Engnews December 2015

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RFA Breaking News: Curfew Imposed in Lao Province After Deadly Violence

by Richard Finney

Curfew Imposed in Lao Province After Deadly Violence Dec. 11, 2015 - Lao authorities have imposed a curfew in north-central Xaysomboun Province after a spate of violence in which three government soldiers and three civilians were killed, police and other sources said Friday. The authorities blamed the violence last month on bandits, but a source close to the government said an anti-government resistance group was behind the killing of the three soldiers and wounding of several others, a rare development in tightly-ruled Laos where there have been no known armed rebel groups operating in recent years. Police confirmed that a curfew had been imposed and said the situation was under control. “The situation in the province is peaceful," Lieutenant Colonel Bouanphanh, chief of Xaysomboun’s Police Department told RFA on Friday. "We just finished celebrating the Lao National Day this morning." He blamed "bandits" for one of at least six incidents of violence over the last month in the province, saying, "We are investigating." Traditionally celebrated on Dec. 2, Lao National Day was observed on Dec. 11 in Xaysomboun due to security concerns, a source close to the government said. Under curfew A retired Lao soldier close to a high-ranking officer in the Ministry of National Defense, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFA's Lao Service that security had been immensely beefed up to prevent further violence. "Now people in the province are under curfew. From 6 p.m. they must be inside their houses," he said. "Government officials [in charge of security at night] have to sleep in bunkers." He and another government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said three soldiers were killed between Nov. 15 and Nov. 18 when they pursued the anti-government resistance group, which sustained unknown casualties. The pursuit occurred after the group was believed to have killed the 10-year-old daughter of a government military officer in a shootout at the officer's residence on Nov. 12, the retired soldier said, without giving any other details of the group. Ten days after the incident, the group was involved in another shootout involving several trucks along a main road, leaving two people dead, he said. There were also shootouts between government forces and the group during the Nov. 23-24 period, and on Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, he said, without giving any details of the incidents or casualties. "Soldiers and people injured are being treated in 103 Military Hospital” in Xaysomboun Province, he said. “The three soldiers who died in the gunfire exchange are from 584 Brigade in Xaysomboun province. Soldiers have been sent to beef up the security throughout the province and also on the main roads linked to neighboring provinces.” The Lao national defense committee issued a circular, identified as Notice No. 283, on Nov. 19 warning other provinces to be wary of any further unrest staged by the group. 'That's normal' Police chief Bouanphanh acknowledged only the truck-shooting incident, saying two people were killed. He declined to provide details of the military casualties. RFA received a photograph of the three fallen soldiers at the scene from a source close to the government. “The curfew is declared to prohibit people from going out at night for the safety of their properties and lives because the bandits may take advantage to shoot ... and rob people,” he said. But when asked about the exchange of gunfire between anti-government resistance group and Lao soldiers that left three government soldiers dead, Lieutenant colonel Bouanphanh declined to answer. And when asked to comment about the photo of the dead soldiers, Bouanphanh said, "That is normal. OK, I'm busy [in a] meeting.” The source close to the government said the province had postponed the Dec. 2 National Day celebrations by more than a week "due to the unrest." "The celebration was held on Dec. 11 amid the [presence of] strong security.” Xaysomboun was once a base of thousands of ethnic minority Hmong who fought under CIA advisers during a so-called “secret war” backing the Lao Royal Army against the Pathet Lao communist forces. After the communist takeover in 1975, a ragtag band of Hmong resisters hid in the jungle, fearing government persecution for having fought for the pro-American side during the war. Reported by Ounkeo Souksavanh for RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/curfew-12112015191818.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 <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

9 years, 1 month

RFA Breaking News: NLD Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Meets With Former Junta Chief Than Shwe

by Paul Eckert

Dec. 5, 2015 - National League for Democracy (NLD) chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi met on Friday with retired Senior General Than Shwe, the reclusive leader of Myanmar's former ruling junta, to discuss the country's transition to a multiparty democracy following the NLD's landslide victory in national elections last month, an NLD spokesman confirmed on Saturday. The two met at 2:00 p.m. in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw, senior party member Win Htain told RFA's Myanmar Service. During their meeting, Than Shwe acknowledged the NLD's victory in the polls and promised to support the continuing growth of democracy in Myanmar, the Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma, Win Htain said. "Their meeting was a crucial step forward for politics in Myanmar, and it will be very helpful in promoting a peaceful transition," he said. "Than Shwe is believed to still wield influence in the government and the military to some degree, and this is why Suu Kyi decided to meet with him," Win Htain said, adding, "The NLD has been asking consistently for political dialogue since 1989." "Finally, it has happened after 27 years," he said. 'A good atmosphere' "Suu Kyi is now having talks that will create a good atmosphere in which our country can move forward smoothly," Tin Oo, NLD co-founder and former party chairperson, said on Saturday at a meeting of winning NLD candidates for parliament. "People are very happy to hear about this, but she still needs your support, as she won't be able to do all this by herself," he said. Aung San Suu Kyi had called for "national reconciliation" talks shortly after the NLD was assured of victory in the Nov. 8 polls, and observers are anxious to see how the transition will play out in Myanmar, where the military retains substantial sway over the country's political affairs. Than Shwe, 82, ruled Myanmar from 1992 to 2011 as chief of a military junta notorious for its brutal suppression of political dissent and for the corruption and lavish lifestyles of its leaders. He was succeeded as national leader by Thein Sein, who became president as the leader of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in a 2010 election widely seen as neither free nor fair. The NLD had swept the previous election in 1990, but the then-ruling military regime ignored the results and placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for more than a decade. Reported by Thin Thiri and Win Ko Ko Latt for RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Kyaw Aung. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/meets-12052015152921.html> http://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/meets-12052015152921.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 <mailto:engnews-leave@rfanews.org> engnews-leave(a)rfanews.org. To add your name to our mailing list, send an e-mail to <mailto:engnews-join@rfanews.org> engnews-join(a)rfanews.org . ##### All media inquiries may be sent to Rohit Mahajan at <mailto:mahajanr@rfa.org> mahajanr(a)rfa.org.

9 years, 1 month

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Engnews December 2015