By Win Tin, founder of Burma’s National League for Democracy party and a member of its central executive committee. He was a political prisoner from 1989 to 2008. Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently said…
Tag Archive for Burma/Myanmar
2nd US ASEAN Summit: What's on the Menu in Manhattan?
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
US President Barack Obama will host eight of the ten leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)[i] in New York on Friday, September 24, 2010 at the 2nd US ASEAN Summit. The meeting underlines renewed American policy energy being invested in Southeast Asia. Headlines from the discussion should focus on three areas …
Myanmar Election: An Outrage or an Opportunity?
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
By Lex Rieffel, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution & David I. Steinberg, Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies, Georgetown University The military junta in Myanmar recently announced that the country’s first election in 20 years will be held on November 7th.…
US ASEAN Summit in New York – Gut Check Time
by cogitASIA Staff • • 3 Comments
“Exploring the implications of holding a Summit without SBY or postponing the Summit should be a sobering proposition to all the leaders involved. Here’s to everyone doing what is needed to make the meeting work. It’s gut check time for the US ASEAN relationship as we approach September 24 in New York.”
US ASEAN Summit in the Big Apple
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
The stakes are high in New York, and the fact the 2nd US ASEAN Summit is taking place is significant. It is a strong signal that the US is finding its way to more comprehensive engagement in Asia and following through on its commitments to try to build an enduring Asia strategy using ASEAN as a foundation.
Breaking News: 2nd US-ASEAN Summit
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
Breaking News: The 2nd US-ASEAN Summit will be held on 24 Sept in New York. An extension of the 1st US-ASEAN Summit in Singapore, 2nd summit is scheduled to last 120 minutes, from 1-3pm.* The White House has notified ASEAN…
Absent in Danang: Urgent Need for A US Trade Policy in Asia
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
The gap in US strategy for intensifying its engagement in Southeast Asia is clearly trade. While the United States is starting to connect the dots diplomatically and on security architecture, our trade professionals, some of the most hard-core, experienced Southeast Asia hands in the Administration, are essentially benched as they wait for political and policy decisions to put the US trade leadership back into the game.
BURMA: Frustrations Do Not a Policy Make
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
[I]mposing additional sanctions on Burma’s regime or forming still more commissions will only salve our consciences. Neither will help the Burmese people, persuade the government to loosen its grip on the population, or even assist the United States in meeting its strategic or humanitarian objectives. In fact, such moves would hinder negotiations and relations with a new government that, even if far from a model for governance, would probably give the Burmese more political voice and freedom than they have had in half a century.
Reconciling Sovereignty with Responsibility: Burma and ASEAN
by cogitASIA Staff • • 1 Comment
The pattern is unmistakable. Burma’s record suggests that government killings of other ethnic groups constitute at least crimes against humanity, if not genocide, as stated in Article 7 of the Rome Statute. These largely overlooked violations are unacceptable to humanity and Southeast Asia’s budding democracy. ASEAN must reconcile its respect for sovereignty with expectations of a modern state to prevent mass atrocity crimes in Southeast Asia.
Answer: Washington, DC
by cogitASIA Staff • • 1 Comment
The 2nd US ASEAN Summit needs to be held in Washington, DC. When inviting ten foreign leaders from a strategically vital region to meet the President of the United States, symbolism and form are vitally important. The Washington choice sends the right messages at the right time.