Hopes Shattered a Year on from Burma’s ASEAN Chairmanship

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum 2015 (ACSC/APF) ended on 24 April 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bringing the voices of the people of ASEAN together in its yearly three day event. It reminds us of the historic ACSC/APF 2014 that was held for the first time in Burma and the hopes raised and duly dashed since that forum in the past year. As civil society throughout the region strives for better promotion, protection and respect for human rights, a review of the human rights situation and democratic reforms in Burma over the past year represent dreams turning into nightmares.

Events at the ACSC/APF 2015 involving Burma included a theatre play by Burma’s students and youth depicting the events of Letpadan, where over 100 students and supporters were detained after a violent attack by police and hired thugs on the column of students marching from Mandalay to Rangoon. The play called for the government to release the 79 student protesters and their supporters that remain in jail. The ASEAN Youth Forum labelled this strive for education reform by Burma’s students as an “endless and painful struggle.” Events brought to mind previous student demonstrations and consequent crackdowns such as in 1974, 1988 and 1996, all of which were committed by overtly military regimes. It begs the question; what has changed? […]

Thailand’s Civil Society Withdrawal from the Interface Meeting 2015 in Protesting Against the Action of ASEAN’S Member States

Thai participants at APF2015 have withdrawn their civil society representative, Ms. Sattara Hattirat of Togetherness for Equality and Action (TEA), from the interface with ASEAN Heads of Government in solidaritywith their Cambodian and Singaporean colleagues who were rejected by their respective governments […]

ASEAN Urged to Strengthen Civil Society’s Role in Regional Peace and Human Security

‘As the ASEAN heads towards developing its Post-2015 vision of a people-centered and peaceful ASEAN, key members of civil society organizations (CSO) see the crucial task for the regional bloc to strengthen the role of the CSOs in addressing the issues of regional peace and human security that continue to challenge the entire regional community.’ […]

Burmese Human Rights Activists Detained At Airport, Banned from Entering Malaysia

ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) / ASEAN People’s Forum (APF) 2015 Malaysian National Organising Committee and SUARAM strongly condemns the arrest, detention, deportation and violence behavior against Aung Naing Win, better known as Shine, the Myanmar based human rights activist that has been campaigning for democracy and interfaith relationships/marriages in his country. He was deported back to Myanmar on 23 January 2015, 2 days after his flight landed in Malaysia […]

Reclaiming the ASEAN Community for The People – CSO Statement

1. PREAMBLE

1.1 This ASEAN Civil Society Conference and ASEAN People’s Forum marks the 10th anniversary since the first regional gathering of civil society in Malaysia. We, the civil society in Southeast Asia[1], welcome the commitment of ASEAN in the years since to establish a people-centric ASEAN and a peaceful, prosperous community. With deep regret and concern, the people’s recommendations submitted to ASEAN member states since 2005 have been neither implemented nor adopted in any meaningful way […]

ASEAN Civil Society 2015 – ACSC/APF National Organizing Committee (NOC), Accelerating a People-Centered Region: Introspection of the Envisioned ASEAN Community in 2015

Kuala Lumpur – As Malaysia will be chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015, the next ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples Forum (ACSC/APF)i Kuala Lumpur in March/April 2015, parallel to the ASEAN Summit. We are proud to say that it was the Malaysian government, under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister, which initiated the first ASEAN civil society conference in 2005. Thus, the ACSC/APF 2015 marks a full circle since the meaningful initiative by Malaysia 10 years ago […]