Tag: Elections / Democracy
Thailand: Thai monarchy laws need reviewing, say critics pointing to recent cases
A political activist convicted of defaming the Thai monarchy was freed from prison after being granted a royal pardon in the same week that two others were jailed for similar offences despite their cases previously being dismissed by a criminal court.
The recent sentences further highlight the "unconditional taboo" of...
Myanmar poised to grow as country shakes off decades of dictatorship
In the mid-20th century a young Canadian traveller, touring Southeast Asia at a time when backpacking around the world was not only unfashionable but high-risk, gave a bleak review of Burma.
"I have seen no country where chaos, bribery, looting, smuggling, insurrection and political assassination have been so prevalent," Pierre...
Viet Nam: Baldwin Park political activist says deportation will lead to torture and death in Vietnam
Wearing a gray suit and baby blue tie, Vinh Tan Nguyen held both the Vietnam and U.S. flags in his left hand Tuesday morning as he explained why U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges should not deport a pro-democracy activist back to communist Vietnam.
Some 100 supporters — about...
Cambodia: Phnom Penh Bans Cambodia Opposition’s Thumbprint Campaign
Authorities in Phnom Penh on Wednesday banned Cambodia’s opposition party from using public spaces to collect thumbprints for a petition calling for U.N. and foreign intervention in the country’s political crisis following disputed polls.
The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) plans to collect at least 3 million thumbprints for...
Cambodia: Opposition Asks ADB to Suspend Funding to Cambodia
WASHINGTON DC - Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has asked the Asian Development Bank to suspend funding to Cambodia, whose government he says was not formed legally following the July elections.
In a letter to ADB President Takehiko Nakao, Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, said the country...
Cambodians Refuse to Accept Rigged Elections
WASHINGTON: Cambodia’s parliamentary elections were supposed to be another boring and tainted exercise to ensure that the party of Prime Minister Hun Sen, already in office for 28 years, remained in power for another five years.
Instead, the flagrant vote rigging failed, and the opposition may even have won. Officially,...
Cambodia: Back Independent Election Inquiry
(New York) – Cambodia’s donors and other countries should publicly press the Cambodian government to set up an independent, internationally assisted investigation into disputed national elections in July 2013, Human Rights Watch said today in letters to leaders in France, Australia, and Japan.
Despite numerous credible reports of an unfair...
As Opposition to the Regime Mounts, Cambodia’s Capital Braces for Bloodshed
Cambodia is gearing up for more mass rallies, with up to 50,000 people slated to attend a three-day opposition demonstration beginning Wednesday.
MPs-elect for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) are boycotting the National Assembly in protest at alleged irregularities they claim cost them victory in recent general elections....
Cambodia: Concern over Cambodian authorities’ repeated attempts to limit peaceful assembly of civil society groups
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights ("CCHR") would like to highlight and express concern regarding the continued negative reaction from Cambodian authorities in response to requests or notifications by civil society groups attempting to hold peaceful demonstrations in Phnom Penh. CCHR would like to remind the Royal Government of...
More voices needed in Myanmar, rights group says
PARIS, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A European focus on normalizing relations with Myanmar risks sidelining the civil voice needed for an inclusive democracy, a Parisian rights consortium said.
Members of the international community have reached out to establish better ties with Myanmar since military rule ended with general elections in...
