PHNOM PENH (AFP) – UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the Myanmar junta to “immediately” restart democracy, saying it was the only way to stop the “unending nightmare” engulfing the country. Myanmar has spiraled into bloody conflict since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February last year, with thousands killed. The escalating crisis dominated a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, which has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed. “The situation in Myanmar is an unending nightmare for the people and a threat to peace and security across the region,” Guterres told reporters. “I urge the authorities of Myanmar to listen to their people, release political prisoners and get the democratic transition back on track immediately. That is the only way to stability and peace.” After meeting ASEAN leaders, Guterres said it was vital that a peace plan agreed with the junta — but so far not enforced — came into effect. “Indiscriminate attacks on civilians are horrendous and heartbreaking,” he said.

 

***

LA PAZ (Reuters) – Bolivia will hold its first census in more than a decade in 2024, President Luis Arce said in a midnight speech, scheduling it a year later than demanded by the opposition, as protests crippling part of the nation hit the three-week mark. The largest city of Santa Cruz, a relatively wealthy farming hub and opposition bastion, has ground to a halt in recent days amid a general strike demanding that the census be held next year, before elections due in 2025. In an apparent bid to calm the waters, Arce said the census would be held on March 23, 2024, or three months before a previous government deadline. “We have a responsibility to carry out a quality census in which everyone participates,” Arce said. “We call for the return of calm, peace and normality in the department of Santa Cruz.” On Friday, protesters had clashed with government-aligned groups, with television showing images of altercations featuring Molotov cocktails, motorcycles, firecrackers, stones and sticks. The three weeks of protests have killed four and injured more than 170, the government said. It has blamed the surge of violence on Santa Cruz governor Luis Fernando Camacho, who began the strike on Oct 22, along with other opposition groups.

 

***

TEMUCO (AFP) – Chile President Gabriel Boric has met with Mapuche Indigenous leaders and announced the creation of a commission to resolve issues of land ownership in the flashpoint southern Araucania region, which has seen a spate of recent arson attacks. Araucania is home to groups of Mapuche, the country’s largest Indigenous group, who are demanding the restitution of their ancestral land, much of which is currently in the hands of private logging companies. Boric said a Commission for Peace and Understanding, which will start functioning by March 2023, will weigh domestic and international recommendations about how to resolve violence in Araucania and “look for a solution to the conflict.” The Chilean president warned that not everyone would be happy with the verdicts and timelines of the commission. “It will not be possible to return all the land. There are many cities in southern Chile that were built on land that was once Mapuche and these cities must be preserved,” Boric said. Some non-Mapuche Chileans “settled on these lands and dropped roots generations ago” and their rights must be respected as well, he said.

 

 ***

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden referred to Cambodia as “Colombia” at an international summit in Phnom Penh led by Southeast Asian leaders. The latest gaffe is furthering concerns that the aged politician is suffering from a cognitive disorder. “I look forward to building even stronger progress than we’ve already made, and I want to thank the Prime Minister of Colombia for his leadership as ASEAN chair and for hosting all of us,” Biden said on Saturday while meeting his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Cambodian capital. Biden, who would be 80 years old the next week, was referring to Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, who is currently chairing the 10-member regional bloc.  Biden, the oldest man to run the country, is on a whirlwind trip with stops at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, ASEAN in Phnom Penh and the G20 summit in Indonesia. He made a similar slip-up while speaking to reporters at the White House recently.

 

***

CALIFORNIA (The Daily Mail) – A Californian army base is to be investigated after nearly a thousand soldiers stationed there developed rare blood cancers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed it plans to test the drinking water at Fort Ord, Monterey Bay, for contamination. At least 40 dangerous chemicals have been detected in the base’s water, including tricholoroethylene, or TCE, a “miracle” degreaser linked to several cancers. Veteran victims say the Veterans Association has refused to offer them aid, forcing them to work part-time jobs such as baggage handlers while receiving treatment or recovering from surgery. In the region including Fort Ord, studies show veterans are a third more likely to develop cancer. Leaky petrol tanks and discarded ammunitions at the site are feared to have contaminated the local water supply. About 50,000 soldiers were stationed at the military base until 1994, when the army began to shut it down.