Category: Opinion

The latest opinion from those committed to making our region fair, just and democratic.


Boycott Myanmar Campaign

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).

/ December 10, 2019
A Tale of Two Warlords- Andal Ampatuan, Rodrigo Duterte, and the Philippines’ Mutating Politics FORSEA

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.

/ November 29, 2019

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.

/ October 11, 2019
FORSEA Muslim Rohingya waiting the foods in the refugee camp at balukhali Bangladesh

National Security States Demonise Myanmar’s Victims of Genocide – Rohingya – and Other Refugees

Those who vehemently oppose the repressive – and often racist, bigoted and economically predatory states – call attention to Myanmar's Rohingya people as the most terrorised by their own government.

/ September 25, 2019

Ban in Extramarital and Gay Sex Postponed in Indonesia

The Criminal Code may yet be revised so that human rights like freedom of expression and association are better protected. But this requires the mobilisation of civil society in a way that has not been seen since General Suharto was ousted in 1998. It seems more likely that the pace of Islamization of the country has only faced a temporary setback.

/ September 23, 2019
May 18th National Cemetery Memorial Hall

Homage to Gwangju and Salute to South Korean Democrats and Rights Activists

FORSEA Co-founder Maung Zarni paid homage to South Korea's fallen democrats and rights activists at the May 18 National Cemetery, Gwangju, South Korea.

/ September 22, 2019

A New Royal Consort Raises Uncomfortable Questions about the Role of Royalty in Thailand

After three failed marriages, Vajiralongkorn has lost interest in fulfilling the institution’s role in projecting family values. And after appointing a noble consort, it's a tall order to rescue King Vajiralongkorn’s image.

/ September 12, 2019
FORSEA South China Sea

Standing Up to the Giant: Analysing Vietnam’s Efforts in the South China Sea

The only way to avoid all-out conflict breaking out in the South China Sea is to present a strong collective front among ASEAN nations and for the international community to urge China to fully abide by international law.

/ September 4, 2019

CAMBODIA’S TONLE SAP LAKE UNDER THREAT

The worst drought season in a century, endless damming, ongoing climate change, and the harm of millions subsisting on a seasonal sea have all strained Tonle Sap to breaking.

/ August 20, 2019
Pavin Chachavalpongpun speak at East West Center Washington DC

Attack on FORSEA Board Member Pavin Chachavalpongpun

The FORSEA Board is gravely concerned about the politically motivated attack on our colleague – FORSEA co-founder and Kyoto University professor Pavin Chachavalpongpun in his own bedroom in Kyoto a month ago.

/ August 6, 2019