Thousands flee into Thailand following Myanmar air strikes
Yangon: Thai authorities along the country's border with Myanmar are bracing on Monday for a possible influx of more ethnic Karen villagers fleeing new airstrikes by the Myanmar military.
Myanmar aircraft carried out three strikes overnight Sunday, according to Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian relief agency that delivers medical and other assistance to villagers. The strikes severely injured one child but caused no apparent fatalities, a member of the agency said.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on Monday acknowledged the problems across his country's western border and said his government is preparing for a possible influx of people.
We don't want to have mass migration into our territory, but we will consider human rights, too," Prayut said.
Asked about people who have already fled into Thailand, Prayut said, We have prepared some places, but we don't want to talk about the preparation of refugee centers at the moment. We won't go that far."
About 2,500 people, including 200 students, have crossed the Salween River into northern Thailand's Mae Hong Son province, according to Burma Free Rangers. An estimated 10,000 people are believed to be displaced in Myanmar's northern Karen state, the agency said.
Video shot Sunday shows a group of villagers, including many young children, resting in a forest clearing inside Myanmar after fleeing their homes. They carried their possessions in bundles and baskets.
The bombings may have been retaliation against the Karen National Liberation Army for having attacked and captured a Myanmar government military outpost on Saturday morning. The group is fighting for greater autonomy for the Karen people.
Leaders of the resistance to last month's military coup that toppled Myanmar's elected government are seeking to have the Karen and other ethnic groups band together and join them as allies, which would add an armed element to their struggle.
According to Thoolei News, an online site that carries official information from the Karen National Union, eight government soldiers were captured in Saturday's attack and 10 were killed. The report said one Karen guerrilla died.
The airstrikes mark an escalation in the increasingly violent crackdown by the Myanmar government against opponents of the Feb. 1 military takeover.
At least 114 people across the country were killed by security forces on Saturday alone, including several children a toll that prompted a U.N. human rights expert to accuse the junta of committing mass murder and criticize the international community for not doing enough to stop it.
The U.N. Security Council is likely to hold closed consultations on the escalating situation in Myanmar, diplomats said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement. The council has condemned the violence and called for a restoration of democracy, but has not yet considered possible sanctions against the military, which would require support or an abstention by Myanmar's neighbor and friend China.
In Sunday's bombings, Myanmar military aircraft attacked a Karen guerrilla position in an area on the Salween River in Karen state's Mutraw district, according to workers for two humanitarian relief agencies.
Two guerrillas were killed and many more were wounded in those attacks, a member of the Free Burma Rangers said.
On Saturday night, two Myanmar military planes twice bombed Deh Bu Noh village in Mutraw district, killing at least two villagers.
The coup, which ousted the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. It has again made Myanmar the focus of international scrutiny as security forces have repeatedly fired into crowds of protesters.
As of Sunday, at least 459 people have been killed since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has tallied deaths it was able to verify. The true toll is thought to be higher.
Funerals were held in Myanmar on Monday for those who died protesting against the coup over the weekend. In Yangon, friends and family gathered to say farewell to 49-year-old Mya Khaing, who was fatally shot on Saturday.
Friends told media that he was always at the front of protests.
As his coffin was moved toward the crematorium, mourners sang a defiant song from an earlier 1988 uprising against military rule. There is no pardon for you till the end of the world, the words said of the military, calling it monsters. We will never forgive what you have done. (AP)
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Rahul Gandhi unveils 5 poll guarantees for Kerala, targets PM Modi and CM Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): In a high-stakes campaign here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday combined five populist electoral pledges with a fierce assault on Kerala’s ruling Communists, alleging Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is being "controlled" by Narendra Modi in the same manner Donald Trump exerts influence over the Prime Minister.
Speaking at the valedictory function of the state-wide ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’ led by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan as part of the Congress-led UDF’s preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, Gandhi said, “The same way Trump is controlling Modi, the Prime Minister is controlling the Chief Minister of Kerala."
Announcing five guarantees for the people of poll-bound Kerala, he said, “The first guarantee is free travel for all women in KSRTC buses."
The other guarantees announced by him were a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 for college-going girl students, increase of welfare pension to Rs 3,000 per month, a new health insurance scheme worth Rs 25 lakh coverage for every household in the name of former chief minister Oommen Chandy and interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for youngsters who want to start businesses.
In addition, he said a dedicated ministry would be created for the welfare of senior citizens.
Launching a scathing attack on Pinarayi Vijayan, Gandhi said PM Modi is "controlling the Chief Minister".
He alleged that even CPI(M) workers were aware of this and would admit it.
“I want to understand why the CBI and ED take action against opposition politicians but do not take action against the Chief Minister of Kerala,” he said.
Gandhi said there were 36 cases against him and that he was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate for 55 hours.
“Why has the ED taken no action against the Chief Minister and his family? The reason is they are working together,” he alleged.
According to him, in Kerala, it was not the CPI(M) and BJP, but the “CJP” that was working together to defeat the UDF.
Gandhi also accused the LDF government of "functioning in the interests of big corporates".
“This is the most corporatist government Kerala has ever seen. It is against the interests of workers, small businesses and farmers and is working for the interests of the biggest businessmen,” he alleged.
He said the CPI should be renamed the “Corporate Party of India”.
“At least stand for what you say you are,” he said.
Referring to the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala temple, Gandhi claimed that the investigation was prevented from reaching the top leadership.
“Don’t worry, we will take strict action against those who dishonoured Sabarimala."
He also alleged that the LDF government had created a serious unemployment situation in the state.
“Modi has destroyed the employment system in India and the CPI(M) has destroyed it in Kerala,” he said.
Taking on the Centre, Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister had “let the country down”.
“He has betrayed the country,” Gandhi said.
He said he was using the word deliberately and believed the Prime Minister had "betrayed the country" by signing the trade deal with the United States.
Gandhi claimed that the consequences of the agreement would be borne by the people of India.
“No Prime Minister before him opened our agriculture to American agriculture. Large American mechanised firms are going to compete with small Indian labour-intensive firms,” he said.
He said the deal would lead to devastation for farmers cultivating crops such as cotton, corn, pulses, fruits and soybeans.
Gandhi also claimed that the Prime Minister had "compromised" the country’s energy security.
“Imagine the Prime Minister of India committing to President Trump that we will buy oil from where America wants us to. Imagine a country as powerful as ours having to take permission from the US if we want to buy oil from Russia,” he said.
Referring to the trade deal, he said the US could extract data from India, which he described as the "most valuable asset" in the era of artificial intelligence.
“AI is all about data and India, with 1.4 billion people, is the largest producer of data. All of it has been signed away by Prime Minister Modi,” he alleged.
Earlier in the day, during a dialogue with the Information Technology (IT) Fraternity at Technopark here, Gandhi said that if India had said that its data was the most valuable in the world, there would have been no taxes on agriculture or on small and medium businesses.
He claimed that, except him speaking out against it, there was "not a peep" in India when its data was "handed over" to the US as part of the deal signed by the central government.
During his interaction with the tech professionals, the LoP in Lok Sabha also said that China has built a "superb and unmatched" industrial system in the world, but the neighbouring nation was "coercive and undemocratic".
He was also concerned that China dominated the electric motors and batteries technology which saw wide usage in the Ukraine-Russia war and the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
"That is a huge problem," he said, adding that he was confident that if aligned properly, an Indian company can take on the Chinese in that space.
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