U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Burma and the 21st
Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh
dominated news coverage in the region during the past month -- and rightly so.
Obama’s Burma trip put a global
spotlight on the reforms being implemented by the civilian government in that
country, while the ASEAN Summit exposed the continuing failure of the regional
grouping to address the maritime disputes between China and several ASEAN
member countries over the South China Sea.
But aside from these issues, the
month of November was also memorable because of the phenomenal protests that
took place across Southeast Asia. For example: The anti-government Pitak Siam
(Protect Thailand) network mobilized 20,000 people in Bangkok; more than 15,000
participants joined Malaysia’s “Green Walk”; a bus strike in Singapore, the
first labor strike in the city in almost three decades, stunned the city-state;
and a peaceful protest camp set up by monks and farmers to oppose a copper mine
project was brutally dispersed by Burmese riot police.
Pitak Siam leaders vowed to
paralyze Bangkok on November 24 to force the ouster of Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra, whom they accused of being corrupt and a puppet of her brother
Thaksin, Thailand’s former prime minister who was removed by a military coup in
2006. Pitak Siam was able to gather, by some estimates, more than 20,000 people
in the streets, but it failed to sustain the crowd and attract more supporters
which prompted its leader to announce the premature ending of the rally. The
violence between protesters and police may have also discouraged Bangkok
residents from joining the action.
Malaysia’s “Green Walk” was
organized by the Himpunan Hijau group to protest the construction of the Lynas
Advanced Material Plant in Kuantan, which is expected to be the world’s largest
rare earths refinery. The “Green Walk” started with 70 participants in
September. After two weeks and 300 kilometers of walking across the country,
the “long march” ended in Kuala Lumpur with the number of marchers reaching over
10,000.
Kuantan residents and
environmentalists have long opposed the project because of its possible
detrimental impact on the health, safety, and environment of the community.
Earlier last month, Malaysia’s High Court rejected petitions to stop the plant
from beginning to process rare earth minerals, prompting some to organize the
“Green Walk.”
Citing unfair treatment, about
171 Chinese drivers from the SMRT bus company staged a strike last month in
Singapore, paralyzing five percent of bus operations in the city. The drivers
were questioning the alleged higher salaries and benefits given to Malaysian
workers. The strike was described as the first labor strike in Singapore since
1986. It has been so long that a strike was reported in the prosperous city-state
that it took some time before the media and the public recognized the action as
a labor strike. The Acting Minister of Manpower quickly denounced the work
stoppage as an “illegal strike” and he was joined by hundreds of commuters who
were stranded for several hours.
Despite antagonizing a segment of
the commuting public and the official condemnation of the bus drivers, the
strike yielded some gains for the workers who were finally given a small salary
increase.
In Burma, six community campsites
were established by monks, farmers, and activists to stop the China-financed
copper mine operation in Monywa, Sagaing Division. Protesters have rallied
against the environmental impact of copper mining and also against the
large-scale displacement of farmers affected by the project. For the first time
since elections, the government dispatched massive riot police to drive out the
protesters. Government forces have come under criticism for using excessive
force, including unleashing tear gas and water cannons against peaceful monks.
The crackdown is a blow to Burma’s reformist image.
The various protests mentioned in
this article made headlines in their respective countries, and embody larger
political trends in these nations. “Green Walk” could be an election issue in
Malaysia next year. The failure of Pitak Siam has affected the strength of
opposition forces in Thailand. The bus strike of foreign workers in Singapore
might be a sign of growing tension between local and foreign residents in the
city state. The popular protest camp highlights the grassroots resistance
against numerous development projects across Burma.
Bigger protests tackling the same
issues might be organized in the next few months which could make 2013 a very
exciting, yet socially tense, year for Southeast Asia.
Mong Palatino
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