Struggling to Smuggle

Published on Mar 31, 2012 by Luke Hunt

ASIAWATCH — Four people who arrived in Australia by boat have been charged with people smuggling. Another two have been arrested in Thailand, all in connection with a syndicate producing fake passports used to smuggle people across Asia and the Pacific. Luke Hunt reports. The arrests came after scores of refugees attempting the treacherous voyage to Australia were rescued by Aceh fishermen off the far northwest coast of Indonesia earlier this year. The crippled, overcrowded wooden vessel had a narrow escape with many of the passengers suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. The Rohingyas – Burmese Muslims – who were onboard were lucky because soon after, another boat sunk off the southern tip of Malaysia with at least eight lives lost.....

Following Burma’s Money

Published on Mar 30, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Most Burma watchers will rightly have their eyes fixed on this Sunday’s much-anticipated by-elections and the prospect of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi entering parliament. However, others will be crunching the numbers after the government announced significant currency reforms to come into force the same day. A managed floating exchange rate will begin on April 1, for the kyat, allowing market forces to value the currency with input from the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM). The decision wasn’t unexpected. Importantly, this will end decades of dual currency valuations by the central government and the black market that enable corruption and money laundering to flourish through semi-official and unofficial rates. Read more from Luke Hunt in....

Burma, Vietnam and Christianity

Published on Mar 28, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Burma and Vietnam – at least on the surface – have much in common. Both are authoritarian states which must endure an overbearing military that insists on having its say in civilian government. In bowing to the army, authorities in Naypyidaw and Hanoi have also been equally dismissive of the historical role the Buddhist clergy has played in legitimizing the rule of their country’s leaders in the eyes of the broader population. It’s an issue that goes to the heart of acceptance, and was played out on the streets of Rangoon in 2007 when the Burmese military paid no heed to centuries of religious respect and brutally cracked down on peacefully protesting monks. Read more from....

India, Women & Violence

Published on Mar 27, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Delhi’s hard-working and massive suburb of Gurgaon is a dangerous place to be a woman, and judging from a number of recent and highly-reported rapes and gang rapes, it’s only getting worse.  Sexual violence- and the ham-fisted legislation proposed by regional governors to address it – has sparked soul searching debate online and in the press over rape law and the prevalence of sexual assault in supposedly swiftly-modernizing India. Gurgaon officials and local police could have responded to these rapes with increased surveillance and tougher laws – but they didn’t. They chose the easy way out, advising women to avoid working after 8:00 PM for their own protection. Read more from Faine Greenwood in UN Dispatch.....

Timor-Leste Heads to Polls

Published on Mar 17, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta goes to the poll this Saturday with a battle on his hands, far from certain he’ll retain his position in a presidential election that will lay the groundwork for great change in the short history of this tiny nation. Twelve candidates have entered the field. Other frontrunners include Francisco Guterres of Fretilin, former military chief Jose Maria de Vasconcelos – also known as Taur Matan Ruak – and Fernando de Araujo of the Democratic Party. Read more in The Diplomat. .