Nobel laureate Stiglitz leads expert discussions on restoring country as rice bowl of Asia
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of the Union of Myanmar today held a wide-ranging dialogue aimed at boosting the countrys agricultural sector and to help it reclaim its status as the rice bowl of Asia.
At the invitation of ESCAP, Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof. Joseph Stiglitz and other eminent experts discussed strategies for Myanmar to cut poverty in light of Asias regional and subregional experiences.
It is my hope these ideas and analysis will open a new space for policy discussion and a further deepening of our development partnership, UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer said at the event held in Myanmars capital, Naypyitaw.
These development objectives can only be achieved through the successful engagement of local experts and people who know what is happening on the ground. This development partnership, requested by the Government of Myanmar, provides a unique platform for eminent international scholars and local researchers to exchange experiences and ideas with government agencies and civil society, Dr. Heyzer added.
This is the second in a series of events launched by Dr. Heyzer during her visit in July to Myanmar, and was organized by ESCAP with the countrys Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development.
In his presentation, Towards a more productive agrarian economy for Myanmar, Professor Stiglitz noted that Myanmar was well-positioned to learn from other countries in the region that have developed on the back of gains in agriculture. There are large opportunities for improvement. Myanmar should take a comprehensive approach, he said.
He urged the Government of Myanmar to: promote access to appropriate agricultural financing; take measures to boost access to seeds and fertilizers; dramatically boost spending on health and education; and create well-paid jobs in construction of rural infrastructure in order to stimulate development and raise incomes and spending.
Professor Stiglitz also noted that well-functioning institutions were critical to success, and that Myanmar could learn from the mistakes made by other resource-rich countries. Revenues from oil and gas can open up a new era, if used well. If not, then valuable opportunities will be squandered, he said.
Economics and politics can not be separated, Professor Stiglitz added. For Myanmar to take a role on the world stage and to achieve true stability and security there must be widespread participation and inclusive processes. This is the only way forward for Myanmar.
Maj. Gen. U Htay Oo, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of Myanmar, noted that climate change has had significant effects on the countrys agriculture and livelihood, particularly in the dry zone. To mitigate such pressure we are implementing short-term and longer term measures, such as promoting access to irrigation water to increase productivity, and developing resource-based as well as knowledge-based sustainable agriculture and livelihoods built on existing infrastructures, he said.
We are adopting a holistic approach informed by the human development perspective to address the needs of the most vulnerable, he added. We cannot afford to be complacent thus the tasks for agriculture and rural development must be implemented through mass movement.
The Minister also welcomed and supported the continued close cooperation and collaboration of ESCAP in the development partnership series. I look forward to the joint activities to come in 2010, in particular the regional development programme for sustainable agriculture towards inclusive rural economy development, he said.
Col. Thurin Zaw, Deputy Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, delivered a presentation on Myanmars National development plans and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The meeting was organized into two segments: The morning roundtable was devoted to expert discussions and included presentations on Recent socio-economic development, by Daw Khin Ma Ma Swe of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, and on Approaches for agriculture and rural development, by Daw Dolly Kyaw of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
There were also presentations on Establishing the virtuous cycle of food security, sustainable agriculture and rural economy development, by U Tin Htut Oo and U Tin Maung Shwe of the Academy of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fisheries Sciences, and on Enhancing Myanmars rural economy, by Ikuko Okamoto of the Institute of Developing Economies-JETRO.
The afternoon high-level development forum covered, Economic policies for growth and poverty reduction: lessons from the region and beyond.
On 21 December in Singapore, Professor Stiglitz and Dr Heyzer will hold a press conference about the forum at the Singapore Foreign Correspondents Association. The press conference will take place at the Singapore Management University, Administration Building, from 9am-10am.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
ESCAP and Russian Federation to Sign Cooperative Development Agreement
Signing ceremony Thursday 11:30, 17 December at ESCAP Building
The Economic and Social Commission in Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) – the regional arm of the United Nations - and the Russian Federation will sign an agreement this Thursday to strengthen cooperation, with a view to promoting inclusive and sustainable economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific.
Under the agreement, the Russian Federation provides a voluntary
contribution of US$ 1.2 million annually during the period 2009-2010 to support key programme activities of ESCAP.
ESCAP will be hosting a signing ceremony where Mr. Gennady Gatilov of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP will formalize the agreement.
In response to the regional development priorities, the Russian contribution will be used for technical cooperation projects to develop capacities and improve development in key areas such as environment, energy, regional transport connectivity, disaster risk reduction, statistics and migration.
The ceremony will take place Thursday 17 December 2009, 11:30 on the 15th floor of the ESCAP Secretariat building. Media are welcome to cover the ceremony. Please register in advance for building access at unisbkk.unescap@un.org.
The Economic and Social Commission in Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) – the regional arm of the United Nations - and the Russian Federation will sign an agreement this Thursday to strengthen cooperation, with a view to promoting inclusive and sustainable economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific.
Under the agreement, the Russian Federation provides a voluntary
contribution of US$ 1.2 million annually during the period 2009-2010 to support key programme activities of ESCAP.
ESCAP will be hosting a signing ceremony where Mr. Gennady Gatilov of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP will formalize the agreement.
In response to the regional development priorities, the Russian contribution will be used for technical cooperation projects to develop capacities and improve development in key areas such as environment, energy, regional transport connectivity, disaster risk reduction, statistics and migration.
The ceremony will take place Thursday 17 December 2009, 11:30 on the 15th floor of the ESCAP Secretariat building. Media are welcome to cover the ceremony. Please register in advance for building access at unisbkk.unescap@un.org.
MALARIA PROGRESS REPORT SHOWS THAT DEVELOPMENT AID FOR HEALTH IS WORKING
Significant progress has been made in delivering life saving malaria nets and treatments over the past few years, but the coverage of malaria programmes needs to be stepped up drastically in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The World Malaria Report 2009 found that the increase in international funding commitments (US$ 1.7 billion in 2009 compared to US$ 730 million in 2006) had allowed a dramatic scale up of malaria control interventions in several countries, along with measurable reductions in malaria burden. However, the amounts available still fall short of the US$ 5 billion required annually to ensure high coverage and maximal impact worldwide.
The WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, described the findings in the report as cause for cautious optimism and said "While much remains to be done, the data presented here clearly suggest that the tremendous increase in funding for malaria control is resulting in the rapid scale up of today's control tools. This, in turn, is having a profound effect on health - especially the health of children in sub-Saharan Africa. In a nutshell, development aid for health is working."
The report found that more life-saving malaria nets and treatments were delivered in 2007 and 2008 compared to 2006.
More African households (31%) own at least one insecticide-treated net (ITN), and more children under 5 years of age used an ITN in 2008 (24%) compared to previous years. These averages are affected by low ITN ownership in several large African countries for which resources for scale-up are only now being made available. Household ITN ownership reached more than 50% in 13 of the 35 highest burden African countries.
Use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) is increasing but remains low in most African countries with fewer than 15% of children with fever receiving an ACT.
More than one-third of the 108 malarious countries (9 African countries and 29 outside of Africa) documented reductions in malaria cases of more than 50% in 2008 compared to 2000.
Where scale-up of proven interventions has occurred, and surveillance systems are functioning, remarkable impact has been documented:
In countries and areas that have achieved high coverage with bed nets and treatment programmes (e.g. Eritrea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia and Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanzania) recorded cases and deaths due to malaria have fallen by 50% (target set by World Health Assembly for 2010) suggesting that MDG target for malaria can be achieved if there is adequate coverage of key interventions.
Large decreases in malaria cases and deaths have been mirrored by steep declines in all-cause deaths among children less than 5 years of age suggesting that intensive efforts at malaria control could help many African countries to reach, by 2015, a two-thirds reduction in child mortality as set forth in the MDGs.
High levels of external assistance were shown to be linked to decreases in malaria incidence. However, many external funds are concentrated on smaller countries with lower disease burdens. More attention needs to be given to ensuring success in large countries that account for most malaria cases and deaths.
Parasite resistance to anti-malarial medicines and mosquito resistance to insecticides are major threats to achieving global malaria control. Confirmation of artemisinin resistance was reported in 2009, and WHO is leading a major resistance containment effort in South East Asia. Key elements in the global strategy to prevent the spread of drug resistance include: 1) Rapidly reducing the spread of malaria using malaria preventive tools 2) ensuring that all malaria infections are correctly diagnosed, effectively treated and followed-up to ensure that they do not spread the disease to others 3) halting the marketing and use of oral artemisinin monotherapies and importantly, 4) carefully monitoring the efficacy of medicines to detect early evidence of resistance.
The report noted that there was urgent need for the global community to completely fund the Global Malaria Action Plan in order to sustain early success and achieve the 2015 MDGs. The African Region had the largest increase in funding of all regions, led by investments by the Global Fund, the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative, and other agencies.
The success of malaria control efforts will be in reducing the burden of malaria and improving child survival. Investing in malaria control is not only helping the world to reach the MDGs, but is also helping to build health systems that will ensure that these development gains are sustained.
The World Malaria Report 2009 found that the increase in international funding commitments (US$ 1.7 billion in 2009 compared to US$ 730 million in 2006) had allowed a dramatic scale up of malaria control interventions in several countries, along with measurable reductions in malaria burden. However, the amounts available still fall short of the US$ 5 billion required annually to ensure high coverage and maximal impact worldwide.
The WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, described the findings in the report as cause for cautious optimism and said "While much remains to be done, the data presented here clearly suggest that the tremendous increase in funding for malaria control is resulting in the rapid scale up of today's control tools. This, in turn, is having a profound effect on health - especially the health of children in sub-Saharan Africa. In a nutshell, development aid for health is working."
The report found that more life-saving malaria nets and treatments were delivered in 2007 and 2008 compared to 2006.
More African households (31%) own at least one insecticide-treated net (ITN), and more children under 5 years of age used an ITN in 2008 (24%) compared to previous years. These averages are affected by low ITN ownership in several large African countries for which resources for scale-up are only now being made available. Household ITN ownership reached more than 50% in 13 of the 35 highest burden African countries.
Use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) is increasing but remains low in most African countries with fewer than 15% of children with fever receiving an ACT.
More than one-third of the 108 malarious countries (9 African countries and 29 outside of Africa) documented reductions in malaria cases of more than 50% in 2008 compared to 2000.
Where scale-up of proven interventions has occurred, and surveillance systems are functioning, remarkable impact has been documented:
In countries and areas that have achieved high coverage with bed nets and treatment programmes (e.g. Eritrea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia and Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanzania) recorded cases and deaths due to malaria have fallen by 50% (target set by World Health Assembly for 2010) suggesting that MDG target for malaria can be achieved if there is adequate coverage of key interventions.
Large decreases in malaria cases and deaths have been mirrored by steep declines in all-cause deaths among children less than 5 years of age suggesting that intensive efforts at malaria control could help many African countries to reach, by 2015, a two-thirds reduction in child mortality as set forth in the MDGs.
High levels of external assistance were shown to be linked to decreases in malaria incidence. However, many external funds are concentrated on smaller countries with lower disease burdens. More attention needs to be given to ensuring success in large countries that account for most malaria cases and deaths.
Parasite resistance to anti-malarial medicines and mosquito resistance to insecticides are major threats to achieving global malaria control. Confirmation of artemisinin resistance was reported in 2009, and WHO is leading a major resistance containment effort in South East Asia. Key elements in the global strategy to prevent the spread of drug resistance include: 1) Rapidly reducing the spread of malaria using malaria preventive tools 2) ensuring that all malaria infections are correctly diagnosed, effectively treated and followed-up to ensure that they do not spread the disease to others 3) halting the marketing and use of oral artemisinin monotherapies and importantly, 4) carefully monitoring the efficacy of medicines to detect early evidence of resistance.
The report noted that there was urgent need for the global community to completely fund the Global Malaria Action Plan in order to sustain early success and achieve the 2015 MDGs. The African Region had the largest increase in funding of all regions, led by investments by the Global Fund, the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative, and other agencies.
The success of malaria control efforts will be in reducing the burden of malaria and improving child survival. Investing in malaria control is not only helping the world to reach the MDGs, but is also helping to build health systems that will ensure that these development gains are sustained.
Six Asian Economies Announce Tariff Reductions and Broader Cooperation
Six Asian Economies Announce Tariff Reductions and Broader Cooperation
Agreement comes at Asia-Pacific Trade Ministers Meeting in Seoul
Trade ministers of six Asian countries – including China, India and the Republic of Korea, three of the region’s largest economies – today announced further tariff reductions at the conclusion of the third Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) ministerial council in Seoul
During the meeting, the accession process for Mongolia to become an APTA member was also formally initiated. Besides China, India and the Republic of Korea, the other current members of APTA are Bangladesh, Lao PDR and Sri Lanka.
APTA is the only regional trade agreement which links East, Southeast and South Asia. It was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
“The total trade volume of APTA members skyrocketed from a mere 140 million Dollars in 1976 to 3.1 trillion Dollars in 2008” underlined Mr. Hur Kyung-Wook, First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance of the Government of the Republic of Korea. “The conclusion of the Fourth Round negotiations will help evolve APTA as a truly significant trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region” he added.
“I am delighted that APTA members have made significant progress in deepening their agreement and are committed to continuing the process of liberalization” said Mr. Shigeru Mochida, Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP.
The six APTA members furthermore committed to expanding their cooperation into investment and trade facilitation by signing formal framework agreements in those two areas. A framework agreement on trade in services was also finalized and will be signed in early 2010.
In their declaration, the ministers called for further tariff
liberalization and negotiations into additional areas of cooperation. They also reaffirmed their commitment to expanding membership into “a truly pan-Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement.”
The Seoul meeting was hosted by the First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance of the Republic of Korea, Hur Kyung-Wook, and was attended by ministers or vice ministers from the six APTA members, as well as by ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary Shigeru Mochida.
Agreement comes at Asia-Pacific Trade Ministers Meeting in Seoul
Trade ministers of six Asian countries – including China, India and the Republic of Korea, three of the region’s largest economies – today announced further tariff reductions at the conclusion of the third Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) ministerial council in Seoul
During the meeting, the accession process for Mongolia to become an APTA member was also formally initiated. Besides China, India and the Republic of Korea, the other current members of APTA are Bangladesh, Lao PDR and Sri Lanka.
APTA is the only regional trade agreement which links East, Southeast and South Asia. It was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
“The total trade volume of APTA members skyrocketed from a mere 140 million Dollars in 1976 to 3.1 trillion Dollars in 2008” underlined Mr. Hur Kyung-Wook, First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance of the Government of the Republic of Korea. “The conclusion of the Fourth Round negotiations will help evolve APTA as a truly significant trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region” he added.
“I am delighted that APTA members have made significant progress in deepening their agreement and are committed to continuing the process of liberalization” said Mr. Shigeru Mochida, Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP.
The six APTA members furthermore committed to expanding their cooperation into investment and trade facilitation by signing formal framework agreements in those two areas. A framework agreement on trade in services was also finalized and will be signed in early 2010.
In their declaration, the ministers called for further tariff
liberalization and negotiations into additional areas of cooperation. They also reaffirmed their commitment to expanding membership into “a truly pan-Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement.”
The Seoul meeting was hosted by the First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance of the Republic of Korea, Hur Kyung-Wook, and was attended by ministers or vice ministers from the six APTA members, as well as by ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary Shigeru Mochida.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Special Lectures on Constructive Inheritance of Traditions
Special Lectures on Constructive Inheritance of Traditions
The past, present and future of the weaving cultures of
Japan and the Mekong region
On the occasion of the Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009, the Japan Foundation, Bangkok will organize a series of special lectures on "Constructive Inheritance of Traditions: the Past, Present and Future of the Weaving Cultures of Japan and the Mekong region" by Prof. Shinobu Yoshimoto of National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, on 11th November 2009 (Wed.) at Lecture Room 114, College of Arts, Media and Technology (CAMT), Chiang Mai University and 14th November 2009 (Sat.) at Research Institute of Northeastern Art and Culture, Mahasarakham University. This lecture will discuss the cultural aspects of Asian textiles including Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, China and Thailand, as to understand the ways of life of those people in the country and finding new perspectives of how their textiles will survive during the rapid globalizing economy and marketing.
What is the meaning of "tradition"?
How can tradition be inherited in a constructive and creative way?
A rich variety of weaving cultures has been developed and inherited from one generation to another through years of wide-area exchanges in the Mekong River Basin. However, mass consumption and standardized manufacturing are now spreading around the world, where manufacturers cannot "see" the users of their products and in turn remain "faceless" from the perspective of the users. Against this backdrop, the tidal wave of globalization is sweeping across the field of traditional crafts as well. Is it then possible for manufacturers and users to sustain and develop their weaving traditions as something precious that should be nurtured and expanded, while they are being tossed and turned by this mighty tide? Is it possible to maintain low-volume manufacturing in small societies, and seek industrial development of traditional crafts with well-balanced demand and supply? With awareness of these issues, Japanese and local textile experts will discuss the establishment of sustainable mechanisms for constructive inheritance of traditions.
Dr. Keiko YUKIMATSU
Lecturer's Profile
Professor Shinobu Yoshimoto is a Professor at the Department of Cultural Research of the National Museum of Ethnology. Engaged in cross-cultural research of weaving techniques around the world as well as the batik and ikat cultures of Indonesia and other countries. Having graduated from a university of fine arts, Professor Yoshimoto has a wealth of first-hand experience in the art of weaving and dyeing. Furthermore, he was born to a family of kimono shop owners and is thus able to develop on wide-ranging discussions from the perspective of distribution of textile products as well. His major publications include Jawa Sarasa (Java Batik) and Indonesia Senshoku Taikei (Traditional Dyeing and Weaving of Indonesia). In September 2009, Professor Yoshimoto planned and organized the exhibition "Try on! Check out! Asian textiles today" in Fukuoka.
The past, present and future of the weaving cultures of
Japan and the Mekong region
On the occasion of the Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009, the Japan Foundation, Bangkok will organize a series of special lectures on "Constructive Inheritance of Traditions: the Past, Present and Future of the Weaving Cultures of Japan and the Mekong region" by Prof. Shinobu Yoshimoto of National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, on 11th November 2009 (Wed.) at Lecture Room 114, College of Arts, Media and Technology (CAMT), Chiang Mai University and 14th November 2009 (Sat.) at Research Institute of Northeastern Art and Culture, Mahasarakham University. This lecture will discuss the cultural aspects of Asian textiles including Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, China and Thailand, as to understand the ways of life of those people in the country and finding new perspectives of how their textiles will survive during the rapid globalizing economy and marketing.
What is the meaning of "tradition"?
How can tradition be inherited in a constructive and creative way?
A rich variety of weaving cultures has been developed and inherited from one generation to another through years of wide-area exchanges in the Mekong River Basin. However, mass consumption and standardized manufacturing are now spreading around the world, where manufacturers cannot "see" the users of their products and in turn remain "faceless" from the perspective of the users. Against this backdrop, the tidal wave of globalization is sweeping across the field of traditional crafts as well. Is it then possible for manufacturers and users to sustain and develop their weaving traditions as something precious that should be nurtured and expanded, while they are being tossed and turned by this mighty tide? Is it possible to maintain low-volume manufacturing in small societies, and seek industrial development of traditional crafts with well-balanced demand and supply? With awareness of these issues, Japanese and local textile experts will discuss the establishment of sustainable mechanisms for constructive inheritance of traditions.
Dr. Keiko YUKIMATSU
Lecturer's Profile
Professor Shinobu Yoshimoto is a Professor at the Department of Cultural Research of the National Museum of Ethnology. Engaged in cross-cultural research of weaving techniques around the world as well as the batik and ikat cultures of Indonesia and other countries. Having graduated from a university of fine arts, Professor Yoshimoto has a wealth of first-hand experience in the art of weaving and dyeing. Furthermore, he was born to a family of kimono shop owners and is thus able to develop on wide-ranging discussions from the perspective of distribution of textile products as well. His major publications include Jawa Sarasa (Java Batik) and Indonesia Senshoku Taikei (Traditional Dyeing and Weaving of Indonesia). In September 2009, Professor Yoshimoto planned and organized the exhibition "Try on! Check out! Asian textiles today" in Fukuoka.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Fights at the market
Two Cambodians got into a fistfight at a market in the border town of Poi Pet yesterday morning over ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra being appointed as economic advisor to Hun Sen.
"One man supports Hun Sen's decision but the other man believes Thaksin's appointment would only strain ties between Thailand and Cambodia," Chua Dee, a 35-year-old Cambodian who sells second-hand shoes in the Rong Klua market on the Thai side, said about the fistfight yesterday.
"If the border checkpoints are closed because of Thaksin's appointment, then many Cambodians will definitely be against him," he added.
Still, it was business as usual at the Rong Klua market yesterday, and Sa Kaew Governor Sanit Naksuksri said the market's total sales were well above Bt20-million every day.
"Closing the border will not be good for trade and export," he warned.
Thousands of Cambodians walk into Thailand via the Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint in Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet district every day and were doing so yesterday as well.
However, a lecturer at the Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University believes the Thai government should take a harder stance against Cambodia.
"The government should consider whether it's time to close the borders. Businessmen should understand that the country's sovereignty comes first.
The government should also decide if Cambodian workers should be allowed to stay in Thailand," Samart Jabjone said.
Samart, who chairs a network of Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University lecturers and students, said he would be joining the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rally in Sanam Luang on Sunday.
"Regardless of the colour of our shirts, we will be there to declare our intention to protect Thailand's national interests," he said.
On the other hand, a Thai tour operator complained that the souring of ties between the two nations had already cost her a few million baht in lost opportunities.
"At least 80 of my customers have cancelled their trips to Cambodia," Duangrudee Apapon, owner of the Avia Angker Travel Company, said, adding that tour guides and tour-bus operators were also feeling the pinch.
"Those not living near the border may not understand our plight, but we are really hurting," Duangrudee said.
"One man supports Hun Sen's decision but the other man believes Thaksin's appointment would only strain ties between Thailand and Cambodia," Chua Dee, a 35-year-old Cambodian who sells second-hand shoes in the Rong Klua market on the Thai side, said about the fistfight yesterday.
"If the border checkpoints are closed because of Thaksin's appointment, then many Cambodians will definitely be against him," he added.
Still, it was business as usual at the Rong Klua market yesterday, and Sa Kaew Governor Sanit Naksuksri said the market's total sales were well above Bt20-million every day.
"Closing the border will not be good for trade and export," he warned.
Thousands of Cambodians walk into Thailand via the Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint in Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet district every day and were doing so yesterday as well.
However, a lecturer at the Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University believes the Thai government should take a harder stance against Cambodia.
"The government should consider whether it's time to close the borders. Businessmen should understand that the country's sovereignty comes first.
The government should also decide if Cambodian workers should be allowed to stay in Thailand," Samart Jabjone said.
Samart, who chairs a network of Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University lecturers and students, said he would be joining the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rally in Sanam Luang on Sunday.
"Regardless of the colour of our shirts, we will be there to declare our intention to protect Thailand's national interests," he said.
On the other hand, a Thai tour operator complained that the souring of ties between the two nations had already cost her a few million baht in lost opportunities.
"At least 80 of my customers have cancelled their trips to Cambodia," Duangrudee Apapon, owner of the Avia Angker Travel Company, said, adding that tour guides and tour-bus operators were also feeling the pinch.
"Those not living near the border may not understand our plight, but we are really hurting," Duangrudee said.
US arms sales hit record of $38bn in 2009
US government-togovernment arms sales rose 4.7% to a record $38.1 billion this year, and are expected to total almost as much in 2010, the Pentagon agency that administers them said on Friday.
Arms deals, often sensitive because of regional politics, may become even more so for the administration of President Barack Obama, who won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize last month.
Some critics say Mr Obama should rein in arms transfers, partly to avoid regional arms races. But overseas sales are increasingly important to US contractors seeking to offset Pentagon belttightening at home.
Many if not most of the sales pacts signed in fiscal 2009, which ended on Sept 30, are part of a boom in conventional weapons sales that started under former president George W. Bush.
The 2009 figures represent over a quadrupling from a sales low point in fiscal 1998, according to Vice Admiral Jeffrey Wieringa, head of the Defence Security Cooperation Agency.
The sales are indicative of a drive to strengthen US partners and thus boost US national security, Vice Adm Wieringa said in an Oct 22 blog posting on his agencys website.
The 2009 tally, revised after that posting, was up from $36.4 billion in fiscal 2008 and $23.3 billion in 2007, said the security agency. It administers the Pentagons Foreign Military Sales Programme, a key part of US alliancebuilding.
Sales are expected to top $37.9 billion in fiscal 2010, which began on Oct 1,Vanessa Murray, an agency spokeswoman, said in a written reply to Reuters.
The top buyers in fiscal 2009 were United Arab Emirates ($7.9 billion),Afghanistan ($5.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($3.3 billion), followed by Taiwan ($3.2 billion), Egypt ($2.1 billion), Iraq ($1.6 billion), Nato ($924.5 million), Australia ($818.7 million) and South Korea ($716.6 million).
Rachel Stohl, co-author of a new book,The International Arms Trade , said Mr Obama, who took office on Jan 20, seems to be sticking with the Bush administration mantra of sell, sell, sell, rather than a more cautious approach.
William Hartung of the New America Foundation,aWashington-based research group focused on US defence and foreign policy issues, said Mr Obama should pay more attention to regional arms-race dangers, human-rights records and shun sales to countries that can illafford them.
Top US arms makers such as Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, General Dynamics Corp and Raytheon Co are hoping to boost foreign sales to hedge against US budget pressures that could slow big-ticket Pentagon arms purchases.
Overseas sales lower the unit price of US armed forces weapons and keep components available that would be otherwise hard to find, said Remy Nathan of the Aerospace Industries Association,which lobbies on behalf of US arms makers.
Demand is booming, fed in part by regional tensions fanned by nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in Iran and North Korea.
In September, for instance, the Pentagon told Congress of a possible sale to Turkey of the most modern model of its Patriot anti-missile missile in a package valued at up to $7.8 billion.
The Gulf states and Saudi Arabia are extremely worried about Irans pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,Alexander Vershbow, US assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, said last month.They want to buy Patriots or other systems over the coming years. So right now,demand exceeds supply because of the real sense of threat they feel, he said.
Other big sales could come from the best market in decades for fighter aircraft,with multi-billion-dollar competitions under way or planned in India, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Greece and elsewhere, said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, an aerospace consultancy.
Arms deals, often sensitive because of regional politics, may become even more so for the administration of President Barack Obama, who won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize last month.
Some critics say Mr Obama should rein in arms transfers, partly to avoid regional arms races. But overseas sales are increasingly important to US contractors seeking to offset Pentagon belttightening at home.
Many if not most of the sales pacts signed in fiscal 2009, which ended on Sept 30, are part of a boom in conventional weapons sales that started under former president George W. Bush.
The 2009 figures represent over a quadrupling from a sales low point in fiscal 1998, according to Vice Admiral Jeffrey Wieringa, head of the Defence Security Cooperation Agency.
The sales are indicative of a drive to strengthen US partners and thus boost US national security, Vice Adm Wieringa said in an Oct 22 blog posting on his agencys website.
The 2009 tally, revised after that posting, was up from $36.4 billion in fiscal 2008 and $23.3 billion in 2007, said the security agency. It administers the Pentagons Foreign Military Sales Programme, a key part of US alliancebuilding.
Sales are expected to top $37.9 billion in fiscal 2010, which began on Oct 1,Vanessa Murray, an agency spokeswoman, said in a written reply to Reuters.
The top buyers in fiscal 2009 were United Arab Emirates ($7.9 billion),Afghanistan ($5.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($3.3 billion), followed by Taiwan ($3.2 billion), Egypt ($2.1 billion), Iraq ($1.6 billion), Nato ($924.5 million), Australia ($818.7 million) and South Korea ($716.6 million).
Rachel Stohl, co-author of a new book,The International Arms Trade , said Mr Obama, who took office on Jan 20, seems to be sticking with the Bush administration mantra of sell, sell, sell, rather than a more cautious approach.
William Hartung of the New America Foundation,aWashington-based research group focused on US defence and foreign policy issues, said Mr Obama should pay more attention to regional arms-race dangers, human-rights records and shun sales to countries that can illafford them.
Top US arms makers such as Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, General Dynamics Corp and Raytheon Co are hoping to boost foreign sales to hedge against US budget pressures that could slow big-ticket Pentagon arms purchases.
Overseas sales lower the unit price of US armed forces weapons and keep components available that would be otherwise hard to find, said Remy Nathan of the Aerospace Industries Association,which lobbies on behalf of US arms makers.
Demand is booming, fed in part by regional tensions fanned by nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in Iran and North Korea.
In September, for instance, the Pentagon told Congress of a possible sale to Turkey of the most modern model of its Patriot anti-missile missile in a package valued at up to $7.8 billion.
The Gulf states and Saudi Arabia are extremely worried about Irans pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,Alexander Vershbow, US assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, said last month.They want to buy Patriots or other systems over the coming years. So right now,demand exceeds supply because of the real sense of threat they feel, he said.
Other big sales could come from the best market in decades for fighter aircraft,with multi-billion-dollar competitions under way or planned in India, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Greece and elsewhere, said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, an aerospace consultancy.
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Connectivity the next step in Asean community building
THE 15th Asean Summit and related summits will be held from October 23-25 at Cha-am near Hua Hin. This summit will be a crucial milestone for the regional grouping.
Community building is the essential task for Asean to become a successful regional body. The challenges are huge but the reward is sustainable peace and increased prosperity in the region.
Highlights of the summit will include the inauguration of the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights, the adoption of a declaration on climate change to reaffirm the Asean position in the negotiation under the UN Frameworks Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as the adoption of a declaration on education cooperation to achieve an Asean Community.
During last Asean meeting, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that when the member countries of Asean become a single economic bloc in 2015, the Asean Community should be "a community of action, connectivity and peoples".
Asean must not fail in this goal. Actually there is no alternative to Asean as a leading political organisation. Political regionalisation is a worldwide trend that forces regions to overcome historical, religious or cultural differences.
If Southeast Asia wants to play a role on the world stage, its individual nations have to move closer together. Developments within Asean - the increased cooperation, the further strengthening of its institutions - over recent years have been remarkable. However, Asean is running the risk that this increased cooperation among the member states is not taking the very bases of the organisation - its people - along with it.
Many Southeast Asian countries not only lack the ability to communicate the challenges and benefits of Asean to their people, they also often see the development of a strong regional body as a threat to their own political power and their position in the region. This makes it easy for them to abuse Asean for internal political gain. Thailand is no exception.
To emphasise the benefits of Asean to the grouping's people is essential for successful regional integration. Other regional organisations face the same problems. The European Union was developed to secure peace after decades of war on the European continent. The EU started slowly, with bilateral contacts between France and Germany, and moved on to the first inauguration within Europe with seven member states signing the first European contract. The focus was on initially on economic cooperation.
Today, the EU has 27 members, no borders, and a common currency; even a single design for the license plates of cars has been adopted throughout the bloc. For a lot of Europeans, these smaller symbols of being part of a union are maybe more important than the high-level meetings of politicians.
The only way to connect the people of Southeast Asia is by harmonising travel, and liberalising trade and investment in the region. There is also a need to make people feel Asean.
Harmonised rules and legal certainty and security will unavoidably lead to increased investment. Exchange of goods and services, and contact between people of the member nations will lead to a better understanding of different cultural backgrounds. At the same time, an increased effort in the region's educational systems is crucial for the long-term success of the organisation. Also, the various nationalistic trends in some countries must be overcome.
People must feel the benefits of Asean in their daily lives. Asean must strive to be a "community of action" that must be able to act decisively and in a timely manner to address both internal and external threats, and meet the challenges of its member states and peoples.
Further, the Asean Community should become a "community of people" where all peoples of the region have equitable access to human development opportunities.
Asean is in the process of creating dispute settlement mechanisms, developing new organs including a Committee of Permanent Representatives, and setting in motion various Community Councils that will drive its community-building forward under the Cha-am Hua Hin Roadmap for an Asean Community.
Thailand will pass on its chairmanship of Asean to Vietnam in December. Until then, a lot of time and effort must be invested to bring the Thai chairmanship to a successful end.
Alexander Mohr was a lecturer in international relations at the French university Institut d'ษtudes Politiques de Paris (SciencesPo) and is partner for international relations at the European government relations firm Alber & Geiger in Brussels.
Community building is the essential task for Asean to become a successful regional body. The challenges are huge but the reward is sustainable peace and increased prosperity in the region.
Highlights of the summit will include the inauguration of the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights, the adoption of a declaration on climate change to reaffirm the Asean position in the negotiation under the UN Frameworks Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as the adoption of a declaration on education cooperation to achieve an Asean Community.
During last Asean meeting, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that when the member countries of Asean become a single economic bloc in 2015, the Asean Community should be "a community of action, connectivity and peoples".
Asean must not fail in this goal. Actually there is no alternative to Asean as a leading political organisation. Political regionalisation is a worldwide trend that forces regions to overcome historical, religious or cultural differences.
If Southeast Asia wants to play a role on the world stage, its individual nations have to move closer together. Developments within Asean - the increased cooperation, the further strengthening of its institutions - over recent years have been remarkable. However, Asean is running the risk that this increased cooperation among the member states is not taking the very bases of the organisation - its people - along with it.
Many Southeast Asian countries not only lack the ability to communicate the challenges and benefits of Asean to their people, they also often see the development of a strong regional body as a threat to their own political power and their position in the region. This makes it easy for them to abuse Asean for internal political gain. Thailand is no exception.
To emphasise the benefits of Asean to the grouping's people is essential for successful regional integration. Other regional organisations face the same problems. The European Union was developed to secure peace after decades of war on the European continent. The EU started slowly, with bilateral contacts between France and Germany, and moved on to the first inauguration within Europe with seven member states signing the first European contract. The focus was on initially on economic cooperation.
Today, the EU has 27 members, no borders, and a common currency; even a single design for the license plates of cars has been adopted throughout the bloc. For a lot of Europeans, these smaller symbols of being part of a union are maybe more important than the high-level meetings of politicians.
The only way to connect the people of Southeast Asia is by harmonising travel, and liberalising trade and investment in the region. There is also a need to make people feel Asean.
Harmonised rules and legal certainty and security will unavoidably lead to increased investment. Exchange of goods and services, and contact between people of the member nations will lead to a better understanding of different cultural backgrounds. At the same time, an increased effort in the region's educational systems is crucial for the long-term success of the organisation. Also, the various nationalistic trends in some countries must be overcome.
People must feel the benefits of Asean in their daily lives. Asean must strive to be a "community of action" that must be able to act decisively and in a timely manner to address both internal and external threats, and meet the challenges of its member states and peoples.
Further, the Asean Community should become a "community of people" where all peoples of the region have equitable access to human development opportunities.
Asean is in the process of creating dispute settlement mechanisms, developing new organs including a Committee of Permanent Representatives, and setting in motion various Community Councils that will drive its community-building forward under the Cha-am Hua Hin Roadmap for an Asean Community.
Thailand will pass on its chairmanship of Asean to Vietnam in December. Until then, a lot of time and effort must be invested to bring the Thai chairmanship to a successful end.
Alexander Mohr was a lecturer in international relations at the French university Institut d'ษtudes Politiques de Paris (SciencesPo) and is partner for international relations at the European government relations firm Alber & Geiger in Brussels.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
MONEY AND MANDARIN LESSONS FUEL CHINA'S AFRICAN INVASION
From Liberia to Ethiopia, Beijing is constructing a 21st century empire thousands of miles from home By Daniel Howden
On a recent afternoon more than a dozen Liberians were expected at the Samuel Doe sports stadium in the capital,Monrovia. In a makeshift classroom with some plastic chairs and a whiteboard their teacher, Li Peng, was waiting to finish the group's second week of instruction in Mandarin. Early attendances at the free daily lessons provided by the Chinese embassy have been poor, but officials are blaming heavy rain rather than light interest. The class is still struggling with the basics and few Chinese listeners apart from their teacher would recognise the strange "hellos" and "goodbyes" being called out.
"Learning Chinese may prove difficult,"Mr Li admitted."But if they work hard they will make it."
The West African country set up to settle freed American slaves in 1843 is English-speaking and the going is hard.
John Cooper, a 57-year-old who has been attending the two-hour classes and works at a nearby youth centre, is determined to master Mandarin.
"Traditionally, we Liberians are closer to the Americans than we are to the Chinese," he says."But the irony is that the Chinese are more open to us than the Americans are."
Liberia's government has no Mandarin speakers, and China's ambassador Zhou Yuxiao admits that he's uncomfortable that multibilliondollar accords between the two countries are signed with one side unable to read the documents.
"We feel a little bit guilty at not being able to help Liberians to speak our language," he said.
On the same day that the Mandarin lessons were getting under way at the stadium in Monrovia, a much larger crowd was gathering about 300 miles to the northwest at another sports stadium,this time in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.The people had gathered to protest against the military junta and a young army officer,Moussa Dadis Camara, who with wearying predictability has been considering going back on earlier promises to hold free elections.
While Liberian students were grappling with Mandarin vowels more than 150 Guineans were being murdered. Scores of women were then raped. The massacre prompted international outrage, and the African Union meets in the coming week to discuss possible sanctions.
But it was revealed last week that China was preparing to throw the regime a lifeline in the form of nearly ฃ4.3 billion (235 billion baht) in oil and minerals deals.
It has left many wondering which is the real face of China in Africa. Is it the quest for understanding being led by Mr Li in Monrovia?Or the naked pursuit of raw materials whose sale props up abusive governments like the one in Conakry? China's engagement in Africa was supposed to have changed, experts say.
Beijing's doctrine of "non-interference"in the domestic affairs of other countries was put to one side last year as it helped to nudge Sudan, one of its major oil suppliers, into allowing a beefed-up UN peacekeeping operation in Darfur.
Then on a visit earlier this year China's president, Hu Jintao, signalled Beijing's intent to double aid to Africa.
According to Ian Taylor, a senior lecturer in international affairs at the University of St Andrews, the apparent contradiction is the product of a "clueless" approach by Beijing,"a tendency to treat Africa as if it's 'China Inc'." Speaking from Beijing, he said:"There is no one Chinese policy towards Africa - it is a mixture of often-competing actors and influences that may or may not gel with official policy."
Chinese trade with Africa has grown from less than ฃ6.3 billion at the beginning of the decade to pass ฃ60bn at the end of last year - only the European Union and the US do more business.
There are now some 800 Chinese companies operating in Africa and the investors in talks in Conakry are not from Beijing, but from the Hong Kong-based China Investment Fund (CIF). Yet only two months ago officials in Beijing said that China would not be investing in Guinea.
"It's not clear if the CIF has the support of Beijing," said Chris Alden, author of China in Africa ."Just like ordinary Western actors in Africa, China has independent actors who take decisions without reference to the central government."
Some analysts suggest China's no-stringsattached approach in pariah states like Sudan and Zimbabwe is not the whole story.
Some 25 years after Band-Aid seared Ethiopia into the Western consciousness and conscience, China's engagement with Addis Ababa may say more about the Sino-African relationship. Whatever the achievements or shortcomings of famine-inspired aid in the Horn of Africa nation, they are being dwarfed by the Chinese-backed transformation of the country.
Ethiopia boasts none of the reservoirs of raw materials China is normally associated with, but Beijing has been doling out the credit to build roads and hydroelectric dams and is now financing a ฃ940m expansion of the state-owned mobile telephone network.
In a recent paper for The South African
Institute of International Affairs,Monika Thakur found China's role in Ethiopia contradicted the spectre of the hungry dragon invoked by some in the West.
"China's activities in Ethiopia, and in Africa in general, are part of its continuing emergence as a global power, and as such are no different from what major powers traditionally have done," she wrote."Over-arching judgements as to whether China's engagement is a blessing or a curse for Ethiopia are still unclear. What is certain is that the country can derive much from China's economic engagement."IL The government in Addis Ababa has enjoyed the increased influence over Western donors that Chinese help has afforded.N"I think it would be wrong for people in the West to assume that they can buy good governance in Africa;Sgood governance can only come from inside," Ethiopia's prime minister,Meles Zenawi, told the Financial Times recently."What the Chinese have done is explode that illusion."Mr Zenawi's government does not attract headlines in the way that Sudan's Omar alBashir does, but his administration has overseen the violent suppression of opposition in the wake of disputed elections. And he has since jailed popular opponents, such as opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa.
Ms Thakur warns that Addis Ababa could use Chinese assistance to avoid change which could lead to "authoritarian stagnation".
However, China's own emergence as a great power, and the legitimacy of the oneparty rule in Beijing, has been based on economic growth. Those looking for a champion of human or political rights are likely to be disappointed.
"The jury is still out on the significance of China's actions on Darfur," argues Mr Alden."It's up to Africans to decide if China is having a positive or negative impact on rights in Africa. On the whole China is having a fairly neutral impact - it's really more about economic development."
On a recent afternoon more than a dozen Liberians were expected at the Samuel Doe sports stadium in the capital,Monrovia. In a makeshift classroom with some plastic chairs and a whiteboard their teacher, Li Peng, was waiting to finish the group's second week of instruction in Mandarin. Early attendances at the free daily lessons provided by the Chinese embassy have been poor, but officials are blaming heavy rain rather than light interest. The class is still struggling with the basics and few Chinese listeners apart from their teacher would recognise the strange "hellos" and "goodbyes" being called out.
"Learning Chinese may prove difficult,"Mr Li admitted."But if they work hard they will make it."
The West African country set up to settle freed American slaves in 1843 is English-speaking and the going is hard.
John Cooper, a 57-year-old who has been attending the two-hour classes and works at a nearby youth centre, is determined to master Mandarin.
"Traditionally, we Liberians are closer to the Americans than we are to the Chinese," he says."But the irony is that the Chinese are more open to us than the Americans are."
Liberia's government has no Mandarin speakers, and China's ambassador Zhou Yuxiao admits that he's uncomfortable that multibilliondollar accords between the two countries are signed with one side unable to read the documents.
"We feel a little bit guilty at not being able to help Liberians to speak our language," he said.
On the same day that the Mandarin lessons were getting under way at the stadium in Monrovia, a much larger crowd was gathering about 300 miles to the northwest at another sports stadium,this time in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.The people had gathered to protest against the military junta and a young army officer,Moussa Dadis Camara, who with wearying predictability has been considering going back on earlier promises to hold free elections.
While Liberian students were grappling with Mandarin vowels more than 150 Guineans were being murdered. Scores of women were then raped. The massacre prompted international outrage, and the African Union meets in the coming week to discuss possible sanctions.
But it was revealed last week that China was preparing to throw the regime a lifeline in the form of nearly ฃ4.3 billion (235 billion baht) in oil and minerals deals.
It has left many wondering which is the real face of China in Africa. Is it the quest for understanding being led by Mr Li in Monrovia?Or the naked pursuit of raw materials whose sale props up abusive governments like the one in Conakry? China's engagement in Africa was supposed to have changed, experts say.
Beijing's doctrine of "non-interference"in the domestic affairs of other countries was put to one side last year as it helped to nudge Sudan, one of its major oil suppliers, into allowing a beefed-up UN peacekeeping operation in Darfur.
Then on a visit earlier this year China's president, Hu Jintao, signalled Beijing's intent to double aid to Africa.
According to Ian Taylor, a senior lecturer in international affairs at the University of St Andrews, the apparent contradiction is the product of a "clueless" approach by Beijing,"a tendency to treat Africa as if it's 'China Inc'." Speaking from Beijing, he said:"There is no one Chinese policy towards Africa - it is a mixture of often-competing actors and influences that may or may not gel with official policy."
Chinese trade with Africa has grown from less than ฃ6.3 billion at the beginning of the decade to pass ฃ60bn at the end of last year - only the European Union and the US do more business.
There are now some 800 Chinese companies operating in Africa and the investors in talks in Conakry are not from Beijing, but from the Hong Kong-based China Investment Fund (CIF). Yet only two months ago officials in Beijing said that China would not be investing in Guinea.
"It's not clear if the CIF has the support of Beijing," said Chris Alden, author of China in Africa ."Just like ordinary Western actors in Africa, China has independent actors who take decisions without reference to the central government."
Some analysts suggest China's no-stringsattached approach in pariah states like Sudan and Zimbabwe is not the whole story.
Some 25 years after Band-Aid seared Ethiopia into the Western consciousness and conscience, China's engagement with Addis Ababa may say more about the Sino-African relationship. Whatever the achievements or shortcomings of famine-inspired aid in the Horn of Africa nation, they are being dwarfed by the Chinese-backed transformation of the country.
Ethiopia boasts none of the reservoirs of raw materials China is normally associated with, but Beijing has been doling out the credit to build roads and hydroelectric dams and is now financing a ฃ940m expansion of the state-owned mobile telephone network.
In a recent paper for The South African
Institute of International Affairs,Monika Thakur found China's role in Ethiopia contradicted the spectre of the hungry dragon invoked by some in the West.
"China's activities in Ethiopia, and in Africa in general, are part of its continuing emergence as a global power, and as such are no different from what major powers traditionally have done," she wrote."Over-arching judgements as to whether China's engagement is a blessing or a curse for Ethiopia are still unclear. What is certain is that the country can derive much from China's economic engagement."IL The government in Addis Ababa has enjoyed the increased influence over Western donors that Chinese help has afforded.N"I think it would be wrong for people in the West to assume that they can buy good governance in Africa;Sgood governance can only come from inside," Ethiopia's prime minister,Meles Zenawi, told the Financial Times recently."What the Chinese have done is explode that illusion."Mr Zenawi's government does not attract headlines in the way that Sudan's Omar alBashir does, but his administration has overseen the violent suppression of opposition in the wake of disputed elections. And he has since jailed popular opponents, such as opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa.
Ms Thakur warns that Addis Ababa could use Chinese assistance to avoid change which could lead to "authoritarian stagnation".
However, China's own emergence as a great power, and the legitimacy of the oneparty rule in Beijing, has been based on economic growth. Those looking for a champion of human or political rights are likely to be disappointed.
"The jury is still out on the significance of China's actions on Darfur," argues Mr Alden."It's up to Africans to decide if China is having a positive or negative impact on rights in Africa. On the whole China is having a fairly neutral impact - it's really more about economic development."
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
"PAKISTAN FIRST" MAY NOT PLEASE
One of the ideas the Obama administration is considering in response to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan reportedly is called "Pakistan First". Championed by Vice President Joe Biden, the idea is to focus US efforts on attacking al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan's tribal areas with drones or special forces, while backing the government's efforts to pacify and develop the lawless areas where al-Qaeda and the Taleban are based. The battle against the Taleban, meanwhile, would be put on the back burner.
"Pakistan First" would excuse President Obama from having to anger his political base by dispatching the additional US troops that his military commanders say are needed to stop the Taleban's resurgence in Afghanistan. It would nominally focus US efforts on a nuclear-armed country that is of far greater strategic importance.
Funny, then, that Pakistan's government doesn't think much of the idea. Last Tuesdsay, Pakistani foreign Minister shah Mahmood Qureshi said withour reservation that Taleban
advances in Afghanistan were a mortal threat to his country. "We see Mullah Omar," the leader of the Afghan Taeban, "as a serious threat. If the likes of Omar take over in Afghanistan, it will have serious inplllications for Pakistan," Qureshi said. "They have a larger agenda, and the first to be affected by that agenda is Pakistan... it will have implications on Pakistan and it will have implications on the region."
Like a couple 's senior European leaders who visited Washingto last week, Qureshi expressed a diplomatic version of dismay at Obama's public wavering on fighting the Taleban, "If that is going to happen, why have we stuck our necks out?" he said. "Why did Benazir die? Benazir Bahtto, the former leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, was assassinated after she campaigned in favour of a decisiver moved by Pakistan to take on the Taleban- something the government and armay declined to do until this year. Elements of the military or its intelligence service may still quietly support some Taleban groups; if the US appears to retreat, those forces will be strengthened - at the expense of the pro-Western civilian government.
Quareshi declined to express an opinion about the deployment of more US troops to southern Afghanistan, saying he was not a military expert. But he drew a contrast between Nato's operations in the south and Pakistan's operations against the Taleban this year. "Your troops went in and cleared the area. But once you came out, the Taleban came back in," he said. "What we do is, we go in, and we clear and we hold. When you do that, it requires more contact. It requires more resources. And it means more casualties."
Qureshi was talking about Pakistan, but he was also describing the "counter-insurgency" strategy for Afghanistan that Obama embraced last March and backed until the general he appointed determined it would require more troops. It seems pretty clear that if Obama decides to abandon counter-insurgency in the name of something called "Pakistan First", America's best allies in Pakistan won't be happy.
"Pakistan First" would excuse President Obama from having to anger his political base by dispatching the additional US troops that his military commanders say are needed to stop the Taleban's resurgence in Afghanistan. It would nominally focus US efforts on a nuclear-armed country that is of far greater strategic importance.
Funny, then, that Pakistan's government doesn't think much of the idea. Last Tuesdsay, Pakistani foreign Minister shah Mahmood Qureshi said withour reservation that Taleban
advances in Afghanistan were a mortal threat to his country. "We see Mullah Omar," the leader of the Afghan Taeban, "as a serious threat. If the likes of Omar take over in Afghanistan, it will have serious inplllications for Pakistan," Qureshi said. "They have a larger agenda, and the first to be affected by that agenda is Pakistan... it will have implications on Pakistan and it will have implications on the region."
Like a couple 's senior European leaders who visited Washingto last week, Qureshi expressed a diplomatic version of dismay at Obama's public wavering on fighting the Taleban, "If that is going to happen, why have we stuck our necks out?" he said. "Why did Benazir die? Benazir Bahtto, the former leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, was assassinated after she campaigned in favour of a decisiver moved by Pakistan to take on the Taleban- something the government and armay declined to do until this year. Elements of the military or its intelligence service may still quietly support some Taleban groups; if the US appears to retreat, those forces will be strengthened - at the expense of the pro-Western civilian government.
Quareshi declined to express an opinion about the deployment of more US troops to southern Afghanistan, saying he was not a military expert. But he drew a contrast between Nato's operations in the south and Pakistan's operations against the Taleban this year. "Your troops went in and cleared the area. But once you came out, the Taleban came back in," he said. "What we do is, we go in, and we clear and we hold. When you do that, it requires more contact. It requires more resources. And it means more casualties."
Qureshi was talking about Pakistan, but he was also describing the "counter-insurgency" strategy for Afghanistan that Obama embraced last March and backed until the general he appointed determined it would require more troops. It seems pretty clear that if Obama decides to abandon counter-insurgency in the name of something called "Pakistan First", America's best allies in Pakistan won't be happy.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Nobel is no real cause for a celebration
Now that he is Nobel laureate Barack Obama, will he find smoother sailing for his plans to rid the world of nuclear weapons, to forge peace in the Middle East and stabilise Afghanistan,to halt climate change?
Not likely.The Norwegian Nobel Committee members made no bones about it: helping Mr Obama achieve ambitious peacemaking goals was their purpose in awarding the prize on Friday to an asyet mostly unaccomplished US president.
But while the prestige could give Mr Obama and his efforts a boost, nations steer their courses according to their own interests and little else.
US lawmakers, too, are not going to be influenced in politically difficult votes on climate change legislation or nuclearreduction treaties by the Nobel Peace Prize, no matter whom it goes to.
That is not to say it was not an impressive achievement.
At just 48 years old and not even nine months in office, Mr Obama became only the third sitting US president to win the prize.
The widespread reaction, however,when the stunning news hit the nation was: for what?
Mr Obama said so himself."To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who have been honoured by this prize," he said hours after being awakened, and surprised, by spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Comments from Nobel committee members revealed that they fully intended to encourage, not reward.
Consider this: the nomination deadline was only 12 days after Mr Obama first entered the Oval Office. It is an enduring myth that the prize is only about accomplishment; it was created as much to supply momentum for peace as to celebrate it.
Indeed, with a leftist slant, the fivemember committee was applauding Mr Obama as much for what he is not: his predecessor.
Former president George W Bush was much reviled overseas for "cowboy diplomacy", the Iraq war and his snubbing of European priorities such as global warming.
So some celebrating probably cannot hurt, as Mr Obama presses forward on efforts to repair America's relations with Muslims, bring Israelis and Palestinians into fruitful negotiations and turn back climate change. The committee especially singled out Mr Obama's aims to create a world free of nuclear weapons and to set out a new, more cooperative diplomatic doctrine.
"I hope it will help him," Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said of the award."Obama is the right man at the right time, and that's why we want to enhance his efforts."
"I will accept this award as a call to action," Mr Obama said."This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity."
Still, Mr Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners'.
For instance:
He and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have set negotiators working toward an agreement to significantly reduce nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles. But getting to zero nuclear weapons across the globe, which Mr Obama acknowledged "may not be completed in my lifetime", means corralling both friend and foe abroad and lawmakers at home behind a mind-bendingly thorny web of treaties and agreements.
Mr Obama said he would end the Iraq war. But he launches deadly antiterror strikes in Pakistan, Somalia and elsewhere and is running a second war,in Afghanistan, that he already has escalated once and is considering ramping up again while trying to persuade mostly reluctant Nato allies to contribute more.
He has pushed for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. But there has been little cooperation so far from them.
His administration is talking to US foes, like Iran, North Korea and Cuba.But it has little to show from that, either.
He pledged to take the lead against climate change. But the United States seems likely to head into December's crucial international negotiations in Copenhagen with legislation still stalled in Congress and nations crucial to global agreement, including China and India,showing reluctance to come on board.
With many seeing the award as premature, there is the chance it could provoke a small backlash that makes Mr Obama's work harder.
So, no doubt the news of the prize brought trepidation along with joy. As Mr Obama's former foe for the White House, Republican senator John McCain,said:"He now has even more to live up to."
Perhaps one reason there was no public celebrating at the White House on Friday.
Not likely.The Norwegian Nobel Committee members made no bones about it: helping Mr Obama achieve ambitious peacemaking goals was their purpose in awarding the prize on Friday to an asyet mostly unaccomplished US president.
But while the prestige could give Mr Obama and his efforts a boost, nations steer their courses according to their own interests and little else.
US lawmakers, too, are not going to be influenced in politically difficult votes on climate change legislation or nuclearreduction treaties by the Nobel Peace Prize, no matter whom it goes to.
That is not to say it was not an impressive achievement.
At just 48 years old and not even nine months in office, Mr Obama became only the third sitting US president to win the prize.
The widespread reaction, however,when the stunning news hit the nation was: for what?
Mr Obama said so himself."To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who have been honoured by this prize," he said hours after being awakened, and surprised, by spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Comments from Nobel committee members revealed that they fully intended to encourage, not reward.
Consider this: the nomination deadline was only 12 days after Mr Obama first entered the Oval Office. It is an enduring myth that the prize is only about accomplishment; it was created as much to supply momentum for peace as to celebrate it.
Indeed, with a leftist slant, the fivemember committee was applauding Mr Obama as much for what he is not: his predecessor.
Former president George W Bush was much reviled overseas for "cowboy diplomacy", the Iraq war and his snubbing of European priorities such as global warming.
So some celebrating probably cannot hurt, as Mr Obama presses forward on efforts to repair America's relations with Muslims, bring Israelis and Palestinians into fruitful negotiations and turn back climate change. The committee especially singled out Mr Obama's aims to create a world free of nuclear weapons and to set out a new, more cooperative diplomatic doctrine.
"I hope it will help him," Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said of the award."Obama is the right man at the right time, and that's why we want to enhance his efforts."
"I will accept this award as a call to action," Mr Obama said."This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity."
Still, Mr Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners'.
For instance:
He and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have set negotiators working toward an agreement to significantly reduce nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles. But getting to zero nuclear weapons across the globe, which Mr Obama acknowledged "may not be completed in my lifetime", means corralling both friend and foe abroad and lawmakers at home behind a mind-bendingly thorny web of treaties and agreements.
Mr Obama said he would end the Iraq war. But he launches deadly antiterror strikes in Pakistan, Somalia and elsewhere and is running a second war,in Afghanistan, that he already has escalated once and is considering ramping up again while trying to persuade mostly reluctant Nato allies to contribute more.
He has pushed for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. But there has been little cooperation so far from them.
His administration is talking to US foes, like Iran, North Korea and Cuba.But it has little to show from that, either.
He pledged to take the lead against climate change. But the United States seems likely to head into December's crucial international negotiations in Copenhagen with legislation still stalled in Congress and nations crucial to global agreement, including China and India,showing reluctance to come on board.
With many seeing the award as premature, there is the chance it could provoke a small backlash that makes Mr Obama's work harder.
So, no doubt the news of the prize brought trepidation along with joy. As Mr Obama's former foe for the White House, Republican senator John McCain,said:"He now has even more to live up to."
Perhaps one reason there was no public celebrating at the White House on Friday.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE
In the autumn of 1915, an Austrian engineer called Litzmayer, who was helping build the ConstantinopleBaghdad railway, saw what he thought was a large Turkish army heading for Mesopotamia. But as the crowd came closer, he realised it was a huge caravan of women, moving forward under the supervision of soldiers.
The 40,000 or so women were all Armenians, separated from their men - most of whom had already had their throats cut by Turkish gendarmerie - and deported on a genocidal death march during which up to 1.5 million Armenians died.
Subjected to constant rape and beatings,some had already swallowed poison on their way from their homes in Erzerum, Serena,Sivas, Bitlis and other cities in Turkish western Armenia."Some of them," Bishop Grigoris Balakian, one of Litzmayer's contemporaries,recorded,"had been driven to such a state that they were mere skeletons enveloped in rags, with skin that had turned leathery,burned from the sun, cold and wind. Many pregnant women, having become numb, had left their newborns on the side of the road as a protest against mankind and God."
Every year, new evidence emerges about this mass ethnic cleansing, the first holocaust of the last century; and every year, Turkey denies it ever committed genocide. Yet last week, to the horror of millions of descendants of Armenian survivors, the President of Armenia, Serge Sarkisian, agreed to a protocol with Turkey to re-open diplomatic relations,which should allow for new trade concessions and oil interests. And he proposes to do this without honouring his most important promise to Armenians abroad - to demand that Turkey admit it carried out the Armenian genocide in 1915.
In Beirut last Wednesday, outside Mr Sarkisian's hotel, thousands of Armenians protested against this trade-for-denial treaty.
"We will not forget," their banners read."Armenian history is not for sale." They called the president a traitor."Why should our million and a half martyrs be put up for sale?" one of them asked."And what about our Armenian lands in Turkey, the homes our grandparents left behind? Sarkisian is selling them too."
The sad truth is that the 5.7 million Armenian diaspora, scattered across Russia,the US, France, Lebanon and many other countries, are the descendants of the western Armenians who bore the brunt of Turkish Ottoman brutality in 1915.
Tiny, landlocked, modern-day Armenia - its population a mere 3.2 million, living in what was once called eastern Armenia - is poor, flaunts a dubious version of democracy and is deeply corrupt. It relies on remittances from its wealthier cousins overseas; hence Mr Sarkisian's hopeless mission to New York,Los Angeles, Paris, Beirut and Rostov-onDon to persuade them to support the treaty,to be signed by the Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers in Switzerland.
The Turks have also been trumpeting a possible settlement to the territory of Nagorno-Karabagh, part of historic Armenia seized from Azerbaijan by Armenian militias almost 20 years ago - not without a little ethnic cleansing by Armenians, it should be added.But it is the refusal of the Yerevan government to make Turkey's acknowledgement of the genocide a condition of talks that has infuriated the diaspora.
"The Armenian government is trying to sweeten the taste for us by suggesting that Turkish and Armenian historians sit down to decide what happened in 1915," one of the Armenians protesting in Beirut said.
"But would the Israelis maintain diplomatic relations if the German government suddenly called the Jewish Holocaust into question and suggested it all be mulled over by historians?"
Betrayal has always been in the air. Barack Obama was the third successive US president to promise Armenian electors that he would acknowledge the genocide if he won office - and then to betray them, once elected, by refusing even to use the word. Despite thunderous denunciations in the aftermath of the Armenian genocide by Lloyd George and Churchill - the first British politician to call it a holocaust - the Foreign Office also now meekly claims that the "details" of the 1915 massacres are still in question.
Yet still the evidence comes in, even from this newspaper's readers. In a letter to me,an Australian, Robert Davidson, said his grandfather, John "Jock" Davidson, a World War One veteran of the Australian Light Horse,had witnessed the Armenian genocide:"He wrote of the hundreds of Armenian carcasses outside the walls of Homs. They were men,women and children and were all naked and had been left to rot or be devoured by dogs."The Australian Light Horsemen were appalled at the brutality done to these people.In another instance his company came upon an Armenian woman and two children in skeletal condition. She signed to them that the Turks had cut the throats of her husband and two elder children."
In his new book on Bishop Balakian,Armenian Golgotha, the historian Peter Balakian (the bishop's great-nephew) records how British soldiers who had surrendered to the Turks at Kut al-Amara in present-day Iraq and were sent on their own death march north - of 13,000 British and Indian soldiers,only 1,600 would survive - had spoken of frightful scenes of Armenian carnage near Deir ez-Zour, not far from Homs in Syria."In those vast deserts," the Bishop said,"they had come upon piles of human bones, crushed skulls and skeletons stretched out everywhere,and heaps of skeletons of murdered children."
The 40,000 or so women were all Armenians, separated from their men - most of whom had already had their throats cut by Turkish gendarmerie - and deported on a genocidal death march during which up to 1.5 million Armenians died.
Subjected to constant rape and beatings,some had already swallowed poison on their way from their homes in Erzerum, Serena,Sivas, Bitlis and other cities in Turkish western Armenia."Some of them," Bishop Grigoris Balakian, one of Litzmayer's contemporaries,recorded,"had been driven to such a state that they were mere skeletons enveloped in rags, with skin that had turned leathery,burned from the sun, cold and wind. Many pregnant women, having become numb, had left their newborns on the side of the road as a protest against mankind and God."
Every year, new evidence emerges about this mass ethnic cleansing, the first holocaust of the last century; and every year, Turkey denies it ever committed genocide. Yet last week, to the horror of millions of descendants of Armenian survivors, the President of Armenia, Serge Sarkisian, agreed to a protocol with Turkey to re-open diplomatic relations,which should allow for new trade concessions and oil interests. And he proposes to do this without honouring his most important promise to Armenians abroad - to demand that Turkey admit it carried out the Armenian genocide in 1915.
In Beirut last Wednesday, outside Mr Sarkisian's hotel, thousands of Armenians protested against this trade-for-denial treaty.
"We will not forget," their banners read."Armenian history is not for sale." They called the president a traitor."Why should our million and a half martyrs be put up for sale?" one of them asked."And what about our Armenian lands in Turkey, the homes our grandparents left behind? Sarkisian is selling them too."
The sad truth is that the 5.7 million Armenian diaspora, scattered across Russia,the US, France, Lebanon and many other countries, are the descendants of the western Armenians who bore the brunt of Turkish Ottoman brutality in 1915.
Tiny, landlocked, modern-day Armenia - its population a mere 3.2 million, living in what was once called eastern Armenia - is poor, flaunts a dubious version of democracy and is deeply corrupt. It relies on remittances from its wealthier cousins overseas; hence Mr Sarkisian's hopeless mission to New York,Los Angeles, Paris, Beirut and Rostov-onDon to persuade them to support the treaty,to be signed by the Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers in Switzerland.
The Turks have also been trumpeting a possible settlement to the territory of Nagorno-Karabagh, part of historic Armenia seized from Azerbaijan by Armenian militias almost 20 years ago - not without a little ethnic cleansing by Armenians, it should be added.But it is the refusal of the Yerevan government to make Turkey's acknowledgement of the genocide a condition of talks that has infuriated the diaspora.
"The Armenian government is trying to sweeten the taste for us by suggesting that Turkish and Armenian historians sit down to decide what happened in 1915," one of the Armenians protesting in Beirut said.
"But would the Israelis maintain diplomatic relations if the German government suddenly called the Jewish Holocaust into question and suggested it all be mulled over by historians?"
Betrayal has always been in the air. Barack Obama was the third successive US president to promise Armenian electors that he would acknowledge the genocide if he won office - and then to betray them, once elected, by refusing even to use the word. Despite thunderous denunciations in the aftermath of the Armenian genocide by Lloyd George and Churchill - the first British politician to call it a holocaust - the Foreign Office also now meekly claims that the "details" of the 1915 massacres are still in question.
Yet still the evidence comes in, even from this newspaper's readers. In a letter to me,an Australian, Robert Davidson, said his grandfather, John "Jock" Davidson, a World War One veteran of the Australian Light Horse,had witnessed the Armenian genocide:"He wrote of the hundreds of Armenian carcasses outside the walls of Homs. They were men,women and children and were all naked and had been left to rot or be devoured by dogs."The Australian Light Horsemen were appalled at the brutality done to these people.In another instance his company came upon an Armenian woman and two children in skeletal condition. She signed to them that the Turks had cut the throats of her husband and two elder children."
In his new book on Bishop Balakian,Armenian Golgotha, the historian Peter Balakian (the bishop's great-nephew) records how British soldiers who had surrendered to the Turks at Kut al-Amara in present-day Iraq and were sent on their own death march north - of 13,000 British and Indian soldiers,only 1,600 would survive - had spoken of frightful scenes of Armenian carnage near Deir ez-Zour, not far from Homs in Syria."In those vast deserts," the Bishop said,"they had come upon piles of human bones, crushed skulls and skeletons stretched out everywhere,and heaps of skeletons of murdered children."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
New UN guide on dealing with human trafficking
A guide is now available for relevant agencies to consult in upholding human rights and ethics during counter-trafficking operations.
Published by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), the guide will serve as a tool for policy makers, practitioners and researchers.
Among the key principles are that all officials involved must prioritise personal safety and security, and that they must get informed consent with no coercion.
"Do no harm. Be compassionate and neutral," the guide adds.
It insists that relevant officials must ensure anonymity and confidentiality to the greatest extent possible.
It also calls for the adequate selection and preparation of interpreters.
This special guide is entitled, "Guide to Ethics and Human Rights in Counter Trafficking".
In collaboration with Thailand's Department of Special Investigation, UNIAP has already translated the guide into Thai.
There are now 8,000 copies of the Thai version.
These copies are to be distributed to law-enforcement agencies and relevant officials across the country.
"Rather than improving the lives of victims of trafficking, you can actually put them in greater danger if you don't apply some very basic rules on ethics", Ratchada Jayagupta said yesterday in her capacity as Thailand National Project Coordinator for UNIAP.
She was speaking at a workshop in Bangkok.
The workshop aimed at providing a strong and well-coordinated response to human trafficking among all partners and organisations engaged in counter-trafficking work in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS).
The GMS countries are China, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam.
"Counter-trafficking practitioners, especially law enforcement officials, must have a good understanding of the essence of human rights and the right to basic liberties of their fellow human beings, in order to be able to bring justice to everyone involved in a professional and ethical manner", Pol Colonel Tawee Sodsong said at the workshop.
He is the Director General of Thailand's Department of Special Investigations.
Published by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), the guide will serve as a tool for policy makers, practitioners and researchers.
Among the key principles are that all officials involved must prioritise personal safety and security, and that they must get informed consent with no coercion.
"Do no harm. Be compassionate and neutral," the guide adds.
It insists that relevant officials must ensure anonymity and confidentiality to the greatest extent possible.
It also calls for the adequate selection and preparation of interpreters.
This special guide is entitled, "Guide to Ethics and Human Rights in Counter Trafficking".
In collaboration with Thailand's Department of Special Investigation, UNIAP has already translated the guide into Thai.
There are now 8,000 copies of the Thai version.
These copies are to be distributed to law-enforcement agencies and relevant officials across the country.
"Rather than improving the lives of victims of trafficking, you can actually put them in greater danger if you don't apply some very basic rules on ethics", Ratchada Jayagupta said yesterday in her capacity as Thailand National Project Coordinator for UNIAP.
She was speaking at a workshop in Bangkok.
The workshop aimed at providing a strong and well-coordinated response to human trafficking among all partners and organisations engaged in counter-trafficking work in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS).
The GMS countries are China, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam.
"Counter-trafficking practitioners, especially law enforcement officials, must have a good understanding of the essence of human rights and the right to basic liberties of their fellow human beings, in order to be able to bring justice to everyone involved in a professional and ethical manner", Pol Colonel Tawee Sodsong said at the workshop.
He is the Director General of Thailand's Department of Special Investigations.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
US fears "war will fail" in Afghanistan
The war against Afghanistan's Taliban is likely to fail without additional forces and a new strategy,the top US and Nato commander said as President Barack Obama faces resistance at home to sending more troops.
Army General Stanley McChrystal, in a confidential assessment, said failure to gain the initiative and reverse "insurgent momentum" in the near term risked an outcome where "defeating the insurgency is no longer possible".
A copy of his 66-page assessment was obtained by the Washington Post and published on its website with some parts removed at the request of the government for security reasons.
Gen McChrystal is expected to ask for a troop increase in the coming weeks to stem gains by a resurgent Taliban.
The assessment stresses the need to engage with the Afghan people using a "new strategy" that requires a "dramatically" different approach to the war.
"Inadequate resources will likely result in failure. However, without a new strategy, the mission should not be resourced," Gen McChrystal is quoted as saying in the report.
Gen McChrystal has already drawn up his request for more troops, which some officials expect will include roughly 30,000 new combat troops and trainers,but he has yet to submit it to Washington for consideration. The Pentagon says it is discussing how he will submit it.
A request for more troops faces resistance from the Democratic Party,which controls Congress, and opinion polls show Americans are turning against the nearly eight-year-old war.
Mr Obama has said that he wanted to wait to determine the proper strategy for US forces in Afghanistan before considering whether more troops should be sent there.
"I just want to make sure that everybody understands that you don't make decisions about resources before you have the strategy ready," he said.
In his assessment, Gen McChrystal painted a grim picture of the war, saying "the overall situation is deteriorating".
He called for a "revolutionary" shift in strategy which puts as much emphasis on gaining the support of Afghans as it does on killing insurgents.
"The objective is the will of the people,our conventional warfare culture is part of the problem, the Afghans must ultimately defeat the insurgency," he wrote.
The war in Afghanistan is now at its deadliest. Gen McChrystal's assessment said militants had control over entire sections of the country, although it was difficult to say how much because of the limited presence of Nato troops.
He also strongly criticised the Afghan government as having lost the faith of the country's people.
"The weakness of state institutions,malign actions of power-brokers, widespread corruption and abuse of power by various officials, and Isaf's own errors,have given Afghans little reason to support their government," Gen McChrystal said, referring to the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tadd Sholtis said that while the assessment made clear that Gen McChrystal does not believe he can defeat Afghanistan's insurgency without additional troops,he could carry out a mission with different goals if ordered to by Mr Obama.
"The assessment is based on his understanding of the mission ... If there's a change in strategy, then the resources piece changes."
The number of US troops in Afghanistan has almost doubled this year from 32,000 to 62,000 and is expected to grow by another 6,000 by the year's end. There are also 40,000 troops from other nations,mainly Nato allies.
Fifty-eight percent of Americans now oppose the Afghan war while 39% support it, according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research poll.
Mr Obama's critics in Congress,including his 2008 Republican presidential opponent Senator John McCain, have urged the administration to approve the deployment of more troops immediately,saying any delay puts the lives of troops already in Afghanistan at greater risk.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday his party would support a troop increase if needed,adding he was troubled by the delay in the decision-making.
"We think the time for decision is now," Mr McConnell said.
Army General Stanley McChrystal, in a confidential assessment, said failure to gain the initiative and reverse "insurgent momentum" in the near term risked an outcome where "defeating the insurgency is no longer possible".
A copy of his 66-page assessment was obtained by the Washington Post and published on its website with some parts removed at the request of the government for security reasons.
Gen McChrystal is expected to ask for a troop increase in the coming weeks to stem gains by a resurgent Taliban.
The assessment stresses the need to engage with the Afghan people using a "new strategy" that requires a "dramatically" different approach to the war.
"Inadequate resources will likely result in failure. However, without a new strategy, the mission should not be resourced," Gen McChrystal is quoted as saying in the report.
Gen McChrystal has already drawn up his request for more troops, which some officials expect will include roughly 30,000 new combat troops and trainers,but he has yet to submit it to Washington for consideration. The Pentagon says it is discussing how he will submit it.
A request for more troops faces resistance from the Democratic Party,which controls Congress, and opinion polls show Americans are turning against the nearly eight-year-old war.
Mr Obama has said that he wanted to wait to determine the proper strategy for US forces in Afghanistan before considering whether more troops should be sent there.
"I just want to make sure that everybody understands that you don't make decisions about resources before you have the strategy ready," he said.
In his assessment, Gen McChrystal painted a grim picture of the war, saying "the overall situation is deteriorating".
He called for a "revolutionary" shift in strategy which puts as much emphasis on gaining the support of Afghans as it does on killing insurgents.
"The objective is the will of the people,our conventional warfare culture is part of the problem, the Afghans must ultimately defeat the insurgency," he wrote.
The war in Afghanistan is now at its deadliest. Gen McChrystal's assessment said militants had control over entire sections of the country, although it was difficult to say how much because of the limited presence of Nato troops.
He also strongly criticised the Afghan government as having lost the faith of the country's people.
"The weakness of state institutions,malign actions of power-brokers, widespread corruption and abuse of power by various officials, and Isaf's own errors,have given Afghans little reason to support their government," Gen McChrystal said, referring to the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tadd Sholtis said that while the assessment made clear that Gen McChrystal does not believe he can defeat Afghanistan's insurgency without additional troops,he could carry out a mission with different goals if ordered to by Mr Obama.
"The assessment is based on his understanding of the mission ... If there's a change in strategy, then the resources piece changes."
The number of US troops in Afghanistan has almost doubled this year from 32,000 to 62,000 and is expected to grow by another 6,000 by the year's end. There are also 40,000 troops from other nations,mainly Nato allies.
Fifty-eight percent of Americans now oppose the Afghan war while 39% support it, according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research poll.
Mr Obama's critics in Congress,including his 2008 Republican presidential opponent Senator John McCain, have urged the administration to approve the deployment of more troops immediately,saying any delay puts the lives of troops already in Afghanistan at greater risk.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday his party would support a troop increase if needed,adding he was troubled by the delay in the decision-making.
"We think the time for decision is now," Mr McConnell said.
Scenario precarious for women migrants
As clandestine migrant labour is an enormous issue in Thailand, a key challenge is how to address the issue effectively and humanely.
Globalisation implies a greater integration of the international system from the angle of faster communications and information, and greater liberalisation of trade in goods, services, capital and investment flows.
However, a recurrent question is to what extent globalisation enables migration to take place in an orderly and balanced manner, with due regard to the rights of migrant workers, especially women who now constitute a large part of the work force?
Currently, the answer is somewhat ambiguous in that today's global system seems more ready to liberalise the flows of goods, services, capital and investment,rather than migration itself which is often seen as a challenge to national sovereignty and ethnic sensibility. The rules and agreements which have been evolved under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), an organisation closely linked with globalisation, have confirmed that trend.
In this context, it is necessary to see the migration issue from three angles:white collar workers (skilled labour), blue collar workers (unskilled labour) and "no collar workers," namely those who cross borders clandestinely and who often land up in exploitative situations.
White collar workers can cross borders to work in other countries quite easily,and under the WTO, this often takes place under the umbrella of opening up markets to services, thus enabling women executives and skilled workers to provide services in other countries.
With regard to blue collar workers,there are large numbers working outside their country of origin, such as maids.The arrangements are at times bilateral,at times regional. Multilaterally, while a comprehensive agreement is lacking on the liberalisation of migration flows, there are some international standards in the form of treaties which offer protection to those on the move by safeguarding their rights; these have been propelled particularly by the United Nations, in particular through the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as a specialised agency.
Yet the scenario facing women migrants is precarious for a number of reasons. First, increasingly it is evident there is a feminisation of thelabour flows,with women landing up in many jobs which exemplify the 3 D's of work dirty, dangerous and degrading. The Progress of the World's Women Report 2008-09 observes that over the last decade, more than 200 million women have joined the global labour force, and they often land up in labour-intensive and low-paying activities such as subsistence agriculture, domestic work and the clothing industry. Employers see women workers as free from the "fixed costs" of an organised labour force, such as basic minimum wages - particularly equal pay for equal work and social security guarantees. Women are thus more susceptible to discrimination and exploitation.
Second, many countries have shied away from becoming parties to international treaties for the protection of migrant labour, thus preferring to retain their discretion in dealing with migration issues without international scrutiny.In particular, there have been few accessions to the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their families. This treaty guarantees the basic rights of all migrant workers whether they are documented or undocumented.While documented workers are guaranteed more rights than undocumented workers, the latter still enjoy key rights under the treaty such as the right to life and humane treatment and their right to seek redress, such as payment for their work even if they are part of the illegal migrant labour. The lack of accessions to this treaty testifies to the lack of political will globally to liberalise migration flows with safeguards for migrant welfare, even though many countries are short of workers and have to import foreign labour.
Third, in the debate concerning whether to open up to migration, the environment behind the migration should not be overlooked. Often it is the lack of choice in their homesteads lack of opportunities, lack of income,lack of access to jobs and other productive activities which push people to leave and to seek opportunities elsewhere.This is particularly poignant for women who, more often than not, trail behind men in the availability of choices and accessibility to livelihood.
Fourth, regionally many Free Trade Areas (FTAs) have come into existence,opening up markets to trade in goods,services and capital. While white collar workers have benefited from this, blue collar and no collar workers are in a more tenuous situation.
Several export processing zones (EPZ)have grown which offer the benefits of easier trade, but without concurrent guarantees of labour rights. This has meant the lowering of labour standards on minimum wages for work and respect for worker rights, particularly women. More-over, there has been little assessment of how FTAs impact on women in the localities in general and women migrant workers in particular. In one Caribbean country noted by the Progress of the World's Women Report, it has been shown that job losses outweighed the benefits from the FTA, with women losing out in the process.
Fifth, Thailand has faced the migration issue particularly by opting for the registration of foreign migrant labour and concluding bilateral a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with all of its immediate neighbours. These MOUs are based on the premise that migrants can enter Thailand to work if there is a labour shortage in relation to relevant sectors and there is an official channel for them to come into the country through official channels in neighbouring countries. If they enter legally and pay the relevant contributions, they have access to medical and other benefits as part of the social security programme offered by the destination country. However, as clandestine migrant labour is an enormous issue in the country, a key challenge is how to address the issue effectively and humanely.
In addition to the prescription of registration of migrant labour introduced by Thailand several years ago, there is now a new law on the employment of alien workers. In 2008, this new law came into effect, with the innovation that unlike previous national laws which listed various types of work in which foreign labour could not be engaged, the new law will list the types of activities open to foreign labour. Employers and foreign employees must also make contributions into a fund which will be used to assist foreign migrant workers to return to their country of origin. However, one anomaly is that law enforcers will be able to arrest foreign migrant workers without a court warrant.
On another front, it should be noted that the Labour Protection Act which was updated also in 2008, does not discriminate between Thais and foreigners in terms of labour rights protection. They all have a right to equal wages. Women and adolescent workers are protected from various types of harmful work. The minimum age of employment is set at 15, while there is protection of those under 18 years of age from certain kinds of dangerous work.
To counter the exploitation and abuse which may affect workers, there are also special laws and policies, such as the law against human trafficking which came into force last year, and the antiprostitution law. The country's new National Health Act also opens the door to covering migrant workers in relation to healthcare access. Yet, in spite of these legislative changes, implementation often leaves much to be desired and there is a considerable gap between law and practice, legislation and enforcement.
For the future, various orientations deserve to be highlighted with particular emphasis on the protection of women migrant workers. At the multilateral level,the WTO should be encouraged to promote a sense of responsiveness to labour standards. This can be done, in part, by requesting states which send in their reports under the Trade Policy Review mechanism to include information on labour rights.
Countries should also sign up to the 1990 Migrant Workers' Convention as well as ILO Conventions, while ensuring that EPZs do not lower labour standards.Various anti-crime treaties such as the Palermo Protocol against human trafficking also voice the need for more global cooperation against transnational crimes.
At the regional level, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) itself should underline more effectively the need to protect migrant labour. On a welcome front, recently Asean adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Migrant Workers. Next month, the Asean Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission will also be set up as the overarching body on human rights in Asean. A related issue is to ensure that the Asean FTA is assessed from the angle of its impact on the situation of local and migrant labourers, with relevant remedies.
Likewise, bilateral agreements on migrant labour in Asean need to abide by international labour standards. Various practices such as the caning of labourers and the expulsion of women migrant labourers who wish to marry the residents of the destination country, are unacceptable practices.
With regard to Thailand, the country should accede to the 1990 Migrant Workers' Convention and relevant ILO treaties and implement them well.Undocumented migrant labourers should be assisted to access the remuneration to which they are entitled as part of access to justice.
The new law on the employment of alien workers should also be applied to uphold human rights standards, such as the general principle that arrests should only by undertaken with court warrants. Legal and other measures in the anti-crime field, such as those against human trafficking, should abide by the need for gender sensibility and the protection of victims and witnesses from intimidation.
In effect, a key message from the phenomenon of women migrant workers is that "Justice based on Women's Rights"should be increasingly resonant both locally and globally.
Vitit Muntarbhorn is a Professor of Law at Chulalongkorn University. He has helped the UN in a variety of capacities, including as an expert, consultant and Special Rapporteur. This article is derived from his speech at the National Platform for Women,Bangkok, Sept 17,2009.
Globalisation implies a greater integration of the international system from the angle of faster communications and information, and greater liberalisation of trade in goods, services, capital and investment flows.
However, a recurrent question is to what extent globalisation enables migration to take place in an orderly and balanced manner, with due regard to the rights of migrant workers, especially women who now constitute a large part of the work force?
Currently, the answer is somewhat ambiguous in that today's global system seems more ready to liberalise the flows of goods, services, capital and investment,rather than migration itself which is often seen as a challenge to national sovereignty and ethnic sensibility. The rules and agreements which have been evolved under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), an organisation closely linked with globalisation, have confirmed that trend.
In this context, it is necessary to see the migration issue from three angles:white collar workers (skilled labour), blue collar workers (unskilled labour) and "no collar workers," namely those who cross borders clandestinely and who often land up in exploitative situations.
White collar workers can cross borders to work in other countries quite easily,and under the WTO, this often takes place under the umbrella of opening up markets to services, thus enabling women executives and skilled workers to provide services in other countries.
With regard to blue collar workers,there are large numbers working outside their country of origin, such as maids.The arrangements are at times bilateral,at times regional. Multilaterally, while a comprehensive agreement is lacking on the liberalisation of migration flows, there are some international standards in the form of treaties which offer protection to those on the move by safeguarding their rights; these have been propelled particularly by the United Nations, in particular through the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as a specialised agency.
Yet the scenario facing women migrants is precarious for a number of reasons. First, increasingly it is evident there is a feminisation of thelabour flows,with women landing up in many jobs which exemplify the 3 D's of work dirty, dangerous and degrading. The Progress of the World's Women Report 2008-09 observes that over the last decade, more than 200 million women have joined the global labour force, and they often land up in labour-intensive and low-paying activities such as subsistence agriculture, domestic work and the clothing industry. Employers see women workers as free from the "fixed costs" of an organised labour force, such as basic minimum wages - particularly equal pay for equal work and social security guarantees. Women are thus more susceptible to discrimination and exploitation.
Second, many countries have shied away from becoming parties to international treaties for the protection of migrant labour, thus preferring to retain their discretion in dealing with migration issues without international scrutiny.In particular, there have been few accessions to the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their families. This treaty guarantees the basic rights of all migrant workers whether they are documented or undocumented.While documented workers are guaranteed more rights than undocumented workers, the latter still enjoy key rights under the treaty such as the right to life and humane treatment and their right to seek redress, such as payment for their work even if they are part of the illegal migrant labour. The lack of accessions to this treaty testifies to the lack of political will globally to liberalise migration flows with safeguards for migrant welfare, even though many countries are short of workers and have to import foreign labour.
Third, in the debate concerning whether to open up to migration, the environment behind the migration should not be overlooked. Often it is the lack of choice in their homesteads lack of opportunities, lack of income,lack of access to jobs and other productive activities which push people to leave and to seek opportunities elsewhere.This is particularly poignant for women who, more often than not, trail behind men in the availability of choices and accessibility to livelihood.
Fourth, regionally many Free Trade Areas (FTAs) have come into existence,opening up markets to trade in goods,services and capital. While white collar workers have benefited from this, blue collar and no collar workers are in a more tenuous situation.
Several export processing zones (EPZ)have grown which offer the benefits of easier trade, but without concurrent guarantees of labour rights. This has meant the lowering of labour standards on minimum wages for work and respect for worker rights, particularly women. More-over, there has been little assessment of how FTAs impact on women in the localities in general and women migrant workers in particular. In one Caribbean country noted by the Progress of the World's Women Report, it has been shown that job losses outweighed the benefits from the FTA, with women losing out in the process.
Fifth, Thailand has faced the migration issue particularly by opting for the registration of foreign migrant labour and concluding bilateral a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with all of its immediate neighbours. These MOUs are based on the premise that migrants can enter Thailand to work if there is a labour shortage in relation to relevant sectors and there is an official channel for them to come into the country through official channels in neighbouring countries. If they enter legally and pay the relevant contributions, they have access to medical and other benefits as part of the social security programme offered by the destination country. However, as clandestine migrant labour is an enormous issue in the country, a key challenge is how to address the issue effectively and humanely.
In addition to the prescription of registration of migrant labour introduced by Thailand several years ago, there is now a new law on the employment of alien workers. In 2008, this new law came into effect, with the innovation that unlike previous national laws which listed various types of work in which foreign labour could not be engaged, the new law will list the types of activities open to foreign labour. Employers and foreign employees must also make contributions into a fund which will be used to assist foreign migrant workers to return to their country of origin. However, one anomaly is that law enforcers will be able to arrest foreign migrant workers without a court warrant.
On another front, it should be noted that the Labour Protection Act which was updated also in 2008, does not discriminate between Thais and foreigners in terms of labour rights protection. They all have a right to equal wages. Women and adolescent workers are protected from various types of harmful work. The minimum age of employment is set at 15, while there is protection of those under 18 years of age from certain kinds of dangerous work.
To counter the exploitation and abuse which may affect workers, there are also special laws and policies, such as the law against human trafficking which came into force last year, and the antiprostitution law. The country's new National Health Act also opens the door to covering migrant workers in relation to healthcare access. Yet, in spite of these legislative changes, implementation often leaves much to be desired and there is a considerable gap between law and practice, legislation and enforcement.
For the future, various orientations deserve to be highlighted with particular emphasis on the protection of women migrant workers. At the multilateral level,the WTO should be encouraged to promote a sense of responsiveness to labour standards. This can be done, in part, by requesting states which send in their reports under the Trade Policy Review mechanism to include information on labour rights.
Countries should also sign up to the 1990 Migrant Workers' Convention as well as ILO Conventions, while ensuring that EPZs do not lower labour standards.Various anti-crime treaties such as the Palermo Protocol against human trafficking also voice the need for more global cooperation against transnational crimes.
At the regional level, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) itself should underline more effectively the need to protect migrant labour. On a welcome front, recently Asean adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Migrant Workers. Next month, the Asean Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission will also be set up as the overarching body on human rights in Asean. A related issue is to ensure that the Asean FTA is assessed from the angle of its impact on the situation of local and migrant labourers, with relevant remedies.
Likewise, bilateral agreements on migrant labour in Asean need to abide by international labour standards. Various practices such as the caning of labourers and the expulsion of women migrant labourers who wish to marry the residents of the destination country, are unacceptable practices.
With regard to Thailand, the country should accede to the 1990 Migrant Workers' Convention and relevant ILO treaties and implement them well.Undocumented migrant labourers should be assisted to access the remuneration to which they are entitled as part of access to justice.
The new law on the employment of alien workers should also be applied to uphold human rights standards, such as the general principle that arrests should only by undertaken with court warrants. Legal and other measures in the anti-crime field, such as those against human trafficking, should abide by the need for gender sensibility and the protection of victims and witnesses from intimidation.
In effect, a key message from the phenomenon of women migrant workers is that "Justice based on Women's Rights"should be increasingly resonant both locally and globally.
Vitit Muntarbhorn is a Professor of Law at Chulalongkorn University. He has helped the UN in a variety of capacities, including as an expert, consultant and Special Rapporteur. This article is derived from his speech at the National Platform for Women,Bangkok, Sept 17,2009.
Edge back from the abyss - it's time to deliver
...the draft text contains some 250 pages: a feast of alternative options, a forest of square brackets.If we don't sort this out, it risks becoming the longest and most global suicide note in history.
Climate change is happening faster than we believed only two years ago. Continuing with business as usual almost certainly means dangerous, perhaps catastrophic, climate change during the course of this century. This is the most important challenge for this generation of politicians.
I am now very concerned about the prospects for Copenhagen. The negotiations are dangerously close to deadlock at the moment - and such a deadlock may go far beyond a simple negotiating stand-off that we can fix next year. It risks being an acrimonious collapse, perhaps on the basis of a deep split between the developed and developing countries. The world right now cannot afford such a disastrous outcome.
So I hope that as world leaders peer over the edge of the abyss in New York and Pittsburgh this week, we will collectively conclude that we have to play an active part in driving the negotiations forward.
Now is not the time for poker playing.Now is the time for putting offers on the table, offers at the outer limits of our political constraints. That is exactly what Europe has done, and will continue to do.
Part of the answer lies in identifying the heart of the potential bargain that might yet bring us to a successful result, and here I think that the world leaders gathering in New York can make a real difference.
The first part of the bargain is that all developed countries need to clarify their plans on mid-term emissions reductions,and show the necessary leadership, not least in line with our responsibilities for past emissions. If we want to achieve at least an 80% reduction by 2050, developed countries must strive to achieve the necessary collective 25-40% reductions by 2020. The EU is ready to go from 20% to 30% if others make comparable efforts.
Second, developed countries must now explicitly recognise that we will all have to play a significant part in helping to finance mitigation and adaptation action by developing countries.
Our estimate is that by 2020, developing countries will need roughly an additional 100 billion euros (US$150 billion) a year to tackle climate change. Part of it will be financed from economically advanced developing countries themselves. The biggest share should come from the carbon market,if we have the courage to set up an ambitious global scheme.
But some will need to come in flows of public finance from developed to developing countries, perhaps from 22 billion to 50 billion euros ($30- $70 billion) a year by 2020. Almost half of this amount will be required to support adaptation action giving priority to the most vulnerable and poor developing countries.
Depending on the outcome of internation-al burden-sharing discussions, the EU's share of that could be anything from 10% to 30%,i.e. up to 15 billion euros ($22 billion) a year.
We will need to be ready, in other words,to make a significant contribution in the medium term, and also to look at shortterm "start up funding" for developing countries in the next year or so. I look forward to discussing this with EU leaders when we meet at the end of October.
So we need to signal our readiness to talk finance this week. The counterpart is that developing countries, at least the economically advanced amongst them, have to be much clearer on what they are ready to do to mitigate carbon emissions as part of an international agreement.
They are already putting in place domestic measures to limit carbon emissions but they clearly need to step up such efforts - particularly the most advanced developing countries. They understandably stress that the availability of carbon finance from the rich world is a pre-requisite to mitigation action on their part, as indeed agreed in Bali.
But the developed world will have nothing to finance if there is no commitment to such action.
We have less than 80 calendar days to go till Copenhagen. As of the Bonn meeting last month, the draft text contains some 250 pages: a feast of alternative options, a forest of square brackets. If we don't sort this out,it risks becoming the longest and most global suicide note in history.
This week in New York and Pittsburgh promises to be a pivotal one, if only as it will reveal how much global leaders are ready to invest in these negotiations, to push for a successful outcome. The choice is simple:no money, no deal. But no actions, no money!
Copenhagen is a critical occasion to shift,collectively, onto an emissions trajectory that keeps global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3,6 Fahrenheit]. So the fight-back has to begin this week in New York and continue in Bangkok on Sept 28,2009.
Jose Manuel Barroso is President of the European Commission.
Climate change is happening faster than we believed only two years ago. Continuing with business as usual almost certainly means dangerous, perhaps catastrophic, climate change during the course of this century. This is the most important challenge for this generation of politicians.
I am now very concerned about the prospects for Copenhagen. The negotiations are dangerously close to deadlock at the moment - and such a deadlock may go far beyond a simple negotiating stand-off that we can fix next year. It risks being an acrimonious collapse, perhaps on the basis of a deep split between the developed and developing countries. The world right now cannot afford such a disastrous outcome.
So I hope that as world leaders peer over the edge of the abyss in New York and Pittsburgh this week, we will collectively conclude that we have to play an active part in driving the negotiations forward.
Now is not the time for poker playing.Now is the time for putting offers on the table, offers at the outer limits of our political constraints. That is exactly what Europe has done, and will continue to do.
Part of the answer lies in identifying the heart of the potential bargain that might yet bring us to a successful result, and here I think that the world leaders gathering in New York can make a real difference.
The first part of the bargain is that all developed countries need to clarify their plans on mid-term emissions reductions,and show the necessary leadership, not least in line with our responsibilities for past emissions. If we want to achieve at least an 80% reduction by 2050, developed countries must strive to achieve the necessary collective 25-40% reductions by 2020. The EU is ready to go from 20% to 30% if others make comparable efforts.
Second, developed countries must now explicitly recognise that we will all have to play a significant part in helping to finance mitigation and adaptation action by developing countries.
Our estimate is that by 2020, developing countries will need roughly an additional 100 billion euros (US$150 billion) a year to tackle climate change. Part of it will be financed from economically advanced developing countries themselves. The biggest share should come from the carbon market,if we have the courage to set up an ambitious global scheme.
But some will need to come in flows of public finance from developed to developing countries, perhaps from 22 billion to 50 billion euros ($30- $70 billion) a year by 2020. Almost half of this amount will be required to support adaptation action giving priority to the most vulnerable and poor developing countries.
Depending on the outcome of internation-al burden-sharing discussions, the EU's share of that could be anything from 10% to 30%,i.e. up to 15 billion euros ($22 billion) a year.
We will need to be ready, in other words,to make a significant contribution in the medium term, and also to look at shortterm "start up funding" for developing countries in the next year or so. I look forward to discussing this with EU leaders when we meet at the end of October.
So we need to signal our readiness to talk finance this week. The counterpart is that developing countries, at least the economically advanced amongst them, have to be much clearer on what they are ready to do to mitigate carbon emissions as part of an international agreement.
They are already putting in place domestic measures to limit carbon emissions but they clearly need to step up such efforts - particularly the most advanced developing countries. They understandably stress that the availability of carbon finance from the rich world is a pre-requisite to mitigation action on their part, as indeed agreed in Bali.
But the developed world will have nothing to finance if there is no commitment to such action.
We have less than 80 calendar days to go till Copenhagen. As of the Bonn meeting last month, the draft text contains some 250 pages: a feast of alternative options, a forest of square brackets. If we don't sort this out,it risks becoming the longest and most global suicide note in history.
This week in New York and Pittsburgh promises to be a pivotal one, if only as it will reveal how much global leaders are ready to invest in these negotiations, to push for a successful outcome. The choice is simple:no money, no deal. But no actions, no money!
Copenhagen is a critical occasion to shift,collectively, onto an emissions trajectory that keeps global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3,6 Fahrenheit]. So the fight-back has to begin this week in New York and continue in Bangkok on Sept 28,2009.
Jose Manuel Barroso is President of the European Commission.
Ferrero-Waldner bows out of Unesco race
The European Commissioner for External Relations, Benita FerreroWaldner,61, on Sunday pulled out of the race to lead the UN culture and education organisation Unesco.
A former Austrian foreign minister,Mrs Ferrero-Waldner was seen as a strong challenger to Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni whose candidacy has been clouded by charges of anti-Semitism.
"Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner decided to withdraw in the interest of the organisation and European unity,"said an Austrian embassy statement.
Unesco's 58-nation executive council started voting on Thursday for a successor to Japan's Koichiro Matsuura as directorgeneral, with Mr Hosni seen as the favourite. Mrs Ferrero-Waldner won 11 votes in a third ballot on Saturday.
A former Austrian foreign minister,Mrs Ferrero-Waldner was seen as a strong challenger to Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni whose candidacy has been clouded by charges of anti-Semitism.
"Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner decided to withdraw in the interest of the organisation and European unity,"said an Austrian embassy statement.
Unesco's 58-nation executive council started voting on Thursday for a successor to Japan's Koichiro Matsuura as directorgeneral, with Mr Hosni seen as the favourite. Mrs Ferrero-Waldner won 11 votes in a third ballot on Saturday.
PAD TEMPLE PROTEST WAS BLATANT PROVOCATION
The government must stop its ally from causing any more trouble at disputed border site The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) should have learnt a lesson after its clash with local residents over the weekend near the disputed temple of Preah Vihear on the Cambodian border. The PAD's protest at the site was wrong. It was no way to protect Thailand's national sovereignty.
Blood should not be spilled over this stupid demand to have sovereignty over the disputed territory. It remains unclear to which country the temple actually belongs. It is embarrassing to see Thai people fighting each other in this area, even though Thailand and Cambodia are at odds over the historical site.
The nationalist elements of the PAD made a silly and unnecessarily provocative move to protest at the Pha Mor Ee Daeng site on Saturday and Sunday, demanding the removal of a Cambodian community from the disputed area of 4.6 square kilometres.
The area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple is claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia. But the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2000 to leave the site free from occupation until the boundary demarcation is finished and agreed upon.
It is true that Cambodia has built up a settlement, temple and military outpost in the disputed area since 2004. But the PAD should be well aware that the Thai Foreign Ministry has lodged a series of diplomatic protests over the Cambodian construction.
The Cambodian action might be regarded as a violation of the 2000 memorandum of understanding, but it is wrong for Thai people to try to remove the settlers from the area by force. We must be civilised in solving the problem by negotiation through the proper diplomatic channels.
Instead of helping to solve the problem, the PAD action has simply made the issue more complicated. The protest degenerated into clashes with local residents in Si Sa Ket's Kanthalalak district, who have lived there for generations.
Local residents in many sub-districts in the area around Preah Vihear and the Phra Viharn National Park view the PAD protesters as troublemakers. The PAD caused the closure of the temple.
Many Thai people in the area rely on the Preah Vihear temple for a number of reasons. Some are traders who rely on tourists who visit the World Heritage site; some need to travel through the area to get to their farms; some gather food and other items from the forests; others are relatives of people in the Cambodian community in the disputed area. Sovereignty over the boundary is meaningless for local people. They are able to get on with their daily lives even with the blurred boundary line.
The clash over the weekend between the local villagers and the PAD protesters, who mostly came from elsewhere, was not the first time that such trouble has flared, but the second. The history of conflict between the two groups began last year when the PAD protested to Cambodia over the World Heritage inscription proposal. The PAD protest forced the authorities in Cambodia to shut Preah Vihear to tourism. The military on both sides have set up security outposts throughout the area, blocking local residents from travelling freely.
It is understandable that local people blame the PAD for creating trouble. An angry mob attacked PAD protesters in July last year when the PAD rallied at the site shortly after the World Heritage Committee announced Preah Vihear's inscription as a heritage site. Many people were injured in the clashes and ugly pictures were televised as Thais used flagpoles to beat each other.
Unfortunately, the PAD has not learned a lesson from the bloodshed last year, and has simply repeated the same mistake this year. The thousands of PAD marchers clashed with the same group of villagers in almost exactly same place, Ban Phumsarol. At least five people on both sides were injured this time. The most serious case was an injury to a protester's right eye, and some villagers were reportedly shot at by unknown gunmen.
Nobody is taking responsibility for the incident, as leaders of both sides have filed lawsuits for criminal damage against each other. Such actions will consequently create more conflict between the two groups of Thais.
The PAD leader of the demonstration, Veera Somkwamkid, says he will not give up national sovereignty over the disputed territory and will stay the course in the fight. The local residents are unlikely to throw the towel in either. The rift will go on.
The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has underestimated the level of conflict between the PAD and the villagers. It made no serious effort to prevent either the protest or the clashes. Minor injuries in Si Sa Ket might mean nothing to those in power who once agreed with this nationalist agenda - especially as a tactic against their political rivals - but people should not be scarified in this unnecessary conflict. Nobody will gain anything from such thoughtlessness.
Thailand will not benefit from this PAD protest over the boundary demarcation with Cambodia. The government must step in to stop any further provocation by its closest ally before the dispute degenerates into worse bloodshed.
Blood should not be spilled over this stupid demand to have sovereignty over the disputed territory. It remains unclear to which country the temple actually belongs. It is embarrassing to see Thai people fighting each other in this area, even though Thailand and Cambodia are at odds over the historical site.
The nationalist elements of the PAD made a silly and unnecessarily provocative move to protest at the Pha Mor Ee Daeng site on Saturday and Sunday, demanding the removal of a Cambodian community from the disputed area of 4.6 square kilometres.
The area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple is claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia. But the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2000 to leave the site free from occupation until the boundary demarcation is finished and agreed upon.
It is true that Cambodia has built up a settlement, temple and military outpost in the disputed area since 2004. But the PAD should be well aware that the Thai Foreign Ministry has lodged a series of diplomatic protests over the Cambodian construction.
The Cambodian action might be regarded as a violation of the 2000 memorandum of understanding, but it is wrong for Thai people to try to remove the settlers from the area by force. We must be civilised in solving the problem by negotiation through the proper diplomatic channels.
Instead of helping to solve the problem, the PAD action has simply made the issue more complicated. The protest degenerated into clashes with local residents in Si Sa Ket's Kanthalalak district, who have lived there for generations.
Local residents in many sub-districts in the area around Preah Vihear and the Phra Viharn National Park view the PAD protesters as troublemakers. The PAD caused the closure of the temple.
Many Thai people in the area rely on the Preah Vihear temple for a number of reasons. Some are traders who rely on tourists who visit the World Heritage site; some need to travel through the area to get to their farms; some gather food and other items from the forests; others are relatives of people in the Cambodian community in the disputed area. Sovereignty over the boundary is meaningless for local people. They are able to get on with their daily lives even with the blurred boundary line.
The clash over the weekend between the local villagers and the PAD protesters, who mostly came from elsewhere, was not the first time that such trouble has flared, but the second. The history of conflict between the two groups began last year when the PAD protested to Cambodia over the World Heritage inscription proposal. The PAD protest forced the authorities in Cambodia to shut Preah Vihear to tourism. The military on both sides have set up security outposts throughout the area, blocking local residents from travelling freely.
It is understandable that local people blame the PAD for creating trouble. An angry mob attacked PAD protesters in July last year when the PAD rallied at the site shortly after the World Heritage Committee announced Preah Vihear's inscription as a heritage site. Many people were injured in the clashes and ugly pictures were televised as Thais used flagpoles to beat each other.
Unfortunately, the PAD has not learned a lesson from the bloodshed last year, and has simply repeated the same mistake this year. The thousands of PAD marchers clashed with the same group of villagers in almost exactly same place, Ban Phumsarol. At least five people on both sides were injured this time. The most serious case was an injury to a protester's right eye, and some villagers were reportedly shot at by unknown gunmen.
Nobody is taking responsibility for the incident, as leaders of both sides have filed lawsuits for criminal damage against each other. Such actions will consequently create more conflict between the two groups of Thais.
The PAD leader of the demonstration, Veera Somkwamkid, says he will not give up national sovereignty over the disputed territory and will stay the course in the fight. The local residents are unlikely to throw the towel in either. The rift will go on.
The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has underestimated the level of conflict between the PAD and the villagers. It made no serious effort to prevent either the protest or the clashes. Minor injuries in Si Sa Ket might mean nothing to those in power who once agreed with this nationalist agenda - especially as a tactic against their political rivals - but people should not be scarified in this unnecessary conflict. Nobody will gain anything from such thoughtlessness.
Thailand will not benefit from this PAD protest over the boundary demarcation with Cambodia. The government must step in to stop any further provocation by its closest ally before the dispute degenerates into worse bloodshed.
Netanyahu "won't halt" Jewish settlements
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will defend expanding Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank when he meets US President Barack Obama and the Palestinian leader, his spokesman said.
"You have never heard the prime minister say he would freeze settlement building. The opposite is true," Nir Hefetz said yesterday when asked about today's three-way summit during the UN General Assembly in New York, where differences over settlement building have limited expectations of a result.
"There are some politicians ... who see halting building or ceding national territory or harming the settlements [in the West Bank] as an asset, something that can help Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu cannot be counted among those people."
About 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and in Arab East Jerusalem,captured in a 1967 war, alongside three million Palestinians. The World Court calls the settlements illegal.
The US-backed peace plan that Israel signed in 2003, known as the "road map",required a halt to building in the Jewish settlements that Palestinians say are diminishing the chance of a future Palestinian state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Mr Netanyahu, despite pressure from the Obama administration, insists settlers should be allowed to continue building as their families grow and rules out any discussion on sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Mr Obama's personal intervention was welcome. A settlement freeze was an Israeli obligation, he said, not a Palestinian precondition.
"For the last eight months, the clear message from the international community has been that both sides need to meet their obligations" in order for talks to resume, Mr Erekat said.
"You have never heard the prime minister say he would freeze settlement building. The opposite is true," Nir Hefetz said yesterday when asked about today's three-way summit during the UN General Assembly in New York, where differences over settlement building have limited expectations of a result.
"There are some politicians ... who see halting building or ceding national territory or harming the settlements [in the West Bank] as an asset, something that can help Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu cannot be counted among those people."
About 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and in Arab East Jerusalem,captured in a 1967 war, alongside three million Palestinians. The World Court calls the settlements illegal.
The US-backed peace plan that Israel signed in 2003, known as the "road map",required a halt to building in the Jewish settlements that Palestinians say are diminishing the chance of a future Palestinian state in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Mr Netanyahu, despite pressure from the Obama administration, insists settlers should be allowed to continue building as their families grow and rules out any discussion on sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Mr Obama's personal intervention was welcome. A settlement freeze was an Israeli obligation, he said, not a Palestinian precondition.
"For the last eight months, the clear message from the international community has been that both sides need to meet their obligations" in order for talks to resume, Mr Erekat said.
State funeral for 6 soldiers slain in Kabul
Italy mourned six soldiers killed in Afghanistan as teary-eyed relatives,officials and thousands of citizens saluted their flag-draped coffins at a state funeral yesterday.
The government called a national day of mourning, with flags at half-staff and a minute of silence at public offices.
The attack on Thursday in Kabul marked Italy's deadliest day yet in the Afghan conflict. At home, it rekindled a debate over Italian participation in the mission and the prospects for an end to the eight-year war.
In a traditional sign of respect, the crowd applauded as the six coffins were carried inside the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls by fellow soldiers. An honour guard saluted the coffins and many standing in the rain outside the basilica waved the red-white-and-green Italian flag. The bodies of the Italians were returned home on Sunday.
In one of the most poignant moments of the ceremony, the seven-year-old son of one of the victims approached his father's coffin and gently touched it. A photo portrait of each man, along with his beret, was placed on each coffin.
Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of condolences that was read during the ceremony, saying he was praying that God would "support those who are engaged daily in building solidarity,reconciliation and peace in the world".
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi shook hands with relatives of the dead as he sought to comfort them, and President Giorgio Napolitano bowed his head before the coffins.
Some private businesses shut down their doors for a few minutes during the ceremony, reports said. The funeral was broadcast live on state-run TV and other national broadcasters.
The government called a national day of mourning, with flags at half-staff and a minute of silence at public offices.
The attack on Thursday in Kabul marked Italy's deadliest day yet in the Afghan conflict. At home, it rekindled a debate over Italian participation in the mission and the prospects for an end to the eight-year war.
In a traditional sign of respect, the crowd applauded as the six coffins were carried inside the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls by fellow soldiers. An honour guard saluted the coffins and many standing in the rain outside the basilica waved the red-white-and-green Italian flag. The bodies of the Italians were returned home on Sunday.
In one of the most poignant moments of the ceremony, the seven-year-old son of one of the victims approached his father's coffin and gently touched it. A photo portrait of each man, along with his beret, was placed on each coffin.
Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of condolences that was read during the ceremony, saying he was praying that God would "support those who are engaged daily in building solidarity,reconciliation and peace in the world".
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi shook hands with relatives of the dead as he sought to comfort them, and President Giorgio Napolitano bowed his head before the coffins.
Some private businesses shut down their doors for a few minutes during the ceremony, reports said. The funeral was broadcast live on state-run TV and other national broadcasters.
Asean summit will be guarded by a 20,000-strong contingent
The Defence Ministry plans to deploy more than 20,000 soldiers to ensure maximum security during the summit of Southeast Asian leaders next month, a ministry source says.
The Asean meeting will be held from Oct 21 to 25 in Phetchaburi's Cha-am district and Hua Hin district in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
All 10 Asean leaders and six dialogue partners have confirmed their attendance, director-general of the Asean Affairs Department Vitavas Srivihok said yesterday. The dialogue partners are China,Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.
The armed forces will implement a security plan codenamed "Cha-am-Hua Hin 521" using soldiers from three infantry regiments in the 1st Army and special warfare units from the army and navy as well as a commando unit from the air force, the source said.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said the government would propose invoking the Internal Security Act during the summit because the two areas were considered "at risk" from antigovernment rallies.
The act aims to better control rallies by allowing soldiers to act in parallel with police.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship has announced it will stage a demonstration in October,but has not set the exact date.
In April, its rally coincided with the Asean summit held in Pattaya. The government was criticised for failing to prevent angry demonstrators from breaking into the meeting venue, an act that immediately saw Asean leaders returning home in chaos.
Gen Prawit asked red shirt protesters not to disturb the event because it was a significant international meeting and had nothing to do with the existing internal conflicts between the UDD and the Abhisit Vejjajiva government.
He said officers would ask local people in the two districts for cooperation to help keep order.
Mr Vitavas said at least 20 documents would be signed by the leaders, including a memorandum of understanding on establishing the Asean-China Centre to promote trade, services and tourism.
The agenda includes food security,energy security, disaster management and climate change. Thailand would push for negotiations on education in order to promote and raise awareness among Asean citizens, the official said.
"The highlight is the meeting of Asean leaders and civil society, youth and parliamentary representatives as well as the official establishment of the InterCommission on Human Rights on Oct 23," Mr Vitavas said.
The Asean meeting will be held from Oct 21 to 25 in Phetchaburi's Cha-am district and Hua Hin district in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
All 10 Asean leaders and six dialogue partners have confirmed their attendance, director-general of the Asean Affairs Department Vitavas Srivihok said yesterday. The dialogue partners are China,Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.
The armed forces will implement a security plan codenamed "Cha-am-Hua Hin 521" using soldiers from three infantry regiments in the 1st Army and special warfare units from the army and navy as well as a commando unit from the air force, the source said.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said the government would propose invoking the Internal Security Act during the summit because the two areas were considered "at risk" from antigovernment rallies.
The act aims to better control rallies by allowing soldiers to act in parallel with police.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship has announced it will stage a demonstration in October,but has not set the exact date.
In April, its rally coincided with the Asean summit held in Pattaya. The government was criticised for failing to prevent angry demonstrators from breaking into the meeting venue, an act that immediately saw Asean leaders returning home in chaos.
Gen Prawit asked red shirt protesters not to disturb the event because it was a significant international meeting and had nothing to do with the existing internal conflicts between the UDD and the Abhisit Vejjajiva government.
He said officers would ask local people in the two districts for cooperation to help keep order.
Mr Vitavas said at least 20 documents would be signed by the leaders, including a memorandum of understanding on establishing the Asean-China Centre to promote trade, services and tourism.
The agenda includes food security,energy security, disaster management and climate change. Thailand would push for negotiations on education in order to promote and raise awareness among Asean citizens, the official said.
"The highlight is the meeting of Asean leaders and civil society, youth and parliamentary representatives as well as the official establishment of the InterCommission on Human Rights on Oct 23," Mr Vitavas said.
Noppadon faces temple charge
The national anti-graft agency has accused former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama of negligence of duty over his signing of a joint communique with Cambodia concerning the Preah Vihear temple, a source at the agency says.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission ruling will be announced today based on a 130-page report.
The investigation of the signing covered 35 other people including four cabinet members in the present government and government officials, including some from the Foreign Ministry.
The ministers involved are Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart,Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, Information and Communications Minister Ranongruk Suwunchwee and Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Phataraprasit. The four served in the Samak administration.
Only Mr Noppadon is to be indicted,the source said.
The investigators did not find enough grounds to take action against the others as they were not aware of what the then foreign minister was doing, the source said. Their cases could be rejected if the NACC submitted them to the court.
The anti-graft agency found Mr Noppadon was negligent in his duties under Article 157 of the Criminal Code, the source said.
Mr Noppadon signed the joint communique with Cambodian Deputy Prime
Minister Sok An on June 18 last year to support Cambodia's application to declare the temple a World Heritage site. Mr Noppadon's mandate was endorsed by Noppadon: Backed the government a heritage listing day earlier.
But Thailand backed off from its position after the Constitution Court ruled it unconstitutional as it had bypassed parliamentary approval as required under the constitution. Mr Noppadon later resigned.
NACC member Somluck Jadkrabuanpol, chairman of the investigating panel,denied the NACC had been pressured to rule against the Samak government.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has asked police to take action against those who instigated the unrest that led to Saturday's fierce clash between the People's Alliance for Democracy and Si Sa Ket residents near the border with Cambodia.
The PAD supporters staged a protest on Saturday near the border in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket to call for the authorities to force Cambodians from the disputed area near Preah Vihear.They confronted a group of local residents who blocked the protest. The clash between PAD protesters and the villagers left scores of people on both sides injured.
Mr Suthep said those who violated the law must face legal action.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon expressed regret over Saturday's clash between the two groups of Thai citizens.
Gen Prawit said he had instructed 2nd Army chief Wiboonsak Neepal to closely coordinate with local police and the provincial governor to prevent a recurrence.
He insisted Cambodia understood the situation as Thai and Cambodian commanders remained in contact.
Both PAD and Si Sa Ket residents yesterday filed complaints against each other with local police over Saturday's clash.
Pol Maj Gen Sompong Thongveeraprasert, chief of the Si Sa Ket police,said more than 30 complaints were filed by the two groups.
Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul dismissed reports a group of men dressed in blue shirts had stirred up local residents to confront the PAD demonstrators. The blue shirts are supporters of Newin Chidchob, the power broker behind Mr Chavarat's Bhumjaithai Party.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission ruling will be announced today based on a 130-page report.
The investigation of the signing covered 35 other people including four cabinet members in the present government and government officials, including some from the Foreign Ministry.
The ministers involved are Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart,Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, Information and Communications Minister Ranongruk Suwunchwee and Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Phataraprasit. The four served in the Samak administration.
Only Mr Noppadon is to be indicted,the source said.
The investigators did not find enough grounds to take action against the others as they were not aware of what the then foreign minister was doing, the source said. Their cases could be rejected if the NACC submitted them to the court.
The anti-graft agency found Mr Noppadon was negligent in his duties under Article 157 of the Criminal Code, the source said.
Mr Noppadon signed the joint communique with Cambodian Deputy Prime
Minister Sok An on June 18 last year to support Cambodia's application to declare the temple a World Heritage site. Mr Noppadon's mandate was endorsed by Noppadon: Backed the government a heritage listing day earlier.
But Thailand backed off from its position after the Constitution Court ruled it unconstitutional as it had bypassed parliamentary approval as required under the constitution. Mr Noppadon later resigned.
NACC member Somluck Jadkrabuanpol, chairman of the investigating panel,denied the NACC had been pressured to rule against the Samak government.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has asked police to take action against those who instigated the unrest that led to Saturday's fierce clash between the People's Alliance for Democracy and Si Sa Ket residents near the border with Cambodia.
The PAD supporters staged a protest on Saturday near the border in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket to call for the authorities to force Cambodians from the disputed area near Preah Vihear.They confronted a group of local residents who blocked the protest. The clash between PAD protesters and the villagers left scores of people on both sides injured.
Mr Suthep said those who violated the law must face legal action.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon expressed regret over Saturday's clash between the two groups of Thai citizens.
Gen Prawit said he had instructed 2nd Army chief Wiboonsak Neepal to closely coordinate with local police and the provincial governor to prevent a recurrence.
He insisted Cambodia understood the situation as Thai and Cambodian commanders remained in contact.
Both PAD and Si Sa Ket residents yesterday filed complaints against each other with local police over Saturday's clash.
Pol Maj Gen Sompong Thongveeraprasert, chief of the Si Sa Ket police,said more than 30 complaints were filed by the two groups.
Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul dismissed reports a group of men dressed in blue shirts had stirred up local residents to confront the PAD demonstrators. The blue shirts are supporters of Newin Chidchob, the power broker behind Mr Chavarat's Bhumjaithai Party.
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