Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch today called for charges to be dropped against critics who were charged yesterday for violating the ban on criminal activity after being arrested on February for holding a mock election at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre on February 14th. The four will face the Bangkok Military Court in what HRW described as a ‘rolling […]

THAILAND’S NEW NOT SO HIDDEN AGENDA. New plans will hinder murder enquiries too For those who have not noticed the current Thai military led government has been quietly curtailing basic human rights and the ability of organisations to question government and official conduct. Already the powers of Thailand’s FBI – the Department of Special Investigations […]

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PROTESTS PLAN TO SEND PRISONERS TO WORK ON THAILAND’S FISHING BOATS! Human Rights Watch has protested a plan by Thailand’s military government to send prisoners to work in Thailand’s fishing fleet – seemingly a 21st Century resurrection of the Roman tradition of sending prisoners to the Galleys. Working in Roman Galleys the […]

ACTIVISTS BEING HELD IN SECRET -CLAIM Human Rights Watch today issued a statement criticising the military for holding on to political activist Kritsuda Khunasen and expressed concern about people being held in secret. The HRW Report follows: Twitter picture (New York, June 11, 2014) – The Thai military authorities should immediately confirm the location of […]

Donors Should Demand Independent Investigation of Election Irregularities So who did win the recent Cambodian National elections? This report just released by Human Rights Watch accuses the ruling government of fraud.  Now lets sit back and wait for the chorus of protests from other ASEAN governments….and wait…and wait. (New York, July 31, 2013) – The […]

-A CHILLING AFFECT!- “Prosecution strikes at the very core of efforts by human rights defenders to end pervasive abuses of workers !in Thailand’s export industry.” (PIC:Andy Hall with Aung San Suu Kyi. Last year he took her on an unofficial trip to see Burmese workers in Mahachai on the Gulf of Thailand outside Bangkok.) In […]

AND HOW REFORMED IS BURMA  (MYANMAR) REALLY? The abuse of the Rohingya in Burma continues. At the same time foreign companies and tourists are flooding in to the newly reformed country. Well just how reformed is it? Where are the forces in Burma defending this minority, whose very right to existence seems to be denied? […]

-International campaign against Thailand’s seafood industry sizzles as – MAN THROWS HIMSELF INTO GULF OF THAILAND FOR STORY- Flying Sporran’s Weekend Diary Thailand’s fishing industry, particularly in the area of prawn cultivation took another massive knock today with an article on Mail Online, which boasts 105 million unique visitors a month, taking a massive swipe. […]

– JUST WHEN LAOS WAS GETTING USER FRIENDLY – MAGSAYSAY WINNER IS TRUCKED OFF. Laos has recently joined the ‘to do’ list of young travellers. Vang Vieng the world’s tubing capital  was getting hotter than the Full Moon parties on Koh Phangan, Thailand. So here is a timely reminder to travellers that they are travelling […]

Today I am taking the unusual step of publishing a report by Human Rights Watch on what’s happening to the Rohingya in Burma (Myanmar) without any comment. I am very concerned. Genocide may be too harsh a term to use, or it it? But ASEAN is hardly raising a voice – nor apparently is Aung […]