BANGKOK – The start of Ramadan this Friday, when pious Muslims seek to cleanse their souls and come together in the name of peace, sees mosques in southern Thailand taking center stage in a region racked by recent violence and bloody killings. The holiest month...
Sihanouk’s Abdication Catches Nation by Surprise
BANGKOK – One of Asia's most colorful monarchs, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk, has plunged his country into a constitutional crisis following Thursday's announcement that he is abdicating. The 82-year-old king's decision was revealed on the day he was due back...
EU Threatens Burma With More Sanctions
BANGKOK - The showdown between Burma's military regime and the European Union (EU) at this weekend's meeting of Asian and European leaders has propelled into one that could damage the EU's stature if Rangoon does not blink. As it is, the stakes have never been higher....
Thai Civilians Urged to Arm Against Muslim Insurgents
BANGKOK – By permitting judges to arm themselves in the southern provinces, Thailand has conceded that it faces a daunting task in trying to control violence in the region, which now seems to have taken a turn for the worse. This week's decision by the Office of...
UN Official Blames Burma’s Junta for Impoverishing Villagers
BANGKOK - A United Nations official is blaming the Burmese military government's restrictive agriculture policies for driving villages in two border regions of the country into further poverty. The government restricts the free movement of agriculture products in...
UN Sees Opportunity to Turn Screws on Burma
BANGKOK - By throwing his weight behind the legitimacy of Burma's opposition party, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has deprived Burmese Prime Minister Khin Nyunt of claiming political progress to mark his first anniversary in office. Annan's statement on Tuesday goes...
We Can Torture, but You Better Not
Over two years after being freed from torture in a prison in Laos, Kay Danes is still haunted by the physical and psychological pain she endured for 10 months. While this Australian mother of two recalls being regularly pistol whipped, threatened with death, mocked...
On Rights, US Government Not Too Far from Asian Regimes
Southeast Asian regimes known for their human rights violations are receiving a reminder here of how close the US government is to marching in their step, including having the habit of detaining without trial people deemed to be national security threats. On Friday, a...
Asian Officials: Free Trade Will Help Crush Poverty
Asian governments should embrace the global free trade system as a way to lift the region's millions out of abject poverty, senior development officials told a high-level conference here Monday. Any cooperation between countries across Asia "should pay particular...
Cambodia’s Crisis Puts UN ‘Success’ Into Question
Over a decade after the United Nations claimed as a success story the restoration of democracy in war-ravaged Cambodia, the Southeast Asian country is exposing this achievement to be much less than what it has been vaunted to be. Democratic processes like elections...