Myanmar’s presence was felt through its absence at the recent Asean summit in late October. Exclusion of the country’s military leaders was seen as a bold move and a bid to save Asean credibility in the eyes of other world leaders. But the group faces significant challenges: domestic distraction, lack of consensus, and communication hindered by a pandemic which disrupted all face-to-face meetings. As Cambodia prepares to take the Asean chairmanship, Michael Vatikiotis discusses the need to face up to the reality of a Myanmar torn by political turbulence, and a world looking to Asean to address Southeast Asia’s most serious crisis.
#Myanmar #ASEAN #Politics #MichaelVatikiotis

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/asean-leaders-summit-myanmar/

Last month, Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen became the first head of state to meet with Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing since the February 2021 coup. As the Kingdom settles into its new role as ASEAN chair, the meeting sparked protests by fellow member states: could Cambodia be the saboteur of a delicate consensus-based network? Drake Long analyses this balance of diplomacy, ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus and tackles the conflicting perceptions of Cambodia as intentional antagonist and beleaguered chair. 
#Cambodia #Asean #Myanmar #Diplomacy #DrakeLong

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/cambodia-myanmar-asean-saboteur/

As this February arrived, it brought with it the chilling anniversary of Myanmar’s military coup d’etat which ousted the National League for Democracy (NLD). While other ASEAN members have called for diplomatic engagement, Thailand has remained markedly quiet. In his latest analysis, Globe columnist Mark S. Cogan discusses how, a year on from the military coup, Thailand’s lack of overt action in addressing the crisis comes at a heavy human cost. 
#Thailand #Myanmar #Justice #Politics #MarkSCogan

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thailands-silence-on-myanmar-comes-at-a-price/

In the aftermath of the military’s forceful takeover in February last year, those who managed to flee the devastation in Myanmar may seem like the lucky ones. But, distanced geographically and emotionally from friends and family, young Myanmar refugees rebuilding their lives abroad describe feelings of survivors’ guilt, fear for loved ones left behind and frustration at opportunities snatched away from a generation that grew up in a period of relative prosperity. Sophie Chew spoke to young Myanmar people in the U.S. and Thailand about their feelings of inner conflict, moments of optimism and uncertainty while settling into new lives and their hopes for the future one year on from the military coup. 
#Myanmar #Coup #Refugees #SophieChew

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/after-a-year-of-dreams-deferred-myanmars-displaced-youth-try-to-start-over/

Myanmar junta’s planned executions could hasten its own demise. In a recent decision condemned by the United Nations as a “vile attempt at instilling fear,” the death penalties targeting resistance members show there is no line the junta won’t cross to present a public and bloody show of power. In this Globe analysis, Oliver Slow discusses the supposed demonstration of strength reveals a fatal flaw. 
#Myanmar #Myanmarcoup #capitalpunishment #OliverSlow

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/myanmar-military-reveals-a-brutal-weakness/

As a double hanging is scheduled in Singapore today, global headlines are still full of the fallout from Myanmar’s July execution of four activists, the country’s first in decades. The events highlight Southeast Asia’s continued position as a hotspot for capital punishment. In this opinion piece, journalist and anti-death penalty activist, Kirsten Han, urges a more proactive accountability and a region-wide reconsideration of individual countries’ death penalty practices. She shines a light on how the fallacy of straightening out society through claims of crime deterrence is threatening some nations’ democracy and human rights without any real evidence of increased law and order. 
#Singapore #Myanmar #capitalpunishment #deathpenalty #justice

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/death-penalty-needs-regional-reconsideration/

Today marks the five year anniversary of the Myanmar military’s deadly crackdown on the country’s Rohingya people. Refugees who have fled to the relative safety of Bangladesh, find themselves in a still precarious situation, restricted by the government and left desperate, unsafe and vulnerable to human trafficking and the lure of criminal activity. In this analysis, Marte Nilsen, a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, discusses how after half a decade, having faced numerous financial, medical and educational hurdles, the Rohingya are finally calling on the world to act.

#Myanmar #refugees #Myanmarcoup #bangladesh

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/rohingya-refugees-still-desperate-five-years-after-a-genocide/

Hiding out in Thailand, thousands of anti-coup critics who fled to escape the Myanmar military’s crackdown that started last year are carving out an uncertain survival. They have fled their homeland from fear of death, but now, increased security forces along the Thai - Myanmar border have made their future in the Kingdom precarious. Globe’s Caleb Quinley discusses the fate of anti-coup activists who, if they are deported back to Myanmar, face potential torture, arrest, or death.

#thailand #myanmar #border #security #refugees

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/myanmar-junta-critics-struggle-to-survive-as-thai-security-increases/

Still reeling from the shockwaves of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s recent suspension, Thailand recently made another landmark step: the passing of a historic anti-torture bill. The new legislation has potentially life-saving impact on the Kingdom’s refugees and asylum seekers, as it could prevent them from being returned to places where torture, arrest and grave human rights abuses await. Patrick Phongsathorn, Human Rights Advocacy Specialist at Fortify Rights, discusses the impact and implications of Thailand’s anti-torture bill, for the Kingdom and for the hubs of human rights abuses in its neighbour Myanmar. 

#thailand #myanmar #refugees #torture #antitorturebill

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thailands-anti-torture-bill-could-finally-end-refugee-push-backs/

Since the attempted military coup that tore through Myanmar on 1 February 2021, countless women and young girls are living in informal settlements, increasingly vulnerable to sexual violence and abuse and left with limited access to law enforcement or support. Maggi Quadrini, a human rights specialist for community-based organisations along the Thailand-Myanmar border, discusses the increase in conflict-related sexual violence since the attempted coup and the risks facing women and young girls at the hands of the military junta.

#myanmar #women #sexualassault #military #whatishappeninginmyanmar

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/as-the-crisis-in-myanmar-continues-no-justice-for-victims-of-sexual-violence/

Following the Myanmar military’s violent “clearance operations”, which targeted thousands of Rohingya people in 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled from the country to neighbouring Bangladesh. The refugee camps there are now home to over 920,000 Rohingya people, where they live a fear-filled and uncertain temporary existence. Tanbirul Miraj Ripon, a reporter and photojournalist focused on Bangladesh politics, discusses the risks refugees face within the camps, as limited security fails to protect them from insurgent groups.

#myanmar #rohingya #refugees #myanmarcoup #bangladesh #rakhine

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/for-rohingya-living-in-bangladesh-refugee-camps-nowhere-is-safe/

Over a year after the February coup that ravaged the country, the foundations of a new national identity for Myanmar are rising. But its success hinges on the failure of the repressive regime the junta has created. In this analysis, Wayland J. Blue, a graduate student in the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego, explores how the growth of the country’s emerging national identity could lead to a more stable and prosperous Myanmar.

#myanmar #ideology #analysis #politics #myanmarcoup #whatshappeninginmyanmar

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/myanmars-emerging-national-identity-could-change-everything/

The military coup in Myanmar completely destroyed one of the most promising art scenes in Southeast Asia, just as it was gaining ground and international acclaim. Numerous artists have ended up in prison. Some have fled. Yet they still use their work as powerful tools to shed light on the political turmoil back home. Naima Morelli, journalist and arts writer specialising in the Southeast Asia and MENA regions, explores how Myanmar’s burgeoning art scene was hit by unrest at a critical juncture.

#myanmar #culture #art #life #junta #militarycoup #politics #whatshappeninginmyanmar

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/how-a-burgeoning-myanmar-art-scene-came-to-sudden-unrest/

As global leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, gather in Phnom Penh for the critical ASEAN summit, a range of pressing issues will fill the agenda while host Cambodia prepares to hand over the gavel of the chairmanship to Indonesia. These include the continuing conflict in Eastern Europe, growing geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, sparked by the military coup that ravaged the country in February 2021. Globe’s Nasa Dip spoke to experts about how ASEAN has addressed the crisis, the successes, and challenges that have faced Cambodia throughout its chairmanship, and the issues that pass onto the next chair.

#ASEAN2022 #ASEANSummit #cambodia #southeastasia #myanmar #whatshappeninginginmyanmar #humanitarian

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/as-the-asean-summit-2022-begins-analysts-say-regional-leaders-must-do-more-to-solve-the-myanmar-crisis/

When the brutal military coup ravaged Myanmar in the early months of 2021, many of its residents left the country in search of safety and a better life. Now, having experienced the adventures, unfamiliarity, and harsh realities of life abroad, some are choosing to come home. Writing for the Globe, Jacob Payne explores the different experiences of Myanmar nationals and expats, those who have braved the risks to return, and those who chose to stay.

#myanmar #power #myanmarcoup #expat #whatshappeninginmyanmar

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/coming-home-after-two-years-of-war-myanmar-residents-are-choosing-to-return/

The results of a recent survey into Myanmar’s rivers and lakes were never meant to be published. But the alarming extent of spiralling threats to crucial species it revealed prompted experts at non-profit World Wide Fund for Nature to break their silence. As conflict in the country continues, its rich biodiversity is dangerously at risk. In a piece of unique, in-depth collaborative reporting, Frontier Myanmar’s Allegra Mendelson and Globe’s Anton L. Delgado team up to dive into the murky depths of Myanmar’s underwater worlds.

#myanmar #aquatic #biodiversity #environment #conservation #whatshappeninginmyanmar

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/a-dangerous-tipping-point-myanmars-aquatic-species-at-risk-as-conflict-continues/

Off the shore of Bangladesh, the remote Bhasan Char has earned the ominous moniker “Prison Island.” Lured there under false promises, refugees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Myanmar are trapped under confined conditions. Southeast Asia Globe was granted special access to the elusive island and Globe contributor Tanbirul Miraj Ripon was on the ground to share first hand insights and interviews with its refugee residents as they battle restricted access to employment opportunities, medical care and their families on the mainland.

#bangladesh #myanmar #exclusive #justice #rohingyarefugees #bhasanchar #myanmarcoup #military #prisonisland

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/exclusive-inside-the-bangladesh-prison-island-housing-rohingya-refugees/

Despite living in Myanmar for generations, the country’s Tamil population are not considered native citizens. As the political turbulence continues, many have been ousted or have fled from their homes to India, where they juggle conflicting memories and bicultural identities. Shalini Perumal shares the experiences of ethnic Tamils born in Myanmar, their histories, and how they marry the ties they hold to their birth country, while forging a new life in India.

#tamil #migration #community #myanmar #history #culture

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/myanmar-tamil-community/

The Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh camps are facing a multitude of hardships, including the recent devastation caused by fires and the WFP's announcement that it is cutting food aid.

Some camp residents are opting to move to Bhasan Char, a desolate "prison island" about 60 kilometers from the Bangladesh mainland, obtaining false documents to integrate into Bangladesh, or even risking return to Myanmar.

There is a need for a more sustainable solution to ensure safe resettlement and access to basic services. Globe contributor Dayna Santana Perez shares experience from the camps as they remain in desperate need of support.

#rohingya #refugees #myanmar #bangladesh #humanrights

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/breaking-point-exit-from-rohingya-refugee-camps/

“I’m someone who has scars, and I know the pain enough to understand the suffering of others."

Rohingya human rights activist Aung Kyaw Moe has walked a hard road for justice in his native Myanmar. Now, with his recent appointment as deputy human rights minister to the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), he is the first Rohingya representative to hold a ministerial position in any Myanmar government.

Hear about his journey from "victim to victor" in today's story by Beatrice Siviero.

#RohingyaActivist #Myanmar #NationalUnityGovernment

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/from-victim-to-victor-a-rohingya-journey-to-myanmar-government/