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  • Branding armed Papuan resistance as ‘terrorists’ angers rights groups, sparks media warning

    By David Robie

    Branding armed Papuan groups as “terrorists” has sparked strong condemnation from human rights groups across Indonesia and in West Papua, some describing the move as desperation and the “worst ever” action by President Joko Widodo’s administration.

    Many warn that this draconian militarist approach to the Papuan independence struggle will lead to further bloodshed and fail to achieve anything.

    Many have called for negotiation to try to seek a way out of the spiralling violence over the past few months.

    Ironically, with the annual World Press Freedom Day being observed on Monday many commentors also warn about the increased dangers for journalists covering the conflict.

    Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy chairperson Hendardi (Indonesians often have a single name) has criticised the government’s move against “armed criminal groups” in Papua, or “KKB)”, as they are known by military authorities.

    The move to designate them as terrorists is seen as a short-cut and an expression of the government’s “desperation” in dealing with the Papuan struggle for independence.

    “The labeling of resistance groups in Papua will not break the long and recurring cycle of violence”, Hendardi said, according to a report in Merdeka by Yunita Amalia.

    Failure of the security forces
    Hendardi said that the failure of security forces to cripple armed groups in Papua had largely been caused by the lack of support and trust by local people.

    This was as well as the difficult and rugged terrain while local resistance groups were very familiar with their mountainous hideouts.

    “The terrorist label and the subsequent [military] operations is Jokowi’s [President Joko Widodo] worst ever policy on Papua,” he claimed.

    Setara Institute chairperson Hendardi … “The labeling of resistance groups in Papua will not break the long and recurring cycle of violence”. Image: CNN Indonesia

    Yesterday, the government declared that the so-called KKB were terrorists, following a string of clashes with security forces that saw the region’s intelligence chief, one police officer and at least five guerrilla fighters killed.

    Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD officially announced that the Papuan KKB had been included in the category of terrorist organisations.

    He cited Law Number 5/2018 on the Eradication of Terrorism as a legal basis.

    “The government considers that organisations and people in Papua that commit widespread violence are categorised as terrorists”, Mahfud told a media conference broadcast on the ministry’s YouTube channel.

    AII Usman Hamid
    Amnesty International Indonesia’s Usman Hamid … “The government should focus on investigating [human rights violation] cases and ending the extrajudicial killings.” Image: Kompas

    Adding to list rights violations
    Amnesty International Indonesia said the move had the potential to add to a long list of human rights violations in the region.

    Amnesty International executive director Usman Hamid believes that branding the armed groups terrorist will not end the problems or human rights violations in Papua.

    “Even if they are so easily labelled terrorist, this will in fact have the potential of adding to the long list of human rights violations in Papua,” Hamid told Kompas.com.

    Based on Amnesty International Indonesia’s records, there were at least 47 cases of extrajudicial killings committed by Indonesian security forces between February 2018 and December 2020 resulting in the death of about 80 people.

    Also, already in 2021 there had been five cases of alleged extrajudicial killings by security forces resulting in the death of seven people, said Hamid.

    “The government should focus on investigating these cases and ending the extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations by law enforcement agencies in Papua and West Papua, rather than focus on the terrorist label,” he said.

    ‘Transparent, just, accountable’ law enforcement
    National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Deputy Commissioner Amiruddin Al-Rahab said he was disappointed with the government’s decision.

    “Pak Menko [Mr Security Chief] announced that the solution is to add the terrorist label. Speaking frankly I feel disappointed with this”, said Al-Rahab.

    Al-Rahab believes that it is more important to prioritise “transparent, just and accountable” law enforcement as the way to resolve the Papua problem rather than labelling armed groups in Papua as terrorists.

    “It is far more important to prioritise this rather than transforming labels,” he said.

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has also criticised the Indonesian government’s decision, dismissing the “terrorist label” as a colonial creation.

    ULMWP executive director Markus Haluk said that the government often attached “certain labels” on the Papuan nation which were intentionally created.

    “The terms KKB, GPK [security disturbance groups] and so forth are terms created by Indonesian colonialism, the TNI [Indonesian military] and the Polri [Indonesian police]. So, the Papuan people don’t recognise any of these”, Haluk told CNN Indonesia.

    Haluk said that the National Liberation Army (TPN) and the OPM (Free Papua Organisation) were born out of a humanitarian struggle and that they opposed humanitarian crimes and systematic racist politics.

    Veronica Koman
    Indonesian human rights lawyer Veronica Koman with New Zealand journalist David Robie … “Indonesia has just burnt the bridge towards a peaceful resolution.” Image: Bernard Agape/PMC

    Severing attempts for peaceful solution
    Lawyer and human rights activist Veronica Koman condemned the Indonesian government’s move.

    Through her personal Twitter account @VeronicaKoman, she said that the decision would sever attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Papua.

    “Indonesia has just burnt the bridge towards a peaceful resolution,” she wrote in a tweet.

    Koman believes that the label could trigger an escalation in the armed conflict in the “land of the Cenderawasih”, as Papua is known. Not to mention, she said, concerns over possible human rights violations.

    The OPM declared that it would challenge the decisions with the International Court of Justice (ICC).

    The ICC is the United Nation’s top judicial body whose principle function is to hear and resolve disputes between member nations.

    “The TPNPB [West Papua National Liberation Army] already has lawyers, we will send two of our lawyers [to the ICC] if Indonesia is prepared to include the TPNPB as a terrorist organisation, so we are very much ready to take the issue to the International Court”, said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambom.

    Journalist and editor Victor Mambor
    Journalist and editor Victor Mambor … “I’m worried about my family and colleagues at Jubi.” Image: APR screenshot

    Threats to balanced media
    Meanwhile, a prominent Papuan journalist, Victor Mambor, has expressed concern about the implications for media people trying to provide balanced coverage of the Papuan conflict.

    Mambor, founding editor of Tabloid Jubi, contributor to The Jakarta Post, and a former Papuan advocate for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), is among many media people who have been targeted for their robust reportage of the deteriorating situation in Papua and human rights violations.

    Just last week his vehicle had its windows smashed and it was daubed with spray paint. The attack was featured in Suara Papua, but as he admits this was just the latest of a series of attacks and attempts at intimidating him in his daily journalism.

    Mambor, who visited New Zealand in 2013, told Asia Pacific Report that there had been no progress so far in the investigation into the attack. A police forensics team had checked his car.

    “I am not worried about my safety because if have experienced a lot of terror and intimidation that has let me know how to deal with these actions against me,” he said. “Even worse things have happened to me.

    “But I’m worried about my family and colleagues at Jubi.”

    The recent threats by the Speaker of the Parliament in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, and the latest branding of resistance groups in Papua have created an even more difficult environment for working journalists just at a time when the World Press Freedom Day is coming up on May 3 with a related UNESCO Asia-Pacific media safety seminar in Jakarta today.

    “These developments have an impact on media workers like me or fellow journalists at Jubi who try to maintain a ‘covering both sides’ principle to report on the conflict in Papua,” he said.

    “The terror attack that I experienced explains that. Journalists who report on the Papua conflict with a different perspective other than what the security forces want will be subject to problems and pressure. This is what I’m worried about.

    “However, I am also worried about the continued existence of a single narrative developed by the security forces on the conflict and armed violence in Papua.”

    With thanks to some translations by James Balowski for IndoLeft News.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ‘Lest we forget’: anti-war statue of Iraq veteran goes up in Margate

    A statue of a young soldier has gone up in Margate. And it’s quite different to most military statues. It depicts Daniel Taylor, a young anti-war Iraq veteran and campaigner who suffers from PTSD and has a powerful message for Britain’s politicians.

    The statue is named April is the Cruellest Month, after a T.S Eliot poem. It’s the work of Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz. Made from concrete, the statue contains artefacts donated by locals and veterans, including Taylor’s Iraq medal and a peace flag he stole as a 15-year-old from an anti-war demo in his native Devon.

    Iraq medal

    In 2006, Taylor took the flag to Iraq with him when he deployed to war, much to the annoyance of his officers. He came back with post-traumatic stress disorder, ending up serving a spell in military prison. Taylor struggled with a lack of support after discharge. He is now a therapist and member of Veterans for Peace UK.

    In a press release, Taylor said:

    My aim was to draw some small spotlight back onto the subject of militarism & how the arms industry continues to operate in the UK. We are pushed ever closer to war because of profit, resources and power.

    The work also contains Taylor’s Iraq service medal. He hopes that giving it up will spark a debate:

    I expect letting go of my medal in this way will upset some people but I have to be at peace with that if the greater outcome is a broader and more honest debate around how the UK conducts its dangerous foreign policy & how it treats its veterans when they return home.

    Westminster

    The statue is of Taylor’s younger self pointing west from Margate to Westminster. It’s there he lays the blame for both the wars and the problems faced by the soldiers who fought them, like mental health issues, homelessness, and alcohol abuse.

    The occupation of Iraq cost 179 service people their lives, as well as an unknown number of Iraqis. The British and Iraqi dead were remembered at a small ceremony at the unveiling.

    The piece will be in Margate until Armistice Day, after which it will tour various locations around the country.

    Featured images via Thierry Bal and Turner Contemporary and Daniel Taylor

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • ‘Let’s talk about human rights later’ after ‘crushing’ Papuan rebels, warns Jakarta Speaker

    An unverified video clip purportedly from a military YouTube channel claiming that nine Papuan rebels had been shot, 28 April 2021. The video of an unknown location or unit has been circulated on social media today. Video: EKA PR33DATOR 57

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Armed violence has escalated in Puncak Regency in the “land of Papua” – known internationally as West Papua – following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s order to crack down on the rebels seeking independence, reports the Papuan newspaper Jubi.

    Widodo ordered the capture of all members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) while the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, demanded that the government “talk about human rights later” after totally “exterminating” the TPNPB.

    “I demand that the government deploy the security forces at full force to exterminate the armed criminal groups (KKP) in Papua which has taken lives. Just eradicate them. Let’s talk about human rights later,” Soesatyo told CNN Indonesia on Monday.

    Soesatyo, who last year proposed that 9mm pistols be made legally available to certified gun owners for “self-defence”, also asked the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) to declare the group a terrorist organisation.

    The human rights watchdog Setara Institute deemed the politician’s statement would only trigger a spiral of violence and add to the complexity of the Papua conflict, resulting in more casualties.

    “Numerous cases of fatal shootings, which have claimed the lives of people, mostly civilians, has shown that the security approach is not the answer to the problem in Papua,” Setara Institute deputy Bonar Tigor Naipospos said in a statement.

    Naipospos criticised Soesatyo’s suggestion to brush human rights aside, saying such rights as stipulated in Article 28i of the Constitution, could not be reduced by anyone, in including in war and emergencies.

    Stop branding rebels ‘terrorist’
    Secretary of Papua Pegunungan Tengah Student Association (AMPTPI) Ikem Wetipo asked the government to stop calling the TPNPB a “terrorist” group or calling for their “killing”, as in Soesatyo’s comment, which justified human rights violations in West Papua.

    MPR Speaker Bambang Soesatyo
    Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo … calling on security forces to deploy their full strength and totally destroy armed criminal groups (KKB). Image: IndoLeft News/CNN Indonesia

    “Stop making reckless statements, [such as from] the MPR speaker and the President about capturing, eradicating the TPNPB. It means that the state justifies casualties in the process of pursuing the group,” Wetipo said.

    Armed conflict has been escalating in Puncak Regency since April 8, 2021, when the TPNPB shot dead Oktavianus Rayo, a teacher in Beoga District suspected by the group as an Indonesian spy.

    Since then, five people have died including the intelligence chief in Papua, Major General Anumerta IGP Danny NK, who was killed in crossfire last Sunday. The TPNPB was also accused of burning schools in Beoga.

    A Jubi source was told that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police were seen pursuing the TPNPB troops in North Ilaga District since Tuesday at 9 am local time.

    “We saw the security forces in three helicopters, [flying over] in Misimaga, Efesus, and Tegelobak Village. The helicopter landed at the Mayuberi creek, [then flew and] has not returned. Whether [the helicopter] has gone to Sinak or Beoga, we don’t know,” he said.

    At 5 pm, firefights broke out between the TPNPB led by Lekagak Telenggen and the TNI and police in Makki, Misimaga, Efesus, and Tegelobak Village. The security forces also reportedly bombarded the villages, prompting villagers to evacuate to churches, forests, and nearby villages such as Tanah Merah and Gome.

    No civilian casualties
    There were no reports of civilian casualties reported by yesterday.

    However, two Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel were wounded and one died in the crossfire, Papua Police spokesperson Senior Commander Ahmad Musthofa Kamal confirmed.

    The wounded policemen are Second Insp. Anton Tonapa who was reportedly shot in the back and Chief Brigadier M Syaifudin, shot in the stomach. Meanwhile, Second Agent Komang died of a gunshot wound.

    All wounded military personnel have been evacuated to Mimika General Hospital.

    Meanwhile, TPNPB commander Egianus Kogeya claimed his party had shot dead three TNI members in Nduga Regency on Monday, who Kogeya accused of burning five houses in Alguru District.

    TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom, responded to Jokowi’s order and Soesatyo’s statement, saying the group would never back down in the face of the Indonesian government’s military operations.

    “TPNPB is ready,” Sambom told Jubi.

    “We are standing on our own land. Indonesia with the TNI and police are the thieves coming to steal our natural resources while killing us,” he said.

    Sambom urged the Indonesian government to act in a “democratic” way and send a negotiator, instead of security forces, to meet with the TPNPB.

    “We warn President Jokowi not to sacrifice any more [Indonesian] soldiers. President Jokowi must be open to negotiations with TPNPB’s negotiators,” he said.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘Let’s talk about human rights later’ after ‘crushing’ Papuan rebels, warns Jakarta Speaker

    An unverified video clip purportedly from a military YouTube channel claiming that nine Papuan rebels had been shot, 28 April 2021. The video of an unknown location or unit has been circulated on social media today. Video: EKA PR33DATOR 57

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Armed violence has escalated in Puncak Regency in the “land of Papua” – known internationally as West Papua – following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s order to crack down on the rebels seeking independence, reports the Papuan newspaper Jubi.

    Widodo ordered the capture of all members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) while the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, demanded that the government “talk about human rights later” after totally “exterminating” the TPNPB.

    “I demand that the government deploy the security forces at full force to exterminate the armed criminal groups (KKP) in Papua which has taken lives. Just eradicate them. Let’s talk about human rights later,” Soesatyo told CNN Indonesia on Monday.

    Soesatyo, who last year proposed that 9mm pistols be made legally available to certified gun owners for “self-defence”, also asked the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) to declare the group a terrorist organisation.

    The human rights watchdog Setara Institute deemed the politician’s statement would only trigger a spiral of violence and add to the complexity of the Papua conflict, resulting in more casualties.

    “Numerous cases of fatal shootings, which have claimed the lives of people, mostly civilians, has shown that the security approach is not the answer to the problem in Papua,” Setara Institute deputy Bonar Tigor Naipospos said in a statement.

    Naipospos criticised Soesatyo’s suggestion to brush human rights aside, saying such rights as stipulated in Article 28i of the Constitution, could not be reduced by anyone, in including in war and emergencies.

    Stop branding rebels ‘terrorist’
    Secretary of Papua Pegunungan Tengah Student Association (AMPTPI) Ikem Wetipo asked the government to stop calling the TPNPB a “terrorist” group or calling for their “killing”, as in Soesatyo’s comment, which justified human rights violations in West Papua.

    MPR Speaker Bambang Soesatyo
    Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo … calling on security forces to deploy their full strength and totally destroy armed criminal groups (KKB). Image: IndoLeft News/CNN Indonesia

    “Stop making reckless statements, [such as from] the MPR speaker and the President about capturing, eradicating the TPNPB. It means that the state justifies casualties in the process of pursuing the group,” Wetipo said.

    Armed conflict has been escalating in Puncak Regency since April 8, 2021, when the TPNPB shot dead Oktavianus Rayo, a teacher in Beoga District suspected by the group as an Indonesian spy.

    Since then, five people have died including the intelligence chief in Papua, Major General Anumerta IGP Danny NK, who was killed in crossfire last Sunday. The TPNPB was also accused of burning schools in Beoga.

    A Jubi source was told that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police were seen pursuing the TPNPB troops in North Ilaga District since Tuesday at 9 am local time.

    “We saw the security forces in three helicopters, [flying over] in Misimaga, Efesus, and Tegelobak Village. The helicopter landed at the Mayuberi creek, [then flew and] has not returned. Whether [the helicopter] has gone to Sinak or Beoga, we don’t know,” he said.

    At 5 pm, firefights broke out between the TPNPB led by Lekagak Telenggen and the TNI and police in Makki, Misimaga, Efesus, and Tegelobak Village. The security forces also reportedly bombarded the villages, prompting villagers to evacuate to churches, forests, and nearby villages such as Tanah Merah and Gome.

    No civilian casualties
    There were no reports of civilian casualties reported by yesterday.

    However, two Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel were wounded and one died in the crossfire, Papua Police spokesperson Senior Commander Ahmad Musthofa Kamal confirmed.

    The wounded policemen are Second Insp. Anton Tonapa who was reportedly shot in the back and Chief Brigadier M Syaifudin, shot in the stomach. Meanwhile, Second Agent Komang died of a gunshot wound.

    All wounded military personnel have been evacuated to Mimika General Hospital.

    Meanwhile, TPNPB commander Egianus Kogeya claimed his party had shot dead three TNI members in Nduga Regency on Monday, who Kogeya accused of burning five houses in Alguru District.

    TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom, responded to Jokowi’s order and Soesatyo’s statement, saying the group would never back down in the face of the Indonesian government’s military operations.

    “TPNPB is ready,” Sambom told Jubi.

    “We are standing on our own land. Indonesia with the TNI and police are the thieves coming to steal our natural resources while killing us,” he said.

    Sambom urged the Indonesian government to act in a “democratic” way and send a negotiator, instead of security forces, to meet with the TPNPB.

    “We warn President Jokowi not to sacrifice any more [Indonesian] soldiers. President Jokowi must be open to negotiations with TPNPB’s negotiators,” he said.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indonesian families remember victims of Bali submarine disaster – 53 die

    By Ardila Syakriah and Reno Surya in Jakarta and Surabaya

    The hopes of the families of the sailors aboard the Indonesian Navy’s KRI Nanggala-402 submarine were dashed at the weekend after the vessel was found in pieces on the seabed north of Bali and all 53 crew members were declared dead.

    The Indonesian Military (TNI) announced it had located the submarine 838m below sea level about 1.3 kilometers south of the location from which it had made its last contact.

    “With great sadness, I, the TNI commander, announce that the great soldiers of the Submarine Unit have died on duty in the sea north of Bali,” TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said during a press briefing.

    The announcement ended a four-day international search effort. Personnel from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, India and the United States had helped scour the 10 square nautical miles believed to contain submarine.

    Al Jazeera reports that the submarine – one of five in the Indonesian Navy – was found cracked apart on the seafloor.

    Rescuers found new objects, including a life vest, that they believe belong to those on board the 44-year-old submarine, which lost contact as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill.

    Authorities said they received signals from the location early on Sunday and used an underwater submarine rescue vehicle supplied by Singapore to get a visual confirmation.

    On Saturday, the navy said fragments of the submarine, including items from inside the vessel, had been retrieved but its location had yet to be confirmed.

    Objects – including prayer mat fragments and a bottle of periscope lubricant were found near the submarine’s last known location.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Indonesian families remember victims of Bali submarine disaster – 53 die

    By Ardila Syakriah and Reno Surya in Jakarta and Surabaya

    The hopes of the families of the sailors aboard the Indonesian Navy’s KRI Nanggala-402 submarine were dashed at the weekend after the vessel was found in pieces on the seabed north of Bali and all 53 crew members were declared dead.

    The Indonesian Military (TNI) announced it had located the submarine 838m below sea level about 1.3 kilometers south of the location from which it had made its last contact.

    “With great sadness, I, the TNI commander, announce that the great soldiers of the Submarine Unit have died on duty in the sea north of Bali,” TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said during a press briefing.

    The announcement ended a four-day international search effort. Personnel from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, India and the United States had helped scour the 10 square nautical miles believed to contain submarine.

    Al Jazeera reports that the submarine – one of five in the Indonesian Navy – was found cracked apart on the seafloor.

    Rescuers found new objects, including a life vest, that they believe belong to those on board the 44-year-old submarine, which lost contact as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill.

    Authorities said they received signals from the location early on Sunday and used an underwater submarine rescue vehicle supplied by Singapore to get a visual confirmation.

    On Saturday, the navy said fragments of the submarine, including items from inside the vessel, had been retrieved but its location had yet to be confirmed.

    Objects – including prayer mat fragments and a bottle of periscope lubricant were found near the submarine’s last known location.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indonesia slammed for inviting Myanmar coup leader to ASEAN

    By Ryan Aditya in Jakarta

    Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti has condemned the invitation to Myanmar coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing to attend the ASEAN ministerial conference in Jakarta at the weekend as revealing Indonesia’s true colours — that it is accepting of human rights violators.

    “Min Aung Hlaing’s arrival actually shows that Indonesia is indeed very apologetic towards human rights violators not just domestically but internationally,” said Maulidiyanti.

    Maulidiyanti said that Indonesia had acted the same way when it received Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) extraordinary leadership conference in 2016.

    Yet, according to Maulidiyanti, Al-Bashir was a dictator and a fugitive of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    “Indonesia once did the same thing during the OIC Conference in 2016 when Indonesia also invited Omar Al-Bashir,” she said.

    Based on the reception of these two human rights violators, Maulidiyanti questioned Indonesia’s position — which is actually reflected through President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo — with regard to protecting human rights.

    The arrival of the Myanmar military junta leader is regrettable because it was as if Indonesia was paying no heed to the violence taking place in Myanmar.

    Jakarta not heeding violence
    “So here there is actually a question, what face is Indonesia presenting through President Joko Widodo and government officials by not heeding the violence occurring in Myanmar. The aim, rather than inviting the leader of the military junta, is to open dialogue,” she said.

    Maulidiyanti questioned what the real aim was in inviting the lead of the Myanmar military junta to Jakarta.

    Maulidiyanti emphasised that Indonesia should have invited the Myanmar National Unity Government (NUG) to the ASEAN meeting on Saturday afternoon.

    “The government should have instead invited the NUG who are the elected representatives of the Myanmar people,” she said.

    On the other hand, Maulidiyanti said that ASEAN had a very important role to play in resolving the problems in Myanmar. ASEAN should immediately take firm measures over the violence being committed by the Myanmar government.

    The invitation of Min Aung Hlaing to the ASEAN conference proves that ASEAN was not a safe place for the protection of human rights.

    “It can be seen from the cooperation where they don’t want to heed the situation or the importance of acting immediately against the Myanmar government today, meaning ASIAN is not a safe place for protecting human rights”, she said.

    Widodo’s response
    President Widodo said that the violence in Myanmar must stop. This was one of the points he stressed during the meeting with the eight leaders of ASEAN countries at the ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Jakarta.

    “At the meeting earlier I conveyed several things. First, the situation developing in Myanmar is something which is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue,” said Widodo during a virtual press conference on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel.

    “The violence must stop. Democracy and stability as well as peace in Myanmar must be restored immediately. The interests of the Myanmar people must always be the priority,” he said.

    Second, Widodo emphasised the importance of General Min Aung Hlaing making two commitments.

    An end to the use of violence by the Myanmar military and that all parties must restrain themselves so that tensions can be eased so that a process of dialogue can be begun.

    “Political prisoners must be released immediately and an ASEAN special envoy needs to be established, namely the ASEAN secretary general and chairperson to promote dialogue between all parties in Myanmar,” said Widodo.

    Third, he asked that access be given for humanitarian aid from ASEAN which would be coordinated by the ASEAN secretary general and the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Center).

    Widodo also asserted that Indonesia wass committed to overseeing the above three commitments so that the crisis in Myanmar could be resolved.

    “We thank God that what has been conveyed by Indonesia will turn out to be in accord with what has been conveyed by ASEAN leaders so it can be said that ASEAN leaders have reached a consensus,” said Widodo.

    “The ASEAN secretary general has conveyed five points of concusses which will be conveyed by the ASEAN secretary general or chairperson. The contents are more or less the same as those that I conveyed earlier in the national statement which I conveyed earlier,” added the president.

    The ASEAN leaders meeting which was held today in Jakarta was attended by the leaders of the nine countries in Southeast Asia: President Joko Widodo, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính, Brunei Darussalam Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Myanmar military chief General Min Aung Hlaing, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Hassin, Laos Foreign Affairs Minister Laos Saleumxay Kommasith, Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Soroti Kehadiran Min Aung Hlaing, Kontras: Indonesia Apologetik kepada Pelanggar HAM”.

    https://www.indoleft.org

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indonesia slammed for inviting Myanmar coup leader to ASEAN

    By Ryan Aditya in Jakarta

    Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti has condemned the invitation to Myanmar coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing to attend the ASEAN ministerial conference in Jakarta at the weekend as revealing Indonesia’s true colours — that it is accepting of human rights violators.

    “Min Aung Hlaing’s arrival actually shows that Indonesia is indeed very apologetic towards human rights violators not just domestically but internationally,” said Maulidiyanti.

    Maulidiyanti said that Indonesia had acted the same way when it received Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) extraordinary leadership conference in 2016.

    Yet, according to Maulidiyanti, Al-Bashir was a dictator and a fugitive of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    “Indonesia once did the same thing during the OIC Conference in 2016 when Indonesia also invited Omar Al-Bashir,” she said.

    Based on the reception of these two human rights violators, Maulidiyanti questioned Indonesia’s position — which is actually reflected through President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo — with regard to protecting human rights.

    The arrival of the Myanmar military junta leader is regrettable because it was as if Indonesia was paying no heed to the violence taking place in Myanmar.

    Jakarta not heeding violence
    “So here there is actually a question, what face is Indonesia presenting through President Joko Widodo and government officials by not heeding the violence occurring in Myanmar. The aim, rather than inviting the leader of the military junta, is to open dialogue,” she said.

    Maulidiyanti questioned what the real aim was in inviting the lead of the Myanmar military junta to Jakarta.

    Maulidiyanti emphasised that Indonesia should have invited the Myanmar National Unity Government (NUG) to the ASEAN meeting on Saturday afternoon.

    “The government should have instead invited the NUG who are the elected representatives of the Myanmar people,” she said.

    On the other hand, Maulidiyanti said that ASEAN had a very important role to play in resolving the problems in Myanmar. ASEAN should immediately take firm measures over the violence being committed by the Myanmar government.

    The invitation of Min Aung Hlaing to the ASEAN conference proves that ASEAN was not a safe place for the protection of human rights.

    “It can be seen from the cooperation where they don’t want to heed the situation or the importance of acting immediately against the Myanmar government today, meaning ASIAN is not a safe place for protecting human rights”, she said.

    Widodo’s response
    President Widodo said that the violence in Myanmar must stop. This was one of the points he stressed during the meeting with the eight leaders of ASEAN countries at the ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Jakarta.

    “At the meeting earlier I conveyed several things. First, the situation developing in Myanmar is something which is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue,” said Widodo during a virtual press conference on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel.

    “The violence must stop. Democracy and stability as well as peace in Myanmar must be restored immediately. The interests of the Myanmar people must always be the priority,” he said.

    Second, Widodo emphasised the importance of General Min Aung Hlaing making two commitments.

    An end to the use of violence by the Myanmar military and that all parties must restrain themselves so that tensions can be eased so that a process of dialogue can be begun.

    “Political prisoners must be released immediately and an ASEAN special envoy needs to be established, namely the ASEAN secretary general and chairperson to promote dialogue between all parties in Myanmar,” said Widodo.

    Third, he asked that access be given for humanitarian aid from ASEAN which would be coordinated by the ASEAN secretary general and the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Center).

    Widodo also asserted that Indonesia wass committed to overseeing the above three commitments so that the crisis in Myanmar could be resolved.

    “We thank God that what has been conveyed by Indonesia will turn out to be in accord with what has been conveyed by ASEAN leaders so it can be said that ASEAN leaders have reached a consensus,” said Widodo.

    “The ASEAN secretary general has conveyed five points of concusses which will be conveyed by the ASEAN secretary general or chairperson. The contents are more or less the same as those that I conveyed earlier in the national statement which I conveyed earlier,” added the president.

    The ASEAN leaders meeting which was held today in Jakarta was attended by the leaders of the nine countries in Southeast Asia: President Joko Widodo, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính, Brunei Darussalam Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Myanmar military chief General Min Aung Hlaing, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Hassin, Laos Foreign Affairs Minister Laos Saleumxay Kommasith, Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Soroti Kehadiran Min Aung Hlaing, Kontras: Indonesia Apologetik kepada Pelanggar HAM”.

    https://www.indoleft.org

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indonesia slammed for inviting Myanmar coup leader to ASEAN

    By Ryan Aditya in Jakarta

    Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti has condemned the invitation to Myanmar coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing to attend the ASEAN ministerial conference in Jakarta at the weekend as revealing Indonesia’s true colours — that it is accepting of human rights violators.

    “Min Aung Hlaing’s arrival actually shows that Indonesia is indeed very apologetic towards human rights violators not just domestically but internationally,” said Maulidiyanti.

    Maulidiyanti said that Indonesia had acted the same way when it received Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) extraordinary leadership conference in 2016.

    Yet, according to Maulidiyanti, Al-Bashir was a dictator and a fugitive of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    “Indonesia once did the same thing during the OIC Conference in 2016 when Indonesia also invited Omar Al-Bashir,” she said.

    Based on the reception of these two human rights violators, Maulidiyanti questioned Indonesia’s position — which is actually reflected through President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo — with regard to protecting human rights.

    The arrival of the Myanmar military junta leader is regrettable because it was as if Indonesia was paying no heed to the violence taking place in Myanmar.

    Jakarta not heeding violence
    “So here there is actually a question, what face is Indonesia presenting through President Joko Widodo and government officials by not heeding the violence occurring in Myanmar. The aim, rather than inviting the leader of the military junta, is to open dialogue,” she said.

    Maulidiyanti questioned what the real aim was in inviting the lead of the Myanmar military junta to Jakarta.

    Maulidiyanti emphasised that Indonesia should have invited the Myanmar National Unity Government (NUG) to the ASEAN meeting on Saturday afternoon.

    “The government should have instead invited the NUG who are the elected representatives of the Myanmar people,” she said.

    On the other hand, Maulidiyanti said that ASEAN had a very important role to play in resolving the problems in Myanmar. ASEAN should immediately take firm measures over the violence being committed by the Myanmar government.

    The invitation of Min Aung Hlaing to the ASEAN conference proves that ASEAN was not a safe place for the protection of human rights.

    “It can be seen from the cooperation where they don’t want to heed the situation or the importance of acting immediately against the Myanmar government today, meaning ASIAN is not a safe place for protecting human rights”, she said.

    Widodo’s response
    President Widodo said that the violence in Myanmar must stop. This was one of the points he stressed during the meeting with the eight leaders of ASEAN countries at the ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Jakarta.

    “At the meeting earlier I conveyed several things. First, the situation developing in Myanmar is something which is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue,” said Widodo during a virtual press conference on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel.

    “The violence must stop. Democracy and stability as well as peace in Myanmar must be restored immediately. The interests of the Myanmar people must always be the priority,” he said.

    Second, Widodo emphasised the importance of General Min Aung Hlaing making two commitments.

    An end to the use of violence by the Myanmar military and that all parties must restrain themselves so that tensions can be eased so that a process of dialogue can be begun.

    “Political prisoners must be released immediately and an ASEAN special envoy needs to be established, namely the ASEAN secretary general and chairperson to promote dialogue between all parties in Myanmar,” said Widodo.

    Third, he asked that access be given for humanitarian aid from ASEAN which would be coordinated by the ASEAN secretary general and the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Center).

    Widodo also asserted that Indonesia wass committed to overseeing the above three commitments so that the crisis in Myanmar could be resolved.

    “We thank God that what has been conveyed by Indonesia will turn out to be in accord with what has been conveyed by ASEAN leaders so it can be said that ASEAN leaders have reached a consensus,” said Widodo.

    “The ASEAN secretary general has conveyed five points of concusses which will be conveyed by the ASEAN secretary general or chairperson. The contents are more or less the same as those that I conveyed earlier in the national statement which I conveyed earlier,” added the president.

    The ASEAN leaders meeting which was held today in Jakarta was attended by the leaders of the nine countries in Southeast Asia: President Joko Widodo, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính, Brunei Darussalam Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Myanmar military chief General Min Aung Hlaing, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Hassin, Laos Foreign Affairs Minister Laos Saleumxay Kommasith, Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Soroti Kehadiran Min Aung Hlaing, Kontras: Indonesia Apologetik kepada Pelanggar HAM”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Police scuffle with protesters against Myanmar junta leader at ASEAN

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Police have forced protesters demonstrating at the weekend against the attendance of Myanmar military commander General Min Aung Hlaing at the ASEAN Ministerial Level Conference (KTT) in Jakarta away from the meeting into the nearby Agung Al-Azhar Mosque area, reports CNN Indonesia.

    The peaceful action was organised by the Leaders and Organisers of Community Organisation in Asia (LOCOA) in front of the ASEAN secretariat building in South Jakarta on Saturday.

    The police then asked the protesters to move back from the ASEAN secretariat building.

    A scuffle broke out when police began forcing demonstrators away from the meeting venue. Police eventually maneouvered the protesters into the Agung Al-Azhar Mosque area.

    Metro Jaya regional police traffic director Sambodo Purnomo Yogo said that the police had intentionally forced the protesters away in order to “sterilise” Jalan Sisingamaraja or the area in front of the ASEAN secretariat building.

    “State guests will be passing through the Sisingamaraja route, so we pushed them further inside so that it would not disrupt the passing guests,” he said.

    Yogo emphasised that they did not prohibit the demonstrators from conveying their views. “Please go ahead (and demonstrate) but inside,” he said.

    Legitimate government not invited
    In a media release, LOCOA said it regretted that the ASEAN Ministerial Level Conference to discuss the Myanmar crisis did not invite the legitimate government of Myanmar.

    “LOCOA strongly condemns ASEAN and its member states because they invited the military junta to the KTT ASEAN”, read Saturday’s official release.

    LOCOA also slammed the military junta for its violent actions against peaceful protesters and for committing illegal killings, arrests, torture and imprisonment with total impunity.

    They demanded that the military end the violence against peaceful demonstrators and civilians and urged the United Nations to immediately send a monitoring and humanitarian support mission to Myanmar.

    Myanmar’s military commander General Min Aung Hlaing who launched the coup d’etat against the civilian government attended the meeting.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Polisi Sekat Pedemo Junta Myanmar di Kawasan Masjid Al-Azhar”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Police scuffle with protesters against Myanmar junta leader at ASEAN

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Police have forced protesters demonstrating at the weekend against the attendance of Myanmar military commander General Min Aung Hlaing at the ASEAN Ministerial Level Conference (KTT) in Jakarta away from the meeting into the nearby Agung Al-Azhar Mosque area, reports CNN Indonesia.

    The peaceful action was organised by the Leaders and Organisers of Community Organisation in Asia (LOCOA) in front of the ASEAN secretariat building in South Jakarta on Saturday.

    The police then asked the protesters to move back from the ASEAN secretariat building.

    A scuffle broke out when police began forcing demonstrators away from the meeting venue. Police eventually maneouvered the protesters into the Agung Al-Azhar Mosque area.

    Metro Jaya regional police traffic director Sambodo Purnomo Yogo said that the police had intentionally forced the protesters away in order to “sterilise” Jalan Sisingamaraja or the area in front of the ASEAN secretariat building.

    “State guests will be passing through the Sisingamaraja route, so we pushed them further inside so that it would not disrupt the passing guests,” he said.

    Yogo emphasised that they did not prohibit the demonstrators from conveying their views. “Please go ahead (and demonstrate) but inside,” he said.

    Legitimate government not invited
    In a media release, LOCOA said it regretted that the ASEAN Ministerial Level Conference to discuss the Myanmar crisis did not invite the legitimate government of Myanmar.

    “LOCOA strongly condemns ASEAN and its member states because they invited the military junta to the KTT ASEAN”, read Saturday’s official release.

    LOCOA also slammed the military junta for its violent actions against peaceful protesters and for committing illegal killings, arrests, torture and imprisonment with total impunity.

    They demanded that the military end the violence against peaceful demonstrators and civilians and urged the United Nations to immediately send a monitoring and humanitarian support mission to Myanmar.

    Myanmar’s military commander General Min Aung Hlaing who launched the coup d’etat against the civilian government attended the meeting.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Polisi Sekat Pedemo Junta Myanmar di Kawasan Masjid Al-Azhar”.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Anzac Day war stories: The horror of napalm in Korea

    RNZ News

    A New Zealand veteran who fought in Korea told of his experience of war and the horror of seeing napalm used for the first time.

    Gordon Sutherland, from Johnsonville, attended today’s Anzac Day dawn national service in Wellington.

    “I’ll always remember what an experience it was to see, sitting on the hill, on the other side the worst experience I’ll ever have was seeing napalm used for the first time.

    “Absolutely… I was so shocked that I even felt sorry for the enemy. The enemy that was a human being.

    “I’ve never forgotten it and I’ve never talked about that occasion in Korea before. This is actually the first time.”

    Gordon said he had attended commemoration services his entire life.

    Connection for 80 years
    “My connection goes back 80 years, from when I was a wee boy my father served in the First World War and I attended services from when I was four-years-old. I was born on Armistice Day and I’m still here today.

    “I served in Korea… I suppose you’d call it fighting.”

    He said when he returned to New Zealand he could not believe how green it was.

    “It was wonderful to be home and since then I’ve experienced a wonderful life.

    “It’s just so lovely to be here… I love our country.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Anzac Day war stories: The horror of napalm in Korea

    RNZ News

    A New Zealand veteran who fought in Korea told of his experience of war and the horror of seeing napalm used for the first time.

    Gordon Sutherland, from Johnsonville, attended today’s Anzac Day dawn national service in Wellington.

    “I’ll always remember what an experience it was to see, sitting on the hill, on the other side the worst experience I’ll ever have was seeing napalm used for the first time.

    “Absolutely… I was so shocked that I even felt sorry for the enemy. The enemy that was a human being.

    “I’ve never forgotten it and I’ve never talked about that occasion in Korea before. This is actually the first time.”

    Gordon said he had attended commemoration services his entire life.

    Connection for 80 years
    “My connection goes back 80 years, from when I was a wee boy my father served in the First World War and I attended services from when I was four-years-old. I was born on Armistice Day and I’m still here today.

    “I served in Korea… I suppose you’d call it fighting.”

    He said when he returned to New Zealand he could not believe how green it was.

    “It was wonderful to be home and since then I’ve experienced a wonderful life.

    “It’s just so lovely to be here… I love our country.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘Prejudice’ led to a failure to commemorate thousands of soldiers of colour

    The UK government has apologised for failing to equally commemorate up to 350,000 British Empire troops who died in WW1.

    The controversy centres on a report on equality of commemoration by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). This report came off the back of a 2019 documentary on the issue presented by Labour MP David Lammy.

    Overlooked

    The report shows that tens of thousands of imperial troops were not commemorated in the same way white soldiers were. It also found that somewhere between 116,000 and 350,000 servicemen were either not commemorated by name or overlooked entirely. Most of this group came from African, Arab, and Asian countries:

    This report estimates that between 45,000 and 54,000 casualties (predominantly Indian, East African, West African, Egyptian and Somali personnel) were commemorated unequally.

    A further 116,000 casualties (predominantly, but not exclusively, East African and Egyptian personnel) but potentially as many as 350,000, were not commemorated by name or possibly not commemorated at all.

    The organisation accepted a degree of responsibility for the imbalance:

    Although conditions and circumstances sometimes made the IWGC’s job difficult or even impossible, on many occasions differences in commemoration were avoidable. This report finds that the IWGC is responsible for these shortcomings – either because of its own decision making or its complicity in the decision making of other authorities.

    It also acknowledges that “prejudice” played a role:

    Despite clearly making this argument, this report also shines a light on wider administrative errors and prejudiced attitudes that influenced or played a role in bringing about these issues.

    Ultimately, many of these errors and attitudes belonged to departments of the British Imperial Government, including the War Office and Colonial Office.

    Scandals

    The historian David Olusoga called the issue:

    one of the biggest scandals I’ve ever come across as an historian

    He also tweeted that the unequal treatment amounted to a form of apartheid:

     

    Olusoga then linked to the 2019 documentary made by David Lammy. Here, Lammy discovered that East African troops had been buried without headstones. He also found that most of these headstones are in what is now an overgrown verge between a road and a well-preserved cemetery for white troops in Kenya.

    In a Guardian piece on the issue, Lammy described some of the attitudes which had led to the unequal commemorations:

    The logic for this outrage was explained by Gordon Guggisberg, the governor of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), who wrote in 1923: “The average native of the Gold Coast would not understand or appreciate a headstone.” A War Graves Commission document refers to African soldiers and carriers as “semi-savage”. Another states “they are hardly in such a state of civilisation as to appreciate such a memorial”, and “the erection of individual memorials would represent a waste of public money”

    A founding principle of the war graves commission was that those killed in the war, whatever their rank or background, should have equality in death.

    Featured image via John Warwick Brooke/Wikimedia Commons

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • A slight case of Mercer: the fall of a veterans’ minister

    Johnny Mercer, the former Royal Artillery captain turned veterans minister, is out of a job. And the snarly ex-soldier isn’t very happy about it. Politics, he says, is a ‘cesspit of distrust’.

    As a keen Mercer observer, I’ve followed his career with interest. When he gave his impassioned (though typically rambling) maiden speech to parliament on veterans care, I was one of many ex-military people who even bought into him a little bit. Finally, a lot of vets thought at the time, someone might do something about the suicides, the prison numbers, the homeless veterans and so on.

    Not so. If anything, Mercer will be remembered as a man out of his depth. Also as a driving force behind a bill to make soldiers effectively immune from prosecution for wrongdoing during wartime: the so-called Overseas Operations Bill, better described as the War Crimes Immunity Bill.

    And that toxic legislation may still come to haunt Britain, despite reports that its worst sections have been toned down.

    Support for Mercer has plunged even on military online forums in recent years. And this is the very place he’d enjoyed popularity as a self-appointed champion of the military community at the start of his political career. He has since become notorious as a serial blocker of veterans who even mildly challenge him on social media.

    In the end, he became a figure of absurdity, known as much for his strange public antics as for the values he constantly referred to.

    A slight case of Mercer

    Among his greatest hits was squaring up to ‘unwashed’ protesters, at the party conference in Manchester, who asked him if he was a Tory:

    I was getting a little annoyed. ‘Yes I am a f***ing Tory mate, is that ok with you?’ He started pointing me out to his mates, who all looked like they had spent a considerable period away from any sort of washing facilities. In fact, some of my lads looked better in Afghanistan after an 18 day patrol. And smelled nicer.

    On another occasion he announced, somewhat bizarrely for a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, that the British Army was in the business of helping the oppressed:

    There have been several write-ups of Mercer’s time as a minister. The best so far is by journalist Iain Overton (also blocked by the former minister). It recalls Mercer being confronted by a parliamentary committee about the Overseas Operations Bill on the idea that claims were “vexatious,”. And this is a term he used relentlessly while apparently not really understanding what it meant:

    When asked by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights “what he meant by vexatious prosecutions brought by the [Ministry of Defence] against armed forces personnel”, its report cited that Mercer “seemed not to understand the question”.

    Mercer most foul

    Mercer remains an MP, but also a case study. As a veteran of the same war, I’ve come to think of him as a kind of personification of the failed officer class which oversaw the disasters in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Beyond that, like many veterans on the political right, he has continued to see the world through the black-and-white lens of the military. A lens which, on this evidence, is completely unsuited to the complexity of the real world and to the amoral, dog-eat-dog nature of Tory politics.

    In the end, though, despite his efforts to frame himself as a victim of internal backstabbing, his political demise was self-inflicted. A case, if you like, of Mercer most foul.

    Featured image via YouTube/Johnny Mercer

     

    By Joe Glenton

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Historic Liar George W Bush Thinks Republicans Lie Too Much

    George W. Bush, the former President that lied us into a war of aggression in the Middle East, suddenly thinks that the modern Republican tells too many “untruths.” Bush has reemerged in recent years as an alleged “conscientious” conservative, one that doesn’t like the direction the Party took under Trump. But his words ring hollow […]

    The post Historic Liar George W Bush Thinks Republicans Lie Too Much appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • Liz Cheney Is FURIOUS About Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal

    Representative Liz Cheney isn’t happy about the fact that President Biden wants to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, and she says that this is a massive victory for the “enemies” of the United States. There is no threshold that would be acceptable to warmongers like the Cheney family to withdraw U.S. troops, and the […]

    The post Liz Cheney Is FURIOUS About Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • West Papua action group raises human rights issues with Taieri MP

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    The local West Papua action group in Dunedin has met Taieri MP Ingrid Leary and raised human rights and militarisation issues that members believe the New Zealand government should be pursuing with Indonesia.

    Leary has a strong track record on Pacific human rights issues having worked in Fiji as a television journalist and educator and as a NZ regional director of the British Council with a mandate for Pacific cultural projects.

    She is also sits on the parliamentary select committees for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and Finance and Expenditure.

    READ MORE: Military exports to Indonesia strain NZ’s human rights record

    Leary met local coordinator Barbara Frame, retired Methodist pastor Ken Russell, and two doctoral candidates on West Papua research projects at Otago University’s National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (NCPCS), Ashley McMillan and Jeremy Simons, at her South Dunedin electorate office on Friday.

    She also met Dr David Robie, publisher and editor of Asia Pacific Report that covers West Papuan issues, and Del Abcede of the Auckland-based Asia-Pacific Human Rights Coalition (APHRC).

    New Zealand’s defence relationship with Indonesia was critiqued in an article for RNZ National at the weekend by Maire Leadbeater, author of See No Evil: New Zealand’s Betrayal of the People of West Papua.

    ‘Human rights illusion’
    “The recent exposure of New Zealand’s military exports to Saudi Arabia and other countries with terrible human rights records is very important,” Leadbeater wrote.

    “The illusion of New Zealand as a human rights upholder has been shattered, and we have work ahead to ensure that we can restore not only our reputation but the reality on which it is based.”

    West Papua group with MP Ingrid Leary
    The West Papua action group with Taieri MP Ingrid Leary in Dunedin … retired Methodist pastor Ken Russell (from left), Otago University doctoral candidate Jeremy Simons, group coordinator Barbara Frame, MP Ingrid Leary, Ashley McMillan (Otago PhD candidate), Dr David Robie (APR) and Del Abcede (APHRC).

    She cited Official Information Act documentation which demonstrated that since 2008 New Zealand had exported military aircraft parts to the Indonesian Air Force.

    “In most years, including 2020, these parts are listed as ‘P3 Orion, C130 Hercules & CASA Military Aircraft:Engines, Propellers & Components including Casa Hubs and Actuators’, she wrote.

    The documentation also showed that New Zealand exported other ‘strategic goods’ to Indonesia, including so-called small arms including rifles and pistols.

    “New Zealand’s human rights advocacy for West Papua is decidedly low-key, despite claims by some academics that Indonesia is responsible for the alleged crime of genocide against the indigenous people,” Leadbeater wrote.

    “Pursuing lucrative arms exports, and training of human rights violators, undermines any message our government sends. As more is known about this complicity the challenge to the government’s Indonesia-first setting must grow.”

    Massive militarisation
    Asia Pacific Report last month published an article by Suara Papua’s Arnold Belau which revealed that the Indonesian state had sent 21,369 troops to the “land of Papua” in the past three years.

    Jakarta sends 21,000 troops to Papua over last three years, says KNPB

    This figure demonstrating massive militarisation of Papua did not include Kopassus (special forces), reinforcements and a number of other regional units or the Polri (Indonesian police).

    Victor Yeimo, international spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was cited as saying that Papua was now a “military operation zone”.

    “This meant [that] Papua had truly become a protectorate where life and death was controlled by military force,” Belau wrote.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • West Papua action group raises human rights issues with Taieri MP

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    The local West Papua action group in Dunedin has met Taieri MP Ingrid Leary and raised human rights and militarisation issues that members believe the New Zealand government should be pursuing with Indonesia.

    Leary has a strong track record on Pacific human rights issues having worked in Fiji as a television journalist and educator and as a NZ regional director of the British Council with a mandate for Pacific cultural projects.

    She is also sits on the parliamentary select committees for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and Finance and Expenditure.

    READ MORE: Military exports to Indonesia strain NZ’s human rights record

    Leary met local coordinator Barbara Frame, retired Methodist pastor Ken Russell, and two doctoral candidates on West Papua research projects at Otago University’s National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (NCPCS), Ashley McMillan and Jeremy Simons, at her South Dunedin electorate office on Friday.

    She also met Dr David Robie, publisher and editor of Asia Pacific Report that covers West Papuan issues, and Del Abcede of the Auckland-based Asia-Pacific Human Rights Coalition (APHRC).

    New Zealand’s defence relationship with Indonesia was critiqued in an article for RNZ National at the weekend by Maire Leadbeater, author of See No Evil: New Zealand’s Betrayal of the People of West Papua.

    ‘Human rights illusion’
    “The recent exposure of New Zealand’s military exports to Saudi Arabia and other countries with terrible human rights records is very important,” Leadbeater wrote.

    “The illusion of New Zealand as a human rights upholder has been shattered, and we have work ahead to ensure that we can restore not only our reputation but the reality on which it is based.”

    West Papua group with MP Ingrid Leary
    The West Papua action group with Taieri MP Ingrid Leary in Dunedin … retired Methodist pastor Ken Russell (from left), Otago University doctoral candidate Jeremy Simons, group coordinator Barbara Frame, MP Ingrid Leary, Ashley McMillan (Otago PhD candidate), Dr David Robie (APR) and Del Abcede (APHRC).

    She cited Official Information Act documentation which demonstrated that since 2008 New Zealand had exported military aircraft parts to the Indonesian Air Force.

    “In most years, including 2020, these parts are listed as ‘P3 Orion, C130 Hercules & CASA Military Aircraft:Engines, Propellers & Components including Casa Hubs and Actuators’, she wrote.

    The documentation also showed that New Zealand exported other ‘strategic goods’ to Indonesia, including so-called small arms including rifles and pistols.

    “New Zealand’s human rights advocacy for West Papua is decidedly low-key, despite claims by some academics that Indonesia is responsible for the alleged crime of genocide against the indigenous people,” Leadbeater wrote.

    “Pursuing lucrative arms exports, and training of human rights violators, undermines any message our government sends. As more is known about this complicity the challenge to the government’s Indonesia-first setting must grow.”

    Massive militarisation
    Asia Pacific Report last month published an article by Suara Papua’s Arnold Belau which revealed that the Indonesian state had sent 21,369 troops to the “land of Papua” in the past three years.

    Jakarta sends 21,000 troops to Papua over last three years, says KNPB

    This figure demonstrating massive militarisation of Papua did not include Kopassus (special forces), reinforcements and a number of other regional units or the Polri (Indonesian police).

    Victor Yeimo, international spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was cited as saying that Papua was now a “military operation zone”.

    “This meant [that] Papua had truly become a protectorate where life and death was controlled by military force,” Belau wrote.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Venezuela Border Conflict Mixes Drug Trafficking And Regime-Change

    Beginning in mid-March, Venezuelan army units have been attacking and expelling Colombian operatives active in Apure state. These have long used Venezuela’s border region to prepare cocaine arriving from Colombia and ship it to the United States and Europe. The fighting has subsided; eight Venezuelan troops were killed. Seeking safety, 3,500 Venezuelans crossed the Meta River—an Orinoco tributary—to Arauca in Colombia.

    The bi-national border is unmonitored and long enough, at 1367 miles, to encourage smuggling and the undocumented passage of cross-border travelers, in this instance the embattled Colombians in Apure.

    Among these are armed paramilitaries, bands of former FARC-EP insurgents and narcotraffickers—pilots, truckers, laboratory workers, and more.

    The post Venezuela Border Conflict Mixes Drug Trafficking And Regime-Change appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • US troops set to leave Afghanistan. That’s one down, another 150 or so countries to go.

    US president Joe Biden recently announced his administration will pull troops out of Afghanistan. This brutal war has cost tens of thousands of lives and plunged the country into a protracted conflict. Additionally, it failed to break the Taliban’s power or bring ‘democracy’ to this Middle Eastern country. Rather, the Taliban is stronger than ever and the government in Kabul is a US puppet with problems of its own. If ever there was a case of futile and pointless war, this is it. And it serves as a prime example of western intervention making a bad situation worse.

    Furthermore, though Biden’s decision to withdraw should be welcomed, we must be vigilant about whether a proxy force will remain. At the same time we also need to remember that, even if every last US troop goes home, this would still be a small drop in the ocean. The US global military presence isn’t confined to Afghanistan or the Middle East.

    Bringing a seemingly endless war to a belated end

    On April 14, Biden announced that the US will withdraw troops from Afghanistan before 11 September, 2021 – the 20 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. This in fact actually extends an earlier deadline of 1 May 2021, set by president Donald Trump. Nonetheless, some are lauding the move as an end to a seemingly endless war.

    The US has had a military presence in Afghanistan since it invaded in October 2001. And since then, the Afghan war has become the longest lasting war in US history. At the time, the administration of president George W. Bush claimed the country’s Taliban government had given shelter to 9/11’s probable mastermind Osama bin Laden. He was later assassinated by the US military and never faced trial.

    Huge costs in both blood and money…

    The costs, both financial and in terms of human life, have been devastating. Over 2,000 US soldiers and over 400 British soldiers (as of 2015) have been killed throughout the conflict. The cost for the local Afghan population, however, has been much, much worse. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented “nearly 111,000 Afghan civilian casualties, including more than 35,500 deaths, since [UNAMA] began documenting the civilian harm in 2009”.

    Meanwhile, according to data from the US Department of Defense, the cost of the war from October 2001 until September 2019 is $778bn. And it has almost certainly risen since then. This is money the US could have spent on domestic public investment. Because unlike most other OECD countries, the US still fails to provide universal public healthcare to all its citizens.

    …and all for nothing

    In a cruel irony, despite this huge spending, the war has arguably not been a ‘military success’ on its own narrow terms. While the US did topple the Taliban-led government, it remained a potent force. Because it launched a concerted guerrilla insurgency against the US military presence. And in any case, the US removed the Taliban only to install a US-friendly puppet government in Kabul. One with generous financial and military support from Washington that has problems of its own.

    In a tacit admission that the US cannot defeat the insurgency, the Trump administration sent a special envoy in 2018 to initiate peace talks with Taliban leaders. The latter only participated because Trump indicated a complete withdrawal of US troops was on the table. It subsequently entered into dialogue with the Afghan government in 2020. But, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), “little progress has been made”. CFR adds that:

    Experts say the Taliban is stronger now than at any point since 2001. With up to eighty-five thousand full-time fighters, it controls one-fifth of the country and continues to launch attacks.

    The Taliban aren’t the good guys, but nor are the US or its puppet government

    Given its oppressive politics, the prospect of the Taliban regaining power would be nothing to celebrate. But its strength is a raw fact of life. The alternative is a continuation of the conflict and even further bloodshed and destabilization. Moreover, the US-backed government itself is hardly a paragon of progressivism itself. It has been credibly accused of being fundamentalist and filled with warlords.

    In any case, secular societal progress toward greater democracy, human rights, and pluralism is very rarely successfully imposed by an invading, occupying force. And as The Canary has extensively reported, the US hardly bases its foreign policy on such considerations in the first place. It’s focus is securing its own economic interests and those of the multinational corporations that increasingly control its government.

    What about local voices?

    Maybe those best placed to fight for human rights, women’s issues, and real democracy are parties within Afghanistan itself. And parties that don’t support the US occupation, its puppet government or US parliamentary elections in Afghanistan.

    In any rational world, US troops would never have been sent there in the first place. Now, cutting the losses and bringing an end to the conflict seems not just rational but long overdue. But we need to put things into perspective.

    Afghanistan is just one victim of US aggression among many

    Firstly, there’s the risk the US will withdraw its military only to leave behind a shadow force made up of private military companies. Companies such as the infamous Blackwater. As the New York Times has argued:

    Instead of declared troops in Afghanistan, the United States will most likely rely on a shadowy combination of clandestine Special Operations forces, Pentagon contractors and covert intelligence operatives to find and attack the most dangerous Qaeda or Islamic State threats, current and former American officials said.

    Secondly, it’s worth remembering that even if a full US withdrawal happens, it would just be a small first step in ending the US’s global meddling. In addition to Afghanistan, the US has troops stationed in over 150 other countries. It also has about 800 military bases scattered across the planet.

    Clearly then, even supposing Biden follows through on his promise – and it’s no sure thing for an establishment Democrat with a long history of upholding the bipartisan status quo of US foreign intervention – we will still have a long road ahead in the fight for a more peaceful world free from US imperialism and foreign aggression.

    Featured image via Wikimedia Commons – Gage Skidmore and Flickr – Russell Gilchrest

    By Peter Bolton

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Peers vote to halt plans to limit UK soldiers’ accountability for war crimes

    High-profile defeat inflicted on government over five-year deadline proposed in overseas operations bill

    Peers have inflicted a significant defeat on the government, voting by 333 to 228 to halt plans to restrict prosecutions of torture and war crimes by British soldiers serving abroad.

    A group led by former Nato secretary general George Robertson, and supported by some former military chiefs, told peers they wanted torture and war crimes to be excluded from a five-year limit on prosecutions proposed in the overseas operations bill.

    Related: The UK government is attempting to bend the rules on torture | Nicholas Mercer

    Related: Labour to avoid revolt by voting against overseas operations bill

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Meditations On US Forces Firing A Howitzer Into The Empty Desert “Just To Say We’re Here”

    I saw a line in a recent New Yorker article about America’s endless wars, and it’s been been rattling around in my head ever since:

    “In Syria, McKenzie visited the Green Village, a community of decrepit apartment blocks near a bombed-out oil facility that served as the operational headquarters for the final push to erase the caliphate, in 2019. These days, the only military action there is from U.S. forces firing a 155-millimetre howitzer twice a week into the surrounding desert, at no specific target, ‘just to say we’re here,’ one officer told me.”

    U.S. forces firing a 155-millimetre howitzer twice a week into the surrounding desert, at no specific target, “just to say we’re here.”

    Tell me that’s not the sexiest line you have ever read in your entire life. The poetical beauty! The ennui! The oh-so-relatable existential ache! Oh God, I need a cigarette.

    I mean it just hits on so many different levels. Could you ask for a better snapshot of life within the soulless US war machine than a small cast of Beckettian soldiers, waiting around near a bombed-out oil facility for a Godot who never arrives, firing heavy artillery rounds into the desert twice a week for no reason whatsoever? You just want to hang it in an ornate wooden frame with the caption “YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK, LADIES AND GENTS” and then shove it so far up Tom Cotton’s personal anatomy that it takes an entire emergency room team to extract it.

    And isn’t it such a wonderfully concrete, in-your-face iteration of the meaningless struggle so many of us are going through in this decaying fustercluck of end-stage metastatic global capitalism? Firing a 155-millimetre howitzer twice a week into the surrounding desert at no specific target “just to say we’re here” is simply the military’s version of working at a desk forty hours a week doing essentially nothing other than making the boss and the shareholders a tiny bit richer than they already were. Working to pay the bills so you can afford the car you drive to work and the food and shelter which sustains your ability to work is no less pointless and absurd than what those soldiers were doing in the Green Village in 2019.

    If you think about it, aren’t we all in our own way firing a 155-millimetre howitzer twice a week into the surrounding desert at no specific target “just to say we’re here”? Lost and despondent in the wilderness, boxing with shadows, firing giant guns at imaginary enemies, watching our expensive artillery shells disappear into the emptiness and wondering why it hurts to live? Screaming a loud, violent noise into the abyss just to show we exist, and then seeing the abyss roll its eyes like an annoyed teenager and return its attention to its iPhone?

    We are such silly, confused little ape mutants. We could be using these giant brains we just evolved to create a chill, harmonious world where everyone has enough and we work in collaboration with each other and our ecosystem, where creativity has space to flourish and art gushes from our heads like the air we exhale. Instead we’re coasting to armageddon under the thumb of an empire that pours its wealth and resources into an endlessly expanding worldwide military campaign while impoverishing its people at home and keeping them in line with an increasingly violent and militarized police force.

    We could have paradise on earth; there’s not one single valid reason why we cannot. Instead we’re letting governments controlled by a few idiotic sociopaths wave nuclear weapons at one another in the name of an imaginary god called unipolarity. Instead we’re letting ourselves be pressed into an absurd competition-based model where we must step on our neighbor’s head just to keep our own above water while destroying the environment we depend on for survival. Instead we’re firing a 155-millimetre howitzer twice a week into the surrounding desert, at no specific target, “just to say we’re here.”

    This world is so silly. So beautifully, insanely, bittersweet cup of extinction noodles silly. We hurdle on a spinning rock we do not understand, through a universe we do not understand, made of particles we do not understand, and we behold one another in a field of consciousness we do not understand, and we shrug.

    God I love us. I love us so much.

    I really hope we make it.

    ___________________________

    New book: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix.

    The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for at  or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is , so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on , following my antics on , or throwing some money into my tip jar on Ko-fi,  or . If you want to read more you can buy my books. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, . Everyone, racist platforms excluded,  to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge.

    Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

    This post was originally published on Caitlin Johnstone.

  • How Bellingcat Launders National Security State Talking Points

    Investigative site Bellingcat is the toast of the popular press. In the past month alone, it has been described as “an intelligence agency for the people” (ABC Australia), a “transparent” and “innovative” (New Yorker) “independent news collective,” “transforming investigative journalism” (Big Think), and an unequivocal “force for good” (South China Morning Post). Indeed, outside of a few alternative news sites, it is very hard to hear a negative word against Bellingcat, such is the gushing praise for the outlet founded in 2014.

    This is troubling, because the evidence compiled in this investigation suggests Bellingcat is far from independent and neutral, as it is funded by Western governments, staffed with former military and state intelligence officers, repeats official narratives against enemy states, and serves as a key part in what could be called a “spook to Bellingcat to corporate media propaganda pipeline,” presenting Western government narratives as independent research.

    The post How Bellingcat Launders National Security State Talking Points appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Reducing US Military Spending Always Meets With Resistance; Increasing It Never Does

    Last year Senator Bernie Sanders led a public push to reduce the insanely bloated US military budget by a paltry ten percent. His push splatted headfirst against a bipartisan solid steel wall which shut him down definitively.

    Sanders’ bill was killed in the Senate by a vote of 23 to 77, with half of Senate Democrats stepping up to help Republicans stomp it dead. It’s companion bill in the House of Representatives was killed by a margin of 93 to 324, with a majority of House Democrats (92 to 139) voting nay.

    Contrast those numbers with those who voted to approve Trump’s $741 billion military budget this past December. The House voted to approve the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) budget by a margin of 335 to 78, 195 of those yes votes coming from the Democratic side of the aisle. The Senate passed that same budget by 84 to 13. This was a substantial increase from the previous year’s budget, a trend which has remained unbroken for years.

    From Macrotrends:

    • U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2019 was $731.75B, a 7.22% increase from 2018.
    • U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2018 was $682.49B, a 5.53% increase from 2017.
    • U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2017 was $646.75B, a 1.08% increase from 2016.
    • U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2016 was $639.86B, a 0.95% increase from 2015.

    And those are just the official numbers going directly to the official “defense” budget. As a Nation article titled “America’s Defense Budget Is Bigger Than You Think” explained in 2019, once you add up the full costs of US wars, preparations for wars, and the impact of those wars, the annual budget is actually already well in excess of a trillion dollars.

    And now, under the “harm reduction” candidate Joe Biden, it’s about to get even bigger.

    “President Biden is requesting a $753 billion defense budget for next fiscal year, with $715 billion of that going to the Pentagon,” reads a new report from The Hill, which notes that the White House said the Defense Department budget “prioritizes the need to counter the threat from China as the department’s top challenge.”

    The Public Citizen advocacy group has criticized the move in a statement, saying “The Pentagon budget – which jumped more than $130 billion during the Trump presidency — is replete with spending on overpriced weapons that don’t work, rip-off deals for private contractors, gigantic investments in pointless or outdated weapons systems, and waste and mismanagement so severe the agency cannot pass an audit. It is, indeed, a tribute to the power of the military-industrial complex.”

    “There are hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved by appropriate cuts to the Pentagon budget,” Public Citizen adds. “What is most important for the FY22 budget is that it be smaller than FY21, in order to signal that we are finally moving in the right direction and shifting resources from the Pentagon to investments in people.”

    We may be absolutely certain that the Biden administration will get the spending increase it seeks, because that’s how it always works. When there’s a push for a ten percent reduction to a military budget which already exceeds that of the next ten countries combined, the move is dismissed as crazy and extremist. Whenever there’s a push to increase that obscene military budget, it’s “Why yes Mister President, anything you wish Mister President, we’ve got the papers all drawn up already for you Mister President.” It slides right in with no inertia whatsoever, like it’s been lubricated with Astroglide.

    A political establishment which thinks it’s crazy and extremist to reduce a morbidly obese military budget by ten percent is a crazy and extremist political establishment. A political establishment which thinks it’s sane and moderate to increase a morbidly obese military budget is a crazy and extremist political establishment.

    The plutocratic media exist to normalize the inexcusable act of robbing from the citizenry to murder people overseas in unceasing acts of military interventionism to benefit war profiteers and secure unipolar planetary hegemony, to make it seem like this is not such a big deal and mollify the public’s righteous indignation at this atrocity. But it is a big deal. It’s a very, very big deal.

    We cannot progress to a healthy world as long as we’re being successfully propagandized into accepting endless slaughter and theft as normal and acceptable. We continue to allow ourselves to be led by murderous psychopaths at our own peril.

    _____________________

    New book: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix.

    The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for at  or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is , so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on , following my antics on , or throwing some money into my tip jar on Ko-fi,  or . If you want to read more you can buy my books. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, . Everyone, racist platforms excluded,  to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge.

    Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

    This post was originally published on Caitlin Johnstone.

  • We know how to cut off the financial valve to Myanmar’s military. The world just needs the resolve to act

    ANALYSIS: By Jonathan Liljeblad, Australian National University

    Since the coup in Myanmar on February 1, the international community has struggled to agree on coherent action against the military (also known as the Tatmadaw).

    Tough action by the UN Security Council has been stymied by China, Russia, India and Vietnam, who see the Myanmar crisis as an internal affair.

    Outside the UN, a strong, coordinated response by Myanmar’s neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has also been lacking due to their reluctance to interfere in each other’s affairs. Thai political expert Thitinan Pongsudhirak called it an “existential crisis” for the bloc

    This reluctance, which has now cost the lives of over 500 civilians, rules out the use of military force to stop the violence, peacekeeping operations or even a humanitarian intervention.

    It has left the international community with one remaining option for a coordinated response that could change the military’s behaviour: the imposition of economic sanctions. But even this action has been subject to much debate.

    Follow the money
    General sanctions that try to change the behaviour of authoritarian regimes by damaging their economies have proven problematic in the past.

    Many leaders have invariably found ways around the sanctions, meaning civilians have disproportionately borne the costs of isolation.

    In contrast, targeted sanctions against the specific financial interests that sustain authoritarian regimes have been more effective. These can impose pressure on regimes without affecting the broader population.

    This is where the international community has the greatest potential to punish the Tatmadaw.

    Since the US and other countries pursued more general sanctions on Myanmar in the 1990s and 2000s — with mixed results — the international community has gained a greater understanding of the Tatmadaw’s transnational revenue streams.

    In particular, in 2019, the UN Fact-Finding Mission (UNFFM) on Myanmar released a report detailing the diverse Tatmadaw-linked enterprises that funnel revenue from foreign business transactions to the military’s leaders and units.

    More recently, this list of potential targets has been expanded by non-government organisations and investigative journalists.

    Researchers have also outlined the Tatmadaw’s dealings in illegal trade in drugs, gemstones, timber, wildlife and human trafficking.

    The extent of information on the Tatmadaw’s financial flows shows just how vulnerable the military’s leaders are to international pressure.

    Tracking the military’s legal and illegal business dealings makes it possible to identify its business partners in other countries. Governments in those countries can then take legal action against these business partners and shut off the flow of money keeping the junta afloat.

    To some degree, this is starting to happen with Myanmar. The US and UK recently decided, for instance, to freeze assets and halt corporate trading with two Tatmadaw conglomerates — Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanma Economic Holdings Limited. Both of these oversee a range of holdings in businesses that divert revenues directly to the Tatmadaw.

    Pray for Myanmar protest
    Demonstrators flash the three-finger salute and hold placards during a “Pray for Myanmar” protest against the coup in Yangon. Image: The Conversation/Nyein Chan Naing/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

    Myanmar’s trading partners can do more
    This is only a starting point, though. To tighten the pressure on the junta, targeted sanctions need to be imposed against the full suite of entities identified by the UNFFM. These include groups like Justice for Myanmar and journalists.

    The sanctions need to be accompanied by broader investigations into the Tatmadaw’s revenues from illicit trade. To counter this, Human Rights Watch has urged governments to enforce anti-money laundering and anti-corruption measures, including the freezing of assets.

    Singapore’s central bank has reportedly told financial institutions to be on the look-out for suspicious transactions or money flows between the city-state and Myanmar. Singapore is the largest foreign investor in the country.

    Moreover, for maximum impact, targeted sanctions need to be imposed not just by the West, but by Myanmar’s largest trading partners in the region. This includes Singapore, along with China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand.

    Business leaders in these countries have historically had the closest ties with Myanmar’s military and business elites. But their participation in a multi-national targeted sanctions strategy is not out of the question. For one, this would not require direct intervention within Myanmar, something they are loath to do. Imposing targeted sanctions would merely entail enforcing their domestic laws regarding appropriate business practices.

    International action is becoming more urgent. Beyond the concerns about the killings of unarmed civilians, there is a larger issue of the violence extending beyond Myanmar’s borders. There are growing fears the crisis could turn Myanmar into a failed state, driving refugee flows capable of destabilising the entire region.

    In short, this is no longer an “internal” matter for Myanmar — it is becoming a transnational problem that will affect regional peace and security. The tools are there to stop the financial flows to the Tatmadaw and curtail their operations. It is critical to act before the Myanmar crisis grows into an international disaster.The Conversation

    Dr Jonathan Liljeblad is a senior lecturer at the Australian National University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • We know how to cut off the financial valve to Myanmar’s military. The world just needs the resolve to act

    ANALYSIS: By Jonathan Liljeblad, Australian National University

    Since the coup in Myanmar on February 1, the international community has struggled to agree on coherent action against the military (also known as the Tatmadaw).

    Tough action by the UN Security Council has been stymied by China, Russia, India and Vietnam, who see the Myanmar crisis as an internal affair.

    Outside the UN, a strong, coordinated response by Myanmar’s neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has also been lacking due to their reluctance to interfere in each other’s affairs. Thai political expert Thitinan Pongsudhirak called it an “existential crisis” for the bloc

    This reluctance, which has now cost the lives of over 500 civilians, rules out the use of military force to stop the violence, peacekeeping operations or even a humanitarian intervention.

    It has left the international community with one remaining option for a coordinated response that could change the military’s behaviour: the imposition of economic sanctions. But even this action has been subject to much debate.

    Follow the money
    General sanctions that try to change the behaviour of authoritarian regimes by damaging their economies have proven problematic in the past.

    Many leaders have invariably found ways around the sanctions, meaning civilians have disproportionately borne the costs of isolation.

    In contrast, targeted sanctions against the specific financial interests that sustain authoritarian regimes have been more effective. These can impose pressure on regimes without affecting the broader population.

    This is where the international community has the greatest potential to punish the Tatmadaw.

    Since the US and other countries pursued more general sanctions on Myanmar in the 1990s and 2000s — with mixed results — the international community has gained a greater understanding of the Tatmadaw’s transnational revenue streams.

    In particular, in 2019, the UN Fact-Finding Mission (UNFFM) on Myanmar released a report detailing the diverse Tatmadaw-linked enterprises that funnel revenue from foreign business transactions to the military’s leaders and units.

    More recently, this list of potential targets has been expanded by non-government organisations and investigative journalists.

    Researchers have also outlined the Tatmadaw’s dealings in illegal trade in drugs, gemstones, timber, wildlife and human trafficking.

    The extent of information on the Tatmadaw’s financial flows shows just how vulnerable the military’s leaders are to international pressure.

    Tracking the military’s legal and illegal business dealings makes it possible to identify its business partners in other countries. Governments in those countries can then take legal action against these business partners and shut off the flow of money keeping the junta afloat.

    To some degree, this is starting to happen with Myanmar. The US and UK recently decided, for instance, to freeze assets and halt corporate trading with two Tatmadaw conglomerates — Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanma Economic Holdings Limited. Both of these oversee a range of holdings in businesses that divert revenues directly to the Tatmadaw.

    Pray for Myanmar protest
    Demonstrators flash the three-finger salute and hold placards during a “Pray for Myanmar” protest against the coup in Yangon. Image: The Conversation/Nyein Chan Naing/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

    Myanmar’s trading partners can do more
    This is only a starting point, though. To tighten the pressure on the junta, targeted sanctions need to be imposed against the full suite of entities identified by the UNFFM. These include groups like Justice for Myanmar and journalists.

    The sanctions need to be accompanied by broader investigations into the Tatmadaw’s revenues from illicit trade. To counter this, Human Rights Watch has urged governments to enforce anti-money laundering and anti-corruption measures, including the freezing of assets.

    Singapore’s central bank has reportedly told financial institutions to be on the look-out for suspicious transactions or money flows between the city-state and Myanmar. Singapore is the largest foreign investor in the country.

    Moreover, for maximum impact, targeted sanctions need to be imposed not just by the West, but by Myanmar’s largest trading partners in the region. This includes Singapore, along with China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand.

    Business leaders in these countries have historically had the closest ties with Myanmar’s military and business elites. But their participation in a multi-national targeted sanctions strategy is not out of the question. For one, this would not require direct intervention within Myanmar, something they are loath to do. Imposing targeted sanctions would merely entail enforcing their domestic laws regarding appropriate business practices.

    International action is becoming more urgent. Beyond the concerns about the killings of unarmed civilians, there is a larger issue of the violence extending beyond Myanmar’s borders. There are growing fears the crisis could turn Myanmar into a failed state, driving refugee flows capable of destabilising the entire region.

    In short, this is no longer an “internal” matter for Myanmar — it is becoming a transnational problem that will affect regional peace and security. The tools are there to stop the financial flows to the Tatmadaw and curtail their operations. It is critical to act before the Myanmar crisis grows into an international disaster.The Conversation

    Dr Jonathan Liljeblad is a senior lecturer at the Australian National University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Designating OPM as terrorists will ‘increase tension, rights abuses’

    By Arjuna Pademme in Jayapura

    The Indonesian government appears to be at a loss about how to quell the struggle of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) with its plan to designate Papuan independence organisations as “terrorist” groups.

    Democracy Alliance for Papua (ADP) director Latifah Anum Siregar says that the Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) should rethink its proposal to apply the Anti-Terrorism Law before the government makes a decision which will add to tensions in Papua.

    “Actually, I think, sorry yeah but perhaps the government is at a loss as to how to handle the TPN [West Papua National Liberation Army] and the OPM,” said Siregar.

    “It’s not certain this will bring things under control, it’s not certain that it will make the situation better. So I think that the government has to be more careful in looking at this.

    “If the government gives them this definition, it will increase tensions.”

    Siregar said there were contradictions in the Anti-Terrorism Law itself.

    For example, Article 5 reads, “Terrorist crimes regulated under this law must be considered not to be political crimes”. Meanwhile, what the OPM is doing is fighting for independence politically, not through terrorism.

    Amnesty also opposed
    Speaking in a similar vein, Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid also opposes the discourse being promoted by BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar.

    According to Hamid, this will not stop human rights violations in Papua.

    “Classifying armed groups which are affiliated with the OPM as terrorist organisations will not end the human rights violations being suffered by the Papuan people,” he said in a media release.

    “Many of these [violations] are being committed by state security forces, it would be better to continue with a legal approach.”

    Hamid is also concerned that giving such groups the “terrorist” label would be used as a pretext to further restrict Papuan’s freedom of expression and assembly through the Anti-Terrorism Law.

    Earlier, BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar said that they would hold discussions with ministries and other agencies on the naming of armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua.

    ‘Reasonable’ category
    According to Amar, it was reasonable to categorise the activities of these groups as terrorist acts.

    “Whether or not they can be categorised as a terrorist organisation because earlier it was conveyed that it is actually appropriate for the KKB’s crimes to be categorised as or to be on par with terrorist acts,” Amar said during a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) on March 22.

    Amar also said that aside from ministries and other agencies, the BNPT would be holding discussions with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and DPR representatives.

    According to Amar, the discussions would be held to reach an “objective understanding” about these groups.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Wacana OPM Masuk Kategori Teroris, Aktivis: Akan Meningkatkan Ketegangan”

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Designating OPM as terrorists will ‘increase tension, rights abuses’

    By Arjuna Pademme in Jayapura

    The Indonesian government appears to be at a loss about how to quell the struggle of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) with its plan to designate Papuan independence organisations as “terrorist” groups.

    Democracy Alliance for Papua (ADP) director Latifah Anum Siregar says that the Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) should rethink its proposal to apply the Anti-Terrorism Law before the government makes a decision which will add to tensions in Papua.

    “Actually, I think, sorry yeah but perhaps the government is at a loss as to how to handle the TPN [West Papua National Liberation Army] and the OPM,” said Siregar.

    “It’s not certain this will bring things under control, it’s not certain that it will make the situation better. So I think that the government has to be more careful in looking at this.

    “If the government gives them this definition, it will increase tensions.”

    Siregar said there were contradictions in the Anti-Terrorism Law itself.

    For example, Article 5 reads, “Terrorist crimes regulated under this law must be considered not to be political crimes”. Meanwhile, what the OPM is doing is fighting for independence politically, not through terrorism.

    Amnesty also opposed
    Speaking in a similar vein, Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid also opposes the discourse being promoted by BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar.

    According to Hamid, this will not stop human rights violations in Papua.

    “Classifying armed groups which are affiliated with the OPM as terrorist organisations will not end the human rights violations being suffered by the Papuan people,” he said in a media release.

    “Many of these [violations] are being committed by state security forces, it would be better to continue with a legal approach.”

    Hamid is also concerned that giving such groups the “terrorist” label would be used as a pretext to further restrict Papuan’s freedom of expression and assembly through the Anti-Terrorism Law.

    Earlier, BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar said that they would hold discussions with ministries and other agencies on the naming of armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua.

    ‘Reasonable’ category
    According to Amar, it was reasonable to categorise the activities of these groups as terrorist acts.

    “Whether or not they can be categorised as a terrorist organisation because earlier it was conveyed that it is actually appropriate for the KKB’s crimes to be categorised as or to be on par with terrorist acts,” Amar said during a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) on March 22.

    Amar also said that aside from ministries and other agencies, the BNPT would be holding discussions with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and DPR representatives.

    According to Amar, the discussions would be held to reach an “objective understanding” about these groups.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Wacana OPM Masuk Kategori Teroris, Aktivis: Akan Meningkatkan Ketegangan”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Myanmar: The student voice as frontliners tackle the junta

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Graeme Acton

    As the military junta in Myanmar continues its brutal attempt to subdue nationwide protests following February’s coup, New Zealand-based Myanmar students are keeping in contact with family and colleagues back home.

    It is a scary period, with internet services cut for many hours every day, and people disappearing from their homes without explanation.

    In Myanmar’s major cities of Yangon and Mandalay, students have been in the front line of pitched street battles with the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) units who have been responsible for around 500 deaths since they deposed the elected government on the morning it was due to begin its second term.

    The Tatmadaw have always regarded universities as hotbeds of organised resistance , and university authorities in Myanmar estimate roughly a third of those arrested over the past two months have been students, teachers, or academic staff.

    Myanmar’s students have fought the army on the streets many times before, including protests against a military government in 1962, and the vicious conflict in 1988.

    In the 1980s, the Tatmadaw employed the same tactics we are seeing again play out – hundreds of civilians killed, and protest leaders imprisoned.

    Back then the army moved directly against the universities, stripping them of autonomy and moving campuses to the outskirts of major towns .

    Higher education unavailable
    Many were simply closed altogether and for many years higher education was unavailable in Myanmar.

    The country’s immediate future is opaque, but students in New Zealand and Myanmar are determined they will not be heading back to the dark days of the early 1990s.

    Zet is a student currently in Mandalay, having completed studies at Victoria University last year, and he is terrified at the way the army is operating.

    “There’s been fatalities across the city,” he says, the last few days the military have been on holiday so its been quiet, but the army is like a gang now .. it’s a real struggle between the people and the Tatmadaw.”

    “Both sides are standing firm, but the Tatmadaw won’t give up, that’s their history , they don’t give up”…

    “The public mood though is very strong, stronger than in the past .. and getting stronger.”

    Back in Wellington, Zet’s student colleagues from the Myanmar Students Association are keen to keep up with what is happening on the streets with the protest movement.

    Concerned about families
    But they are also extremely concerned about their families.

    Jacqueline Swe says her family is away from any major protest area, but like everybody they are living with the constant fear the army can simply enter their homes and take anything they want.

    “It’s a bit terrifying, and its crazy too, we now have the army attacking the people instead of protecting them.”

    “We have no line of defence anymore, and we can’t depend on the police and that’s scary.”

    “It’s just a big mess now.”

    Wayne is from Yangon , and says he has been hearing about the dire conditions in some parts of the city.

    “I’m hearing from my mother that the soldiers are chasing kids into strangers homes, they are looking at people’s cellphones on the street to see what social media accounts you control and what’s on there.

    New posts deleted
    “So my mother, whenever she goes out she has to delete any new posts she doesn’t want the army seeing.”

    Students in New Zealand are doing what they can to support those on the barricades, and while the junta continues its old-school attempts to root out protest organisers they face a uphill battle against a generation of young people who lived and breathed democracy in Myanmar between 2011 and 2020.

    Digital access to a globalised world has exposed Myanmar’s students to updated forms of protest organisation and activism using social media.

    While the Tatmadaw may use the 1980s playbook to shut the universities, they may find it harder to erase the foundations of democratic politics which have taken root in Myanmar.

    With most major figures in the country’s NLD government now under house arrest, a new grouping, the CPRH, has emerged.

    Myanmar’s parallel civilian government, the CPRH or Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw was formed by legislators who were removed following the coup. Its spokesperson is Mahn Win Khaing Than, former speaker of the house.

    In Wellington, Myanmar-born student Peter is among those suggesting the CPRH must be viewed as the country’s legitimate government.

    ‘Do not recgnise the junta’
    “The most important thing New Zealand could do would be to recognise the CPRH as the legitimate government of Myanmar – and not the junta,” says Peter. 

    ”I know New Zealand has said they won’t work with the junta and I know there are sanctions in place but personally I don’t believe [the sanctions] work in Myanmar.

    “I think the primary focus for the [New Zealand] government should be recognising the CPRH.

    “ASEAN also plays a role,” says Peter, but South East Asian nations has power in its trade with Myanmar … “those countries need to put more pressure on Myanmar through trade.”

    For student Zet in Mandalay, pressure from the outside world still seems to be having a minimal impact on the generals.

    “I think it’s quite obvious the Tatamadaw has been relying on China and Russia, partly India as well ..”but international pressure won’t really impact [on] the Tatmadaw I think , unless China would somehow change the game.”

    “China is the key to the Tatmadaw, only China can change their behavior.”

    What actual change?
    But what might be the actual change China could force on the junta, apart from convincing the generals to stop killing their own people? … and can Myanmar move back to some sort of democratic model after all the violence?

    Peter is among those who see a future role for the NLD, even if it has been accused of not listening to its voters.

    “I know the National League for Democracy can have a role in future if they are more inclusive, if they allow more ethnic groups to have a voice,” he says.

    Others, like Zet, feel a change might involve a future move to a federal system, where Myanmar’s states run themselves to a large extent, watched over by a central government in Naypyidaw.

    Inside Myanmar, student leaders suggest a major nationwide revolt is a possibility, led first by ethnic armies from Myanmar’s restive provinces, and joined by the protesters and other anti-military groups.

    NZ-based members of the Myanmar Students Association, exhibit a quiet determination to prevent their country sliding back into a military-induced coma.

    “In NZ mostly it’s the older generation that know about this,” says one. “The younger Kiwis need to know more about this.“

    Graeme Acton joined the Asia Media Centre as manager in February 2020, moving from the position of foreign news editor with RNZ in Wellington. His experience in media stretches back to the 1980s, and he has held a series of senior editorial positions with RNZ, as chief reporter, Morning Report deputy editor, and regional editor.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.