The Far East becomes the Middle East
There’s a movie I have in my DVD collection titled ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’, the story of a guerrilla column (a ‘flying column’, as they were called) in 1920 colonial Ireland fighting the British. This is an absolute must for anybody with half a sense of history. After all the trials and tribulations, the Irish manage a peace treaty in 1921 with the British, only to turn the guns on each other (leave it to the Irish to fight each other after getting the British out after 700 years) when the terms of the treaty fail to satisfy everybody. Fittingly, there is a scene where a priest is roaring from his pulpit, crying out to the divided Irish congregation, “What in God’s name is going on?”
The same could easily be said about the Far East these days. A couple of days ago, demonstrators seized the new International Airport in Bangkok (a wonderful, modern looking airport indeed), protesting the very being of the current Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, accusing him of being a, you guessed it, a puppet. It is my understanding that there are several American Embassy employees stranded there as we speak, and no compromise in sight. This comes on the heels of his predecessor resigning because of illegally hosting a cooking show on television. Protesters clashed in the city center of Bangkok, even exchanging gunfire before the military restored order. Nobody ever claimed Thailand boasted political stability.
Not to be outdone, India’s financial hub Mumbai was shocked by coordinated attacks allegedly carried out by Islamist militants. The gunmen occupied a dozen spots in the city, including several well-known hotels where they are still holding hostages. India was not caught with their pants down, they were caught completely naked from the looks of things. My understanding is that there are over 150 million Muslims living in India. This is not the time to be practicing intolerance, and Muslims might have to brace themselves for some bloody reprisals. In a country with about one billion people, this does not bode well. We might be looking at the very real possibility of a population decrease if the demands for blood are answered.
And China? Well. We really don’t know what’s going on there most of the time, do we? Case in point: The Chinese government widely praised the military for arriving so promptly after the August 30 earthquake in the Sichuan province. What the government did not tell us was that the military had been in nearby Tibet, cracking skulls and razing villages after the latest uprisings in that troubled region. One can only imagine what would have happened to the good people of Sichuan had the military been compelled to occupy every car of every train if they had started out from Beijing. China would be funny, if their situation wasn’t so tragic. I half expected them to deny the earthquake altogether.
Reporter 1: What is being done to assist our comrades in Sichuan?
Government Spokesman: Why would they need our assistance?
Reporter 2: Something about an earthquake, sir…
Spokesman: Ah, I see. You’re referring to the oven furnace that blew up a few houses in a tiny village.
Reporter 1: That caused an 8.0 on the Richter scale?
Spokesman: Well, they were using gas.
On a smaller scale, we have already heard about Burma and its junta that almost makes the Bush Administration look competent by comparison. And in Nepal, it is not a question of if this government will be toppled, most people agree, but when. Here the opposition is merely biding its time until it can strike and usher in the tenth government in three years or so, not counting the monarchy.
This is positively the Middle East all over again. When we lived in Jordan, you obviously had (and still have) the Iraq war to the east, the perennial football match in the West Bank to the west, evil doer (I still can’t believe any politician could use a term like that, but then again I didn’t think a chimp could become President either) Syria to the north, and our best friends Saudi Arabia (who would have been nuked ages ago if it wasn’t for something called petroleum) to the south. Come see the new powder keg for yourselves here in Asia. Only you might want to turn on the news for a change before you do.
But world affairs, who needs them? Back to more important issues, I will be going to Chitwan this weekend, where I will be reporting about an exciting elephant safari. Stay tuned.
The same could easily be said about the Far East these days. A couple of days ago, demonstrators seized the new International Airport in Bangkok (a wonderful, modern looking airport indeed), protesting the very being of the current Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, accusing him of being a, you guessed it, a puppet. It is my understanding that there are several American Embassy employees stranded there as we speak, and no compromise in sight. This comes on the heels of his predecessor resigning because of illegally hosting a cooking show on television. Protesters clashed in the city center of Bangkok, even exchanging gunfire before the military restored order. Nobody ever claimed Thailand boasted political stability.
Not to be outdone, India’s financial hub Mumbai was shocked by coordinated attacks allegedly carried out by Islamist militants. The gunmen occupied a dozen spots in the city, including several well-known hotels where they are still holding hostages. India was not caught with their pants down, they were caught completely naked from the looks of things. My understanding is that there are over 150 million Muslims living in India. This is not the time to be practicing intolerance, and Muslims might have to brace themselves for some bloody reprisals. In a country with about one billion people, this does not bode well. We might be looking at the very real possibility of a population decrease if the demands for blood are answered.
And China? Well. We really don’t know what’s going on there most of the time, do we? Case in point: The Chinese government widely praised the military for arriving so promptly after the August 30 earthquake in the Sichuan province. What the government did not tell us was that the military had been in nearby Tibet, cracking skulls and razing villages after the latest uprisings in that troubled region. One can only imagine what would have happened to the good people of Sichuan had the military been compelled to occupy every car of every train if they had started out from Beijing. China would be funny, if their situation wasn’t so tragic. I half expected them to deny the earthquake altogether.
Reporter 1: What is being done to assist our comrades in Sichuan?
Government Spokesman: Why would they need our assistance?
Reporter 2: Something about an earthquake, sir…
Spokesman: Ah, I see. You’re referring to the oven furnace that blew up a few houses in a tiny village.
Reporter 1: That caused an 8.0 on the Richter scale?
Spokesman: Well, they were using gas.
On a smaller scale, we have already heard about Burma and its junta that almost makes the Bush Administration look competent by comparison. And in Nepal, it is not a question of if this government will be toppled, most people agree, but when. Here the opposition is merely biding its time until it can strike and usher in the tenth government in three years or so, not counting the monarchy.
This is positively the Middle East all over again. When we lived in Jordan, you obviously had (and still have) the Iraq war to the east, the perennial football match in the West Bank to the west, evil doer (I still can’t believe any politician could use a term like that, but then again I didn’t think a chimp could become President either) Syria to the north, and our best friends Saudi Arabia (who would have been nuked ages ago if it wasn’t for something called petroleum) to the south. Come see the new powder keg for yourselves here in Asia. Only you might want to turn on the news for a change before you do.
But world affairs, who needs them? Back to more important issues, I will be going to Chitwan this weekend, where I will be reporting about an exciting elephant safari. Stay tuned.
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