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Archive for the ‘International Politics’ Category

Not that I haven’t gotten over with the US elections, but I just have one question: What’s ‘country first’ nga in Filipino?

And when are we going to hear about the ‘Obama-Arroyo’ regime? Tagal naman…

Fished this out from CNN.com.

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. Read the rest of this entry »

This changes nothing, not here for sure.  Obama will be in White House, indeed a proof of the audacity of hope; meanwhile, in this archipelago, generals will still be carrying millions of pesos in their pockets for their junkets. Bishops will still be dictating how policies should be decided. Scams would not cease.

I have never been fond of American politics, not until this election. This has been a very moving election, and for all the gaffes and its divisiveness, it has shown what politics should be about about: it is eminently about the people exercising their sovereign will – in this case, a clear rejection of the politics that Bush represents and yes, a movement to make American politics truly color-blind. No illusions should obscure how we look at Obama – we still have to see how he is as President. But the symbolism should not be missed: to borrow a feminist metaphor, a glass ceiling had been broken today, and that alone is a cause of celebration, of exuberance.

It is tragic that Filipinos viewed this election with indifference. Are we racist enough to miss the fact that the election of the first black American President is what the American Dream is all about, a dream that is deeply ingrained in our colonial mentality? Equally tragic is that this apathy also displays how hopelessness has paralyzed us in such a way that we cannot even relate to a very moving political phenomenon. Has desperation gnawed that deep into our collective soul that we can no longer feel any sense of solidarity?

The moment CNN announced that Obama won in Florida and has enough votes in the Electoral College to win the presidency, I felt so moved. The first thing that came to my mind was a poem by Langston Hughes:

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow
of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went
down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn
all golden in the sunset.

A very moving election, indeed. Congrats, Obama!

Watch Barack Obama’s speech (Part 1 and Part 2 in CNN’s website) – rousing, refreshing, and moving – during the 2008 Democratic National Convention and help me say this to Sen. Chiz Escudero: Hey Chiz, stop it. You ain’t Obama. There’s Obama, then (way, way below) there are young politicians who speak like they just went through lobotomy. So there.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy has disbanded. Suriyasai Katasila was quoted in the media as saying that it has served its purpose, but apparently there was also a rift in the coalition due to differing perspectives on the coup.

Meanwhile, the Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR) issued a statement calling for the immediate lifting of the gag against the media. Read below the statement released by CPMR through its Secretary General Supinya Klangnarong.

Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR) express our concern about military coup against freedom of expression in Thailand.

CPMR sincerely regrets for the military coup and the abolition of 1997 Constitution.
Eventhough we had been realising that the administration ruled by disposed Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinnawatra was vigorously violating the principle of democracy and civil rights but we
consider the military coup is not a democratic solution either.

CPMR is truly disappointed if this would dismiss the principle of Article 39, Article 40 and Article 41 under the Constitution which reaffirms press freedom, freedom of expression and the principle guaranteed that broadcasting media and telecommunication are public resources.

CPMR deeply concerns that Administrative Reform Council (ARC) was occupying and forcing national television stations for the coup and showing attempt to block the freedom of_exprerssion which would replicate the crisis in the past.

CPMR firmly address a statement to ARC, if they are sincerely heading the country for the sake of democracy and political reform in Thailand;

1. Remain and Uphold the principle of free press, freedom of expression, right to know and free flow of information, according to Article 39,40,41 as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR), Article 19.

2. Abolish the Martial law and let citizens freely exercise their political rights and liberty.

3. Stop blocking the free flow of information inside and outside Thailand.

4. Encourage the existence of community radios and all kind of media in order to work fairly under a climate of freedom from fear

5. Bring back the political power to the people as quickly as possible.

With respect in civil liberty and media freedom regardless of any political circumstances,

Campaign for Pupular Media Reform (CPMR)
21 September 2006

King Bhumibol Adulyadej has already spoken on the coup, at least according to Thailand’s state TV, as well as other leaders all over the world, but the progressive and leftist forces in Thailand, especially those that joined the broad anti-Thanksin movement called the People’s Alliance for Democracy, remain silent. While the public generally appears calm after the military successfully staged a coup on Tuesday night, the People’s Alliance for Democracy appears confused on what to do next.

The coup has put the Left in a bind. On one hand, the coup has initiated a political transition that the multisectoral movement has failed to achieve. The movement was able to mobilize thousands of people in the streets to demand for Thaksin’s ouster, which led to Thaksin’s tearful announcement of his resignation. Soon after, however, Thaksin re-emerged as the head of a caretaker government that appeared bent on staying on and surviving the political crisis, at least until the coup. That Thaksin didn’t see the coup coming is his own folly – he should have just resigned and allowed criminal charges against him to continue – but for now, Thaksin will be written in Thai history as one of the hallmarks of the failure of Thai democracy.

On the other hand, a power grab is a power grab – it is undemocratic and it threatens the entire fabric of democracy. The constitution may be flawed, but using coercion to usher political transition weakens constitutional democracy further. Even if a new constitutional order with stronger mechanisms for political accountability and transparency in governance is established after the coup, it will still be a weak one, with the military deemed as the ultimate arbiter of what should be eminently seen as political.

In the meantime, civil liberties are being repressed by the new military rulers, which has adopted the name “Administrative Reform Council.” There an existing curfew in Bangkok, Thai media is censored, and freedom of assembly is forbidden. Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Thai army, announced that he would “give way” to civilian authority in two weeks and appoint a new Prime Minister. He also guaranteed that democracy will be re-established in one year, once a new constitution is written. What the statement actually means is that the military will continue its hold on power, directly or indirectly.

Jon Ungphakorn, a highly respected activist and Senator in Thailand, said in an interview with the Inter Press Service Asia Pacific (as posted in PCIJ’s blog) that the next two weeks would be very crucial. “If we have a civilian interim prime minister who is a champion of democracy, if they restore freedom of speech and of the press, if elections are promised within six months, if an interim constitution is brought in immediately, with the all the rights of the previous constitutions, then we might be moving forward toward an era of poll and social reform,” Ungphakorn said.

The only person more powerful than Gen. Sonthi now is the King, a clear reflection of the sorry state of Thailand’s democracy. King Adulyadej may be popular and wise, but he won’t and can’t reign forever, and it would be useful for Thailand to learn some lessons from Nepal or Bhutan.

The coup emboldens authoritarian regimes in the region. Be it in Thailand or Indonesia, a coup in the region legitimizes the Burmese junta. Gen. Sonthi’s use of Thanksin’s “divisive” politics to rationalize the military take over mirrors the Malaysian regime’s application of authoritarian methods to “unite” a multiracial country.

The Philippine government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and President GMA’s allies were quick to dispel fears that a “copycat coup” would take place in Manila. Wonder of wonders, but a coup already took place last May, when the so-called civilian Commander-in-Chief moblized the Armed Forces of the Philippines to cheat for her. A formal martial law may not be in place, but the abuses and excesses of a martial law are already eating away the country’s democratic gains. Activists are being killed and threatened, media slays are unabated, and other political institutions that are supposed to check and balance the abuses of each other are subservient to the lies, whims, and caprices of the President and her men. Filipinos don’t need to see tanks in EDSA to believe that the military is in power in this country. Our only difference with the Thais is that we are in denial of this fact.

G.P. Koirala, the leader of the Nepali Congress Party, is back as the country’s Prime Minister. After weeks of demonstration, Nepalese King Gyanendra decided to hand over political power to the civilian authority by reconvening the parliament that he unceremoniously dissolved early 2005. People across the globe celebrated the victory of People Power in Nepal.

I hope that this victory would lead to concrete democratic gains. Nepal has suffered so long from deep poverty and a protracted insurgency, the latter partly a result of dissatisfaction over the monarchy’s strong political and economic influence in the country.

Caution, however, should be exercised. The ball is now in the hands of the ruling Nepali Congress Party and its ‘split’ sister, the Nepali Congress Democratic. The international community has a role in pressuring both parties not to make mistakes as they did when they were still under one party.
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