By Greg Poling & Kate Rustici Myanmar president Thein Sein January 2 confirmed reports that the military employed air strikes and gunship helicopters in its fight against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near Laiza, the rebels’ capital in northeastern Myanmar.…
Human Rights
The Leaderboard: Sombath Somphone
by cogitASIA Staff • • 3 Comments
Who is he? Sombath Somphone is a Lao agricultural and development economist and, in 1996, founded the nongovernmental organization PADETC, or the Participatory Development Training Center, which seeks to advance community education and training on sustainable development in Laos. In…
Friday Five: January 4, 2013
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
In Myanmar, the government has admitted that significant military force has been utilized against the Kachin rebels in the northern part of the country. This week China understandably filed a diplomatic complaint about three bombs that were dropped into its…
Myanmar’s Peaceful Assembly Law: A Big Step Forward but a Long Way to Go
by Phuong Nguyen • • 4 Comments
By Phuong Nguyen Since taking office in 2011, the reformist government of President Thein Sein has adopted several important laws that are fundamental in laying the institutional foundations for Myanmar’s young democracy. One of the most important of these is…
President Obama Announces US-Burma Partnership
by cogitASIA Staff • • 3 Comments
By Nisha Biswal, USAID Assistant Administrator for Asia On November 19, President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to visit Burma. It was a historic visit, not just because it was inaugural but because it underscored the truly…
The Leaderboard: Min Ko Naing
by cogitASIA Staff • • 6 Comments
Who is he? Min Ko Naing (which translates as “conqueror of kings”) is the alias of Myanmar democracy activist Paw Oo Tun. He was born in Yangon and during his student years he acted in plays and skits which satirized…
Free Speech and the Battle for ASEAN
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
By Liam Hanlon In the last decade, several of ASEAN’s member countries recognized the need for greater regional integration to confront the challenges of the 21st century. They convinced their fellow members to go along, resulting in the 2007 ASEAN…
Justice Still Eludes Massacre Victims
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
By Michael Vatikiotis Modern Indonesian history is a long tableau of violent struggle, first for freedom, then for power, and over much of the past 40 years, over faith and identity. Most of the victims of this long struggle have…
CSIS Asia Team Mega Event Series Recap
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
Over the past two weeks our CSIS Asia Team hosted a series of high profile events on developments in the Asia-Pacific and the implications for U.S. foreign policy. Here at cogitASIA On Monday, September 24 CSIS Senior Vice President for…
Economic Stakes in Cambodia’s Struggle with Rule of Law
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
By Kate Bissonnette A man looks at cleared forest land in Kratie province, Cambodia in 2010. Source: #Oxfam GB in Asia’s flickr photostream, used under a creative commons license. Cambodian military and police forces shot and killed 14 year old…