2006 Activities

During a year of significant political setbacks in Southeast Asia—the collapse of East Timor’s young government, the implosion of the Arroyo regime in the Philippines, the culture of impunity in Indonesia, the continued intransigence of Burma’s military leaders, crackdowns on the press throughout the region, and a military coup in Thailand—OSI’s Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative worked in 2006 to fight corruption and reinforce democratic institutions by supporting activities to develop independent media, increase legal aid for vulnerable groups, and provide training for young leaders.

The following briefs describe some of the Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative’s activities and achievements in 2006.

Burma Project

Film Exposes Human Rights Abuses in Burma

A video report reveals the everyday terror of villagers living in eastern Burma, where the military junta has displaced over half a million people. The film, entitled Season of Fear: Internally Displaced People Call for International Action, has been screened at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., for a parliamentary meeting at the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, and on university campuses. Produced with OSI support by Burma Issues, an organization based on the Thai-Burma border, the video has contributed to growing public awareness of the forced labor, state-sanctioned rape, and use of child soldiers that continues unabated in Burma.

UN Security Council Places Burma on Its Agenda

In September, the UN Security Council voted to formally include Burma on its agenda for the first time in history. OSI’s Burma Project played a leading role in the campaign to persuade the United Nations to take up the issue of Burma’s military dictatorship and its security threat to the region. It provided funding to international advocacy efforts and grassroots campaigns in Southeast Asia and used OSI’s influence and contacts to further the effort.

Regional Parliamentary Group Pushes Democracy in Burma

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, a partner organization of OSI, has become a major force in affecting both regional and international policy on Burma. The group, which includes members of parliament from Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, supports a peaceful transition to democracy in Burma and the release of its 1,100 political prisoners, including detained Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Tech Trainings Strengthen Burmese Democracy Movement

With OSI support, the Tactical Technology Collective trained technical support providers working within the Burmese democracy movement. The project kicked off with a weeklong tech skills knowledge-sharing workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for 20 Burmese technology support staff.

Southeast Asia Initiative

Cambodia

Community Justice Project Provides Dispute Resolution

The pilot Community Justice Project in Cambodia trained three grassroots dispute resolution panels with support from the initiative. Many people in Cambodia, especially in rural areas, settle their disputes outside the courts because they lack access to the legal system. The project, implemented by the Community Legal Education Center, improves access to justice for disadvantaged communities, increasing people’s confidence in the rule of law and the courts. The success of the project, renamed the Access to Justice Program, has prompted government officials to express interest in replicating the project throughout the country.

Malaysia

Malaysian Project Offers Legal Literacy Training

A project of the Education and Research Association for Consumers in Malaysia engages communities in learning about human rights, legal processes, and dispute resolution options and skills. It provides legal counseling and legal literacy training programs for community leaders and youth. Groups identified by the project, such as Indian migrant plantation workers, are less legally literate and more vulnerable to discrimination and abuse than others in Malaysia.

Thailand

Web Daily Offers Forum for Alternative Voices

OSI supports the efforts of Prachathai, an independent Thai language, daily web newspaper, to provide the public with reliable news and diverse viewpoints during an era of severe curbs on the freedom and independence of Thai news media. In only a few years, Prachathai has doubled its readership, recruited over 40 civil society columnists, and formed partnerships with two local newspapers to cover the conflict in the south. It has gained prominence among Thai intellectuals and activists for its stories and online reader discussions.

Young People Exhibit Photographs After Tsunami

With OSI support, InSIGHT Out! in Thailand initiated a multimedia training project for youth in Aceh, Indonesia, and Thailand affected by the Asian tsunami. The youth presented their photographs in their local communities in Aceh and southern Thailand and at an international exhibition in Bangkok. The project also received media attention, including features in the Asian Wall Street Journal, National Geographic Magazine, CNN World Report, and Star TV.