Any evidence of renewed US interest in South-east Asia was surely welcome, particularly when, as in this case, it came in the form of an undertaking not to interfere in the internal affairs of Asean member states.
Many South-east Asian countries, hoping to benefit from China’s economic growth without becoming smothered by Beijing’s growing military strength, have long regarded the US as a force for stability. This is particularly true with respect to the South China Sea, where vital trade routes cut across conflicting territorial claims.
But not everyone is likely to be equally enthusiastic about America’s renewed attention to South-east Asia. After all, Clinton did more than sign a treaty. She also held an unprecedented ministerial meeting with Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand almost immediately afterwards.
August 12, 2009
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
Pacific Daily News (Guam)
After three years, eight months and 20 days of the Khmer Rouge's brutal rule, during which 1.7 million Cambodians lost their lives, the signing of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords offered Cambodia and her people a respite from suffering and the destruction, and the promise of a bright future.
The Paris Conference's Final Act, signed on Oct. 23, 1991, by representatives of 18 governments (Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam with the participation of officials from Zimbabwe and Yugoslavia representing the non-aligned movement and the United Nations Secretary-General and his representative) contains a comprehensive political settlement of the Cambodian conflict: a settlement that provides for a constitution based on democratic principles; the recognition of the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, neutrality and national unity of Cambodia; and provisions for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the country.
The accords offered a foundation for liberal democracy and for human rights and freedom of the Cambodian people.
But the accords are only words on paper. Short of implementation, they are all but meaningless.
Viktor Bout gives the victory sign after a Thai court rejects the extradition request by the US.
In rejecting the extradition request, the court said the case of Viktor Bout was politically motivated. U.S. authorities have 72 hours to decide whether to appeal. In the absence of an appeal, Bout will walk out of jail a free man.
Bout was arrested in Bangkok in March 2008 after a dramatic sting operation led by agents of the U.S. drug Enforcement Agency, posing as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Widely regarded as a prolific arms dealer, Bout, has been in Thai custody since.
He is accused of supplying weapons to war zones around the world -- from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan.
The United States charged Bout last year with agreeing to sell surface-to-air missiles, armor-piercing rocket launchers, "ultralight" airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other weapons to FARC. Justice Department officials have sought his extradition since then.
Federal authorities accused Bout of four terrorism offenses: conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile, and conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the designation given to FARC by the U.S. State Department.
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Bout has repeatedly said he has not broken any laws and the allegations against him are lies. Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey singled out Bout as a leading example of a new breed of organized crime leaders who operate across international boundaries to amass wealth without regard to political ideology.
A former Soviet air force officer, Bout allegedly began building his arms business as the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s. He spoke six languages, acquired surplus Soviet planes and, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, started shipping arms and ammunition to various conflict zones.
It is widely believed that he inspired the character of Yuri Orlov, the arms dealer played by Nicholas Cage in the 2005 film "Lord of War."
Basim Usmani is bassist for The Kominas, a group that blends traditional sounds with punk rock beats.
1 of 3 They're young. They're punk. And they're rocking both their Muslim and American worlds with their music, lyrics and style.
"A lot of times people say, 'Oh wow, look, brown people playing music' [but] it's more than that," said 25-year-old Pakistani-American Shahjehan Khan, the lead singer for a Muslim punk band, The Kominas.
The Boston-based band is one of a handful of Muslim punk bands that emerged in the United States in the past few years.
The members of this four-person rock group with South Asian roots hold varying views on religion. One says he's an atheist; three others identify as Muslims -- both practicing and non-practicing. For them, punk music is a way to rebel against their conservative cultural upbringing and the frustrations of growing up a young Muslim in America.
"We aren't [just] some alternative to a stereotypical Muslim. We actually might be offering some sort of insights for people at large about religion, about the world," said 26-year-old bassist Basim Usmani.
Blending traditional South Asian rhythms with punk rock beats, they sing in both English and Punjabi. (Kominas means "scum-bag" in Punjabi, according to the band.) Their songs can be at once political, serious, satirical and insinuating. Audio slide show: On tour with Muslim punk rockers »
Their risqué lyrics and provocative song titles such as "Sharia Law in the USA," "Suicide Bomb the GAP" and "Rumi was a Homo" -- a protest song against homophobia in the American Muslim community -- have drawn the attention of Muslims, non-Muslims, fans and critics alike.
"You sort of have to throw it in peoples' faces and be shocking in order to give people a different way to think about stuff," said Usmani.
"These punk, metal and rap scenes - so-called extreme music scenes -- are addressing issues that mainstream music doesn't," said Mark LeVine, a professor of Middle Eastern history at University of California, Irvine, who is also a musician and author of "Heavy Metal Islam."
"[Punk] allows them to rebel against society and their own culture at the same time," he said. iReport: Is Islam at odds with American values?
Before the Islamic punk movement in North America had a voice, it had a story. The Muslim punk scene began to gel in 2003 when novelist and convert to Islam, Michael Muhammad Knight self-published his book, "The Taqwacores" about a fictional Muslim punk scene in Buffalo, New York.
The book opens with a poem called "Muhammed was a Punk Rocker" and describes both conventional and unconventional characters including a Shi'ite skinhead, a conservative Sunni Muslim, a burka-wearing feminist punk and a Sufi who sports a Mohawk and drinks alcohol.
"The punk rock kids I would hang out with weren't even Muslim," 31-year old Knight recalls. "They were so fiercely individualistic -- I wish that I could be a Muslim in that way: not be ashamed of my confusion, not be ashamed of my doubts. Just be myself and be proud of who I am."
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The novel's title, "Taqwacore," is a hybrid word stemming from the Arabic "taqwa," meaning "god consciousness," and "core" referring to "hardcore" -- a genre of punk music. It's now a general term for Muslim punk rock.
The popularity of the book, which Knight said was born out of a search to find his identity as a Muslim-American, grew in underground youth circles and online.
It didn't take long before real-life "taqwacore" bands like The Kominas began blooming across the country.
"It makes sense why punk has been the music of choice for young, politically active Muslims who are musical," said LeVine. "The straight edge movement in punk which was about no drugs, no alcohol, was clean yet very intense and political. It's a way for them to rebel against their families in some extreme ways yet still be ritualistically, 'good Muslims.' "
"Taqwacore" gave voice to many young Muslim-Americans who felt muted by circumstances and created an opening for bands like Al-Thawra, Vote Hezbollah, and Secret Trial Five -- an all-girl punk band out of Vancouver, Canada.
In the summer of 2007, five of the taqwacore bands organized a "taqwa-tour" of the northeastern United States. They played in city after city, traveling in a green school bus with TAQWA painted on the front bought by Knight for $2,000 on eBay.
This summer, The Kominas continue to strike a chord with audiences around the country, hitting cities from San Francisco to New York on a multi-city tour.
The taqwacore movement has also inspired two upcoming films - a dramatic feature film based on the book and a documentary.
Many conservative Muslims may peg young taqwacores as heretic for their suggestive and irreverent lyrics. But the musicians say they are just trying to show both cultures how broad the spectrum of belief can be.
Like many young adults balancing their religious beliefs with American culture, some young Muslims in the United States say it's a constant struggle to be accepted in both worlds.
"I had a lot of conflicted feelings growing up a Muslim in America," said 25-year-old Kominas drummer Imran Malik. "It was hard not being able to do the same things that everyone else around you is doing without feeling guilty about them."
Knight, who grew up with a Catholic mother and white supremacist father, converted to Islam when he was 16. He said his message is not one of blasphemy but rather an extension of his discontent with the rigid etiquette that dictates certain practices within Islam and the stereotypes of Muslims in American.
"Muslims haven't been fully accepted as Americans but the American experience hasn't been accepted as something that can contribute to the Muslim world," said Knight.
Knight said writing the book helped him and others connect through shared experiences.
"When I first wrote it, I felt like there would never be a place for me in the Muslim community and that has really turned around a lot," he said. "The book gave me the community I needed, it connected me to all these kids that were also confused and who also went through the things that I went through."
That connection is vital to taqwacore music, bassist Usmani said.
"The music is great, but the conversation is the key to all of this. The dialogue that we have inspired is really invaluable."
"I don't think Islam is ever going to go away, I'm just trying to see how it best fits in my life."
 Pakistan is critical of the US drone attacks |
At least 10 suspected militants have been killed in a strike by a US drone in north-west Pakistan, local intelligence officials say.
The attack targeted an insurgents' camp in South Waziristan near the Afghan border, the officials said.
The area is the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, whose death in an earlier strike has not yet been confirmed.
There have been dozens of such drone strikes in the past year.
Hundreds of militants and civilians have been killed.
Most of the strikes have taken place in the tribal regions of North and South Waziristan.
'Training camp'
The missiles on Tuesday targeted a training camp near the village of Ladda, in the heart of the Mehsud tribe's territory, officials said.
A resident Hamdullah Mehsud was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying that three missiles were fired into the house of a villager used as a training camp by the militants.
In addition to those killed, five people had been wounded, he said.
In a similar attack last week, the house of the father-in-law of Baitullah Mehsud was hit in Makeen.
Mr Mehsud's wife was killed in the bombing. The Pakistani government's claim that the Taliban leader also died in the attack has not been confirmed yet.
Pakistan has been publicly critical of drone attacks. The government says that they fuel support for the militants.
The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks but the armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are believed to be the only forces capable of deploying drones in the region.
In March, US President Barack Obama said his government would consult Pakistan on drone attacks.
He desperately wants to keep his most influential opponent away from the Burmese public, yet he fears the uproar that will ensue if he keeps her locked up.
Than Shwe and his ruling generals have already procrastinated over Aung San Suu Kyi's latest trial. Most court hearings in Burma last a few days at most, but this one has been going on for more than two months.
Now they've stalled again, postponing the verdict until 11 August.
Unlike the other 2,000 political prisoners - whom the Burmese military seem to keep in jail without much thought for public opinion - it is evident that Burma's officials do not know what to do with this demure 64-year-old woman.
Revered and respected
Aung San Suu Kyi is not an ordinary prisoner. As the daughter of Burma's independence hero General Aung San, she was always going to command people's respect.
But as the rightful winner of the country's last democratic elections in 1990 - which the military refused to recognise - she gained credibility in her own right.
 John Yettaw's nocturnal swim gave the junta the pretext they wanted |
By imprisoning her for so long, the junta has unwittingly given her even more symbolic significance in the eyes of Burmese people.
"An aura has built up around her," said Maung Zarni, a research fellow at the London School of Economics. "The public view her as the conscience of Burmese society."
It is especially important for the military generals that Aung San Suu Kyi is out of the way ahead of the next elections, which they plan to hold in early 2010.
The polls are widely seen as an attempt to legitimise the regime by increasing its democratic credentials.
But in order for this to work to its favour, the generals need to make sure their allies win.
In the 1990 elections, the military miscalculated in a big way - they were trounced by Ms Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy. This time they don't want to take any chances.
When an eccentric American swam to Ms Suu Kyi's lakeside house in his homemade flippers in May, he gave the generals the excuse they were looking for.
By accusing her of breaking the terms of her house arrest because she let her uninvited well-wisher stay the night, they finally had a reason to extend her detention and keep her safely locked away throughout the election process.
Risky strategy
But even if the junta find some tenuous legal reason to jail Ms Suu Kyi, or extend the terms of her house arrest, they know they will stoke intense public outrage.
 |  The public view her as the conscience of Burmese society.  Maung Zarni, Research fellow on Burma, London School of Economics |
Keeping behind bars a woman who is not only a Nobel Peace Prize laureate but also the world's most famous political detainee is a high-risk strategy.
Burmese people will be angry and upset if she is found guilty, but according to Mung Pi, who runs a blog site for Burmese exiles, the government knows there is not much that people inside the country can actually do to change things.
"A guilty verdict probably won't lead to large street protests, because people are still suffering from 2007," he said.
In September 2007 large-scale demonstrations led by monks - the most revered sector of society - were brutally quashed by the military, and the opposition movement is still said to be recovering. The generals know that, right now, their opponents do not have the strength to fight back.
 Than Shwe did not let Ban Ki-Moon meet Ms Suu Kyi on his trip to Burma |
"The opposition movement has the moral backing of the people, but it's whoever controls the streets, not the moral high ground, who matters," said Maung Zarni.
Coping with the indignation of the international community, though, is a different matter.
On the surface, it seems that the Burmese generals are completely intransigent when it comes to the demands of the rest of the world.
They have ignored recent incentives from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and refused to let UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon meet Aung San Suu Kyi on a recent visit.
They also remain resolutely unswayed by the constant pleas from celebrities and protest marches.
But there are times when the junta does listen to the outside world.
It belatedly reacted to criticism of its handling of the devastating cyclone last year, letting in foreign aid after initially saying it could manage alone.
And if the military really was oblivious to international reaction, it would surely not have bothered to plan elections - no matter how flawed those elections might be.
Chinese influence
The lengthy delays in Aung San Suu Kyi's trial are another indication that the recalcitrant generals can sometimes be swayed by foreign influence.
"The regime wants to take its time because of the mounting pressure it's under," a diplomat in Rangoon told reporters.
| The regime wants to take its time because of the mounting pressure it's under Western diplomat in Rangoon |
It is still doubtful the military will take much notice of the West, though. The long years of EU and US sanctions mean that Burma has been thrown into the arms of China and Russia, as well as neighbouring Asian nations.
"When push comes to shove, they can afford to just ignore... what the West thinks. They're backed by China," said Justin Wintel, the author of a book on Aung San Suu Kyi.
And as long as they can rely on China and Russia to veto any major action by the UN Security Council, and their neighbours at the Asean regional forum to do little more than voice occasional disapproval, the generals probably feel there will be no serious ramifications to keeping Aung San Suu Kyi behind bars.
Which is ultimately why most analysts believe that Ms Suu Kyi will be found guilty; the negatives of having her free outweigh the positives.
But even if he does send her to jail, Than Shwe already knows that she is likely to remain his most potent opponent.
She may be out of sight, but someone as iconic as Aung San Suu Kyi will never be out of Burmese minds.
 There have been international calls for Ms Suu Kyi's release |
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to an additional 18 months' house arrest by a court in Rangoon.
Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, was convicted of violating state security laws by allowing a US national into her lakeside home after he swam there.
Critics of Burma's military regime say the verdict is designed to prevent her from taking part in elections in 2010.
Ms Suu Kyi has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years in detention.
American John Yettaw, who was also on trial, was jailed for seven years, four with hard labour.
Ms Suu Kyi, 64, was taken straight back to her home following the end of the trial, officials said.
| ANALYSIS  Kate McGeown, BBC News website Asia-Pacific editor The fact that the Burmese generals have decided to give Aung San Suu Kyi less than the maximum sentence shows they are willing to compromise, at least to some extent, to the will of the international community. But at the same time they still have what they really wanted - Aung San Suu Kyi will now be safely out of the way as they prepare for next year's elections. |
The opposition leader had denied the charge but said she expected to be convicted.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "saddened and angry" by the verdict and described the trial as a "sham".
In a strongly worded statement, Mr Brown said it was "a purely political sentence".
A statement from the office of Nicolas Sarkozy said the French president was calling on the European Union to impose new sanctions on Burma.
The EU presidency said it would impose "additional targeted measures against those responsible for the verdict".
Myint Myint Aye, of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said it did not accept the verdict, adding: "We demand her immediate unconditional release and we will keep on pressing."
Tight security
Journalists had unexpectedly been allowed to enter the court in Rangoon's Insein prison shortly before the sentence was announced.
| I am disappointed that they have found her guilty Anifah Aman, Malaysian Foreign Minister  |
The courtroom was initially told that Ms Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour.
But after a five-minute recess, Burma's home minister entered the courtroom and read out a special order from the country's military ruler Than Shwe that reduced the sentence to 18 months and said it could be served under house arrest.
There was tight security around the prison, with security forces sealing off the area.
The trial has brought international condemnation, with critics accusing Burma's military government of trying to keep Ms Suu Kyi out of next year's planned multi-party elections.
 Than Shwe reduced Ms Suu Kyi's sentence from three years |
The NLD won the last elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power.
Mr Yettaw, 54, swam to Ms Suu Kyi's lakeside house in Rangoon uninvited and stayed there for two nights in May.
As a result, Ms Suu Kyi was accused of breaching the terms of her house arrest.
Mr Yettaw, of Falcon, Missouri, is believed to have epilepsy, diabetes and post-traumatic stress disorder and has been treated at a Rangoon hospital.
He was sentenced to three years in prison for breaching Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest, three years with hard labour for an immigration offence and another one-year term with hard labour for swimming in a restricted zone.
It was not clear if the prison terms would be served concurrently.
Reports say he was discharged from hospital on Monday night after a week of treatment for epileptic seizures.