The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Wednesday it has begun the process of revoking the authority to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States from China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet. 
 
In April, the FCC issued show-cause orders warning it might shut down the U.S. operations of three state-controlled Chinese telecommunications companies — the two cited Wednesday and China Telecom Corp. Ltd. China Unicom Americas has a two-decade old authorization to provide U.S. international telecommunications services. 
 
The FCC opened a similar proceeding in December to begin the process of revoking the authorization of China Telecom, the largest Chinese telecommunications company, which has had authorization to provide U.S. telecommunications services for nearly 20 years. 
 
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks noted that many Chinese telecom carriers “also own data centers operating within the United states.” He said the FCC currently lacks authority to “address this potential national security threat.” 
 
In May 2019, the FCC voted unanimously to deny another state-owned Chinese telecommunications company, China Mobile Ltd., the right to provide services in the United States, citing risks that the Chinese government could use the approval to conduct espionage against the U.S. government. 
 
  
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A Japanese district court ruled Wednesday that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
 
The historic ruling by the Sapporo District Court was in response to a lawsuit filed by six plaintiffs, including two male couples and one female couple, who demanded more than $9,100 each (1 million yen), in damages from the Japanese government.  The court said the prohibition violates Article 14 of the Japanese constitution, which declares all people are equal under the law, but it rejected the plaintiff’s demand for damages.   
 
The lawsuit is one of five that have been filed in various Japanese courts seeking to overturn the ban.  
 
Japan is the lone holdout in the world’s top seven economies, known as the Group of Seven, that refuses to recognize same-sex marriage.  The government says the constitution defines marriage as one based on “the mutual consent of both sexes,” meaning one solely between a man and a woman.  The ban prevents same-sex couples from sharing in the same benefits granted to opposite-sex couples, such as inheriting their partner’s houses and other assets, or maintaining parental control over their children.    
 
Several municipalities have issued “partnership certificates” that give same-sex couples some of the same rights as heterosexual couples.
 
Homosexuality itself has been legal in Japan since 1880.  Taiwan is the only place in Asia that has legalized same-sex marriage.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are heading to South Korea Wednesday after warning China the Biden Administration will respond to Beijing’s use of coercion and aggression in the region. Blinken and Austin left Tokyo earlier in the day after holding joint “two-plus-two” talks with Japanese counterparts Toshimitsu Motegi and Nobuo Kishi aimed at reaffirming the trans-Pacific partnerships in the face of an increasingly assertive China and hostile North Korea. In a joint statement after the meeting, Blinken pledged that the Biden administration will “push back, if necessary, when China uses coercion and aggression to get its way.” In remarks before a separate meeting between he and Motegi, Blinken said that Washington and Tokyo believe in “democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” but said those values are “under threat” in the region,” whether it’s in Burma or China,” using Myanmar’s alternative name in referring to the coup in that country.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, elbow bumps with Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, and Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, front, after a joint news conference, March 16, 2021.Motegi said later that he and his American counterpart are both opposed to China’s attempt to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas, where it has aggressively expanded its military presence and claimed territorial rights to much of the region.  In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that U.S.-Japan ties should not “target or harm the interest of third parties,” urging the two sides to “contribute to solidarity and cooperation, as well as peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.” Relations between the world’s two largest economies are at a low point thanks in part to a trade war that former President Donald Trump initiated as well as rising military tensions in areas that China regards as its sphere of influence. Less than two months into his presidency, Joe Biden has signaled he is in no hurry to relieve some of the pressure that his predecessor placed on Beijing. His administration has maintained import tariffs, voiced support for Taiwan’s democratic government and condemned President Xi Jinping’s alleged human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. China’s Xinjiang region has been the center of allegations of forced labor and other human rights violations.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a helicopter after arrived at the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, March 17, 2021.President Biden has yet to announce his strategy toward North Korea, but a policy review is underway. Since February, the Biden administration has attempted to contact Pyongyang through several diplomatic channels but has not received any response, according to an unnamed U.S. official who spoke with the Reuters News Agency. The silence was broken Tuesday when Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement ahead of Blinken and Austin’s talks in Tokyo accusing the Biden administration of being eager “to spread the smell of gunpowder on our land from across the ocean.”   Kim Yo Jong also warned the new administration to “refrain from causing a stink” if it didn’t want to “lose sleep” over the next four years. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament Tuesday that his government will seek to strengthen ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of the nation’s departure from the European Union.The shift is part of his government’s so-called Integrated Review of national security and international policy, a year-long study by his government that he highlighted for lawmakers. Calling it the most comprehensive review of British defense and foreign relations since the Cold War ended, Johnson said its purpose is to make the nation safer, stronger and more prosperous, while standing up for its values.”The review describes how we will bolster our alliances, strengthen our capabilities, find new ways of reaching solutions and relearn the art of competing against states with opposing values,” he told members of parliament.As part of Britain’s pivot toward Asia, Johnson said he has invited the leaders of Australia, South Korea and India to attend the G-7 summit in the British resort town of Carbis Bay, in June. Johnson plans to visit India next month and announced that Britain has applied to become a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He said Britain will also seek to join the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement.The prime minister said his plan calls for Britain to invest at least $9.1 billion to fund advanced and next-generation research and development in areas including space, directed energy weapons, and advanced high-speed missiles.To reaffirm that Britain is “unswervingly committed” to leadership in NATO, Johnson said the government will increase its defense budget by more than $33 billion over the next four years and remain the largest European spender on defense in NATO, with expenditures now standing at 2.2% of its gross domestic production. Britain will deploy more of its armed forces overseas more often and for longer periods of time, while cybersecurity will also be strengthened, he said.Johnson also told lawmakers the United States remains Britain’s most important bilateral relationship in defense, intelligence and security.He added that while China would pose a great challenge to what he described as Britain’s “open society,” his government would continue to work with Beijing whenever it was “consistent with our values and interests.”
 
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The United Nations is warning that food and fuel prices in Myanmar are steadily rising due to the “current political unrest” triggered by last month’s military coup. The world body’s food assistance branch, World Food Program (WFP), issued a statement Tuesday that rice prices have risen across the country by an average of three percent from mid-January to mid-February. But the WFP says prices have ballooned anywhere between 20-35 percent in a few townships in Kachin state, the northernmost state of Myanmar.  The agency also says the retail price of palm oil has spiked up to 20 percent since the beginning of February.  The WFP said the unrest is having a negative impact on supply chains and markets.  “These initial signs are troubling, especially for the most vulnerable people who were already living meal-to-meal,” said WFP Myanmar Country Director Stephen Anderson. “Coming on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, if these price trends continue, they will severely undermine the ability of the poorest and most vulnerable to put enough food on the family table.” Martial law extendedThe grim assessment comes as the junta has extended martial law in more areas of the main city of Yangon amid reports of more protesters killed by security forces.    The advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which has been tracking the violence, said at least 20 people were killed Monday in shootings by security forces. State-run MRTV news channel announced that the districts of North Dagon, South Dagon, Dagon Seikkan and North Okkalapa were under martial law, following a weekend of deadly protests. People transport a person who was shot during a security force crackdown on anti-coup protesters in Thingangyun, Yangon, Myanmar, March 14, 2021.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday he “is appalled by the escalating violence in Myanmar at the hands of the country’s military,” according to his spokesperson. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said Monday the violence against protesters is “immoral and indefensible.” Authorities late Sunday imposed martial law on Hlaingtharya, a suburb of Myanmar’s main city, after several Chinese-owned factories were set on fire and about 2,000 people had stopped fire engines from reaching the buildings, according to Reuters, quoting army-run Myawaddy television. China is seen as supportive of the Myanmar junta. A view shows the fire at Hlaing Thar Yar factory, in Yangon, Myanmar, March 14, 2021, in this still image obtained by Reuters from a social media video.“The burning and looting of Chinese companies [are] abhorrent,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters Monday. “We hope the Myanmar side will take concrete measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens in Myanmar. The top priority is to prevent the occurrence of new bloody conflicts and to achieve an easing of the situation as soon as possible.” Various reports quoting AAPP said most of the deaths Sunday took place in Hlaingthaya, with more than 30 people killed in the suburb. Nationwide, the AAPP said Monday that the death toll for Sunday had reached 74, making it the bloodiest day of demonstrations against the junta that seized power in a February 1 coup. The previous deadliest day was March 3, when 38 deaths were reported across Myanmar. Family members of Khant Ngar Hein grieve during his funeral in Yangon, Myanmar, March 16, 2021. Khant Ngar Hein, a 18-year-old student of medicine was shot on his chest on March 14, in Tamwe, Yangon, by security forces.Internet blocked
In an apparent bid to suppress news of the turmoil, mobile internet services were blocked Monday. Previously, the services were only turned off at night. The blockage of the internet forced the postponement of a scheduled court hearing in the capital, Naypyitaw, for deposed de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was set to appear via videoconference, according to her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw. Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup and faces five criminal charges, including accepting $600,000 in illegal payments plus gold bars while in office. She is also charged with illegally possessing six unregistered walkie-talkie radios, operating communications equipment without a license, violating COVID-19 protocols by holding public gatherings and attempting to incite public unrest. The United Nations said Monday that at least 138 people have been killed since the coup more than six weeks ago, while the AAPP put the figure at 183.  Military officials have claimed widespread fraud in last November’s general election, which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won in a landslide, as justification for the takeover. The fraud allegations have been denied by Myanmar’s electoral commission.   
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The Chinese capital, Beijing, was shrouded in thick brown dust on Monday as heavy winds blew in from the Gobi Desert and parts of northwestern China, in what the meteorological agency has called the biggest sandstorm in a decade.The China Meteorological Administration announced a yellow alert in the morning, saying sandstorms had spread from Inner Mongolia into the provinces of Gansu, Shanxi and Hebei, which surrounds Beijing.Beijing-based conservation expert Zhou Jinfeng told the Associated Press the sandstorm was caused by heavy winds from Mongolia and Inner Mongolia blowing the desert’s fine particles into the capital overnight, turning the air a hazy yellow color.State media report Beijing’s official air quality index reached a maximum level of 500 on Monday morning, considered well beyond the point where the air is hazardous to human health. The city’s environmental monitoring center said floating sand particles known as PM10 rose beyond 8,000 micrograms per cubic meter in some districts. The World Health Organization recommends average daily PM10 concentrations of no more than 50 micrograms.Beijing faces regular sandstorms in March and April due to its proximity to the massive desert as well as deforestation and soil erosion throughout northern China.
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Australia is working on an ambitious plan to establish Singapore as a COVID-19 quarantine gateway and potential vaccination hub for returning Australians, international students and business travelers.  The deal with Singapore could allow passengers en route to Australia to satisfy strict biosecurity rules before arrival.  Ministers hope the proposal with the south-east Asian city would help about 40,000 Australians stranded overseas return home, boost tourism and revive the multibillion-dollar market for international students at Australian universities, which has been badly hit by border closures. It is a year since Canberra, Australia’s capital, barred most foreign travelers in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. The ban has recently been extended until at least June.   Australian deputy prime minister Michael McCormack says the government is preparing to restart international travel.  “We are also making sure that the planes are going to be ready. You cannot just roll a plane out of a hangar and stick it back on an international route. We are working with Singapore at the moment potentially for a bubble in July, and these are positive signs. And as the vaccine rolls out in not only Australia but in other countries as well, we will reopen more bubbles,” McCormack said.Under the plan, Australians would be allowed to fly to Singapore without government approval provided they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.  Also, Singaporeans who have been inoculated would be permitted to travel to Australia without having to undergo two weeks of hotel quarantine.  Australia has given travelers from New Zealand similar concessions, but authorities in Wellington have yet to reciprocate to allow entry to Australians.  Australian citizens can return home from overseas, but they face mandatory quarantine. Thousands of people have been left stranded because of limited capacity in secure hotels.  Australia has recorded just over 29,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. 909 people have died, according to the Health Department.  There have been four key parts to the nation’s coronavirus strategy; restrictions on international travel, strict lockdowns, sophisticated contact tracing and mass testing.   A nationwide vaccination program began last month. 
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Since the Myanmar military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government on February 1, thousands of coup protesters have resisted the junta daily, despite the increasing bloodshed.
 
The Myanmar military has occupied the streets with armored vehicles, while openly repressing demonstrators by firing live ammunition that has left scores dead.
 
The protesters re a main defiant, though they don’t have one formal leader, and Myanmar’s high-profile activists have played a prominent role in resisting the military’s overhaul of the country.
 
Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a youth activist and television host, is a well-known name in Myanmar. Her efforts resisting the coup are widely followed, and they include organizing and leading demonstrations on the ground.
 
But the 29-year-old told VOA in an audio call, her activism has been a long time coming.
 “I’ve been hearing all these news things a long time ago, so I became an activist. The first thing I’ve been hearing was from the civil war. Now I feel like the coup took all of our hopes, put us all in the darkest place, it is totally mentally disheartening, depressing. I felt I couldn’t find a way out of it anymore,” she said.
 
Thinzar Shunlei Yi says her activism stems from when she was attending university in Yangon. At just 18 years old, she was giving a presentation about voter education before one of her teachers hushed her off stage, insisting she couldn’t talk about politics or parliamentary issues. She remembered feeling “embarrassed,” though it only served to motivate her even more.
 
“I felt angry to do more,” she said.
 
Her many advocacy roles have included being a member of various youth forums and of the U.S. Ambassadors Youth Council, which highlights human rights and discrimination issues in Myanmar.FILE – Protester run from police during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.But despite her growing international profile, Thinzar Shunlei Yi admits being a female activist has its challenges, and she still feels the discrimination.
 
“If I’m the organizer that’s OK, because people know who I am. But if I just try to get into a random protest, they will just treat me like a woman—like the woman they believe I should be. I think they are over-protecting, but I think this is a traditional kind of thing,” she said.
 
Notably, two young women in Myanmar have been killed during the coup that began about six weeks ago, sparking an international outcry.
 
In February, Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, 20, was the first protester who was shot and killed during a demonstration in Myanmar’s capital city, Naypyitaw. In early March, Ma Kyel Sin, 19, reportedly was seen running away from the military forces, only to be fatally shot.
 
Thinzar Shunlei Yi said women might have been targeted by the military in efforts to “scare” other women from taking part in protests.
 
The military’s tactics have included soldiers raiding households at night, despite night curfews because of precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
“Nights are even harder. Every night I’m sleeping in my hideout place, I know I can get arrested. They are shooting around my house, looking for something always, it can be me, it can be someone else. It is mentally painful these days. I cannot eat or sleep well,” she admitted.
 
The political conflict in Myanmar has spanned more than seven decades. In 1948, Burma as it was formerly known, gained independence from Britain. There has been a series of insurgencies since then, largely ethnic-based hostilities.  
 
In 2015, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, her National League of Democracy (NLD) party won the country’s first open democratic election.But in last November’s general elections, the military contested election results, claiming widespread electoral fraud, without evidence. On February 1, the Myanmar military, also known as Tatmadaw, removed the NLD government. Leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained and have since been charged.FILE – Anti-coup protesters carry pictures of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in Yangon, Myanmar, March 2, 2021.Thinzar Shunlei Yi was once dubbed “the new Aung San Suu Kyi” and has admitted the NLD leader has been a huge influence.
 
“I become who I am because of Aung San Suu Kyi. It’s so rare for us to see a woman recognized internationally, and an educated woman, a brave woman. I respect her a lot,” she told VOA.
 
But with the NLD leader still detained, protests are continuing daily, with news of arrests and deaths now a recurring theme. According to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners Burma (AAPPB), there have been 2,092 people arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup, with more than 70 fatalities.
 
And with Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day approaching on March 27, featuring an annual military parade, there are concerns the day could be significant.
 
“The Tatmadaw is aggressive, we will never underestimate them. I think in terms of their behavior, they already ruined their reputation. They are already in their worst forms, they have already shown their true colors,” says Thinzar Shunlei Yi.
 
But she admitted the coup has “pushed us to be more united.”
 
“We have a long-time mission and vision,” she said. “I see a peaceful country, where everyone despite their ethnicity, religions or sexual orientation, can have an equal chance if they want to. It can be accomplished when we agree with a federal democratic nation.
 
Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution provides the military with a quarter of the seats within the country’s parliament, seen as preventing the nations democratic progression.
 
“Our future must be defined by the civilians, not by the soldiers. In Myanmar, we have no choice, and we already have the mind to win this battle.”   
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Malaysia is using new powers under emergency rule to increase jail time for spreading what authorities call fake news about the coronavirus pandemic or the emergency itself, sidestepping the usual route through Parliament.
 
The government says tougher penalties are needed to fight off mounting misinformation about the pandemic, which has hit Malaysia harder than most of its neighbors.  
 
Lawyers, reporters and rights groups fear the tougher penalties portend a crackdown on government critics, calling the measures “dangerous” and “draconian.”
 
Malaysia joins several other countries with similar regulations.
 
Since the outbreak of the pandemic more than a year ago, 17 countries have added or beefed-up penalties for “fake news,” according to the International Press Institute, often amid claims from critics of abusing the term to stifle honest dissent. Of the eight countries in Asia, four are in Southeast Asia alone. Malaysia makes it five.
 
“This is a trend that we’re seeing more and more, especially … associated with the rise in social media and the sort of proliferation of expression online,” said Matthew Bugher, Asia program director for Article 19, a British rights group that advocates for freedom of speech and information.
 Devil in the details
 
Malaysia’s fake news ordinance sets a jail term of up to three years for publishing or sharing any “wholly or partly false” information about either the pandemic or a state of emergency that took effect in January. Jail terms can double for those who help fund the publication of that information. Fines for each offense top out at about $24,000 and $121,000, respectively.
 
Lawmakers had no say in the new rules as the state of emergency King Al-Sultan Abdullah decreed at Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s request suspended Parliament until August 1. The government announced the new rules Thursday and put them into force Friday.
 
Public backlash has been swift and strong.
 
Lawyers and rights groups say they are alarmed both by the details of the order and by the lack thereof. They say the rules are missing a clear definition of fake news and in effect let authorities ignore the standards for prosecuting an alleged crime set out in the country’s Evidence Act.
 
“That means it would be very easy for them to basically charge anyone under this law,” said Ding Jo Ann, an adviser to Malaysia’s Center for Independent Journalism.
By imposing fines and jail time on anyone who refuses to give passwords or encryption codes to authorities investigating related cases, the ordinance “will create a climate of fear,” Lawyers for Liberty, a local rights group, said in a statement.
 
The Bar Council of Malaysia told local news outlet Free Malaysia Today that the ordinance lets authorities ignore several fair trial rules, making it a “highly dangerous piece of legislation which has the potential to be abused.”
 
State-run news outlet Bernama also reported that authorities cannot be sued over how they enforce the ordinance, even for any mistakes they make “in good faith.”FILE – An armed soldier stands guard at a roadblock on the first day of a movement restrictions in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jan. 13, 2021.Controlling the narrative
 
Bugher said the wide berth the new rules give the government to define fake news is a recipe for abuse.
 
“It sort of allows the government to be the final arbiter of truth. And what we see regularly is that when the governments are given the power to decide what is true and what is false, those powers usually end up in the targeting of government critics,” he said.
 
Muhyiddin’s government has plenty of those, said Ding, who worries the new rules have more to do with “controlling the narrative” than fighting fake news.
 
“This government has faced tremendous criticism from the very day they took office, from the manner in which they took office, and henceforth every single day of how they have conducted themselves. People are very critical of the way they have handled or mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
 
Muhyiddin was appointed prime minister by the king in February 2020 after a sudden shift in political alliances brought the sitting government crashing down, bringing him and his cabinet to power without an election. When Muhyiddin asked the king for the state of emergency, to help him rein in a COVID-19 surge, many saw a prime minister with shrinking support in Parliament desperate to hold on to power by averting the threat of a snap election.
 
Despite early success keeping the pandemic at bay, Malaysia has now racked up the third-most infections in Southeast Asia, with more than 320,000 confirmed cases.
 
The prime minister’s public relations office did not answer VOA’s calls or respond to a request for comment by email.
 
The government defended the fake news ordnance at a press conference Friday.
 
Communications Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said existing laws were ill-suited to keep up with the spread of fake news on social media and that the new rules would make law enforcement more agile.
 
“Our interest is in fighting COVID-19 and we will do whatever it takes,” he said. “We take cognizance of the fact that we have to be fair, we have to be just in carrying out our duties.”
 Fact from fiction
 
Ding said the government would be better off countering fake news by doing more to help Malaysians separate fact from fiction online and urging the social media giants to keep misinformation and disinformation from going viral.
 
Bugher suggested the government step up its own fact-checking and fact-sharing operations rather than risk stifling news that could actually help.
 
“What’s worrying about laws like these is that it can sometimes tamp down good-faith discussion of issues that need to be discussed, because if people don’t feel that they have the ability to say something wrong without going to jail then they’re not going to discuss matters,” he said.
 
“In the context of a pandemic, for example, you really want people to share concerns if they think there may be an outbreak or if you think that the government is not doing what it should to address an outbreak in a certain area,” he added. “These types of laws can really chill that type of speech.”
 
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New Zealand on Saturday marked the second anniversary of one of its most traumatic days, when 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist gunman.Several hundred people gathered at the Christchurch Arena for the remembrance service, which was also livestreamed. A similar service planned for last year was canceled at short notice due to the sudden spread of the coronavirus.Kiran Munir, whose husband, Haroon Mahmood, was killed in the attacks, told the crowd she had lost the love of her life and her soulmate. She said her husband was a loving father of their two children. He’d just finished a doctoral degree and was looking forward to his graduation ceremony when she last saw his smiling face.“Little did I know that the next time I would see him the body and soul would not be together,” she said. “Little did I know that the darkest day in New Zealand’s history had dawned. That day my heart broke into a thousand pieces, just like the hearts of the 50 other families.”Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, said the slaughter was caused by racism and ignorance. “They were attacks on all of humanity,” he said.He said the survivors would never be able to erase the pain in their hearts and would never be the same.“However, the future is in our hands,” he said. “We will go on and we will be positive together.”In the March 15, 2019, attacks, Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 44 people at the Al Noor mosque during Friday prayers before driving to the Linwood mosque, where he killed seven more.Last year Tarrant, 30, pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism, He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.During the service, the names of each of the 51 people who were killed were read out. The efforts of first responders, including police and medics, were also acknowledged.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the crowd that when preparing her speech, she had been at a loss for what to say because words would never change what happened.“But while words cannot perform miracles, they do have the power to heal,” she said.The Muslim community had experienced hatred and racism even before the attacks, she said, and words should be used for change.“There will be an unquestionable legacy from March 15,” Ardern said. “Much of it will be heartbreaking. But it is never too early or too late for the legacy to be a more inclusive nation.”
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Police in New Delhi detained dozens of Rohingya refugees when they came to the office of the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) seeking protection from what they described as harassment by police.More than 200 Rohingya refugees in the northern city of Jammu were detained last week and the police identified the refugees as “illegal immigrants,” according to a statement issued by authorities. The police said the refugees will face deportation to Myanmar, where they had previously fled what has been described by advocates as genocidal violence.After the refugees in Jammu were told that more Rohingya would be detained from the area and that those who hold the UNHCR-issued ID cards would not be spared, some Rohingya families, afraid of being arrested and deported, went to the UNHCR office in Delhi seeking protection.“We have detained 88 Rohingya, including some women and children,” a police officer from the Vikaspuri police station in Delhi told VOA. “Police will act against these illegal immigrants from Myanmar. They could not show their passport and Indian visas. So, we have detained them,” said the officer who refusing to give his name, “they are in police custody now.”The government of Myanmar revoked the citizenship rights of the Rohingya in 1982.Since then, the minority Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighboring Bangladesh and other countries, including India, largely to escape discrimination, violence and poverty. Last year an estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees lived in India, scattered across several states.However, an anti-Rohingya sentiment has been increasing in predominantly Hindu India after the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in 2014. Leaders from BJP and other Hindu nationalist parties have since been demanding that the Rohingya refugees be expelled from the country.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 7 MB480p | 9 MB540p | 13 MB720p | 34 MB1080p | 56 MBOriginal | 151 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioStateless Rohingyas from Myanmar have no way to travel to any country legally, and their status as refugees is not always recognized, as is the case in India. India did not sign the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention and thus treats all Rohingya entering the country as illegal immigrants. There are a few hundred Rohingya currently jailed in India. In the past three years, India deported about 100 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.The UNHCR issues identity cards to registered refugees to help prevent their arbitrary arrest, detention and deportation. However in India hundreds of Rohingya refugees have been arrested and jailed, despite holding valid UNHCR cards. Almost all of the estimated 220 Rohingya refugees who were detained in Jammu last week carried the UNHCR refugee ID cards.A Rohingya community leader in Jammu said the refugees who have been detained in Delhi are afraid of deportation to Myanmar.“One of the arrested Rohingya said to me over the phone that they are being held in a jail-like detention center. ‘To avoid detention in Jammu we came to Delhi seeking protection from the UNHCR,’” the refugee told a community leader who spoke to VOA. The leader who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal by the police said the refugee told him they are in a state of limbo “‘Now we have been detained in Delhi. We are very anxious, shall we be deported to Myanmar.’”UNHCR has voiced concern over Thursday’s detention of 88 Rohingya refugees who traveled to its office in New Delhi to seek assistance, Indrika Ratwatte, director of the UNHCR regional bureau for Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement.“UNHCR is seeking immediate access to those who have been transferred to a government facility at this stage. We urge the Indian authorities to ensure appropriate care and support to these refugees, among whom are a number of women and children.”Abul Hashim, a Rohingya refugee in Jammu said that everyone in his five-member family had UNHCR ID card but still he was afraid they would all be arrested and deported.“People holding UNHCR cards are also being arrested. We are extremely scared of being arrested and deported to Myanmar. Myanmar is still very unsafe for Rohingya. We cannot return home yet,” Hashim told VOA.“The UNHCR has failed to protect us from being identified as illegal immigrants and arrested in India. This is very disappointing for all Rohingya refugees in India,” he added.
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Leaked documents obtained by VOA reveal China asked Myanmar’s military government late last month to tighten pipeline security during ongoing anti-coup protests, suggesting growing tension in what seemed to be a cozy relationship between the neighboring nations.Beijing asked for increased security around the pipeline and help with encouraging more positive news media coverage of China during a February 23 meeting with Burmese officials. Shortly afterward, Myanmar’s generals hired a lobbyist to publicly distance their unpopular regime from China.“China seeking assurances from a brutal and hated regime is the worst one could do at a time like this,” Khin Zaw Win, founder of the Yangon think tank Tampadipa Institute, told VOA on Thursday. “The real problem is the coup, which the people see as a return to military dictatorship.”The protests were triggered by the February 1 coup after the military claimed voter fraud in the November 8 general elections. More than 80% of voters backed the pro-democracy party of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung Sun Suu Kyi. Myanmar’s electoral commission Myanmar nun Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng kneels in front of police to ask security forces to refrain from violence against children and residents amid anti-coup protests in Myitkyina, Myanmar, March 8, 2021, in this still image taken from video.Noting “the distinction is significant,” Yun said that “Chinese frustration with the domestic violence and instability in Myanmar is growing quickly — they are in every way bad for Chinese interests in the country and its international reputation. But it does not suggest that China will abandon its non-interference principle, agree to U.N. sanctions and international intervention just yet.”China’s relationship with the Myanmar military reflects a “coziness” only in comparison to Western countries’ relationship with the military, said Yun.“Inside Myanmar, you could say China has had a cozier relationship with the NLD,” she told VOA. “It was the quasi-democratic Thein Sein government that suspended Chinese projects and agitated anti-China sentiment, and it was the NLD government that helped China to repair its reputation and regain its influence in Myanmar.”The leaked documents from a February 23 meeting show the extent of China’s influence over its neighbor.According to the meeting minutes obtained by VOA’s Burmese Service, Bai Tian, the director-general of the department of external security affairs under China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked Myanmar’s military regime to assure the security of the FILE – Protesters hold signs of detained Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on Feb. 26, 2021.In an interview with Reuters on March 6, Ben-Menashe said Suu Kyi had grown too close to China for the generals’ liking.  ”There’s a real push to move towards the West and the United States as opposed to trying to get closer to the Chinese. They don’t want to be a Chinese puppet,” said Ben-Menashe. “They want to get out of politics completely … but it’s a process.”The Stimson Center’s Yun said, “This is the same argument it played back in 2011 — that Myanmar does not want to be in China’s pocket. But given the severity of the coup and violence, I doubt the argument will gain much traction.”Khin Zaw Win, of the Tampadipa Institute, warned the international community not to trust the lobbyist’s clients.The generals are not holding out “an olive branch at all,” he said. Ben-Menashe’s comments are “a ruse to avert more pressure from the West.”Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, a global affairs think tank, told VOA in a phone interview that it’s basically impossible for the junta to improve relations with the U.S. and the West.“Even if it’s true that they want to improve the relations, they completely undermined the relations by launching the coup, repressing the journalists, occupying the hospitals and killing the innocent people,” he said.Since the coup, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Burmese military. The latest came Wednesday when the U.S. Treasury Department added Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, two adult children of Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup and installed himself as head of the ruling State Administration Council. The U.S. action added six companies the two own or control to its sanctions list, according to the department’s website.”Today, the United States is taking further actions to respond to the violence enabled by Burma’s military leaders, to promote accountability for those responsible for the coup, and to target those who benefit financially from their connections to the military regime,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. ” The leaders of the coup, and their adult family members, should not be able to continue to derive benefits from the regime as it resorts to violence and tightens its stranglehold on democracy.”Last month, on February 11, the U.S. Treasury said it had sanctioned 10 individuals and three organizations “who played a leading role in the overthrow of Burma’s democratically elected government.”US Sanctions Myanmar Military Leaders Involved in CoupTreasury says sanctions not directed at citizens On February 22, it imposed sanctions on two more Myanmar military officials.US Sanctions Myanmar Military Officials Latest economic action in response to coup includes call to reinstate elected government   
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