Perspectives
by Lia Sciortino
Perspectives
Reading Media
Johanna Son
BANGKOK -- Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. What images might these words conjure up in the minds of international consumers of news? Perhaps war, maybe the Khmer Rouge. Or they might say, ‘Oh, it’s that those countries that had that war some time ago. . . they’re near one another, and they’re all the same’.
Thailand Joins Censure of Burma's Junta
UBUD, Indonesia - Thailand joined other ASEAN members in expressing disappointment over the slow pace of national reconciliation and democratisation in Burma.
"I am disappointed with the development of the situation in Burma over the past year," Foreign Minister Kanthathi Suphamongkhon told reporters at the ASEAN retreat in Bali's resort town of Ubud.
The political stalemate in Burma raised tensions at the mid-April meeting after Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, ASEAN's special envoy to the country, said he had failed to complete his fact- finding mission in Rangoon in March.
Syed Hamid said he was not totally happy with his visit as the junta only allowed him to see the government's side and failed to grant him access to all political stakeholders, as planned. He cut short his visit from three to two days after he failed to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"I am not happy... there are still more things that need to be done," Syed Hamid told reporters upon arrival here. (The Nation, Apr 20, 2006)
Mekong's Avian Flu
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What's New
Journalism Workshop Applications Deadline Moved to Dec. 2, 2011
Due to the current flooding crisis in Bangkok, the Mekong Energy Journalism Workshop, originally set for Nov. 27-30, 2011, has been moved to 17 - 20 January 2012. Application submission deadline is on Dec. 2, 2011. The selection result will be announced on Dec. 14, 2011.
MA Scholarships Open for Myanmar Students
Heinrich Boell Foundation holds an annual scholarship competition for a small number of students from within Myanmar/Burma to study at two premier Thai universities, offering three international programmes for the academic year 2009 and 2009/10.