A judge at Phuket Provincial Court has granted prosecutors another 30 days in which to consider an appeal in a long-running criminal defamation case against two Phuketwan journalists.
The extension gives the Phuket Prosecutor until December 30 to lodge an appeal against reporters Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison.
It’s the third extension of time following the judge’s dismissal on September 1 of all charges involving the journalists and Phuketwan’s parent company, Big Island Media.
A fourth extension could also be sought, a court official said today, as the deadline for an appeal under the second extension passed at 4pm.
”We placed our faith in Thailand’s justice system,” said Morison, 68. ”We believe the judge’s vertict was right and just.
”It’s a surprise to us that this case has not been concluded. The facts are plain.”
Morison recently received a Freedom Award from Anti-Slavery Australia for anti-trafficking reporting with Khun Chutima. He has also been nominated for next year’s Australian of the Year awards.
‘We have told the Royal Thai Navy that they will have to kill us to stop us reporting on human trafficking in Thailand,” Morison said. ”We have no plans to stop reporting on that issue.” (Courtesy of RVision)
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December 1, 2015
The central issues of peace in Myanmar
As the results from the historic November elections in Myanmar were still trickling in, International Alert hosted its first public talk of what is planned to be a series of events on issues central to the peace processes that the newly elected government, along with the other negotiating parties and civil society, will need to tackle over the coming years.
The event, which took place in Yangon on 18 November, focused on gender. Henri Myrttinen, Head of Gender at Alert, presented his experience on working on issues of men and masculinities in peacebuilding. Myrttinen highlighted the need to take a broad approach to gender in peacebuilding, looking at the roles and needs of women and of men, and how these relate to each other.
While men and boys everywhere are affected by conflict and peacebuilding – be it as fighters or as peacebuilders, as survivors and/or perpetrators of violence – they are seldom seen as ‘gendered beings’, with expectations of ‘manliness’ placed on them by themselves and others. These expectations can both increase the likelihood of men and boys resorting to violence and of becoming victims of violence. In order to achieve inclusive, sustainable peace, Myrttinen stressed that some of these male gender norms need to be changed, while simultaneously also promoting women's empowerment. (Courtesy of International Alert)
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The event, which took place in Yangon on 18 November, focused on gender. Henri Myrttinen, Head of Gender at Alert, presented his experience on working on issues of men and masculinities in peacebuilding. Myrttinen highlighted the need to take a broad approach to gender in peacebuilding, looking at the roles and needs of women and of men, and how these relate to each other.
While men and boys everywhere are affected by conflict and peacebuilding – be it as fighters or as peacebuilders, as survivors and/or perpetrators of violence – they are seldom seen as ‘gendered beings’, with expectations of ‘manliness’ placed on them by themselves and others. These expectations can both increase the likelihood of men and boys resorting to violence and of becoming victims of violence. In order to achieve inclusive, sustainable peace, Myrttinen stressed that some of these male gender norms need to be changed, while simultaneously also promoting women's empowerment. (Courtesy of International Alert)
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Unidentified Gunmen Abduct 50 From Villages in Myanmar’s Shan State
Unidentified Gunmen Abduct 50 from Villages in Myanmar’s Shan State
The raid comes amid allegations of ‘war crimes’ by government troops in the region.
Unidentified gunmen have abducted 50 men from four villages in Myanmar located outside of Shan state’s largest township of Lashio, residents said Monday, amid concerns by rights groups over “war crimes” committed by government troops in the region.
A woman from Kaungkha—one of the villages targeted—told RFA’s Myanmar Service that residents had fled in terror during the Nov. 26 raid and were unable to determine the identities of the gunmen in the chaos.
“They abducted people from our village—one of them has a wife who is the mother of two children and another has a pregnant wife with three kids,” the woman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The last one is a young man with two sons. We don’t know where [the men who were taken] are now.”
Kaungkha was among four villages attacked along the road leading to Namtu, a township located 52 kilometers (32 miles) northwest of Lashio. The road between the two townships has seen frequent clashes between Myanmar’s military and the ethnic Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) in recent weeks. (Courtesy of RFA)
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The raid comes amid allegations of ‘war crimes’ by government troops in the region.
Unidentified gunmen have abducted 50 men from four villages in Myanmar located outside of Shan state’s largest township of Lashio, residents said Monday, amid concerns by rights groups over “war crimes” committed by government troops in the region.
A woman from Kaungkha—one of the villages targeted—told RFA’s Myanmar Service that residents had fled in terror during the Nov. 26 raid and were unable to determine the identities of the gunmen in the chaos.
“They abducted people from our village—one of them has a wife who is the mother of two children and another has a pregnant wife with three kids,” the woman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The last one is a young man with two sons. We don’t know where [the men who were taken] are now.”
Kaungkha was among four villages attacked along the road leading to Namtu, a township located 52 kilometers (32 miles) northwest of Lashio. The road between the two townships has seen frequent clashes between Myanmar’s military and the ethnic Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) in recent weeks. (Courtesy of RFA)
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Family of Man Killed in Police Custody Claims Foul Play
RANGOON — The family of a man allegedly killed by police in Arakan State earlier this year claims to have been offered large sums of money not to interfere with what appears to be a compromised case against the three constables facing murder charges.
Tin Ohn Kyaw, the son-in-law of the victim’s sister, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that relatives of one or more of the accused had recently approached family members of the deceased and “said they can pay more than 10,000,000 kyats [US$7,680].”
Fisherman Aung Chan Nu died while in police custody in September on Maday Island, Arakan State. A community activist told The Irrawaddy at the time that three inebriated off-duty officers were accused of beating the man after he refused to help them dock their schooner.
The suspects allegedly transported the injured man to the local police station, where his condition deteriorated overnight. Aung Chan Nu died in transit to Kyaukphyu General Hospital the following morning. (Courtesy of IrraWaddy)
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Tin Ohn Kyaw, the son-in-law of the victim’s sister, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that relatives of one or more of the accused had recently approached family members of the deceased and “said they can pay more than 10,000,000 kyats [US$7,680].”
Fisherman Aung Chan Nu died while in police custody in September on Maday Island, Arakan State. A community activist told The Irrawaddy at the time that three inebriated off-duty officers were accused of beating the man after he refused to help them dock their schooner.
The suspects allegedly transported the injured man to the local police station, where his condition deteriorated overnight. Aung Chan Nu died in transit to Kyaukphyu General Hospital the following morning. (Courtesy of IrraWaddy)
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Myanmar military releases 53 underage recruits: U.N.
Myanmar's military released 53 children and young people from service on Monday as part of an effort to rid its ranks of underage soldiers, the United Nations said.
Human rights groups have long accused Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw, of abuses such as using child soldiers, forcibly recruiting conscripts and confiscating land.
Since the military handed power to a semi-civilian government in 2011, it has taken some steps to professionalize the armed forces, including the release of soldiers recruited while under the age of 18.
"Today's release is the result of continued efforts of the Government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw to put an end to the harmful practice of recruiting and using children," said Renata Lok-Dessallien, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, in a statement.
"I am delighted to see these children and young people returning to their homes and families. We are hopeful that institutional checks that have been put in place and continued efforts will ensure that recruitment of children will exist no more." (Courtesy of Reuters)
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Human rights groups have long accused Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw, of abuses such as using child soldiers, forcibly recruiting conscripts and confiscating land.
Since the military handed power to a semi-civilian government in 2011, it has taken some steps to professionalize the armed forces, including the release of soldiers recruited while under the age of 18.
"Today's release is the result of continued efforts of the Government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw to put an end to the harmful practice of recruiting and using children," said Renata Lok-Dessallien, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, in a statement.
"I am delighted to see these children and young people returning to their homes and families. We are hopeful that institutional checks that have been put in place and continued efforts will ensure that recruitment of children will exist no more." (Courtesy of Reuters)
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Aung San Suu Kyi to meet president, military chief on Wednesday
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will meet President Thein Sein and military chief Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday, their first meeting since she won an historic election earlier this month, a senior government official told Reuters.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the vote with a landslide and needs to forge a working relationship with the powerful military for her government to run smoothly.
Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is barred from becoming president under the military-drafted constitution, invited the military chief and the president to meet just days after the Nov. 8 election to discuss national reconciliation.
The NLD will be the dominant party when Myanmar's new parliament sits in February, while the armed forces will be the largest opposition group. The constitution guarantees unelected members of the military a quarter of seats in both houses.
Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing also has three powerful ministries guaranteed under the charter. This gives him a strong hold on Myanmar's sprawling bureaucracy. (Courtesy of Reuters)
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Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the vote with a landslide and needs to forge a working relationship with the powerful military for her government to run smoothly.
Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is barred from becoming president under the military-drafted constitution, invited the military chief and the president to meet just days after the Nov. 8 election to discuss national reconciliation.
The NLD will be the dominant party when Myanmar's new parliament sits in February, while the armed forces will be the largest opposition group. The constitution guarantees unelected members of the military a quarter of seats in both houses.
Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing also has three powerful ministries guaranteed under the charter. This gives him a strong hold on Myanmar's sprawling bureaucracy. (Courtesy of Reuters)
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Gagging Hate Speech Propagators in Myanmar
TEMPO.CO, Yangon - Just a day after Myanmar’s historic 2015 elections and already anticipating victory at the polls, opposition National League of Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi stressed that she does not condone hate, regardless if it is against ethnic groups or minorities in the country.
"Hate leads to violence, and it could destroy the society,” she said in an interview with the BBC. "It is something we all have to work together (to resolve)."
So-called ‘hate speech’ has become a serious concern in Myanmar in the last few years, with its spread helped largely by the increasing popularity of Facebook in this sprawling Southeast Asian nation. And while trolling or pranking online is nothing new and far from being unique to Myanmar, the cyber vitriol that has been spewed by anonymous Facebook users here have either contributed to or directly led to several instances of communal violence. In one instance, two people were even killed and several others injured.
More often than not, the target of the online hate speech, which includes unfounded stories, are the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who live mostly in Myanmar’s southwestern state of Rakhine. (Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist, representing 80 percent of the population.)
It’s unclear how and when it all started, but in the last two years, the ‘hate’ posts seem to have picked up steam, with individuals apparently hiding behind fake Facebook accounts churning out hundreds of pages against the Rohingya in particular. And while the Rohingya have long been outcasts in Myanmar society, the hate speech aimed at them have only made them more vulnerable to abuse. (Courtesy of TEMPO.CO)
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"Hate leads to violence, and it could destroy the society,” she said in an interview with the BBC. "It is something we all have to work together (to resolve)."
So-called ‘hate speech’ has become a serious concern in Myanmar in the last few years, with its spread helped largely by the increasing popularity of Facebook in this sprawling Southeast Asian nation. And while trolling or pranking online is nothing new and far from being unique to Myanmar, the cyber vitriol that has been spewed by anonymous Facebook users here have either contributed to or directly led to several instances of communal violence. In one instance, two people were even killed and several others injured.
More often than not, the target of the online hate speech, which includes unfounded stories, are the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who live mostly in Myanmar’s southwestern state of Rakhine. (Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist, representing 80 percent of the population.)
It’s unclear how and when it all started, but in the last two years, the ‘hate’ posts seem to have picked up steam, with individuals apparently hiding behind fake Facebook accounts churning out hundreds of pages against the Rohingya in particular. And while the Rohingya have long been outcasts in Myanmar society, the hate speech aimed at them have only made them more vulnerable to abuse. (Courtesy of TEMPO.CO)
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The Burmese twin
Anyone who believes in the transmigration of souls might be forgiven for thinking that the spirit of the late Benazir Bhutto has been reincarnated in another Daughter of the East: Aung San Suu Kyi. No two female leaders in this region share such telling similarities. Not the Sri Lankan Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike nor her offspring daughter Mrs Chandrika Kumaratunga, not India’s Mrs Indira Gandhi, nor her daughter-in-law Mrs Sonia Gandhi, not the Bangladeshi Sheikh Hasina nor her nemesis Khaleda Zia.
Most of them were either widows or daughters of martyrs. Each of them has had to pay that cruel admission fee to enter a political arena in which the gladiators are men. Unlike their sisters in arms, Benazir Bhutto and Aung San Suu Kyi (the Burmese call her Daw Suu) had to suffer years of unconscionable imprisonment. Both survived debilitating years in exile (Benazir Bhutto outside Pakistan, Aung San Suu Kyi within Myanmar).
Both, nourished over the years by the droplets of continuous support from their followers, gradually crystallised into fragile stalagmites of democracy.
And, finally, when allowed by generals to contest in a general election, both campaigned tirelessly, won with commanding majorities, but then found power denied them by a military junta. To gain what was rightfully theirs, they had to agree on an unworkable compromise which left them sandwiched between a khaki-minded president above and a khaki-uniformed army chief below.
It must be galling for Daw Suu as it was for Ms Bhutto to be conjoined to the military, to be treated as a weak supplicant, just as it cannot be easy for any democratically elected leader to accept that the ballot paper, in dexterous hands, can be folded like some malleable origami into a bullet. (Courtesy of Dhaka Tribune)
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Most of them were either widows or daughters of martyrs. Each of them has had to pay that cruel admission fee to enter a political arena in which the gladiators are men. Unlike their sisters in arms, Benazir Bhutto and Aung San Suu Kyi (the Burmese call her Daw Suu) had to suffer years of unconscionable imprisonment. Both survived debilitating years in exile (Benazir Bhutto outside Pakistan, Aung San Suu Kyi within Myanmar).
Both, nourished over the years by the droplets of continuous support from their followers, gradually crystallised into fragile stalagmites of democracy.
And, finally, when allowed by generals to contest in a general election, both campaigned tirelessly, won with commanding majorities, but then found power denied them by a military junta. To gain what was rightfully theirs, they had to agree on an unworkable compromise which left them sandwiched between a khaki-minded president above and a khaki-uniformed army chief below.
It must be galling for Daw Suu as it was for Ms Bhutto to be conjoined to the military, to be treated as a weak supplicant, just as it cannot be easy for any democratically elected leader to accept that the ballot paper, in dexterous hands, can be folded like some malleable origami into a bullet. (Courtesy of Dhaka Tribune)
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