Civil society
Civil society coalitions and cooperation
The Cambodian activists risking their freedom for the environment
Mother Nature is a group made up of young activists attempting to protect Cambodia’s environment from widespread destruction. But the group has increasingly been targeted, with some even jailed for their activism. Thon Ratha and Long Kunthea are passionate, young environmental activists for Mother Nature. They ...
Mech Dara & George Wright
Myanmar Citizens Voice Support For Uprising Against Junta Despite Risks
Many people in Myanmar support the National Unity Government’s (NUG) declaration of war against the military junta despite the threat of added instability and inflation, sources in the country said Wednesday, a day after the shadow government leadership announced the move. The call to arms and ...
Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Gender Equality Advocate Retires, Paves Way for Second Wave of Activism
Ros Sopheap was sipping ginger tea and lemonade in July when she decided to retire after more than two decades of activism that pushed for gender inclusivity and women’s empowerment. She will step down as the head of Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC) later ...
Hean Socheata and Sokummono Khan,VOA Khmer
Group to launch virtual press freedom campaign
The Working Group for Press Freedom has co-organised a two-week campaign with the theme “Information as a Public Good” on social media to promote and highlight the importance of the freedom of the press and urge the public’s participation. In a press release, the working group ...
Voun Dara
Mekong People's Forum Pushed to Pave Way for Wider Participation in Mekong Decision Making
Over a hundred participants from various sectors, which have been working on development issues in the Mekong Basin, attended the two-day seminar held in Chiang Rai’ Chiang Khong district, where has been one of the locations which have long suffered from development projects in the ...
B.Tribune
Tide turning for Mekong protesters
After almost two decades of campaigning against hydro-dams and water projects built on the Mekong River, local civic groups and conservationists finally launched the “Mekong People’s Forum,” with the hope of moving their campaign to a policy level. The forum was held on Dec 1–2 in ...
WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM
Fight for the Mekong gathers pace
More than 20 years ago, when two Chiang Rai-based environmentalists, Niwat Roikaew and Somkiat Kuenwongsa, learned that the Chinese government were blasting rapids in the upper Mekong River from Yunnan to Myanmar and Laos to clear the way for large commercial vessels, they started worrying. Back ...
PASSAKORN JUMLONGRACH
Innovation in Myanmar: 4 Organizations Reducing Poverty
Myanmar, a Southeastern Asian country roughly the size of Texas, houses almost 54 million people. In 2005, almost half of Myanmar’s population lived in poverty. However, a report released by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) determined that Myanmar successfully increased its GDP and cut poverty to 24.8% ...
Elizabeth Broderick
Activists: Cambodia’s Draft Cybercrime Law Imperils Free Expression, Privacy
A recent draft of the cybercrime law obtained by VOA Khmer has drawn concerns from NGOs and rights groups over clauses that could help the government intensify its crackdown on freedom of expression, while also raising privacy and data collection concerns. The draft law, the formulation ...
Sun Narin
Rights Groups Deplore Arrest of Vietnam Writer and Activist Pham Doan Trang
Outspoken Vietnamese democracy activist and author Pham Doan Trang has been arrested on anti-state propaganda charges, police and state media said Wednesday, as rights groups condemned her apprehension just hours after annual U.S.-Vietnam human rights talks and warned that the blogger faced the risk of ...
RFA Vietnamese Service