Category: Opinion
The latest opinion from those committed to making our region fair, just and democratic.
Limited Democracy: Elites and Subalterns in Contemporary Philippine Politics
Decades of elite-initiated societal fragmentation have made it far more difficult to mount a coherent progressive challenge to the Philippines’ predatory politics.
What does the Myanmar Provisional Measures Order by the International Court of Justice mean for ASEAN?
It is long overdue for ASEAN to sync its policies towards Myanmar with international opinion, legal and human rights, and the global public.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Rohingyas
The world should NOW use the ICJ’s stand to mount a massive global campaign on behalf of the oppressed and discriminated Rohingya.
“Why Myanmar’s Genocide Denial Will Come Back to Haunt It”, Washington Post, Jan. 15, 2020
The ICJ has announced that it will issue a preliminary judgment in the case on Jan. 23, 2020. Yet one outcome is already clear: Aung San Suu Kyi’s defiant genocide denial generated an outpouring of approval back home. This is chilling not only for the Rohingya and other Muslims inside the country, it is also extremely dangerous for the multiethnic and multi-religious state of Myanmar as a whole.
What Will Thailand Look Like in 2020?
Vajiralongkorn is an ambitious king, he has also become increasingly politically savvy. But he is not alone in the world of ambitious leaders. New leaders, like Thanathorn, are equally ambitious. 2020 could be the year when the two collide.
ความล้มเหลวของไต้หวันภายใต้นโยบายมุ่งลงใต้และการรุกคืบของจีนในไทย
ไทยกลายเป็นสนามแข่งขันของการต่อสู้ระหว่างไต้หวันและจีน ในการแพร่อิทธิพลมาสู่เอเชียตะวันออกเฮียงใต้
Singapore Uses ‘Fake News’ Law Against Critics
The very thing that press organizations, social media platforms and human rights groups feared is now coming to pass in Singapore.
Rights Groups Launch Myanmar Boycott Ahead of Hague Genocide Hearings
Rohingya campaigners launch a global boycott movement, urging corporations, foreign investors, professional and cultural organizations to sever their institutional ties with Myanmar, on the eve of Myanmar’s genocide trial at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A Tale of Two Warlords: Andal Ampatuan, Rodrigo Duterte, and the Philippines’ Mutating Politics
Local and provincial warlords had been an integral component of national politics since the postwar period. During the Arroyo years, Ampatuan and Duterte increasingly influenced national affairs from afar by dealing out violence in their respective locales.
Thai Kings’s Absolute Reign
The Thai military, which helped the country’s establishment create an unassailable monarchy to further its ends, now finds that it has created an uncontrollable figure in the form of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the 67-year-old monarch who took the throne on the death of his revered father in 2016.