Excerpt: ‘Charlot’ by Ian Masters

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On the other side of the European Quarter, Charlie was blissfully oblivious to Levalier’s interest in his wife, and Paulette’s half- hearted attempt to deflect it. His mind was consumed with his new friend and his stories of colonial excess and exploitation. He listened intently in the rickshaw as Phirath pointed out this building and that canal, each new landmark given a political slant or a cultural resonance. It was nearly dark by the time they pulled up in front of the light yellow Art Deco façade of the Central Railway Station. The two towers on either side of the entrance cast shadows over the square in which rickshaw drivers huddled around a cluster of market stalls. Dusk was fast approaching and some of the traders were lighting lamps. Phirath and Charlie headed to the station entrance, passing a line of rickshaws. Two drivers played a game of Khmer chess in the half-light but many of the others were asleep.

‘Look at us,’ snapped Phirath in disgust. ‘Asleep. Hungry. Spending what we earn on the poppy. In IndoChine it is opium which is the religion of the masses. We must wake our people up!’ ‘It will take more than comedians for the French to give up their pearl,’ said Charlie. His introduction to the politics of the protectorate — and in particularly the cruel reality of the rubber plantations in the French colony – had been a wake-up call. He found the clandestine discussions with his unlikely companion intoxicating and inspiring in equal measure.

‘How can they stop us? All around the country the signs are clear. Change is coming.’

‘Isn’t it always?’ replied Charlie, quickly regretting his easy Western cynicism.

‘We have Khmer newspaper. First time. Khmer graduates from the lycée. The Communist Party of Indochina. The time for acting is over. Now is the time for action.’

They crossed the grand threshold and into the cool dark interior. It was busy with porters and hawkers.

‘If we’re lucky our people compete to earn a few piastres as labourers or porters. But this is just scraps the French throw to us, a cruel competition which turns us against each other.’

He peered through the railings to the rear of the station, following the platforms until they extended beyond the main structure and into the open air. A handful of steam locomotives idled. Porters rushed with suitcases, trunks and cargo. Charlie joined him as the Battambang train arrived at the platform. The din and the smell of coal were an elixir. Steam hissed, whistles blew and there was a screech of brakes.

The two men exchanged glances. There was something in Charlie’s expression that made Phirath smile. He saw that familiar moment of inspiration, that first fizz of an artist’s creative neurons reacting to stimulus. ‘Tell me what you see.’

‘A railway scene, a set piece. After his arrival in the docks as a stowaway from America, this will be the moment that launches the story of Colonial Subjects.’

‘Explain.’

‘The Little Fellow’s unexpected departure on the train to Battambang in pursuit of the governor’s daughter.’

‘Go on. Maybe I can help?’

For an answer, Charlie lifted his camera to his eye and looked through the lens. The station was no longer the scene in front of Charlie. It was the studio backlot version of it, in black and white – an embryonic first vision of a Chaplin silent comedy.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: the main station’s grand art deco façade.

Tilting down a pillar on one side of the entrance to a sign which reads ‘Porters Required’.

There’s a queue in front of the sign – a line of labourers all wearing identical rice paddy hats. As we pan down the line, the pattern is broken by one lone derby hat – belonging to the indomitable Tramp. He’s beside Phirath in the line but Phirath shakes his head dismissively at the Tramp’s inappropriate choice of headwear. The Tramp looks first to Phirath, then to the porters to his left, clearly worried.

Before the Tramp can react, a French station master in uniform emerges and the line surges. In the hubbub the Tramp swaps his hat for his neighbour’s. A whistle blows and the labourers flatten against the station wall for inspection as the station master walks down the line. Until he reaches the derby on the unsuspecting Khmer labourer’s head. He’s yanked from the line and sent to the back. This starts a pantomime of hat swapping down the line as everyone tries to pass on the offensive derby. Distracted by

this, the labourers don’t notice as Phirath pulls the Tramp down to a crouch and they crawl through the station master’s legs to reach the front of the line. The Tramp taps the burly official on the shoulder and gestures inside with a sheepish grin. The station master’s bulging eyes narrow. He checks the line, then the odd couple at the front of it, perplexed. Undeterred, the Tramp pulls out a handkerchief and dusts down the station master’s lapels with a shrug and a grin, desperate to find favour. The station master bats him away irritably, but nods for them to go inside.

WIDE SHOT: a steam train idles inside the station. Smoke and steam billow.

CUT TO: The Tramp and Phirath wait on the platform. They are now dressed in the uniforms of official station porters complete with baggage trolleys. The Tramp picks up a discarded cigarette butt and puts it in his pocket for later as a train rumbles into the station billowing more smoke and steam. All the porters wait, eyeing the doors (and each other) – primed for customers. The first door opens and the Tramp is off, rushing over to the nearest door with his trolley, but another porter beats him to it and shoves his trolley aside. Further down the train another door opens. The Tramp runs over, but with the same outcome. He’s being outmanoeuvred by the more experienced porters.

At the second carriage, a porter has positioned himself to help an ELDERLY DOWAGER preparing to disembark. The Tramp taps him on the shoulder and gestures back to an irate-looking station master glaring in their direction. The porter gulps, worried – but while his back is turned, the Tramp kicks the porter’s trolley away and replaces it with his own. He doffs his derby for an elderly grand dame dowager and offers his hand to help her off the train. She hangs her hatbox on it, ignoring his gallantry.

But when he turns to put it on his trolley, the disgruntled porter has pushed the Tramp’s trolley down the platform and replaced it with his own. And gives the Tramp an angry glare. The Tramp is livid. They push and shove each other’s trolleys, ramming each other out of the way and shaking their fists, until they realise that Phirath has snuck through and is now helping the grand dame dowager with her baggage. The trunks and cases are piled precariously on his trolley.

That’s when a poodle runs through their legs. The argument is forgotten as the Tramp sees again the governor’s daughter beside the governor, approaching from the end of the platform. She looks horrified, hand up to her mouth and shouting:

INTERTITLE: Descartes! My darling Descartes!

Descartes, the poodle, has climbed to the top of the pile of the grand dame dowager’s luggage on Phirath’s trolley. The furious porter, feeling cheated by both the Tramp and Phirath, pulls the bottom case of the pile out to put on his trolley. The pile jolts lower, with Descartes on top. Each case is swiped out; each time a bewildered Descartes plunges lower and lower until finally it leaps into the Tramp’s arms.

The governor’s daughter is there in an instant and the Tramp hands over Descartes with a shy smile. A hand taps him on the shoulder. It’s the governor. He glares at the Tramp and shouts:

INTERTITLE: Put our luggage on the Battambang Train.

First Class.

He hands the Tramp a piastre coin. The Tramp grins.

CUT TO: the interior of the baggage compartment on the Battambang train. The Tramp whistles to himself, pleased as punch, as he stacks the last of the governor’s trunks on the train. Job done, he walks down the carriage, nodding to the French passengers, and doffing his derby to the ladies. He passes the governor’s daughter in her seat by an open window, her folded parasol and dog beside her. The heat is unbearable, and she fans herself. The Tramp doffs his derby, but she’s completely oblivious to him and stares instead at the bustle on the platform. But Descartes sees the Tramp. He barks once and then leaps out of the open window. The governor’s daughter shrieks. A handkerchief dabs her eyes, she looks to the Tramp, pleading. He nods gallantly, about to set off when the whistle hoots and the train begins to pull away …

As the train moves slowly out of the station, the Tramp sees Phirath holding Descartes. He grabs the parasol from beside the governor’s daughter and runs down the carriage, leaping over the connections to the next carriage, and the next, until he’s at the back of the train.

Phirath is running towards him, hands outstretched holding Descartes.

Closer and closer Phirath runs, but the train is building up speed. The Tramp holds out the parasol from the tip and hooks Descartes collar and pulls him into the train as Phirath leaps aboard. They clap each other on the back as the tracks rush away beneath them.

INTERTITLE: Tickets please!

Shock on their faces. They turn to see the ticket collector passing through the last carriage checking and punching tickets. He sees them at the back of the train holding a poodle and a parasol. His eyes narrow. The Tramp and Phirath look back, but the tracks are rushing away too fast now to jump.

The Tramp retrieves the piastre coin from the governor but Phirath shakes his head.

‘It’s OK for you,’ he says. ‘But the punishment for Khmer to ride train with no ticket is ten years. Ten years hard labour.’

The Tramp stares at him open-mouthed. ‘What?’ asks Phirath, confused.

‘What are you doing?’ the Tramp shouts, ignoring the ticket collector barreling towards them.

‘I don’t understand.’ ‘You’re … you’re talking!’ ‘So are you,’ quips Phirath.

Charlie’s sketch came to an abrupt halt with Phirath’s verbal intrusions. The filmmaker lowered his camera, annoyed. The younger actor looked at his idol with a sadness in his eyes.

‘What must be said cannot be limited to intertitles, to a few cards,’ he said, his voice firm but friendly.

‘Then I need to rework the scene. The Little Fellow doesn’t speak.’

‘Think of the power if he did.’

Charlie glared at him, but the hour started to chime on the big station clock.

‘I’m late.’ And he put his camera back into his bag and rushed through the station and into the twilight. He was already at the line of rickshaws when Phirath caught up with him.

‘Forgive me, Saklo,’ Phirath said, worried that his comment had

jeopardised their budding friendship and creative collaboration. There was a lot riding on it, although Charlie didn’t know that yet. Before Charlie could respond they saw the headlights of a police car enter the square and circle round in front of the station entrance, coming to a stop close to the line of rickshaws. The driver immediately stepped down and opened the rear passenger door. It was Le Favre.

‘Merde,’ muttered Phirath.

‘Do you think he wants my autograph?’ said Charlie. The captain’s persistence was beginning to rattle the filmmaker.

Phirath leant into Charlie so they wouldn’t be overheard and whispered, ‘It’s he who stopped Yen Bai in Vietnam. Forty men sentenced to death. Over nothing. And don’t be fooled by the governor either. He and the rubber plantation owners are in this exploitation together. They take what they like, do what they like. We will talk more, but now you must go.’

He told the rickshaw driver where to take his guest and Charlie climbed into the back. Before they pulled away, Phirath grabbed Charlie’s arm.

‘Saklo, in two days we perform in Battambang. It would be an honour if you would grace the performance with your presence. I must be honest with you. It is not just an honour. If you believe that we have the right to challenge the excesses of the French protectorate, your presence would … it would give us greater … visibility. The press follows you everywhere. Think about it, I beg you.’

Charlie barely had time to acknowledge this heartfelt request when the captain barreled over. Phirath turned his face away.

‘Was I not clear, Monsieur Chaplin?’ said the captain.

For a moment Charlie was caught between Phirath’s request and Le Favre’s irritating threats. But it was the manner of the Frenchman’s intrusion which made up his mind.

‘I’ll be there,’ he whispered to Phirath. ‘I promise.’

The young actor walked off into the darkness. Charlie turned his attention to Le Favre and offered his wrists to the policeman. ‘I wasn’t aware that taking a walk was a criminal offence, Sergeant Le Favre.’

‘It’s Captain Le Favre. As you well know.’

Le Favre trailed off when he caught sight of Phirath melting into the darkness beyond the nighttime street stalls. His eyes narrowed.

‘What do you want to achieve in Indochina, Mr Chaplin?

Perhaps it would be best if you would just speak your mind.’

Charlie thought about that for a moment, choosing his words carefully. It was an opportunity, and he knew it.

‘Very well,’ he replied eventually. ‘I am struggling to understand why Modern Times has been approved for screening in every country of the Far East and beyond, every single one, except for French Indochina? I believe that this was on your insistence. I am no threat, and neither are my motion pictures.’

Le Favre glared at the filmmaker. ‘Perhaps in America they are seen only as light entertainment. But it is the opinion of the governor that you and your films are dangerous to the status quo of this colony. In America you may be a celebrity, Monsieur Chaplin, but here you are a guest of French-administered Cambodia, and I would remind you once again to keep your Hollywood politics out of Indochina. Do I make myself clear?’

‘Is that a threat, Captain? Are you going to arrest me for

walking? Now that would be front page news.’

He dropped his wrists and eyeballed the captain. It was the Frenchman who looked away first.

‘Very well then. If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for the governor’s garden party.’

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US commerce secretary to visit China next week for talks

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BEIJING: US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China next week, Beijing and Washington said on Tuesday (Aug 22), adding to a slew of US officials dispatched in recent months to ease tensions between the world’s largest economies. Washington says it is seeking to better manage its frosty relations withContinue Reading

Thaksin sellout resets Thailand’s topsy-turvy politics

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BANGKOK – Topsy-turvy Thailand finally has a new government, a largely pre-ordained configuration built in the name of national reconciliation that nominally unites old foes while perilously pushing a potent new progressive force to the opposition sidelines.

To announce the historic reset, coup-toppled and criminally convicted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra dramatically returned to the kingdom today (August 22) after 15 years in self-exile nominally to begin serving a decade in prison on three separate criminal corruption convictions.  

The tenacious ex-telecom tycoon, now 74 and reportedly with health issues, is widely expected to receive lenient treatment, including a potential royal pardon that if granted could serve as the capstone of a wider unspoken deal with the future protection of the monarchy at its core.  

In that direction, parliament elected Peua Thai’s Srettha Thavisin as the 11-party coalition’s prime minister, a vote that saw enough of the military-appointed, 249-member Senate choose the ex-property tycoon despite rising allegations of corrupt land deals involving his Sansiri company and tax evasion that could hobble his premiership from the start.  

Srettha’s rise ends months of political jockeying after the May 9 election, which the upstart, anti-military and monarchy-challenging Move Forward Party won but failed to form a government over its insistence on amending the royal insult law, known as 112, and its prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat’s reputedly illegal media shareholdings.

The second-placing Peua Thai later abandoned Move Forward and invited the military-aligned Palang Pracharat and United Thai Nation, and conservative-leaning Bhumjaithai, to get the numbers and conservative support needed to win over the Senate, which blocked Pita’s bid but whose power to vote for the premier expires next May.

New Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will have his work cut out maintaining stability inside and outside his government. Image: Twitter

While Peua Thai has portrayed the accommodation of its past military nemesis as necessary for “stability”, there was widespread speculation well before the May 9 poll – which the party had predicted it would win in a “landslide” – that Thaksin and royalist generals had a behind-the-scenes “reconciliation” deal in the works.

The negotiated settlement was reportedly discussed in a meeting between Thaksin and palace Deputy Lord Chamberlain and ex-army commander General Apirat Kongsompong on Malaysia’s Langkawi island – a secret confab in early May widely reported in the local press and confirmed to Asia Times by several Bangkok-based diplomats.

Those same diplomats and other local observers point to at least three pre-election meetings between Pojaman Na Pombejra, Thaksin’s ex-wife and behind-the-scenes Peua Thai powerbroker, and top palace officials at which the “unity” government deal was reportedly discussed.

Both Thaksin’s Peua Thai (141 seats) and the military’s Palang Pracharat (40) and United Thai Nation (36) join political forces from positions of relative weakness after Move Forward’s (151) shock election win, which saw it take 35 of 36 seats in often conservative-leaning Bangkok and cut into Peua Thai’s geographical strongholds.

Move Forward voted against Srettha on the grounds his assembled coalition would inevitably perpetuate military interests, a no doubt fair critique. A widely circulated but unconfirmed list of Cabinet portfolios showed PPRP receiving the coveted defense and interior ministries while UTN gets energy, in line no doubt with the party’s Gulf Energy billionaire CEO sponsor’s interests.

Peua Thai claimed, perhaps disingenuously, upon the coalition’s announcement that all parties support its agendas and campaign vows, including a populist digital wallet scheme that will gift each Thai 10,000 baht, a near doubling of the daily minimum wage to 600 baht by 2027, and fast, democratic amendment of the military’s 2018 constitution.

The US$16 billion digital wallet policy, true to Thaksin’s populist tradition and anathema to conservatives who have long railed against Peau Thai’s give-away spending schemes that pander to the poor, would require legal amendment of current deficit spending limits to fully implement.

Some thus already anticipate intense intra-coalition infighting over policies, resources and ideology, raising early doubts about the Srettha government’s ability to tackle key economic issues bearing down on the kingdom, ranging from precariously high household debt, lingering financial distress from the pandemic and flagging competitiveness amid accelerating demographic decline.

Move Forward’s prime minister candidate Pita Limjaroenrat was rejected by the military-appointed Senate but still has voters on his side. Image: Facebook / Move Forward Party

But the bigger, more consequential question is whether Peua Thai will do the conservative establishment’s bidding against Move Forward, which a recent local opinion poll showed would sweep if new elections were held now. A separate poll over the weekend showed the Peua Thai-military tie-up is already widely unpopular.  

Analysts and diplomats believe Move Forward faces possible dissolution in early 2024 on pending accusations its hard drive to amend or even abolish 112 was tantamount to trying to topple the monarchy and thus seditious under Thai law.

There are already murmurs of new political rules in the offing that would effectively bar the rump of a banned Move Forward from quickly reconfiguring under a new party banner, as it did after the dissolution of its predecessor Future Forward in 2020.  

The irony of Peua Thai’s overt or tacit support for such moves would be rich after various incarnations of Thaksin’s original Thai Rak Thai electoral juggernaut were dissolved by conservative-backed agencies and courts for various suspect reasons since the original 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin and drove him into self-exile.

The other irony, of course, is that Thaksin was widely and frequently accused by conservatives of being a threat to the crown – a charge he consistently denied despite the known anti-monarchy elements in his inner and outer circles. He and his Peau Thai are now well-positioned to serve as protectors, rather than disruptors, of the monarchy.  

It was lost on few observers that Thaksin’s first act upon arriving at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport today (August 22) was to prostrate himself before a massive yellow-bordered portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida, with at least two royal pins prominent on his suit jacket’s lapel.

One social media post noted they were the exact same pins recently worn by Vajiralongkorn’s estranged second son Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, who likewise recently returned to Thailand after 23 years abroad amid feverish speculation he may be rehabilitated to play a key monarchical role or even be groomed as a potential heir to the throne.

Thaksin bowing before a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida upon landing at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport, August 22, 2023. Image: Twitter

But he also wore a red tie, a nod to his Red Shirt supporters who gathered at the airport hoping to steal a glimpse of the aged populist before being carted off to court then prison. It’s still unclear how much popular and political support Thaksin and Peua Thai will lose with the embrace of the generals his supporters have long loathed.

And it wasn’t long ago, on September 19, 2020, the 14th anniversary of the 2006 coup, when Red Shirts lent their numbers to student demonstrators then agitating for monarchical reforms from Bangkok’s Sanam Luang – where one rally cry to return the nearby Grand Palace to the “people” elicited a Red Shirt roar of approval.  

But the orange-shirted protest movement that can be expected to form, rage and agitate against any move to dissolve the popular Move Forward will likely be more genuine and possibly more potent than any the Red Shirts mustered, which despite their pretensions to democracy always suffered from the taint of Thaksin’s self-interest.

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On a China-built train from Mombasa to Nairobi

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Having spent the last five weeks in East Africa after a long hiatus, I sensed that Kenyans are more confident than at any time since achieving independence in 1963 of their ability to attract reliable partners as the country moves ahead in its quest for long-term economic growth. In this connection, the development of infrastructure has been a top priority for successive Kenyan governments.

Among Kenya’s potential international development partners are its traditional ones – the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States – and/or the newcomers – BRICS members Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa, among others.  

In Nairobi and Mombasa, a sense of strategic autonomy is palpable. 

If any of Kenya’s traditional development partners were to offer Nairobi a deal that is economically uncompetitive, vulnerable to extraterritorial sanctions or unacceptable for ideological reasons, or because it would offend the cultural sensibilities of the people, then Kenya would likely get up from the negotiating table and go elsewhere. It has options. 

Across Africa, the picture is much the same.

What’s more, more and more African leaders recognize the predatory, velociraptor-like nature of neoliberal economic theory, which functions as a highly sophisticated wealth transfer mechanism disguised as the false god of perpetual progress and prosperity for all.

Africa’s new strategic autonomy is evidenced not only by the growing number of projects funded by non-Western sources but by increasing calls for more of the same across the continent.  

Africans’ emerging ability to pick and choose their development partners is driving some Western leaders bonkers. Witness this remark uttered this month in Nigeria by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly: “We are living through an era when the tectonic plates of world politics are shifting decisively. And a battle of ideas is taking place once again.  This time, its focus is on the nature and the future of the international order.”  

These words are no mere “talking points.” They come from the gut and evince an undertone of something like panic.  

Clean, comfortable and on time

These thoughts about Africa’s emerging strategic autonomy raced through my head as Kenya’s crack, Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway sent me hurtling from Mombasa, East Africa’s largest port, to the bustling capital Nairobi. Coach class, with ingratiating, uniformed waiters beckoning from their food-laden trollies, surpassed Amtrak’s equivalent from Washington to New York.  

The train was clean, comfortable, air-conditioned and on time.

In Nairobi, I spoke at length with several highly accomplished civil engineers with decades of professional experience in Kenya about the Nairobi-Mombasa express. They unequivocally stated that the China Road and Bridge Corporation, the principal Chinese contractor, had done a “very good job” from an engineering, planning, design, and construction perspective. 

For its part, the Wilson Center recently noted: “The [Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway] has had some important successes. Trains run faster than the former [British-built] railway or road traffic, and its passenger services are popular. The amount of freight carried by the SGR has risen significantly since commercial operations began, and it has helped to decongest port operations, speed freight transportation, and enhance cargo security.”

While there have been concerns about the railway’s cost-effectiveness, it appears to be on the verge of profitability. According to Dhahabu Kenya, as of year-end 2022, its revenues increased 6.4% to 15.3 billion Kenyan shillings (US$116.4 million), which compares to costs of “about 18 billion shillings ($136.98 million) to operate the passenger and cargo trains.” 

If accurate, the SGR has almost broken even, which is remarkable, as many mega-projects across the globe – according to the Cato Institute (“Megaprojects: Over Budget, Over Times, Over and Over”) – are money-losing propositions.

Caesar Mwangi, the dean of Strathmore University Business School in Nairobi, told me: “if London, Paris or Brussels wants to compete successfully against China, or any of the BRICS, in Africa, then Western governments must get serious about public-private partnerships.

“Western governments need to tone down their claims of exceptionality on technical matters, stop blaming others for shoddy work when it’s not, put forth reasonable proposals, and gin up money on acceptable terms with realistic timetables. Otherwise, China, Turkey and India will continue to take the lion’s share of projects.”

This helps explain why The Taipei Times, citing the Center for Global Development’s 2022 study, reported that “China’s development banks provided $23 billion in financing for infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa from 2007 to 2020, more than double the amount lent by such banks in the US, Germany, Japan and France combined.”

Lamentably, the West has failed to advance its strategic interests in Africa because most African countries have had enough of Western specialists and academics spouting off about “best practices,” “human rights,” “future prosperity” and “equity.” 

Some African leaders may buy into the West’s ideological agenda out of conviction or because they are simply corrupt, but the majority will not sign up for overpriced projects with unrealistic timelines and unacceptable conditions no matter how slick the PR presentation.

Deeper problem afflicts Western interests in Africa

Over the past 20 years, neoliberal economic theory – the belief that financial markets are (and should be) the driving force in socio-economic decision-making, and that they will, at some undisclosed point in the future, bring about equitable development – has devastated the poor and much of the middle class across the globe.

Neoliberalism has helped undermine societal cohesion and pitted one community against another, wiping out traditions, degrading the environment, and ruining cultural identities in the process.   

Mwangi emphasizes that “neoliberalism as an economic model has not served the common good of societies across Africa. Rather, it has delivered greater inequality and social insecurity. Its claim of reducing poverty is not supported by the evidence.”

In the case of Kenya, The Daily Nation reported in June that “nationally, about 30% of [Kenyans] are unable to meet their food needs, with more rural than urban dwellers living in hunger.” In 2016, 16.8 million Kenyans were living in a state of poverty versus 19.2 million in 2022, an increase of more than 14%.

Other African states have experienced a similar deterioration of living standards over the same period, and the blame cannot be pinned strictly on Covid. 

The United States also has geopolitical headaches of its own making.

Many of the businessmen I met in East Africa (though certainly not all) expressed deep frustration with US diplomatic outreach over the past several years. One described it as “little more than a sales pitch delivered by a failing commercial enterprise selling third-rate products and overpriced ideas that smack of a disguised form of neocolonialism.”

What’s more, Africans increasingly understand that just as the June 2021 US-led “Build Back Better World” (B3W) infrastructure initiative turned out to be a flop, so, in all likelihood, will the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment as codified in the G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué (May 20, 2023). The failure of the domestic version of B3W in the United States is well known in Africa.

For this and other reasons, the West’s claim to be Africa’s development partner of choice has worn thin. Across Africa, leaders are increasingly holding Britain and France at arm’s length. Pretoria, Algiers and Bamako, for example, are in no mood to be lectured by their former colonial overlords.

The countries of the Sahel have all but booted the French out.

At the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa (August 22-24), heads of state are discussing new membership criteria, new funding mechanisms, new infrastructure projects and a new currency – as the West looks on in horror as multipolarity gains momentum.

More than 20 countries have formally applied to join BRICS, including Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Many more have expressed an interest. 

The Nairobi-Mombasa express and other infrastructure projects across the continent show that Africans have options. They are no longer dependent on their former colonial patrons for technical or financial support because they are increasingly able to look elsewhere. 

If the West wants to remain relevant in Africa, it must compete for African business and find new ways to peddle its influence in a world growing rapidly more multipolar. It must deal with Africans as equals, ditch any lingering colonial attitudes of superiority, and delink programming for economic development from dogmas and doctrines of an ideological nature.

The countries assembling at the 15th BRICS Summit in Africa this month are not bluffing about gaining strategic autonomy in international relations. When in East Africa, I recommend taking the Nairobi-Mombasa express to understand that Kenya’s self-confidence in development matters is real. 

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Miyu Pranoto: Dance prodigy, 9, blazes trail for girls

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Miyu Ananthamaya Pranoto MatamiyuHandout
By Trisha Husada
BBC News Indonesia

Whenever nine-year-old Miyu Ananthamaya Pranoto stomps her white sneakers on the dance floor, crowds jostle for the best view of her freestyle and breakdance moves.

The diminutive dance prodigy from East Jakarta has gained a massive following for her effortless mastery of moves that are bread and butter for dancers twice or even thrice her age – and height.

Sporting baggy clothes and with her hair tied in a tight bun, Miyu is charting a rare path for girls in conservative Indonesia, where the dance scene is well behind other Asian countries like Korea and Japan.

And her parents are fully supportive. “Miyu’s dream is our dream. Whatever her goal is, it is also our goal in life,” says her mother Rizky Mellissa.

At a recent international contest in Vietnam, one of Miyu’s performances went viral on YouTube with 45 million views.

After that breakout appearance at the Summer Jam Dance Camp in Da Nang, her Instagram followers doubled overnight to 217,000.

Semmy Blank, Miyu’s dance mentor, said her talent and passion makes it easy for Miyu to learn difficult moves by heart. “It’s not hard for me to teach a person like Miyu. Compared to adults, I think she really can top them as a freestyler and her skills improve really fast in terms of foundation, technique and musicality.”

At a recent dance class in East Jakarta, Miyu took centre stage.

With Kid Ink’s You Remind Me and Duckwrth’s Power Power blaring from Bluetooth speakers, Miyu stomped and glided across the dance floor. Even when other dancers were out of breath, she kept going, repeating each step over and over until she got it right.

Always eager to learn, Miyu asked a classmate for pointers on a difficult breakdance move – spinning on the floor before hopping back up on her legs.

The class ended with Miyu’s classmates swarming her for selfies. She politely obliged.

Miyu Ananthamaya Pranoto Matamiyu

Miyu says that it was Korean boy band BTS – her favourite BTS member is Jimin and her favourite choreography from the group is for their hit song Idol – that got her into pop music, and then into dance.

K-pop also introduced her to dance competitions like Street Woman Fighter and dance channels like 1Million. “It surprised me, I didn’t think there were kids who could dance so well,” says Miyu, who started dancing just two years ago.

Freestyle is her favoured genre – she won an award in that category during her first competition: “It’s more free than choreography too so it’s not so much thinking exactly, it’s just like freedom.”

Miyu’s father Haris Pranoto said dance classes keep his daughter in top form as she competes across Indonesia almost every month, from Jakarta to Bali to South Sumatra. “Miyu has trained more for dance battles actually. So mentally, she has the courage for a dance battle.”

When she is not dancing, Miyu divides her time between school and taking piano and voice lessons. She has also taken up drawing as a hobby.

“After school, straight to piano lessons,” says Ms Mellissa. “Tomorrow, she has singing lessons and then dance practice with her crew. Our job as parents is to find a balance so she doesn’t get burnt out.”

Miyu says she wants to take her passion for dance to the next level: “I want to be a professional dancer and maybe a teacher, not just for students, but for dance idols”.

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Vietnam War: The pastor who survived 17 years in forgotten jungle army

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Hin Nie on a trip back to Cambodia in the 1990sMichael Hayes
By George Wright
BBC News, London

Pastor Y Hin Nie, 75, preaches the gospel from the comfort of his church in the US state of North Carolina. But as a young man he survived nearly two decades in the jungle, giving sermons to his comrades fighting Vietnamese troops long after the war had ended – his AK-47 never far from his side.

On the run and cut off from the world, Hin Nie and his unit of insurgents foraged for food and hunted for tiger skins to pay the Khmer Rouge. His “forgotten army” did not give up arms until 1992, after Hin Nie negotiated their freedom.

Short presentational grey line

The first time Y Hin Nie nearly died was on the night of 30 January 1968, when the Vietcong, fighting for the Communist North in Vietnam, launched a massive attack, firing barrages of rockets on US-held areas under the cover of Tet – or New Year – celebrations.

Hin Nie, who grew up in Vietnam, was living with American Christian missionaries in Buon Ma Thuot, the largest city in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. His own mother and father had left him with the missionaries when he was eight because they were poor and wanted him to have a better life, he says.

His adopted “godmother”, Carolyn Griswold, was sleeping when the rockets hit. Separate reports from missionaries say Communist troops also detonated explosives inside the home.

Carolyn’s father, Leon, died immediately. Hin Nie – who happened to be staying at a friend’s that night – rushed home and helped to dig Carolyn out of the rubble. She died soon after.

“My godmother died with suffering,” he says. “God saved my life.”

Many other missionaries were killed and captured while Hin Nie hid in a bunker.

Despite his losses he picked himself up and carried on, throwing himself into Bible school and working at a church.

He did not join the war until a decisive battle in March 1975, when the US-backed South’s troops were destroyed and forced to retreat from Buon Ma Thuot.

As bombs rained down, Hin Nie and 32 bible school students escaped, walking for miles.

This was when Hin Nie was approached by fighters of the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (Fulro), an armed insurgent movement that advocated autonomy for ethnic minorities called Montagnards. These highland people have long faced persecution in Vietnam for reasons including their Christian faith.

They hoped Hin Nie’s close links with American missionaries and his spoken English could help reconnect them with US troops, who had recruited tens of thousands of highlanders as frontline fighters before withdrawing from the war in 1973.

Montagnards and US troops engage in activities at Duc Lap Special Forces

Getty Images

Hin Nie said he felt drawn to join the fighters, who were devout Christians like him. “I had no choice, it touched my heart.”

On 10 March 1975, he fled into the jungle with them.

For the first four years, they stayed within Vietnam, constantly on the run, hiding from the army.

“Shoot and run, shoot and run. We didn’t have strong weapons,” Hin Nie says, adding that he wasn’t involved in direct combat himself, but carried an AK-47 for self-defence and hunting.

By 1979, Vietnamese troops were expanding their operations searching for Fulro, so the group fled into Cambodia, to Vietnam’s west.

“We couldn’t stay, so we crossed the border – it was too dangerous,” he says.

But leaving Vietnam brought new perils. Guerrillas of Pol Pot’s genocidal Khmer Rouge controlled pockets on Cambodia’s eastern border.

Map

Remnants of the regime – responsible for an estimated 1.7 million deaths during four years of terror in Cambodia – had fled there after being overthrown by Vietnamese-backed forces.

Fulro needed permission from the Khmer Rouge to stay so Hin Nie met their local commanders in the jungles of Mondulkiri province.

“I said, ‘We have the same enemy’ – it was the only thing we agreed on. If the communists come from Vietnam to this side, then we could tell them,” he says.

The Khmer Rouge allowed Hin Nie and his battalion to stay. But they demanded monthly “taxes” by way of large amounts of tiger and python skin, and deer horn.

Hin Nie says his unit caught tigers in traps. While the fear of tigers was real – tigers killed three people in the camp – the fear of the Khmer Rouge was even greater.

“They were very angry, they counted everything,” he recalls. “Many times they threatened us: ‘If you don’t pay tax you have to go back.'”

Fulro would still carry out patrols and there were occasional skirmishes with Vietnamese forces as the unit moved from one jungle clearing to another, never settling for longer than a month.

Hin Nie remembers a “wild life” – the Fulro fighters roamed like animals, eating whatever they could find, including leaves from trees, he says.

“We walked and walked and walked… we’d shoot elephants, anything we could see.”

Around this time he married his wife H Biuh, who was part of the group. They had three children in the jungle, but one died.

A Fulro service inside the Cambodian jungle

NATE THAYER COLLECTION

Religion was a constant in the camp.

The first thing Hin Nie would do when they arrived at a new spot was erect a cross. He would then hold sermons for the soldiers, women and children.

Christmas was never missed. One celebration stands out for him.

In 1982, they were singing carols one night, which some local Khmer Rouge heard from a distance. A handful of them walked over.

“A general asked if they could join us because the songs were very beautiful, and they stayed with us in the camp,” Hin Nie recalls. “We sang and I preached in two languages – Khmer and Bunong.”

Vietnamese communists also heard the singing and approached, he says, but Fulro and the Khmer Rouge chased them away.

Along with being the Fulro pastor, Hin Nie was also its chief liaison officer. This meant dealing with local Khmer Rouge, but also tuning in to shortwave radio each morning, including the BBC, Voice of America and Vietnamese radio, to try to follow what was happening in a world that had forgotten them – and which, with the Cold War over, had changed beyond recognition.

By 1991, Cambodian forces under then-Prime Minister Hun Sen – who only handed over the reins to his son earlier this month after 38 years in power – had become a new threat for Hin Nie to negotiate.

But apart from a few local Khmer Rouge and Cambodian soldiers, hardly anyone was aware the Fulro fighters were still in the jungle. Their former comrades had no idea if they were still alive, far less where they were – and neither did the international community.

So it was a great surprise when, in 1992, Hin Nie started negotiations with UN officials. They had arrived in the wake of the genocide to administer the Cambodian national election as part of a peacekeeping mission.

Hin Nie

Y Hin Nie

Hin Nie says he met a local UN official and wrote on a piece of paper in French: “We are Fulro – waiting for freedom and waiting for your help.”

Two months later, a group of UN officials came to meet Hin Nie. “They kept interrogating me for one week to make sure why I lived in the jungle,” he says. They wanted to know if he was Khmer Rouge. He told them he wasn’t.

Another UN meeting followed, where Hin Nie requested more weapons “to fight the communists” but was told that was not possible.

“You only have 400 [fighters] – there are millions of soldiers in Vietnam. We don’t want you to die,” was the response, he says.

Then in August 1992, American journalist Nate Thayer visited the camp and the story of the last Fulro fighters became known to the outside world.

Thayer reported in the Phnom Penh Post that the group were still waiting for instructions from their leader who, unknown to them, had been executed by the Khmer Rouge 17 years earlier.

“Please, can you help us find our president, Y Bham Enuol?” Fulro Commander-in-Chief Y Peng Ayun asked. “We have been waiting for contact and orders from our president since 1975. Do you know where he is?”

Some of the group wept when they were told he had died. News of the Fulro president’s death had never reached Hin Nie on his shortwave radio set.

Nate Thayer at the Fulro camp

Michael Hayes

He and his comrades had heard the war was over but there was still an unrealistic hope the US might get back in contact and provide support. Although they were trapped on the border, the Fulro fighters were loath to give up the struggle for their homeland and become refugees.

Hin Nie was asked how he felt towards the US. “I am not angry, but very sad that the Americans forgot us. The Americans are like our elder brother, so it is very sad when your brother forgets you,” he told Thayer.

Upon learning that their leader was gone, the Fulro fighters agreed to put down their weapons and sought asylum in the US.

The group bypassed normal refugee channels and were on planes within months. Thayer, who Fulro veterans credited with telling their story to the world, joined them every step of the way (he died in January – Hin Nie presided over the memorial and veterans attended).

Landing in the US back in November 1992, Hin Nie was greeted by a banner welcoming the “forgotten army”. He and H Biuh moved to Greensboro with their surviving children, who remain in the US.

Soon Hin Nie started speaking out against the persecution of his people, testifying to the US Congress. Because of his preaching, he remains a target in Vietnamese state media to this day.

The Vietnamese government claims Fulro still exists, and accuses exiled former members like Hin Nie of trying to wage insurrection in Vietnam. In 2021, the VOV news agency said he was behind a “reactionary organisation disguised as a religious sect based in the Central Highlands, which aimed to incite local people to sabotage the united Vietnamese state”.

Hin Nie says this is nonsense.

Hin Nie

Y Hin Nie

Under Communist rule, the Montagnards still face widespread intimidation, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s government did not respond to a request for comment.

At Hin Nie’s United Montagnard Christian Church in Greensboro there are hundreds in the congregation. He preaches to them in English, Vietnamese and Rade, and sometimes sings songs in other languages of the Central Highlands.

“They still put propaganda against me but Fulro has died. Everyone has died,” he says.

“The Vietnamese try to shut the mouths of people in Vietnam – but I am here.”

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How is filial piety changing in Singapore? Here’s the younger generation’s take on it

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SINGAPORE: Caught between her parents’ example and her own life pursuits, Xin Yi finds herself in a dissonant state.

“My parents are very ‘xiao shun,’” said the 23-year-old, referring to the Chinese phrase for filial piety. “My parents do hire a maid, but they still care for my grandparents very closely.

“They won’t put their parents in an old folks’ home or anything, … and I do feel pressured to (do the same for them).”

But her own inclinations are different. Having seen the physical care her grandparents require, including their toilet needs, the only child feels more comfortable outsourcing care of her parents in future.

This is why the diploma holder left the workforce and is now at a local university.

“I need to further my studies to earn more to pay for all their future needs if I want to have a life,” said Xin Yi, who declined to share her surname.

“If their health deteriorates, I’ll need to pay for them to be in a nursing home, which is so expensive nowadays.”

While her parents have not communicated their expectations, Tessa’s parents have — and there is some distance between what they want and what their four children want to give.

“My mum would say, ‘You need to visit several times a week … to show that you care,’” said Tessa, 27, who also declined to give her full name.

Her elder sister, for example, gets asked regularly why she does not visit “enough”.

“There are already so many expectations in a traditional household that you want out of it,” said Tessa, who plans to visit once every fortnight after she moves to her Build-To-Order flat with her fiancé.

Recent years have seen a growing debate on filial piety norms. One CNA commentary in May, which questioned whether adult children should still be expected to give their parents an allowance, sparked online discourse that echoed similar sentiments.

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Dnipro River bridgehead could be game-changer for Ukraine

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There have been reports that Ukrainian units have crossed the Dnipro River and established bridgeheads on the eastern side – which could be an important moment in Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive push in the south. How many troops made the crossing and how secure their bridgehead really is remains unclear.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive push has thus far failed to gain the same momentum as their counterattacks last autumn, despite previously high expectations. Kiev is under considerable international pressure to show results – and soon – to maintain enthusiasm from the Western allies on whom it is depending for much of its weaponry.

That the counteroffensive has been more of a grind than last year’s lightning-fast push in September and October is down to several factors. The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June delayed the progress of Ukrainian forces towards the Dnipro by several weeks because of floodwater and has also widened the river.

Bridges across the Dnipro were also washed away, meaning an amphibious crossing has become the only option – and a much more difficult one.

Instead, Ukrainian progress can be characterized as slow but steady. There are daily reports that Ukrainian units operating in various sectors of the front lines are gradually recapturing villages occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the war.

But the rapid push south to the Sea of Azov to effectively cut Russia’s army in half and isolate Crimea has not materialized. It is not unreasonable to expect that the war will last for years.

Map showing the status of the Ukraine conflict on August 16 2023.
The status of the Ukraine conflict on August 16, 2023. Map: Institute for the Study of War via The Conversation

Dnipro’s importance

Crossing the Dnipro River and establishing a secure bridgehead on the eastern bank would be a breakthrough.

Throughout the history of conflicts in Ukraine going back millennia, the river has been a key strategic barrier. But it has huge importance for many areas of life in Ukraine: transport, energy – even food (the river was estimated before the war to supply 80% of the country’s fish).

But right now its strategic importance is at the fore. Running north to south through the whole of the Russian occupiers realized its strategic importance early on in the war, they understood they could divide and conquer Ukraine, and establish a natural defense against attacks by controlling the river.

During the counteroffensive in autumn 2022 Ukraine recaptured a considerable amount of territory in the east and south, and drove Russia from the west bank of the lower Dnipro. But Russia still dominates the east bank. Which is why reports of Ukrainian crossings are so important.

But these reports must be greeted with caution. Ukraine has held positions on the east bank before, allowing it to conduct raids into the Russian-occupied parts of Kherson region with the hope of establishing a presence there. But each of these has been beaten back.

But there is hope on the Ukrainian side that the latest raid could succeed where the others have failed. In its regular updates on the situation in Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defense noted on August 14 that: “Ukrainian forces have worked to raid or set up small bridgeheads at new locations on the Russian-held east bank.”

This, in addition to the bridgehead it has held near the ruined Antonivsky bridge, close to the city of Kherson, since June, could allow it to push further south through Russian-held territory.

Next phase

There are several scenarios as to how the campaign might proceed. Russia is reported to be moving men and equipment south to reinforce and defend the east-bank Dnipro area and the key city of Kherson.

Heavy fighting also continues in the Bakhmut region, a year-long battle that has consumed many thousands of lives over the past 12 months.

There are daily reports of offensive and counteroffensive operations on both sides in the region, which Russia sees as key to capturing and controlling the Donetsk region, which it claimed last September after “referendums”, condemned in the West as a sham.

Ukrainian forces are also reported to be involved in heavy fighting on at least three sectors of the front, and advancing in the Luhansk region, north-east of Donetsk and in the western Zaporizhia region, further south.

All of which means that Russia’s planners are faced with a balancing act as to whether to maintain troops concentrations in these sectors of the frontline or move more units south to reinforce the east bank of the Dnipro.

A successful assault resulting in a substantial Ukrainian breakthrough on the east of the Dnipro in the Kherson region would give Ukrainian troops a much easier and clearer path to Crimea.

A column of Russian army trucks moves across the town of Armyansk, northern Crimea, on the way to Kherson in a February 2022 file photo before the recently announced retreat. Image: TASS / Sergei Malgavko

Meanwhile, reports that Ukraine has recaptured the strategically important town of Urozhaine in the western Zaporizhia region has opened the possibility of a push south towards the Sea of Azov, which Kiev has declared to be one of its key objectives in this counteroffensive.

But as the New York Times cautioned recently, “the fact that progress in Kiev’s long-anticipated counteroffensive is now measured by the recapture of small villages reinforces how difficult the fighting has become.”

Hard slog

As US military analyst Frederick Kagan wrote in Time magazine recently: “Much as we might hope that the road to the Sea of Azov will simply open for Ukrainian forces the odds are high that fighting will remain hard, casualties high and frustration will be a constant companion. All of which is normal in war.”

So while there are daily reports of positive developments in Ukraine’s slow but steady counteroffensive, much will continue to depend on the steadfastness of support from Kiev’s Western allies.

There are signs of war weariness in some countries that were formerly solid supporters of Ukraine, including – for example – Slovakia, where a pro-Kremlin candidate is leading in the polls ahead of next month’s election, campaigning on withdrawing support for Ukraine both militarily and in terms of maintaining sanctions.

Kiev must pray that this does not become a pattern that would fracture NATO support for its war effort.

Veronika Poniscjakova is Senior Teaching Fellow, University of Portsmouth

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Analysis: Democracy champion to new face of conservatives — how Pheu Thai’s moves to regain power could shape Thai politics

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A MATHEMATICAL CHALLENGE

First, here’s the mathematical challenge confronting Pheu Thai in its quest to form and lead the next government.

After parting ways with Move Forward, Pheu Thai has been pushing for its candidate Srettha Thavisin to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister – an onerous task that requires the approval of at least 375 parliamentarians or more than half of the national assembly.

The condition is stipulated in the current constitution, written by a military-appointed committee after a coup d’etat in 2014. 

Designed to extend the establishment’s political control, the law is a legacy of incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a general-turned-politician who deposed Pheu Thai’s previous government nine years ago. 

It gives power to the military-controlled Senate to jointly select the prime minister with the House of Representatives until May next year.

The Pheu Thai-led coalition currently commands 238 votes and still needs 137 more to secure the premiership for Mr Srettha. 

On Tuesday, Move Forward had declared it will not vote for Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate, adding more obstacles and dilemmas to its quest for power. 

With Move Forward out of the equation, Pheu Thai does not have other options but to ally itself with military-linked parties Palang Pracharat and United Thai Nation.

The first belongs to Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, Thailand’s incumbent deputy prime minister and former army chief, who played a key role in the Prayut junta. The latter was led by the coup maker himself until his resignation last month.

Their combined 76 votes and influence on 249 senators could give Pheu Thai a final push to form the government when parliament reconvenes on Aug 22 to select the prime minister. 

SECURING THAKSIN’S RETURN

Pheu Thai’s race to form the government coincides with an expected return of Mr Thaksin, who was ousted from power in a military coup in 2006. 

The Shinawatra family has close ties with Pheu Thai, which is a reincarnation of Mr Thaksin’s old political group Thai Rak Thai. His youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra is in fact one of the party’s prime ministerial candidates.

Currently living in exile in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the ex-prime minister initially planned to come home on Aug 10 but later postponed his trip, citing medical appointments. For political observers, however, the delay was caused by the fact that Pheu Thai had not secured the premiership just yet.

“The prime ministerial post is the most important thing,” said Dr Thanaporn Sriyakul, president of the Political Science Association of Kasetsart University.

He believes Pheu Thai is doing everything it can to win the country’s top job, even though it means going against its campaign rhetoric and promise not to work with the military-affiliated parties.

Pheu Thai’s alliance with military-linked parties could also ensure a safe homecoming of its fugitive patron Thaksin. Despite speculation that Pheu Thai may offer the premiership to Gen Prawit from Palang Pracharat in exchange for Mr Thaksin’s return, some analysts disagree.

“People may think that giving the premiership to Prawit would get Thaksin home but how can Pheu Thai be sure that if it doesn’t get to lead the government, Thaksin will be able to return safely?” said Dr Siripan.

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