All posts by Maung Zarni

Dr Maung Zarni is a scholar, educator and human rights activist with 30-years of involvement in Burmese political affairs, Zarni has been denounced as an “enemy of the State” for his opposition to the Myanmar genocide. He is the co-author (with Natalie Brinham) of the pioneering study, "The Slow Burning Genocide of Myanmar’s Rohingyas" (Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal, Spring 2014) and "Reworking the Colonial-Era Indian Peril: Myanmar’s State-Directed Persecution of Rohingyas and Other Muslims" (The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Fall/Winter 2017/18).

Revolutions and Revolutionary Acts

I do not have the moral or intellectual option of telling those on the ground who risk their lives and livelihoods that their resistance is futile. Nor do I share the view that resistance is futile or that another world is not possible. History does not change through normal politics. What Myanmar and her people are undergoing is nothing less than a textbook example of Revolution.

/ March 23, 2021

China-backed Junta’s Murder and Violence Aggravates Myanmar Economy

While the ongoing confrontation between Myanmar society and the criminal junta negatively impacts Myanmar’s economy, China is also responsible. Its short-sighted, human-rights-indifferent approach to pursuing its interests, is further aggravating the economic and political conditions with potentially dire consequences for all.

/ March 16, 2021

We should call the Myanmar Coup Regime a Terrorist Group

Myanmar today has become a textbook example of failed and collapsed state with the national armed forces, having morphed into gangs of heavily armed terrorists, still commanding the air force and navy. Myanmar’s military regime should no longer be treated as a state actor. They are terrorists, no less.

/ March 8, 2021

မောင်ဇာနည် To fellow Burmese activists

တော်လှန်တက်ကြွမှုဆိုတာ ဘာလဲ - ဘယ်အာဏာရှင်မှ အရှင်မထွက်ဘူး သူတို့ကို ခြေထောက်က ဆွဲထုတ်မှ ရတာ

/ February 5, 2021

What is Activism?

Activism is Community, striving to end inhumanity, injustices, exploitation, and oppression.

/ February 1, 2021

Leading scholars’ consensus was clear: Neither ICJ nor ICC on their own will deliver Rohingyas from hell

On 15 December 2020, a group of leading scholars and experts from Canada, USA, and Ireland involved in the global campaign to end Myanmar’s genocide of Rohingyas held a legal roundtable, jointly organised by the Free Rohingya Coalition and FORSEA.

/ December 17, 2020

Indonesia’s Democratic Regression & West Papuan Resistance

While the human rights situation in Indonesia at large – and particularly in West Papua – has worsened, there is increased state repression towards civil society actors and journalists. Furthermore, strong identity politics, cultural intolerance, and religious fundamentalism have risen, resulting in discrimination and violence against vulnerable social groups including women.

/ December 10, 2020

Our ASEAN Region has Flawed Democracies, Not Full Democracies

Former Malaysian cabinet member and MP Tan Sri Sayed Hamid Albar talks to FORSEA on the state of democratization in his native country, and across the region.

/ December 5, 2020

Democratization in Malaysia in particular and Southeast Asian region in general

The British-trained international law scholar, politician and humanitarian Tan Sri Dr Syed Hamid Albar with decades of experience in government and international politics will share his thoughts on Malaysia's stalled democratization and the state of democratization in the region.

/ December 1, 2020

Renowned Thai Scholar and Veteran Dissident of 1976 Democratic Uprising Speaks to FORSEA

Against the backdrop of the current framing of protests as “unprecedented” in the way they publicly and frontally criticise the Thai monarchy and the monarch himself, Thongchai reminds us that it was only 2 or 3 generations ago that the public in the kingdom were able to openly talk about the monarchy, critically or not.

/ November 25, 2020