|
A long-dormant separatist insurgency re-emerged in Thailand's southernmost provinces in early 2004. Daily shootings and bomb attacks have already claimed over 2,600 lives, mostly civilians, and there is no end in sight. The government's ability to respond has been hamstrung by poor intelligence, bitter inter-agency rivalries, and a legacy of mistrust and mutual suspicion between the government and the community. The national political crisis has also distracted attention from the serious security threat in the south. There is widespread concern in the region that left unchecked, the unrest in the largely Muslim Malay provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat could turn into a mass-based insurgency, or even a regional jihad, although to date there is no evidence of any external involvement in violence.
Source: ICG (International Crisis Group)
For more information on the Southern Thailand situation, please see the following ICG site and the story by Andrew Marshall as it appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine.
www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm
www.andrewmarshall.com/articles
|
|
Since 1969, the NPA, the armed wing of the outlawed Communist party of the Philippines, has waged what it calls a "protracted people's war" in which an estimated 40,000 people have died.
Peace talks ended in 2004 after the government refused to pressure the US to remove the NPA from its terrorist list, where it was placed after the September 11 attacks. In 2005, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - clinging to power amid allegations of election fraud and human-rights abuses - declared an "all-out war" to crush the 37-year-old insurgency. The conflict keeps her military busy, and potentially less interested in toppling her the way it has toppled previous presidents. She has survived three coup attempts. Over 800 government opponents have been murdered or gone missing since Arroyo took power in 2001, reports the Filipino human-rights group Karapatan. These include left-wing activists, lawyers, union leaders, students, farmers and priests. And journalists: 46 have been killed on Arroyo's watch.
Further reading:
http://www.andrewmarshall.com/articles
|
|
I first visited Nepal in May 2001 to search out Maoist guerrillas in the far West of the country. The day following my return to Kathmandu, the massacre of the Royal family took place and I bore witness to the incredible, mediaeval scene that wound its way through the capital’s narrow streets, the slain King Birendra carried aloft on the shoulders of his bodyguards, followed by the body of Queen Aishwarya and other close relatives killed in the shooting spree that was attributed to the Crown Prince Dipendra.
The intensity of that time has remained with me to this day and my return trips have been made out of a sense of continued responsibility to bare witness for the Nepali people, who continue to suffer as a result of power-plays and selfish governance.
|
|
Continued Violence against Ethnic Groups in ethnic areas of the borderlands and human rights violations are widespread, involving forced labour, summary executions, sexual violence against women and girls, land confiscations, and the use of landmines to disrupt civilian food production. The ongoing military offensive in northern Karen state has displaced an estimated 40,000 civilians since early 2006, with an estimated 150 civilians killed by Burmese army attacks and landmines. Forty-three new Burmese army bases have been built in the area, using convict and forced civilian labour; local civilians were also forced to supply construction materials. An estimated 500 convict porters were killed as a result of Burmese army abuses, including through the practice of “atrocity de-mining”—forcing civilians to act in effect as human minesweepers. The use of landmines by the Burmese army and non-state armed groups is widespread.
Source: Human Rights Watch.
For more information, please visit HRW site:
hrw.org/englishwr2k8/docs/2008/01/31/burma17601.htm
see also the ICG site:
www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm
|
|
|
