Engnews September 2017

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RFA Breaking News: Re-Education Camps in Two Xinjiang Counties Hold Thousands of Uyghurs: Officials

by Paul Eckert

Re-Education Camps in Two Xinjiang Counties Hold Thousands of Uyghurs: Officials Sept. 29, 2017 - Re-education camps in two counties in northwest China’s Xinjiang region, where mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs have protested Beijing’s rule, house thousands of “politically incorrect” inmates who are rarely freed despite undergoing months of “training,” according to sources. The camps in Ghulja (in Chinese, Yining) county, in Ili Kazakh (Yili Hasake) Autonomous Prefecture, and Korla (Kuerle) city, in neighboring Bayin’gholin Mongol (Bayinguoleng Menggu) Autonomous Prefecture hold at least 3,600 inmates, local officials told RFA’s Uyghur Service, and are labeled “career development centers” in a bid to mask their true nature, they said. Minewer Ablet, a middle school teacher in Ghulja’s Turpanyuz township who was assigned to work as an assistant cadre and a Chinese instructor at Camp No. 4—one of the county’s five re-education camps—said it was unclear exactly how many people were detained in the county camp system. “I am responsible for teaching class No. 33, and I have seen on the teacher’s notice board that the last class number is 44,” she said of the county camps, where other courses include “law, regulations, and career training.” “There are 30 to 50 students in each class, so I estimate the total number of people who are undertaking the re-education program [across the county] to be at least 1,500.” Assistant cadre Tursun Qadir, who teaches at the same camp, told RFA that of the 45 people in his class, the majority are “former criminals or suspects,” including a number of Uyghurs who had served time in prison following an uprising against Chinese rule in Ghulja 20 years ago. “Among them are a number of former prisoners who served 10-15 years in prison after being accused of involvement in the Feb. 5, 1997 Ghulja Incident,” Qadir said, referring to protests sparked by reports of the execution of 30 Uyghur independence activists that were violently suppressed by authorities, leaving nine dead, according to official media, though exile groups put the number at as many as 167. “The most common reason that people are brought here is that they attended [or overheard] illegal [religious] teachings,” he said, adding that other detainees included “men who grew beards 10 years ago” and “parents who sent their children to underground religious schools.” “The oldest student is 66 years old and the youngest is 19. The group also includes a number of illiterate people.” ‘Training center’ None of the four instructors RFA contacted at Camp No. 4 could recall the official name of the facility, but one, who spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed during a phone interview to walk out to the courtyard to read the name of the camp’s sign. “The name of our camp is ‘The Center for Developing Skills for a Professional Career,’” the instructor said, adding that the reason he hadn’t been able to remember the name was because it was “changed four times in the past eight months.” “At first, it was called ‘The Law and Regulation Training Center For Citizens’ and then it was renamed ‘The Career Training Center For The Unemployed’ for a while, but now it is called ‘The Center For Developing Skills For a Professional Career,’” he said. “Obviously, the reason for changing the name is to avoid giving others a bad impression.” According to the instructor, staff live inside the camp and share the same courtyard with detainees. The center’s main gate is guarded 24 hours a day and instructors are required to obtain permission if they need to leave the facility. “Students are not allowed to leave the camp until they have completed the full program, but the length of the training is unclear—the rules only say that the program is complete once a ‘satisfactory level has been achieved,’” he said. “I have been teaching for the last six months, but there is no one in my class who has completed the course and no one knows when the training will end.” Detainees The same instructor passed his phone to a detainee who told RFA that he had been detained at Camp No. 4 after helping his brother send money to his son, who was studying in Turkey. “Because my ‘crime’ was not deemed serious, I was placed here, but my brother, Abdurshit, is in prison [facing charges for] sending his son abroad without governmental permission,” the detainee said. “I know this camp is called ‘The Center For Developing Skills For a Professional Career,’ but I was brought here in handcuffs with a black hood over my head. It was only after I passed through the security gate that the handcuffs and hood were removed.” Another detainee named Osman Tursun, who spoke to RFA on a phone handed to him by an instructor, said he had been placed in the camp after he and several of his fellow residents from Yengitam village overheard religious teachings at a wedding ceremony in 2012. “Five years ago, I went to a wedding in my neighborhood where a man discussed teachings from the Quran, though I don't remember the exact information,” he said. “There are 22 of us here from my village because we were at the same wedding and listened to the discussion. Apart from us, there are seven others from my village here who are former prisoners.” Korla city Sources in Bayin’gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture’s Korla city, where Uyghurs have protested house-to-house raids on their homes during “strike hard” anti-terrorism campaigns in recent years, told RFA that the municipality houses three re-education camps with at least 2,100 detainees, as well as a “Socialism Institute,” where more than 40 religious figures are being held. Rehim Yasin, the Communist Party secretary of Korla’s Qara Yulghun village, said that 86 of his village’s 1,678 residents are currently being held in the city’s three re-education camps, which are known as “Professional Career Improvement Centers.” “They are all designed to re-educate people who are deemed politically incorrect,” he said. “Each camp holds at least 700 people, so in the three re-education camps there are at least 2,100 people.” Mutellep Esset, the party secretary for the Saybagh Street office in Korla, told RFA it was unclear how many people from his district had been detained at the city’s re-education centers, but said many of those held had overseas connections. “I learned through my work that among the detainees [from my district] are 13 people held for traveling abroad with a tourist company, one person who had been on a hajj [Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca] two years ago, and two people who studied in Turkey for a short time before returning home,” he said. Vast network Investigations by RFA suggest there is a vast network of re-education camps throughout the Xinjiang region. Sources indicate that there are almost no majority ethnic Han Chinese held in the Xinjiang camps, and that the number of detainees in the region’s south—where the highest concentration of Uyghurs are based—far surpasses that in the north. Earlier this month, local officials in Xinjiang told RFA that thousands of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities—including Kyrgyz and Kazakh—are being held in re-education camps without contact with their families under a policy designed to counter "extremism" in the region. New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch has called on the Chinese government to free the thousands of Xinjiang people placed in re-education camps since April 2017 and close them down. China’s ruling Communist Party blames some Uyghurs for a string of violent attacks and clashes in China in recent years, but critics say the government has exaggerated the threat from the ethnic group, and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for violence that has left hundreds dead since 2009. China regularly conducts “strike hard” campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this s tory online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/camps-09292017160826.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 mahajanr(a)rfa.org .

7 years, 3 months

RFA Breaking News: Egyptian Authorities Forcibly Disappear 16 Uyghur Students From Notorious Prison

by Paul Eckert

Egyptian Authorities Forcibly Disappear 16 Uyghur Students From Notorious Prison Sept. 25, 2017 - Egyptian authorities have released up to 25 of more than 100 Uyghur students from northwestern China’s Xinjiang region who were detained earlier this year in the country’s notorious Tora Prison, though armed police put black hoods on 16 others and took them away, three recently released Uyghurs said. The three students, who were released in early September, told RFA’s Uyghur Service that they do not know why the 16 were whisked away or whether they were deported to China, though prison guards told them the students were “in trouble.” One of them was 17 years old, they said. Egypt’s secret police began detaining Uyghur and ethnic minority Kazakh Muslims from China en masse on July 4, in an operation activists said was requested by Beijing, sources told RFA at the time. The 200 students, many of them religious students at Cairo’s Islamic Al-Azhar University, were rounded up in restaurants or at their homes, with others seized at airports as they tried to flee to safer countries, the sources said. The Egyptian government has not disclosed the charges, the number of detentions, the whereabouts of the detainees, or whether any were sent back to China. Ethnic minority Kazakh Muslims from China were among some 200 ethnic minority holders of Chinese passports targeted in July by Egypt's secret police The three Uyghur students who were later released said that the detainees were first interrogated by Egyptian security officials, and later by Chinese security officials. The Egyptian officials gave every Uyghur student a form in Arabic to fill out, though many could not fully comprehend the questions because of their poor Arabic skills and responded “yes” to all items out of fear, they said. The students were then divided into three categories in prison — red, yellow, and green — according to their interrogation results, answers on the forms, and the contents of their mobile phones, they said. The ones placed in the green category are those who had legal status in Egypt and were enrolled in Al-Azhar or other Egyptian universities. The ones in the yellow category had either status issues or were not enrolled in a university, and those in the red category had cell phones with content that Chinese security officials deemed problematic. It was unclear what kind of content was found on their mobile devices. Prior to the mass detentions, the majority of Uyghur students in Egypt used the Chinese instant messaging service WeChat to communicate with family and friends at home and abroad. WeChat is an app developed by China’s internet company Tencent, which shares all private user data with the Chinese government. Many Uyghurs in Xinjiang have gotten in trouble with the Chinese authorities in recent years because of the content on their mobile phones, including the sharing of political and religious content on WeChat. Police frequently check the mobile phones of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and detain them for possessing unapproved content. Divided up into jail cells One recently released Uyghur student in Egypt who spoke on condition of anonymity said that more than 100 Uyghur students were divided into two huge jail cells after they were detained on Aug. 31 and their mobile phones were confiscated. “We were first interrogated by the Egyptian police, but not tortured or mistreated,” he said. “After the interrogations, they told us that they had detained us because of a Chinese government request that we were ‘terrorists.’” The police said they could not find any evidence of terrorism after the interrogations and would soon release the students, noting that “this is politics between two countries,” he said. “In our jail cell, there were 54 students, including me,” he said. “Suddenly fully armed police came in that day and told us in Arabic to face the wall.” The police handcuffed some of the students and took them away, he said. “We saw altogether 16 were taken from both cells,” the Uyghur student said. “Later when we asked prison guards where they had been taken, they simply said that they were ‘in trouble.’ These 16 Uyghurs belonged to the red category.” Another Uyghur student from Al-Azhar University who spoke on condition of anonymity said he was placed into the green category because authorities could not accuse him of any criminal conduct. The 25 students who were released were all placed into the green category, he said, adding that some in the yellow category may have been released as well. “This place is no longer safe for any of us now,” he said. “But what worries me most is the fate of 16 who belonged to the red category. There is no sign of them. They simply vanished.” A third Uyghur student who fled to Turkey soon after his release from prison said that he and others who were detained by Egyptian police on July 4 were divided into two jails cells at Tora Prison, a detention complex for criminal and political detainees on the southern outskirts of the capital Cairo. “We were not tortured, but we were terrified of being possibly deported to China,” said the student who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity. “The Arab [Egyptian] police didn’t treat us badly, but the Chinese security officials put black hoods on our heads and repeatedly interrogated us, asking questions like, ‘Why did you come to Egypt?’ [and] ‘Which organizations did you participate in?’” “In the end, I was released after the Eid [al-Adha] holiday [on Aug. 31], so I guess some of those who belonged to the yellow category may have also been released,” he said. Sent back home? Both released Uyghur students and Uyghurs in hiding in Egypt said they fear that the 16 others who have vanished may have been sent back home in light of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s visit to China to attend the BRICS Summit in early September and strengthen economic ties with Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Sisi to participate in the summit as “a reaffirmation of Egypt's position and its economic, political and commercial status that qualifies it to become a member of the BRICS,” according to the Egyptian government’s information service. During Sisi’s visit on Sept. 3-5, some major trade deals were signed between Egypt and China, including a memorandum of understanding for Beijing to finance a U.S. $739 million rail link that will connect a new, yet-to-be-named capital the North African country is building to an industrial zone. Reported by Gulchehra Hoja for RFA’s Uyghur Service. Translated by Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. View this s tory online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/egyptian-authorities-forcibly-disapp… 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 mahajanr(a)rfa.org .

7 years, 3 months

Aung San Suu Kyi Rejects Claims She's 'Soft' on Myanmar's Military

by Richard Finney

cid:db5c53ccb2f2c28f5afa2b46deb76600b893914b@zimbra Aung San Suu Kyi Rejects Claims She's 'Soft' on Myanmar's Military Sept. 19, 2017--Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under mounting criticism over her government's military offensive against minority Muslim Rohingyas, on Tuesday rejected claims that she had softened her stand towards the military after her party took power last year. In an interview with Radio Free Asia, she said she has remained firm with the generals since her days under house arrest during military junta rule. "I've stood firm with the military before, and still do now," the Nobel laureate told RFA in a wide-ranging interview covering topics such as the Rohingya refugee crisis, her election pledge to bring about political and other reforms, as well as economic growth and media freedom. "We've never changed our stand," Aung San Suu Kyi said, adding that her National League for Democracy (NLD) party's goal has been national reconciliation "from the very beginning." "We have never criticized the military itself, but only their actions. We may disagree on these types of actions," said Aung San Suu Kyi, who had spent more than a decade under house arrest before her election victory in 2015. The military has come under severe criticism from the international community for its security crackdown against the Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine state since Rohingya militants staged deadly attacks on police posts on August 25. Army-led security operations have left more than 1,000 dead according to U.N. figures and sent more than 500,000 people"-roughly half the Rohingya population in Rakhine state-fleeing into neighboring Bangladesh, triggering an international humanitarian crisis. Rights abuses condemned On Tuesday, in her first address to the nation since the crisis flared, Aung San Suu Kyi condemned rights abuses in Rakhine state and said that violators will be punished, but did not criticize the powerful military or address U.N. accusations of ethnic cleansing. She insisted that military "clearance operations" ended on Sept 5. Britain says it has suspended its military training program in Myanmar, and French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned "unacceptable ethnic cleansing" in Rakhine, while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to all military operations in the state. In her interview, Aung San Suu Kyi said her party had tried in 2012 but failed to revoke a key provision in Myanmar's constitution that would have removed the military's effective veto on legislative reform. "We did this openly within the bounds of the law. We'll continue to bring changes within the parliament. I've stood firm with the military before, and still do now," she said. Under Myanmar's Constitution, Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from becoming president and has no effective role in security issues, although her NLD party scored a landslide victory in 2015 elections. The military runs three key security-related ministries, has an allocation of 25 per cent of the seats in Parliament, and appoints one of two vice-presidents. Aung San Suu Kyi pointed out that Myanmar wants to work with the international community to resolve the Rohingyas crisis, citing her invitation Tuesday to the diplomatic corps to visit Rakhine. "Nobody can live in isolation in this age," she said. "Globalization is the norm and we need to have enough courage to associate globally too. So, if we prohibit outside visits, it will be like we have something to hide." Human rights investigators from the United Nations, which has labeled the Rohingya one of the world's most persecuted minorities, say they need "full and unfettered" access to Myanmar to investigate the Rohingya crisis, but Aung San Suu Kyi's government renewed its rejection of the probe on Tuesday. "We continue to believe that instituting such a mission is not a helpful course of action in solving the already-intricate Rakhine issue," Myanmar's U.N. ambassador Htin Lynn told the U.N. Human Rights Council. Reported by Khin Maung Soe of RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Nyein Shwe and Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai and Richard Finney. Below are excerpts from the interview: Q: What are Myanmar's most important challenges? A: As the whole world knows, the biggest one now is the situation in Rakhine state. And then there is the peace process [to bring about a cease-fire with ethnic rebel groups seeking greater autonomy since independence from the British in 1948]. The world thinks the Rakhine situation is the most important. But for us, peace [with the rebel groups] has been the most challenging. Q: What's the peace situation then? A: We believe that it will finally be successful. But this will take time. If we look at other peace processes, they never go smoothly. Because there was no peace in the beginning, we are now working for peace. Overall we can say it's not too bad. Q: How is the economic situation in Myanmar? A: In the earlier part of the year, before the Investment Law was passed, foreign investments were very slow. After that law was passed, it had to be followed by by-laws and a Companies Act. And after that we had to deal with laws pertaining to foreigners. These all are connected, and we understand that after everything is in place we can expect more investments. Q: What's your assessment of the current Rakhine situation? A: The Rakhine situation was not calm and peaceful long before we came into power. However, now that the world's attention is focused on it, it has become overly sensitive to handle. It is always the case when a situation is given a lot of attention, that it becomes difficult and sensitive. People have been criticizing and faulting each other. If you just look at it narrowly instead of effectively, instead of solving the problem you can make it worse. As I said this morning, we should look at the good points too. There are villages where people get along. We need to find out why and how. We have to encourage them and make their ties stronger. Q: You have said that half the [Muslim] population [in Rakhine state] has fled, and that half or more are still living here. You have requested the international community to cooperate and help. A: Nobody can live in isolation in this age. Globalization is the norm and we need to have enough courage to associate globally too. So, if we prohibit outside visits, it will be like we have something to hide. In the end, we have to rely on ourselves for our country's development. Q: What do you think about the comments by the international community including the U.N. on the Rakhine situation? A: These comments are not good for the country, of course. But we have to find out how much truth there is or what evidence they have. And if it is true, then we'll have to correct it. If it's not true, we have to find out why they are saying untruths. Is it because of misunderstanding, or are they intentionally attacking us? We'll have to find the cause and find an appropriate answer. Q: May I know the current relationship between you and the military? A: It's normal. Q: Does normal mean it's the same as before you formed the government? A: No, there was very little contact between us before, but now we do meet regularly. In some cases we always try to get cooperation. Q: Regarding the peace issue, it has been said that the military takes a hard-line position. What do you think? A: There is a difference in looking at the peace process between groups that are armed and those that are not. We have to negotiate on this. Q: You never gave in to the military while you were under house arrest, but now you seem to have softened toward them. Are they right, or do you have some other objective? A: We've never changed our stand. Our goal has been national reconciliation from the very beginning. We have never criticized the military itself, but only their actions. We may disagree on these types of actions. For example, after 2012 in Parliament, we tried to revoke Article 436 [ which effectively gives the military a de facto veto over any constitutional changes]. We did this openly within the bounds of the law. We'll continue to bring changes within the parliament. I've stood firm with the military before, and still do now. Q: We are now seeing a lot of extremist Buddhists, including monks. There were some anti-government protests in Yangon and Mandalay recently. And then not too long ago in Pa-an, there was a rally where there was a lot of extreme hate speech. What do you think of this? A: Hate speech is never good. Spreading hate speech is against Lord Buddha's teachings. He never encouraged hate speech. Buddhism does not espouse anger, and any kind of extremism is never good. Buddhism follows the middle path. It doesn't accept any kind of extremes. Q: What do you think of social media, which is becoming so popular nowadays? A: Even developed countries with a high level of communications technology have admitted that social media is becoming very hard to deal with. People write whatever they want and use it to spread hate speech, and that has become a big concern with no solution in sight yet. Q: Some people are saying they have less freedom since your government came into power. What would you like to say? Especially concerning freedom of the media, the arrest of some reporters, etc. A: These arrests have been made according to existing laws. We don't have any new ones yet. Lately, Parliament has made some amendments to relax the old laws like Article 66 (D). Q: Can you tell us how the international community and Myanmar people should view the current situation in the country? A: They should view it with a sense of responsibility, both the international community and Myanmar people. Our people should know that we in Myanmar have more responsibility. If we want to see our country developed and peaceful, we will have to do it ourselves. We cannot ignore the world, as we are in the age of globalization. Everything is connected, and we cannot ignore this. We need to be in harmony with the world; that is also our responsibility. Simply put, we have to be responsible for our country, and the world has to be responsible for the world. If everybody has a sense of responsibility, then nobody will have any problems. However, having a sense of responsibility is not always easy. Q: What do you think of current U.S. policies and views towards Myanmar? A: Any country will change its policy and views toward Myanmar depending on that specific country's policy and its people's views. Q: Is the road to democracy still tough? A: The road to democracy will never end. Whether or not this is tough is not the main issue. Some think there is an end to democracy. But has the road to democracy in U.S. come to the end? There will never be an end as long as the world exists. Democracy is harder to sustain than other systems because you have to take the will of the people into consideration. We need to give and take when it depends on the will of the people. Dictatorships never have to give and take. They do what they want. Superficially it looks easier to govern this way, but the effect on a country is worse. In a democracy, to be able to get the support of the people, you have to work harder. In the long run it's good for the country. As [British statesman Winston] Churchill said, democracy is not a good system, but it's better than all the others. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rejects-09192017204613.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.

7 years, 3 months

RFA Breaking News: RFA Closes Phnom Penh Bureau Amid Crackdown by Hun Sen

by Paul Eckert

RFA Closes Phnom Penh Bureau Amid Crackdown by Hun Sen Sept. 12, 2017 - Radio Free Asia has decided to close its nearly 20-year old bureau in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh amid a relentless crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen's authoritarian regime on independent media ahead of critical polls next year, RFA President Libby Liu announced Tuesday. Using a pretext of tax and administrative violations, the Cambodian authorities have recently closed independent radio stations carrying reports from RFA and its sister US government-funded radio station, the Voice of America, as well as the Voice of Democracy station, and forced the closure of the American-owned Cambodia Daily newspaper. Liu said the authorities had employed the same tactics against RFA, despite its full cooperation to comply with all government requests and its efforts to register as a licensed media company in Cambodia. They had resorted to "false statements" and "increasingly threatening and intimidating rhetoric" about RFA, made mostly through leaked documents on government mouthpiece media and random statements from different ministries, she said. "After almost 20 years of bringing the Cambodian people independent, reliable and trustworthy news and information from inside the country, Radio Free Asia has regrettably been forced to close its Phnom Penh bureau," Liu said in a statement. "The government’s relentless crackdown on independent voices in recent weeks has made it impossible to keep the bureau open while guaranteeing the integrity of RFA’s journalistic mission." Liu stressed however that RFA, which broadcasts into six countries, including North Korea, China, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, would continue reporting on Cambodia as part of its mission to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press. "RFA stands resolved to stay true to its vital mission in Cambodia, now more than ever, to go forward shining a light even in the darkest of hours," she said. "RFA will keep reporting on the most important and censored issues and events inside the country - and we will continue to broadcast and publish our programs, reports and content on shortwave radio, social media, and on our website. "As history has shown, dictators may rise and force their will on nations, but the people will always seek truth in pursuit of freedom." Through the years, Cambodian journalists working for RFA have risked their lives to report on corruption, illegal logging, forced evictions, bribery, labor disputes, and rights abuses, among other important stories largely ignored by state-controlled media. "Their hard work has helped to build the foundation of RFA’s investigative, in-depth journalism from the ground up and has earned us the trust of the Cambodian people -- to whom we also owe our heartfelt gratitude," Liu said. She said she hoped that the government would not persecute "the individual brave Cambodians" who worked with RFA in retaliation for RFA’s efforts to bring reliable free press to their countrymen and women. The RFA closure of its Phnom Penh office on Tuesday came as the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia rejected accusations by the Hun Sen government of interference by the United States as “inaccurate, misleading and baseless” and called for the release of detained opposition leader Kem Sokha. Kem Sokha was arrested on Sept. 3 and charged with treason and accused of plotting with the United States to take power from Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who has ruled Cambodia for more than 30 years. On Monday, Hun Sen, who could face his biggest election challenge next year. threatened to dissolve Kem Sokha’s Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) if it continued to back him. "It has become increasingly apparent that Prime Minister Hun Sun has no intention of allowing free media to continue operating inside the country ahead of the 2018 elections. The government has instead seized on every opportunity to go after critics, political opponents, NGOs, and independent media committed to reporting the truth," Liu said. Libby Liu's full statement is at http://www.rfa.org/about/releases/statement-on-cambodia-09122017092506.html View this s tory online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/crackdown-raf-09122017084157.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 mahajanr(a)rfa.org .

7 years, 4 months

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Engnews September 2017