Violence in West Papua on par with some worst times of conflict
A human rights researcher said the escalation of violence in West Papua is on par with some of the most intense times of conflict over the past six decades. It comes as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua claims Indonesia killed at least one civilian while severely injuring another last Tuesday in Puncak Regency. Caleb Fotheringham has more.
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RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Six-year-old girl among Myanmar group arrested for killing retired general
Protesters at Parliament last year against Myanmar's military which seized power of the country in a 2021 coup. Now a child is among a group arrested for a high profile assassination. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver By Reuters Myanmar's military has arrested a 6-year-old child as part of a group it labelled "terrorists" for the daytime killing of a retired military officer and diplomat last month, a junta-run newspaper has reported. Cho Htun Aung, 68, a retired brigadier general who also served as an ambassador, was shot dead in Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon on 22 May, in one of the highest profile assassinations in a country in the throes of a widening civil war. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, overthrowing an elected government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering widespread protests. The junta's violent crackdown on dissent sparked an unprecedented nationwide uprising. A collection of established ethnic armies and new armed groups have wrested away swathes of territory from the well-armed military, and guerrilla-style fighting has erupted even in urban areas like Yangon. "A total of 16 offenders - 13 males and three females - were arrested," the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. In an accompanying graphic, the newspaper carried the image of the 6-year-old child, identified as the daughter of the alleged assassin. Her face was blurred in an online version of the newspaper seen by Reuters, but visible in other social media posts made by junta authorities. A junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment. Golden Valley Warriors, an anti-junta insurgent group, said they killed the retired general because of his continued support for military operations, including attacks on civilians, according to a 22 May statement. The junta claims the group is backed by the National Unity Government - a shadow government comprising remnants of Suu Kyu's ousted administration that is battling the military - and paid an assassin some 200,000 Myanmar Kyat (NZD$157) for a killing, the state newspaper reported. NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt denied the shadow government had made any such payments. "It is not true that we are paying people to kill other people," he told Reuters. Since the coup, Myanmar's junta has arrested over 29,000 people, including more than 6000 women and 600 children, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, an activist group. Fatalities among civilians and pro-democracy activists verified by AAPP during this period amount to more than 6700, including 1646 women and 825 children. Myanmar's junta has said it does not target civilians and its operations are in response to attacks by "terrorists" for maintaining peace and stability in the country. - Reuters
RNZ News
2 days ago
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Suspect in Colorado fire attack on Jewish protest faces 118 counts
By Chet Strange , AFP A bomb disposal robot sitting on Pearl Street on the site of an attack on demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, in Boulder, Colorado, on 1 June, 2025. Photo: AFP/ELI IMADALI The suspect in a Molotov cocktail attack on a Jewish protest march in Colorado appeared in court facing more than 100 charges over an incident that injured 15 people. Mohamed Sabry Soliman is alleged to have thrown firebombs and sprayed burning gasoline at a group of people who had gathered Sunday in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Prosecutors now say 15 people -- eight women and seven men -- were hurt in the attack in the city of Boulder. Three are still hospitalised. The oldest victim was 88 years old. Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian who federal authorities said was in the country illegally after overstaying a tourist visa, faces 28 attempted murder charges, as well as a bevvy of other counts relating to his alleged use of violence. He also faces a count of animal cruelty for a dog that was hurt, bringing to 118 the total number of criminal counts. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty told reporters that he could face a centuries-long prison term if convicted. "The defendant is charged with attempted murder in the first degree as to 14 different victims," he said. "If the defendant is convicted and those sentences run consecutively, that would be 48 years in state prison for each of the 14 victims, which comes to 672 years." Soliman is also expected to be charged with federal hate crime offenses. Soliman's immigration status has been at the center of President Donald Trump's administration's response to the attack. This week his wife and five children were detained by immigration agents as the White House took to social media to taunt them about an impending deportation. "Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed's Wife and Five Kids," the official account posted on X. "Final Boarding Call Coming Soon." But on Wednesday a judge imposed a temporary restraining order that bars any attempt to remove them from the country. Police who rushed to the scene of Sunday's attack found 16 unused Molotov cocktails and a backpack weed sprayer containing gasoline that investigators say Soliman had intended to use as a makeshift flamethrower. In bystander videos, the attacker can be heard screaming "End Zionists!" and "Killers!" Sunday's incident came less than two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect, who shouted "Free Palestine," was arrested. - AFP
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Dozens mark 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary
Dozens attended a candlelight vigil at the Tiananmen Square memorial boulder outside St Andrews Presbyterian Church on Monday. Photo: RNZ / Gaurav Sharma Non-profit organisation New Zealand Values Alliance, which advocates for political freedom and human rights in China, organised a series of events in Auckland on Monday to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing. The day started with a car parade and a photo exhibition at Auckland's Aotea Square. The exhibition showcased pictures of the student-led pro-democracy protests that took place in China in the months leading up to 4 June 1989. A seminar was organised later in the day at the Ellen Melville Centre, with activists sharing stories of the protests. A candlelight vigil at the Tiananmen Square memorial boulder outside St Andrews Presbyterian Church ended the commemorations, with the gathering holding a minute's silence for lives lost during the crackdown. "For the past two decades or so, we gather here every year to remember those who sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy during the 1989 protests," said Michael Zhuang, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Values Alliance. Michael Zhuang, a spokesperson for New Zealand Values Alliance. Photo: RNZ / Gaurav Sharma Reverend Stuart Vogel of the Auckland Chinese Presbyterian Church said it was important to mark the protests. "We need to mark the 1989 events every year as a reminder, and as a caution that the authoritarian regime of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has never really ended. In fact, if you look at what has happened in Hong Kong or in Tibet or with Uyghurs, the crackdown has gotten worse," Vogel said. "Unfortunately, the methods of suppression adopted by the Chinese Government goes beyond its borders. "Chinese New Zealanders who have friends and family in China do not talk openly and freely about the Tiananmen Square incident, or against the CCP, fearing it might put their loved ones in China in harm's way." A participant wearing a mask to protect his identity claimed he was from Hong Kong and was involved in the 2019 pro-democracy protests there. "I agree the situation has not improved in the last three decades and what happened in Hong Kong in 2019-20 is a testimony to that," he said. A young student from China who also declined to be named highlighted what he called "CCP's censorship during the Covid-19 pandemic". "I was arrested twice for speaking up against the Draconian measures adopted by the regime during the pandemic," he said. Kane Le of New Zealand Values Alliance. Photo: RNZ / Gaurav Sharma Zhuang said events surrounding the 1989 protests remained a sensitive and heavily censored topic in China. "References of the crackdown have been removed from history books and there is no mention on other platforms, including social media and search engines." Wenyu Ding, who claimed to be in Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989, said the total number of lives lost was still a mystery more than three decades later. "It is important to note the crackdown by the CCP didn't happen only on 4 June," Ding said. "Rather it was set in motion a few months prior and went on till a few months later," Ding said. "Activists were arrested, jailed and in some cases executed. So, we still don't know how many people sacrificed their lives in the 1989 pro-democracy protests across China." Kane Le, a member of New Zealand Values Alliance, said the aim of the gathering in Auckland was simple. "Our aim is to remember the sacrifices of that generation and awaken the Chinese people who, we believe, have been indoctrinated by the Communist Party regime," Le said. RNZ has approached the Chinese Embassy for comment on censorship regarding the 1989 protests and claims of interference in New Zealand's Chinese community.
