Entire villages would be wiped out if natural disaster hit dam on PNG mine, critics say

Lyanne Togiba in Port Moresby and Ben Doherty Pacific Editor 

A proposed dam to hold billions of tonnes of mine waste near the head of Papua New Guinea’s longest river is a potential environmental disaster that could wipe out entire villages if there was a natural disaster, government officials, environmental advocacy groups and villagers living along the river say.

© Photograph: Renato Granieri/Alamy A man paddles a canoe on the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea

The Frieda River gold and copper mine – slated for development by Chinese state-owned, Australian-based miner PanAust for northern New Guinea island – would be the largest mine in PNG’s history, and one of the biggest in the world.

Part of the mine’s proposal would be a 12,000ha reservoir built to hold more than 4.6bn tonnes of waste rock and mine tailings. The reservoir would hold 9.6bn cubic metres of water – twice the size of Sydney harbour – and the embankment built to hold it would be 187 metres high.

Related: Papua New Guinea chiefs call for halt to plan for country's largest ever mine

The Frieda River is a tributary to the Sepik River which, at 1,100km is PNG’s longest river and a key source of water, food and livelihood for tens of thousands who live along it.

West Sepik provincial administrator Conrad Tilau told the Guardian the government’s position was clear: “There should not be any dam built at the Frieda.

“The formation of the rocks under where the dam will be built is not safe, and also because … the water contained in the dam will be huge. If there is a fault in the structure, the dam will give way.

“The company must look for other alternatives to dispose of the waste like the option of deep sea tailings placement … but not the dam.”

A new report by environmental advocacy organisation Jubilee Australia details environmental and social issues presented by the proposed mine, arguing PNG risks repeating the environmental catastrophes of Ok Tedi and Panguna which devastated rivers, poisoned water sources and destroyed croplands in western province and Bougainville.

“The immense size of the mine, the low ore grade, the very large amount of waste rock, the seismic conditions, the high rainfall, mountainous terrain, all of these things are red flags in terms of the risks,” Jubilee executive director Luke Fletcher said, citing the 2015 Brazilian mine dam failure that killed 19 people, and spread toxic waste hundreds of kilometres.

“If there is a dam failure – and the dam break analysis has not been publicly released – it has the potential to be another Samarco-type collapse.”

Jubilee argued a potential alternative to the tailings dam, deep-sea tailings disposal – where mine waste is piped directly to the ocean to settle, ultimately, on the sea floor – presented significant environmental risks as well, including causing the buildup of toxic metals in the ocean ecosystem.

“These metals can build up in the food chain and cause harm to larger organisms such as fish and, eventually, people,” it said. “This risk is largely unknown as there is little research that quantifies what toxicity deep sea organisms can safely endure.”

In its environmental impact statement, PanAust said the “nation-building project … presents broad commercial and socioeconomic development opportunities for Papua New Guinea”. The mine plan also includes a hydroelectric plant, power grid, and road, airport and seaport upgrades.

The EIS estimates 2.9bn tonnes of mine waste would be produced over the 33-year life of the mine – half as tailings and half as waste rock.

A “dam break analysis” had ensured “appropriate factors of safety have been incorporated into the design” of the dam, which would sit 40km upstream of the head of the Sepik River.

“The probability of a failure is very unlikely,” the EIS said. “However, the extreme consequences of complete failure leading to the uncontrolled release of large quantities of water and solids (from waste rock and tailings placement) would likely result in extreme downstream environmental and social impacts.”

PanAust declined to respond to a series of questions from the Guardian. The company has not proposed deep-sea tailings disposal.

PNG’s centre for environmental law and community rights and landowner advocacy group Project Sepik argued there was significant risk of a dam break, citing 10 reports provided to the Conservation Environment and Protection Authority in 2020.

Related: Plan for largest mine in Papua New Guinea history 'appears to disregard human rights', UN says

“The Frieda River tailings dam has a medium risk of dam breakage as a result of: the extremely large amount of mine waste and tailings that will be produced; the rugged terrain; extremely high average annual rainfall … around 8 metres per year … and the mine to be located in a seismically active area which between 2010 and 2017 saw five earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 6.”

Emmanuel Peni, coordinator of campaign group Save the Sepik, said the dam risked wiping out villages downstream and poisoning the rivers that thousands depend on.

“The scientific reports all point out conclusively [that] it’s not a safe place or right place to build a dam or any large construction.”

Chiefs from 28 haus tambarans – “spirit houses” – representing nearly 80,000 people along the Sepik River have issued the collective Supreme Sukundimi Declaration calling for “a total ban on the Frieda River mine”.

Bernie Sanders Asks Jeff Bezos 'What Is Your Problem' With Amazon Workers Organizing

Benjamin Fearnow 

3/14/2021

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders challenged Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to explain reports of the retailing giant's alleged aggressive anti-union tactics being used to prevent workers from organizing at U.S. facilities.

© KENA BETANCUR / Stringer/Getty Images Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders arrive to deliver a major policy address on Wall Street reform in New York on January 5, 2016.

Bezos, who until his recent divorce was the richest man on Earth worth $184 billion, declined to attend this week's Senate Budget Committee hearing on income inequality. Sanders, who chairs the committee, personally invited the billionaire founder.

The national spotlight has focused on thousands of workers trying to form a union at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. Bipartisan lawmakers including President Joe Biden and Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio have publicly stated their support for the Alabama workers' unionization plan.

During his appearance on MSNBC Sunday, Sanders said that Bezos "can afford to pay them more." The senator then asked why the billionaire would even choose to oppose workers who are organizing to guarantee permanent, and not temporary, improvements in safety and job security.

.@SenSanders has a message for @JeffBezos: “Jeff you're worth $182B, that's a lot of money. What is your problem with allowing workers in Alabama to organize for better wages and working conditions? You can afford to pay them more.” #velshi pic.twitter.com/ukr1DvL6Pp— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) March 14, 2021

"I say to Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet: What is your problem with Amazon workers organizing for better working conditions and better pay? You are worth $182 BILLION. You cannot continue to have it all when so many are struggling," Sanders told MSNBC host Ali Velshi in response to Bezos declining his Senate invitation.

According to the pro-union labor group that represents the Amazon employees in Alabama, the workers are seeking "just-cause" instead of "at-will" employment, the ability to challenge write-ups and terminations perceived as wrongful, and safer conditions amid the pandemic.

In October, the company revealed 20,000 of its U.S. employees had tested positive or were presumed positive for COVID-19. Following backlash, those were the last such numbers produced by the company.

Video: After battling Trump, billionaire Bezos breaks with Trump over unions (MSNBC)

A Bessemer, Alabama, worker recently filed an unfair labor practices claim with the National Labor Relations Board that cited Amazon's corporate wing setting up DoItWithoutDues.com. The site makes false claims about employees in Alabama, a "right-to-work" state, being forced to pay union dues.


The Washington Post reported last week that anti-union flyers started popping up in Amazon warehouse bathrooms encouraging workers to oppose pro-union votes. The "aggressive fight" to halt unionization efforts was the key focal point of Sanders' criticism this week.

Newsweek reached out to Amazon and Sanders' office for additional remarks Sunday.

In an earlier statement sent to Newsweek from this past November, Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski said: "We respect our employees' right to join or not join a labor union, but the fact is that Amazon already offers what these groups claim they want.

"We don't believe this group represents the majority of our employees' views. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire, and we encourage anyone to compare our overall pay, benefits, and workplace environment to any other company with similar jobs."

A Sanders' official Senate website has for years featured petitions that support unionization efforts at multi-billion dollar corporations like Amazon and Walmart. A recent Sanders petition and fundraising campaign featured a message from Sanders to Bezos.

"It is beyond absurd that you would make more money in ten seconds than the median employee of Amazon makes in an entire year...Meanwhile, thousands of Amazon employees are forced to rely on food stamps, Medicaid and public housing because their wages are too low. I don't believe that ordinary Americans should be subsidizing the wealthiest person in the world because you pay your employees inadequate wages," Sanders wrote.

Major arms sales flat in 2016-20 for first time in more than a decade

3/15/2021

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - International deliveries of arms were flat in the period 2016-2020, ending more than a decade of increases, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report on Monday.

© Reuters/US AIR FORCE FILE PHOTO: An F-35 pilot prepares for take off from the Vermont Air National Guard Base with the flag of the United States

The United States, France and Germany - three of the world's biggest exporters - increased deliveries, but falls in exports from Russian and China offset the rise, SIPRI said.

It was the first time since 2001–2005 that the volume of deliveries of major arms between countries - an indicator of demand - did not increase from the previous five year period, SIPRI said.

While the pandemic has shut down economies across the world and pushed many countries into deep recessions, SIPRI said it was too early to tell whether the slowdown in arms deliveries was likely to continue.

"The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could see some countries reassessing their arms imports in the coming years," Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, said in a statement.

"However, at the same time, even at the height of the pandemic in 2020, several countries signed large contracts for major arms."

The United Arab Emirates, for example, recently signed an agreement with the United States to purchase 50 F-35 jets and up to 18 armed drones as part of a $23 billion package.

Middle Eastern countries accounted for the biggest increase in arms imports, up 25% in 2016–20 from 2011–15.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest arms importer, increased its arms imports by 61% and Qatar by 361%.

Asia and Oceania were the largest importing regions for major arms, receiving 42% of global arms transfers in 2016–20. India, Australia, China, South Korea and Pakistan were the biggest importers in the region.

"For many states in Asia and Oceania, a growing perception of China as a threat is the main driver for arms imports," said Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher at SIPRI, said.

(Reporting by Simon Johnson. Editing by Mark Potter)

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

NO REALLY, HE SAID THAT

Nebraska governor claims legalizing medical marijuana will 'kill your children'

© AP Photo/Nati Harnik Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts delivers the annual State of the State Address to lawmakers in Lincoln, Neb., 

Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. AP

 Photo/Nati Harnik

ydzhanova@businessinsider.com (Yelena Dzhanova) 

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said legalizing medical marijuana would lead to kids dying.

Ricketts was citing a study that connected more frequent marijuana use among kids who die by suicide and states that already have legalized marijuana.

His remarks come as Nebraska's state legislature weighs a bill that would legalize medical marijuana.

The governor of Nebraska pushed back on the state's consideration of legalizing medical marijuana, claiming it would lead to the death of their kids.

"This is a dangerous drug that will impact our kids," Gov. Pete Ricketts said during a news briefing Wednesday. "If you legalize marijuana, you're gonna kill your kids. That's what the data shows from around the country."

Asked to elaborate on the data by USA TODAY, a spokesperson for Ricketts pointed to two studies that concluded teens who died by suicide in multiple states that had legalized marijuana used it more frequently.

His remarks come as Nebraska's state legislature weighs a bill that would make legal medical marijuana that's recommended by a practicing physician. The idea is that physicians would have control over their patients' marijuana consumption, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Though Ricketts' linked his claim to recreational marijuana, the bill being weighed would allow residents to use and consume medical marijuana in the form of pills or oils. Smoking marijuana would not be legalized upon this bill's passing.

Marijuana is federally designated as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has "no currently accepted medical use." However, "THC itself has proven medical benefits in particular formulations," according to the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse. In terms of recreational usage, experts and agencies like the Centers for Disease Control say a "fatal overdose is unlikely."

Ricketts' office did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

"Big pot, big marijuana is a big industry," he continued. "This a big industry that is trying not to be regulated, to go around the regulatory process. And that's going to put people at risk: when you go around regulations that are designed for the health and safety of our society."

Advocates in favor of the bill's passing include its sponsor, Lincoln, Nebraska, Sen. Anna Wishart, who on Wednesday delivered an impassioned argument in support, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.

"This bill is not going to fail because of a lack of compromise," Wishart said before the state's judiciary committee. "If this bill fails to pass, it is because of political pressure from a few who wield their power to stamp out the will of the people. The people will not be silenced."

If the bill doesn't pass, Wishart, a Democrat, said she expects activists to propose a ballot initiative that allows Nebraskans to vote. This, in turn, would give physicians less control over marijuana consumption and make it more difficult to regulate.

I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free (live) by Nina Simone

 (FULL EXTENDED VERSION -- 1968)

This is the full audio of Nina Simone's extended live rendition of "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free," performed at the Westbury Music Fair of April 7, 1968.

Opinion: Jackson water crisis shows Nina Simone is still right about Mississippi\

Opinion by Keri Leigh Merritt 

CNN 3/14/2021

Summoned to the South by Marian Wright of the NAACP, Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Joseph Clark traveled to the Mississippi Delta in the Spring of 1967 to assess the effectiveness of the federal War on Poverty programs. Wright had testified before Congress that the people of her state were starving and in agony. Although forewarned, the White senators were stunned to witness the extremities of Mississippi's soul-crushing poverty, right in the middle of one of the wealthiest nations on earth.

© Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images A brother and sister sit while their mother volunteers at a water and food distribution drive in Jackson, Mississippi after the city was hit by back-to-back winter storms.

After repeated attempts to engage one young, seemingly non-verbal African American boy -- his stomach swollen from malnourishment -- picking through dried rice and beans on the dirt floor of a shack, Bobby Kennedy, the father of 11 children, quickly turned and walked outside. He did not want the photographers who accompanied him to catch the tears welling up in his eyes.

The depth of Mississippi's poverty was almost too much for Kennedy to bear. Speaking mournfully about "children with distended stomachs," Kennedy urged the federal government to do something to alleviate the state's widespread "suffering." Deeming "housing inadequate" and commenting on the "insufficient clothing" of the state's impoverished children, he rightfully concluded that Mississippi was a "terrible reflection on our society."

Now, 54 years later, it is necessary to ask the federal government to intervene in the state again. Many of the primarily Black residents of Mississippi's capital, Jackson, spent weeks without running water after a cold spell burst a huge number of the city's pipes. According to Mississippi Today, over 40,000 people, the equivalent of a sold-out game at Wrigley Field, were not able to drink, bathe or wash clothes, dishes, hands or even flush toilets -- all during a pandemic.

Over the past several days, the city has made significant progress in repairs, restoring water to most of its residents. However, two major, potentially deadly issues remain. First, the water pressure is extremely low and unreliable in certain neighborhoods, particularly in the poorer parts of south Jackson. More importantly, city testing has revealed that the water in Jackson is still unsafe to drink, as USA Today reported, "because of high turbidity -- cloudiness that increases the possibility water might contain disease-causing organisms."

The capital of an American state is still under a boil-water advisory -- an advisory originally issued nearly a month ago, on February 16. Jackson's problems, like those of so many other US towns and cities, are a blight on the political ideals White Americans traditionally claim.

Jackson, Mississippi, is a microcosm of our nation's massive failures to make amends for centuries of colonialism, slavery and racism. The story of Jackson is like those of Flint, Michigan; Centreville, Illinois; and Shreveport, Louisiana. While the details from each city may vary, the core issue that binds these places together in anguish is painfully obvious.

Our problem, our shame, is that American poverty springs not from lack of funds, but instead from White supremacy. Due to the ravages of history -- from slavery and the failures of Reconstruction to more modern tactics of redlining, White flight and the crisis of mass incarceration -- poverty in America is almost always dependent on racism, even when the impoverished are White. From pitting laborers of different races against each other to stoking racist and xenophobic fears through a sensationalistic and profit-driven media, America's White elite have always used the specter of racism to prevent the formation of a broad coalition of people with similar class interests, regardless of race.

And poor and working-class whites historically have been all-too-willing to join in this Faustian bargain.

We are one of the richest nations in the world, but among those nations, we are one of the most unequal. Nearly all other developed nations offer a better standard of living to their citizens, regardless of income or wealth.

Currently, White Republicans control Mississippi's state legislature. As Mississippi Free Press reported, Governor Tate Reeves and other White lawmakers are essentially holding the Black-led, Black-populated city hostage, refusing to fund repairs. While the citizens of his state are literally going on a month without the very basics of survival, Reeves instead focused his attention to passing the nation's first anti-transgender law of 2021.

The few repairs that have been made have mostly been in affluent, largely White north Jackson, clearly delineating not just the privileges, but the power of Whiteness. As State Representative Christopher M. Bell rightly told me, "My colleagues at the Mississippi Capitol have a history of accusing the City of Jackson's legislative delegation of asking for handouts versus help. They however have a different view of the predominantly White communities surrounding Jackson when they request support."

Jackson's Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba echoed Representative Bell's sentiments, knowing all too well how the state's long and sordid history has kept Black and brown citizens trapped in cyclical poverty, often without access to services most Americans believe are basic human rights -- from running water and electricity to housing, health care and food.

"The infrastructure challenges in Jackson and in similar Black communities across the country are inextricably linked to a legacy of racism, redlining, gerrymandering and systematic disinvestment in our communities over decades," Mayor Lumumba wrote in a statement Saturday. "It has compounded over time and now we must reconcile with how we fix it and find solutions forward. We must move away from a system of exclusion and exploitation, and towards a just city model."

The mayor's words ring true: According to Talk Poverty, as of 2020, nearly one-fifth of Mississippi's total population have incomes below the poverty line. The burden is even worse for the state's children, of whom an astounding 28% live in daily poverty. Among US states and the District of Columbia, Mississippi ranks dead last -- 51st -- for overall poverty.

Other Talk Poverty statistics reveal the staggering correlation between race and poverty. While 12% of Mississippi's White population lives in poverty, the numbers rise to close to 30.5%, 31% for African Americans and 32% for Native Americans.

As if the misery of a state awash in destitution, pain and suffering was not enough, Mississippi also has the odious distinction of ranking 49th in unemployment, 44th in higher education attainment, 50th in teen birth rate, 49th in assets and savings and 51st, dead last once again, for hunger and food insecurity.

To make matters even worse, nearly a quarter of the state's population had no health insurance at any time during 2020's pandemic. Simply put, Mississippi is one of the poorest, sickest states in the US.

Although reparate is no longer a common word, it is the key to successfully addressing reparations. To reparate means to restore something to a state of good repair; it means returning something to working order. Reparative justice means to right the wrongs of the past -- not only by acknowledging the harms of certain groups of people both in the past and the present, but also addressing those harms and working to ameliorate them.

As Nina Simone so brilliantly wrote about reparative justice in her iconic song "Mississippi Goddam," time is always of the essence:

But that's just the trouble

"do it slow"

Desegregation

"do it slow"

Mass participation

"do it slow"

Reunification

"do it slow"

Do things gradually

"do it slow"

But bring more tragedy.

While many White Mississippians in power like Tate Reeves and other GOP leaders -- wittingly or not -- extend the legacies of racism and the slaveholders' Confederacy and fail to act as White supremacy keeps state's people ensnared in extreme poverty, the time for federal intervention is now. If the leaders of the state will not repair and restore Jackson's water system, then the leaders of the country must step in to help right the wrongs of the past.

From immediately sending FEMA in to deal with Jackson's short-term problems to passing a Federal Jobs Guarantee that focuses, first and foremost, on reparative justice, the Biden administration and the Democratic Congress -- if they truly espouse the values they campaigned upon -- should act swiftly and thoroughly.

In 1968, less than a year after Senator Kennedy's Mississippi trip, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote that "There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we now have the techniques and the resources to get rid of poverty. The real question is whether we have the will."

It is nothing short of a moral and ethical tragedy -- an indictment of the entire country -- that our citizens are being deprived of clean running water in one of the richest nations on earth. It is well past time for immediate federal action. We must have the will.

Mississippi Goddam.

Scientists Warn Human Impact On Amazon Rainforest Is ‘Worse Than We Realize'

The rainforest's climate is 'changing fast and in alarming ways', National Geographic claims and this has wide-reaching impacts on the entire planet

by Emily Baker

3/14/2021

Deforestation in the Amazon is detrimentally affecting its climate, and the planet's as a whole, warn scientists Credit: Adobe.

The Amazon Rainforest has been linked by scientists as a leading factor of increased global warming, due to deforestation and resource extraction at the hands of humans.

How humans ‘complicate natural cycles’ in the Amazon, such as logging and farming, is not only affecting its capability to absorb CO2, but contributing to global warming, reports National Geographic.

Scientists argue the world’s largest rainforest landscape may ‘release more carbon than they store’ and fear the rainforest is now a net contributor to climate change.

Climate change

Animal agriculture and meat consumption are widely blamed for causing deforestation and fires across the region by scientists and environmentalists worldwide.

The rainforest’s climate is ‘changing fast and in alarming ways’, National Geographic claims and this has wide-reaching impacts on the entire planet.

A recent report assessed the impact of Amazon rainforest destruction over fears it was rapidly approaching ‘tipping point’.

It was conducted by over 30 scientists and published in Frontiers. They looked at the causes behind interference in the Amazon’s capacity to absorb CO2.

Damming and soybean production for livestock is also altering the Amazon’s climate Credit: Adobe.  

Greenhouse gases

‘Activities in the Amazon, both natural and human-caused, can shift the rainforest’s contribution in significant ways’ according to National Geographic.


They can warm the air ‘directly’, or release other greenhouse gases that do. The article lists a range of resource extractions that can alter it. They include damming and soybean production for livestock feed.

Lead author Kristofer Covey told the organization: ‘Cutting the forest is interfering with its carbon uptake; that’s a problem…

‘When you start to look at these other factors alongside CO2, it gets really hard to see how the net effect isn’t that the Amazon as a whole is really warming global climate.’

Human impact on the Amazon Rainforest

Researcher Patrick Megonigal said the impact human activities have on the Amazon is ‘worse than we realize’.

Rising deforestation may alter the ‘flow of moisture’, another research protested in the article. This ‘could lead to the Amazon become a ‘drier woodland savanna’ permanently.

Moreover, humans have ‘diminished’ the rainforest’s capacity for offsetting its natural methane emissions.

Activists urged Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro to halt deforestation. The harmful practice reached an all-time high last year.

Myanmar coup: Organising resistance from neighbouring Thailand

As Myanmar's junta continues its deadly crackdown on protests against the February 1 coup, we take you to the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Free from the army's repressive tactics, exiled Burmese citizens, including a host of former political prisoners, are getting organised in Thailand, providing practical and logistical support to the protest movement. In the border town of Mae Sot, hopes are high that demonstrators will eventually be able to force the junta's departure. FRANCE 24's Dider Gruel reports

As Many as 70 Killed in Protests as Chinese Factory Torched in Myanmar’s Bloodiest Day Since Coup

2021-03-14

Myanmar security forces crack down on protesters in Yangon's industrial suburb of Hlaingthaya, March 14, 2021

 Citizen journalist via RFA

Myanmar security forces killed 51 protesters in an industrial suburb of Yangon after Chinese-funded factories were torched on Sunday, the bloodiest day in six weeks of protests against the junta that deposed the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, civic and aid groups said.

The 51 deaths occurred at Hlaingthaya township in Yangon, and another 12 were killed in other townships of Myanmar’s commercial hub and former capital, home to 5.4 million people. At least 24 bodies had been taken to Hlaingthaya Hospital and other remains were kept in family homes, the aid groups said, requesting that their names be withheld for safety reasons.

Earlier the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which tracks casualties and arrests, said that since the coup “126 people have been killed due to violent and arbitrary crackdowns, at least 38 today.”

“Further casualties will be added when confirmed, casualties are drastically increasing.” said the group.

“We have seen the violence today in (Hlaingthaya) Township and in other places across Yangon and Myanmar,” said British Ambassador Dan Chugg.

The British Government is appalled by the security forces’ use of deadly force against innocent people. We call for an immediate cessation of this violence and for the military regime to hand back power to those democratically elected by the people of Myanmar,” Chugg tweeted.

A Chinese official injured in violent protests being treated by medics at Hlaingtharya, a suburb of Yangon, March 14, 2021. Credit: A citizen journalist via RFA

‘Heartbreaking accounts of killings’

The U.N. Secretary-General’s special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, issued a statement saying she “strongly condemns the continuing bloodshed in the country as the military defies international calls, including from the Security Council, for restraint, dialogue and full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Burgener has heard directly from people in the country “heartbreaking accounts of killings, mistreatment of demonstrators and torture of prisoners over the weekend,” she said.

“The ongoing brutality, including against medical personnel and destruction of public infrastructure, severely undermines any prospects for peace and stability,” added Burgener.

RFA’s Myanmar Service confirmed the killings of one protester each in northern Kachin state, the central Bago region, and in Mandalay, the country’s second biggest city, with dozens injured and more than 100 arrested. Reuters news agency reported a policeman was also killed in Bago to raise the day’s death toll to 39.

The killings and violence prompted the junta to impose "judicial martial law" in Hlaingthaya and neighboring Shwepyitha township in order to “perform security, maintain the rule of law and tranquility more effectively," AFP quoted state-run television news as saying Sunday night.

Reuters quoted army-run Myawaddy television as saying four garment factories and a fertilizer plant were set ablaze Sunday and about 2,000 protesters had blocked fire engines from reaching them.

A Chinese official injured in violent protests being treated by medics at Hlaingtharya, a suburb of Yangon, March 14, 2021. Credit: A citizen journalist via RFA

Shadow government eyes ‘revolution’

In a dramatic move, the shadow government set up by lawmakers deposed in Feb. 1 coup vowed to back a “revolution” to oust the military leaders who seized power last month over the military said was a fraudulent election that delivered a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).

“This is the darkest moment of the nation and the moment that the dawn is close,” Mahn Win Khaing Than said in a video posted on the website and social media of the group, called the Committee Representing Phyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). The group passed a law giving citizens the legal right to defend themselves.

“In order to form a federal democracy, which all ethnic brothers who have been suffering various kinds of oppressions from the dictatorship for decades really desired, this revolution is the chance for us to put our efforts together,” he said. 

“We will never give up to an unjust military, but we will carve our future together with our united power. Our mission must be accomplished,” said Mahn Win Khaing Than, acting CPRH vice president and a member of the NLD.

The torching of the Chinese-financed factories came amid rising anti-China sentiment in Myanmar, where protesters accuse Beijing of supporting the coup and are wary of growing Chinese influence, and drew an appeal from China’s embassy in Yangon.

“China urges Myanmar to take further effective measures to stop all acts of violence, punish the perpetrators in accordance with the law and ensure the safety of life and property of Chinese companies and personnel in Myanmar,” said the embassy, according to Reuters.

Among the protester deaths Sunday confirmed by RFA were a 30-year-old jade broker killed in Kachin state, a 20-year-old man from Magway division slain in Bago, and a 23-year-old woman killed in Mandalay.

In the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, the military and police also cracked down on protesters in any form, destroying signs and posters stand on major roads and stifling motorbike rallies and night time prayer vigils for victims. Some 90 people have been arrested in Myitkyina for protesting against the coup, and are being denied family visits to the city prison where they are being held.

In Mandalay, scene of repeated violent crackdowns since the coup, about 20 protesters were arrested, sources told RFA.

The AAPP said that as of Sunday, 2,156 people had been arrested, charged, or sentenced in relation to the military coup, with 1,837 still being held.

Citizens hold a candelight vigil for slain protesters at Hledon in Yangon, March 14, 2021. Credit: A citizen journalist via RFA

Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Paul Eckert.

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At least 39 reported killed in Myanmar as Chinese factories burn

By Reuters Staff

MARCH 14, 2021

(Reuters) - Security forces killed at least 22 anti-coup protesters in the poor, industrial Hlaingthaya suburb of Myanmar’s main city on Sunday after Chinese-financed factories were set ablaze there, an advocacy group said.

A further 16 protesters were killed in other places, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said, as well as one policeman, making it the bloodiest day since the Feb. 1 coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Chinese embassy said many Chinese staff were injured and trapped in arson attacks by unidentified assailants on garment factories in Hlaingthaya and that it had called on Myanmar to protect Chinese property and citizens. China is viewed as being supportive of the military junta that has taken power.

As plumes of smoke rose from the industrial area, security forces opened fire on protesters in the suburb that is home to migrants from across the country, local media said.

“It was horrible. People were shot before my eyes. It will never leave my memory,” said one photojournalist on the scene who did not want to be named.

Martial law was imposed in Hlaingthaya and another district of Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial hub and former capital, state media announce

Army-run Myawadday television said security forces acted after four garment factories and a fertiliser plant were set ablaze and about 2,000 people had stopped fire engines from reaching them.

A junta spokesman did not answer calls requesting comment.

Doctor Sasa, a representative of elected lawmakers from the assembly that was ousted by the army, voiced solidarity with the people of Hlaingthaya.

“The perpetrators, attackers, enemies of the people of Myanmar, the evil SAC (State Administrative Council) will be held accountable for every drop of blood that shed,” he said in a message.

The latest deaths would bring the toll from the protests to 126, the AAPP said. It said more than 2,150 people had been detained by Saturday. More than 300 have since been released.

CHINA CALLED FOR ACTION

China’s embassy described the situation as “very severe” after the attacks on the Chinese-financed factories. It did not make a statement about the killings.

“China urges Myanmar to take further effective measures to stop all acts of violence, punish the perpetrators in accordance with the law and ensure the safety of life and property of Chinese companies and personnel in Myanmar,” its statement said.

No group claimed responsibility for burning the factories.

The embassy’s Facebook page was bombarded with negative comments in Myanmar language and more than half the reactions - over 29,000 - used the laughing-face emoji.

Anti-Chinese sentiment has risen since the coup that plunged Myanmar into turmoil, with opponents of the army takeover noting Beijing’s muted criticism compared to Western condemnation.

Only two factories had been burnt for now, protest leader Ei Thinzar Maung posted on Facebook.

“If you want to do business in Myanmar stably, then respect Myanmar people,” she said. “Fighting Hlaingthaya, we are proud of you!!”

The United Nations Special Envoy for Myanmar condemned what she termed the “ongoing brutality”.

Christine Schraner Burgener said she had “personally heard from contacts in Myanmar heartbreaking accounts of killings, mistreatment of demonstrators and torture of prisoners over the weekend”.

The repression undermined the prospects for peace and stability, she said, appealing to the international community support the people of Myanmar and their democratic aspirations.

Britain, Myanmar’s former colonial ruler, said it was appalled by the security forces’ use of deadly force against innocent people in Hlaingthaya and elsewhere.

“We call for an immediate cessation of this violence and for the military regime to hand back power to those democratically elected by the people of Myanmar,” British Ambassador Dan Chugg said.

The army said it took power after its accusations of fraud in a Nov. 8 election won by Suu Kyi’s party were rejected by the electoral commission. It has promised to hold a new election, but has not set a date.

Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup and is due to return to court on Monday. She faces at least four charges, including the illegal use of walkie-talkie radios and infringing coronavirus protocols.

Away from Hlaingthaya, at least 16 deaths were reported elsewhere in Myanmar, including in the second city of Mandalay and in Bago, where state television MRTV said a police officer had died of a chest wound after a confrontation with protesters.

He is the second policeman reported dead in the protests.

The violence took place a day after Mahn Win Khaing Than, who is on the run along with most senior officials from the Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party, said the civilian government would give people the legal right to defend themselves. It announced a law to that effect on Sunday

Demonstrators armed with sticks and knives faced off with police in Hlaingthaya, the industrial area of Yangon. The officers responded by firing shots at the crowd, which led to at least 22 people being killed, according to AAPP.

Army-run broadcaster Myawadday insisted that the police resorted to lethal force after some 2,000 demonstrators set four garment factories and a fertilizer plant ablaze, while also preventing fire trucks from reaching them.

China's embassy in Myanmar complained earlier that Beijing-owned factories in the Hlaingthaya district “were looted and destroyed” during the protests. “Many Chinese staff were injured and trapped,” it said in a Facebook post, describing the events as “very severe.”