The Last Foreign Correspondents

Published on Mar 19, 2018 by Luke Hunt

As Britain handed its cherished Hong Kong back to China in 1997 and Cambodia endured a coup that would bring decades of civil war to an end, American journalist Dan Boylan filed the following.PHNOM PENH  – “Strange … peace kills business,” one reporter said on a recent night at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Cambodia. Sitting alone, he stared into his Angkor beer while the sun sank against the Tonle Sap River outside.Just last summer, as AK-47’s rattled nearby, the club was packed. Reporters from around the world had descended upon Phnom Penh to cover Cambodia’s latest war, a short-lived affair that smashed a short-lived coalition government. With the action came the out-of-town professionals.“Yeah, it was wall to wall then,”....

The Killing Fields; the Search for Justice

Published on Mar 26, 2014 by Luke Hunt

For eight years, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has attempted to find some kind of justice for those who died under Pol Pot’s ruthless regime, with some success, and at times fought a difficult battle against its detractors.As Communications Officer for the Extraordinary Chambers for the Courts in Cambodia (ECCC), Lars Olsen is charged with disseminating information and handling perceptions of the proceedings. He spoke with The Edge Review’s correspondent Luke Hunt.The Edge Review: Your native Norway is a long way from Cambodia. Why did you decide to move here and take-up the position as Communications Officer with the ECCC?Olsen: All over the world people have heard about the killing fields in Cambodia. When you get a chance to participate in....

A Good Lord Returns

Published on Mar 7, 2014 by Luke Hunt

Three decades after the release of his movie The Killing Fields, producer David Puttnam returned to a much different Cambodia, where he was feted by local filmmakers and a contingent of foreign diplomats and academics for a seminal work that redefined genocide in the public conscience.This column was written by Luke Hunt for The Diplomat.Among the more amazing aspects associated with the legacy of the movie, Puttnam said, was how the title had become synonymous with genocides around the world – although there were earlier indications that the film would leave its mark.Shortly before its release in 1984, a special screening was organized for the families of Dith Pran, who worked with Sydney Schanberg at The New York Times and....

Surfers and a Boat Load of Pot

Published on Jan 16, 2014 by Luke Hunt

American academic and author Peter Maguire is best known for his work on war crimes and legal issues surrounding conflict. Weighty issues of state like the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia are more his fare and stand in stark contrast to the drug smuggling days of the 1960s, 70s and 80s that feature in his latest book, Thai Stick – Surfers, Scammers and the Untold Story of the Marijuana Trade.This article first appeared in The Edge ReviewBy Luke HuntThat business thrived on the antics of young surfers from California, Hawaii, Australia and elsewhere — men and women who dreamed of perfect waves in exotic locations like Bali, access to cheap pot and deep pockets. For many, smuggling would become a....

People Smugglers: Doing it Tough

Published on Dec 17, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Afghanistan and the long road out — This article first appeared in The Edge ReviewBy LUKE HUNT / KabulPeople smugglers are feeling the pinch. Escalating costs, government crackdowns and a less than compliant cargo is making life difficult for the likes of Abu Saleh, Captain Bram, Abu Visam and Sayed Abbas – perhaps Asia’s most notorious illegal importers of human beings.All four have plied their trade from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Sri Lanka through the Middle East to Europe or via Southeast Asia and into Australia, making small fortunes out of illegal immigrants, political asylum seekers, economic refugees and ordinary people desperate for a peaceful life.Much of that business begins here around the jewelry shops of Chicken Street in Kabul,....