THE CLOUDS of conflict looming over Iraq have brought Asians on to the streets for a series of peace demonstrations on a scale not seen since the Vietnam War. But Iraq is not in the region's backyard, so why are anti-war passions running so high? There is little social outcry over drug trafficking, child prostitution and smuggling, as rampant now as they ever were. Only sporadically is there some semblance of a united voice and even then it is not truly regional - soccer fever during last year's World Cup tournament or occasional flashes of anti-Japanese sentiment. But Iraq is surely far removed from our radar. Why, then, are we apparently as inflamed with anti-war passion as many Europeans and North Americans? Such a question would seem readily answered in the case of Muslim nations like Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, where support for the Middle East has always been strong. The Philippines and Sri Lanka, with hundreds of thousands of contract workers in Persian Gulf countries, would also be expected to be angry at the disruption war would cause to foreign currency remittances. This reasoning would not seem to apply, though, to the peace forum held in Hong Kong last week, the 10,000 people at a protest rally in the centre of Bangkok yesterday or the hundreds of South Koreans who want to hear British socialist writer John Rees, the founder of the Stop the War Coalition, speak at a meeting in Seoul. The coalition last November co-ordinated with peace movements in Europe, North America and Egypt to hold demonstrations yesterday. The idea has been taken up by dozens of Asian non-government organisations. Mr Rees did not find the support unusual. He said from London before flying to Seoul on Monday that Asians should be concerned because US President George W. Bush had identified North Korea, along with Iraq, as part of an 'axis of evil' and it seemed likely it would be the next American target. The consequences of a war in the Middle East would also affect every part of the world. 'So many people are motivated simply by humanitarian desire to show they're opposed to what other governments around the world are embarked on,' Mr Rees said. 'There are many people who understand the economic consequences and that unbridled American power, even if it's not on their doorstep today, will be tomorrow.' Alarmed by the US war on terrorism and the attacks on Afghanistan, Asian groups started co-ordinating peace efforts, creating coalitions like the Hong Kong-based Asian Peace Alliance, United For Peace Thailand and Peace Malaysia. Asian Peace Alliance Secretariat member Bes Rifareal, a Filipina in Hong Kong for the group's anti-war events, said the US was speaking about empire rather than good deeds, and its intentions had to be stopped. 'We are trying to speak against the intentions of the US to wage war against Iraq because it wants to establish itself in that region,' she said. The anti-war movement in predominantly Muslim Malaysia is Asia's best organised. More than one million signatures have already been collected for a petition to be presented to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and 200,000 people are expected at a demonstration on February 23 that coincides with the annual meeting of the 114-member Non-Aligned Movement in Kuala Lumpur. The president of the International Movement For A Just World, Chandra Muzaffar, who is also a member of Peace Malaysia's advisory panel, does not see such protests as anti-American. Instead, they were the result of a desire for justice. 'What the Washington elite backed by the London elite are doing is unfair and unjust is the general feeling,' Dr Chandra said. 'I haven't seen any expression of anti-Americanism - it's more pro-peace and anti-war.' He agreed many Malaysians were emotionally opposed to war because Iraq was also a Muslim-majority nation. Government backing was an important reason for the strength of the movement. Anti-war feelings are just as evident in Thailand, which has fewer links to the Middle East. About 100 groups, representing all walks of Thai life, have joined forces to push for peace. Visual performance artist Chumpon Apisuk said Thais were as much attuned to the implications of war now as they were during the Vietnam conflict. 'We were affected by the wars in Indochina, the Gulf and Kosovo,' he said. 'We think the world has had enough war.' One by one, Asia's long-running conflicts are nearing resolution. Rebels in Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Indonesian province of Aceh have laid aside their weapons for talks. Now Asians in increasing numbers want the United States and its allies to do the same, starting with Iraq. Peter Kammerer is the Post's Foreign Editor Graphic: KAMM16FGET
