ARF to assist U.S.-N. Korea talks
ARF to assist U.S.-N. Korea talks
MALAYSIA: Asia's top security group, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), hopes to facilitate talks between North Korea and the U.S. to prevent another crisis like that over Iraq, the ASEAN secretary-general said Tuesday.
Singaporean diplomat Ong Keng Yong said the ARF, of which both the US and North Korea are members, was looking at a mechanism to "maneuver a dialogue" between both sides.
Ong said the tension in the Korean peninsula was under control but the situation was "dicey" due to Pyongyang's unpredictability.
Australia and Indonesia last week expressed concern that the situation in the Korean Peninsula was getting "progressively worse" and urged the ARF to become more "actively engaged" by holding a special meeting on the issue. --AFP
;AFP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Thailand-Cambodia Two Cambodian casino moguls funded Thai riot compensation: report JP/11/ASEAN
Casino moguls funded riot payout
THAILAND: Two Cambodian casino moguls helped fund the US$5.92- million compensation payment made by the Cambodian government to Thailand for damage to its embassy in Phnom Penh in January riots, a report said on Tuesday.
Gambling kingpins Kok Ahn and Pad Supapa contributed to Monday's payment to hasten the diplomatic normalization process and revive their business fortunes, the Bangkok Post reported, citing a Thai military intelligence source.
The two men, who both own casinos in the town of Poipet on the Thai-Cambodian border, have seen their earnings plummet in the aftermath of the orgy of anti-Thai violence in Phnom Penh on Jan. 29, it said.
The riots, which were sparked by unsubstantiated reports that a Thai actress claimed the world-famous Angkor Wat temples belonged to Thailand, brought bilateral ties to crisis level and a closure of border checkpoints. --AFP
;AFP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-RP-Moro-clash Eighteen slain as Moro rebels block highway in Philippines JP/11/ASEAN
18 die as Moro rebels block road
PHILIPPINES: Nine civilians and nine Moro separatist guerrillas were killed on Tuesday in two attacks launched by the rebels in the southern Philippines, the military said.
Four civilians were also wounded in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacks, military officials said.
MILF fighters blocked a major highway leading to the southern city of Cotabato before dawn, local military commander Col. Agustin Dima-ala said.
They fired at two delivery trucks, wounding the drivers and crew and then used the commandeered vehicles as roadblocks.
The gunmen then boarded a van that ran into the roadblock and shot dead male passengers after separating them from the women. After sunrise soldiers drove the MILF rebels away, killing nine of them. --AFP
;AP;KOD; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Cambodia-UN-KRouge Claiming justice in sight, Hun Sen says U.N. trial plan will go to JP/11/ASEAN
'UN trial plan to go to Cabinet'
CAMBODIA: Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Tuesday he will seek quick ratification of an agreement to try former Khmer Rouge leaders for the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians from starvation, disease and overwork.
Monday's agreement with the United Nations to create a UN- assisted tribunal would give victims of the Khmer Rouge's bloody 1975-79 rule a long-awaited chance to see justice done.
In a radio broadcast, Hun Sen said he will seek Cabinet approval of the agreement on Friday then send it to Parliament for ratification. The UN General Assembly must also endorse the plan.
The radical communist movement disintegrated in 1998, but none of its aging leaders have stood trial for the atrocities. Many of them still live and move freely inside Cambodia. --AP