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‘The worry is Russia’: UN delays Myanmar representation decision

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‘The worry is Russia’: UN delays Myanmar representation decision

Bangkok, Thailand and Yangon, Myanmar – The United Nations has delayed a call on who ought to characterize Myanmar amid concern that Russia, which has change into more and more near Myanmar’s coup leaders, may sabotage efforts to achieve a world consensus on the crisis-torn nation.

The UN’s Credentials Committee, composed of 9 UN-member states, together with China, Russia and america, began assembly on November 29. Into consideration is who ought to characterize Myanmar: sitting UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, appointed by the elected authorities of chief Aung San Suu Kyi, or a nominee of the generals who staged the coup that overthrew her authorities in February 2021.

The committee will submit its suggestions to the United Nations Common Meeting (UNGA), which often rubber stamps the recommendation given.

The query over Myanmar’s UN illustration displays the added difficulties going through the anti-coup motion at a time when geopolitical tensions have escalated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Described as “two authoritarian powers… working collectively” by NATO Secretary-Common Jens Stoltenberg, the break up between Russia and China on one aspect, and different elements of worldwide group has widened, analysts say, and strongman Vladimir Putin and Chinese language chief Xi Jinping have proven much less urge for food to compromise.

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Regardless of that, the US, China and Russia would most likely want to not have a public spat over Myanmar’s illustration, mentioned veteran diplomat and former Dutch ambassador to Myanmar Laetitia van den Assum.

“These powers have sufficient main points on their plates as it’s. On the similar time, nonetheless, China and Russia would little question wish to see Kyaw Moe Tun go.”

Kyaw Moe Tun, who famously made the three-fingered salute of the anti-coup motion contained in the UNGA, stays the nation’s consultant [United Nations via YouTube and AFP]

Kyaw Moe Tun, who remained in his put up after the coup, voted this 12 months to sentence Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to droop Russia’s membership on the UN Human Rights Council. He’s backed by Myanmar’s Nationwide Unity Authorities (NUG), established by the nation’s elected and now-removed legislators.

Each Beijing and Moscow have publicly backed senior common Min Aung Hlaing’s pariah regime, at the same time as international locations in Southeast Asia toughened up their previously-lukewarm pushback towards the army. Greater than 2,500 folks have been killed within the army’s crackdown because it seized energy in February 2021, in accordance with the Help Affiliation for Political Prisoners, a civil society group monitoring the state of affairs.

The UN Credentials Committee had initially agreed to maintain Kyaw Moe Tun for an additional 12 months, in accordance with a Western diplomat concerned within the course of. “The concern all alongside is Russia,” the diplomat mentioned.

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Now that the choice has been delayed, critics fear that it opens the door for Russia to choose a battle on behalf of the internationally-isolated Myanmar army. Failure to achieve a consensus on the committee would result in a vote within the UNGA.

“Moscow may very well be problematic, ought to they select to be. Whereas they accepted the NUG to manage the illustration within the UN in 2021, Russia is in a really completely different place diplomatically as we speak following their invasion of Ukraine and their army setbacks,” Zachary Abuza, a professor on the Nationwide Conflict School within the US who focuses on Southeast Asian politics.

“I don’t need to overstate Naypyidaw’s significance to Moscow. It’s a second-tier client-state, however as we speak Russia has few mates, and Min Aung Hlaing has been sycophantic in direction of President Putin, in his determined try to garner worldwide legitimacy.”

Cosying as much as Putin

Moscow has been actively supporting the army, inviting Min Aung Hlaing to Russia, shielding the regime from UN Safety Council sanctions, and offering arms and petroleum.

“Past the re-appointment of Kyaw Moe Tun within the UN, Russia is being tough to work with [in terms of reaching a consensus in the international community to pressure the regime] and is publicly backing the junta. China appears to be consolidating its assist for the regime as properly,” mentioned Scot Marciel, former US ambassador to Myanmar.

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“It’s completely different from 2021. They supply tangible assist for the junta, whereas those that assist the resistance and the anti-coup motion are extra rhetorical of their assist.”

Min Aung Hlaing and Vladimir Putin shake hands at a summit in Vladivostok, Russia. They look pleased to see each other and are smiling. The flags of Myanmar and Russia are in the background.
Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing secured a longed-for assembly with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 2022 Jap Financial Discussion board in Vladivostok, Russia, in September [Valery Sharifulin/TASS via AFP]

Min Aung Hlaing met Putin for the primary time for the reason that coup in September on the sidelines of the Moscow-organised Jap Financial Discussion board (EEF) in Vladivostok, a metropolis within the far east of Russia.

A delegation from the Myanmar army’s Ministry of Science and Expertise final month studied a nuclear energy plant in Russia and inked some offers, in accordance with Myanmar media Than Lwin Instances. These agreements included a plan to construct a nuclear “know-how hub” with a small reactor in Yangon, mentioned army defector Captain Kaung Thu Win.

“The [Myanmar] army mentioned they received’t use [the project] to make weapons. Nevertheless, out of sight, it might produce weapons after the nuclear plant is constructed,” the defector famous, in accordance with Than Lwin Instances, warning that this could pose a big risk to folks in Myanmar.

Russia’s high-profile interactions with the generals haven’t gone unnoticed in China.

“Myanmar’s army authorities is at the moment shut out of most regional summits and sanctioned by a number of Western international locations. Myanmar, being increasingly remoted, has more and more sought diplomatic assist and armaments from Russia,” famous Chinese language educational Lin Xixing in an evaluation printed earlier this 12 months. Lin was affiliated with Jinan College within the southern metropolis of Guangzhou and used to work within the Chinese language authorities.

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The Chinese language scholar mentioned that “Myanmar’s diplomatic stance has utterly shifted to Russia, and it has change into extra assured within the political sport,” referring to the army’s plan to carry an electoral train in 2023.

The pariah regime “appears to get pleasure from some measure of pragmatic acceptance by China and to a lesser extent India, and outright robust assist by Russia”, famous a December 1 briefing paper by Joanne Lin and Moe Thuzar of the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Min Aung Hlaing has been fast to return the favour to each patrons.

His regime voiced assist for Russia’s invasion whereas the army’s proxy celebration, the Union Solidarity and Improvement Social gathering (USDP), accused then-US Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi of destabilising the area together with her go to to Taiwan in August.

A bunch of worldwide legislators concluded final month, following a four-month inquiry, that “steadfast and uncritical” assist from Russia, China and India was enabling the army to maintain itself regardless of the continued pushback by the anti-coup motion, together with armed fighters.

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The NUG continues to throw its weight behind Kyaw Moe Tun.

“The NUG wholly stands behind Kyaw Moe Tun who has risen to the event and on this darkish time has confirmed himself not solely to be an ardent and tireless supporter of human rights and democracy, but additionally a really expert and succesful diplomat,” Dr Sasa, NUG’s Minister for Worldwide Cooperation, instructed Al Jazeera.

“The army hope to manage the worldwide narrative, to suppress the reality, and to stalemate any nascent worldwide response by ‘legitimising’ themselves by way of the credentials committee,” mentioned the minister, who spoke from an undisclosed location.

Anti-coup fighters and protesters at a rally in Myanmar's Sagaing region. They are shouting as they walk. Some have weapons and one is carrying a megaphone.
The Myanmar army continues to face opposition to its rule, together with from civilian armed teams linked to the NUG [File: AFP]

Dr Sasa warns that accepting the army’s nominee would most likely open the door to offering support and doing enterprise with the generals “and naturally, a PR blitz with photographs of generals on the world stage”.

Regardless of assist for the NUG, the trail forward for its formal recognition stays unsure, the ISEAS paper mentioned.

Beijing and Moscow’s veto energy on the UN Safety Council and differing preferences throughout the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations could proceed to offer the regime “with the expectation that it may nonetheless pursue recognition and legitimacy through its plans for an election in 2023,” it noticed.

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The CW’s Top Exec on Walker’s Uncertain Fate, Potential All American ‘Reboot’ and Superman & Lois’ ‘F–king Awesome’ Sendoff

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The CW’s Top Exec on Walker’s Uncertain Fate, Potential All American ‘Reboot’ and Superman & Lois’ ‘F–king Awesome’ Sendoff


CW Exec Talks Cancelled and Renewed Shows: ‘Walker,’ ‘All American’



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Justice Dept. makes arrests in North Korean identity theft scheme involving thousands of IT workers

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Justice Dept. makes arrests in North Korean identity theft scheme involving thousands of IT workers

The Justice Department announced Thursday multiple arrests in a series of complex stolen identity theft cases that officials say are part of a wide-ranging scheme that generates enormous proceeds for the North Korean government, including for its weapons program.

The conspiracy involves thousands of North Korean information technology workers who prosecutors say are dispatched by the government to live abroad and who rely on the stolen identities of Americans to obtain remote employment at U.S.-based Fortune 500 companies, jobs that give them access to sensitive corporate data and lucrative paychecks. The companies did not realize the workers were overseas.

NORTH KOREA’S MENACING NUCLEAR THREAT IS TOO DANGEROUS TO IGNORE. US MUST LEAD BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT

The fraud scheme is a way for heavily sanctioned North Korea, which is cut off from the U.S. financial system, to take advantage of a “toxic brew” of converging factors, including a high-tech labor shortage in the U.S. and the proliferation of remote telework, Marshall Miller, the Justice Department’s principal associate deputy attorney general, said in an interview.

The seal for the Justice Department is photographed in Washington, Nov. 18, 2022. The Justice Department has announced three arrests in a complex stolen identity scheme that officials say generates enormous proceeds for the North Korean government, including for its weapons program.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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The Justice Department says the cases are part of a broader strategy to not only prosecute individuals who enable the fraud but also to build partnerships with other countries and to warn private-sector companies of the need to be vigilant — and not duped — about the actual identities of the people they’re hiring.

FBI and Justice Department officials launched an initiative in March centered on the fraud scheme and last year announced the seizure of more than a dozen website domains used by North Korean IT workers.

“More and more often, compliance programs at American companies and organizations are on the front lines of protecting our national security,” Miller said. “Corporate compliance and national security are now intertwined like never before.”

The Justice Department said in court documents in one case that more than 300 companies — including a high-end retail chain and a “premier Silicon Valley technology company” — have been affected and that more than $6.8 million in revenue has been generated for the workers, who are based outside of the U.S., including in China and Russia.

Those arrested include an Arizona woman, Christina Marie Chapman, who prosecutors say facilitated the scheme by helping the workers obtain and validate stolen identities, receiving and hosting laptops from U.S. companies who thought they were sending the devices to legitimate employees and helping the workers connect remotely to companies.

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According to the indictment, Chapman ran more than one “laptop farm” where U.S. companies sent computers and paychecks to IT workers they did not realize were overseas.

At Chapman’s laptop farms, she allegedly connected overseas IT workers who logged in remotely to company networks so it appeared the logins were coming from the United States. She also is alleged to have received paychecks for the overseas IT workers at her home, forging the beneficiaries’ signatures for transfer abroad and enriching herself by charging monthly fees.

Other defendants include a Ukrainian man, Oleksandr Didenko, who prosecutors say created fake accounts at job search platforms that he then sold to overseas workers who went on to apply for jobs at U.S. companies. He was was arrested in Poland last week, and the Justice Department said it had seized his company’s online domain.

A Vietnamese national, Minh Phuong Vong, was arrested in Maryland on charges of fraudulently obtaining a job at a U.S. company that was actually performed by remote workers who posed as him and were based overseas.

It was not immediately clear if any of the three had lawyers.

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Separately, the State Department said it was offering a reward for information about certain North Korean IT workers who officials say were assisted by Chapman.

And the FBI, which conducted the investigations, issued a public service announcement that warned companies about the scheme, encouraging them to implement identity verification standards through the hiring process and to educate human resources staff and hiring managers about the threat.

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Taiwan grapples with divisive history as new president prepares for power

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Taiwan grapples with divisive history as new president prepares for power

Taipei, Taiwan – Even as Taiwan prepares for the inauguration of its eighth president next week, it continues to struggle over the legacy of the island’s first president, Chiang Kai-shek.

To some, Chiang was the “generalissimo” who liberated the Taiwanese from the Japanese colonisers. To many others, he was the oppressor-in-chief who declared martial law and ushered in the period of White Terror that would last until 1992.

For decades, these duelling narratives have divided Taiwan’s society and a recent push for transitional justice only seems to have deepened the fault lines. Now, the division is raising concern about whether it might affect Taiwan’s ability to mount a unified defence against China, which has become increasingly assertive in its claim over the self-ruled island.

“There is a concern when push comes to shove if the civilians work well with the military to defend Taiwan,” said historian Dominic Meng-Hsuan Yang of the University of Missouri in the United States.

On February 28, 1947, Chiang’s newly-arrived Kuomintang (KMT) troops suppressed an uprising by Taiwan natives, killing as many as 28,000 people in what became known as the February 28 Incident. In the four-decade-long martial law era that followed, thousands more perished.

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This traumatic history met its official reckoning in 2018, when the Taiwan government set up its Transitional Justice Commission modelled after truth and reconciliation initiatives in Africa, Latin America and North America to redress historical human rights abuses and other atrocities.

People attend the commemoration of the February 28 Incident in Taipei [Violet Law/Al Jazeera]

When the commission concluded in May 2022, however, advocates and observers said they had seen little truth and hardly any reconciliation.

Almost from the first days of the commission, the meting-out of transitional justice became politicised across the blue-versus-green demarcation that has long defined Taiwan’s sociopolitical landscape, with blue representing KMT supporters and green the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

A recently published anthology entitled Ethics of Historical Memory: From Transitional Justice to Overcoming the Past explains how the way Taiwanese remember the past shapes how they think about transitional justice. And as that recollection is determined by which camp they support, each champions their own version of Taiwan’s history.

“That’s why transitional justice seems so stagnant now,” explained Jimmy Chia-Shin Hsu, research professor at the legal research institute Academia Sinica who contributed to and edited the book. “Whatever truth it uncovers would be mired in the blue-green narrative.”

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A non-partisan view, Hsu said, is to credit the DPP with codifying transitional justice and Lee Teng-hui, the first democratically elected KMT president, with breaking the taboo on broaching the February 28 Incident.

The past shaping the future

In February, Betty Wei attended the commemoration for the February 28 incident for the first time and listened intently to the oral history collected from the survivors. Wei, 30, said she wanted to learn more about what happened because her secondary school textbook had brushed over what many consider a watershed event in a few cryptic lines, and many of her contemporaries showed little interest.

“In recent years the voices pushing for transitional justice have grown muted,” Wei told Al Jazeera. “A lot of people in my generation think the scores are for previous generations to settle.”

Statues of former Taiwan leader Chiang Kai-shek lined up in a park. Two of the statues in front show him seated. They are painted red. Some behind are standing. They are white or bronze.
The Transitional Justice Committee recommended the relocation of Chiang Kai-shek statues from public areas, but many remain [File: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA]

In Taiwan, the past is never past, and rather it is fodder for new fights.

As the DPP gears up for an unprecedented third consecutive term, the unfinished business of removing the island’s remaining statues of Chiang has resurfaced as the latest front in what Yang, the historian, described to Al Jazeera as “this memory war”.

More than half of the initial 1,500 monuments have been taken down over the past two years, with the remaining statues mostly on military installations.

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Yang argues that is because the top brass rose through the ranks under martial law and many still regard Chiang as their leader, warts and all. For them, toppling the statues would be an attack on their history.

The statues embody “the historical legacy the military wants to keep alive,” Yang said. “That’s a source of tension between the military and the DPP government.”

On the eve of William Lai Ching-te taking his oath as the island’s next president, Taiwanese will for the first time mark the “White Terror Memorial Day” on May 19, the day when martial law was declared in 1949.

While it is clear Taiwanese have promised to never forget, whom and how to forgive has become far murkier.

As the former chairman of the Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation, the first NGO advocating for the cause, Cheng-Yi Huang lauded the government’s move to take over the KMT’s private archives in recent years but lamented there had been too little truth-seeking so far.

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For example, under the February 28 Incident Disposition and Compensation Act, Huang said many have chosen to stay silent about their complicity because only victims get compensation.

However, Taiwan’s tumultuous history means the line between victim and victimiser is rarely clear-cut.

Chiang Kai-shek pictured in 1955. He is wearing a military uniform with a long cape. Others in uniforms are walking behind him. They are leaving a temple.
Chiang Kai-shek (centre) in 1955. Known as ‘Generalissimo’, he led a brutal military dictatorship that only ended in 1992 [Fred Waters/AP Photo]

By digging into military archives, Yang has shed light on how Chinese were kidnapped and pressed into service by the KMT in the last years of the Chinese Civil War. Those who tried to flee were tortured and even murdered. And the native Taiwanese who rose up to resist KMT’s suppression were persecuted as communists.

“Under martial law, the military was seen as an arm of the dictatorship, but they were also victims of the dictator’s regime,” Yang told Al Jazeera. “The transitional justice movement has missed the opportunity to reconcile Taiwanese society with the military.”

To Hsu, Beijing’s belligerence demands Taiwanese of all stripes find a common cause.

“As we’re facing the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, it’s imperative that we unite in forging a collective future,” said Hsu, to a standing-room-only book talk during the Taipei International Book Exhibition in late February.

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“And how we remember our past will shape this future of ours.”

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