By Gavin Tritt

Last week, after much anticipation, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) issued the verdict in case 001 in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. The trial found Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known under his alias “Duch” – the warden of Tuol Sleng prison, or S-21 – guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The guilty verdict was not a surprise, but the sentence – 35 years, reduced for time served to 19 years – surprised some, and enraged others who said it wasn’t long enough for someone who had admitted to overseeing the torture and deaths of 16,000 people.
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By Véronique Salze-Lozac’h and Khut Inserey

Just months ago, Choeung would never have dreamt of speaking in public. If told that he would speak in front of more than 300 people, including high-ranking officials, several deputy governors from seven provinces, and an under secretary of state, he would have laughed at such a good joke, and his fellow fishermen would have as well. But that was months ago, when Choeung and his colleagues from the community fishery of Stung Kambot in Kampong Thom province gathered for the first time to discuss constraints they faced in their fishing activities and how they could organize themselves to engage with the public sector and find ways to improve their businesses.

Community members from Cambodia's fishery and forestry sectors discuss common challenges and threats to natural resources at a cross provincial workshop attended by more than 300 people. Photo: Nicolas Axelrod/asiamotion.net

Early this month – less than nine months later – no one thought of laughing when Choeung took the microphone and stood in front of the large audience assembled in the Kampong Thom Provincial Hall.
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This article is the first in a three-part blog series exploring the barriers to women’s advancement in Asia and how The Asia Foundation is working to address them.

By Jill Kosch O’Donnell

After months of advocating for access to credit from their local bank, the members of the District Women’s Business Forum (DWBF) in Sylhet, Bangladesh, have something to celebrate: 12 of them recently received bank loans to grow their businesses. One has already opened a new outlet for her business and hired 10 women to work there. Another has recruited five women for the planned expansion of her handicraft and garment enterprise. All of them are already in a position to repay the bank. Fifteen more loan applications are in the pipeline.

In many Asian countries, including Bangladesh, cultural tradition dictates that property and assets are almost always registered in the name of a male member of the household, denying Bangladeshi women the chance to gain collateral, needed to get bank loans to start businesses. Photo by Jon Jamieson.

These may be small numbers, but they represent a breakthrough that could add up for Bangladesh in the long run. Currently, women have extremely limited access to the capital that exists in their own country, which is a major impediment to expanding their businesses and creating jobs.
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By John J. Brandon

For the past 23 years, May 31 has held significance that few are even aware of – World No Tobacco Day. Started in 1987 by the World Health Organization (WHO), World No Tobacco Day has for almost a quarter century encouraged 24 hours of abstinence from all forms of tobacco around the globe, in an attempt to shine a light on the negative health effects of tobacco use.  But smoking is on the rise in Asia – sharply – so clearly not everyone is heeding the message.

Of the world’s 1.3 billion tobacco smokers, 700 million live in Asia. China, India, and Indonesia are the world’s largest consumers of tobacco. China’s 350 million smokers puff on 2 trillion cigarettes a year. Cigarette smoking in Indonesia has increased by 26 percent over the past 15 years. Increased smoking is having considerable public health consequences across the region. As life spans increase across Asia, diseases caused by smoking – cardiovascular disease, lung disease, and various forms of cancer – are overtaking infections as a leading cause of premature death. Of the 5.5 million people who die from smoking-related illnesses each year, half are in Asia. China and Indonesia alone account for 1.7 million smoking deaths. By 2050, researchers estimate that smoking deaths in Asia will be four times what they are today.
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By V. Bruce J. Tolentino

On Earth Day 2010, Asia has much to be thankful for. While the recent global financial crisis hit Asia hard, most of Asia’s governments acted swiftly and decisively and succeeded, against prevailing expectations, to limit the impact of the financial debacle. They had learned the hard way from the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Intertwined with the global financial crisis was the food price crisis of 2007-2009: long-term global trends in population growth, rising incomes, competing non-food use of crops, falling investments in agricultural productivity, and lower food stocks were jarred by sudden supply shocks in key producing countries. The panicky procurement and knee-jerk trade bans hurriedly implemented by several governments, particularly India and the Philippines, sparked a food price spiral – that spiraled out of control.
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By Kim McQuay

There is an instant before the start of a large event when, with logistical arrangements set and the agenda fine tuned, attention shifts to participants. One draws a breath and wonders what the chemistry of personalities, perspectives, and experience will yield. So I reflected at the start of last week’s regional conference on the role of leaders of influence in national development efforts in Dhaka. Over 80 participants representing 14 South, Southeast, and Central Asian nations sat in country teams, a human landscape of traditional white and saffron robes, capes, and headscarves, elegant saris and shalwar kameez, colorful batiks, and jackets and ties. Microphones crackled to life from the podium, and the session began.

Convened by The Asia Foundation and USAID, the conference provided a forum where those gathered could share views and experience drawn from different country contexts and working environments.
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Upon their return from the Leaders of Influence (LOI) regional conference in Dhaka March 21-24 that convened over 80 participants from 14 countries, In Asia spoke with Rosita MacDonald, program officer for The Asia Foundation’s Governance, Law, and Civil Society program, and Russell Pepe, chief of party for the LOI program in Bangladesh, on what they heard.

Q: Was there a sense from conference participants that progress has been made since U.S. President Obama’s much-heralded Cairo speech last year in which he declared the U.S.’s commitment to reengage with the Muslim community?

Rosita MacDonald: There was a lot of talk from the U.S. delegation about the shift to enhanced engagement with the Muslim community as well as with other religious communities. This point was acknowledged by several of the delegates, but they also made the point that the U.S. needs to be more effective in its public diplomacy efforts in Asia and to highlight tangible examples of engagement with, and support for, the Muslim world. There is optimism to be sure, but still a lot of uncertainty as to what this “engagement” actually involves and how deep it runs.

Russell Pepe: Participants were encouraged by President Obama’s speech, but several also expressed a need to see more concrete actions. LOI was cited as a very good example of how the U.S. can support a wider engagement with the Muslim community, and can effectively build bridges between different faiths and secular groups.
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By Lee Kyung-sook

In early March, the Cambodian government imposed a provisional ban on international marriages to Korean nationals. The purpose – as reported in a formal document to the Korean Embassy – was “to prevent the trafficking of Cambodian women.”

The business of Korean international marriage brokers boomed in the last decade. In 2005, marriages to foreigners accounted for 14 percent of all marriages in South Korea. Marrying women from developing countries, such as Cambodia, became increasingly popular in Korea as more Korean women from rural areas moved to cities to pursue work opportunities, making it more difficult for the remaining rural male population to find marriageable Korean women. In March 2008, the Cambodian government, citing fears of human trafficking due to falsely brokered marriages, banned marriage-brokering all together, allowing only “love matches.”
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When President Obama declared in his Cairo speech last year “Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments, community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life,” a new sense of optimism charged those dedicated to building bridges between the two communities.

In direct response to President Obama’s call for greater engagement and his Global Engagement Initiative in which the United States has committed to work with Muslim-majority countries to advance democracy and development, USAID and The Asia Foundation convened a regional conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 21-24 that attracted nearly 70 religious and traditional leaders from 14 countries to candidly exchange views and ideas on the critical role that “leaders of influence” play in promoting positive change in their communities and the power they have to affect national development.
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By Gretchen Kunze

The Mekong River, the longest in Southeast Asia, is at its lowest reported water level in 20 years. The river runs through six countries – China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam – but the highest percentage (35 percent) of the river’s overall water flow runs through Laos. The dramatic effects of the low water level here are palpable. In past weeks, downtown Vientiane businesses and homes have experienced reduced water pressure and even the stoppage of water supply during business hours. Boats in Luang Prabang and northern Laos that daily ferry tourists and cargo along the river and make up a significant part of the economy are currently beached for the first time in memory because it is too dangerous or just impossible to navigate the now-shallow waters. The hospitals in Vientiane are without water supply at peak hours and are busy brainstorming stop-gap solutions such as building larger holding tanks or drilling more artesian wells. The maternity and surgery wards are the biggest users of water, so they are the most affected. Recognizing the severity of the issue, the Prime Minister urged ministries and government offices last week to actively address the impact of this water shortage crisis.

As the country that holds the largest percentage of the Mekong River, Laos' industries, such as fishing, have been dramatically affected by current low water levels.

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