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☆ Myanmar: Hundreds of fleeing Rohingya reportedly killed in drone strikes as fears mount of ethnic cleansing
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Avery Schmitz | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Renewed fears of ethnic cleansing against the stateless Rohingya Muslim community are mounting after reports that hundreds of people, including women and children, were killed by drone strikes while fleeing violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state last week. Witnesses and Rohingya activists told CNN that a series of drone strikes on August 5 hit civilians fleeing fighting and violence in their villages in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine. The displaced families had been waiting to cross the river to Bangladesh at the time of the attack, they said. Forced recruitment of Rohingya men and boys is stoking religious tensions between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities, the report said. “Ethnic Rohingya and Rakhine civilians are bearing the brunt of the atrocities that the Myanmar military and opposition Arakan Army are committing,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Persons: Rohingya, “, ”, –, …, Orla Murphy, Hasan, Rehman Asad, Mohammad Elias, Elias, ” Elias, Elaine Pearson Organizations: CNN, Arakan Army, AA, Myanmar, United Nations, International Court of Justice, Free Rohingya Coalition, Resource Management, Sans, MSF, “, ” CNN, Bangladesh’s Border Guard Force, Human Rights, Human Rights Watch Locations: Rakhine, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Ma, Maungdaw, Myanmar’s, Muangdaw, Lwin, Rohingya, Cox’s Bazar, Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, “, Buthidaung, Arakan, Asia

☆ Indonesia Presidential Frontrunner Skips Press Freedom Event
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Two of Indonesia's three presidential contenders pledged to protect press freedom in the world's third-largest democracy at a weekend event that frontrunner Prabowo Subianto didn't attend. On the last day of campaigning, ex-Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and ex-Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo signed the National Press Council's written declarations to uphold democracy and press freedom. It was unclear if Prabowo, represented at the Saturday event by the head of his campaign team, signed the declaration. He denies the accusations, but critics have questioned Prabowo's commitment to protecting human rights. "Two of the main political teams have done Indonesian voters a service by sharing their views," said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Persons: Prabowo Subianto didn't, Joko Widodo, Anies Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo, Prabowo, pip, Rosan Roeslani, Rosan, Ganjar, Elaine Pearson, Bernadette Christina Munthe, Ananda Teresia, Kanupriya Kapoor, Tom Hogue Organizations: Central Java, National Press, Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch Locations: JAKARTA, Jakarta, Asia

“The group participants remain detained at the immigration center in a shared cell with 80 people,” the post said. The seven band members were arrested last Thursday after playing a concert on the southern resort island of Phuket, reportedly for not having proper working papers. After paying a fine, the band members were sent to the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok. The detained musicians “include Russia citizens as well as dual nationals of Russia and other countries, including Israel and Australia,” the group Human Rights Watch said in a statement Tuesday. Andrei Lugovoi, a member of the lower house of Russia's parliament, called the band members “scum” for their criticism of Russia's military operations in Ukraine.

Persons: Ilya Ilyin, “, ”, Elaine Pearson, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Gudkov, Gudkov, Andrei Lugovoi, ” Lugovoi, Alexander Litvinenko Organizations: —, Facebook, RIA Novosti, Immigration Detention, Human Rights Watch, Rights Watch, AP, Kremlin, Russian Foreign Ministry, YouTube, Spotify Locations: BANGKOK, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Russian, Phuket, Bangkok, Australia, Asia, ”, Britain, London

☆ Chau Van Kham: Australian retiree accused of terrorism freed from prison in Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Acting Australian Prime Minister Richard Marles said Chau Van Kham was released on humanitarian grounds and “in the spirit of friendship” between Australia and Vietnam. The Vietnamese government declared the California-based Viet Tan, or Vietnam Reform Party, a terrorist organization in 2016, accusing it of recruiting and training armed operatives. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese traveled to Vietnam last month to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. “We share the happy news that Mr Chau Van Kham is well and has returned to his family today,” the statement said, according to Amnesty. Pearson said Kham was one of more than 150 political prisoners detained in Vietnam for peaceful acts of free expression.

Persons: Australia CNN —, Richard Marles, ” Marles, Viet Tan, Tan, it’s, Anthony Albanese, Kham’s, Dan Nguyen, Chau, “, ” Elaine Pearson, Pearson, Kham, Pham Doan Trang, Mai Phan, Dang Dinh Bach, Hoang, Hong, ” Pearson Organizations: Australia CNN, Australian, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Vietnam Reform Party, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Human Rights Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Sydney, Vietnam, California, United States, Asia

WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. rights groups plan protests next week against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington over what they call India's deteriorating human rights record, even though experts do not expect Washington to be publicly critical of New Delhi. Washington hopes for closer ties with the world's largest democracy, which it sees as a counterweight to China, but rights advocates worry that geopolitics will overshadow human rights issues. The United States has said its human rights concerns related to India include the Indian government's targeting of religious minorities, dissidents and journalists. In a letter to Biden, Human Rights Watch's Asia Division director Elaine Pearson urged the White House to raise concerns, both publicly and privately, about human rights in India during Modi's visit. Advocacy groups have also raised concerns over alleged human rights abuses under Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Modi, Joe Biden, Washington, Howdy Modi, Donald Trump, Biden, Elaine Pearson, Donald Camp, Camp, George W, Bush, Antony Blinken, Michael Kugelman, Kanishka Singh, Simon Lewis, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Don Durfee, Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell Organizations: Indian, Indian American Muslim Council, Veterans, Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition, House, United, Hindu, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Asia, Reuters, Biden, State Department, Strategic, International Studies, U.S . State Department, World Press, 161st, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, South Asia Institute, Wilson, Thomson Locations: Washington, New Delhi, Peace, China, United States, India, New York, Texas, Gujarat, U.S, Karnataka

Hong Kong CNN —Fang Bin, a retailer turned citizen journalist who documented the early outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhan, has been released after more than three years detention in China, a family member told CNN. In one video, Fang, a Wuhan resident who sold clothing, showed hospital corridors crowded with patients and their desperate relatives. Rights groups had repeatedly called for Fang’s release and information about his case and of others who were also detained after sharing information about Wuhan outbreak. Both had reported on China’s initial Covid outbreak in Wuhan in early 2020. Authorities have never confirmed how many people had been detained or prosecuted in connection with sharing information on the pandemic.

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