Anthony Kuhn

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Walks Fine Line In Her New Role

Anthony Kuhn — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:12:00 +0000

To her many admirers in the international community, Aung San Suu Kyi remains one of the world's best known democracy icons.

But in Myanmar, also known as Burma, she is now very much a politician who is being criticized for trying to cooperate with the former military rulers who kept her under house arrest for nearly two decades.

If you want to see the old, iconic Aung San Suu Kyi, just head to the bustling headquarters of her party, the National League for Democracy, or NLD, in Yangon, the country's largest city and former capital.

Go past the tables selling Suu Kyi T-shirts, coffee mug

Battling Deforestation In Indonesia, One Firm At A Time

Anthony Kuhn — Fri, 31 May 2013 07:19:00 +0000

On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a backhoe stacks freshly cut trees to be made into pulp and paper. Asia Pulp and Paper, or APP, is Indonesia's largest papermaker, and the company and its suppliers operate vast plantations of acacia trees here that have transformed the local landscape.

APP has sold billions of dollars' worth of paper products to Staples, Disney and other big U.S. corporations.

Print Media Thrives In Myanmar Where Internet Is Limited

Anthony Kuhn — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:26:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Print media are struggling in the U.S. and Europe, but in many Asian countries, including China and India, newspapers are thriving. Another example is Myanmar, also known as Burma. There, only 1 percent of people have access to the Internet and private daily newspapers are rushing into print after decades of being banned. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports on how Burmese journalists are exercising newfound freedoms.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Myanmar's third largest city, Mawlamyine, celebrated a wild and wet annual water festival this year.

As Myanmar Reforms, Indonesia Offers Some Lessons

Anthony Kuhn — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:39:00 +0000

As Myanmar's leaders push a series of political and economic changes, they are also having to deal with recent strife between the majority Buddhists and minority Muslims, or Rohingya.

Many countries making the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy have faced similar ethnic and sectarian conflicts, from Iraq to the former Yugoslavia.

But for Myanmar, perhaps the most compelling case study is also the closest.

Fifteen years ago this week, a deepen

Are Buddhist Monks Involved In Myanmar's Violence?

Anthony Kuhn — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

In the Western stereotype, Buddhists are meditating pacifists who strive to keep their distance from worldly passions. But last month, more than 40 people were killed in fighting between Buddhists and Muslims in the central Burmese town of Meiktila. Witnesses say some Buddhist monks joined in the violence, while others tried to stop it.

One prominent monk in particular has been blamed for being behind it.

U Wirathu, 45, is head of the Masoeyein monastery in Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay, just up the highway from Meiktila.

The Threat To Indonesia's Biodiversity, Foretold In The 1800s

Anthony Kuhn — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:33:00 +0000

British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was not only a key figure in developing the theory of evolution in the mid-19th century but also had the foresight to call for saving endangered species.

Wallace, who died 100 years ago this year, did his most important research in the rich biodiversity of Indonesia, and his plea for preservation is even more compelling than when he wrote it.

From my base in Jakarta, I can just step outside my home to observe the spectacle of li

He Helped Discover Evolution, And Then Became Extinct

Anthony Kuhn — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:04:00 +0000

Ask most folks who came up with the theory of evolution, and they'll tell you it was Charles Darwin.

In fact, Alfred Russel Wallace, another British naturalist, was a co-discoverer of the theory — though Darwin has gotten most of the credit. Wallace died 100 years ago this year.

Wallace developed some of his most important ideas about natural selection during an eight-year expedition to what was then the Dutch East Indies — modern-day Indonesia — to observe wildlife and collect specimens.

As Myanmar Reforms, Old Tensions Rise To The Surface

Anthony Kuhn — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:29:00 +0000

The town of Meiktila in central Myanmar presents a tranquil scene on a hot April day: A woman presses juice from sugar cane while customers loll around in the midday heat. The town is right in the center of the country, on a broad and arid plain where white cows graze among palm trees and pointy pagodas. It's a bustling trading post on the road between the capital, Naypyidaw, and the country's second-largest city, Mandalay.

But just down the street, there is evidence of a conflagration: Large areas have been reduced to heaps of charred rubble.

Journey To Java's 'Tempeh Village': Where Soybean Cakes Are Born

Anthony Kuhn — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:16:00 +0000

For centuries, Asia has been home to sophisticated vegetarian cultures. In recent years, Americans have gradually discovered cooking with meat substitutes like tofu and an Indonesia soybean cake called tempeh.

Tempeh is known for being versatile. There's an almost endless variety of ways to cook it.

Now A Politician, Aung San Suu Kyi Is The Object Of Protesters

Anthony Kuhn — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 09:43:00 +0000

Last year, Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was greeted by adoring crowds during triumphant tours of Asia, the U.S. and Europe.

After Long Isolation, Myanmar Now Has Suitors

Anthony Kuhn — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:20:00 +0000

For decades, Myanmar was isolated diplomatically, an economic backwater that seemed almost frozen in time amid a Southeast Asian region that was modernizing at a rapid pace.

But the political reforms under way in Myanmar, also known as Burma, are redefining its place in the world. President Obama's visit in November was a sign of the dramatic turnaround in relations with the United States.

Meanwhile, China, which has been Myanmar's main backer for years, is stepping up its investments. Chinese media report that 700-mile oil and gas pipelines will be completed in May.

An Indonesian Extremist Trades Rifle For Spatula

Anthony Kuhn — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:39:00 +0000

Tucked away in a back street of Semarang, a city in Indonesia's Central Java province, is a tiny, four-table restaurant. In the cramped kitchen, Mahmudi Haryono whips up a plate of ribs — lunch for two customers.

He brings it out and serves it to two Indonesian soldiers in olive drab uniforms.

Haryono is smiling and cool as a cucumber. But he acknowledges that after getting out of jail a few years ago, serving men in uniform set butterflies aflutter in his stomach.

"Sometimes, I felt insecure," he says, sitting down at a table to talk as the soldiers eat.

In Myanmar, A Hunt For Fabled Cache Of Buried WWII Spitfires

Anthony Kuhn — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:35:00 +0000

For the past few weeks a team of scientists, archaeologists and documentary makers has been digging at Yangon's international airport in Myanmar, also known as Burma. They are searching for a legendary trove of Spitfire fighter planes, said to have been buried in Burma in the waning days of World War II.

The tale of the Spitfires has lived on among old soldiers and aviation buffs. One of them, 86-year-old British veteran Stanley Coombe, is part of the search team. He recalls his time in Burma during the final, chaotic days of the war. Japan had been defeated.

South Korea Prepares The Young For A Rapidly Aging Population

Anthony Kuhn — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:39:00 +0000

At a clean and sunny community center in Seoul, the South Korean capital, senior citizens make clay models of their own faces in an arts class. Some of the faces are vivid and lifelike. Others are expressionless and indistinct. The project is intended to help the seniors remember what they look like.

This is the Gangseo District Center for Dementia. Since 2006, Seoul has opened a dementia center in each of the city's 25 urban districts.

It's one of the novel approaches that South Korea has developed to cope with an epidemic of dementia.

Jakarta's New Governor Seen As A Rising Star

Anthony Kuhn — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 15:32:00 +0000

Residents give a boisterous welcome to Jakarta's newly elected governor, Joko Widodo, when he shows up for a town meeting with the residents of a Jakarta slum where residents' shacks overlook the muddy, garbage-strewn waters of the Ciliwung River.

The governor's administration plans to fix chronic flooding here by dredging the river and moving residents into subsidized apartments.

One resident tells the governor that he and his family have been living in this neighborhood since before 1945, when the East Indies were still a Dutch colony, and he doesn't want to be relocated.

South Korea's New Leader Promises Moderate Path

Anthony Kuhn — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:28:00 +0000

South Korea will have its first female president, following Wednesday's close presidential election. Park Geun-hye says she will be open to better relations with North Korea, but she leads a conservative party known for its hardline with Pyongyang.

South Korea Elects First Female President

Anthony Kuhn — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:37:00 +0000

South Korea will have its first woman president with the election of Park Geun-hye after a very tight election. With most of the votes counted, Park was elected with a small majority over her liberal opponent. Park's father was the country's military dictator for 18 years.

Female Leader May Not Be Enough To Change Male-Dominated South Korea

Anthony Kuhn — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 21:56:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

South Korea holds a presidential election tomorrow. And, for the first time there, public opinion polls favor a woman. Park Geun-hye is promising more support for single parents and a push to get more Korean women into the workforce.

Daughter Of A Dictator Favored In S. Korean Election

Anthony Kuhn — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:22:00 +0000

Her presidential campaign rallies present blaring pop music and dancing supporters, but Park Geun-hye's campaign involves managing some tricky legacies.

Her father, Park Chung-hee, was a military dictator who ran the country from the time he carried out a 1961 military coup until his assassination in 1979. His memory still stirs mixed emotions among South Koreans.

In September, the daughter publicly apologized for her father's suppression of democracy.

South Koreans Wary After Rocket Launch From North

Anthony Kuhn — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:27:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

North Korea's missile launch comes at a sensitive time for South Korea, which will hold national elections in a week. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from Seoul now to discuss how the launch is affecting politics on the Korean Peninsula. And Anthony, have we heard any more news out of North Korea about how this success is being received by people there?

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Well, we have seen pictures out of North Korea of smiling soldiers and military bands celebrating the launch. Clearly, this is what the government wants people to see.

Israel, Christians Negotiate The Price Of Holy Water

Anthony Kuhn — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:29:00 +0000

One of the holiest sites in Christendom has also been one of the most contested. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem lies on the site where Jesus Christ is said to have been crucified and buried.

Multiple Christian denominations share the church uneasily, and clerics sometimes come to blows over the most minor of disputes.

Palestinian Olive Harvest Turns Bitter As Economy Sputters

Anthony Kuhn — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 07:34:00 +0000

Across the West Bank, olive harvesting season is drawing to a close once again. But this year, the usually joyous occasion has become grimly purposeful because the Palestinian economy, according to some economists, is being held hostage to politics, and is on the verge of collapse.

In the West Bank village of Deir Ibzie, Amal Karajeh and her husband, Basem, comb through the leaves and branches of an olive tree in their front yard.

The plump green olives rain down on the ground, where they're collected in plastic sheets and buckets.

Some Restaurants In Israel Declare A Kosher Rebellion

Anthony Kuhn — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:38:00 +0000

The Carousela cafe in West Jerusalem is one of a handful of restaurants and cafes in Israel staging a bit of a rebellion by defying Jewish religious authorities who claim they are the only ones who can certify restaurants as kosher, or in compliance with Jewish dietary laws.

Activists, rabbis and customers recently gathered in support of Carousela after the authorities threatened to fine the cafe if it claimed to be kosher without a certificate from the rabbinate

Arafat's Body Exhumed In Poisoning Investigation

Anthony Kuhn — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:13:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died eight years ago of a stroke in a French hospital. Today, on the West Bank, his tomb was opened and his remains exhumed. Palestinian authorities led the effort. And now, European experts will try to determine if Arafat was poisoned. This past July, a Swiss laboratory found traces of a radioactive substance on his clothes. Many Palestinians believe Israel assassinated Arafat.

Gaza Holds Funerals For Those Killed In Air Raids

Anthony Kuhn — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 21:48:00 +0000

Mahmoud Qurtom, 7, can often be found playing with his brothers and sisters, barefoot in the sand by his home's doorway in Gaza. He speaks only a word or two at a time, but smiles a lot. He explains why his right arm is in a sling.

"I was playing in the doorway," he says, "And then I ran away from the rockets."

Mahmoud's sisters brought him to their father, Osama Qurtom, who looked at him and saw nothing wrong.

Gaza Conflict Unites Some Palestinians Behind Hamas

Anthony Kuhn — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 22:20:00 +0000

Transcript

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: I'm Anthony Kuhn in Gaza City. Just before the cease fire took effect, the streets were silent and deserted. War-weary Gazans know that this is the time the combatants take their parting shots just before they let their guns go silent. At the Al-Sheefa Hospital(ph), Dr. Ashraf al-Kidrah(ph), a health ministry spokesman, says that the news of the cease fire brings forth mixed emotions.

ASHRAF AL-KIDRAH: (Through translator) I'm very happy, but I'm still scared because I'm afraid Israelis will not honor the cease fire.

Gaza Crisis Unites Palestinian Factions

Anthony Kuhn — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:23:00 +0000

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

For more on the politics within the Palestinian territories, we turn now to NPR's Anthony Kuhn in Gaza. He reports that the current conflict has helped unite Palestine's various factions and strengthened Hamas' domestic political position.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: A video on the Internet shows a concealed metal trapdoor in the ground opening automatically.

Violence In Gaza Strip Intensifies

Anthony Kuhn — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:49:00 +0000

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

The day had started with more intense air attacks between Israel and the militant Hamas rulers of Gaza. Overnight air raids pushed the Palestinian death toll to more than 90, with more than 700 wounded. The numbers on the Israeli side are dramatically lower, with three dead so far.

As the fighting drags into a new week, the U.N. and the Arab League are stepping up efforts to mediate.

Israel, Hamas Escalate Tit-For-Tat Strikes

Anthony Kuhn — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

I'm Melissa Block. And we begin this hour with new fighting in an old conflict. Israeli war planes struck targets across the Gaza Strip today, while Hamas militants and their allies fired rockets at several Israeli towns. One rocket landed on the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv.

Deadly Violence Escalates In Gaza Strip

Anthony Kuhn — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:13:00 +0000

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Early today, Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza. The Israeli action is in response to rocket strikes by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

WERTHEIMER: Yesterday, the top military commander of Hamas was killed in an airstrike by Israel's defense forces. This is the heaviest fighting in the Palestinian territory, in years. Joining us now, from Gaza City, is NPR's Anthony Kuhn.