Myanmar : Burmese military is using Cluster bombs, which are banned internationally

A report by the Cluster Munition Monitor, a bomb and ammunition monitoring group, revealed that the Burmese military is domestically producing and using powerful cluster bombs, which have been banned by the international community.

In Myanmar, which had never used cluster bombs before, after the military coup, the military council is using cluster bombs to attack civilian areas, and innocent civilians are being injured and killed, according to the report.

Mary Wareham, a member of the Bomb and Munitions Monitor, said this during a report release event held at the United Nations yesterday.

"We are very disappointed to see the increase in new countries using cluster bombs. It has increased in Syria and Myanmar. Syria was a country that used these bombs a lot in 2010. But Myanmar is new now. We have never seen cluster bombs being used in Myanmar. We only saw it this year."

According to this year's report, this bomb was used the most during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the second most used in Syria and Myanmar.

According to the report, the most civilian casualties due to this bomb were in Ukraine, and in Myanmar, between ten and one hundred people were killed.

CDM Captain Lin Chet Aung said that the military council is producing these bombs from the military council's factories.

"The military has been experimenting with cluster bombs for a long time. After this spring revolution, it is known that domestically produced cluster bombs are being produced in KP 3 and KP 25 this year. It is known that the ones produced here were also sent to the military air force headquarters. It is known that they are domestically produced bombs and not by others."

When asked by RFA where these types of bombs are being used

"These bombs are often used by the military to attack villages, places where there are many anti-military revolutionary forces, and military headquarters. The exact locations are not yet known."

In response to RFA's question about the magnitude of this bomb and how much it could affect the public, Captain Lin Chet Aung said

" This bomb has been banned internationally, and the damage is great. Many bombs fell out of the main body of the bomb and there were many explosions. It is a weapon that can kill people in mass. It is very cruel. Instead of using it in Russia, one country and one country, Ukraine, is using it to kill its own people domestically. It can be said that it is a war crime, using it to kill people in mass."

CDM Capt. Zero told RFA that the military council is breaking international law when it comes to using cluster bombs.

"The small bombs in the cluster bomb are replaced by the bombs produced by the country, which are not made with the technology provided by China. The name is Cluster, but because they are modified bombs, they do not violate international law. The real thing is that the military only has ten real cluster bombs produced together with China. They did not touch it at all."

According to the Cluster Munition Monitor's report, the Burmese army used these bombs to attack 13 times, and Chin, Karen It is stated with evidence that they attacked in Kayah and Shan states.

Paul Holtom, head of the UN's weapons monitoring, said at a press conference that the increase in cluster bomb use by countries such as Myanmar and Syria is alarming.

"If these bombs are used in densely populated areas, they can be seriously affected. These munitions can harm the civilian population even after the conflict ends. The appearance of new countries using cluster bombs will destabilize and the remnants of these bombs will affect the public's security."

These bombs, like landmines, can detonate later and kill people, so their use is banned internationally. The Military Council has not released anything about the report that the Burmese military is using these bombs.

After the military coup, AAPP, the former political prisoners support association, which collects data, has announced that more than 4,000 civilians died at the hands of the military council.

Uyghur Muslim's : It has become clear that Beijing businessman Abdur Khaber Muhammad was tried together with more than 10 people and sentenced to 15 years

Arrested on suspicion of "religious extremism" and "national separatism", known among the Uyghurs, Abdur Khaber Muhammed founded a company in Beijing.

In our last week's broadcast, we reported that Abdul Khaber Muhammad, a young entrepreneur who opened a company in Beijing and whose results were widely publicized by the Chinese media, is in captivity. As our reporter continued to investigate the situation, it became clear that he was tried together with more than 10 teammates at the end of last year and was sentenced to 15 years. Below you will find the program prepared by our reporter Shohret Hoshur.

An anonymous source told our radio station last week that Abdukhaber Muhammad, a young businessman who opened an educational consulting firm in Beijing, was tried on charges of religious extremism and ethnic divisiveness. The message also noted that Abdukhaber was accused of religious extremism because he spoke about the importance of halal food in a public place during his time in Aksu.

 An employee of the "Xinjiang People's Assistance and Xinjiang People's Management Office" in Beijing, who received our call, stressed that he could not tell Abdur News about the reason for the seizure, because it was classified as a state secret. Among the secret documents released by China, the "Tokkuzak Police Archives" recorded that a large number of people were arrested for separating halal and haram food and/or advocating the separation of halal and haram food.

 Also, one of Abukhaber's classmates, who did not want to be identified, said that Abdurkhaber's father was an agent of Arman Food Company, known in Uyghur, in Aksu, so Abdurkhaber may have talked about the superiority of halal food in terms of hygiene and safety while working with his father's business.

 According to a person familiar with the situation, there were nearly 20 people who spoke about the merits of halal food, and all of them were taken to court. According to the response, 3 of the defendants are from Yorchi, Kelpin County, where Abdukhaber was born and raised. A village policeman who received our call from Yorchi village told Abdu Khaber Muhammad that 3 people were arrested from Yorchi village and 6 people were arrested in Kelpin county. The officer also confirmed that according to what he heard, more than 10 people involved in the case of Abdukhaber were tried in the court held in Aksu.

 According to a person familiar with the situation, Abdoukhaber was accused of "national separatism" because of the discovery of students who went abroad with the advice and guidance of his company to participate in anti-Chinese activities. According to an X (Twitter) message from the social media named "Uyghur Info", Abdur Khaber Muhammad was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. A village policeman in Aksu City who received our call, while confirming that Abdukhaber Mohammad was sentenced to 15 years, revealed that among those who were tried together with him, there is a brother who was arrested for talking on the phone with his brother who went abroad.

 In the Chinese news about Muhammed, who was kidnapped from Beijing and whose 15-year sentence was confirmed today, he was portrayed as a patriotic and loyal entrepreneur, and Uyghur youth were called to learn from him. In the comments on social media, it was noted that Abdurkhaber Muhammad has not deviated from the line of the Chinese government, either in his studies or in his business life.

China : Civil servants and charitable organizations in many places were owed wages, and the Tianjin District Government borrowed money from the temple

The Chinese government's finances are tight, and government civil servants in Nanjing, Tianjin, Shandong and other places have had their salaries cut after last year's salary cuts. Even pensions in Jilin have been suspended. The government even borrowed money from monasteries, and some charity staff in Wuhan revealed that their superiors told them to be prepared to find their own way out.

China's economic downturn amid frequent human rights protests

Sanmenxia teachers protest China's labor unrest enters post-epidemic "new era"?

"We haven't been paid for eight months. We need to be paid and we need to survive." Recently, at the gate of Guilin Radio, Film and Television Bureau in Guangxi, more than 30 people were holding up banners, and a video of them begging for wages was released. In response to this, on Thursday, the Guilin Cyberspace Administration of China issued a "refutation of rumors about the financial difficulties of Guilin Radio and Television System employees with limited income and unpaid wages for half a year" through the WeChat public account of Guilin Radio Station. However, it did not explain who the petitioner in the video was. What's even more strange is that the officials refuted the rumors about the "financial difficulties" of the employees of the radio and television system, without mentioning the financial status of the radio and television system.

This station called the Guilin Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, but the call was never connected.

In addition, on Monday (4th), many retired teachers in Jiutai City, Jilin Province, collectively went to the city government to petition because they could not receive their pensions paid on the first day of each month. In the live video, the retired teacher demands an immediate explanation from the authorities.

Mr. Zhou, a retired civil servant who just returned to Shanxi from Shandong, said in an interview with this station on Thursday that his classmates in Shandong told him that some civil servants in various district governments in Binzhou have not even paid their August wages: "Binzhou civil servants, those Civil servants in the system who are on the job cannot be paid their wages, and their wages began to be owed last month. It used to be that a certain district government owed wages, but now most districts have not paid wages for more than a month, plus public institutions. Now There are no tools in the government toolbox (measures)."

District government in Tianjin allegedly borrowed money from monasteries

Tianjin residents told this station that at least four district government departments, including Hebei District, are financially strapped, and civil servants in many departments have been owed wages for several months. According to netizens, an official went to the local Dabei Temple to borrow money from the abbot, but the temple also complained about poverty and rejected the request to borrow money.

Mr. Zhang, a resident of Jiaozhou, Shandong Province, told this station that civil servants and employees of public institutions in many townships in Jiaozhou City have had their salaries suspended for several months: “Qingdao, Weifang, Gaomi, and several of our local towns, after the Spring Festival, the salaries of civil servants have not been paid. Or pay part of it. There are many situations now where civil servants cannot pay their salaries and government finances are in deficit."

Governments of financially tight districts in Nanjing borrow money from each other

According to netizens, since August this year, most civil servants in the Gaochun District Government of Nanjing have not received their salaries. In the end, under the coordination of the Nanjing Municipal Government, the Jiangning District Government used its finances to lend money to the Gaochun District Government. In addition, the Lishui District Government is also experiencing financial constraints. Netizens in Nanjing told this station that many local projects have come to a standstill, and various industries are almost silent.

So far, our reporters have not found a large number of civil servants petitioning to defend their rights due to lack of wages. In this regard, Mr. Zhang explained that many civil servants have gray income, and in the past few years, the government has made a lot of income from land sales. He said: "Civil servants have not been paid for several months, and no one has rebelled. Their gray income is enough to live. In addition, they have retirement and medical insurance, which are much better than ordinary people."

Wuhan charity staff told government 'has no money'

Ms. Li, a former staff member of a charity organization in Jiang'an District, Wuhan City, told this station that the district government has stopped allocating funds to the charity organization. She said that the district government requires employees to solve their own living problems: "Charity organizations specialize in raising funds and donating them to poor or disabled children. They belong to government agencies and are called community service centers. Their salaries used to be allocated by the government, but now there is no money allocated to them They're gone. The district told them to solve it by themselves."

Ms. Li said that before, many local communities raised funds from the United States and other Western countries, but now that Sino-US relations have deteriorated, and donations from foreign non-governmental organizations have almost dropped to zero after China’s Counterintelligence Law came into effect in July.