Is Myanmar Failed State?

Published on Dec 29, 2023 by Luke Hunt

Throughout 2022, when Cambodia was chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the nagging questions inside the corridors of power were fairly straightforward. Is Myanmar a failed state? Why negotiate with a junta that has little or no control over the country? Luke Hunt writes for The Diplomat.Those questions were put on hold as Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen attempted to negotiate the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus with junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, creating a veneer of public respectability for all parties until Phnom Penh passed the ASEAN baton to Jakarta.Indonesia has since indicated a tougher stand and as atrocities have escalated, including four massacres allegedly committed by the military this month, such questions are again being....

New Year Old Problems

Published on Dec 16, 2023 by Luke Hunt

For many Cambodians 2023 was a grinding affair. Dominated by the jailing of dissidents, a one-sided election and a father to son transfer of power, it was a year that entrenched the ruling families while opposition politicians wilted behind bars or in exile.And while most eyes were on politics, the economy stagnated while human traffickers continued to ply their trade, resulting in co-ordinated sanctions imposed on individuals and corporate entities, as the year ended, by the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.“We will not tolerate criminals and repressive regimes trampling on the fundamental rights and freedoms of ordinary people around the world,” UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said as the sanctions were imposed on Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.Click here....

Hun Sen's Election

Published on Nov 1, 2023 by Luke Hunt

Prime Minister Hun Sen has won Cambodia's general election with absolute authority and will transfer power in a "generational" change of leadership, to his eldest son Hum Manet by the end of August.Additionally the children of cabinet ministers are to be hand the portfolio's of their fathers, an unprecedented if not extremely rare reshuffle in the history of government, ensuring power remains within the ruling families.Here is a list of links to background stories from immediately before and after the July 23, 2023, poll that culminated in that change.Naval Base to Test Hun Manet's Reationship with Washington. The DiplomatCambodia's Fate Mapped-Out. Election wrap from VOACambodia's 'Pantomime' Election wrap from UCA NewsPM Wins Big in 'Rigged' One-Sided Election. Hun Sen wins....

Australia Votes No

Published on Oct 14, 2023 by Luke Hunt

Australians failed to deliver its indigenous people a Voice to Parliament after a constitution referendum was defeated on Oct. 14, prompting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to call for a week’s silence to reflect on a “devastating” outcome.At the last count, 60.3 percent of Australians voted no at the national level. Similar results were counted among the six states. Constitutional change requires a double majority — approval at the national level of at least 50 percent and from at least four states.“For more than six years, we have explained to our nation why the Voice was our great hope to achieve real change for our families and communities,” the Aboriginal Land Council said.Click here to Read more from UCA News..

An Australian Vote

Published on Oct 10, 2023 by Luke Hunt

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Australians go to the polls Saturday in a vote for a constitutional change that, if successful, would guarantee Indigenous people a say in parliament, after a campaign that has been widely criticized for dividing the country through racist undertones.The latest opinion polls indicate the ‘yes’ campaign is struggling to win over a majority of Australians and four of the six states required to change the constitution, a major setback for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who initially put forward the proposal in March.Back then more than 60% of the population favored constitutional change but one poll by RedBridge, conducted in late July, found that support has fallen to just 39%.Surveys by pollsters Morgan and Essential during late September....