China's new European trade hub: An Irish town of 18,000 - Christian Science Monitor
The Athlone Institute of Technology hosts more than 200 Chinese students – one of the links that helped bring the trade hub to the town, says Prof. Ciaran Ó Catháin, the president of the school and one of the players in the project negotiations. Professor Ó Catháin would not disclose ...
Vietnam’s Problems, Promises - Asia Sentinel/RTÉ World Report
“We tend to lose around 20% of our staff every year after Tet” (the Vietnamese New Year), said Kim Jung Hee, manager of a factory in Binh Duong province, an hour's drive from Saigon's centre. Her Korean company NB Blue employs a thousand workers, in a clean and well-lit factory ...
Thailand sentences American to prison for insulting king - Los Angeles Times
"In Thailand they put people in jail without proof," Lerpong said Thursday, his arms and legs shackled, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. "I was born in Thailand, but this does not mean I am Thai. I am proud to be an American citizen."
DMZ: Road trip to the world's most heavily armed border - CNNGo
SEOUL - As the tour bus moves from central Seoul to the city outskirts, the seamless transition from one of the world's biggest and most vibrant cities to the world's most heavily armed border is as surreal as it is functional, with roadside bus-stops giving way to military watchtowers even ...
Potent mix for Timor-Leste - Asia Times
DILI - Land, corruption and poverty are all on the table as Timor-Leste gets into political mode ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2012, with one controversial figure already throwing his hat into the ring.
If Samuel Beckett met Pol Pot - Asia Sentinel/Irish Examiner
TIK PANHAO, CAMBODIA - In some of Cambodia’s thousands of killing fields, the bones of the dead can sometimes be seen, rising to the surface after storms or rain, like grisly emblems of an unburied past. Perhaps 16,000 died at the s-21 Detention Camp in Phnom Penh, or at Choeung ...
Voting ends in southern Sudan referendum - Sunday Tribune
Kyeli, Blue Nile State, Sudan - “Soon after we married, my husband was killed during the war”, says Hawa Abdul-Gadr. Her eyes show a suppressed grief, but her demeanour is purposeful. That said, there is a perceptible sadness - long-kept under wraps but perhaps closer to the surface than she ...
An unbreakable bond? – Asia Times
JERUSALEM – In 'The Great Divorce' C.S. Lewis attempted to allegorise about a reality which he admitted he could not know, but tentatively hoped to suggest. The US-Israeli relationship, to most, seems like an unbreakable bond, and any potential divorce might be regarded as unimaginable. But when Israeli Prime Minister ...
Narcotic use, drought rob babies of food – The Washington Times
DIRE DAWA, Ethiopia | When drought and food shortages hit, it is the very young who suffer first, and most. Weighing only 10 pounds, Ayaan is among nearly 100,000 Ethiopian children whose lives are at risk. Just four days before her first birthday, she is lighter than an average 3-month-old ...
Corruption trumps tribalism – New York Times (IHT)
Kenyans were cynical about their political establishment long before the latest election violence. One wisecrack doing the rounds since last year says "there is more chance of a Luo becoming president of the United States than president of this country" - referring to Barack Obama, whose father hails from the ...
Bangladesh Pressures Rohingya after EU Visit – The Irrawaddy
February 22nd, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17867
The Bangladesh authorities have renewed arrests and pushback of Rohingya refugees in the days following the departure of a European parliamentary (MEP) delegation from the region bordering Burma.
This comes despite a resolution asking that the arrests and deportations be ended and similar calls from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working on the ground.
According to The Arakan Project, 68 Rohingya have been arrested by the Bangladeshi police and security forces since the MEPs left the country. Eight persons were put in jail with the remainder sent back to Burma, in violation of the principle of non refoulement which says that refugees should not be sent back to the country from where they fled without their consent and without guarantees for their security and rights. (more…)
Electing to imprison – RTÉ World Report/ISN
February 22nd, 2010
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0228/worldreport.html
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?lng=en&id=112923
Burma’s military junta frees one opposition figure as many others languish in prison, while setting up up front parties to compete in what can only be a sham election.
When people in the West think of Burma, thoughts most likely turn to the iconic opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been locked up for most of the past 20 years, more or less spanning the time since Nelson Mandela’s release from jail in South Africa. Her crime: winning the country’s single election held since independence from Britain.
Burma is due to hold elections again this year, but Suu Kyi is not permitted to run. The military regime in charge of the country since 1962 seems determined to hold onto power and looks likely to use the elections to try to craft some form of civilian veneer for continued army rule.
The constitution reserves 25 percent of the seats in the proposed new parliament for the army, which is enough to block any attempt to change the law in Burma.
As for the rest, the army is setting up front parties, with officers and civil servants resigning their posts, under orders from the top, to ‘compete’ in the elections. (more…)
Japan and Southeast Asia Take Stock of China’s Rise – The Irrawaddy
February 20th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17856
As China’s economic and political rise makes itself felt in Asia, Japan and Southeast Asia face serious foreign policy dilemmas in the coming years.
In 1990, Japan’s economy was double the size of the rest Asia combined, as the country looked set to challenge America’s global economic primacy. After two decades of flat performance, however, this has changed. Some projections claim that China is already the second largest economy in the world, having overtaken Japan, and others predict that the Chinese economy will be 5-6 times larger than Japan’s within the next 40-50 years.
Adding to concerns about Japan’s position in Asia is recent friction in its relationship with its most important ally, the United States. Despite wrangles between Tokyo and Washington over naval bases and troop deployment in Japan, however, the alliance between the two countries is steady and remains crucial to security in the wider region, Prof Takashi Shiraishi, currently a member of the Japanese cabinet office, told a forum at Chulalongkorn University.
Supporting this view is the fact that distrust of China still outweighs Japanese public resentment of the US presence. According to opinion polls, more than half the population have a negative opinion of China. Prof Kitti Prasirtsuk, a Thai academic based at Thammasat University who specializes in Japanese politics, said that there is a growing wariness in Japan of Beijing’s longer-term strategic intentions. (more…)
Rohingya Can Only Starve in Bangladesh – The Irrawaddy
February 18th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17842
Pressure is mounting on the Bangladesh Government to cease what European Parliamentarians and NGOs are calling “an unprecedented crackdown” on Rohingya refugees now settled outside the two official camps in Cox’s Bazaar District near the Burmese border.
A Rohingya woman stands with her child in front of makeshift huts in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar. (Photo: Reuters)
As Dhaka clamps down on Rohingya refugees, local anti-Rohingya sentiment—never far from the surface in a relatively-poor region of Bangladesh—has been whipped-up by the authorities and by local media.
The recent crackdown in Bangladesh risks creating a humanitarian crisis for tens of thousands of refugees who already face precarious living conditions.
“All they [Burmese Rohingya] can legally do is starve,” said Paul Critchley, mission head for Médecin Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Bangladesh.
Speaking at a press conference in Bangkok on Thursday, Critchley said women and girls have been raped leaving the camp to collect firewood, which they hope to sell and earn some meager resources for their families.
MSF said it is imperative the Government in Dhaka and the UNHCR do more to help the unregistered Rohingya, whose living conditions are getting worse as they are crowding into a crammed, unsanitary area without any support infrastructure.
MSF, which is operating a basic healthcare program at an unoffical camp at Kutapalong in Ukhia, said, “As camp numbers continue to swell, conditions pose a significant risk to people’s health.”
Around 30,000 Rohingya have flocked to the makeshift camp.
Of an estimated 230,000 Burmese Rohingya refugees thought to be in Bangladesh, only around 28,000 are registered as refugees and receive UNHCR-led assistance. The rest try to survive unaided and unprotected in villages and slums in south-eastern Bangladesh. (more…)
NLD-Ethnic Groups Share Common Center – The Irrawaddy
February 17th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17826
The perceived divide between the “mainstream” Burmese opposition led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) on the one hand, and groups representing ethnic minorities on the other, is “artificial and contrived.”
Karen women leave a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border to return to Burma. About 30,000 Karen entered Thailand in June 2009 to flee fighting between rebel groups and the government. (Photo: Reuters)
Noting that the 2007 protests known as the “Saffron Revolution” were started by monks in Rakhine, Benjamin Zawacki, a researcher on Amnesty’s Southeast Asia team, said that the presence of a substantial number of ethnic minorities in the NLD suggests that the ethnic groups share many common grievances with the Burmese opposition, and see common ground in addressing these issues.
“While ethnic minorities have their own issues with the Myanmar [Burma] government, a shared experience of oppression infuses links between the opposition and ethnic groups,” Zawacki said.
Zawacki spoke at a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday, launching Amnesty’s report “The Repression of Ethnic Minority Activists in Myanmar.” The document is based on interviews with more than 700 representatives of ethnic groups, with interviews taking place in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and other countries neighboring Burma.
It focuses on the seven main ethnic groups in Burma, those identified as making up a majority in their eponymous state, namely the Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karenni, Karen and Mon. Ethnic minorities make up between 35 to 40 percent of the country’s population, with at least 135 ethnic groups living inside Burma. Burmese make up the majority of the country’s people.
Ten political parties have registered to participate in the upcoming election in Burma, according to a junta. However, the NLD and the major parties representing ethnic minorities have not indicated that they will take part.
The junta has ordered that ethnic militias, many of which are linked to political parties, stand down and become part of the state border force prior to the elections.
Burma recently marked its Union Day, commemorating the signing of the Panglong Agreement in 1947. Gen Aung San and leaders of some of the ethnic minorities agreed to establish a form of federal union in which the non-Burmese minorities would have substantial local autonomy. When the military seized power in 1962, it justified the coup by dismissing the Panglong agreement and the federation principle as code for ethnic groups trying to separate from Burma. (more…)
China-US Rivalry Intensifies – The Irrawaddy
February 15th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17812
With the Dalai Lama set to meet President Obama later this week, more political fireworks can be expected just days after the Chinese New Year. US-China relations have been stormy over recent weeks, with Beijing and Washington trading barbs over Taiwan and Google, disagreeing over policy on Iran, North Korea, and bickering over exchange rates, among a range of contentious political and economic issues.
But the officially atheist politburo in Beijing might take it as an auspicious sign that this is the Year of the Tiger. China has fared relatively well amid the global economic downturn, and with the US bogged down with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Obama’s domestic reform agenda running into sand, Beijing might want to test American mettle as the perceived gap between the two countries narrows.
Obama dodged a bullet when shunning an opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama last year. But one year into an administration that has been dogged by accusations of softness and conflicting signals in foreign policy, a meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will add to Obama’s attempt at an image makeover. (more…)
Timor-Leste: Choosing Between ASEAN and Burmese Reform? – The Irrawaddy
February 13th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17804
What's cooking in Timor? Homeskills training course, Aileu, Timor-Leste. (Photo: Simon Roughneen, July 2009)
Despite rumors that its United Nations ambassador was sacked for voting to support a Dec. 23 General Assembly resolution condemning human rights abuses in Burma, the tiny Southeast Asian country of Timor-Leste says it continues to back reform in Burma.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, Timor-Lester Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa said: “We remain committed to promoting democracy and human rights in Myanmar [Burma] and internationally.”
Denying reports that former UN Ambassador Nelson Santos was removed due to a disagreement on Burma policy, da Costa said that the diplomat returned to Timor-Leste because he had completed his term in office.
Just before Christmas, da Costa told the UN that he had removed Santos from his post. Santos had just voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in Burma, which passed 86-23 with 39 abstentions. Santos was continuing Timor-Leste’s previous policy of supporting these resolutions.
Santos’ sudden dismissal sparked speculation that he was removed because the current multiparty coalition governing in Dili wants to align its Burma policy more closely with the approach taken by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Asean member-states Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam all joined the junta representative in voting against the Dec. 23 resolution, while Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia abstained. The Philippine representative was marked absent.
“It sounds like our government is giving up on human rights and democratization in Burma. This is sending a negative signal to the international community,” said Jose Teixeira, a spokesman for the opposition Fretilin party.
Timor-Leste is hoping to join Asean by 2012. President Jose Ramos-Horta has long been a critic of the Burmese junta, and it is thought that his condemnations so rankled the generals in Napyidaw that they have held up Dili’s membership application. (more…)
Australian Opposition ‘Deeply Concerned’ about Burma Policy – The Irrawaddy
February 11th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17786
Speaking to The Irrawaddy by telephone, Australia’s shadow foreign minister Julie Bishop said that she is “deeply concerned” about Australia’s participation alongside the Burmese regime in a multilateral naval exercise hosted by India. The naval exercise was undertaken just as Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith announced a 40 percent increase in Australian humanitarian assistance to Burma.
“The Australian government has not explained this at all,” she said, adding that Australia “should not be sending mixed messages to the Burma’s military government.” Julie Bishop is MP for Curtin in Western Australia and deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Party. (more…)
Safe for Refugees to Return: Thai Gov’t – The Irrawaddy
February 10th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17779
At a forum involving various Thai government ministries and agencies, along with representatives of the military and international organizations, a Thai Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesperson said that Karen refugees at Tha Song Yang camp have expressed a willingness to return to Burma.
Karens move out from their refugee camp in Tha Son Yang district, Tak province near the Thai-Burmese border on February 5. Thailand has suspended the forced repatriation of ethnic Karen refugees, heeding calls from US lawmakers and rights groups. (Photo: Reuters)
Today’s statements come despite the Thai authorities suspending plans to deport all the refugees, once numbering over 4500, back to Burma by February 15. However, no definitive answer was given on whether the group of refugees would stay in Thailand or not.
MOFA spokesperson Rachanan Thananand said that the area from which the refugees fled in June 2006 is clear of landmines, according to information received from the Burmese side of the border.
He said that there was no indication that the fighting between the junta-aligned Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) was going to resume anytime soon. His statements were seconded by Thai military representative Col. Phadoong Yingpibool, who said, “We speak the truth about recent events. We would never force people to go back.”
Col Padoong said that “although I wish I could give you more information about these issues, I have been busy with other matters recently.”
However, Guiseppe de Vicentis, the deputy regional representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that there is ample evidence that there are landmines on the Burmese side.
He said that although the refugees would ultimately like to go home, they cannot do so if the situation in Burma “has not normalized,” concluding that the conditions for safe return have not yet materialized.
The Burmese regime has given ethnic militias until the end of February to comply with demands that they stand down and operate as a border guard force for the state security apparatus. The KNLA has not consented to this order, giving rise to fears that renewed fighting looms in Burma’s borderlands.
Going into more detail, a spokeswoman for the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) said that at least nine people have been injured or killed by landmines in the region since the refugees fled in June 2009. (more…)
Former Foreign Minister reviews Thai-Burmese relations – The Irrawaddy
February 10th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17775&Submit=Submit
Former Thai foreign minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai said that Thailand’s relations with Burma have deteriorated since the 2006 military coup and the current government has been “putting more pressure on the Government of Myanmar [Burma],” with the number of high-level meetings much reduced from the pre-coup era.
Speaking at a forum on Thai foreign policy at Chulalongkorn University, Surakiart said that during the Thai Rak Thai administration, the government “worked to bring Myanmar in from the cold” with Thai diplomacy a key factor in cajoling the junta into a 2003 announcement that they would draft a new constitution as part of their so-called seven-steps roadmap to democracy.
However, the new Constitution, which maintains military rule in Burma, was adopted in controversial and tragic circumstances in the days after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma’s Irrawaddy delta in 2008. (more…)
