Burma’s Dead Men Walking
A new Human Rights Watch report details how hundreds of convicts were beaten, forced to carry supplies for the military – and clear landmines with sticks and forks.
Escaping North Korea
The hundreds of North Koreans escaping into China each year are facing ever tougher border controls. Those caught face imprisonment and torture.
New drug law under fire
HUMAN rights groups have attacked the contents of a new draft drug law, describing it as a “dangerous mess” that could further institutionalise the abuse of drug users in government-run treatment centres.
Vietnamese refugees face deportation
MORE than 10 Montagnard asylum seekers will be deported to Vietnam after the government closes a United Nations-administered refugee centre at the end of the month, officials said yesterday, prompting an outcry from local and international rights groups.
Cambodia sees Suu Kyi release as positive step
THE Cambodian government has hailed the release of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after years of house arrest, describing it as an important step on the road towards democracy for the troubled country. “The government of Cambodia welcomes the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar,” said Koy Kuong, spokesman for the...
Cambodia maintains distance on Myanmar poll
THE Cambodian government has adopted a wait-and-see approach to the upcoming elections in Myanmar, amid mounting criticism of a process many observers see as a charade to legitimise military rule.
Myanmar election offers no comfort for refugees
MAE LA REFUGEE CAMP, THAILAND—IT’S no wonder that Saw Tun Wai has little desire to return to Myanmar, even after upcoming elections that its military rulers describe as a step toward democracy. The wiry 52-year-old teacher fled to Thailand on foot over rugged mountain terrain in 2006, escaping a vicious and largely unseen army campaign...
PM orders closure of UN office
PRIME Minister Hun Sen has ordered United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to remove the head of the local UN human rights office, who he accused of acting as a “spokesman” for opposition groups.Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who attended a meeting between Hun Sen and Ban yesterday morning, said the premier “proposed” that Christophe Peschoux,...
War crimes and Bangladesh
Is a war crimes tribunal being used to settle political scores? If so, it may unleash social chaos, reports Sebastian Strangio.
From carpet-bombing to friendship-building
As Cambodia and the United States celebrate six decades of diplomatic ties, the Post looks back at a relationship that has moved from alliance to alienation and back. By Sebastian Strangio & Neth Pheaktra.
Armed Forces Day
Occasionally, a copy of the New Light of Myanmar — the Burmese government’s official mouthpiece — winds up in our office and gets passed around for laughs. The paper on March 25, commemorating Armed Forces Day, which marks the start of the Burmese army’s resistance to the Japanese occupation in 1945, was particularly amusing. In...
China’s soft power hardens in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH – A DAY after Cambodian authorities spirited 20 ethnic Uighur asylum seekers out of the country on an unmarked charter flight, China’s Vice President Xi Jinping touched down at Siem Reap International Airport. During his three-day visit in late December, the Chinese leader signed an unprecedented US$1.2 billion in economic aid agreements with...
