Mekong Council Set to Discuss Laos’s Don Sahong Dam

 
Ministers from four countries that share the Mekong River are set to discuss this month whether Laos should be required to consult its neighbors before moving ahead with a second controversial dam on the regional waterway, officials said Friday. Laos’s planned Don Sahong dam will be on the agenda when the top council of the Mekong River Commission (MRC)—the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating use of water resources by Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam—meets in Thailand on June 26-27, MRC officials said.

Laos’s neighbors have raised concerns about the transboundary impact of the 260-megawatt project, which is to be built just north of the Cambodian border. They insist it should be put through a formal consultation and technical assessment, while Laos has maintained it should go through MRC procedures that require Vientiane only to provide neighbors information about the project.

Following disagreement over the procedures at a lower-level MRC meeting in January, the water and environment ministers of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam who make up the MRC Council will take up the issue at this month’s meeting, an MRC communications officer told RFA. “At the end of the MRC Joint Committee meeting in January, the four [countries] could not come to any agreement on whether this project should be part of the MRC’s Prior Consultation Process,” the officer said.

“The MRC Council will take a look at this.”

Controversial project

The dam is to be built on the Mekong’s Hou Sahong channel about one mile (2 kilometers) north of the Cambodian border in the Siphandone area where the Mekong splits into multiple braided channels.If it goes forward it will be the second major dam on the Lower Mekong, following the Xayaburi dam that Laos has begun building over objections neighboring countries raised last year. This month’s MRC Council meeting will not touch on the Xayburi project, according to an official from Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The topic of what MRC procedures Laos should follow for the Don Sahong was added to the agenda on the proposal of Vietnam, he said. “We won’t talk about the Xayaburi dam anymore; we will talk about the Don Sahong. We will select this issue for the chairman to include in the agenda,” he told RFA.

Proper procedures

Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand have raised concerns that damming the Hou Sahong will have a greater impact than Laos has acknowledged, particularly on fish migration routes.  Laos says the project is not mainstream dam and will use only 15 percent of Mekong flows.

Hans Guttman, chief executive officer of the Mekong River Commission Secretariat, told Bloomberg News that compromises were possible during the MRC Council meeting. “They could come to some understanding that they should do a limited investigation and joint work on how the impacts can be mitigated and how they would work with impacts on fisheries,” he said.

“There’s still an opportunity for coming to an agreement.”Global green group International Rivers has called the Don Sahong a “ticking time bomb” for Mekong fish.

The project poses a regional security threat for the some 60 million people in Southeast Asia who rely on fish and other products from the river for their nutrition and their livelihoods, the group says.Under MRC rules, member countries are required to engage in “notification” procedures for year-round intrabasin water-use projects and interbasin diversion projects on the Mekong’s tributaries, and for wet-season water use on the mainstream.

“Prior consultation” procedures—the ones Laos’s neighbors are calling for—apply to proposed water use projects on the mainstream in the dry season, diversion of water from the mainstream to other basins during the wet season, and diversion of surplus water to other basins in the dry season.  A third set of rules known as “specific agreement” procedures are required for projects diverting water from the mainstream to other basins in the dry season.

Chinese ships display mounting aggression

A Vietnamese fisheries resources surveillance boat was damaged after being attacked by Chinese ships

The Chinese fleet, including about 120 vessels, also blasted sirens, fired water cannon at and were ready to ram Vietnamese vessels any time, preventing them from approaching the rig, the department said.At the same time, fishing vessels of China, backed by four coast guard ships, kept hampering Vietnamese fishing boats from operating in their traditional fishing grounds within Vietnam’s waters, noted the department.A Vietnamese fisheries resources surveillance boat was damaged after being attacked by Chinese ships

On the day, up to 40 Chinese coast guard ships, more than 30 cargo ships and tugboats, 40-45 fishing vessels and four military ships - two were minesweepers and the others were missile-armed frigates - were maintained at the rig’s site. A Y-8 aircraft was spotted to fly above the rig.
Despite the Chinese aggression, Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance ships continued to maintain their operations at about 9-11 nautical miles from the rig to voice protests and demand China remove its rig immediately out of Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, said the department.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese fishermen continued their normal catching activities about 35-40 nautical miles from the rig, demanding their fishing grounds, it added.

At the beginning of May 2014, China illegally dispatched the rig as well as a large fleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft to Vietnam’s waters and positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. The location is 80 miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.
On May 27, China expanded the rig’s operation by moving it to 15 degrees 33 minutes 22 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 36 seconds east longitude, 25 nautical miles from Tri Ton Island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and 23 nautical miles east-northeast from the old location.On June 3, the oil rig moved yet again to another new position, at 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude. The new position is still completely within Vietnam’s continental shelf.

China aims to occupy entire East Sea: int’l analyst

Hanoians demonstrate against China's illegal oil rig.

The Chinese have been nurturing an ambitious plan to occupy the entire East Sea, turning the nine-dotted line (Đường lưỡi bò, in Vietnamese, which means "cow tongue line") around the dispute territory into reality and grabbing the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam and other countries. (The nine-dotted line is the demarcation line used by the governments of both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) for their island claims of part of the South China Sea.)

In an interview given to VietNamNet, the US analyst stressed that what has happened in recent days in the East Sea is quite predictable. China’s determination to control the lands and waters in the East Sea has been clear to everyone.China has been reinforcing its navy and air force capability in recent years in an attempt to expand its influence and control over the East Sea. It has been carrying out many activities to implement its ambitious plan. The latest one was the dispute with the Philippines at Scarborough Shoal.The deployment of the oil rig in the Vietnamese exclusive economic zone seems to be different from the way China did with the Philippines, but it is actually of the same type.
Firing high-power water cannons and hitting Vietnamese ships proved to be the favorite trickery Chinese like to use because it is very effective. The Chinese seem to avoid the use of fire and military weapons when trying to expand their control in the East Sea.

However, in South East Asia, Vietnam understands China better than any other country. And it is not easy to be trapped by them.Dr. Marvin believes that Vietnam has been responding to the Chinese provocative activities wisely. There is a big gap between China and Vietnam in military strength. If Vietnam sent navy ships to the site to force Chinese ships to retreat, and if fire broke out, the situation would turn bad for Vietnam. And Vietnam did not do this.What Vietnam has done is bring the case to the international community, drawing the world’s attention to China’s provocative acts in the East Sea.

What Vietnam can also do, according to the US analyst, is consult with other South Asian countries which also claim to have sovereignty in the East Sea, namely the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Vietnam and the countries could reach a consensus on joining forces to look for solutions to settle disputes in the region. If so, they could create a common front when confronting China.
“Divide and rule” is a part of Chinese tactics. They want to settle disputes with Vietnam separately, then with the Philippines and later with Malaysia. China does not want to deal with a bloc of united South East Asian countries which have a common voice.

The Philippines has made a wise move to bring the case of China’s statement about the “cow tongue line” to the international court. All international lawyers believe that the Philippines will win the lawsuit, though it will have to wait several years. If this comes true, China’s “invented” nine-dotted line will be officially judged as illegal.The decision of the Philippines to sue China in the international court will be beneficial to all countries in the region. China, which understands well that its claim about the “U-shaped (nine-dotted/cow’s tongue) line” does not have any legal foundation, has shown its hostile attitude to the Filipino action, trying to stop the lawsuit.

China, after taking a series of unilateral provocative activities in the East Sea, has unexpectedly “lowered its voice”, suggesting that it would settle the dispute through negotiations.
Dr. Marvin commented that this is just another artful behavior conducted by China. The country in 2011 once signed a document, calling to settle the disputes peacefully. At that time, many scholars doubted if China would fulfill its commitments. And what is happening now shows that they had reasons to be worried.All the Chinese acts and trickeries, in the US analyst’s opinion, have one goal – turning the U-shaped line into reality – which would allow it to occupy nearly the whole East Sea, and encroach on the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam and other regional countries. China has been attempting to turn the cow tongue line into the territory’s boundary that would be recognized in the world.

However, China cannot implement its plan at once. In order to avoid strong protests from the international community, China tries to be “soft” after every activity that seeks to expand its control in the East Sea, such as the Scarborough Shoal and the HD 981 drilling rig. This is called being “an iron fist in a velvet glove” by some people.China should understand that the international community has lost faith in China, which has conducted activities in an attempt to expand its de facto occupation and control. All the regional countries have become watchful of China, while its good relations and cooperation programs built up in the last many years have been spoiled within a short time.

Pakistani woman: My relatives shot me, threw me in canal for marrying neighbor

 

Yet somehow, 18-year-old Saba Maqsood lived to tell her story. Had she not, Pakistani police say, it could very well have been another honor murder.Those responsible for her horror, Maqsood told reporters Friday, are her father and brother. They shot her because they didn't approve of her marriage to a neighbor, she said.The first bullet hit her cheek, the next one her hand, after which the teenager says she "was slightly conscious, but alive."

"They put me into a sack, tied up the mouth of the sack and threw it into the canal," Maqsood recalled. "They thought I was dead, but I was not."It was in a canal in the city of Hafizabad, a city in Punjab province about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Lahore, that workers at a gas station spotted the sack and the young woman inside and immediately alerted authorities, Hafizabad police officer Ali Akbar told CNN.After corroborating the basics of Maqsood's story, including her injuries, Akbar said, "This seems to be an honor-related crime."

Such crimes -- which the perpetrators rationalize as necessary because the targeted women have somehow brought dishonor on a family -- are hardly unprecedented in Pakistan, a nation of about 180 million people.The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 869 women were victims last year.

One recent case that's gotten worldwide attention is the killing last month of Farzana Parveen, a 25-year-old woman who was publicly beaten to death with bricks in Lahore because she married a man against her family's wishes.There have been 13 arrests in her case, including her father, a brother and a cousin -- Deputy Inspector General Zulfikar Hameed said. 

Suspects in stoning death to go to terrorism courtThe plight of Maqsood -- whose hometown in Gujranwala, another city in Punjab province -- is different from Hameed because she survived.

Akbar said Friday that police have registered complaints against the 18-year-old's brother, father, uncle and aunt."The accused are on the run," the police officer added. "We are hopeful to apprehend them soon."

Cambodian Opposition Slammed Over Charges of Loss of Territory to Vietnam

 

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s administration on Friday hit out at opposition leaders for accusing the government of ceding territory to Vietnam at a ceremony this week commemorating the 65th anniversary of loss of land belonging to the Khmer Krom ethnic minority to Hanoi.

Government spokesman Keo Remy said Friday that opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief Sam Rainsy and his deputy Kem Sokha were “playing politics” by making such accusations.“Their allegations are groundless,” he said of the claim that Hun Sen had ceded islands, such as Phu Quoc (in Khmer, Koh Tral), and other land to Vietnam, during a press conference in the capital Phnom Penh on Friday.

On Wednesday, while attending an event to mark the day in 1949 when France officially turned over its Cochinchina colony—which included the former Kampuchea Krom provinces—to Hanoi, Sam Rainsy accused Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of facilitating the loss to Vietnam of additional Cambodian territory through economic land concessions.

“Hun Sen’s government is granting land concession licenses to Vietnam,” Sam Rainsy said, referring to the many Vietnamese companies that have set up rubber plantations and other businesses in the country.“They are allowing Vietnam to encroach on our land,” he said.Sam Rainsy likened the granting of concessions to a form of “colonization” which he said led to Vietnamese control of Kampuchea Krom.

“What is happening now in Cambodia is reminiscent of the Vietnamese colonization of Kampuchea Krom [until the 20th century] when more and more foreign settlers were occupying a Khmer land, which was finally annexed by Vietnam following a dramatic change in the demographic balance,” he said.Sam Rainsy who, along with Kem Sokha, attended the event at Phnom Penh’s Wat Samakki Raingsey on the invitation of Khmer Krom activists, also promised the roughly 600 people in attendance that if the CNRP was elected to government, he would grant identification cards and citizen’s rights to members of the ethnic minority that leave Vietnam and move to Cambodia.Earlier, Kem Sokha had said that if his party was elected, he would make June 4 a national holiday to remember the loss of Kampuchea Krom, and pledged to provide greater protection of rights to Khmer Krom who resettle in Cambodia.

Princess Sisowath Pong Neary Monipong, a representative of the Royal Palace who attended the ceremony, and who is also Khmer Krom, ended the proceedings by saying that she neither “praised nor blamed” the speakers or the issues that were discussed, according to a report by the Cambodia Daily.Phnom Penh municipal officials earlier in the week had banned Wat Samakki Raingsey, which is about 60 percent populated by Khmer Krom monks and is often seen as a refuge of last resort for members of the minority, from hosting a public forum at the ceremony, fearing a rise in racial tension.

Protecting rights

France’s Cochinchina colony, which included the former provinces of Kampuchea Krom, was officially ceded to Vietnam in 1949, but had been under Vietnamese control since the mid-17th century.

One of the most important seaports of Kampuchea Krom was once called Prey Nokor, but is now known as Ho Chi Minh City—the financial hub of Vietnam and one of the most bustling metropolises in Southeast Asia.Since Hanoi took control, the Khmer Krom living in Vietnam—believed to number considerably more than one million and who are ethnically similar to most Cambodians—have increasingly faced social persecution and strict religious controls, according to rights groups.

Khmer Kampuchea Friends Association director Thach Setha told RFA’s Khmer Service that the Khmer Krom in Vietnam are not demanding their land back, but simply asking Hanoi to grant them their indigenous rights.“It is the responsibility of the government and King [Norodom Sihamoni] to decide whether they want to claim the land back,” he said.Some Khmer Krom groups have recently called for Cambodians around the world to travel to the former Kampuchea Krom provinces to “bridge the gap” with the ethnic minority.

Tran Van Thong, a spokesman with the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh, told RFA that Hanoi welcomes all visitors to the country, but warned that any revolt campaign would be dealt with according to Vietnamese and international law.“Americans, Laos, Thais or Cambodians that travel to Vietnam in peace are welcome, but if they go to Vietnam to break any laws we will resolve those violations according to law,” he said.

He denied that Cambodia had “lost” Kampuchea Krom to Vietnam, adding that the land had “never belonged” to the kingdom in the first place.“The claim that Cambodia lost land to Vietnam is groundless,” he said, adding that “there is no evidence” to support it.

Persecution

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has said the Khmer Krom face serious restrictions of freedom of expression, assembly, association, information, and movement in Vietnam.  The Vietnamese government has banned Khmer Krom human rights publications and tightly controls the practice of Theravada Buddhism by the minority group, which sees the religion as a foundation of their distinct culture and ethnic identity.

On the other side of the border, the Khmer Krom who leave Vietnam for Cambodia remain one of the country’s “most disenfranchised groups,” Human Rights Watch said.Because they are often perceived as Vietnamese by Cambodians, many Khmer Krom in Cambodia face social and economic discrimination. They also face hurdles in legalizing their status in the country, as authorities have failed to grant many Khmer Krom citizenship or residence rights despite promises to treat them as Cambodian citizens, according to Human Rights Watch.

Shan Rebels Call for Repeal of Unlawful Association Act

 
A powerful ethnic Shan rebel group in Myanmar called on the government in talks Friday to repeal a law used to detain a regional politician linked with the group in the midst of nationwide cease-fire talks.Leaders from the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and its military wing the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) made the demand to abolish the law during peace talks in Yangon with the government’s top peace negotiator Minister Aung Min.

The call followed the month-long detention of Sai Jan, a village representative for the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), who was charged under a provision of the 1908 Unlawful Association Act.He was charged under Article 71/1 of the law for his association with the RCSS/SSA-S.SSA spokesman Colonel Sai La said the leaders had complained to Aung Min that Sai Jan should not have been punished for his ties to the RCSS/SSA-S, which has a cease-fire agreement with the government.

The leaders told the negotiators it should not be considered illegal for individuals to associate with any rebel groups who have peace agreements with the government and are involved in the nationwide cease-fire talks, he said.  “We discussed today on the problems that are not supposed to happen, such as the charge against Sai Jan,” he said. “We came here to discuss preventing further problems including people being charged under 17/1 while all ethnic groups are collaborating for cease-fire and peace.”

“It is the government’s responsibility to abolish these laws [and] not consider us banned groups.”“The government should announce that all political parties, ethnic armed groups, and individual who are working together for peace are free from [being considered] unlawful associations.”

Controversial law

Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act sets out prison terms of between two and three years for being a member of an “unlawful association,” making contributions to one, or assisting its operations.Sai Jan, SNLD chairman of Nanlinmine Village in Shan state’s Kyaington Township, was charged on May 5. But the charges were withdrawn on May 29 following an outcry from the RCSS/SSA and he was freed from Kengtung prison.

The Unlawful Association Act was used during the decades of military junta rule to detain those linked to rebel groups. President Thein Sein’s reformist government has been racing to end decades of conflict with the country’s ethnic rebel groups and pushing for them to jointly sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement. The RCSS/SSA-S has not joined the Nationwide Cease-fire Coordination Team of 16 rebel groups hammering out the joint accord, but has attended government-NCCT talks and expressed support for the endeavor.

Meanwhile near the Shan state capital Taunggyi, a village representative for Myanmar’s main opposition party was found shot to death on Thursday morning. The man, Sai San Tun, a local representative for the National League for Democracy (NLD), had campaigned for the return of land grabbed by the Myanmar military in an area where government troops, the SSA-S, and an ethnic Pa-O militia are known to operate.