【263-265】Video Shows Man Believed to be Last of Amazon Tribe

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https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=p134579qlc4&width=500&height=375&auto=0

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Ruling Party Faces Little Challenge in Cambodia's Election

July 27, 2018

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen waves to supporters during his Cambodian People's Party's campaign in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodians vote Sunday for all 125 seats in the country's National Assembly.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party is expected to stay in power. The party has won every election for the past 20 years.

In the 2013 election, the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (or CNRP) disputed the results. It accused the ruling party of fraud and refused to enter parliament to claim its 55 seats.

The boycott set off protests against the government that resulted in violent attacks on demonstrators by security forces. The protests ended in July 2014 when the opposition party met with government officials and agreed to enter parliament.

Since then, the government has put intense pressure on the opposition. Its leader Sam Rainsy was accused of insulting the government and lost his parliamentary right. He is barred from returning to Cambodia or running in elections.

In February 2017, Rainsy gave leadership of the opposition party to Kem Sokha. Seven months later, Kem was arrested and accused of planning a U.S.-backed revolution in Cambodia.

While 20 parties are expected to run in Sunday's election, the CNRP was seen as the only serious threat to Hun Sen's party and leadership.

The United Nations has called the election “flawed” because of the government’s actions against the CNRP and its leaders. The United States and the European Union have withdrawn financial support for the election.

The Cambodian government has also pressured independent media in the past year. The Cambodia Daily newspaper announced in September that it would go out of business after getting a $6.3 million tax bill. The newspaper's publishers said the tax bill was driven by politics.

The pressure has also affected radio stations, including the Phnom Penh office of Radio Free Asia, which also closed in September. Two journalists who worked for Radio Free Asia were arrested and accused of spying.

Cambodia's government said about 220 election observers from 52 countries will watch for problems with Sunday's vote. But critics say many of the observer groups are linked to the ruling party.

On Wednesday, Cambodia's armed forces made a show of power with anti-riot equipment and assault rifles. Cambodian forces had used such equipment in an attack on anti-government protesters in January 2014.

The Phnom Penh police chief told Reuters that security forces will be stationed across the capital city to keep order during Sunday's vote. He said police will stop any protests or anyone urging others not to vote.

I’m Susan Shand.

Susan Shand adapted this story for Learning English from VOA News reports. Hai Do was the editor.

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Words in This Story

fraud – n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

flaw – n. a mistake or imperfection

assault - n. a military attack

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Report Says More Than 200 Land Activists Killed Last Year

July 27, 2018

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while addressing the crowd after leading the flag-raising rites at the 120th Philippine Independence Day celebration at the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine at Kawit, Cavite province south of Manila, June 12, 2018.

Getting away with murder

In Mexico, murders rose to their highest number since observers began keeping records in 1997. Global Witness linked the rise to organized crime and the government’s failure to punish criminals.

Ben Leather said that as time passes, those responsible for the crimes feel they, “have more and more evidence that they're simply going to get away with murder.”

Leather urged Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to make fighting crime a goal of his administration. The new president takes office on December 1.

Rodrigo Santiago Juarez is a member of the Mexican government's National Human Rights Commission. He says he agrees with the report's main findings. Many activists in Mexico face not only "attacks, threats, killings and disappearances," but also public discrimination for their work, he said.

A woman places flowers on an altar set up in honor of Berta Caceres during a demonstration outside Honduras' embassy in Mexico City.

A new report says killings of land and environmental activists rose in 2017.

The environmental and human rights group Global Witness reports that Mexico and the Philippines registered sharp increases in such murders last year. And it says Brazil had the most ever registered killings of activists in a single country.

Global Witness said at least 207 people protecting land and resources from business interests were killed last year. This was up from 201 killed in 2016, it noted. That makes 2017 the deadliest year since the group began recording deaths of land and environmental activists in 2015.

Global Witness said that the numbers were probably higher because of the difficulties of identifying and confirming such killings.

Consumer demand has often pressured agricultural businesses to expand production of crops like coffee, palm oil, and sugar cane. For the first time, more activists were killed in conflicts with agribusiness instead of mining, Global Witness said.

Ben Leather prepared the report for the group. He told the Associated Press that the rising number of killings is clear evidence that governments and businesses are not serious about solving the problem.

Leather added that having more deadly conflicts tied to agriculture "should serve as a wake-up call to those businesses and to those investing in large-scale agriculture that they need to be better, too, and ensure that their money isn't funding this violence.”

The struggle to control the Amazon's natural resources often leads to conflict in Brazil. It remained the deadliest country for land activists, with 57 people killed last year. This is the highest number in a single year in any country since Global Witness began counting.

But there were also surprising increases in other countries. The Philippines had 48 land activists killed. That is the most ever for any Asian country and represents a 70 percent jump from 2016 levels. In Mexico, the number rose from three to 15. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 13 people were killed. Twelve of them were park rangers protecting wildlife.

The deadliest country in Asia for activists

In the Philippines, 20 killings were linked to conflicts with agricultural businesses, and there were signs of military involvement. The Global Witness report linked the deaths to President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign to expand industrial agriculture, especially on the island of Mindanao. Eight of those killed were reported to be ethnic Taboli-manubo people. They were resisting expansion of a coffee farm.

A Philippine military commander, Benjamin Madrigal, said the armed forces does not support extrajudicial killings – attacks carried out in violation of the law. He said soldiers are needed to enforce environmental laws and ensure that companies work with rural communities.

President Duterte has said he is ready to stand up to large businesses even if the government loses money.

In this July 11, 2018 photo, Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador receives a note from a man, as he leaves his headquarters in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City.

Santiago said the Commission has campaigned to support the work of civil society. He said that since 2012, the government has operated what is known as “the mechanism” -- a program that provides protective measures, such as home security systems. In addition, guards were deployed to protect about 400 activists and 300 media workers.

Santiago said these services will help many people, "But we also know that the mechanism ... on its own cannot solve everything. The best way to resolve this situation is, first, punishing the attackers."

Removing protections

The Global Witness report also criticized the administration of Brazilian President Michel Temer. It accused his administration of reducing environmental protections and financial support for groups that protect rights of native people and small land owners.

Native groups say these actions have led to farmers, businesses and other outsiders seizing their land.

In a statement late Tuesday, Temer's office called the report’s criticism "fake news." It also noted that some of the killings in the report were related to drug-trafficking disputes, and Temer had worked to defend the environment.

I’m Phil Dierking. And I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Peter Orsi and Sarah DiLorenzo reported this story for the Associated Press. Phil Dierking adapted their story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Do you think land activists should be protected by the government? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services

fake - adj. not true or real

funding - n. available money

park - n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise

ranger - n. a person in charge of managing and protecting part of a public forest

resource - n. something that a country has and can use to increase its wealth

mechanism - n. a process or system that is used to produce a particular result

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Video Shows Man Believed to be Last of Amazon Tribe

July 27, 2018

Brazil’s Indian Foundation has released a video that shows images of a man believed to be the last surviving member of his tribe. No one knows the man’s name or that of his tribe. It appears he has lived alone in Brazil’s Amazon for 22 years. (Brazil's National Indian Foundation)

The video is from 2011. But officials say they last saw evidence he was alive in May.

The man is cutting down a tree in the shaky video shot from a distance through trees and other leafy plants. The recording includes sound of his ax hitting the tree and bird calls.

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Altair Algayer leads the team of investigators that observed the man. He said the foundation was unwilling to release the video earlier because it could not ask for the man’s permission. But he also noted that such images help to bring attention to people who struggle to keep their distance from the outside world.

Algayer spoke to the AP by phone. He said, “Lots of people are seeking out (this video). They want to know what is he like, how can he be seen, is he still alive. I think that ends up helping to protect the territory.”

Brazil is home to several native groups that are not in contact with other peoples. Their land is increasingly under threat, as is the land of natives in contact with the outside world. Many outside groups fight over the Amazon’s resources. Last year, 71 people were killed in conflicts over land. Brazil’s Pastoral Land Commission keeps records on the violence. It says 2017 was the most violent year since 2003.

The Indian Foundation began its observation of the man in 1996. It found him living alone in the forest in Rondonia state. The foundation believes farmers and loggers repeatedly attacked his tribe beginning in the 1980s. It suspects the last members were killed in an attack in 1995 or 1996. But the foundation said in recent years, no one has tried to enter the protected area where he lives.

Algayer said the team that tracks him calls him “the Indian of the hole” because of an unusual hole that he dug.

He added that the man appears to be in good health and between 55 and 60 years old.

The foundation’s policy is to let such people live their lives separate from the rest of civilization. But members worried he was in danger because he was alone. They made contact in 2005. The group says he made clear at that time that he wanted no contact. So, it made no further attempts.

A team enters his territory to look for signs that he is still alive about every other month. The last time they saw him was in 2016. But they are able to tell he is still alive by evidence he leaves behind. The team found fresh footprints and a newly cut tree in May.

They have left tools and seeds for the man. They have seen that he has planted corn, potatoes, papayas and bananas.

In a statement, Algayer said, “This man, who is unknown to us, even after losing everything…proved that, even like that, alone in the forest, it is possible to survive and resist joining mainstream society.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Sarah DiLorenzo reported this story for the Associated Press news agency. Jonathan Evans adapted her story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

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