Farmers Protest in Burma

Published on Aug 27, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Last month, about 200 farmers from three townships in rural Yangon did something that was until very recently impossible in Burma: they staged a legal protest, demanding that their land, confiscated by private firms and state bodies, be returned to them. Wearing bamboo hats and the traditional Burma longyi, the farmers, mostly in their late 40s and 50s, were escorted by police as they marched along main roads on the city’s outskirts, carrying signs made from cardboard and paper with messages such as “Farmers have to work the fields, but other people get the benefits” and “Will you solve the dispute according to the law?” hastily scrawled in marker.\ Read more in The Diplomat. .

Clinton has Islanders on Edge

Published on Aug 27, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Not since Queen Elizabeth II’s hello to this remote part of her realm four decades ago have the inhabitants of Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands, made such a fuss for a visitor. Hillary Clinton is expected next week for the Pacific Island Forum. It’s a big occasion that presents major challenges for the 9,000 people who live here in Avarua, a town in northern Rarotonga, arguably one of the most isolated spots on the planet. Read more in Latitudes, from The New York Times. .

Anwar’s Unlikely Retirement

Published on Aug 21, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has warned Malaysia’s middle classes to support his bid for the top job in the next election or risk losing him altogether. Anwar, an astute and hardened politician, realizes that if he can’t defeat the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition this time around then it will be time to pass the baton. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Indonesia’s Moral Diplomacy

Published on Aug 17, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Indonesia has again shown its willingness to step outside of the diplomatic box, which normally constrains relations within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), this time coming out in support of the often bullied Muslim Rohingyas in Burma. Jakarta wants the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to act and help stop the bloody oppression of Rohingyas, and additionally supported the OIC taking action against Syria. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Laos Saddles-up with Thailand

Published on Aug 16, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — On the banks of the Mekong River in the heart of Laos’s capital city, Vientiane, stands a defiant Chao Anouvong, the Laotian king who fought the Thais almost 200 years ago, winning the hearts of his compatriots and the wretched anger of the royal regiments in Bangkok. Cast in bronze, his statue was erected just two years ago. With his left hand clutching a sword, his right arm extended and pointing at the enemy across the river, the imposing figure has continued to irritate Thais who see the statue, at best, as contentious. But the political realities are somewhat different these days. Relations between Thailand and Laos have never been better. Airports, roads, railways and dams....