Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), meeting in the Philippine city of Cebu, are working on a regional anti-terror pact the day after a series of bombs exploded in nearby towns on the southern Mindanao island…. Read morePhilippines: terror tops ASEAN summit, rights activists protest
From Bangkok’s The Nation, Jan. 4: Blasts shatter hopes for reconciliation The bomb blasts that hit Bangkok on New Year’s Eve signalled that the worst is yet to come. The explosions, which killed three people and injured almost 40, were… Read moreConspiracy theories abound in Thailand terror
From the Brunei Times, Nov. 9: Surayud eyes autonomy for Thai south Thailand’s military-appointed prime minister, whose visit to the troubled deep South yesterday sparked a new wave of violence, is mulling to allow the rule of sharia law in… Read moreSharia law for Thailand?
A new military operation on Mindanao and growing impetus for a sweeping “anti-terrorism” bill in Manila, both aimed at the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)—which denies involvement in the terror blasts which have targeted markets and other public places, leaving… Read moreMindanao militarized in wake of terror wave
We’ll have a clearer idea of what is going on here when the dust settles, but two things are worth noting about the Sept. 19 coup d’etat in Thailand. First, the coup leader Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin is the first Muslim… Read moreThailand: new GWOT flashpoint?
Note that this is being portrayed openly as a tit-for-tat to counter-balance the scheduled execution of those convicted in the Bali bombings. Note also that the Indonesian military itself has been accused of enflaming the Sulawesi violence through proxy militias…. Read moreIndonesia: Christian militiamen face execution
Jose Ramos Horta, winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, is a figure of towering moral authority, and will hopefully be able to restore both stability and real sovereignty to his nation. But it is painful to watch him take… Read moreRamos Horta to lead East Timor
Exactly four years after winning its independence from Indonesia, East Timor is tragically descending into chaos, and Australia has sent a “peacekeeping” force. Excerpts from a Reuters account via TV New Zealand, May 27: Gangs of youths allied to feuding… Read moreAussie imperialism exploits East Timor unrest
From Reuters, March 30: CANBERRA – An Indonesian cartoon depicting Australia’s prime minister and foreign minister as fornicating dingoes was “grotesque”, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Thursday as bilateral tension flared with Jakarta. Prime Minister John Howard acknowledged that… Read moreAustralia-Indonesia cartoon wars
As we observed in the recent case in Nazareth, the choice of religious targets by the “mentally ill” is not so apolitical as it seems. If nothing else, it reflects a zeitgeist. From Reuters, March 25: Thai Muslim killed after… Read moreReligious violence in Thailand
Another escalation in the ongoing struggle in West Papua. From AP, March 20: Calm returned to Papua Province yesterday after three days of tension following a deadly protest against a massive US-owned gold mine in the eastern Indonesian province. Police… Read moreDeadly protests and sweeps in West Papua
A rather ironic way to note the 20th anniversary of the “People Power” revolution that ousted longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. Those who marched in Manila to commemorate the revolution over the weekend did so in defiance of… Read moreState of emergency in Philippines
