Democracy

Diversity is an essential feature of our region. While religious and ethnic animosity poses an obstacle to creating a “cohesive and caring society”, this is not to suggest that diversity is the cause of conflict and insecurity per se. As illustrated in various multiethnic states around the globe, many governments have succeeded in integrating diverse populations. Rather, it is discriminatory practices and the lack of respect for differences in Southeast Asia that have alienated minorities and created chasms within communities.

Fifty years is a long time. Memory will play tricks with you after such a time, and I can’t quite remember when it was I first heard of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN.

The eleven-year experience of engagement with the official ASEAN process has taught civil society movements in Southeast Asia valuable lessons that should guide its future trajectories. Disappointment, rejection, and disillusionment should now be a thing of the past and chalked up to experience. The real challenge facing ACSC/APF today lies from outside and beyond the established ASEAN process. 

Obtaining ASEAN membership has been one of Timor-Leste’s foreign policy goals since 2002.  This article discusses the current dynamic in Timor-Leste and what it means to be an ASEAN member. This is based on the domestic context that shapes Timor’s interests. Many commentators have taken a position in advocating for Timor’s membership based on short-sighted policies. At the same time, ASEAN continues to argue that Timor "does not have the capacity”. This article goes further by asking how Timor-Leste can benefit from this membership and what the necessary conditions are for Timor to do so.

The romance between ASEAN citizens and social media lives on. Social media continues to shape a more integrated and digitally savvy regional community. It has proven that its people have set limitations due to geographical borders, customary social divides, economic status and perhaps national laws and policies. At 50, ASEAN and its member states must admit that social media is not just here to stay, but is and will remain a dynamic force to be reckoned with.

The Indonesian case of homophobia (or even some other ASEAN countries) reveals that homosexuality issues are more complex and are more than just moral or immoral debates; they are about national reactions to the rapid transmission of global discourse, the dynamic of movements and counter-movements in democracy, and also the state’s multifaceted representation which place sexuality as a political issue of our contemporary time.

Di sebalik kepelbagaiannya, negara anggota ASEAN mempunyai satu ciri yang sama: penindasan kerajaan. Ini bercanggah dengan aspirasi ASEAN untuk berpaksikan rakyat. Gerakan Bersih untuk pilihan raya adil di Malaysia merupakan contoh bagaimana penindasan kerajaan itu berlaku.

2017 is a particularly critical year for ASEAN as it celebrates its 50th anniversary; it is timely for the Southeast Asia to prove itself as a region that emphasizes putting ASEAN’s people first. Such recognition of civil society, not as a threat, but as an important ally in ensuring the realisation of human rights for all Asean citizens is critical to the development of a sustainable ASEAN Community.

Artikel ini bertujuan untuk membincangkan bagaimana ASEAN dapat memastikan usaha-usaha integrasi serantau mereka benar-benar “inklusif”, menjamin masa depan yang lebih baik bagi populasi pendatang terpaksa di rantau ini. Artikel ini juga membincangkan komitmen-komitmen ASEAN dan negara-negara anggotanya yang pernah berjanji pada masa dahulu.

บทความนี้มุ่งถกประเด็นหาแนวทางเพื่อให้ความพยายามในการบูรณาการระดับภูมิภาคของอาเซียนเป็นผลสำเร็จแบบ “ครอบคลุม” อย่างแท้จริง ซึ่งจะเป็นหลักประกันให้ผู้ถูกบังคับย้ายถิ่นในภูมิภาคนี้มีอนาคตที่ดีขึ้น โดยบทความนี้ทบทวนสิ่งที่อาเซียนและประเทศสมาชิกมุ่งมั่นสัญญาในอดีต