As leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet at the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin this week, recent events on other Asian coastlines presents a challenge to the grouping. The plight of the ethnic Rohingya Muslim minority from Burma was revealed when several boats containing hundreds of exhausted men arrived on Thai, Indian, and Indonesian shores in January.
THAILAND made headlines last week as photographs emerged of its navy towing boats filled with hundreds of Rohingya people from Burma out to sea, leaving them to wash ashore elsewhere or perish. Unfortunately, such callous treatment of asylum seekers is nothing new.
In this commentary, Joanne Mariner discusses Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA), a law under which more than 70 men are currently held in preventive detention. Back in the pre-"war on terror" days, the United States would occasionally criticize Malaysia's reliance on the ISA. Now, Malaysian authorities have a ready response to US criticism: Guantanamo. But detainees in both places face secret evidence, an overall lack of due process, and, as a result, arbitrary detention.
Millions of Asian women working overseas are feeding their families, and boosting the economies of their countries, by remitting billions of dollars home. For their pains, all too often they are subjected to forced confinement, poor working conditions and in some cases, severe physical and sexual abuse.
Malaysia´s first new prime minister in more than 20 years, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, faces scores of challenges after succeeding Mahathir Mohammed on Friday. But none will be greater than those necessary to transform Malaysia from an authoritarian regime into a nation that respects human rights and operates under the rule of law. A critical first step would be to protect those members of society whose rights have consistently been under attack: migrant workers and those who defend their rights.
As leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet at the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin this week, recent events on other Asian coastlines presents a challenge to the grouping. The plight of the ethnic Rohingya Muslim minority from Burma was revealed when several boats containing hundreds of exhausted men arrived on Thai, Indian, and Indonesian shores in January.
THAILAND made headlines last week as photographs emerged of its navy towing boats filled with hundreds of Rohingya people from Burma out to sea, leaving them to wash ashore elsewhere or perish. Unfortunately, such callous treatment of asylum seekers is nothing new.
In this commentary, Joanne Mariner discusses Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA), a law under which more than 70 men are currently held in preventive detention. Back in the pre-"war on terror" days, the United States would occasionally criticize Malaysia's reliance on the ISA. Now, Malaysian authorities have a ready response to US criticism: Guantanamo. But detainees in both places face secret evidence, an overall lack of due process, and, as a result, arbitrary detention.
Millions of Asian women working overseas are feeding their families, and boosting the economies of their countries, by remitting billions of dollars home. For their pains, all too often they are subjected to forced confinement, poor working conditions and in some cases, severe physical and sexual abuse.
Malaysia´s first new prime minister in more than 20 years, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, faces scores of challenges after succeeding Mahathir Mohammed on Friday. But none will be greater than those necessary to transform Malaysia from an authoritarian regime into a nation that respects human rights and operates under the rule of law. A critical first step would be to protect those members of society whose rights have consistently been under attack: migrant workers and those who defend their rights.