Engnews June 2012

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RFA BREAKING NEWS: Helicopters Fire on Rohingya Refugees

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Helicopters Fire on Rohingya Refugees JUNE 20, 2012—Helicopters opened fire on boats carrying Rohingya Muslims heading to Bangladesh and fleeing sectarian violence in west Burma, according to refugees who survived the sea ordeal. The refugees said they witnessed children drowning and starving to death during their perilous journey. The shooting took place after Bangladesh border guards turned back six boats of refugees as they tried to enter the country from neighbouring Burma across the river Naf to Teknaf town in the southernmost part of mainland Bangladesh, the witnesses told RFA. "We floated in the sea for four days and my younger brother starved to death," said Minara Begum, a 10-year-old girl, speaking through an interpreter. "We had six boats. Then a helicopter came and opened fire, and three boats were lost, all of those people [in them] were killed," She did not specify the exact date of the incident, which occurred earlier this month, or whether the helicopters were from Burma or Bangladesh, Minara Begum, who is from Sittwe, the capital of violence-hit Rakhine state in Burma, is among a group of refugees sheltered and hidden from the authorities by a Bangladeshi woman. The woman said she was moved by the plight of the Rohingyas, a stateless people described by the U.N. as one of the world's most persecuted minorities. Helicopter fire Mohammed Islam, a young father also from Sittwe, said he was among those who left in the group of six boats, three of which he said came under helicopter fire. "Because we couldn't endure the torture, we took six boats and left our homeland," he said, citing burning of homes and mosques and killings and other sectarian violence triggered in the first week of June in which he said two of his children and up to 25 of his relatives died. "Three [boats] were together and three became separated from the group," he said. "These three that fell behind were set on fire by the helicopters." "At first, we couldn’t be sure that the boats were being fired on because of the sound of our engine but then we saw the boats catch fire." Mohammed Islam said three children died on his boat. “We threw them into the sea because they were dead." Another 10-year-old girl, Nahida Begum, said she was the only child who managed to swim ashore after their boat was turned back. The vessel, carrying her grandmother and many other children, including a nursing infant, was very small, not seaworthy and possibly took on water. Third attempt A woman, Shahra Khatun, said her boat was turned back twice and although it managed to land on its third attempt, three children on the vessel, including two of her's, died while waiting out at sea. "My five-year-old boy died of starvation and heat on the boat," she said. "They burned all of our homes and killed my sisters and brothers, that's why I came here," she said referring to the violence in Rakhine state which has left about 60 dead with tens of thousands displaced, according to official estimates. At least 2,000 Rohingyas have tried to enter Bangladesh following the violence between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state in Burma since early June but most were either turned back or detained. In a June 18 incident cited by witnesses who spoke to RFA, the Bangladesh authorities turned back about 130 mostly young Rohingya men. "This is the first time I have ever done anything like this," said a Bangladesh security officer, identifying himself as Major Salif, who oversaw a feeding program for the 130 Rohingyas before they were put back on their boats and sent away. "According to my understanding, this [turning back the refugees] will go on for sometime but God willing it will take its natural course and settle down soon," Salif, the commanding officer at the Shapuri Dip Jetty in Teknaf, told RFA. Strained Bangladesh says its resources are already too strained and has refused to accept the Rohingyas despite appeals from the United Nations to grant them refugee status. Bangladeshi officials estimate that a total of 300,000 Rohingya people live in the country, with only about a tenth of them in two official refugee camps in the southern district of Cox's Bazaar. Burma considers the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship while Bangladesh says Rohingya have been living in Burma for centuries and should be recognized there as citizens. Reported by an RFA correspondent in Bangladesh. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/refugees-06202012193820.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

13 years

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Key Police Witness to Urumqi Riots Dies

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Key Police Witness to Urumqi Riots Dies JUNE 20, 2012—The former chief of a police station in the capital of China’s restive Xinjiang region who was a firsthand witness to some of the worst ethnic violence in the country has died suddenly, raising suspicions as to the cause of his death, according to various sources. Tursun Bexti, who had dealt with sensitive cases involving Uyghurs missing in the aftermath of 2009 clashes in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi, was found dead in the yard outside his home in mid-May, sources told RFA. His death raised unease among some Uyghurs because he was in his early 40’s and the death occurred just after RFA’s Uyghur service reported individual and detailed accounts of Uyghurs who disappeared in the aftermath of the bloody riots. An officer contacted by RFA at the Urumqi Municipal Public Security Bureau confirmed he had died last month but declined to give further details. As chief of an Urumqi police station during the July 5, 2009 riots between Han Chinese and ethnic Uyghurs —the worst ethnic violence in China’s recent history—he had detailed knowledge about Uyghurs who disappeared following the unrest, sources said. Exile Uyghur groups say some 10,000 Uyghurs were reported missing following the violence, which according to official statistics left some 200 dead. Most of those disappeared are believed to have been taken into custody in large-scale roundups, often with little or no notice or explanation given to their relatives. Following the unrest, Tursun Bexti was transferred to the petitioning office of the city’s Public Security Bureau, where he accepted and recorded the cases of Uyghur families demanding information about their missing loved ones. “He was engaged in very sensitive and hard cases,” a police officer at the bureau who wished to be identified only as Zohre said. Tursun Bexti had earned a reputation for attempts to be fair toward other members of the minority in his work, despite being part of an institution they often regarded as biased against them, sources said. Another police officer suggested that his death may be linked to his excessive questioning of authority. “It is true that he was one of those who did not follow the orders of [higher] authorities without questioning them. He was always raising questions of ‘Why?’ and ‘What for?” to the authorities,” the police officer told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity. “I guess this was the cause of his death,” he said. Funeral One source said Tursun Bexti died on May 14 and was buried two days later, as soon as his sons had returned to Urumqi from their universities in eastern China for the ceremony. "His body was kept for two days until his two sons came from universities in inner China to attend the funeral. The funeral was conducted on Wednesday [May 16],” he said. Ablet Rahman, a police officer from the Tianshan subdivision of the Urumqi Public Security Bureau who attended the funeral, said that the family had wanted to wait longer to hold the ceremony but authorities had rushed them. He added that authorities promised his sons jobs after their graduation in an apparent attempt to ease any concerns. “On Wednesday at the ceremony, our [police] chief Kadeer Memet promised Tursun Bexti’s family members that his sons would start work at the Urumqi public security department as soon they finished school,” he said. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur service. Translated by Shohret Hoshur. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/policeman-06182012155524.html <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burn-06202012095119.html> Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

13 years

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Blind Dissident Chen Says US Vowed to Push China

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Blind Dissident Chen Says US Vowed to Push China MAY 3, 2012—Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng said Thursday that the United States had given him an assurance that it would push Beijing to respect his rights and freedom if these were violated while he remains in China. The assurance, he told RFA's Mandarin service, was a key component of a U.S.-China deal that prodded him on Wednesday to leave the U.S. Embassy in Beijing where he had sought refuge after a dramatic escape from house arrest in his rural Shandong province. In an interview, Chen, who is bedridden with his foot in plaster at a Beijing hospital, said the Chinese authorities appeared to be defying the bilateral deal by placing restrictions on him in terms of phone contact and family movements, as well as by making threats to his wife. Chen, a crusading lawyer who had exposed forced abortions and sterilizations under China's "one-child" policy, is now requesting political asylum for himself and his family in the United States, throwing into doubt the deal used to coax him out of his sanctuary in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The 40-year-old activist said he decided on Wednesday to leave the U.S. Embassy only after Beijing agreed that his "civic rights and freedom would be protected." He was also assured of medical treatment, being reunited with his family, and arrangements made for him to pursue further studies at a university under the deal hammered out in talks led by Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on the American side. "I asked Mr. Campbell what would happen if these conditions were not met. And he said if the conditions were not met, they [the U.S. side] would continue to express concern and ask that the terms of the agreement be fulfilled," Chen said in the interview. Washington acknowledged Thursday that Chen and his family now want to leave the country and said it is in talks with him about his options. No visitors Chen said he has received no visits from friends or well-wishers on Thursday. "No, not one," he said, when asked if anyone had been to visit him. He added that contact by phone was also unreliable. "Yesterday evening I wasn't able to call out or receive calls at all," he said. RFA had dialed his number nonstop for one hour, getting a busy signal each time, before he picked up on Thursday. Chen said his phone hadn't rung and that he had received the call only because he randomly "hit the button." He said he had only been on the phone for a total of 10 minutes during the past few hours. Asked if there were any restrictions on his wife's movements within Chaoyang Hospital, he said, "Yes, it seems that there are. [My wife] hasn't been out of the hospital, but she has been out of the building." "Yes, [she was stopped] yesterday," said Chen, who is now staying in his hospital with his wife Yuan Weijing and the couple's two children. A U.S. State Department spokeswoman told reporters on Thursday that American officials are planning to talk further with Chen, to decide whether he and his family should leave their homeland and seek asylum in the United States. “It is clear now that in the last 12 to 15 hours they ... have had a change of heart,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. “We need to consult with them further, get a better sense of what they want to do, and together consider their options.” Rights groups expressed "concern" for Chen's safety, should he and his family remain in China. "On the basis of a promise from the Chinese government ... U.S. diplomats hastily delivered Chen from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to a local hospital designated by Chinese officials on May 2," the Hong Kong-based group China Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) said in a statement. "Six days after Chen reached the embassy to seek sanctuary, his fate is now back in the hands of the very government that has been complicit in disappearing, detaining, and assaulting him over the past seven years, including, most brutally, from the time he was placed under house arrest in September of 2010 until his daring escape on April 22," it said. 'Never pressured' U.S. Ambassador to Beijing Gary Locke denied that Chen was pressured in any way, adding that the activist had appeared keen to leave shortly after a phone call from his wife. He told reporters that U.S. officials were prepared to have him stay much longer, if a deal couldn't be reached. "I can tell you unequivocally that he was never pressured to leave," Locke told a news briefing in Beijing on Thursday. "He was excited and eager about leaving when he made his decision." But he added: "He also fully knew of what ... staying in the embassy would entail if he decided not to leave. And he was fully aware of and talked about what might happen to his family if he stayed in the embassy and they stayed in the village in Shandong province," Locke said. Asked what was the deciding factor in his decision to leave the U.S. Embassy, Chen replied: "It was because they threatened me. They said that if I didn't go straight to the hospital, that they would take my wife straight back to Shandong." Zeng Jinyan, a fellow activist and friend of Chen and his wife, reported via Twitter that the couple now fear for their future. A transcribed phone conversation between Chen and rights lawyer Teng Biao posted on the website of the U.S.-based ChinaAid Christian group detailed how Chen was swayed by advice he received from Teng, and how differently things might have gone if he had spoken to him before he left the embassy. "If not for your own sake, but for the sake of your family and friends who tried to rescue you, you should still go back to the U.S. Embassy and find a way to go to the U.S.," Teng is quoted as telling his friend. "If this stays unsettled, all of you will be in danger.... We don’t want to see you sacrifice more and pay a heavier price." Reported by Zhang Min for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated by Luisetta Mudie and Jennifer Chou. Written in English by Luisetta Mudie and Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/requests-05032012102805.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

13 years

Release: Radio Free Asia Wins at 2012 New York Festivals

by Rohit Mahajan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2012 Contact: Rohit Mahajan 202 530 4976 <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org Radio Free Asia Wins at 2012 New York Festivals RFA Uyghur, Korean Broadcasters Earn Gold and Finalist Spots WASHINGTON - Radio Free Asia Uyghur service broadcaster Shohret Hoshur won a gold medal at this year's New York Festivals radio awards in the category of best coverage of a breaking news story. In addition, three broadcasters from RFA's Korean service were named as finalists in separate categories as announced at the international broadcasting contest's awards reception last night in New York. "At Radio Free Asia, our lives are focused on the audiences we serve in the most repressive information environments on earth. We are dedicated to bringing a voice to the voiceless, promoting the free exchange of ideas, and shining a light on events occurring in the dark," said Libby Liu, President of Radio Free Asia. "We are honored by the New York Festivals' recognition of our programs' excellence, and we are constantly inspired by our audiences to fulfill our crucial mission of bringing uncensored news to millions living in closed societies." Information about RFA's winner and finalists, and their entries follows. . RFA Uyghur's Shohret Hoshur's gold-medal-winning entry, titled "Hear the Children Cry Freedom," chronicles an incident in which four Uyghur youths, the youngest being 7 years old, were jailed following a deadly clash with Chinese police on Dec. 28, 2011. The youths were branded by the authorities as traitors for trying to seek political asylum outside China. The piece won in the category of best coverage of a breaking news story. . RFA Korean service broadcaster Jung Min Noh was named as a finalist in the contest's category of social issues/current events programming for his series on a bicycle rally and human rights campaign in Europe to bring attention to China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees. . RFA Korean's Won Hee Lee was named as a finalist in the category of best human interest story for her piece on a Korean-American living in the United States engaged in a project attempting to reunite families separated after the Korean War through personalized video greeting letters. . RFA Korean's Jinseo Lee was named as a finalist in the category of educational programming for his series on a group of North and South Korean college students meeting in Germany to discuss the possibility of a unified Korea. # # # Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA's broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to "seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Rohit Mahajan Media Relations Manager Radio Free Asia Email: mahajanr(a)rfa.org Desk: (202) 530-4976 Cell: (202) 489-8021 www.rfa.org

13 years

RFA BREAKING NEWS: Massive Security Buildup in Tibet’s Capital Lhasa

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Massive Security Buildup in Tibet’s Capital Lhasa June 1, 2012—More than 3,000 security personnel have been deployed to bolster security in Lhasa following the first Tibetan self-immolation protest in the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, according to an official document obtained by RFA. One protester who survived the burning last Sunday has been identified as a former monk, but details on his condition were not made available after he was bundled into a security vehicle and taken away from the protest site in front of the famous Jokhang Temple in central Lhasa, sources said. According to the official document dated May 29, the security forces deployed in the capital to “carry out investigations in sensitive areas” include “large contingents of armed police, soldiers, and special forces.” “They have stopped all vehicles and pedestrians in Lhasa city, thoroughly searching inside the vehicles and checking identity papers,” said the Chinese-language report, the first official account of the magnitude of the security buildup in Lhasa, which had already seen heightened security since anti-government riots rocked the capital four years ago. “In the last 24 hours alone, 11,731 vehicles and 28,046 individuals have been searched,” it said. Among those, it said, 157 Tibetans from the Tibetan-populated Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Yunnan “were closely questioned, and 35 who were found without proper permits were sent back to their native places.” In addition, 13 monks and nuns were also repatriated to the Chinese provinces, the report said. Earlier accounts this week said hundreds of Tibetans have been detained since the May 27 self-immolation amid additional controls imposed on the Internet and telephone lines. “Controls on Tibetans’ mobile phones and other electronic devices in Ngaba have been increased, and it is now hard for them to communicate not only with the outside but even with [Sichuan’s provincial capital] Chengdu and neighboring areas of China,” Kanyag Tsering , a Tibetan monk living in India, said, citing sources in the region. Protester identified as former monk Meanwhile, the young Tibetan man who survived the self-immolation was identified as a former monk from the restive Kirti monastery in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) prefecture in Sichuan. Dargye, 25, apparently survived his burns after Chinese security forces extinguished the flames of the two self-immolators and took him to hospital, sources said. The other protester, identified as Dorje Tseten, died at the scene, state media reported. Dargye came from Soruma village in the Choejema township of Ngaba prefecture’s Ngaba county, Kanyag Tsering said. Dargye’s father’s name is Lodey and his mother’s name is Shekyi, Tsering said. “He was the youngest of six children. He joined Kirti monastery at a young age, and a few years ago he disrobed and took a job as a cashier at a restaurant in Lhasa owned by the Chukel family, a trading family from Ngaba.” Following Dargye’s self-immolation, Chinese authorities detained the restaurant owner, together with his wife and family and six members of a Lhasa-area Ngaba community association, Tsering said. Five of those detained were identified as Nyurgyog, Khambey, Tamdrin Kyab, Sangdrak, and the group’s chairman, Drolma Kyab. The identity of the sixth group member is still unknown. Separately, another former monk from Ngaba, Khedrub Dramnak, was also detained, Kanyag Tsering said. Dargye’s and Dorje Tseten’s self-immolations were the first reported in the Tibetan capital amid a wave of other burning protests, now totaling 38, by Tibetans challenging China’s rule in historically Tibetan areas and calling for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Most of the previous protests have taken place in Sichuan province’s Ngaba and Kardze prefectures and in two other Tibetan-populated provinces in western China, Qinghai and Gansu. On Wednesday, in the latest self-immolation, a Tibetan mother of three set herself ablaze in Ngaba prefecture’s Dzamthang county. Reported by Tseten Namgyal, Rigdhen Dolma, and Dorjee Tso for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai and Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/deployed-06012012161632.html Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation broadcasting and publishing online news, information, and commentary in nine East Asian languages to listeners who do not have access to full and free news media. RFA’s broadcasts seek to promote the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” RFA is funded by an annual grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you no longer wish to receive RFA news releases, send an e-mail to engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

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Engnews June 2012