By Timotio de Deus

News stories have told the stories of thousands of Timorese people who suffered greatly during the 24-year fight for independence from Indonesia. However, perhaps a less told story is that many Timorese were also arbitrarily detained during that period, a violation of the principle of rule of law as stated in the constitution.

On Aug. 30, 1999, 78 percent of Timorese people voted for independence in a United Nations-sponsored referendum. In the beginning of 2002, 88 members of the Constituent Assembly drafted and approved a new constitution that states that Timor-Leste is to be a “sovereign, independent and unitary State based on the rule of law, the will of the people, and the respect for the dignity of the human person.” The new constitution helped to boost the confidence and hope of Timorese citizens in a secure democracy that respects the rule of law.

An officer stationed at the Tabesi Market records a complaint made by a local woman. Through the USAID-funded project Conflict Mitigation through Community-Oriented Policing, The Asia Foundation helps strengthen cooperation between police and communities in Timor-Leste. Photo by Conor Ashleigh.

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As we head into a new decade, what do you see changing in Asia? The Asia Foundation is looking for compelling photos from readers that exemplify change – large or small – in Asia: whether on your travels, in your country, neighborhood, or on your street; socially, economically, culturally, or in global affairs. In three weeks, The Asia Foundation will select five photos, which will then be turned over to our Facebook fans for a final vote. The selected photo will be featured on the homepage of The Asia Foundation’s global website and in our 2010 Flickr Photography Contest album. Visit our Flickr page to learn how to participate.

Photo by Bart Verweij 2009

By Mohammad Bashir and Alma Freeman

At the foot of the Khyber Pass, Peshawar is on the front lines of Pakistan’s war against militants. In one recent month, 221 people were killed and nearly 500 wounded in bombings. Many more lives have been lost on the trek from Peshawar through the Pass to reach Afghanistan’s Jalalabad.

It is this route that containers of 15,000 books – sent from a warehouse in San Leandro, California – must take to reach Kabul, and finally to outlying areas throughout Afghanistan. The route is fraught with great travel obstacles – bureaucratic, logistical, and physical challenges abound – and perseverance is a necessity, as reaching Kabul can take from three to four months.
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As we head into a new decade, what do you see changing in Asia? The Asia Foundation is looking for compelling photos from readers that exemplify change – large or small – in Asia: whether on your travels, in your country, neighborhood, or on your street; socially, economically, culturally, or in global affairs. In one month, The Asia Foundation will select five photos, which will then be turned over to our Facebook fans for a final vote. The selected photo will be featured on the homepage of The Asia Foundation’s global website and in our 2010 Flickr Photography Contest album. Visit our Flickr page to learn how to participate.

Photo by Karl Grobl.

College students might know Chegg.com from the ubiquitous orange delivery boxes that have sprouted up across 6,400 college campuses over the last three years. Others might think of the company as the “Netflix” of textbook rental companies, having dominated the niche market by saving students more than $100 million dollars at over 6,400 colleges. And now, Chegg.com wants to help those that need books in Asia.
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By Marion Staunton and Mihiri Ferdinando

May 2009 marked the end of Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil conflict that left thousands dead and many more displaced from the fighting. Most of those affected, both Tamil and Sinhalese, come from the ranks of the poor. While large numbers of those displaced begin to make their way back home and the nation readies for a presidential election, much work needs to be done to heal the wounds inflicted from the trauma that communities have endured.

In any endeavor to rebuild a nation, a society’s emotional well-being is critical to ensure a healthy population, especially one that has experienced suffering of such magnitude as in Sri Lanka. To help communities affected by conflict-related violence, The Asia Foundation is partnering with two local NGOs on a program called RESIST, or “Reducing the Effects & Incidents of Trauma,” which helps increase access to psychosocial services. The partners are the Family Rehabilitation Centre (FRC) and Shanthiham (The Association for Health and Counselling).

Services are available in seven districts in the north and east regions, including Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara.

Many of Sri Lanka's displaced families have only recently returned to their homes, such as this Tamil woman and child from the Batticaloa district in the east. (Photo by Karl Grobl.)

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By Véronique Salze-Lozac’h, Khut Inserey, and Ratha Kim

After a global economic slump in 2009, Cambodia welcomed World Bank forecasts that projected its economy would grow in 2010. However, despite an auspicious start to the New Year, the imbalanced growth between Phnom Penh and the provincial areas are major concerns for improved and sustainable economic development. The private sector in Cambodia, particularly the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector that constitutes the bulk of the country’s economy, has been inhibited in its ability to grow and create jobs because of a wide spectrum of institutional barriers and development constraints.

Small- and medium-sized businesses, such as the pottery wholesale shop that Mrs. Kai Savat, picture here, operates are particularly hard-hit by development constraints in Cambodia. Photo By Karl Grobl.

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By Hugo Fernandes

Jose Belo, founder and editor of Timor-Leste’s local weekly newspaper Tempo Semanal, is familiar with uncertain terms. During the Indonesian occupation, the well-known and respected journalist was imprisoned and detained on numerous accounts for his efforts to expose official corruption. Now, Mr. Belo waits again. In October 2008, after his newspaper published an article alleging that Timor-Leste’s Justice Minister Lucia Lobato had improperly awarded government contracts to friends and business contacts, Mr. Belo was charged with defamation, and a possible prison sentence, if convicted. After a year of investigation, Mr. Belo received official notification from the General Prosecutor that the criminal defamation charges had been dropped, but today, civil defamation charges are still in place against him, with no trial date in sight.

Mr. Belo’s current status is a result of the government of Timor-Leste’s decision in October to remove articles that criminalize defamation from its Penal Code. However, charges of defamation still remain in the Civil Code. Significant legal achievements have been made in the last decade to protect the freedom of journalists. In 2001, the Timor-Leste Journalists Association (TLJA), alongside other organizations, fought to include articles on freedom of expression in the newly-drafted constitution.

More recently, the government and local organizations have attempted to establish a comprehensive media law to protect the freedom of speech and information for print, broadcast, and online journalists. After failed attempts in 2005 and 2006, the current government has requested assistance from UNDP, with input from a number of local journalist associations, to draft a new media law.

Despite such achievements, threats to the freedom of the press still occur, while other challenges such as lack of infrastructure and sufficient training, economic instablility, low readership, and limited access to government officials for comment remain.

Recently, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and local partners supported an annual award to help motivate journalists and local media outlets to improve their skills, improve the quality of reporting, and promote freedom of the press in Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste’s President Jose Ramos-Horta, a former journalist himself, presented the Journalist of the Year award to TVTL reporter Elizio Pinto Guteres Soares. Mr. Soares also won the Greg Shackleton Prize for best Radio and TV Journalist – an award given in honor of Greg Sackleton, an Australian journalist killed in Balibo Oct. 16, 1975, along with four of his colleaugues (known as the Balibo Five).

Today, Timor-Leste has one weekly and three daily newspapers, one national, three commercial, and more than 15 community radio stations across the country, and one national and one private TV station. In addition, other institutions such as catholic churches, universities, and NGOs host radio stations and publish regular publications.

Self-censorship is a problem for journalists. The root of the problem is lodged within cultural norms that tend to adhere to hierarchy coupled with the government’s interest in limiting media access to information scripted by the government. As a result, all news reported out of Dili features similar news angles that journalists recorded verbatim during organized press conferences and at official events. Passage of an Access to Information Law is a critical step to improving this problem.

In addition, Timor-Leste’s print media face major challenges with readership and printing costs. With an average income of 50 cents a day and nearly half of the population illiterate, less than 2 percent of the national public say they prefer their information through written form.   Publishers’ expectations are understandably low. Also, private media must compete with government-sponsored outlets that have the capacity to publish in high volume, with the resources necessary to access a broader audience. Without a higher education system dedicated to journalism training, most of the journalists lack sufficient skills to report.

In partnership with USAID, AusAID, NGOs, and the private sector, ICFJ  has provided funding and training to establish Regional Media Centers to address these issues. Such initiatives will hopefully lead to dedicated courses to strengthen the capacity of journalists and the freedom of the press to contribute to building a just and democratic state.

Hugo Fernandes is The Asia Foundation’s Unit Manager in Timor-Leste. He can be reached at hfernandes@asiafound.org.

By Meloney Lindberg and Joshua Friedman

With the signing of a landmark investment agreement in October, Mongolia is about to undergo a mining boom. The country has several world-class mineral deposits that remain undeveloped today. As the Mongolian government prepares to sign more deals to begin developing these deposits, protecting the country’s environment and water resources is critically important. Climate change is also becoming an increasingly significant issue facing Mongolian herders and the nation’s fragile ecosystems.
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By Nirjan Rai

Our dramatic topography here in Nepal provides a front-row seat to many of the disastrous effects of climate change, including rapid glacier melt, receding snowcaps, landslides, etc., so we are listening eagerly this week to hear what will come out of the Copenhagen climate conference. You may recall – as it was reported here in this blog–just prior to the start of the Copenhagen summit, Nepal’s top politicians held their own cabinet meeting at the base of Mt. Everest – over three miles up – to raise awareness of the danger global warming has on glaciers. Despite the very present threats, awareness of climate change among Nepali citizens remains low, according to a July Gallup poll.
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