Indian Prime Minister to visit Myanmar; Street protests over power shortage in Myanmar; Anwar Ibrahim accused of defying protest ban; US to host the Philippine President; Rival royalist parties to re-merge in Cambodia
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  • In a significant development, reports noted that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Myanmar starting May 27, 2012. During the visit, he will meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.Singh will also meet President Thein Sein, who is credited with instigating a series of political reforms in the country. A number of agreements are likely to be signed during her visit. 1

    According to reports, persistent power shortage has led to street protests by the people in Myanmar in the past one week. Demonstrations in the past week in Myanmar’s two largest cities and several towns could be seen as an indicator of the new openness under President Thein Sein, who has overseen the country’s emergence from decades of authoritarian rule. But from another point of view, the protests — which have been limited to a few hundred people — are a reminder of the early stages of past unrest in Myanmar. The most recent uprising, led by monks in 2007, began as small protests over fuel price increases. 2

    Reports noted that the Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been charged with defying protest bans. The prosecutors have charged the Malaysian opposition leader and two of his allies with breaking the law during a massive street rally to demand fair elections. The three men, who pleaded not guilty, face a maximum jail sentence of six months and fines totalling 12,000 ringgit if convicted. The court scheduled a preliminary hearing on 2 July to determine further trial dates. The charges could distract Anwar from preparing for national elections that many speculate will be held by September. 3

    According to reports, the US President Barack Obama will meet with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III on June 8, 2012 at the White House. The White House says Obama looks forward to discussing the strategic, economic and “people to people” ties between the U.S. and the Philippines and their cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. President Obama has reportedly said the U.S. needs to deepen its engagement in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, calling it critical to the nation’s security and economic prosperity. 4

    In other developments, reports noted that after six acrimonious years, Cambodia's two royalist parties, Funcinpec and the Norodom Ranariddh Party have decided to re-merge. Both parties hope the merger under the Funcinpec name will reinvigorate the royalist movement ahead of next year's general elections. But the merger is not expected to change the political landscape of Cambodia which is currently dominated by the Cambodian People's Party. 5

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