Death Toll in Xinjiang Police Shootout Climbs As Exile Group Blasts Raid

Chinese armed police patrol the streets of the Muslim Uyghur quarter in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, June 29, 2013. AFP

Authorities in China's Xinjiang region said Tuesday that they had shot dead 22 Uyghurs accused of terrorism last week, revising higher an initial death toll in one of the biggest crackdowns on the ethnic minority Muslim group.

They said they have also arrested four Uyghurs in a raid on a house where the 22 were gunned down on Aug. 20 at the edge of a desert area in the Yilkiqi township in Kargilik (in Chinese, Yecheng) county in Xinjiang's southwestern Kashgar prefecture.

The death toll was revised upward after police and other sources had said at the weekend that based on initial reports, 15 Uyghurs and one Han Chinese policeman were killed in the "anti-terror" operation.

The Yilkiqi shooting follows a spate of violence across Xinjiang in recent months that has led to massive arrests, with hundreds of Uyghurs taken into custody for interrogations by the authorities in the troubled northwestern region of China.

"Two days after the incident, the township government informed us at a meeting that 22 people had died and four others were arrested," Mahmut Han, the chief of Islamic Association of Yilkiqi Township, told RFA's Uyghur Service.

Helicopter hunt

According to officials, he said, the shootout was ordered after police, backed by a helicopter, closely monitored "suspicious activity" for about a week around the house where the Uyghurs had been living.

"The township's [ruling Chinese Communist] Party secretary criticized us [the township's officials] for not being alert in detecting such activities," Mahmut Han said.

The deputy chief of Yilkiqi township, Alim Hamid, said that he was at the scene of the shootout, following which "22 bodies in black bags were carried out by police to an unknown destination."

"Police informed us that those who were killed were terrorists," he told RFA. "But they didn't specify what wrong they did."

"Now we have strengthened security in the township in line with orders from the government and we are on the lookout for people from out of town," Alim Hamid said. "They will be identified and their particulars given to the police."

Chinese authorities usually blame outbreaks of violence in Xinjiang on "terrorists" among the region's ethnic minority Muslim Uyghurs.

But rights groups and experts say Beijing exaggerates the terrorism threat to take the heat off domestic policies that cause unrest or to justify the authorities' use of force against Uyghurs.

Mahmut Han said four of the dead were from Yilkiqi while the rest were believed to be from a neighboring township but their identities had not been revealed.

Immediate burial

A map of Xinjiang showing Kashgar's Kargilik (Yecheng) county.

Sources said the 22 were believed to have been buried immediately without their next of kins being informed.

"I heard that the bodies were taken and buried together in a hill top in a neighboring township," a Yilkiqi resident told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He cited contacts as telling him that the police killed the 22 while they were performing their prayers. Six knives and axes were recovered from the scene, police had said earlier.

"When they gathered for prayers, police surrounded them and fired at them," the resident said.

He said that he used to pass by the house at which the 22 were gunned down while on his way to work daily.

He believed the house owner may have been among those shot dead and the others had been working for him at a nearby farm.

"They work in the day and pray at night at the house," the resident said.

Condemnation

The Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a Uyghur exile group, condemned the Yilkiqi killings, saying "the authorities were intent on killing those present rather than allowing them to stand before a court to defend themselves against these allegations on which little has been disclosed."

WUC President Rebiya Kadeer said the Chinese authorities "continue to use the same banal rhetoric for such incidents which fails to adequately address the longstanding issues underlying the bubbling tensions in East Turkestan [Xinjiang]."

She said the Yilkiqi incident "only serves to exacerbate increasing distrust in the authorities due to the pervasive impunity of their actions.”

Rebiya Kadeer called on the international community to "keep a watchful eye upon developments in East Turkestan, and ensure that they do not fall foul to the erroneous and leaky narrative of the Chinese authorities.”

The latest violence came nearly two weeks after a Uyghur religious leader was stabbed to death after returning home from leading evening prayers at a mosque in Turpan city in Xinjiang's Turpan prefecture.

The imam was targeted by members of his own community for branding Uyghurs as "terrorists" and backing a government crackdown against them, residents and officials said.

In early August, police opened fire on a crowd of Uyghurs protesting prayer restrictions in Akyol town in Aksu prefecture ahead of the festival marking the end of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, killing at least three and injuring about 50 others.

In June, up to 46 people were killed in Lukchun township of Pichan county in Turpan prefecture after police opened fire on "knife-wielding mobs" who had attacked police stations and other sites in the county, in the bloodiest violence since the July 5, 2009 unrest in Xinjiang's regional capital Urumqi that triggered a massive crackdown.

Also in June, in Hotan prefecture's Hanerik township, police fired on hundreds of Uyghurs protesting the arrest of a young religious leader and closure of a mosque, officials said, acknowledging that up to 15 people may have been killed and 50 others injured.

Uyghurs in Xinjiang say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness, blaming their hardships partly on a massive influx of Han Chinese into the region.

Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by Dolkun Kamberi. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai    

Posted by Unknown 8:46 PM

Governments Want Vietnam to Review New Internet Control Decree

A customer surfs the Web on his tablet at wi-fi cafe in downtown Hanoi, Aug. 1, 2013. AFP

By Parameswaran Ponnudurai (RFA)

A coalition of 21 governments spanning five regions called on Vietnam Monday to review a controversial Internet decree that will come into force on Sept. 1, warning that it risks harming the one-party Communist state's economy, limits innovation and deters foreign investment.

The Freedom Online Coalition said it "is deeply concerned" by the Decree 72, which will impose further restrictions on the way the Internet is accessed and used in Vietnam and that would curb freedom of speech and restrict information people can share on social media.

The coalition was established two years ago by governments wanting to collaborate on efforts to advance Internet freedom. It comprises governments from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, including the United States and several other key developed nations.

"Decree 72 risks harming Vietnam’s economy by constraining the development of businesses in Vietnam, limiting innovation, and deterring foreign investment," said the spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, Marie Harf, in a statement.

"An open and free Internet is a necessity for a fully functioning modern economy; regulations such as Decree 72 that limit openness and freedom deprive innovators and businesses of the full set of tools required to compete in today’s global economy," she said.

The Freedom Online Coalition called on the Vietnamese government "to revise Decree 72 so that it promotes the ability of individuals to exercise their human rights, including the right to freedom of expression."

Aside from the United States, the coalition comprises Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Latvia, the Republic of Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, The Netherlands, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Storm of protest

Decree 72 has ignited a storm of protest among Vietnam’s Internet users and international groups such a Google and Facebook as well as governments since it was made public last month.

It contains a clause stipulating that blogs and social media sites should only be used to share “personal information” and not news articles. 

The decree also requires foreign companies to have at least one server inside the country, a move that gives the Vietnamese government some control over their activities and increases costs for multinational companies seeking to expand in Asia.

The Asia Internet Coalition, formed by eBay, Facebook, Google and Yahoo!, said the decree would "negatively affect Vietnam's Internet ecosystem" and deter foreign investors.

The Freedom Online Coalition said Monday that that Decree 72 appears to be inconsistent with Vietnam’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as its commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It noted that a resolution adopted by consensus by the UN Human Rights Council in July last year confirms that human rights apply online as well as offline.

Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Decree 72 is the “harshest offensive against freedom of information” in Vietnam since 2011, when the government introduced Decree No. 2 setting out sanctions for journalists who violate a series of vague provisions.

Posted by Unknown 7:58 PM

China's Bo Trial Closes Amid Calls For 'Severe Punishment'

Bo Xilai is removed from the courtroom at the conclusion of his trial in Shandong province, Aug. 26, 2013. AFP PHOTO / CCTV

Authorities in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan wrapped up the sensational trial of fallen ruling Chinese Communist Party political star Bo Xilai on Monday with demands from prosecutors for a "severe" punishment for the former Chongqing Party chief at the heart of a murder and corruption scandal.

Bo's crimes of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power were "extremely serious" and there were no mitigating factors, prosecutors told the Jinan Intermediate People's Court on Monday, using key terms used in Chinese law to determine whether a death penalty is appropriate.

"The prosecution demanded a heavy sentence in line with the law, as Bo committed very serious crimes," court spokesman Liu Yanjie told reporters at a news conference following the trial, which ended just after 1:00 p.m. local time.

"He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and there are no extenuating circumstances suggesting lighter punishment. It must be dealt with severely according to the law," the prosecution was quoted as saying in the official edited transcript of the trial posted to the Court's account on the Twitter-like service Sina Weibo.

Judges may hand down the death penalty in cases of bribery involving more than 100,000 yuan (U.S. $16,000), in the absence of a guilty plea or any mitigating circumstances.

The prosecution told the court: "The defendant's crimes are extremely serious."

The court will announce the verdict "at a date to be decided," the official news agency Xinhua reported after the trial ended.

'Soap opera'

In the final hours of the trial, which was initially scheduled for two days and extended to five, Bo likened the case against him to the plot of a "bad soap opera," telling a tale of starred-crossed relationships, mental health problems, and corrupt practices going on around him, of which he was unaware.

Bo exposed what he said was a tangle of love relationships between himself, extramarital lovers, his wife Gu Kailai, murdered British businessman Neil Heywood and his former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun, who gave evidence on Sunday.

In what has been the most politically charged trial of a former high-ranking Party member since that of Mao's wife Jiang Qing in 1980, the outspoken and charismatic Bo mounted a feisty defense, cross-examining witnesses, dismissing his wife as "insane," and attacking the standard of the evidence presented against him throughout.

In his final words to the court, Bo painted himself as a largely honest official, yet an unfaithful husband, "haunted" by regret and unable to govern his own family or officials.

"I'm trapped deep in the disaster of being in prison," he said. "I'm haunted by all sorts of feelings and all I have left is the remaining time of my life."

"I failed to keep my family members and subordinates within bounds. I made significant mistakes. I feel guilty towards the party and the public."

But while Bo admitted he had made mistakes linked to the Heywood murder investigation and bore "some responsibility" for embezzled state funds that transferred to one of Gu's bank accounts, he denied all formal charges against him.

In Friday's session, he dismissed Gu as "insane," told Wang he was "full of lies and fraud," and compared another prosecution witness to a "mad dog."

Wang's Feb. 6, 2012 flight to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu had been motivated by his love for Gu, which "confused and overwhelmed" him. Sources close to the case have previously suggested that Wang was hoping to save his own skin after it emerged that Gu was a chief suspect in the Heywood murder.

Retracted confession

"I hadn't expected him to retract his confession," said Jiang Weiping, a Canada-based political analyst and former journalist with the official Xinhua news agency.

"Even though he [wasn't addressing the facts] in the trial, [I thought] that was in line with his personality and his mindset, and that it wouldn't influence the final outcome," said Jiang, who served six years in prison on charges of revealing state secrets after he wrote articles exposing official corruption, including about Bo's tenure in Dalian.

"Based on the evidence presented in court ... he has still been active in hindering the investigation."

On Monday, Bo said he had signed a confession while in custody of Party investigators in the hope of resuscitating his political career.

Jiang said Bo's retraction of his confession could be a tactical move, made in the hope of his eventual rescue.

"If they don't bring Bo Guagua back to China immediately, then he will have in his possession unimaginable wealth, vast sums, which he could use to overturn the case against Bo Xilai, and claim it was a miscarriage of justice," Jiang said.

"There have already been signs of this, so I think the government will move ahead with this process after the Bo case is wrapped up."

Gu was handed a suspended death sentence, commutable to a lengthy jail term on good behavior, in August 2012, for her role in Heywood's murder.

Wang was jailed for 15 years last September for corruption, abuse of power and defection.

'Last performance'

Veteran China analyst Willy Wo-lap Lam said Bo's appearance at the trial would likely be his last in public.

"This was Bo Xilai's last performance before leaving the political stage," Lam said. "He wanted to oblige his supporters, the leftists, and the people of Chongqing, and that's why he put up such a fight."

"He also wanted to address the historical record."

Bo's populist campaigns of revolutionary songs and anti-crime campaigns won him many plaudits in Chongqing, but lawyers and defendants caught up in his "strike black" campaigns say they were rife with forced confessions, torture and other abuses, with many people targeted for their wealth.

While more than 100 people attended the trial, most media organizations were restricted to reading delayed transcripts of the proceedings on the Court's Weibo account, and no live television footage was available. No foreign media were allowed into the courtroom.

The transcripts were sometimes delayed, and one mentioned Bo's consulting his "superiors" in the aftermath of Wang's flight to Chengdu, before being withdrawn and republished with that section deleted.

Bao Tong, a former political aide to late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, hit out at claims by state media that the publication of transcripts showed a high level of confidence from China's new leadership under President Xi Jinping.

"If this was a true live broadcast, I would indeed believe that it reflected a high level of confidence from the new leadership," Bao Tong said in an essay broadcast on RFA's Mandarin Service at the weekend.

"But a new problem has emerged. The genuine live broadcast has now been replaced by a counterfeit copy," Bao wrote.

"Who can say what that shows us?"

Beijing-based rights lawyer Mo Shaoping said there were still many questions left unanswered by the trials of all three main players in the scandal.

"It's crucial to have the correct legal process," Mo said. "Without it, [convictions] can be overturned later because people complain that they didn't receive due legal process in their trial."

"Of course, no one seriously doubts the case against Bo, but it's a politically driven trial, which means that strictly speaking it's not a legal trial."

Reported by Xin Lin, Yang Fan and Xin Yu for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Hai Nan for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Posted by Unknown 7:55 PM

At Least 15 Uyghurs Killed in Police Shootout in Xinjiang

A map of Xinjiang showing Kashgar's Kargilik (Yecheng) county. RFA

Chinese authorities have shot dead at least 15 ethnic Uyghurs in a desert area in Xinjiang, accusing them of terrorism and illegal religious activity, in the latest violence to rock the troubled northwestern region of China, according to police sources.

They were among a group of more than 20 Uyghurs surrounded and fired upon by police in a lightning raid last week in the Yilkiqi township in Kargilik (in Chinese, Yecheng) county in Kashgar prefecture, the sources said.

"We conducted an anti-terror operation on August 20th, successfully and completely destroying the terrorists," Yilkiqi township police chief Batur Osman told RFA's Uyghur Service.

He refused to give the number of Uyghurs killed in the shootout, saying many of them were from out of town and some were not carrying identification documents.

Chinese authorities usually blame outbreaks of violence in Xinjiang on "terrorists" among the region's ethnic minority Muslim Uyghurs but rights groups and experts say Beijing exaggerates the terrorism threat to take the heat off domestic policies that cause unrest or to justify the authorities' use of force against Uyghurs.

One of the police assistants at the Yilkiqi police station told RFA that among those killed were at least 15 Uyghurs and one Han Chinese policeman.

"We police assistants were not sent to the scene but I heard from others who were there that 16 people had been killed, among them a Han Chinese policeman," said the police assistant, identifying himself only as Alimjan.

He said that six knives and axes had  been recovered from the scene.

Buried on the spot

An RFA listener, citing contacts in Yilkiqi, his hometown, said he was told that police opened fire at a group of 28 Uyghurs they believed were undergoing terrorism training and those killed at the scene were buried on the spot using escavators.

A Yilkiqi resident said that police on Saturday searched the house of his neighbor whose brother was implicated in the incident and that he overheard that 26 Uyghurs had been killed.

The figure could not be independently confirmed.

"From what I heard, those killed were the ones who were renting [my neighbour] Memet Emey's brother's house in Seriq Ata village," the Yilkiqi resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"When they gathered in the desert and were praying together, they were surrounded and fired at. There were 26 people there and all of them were killed. The police, instead of carrying the bodies to the village, buried them all in the desert using a bulldozer," he said.

Yilkiqi local government officials said security has been beefed up to prevent what they call retaliatory attacks from Uyghurs angered by the shooting.

"Since what happened on August 20th, we have been standing on guard at the government buildings," Ablet Abdulla, a government official told RFA.

Akber Imin, another official involved in the additional security measures, said those shot dead were believed to be involved in illegal religious activities and bomb-making in a bid to launch a "terrorist attack."

"The police found out and dealt with the situation immediately," he said. "Right now, our police are being deployed to search and capture the other members of the group who were not at the scene."

Increasing violence

The Yikkiqi incident follows a spate of violence across Xinjiang in recent months that has led to a crackdown with hundreds of Uyghurs detained for questioning by the authorities.

Nearly two weeks ago, a Uyghur religious leader was stabbed to death after returning home from leading evening prayers at a mosque in Turpan city in Turpan prefecture. He was targeted by members of his own community for branding Uyghurs as "terrorists" and backing a government crackdown against them, residents and officials said.

In early August, police opened fire at a crowd of Uyghurs protesting prayer restrictions in Akyol town in Aksu prefecture ahead of the festival marking the end of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, killing at least three and injuring about 50 others.

In June, up to 46 people were killed in Lukchun township of Pichan county in Turpan prefecture after police opened fire at "knife-wielding mobs" who had attacked police stations and other sites in the county, in the bloodiest violence since the July 5, 2009 unrest in Xinjiang's regional capital Urumqi that triggered a massive crackdown.

Also in June, in Hotan prefecture's Hanerik township, police fired at hundreds of Uyghurs protesting the arrest of a young religious leader and closure of a mosque, officials said, acknowledging that up to 15 people may have been killed and 50 others injured.

Uyghurs in Xinjiang say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness, blaming their hardships partly on a massive influx of Han Chinese into the region.

Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Trranslated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

Posted by Unknown 4:21 PM

Min of Foreign Affairs celebrate 65 years of Thailand-Myanmar relations

BANGKOK, 15th August 2013 (NNT) – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Surapong Tovijakchaikul has presided over the event in celebration of the 65th Year of Thailand-Myanmar relations.

During the event, Mr.Surapong presented Myanmar with funds to assist Meawadee, Myanmar, which has been heavily damaged by floods. The event was held at The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the guest of honor being Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin.

According to Mr Surapong, several issues have been discussed between the two Foreign Affairs Ministers, including the registration of Myanmar labor in Thailand, which Thailand has extended the registration time for another year, education for political refugees along the border, and the issue of opening up more border crossings.

The Thai Foreign Affairs Minister also presented 100,000 US dollars in aid funds to the Myanmar Foreign Affairs Minister to help in the recovery process of the city of Meawadee, Myanmar.

Posted by Unknown 8:32 PM

Thai police use water cannon on Rohingya asylum seekers

A Rohingya Muslim illegal immigrant looks out from the Immigration Detention Centre during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Kanchanaburi province on 10 July 2013. (Reuters)

By AFP

Thai police used water cannon to prevent scores of Muslim Rohingya boat people from breaking out of a detention centre to celebrate the end of Ramadan, officials said Thursday.

Some 261 Rohingya asylum seekers broke the locks on two rooms and then tried to storm the centre’s secure front door in southern Phang Nga province, where many have been held for months, police told AFP.

“Officials blocked them at the ground floor and are negotiating with them… but they still want to come out and refuse to go back to the rooms,” according to provincial police chief Chalit Kaewyarat.

He said police fired water cannon through the gated front door to prevent the refugees, who are all men, leaving and “to calm them down”.

“We will wait until they are calm before moving them (temporarily) to police stations,” he added.

A local official requesting anonymity confirmed the incident, adding the Rohingya men want to come out “for prayers for Hari Raya” – as the festival of Eid, marking the end of the Muslim holy month, is known locally.

Police said they would allow five of the detainees out at a time “but all of them still want to leave” prompting the angry standoff.

Many of the asylum-seekers have been locked up in the overcrowded and reportedly insanitary centre for several months, prompting rights groups to call for their release.

Thousands of Muslim Rohingya boat people — including women and children — have fled the former junta-ruled country since Buddhist-Muslim clashes a year ago in in western Burma’s Arakan state.

Those who arrived in Thailand have been “helped on” by the kingdom’s navy towards Malaysia – their destination of choice – or detained as illegal immigrants.

Thailand initially said the asylum-seekers would be allowed to stay for six months while the government worked with the UN refugee agency UNHCR to try to find other countries willing to accept them.

But overseas help has not been forthcoming so far, leaving the refugees in limbo, and separated from their families.

A UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan said the centres were not designed to hold “so many people for so long”.

“While the motives for this incident are still unclear, it reflects the growing frustration among the Rohingya being held in detention,” she said.

Tan urged Thai authorities to “urgently” transfer them to shelters that will allow families to be reunited and provide “greater freedom of movement”.

Posted by Unknown 8:52 PM

Hun Sen Backs Poll Probe, Wants Talks with Opposition

Hun Sen speaks with reporters in Phnom Penh, July 31, 2013. RFA

Cambodian leader Hun Sen said Wednesday that his ruling party was prepared to hold talks with the main opposition party after both of them claimed victory in contentious elections and he also agreed to launch a probe into election irregularities that have thrown the weekend polls into doubt.

Speaking to the public for the first time since his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) suffered heavy losses in the Sunday elections, Hun Sen called himself the country’s “prime minister-elect,” echoing his party’s claim that it had won the election although with a much reduced majority and will form the new government.

Hun Sen said the National Election Committee (NEC), which oversees the ballot, had agreed to investigate complaints by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) of voter list tampering.

“I have received unofficial information that the NEC will resolve the complaints with the participation of the political parties and nongovernmental organizations,” Hun Sen said while on an inspection of a bridge construction site in the capital Phnom Penh.

“If this information is true … I think this is a positive development. This is a transparent way to allow resolution of the remaining issues according to the law.”

He said that only the NEC, which the opposition has accused of lacking independence from the CPP, is responsible for investigating allegations of election irregularities.

“But if the NEC thinks that it is necessary to have the political parties and NGOs participate, the government and the CPP welcome this open method which would result in a solution that is acceptable to all parties.”

Claims

Hun Sen’s CPP claimed it won 68 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, or parliament, on election night—down from 90 in the previous election in 2008—citing its own assessment of initial results. It also acknowledged that the CNRP had nearly doubled its number of seats from 29 to 55.

The NEC has virtually endorsed the CPP findings although it has not yet announced the official results.

But the CNRP claims that it had victory snatched away due to ballot irregularities that included more than 1 million names removed from the voter lists, with a similar number of "phantom" voters added to them, along with what it called the duplication of about 200,000 names.

CNRP President Sam Rainsy claimed on Tuesday that his party had won at least 63 seats based on his party’s count at ballot stations—enough for a simple majority.

Sam Rainsy was barred from voting or running in the election by the NEC despite receiving a royal pardon for politicized criminal charges that got him an 11-year jail sentence and had kept him in self-exile in France.

The pardon came about two weeks before the July 28 election, and the NEC said it was too late for him to register as a voter and to contest in the polls. Sam Rainsy’s appeals had been rejected.

Talks

Hun Sen said Wednesday that a meeting of the CPP’s Permanent Committee had decided the party would be willing to hold talks with the opposition about the power structure of the parliament.

“The CPP has already prepared to open up and have political talks between parties that hold seats in the assembly about establishing National Assembly leaders,” he said.

But he rejected calls from the opposition earlier this week to include the United Nations in any resolution of post-election disagreements. The U.S. and EU have expressed concerns over allegations of electoral irregularities, but called on Cambodia to resolve them internally.

“This is a move that outsiders can’t resolve, but can only be done between Khmer and Khmer. Foreigners can’t resolve this,” he said.

“The foreigners have encouraged us to talk. The international observers have encouraged us to work together. People trust that the politicians will work out an agreement that will allow the new Assembly to proceed.”

Mandate

Hun Sen said that he had refrained from campaigning ahead of the elections and had not publicly commented on their results until Wednesday because he had been mourning his father’s death and taking part in his funeral.

The long-ruling leader admonished those who had “sparked rumors” that he had left the country or that the military had forced him to resign because he faced a significant challenge from the opposition.

“I would like to use this opportunity to inform compatriots and monks that I am inside the country and I am holding the power as a prime minister in his fourth mandate,” he said, adding that he would remain in power despite the decline in parliamentary seats under CPP control.

“I would like to affirm that no one has the right to force the prime minister to abandon his position or take it from him, including the military, armed forces or people of prominence. To do so is in violation of the constitution.”

The 60-year-old has held power for 28 years, making him the longest-serving head of state in Southeast Asia, and he vowed in May to continue running for office until he is 74.

He called on supporters from both the CPP and the CNRP to exercise restraint while awaiting the official results of the ballot and to avoid the post-election violence that has followed polls in the country since they were established in 1993 by the United Nations in the aftermath of the bloody Khmer Rouge era.

“Winning or losing is not important for political parties, only knowing that our nation wins,” he said.

“Don’t let the election cause a split in national unity.”

Demonstrations

Sam Rainsy on Tuesday had warned the CPP of a “massive demonstration on a nationwide scale” if it “doesn’t respect the election results,” saying the only option to avoid protests would be for the government to establish an independent committee to investigate the election irregularities.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng, who is also responsible for security in Cambodia during the election process, wrote a letter to Sam Rainsy on Wednesday, cautioning him that a mass demonstration would “cause social instability.”

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by RFA’s Khmer Service, Sar Kheng said that despite a few cases of disturbances on voting day, the election was “completed in good security and an orderly environment.”

“There is no obstacle that can affect the election,” he said, adding that a number of countries had already accepted the ballot results.

“We acknowledge that any protest in connection with the election is a political right, but I would request His Excellency [Sam Rainsy] organize the demonstration to comply with existing laws, especially the law on peaceful demonstration.”

CNRP Deputy President Kem Sokha has said demonstrations against the election results would be nonviolent and that the government would be held responsible for any attempt to crack down on protesters.

Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Posted by Unknown 2:46 PM

Cambodian PM Hun Sen's Party Suffers Election Blow

Cambodia National Rescue Party deputy president Kem Sokha shows the indelible ink on his right finger after casting his vote in elections, July 28, 2013. RFA

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's dominant party suffered a major blow in national elections Sunday, claiming only a narrow margin of victory against the main opposition party galvanized by the return from self-exile of its leader Sam Rainsy.

The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won only 68 of the 123 seats in the National Assembly, the country's parliament, in a much reduced majority than achieved in the 2008 election, according to Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information and party spokesman, citing initial unofficial results.

The CPP had held 90 seats in the 123-seat National Assembly before the elections, one of the closest fought in recent years and marred by allegations of widespread irregularities.

Sam Rainsy's Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which had 29 seats previously, nearly doubled its haul to 55 seats in this election, Khieu Kanharith said on his facebook page, quoting what he called "first unofficial results."

He confirmed with RFA's Khmer Service his facebook post, saying it was too soon to say whether the CPP would forge another coalition government with its ally Funcinpec party, which has two seats in the current assembly.

"We will see if they [the CNRP] accept the election results or not because so far they said they wouldn't accept the results,"  Khieu Kanharith said.

The National Election Committee (NEC), which oversees the elections, has not announced any official result for the assembly seats.
CNRP to wait and see

Sam Rainsy greeting the people on polling day, July 28, 2013.

CNRP spokesman Yem Ponhearith refused to accept or reject the CPP-announced result, saying the party would wait for the official NEC tally.

"We are verifying the CPP's result with the NEC's result," he told RFA..

Sam Rainsy had earlier claimed of a surprise CNRP victory but retracted it with a statement just thanking voters for their support.

Full NEC results could take days or even weeks after the polls, Cambodia's fifth since 1993, when the United Nations helped stage the country's first free elections since the 1975-79 genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge and a subsequent period of civil war and one-party rule.

The 60-year-old Hun Sen, in power for 28 years, has faced persistent accusations of trampling on human rights and silencing political dissent. He did not even bother to campaign in the elections, appearing confident his party will coast to victory.
In a province-by-province vote breakdown, the CNRP was ahead in several key CPP strongholds, including one of Hun Sen's homegrounds Kompong Cham where it received 137,994 votes to the ruling party's 102,486 votes. The CPP's popularity also dipped in provinces such as Kandal and Poey Veng.
In Phnom Penh, the CNRP garnered 381,620 votes to CPP's 250,974 votes, according to the NEC.

Anxiety

Amid the anxiety ahead of the official results, Sam Rainsy appealed for calm.
"We wish to thank all Cambodians irrespective of political affiliation for their effective participation in this election, for their contribution to make democracy flourish," he told a news conference in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

He also appealed to his mostly young supporters not to cause any trouble: "We call for peace and reconciliation."

About 9.6 million people were registered to vote—more than one third of whom are aged under 30 and who do not remember the atrocities during the notorious Khmer Rouge era from 1975 to 1979, or Hun Sen’s role in ending it.
Sam Rainsy's application to vote and contest in the election was rejected despite a royal pardon for prison convictions widely believed to be politically motivated,
He had charged of poll irregularities and early Sunday toured polling stations to "collect more evidence" of potential voting fraud.

The CNRP, formed by the merger of two main opposition parties, had received a boost after Sam Rainsy was allowed to return home about two weeks ago after the royal pardon.
Irregularities
Local poll monitor the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel) alleged that up to 1.25 million people who were eligible to cast ballots were not on voter lists and expressed concern that the ink used to mark voters could be easily washed off.

The NEC, which has been accused by rights groups of being a tool of the CPP, had told election observers and political party representatives that they would not be allowed to verify the official voter list at the polling station, Comfrel said on Saturday ahead of the vote.

Violence

A burning police car in Phnom Penh, July 28, 2013.

There was at least one violent protest, at a polling station in Phnom Penh where a crowd destroyed two police cars, military police spokesman Kheng Tito was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying, as anger erupted over names missing from the voter list.
Security was tightened after polling ended with military police blocking off a road leading to Hun Sen's home
and one going to the CPP and NEC offices, according to Reuters.

Reported by RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

Posted by Unknown 2:37 PM

Bodh Gaya 'bomber' caught on CCTV cameras could be of Assamese origin

Deeptiman Tiwary, TNN | Jul 22, 2013,

NEW DELHI: Even though Indian Mujahideen (IM) and its Bihar module have been put under scanner in connection with the Bodh Gaya blasts, investigations indicate that the suspected bomber caught on CCTV cameras may be of Assamese origin.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is investigating the July 7 terror attacks at the Buddhist shrine, has got some clues that point in the direction of the north-east state. "Although there is a suspicion on a module from Bihar being involved, there are indications that the bomber could be Assamese. Witnesses, who saw him, have told us so. However, investigations are still on and the bomber could turn out to be from anywhere, including Bihar," said an NIA officer.

The agency had last week released two sketches of the suspected bomber recreated from CCTV footages and eyewitness accounts.

Significantly, the Rakhine Buddhist-Rohingiya Muslim confrontation of last year, which has been the trigger for a larger Buddhist-Muslim confrontation in several parts of Asia, had coincided with Bodo-Muslim confrontation in lower Assam.

Intelligence agencies had then expressed fear Rohingya refugees could add another insurgency to an already volatile mix of Assam. It was also said that the outflow of Rohingya refugees could lead to stronger contacts between Myanmar Muslims and regional Islamist militants. Such militants could recruit disaffected Rohingyas to their own cause.

Investigations have also indicated that though bombers placed 13 bombs in and around the Mahabodhi Temple complex, the intention was not mass casualty but to send a message by causing damage to the temple. "The bomber wanted to blow up the main Buddha statue inside the temple, but could not go there as the prayers had already started. He has spent a good 10 minutes trying to enter the main temple and plant the bomb. This has also been corroborated by eyewitness accounts," said the officer.

Posted by Unknown 11:09 AM

Timers used in Bodh Gaya blasts made in Gujarat, finds probe

New Delhi: The timers used to trigger explosions in Bodh Gaya were bought from a shop in Guwahati and were manufactured in Gujarat, investigators have found.

Sources said sleuths of the National Investigation Agency, which is probing the July 7 blasts in one of the most sacred Buddhist sites, have found that clocks attached with the unexploded bombs were manufactured in a plant in Rajkot, Gujarat.

The entire lot of the clocks was sent to Guwahati and a few of the clocks were bought from a shop there by a buyer, they said.

The sources, however, said involvement of local hands cannot be ignored as the cylinders tied with the bombs were most probably procured locally in Bihar.

Investigators got enough indications that people with mongoloid features could be involved in carrying out the explosions, the sources said, hinting that involvement of Myanmar's Rohingiya Muslims cannot be ruled out.

There were reports that the multiple blasts were reaction to the alleged violence against minorities in Myanmar's Rakhine province.

Two monks were injured following the early morning explosions of 10 bombs in Bodhgaya. Three other bombs were found unexploded.

The temple and the Bodhi Tree, under which Lord Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, did not suffer any damage in the blasts which shook the holy town frequented by Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Japan and the whole of southeast Asia.

PTI

Posted by Unknown 11:07 AM

Tibetans Injured in Chinese Gang Attack Over Land Dispute

An unidentified Tibetan injured in the Chinese gang attack recovering in a Gansu hospital, July 17, 2013. Photo courtesy of an RFA listener.

More than a dozen Tibetans were severely injured in an attack by a 100-strong armed Chinese gang over a long running land dispute in a village in Qinghai province, according to sources at the weekend.

The attack occurred last Wednesday in the Tibetan-populated Arik Dragkar village in Dola (in Chinese, Qilian) county on the border with the Chinese township of Tsomen in Minle in Gansu province.

The Tibetans have been locked in a land dispute with the residents of Tsomen for decades but the latest attack on a Tibetan security post in the village was among the bloodiest, with at least 17 seriously wounded, one Tibetan in the area said.

Lightning raid

One of the Tibetans who suffered broken legs.

The Tsomen residents allegedly hired a Chinese gang of about 100 who launched a lightning raid on the  post manned by Tibetans living in tents.

"They came in motor vehicles and on horses and were armed with crude weapons using nails, stones, and sticks," a resident told RFA's Tibetan Service.

"There were about 30 Tibetans [at the security post] and 17 of them were severely injured. Others managed to escape to the hills," he said.

Officials and police from Dola and Minle counties arrived at the scene and restored calm, residents said.

Rabten, the head of the Dragkar village, was among those severely injured and receiving treatment at a hospital in Gansu.

"Both the hands and legs of Rabten were broken," another resident said, adding that most of the others suffered serious wounds in their head and legs.

The Tibetans from Tsomen village called for reinforcements in a bid to attack the Minle police but were advised against doing so by officials in Doha county, which comes under Qinghai's Tsojang (in Chinese, Haibei) Tibetan Autonomous prefecture.

Another unidentified Tibetan wounded in the attack.

Residents in Tibetan-populated areas in Qinghai have long been engulfed in land disputes amid allegations that the Chinese authorities in some cases have been seizing their land and giving it to new Chinese migrants.

In April, Chinese security forces detained 21 Tibetans following clashes with police over a forced demolition of recently rebuilt homes in the earthquake-hit town of Kyegudo in the Yulshul (in Chinese, Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

At least six Tibetans and four policemen were injured in the clashes after a protest by over 100 area residents angered by the demolition of Tibetan homes in Kyegudo.

The town was mostly destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed almost 3,000 residents by official count.

Now, Chinese authorities have begun to demolish rebuilt Tibetan homes, saying their occupants are not officially registered to live in the town, sources said.

Many of the houses were built by families on their own land and with their own resources, sources said.

In late March, a Tibetan woman set herself on fire to protest the demolition of her home in the Kyegudo area.

A total of 121 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest against Chinese rule in Tibetan-populated areas since the wave of fiery protests began in 2009.

Reported by Lumbum Tashi, Chakmo Tso and Yandon Demo. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

Posted by Unknown 12:31 PM

No Word on Fate Of Beijing Airport Wheelchair Bomber

Chinese security personnel prevent media members from getting closer to the scene of the blast at Beijing's main airport, July 20, 2013. AFP

Relatives of a disabled man who at the weekend set off an explosive device at Beijing's main airport in an apparent protest against police brutality say they had received no word of his fate on Monday, although official media said his original grievance case would be re-investigated.

"I really don't know where my brother is right now," Ji Zhongji, brother of "wheelchair bomber" Ji Zhongxing told RFA. "I don't know his [physical] condition."

He said the family had yet to receive any official notification from police regarding the fate of Ji, 33, from the eastern city of Heze, who detonated a home-made explosive while sitting on his wheelchair on Saturday, injuring himself and no one else at the exit area of the international arrivals section of Terminal 3.

"They haven't been to see us, we've had nothing," he said.

An official who answered the phone at the Beijing municipal police department declined to comment on the case.

"I don't know," the official said, when asked if Ji had been criminally detained. "You'll have to send a fax over, and someone here will answer your questions."

Complaints not taken seriously

Ji's brother blamed his apparent suicide bombing attempt on the refusal of the Chinese authorities to take his official complaints seriously.

Ji was severely beaten by police staff in 2005 when he had worked as a motorcycle driver in Dongguan in southern Guangdong province, causing him to become disabled, various reports have said. But the incident could not be independently verified.

"Our brother suffered a great deal of injustice," Ji Zhongji said. "He has been running around everywhere, day after day over this, but to no avail."

"Our family has had to spend a lot of money on his medical costs, and we have none left now."

He said the family had been unaware of Ji's plans to detonate the home-made device.

"When it happened, the family told me, and I just broke down when I saw it [on TV]," he said.

Video

Video of the incident posted by a bystander online showed crowds of people gathering around a verbal confrontation in Beijing's Capital Airport on Saturday, then moving away after apparently being warned to do so by Ji.

An explosion then obscures the camera phone footage, and the phone owner begins to run.

Officials in Guangdong said they would look into Ji's allegations, official media reported on Sunday.

Ji, 34, was stopped by security staff when he tried to hand out leaflets outside Gate B of the airport's arrival hall on Saturday evening, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported.

Ji then warned people nearby to get away before he set off an explosive device in his bag, injuring himself and a policeman, the paper said.

According to his blog, which was inaccessible after the incident, Ji was attacked by police in Dongguan in the early hours of June 28, 2005, while he was carrying a passenger on his motorcycle.

Ji blamed the attack for causing spinal injuries which left him paralyzed.

Contradiction

The Dongguan municipal police department has denied that Ji's injuries were the result of police violence, saying he fell from his motorcycle in a collision with a policeman.

However, local publicity officials have backed up Ji's story.

Ji's blast protest came after he unsuccessfully sued the Dongguan government for compensation in January 2007, a decision that was upheld on appeal to the Dongguan Intermediate People's Court in January 2008.

Dongguan police say they paid 100,000 yuan (U.S.  $16,283) to Ji in compensation in March 2010, after he petitioned the central government in Beijing.

Netizens came out in broad support of Ji, according to posts on China's popular social media sites.

Big-name tweeter Zuoyeben, who has 6.52 million followers on Sina Weibo, wrote: "Each unjustly treated person is a ticking time-bomb for the whole country."

Beijing-based rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan called for an investigation from a higher level of government than Dongguan.

"This can only be investigated by a higher level, from Beijing," he said. "If Dongguan investigates, we'll never get to the bottom of it."

Father detained

Liu said Ji's father was reportedly under detention by Shandong police.

"I'm guessing they're afraid he'll come out and blab," he said.

Repeated calls to the Dongguan municipal propaganda department and Heze county government went unanswered during offfice hours on Monday.

Rights groups have hit out at the ruling Chinese Communist Party for keeping up a "stranglehold" on dissidents and rights activists in recent years, subjecting thousands to arbitrary detention in labor camps and unofficial "black jails."

China's army of petitioners—many of whom pursue complaints against the government over forced evictions, wrongful detention, physical attacks, and deaths in custody—are increasingly targeted by police and officials for punishment.

Many of those who pursue official complaints against government wrongdoing in their hometowns have done so to no avail for several years; some for decades. Many are middle-aged or elderly people with little or no income who rent ramshackle accommodation in Beijing's "petitioner villages."

Earlier this month, a petitions website set up by the Communist Party to handle public complaints crashed on its first day of operation, amid widespread speculation that the sheer number of petitioners had overloaded the server.

Reported by Lin Jing for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Xin Lin for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Posted by Unknown 12:28 PM

Outcome of probes in Bodh Gaya blasts to come soon: RPN Singh

Tuesday, Jul 9, 2013,  | Place: Deoria | Agency: PTI

In reply to a query over recent incursion by Chinese troops into the Indian territory, Singh said that "talks were on and the country believes in having good ties with all of its neighbouring countries".

 Union minister RPN Singh today said investigations were on in the serial blasts in Bodh Gaya and its outcome would be before all in days to come.

"Central government is getting the serial blasts in Bodh Gaya investigated and its results would be before the people soon," Singh, the Union minister of State for Home Affairs, told reporters here.

In reply to a query over recent incursion by Chinese troops into the Indian territory, Singh said that "talks were on and the country believes in having good ties with all of its neighbouring countries".

On terrorism and naxalism, the Union minister said that the Congress-led UPA government has taken several steps to contain terrorism and naxalism and it would require enough time to elaborate on them.

In a separate query, he said that he would request the state government to release five people belonging to Gond caste, who were lodged in the Deoria jail on alleged charges of beating up officials of Padrauna tehsil.

The incident took place in June last year following a heated argument over caste and salary certificates for the community.

Singh added that they had taken law in their hands on an issue relating to peoples interest and so they required to be treated with sympathy.

Daily News & Analysis

Posted by Unknown 7:00 AM

At least four explosions rock Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodhgaya

Agencies  New Delhi, July 07, 2013

At least four explosions were reported from a temple in Bihar's Bodhgaya on Sunday morning, causing minor injuries to two people.

According to TV reports, authorities confirmed that the explosions were local in nature and crude bombs had been used for the blasts.

Further, due to the timing of the blasts only minimal damage has been caused. No structural damage has been reported from the temple.

Mahabodhi is the one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage centres in Bihar and is also the state's most important tourist spot.

According to reports, Bodhgaya is a high priority area throughout the year and thus, there is always an adequate amount of security cover there.

Pilgrims are thoroughly checked before they enter the temple's premises.

Local administration is on the spot of the blast and is trying to investigate the cause of the explosions. They are also trying to ascertain the point of breach of security.

Posted by Unknown 7:50 PM

Plane Crashes on Runway at San Francisco International Airport

ABC News

An Asiana Airlines flight carrying 290 passengers and one infant, according to San Francisco EMS, made an apparent crash landing on the runway of the San Francisco International Airport today.

Asiana flight 214, a Boeing 777, was traveling from Seoul, South Korea, to San Francisco, according to FlightAware.com.

A video posted on YouTube showed gray smoke billowing from the plane, which was lying on the runway on its fuselage. Chutes had been deployed from the plane’s emergency exits.

Get Live Updates with ABC News’ Live Blog of the Plane Crash at San Francisco Airport

Aerials of the crash, provided by ABC’s San Francisco station KGO-TV, showed the plane’s tail severed from its body, as well as the majority of the aircraft’s roof charred away. One of the plane’s wings appears to have snapped upon impact. Debris from the crash landing was scattered across the airport’s runway 28.

Law enforcement official told ABC News that the crash appeared to be an accident, but that they were investigating.

A witness described to ABC News what he saw when the plane was landing.

“The nose of the plane was higher than usual for a plane coming in to land and I thought that was odd,” Stephen Dear said. “It got closer and closer. I saw the back tail hit the ground.”

Dear said the plane then “caught fire immediately.”

Dominic Garcia, who also witnessed the crash, told ABC News that when the plane hit the runway, he saw what appeared to be “a huge mushroom cloud.”

“Within 15 seconds it was just black smoke,” he said. “It looked like an explosion.”

Stephanie Turner, another witness, said that when she saw the plane coming in for landing, it looked as if it was approaching the runway at a strange angle.

“As we saw the approaching Asiana flight coming in, I noticed right away that the angle was wrong, that it was tilted too far back,” she said. “The angle didn’t manage to straighten out and the tail broke off.”

Turner said when she saw the plane crash land, “we were sure that we had just seen a lot of people die.”

“It looked like the plane had completely broken apart,” she said. “The flames and smoke were just billowing.”

Turner said that when the plane hit the runway, the tail hit first and then the plane flipped and cartwheeled onto the runway.

The Boeing 777 is one of the safest airplanes in use, ABC News aviation analyst John Nance said.

“These airplanes are over the water, over the ocean all the time and Asiana has been running them for many years very successfully,” Nance said.

The last Boeing 777 to crash was a British Airways jet en route from Beijing to London’s Heathrow airport, which crash landed short of the runway in January 2008. There were no fatalities, but 47 people on board sustained injuries.

The details of the landing were unclear and it is currently unknown whether there are any casualties.

Posted by Unknown 4:41 PM

27 Die in Fresh Xinjiang Violence

Twenty-seven people were killed in clashes sparked by an attack on a police station in Pichan county on June 26, 2013.RFA

Twenty-seven people have been killed in new clashes in the troubled northwestern region of Xinjiang, official Chinese media reported on Wednesday, saying the violence was sparked by an attack on a remote rural police station by a "knife-wielding mob."

The authorities have imposed a security and communication clampdown in Lukchun township, Pichan (in Chinese, Shanshan) county where the incident occurred, and Uyghur rights groups accused Beijing of staging a cover-up and called for an independent probe into the circumstances that led to the killings.

Xinjiang is home to some 9 million ethnic minority Uyghurs, who say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination and oppressive religious controls under Beijing’s policies, blaming the problems partly on the influx of Han Chinese into the region.

"Knife-wielding mobs attacked the township's police stations, the local government building and a construction site, stabbing at people and setting fire to police cars," the state Xinhua news agency quoted regional-level officials of the ruling Chinese Communist Party as saying.

The clashes broke out at around 6:00 a.m. local time in Lukchun township near the Silk Road city of Turpan.

According to the official version of events, attackers killed 17 people, including nine police and security personnel, before police opened fire on them, killing 10.

It was one of the bloodiest incidents since unrest in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi killed nearly 200 on July 5, 2009.

Troop clampdown

An employee who answered the phone at a hotel in the Pichan county town said the clashes had quickly been suppressed by a large influx of troops.

"The army came here as soon as the main incident occurred, and suppressed everything," she said. "If they had let things drag out, it could have taken two or three days to sort out."

"The security measures are tighter today, with patrols and so on."

Dilxat Raxit, Sweden-based spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), questioned the circumstances which led to the killings, saying the only public account of the incident was relayed by Xinhua.

"This claim that so-called 'civilians' [were killed] comes from an attempt by China to cover up the real issues about which the Uyghurs were protesting," he said.

"After the clashes, the authorities imposed an information blackout and cut off local access to the Internet, forbidding people to go outside," Raxit said.

He said police raids are continuing in the area, and "a large number" of Uyghurs have been detained.

"There are large numbers of security personnel in military uniform in that township and county," he said.

Police have launched an investigation, and three suspects are currently in detention, Xinhua said, adding that the authorities are still in pursuit of others who had fled the scene.

Three people were receiving treatment at a local hospital on Wednesday for injuries sustained in the violence, it said.

Earlier blast

Separately, at least 12 Uyghurs were killed in a blast apparently triggered by explosive devices they were carrying while being pursued by police in Xinjiang's Aksu prefecture earlier this month, according to local officials.

The group was killed when they were cornered by police after they eluded a house-to-house search by police in Ghorachol town in Awat county, local town official Adil Semet said.

When police confronted the group near an area controlled by a semi-military unit 25 kilometers (15 miles) away, “some of them were arrested, some of them blew themselves up and others escaped,” Adil Semet told RFA’s Uyghur Service.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party’s local committee “told us that 12 of the suspects were killed,” he said.

His account could not be independently confirmed. Residents of Ghorachol were reluctant to speak about the alleged explosion, saying that they feared for their safety.

Call for independent probe

The Uyghur American Association (UAA) asked the international community to push Beijing to provide details of Wednesday's incident.

“What we know about events today stems from information provided by the Chinese state media. This alone should give cause for the international community to seek more details on this incident,” said UAA President, Alim Seytoff in a statement.

“In order to ensure no violations of human rights have occurred, a full and independent investigation is required. The three men allegedly detained should be accorded judicial procedures that meet international standards,” he said.

The incident came nearly a week after authorities in Xinjiang sentenced 19 Uyghurs to jail for alleged crimes linked to "religious extremism," Chinese media reported. Rights groups said the sentences were meant to send a message to Uyghurs in the lead-up to the upcoming Urumqi violence anniversary.

A resident of Pichan county told RFA's Mandarin service that security in the formerly sleepy melon-growing town was now extremely tight following the incident.

"Now they aren't letting people wander around, and there's going to be an anti-terrorist sweep or some such thing," said the Han Chinese resident, who declined to be named.

"[All the officials and police] are out of the office. I think there must be tight security in place over there right now, given that it was such a violent incident," he said.

He added that around 80 percent of Lukchun's population are ethnic minority Uyghurs, who mainly farm vegetables and melons for a living.

He appeared skeptical of official claims that the attacks were the work of a terrorist group.

"The government is saying it was the work of terrorists, but nowadays, as soon as there's any trouble with the ethnic minorities, it gets lumped in with terrorism," he said.

"Maybe they had a rush of anger because some of their demands weren't met."

Official response

Repeated calls to the Lukchun township government, police department and police station went unanswered during office hours on Wednesday.

An officer who answered the phone at the police department in nearby Tuha declined to comment.

"I don't know about this," the officer said. "I am hanging up the phone now."

Raxit said local Uyghur sources had characterized the attacks as the result of persecution and provocation by police and government officials.

"There were no peaceful channels open to Uyghurs through which to protest," he said, calling on the international community to visit the area to gather more information.

"They should exert more pressure on the Chinese government, who we call on not to distort the truth," Raxit said.

"They should make known to the international community the factors surrounding this incident in a transparent manner," he added.

A Han Chinese employee who answered the phone at a business in Lukchun on Wednesday said the homes of Chinese migrants to the area weren't being included in police raids.

"There are a lot of police on patrol, but I'm not too worried," he said. "This wasn't a major incident. There are already a lot of police in Xinjiang anyway."

Reported by Hai Nan for RFA's Cantonese service, and by Xin Lin for the Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Posted by Unknown 3:26 PM

North Korean Authorities Tracking Sensitive DVD

A still from the film '71: Into the Fire,' released in 2010. The Picture Desk

North Korean authorities have detained a number of DVD retailers as they desperately try to track down the source responsible for circulating a sensitive South Korean movie about the Korean War, according to sources inside the country.

The movie, “71: Into the Fire,” relates the story of 71 student-soldiers who were mostly killed on August 11, 1950 during the Battle of P'ohang-dong while defending a strategically-located girls' middle school from an attack by North Korean forces.

Despite the losses, the students—most of whom had never before fired a gun—successfully turned away the attack in what proved to be a turning point for the South in the Korean War.

Sources inside North Korea told RFA’s Korean Service that DVDs of the movie had become widely circulated in North Hamgyeong province’s Chongjin city and that authorities were working hard to track down those responsible for releasing it.

“The marketplaces have been thrown into confusion because of an order to find the people who spread the movie,” a source in North Hamgyeong province said on condition of anonymity.

“It is insane to crack down on a movie that has already spread as far as possible,” he said, echoing complaints from area merchants.

Another source in North Hamgyeong province said that many DVD retailers had been taken in for questioning in connection with the movie.

“Most of the DVD sellers in Chongjin were taken in for investigation and some have not yet been released from the State Security Department,” the source said.

Authorities were tipped off by a “citizen’s report” around June 7 saying that a man surnamed Jo in Chongjin had been burning the DVDs with a copying machine and selling them to the public.

At a subsequent search of the man’s home, authorities confiscated a laptop, a DVD copying machine, USB memory sticks, and around 1,000 discs featuring more than 100 movies from South Korea, the U.S., China, Thailand and India.

The discovery led authorities to bring in several DVD retailers for questioning, the source said, and those who were in possession of "71: Into the Fire" discs have yet to be released.

Authorities ‘too late’

A resident of Chongjin who had seen the movie said that authorities moved too late to stop its spread.

“'71: Into the Fire' was popular, but the craze has died down. Most people have already thrown away the DVD after watching the movie,” the resident said.

“The State Security Department is trying to grasp how wide the movie has spread and an order to catch the first distributor has been relayed by the North Korean Workers’ Party,” he added.

The resident said that although the movie was no longer popular, it had left a lasting impression on those who viewed it.

“Since the movie is based on a true story, some people in Chongjin received a shock. It is very different from what the [North Korean] government tells us had happened,” he said.

“I was touched by the story which shows that South Koreans also value their mother country and its system above their individual lives.”

Reported by Sung Hui Moon for RFA’s Korean Service. Translated by Goeun Yu. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Posted by Unknown 4:38 PM

Chen Guangcheng Says Chinese Pressure Forcing Him Out of NYU

Chen Guangcheng speaks alongside his wife after receiving a U.S. award on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 29, 2013. AFP

By Luisetta Mudie (RFA)

Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng said Monday that pressure from the ruling Chinese Communist Party is forcing him out of an apartment provided by New York University where he had been living as a visiting law scholar since his escape to the U.S. from house arrest last year.

In a statement contradicting the university's version of events, Chen said his family had been given until the end of the month to move out of their accommodations amid prodding from Beijing.

"As early as last August and September, the Chinese Communists had already begun to apply great, unrelenting pressure on New York University, so much so that after we had been in the United States just three to four months, NYU was already starting to discuss our departure with us," Chen said in a statement posted on the website of the U.S.-based Christian rights group ChinaAid.

His rare public statement comes after last week's strong denial of any political pressure from NYU law professor Jerome Cohen, who was instrumental in bringing Chen to the university to study after the dissident took refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Chen said Beijing now exerts an ever-widening influence on U.S. academic life.

"The work of the Chinese Communists within academic circles in the United States is far greater than what people imagine, and some scholars have no option but to hold themselves back," he said.

"Academic independence and academic freedom in the United States are being greatly threatened by a totalitarian regime," Chen added.

University's 'extraordinary generosity'

Cohen, who has acted as Chen's mentor and adviser since hurried diplomatic talks following the activist's daring midnight flight from his heavily guarded hometown in Shandong's Yinan county, last week rejected initial reports that Chen was "booted out" of NYU, which is planning to build a campus in Shanghai.

He told the Washington Post newspaper in an e-mail last week that the college's "extraordinary generosity" towards Chen, his wife Yuan Weijing, and the couple's two children, couldn't be expected to continue forever.

In his statement, Chen thanked Cohen and others at NYU, adding: "[Their] assistance has allowed us to have a smooth transition to the United States."

Chen and his family have been given until the end of June to leave their present accommodation and have been told that they will have to seek hotel accommodation in the absence of an alternative.

Financial difficulties

Chen indicated the family was now facing financial difficulties.

"Whether it was the dangers I faced in China or the current momentary difficulties we face, I will never bow my head to evil or to lies," he wrote.

"China’s Communist rulers hope to use these means to disturb our normal life, and even want to make me so busy trying to earn a living that I don’t have time for human rights advocacy," he said.

'Chasing the China dollar'

According to ChinaAid founder Bob Fu, U.S. universities are currently reluctant to work with activists who speak out against Beijing.

"American universities are out chasing the China dollar," Fu said in a statement accompanying Chen's.

"It does not always have to be direct pressure from Beijing, there is also self-censorship, particularly if a college president believes their China campus or the future enrollment of Chinese students will be sabotaged."

A spokesman for New York's Fordham University has confirmed that the university's law school is "in negotiations" with Chen over his future study plans, but has given no further details.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer who exposed forced abortions under the China's one-child policy and defended the rights of ordinary people, was jailed for four years in 2006 for "disrupting traffic and damaging property."

After 18 months of house arrest in Shandong's Dongshigu village, Chen Guangcheng outwitted his guards and made his way to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where after a diplomatic firestorm Chinese and American officials eventually struck a deal allowing him and his family to go to New York to study.

Posted by Unknown 3:10 PM

Clampdown Imposed as Nun Secretly Cremated After Burning Protest

Assembly of monks at Nyatso monastery, June 10, 2013.
Photo courtesy of an RFA listener.

Chinese authorities have moved to block demonstrations of support for a Tibetan nun who was secretly cremated after she died days after her self-immolation protest in Sichuan province,  according to sources. 

The local government in Tawu (in Chinese, Daofu) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has also restricted family members of Wangchen Dolma to their home after she died in hospital on Friday following her burning protest three days earlier during a large religious gathering near a monastery, Tibetan sources in the region and in exile said.

On the same day of the death of Wangchen Dolma, aged 31, a group of local officials arrived at her home, an area resident told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Sunday.

“[They] forbade their neighbors, relatives, nuns, and monks from visiting her house,” the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“At the same time, they ordered family members to remain within the confines of their house,” he said.

Separately, Tibet’s India-based government in exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), confirmed Wangchen Dolma’s June 14 death at a hospital in Sichuan’s Dartsedo (Kangding) county, adding that Chinese authorities had quickly cremated the nun’s remains at the hospital rather than return them to her family.

“The authorities have surreptitiously cremated the body at the hospital. They have also kept the family members of the deceased under house arrest,” the CTA said on its website on Monday.

Because authorities had cut off all phone and Internet connections to the area, details concerning the nun’s identity and background were not immediately available after her self-immolation, CTA said.

'Additional distress'

A copy of a flyer circulated at
a religious gathering asking for
prayers for self-immolator
Wangchen Dolma.

Authorities’ refusal to hand over Wangchen Dolma’s remains or ashes so that her family could perform traditional death ceremonies have caused her relatives “additional distress,” the London-based Free Tibet advocacy group said in a  statement on Monday.

“Chinese authorities also prevented local people from visiting the family to pray and show solidarity. The family were ordered to not contact people about Wangchen Dolma’s protest or visit the monastery,” Free Tibet said.

Following Dolma’s protest, monks and nuns attending the annual gathering at Nyatso monastery circulated a leaflet requesting “prayers and blessings” for the deceased nun, “who self-immolated … for Tibet’s political and religious freedom.”

While the majority of Tibetans who have set themselves ablaze to protest Chinese rule are lay people, “it is not uncommon for them to stage their protests near monasteries,” Free Tibet director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren said in a statement the day after Wangchen Dolma’s protest.

“While Chinese authorities have permitted the gathering at Nyatso monastery this year, Tibet’s religious heritage has been decimated by the Chinese occupation and what remains is barely tolerated by the regime.”

“Restrictions on religious practice by the Chinese regime are among the deepest grievances of the Tibetan people,” Byrne-Rosengren said.

Wangchen Dolma was a daughter of the Gyalbum family of Drakthok village in Tawu, the source said. Her father’s name was Tenzin and her mother’s name was Yudron.

Wangchen Dolma’s fatal burning brings to 120 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans protesting Chinese rule since the wave of fiery protests began in February 2009.

Reported by Lumbum Tashi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karme Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Posted by Unknown 3:08 PM

Thailand, Myanmar mull exchange of white elephant

The Nation

Thailand plans to borrow a white elephant from Myanmar as a symbol to mark 65 years of bilateral ties between the countries, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said yesterday.

Surapong said the Thai delegation discussed the idea with Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin during this week's Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation meeting in Bali. Diplomatic relations between the two countries will reach their 65th anniversary next year, and Surapong said an "auspicious" white elephant might play the symbolic role of a good-will ambassador, following in the footsteps of China's "panda ambassador" Lin Ping. The elephant could be displayed in Chiang Mai Zoo for six months to boost tourism, he said.

The Myanmar ambassador told Surapong that he would discuss the matter with the Nay Pyi Taw government.

Surapong also reported his discussion with U Wunna Maung Lwin on the European Union's wish for Thailand to aid some 2,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar for Thailand this year. The Myanmar minister assured him that a working team, led by Myanmar's ambassador to Thailand, was set to begin the process of verifying the Rohingya's nationality next week. Four months of the six-month period designated for Thailand to aid the Rohingya had already passed, so the identification process would aim for completion in two months, he said.

Surapong added that he had told EU representatives that Thailand had given what humanitarian aid it could to the Rohingya, but it was not a rich country. The EU should also help take in these immigrants, and not just leave them as Thailand's sole responsibility, he said.

Posted by Unknown 6:50 PM