Japanese Cruelty in SE Asia

Colonialism in SE Asia can be viewed with mixed opinions. Today, statesmen argue it was an improvement, gearing up the region for global involvement. Others ascertain it’s a sad, crippling chapter in the region’s history.

Compared to the Japanese occupation of SE Asia during WWII, Western Colonialism was a day at the beach.

The Sumatra “Death Railway” punished not only the indigenous but POW’s from Australia, and Asia. The plan was staggering, inhumane, evil, and blatant whereas western colonial rule has not been portrayed in the same arena.
The Sumatra “Death Railway” construction is something that can be mentioned in the same breath as the Nazi concentration camps and work camps under Josef Stalin where a true violation of fundamental humanity is exhausted.
How would you categorize the “Death Railway”?


Works Used
http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/asia_sumatra3.html

Neher versus Heidhues

Neher versus Heidhues

Two comprehensive, concise histories of Southeast Asia; each shine in a different light.

Both authors covered similar topics ranging from the indigenous to Chinese settlement, colonialism, and the present.

Looking at Thailand; for my fancy, as one taking more interest in Thailand compared to other nations in the region, I found Neher’s coverage of recent events in every Southeast Asian nation, and the section on specific leaders more enriching.

Heidhues reports a fine chronological timeline of Thailand’s recent issues beginning with Japanese relations, the photo of a Japanese general displays the strong presence Japan had undertaken during WWII. Both agree on general facts but Neher paints a rosier picture than Heidhues. Neher even goes as far as giving seven reasons for Thailand’s recent stability, including democracy whereas Heidhues challenges the notion of democratic success in the Kingdom.

Neher does a fine, concise expose on King Bhumibol, attributing the stability of the nation to his majesty. On the flipside, Heidhues refers to him as a “figurehead.” Is this a case of fluff, propaganda, lese majeste’ fears or all of the aforementioned. Heidhues appears to have gone more on a bit of a controversial or perhaps questioning path, where Neher could be perceived as playing it safer when mentioning of King Bhumibol.

Heidhues should be credited with providing an in-depth timeline of Prime Ministers as the country adopted the position the last 80 years. What’s interesting is that both differ on acknowledging Bhumibol as a moderator; Neher is more of an advocate

Both agree that with 15 bloodless coups, and 17 changes in Constitution since 1932, it’s difficult to usher in progress but that is indicative of the region-rapid political change. Thailand is the only nation to remain independent, never being colonized. With that said, the nation is arguably one of the more steadfast states in the region. Bhumibol’s nearly 63-year rule has had a calming, stable effect on Thailand, acting as a paternal, spiritual rock of a leader.

Works Cited

Heidhues, Mary Somers. Southeast Asia, A Concise History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000.

Neher, Clark D. Southeast Asia Crossroads of the World. Dekalb: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Nothern Iliinois University, 2004.

Take That Pol Pot

It's a breath of fresh air to see how Pol Pot's plan to "purify" Cambodia never fully materialized. Cambodians have made a new life for themselves in my own backyard: Long Beach, California. Here they preserved their culture and traditions. Why would Cambodians choose such a locale to immigrate upon leaving their nation?

http://www.cambodiatown.org/

Follow-up to Kevin's Original Post---Australian Author Pardoned in Thailand

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/4741301/Australian-author-Harry-Nicolaides-freed-after-insulting-Thai-monarch.html

Australian author Harry Nicolaides, 41, who was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to slandering the Thai royal family but received a royal pardon after spending five months in prison, and was released February 20, 2009 is a indication that defaming the king will not be tolerated by Thais or foreigners. In a time when political parties are splitting in Thailand between pro and anti monarchists, while the government is taking no chances in making examples of all who defame the crown.

How can this continue, and what are the ramifications?

Senseless Muslim Insurgency in Thailand

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090220/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_southern_violence;_ylt=AjtbCMNvx4My9hVdi6gOGVcBxg8F

Unfortunately Muslim insurgents have returned to this peaceful Buddhist nation. The strange this is as in most cases of Thailand insurgency, no one claims responsibility unlike larger terrorist groups such as Al Quada.

Why do you feel this group of 20 militant Muslims fail to claim responsibility?

Leaders of Southeast Asia

Have their leaders served them well in the 19th and 20th centuries?

The question of whether the leaders of Southeast Asia have served their nations well in the 19^th and 20^th century is arbitrary to say the least.

In all fairness to them, leading in a region which can’t make up its mind which type of government to run; authoritarian or civil can be unsettling (Neher 97). Since gaining independence they have struggled with this. They haven’t had the luxury of having long-standing stability neighboring them like the US, and most of Western Europe. Despite the roller coaster of politics, Southeast Asian leadership seems to be settling; nationalistic, revolutionary, conservative, authoritarian-developmental, and democratic are amongst the diverse leaders of the region.

Some of the attempts to govern have been more tumultuous than others. Cambodia’s Pol Pot’s campaign was criminal, setting back Cambodia in a comparable Nazi-Germany Holocaust fashion (Neher). The wiping away of a countries education, culture, and religious system is a bizarre crime that I am appalled wasn’t halted sooner. This, just thirty years after the Holocaust, and the West had not ended the atrocities? What’s also mind-boggling is that Pol Pot was only sentenced to house arrest (Neher).

As a friend of many who fled the Khmer Rouge torture, I can tell you that many survivors have amazingly built new lives for themselves in Long Beach, Ca. The city has more Cambodians than any other place in the world but Cambodia. I can tell you first hand that these people who were once wealthy elitists, have carved out a modest niche for themselves in Long Beach, owning shops, restaurants, and other successful businesses in a their own part of the city.

Many survivors of the Cambodian genocide have resettled in the United States. At the center of their story are the horrors of the destruction itself: an eruption of atrocity sustained by a virulent mix of racism and ideology, and a system of terror that leveled everything -- marriage, religion, education -- that undermined total obedience to the state (Greenspan).

Unfortunately, Cambodia hasn’t been able to fully prosper post-genocide. Today it is hampered with corruption, poverty, disease, and one of the weakest economies in the region but in much better shape than under the rule of Pol Pot.

Works Cited

Neher, Clark D. Southeast Asia Crossroads of the World. Dekalb: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Nothern Iliinois University, 2004.

Greenspan, Henry, 1948-
Survivors: Cambodian Refugees in the United States (review)
Holocaust and Genocide Studies - Volume 20, Number 1, Spring 2006, pp. 143-146

Jolie Excercises Voice and Intelligence

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/12/AR2009021200632.html

Angelina Jolie threw her 2 cents in after visiting a Thai refugee camp for Rohingya, a Muslim minority people fleeing nearby Myanmar's military dictatorship. As we discussed earlier, seen on CNN, the Thai government is strictly forbidding this group into the country.

Reasons: Muslim insurgency is on the rise in the south of Thailand, and the government has had its fair share of instability in the last year; they don't need the slightest of disruptions. Also, Myanmar (formerly Burma) haven't had the strongest of diplomacy, dating back to the British nearly colonizing both, but the Thai exerccised enough suaveness to avert a British footprint in their land.

Jolie, did have to the wisdom to not take a direct shot at the crown; therefore she has no reason to worry about the ever-popular Lese Majeste law.

Thailand's Lese Majeste Laws Update

A prominent Thai Political Scientist is the latest to exile from the land of smiles. Why? The lese majeste crackdown continues. http://www.upiasia.com/Politics/2009/02/13/thai_scholar_abandons_king_and_country/8548/

How is it possible that in a land that has been on the brink of democracy such laws exist? Why?

Academic Review Week 6- Patron Client Relations

On a personal note, having spent extensive periods of time in Southeast Asia, I feel that patron-client relations are the heart of relationships in the region. As an American, even from a middle income background, I am put pretty high on a pedestal to most Thais, even the elitists. I was privy to weekend stays at a beachside resort on the island of Chang by deans, and faculty of an elite Bangkok university because of my friendship with his American niece. Americans are considered very wealthy by Thai standards (westerners have typically been viewed as patrons, stemming back to colonial times), and my experience in the real estate world enticed the dean as he was seeking investors, and partners in a residential development. The patron-client relationship is not one of perfect balance (in Thailand), despite the reciprocal nature of the tie, because the client feels obligated to the patron. The patron has predominant power over the recipient (Neher 63). Personally, I have witnessed this, and by western standards it can be viewed as good and bad; good for the patron, bad for the client. The client definitely feels a sense of guilt, and will not complain if the patron is benefitting them or their family. This speaks volumes for the selfless nature of the patron, much of the time, putting their family’s needs first.

In any event, I would not have been given access to this elite group had I not been a foreigner who could benefit the client in some way. Don’t get me wrong, there are folks I have met who are genuinely interested in my friendship; however there are common instances where a reference to a gift of money is often. This is seen more by one who truly needs the help, and is accustomed to Nam Ja (spreading the wealth to your friends). So if I were in need they would reciprocate but usually it is a patron-client relationship in Thailand. By most accounts, I do not perceive a client-client pattern. In terms of men and women partaking in the patron-client relationship it appears as if men and women can act as either the patron or client more so in urban life, and/or with the more educated. This is due to independence created from the education many urbanites are exposed to, leading to higher paying vocations; whereas in the village life, the women is traditionally a stay at home, taking care of the children, and/or helping her parents.

Nonetheless, personal ties between social superiors (patrons) and inferiors (clients) are important to most Southeast Asians, and they are a fundamental element of social organization (Neher 60).

Works Used

Neher, Clark D. Southeast Asia Crossroads of the World. Dekalb: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Nothern Iliinois University, 2004.

Academic Topic of The Week--European Colonialism in Southeast Asia

Week 5 European Colonial Impact on SE Asia

Darwinism was in the air in Southeast Asia; not only in terms of colonization but within European expansionists as we saw Portugal gobbled by the Dutch, and the British inevitably leading the way in a most calculated ascension of the region.

Colonial impact in Southeast Asia obviously moved the region into the global market. Depending on who you ask, it was a mixed received yet most dramatic part of the region’s history.

On the one hand in the case of the Philippines, Spain established it with a galleon trade network with Chinese junks; established in Manila’s excellent harbor where a the countries first true, modern economy was born (Heidhues 97). The Spanish influence enabled both them and the colony to prosper.

Spain’s influence was also detrimental, leaving the Catholic Church to prosper while eliciting a diversion of funds and profits for personal use, leaving the public in debt. Spain proved they were not as resourceful as the Dutch’s VOC, murdering Chinese immigrants, opposed to the VOC using them for farming, and labor. Nearly a century after the Filipinos were westernized, US President McKinley must have missed the memo. Nonetheless after the efforts of Spain modernizing the Philippines, McKinley decided the US had a duty to “civilize” the Filipinos, more along American democratic lines (Tarling 92). After the US finished most of its business, and pulled out much military, and defense industry in the 1980s; the Filipino economy and standard of living has declined. Some Filipinos, like a friend of mine, move to Thailand to find a better life teaching.

The end results of Colonialism is that yes it improved the states of Southeast Asia, modernization efforts also complicated matters, leaving them in a vulnerable positions to this day.

If you look examine the interdependence of the region today, you will discover not one of these nations is surviving without the support, or methodologies of the west, or China; an aim that has sustained the core of colonialism.

Didn't We Almost Have It All?

There was a popular Whitney Houston ballad entitled "Didn't We Almost Have it All" indicative of the Dutch VOC. They controlled much of the SE Asian archipelago, trade routes, vital ports, and had the indigenous in their pocked but inevitably failed.

The deliberate destruction of the spice tees in the Spice Island in the 18th century by the Dutch, who were convinced that oversupply was depressing the prices for cloves and nutmeg. The measure condemned the area to chronic poverty (Heidheus 103). Nice going VOC! I am amazed out how idiotic a move this was. Hadn't anyone thought of storage? This just one knockout punch to the inept VOC.

Another brilliant move for the VOC is when they allowed British traders acces to trade in the Archipelago and the Malayan Peninslua, dealing directly with local rulers. A huge blunder, not guarding their relations with rulers they spent decades building rapport. The internal filling of their own pockets, corruption contributed to the VOC bankruptcy. Didn't they almost have it all?

History has a habit of repeating itself, as we saw the Dutch state assume the liabilities and assets of the VOC December 31, 1799; 210 years later we see a similar scene as the United States government bails out its largest corporations. We know the Dutch were regained the same postion of global power; will we see the US become less of a player after their bailout?

"Didn't we almost have it all?" is a song that will be applied to many a civilizations with the repetitive causes: greed, ineptness, and oh yeah, greed.

Bibliography

Heidhues, Mary Somers. Southeast Asia, A Concise History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000.

Nicholas Tarling, The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia Volume Two, Part One. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999