BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military government has launched a major effort to block free communication on the internet, shutting off access to virtual private networks — known as VPNs — which can be used to circumvent blockages of banned websites and services. 

The attempt to restrict access to information began at the end of May, according to mobile phone operators, internet service providers, a major opposition group, and media reports. 

The military government that took power in February 2021 after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi has made several attempts to throttle traffic on the internet, especially in the months immediately after their takeover. 

Reports in local media say the attack on internet usage includes random street searches of people’s mobile phones to check for VPN applications, with a fine if any are found. It is unclear if payments are an official measure. 

25 arrested for having VPNs

On Friday, the Burmese-language service of U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia reported about 25 people from Myanmar’s central coastal Ayeyarwady region were arrested and fined by security forces this week after VPN apps were found on their mobile phones. Radio Free Asia is a sister news outlet to Voice of America. 

As the army faces strong challenges from pro-democracy guerrillas across the country in what amounts to a civil war, it has also made a regular practice of shutting down civilian communications in areas where fighting is taking place. While this may serve tactical purposes, it also makes it hard for evidence of alleged human rights abuses to become public. 

According to a report released last month by Athan, a freedom of expression advocacy group in Myanmar, nearly 90 of 330 townships across the country have had internet access or phone service — or both — cut off by authorities. 

Resistance that arose to the 2021 army takeover relied heavily on social media, especially Facebook, to organize street protests. As nonviolent resistance escalated into armed struggle and other independent media were shut down or forced underground, the need for online information increased. 

The resistance scored a victory in cybersphere when Facebook and other major social media platforms banned members of the Myanmar military because of their alleged violations of human and civil rights, and blocked ads from most military-linked commercial entities. 

Users unable to connect

This year, widely used free VPN services started failing at the end of May, with users getting messages that they could not be connected, keeping them from social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp and some websites.

VPNs connect users to their desired sites through third-party computers, making it almost impossible for internet service providers and snooping governments to see what the users are actually connecting to. 

Internet users, including online retail sellers, have been complaining for the past two weeks about slowdowns, saying they were not able to watch or upload videos and posts or send messages easily. 

Operators of Myanmar’s top telecom companies MPT, Ooredoo, Atom and the military-backed Mytel, as well as fiber internet services, told The Associated Press on Friday that access to Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp and VPN services was banned nationwide at the end of May on the order of the Transport and Communications Ministry. 

The AP tried to contact a spokesperson for the Transport and Communications Ministry for comment but received no response. 

The operators said VPNs are not currently authorized for use, but suggested users try rotating through different services to see if any work. 

A test by the AP of more than two dozen VPN apps found that only one could hold a connection, and it was slow. 

The military government has not yet publicly announced the ban on VPNs. 
…

Istanbul / Washington — A recent report on the state of child labor in Turkey said at least 695 child workers died in the country in the past 11 years.  

The report was published Tuesday by Health and Safety Labor Watch (ISIG), a civil society group in Turkey. The group compiled its dataset through open-source information and the families of the children who died while working. According to ISIG, at least 24 child workers died in the first five months of 2024.  

VOA sent a request for a comment to Turkey’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security, but it has not received a response yet.  

As of 2023, there were more than 22 million children in Turkey, which has a population of over 86 million, according to the state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

Education in Turkey is compulsory until the end of the 12th grade and public education is free of charge. However, the high school completion rate was 80.3 percent in 2023, a relative increase compared with 2022’s figure of 65.1 percent. 

Vocational training 

Some experts think the state-run Vocational Education Centers (MESEM) are behind the increasing completion number, which they do not view as improving the education rate.  

“Turkey has given up fighting against child labor for a long time. There are many practices that legitimize child labor, and MESEM comes first among these practices,” Ezgi Koman, a child development expert at Turkey’s nongovernmental FISA Child Rights Center, told VOA. 

Turkey’s Ministry of National Education (MEB) introduced MESEMs to the education system in 2016. The apprenticeship program enables students to learn the skills of an entry-level job and choose to be professionalized in one of at least 193 sectors provided by MESEM’s curriculum.   

MEB’s website says the program’s goal is “to meet our country’s need for people with occupation.” 

The students enrolled in MESEMs go to school once a week for theoretical training and work at a job assigned by the MESEM for four days. The program takes four years to finish and counts as the student’s last four years of compulsory education.  

MESEM’s enrollment requirements include completing the eighth grade, being over 14 years of age, signing a contract with a workplace related to the profession the child wants to pursue, and being in good health.  

The students must be insured for job-related accidents and injuries. They are paid at least 30 percent of the minimum wage in the first three years and at least 50 percent of the minimum wage in the fourth year. The minimum wage in Turkey in 2024 is around US$520 a month.  

“Our research shows that children who want to receive vocational training do not enroll in MESEM. Children who are already working are enrolled there. So, now, through MESEM, some of the children working unregistered are being registered in the labor force. MESEM is presenting them as receiving education,” Koman said. 

“However, there is no education. There are children left at the mercy of the bosses and labor exploitation,” she added. 

VOA Turkish requested a comment from Turkey’s Ministry of National Education, which oversees MESEM, but has not received a response. 

Yusuf Tekin, Turkey’s minister of national education, responded to a parliamentary inquiry about the injuries and deaths of students enrolled in MESEMs in March 2024. 

In the inquiry, Turan Taskin Ozer, an Istanbul deputy of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), asked about the number of injuries and deaths that occurred in MESEM programs since 2016. 

“The sectors of workplaces where accidents and deaths occur are predominantly construction, metal, woodworking, engine and machinery,” Tekin responded in a written statement. 

“A total of 336 students, 316 males and 20 females, had an accident,” Tekin added without disclosing the number of deaths.   

The ISIG report shows that in the 2023-24 academic year, at least seven children died while working in jobs that were part of their MESEM training.  

Refugee children 

The ISIG report also indicates that since 2013, at least 80 migrant children have died while working – 71 from Syria, six from Afghanistan and one each from Iraq, Iran, and Turkmenistan.  

According to the U.N. refugee agency’s annual Global Trends report, released in June, Turkey hosts 3.3 million refugee populations, including 3.2 million Syrians.

Refugee children in Turkey have the right to education. Still, some experts point out that refugee children face peer bullying and xenophobia at school, which leads them to end their education and start work informally.  

Turkey-based humanitarian organization Support to Life focuses on child workers in seasonal agricultural jobs, including migrant children. 

“The living conditions of Turkish, Kurdish or migrant seasonal agricultural workers are far from humane living standards,” Leyla Ozer, Support to Life’s project manager, told VOA. 

“Access to clean drinking water, electricity and toilets is limited. Families mostly live in tent areas they set up themselves. Conditions on agricultural fields are extremely challenging for children. Pesticides are a big threat, and labor is also added to this. Preventing child labor is vitally urgent,” Ozer added.  
…

ISLAMABAD — “We don’t need development. … We want to live in peace,” a frustrated Abdul Khaliq told VOA over the phone.

Khaliq is a resident of Pakistan’s tribal district Kurram, where locals held a consultative gathering, or jirga, earlier this month to discuss rising insecurity. The gathering was part of a recent wave of jirgas in Pakistani areas close to Afghanistan, where locals say they are caught between militant violence and military operations.

In recent weeks, along with Kurram, tribes gathered in large numbers in the Mohmand, Tank, Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The jirgas were held amid a spike in incidents involving targeted killings and extortion by militants.

“We are not afraid for ourselves, but we are scared for our children and families,” a resident of Mohmand who did not want to be identified for security reasons told VOA over the phone. Militants set his cousin’s marble factory on fire in May, after the businessman rebuffed extortion demands.

“Two days before the incident they warned the factory watchman to tell my cousin to resolve the problem. They used to send the messages through WhatsApp voice notes as well, and would call, too, but my cousin wouldn’t take the calls,” he said.

Mohmand is home to dozens of marble factories. After the incident, owners complaining of extortion calls and threats of violence from militants held a protest sit-in for five days. They ended it only after government officials promised more police presence in the industrial area.

Residents told VOA it’s not always clear if the threats are from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan fighters, TTP affiliates or criminals posing as Islamist militants. However, they blame the rise in militant activity on the February 2020 deal between the United States and the Afghan Taliban that saw the insurgents return to power in August 2021. Many also hold responsible Pakistan’s controversial step to allow the return of thousands of TTP fighters who had been forced into Afghanistan by military operations.

Afghan Taliban-mediated talks between Pakistan and the TTP broke down in November 2022. Faced with frequent terror attacks, Islamabad accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to the leaders of the TTP, a globally designated terrorist organization. Kabul denies the allegation.

Harassment by military

Residents in areas close to the Afghan border complain militants also frequently barge into homes and businesses, demanding food and tea. Obliging them, they say, gets them into trouble with security agencies deployed in heavy numbers in the region.

“Our problem is that at night armed men come to our homes, demanding food, and in the morning the military comes and takes the homeowner away [for interrogation],” said Pattu Lala Bittani, who took part in a massive jirga in district Tank this month. The gathering was held after a spate of militant attacks on ordinary citizens, government employees and security personnel.

“Talking to Taliban puts us in a bad position with them [security institutions], and if we go to state authorities, then we get on the bad side of the Taliban,” Bittani said.

State response

“When you do counterterrorist operations in civilian-friendly population, it has negative manifestations, one of which is this,” said Muhammad Ali Saif, adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on information, conceding that civilians face harsh treatment from security institutions for coming into contact with militants.

“It is difficult to do everything by the book. Mishaps occur, people get harassed, but there is a mechanism,” he told VOA. “Security agencies also don’t have some spiritual information on who is colluding with whom.”

He pointed out that monetary compensation is available for civilians in case of physical or financial harm during military operations.

Pakistani security forces are also coming under frequent, deadly attacks as they fight the militancy, which has spread from former tribal areas to settled areas, Saif said.

Dozens of military personnel, including officers, and at least 70 police have died in terror attacks and counterterrorism operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province so far this year. A midyear report of the provincial counterterrorism department released this month recorded at least 237 terrorism incidents. It said 299 terrorists were arrested, while 117 were killed.

Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told the media last month that security forces had conducted more than 13,000 intelligence-based operations this year, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Fear of displacement

Locals worry the rise in military operations may force them to leave their homes. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis became internally displaced persons, or IDPs, when the military conducted massive operations against terrorists between 2009 and 2015.

“The security checks that happen, the check posts on the roads, it makes us feel that things are sliding back to how they were in 2009 when we all became IDPs,” said Abdul Khaliq, who had to leave his home in Kurram at the time. “The commotion we are seeing again, it makes us feel that we are again being pushed back into that era.”

Saif said such fears are unfounded because authorities are conducting limited operations. He said he was not aware of any plans for a massive operation that would require moving residents.

On Friday, residents of the Lakki Marwat district, which is around 300 kilometers (186 miles) southwest of the capital, Islamabad, blocked a highway to protest an ongoing counterterrorism operation. The security action came after seven soldiers, including an officer, were killed in a roadside bombing. Just days later, the Pakistani military claimed killing 11 terrorists in response.

The decline in security has Abdullah Nangiyal Bittani, who attended the jirga in Tank roughly 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Lakki Marwat, wondering if he should go to his village to celebrate Eid with extended family on Monday.

“I would be in my village for four or five days every month,” said Bittani, who lives in Islamabad. “But now it’s been two to three months since I last visited.

“We expect the state will protect us,” Bittani said. “We should have peace in our areas like there is peace in other parts of the country.”
…

…

Seoul, South Korea — When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited eastern Russia in September, a big part of his mission seemed clear: look at as many Russian weapons as possible.  

During his highly publicized multi-day visit, Kim climbed to the cockpit of one of Russia’s most advanced fighter jets, examined nuclear-capable strategic bombers, and toured a warship in Russia’s Pacific Fleet.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin also gave Kim a personal tour of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, the country’s most modern space rocket launch site, where he acknowledged that Russia would help North Korea build satellites. 

Though the interactions underscored growing defense ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, no formal agreements were announced during the meetings, surprising some observers.  

But when Putin soon visits North Korea for the first time in 24 years, there may be more than just handshakes, according to some analysts, who say the two sides have likely been working to cement burgeoning military cooperation. 

“I would expect some sort of formal outcome from the visit, rather than an exchange of pleasantries,” said Alexey Muraviev, who focuses on national security and strategic studies at Australia’s Curtin University. 

Russian authorities have confirmed Putin’s planned visit but have not provided any dates. On Wednesday, South Korean authorities said the visit would likely occur in the next “few days.” 

On Friday, senior U.S. and South Korean diplomats held an emergency phone call about Putin’s impending visit. According to Seoul, both sides warned that Putin’s trip should not result in any violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which ban a wide range of economic and military interaction with Pyongyang. 

Ups and downs 

Russia has for decades been one of North Korea’s most important economic and military supporters, along with China. But ties have sometimes been rocky.  

As recently as 2017, Russia — a permanent, veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council — supported international sanctions in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons advancements.  

Since then, Putin and Kim have found reasons to work together, as each wages their own campaign against Western influence. 

After walking away from talks with the United States in 2019, Kim has dramatically expanded his nuclear arsenal, which he says is aimed at deterring the United States and its regional allies.

Putin, meanwhile, launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and has since fought Western-backed forces there. 

Shortly after Russia’s invasion, Kim became one of only a handful of world leaders to express explicit support for Putin’s war. 

Independent observers have found North Korean weapons, including missiles, on the Ukrainian battlefield, confirming U.S. government assertions that North Korea is providing Russia with munitions.  

The development is consistent with Russia’s increasing boldness about conducting activities that may explicitly violate U.N. sanctions, which Moscow says it now opposes. 

Putin’s visit 

Putin may still proceed cautiously in Pyongyang. He is not likely to fully or explicitly abandon U.N. sanctions, since Moscow has an interest in portraying itself as a responsible stakeholder that respects international law, according to Muraviev. 

Muraviev said Russia may “raise its middle finger to the West,” however, by continuing to gradually degrade U.N. sanctions against North Korea.  

“Russia is now under even more sanctions than North Korea, so if Russia violates the international sanctions regime, what can Russia suffer from more than what’s already been coming its way as a result of its aggressive actions in Ukraine?” he asked. 

Putin could also use his North Korea trip to underscore further support for North Korea’s satellite program.  

Since Kim’s visit to Russia, North Korea has conducted two satellite launches. Though its most recent launch failed, defense analysts said North Korea’s use of a new type of carrier rocket suggested Russian assistance. 

Though U.N. sanctions remain a significant restraint on Russia-North Korea cooperation, both sides may find economic ways to cooperate, such as sending North Korean laborers to Russia, said Artyom Lukin, a professor at Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University.  

“Russia has never said that it’s going to stop observing UNSC sanctions on North Korea. But you know, there are ways to manage some things like this — just look at China,” Lukin told VOA. “I think Russia might follow the same pattern in some ways.”  

Lukin refused to speculate about how exactly Russia may support North Korea’s weapons programs, but he acknowledged that Russia “seems to be the only major power which can provide some stuff which can make North Korea feel safe.”  

Lukin said it is impossible to know whether expanded Russia-North Korea cooperation will outlast the Ukraine war, but he hinted that longer-term interests were at play.  

“I think it’s fair to call the relationship between Russia and [North Korea] a de facto alignment,” Lukin said. “We don’t know yet whether this alignment will transition to a real alliance or not, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”  
…

BANGKOK — Southeast Asia is seeing a rise in online scam centers that are swindling billions of dollars from people, a new report finds.

Transnational Crime in Southeast Asia, published in May by the United States Institute of Peace, outlines a growing threat it says criminal networks pose to global peace and security. Included in the report are findings about scam centers operating throughout the region, including in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, and the deep involvement of Chinese criminal networks.

The USIP report was presented in Bangkok in June at an event held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand.

“One of the big findings of the report is about how huge of a problem this is. We’re framing it as a global security crisis,” Jason Tower, Myanmar country director at USIP, said.

“There are three countries in particular in which it’s gotten to a point now where the Chinese-origin criminal groups are able to perpetrate industrial scale, online scamming forced labor: Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. There are over 300,000 people involved in this horrific practice,” he added.

A total of 305,000 scammers in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos account for $39 billion in stolen funds annually, out of a total of $63.9 billion worldwide, according to the report. Half a million people are working as scammers, the report estimates.

The scammers, though, are often initially victims themselves. Many are lured into false business opportunities overseas and forced into scam compounds, often located in desolate rural areas, and are punished violently if they try to escape.

Bridget Welsh, a Malaysia-based political analyst on Southeast Asia, spoke at the event and said artificial intelligence technology, lax financial regulations regarding cryptocurrency, money laundering and the gray areas between legal and illegal practices contribute to the problem.

“In the last four years, the level of escalation of the criminal ecosystem is profound. There are a number of factors we need to look at. It’s not just the networks or just about China, it’s about local actors that have a symbiotic relationship. Southeast Asia for a long time has had a very dynamic illegal economy,” she said.

In recent years there has been a rise in scams around online gambling, cryptocurrency and financial investment. Often, the scams involve enticing victims to gradually invest in fake and fraudulent schemes over a period of time. The victims are targeted online to invest, gamble or deposit money into illegitimate schemes, not knowing they are being scammed.

The ongoing conflict in Myanmar has resulted in some scam operations finding themselves a part of the battle. Scam compounds along Myanmar’s borders have been protected and run by affiliates of the military government in Myanmar, the USIP report said.

The northern Myanmar town of Laukkai, in Shan State, is known as a scam center hotspot, with many Chinese gangs operating there, according to the report.

Myanmar’s ruling junta – the State Administrative Council – did not comment on the USIP report and questions asked by VOA about the scam centers but did respond via email that there is use of digital currencies in the country.

“It has come to our attention that illegal transactions involving digital currencies, including USDT [Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar], are being conducted within the country. These activities are in violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Financial Institutions Act,” it said, adding that those who violate the act “may be subject to imprisonment or fines, or both.”

VOA has contacted the governments of China and Cambodia by email and phone but has not received a reply.

But with Myanmar resistance groups now reportedly in control of Laukkai, they have worked with Beijing to hand over cyber gang families. More than 40,000 Chinese nationals associated with cyber scams in Myanmar have reportedly been deported from Myanmar to China as of December.

Chinese criminal networks collected $3.8 billion in illegal revenue from scams in 2023, with the help of at least 30,000 scammers. The USIP says within the past decade, the criminal networks operating in Southeast Asia have mostly emerged from China.

“Many of these Chinese criminal origins became embedded in the [Southeast Asia] region. In the past five years, the forms of criminality have shifted from things that are more regional to global in Asia, and they’ve reached the point now where they can get much more involved in human trafficking and slavery, and quite sophisticated forms of scamming that are targeting a global audience,” Tower said at the FCCT in Bangkok.

At home, Beijing has tried to take a firm hand on scams.

Online gambling is illegal in China and a telecom fraud law came into effect in December 2022 to try to combat the illegal schemes.

“The report finds that [China] is one of the key victim countries,” Tower said. “More and more people are falling prey to these investment scams.”

With cyber networks operating over multiple countries, all with different priorities and accountability, combating the scams is a challenge.

Criminal networks in Cambodia have seen a $12.5 billion return in 2023 on their scamming operations, half of the country’s official gross domestic product. The USIP report says many of the scamming compounds in Cambodia are owned by local elites.

“The significantly misaligned incentives in places like Cambodia, where there are powerful state actors who are building [scam] compounds, it is not in the incentives to local government officials to properly identify these victims. How do we prosecute this effectively when entire justice systems are run by people who run compounds who are financially benefiting from them?” asked Jacob Sims, a visiting expert at USIP.

Chou Bun Eng, permanent vice chair of Cambodia’s National Committee for Counter Trafficking or NCCT, told the pro-government newspaper Khmer Times, that 80% of human trafficking cases they’ve investigated are “false.”

A coalition operation is required, Welsh said, as a one-country strategy won’t work.

“Ordinary Southeast Asians are on the front line of having to deal with this. The trafficking numbers are high in terms of scams, but the scam victims are high. A lot can be done. It needs to be multifaceted, it can’t just be country specific, it needs to be dynamic, because the criminals are ahead of all of us,” she said.

Erin West, a deputy district attorney from California, suggested pressuring tech companies and governments to act.

“The roots of the problem are the platforms enabling the scammers to meet their victims. What can be done about Meta, LinkedIn, Match.com — how do we apply pressure in a way to get them to root out the bad actors on their platforms?

“Looking at sanctions is another way, and really elevating the conversation to the highest levels of governments and getting them to understand how massive this problem is,” she said. 
…

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — A court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday sentenced Chinese independent journalist Huang Xueqin and labor rights activist Wang Jianbing to five years and three years and six months in jail respectively for “inciting subversion of state power.”

Huang said she would appeal the sentence in court, according to information shared by Free Huang Xueqin & Wang Jianbing, an online support group for the two.

Chinese authorities have strictly controlled information on this case so the media and human rights organization rely on information shared by supporters to report on the verdict.

Authorities, before the trial, set up metal barriers and deployed a huge police presence around the court to keep journalists and the public from entering the court, the group said.

According to details of the verdict shared by the online support group, Huang will be in jail until September 18, 2026, while Wang will finish his sentence on March 18, 2025. Authorities confiscated several computers, mobile phones, and hard drives that belong to Huang and Wang.

Some analysts say Friday’s verdict shows the Chinese government’s attempt to outlaw social activism by applying criminal charges with heavier penalties to activities that do not directly challenge government authority.

“This case shows that Beijing now considers training in nonviolent protest as an act of subversion of state power, which is incredibly worrying,” Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s China director, told VOA by phone.

While China used to impose criminal charges with long sentences on human rights lawyers before 2020, Brooks said Beijing is now targeting lower-profile activists with similar charges.

“Authorities used to target activists like Huang and Wang with charges like ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble,’ [which carries a shorter prison sentence,] but now their activism could be viewed as national security crimes,” she said.

In response to human rights groups’ criticism, the Chinese Embassy in the Washington said China is a country of rule of law and the right to a fair trial is “well maintained” in the country.

“Any attempt to smear China and interfere with China’s internal affairs in the name of human rights will not succeed,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in a written response.

Friday’s verdict comes nearly 1,000 days after Huang and Wang were imprisoned on the charges of inciting subversion of state power. It also follows repeated expressions of concern about Huang and Wang’s health condition by some of their friends.

“Wang has a long history of depression while Huang suffered from weight loss, persistent back pain, and her menstruation had stopped,” said a friend who requested anonymity due to fears of facing government retaliation.

Since authorities have prevented their lawyers from sharing information about the case with the public, the anonymous friend told VOA there has been very little update about Huang and Wang’s health conditions in jail.

In addition to shrouding the trial in secrecy, the friend, who is familiar with the case, said Guangzhou authorities tried to “justify” the charges they imposed on Huang and Wang by questioning 70 people connected to them.

“During the first six months following their arrests, the police tried to fabricate evidence that could justify the charges they used against Huang and Wang by interrogating 70 people related to them,” one activist with knowledge of the case, who requested anonymity due to fear of retribution, told VOA by phone.

According to a copy of the official indictment shared by Huang and Wang’s supporters on X, formerly known as Twitter, Guangzhou authorities accused the two of publishing “seditious content” aimed at inciting subversion of state power on foreign social media platforms.

They also claimed that Huang and Wang participated in and organized a series of “online courses” as well as private gatherings to “increase participants’ dissatisfaction” toward the Chinese government.

Huang and Wang’s friend said Wang was hoping to reestablish social networks for activists focusing on different issues because the Chinese government intensified crackdowns on different sectors of China’s civil society since 2015, forcing many activists to become isolated.

“Wang’s efforts increased the Chinese government’s concern that these social networks could create challenges to political stability in China,” the friend told VOA, adding that Wang and Huang’s involvement in the labor rights movement and #MeToo movement made them the targets of Beijing’s crackdown.

At the height of China’s #MeToo movement in 2018, Huang set up a social media platform for victims to report sexual harassment cases. She also released surveys concluding that sexual harassment was a serious problem at universities and workplaces.

In October 2019, she was arrested and detained for several months after joining the protest in Hong Kong and shared her observations in an online article. For his part, Wang has been advocating for the rights of workers and those with disabilities since 2014.

Some analysts say details of the case reflect the Chinese government’s efforts to crack down on private gatherings held by dissidents in recent years.

Apart from Huang and Wang, Chinese human rights lawyers Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong were arrested and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for organizing a private gathering for dissidents in the coastal city of Xiamen in December 2019.

The Chinese government is trying to decimate any kind of civil society activities, including private gatherings at dissidents’ homes,” Yaqiu Wang, research director for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan at Freedom House, told VOA by phone.

In addition to collecting evidence to justify the charges against Huang and Wang, Brooks said the Chinese authorities are also trying to have a chilling effect on other activists by summoning them for questioning.

“The government is warning these activists that they should be careful about who they decide to be friends with,” she said, adding that the message will cause human rights activism to “break down.”

Huang and Wang’s friend said Chinese authorities’ intimidation campaign against other activists has deterred them from continuing their activism. “The whole civil society has become less organized and more vulnerable,” he told VOA.

Despite the Chinese government’s attempt to deter activism in civil society, Brooks said some activists are still trying to continue work in sectors such as women’s rights and human trafficking.
…

GENEVA — The Taliban must provide Ryan Corbett, an American held in Afghanistan for nearly two years, with immediate medical care to prevent irreparable harm to his health or even his death, a United Nations expert said on Thursday.

“The Taliban must provide Ryan Corbett with medical treatment in a civilian hospital without delay,” said Alice Jill Edwards, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Corbett, an aid worker, has been held without charge in conditions “utterly inadequate and substantially below international standards,” she said.

“This is having a significant impact on his physical and mental health, which is declining rapidly,” Edwards added. She said she had raised the issue directly with the Taliban.

“Without adequate medical care, he is at risk of irreparable harm or even death,” she said.

The United States is in contact with Edwards’ office and welcomes efforts to call for more humane conditions for Corbett and others held by the Taliban, a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York said.

“We consider Ryan’s detention to be wrongful and we will continue to work securing his immediate release,” the spokesperson said.

Corbett and his family moved to Afghanistan in 2010. He worked with nongovernmental organizations and then started his own — Bloom Afghanistan — to bolster the country’s private sector through consulting, microfinance and project evaluation.

He left with his family following the Taliban takeover in 2021 but continued working with his organization, returning in January 2022 to renew his business visa.

Despite having a valid visa, he was arrested by the Taliban in August 2022 after he returned to pay and train his staff, his lawyers said. A German and two Afghans with whom Corbett was arrested have since been released.

The U.N. expert said Corbett has developed several medical problems, including ringing in his ears, and severe weight loss. He has also repeatedly expressed intentions of suicide and self-harm.

The United States has had no diplomatic presence in Kabul since it fell to the Taliban in August 2021 as U.S. troops pulled out after 20 years of war.
…

washington — Thailand wishes to become the first Southeast Asian member of BRICS, a geopolitical group of developing countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The Thai Cabinet approved the draft application letter May 28, indicating the country’s intention to join the group.

But experts suggest the membership may provide Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, with mostly symbolic rather than concrete benefits that include existing free-trade agreements with countries such as China.

Nevertheless, the administration of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin plans to move forward with the application during a BRICS summit, set for October, in Kazan, Russia.

‘New world order’

Thailand expects the membership to enhance its participation in international economic policy and to “create a new world order,” according to a press statement by government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke.

Mihaela Papa, a senior fellow at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, told VOA by email that “joining BRICS certainly means greater exposure to China and Russia’s policy agendas and influence.”

Thailand’s enthusiasm in joining BRICS supports efforts by China and Russia to expand their economic influence in Southeast Asia, Soumya Bhowmick, an associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in Kolkata, India, told VOA.

“By joining BRICS, Thailand can contribute to the bloc’s collective influence in global economic policies, thereby supporting China and Russia’s strategic goals in the region,” he said.

Co-founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2006, the group added South Africa in 2010. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates became members at the start of this year.

Driven in part by threats of Western sanctions, the group has sought to develop alternatives to the U.S. dollar-based economic and financial system through initiatives like the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement.

The New Development Bank provides financial assistance, such as loans and equities, among BRICS member countries akin to the U.S.-influenced World Bank Group, which provides assistance to developing countries worldwide. The CRA, meanwhile, is an agreement among the BRICS central banks for mutual support during a sudden currency crisis.

However, analysts say geopolitical tensions and differences among member countries test the bloc’s effectiveness.

While “BRICS has made significant strides in trade dynamics, the diversity among BRICS members … presents challenges in aligning interests and achieving consensus. The absence of formal trade and investment agreements further complicates the bloc’s effectiveness,” Bhowmick said.

“Joining BRICS at this stage means being one of many states in this large, informal group that increasingly acts as a bloc,” Papa said. “The group’s design — a combination of large membership, rotating country presidencies and decision-making based on consensus — does not enable any BRICS state to gain much spotlight.” 

Thailand is already a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The latter is the first free-trade agreement embracing the largest Asian economies, including China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, and 11 other Asian countries.

But according to Hung Tran, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, BRICS may not bring any concrete economic results for itself or for ASEAN beyond political symbolism.   

According to Tran, Thailand’s membership with RCEP, for instance, has substantially increased Thailand’s trade with fellow Asian countries since the bloc was established at the beginning of 2022.

Trade volume for Thailand increased to $175 billion in 2023 with China, which has consolidated its position as the top trade partner of Thailand, accounting for 20% of its total trade.

Groupings such as APEC and IPEF, in which Thailand has been active, are also inspired by the United States, Tran said. 

“Joining BRICS would be a politically symbolic move for Thailand to show that it is open to all major countries or groups in the geopolitical context without being beholden to any sides — a stance in line with the ASEAN overall approach,” he said.

Accenting multilateralism

According to a press release by the Thai government, Thailand “has placed importance on multilateralism and the increased representation of developing countries in the international system, which is in line with BRICS principles.”

Thailand’s current application only starts the conversation, Papa said, and it will become clearer during the October summit how Thailand might benefit from membership in BRICS.

“Thailand has time to investigate what BRICS offers and if it works for its development,” she said. “After being invited to join the group, Argentina changed its mind, and Saudi Arabia has delayed accession.”

Eerishika Pankaj, director of the New Delhi-based Organization for Research on China and Asia, said a Thai entry into BRICS would be unlikely to prompt others in the region to follow quickly.

“Other Southeast Asian nations might be inspired … but they will still continue to proceed cautiously amidst U.S.-China rivalry,” Pankaj told VOA via email. 
…

WASHINGTON — The United States is “committed to working with Bangladesh to fight corruption,” Donald Lu, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, told VOA’s Bangla Service.

Lu visited Bangladesh in mid-May and met with senior government officials and civil society leaders. Shortly after his visit, the U.S. announced sanctions against former Bangladesh army chief General Aziz Ahmed for what it termed his involvement in “significant corruption.”

In an interview conducted by email on Monday, Lu spoke about topics that included economic cooperation, the climate crisis, women’s rights and the commitment of the United States to work with the people of Bangladesh on issues of democracy and human rights. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: In your recent visit to Bangladesh, you expressed the administration’s intention to move beyond the tension between Bangladesh and the U.S., which was caused by your administration’s initiative to promote democracy and a free, fair and peaceful election in Bangladesh in January this year. Is this an indication of a U.S. policy shift toward Bangladesh where you intend to focus more on geopolitical, economic, environmental and strategic bilateral issues rather than promoting democracy?

Donald Lu: As I said during my recent visit to Dhaka, we are looking forward, not back. We are ready and eager to advance our partnership with Bangladesh across a broad range of issues. We hope to continue deepening our trade ties with Bangladesh. We want to advance our shared interest in women’s economic security. We are already working together to address the climate crisis. We are optimistic about the opportunities for continued partnership on our shared priorities.

Promoting democracy and human rights in Bangladesh remains a priority for us. We will continue to support the important work of civil society and journalists and to advocate for democratic processes and institutions in Bangladesh, as we do in countries around the world.

VOA: Opposition political parties in Bangladesh and sections of civil society have criticized the U.S. administration for being “soft” on the current government of Bangladesh regarding the January 7 election issues, which include human rights violations. How would you respond to this criticism?

Lu: The United States staunchly supports free and fair elections and is firmly committed to promoting respect for human rights. Throughout the election cycle, we regularly engaged with the government, opposition, civil society and other stakeholders to urge them to work together to create conditions for free and fair elections. We were outspoken in our condemnation of the violence that marred the election cycle and we have urged the government of Bangladesh to credibly investigate incidents of violence and hold perpetrators accountable. We will continue to engage on these issues.

VOA: In your recent visit, you did not meet with the representatives from the opposition parties who boycotted the election, although you met with members of the civil society. Why did you decide not to meet with the opposition members?

Lu: It is true that last year ahead of the elections I had the opportunity to meet with a roundtable of leaders from several political parties. It’s not a pre-election period, so I didn’t meet with political parties during this visit.

I was fortunate to meet with a diverse group of Bangladeshis while in Dhaka, from civil society representatives to government officials, to the Bangladesh National Women’s Cricket Team, who taught me a thing or two about bowling and batting.

VOA: You highlighted your government’s plan to work together with Bangladesh to fight corruption and ensure financial good governance. Is the recent sanction against the former Bangladesh army chief General Aziz a part of that fight against corruption? Are you satisfied with the Bangladesh government’s willingness to cooperate to mitigate these issues?

Lu: When I was ambassador to Albania and the Kyrgyz Republic, we sanctioned corrupt officials. This was not popular with the governments at the time, but now those sanctioned former corrupt officials are all in jail. Societies around the world are eager to see justice for corruption.

We are committed to working with Bangladesh to fight corruption, and on May 20, we announced the public designation of former General Aziz Ahmed under Section 7031(c), due to his involvement in significant corruption. We welcome statements by government ministers that this corruption allegation will be fully investigated.

VOA: You have offered Bangladesh authorities free real-time use of satellite data to monitor the impact of climate change. How has Bangladesh responded to this? Which areas, in your opinion, should be prioritized in the cooperation between the two countries regarding climate change?

Lu: I felt firsthand the impact of climate change during my visit to Dhaka in May as I sweltered alongside Bangladeshis in the extreme heat. We are committed to partnering with Bangladesh to address the climate crisis. We’re focused on building clean energy capacity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in sectors like agriculture and power, and conserving ecosystems to maintain biodiversity and reduce vulnerability to climate change. Our discussions with Bangladeshi officials were extremely positive.

VOA: In what ways can Bangladesh play an important role in the U.S. government’s Indo-Pacific policy? What are the priority areas where you seek Bangladesh government’s cooperation?

Lu: The United States and Bangladesh share a vision of an Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure and resilient. With a dynamic and fast-growing economy, Bangladesh is positioned to act as a bridge for commerce and an anchor for prosperity in the region. We’re focused on working with our Bangladeshi partners to boost inclusive economic growth in the region, as well as increasing security cooperation, addressing the climate crisis, and promoting democracy and human rights. Coordination on these and other issues benefits the people of both of our countries.
…

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Political turbulence in Vietnam has increased the power of the police and military factions of the country’s Communist Party, as officials with these backgrounds gain seats in the top echelons of the government, experts have told VOA.

Activists and analysts interviewed point to To Lam – the former public security minister who took over as president on May 18 – as a rising figure who could pose a threat to the party’s collective leadership.

Zachary Abuza, Southeast Asia expert and professor at the National War College in Washington, described Lam as “ruthlessly ambitious,” during a June 3 call with VOA.

As public security minister Lam led 80-year-old General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s key initiative – what Trong dubbed the “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign.

“To Lam has wielded that anti-corruption campaign to systematically remove one competitor after another,” Abuza said.

Vietnam’s collective leadership is based on “four pillars” at the top of the political structure: the general secretary, president, prime minister, and chairman of the National Assembly, the country’s unicameral legislature. Since January 2023, anti-corruption investigations have led to the downfall of two presidents and the National Assembly chairman.

Truong Thi Mai is the most recent top official to leave her post. The former head of the Central Organization Committee and permanent member of the party secretariat was the fifth-ranking leader. She was accused of breaking party regulations and resigned on May 16.

An analyst, who asked that his name be withheld because of increasing uncertainty regarding the potential pitfalls of discussing Vietnamese politics, told VOA on June 4 that such turbulent politics is new for the party. He added that the situation is unpredictable and will likely remain volatile until the next meeting of the National Assembly in 2026, when a new leader is expected to take over from Trong.

“In the past 60 years not a single four pillar leader in Vietnam has stepped down and within only two years to have three of the four pillars step down and then a permanent member of the secretariat also step down – this is unprecedented in the history of Vietnamese Communist Party,” he said.

To Lam’s rise

Alexander Vuving, a professor at Honolulu’s Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, told VOA that Luong Tam Quang, who was appointed to replace Lam as public security minister on June 6, is an ally of the new president.

“To Lam has not subsided after Lam left the ministry,” Vuving wrote in an email to VOA on June 7.

Duy Hoang, executive director of the unsanctioned Vietnamese political party Viet Tan, said that after To Lam became president on May 18, there was a “big internal struggle” for approximately two weeks during which there were attempts to nominate a public security minister without ties to Lam. With Quang’s appointment, the efforts to neutralize Lam’s power failed, he said.

Quang “is seen as an ally to To Lam because he’s from Hung Yen which is where To Lam is from,” Hoang said, referring to the country’s northern province.

“It shows that To Lam is continuing to consolidate power,” he said.

Along with leading a “crackdown against peaceful dissent,” Hoang said, Lam is known for arranging the kidnapping of whistleblower Trinh Xuan Thanh from Germany in 2017 and for being photographed eating a gold-encrusted steak at a high-end London restaurant in 2021.

Before the pricey meal, the communist leader visited Karl Marx’s tomb in London.

“The irony that the last guy standing after an anti-corruption purge is the guy eating a $1,000 gold-leaf steak after laying a wreath for Karl Marx,” Abuza said. “Increasingly he just wielded his sword and took out rivals until he was the last man standing.”

David Hutt, a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies in Slovakia, struck a similar chord in a May 20 email to VOA, although he predicted a period of stability until the party’s 2026 National Congress.

“There were so few people in the Politburo who met the conditions to become state president that To Lam was almost certain to get this post. Plus, the Communist Party needs stability in the top-four posts, and To Lam is unlikely to be busted as part of the anti-corruption campaign (although corruption allegations swirl around him),” Hutt wrote.

Those now in top spots will probably stay there until the 2026 Congress, he said, adding, “The securocrats and the military factions are the clear winner. The Communist Party is becoming more security con[s]cious and is very concerned about its power.”

Beyond Quang, Vietnam’s Politburo – the country’s top decision-making body – is now dominated by individuals from the Public Security Ministry, and the military makes up the second-largest bloc, Abuza said, describing the domination of a “very conservative security-minded bloc.”

Weakened Communist Party

The analyst who asked for his name to be withheld said “the situation now is very precarious for the party itself.”

“The power of the party is you have to control the gun in order to control the party. But now it seems like the gun has actually taken control of the party,” he said, referring to the rising power of the Public Security Ministry.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, a Vietnamese activist living in Texas since obtaining U.S. asylum in 2018, cited a general unease among her contacts in Vietnam.

“I think that everyone is scared,” she wrote to VOA over the messaging app Telegram on June 8.

“To Lam will continue to control the country under his own regime,” she wrote.

An Hai of VOA’s Vietnamese Service contributed reporting from Washington.
…

WESTBURY, New York — There was no upset this time for the United States as the home team was easily beaten by cricket heavyweight India at the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.

Suryakumar Yadav’s half-century powered India to a seven-wicket win over the U.S., which had shocked Pakistan last week.

With the win, India reached the Super 8 round. The U.S. can advance by beating Ireland on Friday.

In a later match at Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad, Sherfane Rutherford scored an unbeaten 68 from 39 deliveries to help the West Indies in their great escape — the co-hosts beat New Zealand by 13 runs.

The Caribbean lineup, 149-9 in its 20 overs, was 76-7 before its Rutherford-led recovery. Alzarri Joseph snared four New Zealand wickets and Gudakesh Motie took three — including New Zealand captain Kane Williamson for 1 — to restrict the Black Caps to 136-9 in reply.

On Long Island, Yadvav’s 50 runs came off 49 balls and included two boundaries and two sixes. He put on 72 runs off 65 balls in an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand with Shivam Dube, who scored 31 not out as India finished with 111-3 in 18.2 overs in reply to 110-8 by the United States.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh returned figures of 4-9 — including two wickets in the first over — to restrict the co-hosts after India had won the toss and opted to field at the Nassau County International Stadium.

India was in early trouble in its chase as Indian-born medium pacer Saurabh Netravalkar continued his golden run for the Americans.

After bowling the co-hosts to the upset over Pakistan, he celebrated the wickets of Indian superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Kohli was caught behind for a golden duck — dismissed off the first delivery he faced — in what surely will become a career highlight for Netravalkar. Sharma (3) fell to a slower delivery as Netravalkar finished with 2-18 in four overs.

Rishabh Pant scored 18 off 20 balls batting at No. 3 before he was bowled by Ali Khan delivery. With India struggling at 39-3 in 7.3 overs, the U.S. team momentarily raised visions of an even bigger shock.

West Indies advanceLeft-hander Rutherford turned the home team’s fortunes around, going to the crease with the West Indies reeling at 22-4 after 5.4 overs. Rutherford scored 18 off the last over that culminated with a six and a boundary.

The loss left New Zealand with a strong possibility it will not make the second round. If Afghanistan beats Papua New Guinea on Thursday, three-time runner-up New Zealand will be out of contention.

For most of the first half of the game, the Black Caps were on top.

But Rutherford went on the attack as the West Indies added 58-2 in the last five overs of their innings.

He was 15 off 14 deliveries when star allrounder Andre Russell was out for 14 in the 13th over, and he accelerated with the lower-order in a counter-attacking, 72-minute innings containing six sixes and two boundaries.

“It’s a good feeling, to help my team. That is what we live for and work hard for,” man-of-the-match Rutherford said during the innings break. “It was a very tough surface to start on. I think 149 is a brilliant score on this wicket.”

After the match, Rutherford had a more optimistic tone: “It is only the start of something big to come and hopefully we can keep winning and momentum going.”

New Zealand started well after winning the toss and fielding, with Trent Boult (3-16) bowling opener Johnson Charles to end the first over.

Tim Southee (2-21), recalled after missing New Zealand’s opening loss to Afghanistan, dismissed dangerman Nicholas Pooran for 12 in the fourth over, trigging a run of three wickets for three runs.

Lockie Ferguson deceived Roston Chase with a slower ball to make it 21-3 and skipper Rovman Powell (1) was caught behind off Southee five balls later.

Russell went on the attack but his dismissal — caught in the deep of Boult’s bowling — appeared to be an insurmountable setback until Rutherford took up the challenge.

“The quality of Sherfane’s innings was high,” New Zealand skipper Williamson said. “The batting depth in their side was beneficial for sure. We cannot make excuses and have to find ways.”
…

islamabad, pakistan — The Taliban’s ban on educating girls over the age of 12 in Afghanistan reached 1,000 days Thursday amid global outrage and demands for the immediate resumption of children’s learning. 

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, denounced it as a “sad and sobering milestone” and noted that “1,000 days out-of-school amounts to 3 billion learning hours lost.” 

The statement quoted Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, as warning the male-only Taliban government that no country can progress if half of its population is left behind. 

“For 1.5 million girls, this systematic exclusion is not only a blatant violation of their right to education but also results in dwindling opportunities and deteriorating mental health,” Russell said.  

“As we mark this grim milestone, I urge the de facto authorities to allow all children to resume learning immediately,” she added.  

Women banned from many public places

The fundamentalist Taliban have prohibited girls from attending school beyond sixth grade since retaking control of Afghanistan in August 2021. The ban was later extended to universities, blocking female students from finishing their advanced education.  

Women also are not allowed to show their faces on television or visit public places such as parks, beauty parlors, or gyms, and they are barred from undertaking road trips unless accompanied by a male relative. 

“Afghanistan will never fully recover from these 1,000 days,” said Heather Barr, women’s rights associate director at Human Rights Watch. 

“The potential loss in this time — the artists, doctors, poets, and engineers who will never get to lend their country their skills — cannot be replaced,” said Barr. “Every additional day, more dreams die.” 

UN officials calls for accountability

Meanwhile, in his latest report issued this week, the U.N. special rapporteur on Afghan human rights has called for the Taliban to be held accountable for their crimes against women and girls.  

Richard Bennett alleged that de facto Afghan leaders have established and enforced “an institutionalized system of discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity and exclusion of women and girls.” 

He will present and discuss the report at the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting scheduled for June 18.  

The Taliban reject criticism of their government and policies, saying they are aligned with local culture and Islam. Their reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has denounced calls to reform his policies as interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. 

The impoverished country is reeling from years of war and repeated natural disasters. U.N. agencies estimate that more than half of the population in Afghanistan — 23.7 million people, including 9.2 million children — need relief assistance.  

“Education doesn’t just provide opportunities. It protects girls from early marriage, malnutrition, and other health problems and bolsters their resilience to disasters like the floods, drought, and earthquakes that frequently plague Afghanistan,” UNICEF executive director Russell said. 
…

Washington — When riots broke out in the French territory of New Caledonia last month, journalist Coralie Cochin started rising before the sun.

For about a week, it was too dangerous for Cochin to leave her neighborhood in the suburbs of the capital, Noumea, so she would drive nearby streets looking out for developments.

Then at around 6:30 a.m., Cochin would park and start her live radio hits for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Caledonie la 1ere, informing listeners about roadblocks and clashes.

“Every morning, it was a shock,” Cochin said. “As a journalist, of course I’m passionate about this moment. But at the same time, I’m terrified.”

At least nine people have been killed, and dozens of buildings burned since mid-May amid the worst violence to affect New Caledonia in four decades.

Unrest in the nickel-rich Pacific archipelago came in response to amendments to a French voting law that, critics warned, risked marginalizing the indigenous Kanak population. The Kanak already suffer from economic inequality and discrimination, say rights groups.

The legislation, which was suspended by French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, follows a series of independence referendums promised after conflict in the 1980s. Although the final vote — held in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic — reaffirmed that the territory would remain part of France, many Kanaks boycotted the ballot.

Journalists covering the unrest say they have been confronted with violence and harassment from both pro-independence and loyalist camps. The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, has documented around 15 incidents.

“Journalists continue to be threatened, and it’s still difficult for them to circulate freely,” Pavol Szalai, who heads RSF’s European Union desk, told VOA from Paris.

France’s Washington embassy and Ministry of the Overseas did not reply to VOA’s emails requesting comment.

The press freedom landscape in New Caledonia has long been fraught, according to Audrey Poedi, who works for the local television station, Caledonia.

“New Caledonia is generally referred to as the land of the unspoken,” said Poedi, who was born in New Caledonia and is Kanak. That nickname, she said, refers to how many issues are viewed as taboo in the archipelago.  

“There is a lot of self-censorship in New Caledonian society. We don’t say it out of shame, out of fear, so as not to dwell on the past,” she said.

For Cochin, who grew up in the French region of Normandy but who has lived in New Caledonia for nearly two decades, the past few weeks have been “the most difficult period we’ve ever experienced.”

At one point, individuals called on social media for the offices of her broadcaster to be burned down. “It was the first time I was really afraid for my life,” Cochin said about seeing those comments.

A group of men also intimidated a crew from her channel on May 17 and stole their TV camera before smashing the windows of the journalists’ car and attempting to steal the vehicle, RSF reported.

Others have been threatened with violence at roadblocks.

Grassroots groups also appear to be attempting to track journalists. Screenshots shared with VOA appear to show individuals detailing where reporters from Agence France-Presse, or AFP, were staying and what car they were driving.

Mathurin Derel, who reports for Le Monde and AFP, told VOA he has also learned that photos of him were being circulated in loyalist group chats.

“It’s a way to intimidate us, to make us write different stories,” said Derel, who says he narrowly avoided a carjacking at a roadblock last month. Originally from Paris, Derel has lived in New Caledonia for nearly two decades.

The violence has created an environment of anxiety among the country’s reporters, according to Poedi.

“Not only are we afraid of being accused of doing our job badly, we’re also afraid that the people will be extremely hostile and that things will get worse — that there will be acts of violence against us,” Poedi said. “It’s a real atmosphere of fear, stress and sadness.”

The environment is also making it harder to find sources willing to speak on the record. Some of the reporters VOA spoke with say they believe the reluctance is driven by a combination of rising mistrust in the media and fears of retaliation.

To try to mitigate the risks, some local reporters are working to form a journalist association to advocate for their rights and protection. RSF has also provided safety equipment.

Back on the outskirts of Noumea, Cochin says she has been working nonstop but that reporting has also provided her with a welcome sense of duty at a challenging time.

“When you are working, you have a kind of distance,” Cochin said. “Reality is much harder when you don’t work.”
…

Bangkok — Myanmar’s economy shows no signs of recovering from the 2021 military coup, as civil war drives more workers abroad, pushes inflation into triple digits in some parts of the country and pulls it deeper into poverty, a new World Bank report says.

“Livelihoods Under Threat,” launched Wednesday in Myanmar, says the economy shuffled along over the past year with gross domestic product growing at a meager 1%. The same is expected for next year.

While staving off recession, slow growth still leaves Myanmar’s once-booming economy 10% smaller than it was before the country’s military ousted the democratically elected government more than three years ago.

Resistance groups have made major battlefield gains against the junta since late last year and are believed to control more than half the country, including some key border trade routes.

“The overall storyline is that the economy remains weak and fragile overall. Operating conditions for businesses of all sizes and all sectors remain very difficult,” World Bank senior economist Kim Edwards said at the report’s launch.

The bank says overall inflation rose some 30% in the year leading up to September 2023, and even more in areas where fighting has been fiercest.

“You can see in the conflict-affected states and regions — Kayin, Kachin, Sagaing, northern Shan, Kayah — price rises of 40 to 50%,” Edwards said.

“And then in Rakhine, where … there’s been particular problems and increasing conflict recently, we’ve seen price rises of 200% over the year. So, very substantial. And obviously, it has very significant effects for food insecurity,” he said.

The United Nations’ World Food Program says food insecurity now plagues a quarter of Myanmar’s 55 million people, especially the more than 3 million displaced by the fighting.

In Wednesday’s report, the World Bank also estimates that nearly one-third of the population now lives in poverty.

“And we see the depth and severity of poverty. So, this is really a measure of how poor people in poverty actually are — worsening also in 2023, meaning that poverty is more entrenched than at any time in the last six years,” Edwards said.

The bank says much of the inflation is being driven by the steady depreciation of the currency, the kyat. While the official exchange rate remains stuck at 2,100 to the U.S. dollar, trading of the kyat on the black market soared past 4,500 to the dollar in May.

The junta has imposed several controls to conserve its dwindling foreign currency reserves. Last month, it urged companies doing business abroad to barter with their trade partners and settle bills with their wares instead of cash.

At the same time, the bank says border trade — a major source of tax revenue for the regime — is being hit hard by the gains the resistance has been making along Myanmar’s frontiers with China, India and Thailand. It says imports and exports by land fell 50% and 44% respectively, in the past six months.

The junta has leaned heavily on oil and gas revenue, but with little investment for exploration of new reserves, those exports are likely to start falling in the coming years, as well, Edwards said.

More of what the junta does earn is going to the military at the expense of other basic services. According to the report, defense spending hit 17% of the national budget in the fiscal year that ended in March, nearly twice what was spent on health and education combined.

Encouraging news

The World Bank says manufacturing and agriculture output in Myanmar have started to pick up, and a combination of cheaper fertilizer and higher crop prices could keep the farming sector growing.

Traders stymied by blocked border gates also seem to be shifting some of their traffic to new routes on land and sea.

“There are some signs of life,” Edwards said. “And these really speak to the adaptability of many of Myanmar’s businesses and their ability to cope with what, under any objective circumstances, are very difficult business constraints and conditions.”

Even so, Edwards said, “The near-term outlook remains quite weak, with the economy failing to recover from its recent, very sharp contraction.”

Htwe Htwe Thein, an associate professor at Australia’s Curtin University who has been studying Myanmar’s business and economic development for two decades, said she could not recall a worse time for Myanmar’s economy.

“The state of the economy has never been this low in terms of prospects, in terms of … the trajectory,” she told VOA.

“The only people who are doing well … is a very, very small percentage at the top who are working with the junta,” she said. “Everybody else is suffering severely.”

Amid the fierce inflation, falling wages and dwindling job prospects, Thein said, the young are losing hope and grasping at any opportunity to work or study abroad.

She added that the junta’s efforts to shore up the economy have been ad hoc and short-sighted, and that rebuilding will take years and can only be achieved if and when the junta is out of power.
…

United Nations — The U.N. high commissioner for human rights delivered a bleak assessment of the situation in North Korea on Wednesday, a decade after an in-depth report shed light on severe and widespread abuses in the country.

“Today, the DPRK is a country sealed off from the world,” Volker Türk told a special briefing of the U.N. Security Council that North Korea’s ambassador did not attend. “A stifling, claustrophobic environment, where life is a daily struggle devoid of hope.”

DPRK is the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Türk expressed concern about the regime’s tight control over the movements of its citizens, including the ability to leave the country. Most North Koreans cannot obtain the required government permission to leave, and those who attempt to escape face torture, labor camps or death if they fail.

“Leaving your own country is not a crime – on the contrary, it is a human right, recognized by international law,” he said by video from his office in Geneva.

He said repression of the freedom of expression has also worsened with the enforcement of laws forbidding people from consuming foreign media or culture, such as South Korean television dramas or K-pop music.

“Put simply, people in the DPRK are at risk of death for merely watching or sharing a foreign television series,” the human rights chief said.  

He urged Pyongyang to halt the use of the death penalty throughout its legal system and move toward its complete abolition.

Perhaps even more worrying, is the situation of food security in North Korea.

“Every single person interviewed by my office has mentioned this in one form or another,” Türk said. “In the words of one: “It’s very easy to become fragile and malnourished because there is nothing to eat.”

The World Food Program says more than 40% of North Koreans, nearly 11 million people, are undernourished. Many suffer from chronic malnutrition because of a lack of essential nutrients, especially those living outside major cities. Children are particularly affected, with 18% suffering stunting and impaired development because of chronic malnutrition.

The high commissioner also expressed concern about Pyongyang’s use of forced labor, including overseas. He noted that workers they have interviewed described often performing work that is physically dangerous and they endured extreme levels of surveillance.

Western nations accuse North Korea of using these laborers’ wages to help fund their illicit nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Türk said there have been some recent “positive signs” from North Korea in their engagement with the international human rights system, but he did not explain what that included.

Defector speaks

Gumhyok Kim, 33, grew up in privilege in North Korea. His family were Kim regime loyalists and so in 2010, he was able to leave the country and study in Beijing.

“At the age of 19, I saw a world for the first time that was different from everything I had learned,” he told the council. “In particular, the internet enabled me to learn about my country’s history and realize the horrific truth of North Korea that had been hidden from me.”

He said his feeling of loyalty to the Kim family that has ruled North Korea for three generations quickly turned to one of betrayal, and he began to connect with other North Korean students in Beijing to discuss the situation.

In the winter of 2011, the North Korean authorities discovered their activities, and he fled China to South Korea to avoid arrest.

“I survived and found freedom. But that freedom had come at a great cost,” he said.  “It has already been 12 years since I defected, but I still have no contact with my family.”

He appealed directly to North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, saying nuclear weapons and repression are not the way to maintain leadership.

“Allow North Koreans to live in freedom. Allow them their basic rights so they can live full and happy lives,” Kim said. “Turn away from the nuclear weapons threat and return your country to the family of nations so all North Korean people may lead prosperous lives.”

Kim and his South Korean-born wife chronicle their married life on YouTube, where they show what life is like in Seoul. He said he is now a father to a 1-year-old, and he hopes one day to take his son to a changed North Korea.

Council inaction

The U.N. Security Council is divided over the situation in North Korea. The last time its 15 members agreed on sanctions for the regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile activity was in 2017. Since then, the geopolitical landscape has changed, the council has become more fractured, and action on the North Korean file has become more difficult.

Both China and Russia objected to Wednesday’s human rights briefing, saying such issues do not belong in the Security Council. Russia called for a procedural vote, but lost, as only China joined it in voting against holding the meeting and 12 council members supported it. Mozambique abstained. There are no vetoes in procedural votes.

“The efforts by both Russia and China to block this meeting today is another effort to support the DPRK, and is also emboldening their actions,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

Venezuela’s envoy made a statement to reporters outside the council during the meeting on behalf of the “Group of Friends in Defense of Charter of the United Nations,” rejecting the convening of a human rights-specific council meeting. The group of 18 like-minded countries includes Russia, China, North Korea, Belarus, Iran, Cuba and Syria.

The council meeting was requested by the United States and Britain, along with Japan and South Korea, who both currently hold non-permanent council seats.

“The DPRK nuclear and human rights issues are like two sides of the same coin, and thus, need to be addressed comprehensively,” South Korean Ambassador JoonKook Hwang said.

He urged the council to regularly address the human rights situation. Until last August, the last time the council discussed North Korea’s human rights situation also was in 2017.

A 2014 Commission of Inquiry report found that North Korea’s rights violations had risen to the level of crimes against humanity. The panel said the regime had used “extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.”
…

…

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in recent weeks to protest a new ‘foreign agent’ law, which critics have compared to similar legislation in Russia. The law is now in force – but its opponents have vowed to continue their demonstrations until crucial elections scheduled for later this year. Henry Ridgwell reports from Tbilisi.
…

Inter-Korean relations have sunk to their lowest level in years as both countries intensify cross-border psychological warfare. The developments began with North Korea sending waste-filled balloons into the South. VOA’s William Gallo has more details from near the Korean border.
…

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities arrested journalist and former TV anchor Imran Riaz Khan early Wednesday. Hours later, his legal team was informed the journalist was arrested for embezzlement.

A vocal critic of the country’s powerful military establishment, Khan was arrested early Wednesday from the airport in Lahore as he was on his way to perform the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

This is Khan’s third arrest in 13 months. The popular commentator, seen as a supporter of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has 5.7 million followers on social media platform X and 4.83 million followers on YouTube.

Videos posted overnight on Imran Riaz Khan’s X page show men in plain clothes surrounding his car at the entrance to the airport. Some people present at the scene surround the vehicle, too, demanding that the men stopping Khan identify themselves. Soon, police are seen arriving and forcefully stop some witnesses, including a lawyer, from recording the scene on their mobile phones.

Khan’s legal team filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking reasons for the arrest that they say was made without a warrant. A first information report shared on X by Khan’s lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaque shows the prominent reporter was accused of embezzling nearly $90,000 in a real estate deal.

In an earlier post on X, Ashfaque, who was driving his client to the airport, said the “arrest made in an illegal manner” was a violation of court orders.

Speaking to VOA Urdu, Ashfaque said that Khan was granted bail in all the cases against him, and that the Islamabad High Court gave him permission to leave the country.

In a video recorded before heading to the airport, Khan said he was expecting police action.

“I have information right now that there is a heavy presence of Rangers [paramilitary force] and police [at the airport] and they may arrest me,” Khan said in the clip posted after his arrest Wednesday.

The prominent media person once enjoyed a close relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military but fell out of favor for openly criticizing the institution after former premier Khan was removed from power in April 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

The popular politician, jailed since August last year, accuses his then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and political rivals of pushing him out of office in collusion with the Biden administration — charges they have all denied.

Past arrests

In May last year, police arrested journalist Khan at the airport in the industrial city of Sialkot in Punjab province. The action came amid a crackdown on former premier Khan’s supporters after many of them stormed government and military installations to protest his brief arrest on May 9.

The journalist, however, soon went “missing” and arrived home nearly five months later. Khan has hinted he was in the custody of intelligence agencies.

In February this year, authorities arrested him again — this time on corruption charges. However, officials told VOA Urdu the commentator was accused of spreading religious hate and running an online campaign against the chief justice.
…

Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is set to be sworn in as the country’s next president in October, after having resoundingly won elections in February. VOA’s Virginia Gunawan reports on what this means for U.S. relations with Southeast Asia’s largest country. Ahadian Utama, Hafizh Sahadeva contributed to this report
…

…

Sydney — Australia’s national science agency warns a lack of scientists specialized in plant breeding could lead to ‘dire’ food security implications around the world. Researchers say plant breeding is a critical science that underpins the global production of food, animal feed and fuel. The finding is among the conclusions of a recently published paper by researchers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.      

A joint paper published earlier this month by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, in collaboration with Lincoln University in New Zealand and McGill University in Canada, warns that highly-skilled plant breeding experts, who are reaching the end of their careers, are not being replaced by sufficient numbers of university graduates, many of whom are choosing other areas of plant science including molecular biology.

Lucy Egan is the study’s lead author and a CSIRO research scientist.  She told VOA Wednesday that new recruits are needed.

“It is really based on developing new plant varieties for future climates.  So, plant breeding is a slow game.  It takes a long time to develop a new crop variety, so you’re looking at least ten years on average to develop a new variety.  When you have a lack of plant breeders coming through to replace the generation that are retiring, it does generate a bit of concern around the succession plan,” she said.

The report said that the implications of a skills shortage “could be dire” and that global food security could be affected. It recommends establishing “dedicated training facilities in different countries”.  

Egan said that plant breeding can help countries adapt to a warming climate.

“I think instead of focusing on, you know, certain countries and the implications, I think if you look at it on a global level plant breeding is really the backbone of the agricultural sector.  Without the development of new varieties with changing climates and all these things that are sort of happening across the world, we need to really build strength and resilience within the agricultural sector and plant breeding is really key to do that,” she said.

The research is published in the journal, Crop Science.  It reports that since the 1960s, global crop production has increased by more than 250%, which is due in large part to plant breeding science.
…

Seoul, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country is an “invincible comrade-in-arms” with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin, state media KCNA said on Wednesday, amid speculation over Putin’s impending visit to North Korea.

Marking Russia’s National Day, Kim said his meeting with Putin at a Russian space launch facility last year elevated the ties of their “century-old strategic relationship.”

The message came after Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper on Monday reported Putin would visit North Korea and Vietnam in the coming weeks.

An official in Vietnam told Reuters the Vietnam trip was planned for June 19 and 20 but has not yet been confirmed. The Kremlin has said Russia wants to foster cooperation with North Korea “in all areas” but has not confirmed the date of the visit.

Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East last September, touring the Vostochny Cosmodrome space launch center, where Putin promised to help him build satellites.

Kim also lauded Russia for achieving results from its efforts to build a strong country by “suppressing and crushing all the challenges and sanctions and pressures of hostile forces.”

Pyongyang and Moscow have increasingly stepped up diplomatic and security relations, hosting government, parliamentary and other delegations in recent months.

A group of North Korean officials in charge of public security was set to visit Russia this week.

Officials in Washington and Seoul have accused North Korea of shipping weapons to Russia to support its war against Ukraine in exchange for technological aid with its own nuclear and missile programs. 
…