Days of popular protest in Indonesia exploded into violence Aug. 28 after Affan Kurniawan, a motorbike delivery worker, was fatally struck by a police vehicle in Jakarta. The worker had not even been participating in the protest when armored vehicles ploughed into the crowd, mowing him down. Both Grab and Gojek delivery apps confirmed that Kurniawan was registered on their respective platforms. Grab also offered condolences to the families of other affected workers, including Dandi Rusdamdiansyah, who was fatally attacked during unrest in Makassar. Kurniawan's helmet, lying in the rainy street after he was struck, has become an online viral image that fueled further demonstrations across the country. Six were killed and the army called to the streets before the protests were called off Aug. 31, when the government agreed to revoke controversial perks for lawmakers, including lavish housing allowances. But the underlying grievances of unemployment and inflation remain. (Jakarta Globe, Straits Times, CNA, NYT, France24, Politico, Marketing Interactive)

UN human rights experts on Aug. 25 condemned what they described as escalating repression against the Khmer Krom people in Vietnam, urging authorities to cease targeting minority communities through security laws, and to release those detained for peaceful activity. The experts reported that Khmer Krom rights defenders, including Theravada Buddhist monks, face systematic harassment and criminalization for peaceful efforts to promote indigenous identity, cultural expression and religious freedom. The experts further condemned government claims that indigenous and minority cultural identity threaten national security and public order.

Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Manet, nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on Aug. 7, citing his "crucial role" in restoring peace after bloody border fighting with Thailand. The gushy statement praised Trump's "extraordinary statesmanship" and "innovative diplomacy." (NYT)

Cambodia now becomes the third country to nominate the bellicose Trump for the Peace Prize after Israel and Pakistan. Islamabad's nomination followed Trump's supposed involvement in the ceasefire deal with India that ended several days of mutual missile strikes in May. The problem is that India denies that the US or any other foreign power had a hand in its decision to accept a truce. (Hindustan Times)

Dozens of internally displaced Rohingya in Burma's Rakhine state have died of starvation this year, according to a report released June 12 by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK). Nearly 150,000 Rohingya have been confined to internment camps in the state since 2012, relying on humanitarian assistance to survive. Tens of thousands are experiencing starvation as a result of a trade blockade and severe humanitarian access restrictions imposed by the ruling junta in response to escalating clashes with the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine militia. The AA has also been accused of atrocities against Rohingya living in areas under its control.

Escalating violence in Indonesia's West Papua region is threatening the security of the largely indigenous population amid intensified clashes between Indonesian security forces and separatist rebels, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned May 29. Military operations in the densely forested Central Highlands have resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of civilians due to drone strikes and the indiscriminate use of explosive munitions, forcing thousands of indigenous Papuans to flee their homes.

Following his visit to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations earlier this month, Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing thanked Russia for the fighter jets and helicopters it has provided his military government. The junta, which came to power in the February 2021 coup, is currently facing an insurgency by a number of armed ethnic and opposition groups across Burma. Rights groups accuse the Tatmadaw, as the Burmese military is known, of routinely targeting civilian populations and infrastructure in its aerial attacks. While in Moscow, Min Aung Hlaing also met for the first time with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, another key patron of his regime. (TNH)

Burma's military junta has continued to bomb rebel-held areas following the major earthquake in the country on March 28, which has killed more than 1,600 people. The UN official for human rights in the country described the attacks as "completely outrageous and unacceptable." Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews told the BBC that it was "nothing short of incredible" that the military is continuing to "drop bombs when you are trying to rescue people" after the quake. "I'm calling upon the junta to just stop, stop any of its military operations," he added. Strikes have been reported since the disaster in Shan state and in Sagaing region—the epicenter of the quake. (BBC News)

Junta air-strikes killed over 170 people across Burma in January, a fourfold increase over the previous month, according to an analysis by The Irrawaddy, an independent exile-based newspaper that maintains a network of reporters on the ground. The strikes hit villages, health facilities, a prison and a gold mine in various areas held by the resistance, although most of those killed were civilians. More than 1,800 people have been killed in air-strikes since the February 2021 coup. (TNH)