IS IT UP TO ASEAN COUNTRIES LIKE THAILAND TO TURN THE TIDE ON OUR PLASTIC PROBLEM?

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged ASEAN, Cambodia, climate crisis, development, energy, environment, environmental policy, featured, microplastics, oceans, oil, overconsumption, plastic, pollution, recycling, thailand.

by Lotty Clare

Back in August much of the Asia Pacific region, and the world, was captivated by the death of a baby dugong called Mariam. Washed up on the beach in southwestern Thailand, the ill and orphaned dugong gained the attention of the public, complete with live webcasts, only for her to die a few months later due to plastic poisoning.

In a stark contrast to the depictions of idyllic white-sanded Thai beaches, this story seems to have captured the hearts of many and has added momentum to the growing anti-plastic movement in Thailand and the Asia Pacific region.

Plastic pollution is a huge problem, and humanity’s plastic production is expected to grow over the coming decades. Plastic is now in the deepest parts of the ocean, in our food, in our bodies, even our water and air. 8 million tonnes of the stuff is estimated to end up in the ocean every single year, an amount set to double by 2030. By 2025, there will be one tonne of plastic for every tonne of fish in our oceans.

MYANMAR’S DISPLACED REMAIN RELUCTANT TO RETURN HOME, AND I DON’T BLAME THEM

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged ASEAN, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bangladesh, Burma, Burmese military, china, citizenship, conflict, displacement, featured, General Ne Win, genocide, IDPs, islamophobia, Kachin, Karen, Kutupalong, land, Myanmar, racisn, refugees, Rohingya, security, sittwe, UN.

by Yali Banton-Heath

New discussions have been taking place about the future of the displaced Rohingya population in Bangladesh, and their potential repatriation journey back over the border to Myanmar. The progression of the repatriation process however, as the UN has reiterated, remains frustratingly slow. A lack of guarantees, respect, and honesty on the Burmese government’s part is maintaining a firm unwillingness among Rohingya community leaders to make the decision to return home. But the Rohingya are not the only displaced minority demanding security guarantees and respect for their rights from the Burmese government. Elsewhere in the country, as well as across the Thai and Chinese borders other displaced ethnic groups – such as Kachin and Karen – are being faced with the same dilemma. Either to remain in squalid refugee camps, or make the journey home and risk returning to renewed violence and repression.

THE MYTH OF ASIAN DEMOCRACY

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN, asia, cartoon, cartoonist, democracy, elections, freedom of speech, human rights, internet, malaysia, Najib Razak, philosophy, satire, social media, Zunar.

by Faizal Nor Izham

Although Asia as a whole will always be making great strides economically, much more remains to be seen in the way of democracy and human rights. There has always been the myth that Asian values and democracy are incompatible — a well-known fact in Asia, especially in the more developing countries — but in the Internet and social media age, there appears to be a renewed demand for freedom, especially when people’s livelihood and most basic rights are in jeopardy.

However, despite these assumptions, a more thorough analysis shows that Asian history is actually rich in philosophies and traditions that are well-steeped in democratic ideals.Continue Reading

ASEAN NATIONS CONTINUE TO BE SILENT ON THE ROHINGYA CRISIS

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged ASEAN, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bangladesh, buddhist, Burma, development, economy, education, employment, Europe, genocide, healthcare, human rights, Indonesia, international, international news, international politics, Islamaphobia, malaysia, migrant, movement, Muslim, Myanmar, Nobel Peace Price, refugees, riots, Rohingya, singapore, Suu Kyi, thailand, UNHCR, united nations, woman.

by Faizal Nor Izham

The recent Rohingya crisis in South East Asia is nothing new — clashes between the ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar, have been ongoing since 2012 through a series of riots. By October of that year, Muslims of all ethnicities had begun to be targeted.

The riots were supposedly triggered by widespread fears among Buddhist Rakhines that they would soon become a minority in their own ancestral state. Riots sparked after weeks of sectarian disputes, which included a gang-rape and murder of a Rakhine woman by Rohingyas and the killing of ten Burmese Muslims by Rakhines.

It is the refusal from fellow South East Asian nations to
take in tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees which
has been the main source of recent controversy.

ASEAN

IS IT UP TO ASEAN COUNTRIES LIKE THAILAND TO TURN THE TIDE ON OUR PLASTIC PROBLEM?

MYANMAR’S DISPLACED REMAIN RELUCTANT TO RETURN HOME, AND I DON’T BLAME THEM

ASEAN NATIONS CONTINUE TO BE SILENT ON THE ROHINGYA CRISIS

It is the refusal from fellow South East Asian nations to
take in tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees which
has been the main source of recent controversy.

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It is the refusal from fellow South East Asian nations to take in tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees which has been the main source of recent controversy.

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It is the refusal from fellow South East Asian nations to
take in tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees which
has been the main source of recent controversy.