Past & Present Issues
Asian Tsunami Burma Cambodia Kashmir North Korea Palestine Philippines Sri Lanka Thailand United States Military War in Iraq
Asian Earthquake/Tsunami
Articles:
- Interfaith Press Statement Concerning Humanitarian Work in Aceh (January 17, 2005)
- Group Says it Relocated 300 Orphans, Washington Post (January 13, 2005)
- The December 26 Tsunami: Kids Respond, Bruderhof Communities (January, 2005)
- Tsunami cannot wash caste discrimination away, Indian Express (January 7, 2005)
- Report from India (January 7, 2005)
- Caste System Intact Even in the Midst of Tragedy (January 1-4, 2005)
- Summary Report on the Situations relating to Tsunami Crisis, FORUM-ASIA (January 2, 2005)
- First Field Report from Medan, ANFREL and Sumatra Hope (January 1, 2005)
Websites:
- Stop all military operations in Aceh! Petition calling for the Indonesian government to respect the ceasefire that they have themselves declared, to ensure that the Indonesian armed forces stop their military operations, intimidation, corruption and pillaging in Aceh at this time of suffering.
Burma
Articles:
- Burmese Army's Karen Attacks "Worst Since 1997" (April 25, 2006)
- Five Burmese legislators seek asylum at Karen camp, The Nation (April 24, 2006)
- A cheer for Myanmar's lady in waiting, Asia Times Online (June 9, 2005)
- IDPs in Need of Food Because of Ongoing Oppression by the Burma Army, Free Burma Rangers (January 22, 2005)
- Myanmar prisoner release seen as another ploy, Inter Press Service (November 23, 2004)
- Myanmar's Costless Shift to a Hard-Line, Power and Interest News Report (October 27, 2004)
Websites:
- The Burma Campaign UK (BCUK)
- Dirty List: Companies supporting the regime in Burma.
- Clean List: Companies that have either pulled out of Burma, or made a principled decision not to become involved in Burma. This list it not fully comprehensive, but provides a useful indication of how many companies have withdrawn, and their reasons for doing so.
Cambodia
Articles:
Kashmir
Articles:
- Across the Divide: Asia Times
- For Kashmiris' Say in a Kashmir Solution, t r u t h o u t (December 15, 2004)
North Korea
Articles:
- North Korea: Underground Nuclear Test Reported, Stratfor (October 8, 2006)
- North Korea - Is there a Military Solution?, Stratfor (October 9, 2006)
- New North Korean Preparations Likely Just for Show, Stratfor (October 9, 2006)
Palestine
Articles:
Philippines
Articles:
- Focus on the Extrajudicial Killings in RP: Operation Phoenix's Long Shadow, Ibon Features (October 11, 2006)
- N.Y. rally bids GMA 'goodbye', Philippine News (July 27, 2005)
- Moro group condemns bombings, but tells president "do not solve terror with terror", Moro-Christian Peoples Alliance (February 15, 2005)
Websites:
- Stop the Killings in the Philippines campaign: A website containing press statements, updated data and urgent action alerts as well as related articles on the killings and other human rights violations happening in the Philippines.
Sri Lanka
Articles:
- In Sri Lanka, broken truce called a 'crisis', The Associated Press (September 29, 2006)
- Sri Lanka: Slipping into all-out war, New Statesman (August 28, 2006)
Thailand
On October 25, 26 and 27, 2004, a tragedy occurred in Thailand’s southern provinces when Thai security forces clashed with demonstrating Muslim youth. Several youth were killed during the clash and many arrested. The arrested youth were stacked into army trucks “like bricks” for a long journey over rough roads to a military detention camp. When the trucks arrived, more than 70 of the detainees in the trucks were dead. They had suffocated because of lack of sufficient air. This tragedy has shocked the Thai people. You can read more details about this horror on our blogger page.
Two years later Thailand continues to suffer from political instability. After the military coup of September 19, 2006, there has been much debate about the future of democracy in the country. However, stability depends upon much more than the existence of democracy. The coup and the ruling junta will have a profound impact on the volatile situations that exist in both the southern region of Thailand, where the majority of Muslims live, and the north, home to Thailand's indigenous peoples.
Articles:
- Thailand: New Government Should Ensure Justice for Tak Bai, Human rights News (October 25, 2006)
- Thailand's Military Coup - Misunderstanding the Coup, Asian Human Rights Commission (September 29, 2006)
- Thailand Military Coup - Someone had to do something? Asian Human Rights Commission (September 25, 2006)
- Thailand: Military Coup - What is benign? Asian Human Rights Commission (September 21, 2006)
- Thai PM Deposed in Military Coup, BBC News (September 20, 2006)
- Thailand gets tough, again, Asia Times Online (June 28, 2005)
- The Unseen South (February 25, 2005)
- Thailand's southern blame game, Asia Times (December 18, 2004)
- Thai peace plan proves paper thin, Asia Times (December 7, 2004)
- Thailand: Killing Hope, ZNet (November 6, 2004)
- Commentary on Massacre in Southern Thailand, Bangkok Post, (November 4, 2004)
- State-imposed national identity is not a social cure-all, The Nation (October 30, 2004)
- Up-Date on Situation in the South of Thailand (October 29, 2004)
United States Military
September 11, 2001 deeply affected the way we perceive many things here in Asia. When President Bush loudly voiced his opinion that “those who are not for us are against us” he effectively stifled many legitimate criticisms of US policies abroad. Fear of being labeled in league with terrorists, especially at that particular moment in history, was a great silencer. In reality, the war on terrorism has been used by the US administration as an excuse to act unilaterally in the international arena and this has included an increase in US military presence and activity in many parts of the world, including Asia.
It is very important for us to take a critical look at the US military bases in Asia because they are very closely linked to the foreign policy of the US - particularly its expansionist and imperialist tendencies. It is also important to look critically at US foreign policy because now US is the only remaining super power in the world. As such their activities and grasping tentacles should not be ignored. The US will continue to be a cause, as well as a potential solution, to many problems/conflicts in Asia.
The war on terrorism being carried out by the US has also been used by some Asian governments to suppress voices and actions of the opposition in their own countries. Directly or indirectly, US bases in Asia also influence and intrude into the domestic policies of weaker countries.
For more details, please read DAGA's November 2004 dossier on US Military Presence in Asia.
See the map listing the nearly sixty countries and territories where the U.S. military has bases, from the Monthly Review (accurate as of January, 2002).
See the Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths table for a list of Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force personnel throughout the world. (From the Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, U.S. Department of Defense, dated March 31, 2004).
Articles:
- Korean Government's Police and Military Operations Violently Evict Civilian Residents in Order to Expand U.S. Armed Forces (June, 2006)
- How we would Fight China, Atlantic (June, 2005)
- US spy operations in Mindanao an act of "bullying", InPeace Mindanao (January 26, 2005)
- So Little Time, So Many Regimes to Change, IPS (December 9, 2004)
- Activists urge coverage of peace efforts, Inquirer News Service (December 8, 2004)
- Okinawans protest U.S. military helicopter crash (October 17, 2004)
- Confronting the Military Outposts of Empire, Focus on the Global South (August, 2004)
- U.S. Military Bases and Empire, Monthly Review (March 2002)
War in Iraq
Articles:
- New Surge of Violence Hits Iraq, BBC News (October 15, 2006)
- Iraqi's 'Fleeing Rising Violence', BBC News (October 13, 2006)
- Iraq: Palestinians Targeted With Death Threats, Human Rights News (October 6, 2006)
- Palestinians Under Attack, but Unable to Flee, Human Rights News (September 10, 2006)
- Iraq's Perilous Election and the Need for Exit Strategies, PINR (January 17, 2005)
- The US Retreat from Democratization, Asia Times (December 9, 2004)
- Deserters: We Won't Go to Iraq, CBSnews (December 8, 2004)
- America through an Iraqi lens, openDemocracy (October 11, 2004)
Websites:
- Democracy Rising: Founded by Ralph Nader and a founding member of United for Peace and Justice, DR has designed a 'Stop the War' campaign to empower grass roots organizations as well as individual activists to end the war as soon as possible. Among the features of the site include Iraq war facts, e-postcards, daily news videos, and anti-war activists highlighted.
- Iraq Peace Pledge: The Iraq Pledge of Resistance, founded in September of 2002, is a nationwide network of activists and organizations committed to ending the war in Iraq through nonviolent, Gandhian and Kingian resistance.
- White Ribbon Campaign: December 10 is International Human Rights Day. Wearing the ribbon is an effective tool for raising awareness and increasing the daily visibility of the suffering from the War in Iraq. White is the symbol for peace in many countries around the world and the symbol of mourning in others.