousands — if not $1 million — to your bottom line,” said another.

Some wanted something else entirely. Veteran promoter Campbell Smith pointed out Auckland Council is seeking input for a potential redevelopment of Western Springs. One mooted option is turning it into a home ground for the rapidly rising football club Auckland FC. Smith doesn’t agree with that. “I think it’s a really attractive option for music and festivals,” he says. “It’s got a large footprint, it’s easily accessible, it’s close to the city … It would be a travesty if it was developed entirely for sport.”

One thing is for certain: a decision on this lengthy, torrid and emotional topic is being made in March. One party will celebrate; the other will slink back to the drawing board. Will it finally end the great Auckland stadium debate? That’s a question that seems easier to answer than any of the others.

Chris Schulz is a freelance entertainment journalist and author of the industry newsletter, Boiler Room. This article was first published by RNZ and is republished with the author’s permission. Asia Pacific Report has a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/28/turn-it-into-a-retirement-village-inside-the-war-of-words-over-eden-park/feed/ 0 511345 Kosovo Village Celebrates Trump’s Inauguration https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/20/kosovo-village-celebrates-trumps-inauguration/ https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/20/kosovo-village-celebrates-trumps-inauguration/#respond Mon, 20 Jan 2025 18:12:10 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=bf22ff09fc931589d08c2bb36c32dd7b
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/20/kosovo-village-celebrates-trumps-inauguration/feed/ 0 510397 Myanmar junta bombs Rohingya Muslim village killing 41, rescuers say https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2025/01/09/rakhine-rohingya-village-bombed/ https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2025/01/09/rakhine-rohingya-village-bombed/#respond Thu, 09 Jan 2025 10:40:03 +0000 https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2025/01/09/rakhine-rohingya-village-bombed/ The Myanmar air force has bombed a fishing village in Rakhine state killing 41 civilians and wounding 52, most of them Rohingya Muslims, residents involved in rescue work said on Thursday, in an attack insurgents condemned as a war crime.

Military planes bombed Kyauk Ni Maw village on the coast in Ramree township on Wednesday afternoon sparking huge fires that destroyed about 600 homes, residents said, sending clouds of black smoke up over the sea.

The area is under the control of anti-junta Arakan Army, or AA, insurgents but a spokesman said no fighting was going on there at the time of the air raid.

“The targeting of innocent people where there is no fighting is a very despicable and cowardly act … as well as a blatant war crime,” AA spokesman Khaing Thu Kha told Radio Free Asia.

Smoke rises from fires in Kyauk Ni Maw village in Rakhine state after a Myanmar air force bombing raid on Jan. 8, 2025.
Smoke rises from fires in Kyauk Ni Maw village in Rakhine state after a Myanmar air force bombing raid on Jan. 8, 2025.
(Arakan Princess Media)

Hla Thein, the junta’s spokesman for Rakhine state, told RFA he was not aware of the incident. Posters in pro-military social media news channels said Kyauk Ni Maw was a transport hub for the AA.

A resident helping survivors said medics were trying to give emergency treatment to the wounded amid fears that the air force could return at any time and let loose bombs and missiles.

“People are going to help them out and more are coming,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for safety teaspoons.

“We’ve been treating the injured since last night but we don’t dare to keep too many patients in the hospital for fear of another airstrike.”

Villagers survey ruins in Kyauk Ni Maw village in Rakhine state after a Myanmar air force raid on Jan. 8, 2025.
Villagers survey ruins in Kyauk Ni Maw village in Rakhine state after a Myanmar air force raid on Jan. 8, 2025.
(Arakan Princess Media)

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The AA has made unprecedented gains against the military since late last year and now controls about 80% of Myanmar’s westernmost state.

On Dec. 29, the AA captured the town of Gwa from the military, a major step toward its goal of taking the whole of Rakhine state, and then said it was ready for talks with the junta, which seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat.

But the junta has responded with deadly airstrikes, residents say.

The military denies targeting civilians but human rights investigators and security analysts say Myanmar’s army has a long reputation of indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas as a way to undermine popular support for the various rebel forces fighting its rule.

“The military is showing its fangs with its planes, that people can be killed at any time, at will,” aid worker Wai Hin Aung told RFA.

Villagers watch homes burning in Kyauk Ni Maw village, in Rakhine state, after a raid by the Myanmar air force on Jan. 8, 2025.
Villagers watch homes burning in Kyauk Ni Maw village, in Rakhine state, after a raid by the Myanmar air force on Jan. 8, 2025.
(Arakan Princess Media)

The bombing of Kyauk Ni Maw is the latest bloody attack on members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. About 740,000 Rohingya fled from Rakhine state to neighboring Bangladesh following a bloody crackdown by the military against members of the largely stateless community in August 2017.

Over the past year, Rohingya have suffered violence at the hands of both sides in the Rakhine state’s war, U.N. rights investigators have said.

The AA took a hard line with the Rohingya after the junta launched a campaign to recruit, at times forcibly, Rohingya men into militias to fight the insurgents.

On Aug. 5, scores of Rohingya trying to flee from the town of Maungdaw to Bangladesh, across a border river, were killed by drones and artillery fire that survivors and rights groups said was unleashed by the AA. The AA denied responsibility.

Edited by RFA Staff.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

]]> https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2025/01/09/rakhine-rohingya-village-bombed/feed/ 0 508947 No, this video does not show Hindu woman raped and tortured in Bangladesh village https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/06/no-this-video-does-not-show-hindu-woman-raped-and-tortured-in-bangladesh-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/06/no-this-video-does-not-show-hindu-woman-raped-and-tortured-in-bangladesh-village/#respond Mon, 06 Jan 2025 10:09:27 +0000 https://www.altnews.in/?p=293495 A video of a seemingly distressed woman crawling out of a bush in wet clothes is viral on social media. Users are sharing this footage with the claim that she...

The post No, this video does not show Hindu woman raped and tortured in Bangladesh village appeared first on Alt News.

]]> A video of a seemingly distressed woman crawling out of a bush in wet clothes is viral on social media. Users are sharing this footage with the claim that she is a Hindu woman, who was raped and tortured in Bangladesh.

In the video, the crowd surrounding the woman shines a torchlight on her and calls for her to come out while others assure her that she won’t be beaten up. Those sharing the video allege that the no one helped the tormented woman who was being made fun of by “extremists”. The incident is purportedly from Narayanganj in Bangladesh.

The neighbouring country has been in the eye of flaring communal tensions for some time now.

The above video was shared by Faraz Pervaiz (@FarazPervaiz3) on X (formerly Twitter) on December 27, 2024 with a caption saying that a Hindu woman was brutally raped in Araihazar village in Narayanganj while Muslims made fun of her.

The post garnered around 44,000 views.

The claim was further amplified by X account Rinti Chatterjee Pandey (@mainRiniti), who shared Asifur Rahaman Chowdhury’s post the following day. The translated text reads, “A Bangladeshi Hindu woman is raped by several people and then a video is being made. Not even a single person came to save her, and our government is sending rice to feed Bangladeshi dogs. This is too much.”

The post garnered around 1.5 million views.

Another X user, Asifur Rahman Chowdhury (@Asifurrahman71), also shared the video with a similar claim and the hashtag #SaveBangladeshiHindu. His post had around 206,000 views.

Several others also shared similar claims. You can see them in the gallery below.

Click to view slideshow.

Fact Check

A keyword search led us to a news article by Bangladeshi media outlet Somoy News. The report, published on December 27, 2024, features an image similar to the visuals in the viral video. According to this report, the previous day, a group of seven or eight people were trying to steal a car from Ilumdi road in Kahindi village, Araihazar, Narayanganj. However, the residents soon realised what was happening and began chasing the robbers, who then tried to escape. However, one of the robbers, Billal, was caught by the mob and lynched to death. The mob also spotted an alleged associate of Billal, a woman named Lovely. In a bid to save herself, this woman reportedly jumped into a canal. The report identifies her in an image, making it clear that it is the same woman seen in the viral video. 

INSERT SIMILARITY EDIT

The villagers rescued her and handed her over to the police. She was then sent to the Araihazar Upazila Health Complex.

Confirming the incident, assistant superintendent of Araihazar police, Mehedi Islam, told Somoy News that the deceased robber, Billal, was a known criminal with at least nine pending cases. He had been named in murder and robbery cases in the past. He said that the woman, Lovely, had been arrested and they were preparing to file a case against her, adding that the 25-year-old woman was also beaten up by the mob.

Dhaka-based news outlet Prathom Alo reported that during initial investigation, Lovely admitted to being associated with the gang of robbers that escaped but later denied any involvement. She claimed that she was a sex worker and with a client in the area at the time of the incident. Reportedly, scared after people began screaming, she tried to run away but was caught and beaten up by people, who suspected she was with the gang of robbers. She then jumped into the canal to escape, the report said.

During our investigation, we found a video uploaded on the Facebook page of local news portal, Araihazar Times, on December 27, 2024. The caption refers to the woman as Lovely Begum. In this, she can be heard saying that she was attacked by robbers while travelling in an auto-rickshaw. They took her hostage while the auto driver fled and informed local residents. This led to the now-deceased robber getting lynched and Lovely was also beaten as a suspect. 

,

গতরাতে ডাকাত সন্দেহে গনপিটুনীর শীকার লাভলী বেগম ঘটনার ব্যাখ্যা দিলেন যেভাবে ?

ভিডিও ধারণ: কাউসার আহাম্মেদ।

Posted by আড়াইহাজার টাইমস on Friday 27 December 2024

Alt news spoke to a Bangladeshi journalist who confirmed that the woman seen in this video was named Lovely and she was not a Hindu. Neither was she raped. She jumped into a canal to save herself from the being beaten up by the angry villagers, who presumed she was involved in a robbery.

Thus the viral video has been falsely given a communal angle. The woman in the clip is not a Hindu. Her name is Lovely Begum and she belongs to the Muslim community. She jumped into a canal to save herself from being beaten up by the villagers, who believed she was involved in a robbery. 

The post No, this video does not show Hindu woman raped and tortured in Bangladesh village appeared first on Alt News.


This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Ankita Mahalanobish.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/06/no-this-video-does-not-show-hindu-woman-raped-and-tortured-in-bangladesh-village/feed/ 0 508532 Bangladesh village fire video peddled with false communal spin https://www.radiofree.org/2024/12/24/bangladesh-village-fire-video-peddled-with-false-communal-spin/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/12/24/bangladesh-village-fire-video-peddled-with-false-communal-spin/#respond Tue, 24 Dec 2024 07:15:15 +0000 https://www.altnews.in/?p=293231 Amid the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, social media platforms are flooded with unverified videos and images of alleged attacks on the minorities in the country. A video currently circulating on...

The post Bangladesh village fire video peddled with false communal spin appeared first on Alt News.

]]> Amid the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, social media platforms are flooded with unverified videos and images of alleged attacks on the minorities in the country. A video currently circulating on X (formerly Twitter) claims to show Hindus in Bangladesh being locked in their homes, which are then set on fire. X user @LindaMikhaylov shared the video with this claim and garnered over 20,000 views. (Archive)

Verified handle @Akhand_Bharat_S also tweeted the same video, garnering 19,000 views, and over 1000 retweets. (Archive)

Several other users amplified the video with the same claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)

Click to view slideshow.

Fact Check

Upon a Google reverse image search on one of the key frames of the video, we found the viral video on YouTube with the title, “বগুড়া সদরের সাবগ্রাম ইউনিয়নের ক্ষীদ্রধামা গ্রামে আগুন লেগে ৫ টি পরিবার একদম নিঃস্ব” (Translation: Five families left destitute after fire breaks out in Khidradhama village of Subgram Union in Bogura). The video was uploaded on December 7, 2024.

Taking a cue from this, Alt News ran a keyword search on Facebook and found that several users had posted the video stating that these were visuals from a fire that broke out in the Khidradhama village in Bogura. One such user was Bogura-based individual Mohammed Mozaffor who provided additional details in his caption. According to Mozaffor, the fire broke out around 5 pm on December 7 in the Khidradhamachama village of Bogura Sadar. An electrical short-circuit was initially thought to be the reason behind the fire. The blaze caused an estimated loss of approximately 15 lakh Taka. Mozaffor also named the affected homeowners in his caption: Fazlul, Joni, Sagar, Siddiq, and Sohel. This post was made on the same day as the fire, at 6:03 pm, approximately an hour after the incident occurred.

বগুড়া সদরের সাবগ্রাম ইউনিয়নের ক্ষীদ্রধামা গ্রামে আগুন লেগে ৫ টি পরিবার একদম নিঃস্ব।

মোজাফফর রহমান বগুড়া সিনিয়র…

Posted by Md Mozaffor on Saturday 7 December 2024

Additionally, a report by The Daily Inquilab on December 9, two days after the incident, stated that several Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders had extended financial assistance to the affected families. On the Monday following the fire, Bogra Sadar Upazila BNP President Maftun Ahmed Khan Rubel, along with other BNP leaders, visited the site, met the families, inquired about their situation, and provided financial aid of 25,000 Taka to each family.

In a statement to The Daily Inquilab, one of the affected homeowners, Abu Siddique, reported that five houses were destroyed in the fire. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The fire caused an estimated loss of 20 lakh Taka, including 4 lakh Taka in cash that had been sent by his son who had recently returned from abroad. Another homeowner, Sohel, told local media outlet Alokito Bogura, “Everything I owned was burnt in the fire. Nothing was left”. Both the reports named Fazlur, Sagar, and Joni as the other homeowners affected by the fire. These names match those mentioned in Mozaffur’s Facebook post cited earlier.

It is worth noting that, in the viral video, the videographer can be heard in the background saying, “Oh Allah, what wrong have they done (to deserve this)?” as the houses burn. Additionally, at the 0:40-second mark, a woman is heard repeating the Arabic phrase “La ilaha illallah” (Translation: “There is no God but Allah”) in prayer. This suggests that the individuals involved may belong to the Muslim community, casting doubt on the claim that the video depicts Hindu people being targeted in a communal attack.

To sum up, a video of several houses burning down is viral with a false communal spin. Users claim that Hindus are being locked in their houses which are then burnt down in targeted attacks against the minorities. In reality, the fire seen in the video was the likely result of a short circuit in the Khidradhama village in Bogura. The affected families included Muslims.

 

The post Bangladesh village fire video peddled with false communal spin appeared first on Alt News.


This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/12/24/bangladesh-village-fire-video-peddled-with-false-communal-spin/feed/ 0 507332 Village officials demand ‘staying fees’ from Lao migrants in Champassak province https://rfa.org/english/laos/2024/12/18/laos-champassak-staying-fees/ https://rfa.org/english/laos/2024/12/18/laos-champassak-staying-fees/#respond Wed, 18 Dec 2024 19:57:24 +0000 https://rfa.org/english/laos/2024/12/18/laos-champassak-staying-fees/ Authorities in southwestern Laos' Champassak province are forcing migrants from other parts of the country to hand over “staying fees,” according to residents who say they are a form of exploitation by corrupt officials.

Last week, residents of other provinces living in Champassak took to social media to complain that local authorities are making them pay nearly 55,000 kip (US$2.50) per month — a substantial amount in a nation in the midst of an economic downturn with a minimum wage of 1.6 million kip (US$73) per month — to live in their villages.

When asked about the payments, a village-level official who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, told RFA Lao that such “staying fees” are “part of local rules to ensure authorities can provide security” in their communities.

But a migrant from another province living in Champassak, who also declined to be named, told RFA that “there should be no staying fee collection” for Lao nationals, suggesting that “authorities just want to make some extra money” to pad their salaries.

“If they collect a staying fee from foreigners or visitors from other countries, that is something justified,” he said. “What I’ve observed is that authorities try to collect as much as they can for this fee ... but residents can only afford to pay around US$2.50 per month.”

Power distribution lines originating from a hydro power plant that runs through Pak Se district, Champassak province, Laos, July 25, 2018.
Power distribution lines originating from a hydro power plant that runs through Pak Se district, Champassak province, Laos, July 25, 2018.
(Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

The migrant said that while authorities have no right to collect such high fees, people end up paying them because they want to avoid trouble and have no way to lodge a formal complaint.

“Residents can’t say anything and simply have to pay the fee as ordered,” he said.

An official from Champassak’s Pakse district told RFA that she believes public frustration with the staying fees is due to some corrupt officials asking for more than what local laws allow.

According to the law, she said, officials can only collect staying fees of 40,000 kip (US$1.80) per month for up to three consecutive months, and are required to provide documentation certifying temporary residency.

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But government salaries start at 1.85 million kip (US$84.50) per month, or only slightly above minimum wage, so many officials are looking for ways to supplement their pay, she said.

“Not all officials perform their duties as prescribed in the policy,” she said. “It’s because their salaries are so low — that’s why they want to earn extra money.“

The official said that provincial police “are investigating this issue,” as it falls under their jurisdiction.

“If authorities are found to have abused their power to take money from residents, they will ... face punishment according to the law,” she added.

Village-level officials in other provinces told RFA that they do not charge Lao migrants a staying fee to reside in their communities.

“There is no such policy for us to do so,” said one official from a village in Savannakhet province. “We only collect money from businesses in the amount they are comfortable to donate when we need funds to build roads, schools, and small hospitals.”

Attempts by local officials to collect staying fees from Lao migrants have been shut down by central authorities in the past.

In 2018, authorities in some villages in Vientiane’s Sikhottabong district required residents from other provinces to pay 55,000 kip per family or 48,000 kip (US$2.20) per individual for three months to live there.

Shortly after the staying fees were announced, the central government ordered local authorities to end the policy.

Translated by Phouvong. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Phouvong for RFA Laos.

]]> https://rfa.org/english/laos/2024/12/18/laos-champassak-staying-fees/feed/ 0 506614 Residents of Kamala Harris’s ancestral Indian village are disappointed with her loss https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/06/kamala-harris-loss-ancestral-village-india/ https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/06/kamala-harris-loss-ancestral-village-india/#respond Wed, 06 Nov 2024 23:17:04 +0000 https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/06/kamala-harris-loss-ancestral-village-india/ Residents in Kamala Harris’s ancestral village expressed disappointment at her defeat in the U.S. presidential election but said there is still hope in the future for her and that they feel pride in her participation in the hotly contested presidential race against Donald Trump.

Former President Trump, who previously won the November 2016 election, emerged as the victor on Wednesday morning.

In Harris’ maternal ancestral village of Thulasendrapuram in Tamil Nadu, India, the frustration among residents, who were saying daily prayers at a temple for her victory, was clear as a Trump win became apparent.

“Many people gathered at our temple yesterday to pray for her victory,” Anbarasu, a retired oil company employee, told Radio Free Asia. “Though we’re disappointed by her defeat, she is still young and has future opportunities to run for president.”

“On behalf of myself and our villagers, we congratulate Trump and pray that his work benefits the people,” he added.

Young businessman Sundar said he was sad about Harris’ loss, though it was still admirable that she competed for the leadership of one of the world’s superpower nations.

Assistant village leader J.A. Sudhagar also expressed disappointment over Harris’ loss, despite residents’ many prayers at the local Dharmasastha Hindu temple. He extended congratulations to Trump on his victory “as per our tradition.”

Residents of Thulasendrapuram held special prayers and ceremonies at the temple on Nov. 5-6 to support Harris’ candidacy.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump on his win.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend Donald Trump on your historic election victory,” Modi wrote on X. “As you build on the success of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-U.S. Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability, and prosperity.”

Several Indians interviewed by RFA said they were pleased with the result and optimistic that Trump’s victory would mean a continuation of his past relationship with Modi when he served as the 45th U.S. president.

Their relationship was marked by strong diplomatic engagement, strategic cooperation and personal warmth, despite sporadic spats over tariffs and trade imbalances.

“I am happy about Trump winning,” said New Delhi resident Sohan Lal. “I think he is good for India, and he is a friend of Modi.”

“If the American president is someone strong, then it is good for the world,” he said, adding that he believed Harris would not be as capable of governing the U.S. as Trump.

Manish, who works in the IT industry in New Delhi but only gave his first name, said Trump’s second term as president would be beneficial for the U.S. economy, given his experience as a businessman.

Manish also expressed hope that Trump’s good relationship with Modi would continue in the future.

Prashant, who also works in the IT industry in India’s capital but gave only his first name, agreed, expressing optimism that U.S.-India relations would reach a new high during Trump’s second presidential term.

“I think regardless of Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, whoever is better for India is what matters to us,” he said.

Additional reporting by Tenzin Dickyi and Dickey Kundol for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Tenzin Pema, Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Pema Ngodup and Tenzin Thardoe for RFA Tibetan.

]]> https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/06/kamala-harris-loss-ancestral-village-india/feed/ 0 500756 Hopes run high as Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in India prays for her victory https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/05/kamala-harris-ancestral-village-india/ https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/05/kamala-harris-ancestral-village-india/#respond Tue, 05 Nov 2024 21:23:04 +0000 https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/05/kamala-harris-ancestral-village-india/ Read this story in Tibetan

THULASENDRAPURAM, Tamil Nadu, India—As millions vote in the U.S. presidential elections Tuesday, a tiny village located on the other side of the world in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu is offering prayers at the local Hindu temple, hoping for victory for one of their own, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris, 60, was born in California to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, both of whom immigrated to the United States for higher education.

In the village of Thulasendrapuram – where Harris’s maternal grandfather Painganadu Venkataraman “P.V.” Gopalan was born – residents have been gathering each day at the village temple to offer special prayers to the Hindu deity Ayyanar – worshipped in rural parts of Tamil Nadu as a guardian or protector – to watch over Harris.

The residents refer to Harris as the “daughter of the land,” and say they feel a deep connection with her because of her ancestral ties to the village.

The village is decked out with signs featuring Harris‘s portrait and banners wishing her good luck in the election, which will determine whether or not she will become America’s first female president and first president of Indian descent.

“We in this village offer daily prayers for Kamala Harris to win the election,” Aruna Murli Sudhagar, the leader of the village, told Radio Free Asia.

A tiny village in South India offers prayers and hopes Kamala Harris wins the U.S. presidential election.

Sudhagar said that there was an atmosphere of great hope and excitement over the prospect of a Harris victory.

“We have performed special prayers to our wish-fulfilling deity and the ritual of bathing the deity, as well as offerings and prayers to all our gods,” she said.

Issues with India

In America’s polarized political environment, the U.S. relationship with India is an issue that both Democrats and Republicans can agree upon.

Harris’ rival in the 2024 election, former President Donald Trump, forged a strong relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his administration, and has in the past actively campaigned for the support of Hindus in the United States.

During her campaign, Harris has not made much mention of her Indian roots, but her heritage has helped draw India’s attention to the election, especially in Thulasendrapuram, where her grandfather was born and raised.

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But these days the U.S. presidential hopeful has no relatives living in the village. Gopalan moved away and became a high-ranking Indian government official.

“Although her family does not currently live here, her family members like her aunt frequently visit the area, especially to make offerings at this temple,” Anbarsu, a retired oil company worker from Thulasendrapuram, told RFA.

In her name

He said her aunt Sarala made a 5,000 rupee (US$60) donation in Harris' name for temple repairs.

“Thus, there is a close connection between this village and Kamala Harris’ family, leading the people of this village to have high hopes that Kamala Harris will win the election,” he said.

Gopinath, a young professional now working in Singapore but originally from the village, said he and others who grew up in Thulasendrapuram were eagerly awaiting a Harris victory.

“If she wins, we’ll be very proud because she represents someone from a small village rising to lead one of the world’s superpowers,” he said.

In 2020, the village also held celebrations when she became the vice president, lighting firecrackers and distributing sweets to residents.

On Tuesday, at the village temple where the special prayers were offered, three international tourists wearing black T-shirts that read “Kamala Freakin Harris” also said they had come to her ancestral village especially to show their support for Harris’s presidential bid.

“We came to her ancestral village,” one of them from Las Vegas said, “to show our support by praying at this Hindu temple because we believe she must become president.”

Additional reporting by Dickey Kundol. Translated by Dolma Lhamo. Edited by Tenzin Pema, Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Pema Ngodup for RFA Tibetan.

]]> https://rfa.org/english/tibet/2024/11/05/kamala-harris-ancestral-village-india/feed/ 0 500653 Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in South India pray for her election victory https://www.radiofree.org/2024/11/05/kamala-harris-ancestral-village-in-south-india-pray-for-her-election-victory/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/11/05/kamala-harris-ancestral-village-in-south-india-pray-for-her-election-victory/#respond Tue, 05 Nov 2024 20:37:20 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=0acef4f10e6bc4a81dad91904c97eb03
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/11/05/kamala-harris-ancestral-village-in-south-india-pray-for-her-election-victory/feed/ 0 500631 In Chicago’s Ukrainian Village, Voters Want Support For Ukraine https://www.radiofree.org/2024/11/05/in-chicagos-ukrainian-village-voters-want-support-for-ukraine/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/11/05/in-chicagos-ukrainian-village-voters-want-support-for-ukraine/#respond Tue, 05 Nov 2024 19:45:58 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=68c8cf93dfdd2b586240b0e0defb28cf
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/11/05/in-chicagos-ukrainian-village-voters-want-support-for-ukraine/feed/ 0 500560 Church in village of Myanmar’s Catholic leader bombed in junta raid https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2024/10/31/myanmar-church-christian-leader-damged/ https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2024/10/31/myanmar-church-christian-leader-damged/#respond Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:30:44 +0000 https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2024/10/31/myanmar-church-christian-leader-damged/ Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese.

Junta forces damaged a church in the home village of Myanmar’s most prominent Christian, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, one of several religious buildings destroyed in fighting between the military and pro-democracy forces, residents told Radio Free Asia on Thursday.

Bo, Myanmar’s Roman Catholic leader, lives in the main city of Yangon and was not in Mon Hla village, in the central Sagaing region, when a junta drone bombed St. Michael’s Church on Wednesday night.

“They’ve destroyed an entire side of the church, the whole right side,” said one woman in the village, who declined to be identified in fear of reprisals.

The church’s bell tower and nave were also damaged, she said.

Opponents of the junta have accused the military of targeting Christian and Muslim places of worship, destroying hundreds of them in its campaign against insurgent forces and their suspected civilian supporters.

Bo has in the past called for attacks on places of worship to end and in 2022, he called for dialogue after a raid by junta forces on his home village.

The junta’s spokesman in the Sagaing region said he “didn’t know the details of the situation yet.”

About a third of Mon Hla’s population are Roman Catholic, rare for a community in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar’s central heartlands. Its residents trace their origins back to Portuguese adventurers who arrived before British colonial rule.

Residents said it was not clear why the military attacked the village as there was no fighting with anti-junta forces there at the time. Thirteen people were wounded in two previous attacks on the village in October, they said.

There were no reports of casualties in the Wednesday night attack on Mon Hla. Many villagers fled from their homes the next day when drones reappeared in the sky, the woman said.

“We had to flee yesterday. Then today, the drones retreated so we could return. Now, we’ve fled again,” she said.

The Sagaing region has seen some of the worst of the violence that has swept Myanmar since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021.

Insurgents groups set up by pro-democracy activists are waging a guerrilla campaign in many parts of Sagaing, harassing junta forces with attacks on their posts and ambushes of their convoys. The military has responded with extensive airstrikes, artillery shelling and, increasingly, drone attacks.

In Kanbalu township, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the north of Mon Hla, junta forces attacked two villages, Kyi Su and Kyauk Taing, torching about 400 homes including two Buddhist monasteries and two mosques, residents there told RFA.

“Our people had to run from the bombs dropped by drones,” said one resident of Kyi Su. “But for those who ran, their homes were raided and burned.”

“Two monasteries are in ashes and two of our Muslim mosques are unusable.”

Residents said many of the destroyed homes were simple, thatch huts, put up to replace homes destroyed in earlier fighting.

RELATED STORIES

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Aid workers arrested, killed amid junta crackdown in Myanmar

Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.

]]> https://rfa.org/english/myanmar/2024/10/31/myanmar-church-christian-leader-damged/feed/ 0 499802 Myanmar rebels kill 12 women from pro-military village: report https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-women-killed-09182024060504.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-women-killed-09182024060504.html#respond Wed, 18 Sep 2024 10:05:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-women-killed-09182024060504.html Read RFA coverage of this story in Burmese.

Rebel forces in central Myanmar ambushed a vehicle near a junta stronghold killing 12 women on their way to work in nearby fields, military-controlled media reported on Wednesday. 

No group claimed responsibility for the Tuesday attack in the Sagaing region but anti-junta activists there have set up groups, known as People’s Defense Forces, or PDFs, that launch ambushes and raids on military posts in their campaign against the junta that seized power in 2021.

The women were on their way to work near Kywei Pon village when attackers opened fire with guns and a rocket launcher, the Myanmar Alin newspaper reported. Three wounded women were being treated in hospital.

Armed people in the women’s vehicle returned fire before soldiers arrived, said one Kywei Pon resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.

“Not long after the junta army arrived and took the injured away with emergency vehicles,” said the resident.

There was no information about any casualties among the attackers.

Many supporters of the junta, including members of militias that help the military, live in Kywei Pon so PDFs attack it often, the resident added.

One PDF member in Sagaing, who also declined to be identified for saety reasons, told Radio Free Asia that anti-junta forces were not involved in the attack although he acknowledged he did not know details of the incident.

The military was mounting security operations in response, the Myanmar Alin reported. Residents said the military fired artillery into Taung Kyar village nearby in the belief that PDF members were stationed there. There were no reports of casualties. 

Residents of other villages in the vicinity fled from their homes late on Tuesday in fear of more attacks by junta forces, residents said.

Sagaing has seen some of Myanmar’s worst violence since the military took power three years ago, with clashes and airstrikes killing hundreds. Thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting.

Seven of Sagaing’s PDFs, which are loosely organized under a civilian shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, are under investigation by the NUG for alleged human rights violations.

RELATED STORIES

Myanmar civilians trapped in monastery as clashes intensify

Shortages in Myanmar lead to ‘socialist-era’ economy

Myanmar’s civil war has displaced 3 million people:  UN

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-women-killed-09182024060504.html/feed/ 0 493909 Battlefield Footage: Russian Forces Enter Village In Donetsk Combat Zone https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/06/battlefield-footage-russian-forces-enter-village-in-donetsk-combat-zone/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/06/battlefield-footage-russian-forces-enter-village-in-donetsk-combat-zone/#respond Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:56:31 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=df65ac888515e509c25307475340dc2f
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/06/battlefield-footage-russian-forces-enter-village-in-donetsk-combat-zone/feed/ 0 492170 Rebel forces defeat junta in Shan state village | Radio Free Asia (RFA) https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/04/rebel-forces-defeat-junta-in-shan-state-village-radio-free-asia-rfa/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/04/rebel-forces-defeat-junta-in-shan-state-village-radio-free-asia-rfa/#respond Wed, 04 Sep 2024 20:27:19 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=82faa4d7f855496b6c1a5b0a2dd8a98e
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/04/rebel-forces-defeat-junta-in-shan-state-village-radio-free-asia-rfa/feed/ 0 491840 Rebel forces defeat Myanmar junta in Shan state village | Radio Free Asia (RFA) https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/04/rebel-forces-defeat-myanmar-junta-in-shan-state-village-radio-free-asia-rfa/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/04/rebel-forces-defeat-myanmar-junta-in-shan-state-village-radio-free-asia-rfa/#respond Wed, 04 Sep 2024 20:23:38 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=49fa5d5d6fd9a78dbe17fa9e4151ccbc
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/04/rebel-forces-defeat-myanmar-junta-in-shan-state-village-radio-free-asia-rfa/feed/ 0 492216 Woman dancing at BJP’s R G Kar protest? No, viral video is from a Bengal village fair https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/26/woman-dancing-at-bjps-r-g-kar-protest-no-viral-video-is-from-a-bengal-village-fair/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/26/woman-dancing-at-bjps-r-g-kar-protest-no-viral-video-is-from-a-bengal-village-fair/#respond Mon, 26 Aug 2024 12:56:59 +0000 https://www.altnews.in/?p=287652 A video of a woman dancing to peppy music is widely viral on social media. On the dais behind the dancer, one can see ‘Justice for R G Kar’ posters....

The post Woman dancing at BJP’s R G Kar protest? No, viral video is from a Bengal village fair appeared first on Alt News.

]]> A video of a woman dancing to peppy music is widely viral on social media. On the dais behind the dancer, one can see ‘Justice for R G Kar’ posters. The clip is being shared with the claim that it is from a protest organised by the BJP against the rape and murder in the state-run hospital in Kolkata.

Since the junior doctor was found raped and murdered on August 9, protests, marches and demonstrations seeking accountability from the government and swift punishment of the perpetrator/s have been organised by various social and political groups and other civic institutions in Kolkata, Bengal and beyond. The video is being shared in that context. Users have slammed the BJP and called the event ‘shameful’, ‘sickening’, ‘disgusting’.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member and national spokesperson Saket Gokhale shared the video on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote, “𝐒𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠! This is allegedly from a “protest for RG Kar” organized by BJP in Bengal. Is THIS BJP’s idea of “respecting women”? Creepy BJP misogynists hijacked a protest for political agendas with ZERO concern for the victim or any woman.”

Another X user named Bhavika Kapoor tweeted the video saying, “BJP can protest in its’ own unique style👌🏼Here BJP guys are protesting in West Bengal against RG Kar case. Background banners say “we want justice”. Protest hindutvavadi style 🚩😑”

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate quote-tweeted the above tweet and amplified it.

Others who shared the video and slammed the BJP included author Ashok Kumar Pandey (@Ashok_Kashmir), Trinamool Congress spokesperson Riju Dutta (@DrRijuDutta_TMC), Bengal Trinamool youth secretary Sayan Deb Chatterjee (@SAYANDEBCHATT), a verified user named তন্ময় l T͞anmoy l (@tanmoyofc) and several otehrs.

Click to view slideshow.

The video was also shared on Facebook with users linking it to the BJP.

India Today published a report on the video pointing out that the BJP had denied any links with the programme.

Fact Check

On careful inspection, we noticed a banner at the rear wall of the stage which had the word ‘Mela’ or fair in Bengali. We also saw that several users had commented on the above social media posts saying it was a village fair. One can see a Ferris wheel and lights of different bright colours a little distance away from the stage which suggest it is indeed a fair ground.

Click to view slideshow.

Digging deeper, we did a keyword search on Facebook and found a post by a user named Pijush Bhowmick who responded to the viral claims but only said that the video was being misinterpreted. In his Facebook post, Bhowmick shared another post by a dance teacher named Debastuti Debnath.

Alt News contacted Bhowmick over phone. He told us that the video was not from a BJP protest but a village fair of which he’s an organizing member. The fair is organized by a local club named Sevak Samiti during Maa Manasa Puja every year at Char Bhrahmanagar in Nabadwip police station area in Bengal’s Nadia district. The area is under CMCB gram panchayat of Nabadwip block. The panchayat is currently held by the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Manasa is the Hindu folkloric deity of snakes. She is worshiped in the month of Shravan primarily by women in Bengal and also in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Rural fairs are organized in several parts of Bengal in the month of August during Manasa Puja.

Bhowmick further stated, “The dates of the fair are fixed. It is held during Maa Manasa Puja, which was on August 17 this year. This time, we decided that we should use the fair to spread our message of protest against the R G Kar incident. Hence, the posters were affixed on the stage. The fair was held from August 17 to 22. The particular dance performance that has gone viral was held on August 19.”

“There is no political intervention in the fair. And it is not a protest organized by any party. The fair draws a large number of people and local tradesmen. We are also disturbed by what happened at the R G Kar hospital and hence we thought it would be fit to amplify our demand for justice through the fair,” he added.

He also shared with us a photo of the dais where the banner can be clearly seen:

It says, “Jai Maa Manasa. Maa Manasa and Behula-Lakhinder Mela on the bank of the Ganges. Date: Five days from 31 Sravana. Place: Char Brahmanagar Sevak Samiti Ground and Ganga River bank. Organized by Sevak Samiti.” The banner also has a photo of the deity.

Behula and Lakhinder are the protagonists of the Manasa Mangal Kavya, a long narrative poem in Bengali retold several times by several poets in the 14th Century, which has now become part of folklore. The poem describes the beginning of the cult of Manasa, the deity.

Bhowmick also shared with us a wide-angle shot of the stage. There is no BJP flag seen anywhere on or beside the stage.

We also procured photos of last year’s fair, held from August 17 to 21, where the same banner was used. This confirms that this is not an event organized this year to protest against a recent incident. In the gallery below, the photos along with their metadata can be seen. They were clicked on August 19 and 21, 2023.

Click to view slideshow.

The Facebook post that Bhowmick shared had a dance teacher named Debastuti Debnath thanking the organizers of the fair for inviting them to perform. In an attached video, a girl from the dance troupe says standing on the same dais, “…We are glad that these posters have been put up.. we have to speak up against the horrific crime.. Everyone is protesting against it. This fight is not only of the victim…” The group also observes a minute’s silence in honor of the victim.

We spoke to the dance teacher. She told Alt News, “We have been performing at this event for at least six years. I have never seen any political involvement in the fair. I can confirm that it is not a political programme.”

Another member of the organizing committee, Rahul Saha, told us, “The fair is being held for 15-16 years. There is no political party involved. It primarily attracts local women. Many girls from our village also go out to other places for study or work. Hence, it was decided that we should send out a message. We also switched off all the lights for 15 minutes on one of the days in honour of the slain doctor at R G Kar hospital.”

We saw another video of the fair ground where people can be seen watching a dance performance on the stage. There is no protest going on.

To sum up, several Trinamool Congress-linked social media handles have falsely shared a video of a village fair from Nabadwip in Bengal claiming it’s a protest organized by the BJP against the R G Kar incident.

The post Woman dancing at BJP’s R G Kar protest? No, viral video is from a Bengal village fair appeared first on Alt News.


This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Indradeep Bhattacharyya.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/26/woman-dancing-at-bjps-r-g-kar-protest-no-viral-video-is-from-a-bengal-village-fair/feed/ 0 490481 "It’s Like A Living Hell Every Day": Ukrainian Village Mayor Reacts To Ukraine Attack https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/15/its-like-a-living-hell-every-day-russian-village-mayor-reacts-to-ukraine-attack/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/15/its-like-a-living-hell-every-day-russian-village-mayor-reacts-to-ukraine-attack/#respond Thu, 15 Aug 2024 08:52:03 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=a0b032862e08e9655e26d17e2e878377
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/15/its-like-a-living-hell-every-day-russian-village-mayor-reacts-to-ukraine-attack/feed/ 0 488793 Myanmar junta bombs sleeping village killing seven, rebels say https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-mandalay-08082024062731.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-mandalay-08082024062731.html#respond Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:28:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-mandalay-08082024062731.html The Myanmar junta’s air force bombed a village in a strife-torn central region killing seven people as they slept, an insurgent group said on Thursday, the latest deaths in what opponents of the junta say is a deliberate campaign to target civilians in areas under rebel control.

Forces of the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup are increasingly relying on air power to strike back at insurgent forces who have made significant gains on the ground in several parts of the country since late last year.  

In the central Mandalay region, pro-democracy fighters in the Mandalay People’s Defense Force and allied Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, ethnic minority insurgents have captured dozens of junta positions, including the gem-mining town of Mogoke, over recent months.

But the junta has responded with deadly retaliation from the air, in a campaign the junta’s enemies say is aimed at killing civilians in a bid to warn the population off support for the rebels.

In the dead of night on Tuesday, the junta’s air force launched an attack on Mandalay region’s Payaung Taung village in a strike that appeared to be timed to catch villagers asleep in their beds to maximize casualties, the Mandalay force said in a  statement. 

"Seven people were killed when a bomb was dropped at night, four women and three men,” said a resident of the area who declined to be identified for safety reasons.

“There were also many injured people but we don't know the details yet.” 

Radio Free Asia could not reach the junta main spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, by telephone to ask about the incident.

The Mandalay People’s Defense Force released photographs of the victims but it said it could not identify them. 

The junta's air force launched strikes on two villages in the Mandalay region's Singu township on Aug. 4, killing 13 people and wounding 19, the group said. 

Junta spokesmen have denied targeting civilians.

A three-party alliance of insurgent forces, including the TNLA, this week called on neighboring China to intervene with the junta to press it to stop attacking civilians. 

The insurgents have little in the way of anti-aircraft weapons to defend against junta jets.

According to data compiled by the RFA, airstrikes and heavy weapon attacks by junta troops have killed about 2,000 civilians and wounded nearly 4,000 since the 2021 coup, up to May.

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Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan. 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-mandalay-08082024062731.html/feed/ 0 487702 Bangladesh: Video of July 11 fire in Lakshmipur village market peddled as attack on Hindus https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/07/bangladesh-video-of-july-11-fire-in-lakshmipur-village-market-peddled-as-attack-on-hindus/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/07/bangladesh-video-of-july-11-fire-in-lakshmipur-village-market-peddled-as-attack-on-hindus/#respond Wed, 07 Aug 2024 14:55:57 +0000 https://www.altnews.in/?p=237608 A 37-second clip depicting smoke billowing out of some makeshift shops engulfed in flames is viral on social media. In the video, some individuals are seen trying to salvage some...

The post Bangladesh: Video of July 11 fire in Lakshmipur village market peddled as attack on Hindus appeared first on Alt News.

]]> A 37-second clip depicting smoke billowing out of some makeshift shops engulfed in flames is viral on social media. In the video, some individuals are seen trying to salvage some articles and rushing to take them out of the reach of the fire. Social media users claim that the clip is from Bangladesh’s Laximpur and shows a shop owned by a Hindu named Rajan Chandra set afire in an act of arson by ‘Islamists’.

Bangladesh was plunged into an unprecedented crisis with erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ousted on August 5 after a month-long nationwide student protest. An interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus is expected to be sworn in on August 8.

Propaganda outlet Sudarshan News, which often shares and amplifies misinformation, posted the above-mentioned video on August 7 with a caption in Hindi that can be translated as: “Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh… In Laxmipur, the shop of a Hindu shopkeeper, Rajan Chandra, has been burnt to ashes… Rajan Chandra and his family are in agony and wailing as their shop, their only source of livelihood, burns to ashes…” The tweet has received more than 50,000 views and has been retweeted over 1,200 times. (Archive)

Another X page called Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus 🇧🇩 (@VoiceofHindu71) also shared the same video with the claim that the shop on fire belonged to a Bangladeshi Hindu named Rajan Chandra. The tweet has received over 1.63 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 4,600 times. (Archive)

Several other users such as @SaffronSunanda, @visegrad24, @ManishKasyapsob, @RealBababanaras,  shared the viral video with the same claim, amplifying it further.

Click to view slideshow.

News outlet ETV Bharat also carried the viral video in their report with the same claim.

 

Fact Check

To verify this claim we ran a relevant keyword search in Bengali which led us to several news reports from July that covered a fire in Lakshmipur that had burnt down around 15 shops. We came across a news report by Bangladesh Bulletin from July 11, 2024, titled: “15 shops were gutted by fire at Majuchaudhuri market in Lakshmipur” which carried an image with visuals similar to those in the viral video. Lakhsmipur is a district in Chittagong division of Bangladesh.

Below is a comparison:

This proves that the incident had taken place before the anti-government protests in Bangladesh turned violent on July 16.

As per the news report, locals noticed the fire in the Moju Chowdhury Hat after the Fajr prayers (Islamic prayers offered in the early morning) were over. The report also quoted Abdul Mannan, the assistant deputy director of Lakshmipur fire service, saying that they had received a call about the fire at 6:20 am. Since the area had several garment shops the flames spread quickly. The report did not mention anything about the cause of the fire.

Another news report by Shomoy Sangbad said that the fire department initially believed the cause of the fire was an electrical short-circuit. The report also mentioned the names and nature of the shops damaged in the fire — Abdul Mannan Motor Parts, Rakib Tyres, Sourav Store, Gas Cylinders, Electronics, etc.

Further, we ran a relevant keyword search (both in English and Bangla) with the name ‘Rajan Chandra’ to check if there were any news reports about the individual’s shop being burnt but we could not find anything.

Therefore, from the above findings, it is clear that the viral video is not related to the ongoing protests in Bangladesh. Nor does it show one particular Hindu-owned shop set afire.

The post Bangladesh: Video of July 11 fire in Lakshmipur village market peddled as attack on Hindus appeared first on Alt News.


This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Oishani Bhattacharya.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/07/bangladesh-video-of-july-11-fire-in-lakshmipur-village-market-peddled-as-attack-on-hindus/feed/ 0 487542 Demolitions in a West Bank Village Show How Far Israeli Settler Violence Will Go https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/01/demolitions-in-a-west-bank-village-show-how-far-israeli-settler-violence-will-go/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/01/demolitions-in-a-west-bank-village-show-how-far-israeli-settler-violence-will-go/#respond Thu, 01 Aug 2024 15:10:56 +0000 https://progressive.org/latest/demolitions-in-a-west-bank-village-show-how-far-israeli-settler-violence-will-go-stein-20240801/
This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Sam Stein.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/01/demolitions-in-a-west-bank-village-show-how-far-israeli-settler-violence-will-go/feed/ 0 486774 UN shocked over beheadings, burnt village in brutal PNG violence https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/25/un-shocked-over-beheadings-burnt-village-in-brutal-png-violence/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/25/un-shocked-over-beheadings-burnt-village-in-brutal-png-violence/#respond Thu, 25 Jul 2024 21:41:41 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=104048

RNZ Pacific and ABC

Violent attacks on three remote villages in Papua New Guinea’s north have reportedly killed 26 people, including 16 children, while several people were forced to flee after attackers set fire to their homes, the United Nations said.

“I am horrified by the shocking eruption of deadly violence in Papua New Guinea, seemingly as the result of a dispute over land and lake ownership and user rights,” UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

The death toll could rise to more than 50 as PNG authorities search for missing people, Turk said.

Provincial Police Commander in East Sepik James Baugen said: “It was a very terrible thing, when I approached the area, I saw that there were children, men, women. They were killed by a group of 30 men.”

He told the ABC that all the houses in the village were burned, and the remaining villagers were sheltering at a police station, too scared to name the perpetrators.

“Some of the bodies left in the night were taken by crocodiles into the swamp. We only saw the place where they were killed, there were heads chopped off,” he said.

“The men are in hiding, police have been deployed but there have been no arrests yet.”

Turk called on PNG authorities “to conduct prompt, impartial and transparent investigations and to ensure those responsible are held to account”.

Impunity for criminals
Governor Allan Bird of East Sepik, where the murders occurred, said the violence in the country had been getting worse during the past 10 years.

“The lack of justice in PNG is a problem, and it is getting worse,” he told the ABC.

A front page report in PNG's The Nationa
A front page report in PNG’s The National . . . the picture shows the devastation left from an attack at Angoram’s Tambari village, East Sepik. Image: The National

“Over the last 10 years or so, if a crime is committed, investigations hardly result in arrest. Even if they are arrested, it’s difficult to go to court and go to jail. That is giving law-breakers more courage to do the wrong thing,” he said.

Advocating for stronger police enforcement and stronger prosecution mechanisms, he said there would be a reduction in crime when people started going to jail.

He told the ABC that the police force had had a long-standing problem with command and control.

“The head of police here, for some reason, is constantly changing. It’s a three-year contract, but they keep changing every six months, 12 months,” he said.

“They removed our provincial police commander in January and there’s no replacement even today.”

Tribal warfare exacerbated
Home to hundreds of tribes and languages, Papua New Guinea has a long history of tribal warfare.

But an influx of mercenaries and automatic weapons has inflamed the cycle of violence.

During the past decade, villagers swapped bows and arrows for military rifles and elections have deepened existing tribal divides.

At the same time, the country’s population has more than doubled since 1980, placing increasing strain on land and resources, and stoking deepening tribal rivalries.

Eight people were killed and 30 homes torched in fighting in the Enga province in May, while at least 26 men were killed in an ambush in the same region in February.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ and permission from ABC.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/25/un-shocked-over-beheadings-burnt-village-in-brutal-png-violence/feed/ 0 485719 Not up for debate: Fijian journalists in the climate crisis response https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/24/not-up-for-debate-fijian-journalists-in-the-climate-crisis-response/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/24/not-up-for-debate-fijian-journalists-in-the-climate-crisis-response/#respond Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:38:12 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=103991 By Brooke Tindall, Queensland University of Technology

With more than 50 Fijian villages earmarked for potential relocation in the next five to 10 years due to the climate crisis, Fijian journalists are committing themselves to amplifying the voices of those who face the challenges of climate change in their everyday lives.

Vunidogoloa village on the island of Vanua Levu was home to 32 families who lived in 26 homes. As early as 2006, floods and erosion caused by both sea-level rise and increased rains started to reach homes and destroy crops that fed the community.

The situation worsened in the following years, with water progressively taking over the village. The mangroves that used to cover the coast where they lived were absorbed by the sea completely.

The Fijian government began the mission to relocate Vunidogoloa in 2014. Not only did people in the community walk away from their homes, they left the place where their traditions and stories were passed down. Since Vunidogoloa was relocated, five other Fijian villages have faced the same fate.

Several projects have been established in response to such pressing threats, with an aim to increase the amount of climate journalism in Fijian media.

University of the South Pacific journalism coordinator Associate Professor Shailendra Singh has previously expressed concern about the lack of specialisation in climate reporting in the Pacific and says the articles produced can often come from “privileged elite viewpoints”.

Dr Singh continues to harbour such concerns in 2024. He notes that Pacific news media organisations have small profit margins, so rather than face the expense of sending out teams to talk to everyday people, their stories tend to focus on presentations and speeches that are cheaper to cover.

“This refers to the plethora of meetings, conferences, and workshops where the experts do all the talking and presenting,” he says.

“Ordinary people in the face of climate change are suffering impacts and do not get as much coverage.”

Training journalists to specialise in climate reporting will give them an in-depth understanding of both talking to experts and ordinary people experiencing the effects of climate change, Dr Singh says.


Blessen Tom’s climate change ‘ghost’ village report on Vunidogoloa for Bearing Witness in 2016. Video: Pacific Media Centre

“It brings focus, consistency and knowledge if done on a regular basis. Science has its place, but let’s not forget that people dealing and living with the effects of climate change are experts in their own right.”

Up-and-coming journalists, USP students Brittany Nawaqatabu and Viliame Tawanakoro say they see it as a good journalists’ responsibility to prioritise climate stories.

“Journalism provides people with the opportunity to be the vessel of message to the world. We are the captain of the ship that delivers the message,” Viliame says.

Brittany criticises Western media that considers climate change as a “debatable” topic.

“You have to put yourself in the shoes of a Pacific Islander to know what it’s really like. You can’t be debating it because you’re not the one going through it,” she says.

It’s important for Fijian media to continue to put the climate crisis on the front page and not let the stories become lost in other news, she says.

“If we are not going to become strong advocates as Pacific islanders for climate change and what our island homes are going through, then it’s only going to go downhill.”

Brooke Tindall is a student journalist from the Queensland University of Technology who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. This is published as the first of a series under our Asia Pacific Journalism partnership with QUT Journalism.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/24/not-up-for-debate-fijian-journalists-in-the-climate-crisis-response/feed/ 0 485413 Not up for debate: Fijian journalists in the climate crisis response https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/24/not-up-for-debate-fijian-journalists-in-the-climate-crisis-response-2/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/24/not-up-for-debate-fijian-journalists-in-the-climate-crisis-response-2/#respond Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:38:12 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=103991 By Brooke Tindall, Queensland University of Technology

With more than 50 Fijian villages earmarked for potential relocation in the next five to 10 years due to the climate crisis, Fijian journalists are committing themselves to amplifying the voices of those who face the challenges of climate change in their everyday lives.

Vunidogoloa village on the island of Vanua Levu was home to 32 families who lived in 26 homes. As early as 2006, floods and erosion caused by both sea-level rise and increased rains started to reach homes and destroy crops that fed the community.

The situation worsened in the following years, with water progressively taking over the village. The mangroves that used to cover the coast where they lived were absorbed by the sea completely.

The Fijian government began the mission to relocate Vunidogoloa in 2014. Not only did people in the community walk away from their homes, they left the place where their traditions and stories were passed down. Since Vunidogoloa was relocated, five other Fijian villages have faced the same fate.

Several projects have been established in response to such pressing threats, with an aim to increase the amount of climate journalism in Fijian media.

University of the South Pacific journalism coordinator Associate Professor Shailendra Singh has previously expressed concern about the lack of specialisation in climate reporting in the Pacific and says the articles produced can often come from “privileged elite viewpoints”.

Dr Singh continues to harbour such concerns in 2024. He notes that Pacific news media organisations have small profit margins, so rather than face the expense of sending out teams to talk to everyday people, their stories tend to focus on presentations and speeches that are cheaper to cover.

“This refers to the plethora of meetings, conferences, and workshops where the experts do all the talking and presenting,” he says.

“Ordinary people in the face of climate change are suffering impacts and do not get as much coverage.”

Training journalists to specialise in climate reporting will give them an in-depth understanding of both talking to experts and ordinary people experiencing the effects of climate change, Dr Singh says.


Blessen Tom’s climate change ‘ghost’ village report on Vunidogoloa for Bearing Witness in 2016. Video: Pacific Media Centre

“It brings focus, consistency and knowledge if done on a regular basis. Science has its place, but let’s not forget that people dealing and living with the effects of climate change are experts in their own right.”

Up-and-coming journalists, USP students Brittany Nawaqatabu and Viliame Tawanakoro say they see it as a good journalists’ responsibility to prioritise climate stories.

“Journalism provides people with the opportunity to be the vessel of message to the world. We are the captain of the ship that delivers the message,” Viliame says.

Brittany criticises Western media that considers climate change as a “debatable” topic.

“You have to put yourself in the shoes of a Pacific Islander to know what it’s really like. You can’t be debating it because you’re not the one going through it,” she says.

It’s important for Fijian media to continue to put the climate crisis on the front page and not let the stories become lost in other news, she says.

“If we are not going to become strong advocates as Pacific islanders for climate change and what our island homes are going through, then it’s only going to go downhill.”

Brooke Tindall is a student journalist from the Queensland University of Technology who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. This is published as the first of a series under our Asia Pacific Journalism partnership with QUT Journalism.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/07/24/not-up-for-debate-fijian-journalists-in-the-climate-crisis-response-2/feed/ 0 485414 Little Ima puts a question to PM Marape for Mulitaka survivors https://www.radiofree.org/2024/06/03/little-ima-puts-a-question-to-pm-marape-for-mulitaka-survivors/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/06/03/little-ima-puts-a-question-to-pm-marape-for-mulitaka-survivors/#respond Mon, 03 Jun 2024 05:24:35 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=102243 By Miriam Zarriga in Mulitaka, Papua New Guinea

Little Ima met Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape last Friday during the “haus krai” in Mulitaka, Enga, after the landslide disaster more than a week ago.

His meeting happened when Marape beckoned him to get water from him.

The action of the Prime Minister only moved the boy to be more courageous and in front of about 200 people at the site marked as a haus krai (traditional mourning), Ima did the unthinkable by walking up to the PM and asking him a question.

“Could my friends join me in meeting the Prime Minister?”

Within five minutes of asking, Marape said yes and suddenly the children came from all corners to sit with Marape and his colleagues who had come to see for themselves the devasting impact of the landslide.

Ima had a conversation with the Prime Minister and from the smiles of the PM, Ima had made a good impression on the man who has been faced with a barrage of criticism of late.

Walking into the “haus krai” site Marape choked back tears as he slowly made his way to the front.

Beside him was Minister for Defence Dr Billy Joseph and Enga Provincial Member Sir Peter Ipatas.

Highlighted children’s resilience
His meeting with Ima highlighted the resilience of the children who continue to smile despite the challenges and the changes in their life in the last few days.

Ima and the children have been the centre of attention as those who have come to help have doted on them.

On Thursday, the Queensland Fire Service officers had the children’s attention as the buzz of the drone caught the eye of everyone at Mulitaka.

As an officer with the Queensland fire service brought the drone over to show the children, it was a moment of mad scramble by the children and even adults to see the workings of a drone.

The officer showed Ima and the rest of the children and tried his best to explain what a drone does.

While many are still mourning the loss of loved ones, the smiles on the faces of the children was something a mother said she had not seen in a while.

‘Bringing peace’
In rapid Engan language, she said that “to see her son smile was bringing peace to her”.

Many of the women, girls and children have no clothes, basic necessities, blankets, or a shelter for the night.

Little Ima ended his week smiling after he was granted special access to the PM of this country.

However, for the rest of the children the Mulitaka Health Centre has been assisting providing health care for those who survived the landslide.

Amid the arrival of the Marape, women, girls and children continued to pour in seeking help for minor injuries and sickness.

RNZ Pacific reports that more than 7000 people have been evacuated and the PNG government believes more than 2000 people are buried under a landslip which is still moving, more than a week after the disaster.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/06/03/little-ima-puts-a-question-to-pm-marape-for-mulitaka-survivors/feed/ 0 477696 PNG landslide: Thousands on standby for evacuation amid fears of new crisis https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/28/png-landslide-thousands-on-standby-for-evacuation-amid-fears-of-new-crisis/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/28/png-landslide-thousands-on-standby-for-evacuation-amid-fears-of-new-crisis/#respond Tue, 28 May 2024 04:42:16 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=102046 RNZ Pacific

Close to 8000 people have been told to be on standby for evacuation from a landslide-prone area in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Enga provincial disaster committee chairperson and provincial administrator Sandis Tsaka told RNZ Pacific some were already being evacuated, but that number was not clear.

As many people as possible — including those working in the recovery — were hoped to be evacuated by tomorrow, he said.

He had visited the disaster site twice and it was “very” dangerous.

More than 2000 people are thought to have been buried from Friday’s landslide — and rescue attempts have been hindered by the unstable terrain and lack of heavy machinery.

Meanwhile, humanitarian aid is starting to trickle in for survivors.

New Zealand has pledged practical and financial assistance worth $1.5 million.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said the precise nature of the assistance would be decided after discussions with the authorities in PNG.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/28/png-landslide-thousands-on-standby-for-evacuation-amid-fears-of-new-crisis/feed/ 0 476729 PNG landslide buried ‘more than 2000 people alive’: Rescue teams navigate unstable terrain, infighting https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/27/png-landslide-buried-more-than-2000-people-alive-rescue-teams-navigate-unstable-terrain-infighting/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/27/png-landslide-buried-more-than-2000-people-alive-rescue-teams-navigate-unstable-terrain-infighting/#respond Mon, 27 May 2024 10:24:40 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=102009 By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist

More than 2000 people were buried alive in the huge landslide which hit Papua New Guinea on Friday, the National Disaster Centre has now confirmed.

An entire community living at the foot of a mountain in the remote Enga Province were buried in their sleep about 3am.

Earlier reports suggested 670 people died and 150 homes flattened.

It is the largest landslide since the 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Hela Province in 2018.

Yambali villagers are using their bare hands to dig out the buried bodies of family members while they wait for more help to arrive.

So far only three people have survived the catastrophic landslide, and only four bodies have been recovered.

The Provincial Emergency Response Team is working with the United Nations on the ground, while the rest of the victims lay under boulders and six to eight metres of dirt and debris.

Excavator donated
A local businessman donated an excavator which has been used to dig up bodies but wet conditions and moving terrain has meant engineers have had limited access to the site.

Community leader Miok Michael has visited the site and said it was heartbreaking.

“People are still crying for help as hundreds, if not thousands of bodies are still scattered.”

RNZ Pacific correspondent Scott Waide said that “many people have accepted their loved ones are dead. But in PNG there needs to be closure so a lot of people will want to dig up the bodies for closure”.

Police station commander Martin Kelei said the situation was slow-moving.

“It is not gravel you can easily remove. They are under very big boulders of rock.”

The government has set aside 500,000 kina (NZ$210,000) for relief aid.

The Disaster Management Team have assessed the damage.

Joint statement
A joint statement has been provided following the assessment official of damage on behalf of acting director Lusete Laso Mana along with Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph, Defence Secretary Hari John Akipe, Government Chief Secretary Ivan Pomaleu and Defence Force Chief commodore Philip Polewara.

“The disaster committee determined that the damages are extensive and require immediate and collaborative actions from all players including DMT, PNGDF, NDC and Enga PDC to effectively contain the situation.

“The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive and caused major destruction to buildings, food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country.”

The number of residents in the village is much higher than previously thought.

CARE PNG country director Justine McMahon said 2022 data estimated 4000 people lived in the area, not including children or people who flocked there after being displaced by tribal violence.

Many challenges remain including removing boulders that block the main highway to Porgera Mine.

The situation remains unstable as the landslip continues to shift slowly, posing ongoing danger to rescue teams and survivors.

Tribal fighting
There is also tribal fighting in the area, something which Enga province is notorious for.

UN International Organisation for Migration representative Sehran Aktoprak said that as the death toll mounted, 250 homes nearby had been evacuated.

How the PNG Post-Courier reported the disaster today
How the PNG Post-Courier reported the disaster today with three pages of images inside the paper . . . and the spotlight on the non-confidence motion in Parliament tomorrow. Image: PNG Post-Courier screenshot APR

He was also concerned over tribal fighting that had “flared up between two clans halfway between the capital of the province Wabag and the disaster site”.

He said about eight people had been killed, and five businesses, shops and 30 houses had been burnt down as a result.

Aktoprak said the IOM humanitarian convoy witnessed “many houses still burning” on the way through to the Yambali disaster site.

“Women and children seem to be displaced. Whereas men and youth in the area seem to be carrying bush knives, standing on alert. It is such a dangerous place. The convoy can’t stop to observe their needs. The only way the transport corridor can remain open is thanks to security escorts.”

Tough conditions
World Vision PNG representative Chris Jensen said rainfall and tough conditions on the ground may cause aid delays.

“There’s a huge amount of challenges in getting to such a remote location,” he said.

“we also have continuing landslides that do create a problem as well as the tribal fighting so this does inhibit our ability in the international community to move quickly but we’re doing all we can and help will be there as soon as possible.”

Although the call for help from international partners has been made, the political focus has now shifted from the disaster in Enga province to the capital Port Moresby, for a vote of no confidence against the nation’s Prime Minister James Marape.

New Zealand and Australian governments are on standby to help.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/27/png-landslide-buried-more-than-2000-people-alive-rescue-teams-navigate-unstable-terrain-infighting/feed/ 0 476589 PNG landslide: Couple pulled alive from rubble as 690 feared dead https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/26/png-landslide-couple-pulled-alive-from-rubble-as-690-feared-dead/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/26/png-landslide-couple-pulled-alive-from-rubble-as-690-feared-dead/#respond Sun, 26 May 2024 22:33:43 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=101964 By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent

Amidst the despair of the Kaolokam landslide disaster in the Enga Province of Papua New Guinea, there was a tiny glimmer of hope as villagers pulled out a husband and wife who had been trapped under the rubble.

Johnson and Jaqueline Yandam’s home missed the brunt of the landslide, but still got covered by massive rocks.

They told public broadcaster NBC journalist Emmanuel Eralia that they had both accepted that they were going to die together.

“Large rocks that fell on their house created a barrier that prevented additional debris from harming them. They would have died of hunger and thirst if they had not been found,” Eralia told RNZ Pacific.

It was only after the noise had stopped that they began calling out. The Yandams have three children. All three were not at Kaolokam when the disaster struck.

Hundreds of people from nearby villages have come to help where they can. In a country where the disaster response is largely adhoc, the first responders are almost always relatives of those affected.

After four days, the remains of only a handful of people have been found — including the partial remains of a 25-year-old man who has been identified by his extended family members.

At least 500 are feared to be buried under the rubble, but a UN migration agency mission in Papua New Guinea has revised the estimate to 690 deaths based on the number of homes buried.

The Enga provincial government has delivered relief supplies to those affected by the landslide.

The National Disaster and Emergency Service has allocated funds for the recovery efforts.

Sketchy information
Getting an understanding of the true scale of the Kaolokam landslide disaster in the first 12 hours was difficult.

The first snippets of video posted on Facebook showed people walking on rubble with a commentary in the local Enga language.

Women could be heard weeping in the background as men tried to dig through the mud and rocks.

Those who were closest to the disaster, traumatised by the tragedy, gave estimates of the number of the dead. Eventually threads of a story emerged.

“We took a man injured in the landside to Wabag Hospital. As far as I know, only four bodies have been recovered. Those are the ones I saw,” Larsen Lakari said.

It had been raining the previous night. Larsen’s house was about 100m from the landslip.

“Pieces of earth had started to come loose. But we didn’t imagine that the whole mountain would break and fall onto the village.”

In the first few hours, villagers counted at least 300 men, women and children who were unaccounted for.

But that figure has gradually increased to more than 500. This was a whole clan, buried in one landslide.

A huge landslide has hit the Yambali village in Enga Province in Papua New Guinea on 24 May, 2024.
The huge landslide that hit Yambali village in Enga province in Papua New Guinea on 24 May 2024. Image: RNZ/Scott Waide

Tribal conflict and a disaster
Managing Enga is an enormous challenge for the provincial administration. It has been a tumultuous year marked by both human and natural disasters.

In February, 50 people were killed during a tribal clash in the Wapenamanda District.

The violence was exacerbated by the proliferation of illegal firearms, turning disputes deadly and highlighting the challenges of maintaining peace in the region.

The massacre, described as one of the worst in recent history, prompted calls for a state of emergency and stricter gun control measures.

A huge landslide has hit the Yambali village in Enga Province in Papua New Guinea on 24 May, 2024.
The huge landslide at Yambali village in PNG’s Enga province . Image: RNZ/Scott Waide

‘People still buried’
A community leader from in the area, Mick Michael, said the scene was “heartbreaking”.

“Really heartbreaking to see people displaced,” Michael told RNZ Pacific, who went to the area on Saturday.

“People are still buried. You can hear them crying out [for help].”

He said there has been no proper response yet, adding UNICEF was at the scene of the disaster.

He said the need now was to dig out the bodies and relocate the people who were affected.

On Friday, Prime Minister James Marape said that government was sending disaster officials, the Defence Force, and the Department of Works and Highways to meet provincial and district officials in Enga and start relief work, recovery of bodies, and reconstruction of infrastructure.

Additional reporting by RNZ Pacific’s Lydia Lewis. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/26/png-landslide-couple-pulled-alive-from-rubble-as-690-feared-dead/feed/ 0 476545 Border Village Residents Challenge Armenian PM Over Demarcation With Azerbaijan https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/border-village-residents-challenge-armenian-pm-over-demarcation-with-azerbaijan/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/border-village-residents-challenge-armenian-pm-over-demarcation-with-azerbaijan/#respond Sat, 25 May 2024 19:18:43 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=e4c6b89b8d9224553e503873cf3f1460
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/border-village-residents-challenge-armenian-pm-over-demarcation-with-azerbaijan/feed/ 0 476436 PNG landslide: Survivors of highlands disaster desperately seeking help https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/png-landslide-survivors-of-highlands-disaster-desperately-seeking-help/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/png-landslide-survivors-of-highlands-disaster-desperately-seeking-help/#respond Sat, 25 May 2024 10:38:18 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=101849


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/png-landslide-survivors-of-highlands-disaster-desperately-seeking-help/feed/ 0 476363 Local officials fear fate of 300 missing people in remote PNG landslide https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/local-officials-fear-fate-of-300-missing-people-in-remote-png-landslide/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/local-officials-fear-fate-of-300-missing-people-in-remote-png-landslide/#respond Sat, 25 May 2024 02:16:56 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=101836 By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby

The United States has said it is “ready to lend a helping hand” to the people of Mulitaka, Enga province, after a devasting landslide swallowed an entire village in Papua New Guinea’s highlands yesterday.

US President Joe Biden and his wife said in a personal message their prayers were with the people of Enga who had been affected by the disaster at Yambili village.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has also advised her counterpart, Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko, that Australia is also ready to assist.

Relief officials say 300 people are missing and more than 1000 homes and a local lodge were buried under the rubble of mud, trees and rock.

Lagaip Open MP Aimos Akem called for immediate assistance from the national government, Enga provincial government, development partners and Barrack Niugini Ltd to help provide the necessary support for rescue operations after a deadly landslide struck Yambili village.

The village is near the Maip-Mulitaka LLG bordering the Lagaip and Pogera districts respectively.

A local leader and former MP for the then Lagaip-Porgera Open, Mark Ipuia, confirmed that Yambili village was covered by a huge pile of rocks that fell from the landslide.

It covered the Kapil clan, including all their homes and more than 5000 pigs, plus 100 trade stores and five vehicles.


ABC’s Pacific reporter Belinda Kora filed this report.        Video: ABC Pacific

ABC Pacific reporter Belinda Kora said rescue and recovery efforts had been hindered by the village’s remote location.

The PNG government has not yet released an official death toll.

Republished from the PNG Post-Courier with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/25/local-officials-fear-fate-of-300-missing-people-in-remote-png-landslide/feed/ 0 476332 Hundreds feared dead after huge landslide in Papua New Guinea https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/24/hundreds-feared-dead-after-huge-landslide-in-papua-new-guinea/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/24/hundreds-feared-dead-after-huge-landslide-in-papua-new-guinea/#respond Fri, 24 May 2024 10:34:11 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=101806 By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist

Scores of people have died in a huge landslide which has struck a remote village in the Papua New Guinean highlands.

The landslide reportedly hit Yambali village in Enga Province, about 600 km north-west of Port Moresby.

The landslip has buried homes and food gardens, leaving what locals say is an estimated 3000 buried under a mass landslide.

Papua New Guinea authorities are yet to officially confirm the number of deaths.

In a post on Facebook tonight, PNG Prime Minister James Marape passed on his condolences to the families of those who had died in the landslide.

Disaster officials, PNG Defence Force and the Department of Works and Highways officers were being sent to meet with provincial and district officials in Enga and start relief work, recovery of bodies, and reconstruction of infrastructure, he said.

“I am yet to be fully briefed on the situation. However, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the landslide disaster in the early hours of this morning.”

A huge landslide has hit the Yambali village in Enga Province in Papua New Guinea on 24 May, 2024.
The huge landslide that has hit Yambali village in Enga Province in Papua New Guinea on 24 May, 2024. Image: RNZ/Scott Waide

Emergency response team
The Enga provincial administration have met to assemble an emergency response team to assess the damage.

It called on local health facilities and non-government organisations to be on stand-by to assist with recovery and relief efforts.

PNG police told RNZ Pacific correspondent Scott Waide that at least 50 houses had been destroyed. Waide said the average Papua New Guinean family consisted roughly of eight to 10 people a household.

Residents on the ground say they have lost family members and are retrieving bodies.

Community leader Jethro Tulin told RNZ Pacific the catastrophe wiped out the village, which had a population of about 3000.

“It was a massive landslide . . . occured around 3am last night [early Friday]. People were sleeping . . .  the whole village is covered.”

He said a team from Wabag, the provincial capital, had been sent to investigate the scene.

The ABC first reported residents saying that they estimated “100-plus” deaths but authorities were yet to confirm this figure.

Satellite map view of Enga Province in Papua New Guinea.
Satellite map view of Enga province in Papua New Guinea. Image: Google Maps/RNZ

Yambali village is a two-hour drive from the Porgera gold mine.

The catastrophic destruction is blocking access to the mine, forcing a usually bustling operation to come to a stand still.

The main highway to Porgera has also been closed off.

Four people have been rescued but with the main highway closed authorities say it will be difficult to get heavy machinery to the village to help in the rescue and recovery efforts.

Special equipment needed to retrieve bodies
Another resident told RNZ Pacific locals were trying to retrieve bodies but required heavy-duty equipment to remove massive rocks and debris and are awaiting government and non-government organisation (NGO) support.

They say it could take weeks to recover thousands of bodies trapped under a landslide.

A nearby resident, Mick Michael, said rescue efforts would likely turn to recovery efforts for bodies.

“I think two or three people were discovered already. It is an entire community buried by the landslide.

“You can estimate 3000 people buried. It is really a big landslides with big rocks. Witihin a week or so, it will take time to discover those bodies with the help of machines and trucks.”

He said residents were calling on the government of Papua New Guinea and NGO’s for support.

Images on social media platform Facebook show the enormity of the landslide, with debris across houses and vehicles left in the wake of falling boulders and trees.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A huge landslide has hit the Yambali village in Enga Province in Papua New Guinea on 24 May, 2024.
The huge landslide that has buried Yambali village. Image: RNZ/Scott Waide


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/05/24/hundreds-feared-dead-after-huge-landslide-in-papua-new-guinea/feed/ 0 476185 Myanmar junta detains dozens, including 3 pastors, in village raid, witnesses say https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin-state-arrests-05232024080323.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin-state-arrests-05232024080323.html#respond Thu, 23 May 2024 12:04:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin-state-arrests-05232024080323.html Junta troops raided a village in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State on Thursday and detained more than 30 people, including Christian leaders and teenagers on suspicion of supporting a rebel group, residents told Radio Free Asia. 

A group of about 100 soldiers stormed the village in Kachin State’s Hpakant township before dawn and rounded up villagers in a school before marching the detainees away for questioning, they said.

“More than 200 villagers were held in the school initially,” said one villager who declined to be identified for safety reasons.

“They said they would shoot up the village if they [junta troops] were attacked. They made threats to scare us.”

Those detained were accused of supporting the anti-junta Kachin Independence Army, villagers said. The detainees were released after about nine hours of questioning, they said.

RFA telephoned Kachin State’s junta spokesperson, Moe Min Thein, for more information but he did not respond. 

The Kachin force, one of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic minority guerrilla groups battling for self-determination, has said it has captured at least 100 junta camps and eight towns across the state, and in neighboring Shan State, over recent months.

This week,  Kachin fighters captured a junta camp and secured a trade route near the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, close to the  border with China.

Soldiers from the junta’s Divisions 33 and 77 conducted the raid on Nam Si In village and took away the men, most of them middle-aged, said one villager, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.

“Three Christian pastors were among those arrested,” said the villager.

Many Kachin are Christian.

The detained villagers were interrogated about any links to the Kachin Independence Army and other anti-junta militias set up by pro-democracy activists, said one of those questioned. Some of them were beaten with guns and told to report any rebel activity, he added.

Five teenagers were among those detained and beaten, he said.

Kachin guerrillas have in recent weeks captured junta camps in four villages in heavy fighting in Hpakant township, residents said. 

Kachin Baptist Convention pastor Hkalam Samson was released on parole in one of the junta’s mass amnesties on April 17 after being sentenced to six years in prison under an anti-terrorism law. But he was re-arrested later that day, according to sources close to the family. 

Unidentified  gunmen have executed at least two pastors in  Kachin State this year. The motive for the killings was not known.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin-state-arrests-05232024080323.html/feed/ 0 476021 Pivotal role of PNG’s village courts in curbing sorcery violence https://www.radiofree.org/2024/03/20/pivotal-role-of-pngs-village-courts-in-curbing-sorcery-violence/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/03/20/pivotal-role-of-pngs-village-courts-in-curbing-sorcery-violence/#respond Wed, 20 Mar 2024 21:26:04 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=98590 RNZ PACIFIC Q&A: By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist

In Papua New Guinea, sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV) remains a significant form of violence across many parts of the country.

Many of the hundreds of cases that are reported end up before the village court system, which has been the focus of a study by the PNG Institute of National Research in partnership with the Australian National University and Divine Word University.

These institutions looked at the role of the village courts, when dealing with SARV cases, and how it can be improved.

Miranda Forsyth from the ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance was one of the researchers involved and spoke with RNZ Pacific’s Don Wiseman about the issues.

Don Wiseman (DW): This matter of sorcery accusation related violence does appear to be getting worse and worse across PNG, and while many of the victims’ cases are being taken to the village courts, this isn’t always working for them?

Miranda Forsyth (MF): That’s right. So first of all, in terms of it getting worse and worse, we actually don’t know. What we do know is that it is a major problem that isn’t going away. There are hundreds of these cases every year. And we know that it is impacting upon different communities in different ways. And it’s traveling into provinces that had never used to be in before. So, for example, in Enga [Province], there weren’t these kinds of cases before about 2010.

We also know that in some places where, traditionally, it was men who were being accused then, now women are being accused there. We also know that children are a growing group of victims of sorcery accusations.

We can also say that it seems that some of the violence has changed as well. There’s a kind of a sexualised violence that’s often used when it’s women who are being accused, but doesn’t tend to have been around as prevalently in the past. So, just to contextualise a little bit, the claims that it’s growing — of course these crimes are very hidden, often the whole community is complicit.

And so people don’t go to the police, they don’t go to the court. And that’s been the case forever, really. We don’t have any good data where we can say, ‘oh, clearly, these are the trends’. But there’s a lot more attention being paid to the issue now, which is fantastic.

It certainly appears from the number of cases that are being reported in the newspapers and that are getting to the formal courts as well, that the numbers are growing. In terms of what happens when people go to see the village courts; what our research has found is that there are both challenges for the village court magistrates and there’s also a lot of really creative responses.

DW: It’s clearly a challenging matter right across the country for officials at every level. But for these village magistrates working largely in isolation, it must be horrendously challenging?

MF: Yes, particularly the village court magistrates who are not really clear themselves about what the law is, who might believe very strongly in sorcery, those are big challenges for them. Often, as well, it’s a village court magistrate against the entire community. So it puts their lives at risk.

We’ve certainly documented a number of cases where village court magistrates have had their house burned down or been chased out of the village when they’ve been trying to act on behalf of the accused and the accused family. It’s quite a precarious position.

What we find is that the village court magistrates are most successful when they can act in coalition with, for example, a sympathetic police officer or a strong religious leader or a strong village leader — a community leader of some sort, when there is support from a strong family member, as well.

All of these things give credibility and help the village court magistrate to manage the case.

DW: There are examples as well, though aren’t there in your research, of magistrates, who clearly believe the accusations of sorcery and end up siding with the perpetrators?

MF: Absolutely. We’ve documented quite a number of those cases where the village court magistrates will require the person who’s been accused to pay compensation to their accusers for having performed sorcery. This is obviously a really problematic outcome for the person who’s been accused, that not only have they been accused, they’ve gone through what can often be horrendous physical violence, but then the justice system actually condemns them further and requires them to pay compensation.

We’ve also documented some cases where the village court magistrates have also been involved in giving beatings to the people who have been accused. There are definitely those cases that are problematic. A number of those, however, were appealed to the higher courts and the higher courts then gave out sentences and issued very clear instructions to say that that was inappropriate. So there is some degree of oversight by those higher level courts.

However, there are certainly village court magistrates who are really trying to be creative in the way in which they’re helping victims of SARV. They are, for example, issuing preventative audits. When it’s the suspicion and talk and gossip going around, and they’re getting on the front foot and they’re saying, ‘we are warning everybody that you are not allowed to take any action against these particular people’. That works better when they’re able to rely upon a police officer to support them.

We also find that some village court magistrates are able to use their mediating functions to really understand what’s going on at the heart of these accusations. Is it really about a fear of sorcery or is it about somebody wanting to take another wife, for example? Or are there land disputes that are really at the heart of this? And they then proactively get involved in mediating those underlying tensions so that the accusations themselves don’t develop any further.

DW: It’s a question largely then of greater resourcing, more education for these people?

MF: A lot of them [the magistrates] don’t have their salary paid on a regular basis. They don’t have regular training. They don’t have supports in terms of oversight by the higher courts. They don’t have police officers that they can call upon to help to keep the peace when they’re holding their meetings. There is a great need for more support for village for magistrates, who are often doing an amazing job against all odds.

DW: What else could be done to improve their lot and improve the lives of sorcery accusation victims?

MF: One of the things that we’ve proposed is that there are creative training materials that are distributed, for example, through people’s smartphones, so that they can refresh their memory, ‘Oh, that’s right. That’s what the law says and these are the different strategies that we can use to address these cases’, short videos, for example, or else just little pads that they can keep in their pocket.

We also thought about the fact that it would be a good idea to facilitate the setting up of direct communication links between village court magistrates and the police and SARV victims so that they can quickly be activated when people are afraid that something is going to go down, then they can step in. Because what we find is that the earlier the intervention is made, the more chance it’s got of being effective.

Once things really get out of control. It’s very hard for anybody to stop it, unfortunately.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/03/20/pivotal-role-of-pngs-village-courts-in-curbing-sorcery-violence/feed/ 0 465272 Village heads quit in anger over military recruitment in Myanmar’s Rakhine state https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/resignations-03192024163107.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/resignations-03192024163107.html#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 20:46:17 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/resignations-03192024163107.html More than 20 administrators of villages in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state have resigned after the junta ordered them to choose residents for military service and to form militias amid preparations for nationwide conscription, sources with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.

Following a number of devastating defeats at the hands of ethnic armies in recent months – most notably the Arakan Army in Rakhine state – the junta enacted Myanmar’s military service law on Feb. 10. The announcement has prompted an exodus of young people to rebel-controlled territories and abroad to avoid the draft.

While the junta has said conscription won’t begin until April, RFA Burmese has received reports over the past four weeks of forced recruitment and efforts by authorities to document draft eligibility.

The resignation of the 21 administrators in Rakhine’s Thandwe township on Monday followed a junta directive ordering them to select two residents from each large village and one each small one for military service, with a focus on those who had failed the country’s matriculation exam, a source close to one of the administrators told RFA Burmese.

The junta had also ordered administrators to forcibly recruit 20 residents from large villages and five from small ones to form a local militia, said the source who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

“Yesterday, villagers refused to join the military,” he said. “[The administrators] argued with the villagers and then submitted their resignations [after they couldn’t convince them to join].”

The 21 administrators account for more than one-third of the heads of Thandwe’s 62 village-tracts.

One of the administrators noted that all of the resignations came from the heads of villages in northern Thandwe, where the junta “forced them to recruit youths by drawing lots.”

“The administrators worried that they could not recruit enough people for military service and it would put pressure on them, so they submitted their resignations,” he said.

RFA spoke with several of the administrators who said they had been invited to a meeting by township-level authorities on Tuesday to discuss the situation. They refused to provide further details, noting that their resignations were still in process.

Pe Than, a veteran Rakhine politician and former lawmaker said that the administrators made the right decision by resigning, saying "no one wants to be under this kind of pressure.”

Rohingya youths arrested

The resignations came amid a series of raids, beginning Monday, by authorities on multiple villages in Rakhine’s Maungdaw township, during which they detained several ethnic Rohingya youths, residents told RFA.

Some 20 Rohingyas were arrested in Ka Nyin Tan village and more than 10 others in Maung Ni village, said a Rohingya resident of the township, who also declined to be named.

“They were forcefully taken by junta troops,” he said. “Residents from neighboring villages are fleeing, uncertain of the reason behind the arrests."

Another Rohingya from the area told RFA that it was unclear where the detainees had been taken.

“The captured people were loaded into vehicles and their destination remains undisclosed,” he said.

A third resident of Maungdaw suggested that the detainees were “being conscripted into the military.”

“Such incidents are not isolated to Ka Nyin Tan, but are occurring in other villages as well," he noted.

Rohingya youths and children sell coconut juice in Maungdaw in October 2023. (RFA)
Rohingya youths and children sell coconut juice in Maungdaw in October 2023. (RFA)

RFA was unable to independently verify the reported arrests of Rohingya youths or the number of those allegedly detained. Attempts by RFA to contact Attorney General Hla Thein, the junta’s spokesperson for Rakhine state, for comment on the resignation of the 21 administrators and arrests of Rohingyas, went unanswered Tuesday.

The junta has reportedly recruited about 1,000 Rohingyas in the Rakhine state capital Sittwe, as well as Buthedaung, Maungdaw and Kyaukphyu townships, according to aid workers.

Travel ban on Rakhine residents

Meanwhile, junta authorities in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon have implemented restrictions on domestic travel for people holding National Registration Cards, or NRCs, with the prefix No. 11, which signifies residency in Rakhine state, employees of passenger bus lines told RFA on Tuesday.

The junta issued a notification letter “outlining a complete ban on travel between townships” for Rakhine cardholders on Monday, according to one employee, who said the edict had been circulated to all of the city’s bus companies.

Furthermore, cardholders registered outside of Rakhine state will be required to provide recommendation letters from their respective ward administrative office, police station, or employer in support of travel plans when purchasing tickets, the employee said.

The bus company employees RFA spoke with said they were unaware of the reason behind the travel restrictions.

A Rakhine state NRC holder who has resided in Yangon for more than a decade described the travel ban as a “deprivation of our fundamental rights.”

“It’s akin to being fenced in,” he said, adding that the ban would likely impact employment opportunities.

A representative from an airline ticket sales department in Yangon confirmed to RFA that Rakhine cardholders had been barred from domestic road travel, but said air travel remained unrestricted as of Tuesday.

Reports have surfaced of arrests and interrogations of residents of Sittwe returning home from Yangon via a Myanmar Airlines flight on Feb. 26.

And on Feb. 20, authorities reportedly arrested more than 100 youths returning to Rakhine state from Yangon by highway at a checkpoint in the city’s Shwe Pyi Thar township.

Sources suggested to RFA that the junta is afraid that, when faced with the likelihood of being drafted, youths are returning to Rakhine and other regions to join the rebellion.

Htay Aung, the junta’s attorney general and spokesperson for Yangon region, did not respond to requests for comment on the travel restrictions on Tuesday.

Families threatened

RFA also learned Tuesday that junta authorities in southwestern Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region have threatened to “take action” against families of anyone who flees after being selected for military service.

On Monday, four men aged 24-35 were selected in a draft lottery in Pyapon township’s Aung Tharyar village.

One of the men fled Aung Tharyar shortly after the lottery, prompting authorities to threaten all of his family members with unspecified punishment if he failed to return by Wednesday, said a resident of the village, who declined to be named.

“The family members are terrified,” said the resident.

The junta began a lottery system for military service in Ayeyarwady’s Myaungmya, Pyapon, Kangyidaunt, Leputta and Hinthada townships in the third week of March, residents said.

RFA was unable to reach the junta’s Ayeyarwady spokesperson and Social Affairs Minister Khin Maung Kyi for comment on Tuesday.

A young man who is facing a lottery drawing in Hinthada told RFA that he has considered fleeing if selected.

“I don’t want to serve in the military,” he said, “but the junta has threatened to arrest the remaining family members of anyone who runs away.”

Translated by Aung Naing and Kalyar Lwin. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/resignations-03192024163107.html/feed/ 0 465071 ‘Piles of corpses’ left after Myanmar junta attacks village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-attack-03182024051323.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-attack-03182024051323.html#respond Mon, 18 Mar 2024 09:15:07 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-attack-03182024051323.html A junta aerial bombardment killed and injured dozens in western Myanmar, locals told Radio Free Asia. 

Most residents in Thar Dar, a predominantly Rohingya village in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, were sleeping when a fighter jet dropped a bomb around 1 a.m. Friday, a local said. 

“Twenty-three people died on the spot and more than 30 were injured. There are piles of corpses in the village,” said the man who didn’t want to be named for safety reasons. “Children and elderly are among the dead, covered with tarpaulin and everything. Most of those who died and were injured lost their limbs.”

Thar Dar village, nearly five kilometers (three miles) north of Minbya city, was captured by the Arakan Army on Feb. 26. The rebel group has also seized six other townships in Rakhine state, including most recently Kyaukphyu, where a large Chinese mega-project is located. The army also controls Pauktaw township in neighboring Chin state to the north.

While the Arakan Army has announced its intentions to control the state’s capital of Sittwe, junta troops have focused their resources on both small and large-scale attacks against civilians, which villagers have labeled a pattern of indiscriminate killings. Thar Dar village has little more than 300 houses and a population of under 2,000, residents said.

While there was no battle in the area to warrant an attack, residents told RFA the village had become a brief refuge for Rohingya fleeing nearby Sin Gyi Pyin village after it was also targeted. Rakhine state has also seen other attacks on the ethnically persecuted group, including an attack that killed an entire Rohingya family in Sittwe. 

RFA contacted Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson U Hla Thein for more information on Thar Dar’s aerial bombardment, but he did not pick up the phone.

Junta columns regularly shell and drop bombs on villages in Minbya, Mrauk-U, Pauktaw and Ponnagyun townships where they have already lost control, residents said. 

As of March 3, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported more than 170 civilians had been killed and over 400 injured since the fighting in Rakhine state began again on Nov. 11, 2023.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-attack-03182024051323.html/feed/ 0 464711 Soseong-ri: The South Korean village fighting the US military https://www.radiofree.org/2024/03/07/soseong-ri-the-south-korean-village-fighting-the-us-military/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/03/07/soseong-ri-the-south-korean-village-fighting-the-us-military/#respond Thu, 07 Mar 2024 17:00:30 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=2d18739273588e3e719e7b218de6fe38
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by The Real News Network.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/03/07/soseong-ri-the-south-korean-village-fighting-the-us-military/feed/ 0 462680 Junta shelling of Rakhine village kills 12 people, leaves 32 wounded https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-shelling-02132024164454.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-shelling-02132024164454.html#respond Tue, 13 Feb 2024 21:46:46 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-shelling-02132024164454.html Four straight days of artillery shelling of a village in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state left 12 people dead and 32 wounded as inhabitants hunkered down between positions taken by military junta troops and the rebel ethnic Arakan Army.

The shelling took place in Hpon Nyo Leik village of Buthidaung township between Jan. 25 and Jan. 28, Southeast Asia-based advocacy group Fortify Rights said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The attacks appeared to target civilians in the mostly ethnic Rohingya village and resulted in the destruction of more than 40 homes and the displacement of 15,000 people from several surrounding villages, the group said. Eight of the 32 injured were children, it said.

The junta’s Light Infantry Division 22, Light Infantry Battalion 551 and Military Operations Command 15 were likely responsible for the attack on Hpon Nyo Leik village and should be investigated for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, the group said. 

“The laws of war apply to the junta’s forces and all parties to the conflict and, whenever possible, civilians must be warned of incoming attacks,” said John Quinley III, the director at Fortify Rights. 

“Our recent investigation suggests effective warnings of military attacks could have saved civilian lives,” he said in the statement. 

‘So much blood’

The shelling began after the Arakan Army, or AA, dug trenches around the village on Jan. 24 in anticipation of a junta offensive, according to a statement from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“Inhabitants [were] trapped between the two warring parties,” the Jan. 30 statement from the U.N.’s human right chief, Volker Türk, said. “The military repeatedly shelled the village, destroying infrastructure.” 

ENG_BUR_RakhineDeaths_02132024.2.jpg
People flee from a village after renewed fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army in Pauktaw township in western Rakhine state on Nov. 19, 2023. (AFP)

Since November, Rakhine state has seen renewed fighting between the AA and the junta after the end of a year-long unofficial ceasefire. 

Fortify Rights said it interviewed six Rohingya survivors of the artillery attacks. The group also reviewed mobile phone videos and looked at dozens of photos of wounded residents and burning buildings.

Village residents told Fortify Rights that the AA didn’t warn residents that it should evacuate the area. 

One 29-year-old survivor told the group he found a way to leave the village on the first day of shelling. He then returned the morning of Jan. 26 during a pause to check for casualties. 

“The shelling hit one family – two men died, Sadek and Faruk,” he said. “Their legs got crushed.”

There were two other deaths in the household – Faruk’s grandmother and another woman. He described the scene in graphic detail.

“The bodies had so much blood around them,” he told Fortify Rights.

Attempts by Radio Free Asia to contact Hla Thein, the junta’s spokesman for Rakhine state, and junta spokesman Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun to ask about Fortify Rights’ statement were unsuccessful.   

Aerial attack in Pauktaw

Elsewhere in Rakhine state, junta helicopters used machine guns and dropped bombs on Taung Phue and Kyauk Pyin villages in Pauktaw township at about 11 p.m. on Monday, local residents said.

The aerial attack injured nine displaced persons who have been staying in the area, the residents said. Several fishing boats and homes were destroyed.

“A jet fighter dropped more than 20 bombs on our village and shot people with machine guns,” one resident told RFA. “Two bombs dropped in front of a house and hit people hiding under the house.”

Seven of the nine wounded were taken to another village for medical treatment for serious injuries, residents said.

RFA hasn’t been able to independently confirm the attacks and couldn’t immediately reach Hla Thein for comment.

According to figures compiled by RFA, more than 120 civilians have been killed and at least 260 have been injured since the resurgence of armed conflict in Rakhine state on Nov. 13. 

Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-village-shelling-02132024164454.html/feed/ 0 458545 Landslide Death Toll In West Georgian Village Rises To Nine https://www.radiofree.org/2024/02/08/landslide-death-toll-in-west-georgian-village-rises-to-nine/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/02/08/landslide-death-toll-in-west-georgian-village-rises-to-nine/#respond Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:32:28 +0000 https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-landslide-death-toll-9-negreti/32810801.html

BAKU -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has slammed Azerbaijan's snap presidential election for being held in a "restrictive environment" and lacking genuine pluralism with incumbent strongman Ilham Aliyev on the verge of a landslide victory that will hand him a fifth consecutive term as president.

Aliyev, who called the early election following Baku's swift and decisive victory over ethnic Armenian separatists in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, faced no opposition amid a crackdown on independent media and the absence of any real contender.

The Central Election Commission said early on February 8 that with just over 93 percent of the ballots counted, Aliyev HAD garnered 92.05 percent of the votes. Election officials reported turnout of more than 76 percent of eligible voters.

"While six other candidates participated in the campaign, none of them convincingly challenged the incumbent president’s policies in their campaigns, leaving voters without any genuine alternative," the OSCE observer mission said in a statement issued on February 8.

"While preparations for the election were efficient and professional, it lacked genuine pluralism and critical voices were continuously stifled.... The campaign remained low-key throughout, lacked any meaningful public engagement, and was not competitive," the OSCE observer mission said.

According to the Central Election Commission, Zahid Oruj placed far behind in the vote with just 2.19 percent, while Fazil Mustafa came third with 2 percent. None of the other four ersatz candidates received more than 2 percent.

Musavat and the People’s Front of Azerbaijan (APFP), the two parties in Azerbaijan that offer genuine opposition to Aliyev -- who has exercised authoritarian control over the country since assuming power from his father, Heydar, in 2003 -- boycotted the race.

The APFP on February 8 announced that it does not recognize the results of the election.

"There was no real election as the polls were held without competition, freedoms were completely restricted, [the voting took place] in an environment of fear, threats, and administrative terror, and the declared results are not an expression of the will of the people and are illegitimate," the APFP said in a statement.

A presidential election had not been scheduled to take place until 2025, but Aliyev, bolstered by Baku's recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh, announced the early vote in December to take advantage of the battlefield victory.

Irregularities were reported as the vote took place. Observers "noted significant shortcomings, mainly due to issues of secrecy of the vote, a lack of safeguards against multiple voting, indications of ballot box stuffing, and seemingly identical signatures on the voter lists," the OSCE said.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service also collected reports of alleged irregularities, including so-called carousel voting, where individuals are transported to multiple polling stations to vote more than once and ballot tampering.


Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Aliyev in a phone call on February 8, according to a statement on the Azerbaijani president's website.

"The heads of state reaffirmed their confidence that allied and strategic partnership relations would continue to develop across various fields and discussed the prospects for cooperation," the statement said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also congratulated Aliyev in a message on X, formerly Twitter.

"Congratulations to President Ilham Aliyev on his reelection," Zelenskiy wrote, adding, "I value mutual support for our states' sovereignty and territorial integrity."

While Aliyev has voiced support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, Azerbaijan has maintained close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.

The 62-year-old Aliyev has stayed in power through a series of elections marred by irregularities and accusations of fraud. Under his authoritarian rule, political activity and human rights have been stifled.

He called the snap election just months after Azerbaijani forces retook Nagorno-Karabakh region in a blitz offensive in September from ethnic Armenian forces who had controlled it for three decades. The offensive forced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the region, leaving it nearly deserted.

As Aliyev's popularity shot up dramatically following Azerbaijan's victory in Karabakh, a crackdown on independent media and democratic institutions intensified in the country.

Several independent Azerbaijani journalists were incarcerated after Baku took over Karabakh on various charges that the journalists and their supporters have called trumped up and politically motivated.

"Highly restrictive media legislation as well as recent arrests of critical journalists have hindered the media from operating freely and led to widespread self-censorship, limiting the scope for independent journalism and critical debate," the OSCE statement noted.


This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/02/08/landslide-death-toll-in-west-georgian-village-rises-to-nine/feed/ 0 457691 Residents of dam resettlement village say water system has dried up https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/resettlement-village-water-02012024145023.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/resettlement-village-water-02012024145023.html#respond Thu, 01 Feb 2024 19:51:34 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/resettlement-village-water-02012024145023.html Residents of a resettlement village in northern Luang Namtha province say they haven’t had access to a critical water source over the last seven months after mud and debris clogged up several wells built by the developer of a nearby dam.

Tavanh village and its water system were built on high ground in 2016 to house villagers displaced by the China-backed Namtha 1 Dam – one of dozens of hydropower dams built in Laos in recent years.

“The system built by the dam developer is completely useless,” said a villager, who like other sources in this report requested anonymity for safety reasons. 

Some residents of Tavanh have built their own system by installing pipes to pump water from a nearby creek and lake, but that costs at least 1 million kip ($50) and the creek runs dry for much of April and May, the villager said. 

Though the Lao government sees power generation as a way to boost the country’s economy, the dam projects are controversial because of their environmental impact, displacement of villagers and questionable financial and power-demand arrangements.

ENG_LAO_DamWater_02012024.2.jpg
During last year’s rainy season, Tavanh village’s wells, such as this one seen on Jan. 30, 2024, flooded and filled up with debris and mud, says a resident. (Citizen journalist)

The developer of Namtha 1 Dam hired two subcontractors in 2015 to build 11 resettlement villages that included homes, health centers, offices, roads and schools. 

More than 14,000 people moved to new villages because of the project. There are several hundred residents of Tavanh, which is about 10 km (6 miles) away from the Nam Tha River in the province’s Nalae district. 

No action from authorities

During last year’s rainy season, the village’s wells flooded and then filled up with debris, dirt and mud, according to a second villager.

“The whole water system has broken down,” the second villager said. “It only worked for about a year. After that, it wasn’t so efficient and didn’t supply enough water.”

District authorities have promised to fix the system, but no action has been taken in the last seven months, several villagers said.

A district official told Radio Free Asia that he wasn’t aware of the problem.

“We didn’t know that the water system was damaged,” he said. “The village authorities have never informed us, never reported any problem to us. Our district authorities are going to check it out with the dam developer and villagers.”

The Namtha 1 Dam is a joint venture between China Southern Power Grid International Co. Ltd., which owns 80 percent of the project, and Electricite du Lao, with a 20 percent share.

It began operating in 2019. The dam sells most of its generated power to two special economic zones – the Golden Triangle SEZ in Bokeo province and the Boten SEZ in Luang Namtha, bordering China. 

After 28 years of operation, ownership of the dam will transfer to the Lao government.

Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Matt Reed.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Lao.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/resettlement-village-water-02012024145023.html/feed/ 0 456333 Donkeys Bring Solar Power To Remote Kyrgyz Village https://www.radiofree.org/2024/01/26/donkeys-bring-solar-power-to-remote-kyrgyz-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2024/01/26/donkeys-bring-solar-power-to-remote-kyrgyz-village/#respond Fri, 26 Jan 2024 14:48:25 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=2327ba4aa308460d900fce353e33e450
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2024/01/26/donkeys-bring-solar-power-to-remote-kyrgyz-village/feed/ 0 454967 Two dead, 3 injured in airstrikes on central Myanmar village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/magway-airstrike-12182023050954.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/magway-airstrike-12182023050954.html#respond Mon, 18 Dec 2023 10:13:15 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/magway-airstrike-12182023050954.html A junta jet dropped bombs and opened fire with machine guns on civilians in three townships killing two women and injuring three more, locals and People’s Defense Force members told Radio Free Asia.

The aircraft attacked Magway region’s Seikphyu, Pauk and Saw on Friday night forcing almost 8,000 people to flee the townships.

Locals identified the dead women as 21-year-old Yu Nandar and 24-year-old May Thingyan from Seikphyu’s Than Pu Yar Pin village. They were cremated on Friday evening according to a resident who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

“Two bombs fell when the girls were collecting water. They died on the spot,” he said.

“The jet went back and opened fire with machine guns, hitting two children and a woman. The woman, Tin San Htwe was hit in [the back of her head] and is still unconscious.”

About 600 people live in 140 houses in Than Pu Yar Pin village. They told RFA Burmese they were afraid to return to their homes because there may be more airstrikes.

A People’s Defense Force officer based in Seikphyu said the junta launched an attack even though there had been no fighting because it considers the township strategically important.

“Seikphyu is a key place,” he said. 

“Wazi, which prints banknotes, is in the area. There is an Air Defense Operations command headquarters and an aviation training school. Also there are two defense equipment factories.”

Calls to junta spokesman Than Swe Win seeking comment on the junta's airstrikes, went unanswered.

Some 730 civilians have been killed and 1,292 injured by airstrikes and heavy artillery this year according to data compiled by RFA, 

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/magway-airstrike-12182023050954.html/feed/ 0 446387 Junta kills 3 during raid in central Myanmar while torching a village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kill-3-in-sagaing-12132023052058.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kill-3-in-sagaing-12132023052058.html#respond Wed, 13 Dec 2023 10:21:57 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kill-3-in-sagaing-12132023052058.html Three people are dead and nearly 30 houses have been burned down following a junta raid, residents told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a junta battalion with roughly 100 members from Sagaing city’s 33rd Division entered Pan Chi village, locals said.

One victim was a civilian and the other two were members of local People’s Defense Forces, one man added, asking to remain anonymous for security reasons. The civilian was 40-year-old Lin Lin, who returned to the village to help his parents.

“The junta troops entered the village with loud gunfire. They started burning a house that they thought belonged to the village chief. One man, who has since died, returned to the village to rescue his parents,” he told RFA. “He planned to carry them on his back, as his parents were not able to run during the raid. But he was shot in the chest before he reached his parents. He was cremated immediately on Tuesday.”

Later that day, two resistance group members were also shot dead near the village. About 10 villagers were arrested and interrogated in the village monastery, the local added. They have since been released.

Junta troops raided Pan Chi village because a captain and a soldier from battalion No. 6005 went missing on Monday evening, another resident told RFA.

“I heard that [the missing soldiers] wanted to join the Civil Disobedience Movement. They linked up with the defense forces and rode along with the car while they went shopping in Ohn Taw village,” he said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “But from [the junta’s] point of view, they thought it was an arrest by the People’s Defense Forces. They saw that the car was driven towards the road leading to Yae Myet village. [Junta troops] went to check in Yae Myet village, but they were not there.”

On Wednesday morning following the attack, junta troops arrested 15 men sheltering in two monasteries with other villagers in Ohn Taw village on suspicion of being associated with resistance groups, he said, adding that the entire village had fled.

Nearly 5,000 residents from Sagaing’s Pan Chi, Ohn Taw, and Yae Myet villages ran to safety as a result of the arrests and killings.

Calls to Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson Sai Naing Naing Kyaw by RFA to learn more about the attacks went unanswered.

In May 2022, a defense camp near Pan Chi village was torched and eight members of the defense forces were killed, according to the residents and defense forces.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kill-3-in-sagaing-12132023052058.html/feed/ 0 445389 Myanmar’s junta ambushes Rakhine village at night, killing 3 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-killings-11162023034142.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-killings-11162023034142.html#respond Thu, 16 Nov 2023 08:43:44 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-killings-11162023034142.html Shrapnel from a shell explosion killed three villagers and injured several others in western Myanmar on Tuesday night, residents told Radio Free Asia. Four children were among the eight injured in Rakhine state as attacks escalate. 

No fighting preceded the attack, locals said. Junta troops began shooting into Minbya township’s Sin Gyi Pyin village late on Tuesday night and the artillery hit two  houses. The explosions burned down nearby houses, said a resident who did not want to be named for security reasons.

“They died due to the heavy artillery. Two young men died on the spot. Another woman died around 12 am. The artillery dropped when they were sleeping,” he said. 

“Two houses hit by the artillery were also burned. There was no fight. It was just shooting for no reason. They have been shooting like this for two nights.”

The attack killed Saw Muda, a woman in her 50s, as well as Mar Mauk Arlarm and Swe Yauk Huson, both in their 20s. The victims are all from Sin Gyi Pyin village.

Locals claimed that the heavy artillery was fired by the junta’s Infantry Battalion-380 based in Minbya, but RFA could not independently confirm this.

The injured villagers have been sent to Minbya Hospital, and families of the deceased are preparing to have their bodies cremated in the village. 

Those hurt in the attack are from three Minbya neighborhoods but the total number of injured people is not yet known. 

RFA called Rakhine’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein for comment on the attacks, but he did not answer the phone.

Fighting in Rakhine state resumed on Monday after a year-long ceasefire. Since then, five civilians have died and 18 have been injured by heavy artillery explosions and rounds of gunfire by junta troops. 

The dead are from Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Maungdaw, Rathedaung and Minbya townships. Fighting in other parts of Rakhine state killed two more civilians from Ann township on Tuesday night when junta troops fired into Thea Kan Htaung village. 

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rakhine-killings-11162023034142.html/feed/ 0 439150 Inside a Gaza Village: “All of Us Will Die, but We Don’t Know When” https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/27/inside-a-gaza-village-all-of-us-will-die-but-we-dont-know-when/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/27/inside-a-gaza-village-all-of-us-will-die-but-we-dont-know-when/#respond Fri, 27 Oct 2023 23:55:00 +0000 https://theintercept.com/?p=449344

The Gaza Ministry of Health has calculated that more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed, including nearly 3,000 children, by the latest Israeli bombing on Gaza. Those living in Gaza are under the constant threat of airstrikes, with little food, water, or access to medical care. This week on Deconstructed, Maram Al-Dada, an aviation engineer based in Florida, joins Ryan Grim; Al-Dada’s family is in Gaza, where he grew up. By the time of the interview, a shocking 46 members of Al-Dada’s family had been killed by Israeli attacks, with the rest wondering when their moment will come. Al-Dada talks about his childhood in Gaza, the escalating restrictions placed on Palestinians, and his family’s experience during these past few weeks.

Note: This episode was recorded on Thursday evening (October 26), before the Friday evening escalation by Israel and before Gaza lost cellular and internet service.

Transcript coming soon.

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Join The Conversation


This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by Deconstructed.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/27/inside-a-gaza-village-all-of-us-will-die-but-we-dont-know-when/feed/ 0 437092 Junta razes village in northern Myanmar, opens fire on residents https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-ambush-10202023071649.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-ambush-10202023071649.html#respond Fri, 20 Oct 2023 11:20:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-ambush-10202023071649.html Updated Oct. 10, 2023, at 8:25 a.m. ET

A man died and eight were injured when troops laid landmines in their village in Sagaing region after raiding it and burning the houses to the ground, locals said Friday.

Two mines exploded while residents were cleaning up the remains of their houses on Thursday, one Pyawbwe resident told Radio Free Asia. After the troops left the village, they turned back to shell the survivors. 

“After they left, we went in and cleared the burnt houses in the village. The two mines planted by the junta soldiers were stepped on and blew up,” said the man who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “The troops shelled the area that had been blown up, injuring nine people with landmines and heavy artillery. One of them died this morning.”

The column trekked from Ye-U township to Tabayin township. Villages along the route were systematically raided and bombarded with heavy artillery, he added.

Across the south of Sagaing region, military convoys have carried out brutal attacks, causing thousands to flee their homes in early October. 

Troops killed one man and arrested 30 on a five-day raid across Shwebo, Khin-U, Pale and Kanbalu townships during the third week of October. On Saturday, villagers found three teenagers beaten and shot to death outside their village in Yinmarbin township. 

RFA contacted Sagaing region’s ethnic affairs minister and junta spokesperson Sai Naing Naing Kyaw seeking comment on the attack, but he did not reply by time of publication. 

Nationwide, junta convoys killed eight civilians from Oct. 1 to 17 with airstrikes and heavy artillery, according to data compiled by RFA. Forty-one people were injured.

More than 800,000 people have fled their homes in Sagaing region due to the conflict since the military coup, according to the United Nations.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Updated to add that the attack happened on Thursday.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-ambush-10202023071649.html/feed/ 0 435647 ‘Half The Village Was Destroyed’: Horrific Scenes From Deadly Strike In Kharkiv https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/05/russian-attack-in-kharkiv-region-kills-dozens-including-a-child-ukraine-says/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/05/russian-attack-in-kharkiv-region-kills-dozens-including-a-child-ukraine-says/#respond Thu, 05 Oct 2023 19:53:03 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=a5ce5bfb8faf169a58e1ba115a14044a
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/05/russian-attack-in-kharkiv-region-kills-dozens-including-a-child-ukraine-says/feed/ 0 432224 Papuan ‘women’s forest party’ boosts culture in mangrove haven https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/01/papuan-womens-forest-party-boosts-culture-in-mangrove-haven/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/01/papuan-womens-forest-party-boosts-culture-in-mangrove-haven/#respond Sun, 01 Oct 2023 23:32:02 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=93888 Jubi News in Jayapura

The Indonesia Art Movement has collaborated with the Monj Hen Wani Community and environmental advocates in Papua to organise the “Arumbay Tonotwiyat” — the Women’s Forest People’s Party.

The event took place beneath the lush canopy of Enggros village’s mangrove forest Abepura District, Jayapura City last weekend.

Arumbay Tonotwiyat was a multifaceted celebration that blended art, culture and environmental conservation.

This gathering was a tribute to nature and the preservation of cultural heritage.

It was also a commitment to fostering harmony between humanity and the natural world.

Rumah Bakau Jayapura, Kampung Dongeng Jayapura, Forum Indonesia Muda Jayapura, Sangga Uniyap, and representatives from Cenderawasih University and ISBI Tanah Papua, and Papua Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) supported the event.

The “forest party” engaged a wide range of participants, including children, teenagers, and adults.

Beach clean-up
The event started with a beach clean-up initiative at Cibery Beach, organised by Petronela.

This cleanup effort was a “demonstration of environmental love”, said the organisers.

It acknowledged the persistent issue of marine debris washing ashore during the rainy season.

Children who participated in the Arumbay Tonotwiyat cultural and environmental event in Jayapura
Children who participated in the Arumbay Tonotwiyat cultural and environmental event in Jayapura. Image: Jubi News

Following the cleanup, participants were treated to a tour of Youtefa Bay, where they witnessed a performance by children from Tobati-Enggros village.

This performance depicted the story of a mangrove forest tainted by garbage and waste originating from Nafri Village, Hamadi Beach, and the Acai River.

Subsequently, the participants were guided to the Women’s Forest in Enggros, an area accessible only to women.

Here, women sought food sources to meet their household needs while also sharing their domestic concerns.

Women’s Forest ‘off-limits’
The Women’s Forest is off-limits to men and any breach of this custom incurs penalties, typically in the form of jewelry or other items.

Mama Ani — “Mother Ani” — explained that men were not permitted to enter the forest while women were foraging for food, as women in the forest swam naked.

Within the mangrove forest, women typically gathered clams, crabs, shrimps, and fish as sources of sustenance.

However, men can enter the forest in the absence of women, usually in search of dried mangrove wood for firewood.

Orgenes Meraudje, the former head of Enggros Village and a prominent community leader, said women also visited the Women’s Forest to share their domestic experiences.

However, these stories remained within the forest, not to be brought back home.

For the women of Enggros-Tobati beach, the forest holds sacred significance, and they foraged unclothed for their household necessities.

Protecting Women’s Forest
Yehuda Hamokwarong, a lecturer at Cenderawasih University who attended the event, stressed the importance of protecting the Women’s Forest.

“The forest served as an educational hub, imparting knowledge and survival skills to Enggros-Tobati women, encompassing practical skills, ethics, and morals,” she said.

“The Women’s Forest represented not only the lungs of the world but also a profound emblem of feminine identity.”

In addition to the Women’s Forest, there is a designated area called “para-para”, a sort of hall exclusive for men, and women were prohibited from entering.

Any woman entering this area would face customary fines.

Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/10/01/papuan-womens-forest-party-boosts-culture-in-mangrove-haven/feed/ 0 431223 Cameraman hit by village vehicle, municipal employee arrested https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/29/cameraman-hit-by-village-vehicle-municipal-employee-arrested/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/29/cameraman-hit-by-village-vehicle-municipal-employee-arrested/#respond Fri, 29 Sep 2023 13:02:22 +0000 https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cameraman-hit-by-village-vehicle-municipal-employee-arrested/

KTVI-TV cameraman Wade Smith was struck and seriously injured by a Hillsdale, Missouri, municipal vehicle on Aug. 11, 2023, with the village’s top official in the passenger seat. The station reported that Smith required emergency surgery and was recovering at home. The vehicle’s driver — an employee of the suburban St. Louis village — was arrested in connection with the incident in early September, it added.

Smith and reporter Mitch McCoy were investigating reports that municipal governments were towing individual’s vehicles from their driveways due to expired tags or the absence of a village sticker, according to KTVI.

When the pair went to Village Hall to interview Dorothy Moore, the chair of the Board of Trustees who functionally serves as mayor, the chief of police informed the journalists that she wasn’t there. An hour later, Smith saw Moore leaving the hall through the back door.

Smith and McCoy followed as Moore climbed into a public works truck and slid into the passenger seat as the municipal employee got behind the wheel, KTVI reported. As he drove away at the urging of Moore, Smith was run over by the trailer attached to the truck and fell to the ground.

An accident report filed about the incident stated that the Hillsdale worker saw Smith on the ground as they drove away, but told police he didn’t know Smith had been hit, according to KTVI.

Smith also dropped the camera when he was struck, but the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was not immediately able to confirm the extent of the damage to the equipment.

Smith’s attorney Chet Pleban confirmed to St. Louis Today that Smith’s tibia had been broken and that he was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery.

“It’s a pretty sad day when a reporter or a cameraman is run over by a vehicle simply because an elected official doesn’t want to talk to them,” Pleban said.

The Associated Press reported on Sept. 8 that the municipal worker had been released pending a prosecutor’s review to decide whether to pursue charges.

Neither Smith’s attorney nor KTVI responded to requests for comment.


This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/29/cameraman-hit-by-village-vehicle-municipal-employee-arrested/feed/ 0 430758 ‘We don’t have a schoolteacher’; resident of Cambodian village where the school is in disrepair https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/27/we-dont-have-a-schoolteacher-resident-of-cambodian-village-where-the-school-is-in-disrepair/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/27/we-dont-have-a-schoolteacher-resident-of-cambodian-village-where-the-school-is-in-disrepair/#respond Wed, 27 Sep 2023 21:12:19 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=c359ba07dfc9692deacc308c97dcfa94
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/27/we-dont-have-a-schoolteacher-resident-of-cambodian-village-where-the-school-is-in-disrepair/feed/ 0 430262 ‘We’ve gotten no help”; Rakhine residents five months after Cyclone Mocha ravaged their village https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/25/weve-gotten-no-help-rakhine-residents-five-months-after-cyclone-mocha-ravaged-their-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/25/weve-gotten-no-help-rakhine-residents-five-months-after-cyclone-mocha-ravaged-their-village/#respond Mon, 25 Sep 2023 21:36:11 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=83408822429ea910afbae075d1e266d2
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/25/weve-gotten-no-help-rakhine-residents-five-months-after-cyclone-mocha-ravaged-their-village/feed/ 0 429741 Kosovo Police Close Road To Village After Shooting https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/24/kosovo-police-close-road-to-village-after-shooting/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/24/kosovo-police-close-road-to-village-after-shooting/#respond Sun, 24 Sep 2023 12:47:31 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=fb9b75da2c1e9fc0d9da6281c1d9843d
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/24/kosovo-police-close-road-to-village-after-shooting/feed/ 0 429487 Ukrainian Counteroffensive Liberates Village Bordering Donetsk Airport https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/20/ukrainian-counteroffensive-liberates-village-bordering-donetsk-airport/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/20/ukrainian-counteroffensive-liberates-village-bordering-donetsk-airport/#respond Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:58:08 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=4636ededf1bcb6c1f8e2947841c3e19b
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/09/20/ukrainian-counteroffensive-liberates-village-bordering-donetsk-airport/feed/ 0 428567 Authorities wall off Xinjiang village to control Uyghur movement https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/enclosed-09182023153210.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/enclosed-09182023153210.html#respond Tue, 19 Sep 2023 13:12:01 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/enclosed-09182023153210.html Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang region have completely walled off a village of 13,500 people in a bid to control their movement, subjecting them to 24-hour surveillance and restricting their access to a single gate each for residents and vehicles, according to security personnel.

The enclosure of Chuluqai village in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture’s Ghulja (in Chinese, Yining) county – roughly 650 kilometers (400 miles) west of Urumqi, the regional capital – is the latest attempt by authorities since the 2000s to surveil Uyghurs under the pretext of maintaining peace and security in the region, despite claims of widespread state-sponsored rights violations against the minority group.

In a recent visit to the area, a reporter with Agence France Presse documented the restricted freedom of rural residents within their communities, particularly in Kashgar (Kashi) prefecture’s Yarkand (Shache) county. While investigating the situation in Arslanbagh village, the reporter discovered that local authorities had been instructing residents to stay indoors and locking up homes in order to monitor and control their movements.

RFA Uyghur received a tip from an anonymous source who said that similar restrictions had been put in place in Ghulja and contacted county police for comment on the claims.

An officer who answered the phone said that she was newly hired and unclear about the policy of enclosed communities in the county – referred to officially as the “one village, one gate” campaign – but indicated that it was underway.

“I don't know how many more villages are left to be enclosed,” said the officer who, like others RFA contacted for this report, declined to be named because she had been instructed not to speak with the media.

The officer referred additional questions to the county government.

A further investigation revealed that authorities in Ghulja’s Chuluqai village had implemented similar measures there since 2017, walling off the area and requiring residents to enter and exit through a single checkpoint.

Electrified gate, barbed wire fence

RFA spoke with a security guard who said that he is one of two people on duty at the village gate during the day and one of five on duty throughout the night.

“The gate is an electrified iron gate and it's surrounded by two-meter (6.5-foot) walls with barbed wires,” he said. “It encloses every part of Chuluqai, and you can only enter and exit through this single gate.”

ENG_UYG_WalledVillage_09182023_02.jpg
A Chinese flag next to a sign read as 'Use history as an example to build the future' displayed on an alleged detention facility in Kashgar prefecture in China's northwestern Xinjiang region on July 15, 2023. Credit: Pedro Pardo/AFP

The guard said that there is a separate, larger gate for vehicles to enter the village.

“We check and record where the car is from, whether it belongs to an individual or an organization, or if it's from a different city,” he said. “Pedestrians walk through a separate door, and we record their names.”

According to the guard, the checkpoint allows authorities to “determine where individuals are coming from and whether any of their family members have been arrested.”

“The police officers will conduct the checks and decide whether they can enter or not," he said.

‘In every county’

The one village, one gate campaign is being implemented “in every county,” he added, citing official communications he was privy to on his radio.

The guard said he had personally observed a similar situation in the Ghulja villages of Ewlia, Üchon, and Mollatoxtiyuzi.

The construction of walls around communities in the Xinjiang region – commonly referred to by officials as “building new villages” or “transforming neighborhood appearances” – is designed to limit the freedom of movement of residents, rights groups say.

China has come under harsh international criticism for its severe rights abuses against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs. The U.S. government and several Western parliaments have declared that the abuses amount to genocide or crimes against humanity.

ENG_UYG_WalledVillage_09182023_03.jpg
An entrance to an alleged former detention center, known as Yengisheher-2, in Shule County in Kashgar in China's northwestern Xinjiang region on July 15, 2023. Credit: Pedro Pardo/AFP

Alleged atrocities against the Uyghurs have included detention in “re-education” camps and prisons, torture, sexual assaults and forced labor.

Ilshat Hasan, a U.S.-based political commentator who spent his childhood in Chuluqai, said that people could freely enter and exit the village during his time there.

“The Uyghurs where I grew up never experienced such oppression, where they are required to provide their names and show their IDs just to enter the village,” he said.

Hasan said that enclosing an entire community and restricting its members to using a single gate “implies that the population has been reduced” and called for an independent investigation.

Keeping foreigners out

China has regularly responded to criticism of its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang by inviting foreign journalists to visit the region and observe the situation for themselves.

However, the security guard RFA spoke with in Chuluqai said that “foreigners are not allowed to enter the village” and that no foreign reporter had been able to access the area “in the past six years.”

“If a foreigner inquires about a specific person [in the village] or says there is an issue, we tell them not to interfere with the law, as our government and legal system are fair," he said.

The guard’s comments appeared to imply that the walling-off of villages in Ghulja is as much about keeping the international community in the dark about the situation there as it is about restricting the movement of residents.

Allegations of abuses have led to high profile visits to Xinjiang by U.N. observers in recent months, including former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in May 2022 and a delegation from the U.N.’s International Labor Organization in August this year.

When Bachelet visited Xinjiang last year, Chinese officials did not permit her to visit labor camps or hold open discussions with Uyghurs facing discrimination and threats, prompting criticism from the international rights community.

In August 2022, Bachelet’s office released a damning report on Xinjiang, concluding that serious human rights violations had been committed in the context of Chinese counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies, and that China’s detention of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in the region may constitute crimes against humanity.

Last month’s low-profile visit by the ILO delegation was slammed by rights groups who said it should have consulted with them beforehand and expressed concern it would help China conceal its crimes in Xinjiang.

Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Shohret Hoshur for RFA Uyghur.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/enclosed-09182023153210.html/feed/ 0 428169 Mosquito Swarms Plague Kazakh Village https://www.radiofree.org/2023/08/03/mosquito-swarms-plague-kazakh-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/08/03/mosquito-swarms-plague-kazakh-village/#respond Thu, 03 Aug 2023 15:05:57 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=8a629303af255c8a812a2e1f02e3b3ee
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/08/03/mosquito-swarms-plague-kazakh-village/feed/ 0 416676 Junta shelling kills man, forces residents to flee village in Myanmar’s Shan state https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html#respond Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:26:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html Myanmar’s military shelled a village in Shan state, killing a man and forcing most residents to flee, locals told RFA Wednesday.

The local killed in Tuesday’s attack on Muse township’s Hseng Hkawng village was identified as 40-year-old Aik Lau by a villager who goes by the name Cherry.

“He was sitting outside the house and his face and back were hit when the heavy artillery shell landed and exploded,” Cherry told RFA.

“Another house was hit and one person was injured in the thigh.”

The village has around 200 residents, most of whom fled after the explosion.

Locals said most of the villagers are from the Ta’ang (Palaung) ethnic group. A resident of a nearby village said there was a battle between junta troops and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army in the township on Tuesday morning. 

They said troops fired a 60-millimeter heavy weapon from a bridge next to Nam Aum village, damaging some houses in Hseng Hkawng. 

The troops then raided Kawng Wein village, 0.8 kilometers (half a mile) from Hseng Hkawng and interrogated locals.

DSC_8484.JPG
Ta'ang National Liberation Army troops in a photograph taken on July 12, 2022. Credit: RFA

The ethnic army has been active near those villages, fighting with about 200 soldiers in the last few days, and the military junta has been shelling villages since Monday, according to locals.

Some shops and houses in Nam Aum village were destroyed by shelling and troops sent an attack helicopter to fire on the village on Tuesday, residents told RFA on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

RFA’s calls to junta council spokesperson for Shan state, Khun Thein Maung, went unanswered Wednesday.

A Ta’ang National Liberation Army information officer, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA he did not know the exact situation on the ground.

Fighting across Myanmar since the junta extended the state of emergency on Feb. 1, 2023 has left 383 civilians dead, according to data from the BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor, a group that compiles data on the military conflict.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) announced on July 15 that nearly two million people have fled their homes due to armed fighting and insecurity across the country since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup.

Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html/feed/ 0 414640 Junta shelling kills man, forces residents to flee village in Myanmar’s Shan state https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html#respond Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:26:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html Myanmar’s military shelled a village in Shan state, killing a man and forcing most residents to flee, locals told RFA Wednesday.

The local killed in Tuesday’s attack on Muse township’s Hseng Hkawng village was identified as 40-year-old Aik Lau by a villager who goes by the name Cherry.

“He was sitting outside the house and his face and back were hit when the heavy artillery shell landed and exploded,” Cherry told RFA.

“Another house was hit and one person was injured in the thigh.”

The village has around 200 residents, most of whom fled after the explosion.

Locals said most of the villagers are from the Ta’ang (Palaung) ethnic group. A resident of a nearby village said there was a battle between junta troops and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army in the township on Tuesday morning. 

They said troops fired a 60-millimeter heavy weapon from a bridge next to Nam Aum village, damaging some houses in Hseng Hkawng. 

The troops then raided Kawng Wein village, 0.8 kilometers (half a mile) from Hseng Hkawng and interrogated locals.

DSC_8484.JPG
Ta'ang National Liberation Army troops in a photograph taken on July 12, 2022. Credit: RFA

The ethnic army has been active near those villages, fighting with about 200 soldiers in the last few days, and the military junta has been shelling villages since Monday, according to locals.

Some shops and houses in Nam Aum village were destroyed by shelling and troops sent an attack helicopter to fire on the village on Tuesday, residents told RFA on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

RFA’s calls to junta council spokesperson for Shan state, Khun Thein Maung, went unanswered Wednesday.

A Ta’ang National Liberation Army information officer, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA he did not know the exact situation on the ground.

Fighting across Myanmar since the junta extended the state of emergency on Feb. 1, 2023 has left 383 civilians dead, according to data from the BNI-Myanmar Peace Monitor, a group that compiles data on the military conflict.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) announced on July 15 that nearly two million people have fled their homes due to armed fighting and insecurity across the country since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup.

Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/shan-shelling-07262023052335.html/feed/ 0 414641 Village raid by Myanmar forces leaves 14 civilians, resistance fighters dead https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-07242023164642.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-07242023164642.html#respond Mon, 24 Jul 2023 21:03:58 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-07242023164642.html More than a dozen civilians were killed by Myanmar junta forces, with some brutally tortured before being executed, during a six-hour raid on a village in northwestern Sagaing region on July 21, residents said on Monday.

In all, 14 people, including four teenagers and six members of an anti-junta People’s Defense Force, lost their lives during the assault in Yinmarbin township, leaving residents who witnessed the murders in deep distress, the sources said.

The killings occurred when a 100-strong army column raided Sone Chaung village at 2 a.m. on July 21. Among the minors killed were Lwin Moe Tun, Sai Htoo Hseng, Nay Min Tun and Pho Chit, residents said.

Myanmar soldiers also killed four civilians in their 30s — Naing Min, Myo Myint Swe, Pho Aung and Kyaw Zin Tun. The six PDF members executed were Myo Myint Oo, Kyaw Soe, Yan Naing Soe, Htay Zaw, Aung Win Swe and Zaw Win.

The victims were tortured before being killed, said a village resident who found the bodies and who spoke to Radio Free Asia on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.

The 10 adults were tied in pairs and shot dead in the southern part of the village, he said. 

“It was a horrible scene,” the local said. “Faces were disfigured, and their [chests] were covered in blood.”

The villager went on to say that soldiers had torn off the skin on one of the PDF member’s legs, hit him in the chest with rifle butts, and appeared to have shot him in the temple at point-blank range.  

Myanmar has been wracked by violence since the military overthrew the elected civilian-led government in a February 2021 coup.  

Sagaing region has been an anti-junta stronghold and cradle of resistance for local PDFs — civilians who have taken up arms to fight the military’s brutal rule. Junta forces have swept through villages across the region to find and punish suspected resistance fighters and their civilian supporters.

Sone Chaung has four communities with more than 2,000 houses and over 7,000 residents who mostly farm to make a living.  

Residents prepare to cremate some of the civilians killed by junta troops in Sone Chaung village, Yinmarbin township, northwestern Myanmar's Sagaing region, July 21, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist
Residents prepare to cremate some of the civilians killed by junta troops in Sone Chaung village, Yinmarbin township, northwestern Myanmar's Sagaing region, July 21, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist

‘We are inconsolable’

The military column entered Sone Chaung village from the south and left around 8 a.m., residents said.

Villager Phyu Nu said she believed soldiers were firing into the air when she heard gunshots from the south end around 6:30 a.m.

“Later, we found dead bodies,” she told RFA. “They didn’t fire into the air, but they killed the youths. It’s too cruel. And it’s even more painful because the people who were not involved in the revolution were also killed. The victims were not simply shot dead. We are inconsolable since they were horribly disfigured.”

The villagers said they buried the bodies of eight civilians, who were Sone Chaung residents, near Kyauk Hmaw village to the north on the same day.

Following the raid, junta-controlled state media reported that Myanmar forces killed seven, not six, PDF members and seized weapons during the village raid. 

Villager Tin Oo told RFA that the junta forces made a false accusation about the presence of a PDF camp in Sone Chaung.

“They did this because it is likely that someone such as an informant told them about the village,” he said. “People are frustrated because [the military] did such a thing though there is no PDF.”

The State Administration Council, as the junta regime is known, has not issued a statement on the raid.

RFA could not reach junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment.

A member of the Chindwin PDF who survived the raid said junta forces intercepted PDF communication signals and were waiting to shoot at them. 

“After being shot and arrested, four of our members were left behind, and the other four escaped with chest wounds,” he said. 

The PDF members did not have time to fight back as they tried to move residents to a safe place amid continuous fire by junta troops.

More than 30 residents who could not escape and were detained by the soldiers were later released when the military column left, villagers said. 

Some Sone Chaung residents who successfully fled have not yet returned because of the killings, they said.

More than 3,800 civilians have been killed across Myanmar since the military coup, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based rights group. 

Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-07242023164642.html/feed/ 0 414233 Entire village tested as covid reaches third Tokelauan atoll https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/18/entire-village-tested-as-covid-reaches-third-tokelauan-atoll/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/18/entire-village-tested-as-covid-reaches-third-tokelauan-atoll/#respond Tue, 18 Jul 2023 02:35:25 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=90784 By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

The number of covid-19 community cases in Tokelau has surpassed 50 and has now cropped up on all three atolls.

The Ulu o Tokelau, or head of government in Tokelau, Kelihiano Kalolo, has announced the territory’s first community outbreak in Fakaofo atoll.

An entire village has been tested after a man who visited Fanuafala hospital tested positive.

After the positive test, the doctor there decided to conduct a screening of the whole village.

The screening confirmed 15 community cases, as of July 11.

The latest case tested positive after arriving in Nukunonu, the largest atoll in Tokelau.

The latest Tokelau Health Department update shows 56 cases on Fakaofo, the second-largest atoll of the group.

Atoll at outbreak centre
This is the atoll at the centre of the first outbreak.

There is currently one covid case in Nukunonu and none in Atafu, though there have been five cases at the border since the end of last year.

There have been 80 cases in total in Tokelau since the virus arrived at the border in December last year.

The government’s General Fono meeting is to be held over Zoom this month because of the outbreak.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tokelau Covid-19 Update July 14 2023.
Tokelau Covid-19 Update July 14, 2023. Image: Tokelau Health Department/RNZ Pacific


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/18/entire-village-tested-as-covid-reaches-third-tokelauan-atoll/feed/ 0 412400 Rohingya village still in dire shape two months after Cyclone Mocha ravaged Myanmar’s Rakhine state https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/17/rohingya-village-still-in-dire-shape-two-months-after-cyclone-mocha-ravaged-myanmars-rakhine-state/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/17/rohingya-village-still-in-dire-shape-two-months-after-cyclone-mocha-ravaged-myanmars-rakhine-state/#respond Mon, 17 Jul 2023 16:54:59 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=72f593b61feaae8a56fc81279756f0f0
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/17/rohingya-village-still-in-dire-shape-two-months-after-cyclone-mocha-ravaged-myanmars-rakhine-state/feed/ 0 412314 Billions of snow crabs are missing. A remote Alaskan village depends on the harvest to survive. https://grist.org/food/alaska-snow-crab-vanish-st-paul-island/ https://grist.org/food/alaska-snow-crab-vanish-st-paul-island/#respond Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:45:00 +0000 https://grist.org/?p=612172 This story was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, a nonprofit news organization.

My small turboprop plane whirred low through thick clouds. Below me, St. Paul Island cut a golden, angular shape in the shadow-dark Bering Sea. I saw a lone island village — a grid of houses, a small harbor, and a road that followed a black ribbon of coast.

Some 330 people, most of them Indigenous, live in the village of St. Paul, about 800 miles west of Anchorage, where the local economy depends almost entirely on the commercial snow crab business. Over the last few years, 10 billion snow crabs have unexpectedly vanished from the Bering Sea. I was traveling there to find out what the villagers might do next.

The arc of St. Paul’s recent story has become a familiar one — so familiar, in fact, I couldn’t blame you if you missed it. Alaska news is full of climate elegies now — every one linked to wrenching changes caused by burning fossil fuels. I grew up in Alaska, as my parents did before me, and I’ve been writing about the state’s culture for more than 20 years. Some Alaskans’ connections go far deeper than mine. Alaska Native people have inhabited this place for more than 10,000 years.

As I’ve reported in Indigenous communities, people remind me that my sense of history is short and that the natural world moves in cycles. People in Alaska have always had to adapt.

Even so, in the last few years, I’ve seen disruptions to economies and food systems, as well as fires, floods, landslides, storms, coastal erosion, and changes to river ice — all escalating at a pace that’s hard to process. Increasingly, my stories veer from science and economics into the fundamental ability of Alaskans to keep living in rural places.

A pickup truck drives along the road in the island community of St. Paul
The island community of St. Paul sits 800 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska. Nathaniel Wilder

You can’t separate how people understand themselves in Alaska from the landscape and animals. The idea of abandoning long-occupied places echoes deep into identity and history. I’m convinced the questions Alaskans are grappling with — whether to stay in a place and what to hold onto if they can’t — will eventually face everyone.

I’ve given thought to solastalgia — the longing and grief experienced by people whose feeling of home is disrupted by negative changes in the environment. But the concept doesn’t quite capture what it feels like to live here now.

A few years ago, I was a public radio editor on a story out of the small Southeast Alaska town of Haines about a storm that came through carrying a record amount of rain. The morning started routinely — a reporter on the ground calling around, surveying the damage. But then, a hillside rumbled down, taking out a house and killing the people inside. I still think of it — people going through regular routines in a place that feels like home, but that, at any time, might come cratering down. There’s a prickly anxiety humming beneath Alaska life now, like a wildfire that travels for miles in the loamy surface of soft ground before erupting without notice into flames.

But in St. Paul, there was no wildfire — only fat raindrops on my windshield as I loaded into a truck at the airport. In my notebook, tucked in my backpack, I’d written a single question: “What does this place preserve?”

Drone video by Nathaniel Wilder

The sandy road from the airport in late March led across wide, empty grassland, bleached sepia by the winter season. Town appeared beyond a rise, framed by towers of rusty crab pots. It stretched across a saddle of land, with rows of brightly painted houses — magentas, yellows, teals — stacked on either hillside. The grocery store, school, and clinic sat in between them, with a 100-year-old Russian Orthodox church named for Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the day in June 1786 when Russian explorer Gavril Pribylov landed on the island. A darkened processing plant, the largest in the world for snow crabs, rose above the quiet harbor.

You’re probably familiar with sweet, briney snow crab — Chionoecetes opilio — which is commonly found on the menus of chain restaurants like Red Lobster. A plate of crimson legs with drawn butter there will cost you $32.99. In a regular year, a good portion of the snow crab America eats comes from the plant, owned by the multibillion-dollar company Trident Seafoods.

Not that long ago, at the peak of crab season in late winter, temporary workers at the plant would double the population of the town, butchering, cooking, freezing, and boxing 100,000 pounds of snow crab per day, along with processing halibut from a small fleet of local fishermen. Boats full of crab rode into the harbor at all hours, sometimes motoring through swells so perilous they’ve become the subject of a popular collection of YouTube videos. People filled the town’s lone tavern in the evenings, and the plant cafeteria, the only restaurant in town, opened to locals. In a normal year, taxes on crab and local investments in crab fishing could bring St. Paul more than $2 million.

A run down building with a sign reading Trident Seafoods plant
The shuttered Trident Seafoods plant. Nathaniel Wilder

Then came the massive, unexpected drop in the crab population — a crash scientists linked to record-warm ocean temperatures and less ice formation, both associated with climate change. In 2021, federal authorities severely limited the allowable catch. In 2022, they closed the fishery for the first time in 50 years. Industry losses in the Bering Sea crab fishery climbed into the hundreds of millions of dollars. St. Paul lost almost 60 percent of its tax revenue overnight. Leaders declared a “cultural, social, and economic emergency.” Town officials had reserves to keep the community’s most basic functions running, but they had to start an online fundraiser to pay for emergency medical services.

Through the windshield of the truck I was riding in, I could see the only cemetery on the hillside, with weathered rows of orthodox crosses. Van Halen played on the only radio station. I kept thinking about the meaning of a cultural emergency. 

Some of Alaska’s Indigenous villages have been occupied for thousands of years, but modern rural life can be hard to sustain because of the high costs of groceries and fuel shipped from outside, limited housing, and scarce jobs. St. Paul’s population was already shrinking ahead of the crab crash. Young people departed for educational and job opportunities. Older people left to be closer to medical care. St. George, its sister island, lost its school years ago and now has about 40 residents.

Empty crab pots are stacked, with the community of St. Paul visible in the background
Crab pots sit idle outside of the community of St. Paul. Nathaniel Wilder

If you layer climate-related disruptions — such as changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and shrinking populations of fish and game — on top of economic troubles, it just increases the pressure to migrate. 

When people leave, precious intangibles vanish as well: a language spoken for 10,000 years, the taste for seal oil, the method for weaving yellow grass into a tiny basket, words to hymns sung in Unangam Tunuu, and maybe most importantly, the collective memory of all that had happened before. St. Paul played a pivotal role in Alaska’s history. It’s also the site of several dark chapters in America’s treatment of Indigenous populations. But as people and their memories disappear, what remains?

There is so much to remember. 

The Pribilofs consist of five volcano-made islands — but people now live mainly on St. Paul. The island is rolling, treeless, with black sand beaches and towering basaltic cliffs that drop into a crashing sea. In the summer it grows verdant with mosses, ferns, grasses, dense shrubs, and delicate wildflowers. Millions of migratory seabirds arrive every year, making it a tourist attraction for birders that’s been called the “Galapagos of the North.”

Driving the road west along the coast, you might glimpse a few members of the island’s half-century-old domestic reindeer herd. The road gains elevation until you reach a trailhead. From there you can walk the soft fox path for miles along the top of the cliffs, seabirds gliding above you — many species of gulls, puffins, common murres with their white bellies and obsidian wings. In spring, before the island greens up, you can find the old ropes people use to climb down to harvest murre eggs. Foxes trail you. Sometimes you can hear them barking over the sound of the surf.

A brown arctic fox pup barks in the center of the frame
A blue phase arctic fox barks at a vistor. It is thought the fox arrived here walking over on sea ice which used to encompass the island annually. Nathaniel Wilder

An arctic fox pup barks at a visitor. Nathaniel Wilder

ATV tracks run between beaches
ATV tracks between beaches near the northeastern point of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

Left: A shed reindeer antler on St. Paul Island. The herd is managed by the tribal government. Above: ATV tracks between beaches near the northeastern point of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

A shed reindeer antler
Reindeer are an introduced species and the herd is managed by the tribal government: the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

Two-thirds of the world’s population of northern fur seals — hundreds of thousands of animals — return to beaches in the Pribilofs every summer to breed. Valued for their dense, soft fur, they were once hunted to near extinction.

Alaska’s history since contact is a thousand stories of outsiders overwriting Indigenous culture and taking things — land, trees, oil, animals, minerals — of which there is a limited supply. St. Paul is perhaps among the oldest example. The Unangax̂ — sometimes called Aleuts — had lived on a chain of Aleutian Islands to the south for thousands of years and were among the first Indigenous people to see outsiders — Russian explorers who arrived in the mid-1700s. Within 50 years, the population was nearly wiped out. People of Unangax̂ descent are now scattered across Alaska and the world. Just 1,700 live in the Aleutian region.

St. Paul is home to one of the largest Unangax̂ communities left. Many residents are related to Indigenous people kidnapped from the Aleutian Islands and forced by Russians to hunt seals as part of a lucrative 19th century fur trade. St. Paul’s robust fur operation, subsidized by slave labor, became a strong incentive for the United States’ purchase of the Alaska territory from Russia in 1867.

On the plane ride in, I read the 2022 book that detailed the history of piracy in the early seal trade on the island, Roar of the Sea: Treachery, Obsession, and Alaska’s Most Valuable Wildlife by Deb Vanasse. One of the facts that stayed with me: Profits from Indigenous sealing allowed the U.S. to recoup the $7.2 million it paid for Alaska by 1905. Another: After the purchase, the U.S. government controlled islanders well into the mid-20th century as part of an operation many describe as indentured servitude.

The government was obligated to provide for housing, sanitation, food, and heat on the island, but none were adequate. Considered “wards of the state,” the government compensated Unangax̂ for their labors in meager rations of canned food. Once a week, Indigenous islanders were allowed to hunt or fish for subsistence. Houses were inspected for cleanliness and to check for homebrew. Travel on and off the island was strictly controlled. Mail was censored.

A statue on the beach depicts three seals
Two-thirds of the world’s population of northern fur seals breed each summer on beaches in the Pribilof Islands. Nathaniel Wilder

Between 1870 and 1946, Alaska Native people on the islands earned an estimated $2.1 million, while the government and private companies raked in $46 million in profits. Some inequitable practices continued well into the 1960s, when politicians, activists, and the Tundra Times, an Alaska Native newspaper, brought the story of the government’s treatment of Indigenous islanders to a wider world.

During World War II, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor and the U.S. military gathered St. Paul residents with little notice and transported them 1,200 miles to a detention camp at a decrepit cannery in Southeast Alaska at Funter Bay. Soldiers ransacked their homes on St. Paul and slaughtered the reindeer herd so there would be nothing for the Japanese if they occupied the island. The government said the relocation and detention were for protection, but they brought the Unangax̂ back to the island during the seal season to hunt. A number of villagers died in cramped and filthy conditions with little food. But Unangax̂ also became acquainted with Tlingits from the Southeast region, who had been organizing politically for years through the Alaska Native Brotherhood/Sisterhood organization.

After the war, the Unangax̂ people returned to the island and began to organize and agitate for better conditions. In one famous suit, known as “the corned beef case,” Indigenous residents working in the seal industry filed a complaint with the government in 1951. According to the complaint, their compensation, paid in the form of rations, included corned beef, while white workers on the island received fresh meat. After decades of hurdles, the case was settled in favor of the Alaska Native community for more than $8 million.

A small cabin with a turquoise facade and a wood door with an antler on it
A cabin on the road to the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge at the western edge of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

“The government was obligated to provide ‘comfort,’ but ‘wretchedness’ and ‘anguish’ are the words that more accurately describe the condition of the Pribilof Aleuts,” read the settlement, awarded by the Indian Claims Commission in 1979. The commission was established by Congress in the 1940s to weigh unresolved tribal claims.

Prosperity and independence finally came to St. Paul after commercial sealing was halted in 1984. The government brought in fishermen to teach locals how to fish commercially for halibut and funded the construction of a harbor for crab processing. By the early ‘90s, crab catches were enormous, reaching between 200 and 300 million pounds per year. (By comparison, the allowable catch in 2021, the first year of marked crab decline, was 5.5 million pounds, though fishermen couldn’t catch even that.) The island’s population reached a peak of more than 700 people in the early 1990s but has been on a slow decline ever since.

I’d come to the island in part to talk to Aquilina Lestenkof, a historian deeply involved in language preservation. I found her on a rainy afternoon in the bright blue wood-walled civic center, which is a warren of classrooms and offices, crowded with books, artifacts, and historic photographs. She greeted me with a word that starts at the back of the throat and rhymes with “song.”

“Aang,” she said.

Historian Aquilina Lestenkof stands in a brown winter jacket and black hat, with the community of St. Paul behind her
Aquilina Lestenkof is a historian who is working to preserve Unangam Tunuu, the Indigenous language of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

Lestenkof moved from St. George, where she was born, to St. Paul, when she was four. Her father, who was also born in St. George, became the village priest. She had long salt-and-pepper hair and a tattoo that stretched across both her cheeks made of curved lines and dots.  Each dot represents an island where a generation of her family lived, beginning with Attu in the Aleutians, then traveling to the Russian Commander Islands — also a site of a slave sealing operation — as well as Atka, Unalaska, St. George, and St. Paul.

“I’m the fifth generation having my story travel through those six islands,” she said.

Lestenkof is a grandmother, related to a good many people in the village and married to the city manager. For the last 10 years she’s been working on revitalizing Unangam Tunuu, the Indigenous language. Only one elder in the village speaks fluently now. He’s among the fewer than 100 fluent speakers left on the planet, though many people in the village understand and speak some words.

Back in the 1920s, teachers in the government school put hot sauce on her father’s tongue for speaking Unangam Tunuu, she told me. He didn’t require his children to learn it. There’s a way that language shapes how you understand the land and community around you, she said, and she wanted to preserve the parts of that she could.

“[My father] said, ‘If you thought in our language, if you thought from our perspective, you’d know what I’m talking about,’” she said. “I felt cheated.”

She showed me a wall covered with rectangles of paper that tracked grammar in Unangam Tunuu. Lestenkof said she needed to hunt down a fluent speaker to check the grammar. Say you wanted to say “drinking coffee,” she explained. You might learn that you don’t need to add the word for “drinking.” Instead, you might be able to change the noun to a verb, just by adding an ending to it.

Her program had been supported by money from a local nonprofit invested in crabbing and, more recently, by grants, but she was recently informed that she may lose funding. Her students come from the village school, which is shrinking along with the population. I asked her what would happen if the crabs fail to come back. People could survive, she said, but the village would look very different.

A classroom wall covered in papers and post-it notes
Notes on the wall in the classroom where Aquilina Lestenkof runs a program to teach local youth Unangam Tunuu. Nathaniel Wilder
A teacher stands smiling at a table with six students sat around her
“If you could think in Unangam Tunuu, you would understand what I’m saying,” Aquilina Lestenkof’s father once told her. She said this was a slap in the face that motivated her to learn the language, which has few remaining speakers. Now, she teaches it to local youth. Nathaniel Wilder

“Sometimes I’ve pondered, is it even right to have 500 people on this island?” she said.

If people moved off, I asked her, who would keep track of its history?

“Oh, so we don’t repeat it?” she asked, laughing. “We repeat history. We repeat stupid history, too.”

Until recently, during the crab season, the Bering Sea fleet had some 70 boats, most of them ported out of Washington state, with crews that came from all over the U.S. Few villagers work in the industry, in part because the job only lasts for a short season. Instead, they fish commercially for halibut, have positions in the local government or the tribe, or work in tourism. Processing is hard, physical labor — a schedule might be seven days a week, 12 hours a day, with an average pay of $17 an hour. As with lots of processors in Alaska, nonresident workers on temporary visas from the Philippines, Mexico, and Eastern Europe fill many of the jobs.

The crab plant echoes the dynamics of commercial sealing, she said. Its workers leave their homeland, working hard labor for low pay. It was one more industry depleting Alaska’s resources and sending them across the globe. Maybe the system didn’t serve Alaskans in a lasting way. Do people eating crab know how far it travels to the plate?

“We have the seas feeding people in freakin’ Iowa,” she said. “They shouldn’t be eating it. Get your own food.”

Drone video by Nathaniel Wilder

Ocean temperatures are increasing all over the world, but sea surface temperature change is most dramatic in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. As the North Pacific experiences sustained increases in temperature, it also warms up the Bering Sea to the north, through marine heat waves. During the last decade, these heat waves have grown more frequent and longer-lasting than at any time since record-keeping began more than 100 years ago. Scientists expect this trend to continue. 

A marine heat wave in the Bering Sea between 2016 and 2019 brought record warmth, preventing ice formation for several winters and affecting numerous cold-water species, including Pacific cod and pollock, seals, seabirds, and several types of crab.

Snow crab stocks always vary, but in 2018, a survey indicated that the snow crab population had exploded — it showed a 60 percent boost in market-sized male crab. (Only males of a certain size are harvested.) The next year showed abundance had fallen by 50 percent. The survey skipped a year due to the pandemic. Then, in 2021, the survey showed that the male snow crab population dropped by more than 90 percent from its high point in 2018. All major Bering Sea crab stocks, including red king crab and bairdi crab, were way down too. The most recent survey showed a decline in snow crabs from 11.7 billion in 2018 to 1.9 billion in 2022.

Scientists think a large pulse of young snow crabs came just before years of abnormally warm water temperatures, which led to less sea ice formation. One hypothesis is that these warmer temperatures drew sea animals from warmer climates north, displacing cold water animals, including commercial species like crab, pollock, and cod.

Above a roiling ocean, a Northern Fulmar bird with outstretched wings
A Northern Fulmar circles below cliffs that hold nesting seabirds during the summer season. Nathaniel Wilder

Another has to do with food availability. Crabs depend on cold water — water that’s 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit), to be exact — that comes from storms and ice melt, forming cold pools on the bottom of the ocean. Scientists theorize that cold water slows crabs’ metabolisms, reducing the animals’ need for food. But with the warmer water on the bottom, they needed more food than was available. It’s possible they starved or cannibalized each other, leading to the crash now underway. Either way, warmer temperatures were key. And there’s every indication temperatures will continue to increase with global warming.

“If we’ve lost the ice, we’ve lost the 2-degree water,” Michael Litzow, shellfish assessment program manager with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told me. “Cold water, it’s their niche — they’re an Arctic animal.”

The snow crab may rebound in a few years, so long as there aren’t any periods of warm water. But if warming trends continue, as scientists predict, the marine heatwaves will return, pressuring the crab population again.

Bones litter the wild part of St. Paul Island like Ezekiel’s valley in the Old Testament — reindeer ribs, seal teeth, fox femurs, whale vertebrae, and air-light bird skulls hide in the grass and along the rocky beaches, evidence of the bounty of wildlife and 200 years of killing seals.

When I went to visit Phil Zavadil, the city manager and Aqualina’s husband, in his office, I found a couple of sea lion shoulder bones on a coffee table. Called “yes/no” bones, they have a fin along the top and a heavy ball at one end. In St. Paul, they function like a magic eight ball. If you drop one and it falls with the fin pointing right, the answer to your question is yes. If it falls pointing left, the answer is no. One large one said “City of St. Paul Big-Decision Maker.” The other one was labeled “budget bone.”

The long-term health of the town, Zavadil told me, wasn’t in a totally dire position yet when it came to the sudden loss of the crab. It had invested during the heyday of crabbing, and with a somewhat reduced budget could likely sustain itself for a decade.

“That’s if something drastic doesn’t happen. If we don’t have to make drastic cuts,” he said. “Hopefully the crab will come back at some level.”

Philip Zavadil sits at a desk in an office
Phillip Zavadil, the city manager for St. Paul, has hope for the island’s future. Nathaniel Wilder

The easiest economic solution for the collapse of the crab fishery would be to convert the plant to process other fish, Zavadil said. There were some regulatory hurdles, but they weren’t insurmountable. City leaders were also exploring mariculture — raising seaweed, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins. That would require finding a market and testing mariculture methods in St. Paul’s waters. The fastest timeline for that was maybe three years, he said. Or they could promote tourism. The island has about 300 tourists a year, most of them hardcore birders.

“But you think about just doubling that,” he said.

The trick was to stabilize the economy before too many working-age adults moved away. There were already more jobs than people to fill them. Older people were passing away, younger families were moving out.

“I had someone come up to me the other day and say, ‘The village is dying,’” he said, but he didn’t see it that way. There were still people working and lots of solutions to try.

“There is cause for alarm if we do nothing,” he said. “We’re trying to work on things and take action the best we can.”

Aquilina Lestenkof’s nephew, Aaron Lestenkof, is an island sentinel with the tribal government, a job that entails monitoring wildlife and overseeing the removal of an endless stream of trash that washes up ashore. He drove me along a bumpy road down the coast to see the beaches that would soon be noisy and crowded with seals.

We parked and I followed him to a wide field of nubby vegetation stinking of seal scat. A handful of seal heads popped up over the rocks. They eyed us, then shimmied into the surf.

In the old days, Alaska Native seal workers used to walk out onto the crowded beaches, club the animals in the head, and then stab them in the heart. They took the pelts and harvested some meat for food, but some went to waste. Aquilina Lestenkof told me taking animals like that ran counter to how Unangax̂ related to the natural world before the Russians came.

“You have a prayer or ceremony attached to taking the life of an animal — you connect to it by putting the head back in the water,” she said.

Slaughtering seals for pelts made people numb, she told me. The numbness passed from one generation to the next. The era of crabbing had been in some ways a reparation for all the years of exploitation, she said. Climate change brought new, more complex problems. 

I asked Aaron Lestenkof if his elders ever talked about the time in the detention camp where they were sent during World War II. He told me his grandfather, Aquilina’s father, sometimes recalled a painful experience of having to drown rats in a bucket there. The act of killing animals that way was compulsory — the camp had become overrun with rats — but it felt like an ominous affront to the natural order, a trespass he’d pay for later. Every human action in nature has consequences, he often said. Later, when he lost his son, he remembered drowning the rats. 

“Over at the harbor, he was playing and the waves were sweeping over the dock there. He got swept out and he was never found,” Aaron Lestenkof said. “That’s, like, the only story I remember him telling.”

We picked our way down a rocky beach littered with trash — faded coral buoys, disembodied plastic fishing gloves and boots, an old ship’s dishwasher lolling open. He said the animals around the island were changing in small ways. There were fewer birds now. A handful of seals were now living on the island year-round, instead of migrating south. Their population was also declining.

Aaron Lestenkof is an island sentinel for the tribal government of St. Paul Island, posing here above a northern fur seal rookery he monitors. Nathaniel Wilder
Marine debris sits on a snow-covered beach
Marine debris can be found on beaches all over the Bering Sea. Nathaniel Wilder

People still fish, hunt marine mammals, collect eggs, and pick berries. Aaron Lestenkof hunts red-legged kittiwakes and king eiders, though he doesn’t have a taste for the bird meat. He finds elders who do like them, but that’s gotten harder. He wasn’t looking forward to the lean years of waiting for the crabs to return. Proceeds from the community’s investment in crabbing boats had paid the heating bills of older people; the boats also supplied the elderly with crab and halibut for their freezers. They supported education programs and environmental cleanup efforts. But now, he said, having the crab gone would “ affect our income and the community.”

Aaron Lestenkof was optimistic that they might cultivate other industries and grow tourism. He hoped so, because he never wanted to leave the island. His daughter was away at boarding school because there was no in-person high school any more. He hoped, when she grew up, that she’d want to return and make her life in town.

A small white church surrounded by a white fence. In front is a bright yellow buoy with a cross on top
The Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church on St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

On Sunday morning, the 148-year-old church bell at Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church tolled through the fog. A handful of older women and men filtered in and stood on separate sides of the church among gilded portraits of the saints. The church has been part of village life since the beginning of Russian occupation, one of the few places, people said, where Unangam Tunuu was welcome.

A priest sometimes travels to the island, but that day George Pletnikoff Jr., a local, acted as subdeacon, singing the 90-minute service in English, Church Slavonic, and Unangam Tunuu. George helps with Aquilina Lestenkof’s language class. He is newly married with a 6-month-old baby.

After the service, he told me that maybe people weren’t supposed to live on the island. Maybe they needed to leave that piece of history behind.

Three women walk away from a small white church
Outside the Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church after the Sunday readers’ service. Nathaniel Wilder

“This is a traumatized place,” he said. 

It was only a matter of time until the fishing economy didn’t serve the village anymore and the cost of living would make it hard for people to stay, he said. He thought he’d move his family south to the Aleutians, where his ancestors came from.

“Nikolski, Unalaska,” he told me. “The motherland.”

The next day, just before I headed to the airport, I stopped back at Aquilina Lestenkof’s classroom. A handful of middle school students arrived, wearing oversize sweatshirts and high-top Nikes. She invited me into a circle where students introduced themselves in Unangam Tunuu, using hand gestures that helped them remember the words.

After a while, I followed the class to a work table. Lestenkof guided them, pulling a needle through a papery dried seal esophagus to sew a waterproof pouch. The idea was that they’d practice words and skills that generations before them had carried from island to island, hearing and feeling them until they became so automatic, they could teach them to their own children.

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This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Billions of snow crabs are missing. A remote Alaskan village depends on the harvest to survive. on Jul 5, 2023.


This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Julia O’Malley.

]]> https://grist.org/food/alaska-snow-crab-vanish-st-paul-island/feed/ 0 409446 Billions of snow crabs are missing. A remote Alaskan village depends on the harvest to survive. https://grist.org/food/alaska-snow-crab-vanish-st-paul-island/ https://grist.org/food/alaska-snow-crab-vanish-st-paul-island/#respond Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:45:00 +0000 https://grist.org/?p=612172 This story was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, a nonprofit news organization.

My small turboprop plane whirred low through thick clouds. Below me, St. Paul Island cut a golden, angular shape in the shadow-dark Bering Sea. I saw a lone island village — a grid of houses, a small harbor, and a road that followed a black ribbon of coast.

Some 330 people, most of them Indigenous, live in the village of St. Paul, about 800 miles west of Anchorage, where the local economy depends almost entirely on the commercial snow crab business. Over the last few years, 10 billion snow crabs have unexpectedly vanished from the Bering Sea. I was traveling there to find out what the villagers might do next.

The arc of St. Paul’s recent story has become a familiar one — so familiar, in fact, I couldn’t blame you if you missed it. Alaska news is full of climate elegies now — every one linked to wrenching changes caused by burning fossil fuels. I grew up in Alaska, as my parents did before me, and I’ve been writing about the state’s culture for more than 20 years. Some Alaskans’ connections go far deeper than mine. Alaska Native people have inhabited this place for more than 10,000 years.

As I’ve reported in Indigenous communities, people remind me that my sense of history is short and that the natural world moves in cycles. People in Alaska have always had to adapt.

Even so, in the last few years, I’ve seen disruptions to economies and food systems, as well as fires, floods, landslides, storms, coastal erosion, and changes to river ice — all escalating at a pace that’s hard to process. Increasingly, my stories veer from science and economics into the fundamental ability of Alaskans to keep living in rural places.

A pickup truck drives along the road in the island community of St. Paul
The island community of St. Paul sits 800 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska. Nathaniel Wilder

You can’t separate how people understand themselves in Alaska from the landscape and animals. The idea of abandoning long-occupied places echoes deep into identity and history. I’m convinced the questions Alaskans are grappling with — whether to stay in a place and what to hold onto if they can’t — will eventually face everyone.

I’ve given thought to solastalgia — the longing and grief experienced by people whose feeling of home is disrupted by negative changes in the environment. But the concept doesn’t quite capture what it feels like to live here now.

A few years ago, I was a public radio editor on a story out of the small Southeast Alaska town of Haines about a storm that came through carrying a record amount of rain. The morning started routinely — a reporter on the ground calling around, surveying the damage. But then, a hillside rumbled down, taking out a house and killing the people inside. I still think of it — people going through regular routines in a place that feels like home, but that, at any time, might come cratering down. There’s a prickly anxiety humming beneath Alaska life now, like a wildfire that travels for miles in the loamy surface of soft ground before erupting without notice into flames.

But in St. Paul, there was no wildfire — only fat raindrops on my windshield as I loaded into a truck at the airport. In my notebook, tucked in my backpack, I’d written a single question: “What does this place preserve?”

Drone video by Nathaniel Wilder

The sandy road from the airport in late March led across wide, empty grassland, bleached sepia by the winter season. Town appeared beyond a rise, framed by towers of rusty crab pots. It stretched across a saddle of land, with rows of brightly painted houses — magentas, yellows, teals — stacked on either hillside. The grocery store, school, and clinic sat in between them, with a 100-year-old Russian Orthodox church named for Saints Peter and Paul, patrons of the day in June 1786 when Russian explorer Gavril Pribylov landed on the island. A darkened processing plant, the largest in the world for snow crabs, rose above the quiet harbor.

You’re probably familiar with sweet, briney snow crab — Chionoecetes opilio — which is commonly found on the menus of chain restaurants like Red Lobster. A plate of crimson legs with drawn butter there will cost you $32.99. In a regular year, a good portion of the snow crab America eats comes from the plant, owned by the multibillion-dollar company Trident Seafoods.

Not that long ago, at the peak of crab season in late winter, temporary workers at the plant would double the population of the town, butchering, cooking, freezing, and boxing 100,000 pounds of snow crab per day, along with processing halibut from a small fleet of local fishermen. Boats full of crab rode into the harbor at all hours, sometimes motoring through swells so perilous they’ve become the subject of a popular collection of YouTube videos. People filled the town’s lone tavern in the evenings, and the plant cafeteria, the only restaurant in town, opened to locals. In a normal year, taxes on crab and local investments in crab fishing could bring St. Paul more than $2 million.

A run down building with a sign reading Trident Seafoods plant
The shuttered Trident Seafoods plant. Nathaniel Wilder

Then came the massive, unexpected drop in the crab population — a crash scientists linked to record-warm ocean temperatures and less ice formation, both associated with climate change. In 2021, federal authorities severely limited the allowable catch. In 2022, they closed the fishery for the first time in 50 years. Industry losses in the Bering Sea crab fishery climbed into the hundreds of millions of dollars. St. Paul lost almost 60 percent of its tax revenue overnight. Leaders declared a “cultural, social, and economic emergency.” Town officials had reserves to keep the community’s most basic functions running, but they had to start an online fundraiser to pay for emergency medical services.

Through the windshield of the truck I was riding in, I could see the only cemetery on the hillside, with weathered rows of orthodox crosses. Van Halen played on the only radio station. I kept thinking about the meaning of a cultural emergency. 

Some of Alaska’s Indigenous villages have been occupied for thousands of years, but modern rural life can be hard to sustain because of the high costs of groceries and fuel shipped from outside, limited housing, and scarce jobs. St. Paul’s population was already shrinking ahead of the crab crash. Young people departed for educational and job opportunities. Older people left to be closer to medical care. St. George, its sister island, lost its school years ago and now has about 40 residents.

Empty crab pots are stacked, with the community of St. Paul visible in the background
Crab pots sit idle outside of the community of St. Paul. Nathaniel Wilder

If you layer climate-related disruptions — such as changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and shrinking populations of fish and game — on top of economic troubles, it just increases the pressure to migrate. 

When people leave, precious intangibles vanish as well: a language spoken for 10,000 years, the taste for seal oil, the method for weaving yellow grass into a tiny basket, words to hymns sung in Unangam Tunuu, and maybe most importantly, the collective memory of all that had happened before. St. Paul played a pivotal role in Alaska’s history. It’s also the site of several dark chapters in America’s treatment of Indigenous populations. But as people and their memories disappear, what remains?

There is so much to remember. 

The Pribilofs consist of five volcano-made islands — but people now live mainly on St. Paul. The island is rolling, treeless, with black sand beaches and towering basaltic cliffs that drop into a crashing sea. In the summer it grows verdant with mosses, ferns, grasses, dense shrubs, and delicate wildflowers. Millions of migratory seabirds arrive every year, making it a tourist attraction for birders that’s been called the “Galapagos of the North.”

Driving the road west along the coast, you might glimpse a few members of the island’s half-century-old domestic reindeer herd. The road gains elevation until you reach a trailhead. From there you can walk the soft fox path for miles along the top of the cliffs, seabirds gliding above you — many species of gulls, puffins, common murres with their white bellies and obsidian wings. In spring, before the island greens up, you can find the old ropes people use to climb down to harvest murre eggs. Foxes trail you. Sometimes you can hear them barking over the sound of the surf.

A brown arctic fox pup barks in the center of the frame
A blue phase arctic fox barks at a vistor. It is thought the fox arrived here walking over on sea ice which used to encompass the island annually. Nathaniel Wilder

An arctic fox pup barks at a visitor. Nathaniel Wilder

ATV tracks run between beaches
ATV tracks between beaches near the northeastern point of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

Left: A shed reindeer antler on St. Paul Island. The herd is managed by the tribal government. Above: ATV tracks between beaches near the northeastern point of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

A shed reindeer antler
Reindeer are an introduced species and the herd is managed by the tribal government: the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

Two-thirds of the world’s population of northern fur seals — hundreds of thousands of animals — return to beaches in the Pribilofs every summer to breed. Valued for their dense, soft fur, they were once hunted to near extinction.

Alaska’s history since contact is a thousand stories of outsiders overwriting Indigenous culture and taking things — land, trees, oil, animals, minerals — of which there is a limited supply. St. Paul is perhaps among the oldest example. The Unangax̂ — sometimes called Aleuts — had lived on a chain of Aleutian Islands to the south for thousands of years and were among the first Indigenous people to see outsiders — Russian explorers who arrived in the mid-1700s. Within 50 years, the population was nearly wiped out. People of Unangax̂ descent are now scattered across Alaska and the world. Just 1,700 live in the Aleutian region.

St. Paul is home to one of the largest Unangax̂ communities left. Many residents are related to Indigenous people kidnapped from the Aleutian Islands and forced by Russians to hunt seals as part of a lucrative 19th century fur trade. St. Paul’s robust fur operation, subsidized by slave labor, became a strong incentive for the United States’ purchase of the Alaska territory from Russia in 1867.

On the plane ride in, I read the 2022 book that detailed the history of piracy in the early seal trade on the island, Roar of the Sea: Treachery, Obsession, and Alaska’s Most Valuable Wildlife by Deb Vanasse. One of the facts that stayed with me: Profits from Indigenous sealing allowed the U.S. to recoup the $7.2 million it paid for Alaska by 1905. Another: After the purchase, the U.S. government controlled islanders well into the mid-20th century as part of an operation many describe as indentured servitude.

The government was obligated to provide for housing, sanitation, food, and heat on the island, but none were adequate. Considered “wards of the state,” the government compensated Unangax̂ for their labors in meager rations of canned food. Once a week, Indigenous islanders were allowed to hunt or fish for subsistence. Houses were inspected for cleanliness and to check for homebrew. Travel on and off the island was strictly controlled. Mail was censored.

A statue on the beach depicts three seals
Two-thirds of the world’s population of northern fur seals breed each summer on beaches in the Pribilof Islands. Nathaniel Wilder

Between 1870 and 1946, Alaska Native people on the islands earned an estimated $2.1 million, while the government and private companies raked in $46 million in profits. Some inequitable practices continued well into the 1960s, when politicians, activists, and the Tundra Times, an Alaska Native newspaper, brought the story of the government’s treatment of Indigenous islanders to a wider world.

During World War II, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor and the U.S. military gathered St. Paul residents with little notice and transported them 1,200 miles to a detention camp at a decrepit cannery in Southeast Alaska at Funter Bay. Soldiers ransacked their homes on St. Paul and slaughtered the reindeer herd so there would be nothing for the Japanese if they occupied the island. The government said the relocation and detention were for protection, but they brought the Unangax̂ back to the island during the seal season to hunt. A number of villagers died in cramped and filthy conditions with little food. But Unangax̂ also became acquainted with Tlingits from the Southeast region, who had been organizing politically for years through the Alaska Native Brotherhood/Sisterhood organization.

After the war, the Unangax̂ people returned to the island and began to organize and agitate for better conditions. In one famous suit, known as “the corned beef case,” Indigenous residents working in the seal industry filed a complaint with the government in 1951. According to the complaint, their compensation, paid in the form of rations, included corned beef, while white workers on the island received fresh meat. After decades of hurdles, the case was settled in favor of the Alaska Native community for more than $8 million.

A small cabin with a turquoise facade and a wood door with an antler on it
A cabin on the road to the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge at the western edge of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

“The government was obligated to provide ‘comfort,’ but ‘wretchedness’ and ‘anguish’ are the words that more accurately describe the condition of the Pribilof Aleuts,” read the settlement, awarded by the Indian Claims Commission in 1979. The commission was established by Congress in the 1940s to weigh unresolved tribal claims.

Prosperity and independence finally came to St. Paul after commercial sealing was halted in 1984. The government brought in fishermen to teach locals how to fish commercially for halibut and funded the construction of a harbor for crab processing. By the early ‘90s, crab catches were enormous, reaching between 200 and 300 million pounds per year. (By comparison, the allowable catch in 2021, the first year of marked crab decline, was 5.5 million pounds, though fishermen couldn’t catch even that.) The island’s population reached a peak of more than 700 people in the early 1990s but has been on a slow decline ever since.

I’d come to the island in part to talk to Aquilina Lestenkof, a historian deeply involved in language preservation. I found her on a rainy afternoon in the bright blue wood-walled civic center, which is a warren of classrooms and offices, crowded with books, artifacts, and historic photographs. She greeted me with a word that starts at the back of the throat and rhymes with “song.”

“Aang,” she said.

Historian Aquilina Lestenkof stands in a brown winter jacket and black hat, with the community of St. Paul behind her
Aquilina Lestenkof is a historian who is working to preserve Unangam Tunuu, the Indigenous language of St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

Lestenkof moved from St. George, where she was born, to St. Paul, when she was four. Her father, who was also born in St. George, became the village priest. She had long salt-and-pepper hair and a tattoo that stretched across both her cheeks made of curved lines and dots.  Each dot represents an island where a generation of her family lived, beginning with Attu in the Aleutians, then traveling to the Russian Commander Islands — also a site of a slave sealing operation — as well as Atka, Unalaska, St. George, and St. Paul.

“I’m the fifth generation having my story travel through those six islands,” she said.

Lestenkof is a grandmother, related to a good many people in the village and married to the city manager. For the last 10 years she’s been working on revitalizing Unangam Tunuu, the Indigenous language. Only one elder in the village speaks fluently now. He’s among the fewer than 100 fluent speakers left on the planet, though many people in the village understand and speak some words.

Back in the 1920s, teachers in the government school put hot sauce on her father’s tongue for speaking Unangam Tunuu, she told me. He didn’t require his children to learn it. There’s a way that language shapes how you understand the land and community around you, she said, and she wanted to preserve the parts of that she could.

“[My father] said, ‘If you thought in our language, if you thought from our perspective, you’d know what I’m talking about,’” she said. “I felt cheated.”

She showed me a wall covered with rectangles of paper that tracked grammar in Unangam Tunuu. Lestenkof said she needed to hunt down a fluent speaker to check the grammar. Say you wanted to say “drinking coffee,” she explained. You might learn that you don’t need to add the word for “drinking.” Instead, you might be able to change the noun to a verb, just by adding an ending to it.

Her program had been supported by money from a local nonprofit invested in crabbing and, more recently, by grants, but she was recently informed that she may lose funding. Her students come from the village school, which is shrinking along with the population. I asked her what would happen if the crabs fail to come back. People could survive, she said, but the village would look very different.

A classroom wall covered in papers and post-it notes
Notes on the wall in the classroom where Aquilina Lestenkof runs a program to teach local youth Unangam Tunuu. Nathaniel Wilder
A teacher stands smiling at a table with six students sat around her
“If you could think in Unangam Tunuu, you would understand what I’m saying,” Aquilina Lestenkof’s father once told her. She said this was a slap in the face that motivated her to learn the language, which has few remaining speakers. Now, she teaches it to local youth. Nathaniel Wilder

“Sometimes I’ve pondered, is it even right to have 500 people on this island?” she said.

If people moved off, I asked her, who would keep track of its history?

“Oh, so we don’t repeat it?” she asked, laughing. “We repeat history. We repeat stupid history, too.”

Until recently, during the crab season, the Bering Sea fleet had some 70 boats, most of them ported out of Washington state, with crews that came from all over the U.S. Few villagers work in the industry, in part because the job only lasts for a short season. Instead, they fish commercially for halibut, have positions in the local government or the tribe, or work in tourism. Processing is hard, physical labor — a schedule might be seven days a week, 12 hours a day, with an average pay of $17 an hour. As with lots of processors in Alaska, nonresident workers on temporary visas from the Philippines, Mexico, and Eastern Europe fill many of the jobs.

The crab plant echoes the dynamics of commercial sealing, she said. Its workers leave their homeland, working hard labor for low pay. It was one more industry depleting Alaska’s resources and sending them across the globe. Maybe the system didn’t serve Alaskans in a lasting way. Do people eating crab know how far it travels to the plate?

“We have the seas feeding people in freakin’ Iowa,” she said. “They shouldn’t be eating it. Get your own food.”

Drone video by Nathaniel Wilder

Ocean temperatures are increasing all over the world, but sea surface temperature change is most dramatic in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. As the North Pacific experiences sustained increases in temperature, it also warms up the Bering Sea to the north, through marine heat waves. During the last decade, these heat waves have grown more frequent and longer-lasting than at any time since record-keeping began more than 100 years ago. Scientists expect this trend to continue. 

A marine heat wave in the Bering Sea between 2016 and 2019 brought record warmth, preventing ice formation for several winters and affecting numerous cold-water species, including Pacific cod and pollock, seals, seabirds, and several types of crab.

Snow crab stocks always vary, but in 2018, a survey indicated that the snow crab population had exploded — it showed a 60 percent boost in market-sized male crab. (Only males of a certain size are harvested.) The next year showed abundance had fallen by 50 percent. The survey skipped a year due to the pandemic. Then, in 2021, the survey showed that the male snow crab population dropped by more than 90 percent from its high point in 2018. All major Bering Sea crab stocks, including red king crab and bairdi crab, were way down too. The most recent survey showed a decline in snow crabs from 11.7 billion in 2018 to 1.9 billion in 2022.

Scientists think a large pulse of young snow crabs came just before years of abnormally warm water temperatures, which led to less sea ice formation. One hypothesis is that these warmer temperatures drew sea animals from warmer climates north, displacing cold water animals, including commercial species like crab, pollock, and cod.

Above a roiling ocean, a Northern Fulmar bird with outstretched wings
A Northern Fulmar circles below cliffs that hold nesting seabirds during the summer season. Nathaniel Wilder

Another has to do with food availability. Crabs depend on cold water — water that’s 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit), to be exact — that comes from storms and ice melt, forming cold pools on the bottom of the ocean. Scientists theorize that cold water slows crabs’ metabolisms, reducing the animals’ need for food. But with the warmer water on the bottom, they needed more food than was available. It’s possible they starved or cannibalized each other, leading to the crash now underway. Either way, warmer temperatures were key. And there’s every indication temperatures will continue to increase with global warming.

“If we’ve lost the ice, we’ve lost the 2-degree water,” Michael Litzow, shellfish assessment program manager with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told me. “Cold water, it’s their niche — they’re an Arctic animal.”

The snow crab may rebound in a few years, so long as there aren’t any periods of warm water. But if warming trends continue, as scientists predict, the marine heatwaves will return, pressuring the crab population again.

Bones litter the wild part of St. Paul Island like Ezekiel’s valley in the Old Testament — reindeer ribs, seal teeth, fox femurs, whale vertebrae, and air-light bird skulls hide in the grass and along the rocky beaches, evidence of the bounty of wildlife and 200 years of killing seals.

When I went to visit Phil Zavadil, the city manager and Aqualina’s husband, in his office, I found a couple of sea lion shoulder bones on a coffee table. Called “yes/no” bones, they have a fin along the top and a heavy ball at one end. In St. Paul, they function like a magic eight ball. If you drop one and it falls with the fin pointing right, the answer to your question is yes. If it falls pointing left, the answer is no. One large one said “City of St. Paul Big-Decision Maker.” The other one was labeled “budget bone.”

The long-term health of the town, Zavadil told me, wasn’t in a totally dire position yet when it came to the sudden loss of the crab. It had invested during the heyday of crabbing, and with a somewhat reduced budget could likely sustain itself for a decade.

“That’s if something drastic doesn’t happen. If we don’t have to make drastic cuts,” he said. “Hopefully the crab will come back at some level.”

Philip Zavadil sits at a desk in an office
Phillip Zavadil, the city manager for St. Paul, has hope for the island’s future. Nathaniel Wilder

The easiest economic solution for the collapse of the crab fishery would be to convert the plant to process other fish, Zavadil said. There were some regulatory hurdles, but they weren’t insurmountable. City leaders were also exploring mariculture — raising seaweed, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins. That would require finding a market and testing mariculture methods in St. Paul’s waters. The fastest timeline for that was maybe three years, he said. Or they could promote tourism. The island has about 300 tourists a year, most of them hardcore birders.

“But you think about just doubling that,” he said.

The trick was to stabilize the economy before too many working-age adults moved away. There were already more jobs than people to fill them. Older people were passing away, younger families were moving out.

“I had someone come up to me the other day and say, ‘The village is dying,’” he said, but he didn’t see it that way. There were still people working and lots of solutions to try.

“There is cause for alarm if we do nothing,” he said. “We’re trying to work on things and take action the best we can.”

Aquilina Lestenkof’s nephew, Aaron Lestenkof, is an island sentinel with the tribal government, a job that entails monitoring wildlife and overseeing the removal of an endless stream of trash that washes up ashore. He drove me along a bumpy road down the coast to see the beaches that would soon be noisy and crowded with seals.

We parked and I followed him to a wide field of nubby vegetation stinking of seal scat. A handful of seal heads popped up over the rocks. They eyed us, then shimmied into the surf.

In the old days, Alaska Native seal workers used to walk out onto the crowded beaches, club the animals in the head, and then stab them in the heart. They took the pelts and harvested some meat for food, but some went to waste. Aquilina Lestenkof told me taking animals like that ran counter to how Unangax̂ related to the natural world before the Russians came.

“You have a prayer or ceremony attached to taking the life of an animal — you connect to it by putting the head back in the water,” she said.

Slaughtering seals for pelts made people numb, she told me. The numbness passed from one generation to the next. The era of crabbing had been in some ways a reparation for all the years of exploitation, she said. Climate change brought new, more complex problems. 

I asked Aaron Lestenkof if his elders ever talked about the time in the detention camp where they were sent during World War II. He told me his grandfather, Aquilina’s father, sometimes recalled a painful experience of having to drown rats in a bucket there. The act of killing animals that way was compulsory — the camp had become overrun with rats — but it felt like an ominous affront to the natural order, a trespass he’d pay for later. Every human action in nature has consequences, he often said. Later, when he lost his son, he remembered drowning the rats. 

“Over at the harbor, he was playing and the waves were sweeping over the dock there. He got swept out and he was never found,” Aaron Lestenkof said. “That’s, like, the only story I remember him telling.”

We picked our way down a rocky beach littered with trash — faded coral buoys, disembodied plastic fishing gloves and boots, an old ship’s dishwasher lolling open. He said the animals around the island were changing in small ways. There were fewer birds now. A handful of seals were now living on the island year-round, instead of migrating south. Their population was also declining.

Aaron Lestenkof is an island sentinel for the tribal government of St. Paul Island, posing here above a northern fur seal rookery he monitors. Nathaniel Wilder
Marine debris sits on a snow-covered beach
Marine debris can be found on beaches all over the Bering Sea. Nathaniel Wilder

People still fish, hunt marine mammals, collect eggs, and pick berries. Aaron Lestenkof hunts red-legged kittiwakes and king eiders, though he doesn’t have a taste for the bird meat. He finds elders who do like them, but that’s gotten harder. He wasn’t looking forward to the lean years of waiting for the crabs to return. Proceeds from the community’s investment in crabbing boats had paid the heating bills of older people; the boats also supplied the elderly with crab and halibut for their freezers. They supported education programs and environmental cleanup efforts. But now, he said, having the crab gone would “ affect our income and the community.”

Aaron Lestenkof was optimistic that they might cultivate other industries and grow tourism. He hoped so, because he never wanted to leave the island. His daughter was away at boarding school because there was no in-person high school any more. He hoped, when she grew up, that she’d want to return and make her life in town.

A small white church surrounded by a white fence. In front is a bright yellow buoy with a cross on top
The Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church on St. Paul Island. Nathaniel Wilder

On Sunday morning, the 148-year-old church bell at Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church tolled through the fog. A handful of older women and men filtered in and stood on separate sides of the church among gilded portraits of the saints. The church has been part of village life since the beginning of Russian occupation, one of the few places, people said, where Unangam Tunuu was welcome.

A priest sometimes travels to the island, but that day George Pletnikoff Jr., a local, acted as subdeacon, singing the 90-minute service in English, Church Slavonic, and Unangam Tunuu. George helps with Aquilina Lestenkof’s language class. He is newly married with a 6-month-old baby.

After the service, he told me that maybe people weren’t supposed to live on the island. Maybe they needed to leave that piece of history behind.

Three women walk away from a small white church
Outside the Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church after the Sunday readers’ service. Nathaniel Wilder

“This is a traumatized place,” he said. 

It was only a matter of time until the fishing economy didn’t serve the village anymore and the cost of living would make it hard for people to stay, he said. He thought he’d move his family south to the Aleutians, where his ancestors came from.

“Nikolski, Unalaska,” he told me. “The motherland.”

The next day, just before I headed to the airport, I stopped back at Aquilina Lestenkof’s classroom. A handful of middle school students arrived, wearing oversize sweatshirts and high-top Nikes. She invited me into a circle where students introduced themselves in Unangam Tunuu, using hand gestures that helped them remember the words.

After a while, I followed the class to a work table. Lestenkof guided them, pulling a needle through a papery dried seal esophagus to sew a waterproof pouch. The idea was that they’d practice words and skills that generations before them had carried from island to island, hearing and feeling them until they became so automatic, they could teach them to their own children.

Read next:

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Billions of snow crabs are missing. A remote Alaskan village depends on the harvest to survive. on Jul 5, 2023.


This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Julia O’Malley.

]]> https://grist.org/food/alaska-snow-crab-vanish-st-paul-island/feed/ 0 409447 Village Basketball and Football Championships https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/01/village-basketball-and-football-championships/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/01/village-basketball-and-football-championships/#respond Sat, 01 Jul 2023 15:33:21 +0000 https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=141723 This week’s News on China.

• Alibaba Cloud will broadcast 2024 Olympics
• Taiwanese leader’s popularity slumps
• World’s largest hydro-solar power plant
• Village basketball and football championships


This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Dongsheng News.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/07/01/village-basketball-and-football-championships/feed/ 0 408862 Kid-Sized Body Armor Protects Ukrainian Orphans During Evacuation From Frontline Village https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/30/kid-sized-body-armor-protects-ukrainian-orphans-during-evacuation-from-frontline-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/30/kid-sized-body-armor-protects-ukrainian-orphans-during-evacuation-from-frontline-village/#respond Fri, 30 Jun 2023 15:49:59 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=227f59fa7b4fdc2912ec4ec961f14b2d
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/30/kid-sized-body-armor-protects-ukrainian-orphans-during-evacuation-from-frontline-village/feed/ 0 408591 ‘Mines Everywhere’: Ukrainian Drone Unit Recounts Battle To Retake Donetsk Village https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/26/mines-everywhere-ukrainian-drone-unit-recounts-battle-to-retake-donetsk-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/26/mines-everywhere-ukrainian-drone-unit-recounts-battle-to-retake-donetsk-village/#respond Mon, 26 Jun 2023 15:33:25 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=9cf06221f3e32daf5203b3e266991f20
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/26/mines-everywhere-ukrainian-drone-unit-recounts-battle-to-retake-donetsk-village/feed/ 0 407105 Igorot Village Revisited https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/23/igorot-village-revisited/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/23/igorot-village-revisited/#respond Fri, 23 Jun 2023 05:44:39 +0000 https://www.counterpunch.org/?p=287085 My first reaction when I saw the side-by-side photos of 106-year-old Igorot tattoo artist Apo Whang-od and that of US business mogul and household name Martha Stewart: is this a joke? If so, it wasn’t funny to me. No doubt it didn’t matter a bit to Martha Stewart, accustomed to and thriving, in fact, on More

The post Igorot Village Revisited appeared first on CounterPunch.org.


This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Delia D. Aguilar.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/23/igorot-village-revisited/feed/ 0 406367 Human Remains Found Amid Ruins In Newly Liberated Ukrainian Village https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/21/human-remains-found-amid-ruins-in-newly-liberated-ukrainian-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/21/human-remains-found-amid-ruins-in-newly-liberated-ukrainian-village/#respond Wed, 21 Jun 2023 14:31:40 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=fb72ca4a19686fef92db710f9811f0f0
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/21/human-remains-found-amid-ruins-in-newly-liberated-ukrainian-village/feed/ 0 405694 Pakistani journalists abroad face terrorism investigations at home https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/15/pakistani-journalists-abroad-face-terrorism-investigations-at-home/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/15/pakistani-journalists-abroad-face-terrorism-investigations-at-home/#respond Thu, 15 Jun 2023 19:54:43 +0000 https://cpj.org/?p=293216 New York, June 15, 2023—Pakistan authorities must cease harassing foreign-based journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Shaheen Sehbai, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

On Saturday, June 10, police in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad opened a criminal and terrorism investigation into freelance U.S.-based journalists Khan and Sehbai, along with two former army officers, for allegedly “inciting people to attack military installations, spread terrorism, and create chaos” on May 9 after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to news reports and the two journalists, who spoke with CPJ by phone.

Separately, on Tuesday, June 13, Islamabad police opened a similar criminal and terrorism investigation into Shakir, a freelance journalist based outside of Pakistan, Moeed Pirzada, U.S.-based editor of the news website Global Village Space, and another former army officer, according to news reports and the two journalists, who spoke with CPJ by phone.

The allegations were brought against the accused in relation to unspecified social media posts and videos by the journalists, according to copies of the first information reports, which cite sections of the penal code including criminal conspiracy and abetting mutiny, and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which carries a maximum punishment of death or life imprisonment.

“It is unconscionable that foreign-based Pakistani journalists Wajahat Saeed Khan, Shaheen Sehbai, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada face potential death sentences under terrorism investigations in retaliation for their critical reporting and commentary,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must immediately drop these investigations and cease the relentless intimidation and censorship of the media.”

Since Imran Khan’s May 9 arrest, when unprecedented protests targeting police and military installations erupted throughout the country, journalists have been arrested, attacked, and harassed. Mainstream Pakistani news channels have ceased coverage of the former prime minister following military pressure. Anchor Imran Riaz Khan has been missing since May 11 following his arrest at Punjab’s Sialkot Airport, his lawyer Azhar Siddique told CPJ via messaging app.

Khan, Sehbai, Shakir, and Pirzada each critically analyzed the former prime minister’s arrest and aftermath on their social media and YouTube channels.

Khan, whose YouTube-based political affairs channel has around 205,000 subscribers, told CPJ he believes authorities are using the unrest as an excuse to target the four journalists for their previous and ongoing extensive critical coverage of the government and army.

The Pakistani government has submitted several unsuccessful requests to Twitter to take down Khan’s content commenting on the political unrest in Pakistan, according to Khan and emails from Twitter to the journalist, which CPJ reviewed. Khan told CPJ that he fears the government will reference the terrorism investigation to social media companies to bolster attempts to censor him online.

Sehbai, former editor of The News International newspaper and a dual U.S.-Pakistan citizen with around 1.8 million subscribers on Twitter and 8,000 subscribers to his political affairs YouTube channel, told CPJ that he believes that he was targeted because of his criticism of the army and said authorities were trying to intimidate him into silence.

Pirzada, who has dual Pakistani and British citizenship and runs a political affairs YouTube channel with around 392,000 subscribers, told CPJ that he believes the case was an attempt to silence him. A former anchor for the privately owned broadcaster 92 News, Pirzada fled Pakistan to the U.S. in November 2022 following the killing of Pakistani anchor Arshad Sharif.

Shakir, who worked as an anchor with ARY News, told CPJ that he went into exile following a series of investigations opened into him and other journalists, including slain anchor Sharif, beginning in April 2022.

CPJ’s calls and messages to Islamabad Police Inspector-General Akbar Nasir Khan and Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb did not immediately receive any replies.


This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/15/pakistani-journalists-abroad-face-terrorism-investigations-at-home/feed/ 0 404168 ‘We’re outgunned,’ says local PNG police chief – ‘give us firepower’ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/14/were-outgunned-says-local-png-police-chief-give-us-firepower/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/14/were-outgunned-says-local-png-police-chief-give-us-firepower/#respond Wed, 14 Jun 2023 23:39:07 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=89771 SPECIAL REPORT: By Miriam Zarriga at Wapenamanda, Papua New Guinea

Standing in the middle of the countryside, the sound of heavy gunfire is loud and the shouts of the people in rural Wapenamanda in Papua New Guinea’s Enga province are fearful.

Police and the PNG Defence Force officers are crouched hidden on the hillside, safeties off their firearms, silently watching the melee below in Warumanda village.

The echo of the military grade Mac 58 and self-loading rifle (SLR) comes from the tribal fight; bullets aimed at the security officers miss but hit close to their feet.

A burst of machinegun fire is heard.

Provincial Police Commander Superintendent George Kakas stands stoic in the thick of things.

He said his men were outnumbered and outgunned.

“We estimate about 500 men involved in this tribal fight, bullets are coming at us but instead they whiz past us and we can only take fire as we decide our next move,” he said.

The fighting is between Sikin and the Itiokons.

‘Explosion’ of fighting
However, the inclusion of other tribes into both tribes has seen an “explosion of all-out fighting”, Commander Kakas said.

Joining Sikin tribe are the Kaekins, and other tribes from Tsak LLG, Wabag and Kompiam-Ambum and Mupapalu, while the Itiokons include the Nenein tribe.

“I advised Air Niugini to cancel its current flight because of the intense fighting which was taking place right under its flight path towards its descent into Wapenamanda Airport,” Commander Kakas said.

“I will advise them when the situation is conducive later this week.

“We tried to cross over the only bridge over the Lai river to Warumanda village — where the destruction was taking place — and could not cross over because the metal decking has been were removed, preventing us from crossing.

“We exchanged shots with the tribesmen, luckily none of my security force members were harmed in the exchanged,” he said.

“I have now reorganised my men to remain static at strategic sites to prevent the marauding tribesmen to advance further.

‘I need men .. . support’
“I need men, I need firepower and I need the support,” he says.

“Homes are burning and lives lost, 10 people have died with countless others left without a home and without any hope of having one in the coming days.”

“Three bodies were brought out of the battleground, 8 others unaccounted for, and more than 10 taken to hospital by security forces.”

On Tuesday afternoon, security personnel were shot at and a shootout ensued with the personnel seeking higher ground.

Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas said bluntly in Parliament last week that both sides of the House should stop with the projects and concentrate on fixing law and order.

“We cannot keep on saying that everything is okay.

“We need to think beyond our self-interest and start addressing the law and order issues in the country”.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier journalist. Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/14/were-outgunned-says-local-png-police-chief-give-us-firepower/feed/ 0 403851 Armed gunmen kidnap 17 girls from remote PNG village – freed for ransom https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/12/armed-gunmen-kidnap-17-girls-from-remote-png-village-freed-for-ransom/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/12/armed-gunmen-kidnap-17-girls-from-remote-png-village-freed-for-ransom/#respond Mon, 12 Jun 2023 00:10:11 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=89593

Reports from Papua New Guinea say that 17 girls from a remote village have been held captive by a large group of armed men.

The National reported this, according to an eyewitness, and the story has been corroborated by a government worker from Komo Hulia.

The eyewitness said the men had been demanding $40,000 kina (NZ$18,000) with 10 pigs, for the release of the students to their families.

The National subsequently reported today that 17 schoolgirls had been released after a ransom of 3300 kina and nine pigs had been paid.

But while deputy Police Commissioner (chief of operations) Philip Mitna confirmed the incident to the newspaper, he said he could not comment further as he had not yet received the full report from his divisional commander.

RNZ Pacific’s PNG correspondent Scott Waide said police had not responded to his requests for comment.

Waide has spoken to a local health worker but has been unable to verify the information.

Second Bosavi hostage drama
Hela Governor Philip Undialu said such occurrences were common in the Mt Bosavi area, where gun smuggling, and a lot of other criminal activities took place.

Local media reported police were preparing a rescue mission, but it was unclear when this was to have happened.

In February, the PNG government admitted that 100,000 kina had been paid to kidnappers to release three hostages, including a New Zealander, who were also taken captive in the Mt Bosavi area in the Southern Highlands.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/12/armed-gunmen-kidnap-17-girls-from-remote-png-village-freed-for-ransom/feed/ 0 402898 Ukrainian Village Underwater After Dam Breach https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/08/ukrainian-village-underwater-after-dam-breach/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/08/ukrainian-village-underwater-after-dam-breach/#respond Thu, 08 Jun 2023 17:08:15 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=fee1abd608f9305fcfcfd8bb63c057ff
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/06/08/ukrainian-village-underwater-after-dam-breach/feed/ 0 401967 Myanmar military kills 6 people in raid on Sagaing region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kills-six-in-sagaing-06082023055347.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kills-six-in-sagaing-06082023055347.html#respond Thu, 08 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kills-six-in-sagaing-06082023055347.html Junta troops have shot dead six people in a raid on a village in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region, residents and People’s Defense Force officials told RFA Thursday.

They entered Monywa’s Yae Kan Su village on Wednesday morning, killing four anti-regime soldiers, two of them still in their teens.

Troops then shot dead two civilians as they tried to run away, according to locals.

Soe Gyi, acting battalion commander of Monywa District Defense Force Battalion-27 identified the dead members of his group as 20-year-old Khin Yadanar Oo, 18-year-old Zin Zin Soe, 17-year-old Ah Thay Lay, and a 24-year old known by the initials B.E.

He said a junta column with about 80 soldiers suddenly arrived in the village at dawn, taking his troops by surprise.

“[The camp] was raided when the patrol had withdrawn for physical training,” he said.

“Four PDF [People’s Defense Force] members were arrested, shot dead on the spot and burned.”

Defense force members fired back but then had to retreat due to lack of support and weapons, he said, adding that troops seized hand-made guns, bullets, communication equipment, uniforms and nine motorbikes.

Residents said troops killed a 50-year-old and an 18-year-old who tried to flee during the raid. They didn’t name the two men.

Pro-junta social media channels said troops killed five People’s Defense Force members, not four, and didn’t mention the civilians. They said the three men and two women were hiding in a village school.

The Telegram channels also confirmed reports that junta troops seized weapons and ammunition.

Locals said junta troops have raided five villages near Monywa in recent days, forcing around 2,000 people to flee Yae Kan Su village. The number driven out of the other four villages is not yet known.

Nearly 750,000 people have been forced to abandon their homes in Sagaing due to fighting since the Feb. 2021 coup, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

RFA’s calls to Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson and social affairs minister, Aing Hlang, went unanswered Thursday.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/junta-kills-six-in-sagaing-06082023055347.html/feed/ 0 401837 Myanmar troops torch Sagaing region village a second time https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-torched-05312023174402.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-torched-05312023174402.html#respond Wed, 31 May 2023 21:54:48 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-torched-05312023174402.html Disaster has once again hit a community in northwestern Myanmar’s war-torn Sagaing region.

Junta troops on Monday burned down 17 homes in Mon Taing Pin village in Ye-U township, a former local lawmaker and resident said. 

It was the same army battalion that massacred 29 villagers and torched more than 70 homes there in May 2022.

Other Myanmar troops and supporting militias torched 30 homes in Kyunhla township on May 29 and 30, forcing more than 3,000 residents to flee, according to villagers. 

Sagaing has been an anti-junta stronghold and cradle of resistance to the country’s brutal military rule since the army seized power in a February 2021 coup.

In the latest incident, soldiers from the army’s Light Infantry Battalion 708 based in Ye-U burned the houses after local pro-junta informers took them to the homes of civilians they accused of being democracy activists, they said.

A destroyed motorbike lies on the ground in Mon Taing Pin village, Ye-U township, in northwestern Myanmar's Sagaing region, following the torching of homes there by junta forces , May 31, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist
A destroyed motorbike lies on the ground in Mon Taing Pin village, Ye-U township, in northwestern Myanmar's Sagaing region, following the torching of homes there by junta forces , May 31, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist

“The military did it to suppress a village that has unity, honor and great revolutionary strength,” said Myint Htwe, an elected parliamentarian representing Ye-U township before the coup and a leader of the local People’s Defense Force operating under Myanmar’s parallel government.

“We can see it because they chose to destroy only this village again and in particular with malice among all villages that they entered,” he said.

Myint Htwe said he requested photo evidence of the latest torching incident, and that the shadow National Unity Government has given 50,000 kyats (US$24) in humanitarian aid to each affected family.

Nowhere to live

Junta forces have swept through villages across Sagaing region, sometimes more than once, to find and punish suspected resistance fighters belonging to People’s Defense Forces and their civilian supporters.

A Mon Taing Pin resident told Radio Free Asia on condition of anonymity for safety reasons that families who lost their homes now have nowhere to live.

“Since we have lost our houses, we have to stay in other people’s houses,” the villager said. “My house, my daughter’s and my brother-in-law’s were among the houses burned down.” 

Junta forces torched not only the houses of families they suspect of being revolutionaries, but also those of teachers who participated in the nationwide civil disobedience movement following the coup.

Myanmar soldiers and members of the pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia also raided and set ablaze 30 homes in Koke Ko Kone and Hlut Taik village tracts in Kyun Hla township, prompting thousands to flee to safety, though some returned after the forces left the area, a resident said. 

“They came in an area-clearing strategy,” the villager said. “They attacked places along the river banks and burned down huts and buildings there. They also carried away civilian property on their vehicles. Some villagers could return to their homes, but others are still in hiding.”

RFA could not reach the junta spokesman for Sagaing region for comment. 

Between Feb. 1 2021 — the date of the coup — and this Feb. 28, junta forces burned an estimated 60,000 houses, of which between 50%–75% were in Sagaing region, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.

Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Khin Maung Soe for RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-torched-05312023174402.html/feed/ 0 399849 Crippling drought parches village in Myanmar’s Sagaing region| Radio Free Asia (RFA) https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/31/crippling-drought-parches-village-in-myanmars-sagaing-region-radio-free-asia-rfa/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/31/crippling-drought-parches-village-in-myanmars-sagaing-region-radio-free-asia-rfa/#respond Wed, 31 May 2023 21:22:56 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=665abf906ed5c3644ace2050f3d69a39
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/31/crippling-drought-parches-village-in-myanmars-sagaing-region-radio-free-asia-rfa/feed/ 0 399843 Cyclone Mocha devastates Rohingya village, killing 40 | Radio Free Asia (RFA) https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/17/cyclone-mocha-devastates-rohingya-village-killing-40-radio-free-asia-rfa/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/17/cyclone-mocha-devastates-rohingya-village-killing-40-radio-free-asia-rfa/#respond Wed, 17 May 2023 20:52:16 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=e6f87bd78ce0bad66fa32d467b83bcf8
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/17/cyclone-mocha-devastates-rohingya-village-killing-40-radio-free-asia-rfa/feed/ 0 395525 ‘Where Would I Go With My Goat?’: Ukrainians Hold Out In A Frontline Village https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/16/where-would-i-go-with-my-goat-ukrainians-hold-out-in-a-frontline-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/16/where-would-i-go-with-my-goat-ukrainians-hold-out-in-a-frontline-village/#respond Tue, 16 May 2023 12:40:15 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=80d094783d60e0baf7f12163081213c7
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/16/where-would-i-go-with-my-goat-ukrainians-hold-out-in-a-frontline-village/feed/ 0 395131 Thailand-based rights activist arrested in Laos after returning to home village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/activist-returns-arrest-05092023164548.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/activist-returns-arrest-05092023164548.html#respond Tue, 09 May 2023 20:46:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/activist-returns-arrest-05092023164548.html A human rights activist and member of the Thailand-based Free Laos group was arrested when he recently returned to Laos to visit his hometown, friends of the activist told Radio Free Asia.

Savang Phaleuth, in his 40s, has worked in Thailand for years, according to a friend. He traveled to Done Sart village in Song Khone district last month and was detained at his family’s home on April 20 and later taken to Savannakhet city, the friend said.  

“Friends had reminded him not to go home because Lao officials have identified him,” the friend said. “But he insisted on going.”

Laos deals severely with dissidents who call for democracy and respect for human rights in the one-party communist state, and Lao dissidents living abroad have been harshly punished after returning or being forced back to Laos.

The rights group Free Laos was set up by Lao workers and residents in Thailand to promote human rights and democracy in their home country. 

Savang had posted on social media about those issues in Laos. It’s unclear where he is being held or if he has been charged.

A village headman told RFA that someone named Savang was arrested in Done Sart on April 20 but the reason was unknown. 

A source who is close to a high ranking police officer in Savannakhet province told RFA that Savang was arrested for his political campaign work.

“The police took Savang away but I don’t know where he is detained,” the source said. “First of all, he must be questioned for more details.”

Previous arrests of Thai-based Laotians

The co-founder of Free Laos, Khoukham Keomanivong, urged the Lao government to respect people’s rights and to not treat rights activists as traitors. 

Khoukham, a U.N.-recognized refugee, was convicted last year in a closed-door Thai trial of overstaying his visa and had been held pending deportation to Laos, where he faced arrest for his advocacy work. He was later released on bail and was finally allowed to leave Thailand for Canada, where he now lives. 

“We don’t like that the government treats people with different opinions as enemies,” he said. “It’s a severe abuse of human rights when people who express opinions different from the government are arrested and then disappear.”

Savang’s arrest is reminiscent of three rights activists who were arrested in Laos in March 2016.

Somphone Pimmasone, 29, Lodkham Thammavong, 30, and Soukane Chaithad, 32, were arrested after entering Laos to renew their passports from Thailand, where they had been working. 

They were charged with criticizing the Lao government online while working abroad and for taking part in a protest outside the Lao embassy in Thailand. The three were handed prison terms described by rights groups as harsh at a secret trial in April 2017.

In another case, democracy activist Od Sayavong, a friend of Khoukham, vanished under mysterious circumstances in Bangkok in 2019 after posting a video clip online criticizing the government. 

Listed as a “person of concern” by the UNHCR because of his advocacy for democracy and human rights, his whereabouts remain unknown. He was 34 at the time he went missing.

Vientiane shooting

Meanwhile, police said on Monday that a preliminary investigation into the April 29 shooting of a Lao political activist in Vientiane indicates it was related to either a business or romantic dispute.

That statement was met with skepticism from Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch and others who questioned whether Lao authorities were serious about investigating the attack on Jack Anousa.

Anousa, 25, has been the administrator of a Facebook group that’s uncovered and denounced human rights abuses and has called for the end of one-party rule in Laos.

Security camera footage that was later posted on the Facebook group page showed an unidentified gunman, wearing a cap and beige jacket, firing two shots at Anousa at a Vientiane shop. 

The same Facebook page said Anousa died at a hospital the next day, but that report proved to be false after Anousa’s family and other sources gave verbal confirmation and photographic evidence that he survived the shooting. The identity of the gunman remains unknown and no arrest has been made.

“Coming to such a quick, convenient conclusion without doing a thorough investigation is just the sort of pathetically poor performance we’ve come to expect from the Lao police,” Robertson said on Monday. “This looks like the start of the Lao government cover-up rather than the sort of thorough and impartial investigation that is truly needed to find the shooter and anyone else connected with him.”

Bounthone Chanthalavong-Weiser, president of the Germany-based Alliance for Democracy in Laos, said Anousa was an employee, not a business owner – so a business conflict was unlikely. 

“He also didn’t have a love conflict with anyone,” she said. “He was shot because he was fighting for democracy and human rights in Laos. The Lao government just doesn’t like these people.”

Edited by Matt Reed.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Ounkeo Souksavanh for RFA Lao.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/activist-returns-arrest-05092023164548.html/feed/ 0 393653 Tahiti disaster expected to be called after Teahupo’o village flooded https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/04/tahiti-disaster-expected-to-be-called-after-teahupoo-village-flooded/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/04/tahiti-disaster-expected-to-be-called-after-teahupoo-village-flooded/#respond Thu, 04 May 2023 01:23:34 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=87874 By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist

Cars have been swept out to sea and homes damaged after extensive flooding this week in the south Tahiti village of Teahupo’o.

A Teahupo’o resident, Hinatea Boosie, was one of the people who lost her car and said some people in the village had lost everything.

“I’ve lived here for six years now and this has never happened before, and according to most of the families who are originally from here they have never, ever seen this,” Boosie said.

Public broadcaster Polynesia One reported that French Polynesia’s outgoing vice-president Jean-Christophe Bouissou said a decree of natural disaster was due to be made by the council of ministers today.

Bouissou, who is also the outgoing Minister of Housing, estimated the cost of the rebuild would be around $50 million francs (US$500,000).

Caretaker President Édouard Fritch — his ruling party was defeated by the pro-independence Tavini Huira’atira party in last Sunday’s election —  the Vice-President and the Minister of Major Works, René Temeharo visited Teahupo’o to assess the damage on Wednesday.

Polynesia One reports that the extent of the flooding was caused after the Fauoro River that runs through the village flooded.

8 cars swept out to sea
Boosie said she thought about eight cars had been swept out to sea.

“Nobody got hurt bad but all the houses were underwater, everything was damaged inside,” she said.

“What we’re going to try to do now is clean all the houses and then try to get help from anyone.”

Teahupo’o will be the surfing venue for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and had professional surfers staying in the area chasing a big swell at the time of the floods.

Boosie said the surfers in the area were all helping the community.

“A lot of them came to help us to lift up refrigerators, move the cars that were that were stuck in the trees. It was amazing to see the solidarity of everyone.”

Boosie has started a crowdfunding page to raise money for the community.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Teahupo'o village flooding
Flooding in the Tahitian village of Teahupo’o. Image: Hinatea Boosie


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/04/tahiti-disaster-expected-to-be-called-after-teahupoo-village-flooded/feed/ 0 392343 Myanmar troops raze two-thirds of homes in Sagaing village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razing-05012023154123.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razing-05012023154123.html#respond Mon, 01 May 2023 19:54:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razing-05012023154123.html It took two days for the junta to destroy what had taken generations to build in Myo Thit.

On April 26, a column of around 150 junta troops entered the village in northern Myanmar’s Sagaing region and began torching buildings, looking for members of the armed resistance. 

When they left the following day, more than two-thirds of its structures, including the dining hall of a Buddhist temple, had been razed and some 2,000 area residents displaced.

The destruction is just the latest result of fighting in Sagaing, where rebels have put up some of the fiercest resistance to junta rule since the February 2021 coup d’etat – and suffered some of the worst devastation amid the military’s scorched earth offensive in the region.

“The houses built by my grandmother and grandfather are gone now, and the houses built during my mother’s time are gone too,” a resident of Myo Thit who, like other villagers Radio Free Asia spoke with, declined to be named citing security concerns. “There is nothing left. Just a landscape of ruin.”

The resident said that not even a pot of rice she had been collecting had survived the fires set by the military.

“I had collected some rice that other people gave me in this pot as I could not grow rice [on my own], but I can’t even eat it now, because it was burned and the grains are broken and damaged,” she said.

More than 400 of the homes in Myo Thit – a tract of around 600 structures located in Khin-U township – were destroyed in the raid, according to residents.

More than 400 houses were burned down in Myo Thit village by the junta troops during raids on April 26 and 27. Credit: Khin Oo Township news report
More than 400 houses were burned down in Myo Thit village by the junta troops during raids on April 26 and 27. Credit: Khin Oo Township news report

Villagers returned to the area on April 28, but “found only ashes and ruins,” another resident told RFA.

“It was as if our houses had been cleared away by a big broom,” she said. Residents “can’t even tell whose house used to be where.”

“The reason why [the junta troops] did this is because their objective is to destroy all villages,” she said. “It is their policy to cause poverty and trouble for villagers.”

In addition to the devastation, residents also discovered the charred remains of 55-year-old fellow villager Tun Win, who was the only person to die in the fires. Than Khaing, a 50-year-old woman, was able to escape the soldiers after being arrested and hit in the head with rifle butts, they said.

Hundreds displaced

The more than 2,000 people who fled the raid are now sheltering in nearby villages and monasteries.

One woman who is among the refugees told RFA that all she has to look forward to are donations from residents of the township who know that what little they have could be taken away by the junta just as easily.

“Look at the sight of our village that has been here for generations – how painful it is for us to see this,” she said. “Now, our main concern is finding food and shelter. There aren’t even trees in the area for us to live under. All that we can hope for is that people from nearby villages will share food with us, as we can do nothing for ourselves anymore.”

More than 400 houses were burned down in Myo Thit during raids on April 26 and 27, forcing more than 2,000 people to flee. Credit: Khin Oo Township news report
More than 400 houses were burned down in Myo Thit during raids on April 26 and 27, forcing more than 2,000 people to flee. Credit: Khin Oo Township news report

According to residents, the junta column that destroyed their village entered Khin-U from neighboring Ye-U township, before burning down 25 homes in Ta Pin Kaung (South) village on April 25.

The military has yet to make any announcement regarding the burning of homes in Myo Thit, and attempts by RFA to reach the junta spokesman for Sagaing region went unanswered on Monday. Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun has previously denied reports of military troops burning civilian homes.

According to Data For Myanmar, an independent research group, the military has burned more than 3,700 civilian homes in Khin-U township between the coup and February 2023.

According to the independent research group Data For Myanmar, since the military coup, more than 3,700 houses in Khin-U have been burned down as of February and nearly 48,000 houses in Sagaing region as of mid-March.

At least 500,000 people have fled conflict in Sagaing since the takeover.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razing-05012023154123.html/feed/ 0 391769 Myanmar village becomes ghost town after repeated junta raids | Radio Free Asia (RFA) https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/01/myanmar-village-becomes-ghost-town-after-repeated-junta-raids-radio-free-asia-rfa/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/01/myanmar-village-becomes-ghost-town-after-repeated-junta-raids-radio-free-asia-rfa/#respond Mon, 01 May 2023 16:19:57 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=8056669c88b995fa7bfb743fc5809c35
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/05/01/myanmar-village-becomes-ghost-town-after-repeated-junta-raids-radio-free-asia-rfa/feed/ 0 391717 Myanmar junta troops torch 370 homes in Sagaing village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html#respond Tue, 25 Apr 2023 18:24:02 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html Myanmar junta troops on Friday torched more than 370 in Inn Sa, a village 20 miles northwest of Sagaing city. About 100 soldiers took part in the raid, which forced more than 1,500 residents to flee.

Opposition forces in northern Sagaing region have put up some of the fiercest resistance to junta rule since Myanmar’s February 2021 coup d’etat and the military has responded with a heavy handed offensive. 

According to the independent research group Data For Myanmar, since the military coup, nearly 48,000 houses in Sagaing region had been burned down as of mid-March. At least 500,000 people have fled conflict in Sagaing since the takeover.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html/feed/ 0 390314 Myanmar junta troops torch 370 homes in Sagaing village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html#respond Tue, 25 Apr 2023 18:24:02 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html Myanmar junta troops on Friday torched more than 370 in Inn Sa, a village 20 miles northwest of Sagaing city. About 100 soldiers took part in the raid, which forced more than 1,500 residents to flee.

Opposition forces in northern Sagaing region have put up some of the fiercest resistance to junta rule since Myanmar’s February 2021 coup d’etat and the military has responded with a heavy handed offensive. 

According to the independent research group Data For Myanmar, since the military coup, nearly 48,000 houses in Sagaing region had been burned down as of mid-March. At least 500,000 people have fled conflict in Sagaing since the takeover.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/arson-04252023140430.html/feed/ 0 390315 Myanmar military beheads man in Sagaing region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-beheading-04252023042905.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-beheading-04252023042905.html#respond Tue, 25 Apr 2023 08:41:28 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-beheading-04252023042905.html Junta troops tortured a man and cut off his head after raiding a village in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region, locals told RFA.

They said troops also burned down 53 houses and a Buddhist event hall in Ta Pa Yin Kwe village on Sunday morning.

The victim, 44-year-old Tun Tun Win, was arrested when troops raided the village shortly after sunrise, according to a resident who didn’t want to be named for security reasons.

“He was captured by an army column on his way back to his tent in the east of the village,” the local said.

“He was interrogated and beaten. He did not know anything as he was a civilian. When he did not answer, the troops killed and beheaded him by a lake in the east of the village.”

The local said Tun Tun Win was a farmer, who leaves behind a wife and three children.

It’s the second time this year troops have raided and burned houses in the village, killing locals.

In January, troops shot local Buddhist leader the Venerable Gandhasara, two civilians and a local anti-junta fighter, and set fire to 90 homes, residents told RFA.

The junta stepped up its slash-and-burn campaign in Sagaing township this month. Residents said a column of more than 100 troops has been raiding and burning villages along the Mu River since April 20.

They said 449 houses in six villages were destroyed between April 21 and 24. Troops arrested five people in those raids, according to one local who also wished to remain anonymous.

The junta has not issued a statement on the raids and RFA’s calls to Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson Aye Hlaing went unanswered Tuesday.

Junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, and junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun, have repeatedly denied that their troops burn civilian buildings, claiming all the arson attacks were carried out by anti-junta People’s Defense Forces.

Nearly 48,000 homes in Sagaing region have been burned down since the February 2021 coup, according to independent research group Data for Myanmar.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-beheading-04252023042905.html/feed/ 0 390172 Junta’s second bombing of Sagaing village meant to destroy evidence, rebels say https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-04242023164424.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-04242023164424.html#respond Mon, 24 Apr 2023 21:00:18 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-04242023164424.html A military airstrike last week on a village in Myanmar’s northern Sagaing region where an earlier attack killed nearly 200 people was part of a bid to “destroy evidence,” a member of the armed opposition said Monday, as reports emerged that the latest bombing killed nearly 20 of the junta’s own troops.

The junta’s April 11 air raid on the opening ceremony of a public administration building in Kanbalu township’s Pa Zi Gyi village is believed to be one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in Myanmar since the February 2021 coup. The attack has drawn condemnation from across the globe.

On April 20, the military carried out a second airstrike on Pa Zi Gyi, although no civilian casualties were reported, as residents had fled the village following the earlier attack.

Ba La Gyi, the head of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitary group in Ma Lal sub-township, told RFA Burmese that he believes the military carried out the second airstrike to cover up the devastation and loss of life caused by the first one.

“I think they aimed to hide or destroy evidence that they killed innocent civilians in their first airstrike,” he said. “Since they haven’t been able to find either the civilian refugees or the PDF fighters, they bombed the village to set it on fire.”

During the April 11 attack, jets bombed and helicopters strafed the opening ceremony for a public administration building in the village. It was the latest example of the junta’s increased use of air power in their conflict with armed resistance groups amid falterning progress on the ground.

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.

Ba La Gyi, who was near Pa Zi Gyi at the time of the follow-up attack on the morning of April 20, said two separate junta columns of around 100 troops each raided the village and “went through everything.”

“I believe they were looking for refugees [who might have returned to the village],” he said. “At about 2 p.m., they fired heavy artillery into the village from the southwest. They fired exactly 10 times ... At 2:26 p.m, a jet fighter flew over and fired at the village after dropping a bomb.”

Military account disputed

Myanmar’s military confirmed in a statement that it had carried out a “precision” attack on Pa Zi Gyi on April 11 because members of the armed resistance had gathered there and “committed terrorist acts.” Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun also claimed that the large number of casualties was the result of a rebel weapons cache exploding during the operation.

But rescue workers have disputed that account. They say the attack on the site was deliberate and thorough, beginning with a jet fighter bombing run and followed by an Mi-35 helicopter strafing the area.

A spent cartridge and round found after the first attack at Pa Zi Gyi village in Sagaing’s Kanbalu township, Myanmar, April 11, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist
A spent cartridge and round found after the first attack at Pa Zi Gyi village in Sagaing’s Kanbalu township, Myanmar, April 11, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist
On Monday, Pa Zi Gyi resident Kyaw Tint accused the junta of making false reports about the airstrike.

“Since their attack drew major attention from the international community, the junta tried to cover up its brutality with false accusations that some weapons and ammunition depots exploded during the bombing,” he said. “That’s why they entered the village [on April 20] and I think they are going to fabricate evidence, saying they obtained proof of their accusations.”

Attempts to reach Zaw Min Tun for comment on claims that the second attack was part of a junta cover up went unanswered Monday.

But Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies group, which is made up of former military officers, called the operations in Pa Zi Gyi “ordinary … from an anti-terrorism standpoint” and said they were ordered because the opening of a public administration building in the area was tantamount to a “declaration of autonomy.”

“No government of a country can accept a declaration of autonomy within its sovereign territory,” he said. “When you consider the matter of national law and security seriously, human rights and other issues are less important.”

Pyae Sone, a member of the Kanbalu PDF, said that the attacks are proof that the junta will not be moved by international pressure.

“It also shows that the junta is determined to oppress the people even more severely and brutally,” he said. “I also think the attacks aimed to destroy the evidence left from the first airstrike.”

Friendly fire incident

Meanwhile, reports emerged Monday that nearly 20 military troops were killed and more than 10 injured in last week’s follow-up airstrike on Pa Zi Gyi when a junta aircraft mistakenly bombed its own soldiers.

A resident of the village told RFA that a jet fighter dropped six bombs in the April 20 airstrike, hitting junta troops stationed nearby.

“This morning, at about 9:00 a.m., they were picked up by three civilian vehicles,” said the resident. “Seven injured junta soldiers were taken away. We got reports that they are being treated at a 100-bed hospital in Thabeikkyin township. I think they have buried the bodies of the dead junta soldiers near the village.”

The resident said that the junta’s 13th Shwebo Training Platoon, which is composed of nearly 200 soldiers, had been stationed near Pa Zi Gyi since April 19.

Other residents also reported military casualties in the latest airstrike and confirmed earlier reports that none of the village’s inhabitants were victims of the attack.

RFA has been unable to independently verify the claims.

Attempts by RFA to contact Aye Hlaing, the junta’s spokesman and Sagaing region social affairs minister, for comment on the incident went unanswered Monday.

Residents of Pa Zi Gyi said Monday that they have been unable to investigate the condition of the village amid the continued presence of junta troops in the area.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-04242023164424.html/feed/ 0 390030 Death toll from Myanmar junta air attack on northern village rises to 200 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/air-attack-04172023154031.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/air-attack-04172023154031.html#respond Mon, 17 Apr 2023 19:48:50 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/air-attack-04172023154031.html The death toll from a military airstrike in northern Myanmar’s Sagaing region on civilians has nearly doubled to an estimated 200 people, a local member of the People’s Defense Forces told Radio Free Asia on Monday.

During the April 11 attack, jets bombed and helicopters strafed the opening ceremony for a public administration building in Pa Zi Gyi village. It was the latest example of the junta’s increased use of air power in their conflict with armed resistance groups amid falterning progress on the ground.

“Nothing was left of some people who died in the air strike,” said a member of a local People’s Defense Force, who declined to give his name so he could speak freely. 

“As far as we can confirm, there were over 170 people dead up to yesterday’s update, but when we can take the missing people into account, we can say that the total is about 200,” he said.

He said it would be difficult to ascertain an exact toll given that many body parts were missing, and because surviving villagers had fled. The village had about 300 residents.

About 70 Pa Zi Gyi residents who fled their homes remain sheltering in forests, and resistance groups and aid workers are providing them with food supplies from nearby villages, he said. 

And as of Sunday, six more of the injured people died, while others are being treated by medical teams linked to the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, a group of former civilian leaders and others opposed to the junta’s rule.

Now, local resistance fighters will advise other villages not to open administrative offices and will instruct residents about defending themselves should the junta launch further air attacks and  build air raid shelters.

“We are going to pass it on to as many villages as possible,” the member of the People’s Defense Force said. “The military junta’s attack on these defenseless villages with no presence of resistance is entirely unacceptable.” 

The new count comes a day after the National Unity Government reported that 168 people, including 40 minors, had been killed in the air attack.

At a news conference on Sunday, the NUG said that the dead included six children under the age of 5, 19 children between ages 5 and 14, five children between ages 14 and 18, and 10 children whose ages could not be identified.

The shadow government also said that medical personnel had been sent to treat the 16 civilians who were injured, including children.

The NUG said it would make efforts to ensure justice in the deadly assault, which forced more than 300 villagers in all to flee.

Pa Zi Gyi villagers whose family members were killed in this attack are asking the international community to take effective action against the perpetrators and not to sell jet fuel, weapons or ammunition to the junta.

Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/air-attack-04172023154031.html/feed/ 0 388335 Federal Judge Throws ‘Science Under the Bus’ With Decision Against EPA Clean Water Rule https://www.radiofree.org/2023/04/12/federal-judge-throws-science-under-the-bus-with-decision-against-epa-clean-water-rule/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/04/12/federal-judge-throws-science-under-the-bus-with-decision-against-epa-clean-water-rule/#respond Wed, 12 Apr 2023 22:12:16 +0000 https://www.commondreams.org/news/wotus-rule While Big Ag cheered Wednesday's ruling by a federal judge in North Dakota temporarily blocking a key Biden administration clean water rule, Indigenous and environmental groups decried the decision—which critics said threatens critical protections for waterways in over two dozen affected states.

Reutersreports U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland—an appointee of former President George W. Bush—issued a preliminary injunction against the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule after 24 states sued the Biden administration.

"This ruling readily bows to the forces in this country that have been trying for years to gut the Clean Water Act, throwing science under the bus and disregarding water safeguards for downstream communities and tribes," Janette Brimmer, an attorney for the green legal advocacy group Earthjustice who is defending the WOTUS rule on behalf of four Indigenous tribes, said in a statement.

"We will not give in to these forces; we will double down and fight along with our partners to ensure the law and science prevail and the will of the vast majority of citizens for clean water is carried out," Brimmer added.

Last month, Texas and Idaho were granted a separate injunction against the rule by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

According toProgressive Farmer, Hovland's ruling means that the WOTUS rule—which establishes protections for wetlands and seasonal streams—is now on hold in 24 more states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

States shaded in red will be affected by a federal judge's temporary injunction against the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. (Image: Earthjustice)

In 2020, the Trump administration rolled back WOTUS, which originated during the tenure of former President Barack Obama. The Biden administration revived the rule and last December it was finalized by the EPA.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden vetoed legislation passed by Republicans and corporate Democrats in Congress that would have eviscerated the administration's ability to enforce WOTUS.

Hovland stopped short of issuing the nationwide injunction against WOTUS sought by the American Farm Bureau Federation and other agriculture industry interest groups. Still, Big Ag and Republican politicians in affected states overwhelmingly welcomed the injunction against what they say is a major act of government overreach.

Indigenous leaders, however, slammed Wednesday's ruling.

"Clean water is essential to tribal citizens' spiritual, physical, mental well-being, and survival."

"Clean water is essential to tribal citizens' spiritual, physical, mental well-being, and survival" Gary Harrison, traditional chief of the Chickaloon Native Village in Alaska, said in a statement. "Removing vital clean water safeguards will harm wetlands and streams that sustain tribal citizens, including myself."

G. Anne Richardson, chief of the Rappahannock tribe in Virginia, said that "the court's order threatens to strip vital protections from the network of waters that have been the lifeblood of the Rappahannock Tribe since time immemorial."

"Without the Clean Water Act," she added, "projects that would destroy important wetlands and streams could get rammed through without any opportunity for the tribe to object."


This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Brett Wilkins.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/04/12/federal-judge-throws-science-under-the-bus-with-decision-against-epa-clean-water-rule/feed/ 0 387243 Junta troops torch over 100 homes in a Mandalay village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-homes-torched-04122023050748.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-homes-torched-04122023050748.html#respond Wed, 12 Apr 2023 09:13:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-homes-torched-04122023050748.html Myanmar’s military has torched more than 100 homes in a Mandalay region village as it continues to target civilians thought to be harboring People’s Defense Forces.

Tuesday’s raid happened after anti-junta militias attacked troops leaving a monastery they had been stationed at, in Madaya township’s Kin village, locals told RFA on condition of anonymity.

One resident said reprisals started after local People’s Defense Forces triggered land mines as the column of around 50 troops moved out.

”The troops set fire to the village non-stop from 9 a.m. until the evening,” the local said Wednesday. 

“Over a hundred houses were burnt down. The junta troops left early this morning.”

The local defense groups said they killed five soldiers and wounded 12 with landmines and bombs dropped from drones

Combined fighters from Mahar Revolution  Force; Tike Thane Underground Revolutionary Group; Nat Soe Underground Revolutionary Army; Nagar Nyi Naung People Defense Force; and Daung Sit The said they took part in the attack on the junta column.

RFA has not been able to independently confirm the number of soldiers killed and injured.

Calls to the junta spokesperson for Mandalay region, Thein Htay, went unanswered.

Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun has told RFA in the past troops never set fire to civilian homes. However, he said Tuesday the junta was behind another attack that day in which as many as 100 civilians were killed in an air strike on a Sagaing region village. He blamed local People’s Defense Forces for hiding among civilians in that attack, saying the junta only targeted combatants.

The junta’s slash and burn tactics are widespread across Myanmar and locals said the military torched nine villages in Madaya township last month, forcing locals to flee to other villages and makeshift camps.

According to Data for Myanmar, which monitors arson attacks, a total of 60,459 homes have been destroyed by fire across the country in the two years following the February 2021 coup.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-homes-torched-04122023050748.html/feed/ 0 387067 Myanmar’s military bombs village ceremony killing scores of civilians https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-air-strike-04112023045350.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-air-strike-04112023045350.html#respond Tue, 11 Apr 2023 08:55:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-air-strike-04112023045350.html As many as 100 villagers have been killed and more than 50 injured when junta aircraft bombed crowds attending an office opening ceremony in Sagaing region’s Kanbalu township, locals said.

Most of the injured and dead were women and children, witnesses told RFA. They said it was hard to tell how many people had died because the bodies were so badly mangled by the bombs and machine gun fire.

“I saw the bodies of four to six children who had been blown about 100 feet [30 meters from the building],” said a local who didn’t want to be identified.

“I saw bodies ripped open and burnt.”

People Media, the news agency of the Union Solidarity and Development Party – which serves as the junta’s electoral proxy party –  said the army’s Northwestern Regional Headquarters carried out Tuesday morning’s attack on Pa Zi Gyi village. It did not mention the number of casualties.

The air strike happened during the inauguration of a public administration office established by Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government, Nay Zin Latt, the National League for Democracy MP for Kanbalu township told RFA.

The junta dissolved the NLD last month after the party failed to re-register with the Election Commission but members continue to work with the NUG to try to restore democracy in Myanmar and carry out administrative work in areas not under junta control. Locals said junta troops carry out frequent raids on Pa Zi Gyi.

Nay Zin said many people died on the spot after a jet fighter dropped two bombs and an Mi-35 attack  helicopter fired over 200 shots from its machine guns. He said more than 800 locals were attending the ceremony.

“There was a group of local residents who were discussing how to manage social issues in the community,” he said. 

“They were bombarded by the air and shot at non-stop with machine guns. The shooting took about 15 minutes.”

He said the injured were taken to nearby villages and some local voluntary groups were providing medical treatment. 

RFA called Aye Hlaing, Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson and social affairs minister, but no one answered.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-air-strike-04112023045350.html/feed/ 0 386816 Ni-Vanuatu villagers need more help after cyclones Judy and Kevin https://www.radiofree.org/2023/04/04/ni-vanuatu-villagers-need-more-help-after-cyclones-judy-and-kevin/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/04/04/ni-vanuatu-villagers-need-more-help-after-cyclones-judy-and-kevin/#respond Tue, 04 Apr 2023 08:39:31 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=86728 By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Port Vila

Communities in Vanuatu continue to rely on government for basic necessities and still lack access to clean water sources almost a month after severe tropical cyclones Judy and Kevin made landfall.

Sisead village community council chairman Paul Fred in Port Vila lives in one of the many homes in which residents do not have water seeping into the house because of a tarpaulin handed out in aid that lines his corrugated tin roof.

“To accept two cyclones within a week, it’s unexplainable. We’ve never experienced two cyclones like this one,” Fred told RNZ Pacific.

“But it’s a good experience for the generations of today, it comes to remind them that we have to prepare.”

His village is one of five in the country requesting financial assistance from the Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau’s government to build houses that are strong enough to withstand the impacts of severe tropical cyclones.

“The government should focus to help ni-Vanuatu people to build cyclone-proof buildings so that when the next cyclone comes we can minimise the need for relief and donations,” he said.

‘It’s up to themselves’
Frederica Atavi is from the same community.

Atavi, who grew up in Australia, said a post-cyclone assessment was still needed to be done in the village.

“It’s nearly a month now and you can see there’s still rubbish on the side of the road,” Atavi said.

“It is slow but that’s probably the island life. It’s slow and steady.”

Like Fred, she wants financial assistance to go towards rebuilding homes for the people in her community.

“The people in Vanuatu don’t have access to financial aid or anything to help them with their structural damage,” she said.

“It’s only the food and the hygiene kits but for structural damage it’s up to them to do it themselves.”

Charlie Willy, also from Sisead, stayed in the village during both the cyclones.

During Kevin, while the older people were moved out of the village for safety, Willy and six others stayed in a concrete bathroom block, so they could nail down roofs in the middle of the storm.

Willy said roofs were still leaking and it was challenging for people to pay for materials to fix homes.

Water source declared unsafe
In the rural village of Pang Pang, about an hour’s drive away from the capital, Serah John, who tends the community’s gardens, said the village had become reliant on food from government aid.

“All the gardens, the fruits and food crops were damaged… bananas and cassava that were uprooted from the strong wind,” John said in bislama.

She said their clean water source had been contaminated by livestock waste after Cyclones Judy and Kelvin and declared not safe for human consumption.

Kalsakau told RNZ Pacific last month that the damage caused by the twin cyclones would cost the country tens of million of dollars.

Serah John from Pang Pang village
Serah John from Pang Pang village says the community’s clean water source has been contaminated by livestock after the cyclone. Image: Caleb Fotheringham/RNZ Pacific

New Zealand providing help
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta was in Vanuatu for three days last week and visited both villages.

She announced a $NZ1 million grant to support post-cyclone recovery efforts that would be made available to local non-governmental organisations.

Mahuta also meet with her counterpart Jotham Napat to sign the first-ever cooperation agreement between the two countries.

The deal will see the New Zealand government provide almost $NZ38m as part of its commitment to assist Vanuatu – with the money going towards climate change resilience projects, general budget support, and the tourism sector.

Mahuta said the resilience of the ni-Vanuatu people stood out.

“You can not truly appreciate resilience until you come into communities where there has been absolute devastation,” she said.

“Yet the people still pull together, they still smile, they still have the endurance factors that help them get through, something which I think is probably emotionally and mentally draining,” she said while visiting the Pang Pang community.

“It reinforces why the world needs to take action on climate change because those most vulnerable in the Pacific require us all to do our bit.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Minister Nanaia Mahuta gives a gift to the village of Sisead village in Port Vila.
Minister Nanaia Mahuta gives a gift to the village of Sisead Village in Port Vila. Image: Caleb Fotheringham/RNZ Pacific


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/04/04/ni-vanuatu-villagers-need-more-help-after-cyclones-judy-and-kevin/feed/ 0 384955 Junta jets bomb village in western Myanmar, killing 10 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-03302023162908.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-03302023162908.html#respond Thu, 30 Mar 2023 21:13:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-03302023162908.html Two Myanmar military jets bombed a village in western Myanmar on Thursday where there was no fighting, killing at least 10 people and injuring 20 others, according to ethnic rebels and residents.

The seemingly unprovoked attack on Khuabung village in Thantlang township in Chin state, near the Indian border, is the military’s latest use of air power in its sprawling offensive against anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitaries and ethnic armies.

It’s a tactic that has become increasingly common as the country’s armed resistance makes greater gains. Such attacks are typically undertaken by the military to support troops fighting anti-junta forces with devastating effect.

Chin National Front spokesman Salai Htet Ni told RFA Burmese that the strike by the two jets was unprovoked and clearly targeted a civilian population.

However, Thantlang is one of several townships under martial law that the junta has targeted with multiple airstrikes since the start of the year.

“They attacked this morning [at around 10:00 a.m.] without any battles happening,” Salai Htet Ni said. “They dropped bombs into a civilian village.” At least 10 residents were killed and 20 injured, he said.

The airstrike set many of the village’s houses on fire, residents said. Khuabung, around 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the seat of Thantlang township, is home to more than 230 people living in 53 households.

Increasing airstrikes

According to the Chin Human Rights Organization, the military launched at least 53 airstrikes, dropping more than 140 bombs, on the townships of Mindat, Hakha, Matupi and Thantlang in the first two months of 2023 alone. 

The strikes killed five members of the Chin National Front and three members of local anti-junta People’s Defense Force, and also injured six civilians.

In addition to the strike on Khuabung village on Thursday, the military also used Mi-35 aircraft to bomb areas it suspected were occupied by local PDF groups, the Chin National Front said.

The military has yet to issue any statement regarding the bombing of Khuabung and attempts by RFA to reach Thant Zin, the junta’s spokesperson for Chin state, went unanswered on Thursday.

A report issued by the U.N. human rights agency earlier this month said that junta airstrikes in Myanmar had more than doubled from 125 in 2021 to 301 in 2022.

The report followed a joint statement on March 1 by Amnesty International, Global Witness, and Burma Campaign (U.K.) urging governments to sanction companies that sell jet fuel to the junta to limit the country’s air force.

While international sanctions have limited the air force to some extent, former military officials in Myanmar have said they will never be fully effective while powerful countries, such as Russia and China, are backing the junta.

Deaths and displacements in Shan state

News of the airstrikes on Thantlang came as RFA learned that at least 33 civilians were killed and more than 5,000 displaced from southern Shan state’s townships of Pinlaung, Pekon and Mobye during the first three months of the year alone.

Yin Lianghan, a spokesperson for the Shan Human Rights Foundation, said his organization had compiled the statistics after interviewing Buddhist monks displaced by the violence, as well as aid workers in the region.

“These people have been severely displaced because of the junta’s heavy artillery shelling and a massacre in the Nam Neint village,” he said, referring to an incident on March 11, in which junta troops killed 21 civilians, including three monks, in a dawn raid on a monastery in Pinlaung before setting fire to the village.

“The main reason why they have become refugees is because of the junta’s extrajudicial killing of innocent civilians,” he said.

Residents who fled villages in southern Shan state, Myanmar, are seen in the town of Pinlaung, Sunday, March 26, 2023. Credit: Comet social group
Residents who fled villages in southern Shan state, Myanmar, are seen in the town of Pinlaung, Sunday, March 26, 2023. Credit: Comet social group
Junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun has told pro-junta media that the Karenni National Defense Army committed the massacre in Nem Neint village, but the KNDF claims that it was the handiwork of the military.

According to Shan Human Rights Foundation, at least two children were among those killed by the military shelling in Pinlaung and Mobye townships since the start of the year..

Tensions rising

Khun Bwe Hone, the information officer for the ethnic Pa’O National Defense Force, told RFA that the deaths and displacements occurred amid rising tensions between the military and the ethnic Karrenni Nationalities Defense Force in the three townships, as the junta is preparing a major offensive in the area.

“The junta is reinforcing its troops,” he said, noting that most villagers have already left the area in anticipation of the fighting.

“Our defense forces have warned them to flee to safety. That's why they left. This battle is likely to be drawn out because we are determined to fight against the military dictatorship … to the end and the enemy is going to do what it has set out to do, too.”

A woman who fled fighting in the area told RFA on condition of anonymity that civilians are pouring into the seat of Pinlaung township from nearby villages to take refuge in camps for the displaced.

A monastery and residential homes burn in Nam Neint village, Pinlaung township on March 11, 2023, following a raid by Myanmar junta forces. Credit: Inn Sar Kuu
A monastery and residential homes burn in Nam Neint village, Pinlaung township on March 11, 2023, following a raid by Myanmar junta forces. Credit: Inn Sar Kuu
The exact number of refugees is unknown, said aid worker Khun Kyaw Shwe. While the refugees are receiving assistance from social support groups and area residents, they are in “desperate need of medicine,” as well as food and access to clean water, he said.

“At the moment, local medical teams are taking care of them with what little medicine they have,” Khun Kyaw Shwe told RFA. “The demand for medicine is quite severe. The refugee camps are dealing with outbreaks of malaria, influenza and respiratory infections.”

Only around 20 days of food stores remain for the camps in Pinlaung, he said, urging international donors to help fill the gaps.

RFA was unable to reach Khun Thein Maung, the junta’s economic minister and spokesman for Shan state, for comment on the killings and displacements.

Translated by Myo Myin Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/airstrike-03302023162908.html/feed/ 0 383615 The Ukrainian Village That Changed Hands 14 Times https://www.radiofree.org/2023/03/20/the-ukrainian-village-that-changed-hands-14-times/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/03/20/the-ukrainian-village-that-changed-hands-14-times/#respond Mon, 20 Mar 2023 15:03:32 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=6862310721c209d7ca64d5ec638e996e
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/03/20/the-ukrainian-village-that-changed-hands-14-times/feed/ 0 380719 Junta troops raze entire village in Myanmar’s Sagaing region https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razed-03012023170907.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razed-03012023170907.html#respond Wed, 01 Mar 2023 22:10:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razed-03012023170907.html The junta troops entered the central Myanmar village of Kone Ywar on Tuesday evening and set it alight. When the flames had finally died down by Wednesday morning, they methodically set fire to whatever was left standing.

The destruction in Kone Ywar – a settlement populated by more than 1,400 people in Sagaing region’s embattled Yinmarbin township – is becoming all too commonplace in Myanmar, where more than two years after a coup, the military has embarked on a scorched earth campaign to root out the country’s armed resistance.

But while civilians are regularly caught up in the conflict, despite claims by the junta that it does not target noncombatants, it is rare for the military to wipe out nearly an entire village.

By the time the smoke had cleared on Wednesday and the junta unit had moved on, all but 30 of Kone Ywar’s more than 700 homes had been razed, three civilians had been killed, and thousands of Yinmarbin’s residents had fled the township in fear for their lives.

“[The soldiers] burned down almost the entire village ... They were burning the whole night yesterday and they even torched the houses left standing this morning,” a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprisal, told RFA Burmese.

“Only about 30 houses were left, although we don’t know exactly how many were destroyed.”

Kone-Ywar_01.jpgThe raid followed a clash near the entrance to Kone Ywar between the military and members of the local anti-junta People’s Defense Force paramilitary group that led to military casualties, he said, suggesting that the arson had been an act of revenge.

Other residents told RFA that the soldiers had killed three men in their 30s, two of whom lived in Kone Ywar. The identity of the third man was not immediately clear.

Soon after departing Kone Ywar, the troops again clashed with PDF forces in nearby Yae Aungt village, with military helicopters joining the battle, they said.

Around 10,000 residents from the two villages, as well as from others in the vicinity – including Sar Taw Pyin, Zee Taw, Let Hloke, Ohn Taw, Lar Boet and Yin Paung Taing – had fled their homes for safety and remained displaced, residents added.

Yinmarbin is one of the townships in Sagaing region declared under martial law by the junta last month.

Wetlet township raid

The destruction in Kone Ywar came on the same day that junta troops raided two villages in Sagaing’s Wetlet township, setting fire to homes and killing at least two elderly residents, sources said.

A resident of Wetlet, who declined to be named citing security concerns, told RFA that a column of around 80 soldiers torched 59 houses in Moke Soe Chon Bu Tar and another two homes in nearby Bo Te on Tuesday.

Tin Hla, a woman in her 70s, perished in the fires in Bo Te, the resident said.

“They left her there when they were burning the houses and since she was too old to run, she died in the fire,” he said.

Junta troops leaving Moke Soe Chon Bu Tar at around 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday shot and killed Myint Than, 60, as he rode his motorbike outside the village, the resident said.

More than 1,000 residents of the two villages – each with more than 100 homes – were forced to flee to safety during the raid, sources told RFA.

Attempts by RFA to contact Aye Hlaing, the junta’s social affairs minister for Sagaing region, by phone went unanswered Wednesday. However, junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun has previously said that arson is a tactic used by the PDF and that the military “never causes harm to civilians.”

Last month, a military column burned down more than 100 houses in Wetlet township’s Ta Kaung Min village in a Feb. 3 raid, during which a civilian was killed by a rocket propelled grenade fired by junta soldiers, residents said.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of Feb. 2, some 650,000 residents of Sagaing region had fled their homes due to armed conflict in the aftermath of the Feb. 1, 2021, coup.

Data for Myanmar, an independent research organization, says that at least 43,292 houses have been destroyed by arson in Sagaing in the two years since the takeover.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/razed-03012023170907.html/feed/ 0 376349 Junta shells Chin state village killing 3 family members https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/chin-attack-02272023045939.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/chin-attack-02272023045939.html#respond Mon, 27 Feb 2023 10:10:26 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/chin-attack-02272023045939.html A junta attack on a village in Myanmar’s northwestern Chin state killed a child and its parents, and also claimed the life of a former Chrisian pastor, locals told RFA.

Saturday’s artillery bombardment of Am Laung village in Mindat township also killed a soldier from the anti-junta Chinland Defense Force. The group identified him as Cpt. Salai Billi Aung Thang. It said he was a Christian pastor in Mindat before the military coup.

Villagers declined to give the names and ages of the dead family members for fear of reprisals.

FB_IMG_1677490212648.jpg
A junta army convoy on the Mindat-Matupi road in Chin state on May 6, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist

The Chinland Defense Force said Infantry Battalion-274 shelled the village.

Locals said the junta cut phone lines and internet access in Mindat town ahead of the attack. 

They said Battalion-274 often shells villages, hoping to flush out militia members or punish residents for harboring them.

RFA called Chin state’s junta spokesman, Thant Zin, seeking comment on the incident, but no one answered.

Mindat was the first town to resist junta forces following the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, using traditional Chin hand-made hunting rifles. The same crude flintlock “Tumee” rifles were used by their forefathers to fight off British colonizers in the 1880s.

There have been more than 200 junta killings of ethnic Chin people since the coup, according to the list of Institute of Chin Affairs, a human rights organization based in Chin state.

In April 2022, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) said more than 340,000 people had fled their homes in northwestern Myanmar, including Chin state, since the coup.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/chin-attack-02272023045939.html/feed/ 0 375634 PNG’s Marape on the Mt Bosavi hostages: ‘Free them all’ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/02/24/pngs-marape-on-the-mt-bosavi-hostages-free-them-all/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/02/24/pngs-marape-on-the-mt-bosavi-hostages-free-them-all/#respond Fri, 24 Feb 2023 08:06:05 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=85240 By Rebecca Kuku in Port Moresby

Prime Minister James Marape has urged armed captors to free the remaining four hostages which includes an Australian-based New Zealand professor, following the release of a local woman and three local guides.

“These are citizens of our country and a friend of our country. Let’s settle this the Melanesian way,” Marape said.

“We know who you are.”

Marape, who is in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum “unity” summit this week, said the full names and pictures of the 13 people involved in the kidnapping were with police.

“[You have] been identified. So release the [remaining] four hostages,” he said.

The armed men, reported to be from Hela, kidnapped the seven researchers and guides on Sunday for a cash ransom at Fogomaiyu village near Mt Bosavi on the border of Southern Highlands and Hela.

The PNG woman was released with the four local guides.

One guide stays with professor
But one guide chose to remain with the professor, who is a permanent resident of Australia and teaches at the University of Southern Queensland.

The seven included a female staff of the National Museum, a Woman Leader Network member, an anthropology graduate of the University of Papua New Guinea, who is doing field work with the professor, and four local guides.

Marape called on the kidnappers, who were known to authorities, to release the four remaining hostages.

Marape said that the hostages were well.

“We are working with locals in the area as intermediaries to negotiate the safe release of the four,” he said.

Second such incident
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso said this was the second such incident to happen in the area.

“It is not an organised crime, but a group of opportunists, who are heavily involved in the guns and drugs trade in the region who are doing this. It was a chance encounter,” he said.

“The safety of the remaining four people still held as hostages remain paramount.

“We are negotiating for their safe release.”

Deputy Police Commissioner Dr Philip Mitna said police were talking to the armed men through intermediaries.

“We are treating the matter as serious,” he said.

Rebecca Kuku is a reporter for The National. Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/02/24/pngs-marape-on-the-mt-bosavi-hostages-free-them-all/feed/ 0 375085 Christian families in Laos driven from their village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/christians-02102023141433.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/christians-02102023141433.html#respond Fri, 10 Feb 2023 19:15:20 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/christians-02102023141433.html Rural villagers in northwestern Laos have driven 15 families and a pastor out of their village because of their Christian beliefs, sources there told Radio Free Asia.

Mai village in Luang Namtha province is home to many members of the Ahka minority, which has its own spiritual beliefs. But when 15 families in the village converted to Christianity, their neighbors banded together and chased them and their pastor out of town.

The incident was the latest in a string of similar assaults and legal moves against Christians in the one-party communist state with a mostly Buddhist population despite a national law protecting the free exercise of their faith.

Currently the ousted families have no place to stay and authorities have been trying to negotiate with the village to encourage them to live together in harmony, but these efforts have not been successful, a Christian who is not involved in the case told RFA’s Lao Service on Feb. 7 on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

“Today officials from the Lao Front for National Development office here in Luang Namtha province and other related sectors summoned the Christian families and the village leader to try to solve the conflict among them, but there’s no progress,” the source said.

A spokesperson for the office, which handles religious matters, declined to comment on the matter because it is a sensitive issue, but said they were still working on the case.

RFA attempted to contact the Christians involved, but none of them agreed to speak on record because they fear for their safety and want to avoid retribution.

Persecuted for their faith

In other parts of Laos, authorities have not only failed to protect Christians from persecution, in several cases they were the source of it. 

In August 2022, authorities from Luang Prabang province’s Xieng Ngeun district confiscated the ID, passport, and village registration cards of an ethnic minority Christian family, saying the documents would be returned only if they renounce their faith.

A Christian from northern Laos who requested anonymity for security reasons said that local level authorities all over the northern region have conducted a campaign against Christians, so the situation in Luang Namtha is not surprising.

“Authorities would buy necessities to help the poor, but they would only give them out if the Christians would renounce their faith,” the source said. “They would say that Christianity is a foreign religion, the religion of Westerners who are our enemies, even though the Christians do not agree that they are our enemies.”

But an official from the northern regional office for the Lao Front for National Development denied that the organization targets Christians.

“We do not forbid them to believe Christianity, but some of Christian believers use Christianity in the wrong way against the rules and regulations of villages,” the official said.  “For example, when they convert to Christianity, they do not participate in ethnic festivals or ceremonies and they spread Christianity to other communities.” 

The official said that most of the time, authorities are able to solve the problem.

Past evictions

Similar incidents targeting Christians have occurred. In the southern part of the country. Between 2020 and 2021, 15 people from seven families were evicted from villages in Saravane province. 

Some of these have since been allowed to return, a provincial official told RFA.

“The head of the village was opposed to them returning … but district authorities want them to live together harmoniously,” the official said.

In some cases, crimes against Christian victims go unsolved in Laos. 

In October 2022, a pastor from Khammouane province was found dead and his body showed signs that he had been tortured prior to his death. Authorities have not yet arrested any suspects.

In February 2022, attackers burned the house of a Christian ethnic family in Savannakhet province. This case too remains unsolved.

Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Lao.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/christians-02102023141433.html/feed/ 0 371769 Junta shells kill 2 women in Sagaing region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-shells-02092023034017.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-shells-02092023034017.html#respond Thu, 09 Feb 2023 08:53:08 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-shells-02092023034017.html Two women have become the latest victims of the Myanmar military’s attempt to seize control of townships controlled by pro-democracy People’s Defense Forces.

In Sagaing region, the junta imposed martial law and curfews on 11 heavily-defended townships this month, one of which was targeted by artillery on Wednesday night.

Four shells landed near the home of 40-year-old Khin Htoo, three of which exploded.

“I heard the sound of artillery but one shell did not explode,” her husband, 42-year-old Min Lwin, told RFA.

“My family went into the house and crawled under the bed. Then another shell landed and exploded, killing my wife.”

Another woman, 55-year-old Sein Yi was also killed. Two men, 60-year-old Nyunt Win, and 19-year-old Ye Naing Win were injured, residents said.

shell.jpg
Fragments of a shell fired by junta troops on Zee Kan village, Ye-U township, Sagaing region on Feb. 8 2023. Credit: Ye-U township People’s Defense Force

Calls to junta spokesman for Sagaing region, Aye Hlaing, went unanswered for a third day.

Local politician Myint Htwe told RFA he thinks the junta shouldn’t target residential areas with heavy artillery, and instead restrict shelling to the battlefield.

Raids on villages in Khin-U township on Wednesday and Thursday forced 6,000 residents to flee their homes. Khin-U is also under martial law as of this month.

The junta is trying to wrest back control of areas of Sagaing and other regions across the country after extending its State of Emergency for another six months on Feb.1, the second anniversary of the coup which toppled the democratically elected National Unity Government. 

The military says it wants to hold national elections this year but has passed laws rendering it almost impossible for other political parties to participate. 

The National League for Democracy has refused to take part in the registration process. It won a landslide victory in the 2020 general election only to be ousted the following year.

Nearly 3,000 civilians, including pro-democracy activists, have been killed since the 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-shells-02092023034017.html/feed/ 0 371113 Nobody Has A Gun Except You: The Village Comes Through https://www.radiofree.org/2023/02/07/nobody-has-a-gun-except-you-the-village-comes-through/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/02/07/nobody-has-a-gun-except-you-the-village-comes-through/#respond Tue, 07 Feb 2023 05:20:52 +0000 https://www.commondreams.org/further/nobody-has-a-gun-except-you-the-village-comes-through

In the wake of Tyre Nichols and too many others, heart-stopping video shows a neighborhood confront "thugs with a badge and gun" after Seattle cops respond to a false call about gunfire and quickly target the first black man they see - holding a cell phone. Police depart the volatile encounter - "We’re here with rifles to protect and serve and make sure someone gets shot" - after bystanders shield, film, vouch for the distraught guy and beseech cops, "Calm the fuck down."

Once again displaying the terrifying tendency of inept U.S. law enforcement to freak out, draw weapons, scream, bully, panic and otherwise mindlessly escalate any chance contact - especially with a person of color - at least four hyped-up East Precinct officers in three red-flashing cars screeched onto the scene around 7 p.m. after reportedly getting a 911 call of gunshots. Four-minute video shows police take combat positions down the street as one aims his assault rifle at a young black guy in a yellow sweatshirt, yelling at him to drop his (imaginary) weapon and get on the ground. "I'm so confused," the guy yells back, shrugging. "I don't have a gun. I don't have anything, sir." The cop keeps yelling, residents start to gather and film, a woman across the street shouts, "He's holding a phone." Tensions rise, people shout - "He has no weapon! He has nothing! Nobody has a gun except you!" - as the distressed victim pulls off his jacket, puts his hands in the air, sits on the ground, proclaims, "I have nothing on me, bro. I didn't do anything." "We’re much more scared of the fucking police in this situation than this guy,” another person shrieks at the cops. “Can you guys fucking calm down?!"

When the cop holding the rifle demands the guy come closer to him, one bystander walks over to him, pointedly stands in front of him, asks if he wants him to walk up with him. A woman walking her dog joins him. People keep screaming at the cops to back off: "My brother didn't do anything! This is crazy! You've got guns aimed at him!" Through it all, cars weirdly, blithely stream past, because police are so intent on getting their (imaginary) bad guy they didn't bother to cordon off the street. After more, tense minutes of terrorizing an innocent young man, the cops evidently decide he's no threat, or there are too many cameras and too much possible bad P.R. One radios in, “We’re going to disengage," after which - no apology, no explanation - they all nonchalantly climb back into their police cars and pull away. Later, the guy told one resident he'd had an argument with someone, went outside to cool off, slapped the stop sign as he walked past, and was listening to music on Bluetooth when police roared up: "He was terrified and sobbing when it was all over." The neighborhood, meanwhile, had "come together to save an unarmed man from a bunch of maniacs with assault rifles and badges."

Afterwards, said maniacs issued a police "report," aka master class in gaslighting. Spotting the "possible suspect," they tried to "detain (him) by giving him verbal commands at a distance." But "multiple community members encircled the subject and attempted to obstruct officers’ paths (while) filming the incident"; they described "20 bystanders with four surrounding the suspect.” Despite cops' best efforts at fear-mongering, citizens "continued to interfere and became increasingly hostile." Regrettably deciding they had the radish, they left. Oddly, they found "no victim or shell casings" at the scene. There was almost no media coverage; on Twitter, one patriot noted he's "paying for this stupid blue check-mark" (so) people can see what's going on in this country." Many ranted about trigger-happy police who "want a cookie and a gold star for not committing murder: DAMN WE GOT THAT DISCRETION THING DOWN PAT!" "We give them military-style weapons and then assure them there'll be no accountability - what could go wrong? "This happens every damn day. Just stop KILLING people for being black. Stop KILLING people for being. Stop KILLING people. STOP."

But they're not. Seattle's Office of Police Accountability just found that two cops who shot and killed a man carrying a knife last year "failed to first try to defuse the situation or use other defensive strategies before resorting to using deadly force." An investigation in Nashville found that, following a 911 call, police fatally shot a black man with a gun even as the 911 caller shouted "Don't shoot him!"; the interaction lasted 20 seconds. Also in Tennessee, as sheriff's deputies tried to serve a warrant on a man who refused to leave his truck, things "escalated"; yes, they killed him. And of course, Michael Moore notes, there's the "execution of Tyre Nichols" in a country "known for our police executions." The murder of Nichols shows we still "haven’t scratched the surface of accountability"; the actions taken in the aftermath by Memphis police, he argues, are "merely damage control being sold as 'justice.'" The only heroes in these stories, he adds, have to be "you, me, all of us, taking community action...We have to do better." In Seattle last week, people who cared did just that. "This should be the example going forward," wrote one supporter of the uproar and outrage of East Precinct residents. "The village came through."

Capitol Hill SPD Standoff Feb 1 2023 youtu.be


This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Abby Zimet.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/02/07/nobody-has-a-gun-except-you-the-village-comes-through/feed/ 0 370360 Junta troops shoot 4 men in Mandalay region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-killings-01262023035708.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-killings-01262023035708.html#respond Thu, 26 Jan 2023 08:59:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-killings-01262023035708.html Soldiers shot four men in a village in Myanmar’s central Mandalay region and burned their bodies, a local told RFA.

Around 200 troops raided the village in Thabeikkyin township on Tuesday morning, the resident said.

Troops beat and interrogated 40-year-old Min Maung, accusing him of being a member of the local People’s Defense Force. They then arrested three more villagers.

“All four were shot dead that night. Min Maung’s wife and his two children were arrested,” said the local who didn’t want to be named for security reasons.

Residents said they didn’t know where the woman, her 10-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son had been taken.

They said troops left the village Wednesday after burning six houses and the bodies of the four dead men.

The men had no connection with the local pro-democracy militia, according to fellow villagers.

More than 1,500 people live in around 300 houses in Ma Gyi Kone village, on the banks of the Ayeyarwady river north of Mandalay city.

Junta spokesman for Mandalay region, Thein Htay, told RFA that he hadn’t heard about the raid.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said Tuesday 2,827 civilians and pro-democracy activists had been killed by junta in the two years since a military coup toppled Myanmar’s democratically elected government.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mandalay-killings-01262023035708.html/feed/ 0 367345 Greta Thunberg Detained Defending German Village From Coal Mining https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/17/greta-thunberg-detained-defending-german-village-from-coal-mining/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/17/greta-thunberg-detained-defending-german-village-from-coal-mining/#respond Tue, 17 Jan 2023 18:25:12 +0000 https://www.commondreams.org/news/greta-thunberg-germany-coal-mine
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among the demonstrators detained by German police on Tuesday while protesting the destruction of the village Lützerath to expand an open-pit coal mine.

After arriving in Germany last week to support local campaigners battling the expansion, 20-year-old Thunberg joined activists staging a sit-in nearly six miles from the Lützerath, at the edge of the mine owned by energy utility RWE.

"Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity," a spokesperson for Aachen police toldReuters, noting that one activist jumped into the mine.

According to Reuters:

It was not yet clear what would happen to Thunberg or the group she was detained with, or whether the activist who jumped into the mine was injured, the spokesperson said, adding the police would provide an update within the hour.

Thunberg was carried away by three policemen and held by one arm at a spot further away from the edge of the mine where she was previously sat with the group.

She was then escorted back towards police vans.

As Common Dreams previously reported, while visiting Lützerath on Friday, Thunberg said that it was "horrible to see what's happening here" and called out the "outrageous... police violence" occurring in the area.

"We expect to show what people power looks like, what democracy looks like," she vowed. "When governments and corporations are acting like this, destroying the environment, putting countless people at risk, the people step up."

On Saturday, the Fridays for Future founder joined thousands of people who rallied against the destruction of Lützerath. The New York Timesnoted that police used "water cannons and nightsticks to prevent protesters from charging the site, even though by then the village was virtually empty and many of its trees already felled."


This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Jessica Corbett.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/17/greta-thunberg-detained-defending-german-village-from-coal-mining/feed/ 0 365145 Police Evict Last Anti-Coal Protesters From German Village Slated for Destruction https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/16/police-evict-last-anti-coal-protesters-from-german-village-slated-for-destruction/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/16/police-evict-last-anti-coal-protesters-from-german-village-slated-for-destruction/#respond Mon, 16 Jan 2023 17:05:21 +0000 https://www.commondreams.org/news/protesters-leave-lutzerath

The way was cleared for the complete demolition of the German village of Lützerath and the expansion of a coal mine on Monday after the last two anti-coal campaigners taking part in a dayslong standoff with authorities left the protest site.

The two activists—identified in media reports by their nicknames, "Pinky" and "Brain"—spent several days in a tunnel they'd dug themselves as thousands of people rallied in the rain over the weekend and hundreds occupied the village, which has been depopulated over the last decade following a constitutional court ruling in favor of expanding a nearby coal mine owned by energy firm RWE.

As Pinky and Brain left the 13-foot deep tunnel, which police in recent days have warned could collapse on them contrary to assessments by experts, other campaigners chained themselves to a digger and suspended themselves from a bridge to block access to Lützerath, but those demonstrations were also halted after several hours.

Protesters and their supporters have condemned the actions of law enforcement authorities in the past week as police have violently removed people from the site, including an encampment where about 100 campaigners have lived for more than two years to protest the expansion of RWE's Garzweiler coal mine.

The vast majority of protesters were peaceful during the occupation. German Interior Minister Nancy Fraeser said Monday that claims of police violence would be investigated while also threatening demonstrators with prosecution if they were found to have attacked officers.

"If the allegations are confirmed then there must be consequences," said Fraeser.

Fridays for Future leader Greta Thunberg joined the demonstrators last week, condemning the government deal with RWE that allowed the destruction of Lützerath as "shameful" before she was also forcibly removed from the site on Sunday.

"Germany is really embarrassing itself right now," Thunberg said Saturday of the plan to move forward with the demolition of the village, as thousands of people joined the demonstration. "I think it's absolutely absurd that this is happening the year 2023. The most affected people are clear, the science is clear, we need to keep the carbon in the ground."

"When governments and corporations are acting like this, are actively destroying the environment, putting countless of people at risk, the people step up," she added.

Campaigners have warned that the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine will make it impossible for Germany to meet its obligation to reduce carbon emissions and have condemned the government, including the Green Party, for its agreement with RWE. Under the deal, the deadline for coal extraction in Germany was set at 2030.

RWE's mine currently produces 25 million tonnes of lignite, also known as brown coal, per year.

Extinction Rebellion demonstrators in the Netherlands said last week that the protest in the village "is not so much about preserving Lützerath itself."

"It symbolizes resistance to everything that has to make way for fossil energy while humanity is already on the edge of the abyss due to CO2 emissions," said the group.


This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Julia Conley.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/16/police-evict-last-anti-coal-protesters-from-german-village-slated-for-destruction/feed/ 0 364858 Thousands Rally in the Rain to Protest Destruction of German Village for Coal Mine https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/14/thousands-rally-in-the-rain-to-protest-destruction-of-german-village-for-coal-mine/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/14/thousands-rally-in-the-rain-to-protest-destruction-of-german-village-for-coal-mine/#respond Sat, 14 Jan 2023 14:36:13 +0000 https://www.commondreams.org/news/thousands-protest-german-mine

Thousands of people demonstrated in a pouring rain on Saturday protesting the clearance and demolition of a village in western Germany that is due to make way for the expansion of the coal mine Garzweiler.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined the demonstrators as they protested the clearance of Luetzerath, walking through the nearby village of Keyenberg. Protesters chanted “Every village stays” and “You are not alone.”

Activists from climate action groups including Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion and Last Generation came from across the country to join the protest.

Thunberg criticized Germany’s Green Party on Saturday for supporting the demolition of the village of Lützerath

German outlet dpa reported:

Making deals with fossil fuel corporations such as energy giant RWE – which has bought the site of Lützerath for mining – “show where their priorities are”, Thunberg said of the Greens, who form part of Germany’s coalition government, in an interview with dpa.

Leading Green politicians such as Economy Minister Robert Habeck have defended the demolition of Lützerath, arguing that the coal below is needed to maintain energy security in the current crisis.

“The coal that is in the ground here will not lower prices immediately. Anyone who thinks like that is simply out of touch with reality,” Thunberg said.

The Greens are also in power in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the village of Lützerath has become the latest flashpoint for activists opposed to the government’s continued use of coal.

During a visit to Lützerath Friday afternoon, 20-year-old Thunberg said it was "horrible to see what's happening here."

"We expect to show what people power looks like, what democracy looks like. When governments and corporations are acting like this, destroying the environment, putting countless people at risk, the people step up," she said.

The climate activist also referred to "outrageous ... police violence" occurring at the site.

Thunberg held up a sign that read, "Keep it in the ground."

Sara Ayech, Global Campaign Lead for Climate at Greenpeace International said Saturday: “We’re in 2023, in the middle of a climate crisis, and while destroying a village to expand one of the biggest carbon bombs in Europe should be considered criminal, it is still legal. Fossil fuel companies’ influence is so powerful that the ones considered criminals now are the ones fighting for climate justice. It is time to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.”

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the Garzweiler mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.

The local and national governments, both of which include the Green party, made a deal with fossil fuel giant RWE last year allowing it to destroy the village in return for a promise to end coal use by 2030, rather than 2038.


This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Common Dreams staff.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/14/thousands-rally-in-the-rain-to-protest-destruction-of-german-village-for-coal-mine/feed/ 0 364545 Belarus court sentences 2 journalists to years of house arrest https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/13/belarus-court-sentences-2-journalists-to-years-of-house-arrest/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/13/belarus-court-sentences-2-journalists-to-years-of-house-arrest/#respond Fri, 13 Jan 2023 17:54:45 +0000 https://cpj.org/?p=253291 Paris, January 13, 2022 — In response to a Belarusian court’s sentencing of journalists Snezhana Inanets and Aliaksandr Lychauka to years of house arrest Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement condemning the restrictions on the journalists’ freedom:

“While it is a relief that Belarusian journalists Snezhana Inanets and Aliaksandr Lychauka will not be held in the country’s notorious prisons, their sentencing to years under house arrest is still a great injustice,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Authorities should lift the restrictions imposed on the journalists, drop all charges against them, and let all members of the press work freely.”

On Friday, a court convicted Inanets, a reporter at the independent news website Onliner, and Lychauka, a local historian and reporter with independent news website The Village, of organizing or participating in gross violations of public order, according to a report by the Belarusian Association of Journalists and BAJ deputy head Barys Haretski, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

The court sentenced Inanets to two years of house arrest, and Lychauka to three years, according to those sources. The journalists, who are married to one another and were held in custody since October 6, were released following the verdict; Haretski told CPJ that they are presently free to leave their homes while they wait for the verdict to go into effect, but are barred from leaving the country.

CPJ was unable to immediately determine whether Inanets and Lychauka plan to appeal their convictions. If they do not appeal, Haretski told CPJ that the verdict will likely go into effect on January 23, as such sentences are normally enacted 10 days after they are decided.

According to Article 48-1 of the Belarusian Code of Execution of Criminal Sentences, a person under “home confinement” can go to work, but must be at home from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. and during their free time, cannot leave the country or violate any laws, and is barred from consuming alcohol or going out for entertainment purposes. Authorities can carry out checks at any time of the day or night.

Belarusian authorities detained the couple in October 2022 and forced them to “confess” on video that they took part in the 2020 nationwide protests demanding the resignation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Haretski told CPJ that both Inanets and Lychauka covered the 2020 protests as journalists.

CPJ emailed the Belarusian Investigative Committee and the Pershamaysky district court for comment, but did not receive any replies.


This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/13/belarus-court-sentences-2-journalists-to-years-of-house-arrest/feed/ 0 364436 ‘Everything Is Destroyed’: Life In A Frontline Village In Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Region https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/04/everything-is-destroyed-life-in-a-frontline-village-in-ukraines-zaporizhzhya-region/ https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/04/everything-is-destroyed-life-in-a-frontline-village-in-ukraines-zaporizhzhya-region/#respond Wed, 04 Jan 2023 13:29:57 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=886a54a11a5ce9276ce43215ca310208
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2023/01/04/everything-is-destroyed-life-in-a-frontline-village-in-ukraines-zaporizhzhya-region/feed/ 0 361908 A Ukrainian village occupied by Russian troops tries to recover https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/ukraine-12232022135856.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/ukraine-12232022135856.html#respond Sat, 24 Dec 2022 15:24:53 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/ukraine-12232022135856.html Ivan Petrovich wearily unlocks the gate to the school that for four harrowing weeks in March became a makeshift prison, a morning fog still lingering in the surrounding woods. 

“I know there are a lot of things to do – cleaning up the village, farming, fixing the house,” he says. “I just don’t know why. You can’t do anything. You just don’t have the strength.”

For two decades, Petrovich, 62, worked as the custodian of the school – the keeper of the keys to the place where the small farming community of Yahidne had sent its elementary and middle school-aged children to study. 

But that was before Russian troops invaded last March as part of an advance they thought would soon end with the capture of Kyiv, 140 kilometers (87 miles) to the south. The soldiers carried celebratory uniforms to wear for the occasion, so certain were they of their success.

For 28 days, the school served as a base for Russian forces. For Petrovich and 364 others who were stuffed into its basement – including 70 children, the youngest just 6 weeks old – it became an epicenter of trauma. 

Journalists from The Reporter, an investigative news outlet based in Taiwan, were shown around the village by Petrovich and other locals who remained despite the brutality they witnessed and suffered. This story is the product of a collaboration between Radio Free Asia and The Reporter through a grant from the United States Agency for Global Media. The aim of the project, also being published in Mandarin language, is to provide Chinese readers greater clarity about the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

yahidne1.jpg
Ivan Petrovich shines a light on messages the prisoners wrote on a wall in a school to describe their experiences. Photograph by Yang Zilei

U.N. investigation

The captives endured four weeks below ground in a space about 200 square meters, the size of an average American home. Sometimes they were allowed out to go to the bathroom, but often they were not. Some people passed out due to a lack of oxygen. There was little access to food or water or medicine, Petrovich says. 

In October, a United Nations-sponsored investigation into human rights abuses in Ukraine said at least 10 people died of starvation in the basement. Russians appeared to position civilians near its troops and equipment, including in Yahidne, to discourage attacks, the report said. The 365 captives were placed at “significant risk,” the U.N. report said.

After unlocking the gate to the school, Petrovich then opened the door to the basement where he and the others spent weeks literally knee to knee, and back to back.

To the left of a green door, the names of the people who died there were written on the walls as a record in case none of the trapped survived. The names of seven people shot to death in the streets were written on the right. Other people were listed as missing.

“When they wrote the names, they did not expect they would go home alive,” Petrovich said.

The attack begins

The bombs began falling around 1 p.m. on March 3, said Petrovich, who initially huddled in his own basement with his family and children. Soldiers arrived that afternoon, and by nightfall were inspecting houses door to door, taking locals including Petrovich and his family captive.

Some of the rounded-up villagers were quickly taken away, others were tortured, Petrovich says. The soldiers ordered residents to strip, trying to identify Ukrainians who were in the military or worked for the government by tattoos or other identifiers.

“They thought I might be a retired soldier or policeman. I said I am not. They pinned me down on the floor and fired their machine gun around me. Ordering me to confess.” He said others endured the same terror.

The villagers were then shuffled into the school basement. Locals told Reporter journalists that the prisoners included a 13-year-old girl who was the lone survivor of a family of four shot by Russian soldiers as they had tried to escape in a car.  

The Reporter could not independently verify the claims, although the U.N. report includes similar witness testimony.

yahidne3.jpg
Kindergarten teacher Natalia said Russian soldiers gave captives like her small amounts of military rations for food. The U.N. said 10 people starved during the occupation. Photograph by Yang Zilei

Leaking waste

The basement is divided into four rooms. In one, Petrovich said that 36 people were crammed into just seven square meters of space. Some prisoners had enough room to sleep sitting down but others were forced to affix themselves to something sturdy and try to sleep standing up.

The soldiers would occasionally allow their captives to go outside for 10 minutes for fresh air or to use a bathroom. But the door could be closed for days. Older prisoners passed out due to a lack of oxygen.

Natalia, another captive who was a kindergarten teacher at the school, said waste from a leaking septic tank would drip into one of the rooms. Soldiers slaughtered livestock and raided kitchens, leaving paltry military rations for the locals that Natalia said were “so bad it was hard to swallow.”

People got sick, starved and, Petrovich said, went crazy in delirium, the stress and the stench and lack of food overwhelming.

‘Glory to Ukraine’

There was a constant threat presented by the soldiers above, who residents said would shout out a name and take the person out to be tortured. Some never returned. Other times soldiers shouted down, “Give us women!”

Petrovich found a few crayons and gave them to the children to draw on the walls to distract them from the fear and boredom. They drew pets, their village as it looked before the war, gardens, butterflies, sunshine, “Glory to Ukraine.”

At first, the prisoners had to stack the dead bodies in a corner in the basement. Eventually, they said their captors relented and gave the prisoners 90 minutes to bury the bodies in a local cemetery. Halfway through fire from a Russian machine gun killed two of the villagers, people in the community said.

On March 30, Russian soldiers sealed the door shut and warned residents not to come out. But they could hear the troops leaving and after an extended period of silence they pried the door open, found an old cellphone and contacted the Ukrainian military, which arrived the next day.

yahidne5.jpg
Petrovich found crayons for the children to draw with during their imprisonment. They also wrote messages like "No Wars" and "Glory to Ukraine." Photograph by Yang Zilei

A destroyed village

The trapped locals reemerged into a Yahidne that had been destroyed. Russian bombs left craters in the landscape and holes in buildings. Tanks rolled over cars to prevent residents from escaping. Troops pried floorboards open and ransacked homes, taking large appliances like washing machines and microwaves in their retreat. 

“They burnt everything, leaving nothing but ruins and soot,” Petrovich says. “They did whatever they wanted. When they arrived, they were in knee-high rubber boots. But when they left, they stole our shoes.”

Residents found booby traps in their homes and land mines in the forest; bodies buried in backyards and left out in the open; women from nearby villages who had been kidnapped and brought to Yahidne to be raped.

‘They hated us.’

On the second day after their release, buses arrived to carry residents to Kyiv for treatment. Many others left to stay with relatives in other towns and cities in Ukraine.

The people who The Reporter journalists encountered were mostly from families that had lived in the town since 1953, growing strawberries, apples and other fruits for export to Belarus and to Russia. Yahidne means “berries” in Ukrainian.

Whatever bonds there were with those countries are now broken forever, residents said.

“They hated us. They abused us. They crushed us,” says another Natalia, who helped to guide the reporters around the town. And they still find ways to try to torment their former prisoners – Natalia said she had received a Facebook message from one of the soldiers who was part of the invading force.

A challenge to Putin

Olena Taranova, a 50-year-old new grandmother who has volunteered to support Ukrainian troops since Russia seized Crimea eight years ago, carried a notebook as she guided the journalists around Yahidne.

“Shot in the head. Burnt to death in the car. Died on the highway because of bombing. Shot in their backyard,” she recites from its pages. It’s a small portion of her list of 76 bodies that she says were recovered in recent months. She stores a photo of each one in her cell phone as evidence, including the charred bodies of a father and his daughter killed in their car in a Russian attack.

“As a woman I will not call it quits,” she says. “I have witnessed the kind of pain in many mothers. They had to bury their own children with their own hands.”

Her phone also includes a video of her practicing shooting a gun. “Come on, Putin, you and me, one on one,” she says. “Don’t touch the vulnerable.”

yahidne8.jpg
Guide Natalia broke down in tears as she discussed what her child endured during the occupation. Despite the trauma, she said the people of Yahidne would rebuild. Photograph by Yang Zilei

'Now we are free'

Tables and chairs have been set up at the cemetery for the people who remain to rest, reflect, weep. There are many new graves, including one for a villager who tried to fight the troops. A bottle of liquor and a few glasses lie nearby for his friends, who come by to toast his memory. 

International aid groups have arrived in Yahidne to help clear the area of landmines, and counseling groups have been established to help residents deal with their trauma. But as Petrovich led the reporters around the community he warned them to follow his path because dangers remain. 

That’s true of Ukraine as a whole of course. Though its military has regained territory and continues to advance, Russian missiles continue to pound Ukrainian cities, cutting parts of the population off from electricity or heat. 

“Now we are free, but everything we have had was destroyed, and the winter is coming,” said Natalia, the guide. But the people of Yahidne would work hard to rebuild, she said.

>> Read more on the special page.

Translation by Min Eu. Edited in English by Jim Snyder, Paul Eckert and Mat Pennington.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Liu Zhixin, The Reporter.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/ukraine-12232022135856.html/feed/ 0 360142 Junta troops kill 9-year-old boy fleeing Sagaing region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-boy-killed-12232022052431.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-boy-killed-12232022052431.html#respond Fri, 23 Dec 2022 10:30:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-boy-killed-12232022052431.html A nine-year-old boy was shot dead by junta troops as he tried to escape a village in Sagaing region with his family, locals told RFA.

Troops raided Wea Daunt in Mawlaik township Thursday after reports a People’s Defense Force (PDF) militia had occupied the village.

A resident, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that a junta column of nearly 80 soldiers opened fire on civilians who were trying to escape ahead of the raid.

“The child who was killed was called Khant Pyoe Thu. His family did not go far, but fled to the forest next to the village. The army arbitrarily opened fire with heavy artillery and live rounds, and the child was shot dead,” the local said.

He said the boy was hit by four bullets and died on the spot. He was buried on Thursday night.

Calls to Aye Hlaing, the junta spokesman and social affairs minister for Sagaing region, seeking comment on the incident went unanswered.

The more than 900 people who live in Wea Daunt have not yet returned because troops are still stationed in the village.

Troops have not set fire to the village’s 300 houses but they have been carrying out an arson campaign in Mawlaik township as they try to flush out local PDFs.

Aid workers say nearly 500 houses in 13 villages in the township have been torched -- forcing around 15,000 locals to flee their homes -- in the 22 months since the military seized power in a February, 2021 coup.

Data for Myanmar said on Dec. 10 that 27,496 houses had been burned down by junta troops and affiliated militias in Sagaing region between Feb. 1, 2021 and Nov. 30, 2022.

That has led to more than 600,000 people in the region becoming internally displaced persons (IDPs) according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Written in English by Mike Firn.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-boy-killed-12232022052431.html/feed/ 0 359825 A Booby-Trapped Fridge: Life In A Liberated Ukrainian Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/12/08/a-booby-trapped-fridge-life-in-a-liberated-ukrainian-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/12/08/a-booby-trapped-fridge-life-in-a-liberated-ukrainian-village/#respond Thu, 08 Dec 2022 16:01:33 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=9910b4a5d15d6b0a3fca36aaa19ffa74
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/12/08/a-booby-trapped-fridge-life-in-a-liberated-ukrainian-village/feed/ 0 356315 Troops capture 25 youths returning to their village in Myanmar’s Sagaing region https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-youths-captured-12062022052019.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-youths-captured-12062022052019.html#respond Tue, 06 Dec 2022 10:24:12 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-youths-captured-12062022052019.html A group of 25 youths from Sagaing region’s Shwebo township has been captured by junta troops, according to locals.

The young men, mostly aged between 13 and 20, fled Tha But Taw village due to fighting between junta forces and local People’s Defense Forces (PDFs). They ran into a military column of around 80 troops as they returned to check on the situation there on Sunday.

The troops took them to Yone Thar village on the other side of the Mu River and they have not been released, a resident -- who did not want to be named for security reasons -- told RFA.

“They were asked to carry military equipment when they were arrested, after that we did not hear anything,” the local said.

“They were fleeing the fighting, but were arrested when they met the military convoy after they came back to see their village’s situation.”

Locals said they did not know if the youths were involved with a local PDF, taken to be used as porters or captured to be used as hostages or human shields.

Tha But Taw village has 200 houses and normally has around 500 residents, who fled before the military column arrived. The troops did not burn houses in the village but stole valuables, according to a local woman, who also asked not to be named.

“We forgot to take our valuables like some gold and hand phones because we were running to escape,” she said.

“All of them were taken and almost all the houses were ransacked. So far, we have not dared to return to the village and I haven’t heard any news about the young men.”

RFA’s calls to the junta spokesman for Sagaing region Aye Hlaing, who is also the region’s Minister for Social Affairs, went unanswered on Tuesday.

Sagaing region has seen fierce fighting between junta troops and PDFs since the military toppled Myanmar’s democratically elected government in a Feb.1, 2021 coup.

In the past 22 months, the region has seen the third highest number of arrests in the country, behind only Yangon and Mandalay, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

AAPP figures show there have been 16,520 arrests nationwide since last year’s coup, with more than 13,000 people still in detention.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-youths-captured-12062022052019.html/feed/ 0 355655 Myanmar’s Archbishop calls for dialogue after military raid on his home village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/archbishop-12022022190251.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/archbishop-12022022190251.html#respond Sat, 03 Dec 2022 00:21:23 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/archbishop-12022022190251.html Myanmar’s Catholic Archbishop has called for a peaceful solution to the country’s political crisis following a brutal attack by the military on his home village in embattled Sagaing region, despite public criticism over his dealings with the junta.

Speaking to RFA Burmese on Thursday, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of the Catholic Episcopal Church of Myanmar, said he was deeply saddened by the bloody Nov. 23 raid on his home village of Mon Hla in Sagaing’s Khin-U township.

A 7-year-old child, a 40-year-old woman, and a 30-year-old man – all civilians – were killed in the fighting as more than 200 military troops launched a joint land and air attack on the village. 

Six members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force were also killed in the fighting, and military troops set fires that destroyed more than 200 of the village’s 700 buildings in the raid, including a church and school built with donations from the religious leader.

A member of the Khin-U Township PDF told RFA at the time that fighters with his group returned fire to defend Mon Hla, stopping the military’s advance, but attack helicopters were sent to the area to assist the troops, allowing them to enter the village.

The raid followed one in May, when troops attacked Chaung Yoe in Taze township and Chan Thar in Ye-U township – two other Christian-majority villages in the area. In total, nearly 500 buildings were destroyed and some 6,000 people were forced to flee their homes for safety.

Cardinal Bo told RFA that the attack on Mon Hla had left him “grief-stricken,” and he called for an end to the violence that has left at least 2,553 civilians dead since the military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup, according to Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

“We can never find any solution through war,” he said.

“It is of great importance to tame our mind and stay humble and not to choose the path of war and killings to find a solution,” he said. “War brings us only death and destruction. It pollutes the wholesome state of mind in human nature.”

The majority of the 3,000 residents of Mon Hla village, the birthplace of Cardinal Bo, are Christians of Portuguese descent, known as the Bayingyi. 




Bayingyi have been living in Mon Hla, Chaung Yoe, and Chan Thar – three villages along the Chindwin and Mu rivers, since the beginning of the 17th century, during the reign of Myanmar’s King Thalon.

The junta has yet to release any information about last month’s attack on Mon Hla. 

Motives questioned

Thursday marked the third time Cardinal Bo has called for an end to violence, following an open letter he sent to the junta in March 2021 amid the military’s brutal crackdown on anti-coup protests and a plea for junta troops to stop targeting religious sites in May this year, after four people were killed by artillery fire while sheltering inside a Catholic church in the Kayah state capital Loikaw.

While some have welcomed Cardinal Bo’s call for an end to violence in Myanmar, others have questioned his motives after he appeared in public with junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing during Christmas last year, provoking a strong outcry.

The archbishop also came under fire last year after pictures of him cutting a cake with the regime leader were circulated on social media.

In an interview with America Magazine’s Jesuit Review marking the one-year anniversary of the coup, Cardinal Bo said that while the leak of the photos to the media was “unfortunate,” he did not regret his actions, which he said he took in the pursuit of peace.

“That was out of our control, once I had agreed to the meeting. But I was very candid in my intention,” he said at the time.

“I do not regret it in any way. We need to engage the major stakeholders in this country,” he said. “From day one of the political shift, I sought to meet both the democracy leaders and the army. The invitation was always there.”

Cardinal Bo said of the meeting with Min Aung Hlaing that it entailed a “long private conversation on that occasion in which he promised many things,” without providing further details.

In the interview he acknowledged that “the photos conveyed quite a different message” than what he had agreed to the meeting for, and that “it was not to the liking of some,” but he said he remains hopeful for “good results in the long run, at a time when resolution can be found through dialogue.”

Cardinal Bo was among six Christian leaders who invited public criticism after Min Aung Hlaing bestowed honorary titles on them during a ceremony to mark Myanmar’s 102nd National Day on Nov. 17 this year.

It was unclear whether the archbishop’s view of the junta had changed following this week’s attack on Mon Hla village.

According to a report released in October by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 612,400 residents of Sagaing region have fled their homes due to armed conflict since the military coup.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/archbishop-12022022190251.html/feed/ 0 355114 Junta raid on Sagaing region village kills 8 civilians and 6 Defense Force members https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-kills-14-11092022045716.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-kills-14-11092022045716.html#respond Wed, 09 Nov 2022 09:58:02 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-kills-14-11092022045716.html At least 14 people have been killed in a junta raid on Monywa township in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, according to residents.

The bodies were discovered on Monday evening as locals returned to Htan Lay Pin village. It had been occupied by junta troops since a battle between one of the local People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) and troops, aided by the pro-junta Pya Saw Htee militia, near the village on Sunday.

“Six PDF members were killed. Of the six, one body could not be recovered. Four of the remaining five were beheaded and their hands were cut off,” said the information officer for Monywa district PDF Battalion Number 5, who did not want to be named for security reasons.

“Eight civilians were found dead. We have some photographs. Women and the elderly are among them.”

An information officer for the anti-junta Monywa-Amyint Road group, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFA the names of only three of the eight dead civilians could be confirmed because junta troops are still near the village.

“Htwe Zaw Oo, 37, had a gunshot wound below the jaw. Kyaw Myo Win, 40, had a gunshot wound on his forearm. He was beaten and died. Sein Hlaing, 45, was beheaded,” the information officer said.

The eight victims were unable to escape from Htan Lay Pin village before Sunday’s raid.

The State Administration Council has not released any statement on the incident, and RFA’s calls to its Sagaing

region spokesman, Aye Hlaing, went unanswered on Wednesday.

Some pro-military Telegram channels said the eight villagers were PDF soldiers although locals deny this.

More than 3,000 residents from 10 villages, including Htan Lay Pin, in the south of Monywa township, have been forced to flee junta raids that started a week ago. Troops set fire to houses in the villages as they left.

Fighting in Sagaing region has been among the fiercest in Myanmar, leading to the deaths of more than 1,500 civilians since the Feb., 2021 coup, according to independent research group the Institute for Strategy and Policy - Myanmar.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagaing-raid-kills-14-11092022045716.html/feed/ 0 349292 Residents of bombed Myanmar village told not to help, hold services for victims https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html#respond Fri, 28 Oct 2022 19:37:38 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html Myanmar junta soldiers are warning local residents and aid group workers against providing medical treatment to people who were injured during a bombing of a concert in Hpakant township, Kachin state, last weekend, or holding large prayer services for those who were killed in the attack.

“They aren’t allowing funeral services for the victims who died,” a Hpakant resident said. “They said that they were going to arrest anybody who gives medical treatment to the injured victims. They won’t even allow prayer services. They have issued strong orders that only family members can be with the dead, restricting other people from joining. Their orders are that vicious.” 

Troops threatened to arrest survivors or anyone who helped treat the injured under the country’s Unlawful Association Act, which carries a minimum two-year sentence, the resident said. 

RFA reached out to the junta’s local administration officials and officers at the area military base but received no response.

About 300 civilians and soldiers from the Kachin Independence Army were gathered at the event last Sunday night when junta planes attacked. The Kachin Independence Organization, the political association representing ethnic Kachins in northern Myanmar, reported this week that 63 people died in the attack.

An aid worker said the number killed had risen to 66 after three people later succumbed to their injuries. RFA Burmese reported that junta soldiers blocked access to the site of the attack, preventing the injured from being treated at a local hospital.

The junta has said the strike was in response to attacks against its forces in the region. The KIA is one of several ethnic armies in Myanmar that, along with dozens of militias known as People’s Defense Forces, are fighting the military junta, which deposed a democratically elected government in February 2021. 

Gruesome scene

Another Hpakant town resident who witnessed the bombing said that the number of casualties is expected to rise. He described a gruesome scene of victims in and around the concert stage where the audience had gathered to hear music in celebration of the KIA’s 62nd anniversary. 

“Some people were blown away in pieces. Flesh and heads were blown away, to over 100 feet in distance,” the witness said. ”Some people were blown apart too badly to identify who they were.” 

“Those who escaped that night, like me, are still in shock. We can’t believe what happened. Some even aren’t sure if they died or if their soul is alive – they are that traumatized by the attack.”

The relief volunteer who told RFA that three additional victims died on Oct. 26 said they may have lived had they been treated at a hospital. 

“The dead were civilians,” the volunteer said. “Even in our village, we are not allowed to have a big funeral service. We are not allowed to even assemble a tent for the funeral. We can only have a brief funeral service for a female victim who died in our village today.”

The KIO said they were continuing to try to identify victims and that the death toll could increase. 

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Written in English by Jim Snyder.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html/feed/ 0 346273 Residents of bombed Myanmar village told not to help, hold services for victims https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html#respond Fri, 28 Oct 2022 19:37:38 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html Myanmar junta soldiers are warning local residents and aid group workers against providing medical treatment to people who were injured during a bombing of a concert in Hpakant township, Kachin state, last weekend, or holding large prayer services for those who were killed in the attack.

“They aren’t allowing funeral services for the victims who died,” a Hpakant resident said. “They said that they were going to arrest anybody who gives medical treatment to the injured victims. They won’t even allow prayer services. They have issued strong orders that only family members can be with the dead, restricting other people from joining. Their orders are that vicious.” 

Troops threatened to arrest survivors or anyone who helped treat the injured under the country’s Unlawful Association Act, which carries a minimum two-year sentence, the resident said. 

RFA reached out to the junta’s local administration officials and officers at the area military base but received no response.

About 300 civilians and soldiers from the Kachin Independence Army were gathered at the event last Sunday night when junta planes attacked. The Kachin Independence Organization, the political association representing ethnic Kachins in northern Myanmar, reported this week that 63 people died in the attack.

An aid worker said the number killed had risen to 66 after three people later succumbed to their injuries. RFA Burmese reported that junta soldiers blocked access to the site of the attack, preventing the injured from being treated at a local hospital.

The junta has said the strike was in response to attacks against its forces in the region. The KIA is one of several ethnic armies in Myanmar that, along with dozens of militias known as People’s Defense Forces, are fighting the military junta, which deposed a democratically elected government in February 2021. 

Gruesome scene

Another Hpakant town resident who witnessed the bombing said that the number of casualties is expected to rise. He described a gruesome scene of victims in and around the concert stage where the audience had gathered to hear music in celebration of the KIA’s 62nd anniversary. 

“Some people were blown away in pieces. Flesh and heads were blown away, to over 100 feet in distance,” the witness said. ”Some people were blown apart too badly to identify who they were.” 

“Those who escaped that night, like me, are still in shock. We can’t believe what happened. Some even aren’t sure if they died or if their soul is alive – they are that traumatized by the attack.”

The relief volunteer who told RFA that three additional victims died on Oct. 26 said they may have lived had they been treated at a hospital. 

“The dead were civilians,” the volunteer said. “Even in our village, we are not allowed to have a big funeral service. We are not allowed to even assemble a tent for the funeral. We can only have a brief funeral service for a female victim who died in our village today.”

The KIO said they were continuing to try to identify victims and that the death toll could increase. 

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Written in English by Jim Snyder.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html/feed/ 0 346274 Residents of bombed Myanmar village told not to help, hold services for victims https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html#respond Fri, 28 Oct 2022 19:37:38 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html Myanmar junta soldiers are warning local residents and aid group workers against providing medical treatment to people who were injured during a bombing of a concert in Hpakant township, Kachin state, last weekend, or holding large prayer services for those who were killed in the attack.

“They aren’t allowing funeral services for the victims who died,” a Hpakant resident said. “They said that they were going to arrest anybody who gives medical treatment to the injured victims. They won’t even allow prayer services. They have issued strong orders that only family members can be with the dead, restricting other people from joining. Their orders are that vicious.” 

Troops threatened to arrest survivors or anyone who helped treat the injured under the country’s Unlawful Association Act, which carries a minimum two-year sentence, the resident said. 

RFA reached out to the junta’s local administration officials and officers at the area military base but received no response.

About 300 civilians and soldiers from the Kachin Independence Army were gathered at the event last Sunday night when junta planes attacked. The Kachin Independence Organization, the political association representing ethnic Kachins in northern Myanmar, reported this week that 63 people died in the attack.

An aid worker said the number killed had risen to 66 after three people later succumbed to their injuries. RFA Burmese reported that junta soldiers blocked access to the site of the attack, preventing the injured from being treated at a local hospital.

The junta has said the strike was in response to attacks against its forces in the region. The KIA is one of several ethnic armies in Myanmar that, along with dozens of militias known as People’s Defense Forces, are fighting the military junta, which deposed a democratically elected government in February 2021. 

Gruesome scene

Another Hpakant town resident who witnessed the bombing said that the number of casualties is expected to rise. He described a gruesome scene of victims in and around the concert stage where the audience had gathered to hear music in celebration of the KIA’s 62nd anniversary. 

“Some people were blown away in pieces. Flesh and heads were blown away, to over 100 feet in distance,” the witness said. ”Some people were blown apart too badly to identify who they were.” 

“Those who escaped that night, like me, are still in shock. We can’t believe what happened. Some even aren’t sure if they died or if their soul is alive – they are that traumatized by the attack.”

The relief volunteer who told RFA that three additional victims died on Oct. 26 said they may have lived had they been treated at a hospital. 

“The dead were civilians,” the volunteer said. “Even in our village, we are not allowed to have a big funeral service. We are not allowed to even assemble a tent for the funeral. We can only have a brief funeral service for a female victim who died in our village today.”

The KIO said they were continuing to try to identify victims and that the death toll could increase. 

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Written in English by Jim Snyder.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/help-10282022152544.html/feed/ 0 346275 Village in Myanmar’s Sagaing region raided by junta troops killing 10 people https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-g-raid-10242022043645.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-g-raid-10242022043645.html#respond Mon, 24 Oct 2022 08:40:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-g-raid-10242022043645.html Around 80 junta troops stormed a village in Sagaing region’s Yinmarbin township, killing nine People’s Defense Force (PDF) members and one local. Troops burned the bodies and left them in a pile, locals said. A further four people were injured and two PDF members were arrested.

The Monywa District-based Battalion-13 PDF, nicknamed the Aung San Generation, were in Shwe Hlan village when junta troops raided it at 4:00 a.m. on Friday, dressed in plain clothes to blend in with locals and local PDF members, who don’t wear uniforms.

“After returning from a battle, they [the PDF] spent the night in the village. The junta troops raided the houses where they were staying. They were shot dead while they were asleep without having time to defend themselves,” a Shwe Hlan resident told RFA.

“Four of them were injured, the rest are free except for Ye and Mi Nge, who were arrested.”

Ye is 24-years-old and Mi Nge is 21. The dead PDF members were aged between 18 and 27.

Residents said the arrested men were taken away in a Mil Mi-24 military attack helicopter on Friday evening but they did not know where they were headed.

There are nearly 200 houses with more than 500 residents in Shwe Hlan village and eight were burned down by junta forces, forcing residents to flee to safety.

Calls to Sagaing region State Administration Council spokesman, Aye Hlaing have gone unanswered. The SAC has not released any statement on the attack.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/sagain-g-raid-10242022043645.html/feed/ 0 344141 Russian Woman Welcomes Ukrainian Troops In Liberated Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/14/russian-woman-welcomes-ukrainian-troops-in-liberated-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/14/russian-woman-welcomes-ukrainian-troops-in-liberated-village/#respond Fri, 14 Oct 2022 13:27:12 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=766e10808a2e919d815bac43707f1fb9
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/14/russian-woman-welcomes-ukrainian-troops-in-liberated-village/feed/ 0 342012 Belarusian journalists detained, forced to make ‘confession’ videos https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/belarusian-journalists-detained-forced-to-make-confession-videos/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/belarusian-journalists-detained-forced-to-make-confession-videos/#respond Wed, 12 Oct 2022 19:47:52 +0000 https://cpj.org/?p=236792 Paris, October 12, 2022—Belarusian authorities are continuing their crackdown on the country’s independent media with a spate of fresh arrests and detentions of several journalists.

On Thursday, October 6, police in Minsk, the capital, detained Snezhana Inanets, a reporter at the independent news website Onliner, and her husband Aliaksandr Lychavko, a local historian and reporter with independent news website The Village, multiple media reports said.

In videos published on Friday by a pro-government Telegram channel, Lychavko and Inanets say they were detained for taking part in the 2020 nationwide protests demanding the resignation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko and subscribing to “destructive” Telegram channels and chats. Lychavko also said he reposted information, without specifying the nature of the information. Barys Haretski, deputy head of the banned local advocacy and trade group Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), told CPJ via messaging app that both Lychavko and Inanets were covering the 2020 protests as journalists.

Separately on Friday, a court in Hlybokaye, in northern Belarus, ordered that photojournalist Leonid Yurik be detained for five days for “disseminating information containing calls to extremist activities,” according to BAJ.

“The detention of journalists Snezhana Inanets, Aliaksandr Lychavko, and Leonid Yurik in Belarus shows that authorities’ crackdown on members of the press will not stop until the last independent journalist is either imprisoned or has fled the country,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “It is appalling that some are forced to make ‘confession videos’ suggesting they were at political protests as participants rather than reporters. Those still being held should be released and charges against them dropped immediately.”

Lychavko and Inanets are held in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Minsk and charged with allegedly “organizing or participating in gross violations of public order,” the association reported. If found guilty, they face up to four years in prison, according to the Belarusian criminal code.

In Yurik’s case, officers with the Ministry of Interior’s Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption detained Yurik on Wednesday, October 5, in Hlybokaye, media reports said. Authorities did not disclose the exact reason for Yurik’s detention, but Haretski told CPJ via messaging app that he believed Yurik’s arrest was retaliation for his journalism. Yurik was released on October 10, Haretski said.

Separately, on September 14, authorities in Minsk detained Andrey Ilyenya, a reporter with online sports website Pressball, and held him for 10 days, according to multiple media reports, a BAJ post, and a post by former Pressball journalist Nikolai Ivanov, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. 

Ivanov told CPJ that Ilyena was released on September 25. CPJ contacted Ilyena via messaging app for confirmation but did not receive any reply. In a Telegram post, BAJ confirmed that Ilyena was free.

BAJ reported that Ilyena came under the authorities’ scrutiny because he was recently accredited to cover the away matches of the Belarusian national football team in the UEFA Nations League. Authorities said that he posted a white-red-white flag, a symbol of anti-Lukashenko protests, on his Facebook picture.

CPJ called the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption and emailed the Belarusian investigative committee for comment, but no one answered.


This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/belarusian-journalists-detained-forced-to-make-confession-videos/feed/ 0 341256 Ukrainian Border Village Fears New Invasion From Belarus https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/ukrainian-border-village-fears-new-invasion-from-belarus/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/ukrainian-border-village-fears-new-invasion-from-belarus/#respond Wed, 12 Oct 2022 17:56:57 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=d67eeb4bb34b9b2de80c6a525be951d3
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/ukrainian-border-village-fears-new-invasion-from-belarus/feed/ 0 341145 Ukrainian Border Village Fears New Invasion From Belarus https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/ukrainian-border-village-fears-new-invasion-from-belarus-2/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/ukrainian-border-village-fears-new-invasion-from-belarus-2/#respond Wed, 12 Oct 2022 17:56:57 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=d67eeb4bb34b9b2de80c6a525be951d3
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/10/12/ukrainian-border-village-fears-new-invasion-from-belarus-2/feed/ 0 342476 More than 70 people from Ayeyarwady arrested after village administrator killed https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/70-arrested-ayeyarwady-10032022045042.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/70-arrested-ayeyarwady-10032022045042.html#respond Mon, 03 Oct 2022 08:51:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/70-arrested-ayeyarwady-10032022045042.html The murder of a village official in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region has prompted a flurry of arrests. More than 70 residents of Yegyi township have been taken into custody after Za Yet Hla village’s administrator Tar Tay was gunned down on a motorbike by an unknown attacker, locals said.

The arrested are from Myit Sal, Za Yet Hla and Kyon Thar villages and Nga Thai Chaung township, residents said.

The junta council-appointed village administrator was killed on his motorbike on Sept. 28, near Kyone Tar village as he returned from a meeting in Yegyi township, locals told RFA.

“Tar Tay was shot five times, hitting his head and chest and he died on the spot,”, a Nga Thai Chaung resident told RFA on condition of anonymity.

“He was riding the motorcycle behind [the driver] and was shot from the side [by another motorcyclist] … Residents of the village were arrested by military council forces, [helped by] informants, going from house to house,” the local said.

"The arrested residents’ hands were tied behind their backs and they were chained.”

The military council has not released any statement concerning the killing of the Tar Tay or the follow-up arrests by junta forces.

RFA has not been able to confirm which group was behind the killing.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/70-arrested-ayeyarwady-10032022045042.html/feed/ 0 338065 COVID disinfectant poisoning kills at least 13 Uyghurs in village in Xinjiang https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/disinfectant-poisonings-09302022171446.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/disinfectant-poisonings-09302022171446.html#respond Fri, 30 Sep 2022 21:15:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/disinfectant-poisonings-09302022171446.html At least 13 Uyghurs have died as a result of poisoning from disinfectants sprayed in their homes last week used to fight a wave of coronavirus infections in a county in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, local residents and officials said.

The Uyghurs who died were all residents of Guma county (in Chinese, Pishan), Hotan (Hetian) prefecture. They are said to be among thousands of people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) reported to have been poisoned by disinfectants used to fight the COVID-19 virus, according to online comments on social media. 

Many videos shared online show authorities spraying inner walls, furniture, bedding as well as inside refrigerators in homes in the region. Residents said planes with sprayers have flown over the area frequently since the lockdown. 

Acting on an anonymous tip about the deaths in Guma, RFA confirmed that at least a dozen people from a village in the county have died of COVID disinfectant poisoning.

“I am told it is about 12 or 13 [who died],” said a local official in charge of overseeing 10 households in a village in Guma county. 

“It happened on Sept. 20,” he said. 

The official, who declined to be named in order to discuss the incident, told RFA that a resident named Ibrahim from a family in the village died of the disinfectant poisoning. He said one of his own relatives, the wife of one of his cousins, had also died.

“Her name was Atihan. She was a housewife between the ages of 45 and 50,” he said.

Five people from another Uyghur family lost their lives after heavy spraying, said the official.

“A woman named Atahaji died along with her daughter, two grandchildren and one daughter-in-law — five of them,” he said.

“The government sprayed disinfectants on the roofs and in the yards of each house to disinfect, and as a result, all of the residents passed out, and there was no one from the government to take them to the hospital,” a Uyghur from the affected area in Guma told RFA.

The man, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, said police detained his 24 year-old son because he refused to let authorities inside their house to spray.

“This is what the community is going through,” the man said. “There is nothing to eat, and the whole community has been knocked out by [authorities’] spraying the so-called disinfectant. We all don't know what will happen tomorrow when we wake up.”

Spraying from the air

An information service hotline operator in Hotan did not deny the deaths from the disinfectant spray, but advised RFA to contact the Epidemic Command Center for details.

A staffer from the center confirmed that there had been incidents of Uyghurs sickened by disinfectant poisoning at a local hospital.

But when asked her about the death toll from the poisonings, she angrily replied, “Don’t ask such questions.”

RFA later spoke with another staffer at the center who said she had to check with a supervisor before giving out any details, but later confirmed that the poisoning incident occurred in Guma county.  

When asked about the name of the village where the incident occurred, she said she was from Hotan city and was not too familiar with Guma county.  

 A third staffer referred RFA to the center’s Information Services Office for the number of residents who had died from the spraying.

Another Guma resident blamed the deaths on aerial disinfectant sprays by plane over the previous nine days in Hotan. 

A second Hotan resident also said airplanes had been flying over the area since the lockdown began.

Memet Imin, a New York-based Uyghur medical researcher, said there are various types of disinfectants in use right now, though it is unclear what kind of disinfectant authorities used in Guma.  

“There are studies that excessive and long-term use of disinfectants against COVID-19 can be harmful to health,” he said. “A lot of scientific research has been done on this.”

“Therefore, when the concentration of some disinfectants exceeds a certain limit, it may cause some injuries in the skin, eyes, respiratory tract, nerves system and digestive tract, and in some cases, it may cause serious illness,” he said.

Parts of Xinjiang have been under a strict lockdown since early August under China’s “zero COVID” policy, forcing Uyghurs in affected areas to rely on local official for scarce food handouts. Others have not been able to obtain necessary medications. RFA has previously reported deaths from starvation or lack of access to medicine in Ghulja.

The severe lockdown is making life worse for the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang who have been subject to a crackdown by Chinese authorities since 2017 that has included mass detentions in internment camps and prisons and serious human rights violations.

A report issued in late August by the U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the repression in the XUAR “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.” 

Translated by Mamatjan Juma for RFA Uyghur. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Shohret Hoshur for RFA Uyghur.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/disinfectant-poisonings-09302022171446.html/feed/ 0 337987 Nearly 700 residents flee Maygway region’s Pauk township as troops burn village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/700-residents-flee-09272022050807.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/700-residents-flee-09272022050807.html#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 09:10:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/700-residents-flee-09272022050807.html Nearly 700 people have been forced to leave their homes after junta troops set fire to a village in Pauk Township, in Myanmar’s northeastern Magway region.

A Kyet Su Aint resident, who did not want to be named for security reasons, said that soldiers raided the village of Kyet Su Aint on Monday night and burned houses the following morning.

"The smoke started to be seen around 8:00 in the morning,” the local said, adding that shops were also destroyed. 

“I heard that a soldier and a civilian died.  I am not sure because the phone line was not clear. They [the villagers] said that bodies were buried. Villagers said that they also found stretchers. Now they [the troops] have left the village."

The details of deaths and casualties and the number of houses destroyed have not been independently verified. RFA contacted Soe Paying Myint, a spokesman for the military council in Magway but he did not respond.

Locals said there were around 170 households in Kyet Su Aint village, with nearly 700 residents. 

The junta soldiers have been raiding villages in Pauk township since Sept. 23. Residents from 11 villages, including Kyet  Su Aint, Yar Gyi Pyin, Kyauk Khwet, and Son Kone have fled the raids, according to locals.

More than 98,100 people have fled Magway region since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, according to data issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) on Sept. 5.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/700-residents-flee-09272022050807.html/feed/ 0 336562 Photo Essay: After the Bombs Fell, a Ukrainian Village Rebuilds https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/24/photo-essay-after-the-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/24/photo-essay-after-the-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds/#respond Sat, 24 Sep 2022 11:00:00 +0000 https://progressive.org/latest/after-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds-kristian-092422/
This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Natasha Kristian.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/24/photo-essay-after-the-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds/feed/ 0 336016 On the Line: After the Bombs Fell, a Ukrainian Village Rebuilds https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/24/on-the-line-after-the-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/24/on-the-line-after-the-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds/#respond Sat, 24 Sep 2022 11:00:00 +0000 https://progressive.org/magazine/after-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds-kristian-092422/
This content originally appeared on The Progressive — A voice for peace, social justice, and the common good and was authored by Natasha Kristian.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/24/on-the-line-after-the-bombs-fell-a-ukrainian-village-rebuilds/feed/ 0 339920 Slaughter goes on in Porgera mining town as PNG police plan new task force https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/21/slaughter-goes-on-in-porgera-mining-town-as-png-police-plan-new-task-force/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/21/slaughter-goes-on-in-porgera-mining-town-as-png-police-plan-new-task-force/#respond Wed, 21 Sep 2022 10:30:31 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=79426 By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby

While Papua New Guinean policing continues to be an issue in Porgera, Enga Province, the killings continue in the mining township.

And the latest killing of a village court magistrate has added to the 70 deaths within a period of six months.

Police Commissioner David Manning has recently announced the establishment of a specific unit to “have the sole task and responsibility of securing our major resource projects around the country”.

“We will be taking steps to establish the unit by this week,” he said.

In the latest killing, a village court magistrate from the Lukal area who had been actively involved in facilitating peace efforts for the ongoing tribal disputes was killed on September 17 while he was out in the garden gathering food with his wife and a female in-law.

Unconfirmed reports state that the two women had been taken hostage and were yet to be located.

Nine days earlier, the now deceased Lopan Wake had led the Paiam community in a staged protest calling on the government to declare a state of emergency after a man from the same Lukal village was killed.

Haus krai blocked highway
Frustrated family members, relatives and the Paiam community expressed their frustrations by blocking the highway and staged a haus krai for the deceased on the open road.

They urged the government and relevant authorities to intervene and put an end to the spillover of killings of innocent people in the valley.

Immediate family and relatives of the late magistrate Wake said they want the law and government to deal with the matter.

Family spokesperson Kelly Yambi said there have been many spillover conflicts in Porgera that there was confusion over how to establish what tribal groups were responsible for the Lukal killings.

“I am not sure who is really responsible for the initial tribal conflicts but all I know is that the spillover of the conflict is affecting my people and we are falling victims.

“We signed a covenant with God and we do not want to take revenge.

“We have buried two men already and now I will bury my brother,” Yambi said.

Change to ‘how we do things’
Commissioner Manning said: “As part of our restructure we now see that we need to restructure how we do things and how the police force and other agency partners secure major resource areas.

“While the bulk of our resources are taken up in securing the projects its often for the detriment of the livelihoods of the communities that have been subjected to violent criminal activities.

“So by setting up this new unit, it will elevate demands on the resources so that we not only adequately secure projects but continue to progress our efforts in securing our community.”

“As soon as we establish the unit, our focus will be on reopening Porgera.

“Without a safe and secure environment to do so the reopening of Porgera can be challenging.

“And we are up to the task of providing the necessary support in securing not only the project but the surrounding communities before the project recommences.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/21/slaughter-goes-on-in-porgera-mining-town-as-png-police-plan-new-task-force/feed/ 0 334969 Tense Goroka town under lockdown after brutal slaying of PNG Ports chief https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/20/tense-goroka-town-under-lockdown-after-brutal-slaying-of-png-ports-chief/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/20/tense-goroka-town-under-lockdown-after-brutal-slaying-of-png-ports-chief/#respond Tue, 20 Sep 2022 03:43:50 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=79346 PNG Post-Courier

Goroka town is under lockdown and remains tense as Papua New Guinea police mount a heavy presence following the brutal slaying of the PNG Ports chief executive Fego Kiniafa outside the Eastern Highlands provincial capital.

Kiniafa was slashed to death at Nagamiufa on Saturday after he allegedly shot a Nagamiufa man.

Four men who were with Kiniafa are alleged to have been taken hostage by Nagamiufa villagers.

His relatives from Korofeigu, Lower Bena, are reported to have mobilised and attacked Nagamiufa village, sparking a tribal conflict that shut down businesses in Goroka and sent people scattering.

Highway travellers were left stranded as vehicles deserted the roads between Lower Bena and Goroka, and international visitors to the just ended Goroka Show were also stranded at the new airport.

Police reported the Lower Benas wiped out Nagamiufa village in a 4am dawn raid yesterday.

Most people had fled in fear of the attack to neighbouring villages.

Raid because of no arrest
The raid allegedly occurred because there has not been any arrest made in relation to the death of Kiniafa two days after he was slashed to death near Nagamiufa village.

PNG Ports chief Fego Kiniafa killed
PNG Ports chief Fego Kiniafa … Goroka reported to be tense after his killing. Image: PNG Investment Conference

Spears, guns and other weapons were used as Goroka town was deserted with businesses shut down and the Goroka General Hospital also on lockdown as security was tightened.

Travellers wishing to travel out of the province after the EHP show were left stranded and locked inside the terminal as the airport closed its gates.

On Saturday morning, Police Commissioner David Manning confirmed the death of Kiniafa, 43, from a confrontation near Nagamiufa village.

EHP Police Commander Chief Superintendent Michael Welly said that the killing occurred between midnight and 6am on September 17.

According to police reports, Kiniafa was allegedly involved in a confrontation with several suspects from the surrounding settlements around Nagamiufa village in Goroka.

Kiniafa allegedly shot another man, and in retaliation the relatives of the man ambushed Kiniafa and his driver with bush-knives, killing them.

Four men allegedly kidnapped
Superintendent Welly said: “It is alleged that four men who were with Mr Kiniafa are said to have been kidnapped as well with police investigating the allegations and as well as investigating the incident on Saturday.”

Kiniafa was found at the scene and rushed to the hospital before being pronounced dead on arrival.

PNG Ports on Saturday afternoon released a short statement confirming Kiniafa’s death and announcing that chief operations officer Rodney Begley would manage and oversee the office of the CEO.

Kimiafa, who turned 43 on PNG’s Independence Day — Friday, September 16 — was one of the youngest chief executives of a government entity.

Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/09/20/tense-goroka-town-under-lockdown-after-brutal-slaying-of-png-ports-chief/feed/ 0 334568 Woman killed, two injured in army shelling of Sagaing region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-sagaing-09062022071325.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-sagaing-09062022071325.html#respond Tue, 06 Sep 2022 11:17:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-sagaing-09062022071325.html A 48-year-old woman was killed and two more women injured by heavy artillery as junta troops shelled and entered a village in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region on Monday.

Locals identified the victim as a woman named Thin, who only goes by one name.

Residents of Maung Htaung village, in Budalin township, told RFA Thin was hit by artillery while she was buying lemons at a local grocery store.

One local, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA an army column shelled the village and then entered it to look for food.

“Military troops entered the village violently and took what they wanted. Even though there is no fighting [here], there is no food where they are stationed in Ku Taw village,” the local said. “Some people could not run away because it happened suddenly.”

The local identified the two injured villagers as Hnin, who also goes by one name, and Yin Nu who both worked at the store. They were also caught in the shelling and are receiving medical treatment at a nearby clinic.

Local residents said although there was no resistance from the villagers, troops burned down around 20 houses.

RFA’s calls to the military council’s Minister for Social Affairs in Sagaing Region went unanswered on Tuesday.

Residents said almost all the villagers have now fled because the army is still there.

Maung Htaung is a large village with more than 1,000 households. Internet access has been cut off since the end of last year when the military council launched a special operation in Sagaing Region.

In a report released Tuesday UNICEF said that as of Aug. 29 the number of displaced people across Myanmar had reached more than 1.3 million. The figure includes those who abandoned their villages due to fighting in the past 19 months, as well groups forced to leave their homes before the coup on Feb. 1 last year.

Sagaing was the worst-hit region with 528,300 people forced to flee their homes, UNICEF said.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) 2,265 people have been killed by the junta across Myanmar in the 19 months since last year’s coup. 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-sagaing-09062022071325.html/feed/ 0 330230 New woman MP in PNG wants action to curb violence in her district https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/29/new-woman-mp-in-png-wants-action-to-curb-violence-in-her-district/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/29/new-woman-mp-in-png-wants-action-to-curb-violence-in-her-district/#respond Mon, 29 Aug 2022 11:26:40 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=78552 RNZ Pacific

The new MP for Rai Coast Open in Papua New Guinea’s Madang Province, Kessy Sawang, wants immediate action to curb violence that has been occurring in her district for years.

Sawang was one of two women to win seats in the just finished national election — the first such victories in a decade.

The Rai Coast has been recently marred by violence.

There are reports a gang operating there has killed eight villagers and raped 10 schoolgirls.

Sawang said restoring law and order was a key part of her campaign and this had to start with beefed up police services.

“This has been going on for more than a decade. The thing is that past leaders have just turned a blind eye to that and it’s one of the biggest issues I have,” she said.

“I have only two policemen in my district, there are no police stations — there is no rural lock up, there is no police housing. Address those decade-old issues.”

Committed to local community
Being committed to the local community is the secret of success for newly elected Sawang.

The other woman elected was Rufina Peter, who is now Governor of Central Province.

Sawang said she had been striving to win the seat for seven years, missing out in 2017, but years of community involvement eventually paid off.

Rai Coast Open MP Kessy Sawang
Rai Coast Open MP Kessy Sawang … “I have been on the ground, I do water supply projects, I engage in community work.” Image: PNG govt

“It’s remaining relevant with my people. Like I have been with the people, I have been on the ground, I do water supply projects, I engage in community work,” she said.

“All these kinds of things help me.”

Although only two women were voted into Parliament, 142 contested the election — slightly down on 2017.

Sawang said she used the example of New Zealand, one of the least corrupt countries in the world and led by a female prime minister, in her efforts on the campaign trail to win people over.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/29/new-woman-mp-in-png-wants-action-to-curb-violence-in-her-district/feed/ 0 327336 Myanmar military said to push fishing village to relocate to the mountains https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village_relocation-08232022134232.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village_relocation-08232022134232.html#respond Tue, 23 Aug 2022 17:42:44 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village_relocation-08232022134232.html Myanmar’s military is threatening to seize the homes of residents of a fishing village near one of its naval facilities if they refuse to relocate to a new location in the mountains, despite pleas from the villagers that such a move would upend their way of life.

The 70 homes in Gyai Thar village lie about 1.5 miles from a diving and transport unit, about 21 miles south of a naval base at Thandwe in the western state of Rakhine, where renewed fighting between the junta and the Arakan Army armed ethnic group has intensified following the dissolution of a fragile ceasefire in July. 

The military wants Gyai Thar’s 350 residents to move next month to a site chosen by the junta.

PvY75-military-pushing-to-relocate-villagers.png

“They said we must move out, no matter what,” a villager who requested anonymity for security reasons told RFA’s Burmese Service. “We must leave no matter how many years we’ve stayed here. If we don't, they said they’d remove us by force. 

“They said they have a project [they are working on]. They didn’t show any documentation of it. They seemed to be saying they have the power to do what they like. When they say go, we can just go,” the villager said.

The diving and transport unit lies only three miles away from Gyai Thar, according to the villager. He said that authorities had already requested that the village relocate once in 2018 and twice more prior to the Feb. 1, 2021, coup, but since last April the junta has been stepping up the pressure on  the community.

The relocation zone has been prepared on a mountain range about four miles away from the village, but moving there would be hard for residents, who rely on the sea for food and their incomes, the villager said.

“They have a plan for relocation, but the site we are asked to move to is not suitable for people like us who mostly work as fishermen,” another Gyai Thar resident told RFA.

“They have not constructed any buildings for us. They just cleared the land and asked us to move there. So we can't do that. We are people who depend on the sea for food. It’s impossible for us to live in the mountains, about four miles from the sea,” the second villager told RFA.

Other villagers said that they have been living in Gyai Thar for generations, and any relocation zone must be close to the sea.

In a notice to the village in April last year, the military said the people in the community were living on government property without permission in violation of Section 3 of the 1955 Government House Eviction Act. It threatened that the villagers would be forcibly removed if they did not relocate before a specific date.

The military should at the very least offer compensation to the villagers, as well as a site near the sea, Oo Tin Nyo, a lawyer who assists citizens with land issues, told RFA.

“The place where they are asked to move is about four miles away, so it is difficult for people like them who live by the sea. Their livelihood will be in jeopardy,” he said. “I think it’d be more acceptable if the site is close to the sea, with roads constructed and power lines and water guaranteed along with some moving expenses.”

He said it’s a particularly hard time to move for the residents, given inflationary pressures in the country.

ENG_BUR_VillageRelocate_08222022.2.jpeg
A relocation zone has been prepared on a mountain range about four miles away, but moving there would be hard for residents, who rely on the sea for food and their incomes, a Gyai Thar villager says. Credit: RFA

Khine Thuka, spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told an online news conference earlier this month that the junta is wrong to claim Gyai Thar village sits on military land.

“All those villagers have been living there since the time of their ancestors and now the military is saying that they must move out immediately despite the monsoon rains, which is an inhumane act,” Khine Thuka said. “It is an act of bullying people because they have weapons.” 

RFA contacted Rakhine State Attorney General Hla Thein, spokesman for the Rakhine State military council, but he denied any knowledge of the situation.

In May 2021, junta troops removed nearly 200 houses and shops, with the help of a large number of police personnel, in the town of Ann where the junta’s Western Command Headquarters of Rakhine is located, saying they had encroached on military land.

Myanmar military and Arakan Army forces fought fiercely in Rakhine from December 2018 to November 2020 over the latter’s demand for self-determination for the state’s Buddhist Rakhine ethnic minority.

But the two sides struck an uneasy truce a few months before the military seized power from a democratically elected government on Feb. 1, 2021, and Rakhine had been quiet amid widespread protests and fighting against the coup and junta across the country of 54 million people. 

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Eugene Whong.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village_relocation-08232022134232.html/feed/ 0 325848 ‘Her screams pierced our hearts, I knew I was going to die too’ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/21/her-screams-pierced-our-hearts-i-knew-i-was-going-to-die-too-2/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/21/her-screams-pierced-our-hearts-i-knew-i-was-going-to-die-too-2/#respond Sun, 21 Aug 2022 11:02:04 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=78255 By Rebecca Kuku of The National, Papua New Guinea

One of the survivors of a horrifying sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV) attack and torture of nine women in Papua New Guinea falsely accused last month of using sorcery to kill a leading businessman tells her story of survival. She does not want to be named as the situation is still tense and she is still in hiding and fears for her life. (Translated into English).

On July 22, about 200 women from Enga’s Lakolam village were rounded up by a mob of machete-wielding men following the death of prominent businessman Jacob Luke.

The mob suspected an old woman from the village had used sorcery to “eat Luke’s heart” and causing his death.

She was dragged out of her house, beaten and thrown on top of a tyre and tortured as we all watched, including her family, her children, her sons, who could do nothing to save her.

“They tortured her and told her to name the other women who had helped her. After being beaten and tortured — maybe she got tired — maybe she just wanted to be free from it all, but named us, falsely accusing us as they had accused her.

“Once they got our names, nine of us, they poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.

“Her screams pierced our hearts, I knew I was going to die that day as well.

“All I thought of was my children, my sons, and I prayed.

‘I prayed that they do nothing’
“I prayed that they will do nothing, that the Lord would hold them back from trying to defend me, because I knew, they would be killed too, if they tried to defend me.

“I looked in my son’s eyes, begging him to understand that he must do nothing,” she said.

The survivor said that the nine of them were rounded up by the mob. They were beaten, stripped naked and tortured.

“The pain drowned out the humiliation, as they burnt my nipples and opened my legs and shoved hot iron rods into me.”

“They wanted us, to admit that yes, we had killed him using sorcery so that they could have a reason to pour kerosene on us and burn us as they had the other woman.

“Among us, the nine of us, there was one of our daughters.

“She is in her 30s, mother of two and was four months pregnant.

‘Everyone watched … was happy’
“They didn’t care, they tortured her as well — everyone watched, everyone was happy, as to them, they were only getting justice over the death of Luke, but God is good, she survived,” she said.

She said their houses were all burnt down by the angry mob.

“We saw our homes go up in flames as we were torture.

“I thought of my children, wondering if the little ones were okay, praying that they are safe.

“I must have passed out because when I looked up again, I saw my two elder sons …” she said as she started to sob.

She said husbands, sons, brothers could only watch and do nothing, as Luke was a well-respected man, a leader.

“One man stood there and watched as two of his wives were tortured — one of the wives died during the torture and one survived.

Five women died
“Five women died that morning, the one who falsely accused us of helping her to eat the heart, and another four who died during the torture.

“But five of us made it out of ‘hell’ alive.”

When asked, if she would be willing to testify against the perpetrators and have them prosecuted to get justice for what they did to her and other women, she said, all that mattered was her life.

“I do not think we will ever get justice. What is justice anyway?”

“Luke was a leader — to the mob, we had killed him, and they will kill us.

“I do not care if they get prosecuted, I just want to live.

“Be with my children and hold my grandchildren,” she said.

Situation still tense
The woman said that things were still tense and they were still afraid for her life.

“I do not know what is going to happen now. I do not know where I am going to go to.

“Four of us are old, Lakolam has been our home, and we raised our children and our grandchildren here.

“Only the pregnant mother of two is young, but we are here, they are taking care of us, taking us to the hospital, most of us are still healing.

“I do not know what will happen tomorrow, I do not know if I will still be alive next week, but today I am alive and I thank my God for today.”

Rebecca Kuku is a reporter for The National daily newspaper in Port Moresby. Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/21/her-screams-pierced-our-hearts-i-knew-i-was-going-to-die-too-2/feed/ 0 325517 ‘Her screams pierced our hearts, I knew I was going to die too’ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/21/her-screams-pierced-our-hearts-i-knew-i-was-going-to-die-too/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/21/her-screams-pierced-our-hearts-i-knew-i-was-going-to-die-too/#respond Sun, 21 Aug 2022 09:29:16 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=78184 By Rebecca Kuku of The National, PNG

One of the survivors of a horrifying sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV) attack and torture of nine women in Papua New Guinea falsely accused last month of using sorcery to kill a leading businessman tells her story of survival. She does not want to be named as the situation is still tense and she is still in hiding and fears for her life. (Translated into English).

On July 22, about 200 women from Enga’s Lakolam village were rounded up by a mob of machete-wielding men following the death of prominent businessman Jacob Luke.

The mob suspected an old woman from the village had used sorcery to “eat Luke’s heart” and causing his death.

She was dragged out of her house, beaten and thrown on top of a tyre and tortured as we all watched, including her family, her children, her sons, who could do nothing to save her.

“They tortured her and told her to name the other women who had helped her. After being beaten and tortured — maybe she got tired — maybe she just wanted to be free from it all, but named us, falsely accusing us as they had accused her.

“Once they got our names, nine of us, they poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.

“Her screams pierced our hearts, I knew I was going to die that day as well.

“All I thought of was my children, my sons, and I prayed.

‘I prayed that they do nothing’
“I prayed that they will do nothing, that the Lord would hold them back from trying to defend me, because I knew, they would be killed too, if they tried to defend me.

“I looked in my son’s eyes, begging him to understand that he must do nothing,” she said.

The survivor said that the nine of them were rounded up by the mob. They were beaten, stripped naked and tortured.

“The pain drowned out the humiliation, as they burnt my nipples and opened my legs and shoved hot iron rods into me.”

“They wanted us, to admit that yes, we had killed him using sorcery so that they could have a reason to pour kerosene on us and burn us as they had the other woman.

“Among us, the nine of us, there was one of our daughters.

“She is in her 30s, mother of two and was four months pregnant.

‘Everyone watched … was happy’
“They didn’t care, they tortured her as well — everyone watched, everyone was happy, as to them, they were only getting justice over the death of Luke, but God is good, she survived,” she said.

She said their houses were all burnt down by the angry mob.

“We saw our homes go up in flames as we were torture.

“I thought of my children, wondering if the little ones were okay, praying that they are safe.

“I must have passed out because when I looked up again, I saw my two elder sons …” she said as she started to sob.

She said husbands, sons, brothers could only watch and do nothing, as Luke was a well-respected man, a leader.

“One man stood there and watched as two of his wives were tortured — one of the wives died during the torture and one survived.

Five women died
“Five women died that morning, the one who falsely accused us of helping her to eat the heart, and another four who died during the torture.

“But five of us made it out of ‘hell’ alive.”

When asked, if she would be willing to testify against the perpetrators and have them prosecuted to get justice for what they did to her and other women, she said, all that mattered was her life.

“I do not think we will ever get justice. What is justice anyway?”

“Luke was a leader — to the mob, we had killed him, and they will kill us.

“I do not care if they get prosecuted, I just want to live.

“Be with my children and hold my grandchildren,” she said.

Situation still tense
The woman said that things were still tense and they were still afraid for her life.

“I do not know what is going to happen now. I do not know where I am going to go to.

“Four of us are old, Lakolam has been our home, and we raised our children and our grandchildren here.

“Only the pregnant mother of two is young, but we are here, they are taking care of us, taking us to the hospital, most of us are still healing.

“I do not know what will happen tomorrow, I do not know if I will still be alive next week, but today I am alive and I thank my God for today.”

Rebecca Kuku is a reporter for the National daily newspaper in Port Moresby. Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/21/her-screams-pierced-our-hearts-i-knew-i-was-going-to-die-too/feed/ 0 325297 Myanmar junta forces raid village in Magway, torching hundreds of homes https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/torched-village-08182022160047.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/torched-village-08182022160047.html#respond Thu, 18 Aug 2022 20:12:44 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/torched-village-08182022160047.html Myanmar junta forces and members of an affiliated militia group torched most of the homes in a village in the central Magway region, another display of the regime’s reliance on arson in its fight to hold onto power 18 months after removing the democratically elected government in a coup.

Area residents on Thursday reported the arson to RFA Burmese, a day after Noeleen Heyzer, the U.N.’s special envoy for Myanmnar, called for an immediate end to violence in the Southeast Asian country and asked to see ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a meeting with the junta leaders.

Soldiers along with members of the Pyu Saw Htee militias supporting the regime began setting fire to more than 400 of the 500 houses in Ngatayaw village in Magway’s Yesagyo township on Wednesday morning, forcing more than 4,000 residents to flee, locals told RFA.

Some of the remaining houses were set ablaze on Thursday morning, said an Ngatayaw village resident who did not want to be named for safety reasons.

“The fires went out last night because it rained heavily at about 10 p.m.,” he said. “They started the fires again today at 8 a.m. until now. We can see the smoke billowing all the way up from here.”

Villagers watched from a distance as their town burned while soldiers randomly fired their weapons, he said.

Other residents said they fled to safety when Myanmar troops entered the community on Wednesday, adding that soldiers previously had raided their village four times, including on Aug. 10 when they set fire to 14 motorcycles.

“This is the fifth time we’ve had to run,” said one woman. “There is so much trouble that it’s terrible. They set fire to several houses the last time they came here. Now, the whole village is almost gone. I had to run with some stuff and the cows. I only have the clothes on my back.”

'House has gone to ashes'

Elderly, sick and disabled residents who could not run away remained in Ngatayaw on Wednesday amid the wreckage, villagers said.

Up to 200 or 300 baskets of rice that had been stored in some of the burned homes are now gone, they added. 

Another woman from the village said she was lucky to get a lift out of the community on a motorcycle when soldiers began raiding homes.

“In the past, we had gotten through very, very hard times, but now our whole house has gone to ashes,” she said. “I’m 63 years old now, and I have never seen anything like this.”  

The military has not yet issued any information about the burning of Ngatayaw village. Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun previously told RFA that army columns did not enter villages or commit arson. He blamed the arson on the anti-junta People’s Defense Forces.

A member of the Yesagyo township’s People’s Defense Forces, a militia group fighting the regime, told RFA that an army column entered the Ngatayaw after a 15-minute clash with the local defense groups near the village around 9 a.m. Wednesday.

“There was a small clash between them and some local groups yesterday just before they entered the village,” he said. “There were Pyu Saw Htee members from their area along with them. They have been deployed in Minywa village for the past 12 days, and later about half of them launched the attack.”

The 150-member army column has been in the Yay Lei Kyun area, comprising more than 40 villages, since July 26, locals said.

At least 5,000 local residents have been forced to flee their homes because military troops have been active in several villages in the area, including Ngatayaw, Hlay Khoke, Minywa, Pauktaw, Nan U, Nay Yin, since last week, they said.

Junta soldiers burned the village of Hlay Khoke three times in the past few days, destroying more than 200 of the community’s 400 houses, they said.

The army has torched thousands of civilian homes in Magway and Sagaing region in northwestern Myanmar, where it has faced fierce opposition from local PDFs.

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane for RFA Burmese. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/torched-village-08182022160047.html/feed/ 0 324691 Two farmers killed in Sagaing region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/two-farmers-killed-08182022064058.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/two-farmers-killed-08182022064058.html#respond Thu, 18 Aug 2022 10:43:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/two-farmers-killed-08182022064058.html Two residents of a village in Sagaing region’s Kale township have been shot dead by junta troops, according to locals.

They said the men were shot while farming the fields of Lay Ein Su village.

Locals identified the victims as 64-year-old Poe Ni and his 24-year-old son-in-law, Aung Htay Win.

Villagers found the bullet-riddled bodies after junta forces burned down a People’s Defense Forces (PDF) camp near their village and two houses outside the village.

A local, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA what happened.

“Two houses in the village were burned down,” the resident said. “The burned houses provided food and assistance to the defense forces. A pro-military informant showed where the houses were and asked for them to be burned and they [the junta forces] burned down Kale’s urban guerrilla camp.”

He said both bodies  were cremated by villagers. 

Military Council Spokesman Zaw Min Tun refused to respond to an RFA inquiry about the incident. 

At a news conference in the capital Naypyitaw yesterday he said the Military Council must not negotiate with the terrorists, but must suppress them through counter-terrorist methods.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/two-farmers-killed-08182022064058.html/feed/ 0 324527 Woman killed, son injured, in shelling of Chin state village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-son-injured-08112022025527.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-son-injured-08112022025527.html#respond Thu, 11 Aug 2022 06:59:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-son-injured-08112022025527.html A 55-year-old woman was killed and her son was injured when a shell hit a village during fighting between junta forces and local militia in Hakha city, the capital of Myanmar’s Chin State.

Local residents told RFA Wednesday's battle broke out between the Hakha Chin Land Defense Force and the military’s Ka La Ya 266 battalion near the city’s ministerial residences.

A local, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, told RFA an artillery shell landed on a house in Hniarlawn village, 11 kilometers (7 miles) from Hakha city.

“She was hit by the artillery shell and died on the spot while she was cooking in the kitchen,” the resident said. “One of her sons was wounded in the hand. Her body has been left there for now because everyone has fled to the forest.”

kitchen.jpg
The woman was cooking in her kitchen when the shell hit her home. CREDIT: Chin Journal

Calls by RFA to Military Council Spokesman Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered on Thursday.

This is not the first time fighting has affected Hniarlawn village, which houses more than 600 people in over 100 homes.

Last month, 22-year-old Salai Manliansan was shot dead by junta troops there, according to residents.

Battles break out daily in Chin state, causing many locals to flee their homes and set up makeshift camps in the jungle.

UNICEF says the state, in the west of the country, has the highest poverty rate of all Myanmar’s regions but aid has been slow to arrive.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last week 866,000 people had become refugees in Myanmar in the 18 months since the Feb. 2021 coup. There are now more than 1.2 million internally displaced persons across the country, or more than 2% of the total population.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/woman-killed-son-injured-08112022025527.html/feed/ 0 322485 Junta troops kill 5, torch hundreds of homes in Kachin state village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin_raid-08102022185524.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin_raid-08102022185524.html#respond Wed, 10 Aug 2022 23:18:33 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin_raid-08102022185524.html Junta troops killed five civilians and torched as many as 400 homes over three days of air raids, heavy artillery fire and fierce clashes with a joint force of ethnic rebels and pro-democracy paramilitaries in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state, residents said Wednesday.

Four of the victims were killed on Tuesday when military jets flew the first of eight bombing runs over Se Zin village in the jade mining township of Hpakant, killing a child, said a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.

“The last plane bombed at about 8:00 pm and then they fired at the village with machine guns and 60-mm heavy weapons,” he told RFA Burmese.

“The child died on the spot when his house was hit by the shelling. One woman had to have her leg amputated. And this morning, about 6:00 am, a family was shot at while trying to leave on a motorcycle. The husband and wife and their son [all died].”

The fifth victim, a man in his 40s, died on Monday when a shell fell on his house during heavy fighting near the village, the resident said.

He told RFA that there may have been additional casualties in the village, but said they hadn’t been confirmed.

The raid followed a Monday attack by a combined column of ethnic Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries that led to the capture of a military camp in Se Zin village and a pro-military Shanni National Army (SNA) camp located across the river in Shwepyi Myint village in Sagaing region’s Homalin township. The joint force also attacked the Se Zin Village Police Station on Tuesday.

RFA was unable to confirm the number of casualties in the clashes.

Another Se Zin resident, who also did not want to be named, said hundreds of homes in the village were destroyed in a fire set by junta troops.

“There are about 500 houses in the whole village and 300 or 400 have been turned to ash,” he said.

“The fires were set by the military and the Shanni forces. They did it deliberately. They even set fire to houses that were left undestroyed [in the bombing].”

Se Zin is a busy village surrounded by private gold mines in Hpakant’s Hawng Par village tract.

The fighting forced more than 3,000 residents of Se Zin to flee to the township’s Tar Ma Hkan village, about an hour away by motorcycle, where they are sheltering in schools, churches and monasteries, the resident said.

He said the refugees had fled with only the shirts on their backs and are in need of emergency food, clothing and medicine.

Other residents of Hpakant told RFA that some of the villagers remain trapped in Se Zin, where the military has set up a camp.

File photo of houses in Se Zin village, Hpakant township, Kachin State. Credit: Citizen journalist
File photo of houses in Se Zin village, Hpakant township, Kachin State. Credit: Citizen journalist
The ‘usual response’

Speaking to RFA on Wednesday, Social Affairs Minister Win Ye Tun, who serves as the junta’s spokesperson in Kachin state, said the details of the situation in Se Zin village are “not yet known,” but said the military is “ready to help” those who have fled their homes.

“We have contingency plans for people who have to leave their homes because of fighting,” he said.

“I haven't received any news yet about the fires or the clashes. I am the minister of social affairs, so reports about the fighting don’t come to me.”

Col. Naw Bu, the news and information officer for the ethnic Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), said it has become “routine” for the military to burn the homes of residents whenever there is a clash.

“Last night, there was an attack on the police station in Se Zin village and this is the usual response of the [junta],” he said.

“When there is a battle with their adversaries, whether it is near a village or their camp, or in the village, they won’t hesitate to kill people or torch houses.”

Naw Bu confirmed that there had been three consecutive days of heavy fighting in Se Zin village beginning on Monday and that the military had “launched aerial attacks all day” on Tuesday.

The raid on Se Zin comes less than a month after about a week of clashes beginning on July 16 between the military and the armed opposition in and around the village.

Hpakant is one of the most heavily militarized townships in Kachin state. The military cut off mobile internet access to the area on Aug. 20 last year.

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/kachin_raid-08102022185524.html/feed/ 0 322406 Ukraine: a Potemkin Village Kind of War https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/01/ukraine-a-potemkin-village-kind-of-war/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/01/ukraine-a-potemkin-village-kind-of-war/#respond Mon, 01 Aug 2022 18:04:04 +0000 https://dissidentvoice.org/?p=132066 In his 2004 book on the 1914-18 European apocalypse, Cataclysm: the First World War as Political Tragedy, British historian David Stevenson states the war was “a cataclysm of a special kind, a man-made catastrophe produced by political acts” (from the “Introduction,” first paragraph).  Indeed, that is Stevenson’s thesis, that the Great War was a political […]

The post Ukraine: a Potemkin Village Kind of War first appeared on Dissident Voice.]]> In his 2004 book on the 1914-18 European apocalypse, Cataclysm: the First World War as Political Tragedy, British historian David Stevenson states the war was “a cataclysm of a special kind, a man-made catastrophe produced by political acts” (from the “Introduction,” first paragraph).  Indeed, that is Stevenson’s thesis, that the Great War was a political tragedy of the first order of magnitude.  While Stevenson’s analysis perhaps over-emphasizes the role of the European political class, certainly terrible decision-making played a major part in both launching and then needlessly prolonging a war that wasted an estimated 10 million soldiering lives.  In the context of the current clash in Ukraine, Stevenson’s argument remains relevant.

Today, whether it’s Biden, Boris Johnson, Macron, Trudeau, or the EU’s Ursula von der “Crazy” (peripatetic Cypriot commentator Alex Christoforou’s coinage for von der Leyen), the Collective West’s reaction to Putin’s “Special Military Operation” has been a spectacular failure.  This really is a gang that can’t shoot straight unless, of course, they are shooting themselves in their Collective foot.  “Sanctions and Arms!” “Sanctions and Arms!” they all shouted with self-righteous indignation when Putin finally struck, as if “Sanctions and Arms!” would bring the Russian Bear to its knees, exposing Putin’s folly and crushing his regime…

Well, 3+ months into this horrific conflict, it appears that the TransAtlanticans’ policy of “Sanctions and Arms!” has proven ineffective, not to mention entirely delusional.  On the “Sanctions” front, this economic weapon has completely back-fired, with soaring fuel prices and open talk of looming food shortages — in the West!  Counter-intuitively, it seems as if Western leaders have declared war on their own citizens as much as the Russians.  Who could have foreseen that “Gas-for-Rubles” would become a catchphrase in 2022?

With reference to the massive “Arms!” transfers to AmericaNATOstan’s Ukrainian proxy forces:  How many more dead or surrendered Ukrainians will it take to show incontrovertibly both the cruelty and imbecility of this “More Weapons!” policy?  The mid-May mass surrender of the cornered Ukrainian troops in the Azovstal Steel Works — AzovStalingrad? — in Mariupol provides one clue; the current Russian rolling-up of the Donbass will be the next.  In other words:  if NATO wants to fight Russia in Ukraine, they are going to have to do it themselves.

The good news so far on this possible development is that the Death Star, or Pentagon, has no appetite for going “toe-to-toe with the Rooskie!” (Quote, if I recall it correctly, from General Buck “Bucky” Turdgeson in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr Strangelove, although George C. Scott’s excitably nihilist character is actually advocating for fighting directly with “the Rooskie!” in the movie). In fact, the Pentagon has been far more sober in its assessments than either the US State Department or the American Congress (not to mention our rabid Blue-and-Yellow Press), which mindlessly voted $40 billion more for the “Ukrainian” war.

So, the Ukraine Flag imogee crowd continues to maintain its “Stand by Ukraine!” Potemkin Village idiot mentality.  Of course, the Western Corporate Press is still leading the daily Cheers and “Rahs!” for Ukraine, painting a false narrative of constant Ukrainian victory — but only if we can get Zelensly a few more howitzers, tanks, planes, drones, Javelins, Harpoons (NATO boots-on-the-ground, perchance?), and bullets.  Oh, and maybe we can donate a Ouija board to President Comedian so he can summon back the “Ghost of Kyiv”?  That would truly clear the Ukrainian skies of the Russian invader this time, right?

The Potemkin Village: a Historical Snap Shot

“Potemkin spared no effort or expense in showcasing Russia’s power and resources.  He even surprised the Empress with a battalion of ‘Amazons’–100 Greek women dressed in crimson skirts and gold-trimmed jackets (spencers) topped by gold-spangled turbans with ostrich feathers.” 1

Many things are meant, or possibly indicated, by the phrase “Potemkin Village,” which is generally understood as a kind of decorative front overlaid upon a particularly squalid or sordid reality so as to deceive the viewer as to the true state of affairs.  Today, we might call it a form of “disinformation,” whereas in times past the term “deception” would have adequately described this phenomenon.

Roundabout 1775, Russian Empress Catherine the Second (aka “the Great,” who ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796, or rather a long run…) appointed her “flamboyant favorite,” courtier Grigory Potemkin, to the office of Governor-General over most of what is now known as “Ukraine.”  At that time, the newly acquired Russian imperial lands were known as “Novorossiya,” or “New Russia,” in accordance with a “new”-naming fad popular amongst the prevailing European imperial powers.  In 1787, to commemorate her 25th year upon the Muscovite throne, Catherine embarked upon a 6 month journey through Novorossiya to Crimea, an extravagant political vacation with Lots of FireWorks!

Legend has it that Potemkin conspired to erect fake villages staffed by Walt Disney Peasants in order to impress the Empress with touristic delight during her voyage down the Dnieper.  This story is generally considered to be a wild exaggeration, although obviously World leaders, even today, are typically not treated to the most derelict of places they visit; quite the contrary.  U2, or the half of U2 that recently played a dolled-up underground subway stop in Kiev (or Kyiv, and I have to ask the math-musical question here:  Does one half of U2=”U1″?) certainly got the “Catherine 2,” or “Potemkin,” treatment in the Ukrainian capital.

However, there is a wholly other layer of irony to the “Potemkin Village” myth, namely:  Potemkin quite literally founded several villages that would go on to become key cities in what is now — at least for the moment — known as Ukraine, including Nikolayev, Dnipro, and Kherson.  Kherson, of course, was the first large city that Russia captured, way back in March, to little fanfare.  The Zelensky-fawning Western Blue-and-Yellow Press was strictly printing stories of heroic Ukrainian resistance then, so Russia taking a major Black Sea Ukrainian littoral town didn’t make the cut, and especially didn’t fit the “Potemkin” Narrative of plucky little neo-Nazi infested Ukraine beating the Big Bad Bear.  But:  “What about Snake Island?”  What about, indeed?  Potemkin Island would be a good title for any documentary about this conflict, or even The Ghost of Potemkin Island…

If the “Mainstream” were anywhere near the Reality Stream, many a red — and not merely “false” — flag should have been raised over the issue of “something rotten in the state of” — Ukraine.  A “Democracy” run by oligarchs with a President whose chief qualification for the job was having played the “President of Ukraine” in a comedy TV skit might have topped the list, especially after the “Trumpman Show” in the US.  Then there’s the bit about Trump’s successor, Joe “Bidenopolous” and Son’s wanton corruption in Ukraine during Obama’s reign:  What to make of that?  What to make of the Western-styled “Potemkin Village” of Democracy that is Ukraine?  How about some more “Sanctions!”, and surely more “Weapons!”

Truly, the propaganda scaffolding around this “Potemkin Village” Ukraine has been so preposterously poor that one wonders if the Covid-19 phenomenon had not only cooked, but then also eaten, the brains of the Western Elite Establishment?  Blinken blinks, absently; Nuland “Coup”-lands, hesitantly, as she describes Bio-Research Labs in Ukraine connected to the U$ under oath in a Senate hearing; and Jake Sullivan evokes an even paler shade of Jared Kushner every time he appears, which sometimes includes an MbS tantrum (although apparently pale Sullivan took Mohammed “Bone-saw” Salman’s tongue-lashing like a good boy…).

Clearly, there is a crisis of political leadership in the West, to the tune of:  These people are not fit to rule.  Instead of “isolating” Putin’s Russia as a harsh consequence for “Operation Z,” as they have all so imperiously claimed, these incompetent Western overlords have only managed to further isolate themselves from the rest of the World which everyone knows that they, the AmericaNATOstanis, view with absolute contempt.  Indeed, a mere modicum of respect for Russia and the Minsk Accords could have averted this catastrophic war that is destroying Ukraine.  In a very real-world sense, then, the Ukrainian war is certainly a “political tragedy.”

  1. Catherine the Great: Life and Legend, John T. Alexander, 1989, p. 260.
The post Ukraine: a Potemkin Village Kind of War first appeared on Dissident Voice.


This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Todd Smith.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/01/ukraine-a-potemkin-village-kind-of-war/feed/ 0 319852 Azerbaijan’s One-Man Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/01/azerbaijans-one-man-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/01/azerbaijans-one-man-village/#respond Mon, 01 Aug 2022 11:11:56 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=c0b4c61616adf7d77a98954fdba41859
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/08/01/azerbaijans-one-man-village/feed/ 0 319764 Seven killed when anti-junta fighters attack pro-junta village in central Myanmar https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/seven-killed-when-anti-junta-fighters-attack-pro-junta-village-in-central-myanmar/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/seven-killed-when-anti-junta-fighters-attack-pro-junta-village-in-central-myanmar/#respond Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:47:42 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=67eea69e2174658e38715d594a0ec838
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/seven-killed-when-anti-junta-fighters-attack-pro-junta-village-in-central-myanmar/feed/ 0 318683 Ukrainian Defender Laid To Rest During Emotional Funeral In His Liberated Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/ukrainian-defender-laid-to-rest-during-emotional-funeral-in-his-liberated-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/ukrainian-defender-laid-to-rest-during-emotional-funeral-in-his-liberated-village/#respond Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:03:34 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=b0125319259140928564c151004ae3e5
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/ukrainian-defender-laid-to-rest-during-emotional-funeral-in-his-liberated-village/feed/ 0 318665 Seven die in militia revenge attack on pro-junta village in Myanmar https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/seven-die-in-revenge-attacks-for-pro-democracy-executions-07272022070523.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/seven-die-in-revenge-attacks-for-pro-democracy-executions-07272022070523.html#respond Wed, 27 Jul 2022 11:11:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/seven-die-in-revenge-attacks-for-pro-democracy-executions-07272022070523.html Seven people have been killed in fighting in a village in Myanmar’s Magway region, where homes were set on fire in an attack intended as revenge for the executions of prominent pro-democracy figures, according to state media and anti-junta militia.

Eight local People’s Defense Force groups raided the pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia-occupied village in Pauk township early on Tuesday in revenge for the weekend executions of four democracy activists, a statement from the PDF groups said.

Former student leader Ko Jimmy, former National League for Democracy MP Phyo Zeya Thaw, and two other democracy activists, were hanged Saturday in Yangon’s Insein prison - the first judicial executions in decades. That has further fueled opposition to the military council that seized power from an elected government in February 2021. 

A PDF officer said the village, Tat Kone, had strong leanings towards pro-junta militias and locals were heavily armed.

“Fighting started at 5.30 a.m. and continued beyond 7 a.m.," said the officer-in-charge of the Southern Pauk Guerrilla Force, who did not give his name for security reasons.

A PDF news release on Tuesday named the attack “Operation Zeya Thaw.” 

It said eight joint PDFs, including the Southern Pauk Guerrilla Force, banded together to launch the attack. It said the seven people killed were from Pyu Saw Htee militia.

A video posted on Facebook, credited to the guerrilla force, showed the attack underway in the early morning. Militiamen can be seen running across a farm field and crouching for cover amid the noise of heavy gunfire.

State newspapers reported Wednesday that the seven fatalities were civilians, including two members of the village defense force and two children, and that 41 houses were burned down. Kyemon Daily newspaper printed blurred photos of blackened corpses. 

The PDFs said they had warned the public about the attacks in advance and civilians had not been deliberately targeted.

This year has seen an upsurge in arson attacks and killings in Myanmar's Magway and Sagaing regions as violence has spiraled between junta forces and PDFs. 

Last month, independent research group Data For Myanmar, which studies the effects of conflict on communities, said that at least 18,886 houses had been destroyed by military arson across the country since the coup. 


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/seven-die-in-revenge-attacks-for-pro-democracy-executions-07272022070523.html/feed/ 0 318674 Bougainville’s Toroama visits Ona’s rebel village 25 years after civil war https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/bougainvilles-toroama-visits-onas-rebel-village-25-years-after-civil-war/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/bougainvilles-toroama-visits-onas-rebel-village-25-years-after-civil-war/#respond Wed, 27 Jul 2022 06:17:55 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=76972 The National

Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama has visited Guava village in the heartland of the Panguna mine in Central Bougainville to pay his respects to the resting place of Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) leader Francis Ona.

It was the first time President Toroama had visited Guava in 25 years after the 1997 Roreinang coup that split the BRA into two factions.

Ona, who was president and supreme commander of the BRA, favoured a “fight to the last man’’ strategy.

The other faction, headed by his second-in-command Joseph Kabui, wanted a peaceful solution to the Bougainville Civil War.

President Toroama, who was then the BRA’s chief of defence, sided with Kabui and so began the peace talks that would result in a ceasefire and the eventual signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001.

Ona remained in Panguna with his Mekamui faction.

“As a young man, in 1989 I joined many others in the Bougainville Civil War,” Toroama said.

“We were not called, nor were we recruited.

“We simply believed in Francis Ona’s revolutionary ideals to protect the land and our people,’’ Toroama said.

“Within the first 18 months, we had closed the Panguna mine and began our fight for political independence.

“We started the revolution with bows and arrows in 1989 but towards the end we were launching offensives against the security forces with better equipment and tactics.

“From 1989 to 1997 we gave our lives to protect Francis Ona and his dreams of independence for Bougainville,’’ President Toroama said.

“I am here today to remind the family of Francis Ona and the people of Guava and Panguna that my commitment to the revolutionary ideals of our leader has not wavered.’’

Republished with permission.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/27/bougainvilles-toroama-visits-onas-rebel-village-25-years-after-civil-war/feed/ 0 318500 Myanmar military slaughters 10, torches village in brutal Sagaing raid https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/slaughter-07202022165239.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/slaughter-07202022165239.html#respond Wed, 20 Jul 2022 21:14:11 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/slaughter-07202022165239.html Junta troops killed at least 10 people and set fire to around 500 homes during a raid on a predominantly Muslim village in Myanmar’s embattled Sagaing region, residents and members of the armed opposition said Wednesday.

Sources from Kyi Su village, in Sagaing’s Kanbalu township, told RFA Burmese that seven of the 10 victims died in the blaze that followed the military’s arson attack on July 18, while the remaining three were “beaten and shot to death” inside a local Buddhist monastery. Their bodies were discovered by residents who returned to the village on Tuesday after junta troops left the area.

The three victims executed by the military were identified as Moe Thin, 20, Tin Shwe, 20, and Maung Gyi, 45. Residents said that the seven who died in the fire had yet to be identified, as their remains were charred beyond recognition.

A resident of Kyi Su, who declined to be named, but identified himself as the brother of Moe Thein, said the raid began when junta troops were airlifted to the village in central Myanmar, which is home to a community of around 5,000 Muslims and Buddhists.

“While we were sitting in the village, two helicopters suddenly appeared in the air and began firing at us. Other helicopters dropped the soldiers, who came up along the main road and shot and arrested people, and then set fire to the houses,” he said.

“About 500 houses were burned down in the fire. My younger brother was killed. After having lost everything, we are now more determined than ever to fight against them till the end.”

The resident said that the number of buildings destroyed in the fire accounted for more than half of Kyi Su’s 900 homes and were predominantly located in the southern, Muslim section of the village. Only around 10 homes were torched in the northern section of the village, which is home to its smaller Buddhist community.

The junta which seized power from the elected government in February 2021 has faced the fiercest armed resistance in Sagaing region. Residents of the largely agricultural region have borne the brunt of army retaliation, often featuring burnings of villages that have displaced thousands of people.

Most of Sagaing’s 34 townships and more than 5,900 villages have been affected by fighting between military forces and members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Forces (PDF).

Smoke rises from Kyi Su village after the July 18, 2022 attack. Credit: Citizen journalist
Smoke rises from Kyi Su village after the July 18, 2022 attack. Credit: Citizen journalist
Possible religious violence

Another resident of Kyi Su, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal, said that while furniture was destroyed in the village monastery, he believes the military raid specifically targeted the Muslim population.

“The Muslim school in the Eastern Mosque was burnt down. They fired at the buildings inside the mosque compound and smashed everything too. The Western Mosque also met the same fate,” he said.

“Most [of the people there] are Muslims. I think they were carrying out a form of religious violence.”

Residents told RFA that they were working to extinguish the remaining fires set by the military as recently as Wednesday morning.

They said the force that stormed the village comprised about 120 troops. Military uniforms were discovered in the village when residents returned, but it was unclear which unit the troops were from because the badges had been removed.

An Islamic religious leader from Kyi Su, who also declined to be named, told RFA that dozens of villagers are missing following the raid.

“About 100 people were arrested in the lightning raid. They were taken to the monastery and the elderly were later released. About 50 people are missing,” he said.

“We want the war to end as soon as possible, as the village is facing a lot of trouble. We need help badly now. Many people are homeless. The junta is inhuman and has no sympathy for the population at all. There’s no one worse than them in the world.”

Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Minister of Information Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered Wednesday.

‘Truly loathsome’

A member of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group based in neighboring Khin-U township called Monday’s raid “an act of cruelty against the people.”

“This kind of action is totally unacceptable. [The junta troops] cannot be compared even to animals,” he said.

“I don't think there’s a single rifle in that village and yet, they used excessive force to murder people and burn the village. They even killed people at the entrance of the monastery. The actions of the military, which claims to protect the nation and religion, is truly loathsome.”

Other sources in the region told RFA that junta troops were raiding additional villages between Khin-U and Kanbalu townships on Wednesday in three columns.

Last month, independent research group Data For Myanmar, which studies the effects of conflict on communities, said that at least 18,886 houses had been destroyed by military arson across the country since the military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021 coup.

According to Thai NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, junta authorities have killed nearly 2,100 civilians and arrested more than 14,800 in the nearly 18 months since the takeover, mostly during peaceful anti-coup protests.

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/slaughter-07202022165239.html/feed/ 0 316769 Tokelau family under house arrest for nearly a year over vaccine defiance https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/20/tokelau-family-under-house-arrest-for-nearly-a-year-over-vaccine-defiance/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/20/tokelau-family-under-house-arrest-for-nearly-a-year-over-vaccine-defiance/#respond Wed, 20 Jul 2022 06:01:18 +0000 https://asiapacificreport.nz/?p=76580 By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

A family has been under house arrest in Tokelau for almost a year after they refused to get vaccinated against covid-19.

The tunoa — house arrest — was imposed on the family of four by the Taupulega (council) on Nukunonu, one of the three atolls that make up Tokelau.

The New Zealand dependency with a population of about 1500 has had no cases of covid-19 since the global pandemic began in early 2020, according to the World Health Organisation.

However, there are strict protocols in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

The general manager for the office of the council of Nukunonu, Asi Pasilio, explained to RNZ Pacific why the council of 36 heads of extended families who serve the atoll’s community, decided to impose tunoa in August 2021.

Culturally complex
“This is a village rule, this is the decision of the local council which runs the island and the community. We have the laws of Tokelau but we also have the local council which has the authority over their village.”

Pasilio said there were no jails in Tokelau, but when there is a serious offence the council can just ask people to stay at home. Tunoa takes the place of jail.

She said it was a culturally complex issue.

“It will take someone to come here and live our life here, to understand what we mean by house arrest and council authority and communal living.

“Yes, of course, you make your own decisions here, but doing things in a communal manner is very common.”

Family claims they have been left voiceless
In a video posted on social media on July 3, the father, Mahelino Patelesio, said he has felt silenced.

He said he was a member of the council before the tunoa was imposed.

“Before we were placed under house arrest, I explained my stance and I wasn’t allowed to speak at that particular meeting, I actually went there to resign. I wasn’t allowed to do that so I was voiceless.

“From August 3 [2021] three of us adults above 16 years old were placed under house arrest, our daughter was placed under house arrest with us about four months later, towards Christmas,” Patelesio said.

RNZ Pacific has also contacted the family directly but has not received a response.

Asi Pasilio said that while the family is in tunoa they are being supported by the community.

“Their house is right beside the sea so they can go for a swim, they can move around their area but not outside their home boundary.

“They have family members who do their shopping for them.”

Pasilio said the family has been told they have another opportunity to get vaccinated this week following the arrival of more doses.

She said the family had not informed the council of their decision as of Tuesday but if they do choose to get a jab, the tunoa will be lifted.

If they do not, the council will meet again to review the situation.

Matter up to Tokelau, says NZ
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the former Administrator Ross Ardern had no say in the implementation of tunoa, and that mandatory vaccination was a decision taken by Tokelau’s village leaders.

“Home-isolation has been authorised under the Tokelau customary practice of tunoa, a practice over which Aotearoa New Zealand has no direct authority,” its statement said.

“Aotearoa New Zealand officials have engaged extensively with Tokelau’s leaders to encourage them to strike a balance between the rights of the majority to remain safe from covid-19 in their villages and the rights of the individual.”

“Some 99 percent of Tokelau’s eligible population 12 and over is fully vaccinated (two doses of Pfizer for 12 to 17-year-olds, and three doses for those 18 and over).

“Both doses of paediatric vaccines have been completed, with 99 percent uptake. Boosters for 18+ were successfully administered in Q1 2022 with 99 percent uptake,” MFAT said.

Asi Pasilio said of the three atolls, Fakaofo is fully vaccinated, Atafu has had less than 10 unvaccinated people, and on Nukunonu just the family of four is unvaccinated.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/20/tokelau-family-under-house-arrest-for-nearly-a-year-over-vaccine-defiance/feed/ 0 316594 Ukrainian Volunteers Are Lifeline For Frontline Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/19/ukrainian-volunteers-are-lifeline-for-frontline-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/19/ukrainian-volunteers-are-lifeline-for-frontline-village/#respond Tue, 19 Jul 2022 16:01:01 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=4284385999e3d707ab2fda5f713f6dbe
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/19/ukrainian-volunteers-are-lifeline-for-frontline-village/feed/ 0 316438 Displaced Azerbaijanis Dream Of Returning To Their Native Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/13/displaced-azerbaijanis-dream-of-returning-to-their-native-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/13/displaced-azerbaijanis-dream-of-returning-to-their-native-village/#respond Wed, 13 Jul 2022 13:09:52 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=fb5f3ee8029ea95d57c0a06226edb299
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/07/13/displaced-azerbaijanis-dream-of-returning-to-their-native-village/feed/ 0 314928 At least six burned bodies found in Myanmar’s Magway region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/at-least-six-burned-bodies-found-in-magway-region-village-07112022054546.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/at-least-six-burned-bodies-found-in-magway-region-village-07112022054546.html#respond Mon, 11 Jul 2022 09:48:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/at-least-six-burned-bodies-found-in-magway-region-village-07112022054546.html Two days of fighting between junta troops and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in central Myanmar's Magway region ended with the grisly discovery of charred bodies scattered across a village.

Locals told RFA that at least six burned corpses were found in the remains of Sue Win village in Myaing township on Friday. They said they believed there were more victims as the body parts had been scattered. The corpses were so badly burned they could not be identified. 

“There were more than six bodies,” said a local, who declined to be named for safety reasons. “They were not burned in one place. There were many bodies. They were found in four places.” 

Battles between junta forces and local militia groups began on Friday and continued the next day. Locals told RFA they believed the military council had burned the bodies along with four houses and they think the dead are a mixture of locals and PDF members.  However, since the bodies have not yet been identified, it is not yet known if junta forces were among the dead. Some of the bodies were wearing bulletproof vests and army boots, with scarves tied around their necks in the military style indicating the military was trying to cover up its own casualties. Local junta Capt. Soe Win is believed to be among the dead.

“The bodies were brought here in a vehicle,” said a local PDF member. “There were more than seven or eight bodies including those killed in the fighting on the way to our village.”

The military council has not released any information on the discovery of the bodies and calls to a spokesman by RFA on Monday went unanswered.

Ongoing battles between junta troops and the PDFs have left thousands homeless in Myanmar’s second largest region. On June 15 troops torched more than 3,000 houses in one township.

Locals in Myaing township say residents of more than ten villages in the area have fled from the military council’s scorched-earth operations.Figures from Data for Myanmar show that 22 people had been killed in Magway between February last year and the end of April 2022 but more up to date figures are not available. D4M also reported last month that troops had torched more than 3,000 houses in Magway in the first 16 months following the coup.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/at-least-six-burned-bodies-found-in-magway-region-village-07112022054546.html/feed/ 0 314283 Teenage boy dies during junta shelling of Chin state village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/teenage-boy-dies-during-junta-shelling-of-chin-state-village-06302022033254.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/teenage-boy-dies-during-junta-shelling-of-chin-state-village-06302022033254.html#respond Thu, 30 Jun 2022 07:35:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/teenage-boy-dies-during-junta-shelling-of-chin-state-village-06302022033254.html A 14-year-old boy was killed by heavy artillery shelling on Wednesday at Madap village, Mindat township in Myanmar’s southern Chin state.

Yaw Man, a member of the Mindat (Township) People’s Administration, told RFA a shell fired by the Mindat-based ‘Ka La Ya’ infantry Battalion 274, exploded near a house in Madap village, killing the boy on the spot.

“The military council’s Infantry Battalion 274 is 16 miles away from Madap village,” Yaw Man told RFA. “Both the army and Madap village are on the top of the mountains. The army and the village are closer [as the crow flies] between the tops of the mountains. The artillery shell landed in front of the victim’s house in Madap village. It exploded and struck the 14-year-old boy’s heart. He died on the spot.”

BOYS BODY
The 14-year-old boy, killed when a shell exploded near his house on Wednesday. CREDIT: Mindat (Township) People's Administration

The dead boy was the brother of an 11-year-old boy who was hit by heavy artillery fired by junta troops on May 23. The younger boy’s right leg was completely severed. The boys’ mother was also critically injured in the May blast.

Calls to the military council spokesman by RFA to ask about civilian casualties went unanswered.

Also on Wednesday an artillery shell fired by the military battalion based in Mindat township landed in Kyar In Nu village near Madap village, destroying a house and some livestock, according to residents.

Mindat township was the site of the earliest armed resistance to the coup council and the junta has hit back, targeting villages believed to have housed or aided the rebels.

Last year on June 16, three people were killed when a heavy artillery shell fired by junta forces exploded in Mui Twi village, Mindat township.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/teenage-boy-dies-during-junta-shelling-of-chin-state-village-06302022033254.html/feed/ 0 311300 Protestant family of 13 expelled from their village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/family-of-13-expelled-from-village-for-following-protestantism-06212022013455.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/family-of-13-expelled-from-village-for-following-protestantism-06212022013455.html#respond Tue, 21 Jun 2022 05:59:07 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/family-of-13-expelled-from-village-for-following-protestantism-06212022013455.html A family of 13 in Vietnam’s Nghe An province say they are being persecuted by local authorities for religious reasons. They told RFA at least one child was denied a birth certificate because the parents refused to renounce Protestantism.

On June 15, Xong Ba Thong, from Na Ngoi commune in Ky Son district, sent a report to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (Northern region). The report said his family faced persecution in Ka Bottom village even though it had been granted approval to join a legal religious organization.

Expelled for following Christianity

According to RFA research, the family of 26-year-old Xong Ba Thong has lived in this area for generations. The ethnic Hmong family had traditionally followed the local custom of ghost-worshiping.

Thong said that around 2017, his entire family including his parents, younger siblings and himself voluntarily converted to Protestantism after learning about the religion through radio broadcasts.

Around 2019, local authorities began demanding that the family renounce Protestantism and forced them to return to the local custom.

“They said that here in Ky Son district, Na Ngoi commune and the whole of Nghe An province, no one followed a religion, but they said it was against the law to follow another religion. They also said that [by following Protestantism] we have greatly affected national unity," Thong said.

The family wanted to be officially converted to Protestantism and applied to join the Vietnam Evangelical Church (Northern) General Assembly. The application was approved in April this year.

Instead of acknowledging the church’s approval and allowing Mr. Thong's family to convert, local authorities increased pressure on them to try to force them to give up their religious beliefs.

Local officials repeatedly visited their house to try to persuade family members to renounce Protestantism. They also repeatedly summoned Thong to the commune headquarters for “work”, including spending time with the cadres of Ky Son district on May 17. Thong said the “work” revolved around the request for his family to renounce Protestantism.

“The day I met the district delegation, I read the law on belief and religion to them all and showed them all, but they said the law has no effect here, has no effect in the district, this province,” Thong said.

Threats and sanctions for following a religion

As well as putting pressure on the family, commune authorities also applied punitive measures.

Sources told RFA local officials confiscated the family’s plow, which had been donated by the state for farming. They said local authorities took the plow because the family refused to renounce Protestantism and also confiscated some of the wood that the family had been planning to build a house with.

Although the family has more than one hectare of rice fields, they are afraid to cultivate it due to threats. They have now abandoned it fearing any crops they grew there would be destroyed. The local government has also cut off the electricity to their house for more than a week.

“It’s true that I can raise cattle here, but when it comes to trading, they don't let merchants come and buy anything from the family,” Thong said. “Now our money has gone, we don’t have enough to eat and drink. In hard times we can use rice as a reserve but there is no electricity to grind it."

The campaign against the family culminated on June 4, when the government held a vote to expel Xong Ba Thong's family from the locality. According to Thong, no one dared to vote against the decision.

As a result of the vote the government no longer considers the family to be local citizens, does not allow them to use public services and even refuses to issue citizenship and birth certificates to some family members.

RFA made repeated calls to the party secretary and chairman of Na Ngoi commune to verify the information, but no one picked up the phone.

RFA then contacted Tho Ba Re, Vice Chairman of Ky Son district, who had previously directly campaigned for Mr. Thong's family to renounce their religion. After RFA mentioned the family’s situation he refused to comment saying he was not authorized by the district president.

An RFA reporter also sent an email to the General Assembly of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North) to verify the information, but did not immediately receive a reply.

The government mobilizes people "not to follow other religions"

On May 1, Nghe An newspaper published an article about the An Dan model in Phu Kha 1 village, Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district near the border with Laos. It was co-written by the Ky Son District Committee for Mass Mobilization and the Commanding Committee of District Military, Na Ngoi Border Guard Station, Na Ngoi Commune Party Committee.

Phu Kha 1 village is located not far from Ka Bottom village, where Thong’s family live.

According to the article the An Dan model steering committee aims to encourage families living in Phu Kha 1 village to abide by the law and the village's covenant, which is not to listen to or follow “bad” propaganda. It also instructs them not to follow other religions but only the long-standing beliefs and customs of the Hmong people.

A Hmong Protestant pastor in Lao Cai province who is currently taking refuge in Thailand, told RFA the expulsion of ethnic Hmong Protestants from their locality for refusing to renounce their religion is quite common

“This kind of case happens a lot, and has happened for many years,” he said.

“There have been many such cases and when an appeal is made to higher authorities such as the province and the central government, they answer that it is because the commune or village authorities do not understand the law or the constitution about religion. They say superiors will investigate but many households have asked their superiors to solve it and, in the end, nothing came of it."

The pastor also said that if households do not leave the locality after formal expulsion it will be difficult for them to live there because they will not receive any benefits.

He said there were many cases of children not being granted a birth certificate, leading to them being unable to go to the hospital when they are sick, or unable to go to school when they grow older.

This is one reason why a large number of Vietnamese Hmong people cross the border to Thailand to seek asylum.

The Thong family’s case is clearly a violation of human rights, according to Vu Quoc Dung, Executive Director of VETO!, which monitors religious freedom in Vietnam.

Based on the international conventions to which the Vietnamese government has joined, Dung said that the Vietnamese people's right to freedom of religion is an inviolable right. For that reason he condemned the government's behavior in this incident:

“If the government acts arbitrarily like this, in my opinion, Vietnam should withdraw from the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Prime Minister should not issue a document to request state agencies in Vietnam to learn about this convention as well, ” he said, adding that the Vietnamese government's policy of targeting new converts is intended to prevent the expansion of religions.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/family-of-13-expelled-from-village-for-following-protestantism-06212022013455.html/feed/ 0 308582 Face-to-face with killers: how a Ukrainian village endured occupation https://www.radiofree.org/2022/06/16/face-to-face-with-killers-how-a-ukrainian-village-endured-occupation/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/06/16/face-to-face-with-killers-how-a-ukrainian-village-endured-occupation/#respond Thu, 16 Jun 2022 09:33:54 +0000 https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukraine-russia-dmytrivka-occupation-kyiv/ When Russian forces entered Dmytrivka, residents were faced with an agonising choice. How did they survive?


This content originally appeared on openDemocracy RSS and was authored by Kateryna Semchuk.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/06/16/face-to-face-with-killers-how-a-ukrainian-village-endured-occupation/feed/ 0 307430 Three die in raid on Sagaing region village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/three-killed-in-raid-on-sagaing-region-village-06142022052734.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/three-killed-in-raid-on-sagaing-region-village-06142022052734.html#respond Tue, 14 Jun 2022 09:31:00 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/three-killed-in-raid-on-sagaing-region-village-06142022052734.html The bodies of a woman and two men have been found after junta troops set fire to Lat Pu Kan village in Myanmar’s Sagaing region on Monday.

The three had been tied up and killed before troops torched the village in Pale township.

The bodies of the woman, Daw Aye Man, and a man U Kyaung Maung, both in their 70s, were found along with U Paw, a man in his 80s, a local resident told RFA.

“The victims were arrested and killed,” said the resident, who declined to be named for safety reasons. “Daw Aye Man, the woman, could not go anywhere as she was old and had no one who could carry her to help her flee. She was killed in her bed. U Paw, who was over 80, had poor vision. He was tied up and killed. The other man, U Kyaung Maung, was deaf. Their bodies were found after the military left the village.” 

It was not clear why the three were killed when they were unable to take up arms to resist the junta forces. Calls to a military council spokesman by RFA on Tuesday morning went unanswered.

In addition to the three murdered villagers, a 30-year-old local, Ko Naing, is missing according to local residents.

A 53-year-old man, U Paw San, was shot and injured on Monday when troops fired heavy artillery and live rounds on nearby Kokko Gone village, locals told RFA. Three cattle were also killed.

The military council has not issued a statement on either incident.

The local People’s Defense Force (PDF) militia said that local PDFs have been able to defeat the junta’s troops because locals led them around landmines. It said that was why troops targeted the villages.

Local militia member, Saya Poe Thar from the Kya Thit Nat group (Leopard Squad) said the troops who burned Lat Pu Kan and Kokko Gone villages on Monday also went to Pon Taung Nat Htake village in Pale Township on June 10, sending 107 military trucks, carrying around 170 soldiers. The troops included a landmine clearance team. 

He said about 10 soldiers were killed on Sunday by landmines laid by the Kya Thit Nat militia group. Two local fighters also died.

The military then set fire to nearby villages thought to support the PDFs, killing civilians and destroying their homes, Saya Poe Thar said.

Sagaing has been the site of some of the fiercest fighting between military troops and opposition PDFs since the junta seized power in February last year. Data for Myanmar says 103 people were killed and 192 injured in the region between February 1, 2021 and April 28 this year.

Fighting and arson attacks have forced an estimated 336,600 people to flee their homes in Sagaing since the coup, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Independent think-tank Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar said this month that around 15,530 homes and other buildings had been burned or destroyed in the northwest region from the start of military rule until May 26 this year, representing nearly 70% of all the buildings damaged in Myanmar.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/three-killed-in-raid-on-sagaing-region-village-06142022052734.html/feed/ 0 306680 In Eastern Ukrainian Village, Volunteers Bring Essentials Amid The Shelling https://www.radiofree.org/2022/06/06/in-eastern-ukrainian-village-volunteers-bring-essentials-amid-the-shelling/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/06/06/in-eastern-ukrainian-village-volunteers-bring-essentials-amid-the-shelling/#respond Mon, 06 Jun 2022 18:19:18 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=66a7533fca854ae4d2b63d608525f20c
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/06/06/in-eastern-ukrainian-village-volunteers-bring-essentials-amid-the-shelling/feed/ 0 304590 War Propaganda, Pseudo-Events and the Global Village Idiot https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/26/war-propaganda-pseudo-events-and-the-global-village-idiot/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/26/war-propaganda-pseudo-events-and-the-global-village-idiot/#respond Thu, 26 May 2022 08:58:25 +0000 https://www.counterpunch.org/?p=244487

Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Perhaps another potential title for this article might that be of Journalism “as” Propaganda, since a large section of what we perceive to be journalism – such as, the gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting of news and information – have become mere propaganda. Worse, in recent years, reporting the truth has been slowly converted into the production of mass deception and mass ignorance.

What we see as “the news” can boil down to the so-called Pseudo Events manufactured by a sophisticated global PR industry. It is called Public Relations (PR) to avoid the ugly word “propaganda”. PR/propaganda present global news stories – some of which have proven to be rather fictional like the infamous but non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction. Many of them are generated as new machineries of international propaganda.

A good example is the UK paper, The Daily Telegraph when it published an event “before” it had happened. Six hours before it actually happened, The Daily Telegraph reporter Toby Harnden described the hanging of Saddam Hussein. While The Guardiancalled such journalists as Media Monkeys, there is a system behind things like these – they are by no means individual mishaps.

Rather, falsehoods, distortions, and outright propaganda – as the Ukraine war shows almost every day –  seem to run through global media outlets – an industry which is supposed to be dedicated to the very opposite: truth telling.

Meanwhile, in another so-called “war”, the media executives of the archconservative newspapers and TV stations prop up a rather useless war on drugs. Almost simultaneously, they are shoving cocaine up their nostrils in office toilets. Some media stories are produced by corrupt and cynical journalistic puppets that do not care whether they tell the truth or not. They simply dance to the tune of whoever is pulling their string – namely, the powerful corporate owners of media outlets.

Of course, the capitalist system is cranked up by media outlets needing to generate profits. That makes journalism extremely beholden and vulnerable to pressures from advertisers, for example. Consequently, journalists – explicitly or implicitly – tend to frameour world in a way that suits their corporate interests – a version of His Master’s Voice.

As the great Upton Sinclair said in 1935, “it is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” Much of this certainly comes with some evidence. In short, big advertisers can strong-arm media outlets. In other cases, there is no need for such strong-arm tactics because of an interest symbiosis between corporations selling things and corporations selling news, information, and entertainment. This underwrites a system that is based on profits.

It is not at all surprising to find that the fingerprints of big corporations are all over news coverage. Worse, media owners can – and do! – interfere in the editorial process of their outlets. Perhaps Murdoch is a prime example. 175 of his newspaper editors wrote articles and editorials that supported Iraq. This was a war conducted with absolutely no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

As what the owner of the UK’s Daily Express once said, “I run the paper for the purpose of making propaganda and with no other motives.” Decades before all that, Rupert Murdoch’s daddy (Keith) once said about an Australian Prime Minister, I put him there, and I’ll put him out. On rare occasions, power speaks!

Speaking of which, the world’s most powerful media owner – the ultra-conservative, but aging Rupert Murdoch – has always been a highly successful and crude businessman – just like daddy. Yet, journalists know him as a brutal and unscrupulous bully.

One of Murdoch’s main strategies is to use his media power to “build alliances” – e.g. buy – politicians who, in return, help him to further his business. Whether that is Thatcher, Blair, Cameron, etc. hardly matters to Murdoch. In other words, Murdoch accumulates politicians of any persuasion and then dumps them once they have outlived their usefulness. Murdoch’s overall guide is: profit and his reactionary ideology.

In the case of Thatcher, for example, she was useful to Murdoch when she blocked a referral to the UK’s Monopolies and Mergers’ Commission which could have stopped Murdoch buying two UK papers: The Times and The Sunday Times. While the ideology of neoliberalism’s free market was rolled out, Murdoch’s intervention – with the generous assistance of Thatcher – led to an even higher concentration of media ownership in the UK.

Profits and reactionary ideology also flourished when Murdoch moved into China. In China, Murdoch was keen to win in favour of China’s autocrats. To access a huge market and increase profits even more, Murdoch quickly agreed to drop BBC World Televisionfrom his Star satellite TV in China. But that wasn’t enough. Murdoch also prevented his book publishing arm – HarperCollins – from printing Chris Patten’s Hong Kong Memoirs because it criticised China’s human rights’ abusers.

Murdoch has a long history of personally whinging when “his” newspapers are too sympathetic to what he believes to be “commies, poofters, and blacks.” Yet, this knee-jerk ideology often falls a long way short of a coherent political programme. In any case, it is always less important than commerce and business.

After eleven years of working for him, Scottish journalist Andrew Neil said, Murdoch “is much more of a right-winger than is generally thought, but he will curb his ideology for commercial reasons … he will always moderate his political fundamentalism if its suits his business.” Just like on all of his newspapers, Murdoch imposes his right-wing ideological agenda on his UK newspaper The Sun – a paper that features right-wing news, sport, celebrities, and gossip.

Yet, Murdoch isn’t alone. All corporate owners will impose their pro-business frameworks and they will also directly interfere in political coverage. More often than not, it happens at times of heightened political tension. It tends to occur prior to national elections in which media owners favour the so-called “leg-&-reg-candidates” – political candidates and parties that favour pro-business legislation and pro-business regulation.

In the United States, Murdoch’s political ideology and his Fox News has contributed to uniting with the Republican Party behind Donald Trump. At the same time, his favour-trading with powerful politicians has, only increased the ideological power of Fox News TV.

On Fox news, the poorly educated (Trump) are Out-Foxed (Murdoch) almost every day. Of course, all this also means that corporate media owners will interfere – often rather spitefully – and most directly into journalism. This occurs particularly if one of their media outlets trespasses on their business interests.

In 1989, the editor of Murdoch’s Daily Telegraph – Max Hastings – admitted, “I’ve never really believed in the notion of editorial independence.” Meanwhile, the aforementioned Andrew Neil noted on Murdoch, he is “an interventionist proprietor who expected to get his way.”

In short, the principle of honesty has long been conquered by the production of ignorance, propaganda, and mass deception. All three are bitterly needed to sustain a pro-capitalist attitude that allowed capitalism to flourish while simultaneously, eliminating – in the mind of as many as possible – the pathologies of capitalism.

The very same support is often engineered in times of war – the Ukraine is the current example. In the build-up to the unwarranted attack on Iraq, for example, a whopping 86% of the people assumed that Iraq had WMDs while only 14% had doubts about their existence. In other words, propaganda works.

War and invented threats are always helpful when the Politics of Fear is made to engineer a compliant voter base. Simultaneously, it diverts attention away from pressing issues like world hunger, global poverty, environmental vandalism, and the looming Uninhabitable Earth.

For almost everything else, corporate media has this in store: some governments are spending enormous amounts of money on pseudo-solutions which – we know – are proven failures. Yet, these faked solutions match the misconceptions and right-wing propaganda of the media.

Worse, corporate PR – propaganda, now called public relations – is regularly cranking up facts while taking the ever compliant media along. Their manipulative propaganda tales are designed so that people can be made to believe that Toxic Sludge is Good For You.

Virtually, all of this assures a deep penetration of falsehoods into the foundations of our collective mind. Even more devastating is the fact that great construction of political activities and policies are happening on top of those false foundations. This prevents society from moving forward. It is a gigantic waste of talents, efforts, money, time, energy and plenty of opportunity that go nowhere while stabilizing capitalism – the ultimate goal of corporate propaganda.

Over the years, the power of corporate propaganda has only increased. Since the 1960s, the national network of communication enabled digitalized mass media to embrace the entire planet. With that and the power of corporate propaganda, the idea of a global village mutated into the global village idiot. This new idiot knows everything about the Kardashians but nothing else. He is deeply ignorant and easily led. Today, the global idiot can be found in the backstreets of Kiev, just as on Meadow Lane, Long Island.

What definitely gets unnoticed by the global village idiot is the fact that equally idiotic journalists are churning out a massive amount of silly, mind numbing, and anesthetising stories – without checking them. This became known as churnalism. Massive numbers of stories circle the planet under the all-time favourite mass media motto: “when it bleeds it leads – when it thinks it stinks.”

Yet, much of this applies even to the most treasured media outlets – the so-called high-quality media like The Times (UK), The Washington Post, The New York Times, etc. These quality newspapers too, are routinely recycling unchecked second-hand materials.

Today, we know that up to a whopping 60% from even these high quality newspapers carry news stories consisting – wholly or mainly – of PR material – often coming straight from corporate PR. This means that corporate lobbyists write article-style stories and overworked journalists cut and paste them into their newspapers. A quick and easy way to fill pages.

Once, the respected UK paper – The Times – was found to have 69% of its news stories wholly or mainly copied from PR. Even though this has become a general praxis, there is a general denial of the PR input. Corporate lobbyists and PR-experts rarely admit what they do. Yet, PR pundits generally and specifically aim to make their own role in the entire process as invisible as humanly possible. Of course, overworked journalists are only too happy to go along with the whole travesty.

It is what the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard calls as Simularca – which means everyone simulates and pretends. Journalists pretend or simulate to write proper articles. In reality, they cut and paste corporate press releases and place them into their newspaper. Meanwhile, PR experts who write those corporate PR pieces pretend or simulate that they have nothing to do with this process. Finally, newspapers pretend or simulate to inform the public. In reality, they merely sell corporate propaganda.

All this also means that journalism – is a meaningful and independent activity existing apart from media owners – has become the exception rather than the rule today. As one journalist admitted, “we are churning stories today, not writing them. Almost everything is recycled from another source.” Of course, the work of journalists has been deskilled. What defines today’s journalism is the rapid repackaging of largely unchecked second-hand material – churnalism at its worse.

In the UK, much of this began on a cold early night in 1986. It was the night that Murdoch moved his UK newspapers to a new location: East London’s Wapping. Murdoch’s new printing facility operated behind barbed wire and was patrolled by menacing-looking security guards. His new corporate bastion was Wapping. With that, Murdoch broke the UK’s print unions removing the final obstacle to the unrestricted rule of corporations under uncontrolled neoliberalism.

This sent the signal to corporate media owners to apply the destructive logic of neoliberal commerce to do three things: a) cutting costs – mostly on journalists; b) increase revenue; and c) engineer profits at all costs. The relentless drive of capitalism released a devastating chain-reaction of corporate changes which had – and still has – a wrecking effect on journalism. Worse was yet to come.

In the late 1990s, media owners started another round of even more severe cost-cutting in the wake of the Internet. The rise of the Internet quickly began to suck readers and, more importantly, advertisers out of the traditional mass media market. This led to a widespread profit loss, the turbo-charging of churnalism, and the use of corporate propaganda in the media. It pushed the media even further into being a propaganda instrument of neoliberal capitalism.

With this, neoliberal capitalism moved on to become media capitalism at lightning speed. In media capitalism, the media serves two purposes: a) selling goods (marketing) and b) selling the ideology of neoliberal capitalism (PR and propaganda). The latter more than the former engineers what Adorno once called mass deception.


This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Thomas Klikauer.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/26/war-propaganda-pseudo-events-and-the-global-village-idiot/feed/ 0 301910 Pakistan police open multiple criminal investigations into four journalists https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/25/pakistan-police-open-multiple-criminal-investigations-into-four-journalists/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/25/pakistan-police-open-multiple-criminal-investigations-into-four-journalists/#respond Wed, 25 May 2022 19:35:12 +0000 https://cpj.org/?p=197199 New York, May 25, 2022– Pakistan authorities must immediately drop their investigations into journalists Sami Abraham, Arshad Sharif, Sabir Shakir, and Imran Riaz Khan, and refrain from arresting and targeting journalists in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.

Since May 18, police across Pakistan have filed multiple first information reports (FIR), which open an investigation, against Abraham, an anchor with the privately owned broadcaster BOL News and the host of a popular current affairs YouTube channel, Khan, an anchor with the privately owned broadcaster Express News, and Sharif and Shakir, both anchors with the privately owned broadcaster ARY News, according to news reports and the journalists, who spoke with CPJ via phone and messaging app. 

The spate of investigations come amid physical, legal, and online harassment of journalists following the parliament’s election of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on April 11, after ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote. On May 4, Prime Minister Sharif tweeted that the new government was “fully committed to freedom of press & speech.”

The four journalists are known as supporters of former Prime Minister Khan, according to news reports.

Among other offenses, the multiple FIRs all accuse the four journalists violating sections of Pakistan’s penal code pertaining to abetment of mutiny and publication of statements causing public mischief by criticizing state institutions and the army in their journalistic work and unspecified social media posts. Abetment of mutiny can carry life imprisonment and an unspecified fine, and the public mischief accusation can carry a prison sentence of seven years and an unspecified fine, according to the law. 

“Pakistan authorities’ launch of a blizzard of harassing criminal investigations into journalists seen as sympathetic to the former ruling party makes a mockery of its claims to uphold press freedom,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Authorities should withdraw the investigations into Sami Abraham, Imran Riaz Khan, Arshad Sharif, and Sabir Shakir and ensure that members of the press do not face retaliation for their commentary on the military or any other institutions in Pakistan.”

In at least three of the FIRS – which were filed by police in Quetta, Pishin, and Chaman in southwest Balochistan province – Abraham, Sharif, and Shakir are co-accused of working together to malign state institutions through their journalistic work and commentary, according to those three journalists and copies of the FIRS which CPJ reviewed. 

In at least one FIR– filed by police in Dadu in southeast Sindh province– Sharif and Shakir are accused of using derogatory language about the army and state institutions and drawing analogies to controversial historical figures through their journalistic work and commentary, according to the two journalists and news reports. 

Abraham told CPJ via phone that he is the subject of at least one additional FIR, filed by police in Attock in northeast Punjab province on May 18, accusing him of planning a conspiracy and criticizing state institutions and the army on his YouTube channel, without citing specific videos.  

Sharif told CPJ that since May 19, police have registered at least two additional FIRs against him, in Karachi and Hyderabad in southeast Sindh province. The Karachi police’s FIR against Sharif, which CPJ reviewed, broadly cites a May 12 interview that Sharif provided to journalist Matiullah Jan outside the Islamabad High Court, in which he discussed the court’s ruling that day extending his April 28 protection order against the Federal Investigation Agency and Islamabad police, and later asserted that the army should not intervene in state affairs. Sharif told CPJ that he received the order after plainclothes officers he believed to be with the agency showed up at the his home at 1:30 a.m. on April 28.

On May 21, police in Mirpur Khas, in Sindh province, registered an additional FIR against Shakir, which accused him of criticizing state institutions, according to Shakir and a report by his outlet. 

Khan told CPJ via messaging app that police have filed three FIRs against him in total. 

In one of the FIRs, filed on May 22 by Dhabeji police in the Thatta district of Sindh province, a complainant is cited accusing Khan of writing about the army and state institutions using “derogatory and provocative language” on social media, according to news reports and a copy of the FIR Khan posted on Twitter.

Khan did not immediately respond to CPJ’s request for copies of the other two FIRs.

Three of the four journalists — Sharif, Abraham, and Khan — sought protective bail, a court order protecting them from arrest in relation to the FIRs. 

On May 23, the Islamabad High Court granted protective bail to Sharif and Abraham until at least May 30, pending a hearing that day, and ordered the Interior Secretary of Pakistan to disclose the total number of FIRs filed against the journalists, according to news reports and Sharif. 

(Another journalist, Moeed Pirzada, CEO and editor of the online news website Global Village Space and an anchor with the privately owned broadcaster 92 News, was granted protective bail in the same May 23 court order after he said he received threatening phone calls, the reports said. Pirzada did not respond to CPJ’s calls and WhatsApp messages requesting comment.) 

On May 23, the Lahore High Court granted protective bail to Khan in relation to two of the FIRs; his protection lasts until May 27 in one case and May 31 in the other, according to news reports. 

Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment sent via messaging app.The office of Ambreen Jan, director-general of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s external publicity wing, did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment sent via email and messaging app. The offices of Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, chief minister of Balochistan; Syed Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of Sindh province; and Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab province, did not respond to CPJ’s emailed requests for comment.


This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/25/pakistan-police-open-multiple-criminal-investigations-into-four-journalists/feed/ 0 301764 Teacher opens free library in tiny Myanmar village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/16/teacher-opens-free-library-in-tiny-myanmar-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/16/teacher-opens-free-library-in-tiny-myanmar-village/#respond Mon, 16 May 2022 23:30:01 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=ac5b1c494612c77ce62adb70df1562e5
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/16/teacher-opens-free-library-in-tiny-myanmar-village/feed/ 0 299296 Under Shellfire, A Red Cross Team Tries To Evacuate A Ukrainian Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/03/under-shellfire-a-red-cross-team-tries-to-evacuate-a-ukrainian-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/03/under-shellfire-a-red-cross-team-tries-to-evacuate-a-ukrainian-village/#respond Tue, 03 May 2022 16:11:33 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=ad42895d3220c00799c842daf3e5efd2
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/03/under-shellfire-a-red-cross-team-tries-to-evacuate-a-ukrainian-village/feed/ 0 295632 In A Village Named New York, Ukrainian Soldiers Block Russian Attacks https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/02/in-a-village-named-new-york-ukrainian-soldiers-block-russian-attacks/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/02/in-a-village-named-new-york-ukrainian-soldiers-block-russian-attacks/#respond Mon, 02 May 2022 15:48:27 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=eb890f684193d8c5cbb9a2de84cb986c
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/05/02/in-a-village-named-new-york-ukrainian-soldiers-block-russian-attacks/feed/ 0 295335 Tibetan village leaders told to ‘Speak in Chinese’ https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/leaders-04252022134729.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/leaders-04252022134729.html#respond Mon, 25 Apr 2022 17:54:38 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/leaders-04252022134729.html Chinese officials in rural areas of Tibet are forcing village leaders to speak in Chinese, as authorities move forward with campaigns aimed at restricting the use by Tibetans of their native language, RFA has learned.

Workshops launched at the end of last year now order local administrators to conduct business only in Chinese, telling them they must support language policies mandated by Beijing and lead the Tibetan public “by example,” according to a source living in Tibet.

“A 10-day workshop was held for local leaders in Kongpo in central-eastern Tibet to promote Chinese, both written and spoken, as their main language of communication,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Six workshops have now already been held in Kongpo’s Gyamda (in Chinese, Gongbujiangda) county, with others conducted in many other regions of Tibet, the source said, adding, “And Tibetan village employees are being required to speak and communicate in Chinese at all times.”

Speaking to RFA, Tibetan researchers living in exile called the move a further push by China to weaken the Tibetan people’s ties to their national culture and identity.

Pema Gyal, a researcher at London-based Tibet Watch, said that recent years have seen China’s government impose the use of Mandarin Chinese in Tibetan schools and religious institutions. “But now these policies are being enforced on all Tibetans.”

“This is an attempt to Sinicize Tibet’s language and culture,” Gyal said.

China’s programs mandating the use of the Chinese language in Tibet’s cities have already taken hold, added Nyiwoe, a researcher at the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

“So now they are going to implement these policies in the villages and rural areas,” he said.

A new program supported by China’s 5G network has meanwhile been launched to “improve” education in Tibet by the use of Mandarin Chinese in online teaching, research, and communications between schools, according to a Chinese state media report on April 8.

“This program using the 5G network is aimed at expediting and expanding the already harsh ongoing policies of the Chinese government to Sinicize the Tibetan language inside Tibet,” commented Kunga Tashi, an analyst of Tibetan and Chinese affairs now living in New York.

Teaching opportunities

Despite Chinese government policies restricting Tibetan children from learning their own language, many parents in Tibet are now creating teaching opportunities outside the schools, a Tibetan living in Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa said.

“We now have small childcare centers in Lhasa where the children are taught the Tibetan language and Tibetan dances and songs, and where they are encouraged to wear Tibetan clothing,” RFA’s source said, also declining to be named.

“No specific subjects are taught in Tibetan, though, because the Chinese government has imposed very tight restrictions on teaching in Tibetan. At least teaching these children Tibetan songs and dances will help to preserve our culture and language,” he added.

Also speaking to RFA, another Lhasa resident said he has been teaching his child to read and write in Tibetan and also to recite Tibetan prayers. “He can recite his prayers very well now, and he also has very good Tibetan handwriting.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to ask all Tibetans living in exile to preserve our language and to always speak in Tibetan with your children. Without our own language, we will have no identity,” he added.

Chinese Communist Party efforts to supplant local language education with teaching in Chinese have raised anger not only among Tibetans, but also in the Turkic-language-speaking Uyghur community of Xinjiang and in northern China’s Inner Mongolia.

Plans to end the use of the Mongolian language in ethnic Mongolian schools sparked weeks of class boycotts, street protests, and a region-wide crackdown by riot squads and state security police in the fall of 2020, in a process described by ethnic Mongolians as “cultural genocide.”

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

Language rights have become a particular focus for Tibetan efforts to assert national identity in recent years, with informally organized language courses in the monasteries and towns deemed “illegal associations” and teachers subject to detention and arrest, sources say.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Sangyal Kunchok and Yangdon.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/leaders-04252022134729.html/feed/ 0 293446 ‘We Will Stop the Excavators’: Thousands Rally to Save German Village From Coal Mine Expansion https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/25/we-will-stop-the-excavators-thousands-rally-to-save-german-village-from-coal-mine-expansion/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/25/we-will-stop-the-excavators-thousands-rally-to-save-german-village-from-coal-mine-expansion/#respond Mon, 25 Apr 2022 13:27:12 +0000 https://www.commondreams.org/node/336386

A small German village was the site of a large demonstration over the weekend, when thousands of activists gathered to protest the slated demolition of Lützerath that would allow for the expansion of the already gargantuan Garzweiler open-pit coal mine.

Lützerath is slated to suffer the same fate as other nearby villages that have been destroyed in western Germany as the country's major power producer RWE, which operates the mine, continues to dig up the lignite, also known as brown coal.

That extraction continues even as the country touts its plans to accelerate a transition to renewable energy sources including a 2030 exit for coal.

"We will stop the excavators and defend the 1.5°C limit!" Fridays for Future Germany said Sunday in a tweet referring to the Paris climate agreement's warming threshold.

The group, which said roughly 4,000 people took part in the action, also shared video of the Saturday protest that showed activists forming an X and revealed just how close to the mine's edge the village sits:

"A big, human ✖ says NO to the destruction by lignite and YES to the preservation of Lützerath and the good life for everyone," the LuetziBleibt account explained.

Saturday's action, The Associated Press reported, took place "weeks after the village's last farmer sold his property to the utility company RWE after losing a court case against his eviction. The village is still inhabited by activists, some of whom have built tree houses in a bid to stop the nearby Garzweiler mine from being expanded."

Images shared on social media by the climate activists show that farmer, Eckardt Heukamp, speaking at the action sporting a t-shirt with the message Alle Dörfer Bleiben, or All Villages Remain.

"I am grateful that you have come and that the fight goes on," he reportedly said. "We must fight to keep the coal in the ground, keep the soil, and keep the villages!"


This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Andrea Germanos.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/25/we-will-stop-the-excavators-thousands-rally-to-save-german-village-from-coal-mine-expansion/feed/ 0 293411 Ukrainians Used Cluster Bombs in Russian-Controlled Village: NYT https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/18/ukrainians-used-cluster-bombs-in-russian-controlled-village-nyt/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/18/ukrainians-used-cluster-bombs-in-russian-controlled-village-nyt/#respond Mon, 18 Apr 2022 14:54:22 +0000 https://www.commondreams.org/node/336223

Arms control advocates on Monday condemned a report that Ukrainian forces deployed cluster munitions in the village of Husarivka in Kharkiv Oblast in March—apparently Ukraine's first verified use of cluster bombs since Russan forces invaded the country in late February.

"Cluster munitions are unacceptable weapons that are killing and maiming civilians across Ukraine."

The New York Timesreported that it visited the area and verified that scattered metal fragments from the detonated weapons were the result of strikes launched by the Ukrainians in early March, after the Russians had taken control of Husarivka.

The submunitions reviewed by Times reporters each contained the equivalent of about 11 ounces of TNT. The Ukrainian military likely aimed to strike Russian forces, the Times reported, and there were no fatalities in the initial strike.

Human rights experts condemn the use of cluster bombs because they create de facto landmines scattered throughout an area, with at least 20% of the munitions failing to detonate on impact.

More than 21,000 people have been killed worldwide by cluster munitions strikes and their remnants, according to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor.

Adil Haque, a Rutgers University law professor and editor at Just Security, called the Times report "very alarming.'

More than 120 nations signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2010, banning the use of the bombs due to the civilian harm they cause even if initial strikes are aimed at military targets.

The U.S., Russia, and Ukraine are among the countries that have not signed onto to the treaty.

Russia's use of the munitions in Ukraine has been internationally condemned, with Amnesty International saying earlier this month that the country's "indiscriminate attacks" on civilians constitute war crimes. Regardless of which side launches the munitions, said Jeff Abramson of the Arms Control Association, "all cluster munition use should be condemned."

"It's not surprising, but it's definitely dismaying to hear that evidence has emerged indicating that Ukraine may have used cluster munitions in this current conflict," Mary Wareham, advocacy director of the arms division at Human Rights Watch, told the Times. "Cluster munitions are unacceptable weapons that are killing and maiming civilians across Ukraine."

Reports of the Ukrainains' use of cluster bombs came a day after the country's forces refused to surrender the port city of Mariupol to the Russians and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that ongoing peace talks between the two countries would be terminated if the remaining soldiers in Mariupol were killed.

As of April 12, more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict and more than 2,800 have been injured, according to the United Nations.


This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Julia Conley.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/18/ukrainians-used-cluster-bombs-in-russian-controlled-village-nyt/feed/ 0 291612 ‘Any Nazis Here?’: A Liberated Village Recalls Russian Occupation https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/11/any-nazis-here-a-liberated-village-recalls-russian-occupation/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/11/any-nazis-here-a-liberated-village-recalls-russian-occupation/#respond Mon, 11 Apr 2022 21:10:16 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=d6146f49d251397bb11e4c5a5f5cf53a
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/04/11/any-nazis-here-a-liberated-village-recalls-russian-occupation/feed/ 0 289836 Junta forces kill 7 in Saigang village, torch hundreds of homes https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-04082022203013.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-04082022203013.html#respond Sat, 09 Apr 2022 00:39:07 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-04082022203013.html A joint force of junta troops and pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militiamen carried out a raid on a village in Myanmar’s Sagaing region Thursday, killing seven civilians and setting nearly half of the tract’s homes on fire, according to sources from the area.

A resident of Wetlet township’s Ywar Nan village told RFA’s Myanmar Service that six of the victims were young adults, while the seventh was a 70-year-old woman.

“The death toll is seven and 325 houses were burnt down,” said the resident, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“[The perpetrators] are stationed in [nearby] Sadaung village. There were so many of them. They suffered many casualties during a clash [with anti-junta fighters] at Nyaung Ngote-toe village, so they attacked our village in revenge and set the houses on fire.”

The resident said that only the identity of the 70-year-old victim could be confirmed because the other victims were badly burned or mutilated, although RFA was unable to independently confirm the information.

A village of about 700 houses, Ywar Nan is home to more than 3,000 people. Nearly all the inhabitants fled to the nearby jungle during the attack, sources said.

Another resident told RFA that the fires were started at around 6 a.m. at a house near a lake on the southern side of Ywar Nan.

“Even the monastery was burned,” he said. “The northern part is sparsely populated, and the houses are scattered here and there. People live mostly on the south side. Everything on the inhabited side is gone.”

Residents said that the fire killed all the village’s chickens, pigs, goats and cattle, although the exact number was unclear.

Photos provided to RFA of the aftermath of the attack appeared to show charred buildings, an elderly woman whose body had been badly burned, a young man whose throat was cut, and slaughtered livestock.

A member of the anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary group in Wetlet township confirmed to RFA that a day prior to the raid on Ywar Nan village his group had carried out an attack on junta troops and Pyu Saw Htee fighters stationed in nearby Nyaung Ngote Toe village.

“Many of them were wounded in the battle at Nyaung Ngote Toe, and so they went to Ywar Nan, chased the villagers out and set the village on fire,” he said.

“They must have been furious because they suffered many casualties. They must have thought that residents of Ywar Nan did it, so they set it on fire. They shelled the village at about 1 a.m., before raiding it.”

The PDF fighter said that the joint junta force also set fire to 15 houses in Nyaung Ngote Toe.

Wetlet township’s Ywar Nan village, April 7, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist
Wetlet township’s Ywar Nan village, April 7, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist
No acknowledgement of crimes

Myanmar’s military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup. Security forces have killed at least 1,700 civilians since then, mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests, according to Thailand-based rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Meanwhile, the military has launched a series of scorched earth offensives against ethnic armed groups and PDF groups in the country’s remote border regions, where reports regularly emerge of acts of arson, looting, torture, rape and murder by junta troops.

The junta initially responded to reports of civilian deaths during raids by saying that villages were targeted because they had offered haven to fighters with the PDF, which it has labeled a terrorist organization. As evidence of largescale killing and destruction mounts, however, it has shifted blame to the PDF itself.

Junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told RFA on Thursday that the military was not involved in the arson attack on Ywar Nan village.

“There was no arson attack by the [military]. There is no reason to burn [the village] down. The culprits are the PDFs. They entered villages where local militias were formed by the people, attacked them, and set the area on fire when they left,” he said.

“But whether the fires were started by the military or the PDFs, the government is responsible for rebuilding the villages. It is the government that avoids fighting. We must help those who are in trouble.”

Zaw Min Tun did not provide evidence of the PDF’s responsibility for the attack or details about how the military plans to rebuild Ywar Nan and other villages that have been torched during raids.

Kay Jay, a political activist in Wetlet township, told RFA that the military has never acknowledged any of the crimes committed by its troops.

“They have never admitted that any village was set on fire. The junta has never admitted that people were intentionally shot or set on fire,” he said. “The people have no faith in any of the junta’s statements.”

According to Data for Myanmar, an independent research group, nearly 8,000 homes have been destroyed by the military and its supporters since the coup, some 5,000 of which were in Sagaing region.

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English Joshua Lipes.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA’s Myanmar Service.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/village-04082022203013.html/feed/ 0 289358 Russian Bombing Continues In Liberated Village Near Kyiv https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/30/russian-bombing-continues-in-liberated-village-near-kyiv/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/30/russian-bombing-continues-in-liberated-village-near-kyiv/#respond Wed, 30 Mar 2022 20:24:52 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=b65dc92d1e5a6eee3686266fd4690084
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/30/russian-bombing-continues-in-liberated-village-near-kyiv/feed/ 0 286532 Ukrainians Seize Russian Tanks After Retaking Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/28/ukrainians-seize-russian-tanks-after-retaking-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/28/ukrainians-seize-russian-tanks-after-retaking-village/#respond Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:38:34 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=d93195004685bf5234b4aa14a9d391d5
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/28/ukrainians-seize-russian-tanks-after-retaking-village/feed/ 0 285773 ‘It’s You That’s Fascist’: Russian Soldiers Not Welcomed In Ukrainian Village https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/15/its-you-thats-fascist-russian-soldiers-not-welcomed-in-ukrainian-village/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/15/its-you-thats-fascist-russian-soldiers-not-welcomed-in-ukrainian-village/#respond Tue, 15 Mar 2022 20:08:12 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=227b1ff7e7046d09085c8e9e834447ab
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/15/its-you-thats-fascist-russian-soldiers-not-welcomed-in-ukrainian-village/feed/ 0 282156 Families in Laos’ capital say sand-dredging is destroying their village https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/sand-03142022153548.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/sand-03142022153548.html#respond Mon, 14 Mar 2022 19:35:55 +0000 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/sand-03142022153548.html More than 100 families in the Lao capital Vientiane are calling on authorities to investigate a sand dredging company after their activities in the Ngeum River allegedly caused landslides that damaged several houses, sources in the capital told RFA.

Sand is a hot commodity in Southeast Asia, needed to support a booming construction industry. But digging it up from the bottoms of rivers can be disastrous for the environment, accelerating erosion and leading to landslides that destroy buildings near riverbanks.

The families, from Thasommor village the city’s Xaythany district, say that the company has been taking the sand without reinforcing the riverbank.

“There were some landslides near my mom’s plot of land because of the sand dredging,” a resident of the village told RFA’s Lao Service March 11. “The landslides even affected my brother’s house, which had to stop construction.”

Residents of the village petitioned the authorities to rectify the problem in the past, but they say that they received no response. They say they desperately need an embankment to protect their land and homes along the Ngeum.

Another villager told RFA that the problem with the company has been going on for years, with authorities never taking the villagers’ concerns seriously.

A third villager said that although his house is not near the river, he frequently hears complaints from other villagers about landslides caused by dredging. He said that prior to the dredging, damage to homes from landslides never happened.

“There is no embankment around here. It is a private company that does the dredging. The company may have a concession to operate like this, but I don’t know much about that,” he said.

An official from Xaythany district’s Natural Resources and Environment office told RFA that if the Thasommor residents are experiencing damaged homes due to landslides, they should ask their village chief to write a letter to the office so that authorities can investigate.

The Vientiane administrative office and Vientiane energy and mines sector have, however, not authorized any Lao company to operate a sand dredging business along the Ngeum, the official said. There is therefore no information regarding which company’s sand dredging ships are allegedly causing the problems, he said. The official added that frequent flooding in the country is the main cause of landslides.

In order to prevent landslides along the Mekong River and its tributaries, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said companies with sand dredging concessions can operate only seven months per year, from December through June. When the rainy season starts, all the companies must stop their work. But some companies do not follow these instructions, RFA has confirmed. 

In 2018, the Ministry of Public Work and Transport and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment proposed that the Lao government stop issuing dredging concessions along the Mekong and its tributaries to Lao companies.

Sand dredging is a problem in other riparian communities along the Mekong. RFA has reported on the environmental damage from dredging in Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, in addition to Laos. Though the region’s governments have attempted to regulate the practice, high prices for sand fueled by high demand in places like Singapore often lead companies to ignore restrictions.

Translated by Phouvong. Written in English by Eugene Whong.


This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

]]> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/sand-03142022153548.html/feed/ 0 281809 Ukrainian Troops Attempt To Drive Russian Forces From Village Near Kyiv https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/10/ukrainian-troops-attempt-to-drive-russian-forces-from-village-near-kyiv/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/10/ukrainian-troops-attempt-to-drive-russian-forces-from-village-near-kyiv/#respond Thu, 10 Mar 2022 18:48:41 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=e25615db3a1465c1ee29c86f10ee4954
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/10/ukrainian-troops-attempt-to-drive-russian-forces-from-village-near-kyiv/feed/ 0 280815 Russia further blocks media outlets, social media https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/04/russia-further-blocks-media-outlets-social-media/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/04/russia-further-blocks-media-outlets-social-media/#respond Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:48:37 +0000 https://cpj.org/?p=172919 New York, March 4, 2022 – Russian authorities should allow all local and international media outlets and social media platforms to operate freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.

Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday, March 4, blocked access to several news websites, including those of BBC Russian, German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Latvia-based independent news site Meduza, the Russian-language service of U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA), and several services of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), according to news reports.

Also Friday, the Russian legislature adopted amendments to the criminal code introducing higher penalties, such as fines, criminal liabilities, and imposing prison terms of up to 15 years for those convicted of disseminating “fakes,” or information that authorities deem to be false, about military operations, or discrediting Russian Armed Forces, according to media reports. Putin signed the amendments today, according to reports, meaning the bill goes into effect tomorrow.

“Russian authorities have moved quickly to establish total censorship and control over the free flow of information since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “The Russian public cannot be deprived of information and news and be forced to rely on the Kremlin-approved interpretation of events at this very important time in Russian history. The censorship must stop, and bans must be lifted.”  

Among other developments on Friday:

  • Liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy closed all its social media accounts down following the station’s closure on Thursday, media reported.
  • Independent Russian media outlet Znak and online broadcaster TV 2 in Tomsk city both closed due to an increased number of restrictions from the Russian government, according to media reports. 
  • RFE/RL said in a statement the websites of its Russian, Tatar-Bashkir, and North Caucasus services, including the Russian-language Sever.Realii, Sibir.Realii, Idel.Realii, and Kavkaz.Realii were blocked.
  • Liberal news website The Village announced on its Telegram channel that it has closed its Moscow office and that the editorial staff had started working from Warsaw, Poland’s capital. Two days earlier, on March 2, Roskomnadzor had blocked the publication’s website, according to reports.
  • Independent news website computing.co.uk reported that the Apple app and Google app stores are blocked in Russia, and Roskomnadzor confirmed in a statement and on their platform that Facebook and Twitter are blocked. 

On February 24, Roskomnadzor said in a statement that all media “must only use information and data received from official Russian sources.”


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]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/04/russia-further-blocks-media-outlets-social-media/feed/ 0 279175 Children in a Myanmar village keep a unique hairstyle tradition alive https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/01/children-in-a-myanmar-village-keep-a-unique-hairstyle-tradition-alive/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/01/children-in-a-myanmar-village-keep-a-unique-hairstyle-tradition-alive/#respond Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:28:48 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=01fa4bc1f6b30ee477cccb675045cb3e
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]]> https://www.radiofree.org/2022/03/01/children-in-a-myanmar-village-keep-a-unique-hairstyle-tradition-alive/feed/ 0 277768 Junta forces raze more than 500 homes in a village in Myanmar’s Sagaing https://www.radiofree.org/2022/02/25/junta-forces-raze-more-than-500-homes-in-a-village-in-myanmars-sagaing/ https://www.radiofree.org/2022/02/25/junta-forces-raze-more-than-500-homes-in-a-village-in-myanmars-sagaing/#respond Fri, 25 Feb 2022 23:17:30 +0000 http://www.radiofree.org/?guid=d45744ec3982a81f3c8c424f12b0f999
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