Laos resumes dam construction; Indonesia summons Malaysian Ambassador on migrant killings; Prominent Cambodian environment activist shot dead; Thousands of Demonstrators Staged Protest in Malaysia; EU Suspends Some Sanction on Myanmar; UN Secretary Genera
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    • In Laos, reports noted that construction has resumed on a controversial dam on the lower Mekong River, despite an agreement amongst Mekong countries to suspend dam projects pending further study. It's been reported that a Thai company signed a US $ 1.7 billion deal to construct a hydropower dam in northern Laos.1
    Indonesia, on April 24, 2012, summoned the Malaysian ambassador to explain why three Indonesian migrant workers were shot and killed by the Malaysian police and unconfirmed reports the deceased’s organs were harvested. “We want them to come as soon as possible and bring along the clarification [from Malaysia],” said Tatang Razak, the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s director for the protection of Indonesian citizens overseas. He also said the ministry was coordinating with police in Lombok to conduct autopsies to verify reports organs had been harvested from the three dead men. The Indonesian government is demanding that Malaysia release the autopsy results and chronology of the deaths of workers.2

    According to reports, prominent Cambodian environment activist Chut Wutty was shot dead along with a military police officer on April 26, 2012, in Cambodia's south-western province of Koh Kong. Other military personnel were apparently present during the shootings. Two women journalists from the Cambodian Daily newspaper - Cambodian Phorn Bopha and Canadian Olesia Plokhii - were with Wutty when he was shot. Both were initially detained, but have since been released. Wutty was the Director of the Natural Resource Protection Group (NRPG), a Cambodian NGO that campaigns against the destruction of the country's forests.3

    Reports noted that to curb a massive street protest held on April 28, 2012, the Malaysian police unleashed tear gas and chemical-laced water at thousands of demonstrators demanding fair rules for national elections expected soon. At least 25,000 demonstrators swamped Malaysia's largest city, hoping to pressure Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition - which has held power for nearly 55 years - to overhaul electoral policies before polls that could be held in June. Authorities insist the elections will be free and fair, rejecting activists' claims that the Election Commission is biased.4

    According to reports, Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and elected members of her party on April 21, 2012, announced they will postpone attending parliament until changes are made to the swearing-in oath to the country’s pro-military constitution. NLD leader Suu Kyi and 36 other members of Myanmar’s main opposition party who won seats in the April 1 by-elections were initially scheduled to be sworn in to Parliament in the capital Naypyitaw, 350 kilometres north of Yangon, on April 23, 2012.5
    Reports noted that European Union foreign ministers on April 23, 2012, agreed to suspend most sanctions on Myanmar in response to political reforms there, but continued to press for vigilance over the pace of change in the former military state even while opening the door to a potential surge in investment. The EU also plans to open a trade office in Yangon, Myanmar's commercial capital. Member states said they backed restoring Myanmar "as soon as possible" to the Generalized System of Preferences, which gives low-income nations better access to EU markets—a move likely to happen once an International Labor Organization report presents a paper on allegations of forced labor in Myanmar.6

    In other developments, according to reports, on April 30, 2012, the UN chief Ban Ki-moon held landmark talks with Myanmar's President. During his three-day visit, Ban Ki- Moon is expected to urge further steps towards democracy and appeal for unfettered humanitarian access to tens of thousands of refugees who have fled ethnic conflict. Ban is also due to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on what is his first trip to the country since decades of military rule ended in 2011.7

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