Cambodian Land Grab

Published on Oct 7, 2012 by Luke Hunt

ASIAWATCH — Phnom Penh is waving in investors who buy up massive plots, forcing locals out of their homes and into gruelling, low-paid factory jobs. And as a recent conference on the problem made clear, it’s a trend that’s spreading throughout the developing world. Luke Hunt reports Land grabbing has emerged as the biggest blight to afflict Cambodia in recent years. Thousands of villagers have been pushed off their family plots for what they say is too little compensation as big corporations move in with the government’s blessing. There is no shortage of complaints or protests, particularly in the district courts. In Bavet, near the Vietnamese border one woman says her family was chased off their property by politically connected....

Arroyo Charged with Plunder

Published on Oct 6, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been charged with plunder for the alleged misuse of state lottery funds worth US$8.8 million during her time in office. The money was allegedly diverted from the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office for her own use. Arroyo, president from 2001 to 2010, was already out on bail following separate charges for electoral fraudinvolving the 2007 senate election and corruption linked to a Chinese company. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Bloggers Flogged

Published on Oct 5, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Vietnamese justice can be swift as well as ferocious, as three bloggers discovered almost as soon as they came before the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City, charged with having made propaganda against the state. Their case has upset Western governments and infuriated human-rights groups. Panh Than Hai, who used to blog under the alias of Anh Ba Saigon, is to be jailed for four years after pleading guilty and promising to end all contact with “anti-state people”, whoever those may be. Ta Phong Tan, whose mother died after setting herself on fire in protest against her daughter’s detention, was sentenced to ten years. Nguyen Van Hai, a 60-year-old whose case was cited in a....

Mam Sonando Jailed

Published on Oct 1, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — A Cambodian court has jailed a prominent journalist and land rights campaigner for 20 years on charges of inciting rebellion. Mam Sonando, who runs the independent Beehive radio station, was also fined over the alleged plot by villagers in Kratie to form their own state. Prime Minister Hun Sen demanded Sonando’s arrest in June. Read more from the BBC. .

Indonesian Pitch for Disputed Seas

Published on Oct 1, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Indonesia is upping the diplomatic ante: by putting the Code of Conduct for dispute resolution in the South China Seas back on the agenda at the United Nations in New York, the country’s leaders have raised the pressure on their regional neighbors while hoping to head off any further embarrassment at the next meeting of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Read more in The Diplomat. .