Dom – I think that if you look at the United Nationalities Federal Council you will find that its members are in agreement on a number of significant issues: democracy, federal union, negotiated end to the civil war. It also represents most of the groups fighting the government.
The Burmese government’s present attempts to negotiate individual ceasefires seems to mirror the previous efforts under Khin Nyunt, where the regime offered ‘economic development’ (paths to enrichment for a groups leaders) in exchange for a ceasefire.
I am not surprised to hear this skepticism from the ALP, or what we have been hearing out of the KNU, NMSP, KIO and others. After all, they have been down this path before and seen the effects of this divide-and-rule strategy. I think that while individual ceasefires have been signed (allowed by UNFC policy) we will see more unity in any negotiations on political issues.
I also think that the UNFC ought to be directly engaged both by the Burmese government and the international community as part of any attempt to end the civil war.
A pertinent analysis by a respected former Malaysian ambassador on the state of Malaysia’s foreign policy:
Malaysia appears to be too preoccupied by domestic challenges to give foreign policy the kind of serious attention it deserves – on autopilot, running on yesterday’s achievements and drawing inspiration from an outdated playbook.
My question remains, what has brought about these decline in Malaysian institutions?
So, it would be better for the government to negotiate ceasefires with several dozen ethnic groups collectively at the same time? That would only make the negotiations even more difficult.
Good on you for keeping up the pressure over Joe Gordon on the net.
I suggest do the same on the ground.
This means following US diplomatic personnel to their public engagements in Thailand and asking them the questions in full view of an audience and the press.
This is not suggesting anything illegal or aggressive , but rather asserting your rights as Americans.
For example here in Chiang Mai the newly arrived US Consul General, who has just been reported in a local English language newspaper as having taken the post, and as a front page news story, will be invited to be present with local dignitaries at public events.
So the many Americans who live in Chiang Mai can go and ask him in public to answer your questions.
All the better if the Governor is present, as the present incumbent of the post is reported as having been the informant in a case which sent a person working for an internet service to jail.
I am sure Americans in Bangkok can similarly exercise their right of free speech without fear of the draconian laws which sent Joe, A-Gong, Da Torpedo etc etc to prison.
The issue of ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ as a significant one, I see more as one of ‘how’ they are related in Islam. This is ‘how’ is what other religions wrestle with too. I’d add that even ‘secularism’ in various forms is in the same boat when it comes to ‘how’. Christianity for example, went through a range of historic circumstances that challenged and shaped its various theologies. We could start all the way back to Constantine, through to the Christendom of Middle Ages (a Political Christianity?), through to the mini-Christendoms after the Reformation, as well as minority voices within Christianity as a whole. Not to forget in the 20th Century, the important contribution of European Political Theologies and also Latin American Liberation Theologies, and so forth all demonstrate a highly sophisticated nuanced ‘critical discourse’ (cf. Critical theory) within at least one religious tradition.
Now, if we turn the attention to ‘Islam’, could it be that to some extent, this is happening in an even more intense manner. I’m no expert in the Middle East, but perhaps the complexities of the ‘Arab Spring’ (another term generated by the Media), will need time to play itself out. A close look at the post-‘Jasmine Revolution’ Tunisia and how they navigate to the future will be illuminating (cf. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/empire/2012/01/201212612029993814.html). The story still seems to be unfolding …
Of course, regardless, you are right to point out to some extent, there maybe a kind of ‘cross-fertilization’ of ideas within the ‘Muslim Discourse’ that is linked to developments in the Middle East, but I’m less confident than you on a direct causal relationship between the two. And even if one can argue about ‘influence’, we still need to ask ‘how is it influential’ and ‘in what way’.
I think there are other contextual factors that will mitigate the kind of thinking that can be generated – and I think the example of the Forum on in the article I linked above shows how this is being played out. We need more empirical evidence to help us understand this better.
Next on “Dhimmitude”, while conceptually this contested term might have some currency in mindsets and attitudes, but empirically it’s simply not the case, currently in Malaysia, at least not yet. I see this as an ongoing struggle in the trajectory Malaysia is heading. The fact is while Islam is the Religion of the Federation of Malaysia, similar to Lutheranism is the State Religion of the Kingdom of Norway brings before us some ‘constitutional’ limitations that we have inherited historically – perhaps to some for the better, and to others for the worse, but it’s there. of course, the separation of religion and state is clearer in the minds of Norwegians, but that’s another story (which relates to my earlier comments on how Christianity as a religion adapts to the social-political contexts of its time.)
There is no denying that with the different State enactments, the inability of the courts to rule clearly when it comes to controversial issues related to Religion as well as ‘Islamization’ defined as a kind of ‘Islamic Engineering’ by UMNO as argued strongly in Liow’s “Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia ” (2009) complicates the matter further. These are key issues to be analyzed and I suspect the interpretations of different scholars will be determined by the hermeneutical orientations they start off with. But, I think we’re still not in the position to play ‘Nostradamus’ in offering ‘predictions’ absolutely.
On the point of Holy War, it will be interesting on whether it is even possible to argue for an Islamic State without any non-Muslims in Malaysia living in it. I doubt one can even argue that for Indonesia as a nation. Unless, you want to have a kind of one nation but some Muslims reside in State A, then ‘others’ in State B. I’m not sure how we could imagine this is possible at all in Malaysia.
To press it further, one might ask how this notion of ‘Holy War’ relates to the notion of Islam as a religion of ‘Peace’. This has also been the challenge for Christianity from the ‘Crusades’ to ‘Post-Sept 11 wars’. I think it’s important not to dismiss too quickly the kind of capacity religious communities may have within them at all the levels from the scholars to the people on the ground on how they are negotiating all these complexities. In short, perhaps one might argue that there is a ‘Critical theory’ approach that can be shown to be present historically in the Islamic tradition for example.
@ Greg Lopez #2 & #4
‘Real-Politik’ is probably the starting point for most given the circumstances of a given situation. But for religious communities, it cannot be the only point of departure, because that will go against the more ‘transcendent’ motivations, or ethical demands from their respective traditions. So, the motivation has to dig deeper.
I think of the Orang Asli friends I have in Cameron Highlands, I doubt they can emigrate even they want to (unless we totally forget about ‘nation-state boundaries). A friend of mine coined the term ‘Hope-timist’ – it’s a nice twist from the usual optimist-pessimist spectrum. I think simply asking people to emigrate, and especially for those who can’t is telling them to give up ‘hope’ for a future they can in some way contribute to.
so the discussion turning our attention to “the most vulnerable and those who suffer the most” keeps us from reducing our discussions in New Mandela to the level of “bourgeois” echo-chamber talk.
@CG – Yes, no price of admission yet, but I was a little unsettled by the Royal Teamix stand at the event’s entrance. Unsettled? Maybe there’s a better word. It shouldn’t be suprising, of course, as this kind of event does require money to put on, and I’m presuming that the RT stand helped address that. In that sense it’s nothing to decry. And anyway, for me at least, the idea of a ‘pure’ street art – and why wouldn’t the same go for art as such – is always already impossible. Better to jump into the contradictions head on. But I would be lying if I didn’t say a part of me was wishing that stand wasn’t there. Tough question, I guess? Either way, props to all the artists. A very impressive scene overall, at least in my opinion.
Today, Joe Gordon begins his the third month since Mr. Gordon was sentenced. If some backroom deal to be released by pleading guilty was made. It has apparently been reniged upon.
As an American, I want to know what my State Department, its ambassadors, its embassy staff are doing pro-activley to get Mr. Gordon safely back to the United States.
We get daily reports of NGO members in Egypt. Why not daily condemnations from the US State Department regarding the use of Article 112 against Americans who exercise their freedom of speech in American?
Why hasn’t more pressure been applied to end this fiasco? Why is Cobra Gold still planned for Thailand? Why do we press sanctions against some countries with Human Rights Abuses but allow Thailand to get a ‘Free Pass’?
As a group the State Department is failing American Interests by ignoring the plight of Mr. Gordon.
Shame on Thailand.
Shame on US State Department.
Shame on Congress for not passing legislation not holding hearings on this issue matter.
Shame on the US Department of Defense for not taking a more proactive position promoting human rights.
Shame on Thais for allowing the misuse of Thai Laws to net normal citizens for relatively inocculous trasgressions and allow major proven transgressions to go unpunished among its wealthy and connected classes.
Thailand is rapidly becoming the Zimbabwe of Asia.
Dom: “Regarding law and SEA, I might have a piece on Burma’s / Myanmar’s constitution up somewhere (if I can find the time to finish it).
That would be great to read. I just remember the never-ending preliminaries, all the meetings year after year with nothing really happening. Would be interesting to see what happened in the end. I think the defining moment for me (while i lived there for 2 years around 2001) that proved how removed politics was from the people was when a helicopter carrying essentially the whole cabinet crashed into a river killing them all and it wasn’t even on the evening news and funerals were held shortly thereafter without there being one public announcement. Some patriotic people showed up based on what they heard through the grapevine. I only found out because my next door neighbor neighbor was a son of an ambassador during the Nei Win era and therefore was hooked into the grapevine.
I am really interested in how the law works in practice. To give an example, there are the reforms in criminal justice procedure in the 1997 Thai “People’s Constitution” the great promise of which was discussed in the 2005 JSD thesis at Cornell of the King’s granddaughter (“Towards Equal Justice: Protection fo the Rights of the Accused in the Thai Criminal Justice Process – A Comparison with France and the United States by Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol” from Chula Library, a good read). Then there is what I have been able to read on the penal system, which is not much, and seems to be a taboo subject to even talk about among many. And then finally, there is the death penalty in Asia as discussed in The Next Frontier: national Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia, David T. Johnson and Franklin E. Zimring (actually got to talk to the author) which clearly describes what could be likened to a royal intervention over the years that prevented people from being executed. Contrast that with Chalerm who now wants to fully book the execution chamber for the foreseeable future. In fact, effective abolition of the death penalty in most cases has taken place against the will of the democratic majority. Then there is land tenure at the local level which seems to be correlated with the colonial legal tradition, civil law traditions tending to have a legacy of weaker property rights. Anyway, there are many interesting issues and little analysis that I have seen 🙂
Jon, thanks for your comments. I actually intentionally left out the economic side of things because Myanmar Network circulated an excellent brief last month about the top 15 tycoons and the prospects for economic reform. Definitely worth reading.
Regarding law and SEA, I might have a piece on Burma’s/Myanmar’s constitution up somewhere (if I can find the time to finish it).
Patrick Jory said:
“On the opposing side, deep and widespread resentment against the monarchy exists among those who view it as complicit in the killings of red shirt protestors in the violence of April-May 2010.”
The use of the word ‘complicit’ is a good word. This is because no one really knows whether they are the one who ‘directed’ the killing or not (although many believe that they did). However, all the evidences point out that they are indeed complicit in the killing. The Queen attended the funeral of the colonel who came out to kill the protesters, saying that “he has done so much for the Monarchy”. As for the King, the Constitution explicitly states that he is the commander of the Thai army. This means he has the power to stop the army from killing the people. Yet he did not do a thing to stop when his subordinates committed the crimes. Yet he is indeed an accomplice.
During my last visit to Burma I was surprised to find an exciting and rich contemporary art scene thta I, in my ignorance, had no idea about before. One fine example is Pansodan Gallery in downtown Rangoon. My article about it in The Irrawaddy:
Nice report. With so many unknowns about how Thailand’s rice sector works and how it interacts with international rice markets and future price movements in those rice markets, as well as how the benefits and economic rents are distributed among participants in the rice sector, etc, it would certainly be nice to have a master conceptual model of how Thailand’s rice sector works (with econ-math-statistical dimension too, so generalizations could be made about possible trajectories under different rice policies, there was a partial equilibrium model of the regional economy in use at the econ dept at MFLU in Chiang Rai when I worked at that uni, so such a model may even exist or at least have been conceptualized by someone). Trying to pull together all the piecemeal observations that news articles make over the years into some coherent and structured whole. Looking forward to more of your reports. Thanks.
Nice intro to the brave new world of Burmese (or Myanmarese?) parliamentary politics . Future news reports promise to have real & interesting developments rather than the stock summaries of decades-long political deadlock of the past. Will be interesting to see how the economic opening up proceeds along with the political, because wouldn’t that seem to be the major motivation for political events? How the slow transition from outright isolation for decades to balancing of outside economic powers & interests (China, India, Russia, US, Europe) Great Game style proceeds with the legacy of British law lurking in the background will be interesting. Land tenure and development of local politics will be particularly interesting, on a comparative basis between other Southeast Asian states, too. Just discovered your Southeast Asian critical legal studies blog (an area i am very interested in & really can’t find much interesting work done in, looking forward to learning more). Thanks.
For many, and in fact the most vulnerable and those who suffer the most – emigrating is not an option.
They neither have the means (money) and often the information (which country, what skills, what processes, etc).
Do you think it would be good idea if there were non – profit organisations that assisted people in migrating legally and accept a fee only when the client/migrant is successfully employed in the new country?
Was it the sort of ‘hip-hop culture’ that coincides with lattes, cocktails or neither? Were the beats deep, were there records to scratch? Were there squatters? Rather than surprise about this sort of event in future, we’ll all be surprised at the tyrannical price of admission…
“Back in my day… kids had something to complain about, but now!”
“Cabinet ministers and military top brass are backing army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha’s call for the Campaign Committee for the Amendment of Section 112 to halt its activities. Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa yesterday said the army would never allow the Criminal Code’s Section 112 to be amended. ‘Any act demeaning the monarchy or Thai people’s feelings should be stopped. If they stop this movement, peace can be achieved,’ Gen Yutthasak said.’
Seems Thailand has some sort of new-style military-led elected government now… Instead of dismissing the army chief because he inappropriately meddled in politics with his statements, they gather behind him.
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Urban art in Yangon
Royal Myanmar Teamix? Where we at the same event?
It did have sponsors – Timberland Furniture and Moe San Pan Media – but I don’t think Royal Myanmar was one of them…
Review of A Life’s Work
I read it too, Eddy W.
And been waiting for someone to post some thought on that.
I think this is one aspect that put Anand as a blind-sighted PR man.
Burma’s incentive for reform?
Dear Dom/Jon,
Could one or the other pls share the link to your “Southeast Asian critical legal studies blog”?
Cheers,
R.
Genuine and lasting peace?
Dom – I think that if you look at the United Nationalities Federal Council you will find that its members are in agreement on a number of significant issues: democracy, federal union, negotiated end to the civil war. It also represents most of the groups fighting the government.
The Burmese government’s present attempts to negotiate individual ceasefires seems to mirror the previous efforts under Khin Nyunt, where the regime offered ‘economic development’ (paths to enrichment for a groups leaders) in exchange for a ceasefire.
I am not surprised to hear this skepticism from the ALP, or what we have been hearing out of the KNU, NMSP, KIO and others. After all, they have been down this path before and seen the effects of this divide-and-rule strategy. I think that while individual ceasefires have been signed (allowed by UNFC policy) we will see more unity in any negotiations on political issues.
I also think that the UNFC ought to be directly engaged both by the Burmese government and the international community as part of any attempt to end the civil war.
Refugee deal – a Malaysian view
A pertinent analysis by a respected former Malaysian ambassador on the state of Malaysia’s foreign policy:
My question remains, what has brought about these decline in Malaysian institutions?
Genuine and lasting peace?
So, it would be better for the government to negotiate ceasefires with several dozen ethnic groups collectively at the same time? That would only make the negotiations even more difficult.
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
Dear American Citizen
Good on you for keeping up the pressure over Joe Gordon on the net.
I suggest do the same on the ground.
This means following US diplomatic personnel to their public engagements in Thailand and asking them the questions in full view of an audience and the press.
This is not suggesting anything illegal or aggressive , but rather asserting your rights as Americans.
For example here in Chiang Mai the newly arrived US Consul General, who has just been reported in a local English language newspaper as having taken the post, and as a front page news story, will be invited to be present with local dignitaries at public events.
So the many Americans who live in Chiang Mai can go and ask him in public to answer your questions.
All the better if the Governor is present, as the present incumbent of the post is reported as having been the informant in a case which sent a person working for an internet service to jail.
I am sure Americans in Bangkok can similarly exercise their right of free speech without fear of the draconian laws which sent Joe, A-Gong, Da Torpedo etc etc to prison.
Religious dialogue: whose responsibility? – Part 2
@ Lleij Samuel Schwartz #1
The issue of ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ as a significant one, I see more as one of ‘how’ they are related in Islam. This is ‘how’ is what other religions wrestle with too. I’d add that even ‘secularism’ in various forms is in the same boat when it comes to ‘how’. Christianity for example, went through a range of historic circumstances that challenged and shaped its various theologies. We could start all the way back to Constantine, through to the Christendom of Middle Ages (a Political Christianity?), through to the mini-Christendoms after the Reformation, as well as minority voices within Christianity as a whole. Not to forget in the 20th Century, the important contribution of European Political Theologies and also Latin American Liberation Theologies, and so forth all demonstrate a highly sophisticated nuanced ‘critical discourse’ (cf. Critical theory) within at least one religious tradition.
Now, if we turn the attention to ‘Islam’, could it be that to some extent, this is happening in an even more intense manner. I’m no expert in the Middle East, but perhaps the complexities of the ‘Arab Spring’ (another term generated by the Media), will need time to play itself out. A close look at the post-‘Jasmine Revolution’ Tunisia and how they navigate to the future will be illuminating (cf. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/empire/2012/01/201212612029993814.html). The story still seems to be unfolding …
In the case of Malaysia, I’d like to suggest there is a vibrant debate within the Muslim Discourse on this matter, well summarized here under the title “Towards a Peaceful Malaysia: What Role Can Muslims Play?” http://www.al-ahkam.net/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7014%3Atowards-a-peaceful-malaysia-what-role-can-muslims-play-&catid=69%3Aartikel. On a side note, could you furnish more ‘evidence’ or ‘elaboration’ on what you mean by Mahathir and Anwar being ‘members of the Ikhwan’? Is it a self-description or one from the ‘outside’? (I’m not sure I understood you correctly)
Of course, regardless, you are right to point out to some extent, there maybe a kind of ‘cross-fertilization’ of ideas within the ‘Muslim Discourse’ that is linked to developments in the Middle East, but I’m less confident than you on a direct causal relationship between the two. And even if one can argue about ‘influence’, we still need to ask ‘how is it influential’ and ‘in what way’.
I think there are other contextual factors that will mitigate the kind of thinking that can be generated – and I think the example of the Forum on in the article I linked above shows how this is being played out. We need more empirical evidence to help us understand this better.
Next on “Dhimmitude”, while conceptually this contested term might have some currency in mindsets and attitudes, but empirically it’s simply not the case, currently in Malaysia, at least not yet. I see this as an ongoing struggle in the trajectory Malaysia is heading. The fact is while Islam is the Religion of the Federation of Malaysia, similar to Lutheranism is the State Religion of the Kingdom of Norway brings before us some ‘constitutional’ limitations that we have inherited historically – perhaps to some for the better, and to others for the worse, but it’s there. of course, the separation of religion and state is clearer in the minds of Norwegians, but that’s another story (which relates to my earlier comments on how Christianity as a religion adapts to the social-political contexts of its time.)
There is no denying that with the different State enactments, the inability of the courts to rule clearly when it comes to controversial issues related to Religion as well as ‘Islamization’ defined as a kind of ‘Islamic Engineering’ by UMNO as argued strongly in Liow’s “Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia ” (2009) complicates the matter further. These are key issues to be analyzed and I suspect the interpretations of different scholars will be determined by the hermeneutical orientations they start off with. But, I think we’re still not in the position to play ‘Nostradamus’ in offering ‘predictions’ absolutely.
On the point of Holy War, it will be interesting on whether it is even possible to argue for an Islamic State without any non-Muslims in Malaysia living in it. I doubt one can even argue that for Indonesia as a nation. Unless, you want to have a kind of one nation but some Muslims reside in State A, then ‘others’ in State B. I’m not sure how we could imagine this is possible at all in Malaysia.
To press it further, one might ask how this notion of ‘Holy War’ relates to the notion of Islam as a religion of ‘Peace’. This has also been the challenge for Christianity from the ‘Crusades’ to ‘Post-Sept 11 wars’. I think it’s important not to dismiss too quickly the kind of capacity religious communities may have within them at all the levels from the scholars to the people on the ground on how they are negotiating all these complexities. In short, perhaps one might argue that there is a ‘Critical theory’ approach that can be shown to be present historically in the Islamic tradition for example.
@ Greg Lopez #2 & #4
‘Real-Politik’ is probably the starting point for most given the circumstances of a given situation. But for religious communities, it cannot be the only point of departure, because that will go against the more ‘transcendent’ motivations, or ethical demands from their respective traditions. So, the motivation has to dig deeper.
I think of the Orang Asli friends I have in Cameron Highlands, I doubt they can emigrate even they want to (unless we totally forget about ‘nation-state boundaries). A friend of mine coined the term ‘Hope-timist’ – it’s a nice twist from the usual optimist-pessimist spectrum. I think simply asking people to emigrate, and especially for those who can’t is telling them to give up ‘hope’ for a future they can in some way contribute to.
so the discussion turning our attention to “the most vulnerable and those who suffer the most” keeps us from reducing our discussions in New Mandela to the level of “bourgeois” echo-chamber talk.
Urban art in Yangon
@CG – Yes, no price of admission yet, but I was a little unsettled by the Royal Teamix stand at the event’s entrance. Unsettled? Maybe there’s a better word. It shouldn’t be suprising, of course, as this kind of event does require money to put on, and I’m presuming that the RT stand helped address that. In that sense it’s nothing to decry. And anyway, for me at least, the idea of a ‘pure’ street art – and why wouldn’t the same go for art as such – is always already impossible. Better to jump into the contradictions head on. But I would be lying if I didn’t say a part of me was wishing that stand wasn’t there. Tough question, I guess? Either way, props to all the artists. A very impressive scene overall, at least in my opinion.
FACT’s plea for Joe Gordon
Today, Joe Gordon begins his the third month since Mr. Gordon was sentenced. If some backroom deal to be released by pleading guilty was made. It has apparently been reniged upon.
As an American, I want to know what my State Department, its ambassadors, its embassy staff are doing pro-activley to get Mr. Gordon safely back to the United States.
We get daily reports of NGO members in Egypt. Why not daily condemnations from the US State Department regarding the use of Article 112 against Americans who exercise their freedom of speech in American?
Why hasn’t more pressure been applied to end this fiasco? Why is Cobra Gold still planned for Thailand? Why do we press sanctions against some countries with Human Rights Abuses but allow Thailand to get a ‘Free Pass’?
As a group the State Department is failing American Interests by ignoring the plight of Mr. Gordon.
Shame on Thailand.
Shame on US State Department.
Shame on Congress for not passing legislation not holding hearings on this issue matter.
Shame on the US Department of Defense for not taking a more proactive position promoting human rights.
Shame on Thais for allowing the misuse of Thai Laws to net normal citizens for relatively inocculous trasgressions and allow major proven transgressions to go unpunished among its wealthy and connected classes.
Thailand is rapidly becoming the Zimbabwe of Asia.
Free Joe Gordon.
End the madness.
Burma’s incentive for reform?
Dom: “Regarding law and SEA, I might have a piece on Burma’s / Myanmar’s constitution up somewhere (if I can find the time to finish it).
That would be great to read. I just remember the never-ending preliminaries, all the meetings year after year with nothing really happening. Would be interesting to see what happened in the end. I think the defining moment for me (while i lived there for 2 years around 2001) that proved how removed politics was from the people was when a helicopter carrying essentially the whole cabinet crashed into a river killing them all and it wasn’t even on the evening news and funerals were held shortly thereafter without there being one public announcement. Some patriotic people showed up based on what they heard through the grapevine. I only found out because my next door neighbor neighbor was a son of an ambassador during the Nei Win era and therefore was hooked into the grapevine.
I am really interested in how the law works in practice. To give an example, there are the reforms in criminal justice procedure in the 1997 Thai “People’s Constitution” the great promise of which was discussed in the 2005 JSD thesis at Cornell of the King’s granddaughter (“Towards Equal Justice: Protection fo the Rights of the Accused in the Thai Criminal Justice Process – A Comparison with France and the United States by Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol” from Chula Library, a good read). Then there is what I have been able to read on the penal system, which is not much, and seems to be a taboo subject to even talk about among many. And then finally, there is the death penalty in Asia as discussed in The Next Frontier: national Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia, David T. Johnson and Franklin E. Zimring (actually got to talk to the author) which clearly describes what could be likened to a royal intervention over the years that prevented people from being executed. Contrast that with Chalerm who now wants to fully book the execution chamber for the foreseeable future. In fact, effective abolition of the death penalty in most cases has taken place against the will of the democratic majority. Then there is land tenure at the local level which seems to be correlated with the colonial legal tradition, civil law traditions tending to have a legacy of weaker property rights. Anyway, there are many interesting issues and little analysis that I have seen 🙂
Burma’s incentive for reform?
Jon, thanks for your comments. I actually intentionally left out the economic side of things because Myanmar Network circulated an excellent brief last month about the top 15 tycoons and the prospects for economic reform. Definitely worth reading.
Regarding law and SEA, I might have a piece on Burma’s/Myanmar’s constitution up somewhere (if I can find the time to finish it).
Jory on Thai monarchy
Patrick Jory said:
“On the opposing side, deep and widespread resentment against the monarchy exists among those who view it as complicit in the killings of red shirt protestors in the violence of April-May 2010.”
The use of the word ‘complicit’ is a good word. This is because no one really knows whether they are the one who ‘directed’ the killing or not (although many believe that they did). However, all the evidences point out that they are indeed complicit in the killing. The Queen attended the funeral of the colonel who came out to kill the protesters, saying that “he has done so much for the Monarchy”. As for the King, the Constitution explicitly states that he is the commander of the Thai army. This means he has the power to stop the army from killing the people. Yet he did not do a thing to stop when his subordinates committed the crimes. Yet he is indeed an accomplice.
Urban art in Yangon
During my last visit to Burma I was surprised to find an exciting and rich contemporary art scene thta I, in my ignorance, had no idea about before. One fine example is Pansodan Gallery in downtown Rangoon. My article about it in The Irrawaddy:
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22925
Rice production after the flood
Nice report. With so many unknowns about how Thailand’s rice sector works and how it interacts with international rice markets and future price movements in those rice markets, as well as how the benefits and economic rents are distributed among participants in the rice sector, etc, it would certainly be nice to have a master conceptual model of how Thailand’s rice sector works (with econ-math-statistical dimension too, so generalizations could be made about possible trajectories under different rice policies, there was a partial equilibrium model of the regional economy in use at the econ dept at MFLU in Chiang Rai when I worked at that uni, so such a model may even exist or at least have been conceptualized by someone). Trying to pull together all the piecemeal observations that news articles make over the years into some coherent and structured whole. Looking forward to more of your reports. Thanks.
Burma’s incentive for reform?
Nice intro to the brave new world of Burmese (or Myanmarese?) parliamentary politics . Future news reports promise to have real & interesting developments rather than the stock summaries of decades-long political deadlock of the past. Will be interesting to see how the economic opening up proceeds along with the political, because wouldn’t that seem to be the major motivation for political events? How the slow transition from outright isolation for decades to balancing of outside economic powers & interests (China, India, Russia, US, Europe) Great Game style proceeds with the legacy of British law lurking in the background will be interesting. Land tenure and development of local politics will be particularly interesting, on a comparative basis between other Southeast Asian states, too. Just discovered your Southeast Asian critical legal studies blog (an area i am very interested in & really can’t find much interesting work done in, looking forward to learning more). Thanks.
Religious dialogue: whose responsibility? – Part 2
@ Lleij Samuel Schwartz #3
For many, and in fact the most vulnerable and those who suffer the most – emigrating is not an option.
They neither have the means (money) and often the information (which country, what skills, what processes, etc).
Do you think it would be good idea if there were non – profit organisations that assisted people in migrating legally and accept a fee only when the client/migrant is successfully employed in the new country?
Urban art in Yangon
Was it the sort of ‘hip-hop culture’ that coincides with lattes, cocktails or neither? Were the beats deep, were there records to scratch? Were there squatters? Rather than surprise about this sort of event in future, we’ll all be surprised at the tyrannical price of admission…
“Back in my day… kids had something to complain about, but now!”
With great tyranny comes great art. Word.
1Contradiction: Malaysia’s handbags
Yes, we also have to ask why the iPhone app called “Aku Jimat” with its ultimate prize of a 24 million ringgit ring was taken down.
A catalogue of threats against the Khana Nitirat
Bangkok Post, February 8, 2012:
“Cabinet ministers and military top brass are backing army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha’s call for the Campaign Committee for the Amendment of Section 112 to halt its activities. Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa yesterday said the army would never allow the Criminal Code’s Section 112 to be amended. ‘Any act demeaning the monarchy or Thai people’s feelings should be stopped. If they stop this movement, peace can be achieved,’ Gen Yutthasak said.’
Seems Thailand has some sort of new-style military-led elected government now… Instead of dismissing the army chief because he inappropriately meddled in politics with his statements, they gather behind him.