Nov 26, 2012
Official: Hamas will seek more weapons
Official: Hamas will seek more weapons:
CAIRO — Israel and Hamas on Monday resumed indirect discussions over their fragile cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, a top Hamas official said, but he warned that violence could flare again if negotiators did not quickly come to an agreement.
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CAIRO — Israel and Hamas on Monday resumed indirect discussions over their fragile cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, a top Hamas official said, but he warned that violence could flare again if negotiators did not quickly come to an agreement.
Read full article >>
Fire Kills 112 Workers at Bangladesh Factory
Fire Kills 112 Workers at Bangladesh Factory:
A firefighter inspects the garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh, on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters)DHAKA, Bangladesh—Fire raced up the floors of a garment factory in Bangladesh, killing at least 112 people, many of them trapped in the eight-story building with no emergency exits where they make clothes for major global retailers.
The factory outside the capital, Dhaka, is owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., a subsidiary of the Tuba Group, which makes products for Wal-Mart and other companies in the US and Europe.
Firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory and 12 more people died at hospitals after jumping from the building to escape, Maj Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director, told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed. The cause of the blaze that began late Saturday was not immediately clear, and authorities ordered an investigation. Army soldiers and border guards were helping keep order as thousands of onlookers and anxious relatives of the factory workers gathered, Mahbub said.
Tazreen was given a “high risk” safety rating after a May 16, 2011, audit conducted by an “ethical sourcing” assessor for Wal-Mart, according to a document posted on the Tuba Group’s website. It did not specify what led to the rating.
Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner said online documents indicating an orange or “high risk” assessment after the May 2011 inspection and a yellow or “medium risk” report after an inspection in August 2011 appeared to pertain to the factory. The August 2011 letter said Wal-Mart would conduct another inspection within one year.
Gardner said it was not clear if that inspection had been conducted or whether the factory was still making products for Wal-Mart.
If a factory is rated “orange” three times in two years, Wal-Mart won’t place any orders for one year. The May 2011 report was the first orange rating for the factory.
Neither Tazreen’s owner nor Tuba Group officials could be reached for comment.
The Tuba Group is a major Bangladeshi garment exporter whose clients also include Carrefour and IKEA, according to its website. Its factories export garments to the US, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, among other countries. The Tazreen factory, which opened in 2009 and employed about 1,700 people, made polo shirts, fleece jackets and T-shirts.
Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories, many without proper safety measures. The country annually earns about US $20 billion from exports of garment products, mainly to the US and Europe.
In its 2012 Global Responsibility report, Wal-Mart said that “fire safety continues to be a key focus for brands and retailers sourcing from Bangladesh.” Wal-Mart said it ceased working with 49 factories in Bangladesh in 2011 because of fire safety issues, and was working with its supplier factories to phase out production from buildings deemed high risk.
At the factory, relatives of the workers frantically looked for their loved ones. Sabina Yasmine said she saw the body of her daughter-in-law, but had seen no trace of her son, who also worked there.
“Oh, Allah, where’s my soul? Where’s my son?” wailed Yasmine, who works at another factory in the area. “I want the factory owner to be hanged. For him, many have died, many have gone.”
Mahbub said the fire broke out on the ground floor, which was used as a warehouse, and spread quickly to the upper floors. Many workers who retreated to the roof were rescued, he said. But he said that with no emergency exits leading outside the building, many victims were trapped, and firefighters recovered 69 bodies from the second floor alone.
“The factory had three staircases, and all of them were down through the ground floor,” Mahbub said. “So the workers could not come out when the fire engulfed the building.”
“Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower,” he said.
Many victims were burned beyond recognition. The bodies were laid out in rows at a school nearby. Many of them were handed over to families; unclaimed victims were taken to Dhaka Medical College for identification.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed shock at the loss of so many lives.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said it would stand by the victims’ families.
A firefighter inspects the garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh, on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters)
The factory outside the capital, Dhaka, is owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., a subsidiary of the Tuba Group, which makes products for Wal-Mart and other companies in the US and Europe.
Firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory and 12 more people died at hospitals after jumping from the building to escape, Maj Mohammad Mahbub, fire department operations director, told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed. The cause of the blaze that began late Saturday was not immediately clear, and authorities ordered an investigation. Army soldiers and border guards were helping keep order as thousands of onlookers and anxious relatives of the factory workers gathered, Mahbub said.
Tazreen was given a “high risk” safety rating after a May 16, 2011, audit conducted by an “ethical sourcing” assessor for Wal-Mart, according to a document posted on the Tuba Group’s website. It did not specify what led to the rating.
Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner said online documents indicating an orange or “high risk” assessment after the May 2011 inspection and a yellow or “medium risk” report after an inspection in August 2011 appeared to pertain to the factory. The August 2011 letter said Wal-Mart would conduct another inspection within one year.
Gardner said it was not clear if that inspection had been conducted or whether the factory was still making products for Wal-Mart.
If a factory is rated “orange” three times in two years, Wal-Mart won’t place any orders for one year. The May 2011 report was the first orange rating for the factory.
Neither Tazreen’s owner nor Tuba Group officials could be reached for comment.
The Tuba Group is a major Bangladeshi garment exporter whose clients also include Carrefour and IKEA, according to its website. Its factories export garments to the US, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands, among other countries. The Tazreen factory, which opened in 2009 and employed about 1,700 people, made polo shirts, fleece jackets and T-shirts.
Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories, many without proper safety measures. The country annually earns about US $20 billion from exports of garment products, mainly to the US and Europe.
In its 2012 Global Responsibility report, Wal-Mart said that “fire safety continues to be a key focus for brands and retailers sourcing from Bangladesh.” Wal-Mart said it ceased working with 49 factories in Bangladesh in 2011 because of fire safety issues, and was working with its supplier factories to phase out production from buildings deemed high risk.
At the factory, relatives of the workers frantically looked for their loved ones. Sabina Yasmine said she saw the body of her daughter-in-law, but had seen no trace of her son, who also worked there.
“Oh, Allah, where’s my soul? Where’s my son?” wailed Yasmine, who works at another factory in the area. “I want the factory owner to be hanged. For him, many have died, many have gone.”
Mahbub said the fire broke out on the ground floor, which was used as a warehouse, and spread quickly to the upper floors. Many workers who retreated to the roof were rescued, he said. But he said that with no emergency exits leading outside the building, many victims were trapped, and firefighters recovered 69 bodies from the second floor alone.
“The factory had three staircases, and all of them were down through the ground floor,” Mahbub said. “So the workers could not come out when the fire engulfed the building.”
“Had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties would have been much lower,” he said.
Many victims were burned beyond recognition. The bodies were laid out in rows at a school nearby. Many of them were handed over to families; unclaimed victims were taken to Dhaka Medical College for identification.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed shock at the loss of so many lives.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said it would stand by the victims’ families.
Rare Hardwood Sparks Gunfights, Corruption in Asia
Rare Hardwood Sparks Gunfights, Corruption in Asia:
Illegal rosewood stockpiles in Antalaha, Madagascar. (Photo: Erik Patel)KOH KONG, Cambodia—A Thai force dubbed the “Rambo Army” couldn’t stop the gangs, armed with battlefield weaponry, as they scoured the forests. Neither could a brave activist, gunned down when he came to investigate. Nor, apparently, can governments across Southeast Asia.
The root of the conflicts and bloodshed? Rosewood.
The richly hued, brownish hardwood is being illegally ripped from Southeast Asian forests, then smuggled by sea and air to be turned into Chinese furniture that can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of it also ends up in the finest American guitars, or as billiard cues.
The felling, almost all of it illegal, has increased dramatically in recent years and driven the region’s rosewood to the brink of extinction.
“This is not just an environmental issue. It drives corruption and criminal networks. There is a lot of violence and blood spilled before the rosewood ends up in someone’s living room,” says Faith Doherty of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a nongovernmental group based in London. “It’s one of the most expensive woods in the world. That’s why there is a war for it.”
In Koh Kong, a jungle region of southwest Cambodia where most villagers earn less than US $2 a day, finding a rosewood tree is better than winning the lottery. A cubic meter (1.3 cubic yards) of top-grade rosewood last year could be sold for up to $2,700 to middlemen who hover around forests and construction sites of dams and roads in Thailand, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.
Various species grow in Southeast Asia and countries including India, Brazil and Madagascar. Nearly all source nations have banned felling and export of unprocessed rosewood, allowing harvesting only in special cases such as clearing forests for dam construction.
The volume of rosewood consumed by China alone suggests that most was obtained illegally. China imported $600 million worth in 2011, according to official Chinese documents made available by James Hewitt, an expert on the illegal timber trade at the London think tank Chatham House. About half came from Southeast Asian countries.
The documents also show that China’s appetite is soaring—from just 66,000 cubic meters in 2005 to 500,000 cubic meters last year. Rosewood has long been prized in China, and the dramatic growth of its wealthy class is cited as the main reason for the surge in exploitation.
The hunt for rosewood ignites violence between officials and smugglers, and sometimes among rival gangs.
The EIA estimates that nearly 50 Cambodian loggers and smugglers have been killed in Thailand and others arrested over the past two years in clashes, with Thais also suffering casualties.
In Koh Kong, one of the country’s leading environmental activists, Chut Wutty, was shot dead in April while investigating illegal rosewood logging by Timbergreen, a company with no known address that is believed to be a hook-up of gangs and officials.
In Thailand ‘s northeast, authorities last year formed what they called a “Rambo Army” of 11-man units of armed forestry rangers to target the traffickers who cross the porous frontier from Cambodia, often in well-armed bands. The Rambo Army was disbanded after a three-month operation due to lack of funds.
Despite the loss of law-enforcement muscle and widespread corruption, thousands of illegally felled trees have been seized in recent years and many of those accused of involvement in the trade have been arrested, including the son of a Cambodian general and 12 Thai police officers. Last month, Thai authorities nabbed eight Cambodian rosewood hunters in the Thai border province of Sisaket.
It hasn’t been enough to protect rosewood in Thailand. By some official estimates, the number of rosewood trees there dropped from 300,000 in 2005 to as low as 80,000 last year.
“The spectrum of illegal rosewood logging ranges from loggers, military and police officers to Thai forestry officials. This network runs the industry,” says Chavalit Lohkunsombat, who commanded the Rambo Army and remains head of the forest protection unit of Nakhon Sawan Province.
Once the smuggled rosewood snakes its way to furniture makers in China, often via Vietnam, the price escalates. A sofa and chair set of high quality “hongmu” or rosewood can sell for $320,000, according to the China Daily. A four-poster bed was seen by the EIA with a $1 million price tag.
Some rosewood makes its way to the US and Europe. A number of Chinese websites offer rosewood products to Western customers.
US authorities in 2009 and 2011 raided the Tennessee plants of the Gibson Guitar Corporation, seizing $500,000 worth of imported ebony and rosewood that was to be used in fingerboards. Gibson paid $350,000 in penalties in August to settle federal charges of illegally importing ebony, but rosewood was not part of the charges.
Environmental groups suspect many such rosewood sales violate US and European Union laws.
“I would be very interested to see how American and European outlets prove that the products they are selling come from legally felled wood,” says Doherty of EIA, which has been investigating the rosewood trade for several years. “In countries with widespread corruption and fraud, you need an independent monitor on the ground and that is not happening. When I look at products in American stores, I have my doubts.”
China is making tentative efforts to import rosewood and other species from legal sources, having established several bodies to regulate the trade. But one Chinese official familiar with the timber trade acknowledged that while the Beijing government was in principle against illegally imported wood, “this has yet to be reinforced by laws.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Chinese customs documents show Cambodia exported 36,000 cubic meters of logs to China from January 2007 to August 2012. The Cambodian government recently issued a blanket denial, but there’s a different story on the ground.
In recent years, Chinese companies have begun building dams in Koh Kong, making inroads into one of the region’s largest tracts of wilderness, and Cambodian logging groups were awarded licenses to log out areas the dams will flood.
According to foreign conservationists and the Cambodian human rights group LICADHO, which has investigators in Koh Kong, the work created an opportunity for “tree laundering.” They say logging companies falsified documents to make it appear their wood came from permitted areas when it was actually harvested up to 50 km (30 miles) away.
“There’s not a lot of valuable timber in dam reservoir areas because of where they are located and these are not huge areas. So they roam all over the mountains cutting luxury timber first,” says Marcus Hardtke, a German forestry expert who has worked extensively in Cambodia, including Koh Kong. “You can drive many trucks through that loophole.”
LICADHO and foreign conservationists say trees are felled by the company itself or villagers, who in some cases pull a single rosewood tree by ox cart for three or four weeks so they can sell it to middlemen. Military police trucks ferry the timber to warehouses in remote areas of Koh Kong. Then it’s shipped down the Tatay River by barges to seagoing vessels headed for Vietnam, or by road to the capital, Phnom Penh, and on to the Vietnamese border.
When the rosewood trade surged in late 2009, trucks were running night and day piled with logs in Koh Kong. Now, with the rapid depletion, villagers are going for roots, branches and old cuttings, selling rosewood by the kilogram rather than cubic meter, conservationists say.
EIA says that to curb the trade, Southeast Asian nations must push for rosewood to be included in CITES, the international treaty protecting trade in endangered flora and fauna. Rosewood species from Madagascar and Brazil are already listed.
Listing rosewood would force China to seize imports not accompanied by official CITES documents from country of origin. But given corrupt, vested interests, this is not easy. Regional cooperation is also essential.
“Punishment in Thailand is very light,” says Chavalit, the Thai forestry official. “Most loggers get suspended sentences if they confess. What we need is harsher punishment and serious law enforcement. Thai authorities need to be serious about illegal logging suppression.”
Tougher regulations on timber exports to the European Union will take effect in March. In the US, the Lacey Act of 2008 makes it illegal to import wood harvested and exported illegally under another country’s laws.
But all this may prove too late for forests.
“The rosewood is almost all gone from Koh Kong after just a few years,” says LICADHO’s In Kongchit. “It has been a total rape.”
Illegal rosewood stockpiles in Antalaha, Madagascar. (Photo: Erik Patel)
The root of the conflicts and bloodshed? Rosewood.
The richly hued, brownish hardwood is being illegally ripped from Southeast Asian forests, then smuggled by sea and air to be turned into Chinese furniture that can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of it also ends up in the finest American guitars, or as billiard cues.
The felling, almost all of it illegal, has increased dramatically in recent years and driven the region’s rosewood to the brink of extinction.
“This is not just an environmental issue. It drives corruption and criminal networks. There is a lot of violence and blood spilled before the rosewood ends up in someone’s living room,” says Faith Doherty of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a nongovernmental group based in London. “It’s one of the most expensive woods in the world. That’s why there is a war for it.”
In Koh Kong, a jungle region of southwest Cambodia where most villagers earn less than US $2 a day, finding a rosewood tree is better than winning the lottery. A cubic meter (1.3 cubic yards) of top-grade rosewood last year could be sold for up to $2,700 to middlemen who hover around forests and construction sites of dams and roads in Thailand, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.
Various species grow in Southeast Asia and countries including India, Brazil and Madagascar. Nearly all source nations have banned felling and export of unprocessed rosewood, allowing harvesting only in special cases such as clearing forests for dam construction.
The volume of rosewood consumed by China alone suggests that most was obtained illegally. China imported $600 million worth in 2011, according to official Chinese documents made available by James Hewitt, an expert on the illegal timber trade at the London think tank Chatham House. About half came from Southeast Asian countries.
The documents also show that China’s appetite is soaring—from just 66,000 cubic meters in 2005 to 500,000 cubic meters last year. Rosewood has long been prized in China, and the dramatic growth of its wealthy class is cited as the main reason for the surge in exploitation.
The hunt for rosewood ignites violence between officials and smugglers, and sometimes among rival gangs.
The EIA estimates that nearly 50 Cambodian loggers and smugglers have been killed in Thailand and others arrested over the past two years in clashes, with Thais also suffering casualties.
In Koh Kong, one of the country’s leading environmental activists, Chut Wutty, was shot dead in April while investigating illegal rosewood logging by Timbergreen, a company with no known address that is believed to be a hook-up of gangs and officials.
In Thailand ‘s northeast, authorities last year formed what they called a “Rambo Army” of 11-man units of armed forestry rangers to target the traffickers who cross the porous frontier from Cambodia, often in well-armed bands. The Rambo Army was disbanded after a three-month operation due to lack of funds.
Despite the loss of law-enforcement muscle and widespread corruption, thousands of illegally felled trees have been seized in recent years and many of those accused of involvement in the trade have been arrested, including the son of a Cambodian general and 12 Thai police officers. Last month, Thai authorities nabbed eight Cambodian rosewood hunters in the Thai border province of Sisaket.
It hasn’t been enough to protect rosewood in Thailand. By some official estimates, the number of rosewood trees there dropped from 300,000 in 2005 to as low as 80,000 last year.
“The spectrum of illegal rosewood logging ranges from loggers, military and police officers to Thai forestry officials. This network runs the industry,” says Chavalit Lohkunsombat, who commanded the Rambo Army and remains head of the forest protection unit of Nakhon Sawan Province.
Once the smuggled rosewood snakes its way to furniture makers in China, often via Vietnam, the price escalates. A sofa and chair set of high quality “hongmu” or rosewood can sell for $320,000, according to the China Daily. A four-poster bed was seen by the EIA with a $1 million price tag.
Some rosewood makes its way to the US and Europe. A number of Chinese websites offer rosewood products to Western customers.
US authorities in 2009 and 2011 raided the Tennessee plants of the Gibson Guitar Corporation, seizing $500,000 worth of imported ebony and rosewood that was to be used in fingerboards. Gibson paid $350,000 in penalties in August to settle federal charges of illegally importing ebony, but rosewood was not part of the charges.
Environmental groups suspect many such rosewood sales violate US and European Union laws.
“I would be very interested to see how American and European outlets prove that the products they are selling come from legally felled wood,” says Doherty of EIA, which has been investigating the rosewood trade for several years. “In countries with widespread corruption and fraud, you need an independent monitor on the ground and that is not happening. When I look at products in American stores, I have my doubts.”
China is making tentative efforts to import rosewood and other species from legal sources, having established several bodies to regulate the trade. But one Chinese official familiar with the timber trade acknowledged that while the Beijing government was in principle against illegally imported wood, “this has yet to be reinforced by laws.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Chinese customs documents show Cambodia exported 36,000 cubic meters of logs to China from January 2007 to August 2012. The Cambodian government recently issued a blanket denial, but there’s a different story on the ground.
In recent years, Chinese companies have begun building dams in Koh Kong, making inroads into one of the region’s largest tracts of wilderness, and Cambodian logging groups were awarded licenses to log out areas the dams will flood.
According to foreign conservationists and the Cambodian human rights group LICADHO, which has investigators in Koh Kong, the work created an opportunity for “tree laundering.” They say logging companies falsified documents to make it appear their wood came from permitted areas when it was actually harvested up to 50 km (30 miles) away.
“There’s not a lot of valuable timber in dam reservoir areas because of where they are located and these are not huge areas. So they roam all over the mountains cutting luxury timber first,” says Marcus Hardtke, a German forestry expert who has worked extensively in Cambodia, including Koh Kong. “You can drive many trucks through that loophole.”
LICADHO and foreign conservationists say trees are felled by the company itself or villagers, who in some cases pull a single rosewood tree by ox cart for three or four weeks so they can sell it to middlemen. Military police trucks ferry the timber to warehouses in remote areas of Koh Kong. Then it’s shipped down the Tatay River by barges to seagoing vessels headed for Vietnam, or by road to the capital, Phnom Penh, and on to the Vietnamese border.
When the rosewood trade surged in late 2009, trucks were running night and day piled with logs in Koh Kong. Now, with the rapid depletion, villagers are going for roots, branches and old cuttings, selling rosewood by the kilogram rather than cubic meter, conservationists say.
EIA says that to curb the trade, Southeast Asian nations must push for rosewood to be included in CITES, the international treaty protecting trade in endangered flora and fauna. Rosewood species from Madagascar and Brazil are already listed.
Listing rosewood would force China to seize imports not accompanied by official CITES documents from country of origin. But given corrupt, vested interests, this is not easy. Regional cooperation is also essential.
“Punishment in Thailand is very light,” says Chavalit, the Thai forestry official. “Most loggers get suspended sentences if they confess. What we need is harsher punishment and serious law enforcement. Thai authorities need to be serious about illegal logging suppression.”
Tougher regulations on timber exports to the European Union will take effect in March. In the US, the Lacey Act of 2008 makes it illegal to import wood harvested and exported illegally under another country’s laws.
But all this may prove too late for forests.
“The rosewood is almost all gone from Koh Kong after just a few years,” says LICADHO’s In Kongchit. “It has been a total rape.”
Is Thailand Ready for US-China Rivalry?
Is Thailand Ready for US-China Rivalry?:
Global strategic and economic giants intersected in Bangkok early last week, when within hours of the departure of US President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaoa arrived. The first has been re-elected for another four years, while the latter was on his way out after a decade of leadership. It was not a coincidence that Obama and Wen were wooing Thailand, which occupies a strategic hub in mainland Southeast Asia.
The two leaders had little time to make their presence felt. It is difficult to avoid the comparison of the two high-level visits. The US came in with demands and visions, while China came with offers and action plans. Strategy for strategy, dollar for dollar, it seemed China came out on top. Thai public opinion polls also showed that the public generally felt warmer towards the Thai-Chinese friendship and Wen’s visit than it did about Thai-US relations. Wen has been in Thailand three times before but never on a state visit liked this—arranged after the conclusion of the National Party Congress in Beijing last week.
It was clear Thailand was feeling US pressure to give in on key issues such as joining the Proliferation Strategic Initiative (PSI) and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), and US access to Thailand’s U-Tapao Airbase for providing emergency humanitarian and disaster assistance. These three conditions were a prerequisite for Obama’s visit. Kudos must be given to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s brother, Thaksin, who has been active behind the scenes since July to ensure that Obama made a stopover, rain or shine.
After all, Obama’s visit is being considered as a mark of approval of sorts for Thaksin’s long-held self-aggrandizement, to which the US is willing to play. After all, he and his Pheu Thai Party won the election and brought stability to Thailand over the past 15 months. When Thaksin was prime minister he wanted to trade off Thai participation in the PSI for more US concessions, but it did not work.
This time he guided through the decision to join the TPP, which was initially opposed by the Ministry of Commerce. The decision was essentially a tactical and necessary move to ensure a smooth presidential visit. The TPP is a free trade agreement that includes 11 countries on both side of the Pacific, including the US, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.
It is doubtful that future negotiations will yield any results given the bitter experience of the failed Thai-US free trade agreement that took place between 2003 and 2005. Thailand and Asean strongly support a different, newly-launched regional trading bloc, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). If it is successful, RCEP will be a bigger bloc than the TPP.
To be fair, the best thing was the Thai-US joint vision statement that outlines the future of the region’s oldest but ailing alliance. The four-point vision would reinvigorate and make full use of the Thai-US military alliance. This would inevitably lead to the revision and updating of the archaic Thanat-Rush agreement of 1962.
This 50-year-old defense treaty was concluded at the time when the US was fighting communism and the former Soviet-Union. For decades, Thailand and the US shared common security threats in the region. However, the new strategic landscape locally has rendered the whole spirit of this past cooperation obsolete. The rising powers of China and India now dominate headlines and policy considerations in Southeast Asia.
Wen’s visit demonstrated the growing interdependency of China’s economic power with the rest of mainland Southeast Asia, which covers southern China, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand with a population far exceeding those of the Asean countries.
Unlike the Western colonial powers, who used guns, boats and cannons during past centuries of conquests, China is using high-speed railway links as an instrument to extend its influence southward. By 2018, if all goes well, all major cities in China will be connected to Kunming, which will link to Vientiane, Nong Khai, Bangkok, Sugai Kolok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore through 230 km/hour high speed trains.
As such, the most often question asked today is how can Thailand play both the US and China to preserve and promote its national interests? Almost all public opinion in recent days pointed in one direction—Thailand must remain neutral. But none explained what neutrality means in an age of heightened competition and US-China rivalry.
Even senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were unable to be more specific when pressed to explain what this Thai neutrality means in practice and how it can be deployed within the present strategic environment. In the past, when Thailand said it was neutral it meant that it did not choose sides. That was obvious as Thailand was the only country in the region that was free and independent, giving it a status that set it apart.
Other counties just gained independence and some remained closed societies due to their political systems. Thailand held all the cards and could stay on the fence as long as it wanted, without siding with anyone. However, this strategy is now proving useless in this time of fast-moving political events, aided by online social media and a 24-hour information society. Timing is everything now.
For instance, Thailand’s decision to back Palestinian statehood at the UN was kept under wraps for nine months even though the decision was affirmed very early on. But none of the officials, both at desk and middle levels, wanted to confirm a decision when senior officials refused to do so.
When Thailand made the decision, it was among the very last to do so publicly and therefore had no diplomatic value—just liked the decision to sign the PSI, which came after nine years. Then Thailand was the 102nd country to sign. It could have obtained a much greater advantage if it had acceded to PSI in 2003, when it could have been on the first 24 signatories.
Thai officials must now get rid of this old mindset of “neutrality,” which equates to “playing it safe” or worse, “taking no responsibility.” From now on, Thailand must take the bull by the horns. It can say a clear “yes” or “no” on issues concerning national interests and those of its allies. To be neutral in a rapidly shifting strategic order is to understand its limits and potential. Thailand is an open and dynamic society and shares common perspectives across multiple issues with countries around the world. With some humility, Thailand can implement this course very well.
But truth be told, Yinluck and her trusted lieutenant Foreign Minister Surapong Tohvijakchaikul are clueless. They have failed to articulate Thailand’s ideal regional order and were unable to optimally strengthen the country’s position and bargaining power. In a globalized world, ambiguity is the worse diplomatic policy as it cannot help in any strategic planning.
Just look around, our neighbors are getting bolder. Burma has said “no” to China and the US before. Naypyidaw has gained respect this way. Vietnam and the Philippines are also no longer content to play second fiddle in the region. Thailand can be neutral by being frank with friends and foes, and it should understand and state its national interests clearly.
This article first appeared in the Bangkok-based The Nation newspaper. Kavi Chongkittavorn is assistant group editor of Nation Media Group and his views do not necessarily reflect those of The Irrawaddy.
Global strategic and economic giants intersected in Bangkok early last week, when within hours of the departure of US President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaoa arrived. The first has been re-elected for another four years, while the latter was on his way out after a decade of leadership. It was not a coincidence that Obama and Wen were wooing Thailand, which occupies a strategic hub in mainland Southeast Asia.
The two leaders had little time to make their presence felt. It is difficult to avoid the comparison of the two high-level visits. The US came in with demands and visions, while China came with offers and action plans. Strategy for strategy, dollar for dollar, it seemed China came out on top. Thai public opinion polls also showed that the public generally felt warmer towards the Thai-Chinese friendship and Wen’s visit than it did about Thai-US relations. Wen has been in Thailand three times before but never on a state visit liked this—arranged after the conclusion of the National Party Congress in Beijing last week.
It was clear Thailand was feeling US pressure to give in on key issues such as joining the Proliferation Strategic Initiative (PSI) and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), and US access to Thailand’s U-Tapao Airbase for providing emergency humanitarian and disaster assistance. These three conditions were a prerequisite for Obama’s visit. Kudos must be given to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s brother, Thaksin, who has been active behind the scenes since July to ensure that Obama made a stopover, rain or shine.
After all, Obama’s visit is being considered as a mark of approval of sorts for Thaksin’s long-held self-aggrandizement, to which the US is willing to play. After all, he and his Pheu Thai Party won the election and brought stability to Thailand over the past 15 months. When Thaksin was prime minister he wanted to trade off Thai participation in the PSI for more US concessions, but it did not work.
This time he guided through the decision to join the TPP, which was initially opposed by the Ministry of Commerce. The decision was essentially a tactical and necessary move to ensure a smooth presidential visit. The TPP is a free trade agreement that includes 11 countries on both side of the Pacific, including the US, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.
It is doubtful that future negotiations will yield any results given the bitter experience of the failed Thai-US free trade agreement that took place between 2003 and 2005. Thailand and Asean strongly support a different, newly-launched regional trading bloc, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). If it is successful, RCEP will be a bigger bloc than the TPP.
To be fair, the best thing was the Thai-US joint vision statement that outlines the future of the region’s oldest but ailing alliance. The four-point vision would reinvigorate and make full use of the Thai-US military alliance. This would inevitably lead to the revision and updating of the archaic Thanat-Rush agreement of 1962.
This 50-year-old defense treaty was concluded at the time when the US was fighting communism and the former Soviet-Union. For decades, Thailand and the US shared common security threats in the region. However, the new strategic landscape locally has rendered the whole spirit of this past cooperation obsolete. The rising powers of China and India now dominate headlines and policy considerations in Southeast Asia.
Wen’s visit demonstrated the growing interdependency of China’s economic power with the rest of mainland Southeast Asia, which covers southern China, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand with a population far exceeding those of the Asean countries.
Unlike the Western colonial powers, who used guns, boats and cannons during past centuries of conquests, China is using high-speed railway links as an instrument to extend its influence southward. By 2018, if all goes well, all major cities in China will be connected to Kunming, which will link to Vientiane, Nong Khai, Bangkok, Sugai Kolok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore through 230 km/hour high speed trains.
As such, the most often question asked today is how can Thailand play both the US and China to preserve and promote its national interests? Almost all public opinion in recent days pointed in one direction—Thailand must remain neutral. But none explained what neutrality means in an age of heightened competition and US-China rivalry.
Even senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were unable to be more specific when pressed to explain what this Thai neutrality means in practice and how it can be deployed within the present strategic environment. In the past, when Thailand said it was neutral it meant that it did not choose sides. That was obvious as Thailand was the only country in the region that was free and independent, giving it a status that set it apart.
Other counties just gained independence and some remained closed societies due to their political systems. Thailand held all the cards and could stay on the fence as long as it wanted, without siding with anyone. However, this strategy is now proving useless in this time of fast-moving political events, aided by online social media and a 24-hour information society. Timing is everything now.
For instance, Thailand’s decision to back Palestinian statehood at the UN was kept under wraps for nine months even though the decision was affirmed very early on. But none of the officials, both at desk and middle levels, wanted to confirm a decision when senior officials refused to do so.
When Thailand made the decision, it was among the very last to do so publicly and therefore had no diplomatic value—just liked the decision to sign the PSI, which came after nine years. Then Thailand was the 102nd country to sign. It could have obtained a much greater advantage if it had acceded to PSI in 2003, when it could have been on the first 24 signatories.
Thai officials must now get rid of this old mindset of “neutrality,” which equates to “playing it safe” or worse, “taking no responsibility.” From now on, Thailand must take the bull by the horns. It can say a clear “yes” or “no” on issues concerning national interests and those of its allies. To be neutral in a rapidly shifting strategic order is to understand its limits and potential. Thailand is an open and dynamic society and shares common perspectives across multiple issues with countries around the world. With some humility, Thailand can implement this course very well.
But truth be told, Yinluck and her trusted lieutenant Foreign Minister Surapong Tohvijakchaikul are clueless. They have failed to articulate Thailand’s ideal regional order and were unable to optimally strengthen the country’s position and bargaining power. In a globalized world, ambiguity is the worse diplomatic policy as it cannot help in any strategic planning.
Just look around, our neighbors are getting bolder. Burma has said “no” to China and the US before. Naypyidaw has gained respect this way. Vietnam and the Philippines are also no longer content to play second fiddle in the region. Thailand can be neutral by being frank with friends and foes, and it should understand and state its national interests clearly.
This article first appeared in the Bangkok-based The Nation newspaper. Kavi Chongkittavorn is assistant group editor of Nation Media Group and his views do not necessarily reflect those of The Irrawaddy.
Research reveals popularity of live blogging | Media | guardian.co.uk
Research reveals popularity of live blogging | Media | guardian.co.uk
Very mixed feelings. Most of us who blog are already buried under an info avalanche. A lot more live blogging will narrow range of what we read when we really should be trying to expand horizons more. - John
Very mixed feelings. Most of us who blog are already buried under an info avalanche. A lot more live blogging will narrow range of what we read when we really should be trying to expand horizons more. - John
Facebook makes it official — an external advertising network is coming soon — Tech News and Analysis
Facebook makes it official — an external advertising network is coming soon — Tech News and Analysis
Yet another vile move by Facebook -- you won't find me there. - John
Yet another vile move by Facebook -- you won't find me there. - John
Nov 25, 2012
Will China's new leaders change Tibet policy?
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Clashes at big Thailand protest
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Key Statistics on Voting Behavior among Asian Americans
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This article is a brief analysis of 2012 polling data for Asian Americans.
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Nigeria: Come to the North to Help us, Christians Plead
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South Sudan: Nation Plans First-Ever National Reconciliation Campaign
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Egypt: 22 Rights Groups Reject Mursi's New Powers
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Meet Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi ... aka ‘Morsillini’
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A portmanteau of Mursi and Mussolini, the new tag is just one example of how Mursi’s decree on Thursday drew fire
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Divided Kuwait limps toward boycott-hit elections
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The message from Kuwait's emir is blunt
The message from Kuwait's emir is blunt
Thousands of missiles would rain Israel in future war: Hezbollah leader
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Speaking four days after the ceasefire which ended a week of conflict between Israel and the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza,
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Spike in Syrian refugee numbers
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Thailand protesters call for PM to quit
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Calls mount to ban Hamas from Twitter
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Catalonia polls close amid independence calls
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Spain's ETA set conditions to disband
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Baghdad and Kurds fail to defuse standoff
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DR Congo fighters given deadline to exit Goma
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Israel eases restrictions on Gaza fishing
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Syrian rebels 'capture air base near capital'
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Explosions hit church at Nigeria army base
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Egypt's Morsi to meet judges over power grab
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THAILAND: Question marks over new approach to drug-users
THAILAND: Question marks over new approach to drug-users:
 | BANGKOK, 23 November 2012 (IRIN) - In September 2011, the government of Thailand moved to try and decrease the number of drug-users by 80 percent by adopting a more “softly, softly” approach, rather than sending people straight to jail. Progress on drug addiction is being made, say experts, but challenges remain. |
Obama in Cambodia and Myanmar
Obama in Cambodia and Myanmar:
US State Department photo
President Obama just concluded visit to Southeast Asia, which has sparked considerable media comment and criticism from human rights activists. Some of them claimed that the visit sent the wrong signal to repressive governments in Myanmar and Cambodia.
In Myanmar, the visit was designed to highlight progress toward democratic reform made by the new nominally civilian government headed by Thein Sein since it replaced the military junta that had governed the country since 1972. Actions by the Myanmar government have included the release from house arrest of opposition activist and 1991 Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the freeing many (but not all) political prisoners, relaxation of strict controls on the media and the holding of a largely free and fair by election to fill some 40 parliamentary seats rendered vacant when the incumbents were appointed to senior government positions. Most notably Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to participate in these elections, winning a parliamentary seat and thus becoming the leader of the opposition.
These dramatic developments have won widespread praise from the international community and the US government, which has responded by relaxing economic sanctions against the military regime and sending an Ambassador to Myanmar for the first time in over twenty years. More rewards are promised if the new government continues on its current reformist course, including the release of all remaining political prisoners and opening of the country to outside investment. Obama’s visit was intended as part of this gradual tit for tat process toward democracy and openness to the outside world.
The visit was scheduled on rather short notice, it appears, because the President was making a visit to the region to attend the ASEAN and East Asia summits being held in Cambodia and it was convenient to make an additional short stop in Myanmar. Many in the human rights community have complained that the reform process in Myanmar is not yet irreversible and that leaders of the former military junta continue to lurk in the background, possibly still pulling the strings. In addition, the new constitution drafted by the generals, which guarantees military control over the parliament, remains in force and could still be invoked to bring the reform process to a halt at any time.
Furthermore, there is no indication that any of this will change before the next scheduled general election in 2015, which could thus be managed to assure a military controlled parliament similar to the one returned by the last election in 2010, which was condemned by the international community. Thus, despite much progress toward democracy, there are many remaining uncertainties about how far the reform process will go and whether it might be reversed at some point.
Despite these uncertainties, President Obama apparently decided on the Myanmar stop because this fits well with the administration’s pivot to Asia designed in part to balance out Chinese influence, upon which Myanmar became increasingly dependent after being shunned by the West. Myanmar is now a poster child in this new Asia focus, going so far as to halt a major hydroelectric dam project funded by the Chinese.
Myanmar’s opening is also a success story – the only one so far – in the Obama policy of reaching out to rogue states, which he announced at the beginning of the administration. The President made this point while in Yangon.
By all accounts the visit went very well, as crowds lined the streets to greet Obama and his speech at the University of Yangon (shuttered for most of the past 20 years to avoid student protests against the military government), in which he outlined his hopes for a democratic future in Myanmar, was well received. He also was able to make the now obligatory stop to visit Aung San Suu Kyi at the lakeside home where she was held in house arrest for much of the past two decades, providing a colorful photo op. How all this will stand up in the future remains to be seen, especially in light of the question marks hanging over the 2015 elections.
Uncomfortable in Cambodia
The visit to Cambodia was more complicated. During the weeks preceding the trip there was a barrage of statements by the human rights community arguing that in light of the Hun Sen government’s poor record in this regard President Obama should not go there. Human Rights Watch pointedly published a long report detailing the numerous politically related murders attributed to the regime over the past twenty years. This apparently made Obama so uncomfortable that he declared publicly that he was visiting Cambodia only because of the summit meetings being held there, in the absence of which he would not have done so.
In addition, Obama’s staff told the media that his meeting with Prime Minister Hum Sen on arrival was “tense” because he had strongly criticized the Cambodian leader for his human rights record, including forced expulsion of peasants from their land to implement development projects, intimidation, including imprisonment, of opposition leaders and other critics, and failure to conduct free and fair elections. These points seemed to track closely with charges made in a recent report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Cambodia.
However, such reportedly strong words were seriously weakened by the fact that Obama made no public declaration of his own on these points, leaving this entirely to his staff. A number of international media reports highlighted the so called scolding of Hun Sen on human rights but the impact in Cambodia itself was limited because there were no quotes from Obama himself to back this up. According to the media briefing by the Obama staff, Hun Sen defended his actions and hoped to maintain a close relationship with the US despite the Obama criticism.
In fact, over the past 20 years the Cambodian leader has become accustomed to strong statements like this by foreign leaders, followed by business as usual in terms of foreign assistance and other prerequisites. In other words he knows that there is almost never any “bite” following such “barks.” In any case, if necessary, he can fall back on aid from China, South Korea, Vietnam and others who place no conditions on their assistance and do not bother him with irritating statements on human rights or elections. He has said this publicly on many occasions.
The reality is that the US seems to want a close relationship with Cambodia more than Hun Sen does. This stems in part from the same reason that America is pursuing an opening with Myanmar – China. Cambodia is another link in the pivot to Asia strategy and the US has pursued this through naval ship visits, joint military exercises, counter terrorism training, cooperation on human trafficking and other similar areas, including the presence of a Peace Corps contingent in the country for the past five years.
Although rarely stated publicly, one US concern in Cambodia seems to be possible radicalization of the Muslim Cham minority and programs have been devised to reach out to them, largely through military channels it appears. Hun Sen is a wily politician and he understands very well that, given these conditions, the US is unlikely to confront him in more than words. Meanwhile, he has been able to bask in the presence of Obama standing beside him during group photographs at the summit meetings, all displayed prominently on Cambodian TV. This is clearly a situation in which photos speak much louder than words.
Don Jameson is a retired Foreign Service Officer who worked at the US embassy in Cambodia during the early 1970s, and in Myanmar from 1990 to 1993. He speaks Khmer.
US State Department photo
President Obama just concluded visit to Southeast Asia, which has sparked considerable media comment and criticism from human rights activists. Some of them claimed that the visit sent the wrong signal to repressive governments in Myanmar and Cambodia.
In Myanmar, the visit was designed to highlight progress toward democratic reform made by the new nominally civilian government headed by Thein Sein since it replaced the military junta that had governed the country since 1972. Actions by the Myanmar government have included the release from house arrest of opposition activist and 1991 Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the freeing many (but not all) political prisoners, relaxation of strict controls on the media and the holding of a largely free and fair by election to fill some 40 parliamentary seats rendered vacant when the incumbents were appointed to senior government positions. Most notably Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to participate in these elections, winning a parliamentary seat and thus becoming the leader of the opposition.
These dramatic developments have won widespread praise from the international community and the US government, which has responded by relaxing economic sanctions against the military regime and sending an Ambassador to Myanmar for the first time in over twenty years. More rewards are promised if the new government continues on its current reformist course, including the release of all remaining political prisoners and opening of the country to outside investment. Obama’s visit was intended as part of this gradual tit for tat process toward democracy and openness to the outside world.
The visit was scheduled on rather short notice, it appears, because the President was making a visit to the region to attend the ASEAN and East Asia summits being held in Cambodia and it was convenient to make an additional short stop in Myanmar. Many in the human rights community have complained that the reform process in Myanmar is not yet irreversible and that leaders of the former military junta continue to lurk in the background, possibly still pulling the strings. In addition, the new constitution drafted by the generals, which guarantees military control over the parliament, remains in force and could still be invoked to bring the reform process to a halt at any time.
Furthermore, there is no indication that any of this will change before the next scheduled general election in 2015, which could thus be managed to assure a military controlled parliament similar to the one returned by the last election in 2010, which was condemned by the international community. Thus, despite much progress toward democracy, there are many remaining uncertainties about how far the reform process will go and whether it might be reversed at some point.
Despite these uncertainties, President Obama apparently decided on the Myanmar stop because this fits well with the administration’s pivot to Asia designed in part to balance out Chinese influence, upon which Myanmar became increasingly dependent after being shunned by the West. Myanmar is now a poster child in this new Asia focus, going so far as to halt a major hydroelectric dam project funded by the Chinese.
Myanmar’s opening is also a success story – the only one so far – in the Obama policy of reaching out to rogue states, which he announced at the beginning of the administration. The President made this point while in Yangon.
By all accounts the visit went very well, as crowds lined the streets to greet Obama and his speech at the University of Yangon (shuttered for most of the past 20 years to avoid student protests against the military government), in which he outlined his hopes for a democratic future in Myanmar, was well received. He also was able to make the now obligatory stop to visit Aung San Suu Kyi at the lakeside home where she was held in house arrest for much of the past two decades, providing a colorful photo op. How all this will stand up in the future remains to be seen, especially in light of the question marks hanging over the 2015 elections.
Uncomfortable in Cambodia
The visit to Cambodia was more complicated. During the weeks preceding the trip there was a barrage of statements by the human rights community arguing that in light of the Hun Sen government’s poor record in this regard President Obama should not go there. Human Rights Watch pointedly published a long report detailing the numerous politically related murders attributed to the regime over the past twenty years. This apparently made Obama so uncomfortable that he declared publicly that he was visiting Cambodia only because of the summit meetings being held there, in the absence of which he would not have done so.
In addition, Obama’s staff told the media that his meeting with Prime Minister Hum Sen on arrival was “tense” because he had strongly criticized the Cambodian leader for his human rights record, including forced expulsion of peasants from their land to implement development projects, intimidation, including imprisonment, of opposition leaders and other critics, and failure to conduct free and fair elections. These points seemed to track closely with charges made in a recent report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Cambodia.
However, such reportedly strong words were seriously weakened by the fact that Obama made no public declaration of his own on these points, leaving this entirely to his staff. A number of international media reports highlighted the so called scolding of Hun Sen on human rights but the impact in Cambodia itself was limited because there were no quotes from Obama himself to back this up. According to the media briefing by the Obama staff, Hun Sen defended his actions and hoped to maintain a close relationship with the US despite the Obama criticism.
In fact, over the past 20 years the Cambodian leader has become accustomed to strong statements like this by foreign leaders, followed by business as usual in terms of foreign assistance and other prerequisites. In other words he knows that there is almost never any “bite” following such “barks.” In any case, if necessary, he can fall back on aid from China, South Korea, Vietnam and others who place no conditions on their assistance and do not bother him with irritating statements on human rights or elections. He has said this publicly on many occasions.
The reality is that the US seems to want a close relationship with Cambodia more than Hun Sen does. This stems in part from the same reason that America is pursuing an opening with Myanmar – China. Cambodia is another link in the pivot to Asia strategy and the US has pursued this through naval ship visits, joint military exercises, counter terrorism training, cooperation on human trafficking and other similar areas, including the presence of a Peace Corps contingent in the country for the past five years.
Although rarely stated publicly, one US concern in Cambodia seems to be possible radicalization of the Muslim Cham minority and programs have been devised to reach out to them, largely through military channels it appears. Hun Sen is a wily politician and he understands very well that, given these conditions, the US is unlikely to confront him in more than words. Meanwhile, he has been able to bask in the presence of Obama standing beside him during group photographs at the summit meetings, all displayed prominently on Cambodian TV. This is clearly a situation in which photos speak much louder than words.
Don Jameson is a retired Foreign Service Officer who worked at the US embassy in Cambodia during the early 1970s, and in Myanmar from 1990 to 1993. He speaks Khmer.
East Timor left to fend for itself with challenges ahead
East Timor left to fend for itself with challenges ahead:
Australia's draw-down of its remaining military force in East Timor, and the conclusion of the United Nations mission on December 31, has signalled that this sometimes troubled tiny country is now responsible for its own future. The stark realisation that the security blanket provided by the international community is being taken away has left some in East Timor feeling vulnerable.
Some observers, too, have suggested that the withdrawal is still too soon and that East Timor still has the potential to slide back into internal conflict. The country’s leaders, however, have been making clear they are not only ready to take full responsibility for their own affairs but are demanding to do so.
In this, Australia's continuing military presence is regarded by some East Timorese as neo-colonial, and the UN as of marginal competence or value.
The assertion of confidence displayed by the country's leaders, including Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, has been growing since not long after the 2007 elections. Despite occasional outbreaks of localised violence, East Timor has remained largely calm over the past five years.
Many of the disaffected groups that were potential spoilers for peace, such as veterans and former members of the defence force, have been mollified with cash payments. The 15% of the population that were internally displaced have long been sent home, also with cash payments; the drought has broken and few East Timorese now starve.
This year’s successful elections were, in the eyes of many, the finishing touch for the transition towards post-conflict stability.
However, East Timor faces some longer-term challenges that could derail its current sense of stability. The most critical of these is the unsustainable use of the country's $11 billion petroleum fund, the interest from which is supposed to pay for government activities and hence flow through to the rest of the nation. The fund is currently being used at around three to four times its sustainable rate.
Gusmao argues the country desperately requires infrastructure development, which is expensive. This is true, but it is also true that the urgency to spend money has led to budget blow-outs and high levels of waste. And, at the current rate of expenditure, assuming no other source of major economic activity, East Timor would be broke in around 15 years.
East Timor's population explosion, too, is a ticking time bomb. There are too few jobs now, and there will be proportionately fewer in the future. Very large numbers of unemployed men is a recipe for future discord.
For the moment, though, the country is in relative balance, Australia's military presence is no longer needed or wanted and the UN's marginally competent paternalism is coming to an end. From an Australian perspective, it is also time to switch focus less to peacekeeping and more to development assistance.
As with any developing country, there will be major challenges ahead for East Timor. It will require all of the wisdom of its now ageing leadership to navigate through them.
read more
Australia's draw-down of its remaining military force in East Timor, and the conclusion of the United Nations mission on December 31, has signalled that this sometimes troubled tiny country is now responsible for its own future. The stark realisation that the security blanket provided by the international community is being taken away has left some in East Timor feeling vulnerable.
Some observers, too, have suggested that the withdrawal is still too soon and that East Timor still has the potential to slide back into internal conflict. The country’s leaders, however, have been making clear they are not only ready to take full responsibility for their own affairs but are demanding to do so.
In this, Australia's continuing military presence is regarded by some East Timorese as neo-colonial, and the UN as of marginal competence or value.
The assertion of confidence displayed by the country's leaders, including Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, has been growing since not long after the 2007 elections. Despite occasional outbreaks of localised violence, East Timor has remained largely calm over the past five years.
Many of the disaffected groups that were potential spoilers for peace, such as veterans and former members of the defence force, have been mollified with cash payments. The 15% of the population that were internally displaced have long been sent home, also with cash payments; the drought has broken and few East Timorese now starve.
This year’s successful elections were, in the eyes of many, the finishing touch for the transition towards post-conflict stability.
However, East Timor faces some longer-term challenges that could derail its current sense of stability. The most critical of these is the unsustainable use of the country's $11 billion petroleum fund, the interest from which is supposed to pay for government activities and hence flow through to the rest of the nation. The fund is currently being used at around three to four times its sustainable rate.
Gusmao argues the country desperately requires infrastructure development, which is expensive. This is true, but it is also true that the urgency to spend money has led to budget blow-outs and high levels of waste. And, at the current rate of expenditure, assuming no other source of major economic activity, East Timor would be broke in around 15 years.
East Timor's population explosion, too, is a ticking time bomb. There are too few jobs now, and there will be proportionately fewer in the future. Very large numbers of unemployed men is a recipe for future discord.
For the moment, though, the country is in relative balance, Australia's military presence is no longer needed or wanted and the UN's marginally competent paternalism is coming to an end. From an Australian perspective, it is also time to switch focus less to peacekeeping and more to development assistance.
As with any developing country, there will be major challenges ahead for East Timor. It will require all of the wisdom of its now ageing leadership to navigate through them.
read more
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Nov 24, 2012
Tibetan Burns, Hails Dalai Lama
Tibetan Burns, Hails Dalai Lama: 
A Tibetan man, heard shouting for the long life of the Dalai Lama, has burned himself to death in protest against Chinese rule in Qinghai province, the third self-immolation in two days, according to sources Saturday.
Tamdin Dorjee 29, the main breadwinner of a family of six, torched himself in front of the local government office of Dokarmo subdivision in Rebgong (in Chinese, Tongren) county in the Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture late Friday.
"He managed to walk about 10 steps and then fell on the ground. He stood up and attempted to walk but soon collapsed and died," an exile source told RFA's Tibetan service.
According to another Tibetan exile source, “As the flames blazed higher, he could be seen putting his hands together in prayer, shouting long life to the Dalai Lama,” a report by the advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said Saturday.
Defying official warnings, more than 1,000 people gathered at the site of his self-immolation, according to exile sources, praying for Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s long life and chanting mantras, ICT said.
Then, the monks of the local monasteries and residents cremated Tamdrin Dorjee at a cemetery located close to the Mindrol Dargyalling monastery, sources said.
One exile source told RFA that few days before his self immolation, Tamdin Dorjee called on his family members and enjoyed supper together and talked. He also met up with all his close friends and relatives.
"During these gatherings, he mentioned how difficult and tough he felt to remain under Chinese restrictions and torture," the source said.
'Discriminatory' policies
Tibetan groups say self-immolations protesting Chinese rule and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama have intensified recently due to Beijing's "discriminatory" policies and a security clampdown on monasteries.
Tamdin Dorjee's death brings the self-immolation tally to 81 so far, with 17 reported this month. Another self-immolation on Friday and one more a day earlier had been reported previously.
“The Tibetans who are self-immolating—now in more rapid succession—have clearly not been dissuaded by the security buildup or other means of official intimidation," said Mary Beth Markey, President of the International Campaign for Tibet.
"Nonetheless, the authorities seem to be betting that further oppression will cower or exhaust the will of future self-immolators," she said. "But unless and until there is some initiative that can break through the cycle of repression and protest, I think we all acknowledge that more Tibetans will be prepared to take the agonizing action of self-immolation."
"And that is a terrible and unacceptable calculation,” she said
Chinese authorities however have labeled the self-immolators as terrorists, outcasts, criminals, and mentally ill people and have blamed the Dalai Lama for encouraging the burnings.
Reported by RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
A Tibetan man, heard shouting for the long life of the Dalai Lama, has burned himself to death in protest against Chinese rule in Qinghai province, the third self-immolation in two days, according to sources Saturday.
Tamdin Dorjee 29, the main breadwinner of a family of six, torched himself in front of the local government office of Dokarmo subdivision in Rebgong (in Chinese, Tongren) county in the Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture late Friday.
"He managed to walk about 10 steps and then fell on the ground. He stood up and attempted to walk but soon collapsed and died," an exile source told RFA's Tibetan service.
According to another Tibetan exile source, “As the flames blazed higher, he could be seen putting his hands together in prayer, shouting long life to the Dalai Lama,” a report by the advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said Saturday.
Defying official warnings, more than 1,000 people gathered at the site of his self-immolation, according to exile sources, praying for Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s long life and chanting mantras, ICT said.
Then, the monks of the local monasteries and residents cremated Tamdrin Dorjee at a cemetery located close to the Mindrol Dargyalling monastery, sources said.
One exile source told RFA that few days before his self immolation, Tamdin Dorjee called on his family members and enjoyed supper together and talked. He also met up with all his close friends and relatives.
"During these gatherings, he mentioned how difficult and tough he felt to remain under Chinese restrictions and torture," the source said.
'Discriminatory' policies
Tibetan groups say self-immolations protesting Chinese rule and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama have intensified recently due to Beijing's "discriminatory" policies and a security clampdown on monasteries.
Tamdin Dorjee's death brings the self-immolation tally to 81 so far, with 17 reported this month. Another self-immolation on Friday and one more a day earlier had been reported previously.
“The Tibetans who are self-immolating—now in more rapid succession—have clearly not been dissuaded by the security buildup or other means of official intimidation," said Mary Beth Markey, President of the International Campaign for Tibet.
"Nonetheless, the authorities seem to be betting that further oppression will cower or exhaust the will of future self-immolators," she said. "But unless and until there is some initiative that can break through the cycle of repression and protest, I think we all acknowledge that more Tibetans will be prepared to take the agonizing action of self-immolation."
"And that is a terrible and unacceptable calculation,” she said
Chinese authorities however have labeled the self-immolators as terrorists, outcasts, criminals, and mentally ill people and have blamed the Dalai Lama for encouraging the burnings.
Reported by RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Thousands of Indonesian Workers Rally for Benefits
Thousands of Indonesian Workers Rally for Benefits:
Workers shout slogans during a rally in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta. (Photo: Reuters)JAKARTA, Indonesia—Thousands of Indonesian factory workers took to the streets in the country’s capital Thursday to protest low wages and a new social security law that will require them to pay for health services.
Several thousand laborers rallied peacefully near the presidential palace in Jakarta before marching to the parliament building, said Jakarta police spokesman Col Rikwanto, adding nearly 20,000 police and soldiers watched over the demonstration organized by Indonesian labor unions.
The protesters, dressed in red and black, shouted “Reject the law” as buses and trucks arrived with loads of workers waving colorful flags and banners lambasting a 2011 law requiring workers to contribute a percentage of their pay for social security and health benefits. The law is scheduled to take effect in 2014.
The workers refuse to be burdened by additional premiums to obtain health insurance and social security, which they see as the government’s responsibility as mandated by the constitution, said Yoris Raweyai, chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers’ Union.
“That law is clearly unconstitutional … we want a revision,” he said.
The protesters demanded an increase in the minimum wage and implementation of a government policy to stop companies from hiring temporary workers without benefits. Similar protests have been held recently in other Indonesian cities, calling on the government to improve wages in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Factory workers in Indonesia earn an average basic salary of just more than US $120 a month. The economy grew 6.5 percent last year, the fastest pace since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. But the cost of living has been increasing, making it harder for workers to pay for food and other basic necessities.
The new governor of Jakarta agreed on Tuesday to increase the minimum wage in the capital by more than 40 percent to $228 from $158, a move that has prompted labor groups across the country to ask for higher pay. Local authorities in Indonesia set minimum wages, so they vary in each region.
Sofyan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers’ Association, said frequent worker protests and higher labor costs could frustrate business communities and may lead to massive layoffs.
“That’s bad for the country … not all companies can afford it,” Wanandi said, referring to a boost in the minimum wage.
He said the labor protests and higher labor costs, combined with poor infrastructure, red-tape and corrupt officials, could lead investors to flee to neighboring countries.
Workers shout slogans during a rally in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta. (Photo: Reuters)
Several thousand laborers rallied peacefully near the presidential palace in Jakarta before marching to the parliament building, said Jakarta police spokesman Col Rikwanto, adding nearly 20,000 police and soldiers watched over the demonstration organized by Indonesian labor unions.
The protesters, dressed in red and black, shouted “Reject the law” as buses and trucks arrived with loads of workers waving colorful flags and banners lambasting a 2011 law requiring workers to contribute a percentage of their pay for social security and health benefits. The law is scheduled to take effect in 2014.
The workers refuse to be burdened by additional premiums to obtain health insurance and social security, which they see as the government’s responsibility as mandated by the constitution, said Yoris Raweyai, chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers’ Union.
“That law is clearly unconstitutional … we want a revision,” he said.
The protesters demanded an increase in the minimum wage and implementation of a government policy to stop companies from hiring temporary workers without benefits. Similar protests have been held recently in other Indonesian cities, calling on the government to improve wages in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Factory workers in Indonesia earn an average basic salary of just more than US $120 a month. The economy grew 6.5 percent last year, the fastest pace since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. But the cost of living has been increasing, making it harder for workers to pay for food and other basic necessities.
The new governor of Jakarta agreed on Tuesday to increase the minimum wage in the capital by more than 40 percent to $228 from $158, a move that has prompted labor groups across the country to ask for higher pay. Local authorities in Indonesia set minimum wages, so they vary in each region.
Sofyan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers’ Association, said frequent worker protests and higher labor costs could frustrate business communities and may lead to massive layoffs.
“That’s bad for the country … not all companies can afford it,” Wanandi said, referring to a boost in the minimum wage.
He said the labor protests and higher labor costs, combined with poor infrastructure, red-tape and corrupt officials, could lead investors to flee to neighboring countries.
Nov 21, 2012
Vientiane Hit by Water Woes
Vientiane Hit by Water Woes: 
Companies that sell bottled drinking water in the Lao capital Vientiane have pledged to upgrade the quality of their supplies following public complaints about safety standards in the industry and surprise government inspections on water production facilities.
During the September-October period, the Drinking Water Association in Vientiane received numerous complaints of unclean water in bottles consumers had purchased from local stores, according to an employee of a company in the capital.
The employee, who spoke to RFA’s Lao service on condition of anonymity, said that a group of drinking water companies held a meeting in response to the complaints to discuss water quality issues, how to resolve the complaints, and to prevent further safety issues.
He said the group also reported the issue to government officials in charge of drinking water quality in Vientiane.
“They said that the companies are working to solve the problem soon,” the employee said.
The government has acknowledged the issue of substandard quality in drinking water bottled for sale.
But he said that store owners may have tampered with the bottles which were found to contain unclean water in a bid to increase their supplies when there was a shortage.
The store owners, he said, may have added tap water into the bottles and resold them to customers because they did not have enough drinking water to sell in their stores.
As recently as last month, only 40-50 drinking water companies were operating in the capital, each of which has the capacity to produce around 1,800 liters (475 gallons) of quality drinking water per day, he said, and the demand for bottled water often exceeds that volume.
One issue addressed by the group of companies during their meeting was the ease with which bottlecaps are produced to reseal bottles filled with what could be substandard water, the employee said.
Below standard
The employee said that over the past two to three months, the Lao Department of Health had been inspecting official drinking water production facilities and had found that several of them are producing water of quality below safety standards set by the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Department.
Some 140 drinking water plants had temporarily shut themselves down ahead of a city-wide safety check last month, said the employee. But many of them had since reopened, he added.
He said that 187 factories were in operation in Vientiane as of Wednesday.
In August, the Vientiane Times reported that more than 90 out of 150 factories producing drinking water in the capital were distributing their products to the public despite lacking the necessary certification from the Food and Drug Department.
The factories in question had been told to improve the standard of their operations, but had illegally sold drinking water before completing the necessary improvements and inviting officials to inspect their production standards.
According to the Vientiane Times, the industry and commerce sector is responsible for approving a drinking water facility. Once the approval process is complete, the factory owner must obtain a letter of approval from the Food and Drug Department before distributing drinking water.
“Many businesspeople have ignored this requirement as they don’t want to lose profit while struggling to meet the standards required,” the daily said.
Critics have called for the municipal government to publish a list of factories that comply and don’t comply with safety standards so that the public is informed of which companies to buy water from and industry players have more incentive to abide by the law.
In 2009, health officials closed down 18 drinking water plants after their products were found to be substandard ahead of the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vientiane.
Reported by Nontarat for RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Sivilay Phabmixay. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Companies that sell bottled drinking water in the Lao capital Vientiane have pledged to upgrade the quality of their supplies following public complaints about safety standards in the industry and surprise government inspections on water production facilities.
During the September-October period, the Drinking Water Association in Vientiane received numerous complaints of unclean water in bottles consumers had purchased from local stores, according to an employee of a company in the capital.
The employee, who spoke to RFA’s Lao service on condition of anonymity, said that a group of drinking water companies held a meeting in response to the complaints to discuss water quality issues, how to resolve the complaints, and to prevent further safety issues.
He said the group also reported the issue to government officials in charge of drinking water quality in Vientiane.
“They said that the companies are working to solve the problem soon,” the employee said.
The government has acknowledged the issue of substandard quality in drinking water bottled for sale.
But he said that store owners may have tampered with the bottles which were found to contain unclean water in a bid to increase their supplies when there was a shortage.
The store owners, he said, may have added tap water into the bottles and resold them to customers because they did not have enough drinking water to sell in their stores.
As recently as last month, only 40-50 drinking water companies were operating in the capital, each of which has the capacity to produce around 1,800 liters (475 gallons) of quality drinking water per day, he said, and the demand for bottled water often exceeds that volume.
One issue addressed by the group of companies during their meeting was the ease with which bottlecaps are produced to reseal bottles filled with what could be substandard water, the employee said.
Below standard
The employee said that over the past two to three months, the Lao Department of Health had been inspecting official drinking water production facilities and had found that several of them are producing water of quality below safety standards set by the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Department.
Some 140 drinking water plants had temporarily shut themselves down ahead of a city-wide safety check last month, said the employee. But many of them had since reopened, he added.
He said that 187 factories were in operation in Vientiane as of Wednesday.
In August, the Vientiane Times reported that more than 90 out of 150 factories producing drinking water in the capital were distributing their products to the public despite lacking the necessary certification from the Food and Drug Department.
The factories in question had been told to improve the standard of their operations, but had illegally sold drinking water before completing the necessary improvements and inviting officials to inspect their production standards.
According to the Vientiane Times, the industry and commerce sector is responsible for approving a drinking water facility. Once the approval process is complete, the factory owner must obtain a letter of approval from the Food and Drug Department before distributing drinking water.
“Many businesspeople have ignored this requirement as they don’t want to lose profit while struggling to meet the standards required,” the daily said.
Critics have called for the municipal government to publish a list of factories that comply and don’t comply with safety standards so that the public is informed of which companies to buy water from and industry players have more incentive to abide by the law.
In 2009, health officials closed down 18 drinking water plants after their products were found to be substandard ahead of the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vientiane.
Reported by Nontarat for RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Sivilay Phabmixay. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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