There are 5,000-12,000 soldiers there now. In August, 50 people were killed and thousands of civilians have evacuated.

The MILF, which signed a ceasefire in 1996, has allowed the army to pass through territories it controls to pursue Abu Sayyaf. However, the MILF and the army clashed on July 10 and several people were killed. Formal peace talks have stalled since September 1996, but are scheduled to reopen this month.

The MNLF has claimed responsibility for recent attacks. The MNLF is still the dominant force in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindinao, but a final peace been formed because the deal fell short of guaranteeing the ethnic Moro the ancestral homeland they sought.

Also, a new counter-terrorism law has given the government wide power to deal with internal security threats, including armed insurgent groups. That legislation may provide legal protection to the army as it launches its new campaigns.

For more information, please see:

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-08-14-voa24.cfm

http://www.asiaobserver.com/content/view/324352/102/

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IH17Ae01.html

Image at MSNBC

India and Pakistan celebrated its 60th anniversary of independence from British rule today with parades, gun salutes, and speeches.  The anniversary sees both countries at important crossroads in their histories.

Sixty years ago, the departing British split the subcontinent in one of the most violent upheavals of the 20th century.  In one of history’s largest mass migrations, about 10 million people moved across borders, splitting the subcontinent into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India.  Riots and fighting surrounded the partition.  Even the fasting and pleas for peace by Mohandas Gandhi were of little avail.  In the end, an estimated 200,000 to over 1 million were dead from the bloodshed.

In marking the 60th anniversary of independence, the rivalry between the two countries is finally mellowing.  Even though mutual animosity still lingers, their focus is less on each other and more on their own aspirations and problems.

Pakistan, a nation of 160 million people, has found itself amidst a violent struggle between moderates and Islamic extremists.  Pakistan’s president, General Pervez Musharraf, last week toyed with imposing an emergency rule.

Across the border in India, the story was different.  India, with a population of 1 billion, is racing to become an economic powerhouse.  Growth in the country has been fast and has transformed the country, hoping to regain itself as a great economic power.  Additionally, India has had fair and free elections for decades.  Many of its people, however, are being left behind.  Indian children are more likely to be malnourished than African ones.

For more information, please see:

–http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/13/ap4014300.html

–http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-South-Asia-at-60.html?em&ex=1187323200&en=0969a58d8cda09e2&ei=5087%0A

–http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,2148622,00.html

There are 5,000-12,000 soldiers there now. In August, 50 people were killed and thousands of civilians have evacuated.

The MILF, which signed a ceasefire in 1996, has allowed the army to pass through territories it controls to pursue Abu Sayyaf. However, the MILF and the army clashed on July 10 and several people were killed. Formal peace talks have stalled since September 1996, but are scheduled to reopen this month.

The MNLF has claimed responsibility for recent attacks. The MNLF is still the dominant force in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindinao, but a final peace been formed because the deal fell short of guaranteeing the ethnic Moro the ancestral homeland they sought.

Also, a new counter-terrorism law has given the government wide power to deal with internal security threats, including armed insurgent groups. That legislation may provide legal protection to the army as it launches its new campaigns.

For more information, please see:

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-08-14-voa24.cfm

http://www.asiaobserver.com/content/view/324352/102/

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IH17Ae01.html

US financed China Public Security Technology will install about 20,000 police surveillance cameras along streets in southern China.  The cameras will be guided by sophisticated computer software to automatically recognize the faces of police suspects and detect unusual activity.

Beginning this month, China residency cards fitted with powerful computer chips will be issued to most citizens.  The chips will include the citizen’s name, address, work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status, and landlord’s phone number.  Personal reproductive history will supposedly be included for enforcing China’s controversial “one child” policy.  Plans may be made to include credit histories, subway travel payments, and small purchases charged to the card.

Although China’s plans may be the world’s largest effort to meld computer technology with police work to track a population’s activities and to fight crime.  The plan is to better control an increasingly mobile population and to fight crime.  Experts say the technology may violate civil rights though, saying this may help the Communist Party retain power by maintaining tight controls on the population.

Shenzhen, a computer manufacturing center next to Hong Kong, is the first Chinese city to introduce the new residency cards.  Those who do not have the cards will not be able to live in China and cannot get government benefits.  Some civil rights activists  say the cameras are a violation of the right of privacy contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

For more information, please see:

–http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aaCZvgCJIgTM&refer=asia

–http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/business/worldbusiness/12security.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

–http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=2007-08-12T201228Z_01_N12267967_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-CHINAPUBLICSTOCK-NYTIMES-DC.XML