Engnews

engnews@rfanews.org

440 discussions

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Slain Uyghurs Not Linked to Bomb-Making Activities

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Slain Uyghurs Not Linked to Bomb-Making Activities March 13, 2012— Four Uyghur men shot dead by police in China’s troubled Xinjiang region last week were not linked to bomb-making activities as suspected but may have had “terror plans,” security officials said Tuesday, as residents disputed any terrorism intentions. The men were gunned down in a pre-dawn raid at a farmhouse near Korla city in central Xinjiang on Thursday, as part of the Chinese government's "strike hard" anti-crime campaign in the region, after police had detained a bomb-making suspect in the city. Korla police said that there was evidence that the men, who defended themselves with knives during the raid, had plans for terrorist activity though they did not elaborate. Beijing considers Xinjiang a terrorism hotspot and the incident added to tensions in the region, where Uyghurs complain of policies favoring Han Chinese migration into the region and the unfair allocation of resources to the Chinese. Local residents who knew the Uyghurs involved disputed the police theory that those killed were suspected terrorists, claiming that the Chinese authorities had fabricated evidence in the past to justify the killings of Uyghurs. A security official said that Tohti Ibrahim, who was detained after a bomb exploded at his home in Korla city, was – unlike previous suspicions – not working with the four killed in Towurchi, a rural township 20 km (12 miles) outside the city. Korla police had identified the Towurchi farmhouse as a target for the raid after detaining and interrogating 20 of Ibrahim’s hospital visitors. “Yes, it was wrong to make the conjecture [that they were linked], but the shooting was not wrong, because the four disobeyed police during the raid operation,” said Seypidin, a senior security official in Korla. Moreover, the four killed had shown evidence of extremism, he said, defending the police action. “Even though they don't have organizational link with the bomb-maker, their ideology and political views are 100 percent the same. And in addition, we found enough evidence of a terror plan, like axes and boxing gloves,” he said. Not terrorists But a Towurchi resident who knew the four men disagreed with the police view that the men had any terrorist intentions, explaining that the items police had confiscated as evidence were not uncommon. “I don't believe they had materials and items for a terror plan. Probably the boxing gloves and bows and arrows were for sports for them and their children. Axes and knives can be found in all the houses in Korla,” he said. “Police, especially state security police, always fabricate evidence to justify their killing,” he added. Three of the four men were from out of town and had served time in jail for unknown offenses, according to the Towurchi resident and Korla police. Ghulamidin Yasin, the police officer who led the raid on the Towurchi farmhouse, said one of the four men was from Akto (Aketao) county in Kizilsu prefecture, and two others were from Peyziwat (Gashi) and Kargilik (Yecheng) counties in Kashgar prefecture. It was not known where the fourth person was from. They had moved to the township to start a terrorist camp, the officer claimed. The resident said they had come to work on the farm in Towurchi two years ago after being harassed by police in their hometowns. “They had left their hometowns to be rid of police trouble because of their police records. They moved to Korla just to seek a peaceful life,” he said. “Of course they had to evade the police raid because they knew what would happen to them if they were detained. And on the other hand, as strong religious believers, they don’t submit easily to unjust treatment,” he said. Bomb suspect Tohti Ibrahim, the bomb-making suspect originally linked to the men killed, may have been motivated to make a bomb in revenge against his wife’s detention, according to his neighbors and Korla police. "Tohti Ibrahim’s case is much different from the others’. His actions were mostly motivated by personal or family anger, rather than ethnic tension,” a neighbor said. Ibrahim’s wife had been detained by city police, along with his brother Memet Ibrahim’s wife, for holding an “illegal religious gathering” with a dozen other women on Feb. 28, neighbors and police said. The raid on the gathering, in which police confiscated books and CDs, was part of a regional campaign against illegal religious activity, Ghulamidin Yasin said. After his wife was detained, Ibrahim told his neighbors, “Now I’m in a situation where I cannot protect my wife. This is enough reason for me to be thrown into hell in the other world,” they 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/korla-03132012182221.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : North Korea Moves to Identify Defectors

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

North Korea Moves to Identify Defectors March 12, 2012—The North Korean government has launched a campaign to identify and punish families of defectors in an apparent bid to prevent further defections that have highlighted abuses in the reclusive country, sources said. The move comes amid claims by refugee advocates in South Korea that China has repatriated 31 North Korean refugees it arrested last month despite international concerns they could suffer abuse or even execution for fleeing North Korea during the mourning period for its late leader Kim Jong Il. According to a Pyongyang resident, the government is interrogating families with members who have been "missing" for long periods as it moves to strengthen procedures to check defections. The resident from the North Korean capital who recently visited China told RFA that “thorough investigations on families of people who are assumed to be defectors but have been classified as missing persons due to lack of evidence are now underway.” “They use an intellectual method of interrogation by examining members of each family not all at once but one at a time," said the resident, identified only as Min. Min explained that the North Korean authorities want to pin down the motive of those who might have defected and the dates they left the country. Examinations of cases stretch for long periods if there are any discrepancies in statements made by family members, he said. “I heard that even if they don’t find any discrepancies between the statements, they use extremely coercive methods to find faults by repeating the same questions over and over again while changing the interrogators,” Min added. Confirmation A Chinese Korean, identified as Cho, who has returned from her visit to her family in North Korea's northwestern Hwanghae province's capital Haeju, confirmed that the government is conducting the probe on the defections. Cho said she “heard the news that the entire area of Haeju, too, is under investigation.” >From these accounts, observers said, it can be assumed that the North Korean authorities are carrying out a nationwide investigation on families of suspected defectors. Families that are classified as those of defectors could be banished to remote areas, Min and Cho both said. A Chinese source familiar with the situation in North Korea said that while the investigations appeared to be generally of "missing persons" in North Korean households, they were particularly aimed at probing defections. “It seems to be related to the forced repatriation issue of North Korean defectors that is currently becoming a subject of discussion worldwide,” the source said. “In fact, it looks like they are determined to hunt down those missing people who do appear to have defected from the country.” Plight Human rights groups have recently highlighted the plight of North Korean defectors in China who face deportation home and possible execution. Refugee advocates in South Korea said last week that in the latest case, Beijing had sent home 31 North Korean refugees it arrested last month despite international pressure against the move. Rumors had been rife that Kim Jong Un issued a shoot-to-kill order against people attempting to cross the border during the mourning period for his father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, and has also called for stern punishment for their relatives, said Do Hee-Yun, head of the Citizens' Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees, Agence France-Presse reported. North Korea has in the past treated those who simply crossed the border to find food with relative leniency, while punishing severely those who attempted to flee to the South, according to North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity. However, all fugitives are now treated as traitors worthy of severe retribution, the coalition group of North Korean defectors based in Seoul said. The Chinese source believed that the North Korean authorities "might have come to the conclusion that if this issue of forced repatriation of those North Korean defectors captured in China is prolonged, it could become a link that leads to the creation of more defectors.” Last fall, Pyongyang classified as defectors those citizens on the suspect list who have not returned home for more than five years and punished their families by banishing them to remote areas. Reported by Kim Joon-Ho for RFA's Korean service. Translated by Kang Min Kyung. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/defectors-03122012163808.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Tibetan Monk Self-Immolates on 'Uprising Day'

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Tibetan Monk Self-Immolates on 'Uprising Day' March 12, 2012— A young Tibetan monk burned himself to death in China’s Sichuan province in protest at Chinese rule as Tibetans marked “Uprising Day” at the weekend, according to exile Tibetan sources in India. The 18-year-old monk, identified as Gepe, staged the self-immolation behind a Chinese military office in the Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) prefecture, the sources said. It was the 27th self-immolation by Tibetans since they began a wave of fiery protests in February 2009 to challenge Beijing's rule in Tibetan-populated areas and call for the return of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The latest self-immolation occurred on Uprising Day, the politically sensitive March 10 anniversary of the 1959 flight into exile of the Dalai Lama and of regionwide protests throughout Tibet in 2008. Speaking to RFA and citing sources in the region, India-based monk Lobsang Yeshe said Gepe was from Ngaba's restive Kirti monastery, from which hundreds of monks have been taken away by Chinese security forces and which has faced a clampdown since early last year. “He self-immolated between 5:00-6:00 p.m. [local time] at the rear of a Chinese military office in the marketplace of Ngaba town,” Lobsang Yeshe said. “He died on the spot, and Chinese military personnel immediately took his body inside the building.” Family kept away Gepe’s family learned of his death only on the next day, Lobsang Yeshe said. But when they went to claim his body, Chinese officials refused to hand it over, saying that it would be taken instead to neighboring Barkham (in Chinese, Ma’erkang) county for cremation. The family would not agree to this, so authorities burned Gepe’s remains that night at a public cremation ground near Kirti monastery, Lobsang Yeshe said. Five monks were present to conduct prayers, but no family members or other Tibetans were allowed to attend. Gepe came from a nomad family living in the village of Soruma Dewa and was taken at a young age to Kirti monastery, where he did well in his studies, Lobsang Yeshe said. He is survived by his mother and two siblings. Chinese police detained Gepe’s mother, Chako, and questioned her for several hours on Sunday and Monday before releasing her, Lobsang Yeshe and fellow monk Kanyag Tsering said in a statement released on Monday. Tibetan shops and restaurants in the area are now closed in solidarity with the dead monk, and security measures in the area have been tightened, Yeshe and Tsering added. News spreads to China News of the self-immolation appeared also on the Chinese website Xin Lang, which carried a Weibo microblog posting confirming Gepe’s name and age and the date of his protest. However, the posting was quickly removed and replaced by a comment saying that the story could not be viewed by the public. The wave of self-immolations prompted a call last week from well-known Tibetan blogger Woeser and senior Tibetan religious leader Arjia Rinpoche to end the fiery protests, saying that Tibetans opposed to Chinese rule should instead "stay alive to struggle and push forward" their goals. Tibet's India-based exile cabinet marked this year's March 10 anniversary of the failed 1959 national uprising against Chinese rule with a statement noting what it called China's efforts over the last half-century "to annihilate the Tibetan people and its culture." Lobsang Sangay, the head of the exile government, said that while he strongly discouraged self-immolations, the "fault lies squarely with the hardline leaders in Beijing." The Chinese government has blamed the Dalai Lama for the self-immolations, accusing the 76-year-old Buddhist leader and his followers of plotting to create "turmoil" in China's Tibetan-inhabited areas. But Sangay said "the self-immolations are an emphatic rejection of the empty promises of [China's] so-called ‘socialist paradise'" and the lack of ability to protest in any other way in Tibet. "Today, there is no space for any conventional protests such as hunger strikes, demonstrations and even peaceful gatherings in Tibet," Sangay said. "Tibetans are therefore taking extreme actions such as ... [committing] self-immolations," Sangay said. Reported by Rigdhen Dolma for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Rigdhen Dolma and Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/uprising-03122012142647.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Uyghurs Who Were Gunned Down were 'Prepared To Fight And Die'

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Uyghurs Who Were Gunned Down were 'Prepared To Fight And Die' March 11, 2012— Four Uyghur men shot dead by Chinese authorities last week for suspected bomb-making in the restive northwestern Xinjiang region were prepared for their death and even had made their own funeral arrangements, according to police. The men were gunned down in a pre-dawn raid at a farmhouse near Korla city in central Xinjiang on Thursday as part of the Chinese government's "strike hard" anti-crime campaign in the region. Beijing considers Xinjiang a terrorism hotspot but the minority Uyghurs complain they are being discriminated against. The four men, armed only with knives, knew they had no chance against the gun-toting police. They gave farewell hugs to their wives and children and made their own funeral arrangements before confronting the pursuers, officers who supervised the operation said. Six policemen were initially involved in the raid at the farmhouse near Korla city in the Bayin'gholin prefecture but they had to seek reinforcements after a police officer’s arms were chopped at by an assailant, they said. "While we were waiting for additional forces to come from the county, we monitored the actions of the suspects from a window and we saw them performing the funeral ceremony for each other," Ghulamidin Yasin, the commander of the operation, told RFA. Farewell The wives and eight children of two of the four men told police their husbands hugged and bid them farewell and herded them into a secluded room at the farmhouse before preparing for the police party to arrive. Police were tipped off about the suspected bomb-making at the farmhouse after interviewing acquaintances of a man who was injured while making explosives a week earlier. Seypidin, a senior security official at Korla city, said one woman told police that a neighbor had alerted the Uyghur men just before the raid. "It was around three o'clock. Our neighbors knocked gently at our door," he quoted the woman as saying. "My husband went out and after 10 minutes, he came back to our room and kissed our children one by one and hugged me and whispered, ‘This is my last hug, we will meet in another world. I have only one expectation from you—don’t show your tears to our children under any circumstance.' "After that, my husband put us in another room—all women and children in the farmhouse were placed in one room.” Seypidin said her statement "clearly proved that the suspects had prepared to fight with us and die." The Uyghur men were shot dead as they charged at the police with their knives, according to the police officers. Criticized Seypidin said some top officials had criticized the police operation because none of the suspects were captured alive. Police identified the ringleader of the suspected bomb-making activity as Nesrulla, who they said moved to the farmhouse from Korla city after a warrant for his arrest was issued on March 5. Nesrulla also moved his wife and their son to Hejing county two days before the shooting. Police who monitored the wife's house in Hejing had detained 12 people who visited her. The incident adds to tensions in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs complain of policies favoring Han Chinese migration into the region and the unfair allocation of resources to the Chinese. Ten days earlier, 20 people were killed in attacks in Kargilik (in Chinese, Yecheng) county in Kashgar prefecture. The government said that a group of Uyghurs had stabbed to death 13 people before police shot dead seven of the attackers in the violence. Several residents of Kargilik county interviewed by RFA said the violence stemmed from a massive influx of Han Chinese, resulting in fewer economic opportunities for the Uyghur community. The Chinese government has blamed the incident on separatists. Ethnic violence left some 200 people dead in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi in 2009. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur service. Translated by Shohret Hoshur. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/die-03112012181519.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Four Killed in China's Xinjiang Raid

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Four Killed in China’s Xinjiang Raid March 9, 2012—Chinese police shot dead four Uyghur men after raiding what they said was a bomb-making operation at a farmhouse near Korla city in China’s troubled northwestern Xinjiang region, according to city police officers Friday. The pre-dawn raid in Towurchi village near Korla city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region's Bayin'gholin prefecture on Thursday was part of the Chinese government's "strike hard" anti-crime campaigns and "stability drive" as the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's parliament, convened in Beijing for its annual session this week. The raid was staged after a man was injured while making a bomb at his home, raising suspicions, the police officers said. Police believed the man was linked to a group suspected of planning an attack in Xinjiang, which has been gripped by persistent ethnic tensions between the Muslim Uyghurs and the rapidly growing Han Chinese migrant population and where Beijing says its primary terrorism threat comes from. Based on information extracted from interrogations on 21 suspects who were rounded up, police raided the farmhouse, killing one wanted man, identified as Nesrullah, aged 21, among them, they said. Confirmed Korla City Police Bureau Detective Office Chief Wu San and an officer on duty, Xiao Jing, confirmed the events that led to the bloody incident, the latest in Xinjiang since attacks in Kargilik (in Chinese, Yecheng) county in Kashgar prefecture last month killed 20. The officer in charge of the raid told RFA that six armed policemen were involved initially in the raid but that they had to seek reinforcements after a police officer’s arms were chopped at by an assailant. “We had located Nesrulla and his accomplice’s hiding place, which was a farmhouse in Towurchi village of Korla city,” said police officer Ghulamidin Yasin. “When we rushed into the room, there were two women and eight children. We asked them where their men were and they told us they were not home, but we could see from their faces that they were deceiving us,” he said. “We surrounded the storage room and were ready to rush in, when one man rushed out from the room holding an axe, and he chopped one of our policemen’s hands.” When police discovered that there were several other men in the house, some of whom began throwing bottles at the raiding party, 40 more police officers were called in to surround the area, Yasin said. The men rushed out, carrying knives, and police shot them. In addition to Nesrulla, those killed in the incident were identified as Nurmemet, 25, and Abdurehim and Abdulla, both over 30 years old. The men’s last names could not be immediately obtained. “We found two bows, some bomb-making materials, and boxing gloves. It looks like they were preparing some sort of armed attack,” Yasin said. He identified the man who was injured while making a bomb as Tohti Ibrahim. Ibrahim "told the doctor that his gas tank had exploded at home, but the doctor didn’t believe him and immediately informed us,” Yasin said. When police questioned him about the bomb, Ibrahim told them, “I do not acknowledge the law of China, and I am not willing to live under the Chinese regime, and I am willing to die. Don’t question me anymore, just kill me, I will tell you nothing. I was planning to act alone,” according to Yasin. Stabbed In the Kargilik violence last month, the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region said in a statement published on its official website that a group of Uyghurs stabbed to death 13 people before police shot dead seven of the attackers. Several residents of Kargilik county interviewed by RFA said the violence stemmed from a massive influx of Han Chinese, resulting in fewer economic opportunities for the Uyghur community. The Chinese government has blamed the incident on separatists. Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the Xinjiang’s ruling Chinese Communist Party committee, said this week that the Kargilik incident, as well as other public violence that rocked the region last year, were related to outside forces. "The infiltration of three overseas forces of separatists, extremists and terrorists, the social situation in nearby countries and international anti-terrorism activities may have directly or indirectly prompted such incidents," he said, on the sidelines China’s annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper. Uyghurs complain of policies favoring Han Chinese migration into the region and unfair allocation of resources. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFA’s Uyghur service. Translated by Dolkun Kamberi. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/korla-03092012182915.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Aung San Suu Kyi's Campaign Speech Censored

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Aung San Suu Kyi's Campaign Speech Censored March 9, 2012— Burmese authorities have censored a key election campaign speech of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, removing portions related to the abuses of the previous military junta and the absence of the rule of law in the country. She told RFA that the authorities had removed a paragraph from the text of her speech to be aired by state radio and television as part of her National League of Democracy (NLD) party broadcast ahead of April 1 by-elections. In that paragraph, she had accused the military junta, which ruled Burma with an iron fist for decades, of not respecting the rule of law and of manipulating the law to punish the people. "I had to submit my speech ahead of time and one paragraph was censored," Aung San Suu Kyi said in an interview on Thursday. "The part about how there wasn't rule of law and the military government had repeatedly used the law to repress the people, that is censored," she said. All political parties were entitled to a campaign speech to be broadcast on state radio and television. It was to be recorded next week and broadcast at a later date before the by-elections in which Aung San Suu Kyi is contesting one of 48 seats. It is believed that the NLD replaced the contentious paragraph. Sanctions The upcoming elections are being closely watched by foreign governments considering the prospect of gradually lifting sanctions as the nominally civilian government embraces political and other reforms following decades of harsh military rule. Aung San Suu Kyi has been facing various election campaign restrictions despite assurances by the Burmese authorities that there would be no such hurdles in the run-up to the polls. She had faced problems getting venues for her to hold campaign rallies and complained that official voter lists included dead people and open possibility for fraud. Aung San Suu Kyi has asked the international community to watch closely how the elections proceed and how the official election commission deals with complaints of electoral irregularities before determining their policy toward Burma. Her NLD had boycotted Burma's general election in November 2010 but agreed to rejoin the electoral process after the new military-backed government began implementing a series of democratic reforms. Even if the NLD wins all 48 seats, the current government will still have a commanding majority in parliament. The NLD scored a landslide victory in 1990 elections but the military junta then did not allow the party to take office. Burmese President Thein Sein assured this month that his government will build on the sweeping reforms it has begun over the last year, saying it is truly committed to democratic change. The Thein Sein administration’s reforms—including freeing political prisoners, signing ceasefires with armed rebel groups, easing restrictions on the press and opening a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi—have baffled even some of the nation's fiercest critics. Reported by RFA's Burmese service. Translated by Khin May Zaw. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/censor-03092012140252.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Call For An End To Self-Immolations in Tibet

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Call For An End To Self-Immolations in Tibet March 8, 2012— A well-known Tibetan writer is leading a call for an end to self-immolations by Tibetans, saying the burnings have already sent a clear message to Beijing that they are against Chinese rule. Woeser, who is effectively under house arrest in Beijing, said in an open letter to Tibetans posted on her blog http://woeser.middle-way.net/ that Tibetans should be "staying alive to struggle and push forward" their objective of winning greater freedom. "Expressed through these self-immolations is the will of Tibetans," the letter said, referring to the 26 self-immolations since February 2009 in protest against Beijing's rule in Tibetan-populated areas and calling for the return of Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Woeser, who has written critically of the Chinese government’s policies in Tibet, said that the self-immolations by mostly young Tibetans "make one feel grief-stricken," and that ending the trend "deserves to be treated as a matter of utmost urgency." Chinese authorities last week prevented Woeser from receiving a Dutch cultural award and placed her under virtual house arrest for one month. "Twenty-six cases make it clear what Tibetans have wanted to articulate," said the joint letter by Woeser and a senior Tibetan religious figure, Arjia Rinpoche, now living in exile in the United States, and Tibet's Amdo-based poet Gade Tsering. "Yet, articulation of one’s will cannot be an ultimate goal. The will has to be put into practice, transforming into reality," they said in the letter titled "Appeal to Tibetans To Cease Self-Immolation: Cherish Your Life in a Time of Oppression." "Only by staying alive can the will become a reality. As long as self-immolation continues, every life would become another irredeemable loss." 'Cherish life' The trio stressed that Tibetans must cherish life and live with resilience. "Regardless of the magnitude of oppression, our life is important, and we have to cherish it … [The] chances to change our reality depend on us staying alive to struggle and push forward.” “Therefore, we plead for an immediate stop of self-immolation,” they said in the letter, which was also posted on Facebook and Twitter and various blogs on which sympathetic readers were invited to add their names in support. They said that self-immolation in itself cannot change Tibetan reality. "[The] chances to change our reality depend on us staying alive to struggle and to push forward; staying alive allows us to gather the strength as drops of water to form a great ocean. It depends on thousands and more living Tibetans to pass on our nation's spirit and blood!" The writers appealed to Tibet's monks, elderly, intellectuals, officials, and people "to protect your fellow devotees, believers, fellow villagers, and families." "Please do prevent the reoccurrence of self-immolation." Tightened security Following the self-immolations, Chinese authorities have tightened security in Tibetan-populated provinces as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region ahead of what Tibetans call "Uprising Day" on March 10, the sensitive anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight into exile in 1959 and of deadly riots in 2008. Chinese authorities have labeled the self-immolators as terrorists, outcasts, criminals, and mentally ill people, and have blamed the Dalai Lama for encouraging the burnings which, they say, run contrary to Buddhist teachings. But the Buddhist leader has made clear he does not encourage the self-immolations, in turn blaming China's "ruthless and illogical" policy towards Tibet for the protests, which show little sign of subsiding. He called on the Chinese government to change its "repressive" policies in Tibet, citing the crackdown on monasteries and policies curtailing use of the Tibetan language. Reported by RFA's Tibetan service. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: <http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burnings-03082012123141.html> http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burnings-03082012123141.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Third Tibetan Self-Immolation in Three Days

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Third Tibetan Self-Immolation in Three Days March 5, 2012— A Tibetan youth burned himself to death on Monday to protest Chinese rule in Tibetan areas—the third self immolation in three days, according to Tibetan sources. The young man, identified as Dorje, 18, set himself ablaze at around 6:30 p.m. local time in a nomadic area of Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county in China’s western Sichuan province, said Kanyag Tsering, an India-based Tibetan monk, citing contacts in the region. “Prior to his self-immolation, he walked from a bridge near the Charuwa nomadic area in Ngaba to the local Chinese office center shouting slogans against Chinese policies in Tibet, and then set himself on fire,” Tsering said. He died on the spot, Tsering said. “Before [local] Tibetans could take possession of his body, Chinese police arrived and took his body to the Ngaba county center.” Dorje is the 26th Tibetan to have self-immolated since February 2009 in protests against Beijing's rule in Tibetan-populated areas and calling for the return of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Dorje’s family is the Garkya Tsang of Charuwa in the Cha subdivision of Ngaba county, and his father’s name is Cha Cha, Tsering added. Desperate situation His death came after twin self-immolations at the weekend, highlighting what rights groups say is the "desperate" situation facing Tibetans as Chinese authorities pursue a crackdown on monasteries and policies curtailing Tibetan language and other cultural rights. “This third self-immolation in as many days underlines that Tibetans will not stop protesting until their calls for freedom are heeded. The international community must take immediate action,” London-based advocacy group Free Tibet Director Stephanie Brigden said. A 32-year-old Tibetan widow and mother of four named Rinchen died after burning herself on Sunday in Sichuan province while a middle-school girl, identified on Monday as Tsering Kyi, self-immolated on Saturday in Gansu province. Following the self-immolations, Chinese authorities have tightened security in the two areas and in the Tibet Autonomous Region ahead of what Tibetans call "Uprising Day" on March 10, the sensitive anniversaries of the Dalai Lama's flight into exile in 1959 and of deadly riots in 2008. The body of Tsering Kyi is in the custody of Chinese police and has not been returned to her family after she set herself on fire at a vegetable market in Machu county in Gansu province’s Kanlho (in Chinese, Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, sources said. “The Chinese vendors at the Machu vegetable market threw stones at her burning body,” one source had said, adding that the girl died at the scene. Several witnesses to the fiery protest were immediately detained, the source said. “The Machu Tibetan Nationality Middle School is surrounded by Chinese paramilitary forces, and officials are conducting ‘reeducation’ activities inside the school. Tibetan family houses in the Machu area are also being searched.” Language protest Tsering Kyi had earlier protested a Chinese decision to eliminate Tibetan as the language of instruction for text books in the middle school, a Tibetan source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Authorities had implemented the teaching of subjects like history, geography, chemistry, and math in Chinese,” the source said. “Tibetan teachers and students are facing great difficulty in adjusting to the transition,” he said. Meanwhile, a monk named Rigdzin Dorje, who set fire to himself in February, is now reported to have died. Another monk, Lobsang Konchog, who self-immolated in September 2011, “is in serious condition following [the] amputation of his legs and arms. He is being fed through a tube in his throat, ” the India-based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said in a statement. The staff at the hospital physically abuse him and have labeled him an “enemy of the state,” said the CTA, expressing condolences to the families of the self-immolators. Reported by RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Karma Dorjee and Rigdhen Dolma. Written in English by Richard Finney. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/third-03052012140822.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : North Korean Guards Lure, Nab Potential Defectors

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

North Korean Guards Lure, Nab Potential Defectors March 5, 2012—North Korean guards along the border with China are inducing citizens to defect and then catching them in a bid to secure attractive government rewards, according to sources. Border guards who apprehend potential defectors are offered educational benefits or employment opportunities upon discharge from duty, along with membership in the powerful ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the sources said. Several of the 40-odd North Koreans detained recently in northern Yanggang Province in their attempt to cross over to China had been lured into the "trap" set by the border guards, according to a North Korean woman defector, whose family was among those caught. The woman, identifying herself only as Kim and who defected to South Korea five years ago, told RFA that a border guard, who was a family friend, had offered to help her family get across the North Korea border with China. Little did she realize that the border guard, who was "like a son" to her family," would double-cross and detain them while they were attempting to cross the Yalu River, which borders China, she said. "The idea that someone could induce them to escape [and then inform the authorities] didn’t even cross my mind," Kim said. "[But] when I [checked with] some sources, I found out that the guards arrested them after luring them," she said. Rewards As North Korean authorities strengthened border security after dictator Kim Jong Il’s death in December, border guards who nabbed potential defectors were offered rewards by his successor son Kim Jong Un's regime, sources said. They were offered a choice of receiving college recommendations or being placed at a key fruit farm upon their discharge from duty, along with from being accepted as members of the Workers Party, a source from Yanggang Province told RFA. The farm lies along the large Taedong River, which runs through the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Many North Korean defectors who successfully cross the border into China have been detained by Chinese security forces and deported back home by Beijing, which considers them economic migrants instead of refugees. Nearly 40 North Koreans were detained in February as they crossed the border into China in separate incidents, according to reports. Executions The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR and human rights watchdog Amnesty International have called on Beijing not to send the North Koreans back. Rights groups say they face harsh punishment, including torture or even death in their homeland. Seoul has repeatedly urged Beijing to treat fugitives from the North as refugees and not to repatriate them. China says they are economic migrants and not refugees deserving protection. More than 21,700 North Koreans have fled to the South since the 1950-1953 Korean war, most of them in recent years. They first escape to China, hide out, and then travel to a third country to seek resettlement in the South. Reported by Moon Sung Hwi for RFA's Korean service. Translated by Kang Min Kyung. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/defectors-03052012095110.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.

12 years, 10 months

RFA BREAKING NEWS : Immigration Tensions Led to Attack by Uyghurs

by Parameswaran Ponnudurai

Immigration Tensions Led to Attack by Uyghurs February 29, 2012—Violence in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region which left some 20 people dead this week may have been fueled by a mass migration of Han Chinese to a largely Uyghur county, stoking ethnic tensions amongst the area’s unemployed youth, according to residents. Local officials, meanwhile, were striving to keep a lid on rumors swirling after the worst violence in seven months in the volatile region and have given strict orders to government employees not to speak to the media. But a senior official told RFA that he had witnessed the violence which left nearly 20 dead on a busy street in Kargilik (in Chinese, Yecheng) county in Kashgar prefecture on Tuesday night. “We saw the people were crying and fleeing and later all the streets in the town were blocked by police,” said Abdukeyim, chief of the county’s land management department, just 100 meters (330 feet) from a market where the violence occurred. He said based on a government report on the incident, a group of knife-wielding Uyghurs went on a stabbing spree on Han Chinese, leading to a police shootout. “This morning I attended a conference held by the county which all chiefs of county level departments were present at. Attendees were given a brief report on the incident,” Abdukeyim said. “According to the report, nine [Uyghurs] took part in the attack and eight of them were shot [dead] by police. Ten Han [Chinese] were killed and five were injured.” The government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region said in a statement published on its official website www.tianshannet.com on Wednesday that a group of Uyghurs stabbed to death 13 people before police shot seven of the attackers dead. Second class citizens Several residents of Kargilik county interviewed by RFA Wednesday said the violence stemmed from a massive influx of Han Chinese, resulting in fewer economic opportunities for the Uyghur community and an upsurge in unemployment. One Uyghur resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Uyghurs were fed up with being treated like second class citizens in their traditional homeland. “Growing up in a village, I had never even seen a Han Chinese before I was 18 year old. Now you can see Han Chinese in all corners of Kargilik county,” he said. “Their population is exploding and they have now occupied almost all of the towns in the county.” “The flood of immigrants was a key reason behind the attack.” Xinjiang has been gripped for years by persistent ethnic tensions between the Muslim Uyghurs and the rapidly growing Han Chinese migrant population, leading to riots in the regional capital Urumqi on July 5, 2009 which left 200 dead and 1,700 injured, according to state media. Uyghurs, who form a distinct, Turkic-speaking minority in Xinjiang, say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness, even as Beijing pursued ambitious programs to develop its vast northwestern frontier. Ethnic policies A Han Chinese doctor from Bo-Ai Hospital in Kaghilik county expressed sympathy for the region’s Uyghurs, saying that Tuesday’s attack could have been an act of frustration with the government’s measures against the minority ethnic group. “I think the sense of dissatisfaction and resistance is a direct result of the government enforcing a high-pressure policy on Uyghur people,” said the doctor, who says he had good relations with Uyghur doctors at the hospital. “I have a very good relationship with my Uyghur colleagues at the hospital. I don’t want to see this kind thing happen, but I also don’t want to see excessive controls on the local Uygur people,” he said. “If the [harsh] policy continues, there will be more of this kind of thing in the future. In the end, the ordinary citizens will suffer.” A senior teacher in Kargilik county compared Han immigrants in the area to an invading army. “Yes, it’s true that civilians were targeted in the attack, but in the view of the Uyghurs—myself included—there is no difference between Han civilians and the army,” he said, citing the July 5, 2009 riots in which he claimed Han Chinese civilians attacked Uyghur civilians “with support of the armed police.” More than 1,000 Uyghurs have been jailed and several thousand “disappeared” in the aftermath of the most deadly episode of ethnic unrest in China’s recent history, according to Uyghur exile groups. “Han civilians are taking our bread, taking our jobs, and taking our houses. They are threatening our survival,” the teacher said. The teacher also complained that nearly all Han citizens in Xinjiang sided with the government on all ethnic issues. “They never ask the government to end religious pressure on the local people, to stop arrests and executions, or call for equal job opportunities,” the teacher said. He said Han citizens were likely targeted because the Uyghurs were not well armed enough to take on the security forces. “The difference in power of arms between the two sides is incomparable. You can’t do anything to the armed police with a knife,” he said. “I think this is the main reason they attacked Han civilians.” Reported by Shohret Hoshur and Mihray Abdilim for RFA’s Uyghur service. Translated by Shohret Hoshur and Mihray Abdilim. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. View this story online at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/attack-02292012184547.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.

12 years, 10 months

← Newer
1
...
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
...
44
Older →

Jump to page:

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

Engnews