Professor Cribb, please forward your interesting and intelligent commentary to Dr Jane Goodall at her Institute (address on the Web). I would be most curious about her comments regarding the possible dichotomy of both attraction and repellence when we look our non-human primate neighbors in the eyes.
I offer you a prayer from my book, a prayer by the people who have no time for lofty discussions about state religion or not, the people who ‘suffer’ under the burning sun when they plant the rice … they need to live too …
And yet wars are waged above their heads …
Prayer to the Lord Buddha
My Lord
I ask for too much
when I pray that people
not lie … not steal …
not kill … not rape
My Lord
I ask for too much
when I pray that people
who lie … who steal …
who kill … who rape …
My Lord
that they may feel lighter
that they may be happy
that they may feel free
My Lord
Because maybe for all of us
The meek and the weak
The innocent and the sweet
The eternal children
Because maybe for one hour
for one breath
we may love without fear ….
Tara Vanhonacker ┬й 2014 – That Phanom – Thailand –
[…] Amandine Le Goff Source (Scott Rawlison / New Mandala) : The rise ou the young entrepreneur in Cambodia Photo : Bunleang Chang, co-fondateur de Brown Coffee and Bakery. Crédit @Brown 2014 […]
The 2007 forced disappearance of my friend Somphone Khantisouk from the banks of the Namtha river by uniformed police in broad daylight and observed by various onlookers in 2007 is a good case in point when referring to the intimidation that silences opposition to large scale resource projects in Laos.
(Som)Phone’s wife and children have not seen or heard from him since. Sadly, it seems increasingly likely they never will.
Phone was a very rare diamond indeed in the current political context of Laos. He was passionate about the environment and human rights, and was brave enough to speak honestly and openly to his contacts when he witnessed gross injustices and even attempted to change the outcomes through his network of influential Lao friends and NGO contacts. He has paid the ultimate price for being an inspirational provincial based environmental and human rights leader in Laos.
When the corrupt and inept provincial tourism minister of the time Mr Khamlien colluded with Chinese rubber plantation investors and other local politicians to forcefully evict minority peoples from their ancestral land and turn large sections of Luang Namtha’s Nam Ha protected area into an immense rubber plantation, Phone spoke out and tried to apply pressure to limit these illegal activities through his network.
Unlike the villagers currently being evicted, Phone was known and respected by many in the international community, particularly those involved with the UNESCO Nam Ha Eco-tourism project and the Wildlife Conservation Society and for co owning and operating the Lao P.D.R’s first true eco-tourism lodge, the Boatlanding Guest House.
For these reasons Phone probably felt he had a limited form of protection against the direct use of violence by the authorities. Sadly, it was decided by the powers that be that eliminating Phone was still a worth while venture, despite the fact that some international pressure would probably come to bear as a result.
What disturbs me greatly until this day is the way that Phone’s network of friends and fellow environmental/human rights warriors, were so effectively silenced by his forced disappearance. His reasonably broad support base was cowered into silence much more effectively than I would have expected. Few spoke out.
Everyone realised that this disappearance was authorised at a high level and that no one is safe in Laos if they try to expose the truth and fight for justice. Fear of losing ones life or losing ones life’s work are highly effective forms of suppression.
The local Authorities were quite happy to disappear a prominent and respected local environmental leader like Phone who possessed high level international contacts, so what chance do a bunch of uneducated villagers stand against mega projects in the remote country side?.
So, while the motive behind Phone’s disappearance and the identity of some of those that sponsored it is common knowledge amongst Phone’s inner circle, simply making the allegation against prominent provincial ‘leaders’for anyone residing in Laos would be an act of suicide.
Fear and intimidation from the Luang Namtha Authorities ensures the lucrative resource mafiosa spear headed by Chinese corporations and local political leaders continues to flourish and that grass roots activism which, in Luang Namtha was effectively spear headed by Phone and his network, has been eliminated before it ever fully got off the ground.
The bad guys are winning in Luang Namtha….. overwhelmingly. Phone fought for and most likely was murdered trying to protect the Nam Ha ‘protected area’ and the resource rights of vulnerable and impoverished subsistence people living within the area. Sadly, most of the region he fought for has now been turned into an immense Chinese rubber plantation and his support network has been cowered by the increasingly powerful Chinese/Local politician resource mafia.
You can be quite sure that the same political network that orchestrated Phones disappearance and clear felled most of the Nam Ha protected area to grow rubber for Chinese corporations are an integral part of promoting and profiting from this latest round of forced evictions and resource exploitation in Luang Namtha and Bokeo at the direct expense of local communities.
I visited Ban Nale with Phone on several occasions, he knew some of the locals there well and they knew him and what he stood for. I’m sure they also know what happened to him as a result of his efforts to slow down the rampant destruction caused by the Chinese corporate/Lao political network.
Of course these things are only ever whispered in the Lao countryside and it would be suicide for Phone’s friends and contacts to openly promote him as the inspirational environmental and human rights warrior that he was.
The consequences for speaking out firmly to defend human rights, resource rights and the environment in Luang Namtha are clear. The precedent was set with Phone and probably various other disappeared locals that the international community never heard about.
We cant expect current village leaders to follow in Phones fearless and inspirational foot steps, the price for them and their families is simply too great.
Its up to the international community and Lao leaders who wish to preserve some of their nation for future generations to apply more pressure to the Lao government and the Chinese corporations. Lets not let Phone’s legacy as a true environmental and human rights hero go to waste.
This kind of oppression is not surprising, given that the Malays tend to crawl to the Sultan, and the others would be more inclined to get rid of him. Keeping the others down is supposed to ensure his survival, and the survival of the hierarchy of crawlers ..er.. “citizens” that prop him up. The low oil price may make it tough for them all.
Malaysia 1MDB Scandal: Najib Razak’s Aide Jho Low Made Millions From State-Run Fund
The sordid 1MDB scandal implicates Najib, Najib son, Najib aides and abettors left and right, and no silly Saudi donation story could help Najib Razak to ultimately answer to the billions of public funds rifled by PM Najib and abettors.
Does leadership really matter that much when the post is held for such a short period? Seriously, all of the ASEAN states turn to Singapore whenever they need a viable think tank. As for the regional drought, more attention should be on the tributaries that flow into the Mekong. The Xe Nam Noy is a key example as both a waterway and watershed get turned upside down.
When you say “[i]t’s truly absurd to see what levels they have fallen to, what their agenda is, how they are going about this vengeful mode of operation” I wonder whether you are suggesting that this particular military government is somehow worse than the ones pre-1973 or post-1976?
That their agenda is somehow different from those of their many many predecessors? Or that they are more “vengeful” than, say, the folks who unleashed the Octobers and Mays on the Thai people?
Or do you just mean to suggest, as so many do on NM, that the Junta is Bad?
The Thai military has been the main culprit of most of the problems in Thailand. It has never allowed the seeds of democracy to grow and flourish. The Thai generals are corrupt to the core and look out for their own interests, by siding with and being used as a tool of the elites, the royalists and the Sino Thai tycoons, who control the Thai economy. History is replete with examples of the Thai military interfering in politics.
The Thai military was waiting in the wings to take down the Yingluck govt. It used the well known thug Suthep as it’s front man and he whipped up his paid for supporters to bring the city to a standstill. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks–and that is what Suthep blurted out that he had been discussing the overthrow of the Yingluck govt. with General Prayuth via different means of communication for a long time. The military needed a valid excuse to takeover and finish the job that their former colleagues did not get done in the coup of 2006.
Wait and see what will happen in Thailand, as history repeats itself and the Thai military will make a big mess of things esp. the economy which is already suffering and will tank. Then the hard working, Thai people will no longer be able to be suppressed and will take to the streets to voice their anger at the military and this illegitimate coup, that has made Thailand a joke in the eyes of the world. It’s sad to see a once promising future go down in flames as Thailand shoots itself in both feet.
I am not at all a fan of the corrupt Thaksin, but I am not naive to know that the charges he was found guilty of were trumped up charges in court. He was never given a fair trial and he knew that and that is why he did not return when he left Thailand under the pretext of attending the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, as a guest of the Chinese govt.
This illegitimate, ruthless, military junta is so insecure, so out of touch with reality on the ground, so determined to wipe out Thaksin’s popularity and influence in the North and Northeast of Thailand, where most of the Red Shirts are from. What they have done and continue to do, will only serve to make Thaksin even more popular among the millions of Red Shirts, who have been marginalized, persecuted, jailed, threatened, severely restricted, and suppressed by this military junta. It’s truly absurd to see what levels they have fallen to, what their agenda is, how they are going about this vengeful mode of operation.
Thailand has become a “police state” and the military is making sure they control all aspects of life in Thailand. They don’t serve the interest of the majority of Thais. They are there to line their pockets and serve their own interests, by protecting the elites, the Sino Thai tycoons, who have enriched themselves for decades at the expense of the majority of Thai people.
It will only lead to a revolution by the majority of Thais. It is only a matter of time before the economy tanks, as the generals make a mess of it and will reap what they have sowed.
In comparison to those Vietnamese who preferred colonial subjection to either the French or the Americans and who were prepared to murder and torture their own people to maintain their collaborationist perks, the communists were the French resistance in comparison to fascist Vichy supporters.
There are bound to be heroes and traitors in any civil war, just as there are in any war of liberation from colonial subjection.
My understanding is that the current Vietnamese government acknowledges there was a severe breakdown of party discipline during the 18 plus days of intense and very bitter fighting in and around Hue in 1968. And that both the Party and Government have made a formal apology to the victims and suffering.
Nguyen Quoc Viet, what you have said about Huế in 1968 may well be true, but you have omitted the similar behaviour of your side in the conflict. Both sides were full of militarist killers, with yours (I am including the Americans) killing and maiming vast numbers of Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian villagers with napalm and high explosives, as well as killing and torturing thousands of communists and their family members.
Also, many of the Vietnamese communist soldiers who fought the Americans and their Vietnamese allies in the south went on to fight in a purely nationalist war against (communist) China. The assertion that they were no nationalists is clearly false.
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Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
Professor Cribb, please forward your interesting and intelligent commentary to Dr Jane Goodall at her Institute (address on the Web). I would be most curious about her comments regarding the possible dichotomy of both attraction and repellence when we look our non-human primate neighbors in the eyes.
Buddhist politics and Thailand’s dangerous path
I offer you a prayer from my book, a prayer by the people who have no time for lofty discussions about state religion or not, the people who ‘suffer’ under the burning sun when they plant the rice … they need to live too …
And yet wars are waged above their heads …
Prayer to the Lord Buddha
My Lord
I ask for too much
when I pray that people
not lie … not steal …
not kill … not rape
My Lord
I ask for too much
when I pray that people
who lie … who steal …
who kill … who rape …
My Lord
that they may feel lighter
that they may be happy
that they may feel free
My Lord
Because maybe for all of us
The meek and the weak
The innocent and the sweet
The eternal children
Because maybe for one hour
for one breath
we may love without fear ….
Tara Vanhonacker ┬й 2014 – That Phanom – Thailand –
The rise of the young entrepreneur in Cambodia
[…] Amandine Le Goff Source (Scott Rawlison / New Mandala) : The rise ou the young entrepreneur in Cambodia Photo : Bunleang Chang, co-fondateur de Brown Coffee and Bakery. Crédit @Brown 2014 […]
The silenced river
David Blake,
The 2007 forced disappearance of my friend Somphone Khantisouk from the banks of the Namtha river by uniformed police in broad daylight and observed by various onlookers in 2007 is a good case in point when referring to the intimidation that silences opposition to large scale resource projects in Laos.
(Som)Phone’s wife and children have not seen or heard from him since. Sadly, it seems increasingly likely they never will.
Phone was a very rare diamond indeed in the current political context of Laos. He was passionate about the environment and human rights, and was brave enough to speak honestly and openly to his contacts when he witnessed gross injustices and even attempted to change the outcomes through his network of influential Lao friends and NGO contacts. He has paid the ultimate price for being an inspirational provincial based environmental and human rights leader in Laos.
When the corrupt and inept provincial tourism minister of the time Mr Khamlien colluded with Chinese rubber plantation investors and other local politicians to forcefully evict minority peoples from their ancestral land and turn large sections of Luang Namtha’s Nam Ha protected area into an immense rubber plantation, Phone spoke out and tried to apply pressure to limit these illegal activities through his network.
Unlike the villagers currently being evicted, Phone was known and respected by many in the international community, particularly those involved with the UNESCO Nam Ha Eco-tourism project and the Wildlife Conservation Society and for co owning and operating the Lao P.D.R’s first true eco-tourism lodge, the Boatlanding Guest House.
For these reasons Phone probably felt he had a limited form of protection against the direct use of violence by the authorities. Sadly, it was decided by the powers that be that eliminating Phone was still a worth while venture, despite the fact that some international pressure would probably come to bear as a result.
What disturbs me greatly until this day is the way that Phone’s network of friends and fellow environmental/human rights warriors, were so effectively silenced by his forced disappearance. His reasonably broad support base was cowered into silence much more effectively than I would have expected. Few spoke out.
Everyone realised that this disappearance was authorised at a high level and that no one is safe in Laos if they try to expose the truth and fight for justice. Fear of losing ones life or losing ones life’s work are highly effective forms of suppression.
The local Authorities were quite happy to disappear a prominent and respected local environmental leader like Phone who possessed high level international contacts, so what chance do a bunch of uneducated villagers stand against mega projects in the remote country side?.
So, while the motive behind Phone’s disappearance and the identity of some of those that sponsored it is common knowledge amongst Phone’s inner circle, simply making the allegation against prominent provincial ‘leaders’for anyone residing in Laos would be an act of suicide.
Fear and intimidation from the Luang Namtha Authorities ensures the lucrative resource mafiosa spear headed by Chinese corporations and local political leaders continues to flourish and that grass roots activism which, in Luang Namtha was effectively spear headed by Phone and his network, has been eliminated before it ever fully got off the ground.
The bad guys are winning in Luang Namtha….. overwhelmingly. Phone fought for and most likely was murdered trying to protect the Nam Ha ‘protected area’ and the resource rights of vulnerable and impoverished subsistence people living within the area. Sadly, most of the region he fought for has now been turned into an immense Chinese rubber plantation and his support network has been cowered by the increasingly powerful Chinese/Local politician resource mafia.
You can be quite sure that the same political network that orchestrated Phones disappearance and clear felled most of the Nam Ha protected area to grow rubber for Chinese corporations are an integral part of promoting and profiting from this latest round of forced evictions and resource exploitation in Luang Namtha and Bokeo at the direct expense of local communities.
I visited Ban Nale with Phone on several occasions, he knew some of the locals there well and they knew him and what he stood for. I’m sure they also know what happened to him as a result of his efforts to slow down the rampant destruction caused by the Chinese corporate/Lao political network.
Of course these things are only ever whispered in the Lao countryside and it would be suicide for Phone’s friends and contacts to openly promote him as the inspirational environmental and human rights warrior that he was.
The consequences for speaking out firmly to defend human rights, resource rights and the environment in Luang Namtha are clear. The precedent was set with Phone and probably various other disappeared locals that the international community never heard about.
We cant expect current village leaders to follow in Phones fearless and inspirational foot steps, the price for them and their families is simply too great.
Its up to the international community and Lao leaders who wish to preserve some of their nation for future generations to apply more pressure to the Lao government and the Chinese corporations. Lets not let Phone’s legacy as a true environmental and human rights hero go to waste.
Brunei’s stateless left in a state of confusion
This kind of oppression is not surprising, given that the Malays tend to crawl to the Sultan, and the others would be more inclined to get rid of him. Keeping the others down is supposed to ensure his survival, and the survival of the hierarchy of crawlers ..er.. “citizens” that prop him up. The low oil price may make it tough for them all.
Donald Trump is Thailand’s friend
Which one you mean? Will the elites kick P out? or what do you mean?
Personalities and institutional power in Malaysia
Malaysia 1MDB Scandal: Najib Razak’s Aide Jho Low Made Millions From State-Run Fund
The sordid 1MDB scandal implicates Najib, Najib son, Najib aides and abettors left and right, and no silly Saudi donation story could help Najib Razak to ultimately answer to the billions of public funds rifled by PM Najib and abettors.
http://www.ibtimes.com/malaysia-1mdb-scandal-najib-razaks-aide-jho-low-made-millions-state-run-fund-report-2355876
Najib seems to have lots of Arab friends. He could thus skeddadle now to Dubai and join Thaksin – maybe.
Will Laos be a lousy ASEAN leader?
Isn’t ASEAN just a talk shop? I doubt whichever leadership will make any difference.
Will Laos be a lousy ASEAN leader?
Does leadership really matter that much when the post is held for such a short period? Seriously, all of the ASEAN states turn to Singapore whenever they need a viable think tank. As for the regional drought, more attention should be on the tributaries that flow into the Mekong. The Xe Nam Noy is a key example as both a waterway and watershed get turned upside down.
A state of madness
Bull. I’ve been in Thailand before, during and after the coup. Everyday life is no different except that there are fewer taxi touts at Swampy.
Donald Trump is Thailand’s friend
The revolution is drawing nearer.
Myanmar: an economy ready for takeoff
Hopefully not!
Red buckets and red alerts
Just a quick question, Ryan K.
When you say “[i]t’s truly absurd to see what levels they have fallen to, what their agenda is, how they are going about this vengeful mode of operation” I wonder whether you are suggesting that this particular military government is somehow worse than the ones pre-1973 or post-1976?
That their agenda is somehow different from those of their many many predecessors? Or that they are more “vengeful” than, say, the folks who unleashed the Octobers and Mays on the Thai people?
Or do you just mean to suggest, as so many do on NM, that the Junta is Bad?
Donald Trump is Thailand’s friend
The Thai military has been the main culprit of most of the problems in Thailand. It has never allowed the seeds of democracy to grow and flourish. The Thai generals are corrupt to the core and look out for their own interests, by siding with and being used as a tool of the elites, the royalists and the Sino Thai tycoons, who control the Thai economy. History is replete with examples of the Thai military interfering in politics.
The Thai military was waiting in the wings to take down the Yingluck govt. It used the well known thug Suthep as it’s front man and he whipped up his paid for supporters to bring the city to a standstill. Out of the heart, the mouth speaks–and that is what Suthep blurted out that he had been discussing the overthrow of the Yingluck govt. with General Prayuth via different means of communication for a long time. The military needed a valid excuse to takeover and finish the job that their former colleagues did not get done in the coup of 2006.
Wait and see what will happen in Thailand, as history repeats itself and the Thai military will make a big mess of things esp. the economy which is already suffering and will tank. Then the hard working, Thai people will no longer be able to be suppressed and will take to the streets to voice their anger at the military and this illegitimate coup, that has made Thailand a joke in the eyes of the world. It’s sad to see a once promising future go down in flames as Thailand shoots itself in both feet.
Myanmar: an economy ready for takeoff
Burma is the new Thailand. Thailand is the new Burma.
Red buckets and red alerts
I am not at all a fan of the corrupt Thaksin, but I am not naive to know that the charges he was found guilty of were trumped up charges in court. He was never given a fair trial and he knew that and that is why he did not return when he left Thailand under the pretext of attending the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, as a guest of the Chinese govt.
This illegitimate, ruthless, military junta is so insecure, so out of touch with reality on the ground, so determined to wipe out Thaksin’s popularity and influence in the North and Northeast of Thailand, where most of the Red Shirts are from. What they have done and continue to do, will only serve to make Thaksin even more popular among the millions of Red Shirts, who have been marginalized, persecuted, jailed, threatened, severely restricted, and suppressed by this military junta. It’s truly absurd to see what levels they have fallen to, what their agenda is, how they are going about this vengeful mode of operation.
Thailand has become a “police state” and the military is making sure they control all aspects of life in Thailand. They don’t serve the interest of the majority of Thais. They are there to line their pockets and serve their own interests, by protecting the elites, the Sino Thai tycoons, who have enriched themselves for decades at the expense of the majority of Thai people.
It will only lead to a revolution by the majority of Thais. It is only a matter of time before the economy tanks, as the generals make a mess of it and will reap what they have sowed.
Brunei’s stateless left in a state of confusion
[…] Marie-France LecciaSource : (Alana Tolman* / AsiaPacific Vaidehi) Brunei’s Stateless Left in a State of ConfusionPhoto : Marc Meng/ […]
Review of Vietnam 1946: How the War Began
Nguyen Quoc Viet:
In comparison to those Vietnamese who preferred colonial subjection to either the French or the Americans and who were prepared to murder and torture their own people to maintain their collaborationist perks, the communists were the French resistance in comparison to fascist Vichy supporters.
There are bound to be heroes and traitors in any civil war, just as there are in any war of liberation from colonial subjection.
Fortunately in Vietnam the good guys won.
Review of Vietnam 1946: How the War Began
My understanding is that the current Vietnamese government acknowledges there was a severe breakdown of party discipline during the 18 plus days of intense and very bitter fighting in and around Hue in 1968. And that both the Party and Government have made a formal apology to the victims and suffering.
Review of Vietnam 1946: How the War Began
Nguyen Quoc Viet, what you have said about Huế in 1968 may well be true, but you have omitted the similar behaviour of your side in the conflict. Both sides were full of militarist killers, with yours (I am including the Americans) killing and maiming vast numbers of Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian villagers with napalm and high explosives, as well as killing and torturing thousands of communists and their family members.
Also, many of the Vietnamese communist soldiers who fought the Americans and their Vietnamese allies in the south went on to fight in a purely nationalist war against (communist) China. The assertion that they were no nationalists is clearly false.