Bali’s Dark Side

Published on Feb 28, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Prisoners don’t normally illicit much sympathy. Their genuine gripes rarely receive the attention they deserve from the general public, who prefer to focus on the inadequacies of inmates and what they did to get behind bars in the first place. Their plight is deserved is the prevailing attitude. So it was in Bali, where prison riots recently grabbed international headlines on an island normally associated with sun drenched beaches, upmarket nightclubs and restaurants and an engaging middle class that has evolved around the millions of tourists who flock there every year. Read more in The Diplomat.   .

Thai Bombing Vs Thai Tourism

Published on Feb 27, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Thailand is circling the wagons after a recent terrorist bomb scare in the heart of Bangkok— and some Thais are questioning if their nation’s relatively laisse-faire approach towards international visitors is the right one. The swift police response hasn’t been mirrored by the Thai government, however, which appears to be focusing much more on damage-control than it is on solving the problem, or acknowledging serious gaps in Thailand’s security network exist.  Many have piled on Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who said in a Feb 14 press statement that the attacks “were not acts of terrorism” and the bombers were merely assembling weapons for use in other countries – although he proceeded to request terrorists refrain from....

Was Bangkok the Start?

Published on Feb 25, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — The nature of terrorism is shifting. As a strategy favored by Islamic militants and separatists this nasty and virulent type of civilian-focused warfare had dominated the security landscape across Southeast Asia for much of the last decade. But as jihad groups likes Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) are routed, and the likes of the Abu Sayyaf are contained, other outfits with foreign agendas are stepping into the breach. Their differences were highlighted in two capitals over the last fortnight; in Jakarta where the last if the Bali bombers has gone on trial, and in Bangkok where a trail of tragic errors had unwittingly led Thai police to an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate....

War Crimes & the Price of Justice

Published on Feb 18, 2012 by Luke Hunt

ASIAWATCH — As Cambodians working for the ECCC wonder when they will next be paid, Luke Hunt takes a look at war crimes tribunals around the world and says the Cambodian efforts is not the only tribunal with issues. Putting a price on a human life has never been an easy issue.  Hospitals constantly face financial pressures but the rights of patients to their privacy ensure that such awkward subjects are handled from behind closed doors. Courts, however,  and the public’s right to know tell a different story. The exorbitant costs often associated with delivering justice are at times kicked around with as much force as a political football before an election. In Cambodia, this has remained a sore point....

Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Play

Published on Feb 18, 2012 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Timor-Leste wants help. Australian troops are pulling out of the country leaving it much to its own security devices as it wallows as the poorest in Asia, with a recent report revealing 54 percent of the nation’s children under the age of five are stunted because of malnutrition. With that in mind, East Timor’s Foreign Minister Zacarius Albano da Costa has been scouting for support, with the country increasingly pitching its future on joining the 10-member trading bloc, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Read more in The Diplomat. .