Thailand’s Forgotten War

Published on Jun 8, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Security on the main streets of Hat Yai, Thailand, is heavy. Here, soldiers patrol in pairs, checking for the suspicious, chatting with local shopkeepers and hoping for a quiet day. It’s a scene that is familiar across Southern Thailand, particularly in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat where an insurgencyblamed on local Malay Muslims has again flared. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Thailand’s Two Faces

Published on Jun 1, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Thailand hit the headlines twice this week. Bangkok won warm praise as host for Burma’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her first visit outside of her country in 24 years. Thousands cheered as “The Lady” toured, visiting Burmese migrant workers, listening to their stories and focusing on issues like health. She told workers she would raise their issues with Thai authorities as well as at the upcoming International Labor Conference in Geneva. Thailand was in part driven by self interest. With Burma opening its doors with promises of democracy, the rest of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is working overtime to integrate Burma with the ASEAN Economic Community that will emerge....

KRT, A Race Against Time

Published on May 30, 2012 by Luke Hunt

ASIAWATCH — With defendants before the Extraordinary Chambers for the Courts well into old age and failing in health, efforts are being made to speed up the trial process amid shocking testimony of relatives sacrificed to prove party loyalty, Luke Hunt reports Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge tribunal has been dogged by controversy since the first public hearings were held in November 2007, including allegations of corruption, funding issues and disputes over the scope of the tribunals. But the biggest risk to finding justice for the two million people who perished under Pol Pot is the age and health of the surviving leaders. This was borne out over the past two weeks, with Ieng Sary, 86, hospitalised for bronchitis and grinding the....

Defeat for Singapore’s PAP

Published on May 30, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The government and the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore have been experiencing a rough patch. An unprecedented slump in popularity and a growing chorus of complaints about life in Southeast Asia’s nanny state have left the authorities feeling a little unwanted. That feeling wasn’t helped by a weekend by-election that was taken by the Workers’ Party (WP). To be fair, the seat has been held by the WP for 21 years, but this by-election is the first since the PAP performed poorly in the general election 12 months ago. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Stiletto: Media Mayhem

Published on May 26, 2012 by Luke Hunt

AsiaWATCH — The Philippines improved a few notches while Pakistan cemented its reputation as the deadliest country on Earth for journalists and China and Vietnam both slipped amid increased arrests and tighter controls imposed on a media faced with a public increasingly angered by government and corruption. Max Kolbe reports. The 10th annual report by Reporters San Frontier on the perilous state of the media around the world is a dismal read, particularly among Western countries which normally provide the global role model on press freedom. The United States fell to 47th place from 30th mainly because of its handling of the Occupy Movement and New Zealand’s fall to 13th meant there was no country from the Asia/Pacific region left....