EL SALVADOR: Former TV reporter and talk show host Mauricio Funes was elected President in one of the most polarized campaigns since the 12 year El Salvador civil war that claimed more than 75,000 lives. Funes, a moderate, was chosen from outside the ranks of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. The party, once rebels during the civil war, is the latest leftist group to rise to power in Lain America.

Funes is stoked, saying:

“This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador’s greatest hope,” Funes said. “I want to thank all the people who voted for me and chose that path of hope and change.”

Hope and change rhetoric has been popular lately. Around the world people are holding their breath, waiting to see how Obama will react. The US’s history with left leaning Latin American governments is sketchy to say the least, but Funes hopes that Obama will honor the people’s choice.

The previous conservative government did inspire growth, but at a cost. There is still terrible inequity among the people of El Salvador, and tensions linger from the civil war. Funes plans to crack down on big business, which has enjoyed little government regulation for years.

China Post article: Salvadoran ex-rebels win presidency for first time

DHAKA, BANGLADESH: Many of the families evicted from their homes during the fighting earlier this week are still trapped outside the gates.

Photo of Dhaka by Akhlaque Haque

UPDATED: 11 March 2009

DHAKA, BANGLADESH: The police quelled a violent mutiny by thousands of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary border defense force. Their uprising lasted only 34 hours, but already rescue workers have uncovered dozens of bodies in sewers, drain pips, and shallow graves. Most of the dead were military personnel who were held hostage during the mutiny.

The mutiny began Tuesday when armed BDR fighters seized the BDR headquarters building in Dhaka. The Bangladesh Army evacuated a 3km radius around the BDR HQ and reinforced the siege with tanks and heavy artillery.

‘Lay down your guns immediately and go back to barracks. Do not force me to take tough actions or push my patience beyond tolerable limits,’ PM Sheikh Hasina said.

The tension rapidly spread around the country. Fighting was reported in at least 15 other BDR bases. The BDR’s big beef is that their leadership comes from the army and police corpse, and not from promotion through the BDR ranks. They would like to be lead by their own. They are also looking for higher wages and the freedom to accept better paying UN Peacekeeping missions.

The BDR mutineers held out until they had a government assurance of amnesty and a promise to look into their demands.

Many of the hostages are still mssing.

New Nation article: Mutiny ends as tanks enter city: Police takes over Peelkhana armoury as BDR rebels surrender: 11 bodies of army officials recovered: Fate of 127 still unknown

BDNews24.com article: Mutiny ends as rebels retreat, police enter

This is part one of a series of interviews with a revel leader in Patani, in southern Thailand. The conflict reaches back to 1902, when Thailand colonized the independent Patani Kingdom. The Patani leader even refers to Thailand as Siam, to give you an idea of how long they have been fighting.

Photo of Rwandan Genocide Memorial by Foreign and Commonwealth Office

RWANDA: Since Jan. 20, Rwanda has been working with Congo to chase down the Hutu rebels who have been hiding in the Congolese jungle since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The Tutsi controlled Rwandan government is offering a safe return for any rebels who surrender.

Many of the rebels are grateful for the Rwandan military, and 320 have already lain down their weapons.

Karege was among the earliest deserters. It’s true more people are leaving their guns behind, he says, but not because they’re scared of the joint offensive. They’re coming back, he and others say, because the offensive is creating the kind of chaos needed for a successful escape from a rebel group that threatens its foot soldiers with death if they try to desert.

It’s easy to forget that most of these violent, evil, unfeeling rebels just want to go home to their families. To this day, like half of Rwandan news is about genocide victims or genocide convictions. It is not the kind of thing a people can get over easily, but hopefully flushing the FDLR rebels in the jungle will be a good first step.

Article from the Christian Science Monitor: Hutu rebels drop guns, return to Rwanda