Bomborra Media
Notes, Background Files & Works in Progress
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Does Thai Amnesty Bill Herald Thaksin’s Return?

Published on Aug 10, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Bangkok is on edge this week as parliament debates a proposed bill that would provide amnesty for political offenders involved in bouts of unrest that have occurred in the country since the ouster of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on September 19, 2006. The proppsed bill is intended to promote political reconciliation following Thaksin’s ouster in 2006. Headlines have splashed across the front pages of local newspapers this week surrounding escalating tensions and rumors of a potential clash. On Wednesday some 2,000 opposition Democratic supporters convened outside the gates of the parliament building to protest the proposed legislation. A police cordon surrounded the building, which protesters did not attempt to breach despite earlier threats. Read more....

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Trial by Media in Pol Pot’s Dock

Published on Jul 18, 2013 by Luke Hunt

By Luke Hunt ASIAWATCH — Almost four decades after the Khmer Rouge marched Into Phnom Penh the work of journalists and photographers from that tragic era is finally being laid bare before a war crimes tribunal which prosecutors hope will put away Pol Pot’s remaining henchmen. Importantly, the scope of their evidence and who can testify is limited by the court’s mandate which is consigned to judging crimes and hearing evidence from events that occurred strictly under the Khmer Rouge rule, from April 17, 1975 to January 9, 1979. Among the most prominent was the New York Times correspondent Sydney Schanberg who spoke of the forced evacuations ordered after the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh and how one Khmer woman....

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Fires Demonstrate Danger of Nuclear Power in Asia

Published on Jul 7, 2013 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST ASIA CORRESPONDENT — After forest fires raged across the island of Sumatra for a week, swaddling Singapore and parts of Malaysia in dense, toxic haze, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 24 was contrite. “I, as the president, apologize and seek the understanding of our brothers and sisters in Singapore and Malaysia,” Mr. Yudhoyono said. “Indonesia had no intention to cause this.” But Indonesia has long failed to effectively manage this threat. For Indonesians, but also others in the region, the fires should be a wake-up call because their governments want to build nuclear power plants to generate carbon-free electricity their economies will need. Read more from Mark Hibbs in The Diplomat. .

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