Japan’s Values Diplomacy Runs Aground in Myanmar
Japan’s rivalry with China reinforces Tokyo’s inclination to avert its eyes from human rights abuses, electoral fraud, corruption and suppression of fundamental freedoms. Tokyo is not opposed to liberal democracy but also not prepared to risk anything to support it.
The Sun has Set on Empire: Let’s Reimagine Southeast Asia
The struggle for racial, political and economic justice in Southeast Asia is a fight for a genuinely postcolonial condition, and its establishment is implied in each protest against authoritarian ambitions. If colonialism made the modern world, then decolonisation will not be complete until the world – including Southeast Asia – is reimagined.
FORSEA Supports Joint Statement on Myanmar by Myanmar National Human Rights Commission and Progressive Voice
People from the whole country who are taking part in peaceful demonstrations are facing violations of their basic human rights. This includes arbitrary arrests and charges, threats, the use of indiscriminate violence such as intentionally shooting into the crowd, beatings, the use of weapons, rubber bullets and water cannons, and restrictions on their freedom of expression.
Gay Couple Caned in Aceh, Indonesia
Same-sex practices in Aceh traditionally were not seen in contradiction with local customs (adat) and religion. It is ironic that in Aceh today, homophobic political and religious officials voice opinions that would be more intelligible to the condescending Dutch colonizers than to Aceh’s elite circles a century ago.
FORSEA Condemns the Forced Disappearance of Ahmed Samir Abdelhay Ali
Ahmed has been involved in several projects with human rights organizations and NGOs in Egypt as a vocal human rights defender. Ahmed's case is the latest in a series of cases of students being harassed and forcefully detained by Egyptian authorities.
Thai and Myanmar Militaries: Both Locked their Nations into Cycles of Nation-Destroying Coups
In their one-hour discussion, Pavin Chachavalpongpun and Maung Zarni, the Thai and Burmese exiles who co-founded FORSEA, draw lessons from the two countries’ vicious cycles of military coups – going back almost a century, in the case of the Kingdom of Thailand and six-decades in the case of post-colonial Myanmar.
မောင်ဇာနည် To fellow Burmese activists
တော်လှန်တက်ကြွမှုဆိုတာ ဘာလဲ - ဘယ်အာဏာရှင်မှ အရှင်မထွက်ဘူး သူတို့ကို ခြေထောက်က ဆွဲထုတ်မှ ရတာ
Militaries of Thailand & Myanmar: A Tale of Two Perennial Coup-Makers
Myanmar has just made headlines with its coup. Thailand and Myanmar are no strangers to coups. For almost a century, Thailand has been locked in a vicious cycle of military coups. Its counterpart in Myanmar, the Tatmadaw, has also been playing king and kingmaker alternately since the late 1950’s.
FORSEA Condemns Military Coup in Myanmar
FORSEA, a grassroots network of scholars and activists across Southeast Asia, unequivocally condemns Myanmar military's coup and the detention of NLD leaders and MP-elects.
Myanmar’s Coup Crushed the BIG LIE of Democratic Transition under Aung San Suu Kyi
The Dialogue on Democratic Struggles Across Southeast Asia will shed light on how Myanmar’s Big Lie – democratic transition / “fragile democracy" – has gained currency worldwide over the last 10 years since Myanmar military rolled out its constitutional government lead by ex-general Thein Sein in 2010.