More than one third of Vietnam’s mammal species are at risk of extinction

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A recent study highlights that over one-third of Vietnam’s 329 mammal species are threatened with extinction. Conducted by German scientist Hanna Höffner of the University of Cologne and Cologne Zoo, alongside an international team, the research underscores Vietnam's vital but fragile position as a biodiversity hub within the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.

Published in the open-access journal Nature Conservation, the study reveals that 112 mammal species in Vietnam face extinction, despite most being found in at least one protected area. Some micro-endemic species, such as Murina harpioloides, are particularly vulnerable as they are not present in any protected sites. 

Around 40% of the threatened species lack ex situ conservation (zoo conservation breeding) programs, increasing their risk of extinction. Iconic species like the saola (Pseudoryx vuquangensis), the silver-backed chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor), and the large-antlered muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis) are among the Critically Endangered taxa at risk.

The study advocates for the IUCN's "One Plan Approach" to species conservation, which calls for combining different expertise and integrated in situ and ex situ management strategies. Establishing assurance colonies in zoos and increasing connectivity between isolated protected areas are critical recommendations for safeguarding Vietnam’s unique mammal diversity.

By building up ex situ populations for threatened taxa, zoos can help to literally “buy time” and act as modern arks that can contribute with later releases according to the IUCN’s “Reverse the Red” conservation campaign. Ex situ species holding data by Species360 are now also integrated in the IUCN Red List species’ chapters (a “One Plan” approach to species data).

Vietnam is home to a rich array of mammals, including 36 endemic species and nine micro-endemic taxa. Its primate fauna is particularly noteworthy, with 28 species, the highest number in mainland Southeast Asia. This includes the endemic tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) and Delacour’s langur (Trachypithecus delacouri). 

Northern Vietnam and the Annamite Mountain Range are biodiversity hotspots, hosting species such as the Critically Endangered Cao-vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus), the southern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus siki) and the red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus).

The study calls for prioritising the "One Plan Approach" to conservation of highly threatened species, reassessing Data Deficient species, and enhancing habitat connectivity. The conservation campaign VIETNAMAZING by EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) currently highlights Vietnam’s biodiversity treasure and advocates for improved conservation of threatened mammal species.

Original study

Höffner H, Nguyen ST, Dang PH, Motokawa M, Oshida T, Rödder D, Nguyen TQ, Le MD, Bui HT, Ziegler T (2024) Conservation priorities for threatened mammals of Vietnam: Implementation of the IUCN´s One Plan Approach. Nature Conservation 56: 161-180. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.56.128129 

Ex situ preservation of threatened Vietnamese mammals worldwide.

Credit

Höffner et al.

Hipposideros alongensis.

Credit

Son Truong Nguyen

Red shanked douc.

Credit

Đặng Huy Phương

Murina harpioloides.

Credit

Son Truong Nguyen

Gaur.

Credit

Đặng Huy Phương

Journal

Nature Conservation

DOI

10.3897/natureconservation.56.128129 

Article Title

Conservation priorities for threatened mammals of Vietnam: Implementation of the IUCN´s One Plan Approach

Article Publication Date

7-Nov-2024

2024 Presidential Election In The US And Its Implication For Myanmar Policy – OpEd

 November 6, 2024

By Nicholas Kong

“We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” As quoted by Thomas Jefferson, U.S. citizens are participating in a historic turnout in the 60th quadrennial presidential election to choose between two contrasting candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. This significant election highlights stark policy differences that could impact both domestic and foreign affairs.

While the economy is the top issue among voters, a large majority (69%) cite at least five of the ten issues surveyed by the Pew Research Center as very important to their vote. Among Trump supporters, the leading issues are the economy (93%), immigration (82%), violent crime (76%), foreign policy (74%), and healthcare (55%). For Harris supporters, issues such as healthcare (76%), Supreme Court appointments (73%), the economy (68%), abortion (67%), and foreign policy (54%) are of top importance.

While current foreign policy has focused heavily on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Middle East, and China, strategic competition with China—now one of the world’s two largest economies, alongside the United States—will be one of the most consequential foreign policy challenges confronting the next presidential administration. It will face an increasingly contentious relationship with Beijing on both trade and security issues. Focusing solely on Taiwan and overlooking Myanmar would be a missed opportunity in crafting a strategic policy on China.

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are essential components in diverse industrial and high-tech applications. China, the world’s largest producer of REEs, accounts for 70% of global annual mine production, while the United States (14%), Australia (6%), Myanmar (4%), and Thailand (2%) make up the rest. China sourced 72% of the U.S.’s rare earth imports in 2022, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Ironically, China imports REEs from Myanmar, with a 52.1% year-over-year increase in imports, reaching the highest level in 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Global Trade Analytics Suite.

A shortage of REEs would be considered a significant national security threat for the United States, which heavily relies on imports, primarily from China. This dependence could be used as leverage to disrupt vital military and technological applications, such as advanced weaponry, aircraft, and renewable energy systems—essentially creating a potential chokepoint for U.S. national security.

On February 1, 2021, Min Aung Hlaing and the military ousted the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in a coup. The coup was met with strong resistance through widespread, peaceful demonstrations and the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The brutal crackdown by the military led to the formation of armed resistance across the country, marking the beginning of a violent new chapter known as the Spring Revolution. This involved genuine nationwide resistance by all ethnic groups, brought together into a unified front with aligned political objectives and military cooperation.

The Myanmar crisis was the first foreign policy challenge for the Biden administration. The U.S. immediately condemned the coup and the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations, as well as the atrocities committed by the military. However, the administration became passive in dealing with the crisis. Unlike the United States, which has been largely sidelined, China has played an important role as the most influential foreign actor in Myanmar.

China is the largest investor in Myanmar, which is also strategically important for China’s access to the Indian Ocean, providing a critical alternative route from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca. Additionally, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor is a key component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. China seeks to use its influence in Myanmar to encourage a stable environment that can boost Chinese investments and secure perpetual stability along its 1,250-mile border. Despite Beijing’s preference for state-centric diplomacy, China initially conducted backdoor diplomacy through various groups and special envoys, as long as U.S. involvement remained minimal.

As Myanmar’s junta loses its grip on power, China still seeks to maximize its influence with all parties in the civil war. However, China opposes the collapse of the junta. China is also concerned about the rise of rebel groups that have built an alliance with the National Unity Government, which Beijing fears could be influenced by the West due to their engagement in humanitarian assistance and advocacy for democracy. The passage of the Burma Act in December 2022, which provides a framework for U.S. engagement and support for democracy in Myanmar, has further complicated China’s position.

Shortly after the collapse of the Northeast military command center in Lashio, China became more proactive, shifting its posture by pressuring rebel forces for a ceasefire, blocking imports, and tightening border controls. Myanmar remains a diplomatic and security headache for China: the same situation as before the coup, where different actors will listen to China only to an extent and act according to their own interests, sometimes surprising China. The ongoing civil conflict and the rise of anti-junta forces have complicated China’s approach. Additionally, Beijing is uncomfortable with the junta’s close military ties to Russia.

The next U.S. administration, regardless of which candidate wins, will face several critical considerations. Supporting Myanmar’s democratic forces could serve as a counterbalance to China’s regional dominance.

If Kamala Harris wins, the Harris administration should address the shortcomings of the current administration’s symbolic support, which has inadvertently led to paradoxical effects, particularly regarding China’s influence over the resistance forces fighting against the military dictatorship—the perpetrators of regional instability. If Donald Trump prevails, the national security-focused Trump administration must adopt a fresh outlook on Myanmar, which might seem like an unimportant spot in Southeast Asia, but is, in fact, a potential source of essential resources for national security, particularly rare earth elements.

The Myanmar situation presents an opportunity for the next U.S. administration to demonstrate leadership in promoting democracy while addressing strategic interests in Southeast Asia. By engaging more actively with Myanmar’s pro-democracy forces and working with regional allies to articulate clear, strategic policies on Myanmar that align with broader U.S. interests in Asia-Pacific stability, human rights, and economic security, the U.S. can potentially influence the balance of power in this critical region. For the citizens of the U.S., “the ballot is stronger than the bullet,” as quoted by Abraham Lincoln.

Reference: 

1. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/09/09/issues-and-the-2024-election/
2. https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/mining-data-statistics-and-analysis/minerals-metals-facts/rare-earth-elements-facts/20522
3. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/how-an-anxious-china-is-backing-myanmars-faltering-junta-civil-war-2024-10-25/
4. https://www.stimson.org/2024/china-in-myanmar-how-the-game-changing-neighbor-would-continue-to-maintain-its-influence/

Nicholas Kong

Nicholas Kong is a Myanmar democracy activist.

VASSAL STATE

Myanmar junta chief visits key ally China


By AFP
November 5, 2024

This photograph taken and released in August, 2024 by the Myanmar Military Information Team shows Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing (right) meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nyapyidaw. China is a key ally of the military junta - Copyright MYANMAR MILITARY INFORMATION TEAM/AFP/File -

Myanmar’s embattled junta chief arrived in China Tuesday — his first reported visit since leading a coup in 2021 — but analysts say the invitation is only a lukewarm endorsement from his key ally and could backfire.

Min Aung Hlaing was in the southwestern city of Kunming for a summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) — a group including China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia — starting Wednesday.

The senior general will meet Chinese officials “to develop and strengthen economic and multi-sectoral cooperation”, the junta said on Monday.

When the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in 2021, Chinese state media refused to describe it as a coup, preferring “major cabinet reshuffle”.

China has stood by the junta since, even as others shun the generals over their brutal crackdown on dissent which opponents say includes massacring of civilians, razing villages with air and artillery strikes.

Richard Horsey, Crisis Group’s senior Myanmar adviser, said Min Aung Hlaing had been lobbying for an official invitation ever since the coup, as a public show of support.

But Beijing has stressed the regional focus of the Kunming gathering, saying it wanted to consult “all sides” against “a background of a weakening global recovery and geopolitical turbulence”.

“While this (invitation to the summit) still implies recognition as head of state, it does not have the same diplomatic weight as a bilateral invitation to visit Beijing,” Horsey told AFP.



– Battlefield losses –



Ming Aung Hlaing’s trip comes with the junta reeling from a devastating rebel offensive last year that seized an area roughly the size of Bosnia — much of it near the border with China.

Analysts say Beijing is worried about the possibility of the junta falling and suspicious of western influence among some of pro-democracy armed groups battling the military.

Myanmar is a vital part of Beijing’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative, with railways and pipelines to link China’s landlocked southwest to the Indian Ocean.

“Beijing has now made clear its intentions for the Myanmar military to succeed,” said Jason Tower of the United States Institute of Peace.

China has been reluctant to give a clear show of official recognition since the coup, Crisis Group’s Horsey said, but this may be changing.

“China has pivoted to greater support for the regime — not because it is better disposed with the regime or its leader, but out of concern at a disorderly collapse of power in Naypyidaw,” he said.



– Deep mistrust –



But the relationship is wracked by longstanding mistrust.

The junta’s top brass are wary of China, insiders say — stemming from Beijing’s support for an insurgency waged by the Communist Party of Burma in the 1960s and 1970s.

China gave its tacit backing to last year’s rebel offensive, military supporters say, in return for the rebels dismantling online scam compounds in territory they captured.

Those compounds were run by and targeting Chinese citizens in a billion-dollar industry and major embarrassment for Beijing.

But the rebels pushed further and in August captured the city of Lashio — miles from the scam compound heartland and home to a regional military command.

The fall of Lashio, home to around 150,000 people to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) was a step too far for Beijing, said Tower.

China has since cut electricity, water and internet services to the MNDAA’s traditional homeland on the border with Yunnan province, a source close to the group told AFP.

A visit to China is “unlikely to resolve Min Aung Hlaing’s internal troubles,” said Tower.

“If anything, it could create new problems, as the general is likely to be perceived as making major economic and geo-strategic concessions to Beijing in exchange for Chinese assistance,” he told AFP.

One demand from Beijing will be speeding up elections the junta has promised to hold, said Tower — polls China’s foreign minister announced Beijing’s backing for in August.

Opponents of the polls say they will be neither free nor fair while clashes continues across the country and with most of the popular political parties banned.


The marble ‘living Buddhas’ trapped by Myanmar’s civil war


By AFP
November 4, 2024

Moving marble across areas divided by Myanmar's civil war has become an expensive, difficult and dangerous mission, leaving artisans without raw material

 - Copyright AFP Sai Aung MAIN

Lynn MYAT

Sculptor Aung Naing Lin has spent decades carving Buddha statues to help guide Myanmar’s faithful — but getting the marble he needs from rebel-held quarries in the midst of civil war is now a perilous task.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has been mired in bloody conflict since the military toppled the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, terminating a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparking a widespread armed uprising.

In recent months, opponents of the military have advanced with rocket and drone attacks on Mandalay — the country’s second-biggest city, with a population of 1.5 million.

The rebels have also seized the hillside quarries that have for generations provided the marble that adorns Mandalay’s palaces and monasteries, as well as the shrines in ordinary homes.

Now, moving the precious stone and roughly carved statues by truck across the divide of the civil war, from rebel to junta-held territory, is expensive, difficult and dangerous.

“The situation around the Madaya township (where the quarries are located) is not very good,” Aung Naing Lin told AFP at his noisy workshop in Mandalay, his face and hair speckled with white dust.

“It is not easy to go, and we cannot bring the stones back.”

Surrounded by dozens of blank-faced Buddha statues waiting to be given eyes, ears and lips, Min Min Soe agreed.

“Sales are not that bad, but the challenge is bringing the statues here,” he said.

“We can sell only the statues we have here and we cannot bring new raw statues in.”

The owner of another workshop, who did not want to be named, said associates of his were recently arrested when taking a shipment of marble from rebel-held Madaya.

“They were detained by the local military column and were asked how they brought the stones out from the village as that area was controlled by the PDF,” they said.

“People’s Defence Forces” are units made up of former students, farmers and workers who have left their lives behind to take up arms and oppose the junta’s coup.

There are dozens of PDFs across the country, and they have dragged the junta into a bloody stalemate.

The junta has designated them as “terrorists”, and contact with them can bring years in prison.

“Later, they released the people who had been detained and gave the stones back,” the workshop owner said.

“It’s like a warning to all. We dare not to bring stones from the village under this situation.”


– Madaya quarries –


The quarries of Madaya have long been interwoven with the cultural and religious history of Myanmar.

In the 1860s, following two disastrous wars with the British, then-king Mindon commissioned craftsmen in Mandalay to transfer Buddhist scriptures from palm leaf manuscripts onto 720 blocks of solid marble to ensure they survived any further destruction.

The stone also resonates with the military that has ruled Myanmar for much of its history since independence from Britain in 1948.

In 2020, it sanctioned the building of a 25-metre (82-foot) high statue of the Buddha made from Madaya marble to adorn its custom-built capital Naypyidaw.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing declared the statue finished last year and a visit has since become a stock feature of the itineraries of the few foreign delegations that visit the isolated junta.


– ‘Living Buddhas’ –


While the fighting continues north of Mandalay, Min Min Soe and others work to put the finishing touches on the dozens of roughly hewn statues.

Their forefathers used chisels, but nowadays, craftsmen use drills to etch everything from Buddha’s face, the folds in his robe, fingernails and the lotus flower he sits on.

The laborious final stages of smoothing the rough edges are done by women using sandpaper, said Min Min Soe.

“Women are better at this as they are more patient,” he said.

A finished statue around 25 centimetres (10 inches) high fetches between 100,000 – 200,000 Myanmar kyat ($50-$100 at the official exchange rate), he said.

Outside one of the workshops on the busy street, workers packed a sitting Buddha statue into a wooden protective frame before shipping it off to a customer.

Min Min Soe says looking after the dozens of his creations still in stock helps him find his own peace amid rumours of an attack on Mandalay.

He considers them “living Buddhas”.

“I clean the statues at 4 am every day… This is not only for my business but also to gain merit,” he said.

“I want them to be clean and good-looking no matter if they are sold or not.”

Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign Statement On U.S. Elections

By Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign

October 30, 2024

Source: Oakland Socialist

Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign Statement on 2024 U.S. Elections

Millions of voters have been looking for a way to keep Trump and his MAGA horde out of the White House. They want to stop Project 2025, male supremacy, white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, ethno-nationalism, science denialism, Putin apologetics, and ridiculous conspiracist ideas that are the basis for MAGA. All socialists should welcome that. There is only one candidate that can keep Trump out of the White House this year – Kamala Harris. The Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign (USSC) endorses the following points:The Republican Party of today is fundamentally different from what it was in the past. They are openly working to turn the United States from a multi-party bourgeois democracy into an authoritarian single-party regime. This makes the GOP qualitatively different from today’s Democratic Party, which is not advocating a single-party authoritarian regime but rather maintaining the status quo, as flawed, genocidal, and unjust as that is.
The Republicans are openly taking aim at, and vastly stepping up repression, disabling, and death of, multiple oppressed groups/identities in ways far more dangerous than either party did in the past.
The Trump/Vance team is politically connected and theoretically aligned with multiple far right authoritarians around the world.Socialists and the left in general on principle must defend all historic left political gains represented in democratic rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the right to vote.
Socialists and the left in general must play a central role in helping build a movement to stop the GOP, MAGA, and the Thiel/Silicon Valley neo-reactionary “NRx” New Right.

Behind the MAGA base stand strategists like Mike Flynn and Stephen Bannon and behind them are the billionaire fascistic ideologues, first and foremost Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin (who are the sponsors of JD Vance). They openly advocate strong man and even fascistic rule. In their world, anybody who doesn’t “contribute” is simply done away with, and the government is under total one-person authoritarian control. They even advocate eugenics.

Trump and his party do not hide their intention to steal this election so the Trump regime can take power. This amounts to an overthrow of a basic democratic right – the very right to vote in public elections. The MAGA base openly advocates violence and retribution if their candidate is not “elected”.

It is an insurmountable contradiction for the so-called left to first minimize the differences between today’s Democrats and the MAGA Republicans and then turn around and call for organizing to resist MAGA. That is why the “left” is doing nothing serious to build a resistance.

In addition to the Trump regime taking power, the MAGA base openly advocates violence and retribution if their candidate is not “elected”. No one knows what will happen at BIPOC voting polls in November and after.

Harris and the Democrats are not talking about it much, other than Biden’s too little too late proposed SCOTUS reforms, but they know that the MAGA campaign intends, through it’s manipulation of the state electors, to throw the electoral results to the SCOTUS, who will appoint Trump as supreme leader.

To repeat: The only candidate who can keep Trump out of the White House is Kamala Harris. However, we must have no illusions in Harris and the Democrats:Harris, like the rest of her party, is committed to arming and supporting Israel. This means participating in Israel’s genocidal crimes against humanity. Any support for Harris, if it is serious about liberation, must at the same time oppose her and her party’s support for Israel. At the same time, we should note that Trump would be far worse for the Palestinian cause.
The Biden/Harris administration has been extremely hesitant to arm Ukraine. That country should have been getting and should now get all the arms it needs, when it needs them, and with no strings attached. We should insist that Harris reject Biden’s unjustifiably cautious, go-slow approach to supporting Ukraine. Stop sending arms to Israel, send them to Ukraine instead!
Within the labor movement many union leaders argue that we must not go on strike during an election because that will harm the Democrats. We reject that idea, especially now. Any labor struggle increases the class consciousness of workers, tends to bring them together, and puts all capitalist politicians, Democrat and Republican alike, on the defensive.
The election of Democrats in 2024 will slow down but not stop MAGA. That movement arose out of the contradictions of capitalism itself. What is needed is an independent movement of the working class, a movement that mobilizes workers and the oppressed in the streets, the work places and even in the unions to oppose the MAGA movement, starting with the MAGA threats to overturn this year’s elections. Such a working class movement could and should ultimately lead to the development of a mass working class party.

Conclusion: The Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign was the first Ukraine solidarity group in the world to support Palestine. We are the only Ukraine solidarity group that openly advocates uniting all struggles against oppression and far right authoritarianism. Such struggles should not stop at the borders to the United States. Our support includes stopping Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, despite the fact that Ukraine’s present government is led by the neoliberal Zelensky. It also includes when the defeat of authoritarianism means putting or keeping a capitalist politician in power, (such as Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma/Myanmar, despite the fact that she participated in the murderous repression of the Rohingya people) because we recognize it is better to live and organize

Socialists should support and join any movement to stop MAGA both during and after the 2024 elections. That is not limited to but does include keeping Trump out of the White House in 2024. The only candidates who can stop the MAGA Republicans from gaining office are the Democrats, and the Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign advocates voting for them. That is especially so since the only two “left” candidates (Jill Stein and Cornel West) apologize for Putin and advocate establishing the conditions which will lead to the victory of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Such a victory will encourage a wave of reaction and authoritarianism around the world, including in the United States. It will be easier for the working class to build its own movement under capitalist democracy than under the right wing authoritarianism that Trump would install.

For a more in depth argument, see this presentation by Cheryl Zuur, co-chair of the Ukraine Socialist Solidarity Campaign.

Myanmar rebels take the road to Mandalay
AFP
October 25, 2024

Myanmar's second-largest city Mandalay is a prime target of fighters who oppose the ruling junta - Copyright AFP STR

Winding through the lawless, rugged hills of northern Myanmar, National Highway 3 links a stunning series of victories by ethnic rebels and pro-democracy fighters in their war against the junta.

An offensive launched a year ago Sunday has seen opponents of the military seize much of the 480-kilometre-long (300-mile) route that connects second city Mandalay to China, Myanmar’s biggest trade partner.

Control of the road denies the junta lucrative taxes, threatens its bases in the central plains, and is a huge morale booster for its opponents as the civil war grinds through its fourth year.

AFP images from National Highway 3 show the destruction wrought by the previous year’s fighting and rebel groups trying to administer their newly seized territory.

The route begins at Muse, a town of ill-repute pressed up against the border with China.

Each morning, hundreds of locals queued for day passes to cross into China to buy medicine and consumer goods that can be re-sold back in Myanmar.

More than $2 billion worth of trade passed through Muse in the 2023-2024 financial year, according to the junta’s commerce ministry. Analysts say much more goes through off the books.

But following the rebels’ spectacular advance, venturing into the hinterland from Muse requires some savvy — and cash — said Aung Gyi, a driver.

“We’re OK if we can negotiate when we meet with ethnic rebel soldiers on roads and they ask for money,” he said, asking to use a pseudonym.

Around an hour from Muse was a checkpoint manned by soldiers from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the rebel groups behind last year’s offensive.



– ‘Fighting up and close’ –



Around 30 kilometres further on is the town of Kutkai, infamous for the production of methamphetamine and normally home to around 50,000 people.

The fighting that has pushed the military out has scattered many of its residents and scarred the town.

Rubble littered across an open patch of ground was all that remained of the main market, flattened by a military airstrike.

Nearby, vendors had set up makeshift bamboo stalls to sell medicine and clothes.

“In northern Shan, the sound of gunfire is not very strange for us,” said resident Soe Naung, asking to use a pseudonym.

“But when we saw the fighting up close in our town, we were very afraid. We witnessed it with our own eyes.

“We can only hope our city will revive if the national highway opens again. Now our daily lives are full of fear about air strikes.”

In Kutkai, highway traffic consisted mostly of motorbikes laden with goods wrapped in tarpaulins.

Two young police officers in ethnic rebel uniforms sat on plastic chairs by the roadside and watched the traffic go by.



– Burma Road –



Roughly halfway along the highway, the city of Lashio embodies the biggest defeat the junta has suffered since it seized power in 2021.

Its four-lane toll gate was riddled with bullet holes and several panels were hanging loose, remnants of fierce fighting for the city where around 150,000 people lived before the offensive.

Lashio was famous as the terminus of the “Burma Road” built by the British usng local labour to supply Chinese forces battling Japanese invaders during the Second World War.

Now it is the prize of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic Chinese rebel group, whose red and blue flags flutter over its pockmarked buildings.

A spiked black gate bears the name of a military engineering unit that was chased from the city.

On another street, two men were fixing electricity pylons.

The MNDAA is working to install a civilian administration it hopes will tempt residents to return to the city.

The military is trying to keep people away, and on Wednesday launched its latest airstrike on Lashio, according to local media and a rescue group.


– Hill station –


Near the end of National Highway 3, the former British hill station of Pyin Oo Lwin is still in the hands of the military.

The road passes grand houses of teak and brick and the military’s elite officer training academy.

“We also hear shooting sounds here sometimes,” said one female vendor at the town’s bustling market.

A two-hour drive down into the dusty plains places you in the former royal capital of Mandalay and the end of the highway.

Targeting the city of 1.5 million is the “Mandalay People’s Defence Force,” which fought alongside the ethnic rebels in the Shan hills during the past year.

In August, the “Mandalay PDF” hailed the bonds its fighters now shared with Shan state, forged in battle against the military along “National Highway 3.”

“Now, the dream of a day trip for Shan noodles is coming true,” it said in a statement, referencing a popular local dish from the region.


 

Rebels take control of Myanmar rare earth mining hub

Staff Writer | October 23, 2024 |

The military seized control on February 1, 2021 following a general election that saw Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party win by a landslide. (Image courtesy of OneNews | Wikimedia Commons)

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which has been fighting Myanmar’s military junta in power since 2021 on Wednesday said it had taken control of the country’s rare earth mining region.


Rare earth mining in Myanmar is concentrated in Kachin state around the towns of Panwa and Chipwe, adjacent to southwestern China’s Yunnan province. The region also hosts a number of gem mining sites and is a key trade route into Myitkyina (Kachin state’s capital) and north into China.

A KIA spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday the group wrested control of the area from the militia group NDA-K over the weekend but did not elaborate on its plans on mining in the region. The NDA-K is allied with the ruling junta and has been working with Chinese companies involved in mining.

In a note on Tuesday, Adamas Intelligence, a Toronto-based rare earth and battery metals research consultancy, said rebel control of these mining sites could potentially disrupt rare earth concentrate shipments into China, which have declined for four months straight owing to the monsoon season and other challenges.


In June, a landslide at a rare earth mining site in Ngilot village in Panwa region claimed 10 lives and left at least 30 people missing.

Adamas says with Myanmar responsible for 57% of global dysprosium and terbium mine supply last year, a prolonged disruption would strain availability of feedstock supplies for magnet makers during what is typically a seasonally strong quarter.

More than 90% of electric vehicles feature at least one permanent magnet motor and rising production from Myanmar and low prices have made it easy for automakers “to turn a blind eye to the environmental destruction and social upheaval that rare earth mining fuels in the country,” according to Adamas.

“Should the recent border seizure and expected capture of rare earth mines this week result in a disruption of rare earth concentrate flows to China from Myanmar, importers of Chinese rare earths and magnets may soon have to pay, literally and figuratively, for failing to support and secure alternative sources of supply in time.”

King cobra: New species endemic in Philippines – study

Story by Morexette Marie B. Erram

 • 1d • CEBU NEWS

King cobra: New species endemic in Philippines – study

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A study identified a new species of king cobra that’s endemic only in the Philippines.

The European Journal of Taxonomy on Wednesday, October 16, published the latest research on the taxonomy of king cobra, considered the world’s longest venomous snake.

It presented a taxonomic revision of the king cobra species, with scientific name Ophiophagus hannah (O. hannah), as well as the discovery of two new species.

READ MORE:

Understanding king cobras: Why we should not kill them

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IN THE KNOW: The king cobra

The researchers are composed of Indraneil Das, P. Gowri Shankar, Priyanka Swamy, Rhiannon C. Williams, Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga, P. Prashanth, Gunanidhi Sahoo, S.P. Vijayakumar, Jacob Höglund, Kartik Shanker, Sushil K. Dutta, S.R. Ganesh, and Wolfgang Wüster.

According to the research, one of the newly identified species of king cobra can only be found in Luzon, Philippines.

The researchers gave it the scientific name Ophiophagus salvatana, with Luzon king cobra as its common name.

“The range of the species is restricted to the Luzon islands in the northern Philippines,” they said.


Related video: How to Survive a King Cobra Attack (Secret History)

Based on their research, the Luzon king cobra exhibited several distinct features that differentiate it from the other species in the O. hannah complex.

These included the absence of pale bands among adults, angular body bands in juveniles, higher number of body bands in juveniles, and lower Pterygoid tooth count.

READ MORE: Cobra recovered below a bookshelf in Tayabas City school

Poor taxonomy

The king cobras are common reptiles in Asia.

However, researchers pointed out that different taxon descriptions and type designations had ‘complicated the taxonomy of this species group.’

Taxonomy is the branch of science concerned in the describing, classifying and naming all living organisms.


“Despite being undoubtedly one of the most iconic snakes in the world, O. hannah had remained under-studied for close to a century,” they said.

In turn, they decided to conduct further studies into the king cobra species complex.

“Our nomenclatural and taxonomic decisions have extensive implications for the content, diversity and distribution of members of this genus, as well as the management of snakebite, species conservation and prospects for future research,” they said.
4 distinct species

Traditionally considered a single species, the authors used morphological data from 153 specimens and a recent molecular phylogenetic analysis to recognize four distinct species within the king cobra species or O. hannah complex.

“This revision has shown that the king cobras consist of four distinct species, each requiring separate consideration,” the researchers pointed out.

In the study, they found out that the O. hannah is found only within eastern Pakistan, northern and eastern India, the Andaman Islands, Indo-Burma and Indo-china, and south to central Thailand.

“We restrict the concept of Ophiophagus hannah s. str. to populations from eastern Pakistan, northern and eastern India, the Andaman Islands, Indo-Burma and Indo-China, south to central Thailand,” they explained.

They also said that the population of king cobra inhabitang the Sunda Shelf area, including the Malay Peninsula, the Greater Sunda Islands and parts of the southern Philippines are the Sunda king cobra (Ophiophagus bungarus).

Researchers hoped that their findings will contribute to the conservation of the king cobra species group, which the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed as vulnerable already due to widespread threats of their habitats.

“Besides their conservation implications, our findings may also have implications for toxinology and snakebite treatment,” they added.

 

Myanmar: Interview with Yaw Han from Food not Bomb Mae Sot

Oct

14

2024

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From libcom.org
October 3, 2024

Yaw Han is a life-long supporter of Food Not Bomb movement in Myanmar and an anarchist punk-rocker from Maggot Zyxtem, an anti-fascist local Punk band from Myanmar (Burma).

Hein: You’re a life-long supporter of Food Not Bomb Myanmar, and also a punk rocker who lean anarchist. Can you tell us since when you got influenced by anarchism?

Yaw Han: I was introduced to anarchism from my readings on Spanish civil war. Around 2009, I reached to a conclusion that the ruling class is reactionary and always oppress the mass. Later, when we got introduced into Internet by around 2010s, I managed to read some texts of Bakunin, Proudhon and Peter Kropotkin. On Food Not Bomb Myanmar, I am not an official volunteer even though I’ve an advocate of their movement due to their punk-related lifestyle.

Hein: I notice you focus on punk music and lifestyle. Can you share us more about your punk music and its influence on you? So, the global anarchists will know.

Yaw Han: I’m a member of a local punk band called “Maggot Zyxtem”. Sometimes, I play guitar, and piano for other bands as a freelancer too. The band I am officially the guitarist of “Maggot Zyxtem” that focuses its lyrics and overall themes of “anti-war”, “anti-establishment”, “progressivism”, “social justice”, “anti-corruption”, “anti-fascism”, and “the feelings of the youths who had lost their future”. We’ve four members, two vocals and one guitarist as well as one drummer. We primarily subscribe to the music genre of “hardcore punk”, “d beat”, and “grind core”. Here, I would like to emphasize that I was not attracted to anarchism due to my punk lifestyle. I was already an anarchist before I formally joined the punk lifestyle and punk community in Burma. I’m appreciative of the experiences I gained from setting up underground punk concerts and taking part in this revolutionary punk band with likeminded people. We currently don’t have YouTube channel. We have Facebook page though. Currently, we collaborate with other local punk and metal bands near Mae Sot (Thai-Burma border). We’ve created 9 songs so far and we sometimes even travelled to Bangkok to play with some local punk bands. There are some ex-revolutionary soldiers who might need to let their anger out here too. We can be useful to them.

Hein: I personally like “emo”, “punk”, “rap metal” and “nu metal” kind of music genres but I don’t know much about music theory. Also, can you share some of your activism around 2010s? I remember we had to rely on internet cafes and access cards to use the internet. I remember using MIRC chat and VZO for chatting. How were the “propaganda of the deeds” during these old days?

Yaw Han: In the early days, I write about overall history of leftism, and revolutionary movements. Then, we posted those quotes on social media. Since 2015, I was critical of Burmese Buddhist nationalist movements, and I was anti-war during the series of attack by the military and NLD government against other ethnic armed organisations. There is no specific intention, but I was struggling for social justice and against the power structure.

Hein: What about the 2021 coup? I’m pretty sure you were part of the general strike against the 2021 coup. There were a lot of elegant photographs coming out of punk community and anarchist-leaned community, waving antifa flags and using anarchist logo on the shields. Can you share us more about these experiences?

Yaw Han: After the 2021 coup, we organised among ourselves and participated along with the general strike against the military junta. We called our rally as “Anti-Fascist rally”. In 27th February 2021, we were shot by the real bullets, so we decided not to continue our rallies. Just like others, our lives turned upside down after the coup. I went through a lot of hardships and risks I had to take to reach Mae Sot. I was interrogated by both Thailand immigration policies and Burmese soldiers. I gained a lot of valuable experiences on my way to Mae Sot from Burma. I managed to travel to Mae Sot around 2022 and started to re-organise our fellow comrades in Mae Sot. Situations are not perfect in Mae Sot too. As there are wars going on Karen state (nearby Mae Sot), there are a lot of refugees here. I feel I’m obligated to contribute my labour, so I took part in the initiative of Food not Bomb Mae Sot. There was a time when we literally drew banners for our group but couldn’t really take the actions because we don’t have proper documents to stay in Thailand. Food not Bomb Mae Sot focuses on buying vegetables and food, cooking for the homeless people and the refugee’s population who cannot afford the food. We fundraise our capital funding by selling handmade buttons, accessories and band shirts. Sometimes, we accept solidarity donation from the organisations and the individuals.

Hein: Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences. I wish all the best to Food not Bomb Mae Sot and you.

Information:
Facebook page of Food Not Bomb Maesot: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086396083800
Facebook page of Books Not Bombs - Maesot: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086396083800
Facebook Page for the Band: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095062428463
One of their songs: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=408725911615722&rdid=ow5WTvQaq4t4oSpJ
Facebook Page for Food Not Bomb CNX: https://www.facebook.com/FNBsCNX
Facebook Page of Free Shop - Maesot: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091257878101

The Labor Movement in Myanmar Is Facing Brutal Retaliation

By Khaing Zar Aung

October 11, 2024

Source: Jacobin


Striking garment workers demonstrated outside the offices of the International Labor Organization in Yangon, Myanmar, earlier this week demanding that global apparel brands ensure workers are not punished for participating in pro-democracy protests. Photo: Andrew Tillett-Saks, Twitter.

Since the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, the military has tried to force us into subordination with killings, torture, bombing, countless arrests, and displacement. Since then, over three million people have been internally displaced. At least 8,000 civilians, including many trade unionists, have died. Seventy percent of the total nation has faced armed clashes.

More than 86,000 buildings, including schools and health care facilities, have been attacked and destroyed. Around 400,000 government employees who joined the civil disobedience movement have lost their jobs and income. At least 26,799 people have been arrested, among them over 500 trade unionists.

For more than three years, the military has waged an open war against the people of Myanmar, and the world has started to notice. Yet the oppression by successive military regimes has been ongoing for decades, a fact that is seen in the many who had to seek refuge in Norway over the years. We thank the Norwegian people, the Government of Norway, the Norwegian Burma Council, and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, for the many years of political and financial support and for allowing the Democratic Voice of Burma to be established in Olso.

In February 2021, the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar [CTUM] issued a statement condemning the coup and leaving the National Tripartite Forum. We organized our members and the opposition on all fronts. Members and leaders of CTUM took to the streets and helped bring hundreds of thousands out in protest. The military issued arrest warrants against all the CTUM central committee members, including myself.

All our passports were declared void, and we all have court cases against us for state treason. The CTUM headquarters office was ransacked, and everything was taken. Our family members are under constant threat — forcing many to leave the country. Many were tortured to death or forced into hiding.

Our organization has experience fighting against the military regime, having done so since 1988. We can confidently say that today’s regime is much weaker than the one twenty years ago, and the democratic forces are much stronger. The military has lost more than half of the country’s territory because of the coordinated attacks by democratic armed forces. We can win, and we will win.

However, the international community can and must do more to support our people, who are risking their lives to free our country.
Corporate Hypocrisy

The military denies workers all human rights and creates conditions where garment workers make $1.50 US dollars per day without any chance to improve their conditions through organizing. Meanwhile, fake unions are sprouting up under the Made in Myanmar project funded by the European Union. Made in Myanmar is a stain on the EU and must be stopped immediately. It is nothing but a cover-up for global brands that want to benefit from the cheap labor in Myanmar under the guise of “providing jobs.” What they provide is slave work.

When workers dare to organize in genuine trade unions, the leaders and their families are threatened with arrest, torture, and death. In many garment factories, working conditions are close to slavery, with more than sixteen-hour workdays at poverty wages to produce garments for European consumers. It is a convenient lie for multinational fashion brands to argue that they generously stay in Myanmar to provide jobs for otherwise unemployed workers. In reality, they make use of cheap labor.

Under this military regime, any talk of “heightened due diligence” is nothing but window-dressing. Show me one brand that has stopped the countless arrests, torture, and murders of trade unionists fighting for decent work in their factories. They can’t stop it, of course, because it is not possible. Brands claim to do due diligence, but their so-called “responsible business conduct” is simply impossible under a military dictatorship.

Global brands that stay in the country, like the Danish brand Bestseller, implicitly accept the rampant violations of trade union rights. Brands even contribute to these violations by paying taxes and factory “protection fees” to the military. They are funding the regime. No more excuses: global brands must responsibly exit Myanmar.
Our Campaign at the ILO

The International Labour Organization [ILO] formed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate forced labor and the violation of freedom of association in Myanmar. The commission adopted its report in August 2023, confirming that military authorities violate Myanmar’s obligations under the relevant conventions. It recommends that actions to be taken by the ILO Governing Body, including within the framework of Article 33 of the ILO Constitution. We need not only the trade unions but also employers and governments at the ILO to back the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry with firm actions.

We trade unionists will continue to fight against the brutal military regime as we seek the establishment of a federal democratic system. We are very grateful for the support of the international union movement in this struggle. We need your continued solidarity and support, politically and financially, to remove the military as quickly as possible.
Military Conscription

In October 2023, the United Nations news agency reported the ILO Commission of Inquiry’s findings. The recommendations urge the military authorities to immediately cease all forms of violence, torture, and other inhumane treatment against trade union leaders and members; to release and withdraw all criminal charges against trade unionists detained in relation to the exercise of their civil liberties and legitimate trade union activities; and to fully restore the protection of basic civil liberties suspended since the coup d’état.

The recommendations also urge the military authorities to end the exaction of all forms of forced or compulsory labor by the army and its associated forces as well as forced recruitment into the army. Yet on February 10, the military regime in Myanmar implemented a compulsory national service law, as reported by televised state media. The new legislation mandates that all men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, as well as women aged eighteen to twenty-seven, must serve up to two years under military command. Additionally, specialists such as doctors up to the age of forty-five are required to serve for a period of three years.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has condemned the junta’s implementation of compulsory military conscription as a sign of the regime’s “weakness and desperation.”
The Need for Comprehensive Economic Sanctions

If you all observe the above happenings, it is clear that the Myanmar junta cannot be moved by resolutions alone. Resolutions must be enforced by economic sanctions, the only available nonviolent action to end the military regime.

I stand here representing not only workers and trade unions from Myanmar, but also 183 democratic organizations, including organizations of youth and women, strike committees from across the country, student unions, and government employees such as teachers, doctors, and nurses who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement following our call. Together we:Demand a total arms embargo and comprehensive economic sanctions — with enforcement through legislation provided within the US and UK systems against the three national banks, which mainly collect foreign currency.
Call on multinational companies — including insurance companies and fashion brands — to exit responsibly from Myanmar.
Call on shipping companies to stop delivering weapons and dual-use goods like fuels for military vehicles and airplanes to Myanmar.
Call on the European Union to withdraw the “Everything But Arms” [EBA] trade benefits from Myanmar.

The EU’s EBA program was designed to offer trade incentives to the poorest countries to promote democracy and full respect for core human and labor rights. The EU withdrew some preferences from Cambodia in 2020 because it does not respect workers’ rights, but it maintains the full EBA preferences for Myanmar.

The EU thus maintains that it is possible to implement due diligence in a country where industrial zones are under martial law, where freedom of association is banned and all genuine trade union representatives are under arrest warrants, hunted, tortured, or killed. The EU must stop subsidizing the military with the EBA trade preferences. It must recognize the government in exile and do everything it can to support our liberation struggle.


Khaing Zar Aung is president of the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM), an executive committee member of the Confederation of Trade Union, Myanmar (CTUM), and a member of the Myanmar Labour Alliance. She has been blacklisted by the Myanmar military junta. Since the 2021 coup she has been forced to live in exile.