Law and judiciary
Cambodia Charges Eco-Activists With Conspiracy, Royal Defamation
Cambodian and international rights advocates have condemned the harsh charges imposed on three 20-something environmental activists in the country earlier this week, the latest sign of the Cambodian government’s determination to stamp out the last traces of independent political advocacy. On June 16, Sun Ratha, 26, ...
Sebastian Strangio
Slim chance for Suu Kyi at Myanmar’s kangaroo courts
Concern for the future of Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi is mounting after her appearance in a purpose-built courtroom in the country’s capital Naypyidaw at the start of what is expected to be a seven-week trial. Since the coup on February 1, little has been seen of ...
ANNA PLUNKETT
Vietnam introduces nationwide code of conduct for social media
Vietnam introduced national guidelines on social media behaviour on Friday which encourage people to post positive content about the Southeast Asian country and require state employees to report “conflicting information” to their superiors. The code prohibits posts which violate the law and “affect the interests of ...
Phuong Nguyen, James Pearson
Thailand’s proposed NGO law will devastate civil society
In 2015, two years before the state-driven collapse of Cambodia’s political opposition, the national government dominated by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) approved the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations (LANGO). When the law was first put forward in 2011, it was met with significant opposition, ...
MARK S. COGAN
‘What other country would do this to its people?’ Cambodian land grab victims seek int’l justice
“It started when some people from the government came around the community telling us that we were illegally occupying the land,” Chhae Kimsrour said in June 2020. “I’ve lived here since 1995, but six months later they came back and started filling in my lake. ...
GERALD FLYNN, PHOUNG VANTHA
Lands Grabs and Other Destructive Environmental Practices in Cambodia Test the International Criminal Court
Three leading climate and human rights nonprofits have asked the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague to pursue rampant “land grabbing” by the government of Cambodia and its commerce partners as a crime against humanity under the court’s jurisdiction. In an open letter ...
Katie Surma
Parks Dept rejects Karen call to return
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has rejected a request by a group of evicted Karen villagers to be allowed to resettle in their ancestral home deep into a forest at the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi. “As long as there ...
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Thailand enforces strict laws to reduce smog in Bangkok and big cities
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has ordered relevant organizations to enforce laws strictly to reduce smog and ask operators and people to cooperate. Lt Gen Kongcheep Tantrawanit, spokesman of the deputy prime minister, said the order responded to the high levels of particulate matters 2.5 microns ...
Pattaya Mail
National Assembly passes 36 laws this year
The National Assembly (NA) has approved 36 laws this year which serve the interests and needs of the Kingdom and its people. Last year it approved only 32 laws, said secretary-general Leng Peng Long. However, while welcoming the approvals, political analyst Em Sovannara said some of ...
Nov Sivutha
Thailand’s national AI ethics looks for cabinet approval
The cabinet will be asked to endorse the country’s first artificial intelligence (AI) ethics guidelines by December 2020 to ensure the proper use of this advanced technology, the National Digital Economy and Society Committee (NDESC) stated recently. Speaking at an AI ethics forum yesterday, the Secretary-General ...
Alita Sharon