TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017 INTERNATIONAL Best foot forward: HK military-style youth groups

HONG KONG: Gruelling foot drills and But as the semi-autonomous city prepares Army (PLA). Its website describes it as a handed, given the army’s crackdown on bers and was set up by former staff of the camouflage uniforms are part of life for to mark 20 years since it was handed back uniform group that provides training in student protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Royal Hong Kong Regiment, also known as some Hong Kongers as military-style youth by Britain to China in 1997, there are con- discipline and Chinese-style foot drills, to Square in 1989. The Volunteers, a local branch of the British groups become increasingly popular, cerns that politics is taking over with the “cultivate strong willpower... unity and vig- Instead they have maintained a very low Army disbanded in 1995. despite the fact there is no army to join. formation of secretive new groups. or”. It was launched in 2015 - a year after profile and are barred from interfering in Tang Chi-shing, 12, admitted he didn’t Some follow the traditions of former British Speculation is rife about the Hong huge student-led pro-democracy rallies in local affairs. But some lawmakers have like it when he joined 18 months ago, but colonial forces, while others are newly Kong Army Cadets Association (HKACA), Hong Kong brought parts of the city to a questioned whether the PLA is providing grew to enjoy the challenging training. invented military-flavored boot camps whose members wear green uniforms standstill in an unprecedented challenge training or financial support for the cadets. “This organization is one of the toughest in designed to keep young people in shape. reminiscent of China’s People’s Liberation to Beijing. The youth group’s chairman, Bunny Chan, Hong Kong,” he told AFP, saying he no Some observers say the cadets could be has denied such links. The HKACA turned longer feared his school teachers as a a way to get a pro-China message across at down multiple interview requests from AFP result. Members wear green camouflage a time when younger generations are and when one youth member was and berets and learn everything from map- pushing back, with some campaigning for approached he said he could not comment. reading to abseiling. “I just wanted to play a split from the mainland. Political analyst the games and go rock climbing,” recent Ma Ngok said the aim was likely “patriotic ‘No ideology’ recruit Hosanna Tse, 14, told AFP, saying education”. “Both local and central authori- Last year, in response to the foundation she enjoyed wearing the uniform. ties would have thought it necessary and of the cadets, anti-China party Civic Director Matthew Wong served in The urgent to start trying to win young hearts Passion launched its own military-flavor Volunteers for 14 years and said that even and minds,” he said. An official attempt to youth group. The dedicated “Passion Teens though the Adventure Corps inherited implement a patriotic curriculum in Squad” has 1,900 Facebook followers and their drills from the British Army, there was schools failed in 2012 after massive says its aim is physical training and learn- no political aim. “Our objective is not to demonstrations by students, parents and ing Hong Kong’s “real history and culture”. train soldiers, but to develop their person- teachers concerned it would amount to The group’s trainer, who identified himself al qualities,” he said. Military historian brainwashing. only as Wan, told AFP that activities includ- Kwong Chi-man said Hong Kong parents The new cadet group’s commander-in- ed hiking, orientation and survival skills. considered the numerous uniform groups chief is the wife of current Beijing-friendly “We are resisting other youth groups that - which also include non-military-style city leader Leung Chun-ying and some of have links with China,” he said. organizations such as the Girl Guides - as a its honorary patrons include members of But members of many more established way to help children become more self- the PLA and China’s liaison office in Hong youth groups say they simply enjoy getting reliant and confident. Kwong, assistant Kong. The PLA has a garrison in central out of the urban sprawl to learn new skills. professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong and is responsible for defend- At a Saturday session with the Hong Kong said any political slant would put them off. HONG KONG: In this picture taken on May 27, 2017, cadets from the ing the city, but only recruits mainland Adventure Corps, young recruits marched, “If they knew their kids were entering Hong Kong Adventure Corps put on safety gear before a climbing exer- Chinese citizens. Hong Kong does not have climbed walls and spoke into walkie-talkies those organizations to become ideologi- cise at their training ground. —AFP its own separate army. After the handover at their training ground in rural Sai Kung. cal, many of those parents, I would say, some feared the PLA would be heavy- The group has around 4,200 youth mem- would withhold.” —AFP As Philippine battle grinds on, some displaced die in centers Military seizes drugs worth millions in besieged city

MARAWI CITY, Philippines: Four were recovered on Sunday along with due to diarrhoea. “The cause of the dled in cloth and her own traditional weeks since fierce fighting broke out in four assault rifles in the kitchen of a increase in diarrhoea cases is sanitation malong, or long skirt, drenched in the southern Philippines, some people two-storey concrete house believed to issues and a lack of sources of potable blood. “We call him Martial Law,” she who fled the battle are dying in over- be occupied by fighters from the Maute water,” Minalang said. In the centers, said, looking at her baby boy Sahir, his crowded and unsanitary evacuation militant group. “This strengthens our families of up to a dozen people sleep head now crowned with fine hair. centers, health officials say. At least 24 findings that these terrorists are using together on concrete floors, and in On the date of Sahir’s birth, May 23, people have died in the centers since illegal drugs,” Major-General Carlito some places hundreds are sharing a Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte fighting between security forces and Galvez, military commander of western single toilet. declared martial law across the south- ern island of Mindanao, vowing to drive out the militants - an alliance of groups that have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. The army says near- ly 350 people have been killed in the fighting, including 257 militants, 62 sol- NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi distributes cake as diers and 26 civilians. Hundreds of peo- she celebrates her 72nd birthday at the parliament building yesterday. —AFP ple are unaccounted for, believed to be hiding in the basements of a city that has been pummelled by government Myanmar religious tensions air strikes. Residents have said they have seen 100 bodies in the debris of simmer as madrassas closed ruined homes in the battle zone.

Want to go Home YANGON: Chit Tin, a 55-year-old Muslim man has the start of the country’s democratic transition in The mostly Muslim evacuees are prayed at the same madrassa in eastern Yangon his 2012 and 2013. “Mosques and madrassas that have eager to return home by the weekend whole adult life, most of it spent under a junta that been forcibly shuttered should be immediately re- for Eid al-Fitr, the biggest festival of crushed opposition, ruined Myanmar’s economy opened, and religious believers should not be the year that marks the end of the holy and turned it into an international pariah state. But threatened or criminally charged simply for exercis- month of Ramadan. But for many, their even as the father-of-four endured poverty and iso- ing their fundamental right to observe and practice homes have been devastated by lation, the Muslim religious school, which doubles their religion,” said Phil Robertson from watchdog weeks of artillery fire and aerial bom- as a mosque, had remained a focal point of his com- Human Rights Watch. Local administrators refused bardment. The army says it is nearing munity - until a month ago, when Buddhist nation- repeated requests for comment. Myanmar’s gov- victory, but hostilities will have to be alists raided it and forced authorities to shut it down ernment spokesman was not available for com- followed by a lengthy cleanup opera- on the grounds it did not have a permit to operate ment, and two other government officials contact- tion - unearthing and disarming unex- as a place of worship. ed by Reuters declined to comment. ploded ordnance, and scouring for When Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, start- possible booby traps - before residents ed some three weeks ago, hundreds of residents No Reply can go home. braved the monsoon rain to join prayers organized The madrassa, opened nearly half a century ago, MARAWI: Philippine army troopers count packets containing 11kg of the illegal drug “shabu”, “I will be the happiest woman in the in the street nearby. Local authorities banned the typically attracted around 1,000 people on Friday world if I am allowed to return,” said event and threatened those attending with jail. “I nights. Around 300 children between the ages of which were recovered along with an IS flag from a militant position, during a press conference feel deeply sad, as if the sky has fallen down,” said five and 12 studied Islam there daily. The two-storey yesterday. —AFP Salema Ampasong, 28, who was among about 1,000 evacuees given shelter in a Chit Tin, one of the few Muslims from the neighbor- building is now cordoned off by barbed wire and Islamist militants erupted in Marawi Mindanao, said in a statement. “My children are getting sick. One gymnasium in the town of Balo-i, several hood who agreed to speak to Reuters. Most resi- the gate is locked. “The children were about to sit City, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial told Alinader Minalang, the health direc- has diarrhoea and another has an aller- miles outside Marawi. A fruit vendor, she dents refused to discuss the restrictions, saying they exams, so we feel it’s a big loss for their education,” reporters. tor for the Lanao del Sur province gic reaction on his skin - the water we said she had lost all her possessions, “but feared repercussions. said Chit Tin, whose two 6-year-old grandchildren Meanwhile, the Philippine military which includes Marawi, said 300 cases have to use here is not good,” said I would still want to come home”. In One of the youth members of the community, started classes at the madrassa a year ago. He now found methamphetamine worth of diarrhoea had been recorded among Tarhata Mostare, who was staying with Balo-i, there’s just one working toilet for Moe Zaw, now faces a fine or six months in jail for attends another mosque a 20-minute walk away, between $2 million to $5 million while the nearly 40,000 people huddled in more than 800 people in a high school the center’s 1,025 residents. On the wall not obtaining a permit to organize the prayers, where the congregation has swelled from 5,000 to clearing rebel positions in Marawi, offi- emergency shelters set up in communi- hall in Iligan City, 40 km from Marawi. a poster produced by the Philippine Red according to a notification he received from a court. 8,000 in recent weeks due to the closure of his cials said yesterday, boosting suspi- ty halls, gymnasiums and Islamic She walked out of Marawi City along Cross instructs evacuees how to wash The closure of the religious school is among a series madrassa and another nearby that was also target- cions militants are being funded by the schools. Many of those who died were with thousands of others just hours their hands. There are no basins with of incidents that have stoked religious tensions in ed by Buddhist nationalists. In the city of Meikhtila, narcotics trade. The 11 bags of shabu, elderly and had pre-existing conditions, after delivering her fifth child, and taps, and evacuees wash - and even the country’s commercial capital in recent weeks. 500 km north of Yangon in central Myanmar, three the local name for methamphetamine, but at least two of the fatalities were trekked for hours with the infant swad- defecate - in a nearby river. —Reuters Although some of the Buddhist hardliners involved private homes that have been used by about 150 were arrested, human rights monitors say the inci- people for prayers since mosques in the city were dent shows how Aung San Suu Kyi’s 14-month-old destroyed in the 2013 violence were also ordered to civilian administration is struggling to tackle dis- close down by local administrators. crimination against Muslims. The police has been patrolling the neighbor- Suu Kyi’s ruling party, the National League for hood since last week, checking whether the houses Democracy (NLD) did not field any Muslim candi- have stayed closed and whether the prayers have dates in the historic 2015 election that elevated it to ceased during Ramadan. “Since the authorities power on pledges of modernizing the country and don’t allow us to pray anymore, we requested them democratization. Tensions between the two com- to arrange a suitable place for us,” San Win Shein, an munities have simmered since scores were killed Islamic scholar and a secretary of a local inter-faith and tens of thousands displaced in clashes group told Reuters by telephone. “There is no reply between Buddhists and Muslims accompanying until now.” —Reuters This combination of pictures created yesterday shows photos released by the US Navy’s 7th Fleet of the seven sailors onboard the USS Fitzgerald who died in the June 16, 2017 collision with the container ship ACX Crystal off Japan’s Pacific coast. —AFP Six Thai soldiers killed US Navy probes destroyer crash by bomb in restive south TOKYO: A probe into the crash between a US travelling in the same direction when the There have been around 30 boat crashes over navy destroyer and a Philippine-flagged cargo crash occurred, 56 nautical miles southwest of the past decade in the area, including a 2013 PATTANI, Thailand: Six Thai soldiers talks with the Muslim militants since its ship was under way yesterday, as the names of Yokosuka. incident when six Japanese crew died after were killed and four injured when a 2014 power grab. But the negotiations seven American sailors who died were made The impact tore a huge gash in the their cargo ship crashed with another vessel in roadside bomb ripped their patrol truck have failed to gain traction and regular public. Investigators were looking at how the Fitzgerald, sending gallons of water flooding the early morning hours, a coastguard apart in the insurgency-plagued south attacks continue across the region. The USS Fitzgerald came to be holed in the smash in into the berths where the crew were sleeping. spokesman said. “That’s considered a lot of yesterday, police said. The bomb hit the Thai side is unconvinced that rebel a busy shipping lane near its home port. The The bodies of the sailors, who were aged accidents,” he said, adding that many ships pick-up as it was carrying ten soldiers negotiators at the table can control foot container ship, the 222-metre Philippine-flagged between 19 and 37, were recovered by navy pass through the channel in the middle of the along a dirt road in Pattani province, soldiers, while the insurgents do not ACX Crystal, made a 180 degree turn shortly divers after their 154-m vessel limped into night to be on time for morning cargo pick- leaving a pile of rubble and twisted car believe the junta will concede political before the accident, according to data from the port. The huge commercial vessel came into ups. “There are all kinds of ships navigating parts. “The roadside bomb exploded autonomy any time soon. Marine Traffic website. It was not immediately Yokosuka with large scrapes on its bow, but those waters.” before noon, killing six and injuring While the insurgents mostly target clear what prompted the sharp turn. none of its 20 crew were injured. Japan’s four,” said Preuk Liengsuk, the police troops and police, they also routinely The US navy and Japan’s coastguard are coastguard is also investigating why it took Right of way? chief of Thung Yang Daeng district. The turn their weapons on teachers, local conducting separate inquiries, but will likely nearly an hour before the Philippine ship Under maritime law, the container ship had Muslim-majority border region has been officials and other civilians seen as col- be co-operating, a spokesman for Japan’s reported the collision, a coastguard an obligation to avoid a collision if it was try- racked by violence for over a decade as laborators with the state. The last major transport safety board told AFP. Japanese spokesman said. ing to overtake the destroyer from behind. But ethnic Malay insurgents battle the gov- bombing blamed on rebels - who rarely coastguard investigators will be interviewing “We had first announced that the collision if the container vessel was approaching from ernment of Buddhist-majority Thailand claim attacks - left at least 40 people the Filipino crew of the Japanese-owned con- occurred at 2:20 am, based on the initial the US ship’s right side, the destroyer had the for more autonomy. wounded outside a supermarket in tainer ship, although the US has primary juris- report from the Philippine ship, but we have obligation to give way, another Japanese Frequent shooting and bomb attacks Pattani in May. The army has also faced diction in investigating accidents involving now changed it to 1:30 am after directly hear- coastguard spokesman said. “Generally speak- have claimed more than 6,800 lives repeated accusations of abuse, includ- military. Citing local investigators, Japan’s top- ing from the crew,” the spokesman said. “We ing, if a ship sees another vessel on its right since 2004, with both sides accused of ing extrajudicial killings and torture of selling Yomiuri newspaper said Monday that are checking what happened during the time hand side it has the obligation to avoid” a col- rights abuses and atrocities. Thailand’s detainees in a region ruled for years by the damage on both ships suggests they were and why the report was delayed,” he added. lision, he added. —AFP ruling junta has tried to restart peace emergency laws. —AFP