"When the hastily confected Fifa world peace prize was bestowed on Donald Trump last week, the ceasefire in the Thai-Cambodian border dispute was among the achievements cited. Mr Trump also boasted of having ended war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He brags of having brought eight conflicts to a close and has just had the US Institute of Peace renamed in his honour."
"Thailand has also attacked the proliferation of criminal online scam centres in Cambodia. What gives the disagreement such potency, however, is that in both countries nationalist feeling has been weaponised for domestic purposes. In Cambodia, where the longstanding ruler Hun Sen has given way to his son Hun Manet in a dynastic dictatorship, whipping up anger against its neighbour helps to legitimise a regime that has little to offer its people."
Donald Trump claimed credit for multiple conflict resolutions after receiving a hastily conferred prize and the US Institute of Peace was renamed. A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia collapsed, displacing roughly half a million people and killing at least 27 civilians. In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, roughly 200,000 people fled the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels days after a Washington peace deal; fighting continued despite claims the sides agreed to disarm. Bangkok agreed to a July deal under US tariff pressure while Phnom Penh welcomed US intercession. Longstanding territorial disputes, heritage claims, alleged new landmines, and weaponised nationalism have reignited violence.
#thailandcambodia-border-dispute #dr-congo-m23-conflict #mass-displacement #weaponised-nationalism #us-diplomatic-leverage
Read at www.theguardian.com
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