PRESS

On 17th November 34 scholars, activists and artists from 14 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Australia representing 3 generations will make a clarion call against the rise of Far-Right ideologies and regimes which scapegoat immigrants, refugees, LGBTQ, and religious minorities while violating workers’ rights.

The marathon YouTube LIVE event – 11 am to 4: 30 pm GMT/UK – FORSEA Forces of Renewal Southeast Asia – YouTube is organized by FORSEA, a grassroots network of concerned scholars and activists with ties to the region, and co-sponsored by the US-based Hindus for Human Rights, Genocide Watch, Warsaw-based Never Again! Association, Internacional de Conscienca, National Lawyers’ Guild (of San Francisco), and Next System Studies at George Mason University.

Silva Cantele, a Venice-based grandson of the Italian partisans and the front man of Nuovo Canzoniere Partigiano, will open the event with his solo LIVE performance. His band is a 12-year-old musical anti-Fascist resistance in order to inspire a new generation of local activists who oppose Fascist or Far Right ideologies in Italy.

Among the participating artists are Thodur Madabusi Krishna (TM Krishna), a well-known Indian Carnatic vocalist, anti-caste activist, and the winner of Ramon Magsaysay award; the Northern Welsh punk folk singer Efa Supertramp; Nik Jidan and the Malaysian band from Kuala Lumpur and Turkish acoustic musicians from Istanbul.

In his pre-recorded opening address to the event, world renowned linguist and activist Noam Chomsky – who will turn 94 on 7th December and is “old enough to remember the grim memories” of the deadly rise of Fascism in Italy in the 1930’s – offers his incisive analysis of the economic forces directly responsible for the rise of Far Right. In his keynote speech, he will argue that these forces have ushered in what he calls “a period of savage capitalist pro-Fascism” during which the organized life on the planet has come under unprecedented threat (for instance, the run-away global warming) from these economic forces.

Holding up Trump’s MAGA rhetoric for American working classes, Chomsky highlights the active presence of “the demagogues of the people who have the talent to hold one hand high with a banner telling working people “I love you” while the other hand is stabbing them in the back.”

Sunita Viswanath, the Indian-born American in New York who co-founded the Hindus for Human Rights in USA, will also share her concerns about the demagogic manipulation of people’s economic insecurities and sense of religious faith in her native India of 1.3 billion. In her words, “I am distressed that Hindutva (Far Right nationalism among Hindus of India) has become the dominant expression of Hindu identity in the world today. I want to point out that Hindutva or Hindu Supremacy is a fascist and murderous political ideology, not to be confused with the faith.” She adds, “our urgent work, which includes anti-caste activism, is to open the eyes of Hindus worldwide to the fact that their faith is hijacked by a Fascist ideology which poses a grave danger to democracy and peace in India and beyond.”

Contact: & +44 771 047 3322 (UK Whatsapp and Signal)

For the complete list of participants & event program, see https://forsea.co/after-mussolini-a-warning-against-future-proto-fascisms/

Event Timetable:

For several decades now that the so-called “constitutional monarchy” of Thailand has proven to be fraudulent. Under the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the monarchy regularly intervened in politics, cooperating with the military in overthrowing challenging civilian regimes, and fiercely dominating its own power position within the Thai political realm. Therefore, the call from Thammasat University students is both timely and crucial in moving Thailand forward in the democratic direction.

FORSEA wholeheartedly supports the ten demands of the Allied Thammasat and Protest Group, mostly regarding the role and responsibility of the monarchy. In particular, FORSEA wishes to highlight some of their demands as key indicators should the Thai monarchy deserve to remain as an apolitical institution of Thailand, or if not, be abolished as antithetical to democracy.

Among the demands are:

1. 1. Separation of the king’s personal wealth from the royal palace’s vast fortune held by the Crown Property Bureau. In 2018, King Vajiralongkorn took sole possession of the CPB with an estimated fortune of US$30 billion.
   2. Forbidding the monarchy from playing any role in politics or endorsing any military coups. Thailand has had the most coups in Southeast Asia. Most of them were endorsed by the last King, Bhumibol Adulyadel. There is no denying that the current king has forged closed ties with the military, even appointing General Apirat Kongsompong as the army chief.
   3. Nullifying the order that permitted the transfer of a military force under Vajiralongkorn’s private military unit. This is to ensure that the monarchy will not depend on the military to support itself and that the military is to be depoliticised.
   4. Abolishing the excessive glorification of the monarchy and ceasing all the state propaganda on the monarchy.
   5. Investigating the deaths of critics of the monarchy. Since 2016, there have been almost 10 dissidents being abducted, forcedly disappeared, and killed. The latest case of Wanchalearm Satsaksit exemplified the vicious tactic of the palace in eliminating its enemies.

FORSEA is working towards making Thailand a truly democratic state.

For questions, comments, interviews contact:

Dr. Pavin Chachavalpongpun
+81 90 8449 9694

FORSEA, a network of Southeast Asian democrats and activists, strongly condemns the attack against a political activist, Sirawith “Ja New” Seritiwat, on 28 June 2019. The attack was orchestrated in broad daylight on a busy roadside, an act that suggests the four attackers were ‘confident’ to act in defiance of the law. This was not the first time Ja New was assaulted. On 2 June, less than a month before, he was attacked by five unidentified men at a bus stop on Ratchadapisek road in Bangkok. The most recent attack took place after Ja New participated in the signature collection campaign by the Startup People which urged senators to abstain from the election of the prime minister in parliament.

In the recent attack, Ja New was reported to have been brutally beaten with baseball bats, the result of which led to his immediate hospitalisation in the intensive care unit. He was said to be unresponsive, with external injuries including an orbital fracture, bleeding in the eyes and a broken nose. Quoted in the Bangkok Post, his mother reports that doctors are concerned about his sight because of the impact on the optic nerve.

This latest incident occurs just days before another political gathering to be hosted by Ja New on 29 June 2019. The attack was deemed to stop him from organizing such event. The attacks against Ja New add to a long list of violent acts against political activists in the past years. These political activists have been promoting democracy in the age of the military rule.

The fact that no attackers have been arrested up to this point seems to indicate the military’s involvement in such a virulent attacked against them, including Ja New.

The space for political expression has been shrinking in Thailand. The culture of impunity is prevailing. Although there is a new government in Thailand, the political violence, as evident in the case of Ja New, has not subsided.

FORSEA calls for the government of Thailand to show its commitment to provide safety to public, especially its critics.

In this case, it is very important that the government must arrest those attackers. Failing to so will only further testify the direct involvement of the government in the attack against its own people.

 For questions, comments, interviews contact:

Dr. Pavin Chachavalpongpun,
+81 90 8449 9694

FORSEA, a network of southeast asian democrats and activists, condemns the parliamentary vote for the position of prime minister in Thailand on 5 June 2019, the result of which reaffirms the return to the premiership of General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader of the coup. General Prayuth seized power illegally by staging a coup against the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. Since then, Thailand has been under the firm grip of the repressive military regime of General Prayuth.

The coup became a plot of the Thai establishment to manage the imminent royal succession and to prevent interference from the then Yingluck government. After the coup, the junta embarked on a long-term project both to defend the political interests of the monarchy and to entrench itself in politics. In so doing, the military commissioned the rewriting of the Thai constitution to one apparently hostile towards democratisation. Among many provisions, the Senate was reconstructed. Now all members of the Senate are appointed by the junta. This provision proved to be useful in the Thai parliament on 5 June when all the Senators voted in support of General Prayuth return as premier: events evident as conflict of interest and the crudest form of nepotism.

The mission here is to ensure the staying power of the military, a mission endorsed by the monarchy itself. With all Senators on his side, General Prayuth has striven to forge alliances with a number of political parties. Among these parties is the Palang Pracharat, which won the highest popular votes in the 24 March elections – the elections that FORSEA discovered to be replete with fraud and irregularities (see the full report at https://forsea.co/fraud-irregularities-and-dirty-tricks-a-report-on-thailands-2019-elections/). General Prayuth was supported by both the junta-appointed Senators and the parties endorsed by the junta itself.

The verdict of the long-delayed voting session was not unexpected. General Prayuth garnered 500 votes, 251 from the Senate and 249 from the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, his rival, Thanathorn Jungrungruangkit, the leader of the Future Forward party, received only 244 votes and hence will continue his fight in parliament as opposition.

The entire parliamentary votes were therefore politically manipulated. Thailand is still in the military’s shadow. Worse, the electoral process has become a legitimising tool for the junta to permanently root itself in politics, this time setting itself as a legitimate player. For this reason, FORSEA absolutely condemns the political manipulation on the part of the junta, General Prayuth, the Thai Senate and the parties that lent their support for General Prayuth that led him to parliamentary victory. FORSEA also wishes to seek support from the international community to reject the legitimacy of this manipulated process and to General’s Prayuth’s renewed premiership.

 For questions, comments, interviews contact:

Dr. Pavin Chachavalpongpun,
+81 90 8449 9694

Bangkok, Thursday May 9, 2019 – Forces of Renewal for Southeast Asia (FORSEA) has published a report authored by FORSEA co-founder by Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun, in partnership with the Thai activist group CSI LA. The report catalogues numerous instances of election fraud and various types of irregularities observed before, during and after the March 24 election in Thailand.

The evidence presented in the report was gathered using an innovative crowdsourcing method. Over a period of 10 days around the elections, Thai citizens were encouraged to submit pictures and accounts of fraud through a purpose-built online webpage. Over this period, thousands of reports were sent from Thai citizens across the country. These reports were thoroughly analysed and checked for authenticity and accuracy. Only the most verifiably accurate submissions are included in the report.

“This groundbreaking analysis was made possible by the courage of thousands of ordinary Thai citizens who took great risks to report what clearly looks like a coordinated, meticulous attempt to disrupt the election and favour political parties close to the military junta,” said Dr Chachavalpongpun. “It is now clearer than ever that the elections were rigged. The people of Thailand and the international community must not accept this result.”

The report identifies and describes eight different types of fraud and irregularities:

1. Electoral Commission (EC) malfunctions;
2. State influence in the voting process
3. Improper ballot transportation;
4. Ballot box irregularities;
5. Vote buying;
6. Unchecked voter identification;
7. Fake and/or mistaken IDs; and
8. Various other illegal/dubious activities, such as falsified party donations.

The report’s findings give further credence to already widespread concerns among many in Thailand and in the international community regarding the fairness and transparency of the elections. The many instances of fraud it identifies point to a large-scale effort to facilitate the victory of pro-junta political forces. They further undermine the “official” elections results announced yesterday by the Electoral Commission, after several weeks’ delay. These results, unsurprisingly, gave a greater advantage to pro-junta parties than the initial exit polls.

About FORSEA

Forces of Renewal for Southeast Asia (FORSEA) – is an international not-for-profit organisation created by Southeast Asian democrats and rights campaigners committed to making the region more just, fair and democratic. The organisation is built on the ideal that close cooperation between pro-democracy forces in the region is needed to effectively combat dictatorship and restore democracy and human rights.

Find out more at https://forsea.co/

 For questions, comments, interviews contact:

Dr. Pavin Chachavalpongpun,
+81 90 8449 9694

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

Southeast Asia’s Democratic Network, FORSEA, condemns the Thai Constitutional Court’s dissolution of the Thai Raksa Chart Party and urges the judicial body to rescind its anti-democratic ruling

FORSEA, a cross-national body of Southeast Asian democrats, activists and rights campaigners, condemn the ruling by Thailand’s Constitutional Court (dated March 7, 2019) to dissolve the Thai Raksa Chart Party for its nomination of Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Varnavadi as the party’s prime ministerial candidate.

The nominee is the oldest sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, a widely unpopular king who succeeded his late father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 after a long reign of 70 years.

Ubolratana is the oldest daughter of the late king and gave up her royal titles when she married an American in 1972. Her participation in Thailand electoral politics was in her capacity as a non-royal, or an ordinary Thai citizen.

Rather fraudulently, the court however, reasoned that the Thai monarchy must be above politics and that any member of royal family entering electoral party politics would affect the neutrality of the royal institution. Specifically, it ordered the dissolution of Thai Raksa Chart Party by arguing that the monarchy was misused by the party for the partisan electoral gains ahead of the country’s general elections scheduled to be held on March 24, a misuse of the monarchy which has destroyed the status of the institution in Thai society.

Additionally, the court also barred the party’s top executives from founding new political parties for ten years and disqualified over 280 candidates from Thai Raksa Chart Party from the upcoming elections.

“The Constitutional Court’s judgment is rather severe, politically motivated and highly disproportionate,” said Professor Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a leading exiled scholar of Thai politics, at Kyoto University and FORSEA co-founder. He continues, “the judgment was primarily driven by the monarchy itself: the royal family has continued to play an active role in Thai electoral politics.”

He pointed out that the court’s judgment was meted out with complete unanimity among the judges, hence an indication that the Constitutional Court is beholden to the powerful and meddlesome monarchy, while disregarding the democratic dividends for the public which would accrue from a member of the royal family acting as a democrat.

The Constitutional Court in Thailand is correctly viewed by the public as highly politicised. In its latest ruling against a leading political party, the court fails to meet the international standards spelled out by the United Nations guidelines on “Prohibition and Dissolution of Political Parties and Analogous Measures”. The guidelines stipulate that no political party must be disbanded except in cases where such political parties incite violence as a means to overthrow a democratic system.

FORSEA shares the expert and popular opinion that the court’s dissolution ruling is anti-democratic. The order to disband Thai Raksa Chart Party has directly affected basic political rights and freedoms of the Thai people.

Dr Maung Zarni, General Secretary of FORSEA and a long-time Burmese rights activist, comments, “the Thai Raksa Chart ruling sheds light on the role of the Thai royal family and their continued manipulation of the judicial branch of the constitutional monarchy: they impose severe restrictions on the peaceful association and expression of the political opposition.” He continues, “in complying with the whims and interests of the Thai monarchy, the Constitutional Court has acted as an instrument of the monarchy, rather than serving as an integral part of the checks and balances essential to any functioning democracy, not unlike the Burmese judiciary in the military-controlled Burma, with the civilian façade of Aung San Suu Kyi.”

FORSEA urges the Constitutional Court to rescind its March 7 ruling and re-prioritise its commitment in upholding justice and fairness in Thai electoral politics, rather than active as an anti-democratic weapon of the monarchy.

March 11, 2019

Contact: Pavin Chachavalpongpun +81 90 8449 9694
Dr Maung Zarni +44 (0) 771 047 3322

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The names of the FORSEA Board Members is announced:

As members of the Managing Board of FORSEA, members are committed to pursuing, through our educational initiatives, the advancement of human welfare, the protection of vulnerable national minorities, the propagation of fundamental human rights, labour rights, gender equality, the fostering of harmony between faith-based communities, the spread of ecological consciousness, and the promotion of a democratic ethos among future generations across Southeast Asia.

Full bio details can be found here: https://forsea.co/forsea-board-members/

SCHEDULE

11.00am: Introduction aboùt FORSEA by FORSEA Board of Director, Hishamuddin Rais.

11.15am: Speech by YAB Amirudin Shari, Menteri Besar Selangor and soft launch gimmick on behalf of the Selangor state government.

The reveal of ‘Liberation’, the giant art installation made specially for Democracy Festival.

11.30am: Press conference

11.45am: Refreshment

About FORSEA

FORSEA is a unique network of activists, scholars and entrepreneurs made up of Southeast Asian democrats, feminists, labour and civil rights campaigners, artists, multiculturalists and environmentalists.  It is committed to fostering a solidarity, brotherhood and sisterhood and collaboration among communities of democratic values. Its work transcends national boundaries, ethnic and religious identities, or regions.

The conference brings to public attention those things that impact our grassroots communities: corruption, representative governments, ecological degradation, international state crimes such as genocides, war crimes, crimes against humanity, women’s equality, social exclusion and discrimination, labour rights, and public well-being.

For press information, please contact . For all other enquiries and information, please use the contact form below.

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Contact:
Pavin Chachavalpongpun Tel: +81 75 753 7308 (Japan)
Hishamudin Rais Tel: +60 17 266 3468 (Kuala Lumpur)
Email: Twitter: @officialFORSEA Facebook@forsoutheastasia

Kuala Lumpur: On 16 and 17 February, 400 Southeast Asian activists and from 8 countries, spanning three generations, will convene in Kuala Lumpur for a democracy festival, which includes activist teach-ins, evening rock concerts and a week-long “democracy-in-action” art exhibit open to the public, free of charge.

The conference – entitled “Celebrating Democracy in Malaysia, Renewing Communities across Southeast Asia and Promoting Human Rights for All” – launches a brand-new network of Southeast Asian democrats known as FORSEA (Forces of Renewal Southeast Asia at www.forsea.co) It will also be webcast LIVE.

FORSEA is committed to building a solidarity movement across national boundaries, ethnic identities and faiths. It will promote democratic ethos, universal human rights and ecological consciousness.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will deliver the keynote address, reflecting on his long and successful political career and the state of reforms in Malaysia, as a token of solidarity with the next generation Southeast Asians who strive to make their region corruption-free, fairer, more just and ecologically conscious.

Cambodia’s leading American-educated feminist blogger Catherine Harry, who has over 200,000 followers at home, is among the youth activists taking part in the celebration of Malaysia’s democratic revival and supporting the movements across Southeast Asia. Ms harry is scheduled to share her perspective as a Khmer woman growing up in post-Khmer Rouge, patriarchal Buddhist society.

“I have become very vocal about feminism because I don’t want other girls and young women to go through what I did. I want to empower women, not just in Cambodia, Asia, but women all over the world because sexism and patriarchy have been going on for so long. Times have changed. Feminism has entered the mainstream platform. We need to seize this moment and make a difference”, said Ms Harry.

World renowned scholar and activist Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is contributing to the conference in the form a 20-minutes, specially video-recorded lecture on “Democracy, Economic Inequality and Elite Politics”.

In Chomsky’s words, “Neoliberal policies have been designed to sharply concentrate wealth, enhance corporate power and undermine democratic systems, which are reduced increasingly to formalities while the majority of the population stagnate…. It’s awfully helpful to remember that democracy has always been a highly contested concept. it’s been feared and disdained among elites throughout a period of democratic revival in the world.”

Among the speakers are: National Coordinator of Indonesian Legal Aid Association for Women and member of FORSEA Board of Directors Nursyahbani Katjasungkana; Cambodia’s leading genocide memorialist and the winner of 2018 Magsaysay Award Youk Chhang; Chair of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar and former Attorney General of Indonesia Marzuki Darusman; former President of Thammasat University and the winner of Fukuoka Academic Prize Emeritus Professor Charnvit Kasetsiri; Rohingya blogger and Chief Editor of Rohingya Today Nay San Lwin; Malaysian writer, activist and comedian Hishamudin Rais; long-time Singaporean exile Tan Wah-Piow whom the late Lee Kuan Yew falsely charged with “Communist conspiracy” to overthrow the one-party autocracy in the city-state; Thai student leader Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal; Indonesian representative to ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Ms Yuyun Wahyuningrum; Karen National Union adviser Ms May-Oo Mutraw and Mr Jose Luis Martin ‘Chito’ Gascon who chairs the National Human Rights Commission of the Philippines.

Myanmar’s iconic dissident musician Mun Awng will be performing alongside the Malaysian bands while teach-ins will be led by the well-known campaigners on various thematic subjects including anti-corruption, environmentalism, labour rights, anti-discrimination, human rights, feminism and economic equality.

The two-day proceedings of the conference including the evening concerts will be webcast live at www.forsea.co and on Facebook.

Download the program: https://forsea.co/latest-the-official-launch-of-forsea/

Democracy Fest presents Democracy In Action, a group exhibition of 21 visual artists, performance artist and artist collective from Southeast Asia. Curated by Intan Rafiza Abu Bakar, the exhibition is a showcase of documentation by artists who are directly involved in social movements within their local social commentary narratives.

Those artists exhibiting works take the role of mediator in response to critical issues and offer messages that form public dialogues through their visual art. Among the artists participating in the exhibition are: Ahmad Fuad Osman (Malaysia), Amin Landak (Malaysia), Anida Yoeu Ali (Cambodia), Arahmaiani (Indonesia), Artist’s Collective -Puncak Purnama (Malaysia), Fadhli Ariffin (Malaysia), Hasnoor Hussain ( Malaysia),Sharon Chin (Malaysia), Taring Padi (Indonesia), Khai Maew (Thailand), Le Brothers (Vietnam), Pangrok Sulap (Malaysia),Ronasina (Malaysia), Sabihis Md Pandi (Malaysia), Yeoh Lian Heng (Malaysia), and Zoncy (Myanmar)& Zunar (Malaysia).

In addition to the exhibition, other supporting programmes such as art talks with Taring Padi (Indonesia) art collective and Shaq Koyok (Malaysia) will take place on February 13, 2019, at the Black Box exhibition space. Furthermore, the Indonesia performance artist, Arahmaini, will showcase her performance art piece on February 16, 2019.

The exhibition will take place from 13-17th February 2019 at Black Box, Publika, Kula Lumpur.

For press information, please contact . For all other enquiries, please use the contact form below.

For the latest news on participating artists, and updates from the venue, join Forsea KL 2019 on social media.

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For press information, please contact . For all other enquiries and information, please use the contact form below.

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