Obituary: Norodom Sihanouk
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia’s former king Norodom Sihanouk, the charismatic monarch whose name was synonymous with the struggles and upheavals of his country for more than six decades, died in Beijing on Monday at the age of 89.
Cambodia as divide and rule pawn
PHNOM PENH – The official theme for Cambodia’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is “One Community, One Destiny” – but the outcomes of this year’s meetings highlighted the bloc’s growing divisions on the issue of China. Last week in the Cambodian capital, the Foreign Ministers’ meeting came to an acrimonious end...
Cambodia carve-up under the spotlight
PHNOM PENH -There were scenes of jubilation in Cambodia’s capital last month when a group of 13 imprisoned women – including a 72-year-old grandmother – was set free by an appeal court. The women were arrested in May during peaceful demonstrations against the forced eviction of thousands of families living around Boeung Kak Lake, an...
How The Optimism About Burma is Subverted By Its Never-Ending Civil War
Continuing ethnic conflict in Kachin State is a stark reminder of the limits to President Thein Sein’s much-heralded reforms.
China’s Aid Emboldens Cambodia
Hun Sen aims at balancing US, Vietnamese and Chinese interests for Cambodia’s benefit
Annus horribilis for Cambodian rights
PHNOM PENH – On April 26, a prominent Cambodian anti-logging campaigner was shot and killed by military police in the Cardamom Mountains in the country’s southwest. Chut Wutty, the director of the Natural Resources Protection Group, was reportedly escorting two local journalists through a densely-forested part of Koh Kong province when his car was stopped...
The strings in Hun Sen’s rhetorical bow
PHNOM PENH – Between their anodyne pageantry and colorless mission statements about regional economic cooperation, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings are rarely known for their excitement. But on the last day of this month’s annual summit in Phnom Penh, the current chairman of the 10-country bloc, Cambodia’s long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen, did...
Lost in Time
Harmonising history with modernity is crucial to preserving Yangon’s stunning architectural past.
Myanmar: God, golfing and guerrilla war
Life behind the lines of Kachin state’s bloody ethnic conflict.
REVIEW: ‘The Orphan Master’s Son’, by Adam Johnson
PERHAPS THE BEST way to grasp the sad and desperate state of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is to glance at a satellite photo of Northeast Asia by night.
Myanmar: No end in sight for Kachin conflict
Despite reforms elsewhere in the country, Kachin Independence Army troops maintain their tense daily vigil, eyeing off a Myanmar army post across the valley.
