News Report: Six Points in Myanmar Leader's Rohingya Speech That Need Fact-Checking

Aung San Suu Kyi

On Tuesday, Myanmar's state counselor and de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, broke silence on the ongoing Rohingya crisis in a televised address. But the speech required reasonable fact-checking and was even described as a "a mix of untruths and victim blaming" by Amnesty International.

Suu Kyi called on the international community to assist the country's authorities in resolving the ongoing Rohingya Muslim minority crisis. She added that the government intends to carefully examine the situation and listen to all incoming arguments and counterarguments. Nevertheless, there were some dubious claims by the country’s leader that need to be scrutinized. 

1. Suu Kyi stressed that the Myanmar government needs time to find out the real causes of the ongoing crisis. 

This claim directly contradicts the Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The document was submitted to national authorities on August 23 and puts forward recommendations to end the crisis in Rakhine. In particular, the report details the reasons behind the ongoing Rohingya crisis, including the lack of citizenship for Rohingya Muslims and military and police actions in the region. 

"Unless concerted action – led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society – is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalization, which will further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine State," Annan said in a statement. 

News Report: Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi to Give National Address on Rakhine Crisis

Aung San Suu Kyi

Margaret Besheer

UNITED NATIONS — Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to give a highly anticipated national speech Tuesday addressing her country's crisis in Rakhine state, where ongoing violence has led about 400,000 ethnic Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh in recent weeks.

Rohingya militants attacked security forces in Myanmar — also known as Burma — in late August. Since then, analysts and rights workers say the Burmese military has carried out a brutal crackdown that has burned entire villages and killed fleeing women and children. 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has come under strong international criticism for not speaking out more forcefully on the situation. She canceled her appearance at the United Nations General Assembly this week in part to address the ongoing crisis at home.

On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Monday, diplomats from the United States, Britain and other countries concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine called for an end to the violence and for measures to relieve Rohingya refugees' suffering. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said it was a "productive meeting about the dire situation," but that no improvement has been seen on the ground in the area where displaced Rohingyas have been fleeing into Bangladesh.

News Report: Bangladesh Government to Build Camp for 400,000 Rohingya Muslim Refugees

The Bangladesh government plans to construct a large camp to house some 400,000 Rohingya Muslims who have poured in from neighboring Myanmar over the past three weeks, officials said.

Authorities said 14,000 shelters, each able to accommodate six families, will be built over the next 10 days on an eight square kilometer site near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

The government said the movement of the settlement's refugees would be restricted.

"The Royingya refugees won't be allowed to go outside the camp," Bangladeshi Minister of Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan said on September 10. They will also be prohibited from traveling by vehicle in Bangladesh.

The camp, which will be built with the help of the Bangladesh military and international aid groups, is in response to an unprecedented exodus that was sparked by attacks on August 25 carried out by Rohingya militants on a Myanmar army base and police posts.

News Story: Defense Ministry To Form Militia To Secure Volatile Areas & Watchdog Says Proposed ‘Militia’ A Threat To Afghan Civilians

Defense Ministry To Form Militia To Secure Volatile Areas

By Gulabudin Ghubar

The Ministry of Defense has a plan on hand to mobilize the public forces otherwise known as ‘militia’ to maintain security in areas cleared of insurgents by the Afghan National Army, an official from the ministry said.

“People will be recruited from their areas, because they know their region and realize how to keep it,” the Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told TOLOnews on Friday. “The (public) forces will not go from one place to another. It is almost the same as the (Afghan) Local Police, but there is a big difference.”

The spokesman did not give the number of the public forces that will be established under the structure of the Defense Ministry. However, a foreign official has said the new plan is sketched by the US and that the number of the militia will reach to 20,000.

The New York Times meanwhile quoted an Afghan military official saying that 20,000 militia will be recruited under the new plan and will be managed by the Afghan Defense Ministry.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

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Watchdog Says Proposed ‘Militia’ A Threat To Afghan Civilians

The Afghan government should reject proposals to create a new militia with inadequate training and oversight, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Friday.

The statement said western diplomatic sources in Kabul told Human Rights Watch that President Ashraf Ghani is considering establishing a defense unit modelled on the Indian Territorial Army, an auxiliary force comprising personnel who serve on a short-term contract basis with the regular armed forces. The NATO Resolute Support Mission is believed to support such a local security force in Afghanistan.

An Afghan Territorial Army with reduced training and potentially less oversight risks being yet another abusive militia operating outside the military’s chain of command, Human Rights Watch said. If approved, the Afghan government is expected to determine the location of a pilot project by September 20, 2017

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Report: UN Rights Chief - Rohingya Seemingly Face 'Ethnic Cleansing'

The United Nations's human rights chief has joined the growing chorus of international voices condemning Myanmar for the wave of violence that has forced scores of minority Rohingya Muslims to flee across the border to Bangladesh.

Speaking Monday in Geneva before the U.N. Human Rights Council, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said his office has received numerous reports and satellite imagery of Myanmar security forces and local militias carrying out extrajudicial killings and burning entire Rohingya villages. Zeid also cited reports of Myanmar troops planting landmines along the shared border.

"Because Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators, the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed," he told the council, "but the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

Amnesty International on Sunday charged Myanmar with deliberately targeting Rohingya by placing landmines along the routes that Rohingya refugees use to cross into Bangladesh. The rights organization reported two landmine explosions Sunday, including one that blew off a young man's leg while he was herding cattle near the border.

Zeid issued his report a day after Rohingya insurgents called for a month-long cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid to reach those affected by the conflict. The group encouraged aid groups to “resume their humanitarian assistance to all victims of the humanitarian crisis, irrespective of ethnic or religious background during the cease-fire period."

Fighters from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, as they call themselves, launched an attack on dozens of police posts and an army base late last month, leading to the displacement of more than 300,000 people.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley reminded Myanmar in a statement issued last Friday that while Washington supports the fight against violence in northwestern Rakhine state, humanitarian aid must reach those in need.

News Report: US - Aid in Myanmar Must Reach Those in Need

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is reminding Myanmar, also known as Burma, that while Washington supports the fight against violence in northwestern Rakhine state, humanitarian aid must reach those in need.

Haley released a statement Friday saying, "We welcome the Burmese government committing humanitarian assistance to all displaced by violence. However, we will continue to urge them to make sure this aid actually reaches those in need, as quickly as possible, and that it is delivered in a manner that protects their rights and dignity," she said.

Earlier Friday, the State Department said it is "very focused" on restoring humanitarian assistance to Myanmar's northern Rakhine state and is "very concerned about sustained allegations of abuses" in that area.

Patrick Murphy, deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia, told reporters by phone Friday that the United States is urging all parties to take steps to calm tensions in the area. He said that since August, "probably well over" 200,000 refugees have crossed over the border into Bangladesh to escape the violence. The U.N. puts the number at over 270,000.

News Report: Cambodia Arrests Opposition Leader, Alleges Treason

David Boyle

NEW YORK — Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested early Sunday on an espionage charge, accused of conspiring with a foreign power to harm the country, according to a government statement.

Kem Sokha’s daughter, Kem Monovithya, tweeted: “Kem Sokha and all bodyguards are taken away by 100-200 police without warrant after they raided his home. We don’t know where they take him.”

The Cambodian government statement said Kem Sokha, the leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, had been charged with espionage under Article 443 of Cambodia’s criminal code.

“The Royal Government would like to inform the public that according to a video clip broadcasted by the Cambodian Broadcasting Network, based in Australia, and other evidences collected by the competent authority, it clearly proves the conspiracy between Kem Sokha and the accomplices with foreign power, which harms the Kingdom of Cambodia,” the statement read.

News Report: Rakhine Commission - Myanmar Must End Restrictions on Rohingya

Myint Myint Khaine and Khin Phyu Htway

YANGON, MYANMAR / WASHINGTON, D.C — Myanmar must ease restrictions on citizenship and movement for its minority Rohingya population, a commission led by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Thursday.

The commission also called for Myanmar to quell its violent crackdowns on the Muslim minority Rohingya in order to bring peace to Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live.

Years of friction between the Rohingya and Myanmar's Buddhist majority exploded in October last year with a military crackdown in response to attacks on border police stations that left nine police officers dead. During the crackdown, thousands of Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh complaining of systematic killings, arson and rapes by Myanmar military forces.

The yearlong U.N. commission, tasked with healing divisions between Rakhine State's religious and ethnic groups, released its final report Thursday, a day after submitting it to the government. The report detailed actions the government needs to take to "prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation, and offer a sense of hope to the state's hard-pressed population," the commission said in a public statement.

"Tensions remain high and they risk becoming worse. Violence will not bring lasting solutions to the acute problems that afflict the Rakhine State," Annan told a press conference in the Myanmar capital, adding "the status quo cannot continue."

News Story: HRW slams Duterte remarks on shooting rights advocates

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte

By Audrey Morallo

MANILA, Philippines — New York-based Human Rights Watch on Thursday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte for threatening to have human rights activists shot if they get in the way of police operations, saying these remarks could pave the way for prosecution for crimes against humanity.

The chief executive should immediately withdraw his statement or face the specter of an investigation into for possibly instigating the harming of human rights workers, the human rights watchdog said.

“President Duterte’s threats against human rights activists is like painting a target on the backs of courageous people working to protect the rights and upholding the dignity of all Filipinos,” the deputy Asia director of the rights body, Phelim Kine, said.

Kine added: “Duterte should retract his reprehensible remarks immediately before there is more blood on his hands.”

The official said that Duterte’s threats, issued a day after one of the bloodiest days in the president’s brutal and ruthless campaign against illegal narcotics, could serve as a basis for indictment for crimes against humanity.

During a speech before members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, Duterte vented anew his anger at human rights activists over their investigations into possible rights abuses surrounding his drug war, his flagship security program.

“One of these days, kayong human rights, kayong imbestigahan ko. Conspiracy. If they are obstructing justice, you shoot them,” the hot-tempered Duterte said.

("One of these days, you have human rights, I'll investigate you. Conspiracy. If they are obstructing justice, you shoot them" [Translation: Google Translate]) the hot-tempered Duterte said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: US Congress to hold hearing on Philippines' drug war

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, under the US Congress, will hold an inquiry into the Philippines' war on drugs on Thursday.

The US Congress commission has invited witnesses that will analyze the implementation of the so-called war on drugs and its consequence for the human rights situation in the Philippines.

Among the panelists for the upcoming hearing are iDEFEND Philippines spokesperson Ellecer Carlos, Amnesty International Senior Crisis Advisor Matthew Wells and Human Rights Watch Asia Division Deputy Director Phelim Kine.

"They will also provide policy recommendations for ensuring accountability for human rights violations and for addressing the problems of drug abuse and trafficking in ways consistent with promoting public health and strengthening rule of law," the US Congress commission said.

The US had been supporting the Philippine National Police in its counterterrorism and counternarcotics campaign.

PNP data showed that 7,025 drug-related killings have been carried out from July 1, 2016 and January 21, 2017 — an average of 34 per day.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Beijing faces backlash after dissident Liu Xiaobo dies in custody

Liu Xiaobo (Image: Wiki)

By Becky Davis

China's Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo died Thursday after losing his battle with terminal cancer, remaining in custody under guard in hospital until his last breath as Beijing faced a wave of criticism over its treatment of the Tiananmen Square protest veteran.

China bears a "heavy responsibility" for the death of Liu, the Nobel Committee said, less than two months after the 61-year-old was transferred to hospital from prison.

International human rights groups, Western governments and Chinese activists had urged authorities to free Liu and grant his final wish to be treated abroad.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Liu as a "courageous fighter for human rights", while British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was "wrong" China did not allow him to travel overseas for treatment.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to free Liu's widow, who has been under house arrest since 2010 but was allowed to be at the hospital as he said his final goodbye.

Liu became the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky in 1938, who had been held by the Nazis.

The Nobel Committee said in a statement: "We find it deeply disturbing that Liu Xiaobo was not transferred to a facility where he could receive adequate medical treatment before he became terminally ill."

"The Chinese government bears a heavy responsibility for his premature death."

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Duterte tells troops not to fear civilian deaths

President Rodrigo Duterte

By Jim Gomez

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte assured troops on Wednesday that he would protect them from any legal action if they accidently kill civilians while battling militants who have besieged Marawi City.

Duterte ordered the army to destroy the militants aligned with the Islamic State group who attacked Marawi on May 23, sparking fighting that has left more than 400 combatants and civilians dead. On Wednesday, retrieval teams recovered 17 more bodies believed to be those of villagers killed by the militants in an area of Marawi that has returned to government control.

Duterte said in a televised speech that troops don't intend to kill civilians, but they should "not hesitate to engage just because there are civilians. It is the duty of the civilians to flee or seek cover."

He assured the troops that he would fight to keep them out of prison for accidental deaths.

"We will face charges, sometimes massacre, you know a bullet hits through and through, one squeeze of the Armalite (rifle), it bursts out about three, four. Keep on pressing it," Duterte said.

Duterte declared martial law in the southern Philippines to deal with the Marawi crisis, in which hundreds of militants stormed into the predominantly Muslim city, occupied buildings, took a Roman Catholic priest and others hostage and hoisted Islamic State group-style black flags.

He warned Wednesday that if militants gather elsewhere, he would consider taking more emergency steps, including empowering law enforcers to make warrantless arrests.

"And my orders to you, if he carries a gun, he is not a soldier, he is not a policeman, just kill him. That is my order, because they will kill us," Duterte told the troops.

Such remarks have alarmed human rights groups, which have already expressed concern over the killings of thousands of suspected drug dealers and users under a crackdown on illegal drugs that Duterte launched after taking office last June.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Petition Calls For War Crime Trials In The Hague

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (File Photo)

By Samim Faramarz

A petition has been filed by families of cvil war victims, who have pointed fingers at certain factions, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar-led Hizb-e-Islami, for their involvement in war crimes and called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague to prosecute offenders.

They called on the ICC to launch an investigation into the crimes committed by warring factions during the civil war in the country.

In a petition to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul, they requested justice for the victims of crimes allegedly committed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar-led Hizb-e-Islam group during the civil conflict.

UNAMA has said that the petition is being reviewed, said a member of Green Trend Movement who prepared the petition.

In response, Hizb-e-Islami has said that the petition was prepared by those who are opposed to peace in the country.

“If a transparent international institution acceptable to all is formed for the assessment of these issues, Hizb-e-Islami is prepared to give answers to the nation,” said Hizb-e-Islami spokesman Nadir Afghan.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Report: Foreign Firms Seek a Fair Shot at China's New Silk Road Projects

China's New Silk Road (One Belt, One Road) Map
[Click Image to Enlarge]

Jim Randle

WASHINGTON — China's planned modern version of its ancient "silk road" may bring more than one trillion dollars of infrastructure investment along trading routes that wind through emerging markets in dozens of countries throughout Asia, Africa and Europe. "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) trade routes, which stretch from China to London and to Africa, are intended to boost the economies of China and the many nations along the routes by making trading easier and cheaper.

But so far, these road, rail, pipeline, port, power grid, telecom, and other projects offer major opportunities for Chinese companies and not so many for outside firms.

The Chinese will take “most of the highest-profile projects," said Researcher Derek Scissors of the American Enterprise Institute.

The author of China's Asian Dream: Empire Building Along The New Silk Road, Tom Miller, said Chinese banks are financing much of the work with the goal of exporting Chinese technology and creating new demand for Chinese products. Miller said nations that use Chinese technology are more likely to buy Chinese products in the future and will work to boost Beijing's political influence abroad.

Cornell University's Lourdes Casanova, an expert on emerging markets, said China is using these investments to "gain strategic power."

Five of the largest engineering and construction companies in the world [measured by revenue] are Chinese, said Casanova, as well as four of the five largest banks [by assets]. The Cornell University researcher and senior lecturer said Chinese companies gained experience building huge infrastructure projects at home that will help them handle major projects elsewhere.

“Chinese engineering firms perform better in difficult environments than any other firms in the world,” said Scissors, adding "they don’t necessarily have to show profits, and have accumulated experience in Pakistan, Nigeria, Ecuador, and elsewhere."

It may be difficult to operate in some OBOR nations, Cornell's Casanova said, but they will still attract investment because they need a "huge" amount of infrastructure.

New opportunities

Some foreign companies tell researchers the business climate in China is deteriorating, and they are rethinking investments, which might affect new projects like OBOR. A survey by AMCHAM (the American Chamber of Commerce in China) finds some firms slowing investment in China or moving some operations to other nations. Members complain that "inconsistent" enforcement of regulations puts foreign companies at a disadvantage while slowing economic growth is hampering opportunity.

But major U.S. firms - GE, Honeywell, and Caterpillar - already do a lot of business in China and see opportunities in the new silk road/OBOR projects.

Caterpillar's revenues have been boosted by improving sales in China, and the firm says it has been "deeply involved" in the new silk road initiative which it sees as a "long-term opportunity."

Caterpillar officials said the company uses global resources to focus on solving problems for customers in China and 20 other nations along the new silk road. In the 40 years, it has been in China, Caterpillar has evolved from importing machines to China, to sharing technology with local partners, to now operating factories and other facilities within China.

Honeywell employs 13,000 people in China and earned billions of dollars in revenue there in 2016. Company spokesmen say their workforce includes a couple of thousand Chinese scientists and engineers, who are helping establish Honeywell as a local Chinese company that can address the needs of local business and consumers. The company offers a wide range of China-made products that support oil & gas operations, airports, healthcare, and other activities

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt said in a recent speech that his firm competes successfully in China and elsewhere with "local capability inside a global context." He says GE has 20,000 employees in China with "multiple factories and research centers." He said his company partners partnership with Chinese construction companies, and his firm leads in power, healthcare, avation, and petroleum.

Human rights

Human rights experts say another concern grows from the need to move some people out of the way of large infrastructure projects. Human Rights Watch China Director Sophie Richardson told VOA it is unclear what impact these large and ambitious projects will have on human rights, but she said there is reason for concern because some nations along the silk road routes "preside over widespread abuses."

Richardson said China has "heightened surveillance and repression" to prevent unrest that might impede OBOR plans in that nation's Xinjiang province. The far-western region of China is a key part of the silk road, and home to 10 million Muslim Uighurs, who differ in culture, language, and faith from China's majority population. Xinjiang has long been the scene of ethnic and political tensions and is heavily patrolled by Chinese police and military units.

Richardson said private companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, and must take steps to mitigate or avoid risks. She said these obligations are spelled out by United Nations guidelines that have been embraced by key Chinese business organizations, and firms should be judged on how they handle peaceful protests of their activities.

This story first appeared on Voice of America & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: HRW Calls On U.S To Improve Civilian Protection

Human Rights Watch on Thursday called on the U.S Defense Department to urgently adopt measures to better protect civilians in the Afghan armed conflict.

In a letter to the Defense Secretary James Mattis, the human rights watchdog said: “Increasing numbers of civilian deaths and injuries from U.S airstrikes in Afghanistan raise concerns that the procedures for vetting airstrikes are inadequate,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“The U.S review of its Afghan strategy is a crucial opportunity for adopting changes to minimize civilian casualties.”

This comes amid ongoing reports that the U.S government is currently conducting a review of its Afghanistan strategy and support to the Afghan government in its efforts against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Daesh-affiliated armed groups.

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan have steadily increased in recent years, with 2016 seeing the highest toll recorded since 2008 with a total of 11,418 (3,498 deaths and 7,920 injured), according to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA). 

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Report: Blasphemy Conviction for Jakarta Governor Seen As Blow for Religious Freedom

Krithika Varagur

JAKARTA — Many Indonesians thought a silver lining of Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s resounding defeat in the 2017 election for Jakarta governor would be a lenient sentence in his concurrent trial for blasphemy. Indeed, even the prosecution suggested just one year of probation, with no jail time, after the election last month.

They were wrong.

Ahok was sentenced to two years in jail Tuesday, a shocking verdict that would entail his immediate dismissal as acting governor of Jakarta.

The Chinese-Christian politician was accused of blasphemy during his re-election campaign last year when a video surfaced of him quoting a verse in the Quran to prove to his supporters that there were no restrictions on Muslims voting for non-Muslim politicians.

Ahok said he intends to appeal the case, but his bargaining position is weak given the severity of the sentence. In the 24 hours following the verdict, his supporters have swarmed City Hall and Cipinang Prison to protest and show their support.

“He dared to work for Indonesia despite being a minority,” said novelist Okky Madasari, speaking outside the prison. “They called him a ‘dog’ and a ‘kaffir from China.’”

Supporters gathered again at City Hall early Wednesday, dressed in the national colors of red and white.

News Report: Trump Invite to Thai Leader May Signal New Era

Ron Corben

BANGKOK — Bilateral relations between the United States and Thailand, after what analysts view as a "lost decade," have entered a "new era" following the recent contact by President Donald Trump and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

In his telephone conversation with Prayut, the White House said President Trump highlighted the long standing alliance between the U.S. and Thailand and a "shared interest in strengthening the trade and economic ties between the two countries."

Trump, in a formal invitation to Prayut to visit the White House, also "reaffirmed" the U.S. commitment to an "active and leading role in Asia" in close partnership with the region.

Readjustment in US-Thai relations

The contact marked a major thawing in bilateral ties after Thailand faced diplomatic isolation over the military's intervention in politics over the past decade.

The U.S. administration under President Barack Obama had been critical of Thailand's human rights policies by the military since it took power in May 2014, with the suppression of public debate and bans on political activities.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said Thailand was keen to take up the offer of the U.S. re-establishing links.

News Story: Duterte set to enjoy drug war support from ASEAN leaders — observers

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is set to enjoy much-wanted foreign support for his deadly drug war when he hosts Southeast Asian leaders at a Manila summit this week, observers say.

Duterte's unpredictable foreign policy is also expected to be in focus at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) event, with confusion surrounding his approach to Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea.

It will be closely watched for how Duterte, who has shocked with curse-laden tirades against the United States and the United Nations, handles hosting his first major diplomatic event.

"This will be a very interesting time. Everyone thinks he is a very charismatic leader, he speaks off the cuff," a Southeast Asian diplomat involved in the summit's preparations told AFP.

The crackdown on drugs, which has claimed thousands of lives and led to warnings by rights groups about a possible crime against humanity, has been a defining theme of Duterte's first 10 months in power.

Duterte has relentlessly railed against the mostly Western critics of his drug war, angrily demanding they respect him while in turn using abusive terms to describe them.

He hogged the headlines at another ASEAN leaders' summit in Laos last year when he called then US president Barack Obama, who was also attending, a "son of a whore" for criticizing the drug war.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Criminal case vs Duterte filed before International Criminal Court

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines (Second update 5:32 p.m.) — The lawyer of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato on Monday filed a complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte and 11 other government officials before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Lawyer Jude Sabio accused Duterte of being a "mass murderer" and asked the international court to prosecute him over his involvement in the so-called Davao Death Squad.

"Your favourable action on this matter would not only serve the noble ends of international criminal justice but would also be the beginning of the end of this dark, obscene, murderous and evil era in the Philippines," Sabio told the court in his cover letter.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Will Daesh 3.0 Rise From Mosul’s Ashes?

Map of Ethnic Groups of Iraq (Click Image to Enlarge)

By JAMES KITFIELD

They’re surrounded, targeted by constant bombardments and slowly strangled of supplies and reinforcements for months so fighters for Daesh (aka ISIS) might reasonably have abandoned Mosul and tried to slink off into the night.

That’s what happened last June in the battle to recapture Fallujah, when Daesh fighters were relatively quickly routed, and hundreds were killed by U.S. aircraft when their fleeing convoy was spotted in the dark with infrared targeting systems. Everyone in the anti-Daesh coalition hoped for a similar retreat by demoralized terrorists that would separate them from the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians still cowering in Mosul’s byzantine old city, on the west bank of the Tigris River.

But Daesh’s fighters are not abandoning Mosul, which with the Syrian town of Raqqa, forms the twin-capitals of the self-proclaimed Islamist “caliphate.” They are falling back on defensive positions prepared for two years in the densely congested side streets and alleyways of the old city, gathering Iraqi civilians close as they can as “human shields” and apparently preparing for a last, desperate stand.

The result? “The toughest and most brutal phase of this war, and probably the toughest and most brutal close quarters combat that I have experienced or even read about in my 34-year career,” Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve says. A veteran of six combat tours, Townsend calls the fighting in Mosul “the most significant urban combat since World War II.” The tragic byproduct has been an alarming spike in civilian casualties, including a U.S. strike against a reported ISIS truck bomb on March 17 that may have collapsed a nearby building and killed as many as 200 civilians gathered there by Daesh. The U.S. military is still investigating the incident, which drew criticism from the United Nations and Amnesty International.

On a recent trip near the frontlines of the Battle of Mosul, Townsend found a possible explanation for Daesh’s determination to stage an apocalyptic fight to the death in the old city. “Every movement has a well-spring or some home turf where it finds support, and in recently talking to Iraqi and coalition commanders and listening to their intelligence assessments, I heard about neighborhoods supporting ISIS that I remembered from being a brigade commander in Mosul 10 years ago, when those same neighborhoods were sources of support for Al Qaeda in Iraq,” said Townsend, speaking recently to defense reporters by phone from Baghdad. If the Shiite-led Iraqi government fails to reach out to those and other neighborhoods and towns of disenfranchised Sunnis after the fighting stops, he noted, then Daesh’s expulsion from Mosul will likely prove a fleeting victory. “What’s important after ISIS is defeated is that the government of Iraq has to reach out to these groups of people and make sure they feel like they have a future in the Iraqi state,” said Townsend.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense