Philippines’ Duterte Seeks End of Broadcast Foe
As expected, the increasingly autocratic administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has acted to try to shut down the Philippines’ biggest news and media corporation, ABS-CBN, via a petition filed with the Philippine Supreme Court by the nominally independent solicitor general’s office.
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.
A Film Unseen in Thailand
On 12 December 2019, up-and-coming Thai film producer, Thunska Pansittivorakul, thrilled his audiences at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, by showing one of his latest films – Screaming Goats – a film never to be screened in his home country, Thailand.
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.
FORSEA Co-Founder Pavin Chachavalpongpun Edits the “Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand”
November 6, 2019, sees the release of the “Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand” which is edited by FORSEA co-founder Pavin Chachavalpongpun. This timely volume discusses the condition of today’s Thailand and contains 34 chapters from an international line-up of academics.