News stories by Marwaan Macan-Markar, page 20

Thailand’s swift and strong response to Cambodia’s decision to appoint ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser exposed an emotional faultline rooted in decades of mutual suspicion and hatred.

The United States government’s diplomatic foray into military-ruled Burma made early inroads into an area sealed off to United Nations envoys in recent years—meeting the country’s oppressed ethnic minorities.

An upcoming mission by senior United States government officials to military- ruled Burma points to Washington’s commitment that engaging with oppressive regimes—than spurning them—is the way forward for change.

With the annual monsoon rains ending, there is a growing fear among the Karen ethnic minority living along military-ruled Burma’s eastern border of a dry season offensive. The most vulnerable are villagers residing in the vicinity of the controversial Hat Gyi dam.

The relationship between South-east Asian neighbours Thailand and Cambodia enters another uneasy stretch following a round of verbal salvoes fired before and during a just concluded regional summit, where much is made of strides in achieving unity.

Rice, the staple dish across South-east Asia, has emerged as an apt symbol of the region’s commitment — or lack of it — to unveiling a free trade area for its 10 members when the New Year dawns.

Civil society representatives from South-east Asia’s developing democracies delivered an unequivocal message to the region’s leaders at a summit held here — they will not succumb to the whims of governments that suppress political and civil liberties at home.

A summit of regional leaders due to begin in Thailand on Oct. 23 has brought into relief a rift within the 10-member bloc about the space that should be given to civil society voices at such a gathering.

A regional United Nations body dubbed by its critics as a 'talk shop' and with limited concrete achievements to its name appears set to change that image by striking a deal with one of Asia’s recalcitrant regimes — the Burmese military government.

'It was a little bit scary,' says Dessima Williams, describing how the two weeks of United Nations climate change negotiations ended here on Oct. 9. 'Our concerns need to be heard more.'