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672. No Better Way to Promote Human Rights and Peace on the Korean Peninsula? Propaganda Leaflet Dropping and the South Korean Government’s Leafleting Ban
- Author:
- Youngsoo Yu
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Anti-North Korea leaflets that are flown across the inter-Korean border to North Korea have consistently been a topic of controversy. While South Korean activists deem the practice crucial for promoting human rights in North Korea, North Korea has vocally criticized the act in fear that the leaflets could delegitimize its regime. Following a series of psychological warfare acts of propaganda leaflet dropping, the South Korean National Assembly passed a bill prohibiting the act of sending anti-North Korea leaflets. This was done in hopes of alleviating rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and inducing North Korea into opening up for more dialogue and contact among the two Koreas. However, Youngsoo Yu, professor at the University of North Korean Studies, provides commentary critical of the government’s decision, claiming that the government has not only acted against the principles and values shared by the international community, but was also mistaken in prioritizing political purposes over the defense of human rights. Additionally, South Korea has not taken the appropriate measures to improve human rights conditions in North Korea. Moving forward, he claims that it is crucial for South Korea to work together with the international community and revamp its strategies to promote greater engagement with the hermit kingdom.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Borders, Propaganda, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Asia, South Korea, and North Korea
673. Need, Aid, and Root Causes: The Appropriateness of Humanitarian Response in the DPRK
- Author:
- Nazanin Zadeh-Cummings
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Humanitarian aid carries connotations of emergency, urgent response, and acute threats to human morbidity, mortality, and dignity. Despite the end of the famine emergency since the mid-1990s, however, the DPRK has continued to receive international humanitarian aid. This article argues that while concepts of development and humanitarianism highlight the challenges to bringing structural change in the DPRK, the long-term nature of need in the DPRK does not signal an inappropriate match with humanitarian aid. In a sanctioned and highly politicised environment with questions of denuclearisation and human rights abuses, seeking to improve daily lives is an inherently structural act. Without structural changes, acute needs have and likely will continue even in times of non-emergency.
- Topic:
- Development, Humanitarian Aid, Famine, Human Security, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Asia and North Korea
674. Nepal’s Supreme Court Overturned PM K.P. Oli’s Decision to Dissolve Parliament
- Author:
- Pradip Pariyar
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Change has dawned upon Nepal following the declaration of the 2015 Constitution, yet the future of its government seems bleak. Pradip Pariyar, Executive Chairperson of Samata Foundation, states that the old game of parliamentary politics is being revived in Nepal through a series of questionable events that unfolded in the Nepalese parliament over the past few months. Prime Minister K.P. Oli’s controversial recommendation to dissolve the House of Representatives was followed by strong backlash from both his faction and rival factions. Amidst the two months of uncertainty following the dissolution of the parliament, Nepali people brought their dissatisfaction to the streets, protesting against the decision. While the Supreme Court ultimately decided against the dissolution, deeming it unconstitutional, it was revealed that there was internal support for Oli’s contentious decision, including backing from Chief Justice Cholendra. Despite the expectation that Oli would resign from the post due to the trouble he brought upon the government as well as his limited capacity to handle national matters amidst the pandemic, Oli remains in power today.
- Topic:
- Government, Oil, Democracy, and Parliament
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and Nepal
675. Consistent Inconsistency: What One Thirty-year-old Cable Reveals About U.S.-DPRK Relations
- Author:
- Ben Forney
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- 30 years have passed since North Korea’s then “nascent” nuclear program was identified as a “gravely serious threat.” Since 1991, its once budding nuclear program has amassed into a large-scale program, posing a grave challenge for the nuclear proliferation regime and regional security in Northeast Asia. In the following Global NK Commentary, Ben Forney, PhD candidate at the Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies, explains that international coordination efforts to deter North Korea from developing its nuclear weapons have been inconsistent and ineffective. Manifest in cable exchanges between Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo and President George H.W. Bush’ solo enactment of the Presidential Nuclear Initiatives, unaccompanied by any consultation of his international counterparts, the US stance towards North Korea since 1991 has been contradictory and erratic. With the Biden administration facing a long list of domestic and international concerns not pertaining to the North Korean nuclear regime and the Moon administration’s difficulties into its final year, Forney asserts that prospects for meaningful progress on the North Korean nuclear issue seem bleak.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Nuclear Weapons, Regional Cooperation, and Denuclearization
- Political Geography:
- Asia, North Korea, and United States of America
676. Myanmar Crisis Needs Concerted Democracy Support from Asian Middle Powers
- Author:
- Hun Joon Kim
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Myanmar’s fight for democracy endures amid violent crackdowns inflicted by the military government. While the number of fatalities and casualties, especially those among the youth and children participating in the nationwide civil disobedience movement (CDM) continues to increase, democracies in the region have become increasingly alert towards the situation in Myanmar. Hun Joon Kim, professor at Korea University, and Sook Jong Lee, professor at Sungkyunkwan University and senior fellow at the East Asia Institute, state that while middle power democracies of India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea have made significant moves against the military coup in support of Myanmar’s path towards democracy, they should coordinate among themselves to pursue more substantial ways of engagement. Civil societies of Asian middle power democracies have shown moral and financial support to the CDM in Myanmar and have manifested unusually high levels of empathy and support for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. To sustain such support and facilitate change towards democratic transition remains a challenge – one that requires unequivocal support from Asian middle power democracies.
- Topic:
- Democracy, Protests, Crisis Management, and Coup
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia and Myanmar
677. Democratic Backsliding in India
- Author:
- Neelanjan Sircar
- Publication Date:
- 05-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Once considered the most populous democracy in the world, recent developments in India show that India is set on a path to losing its title. Analyses conducted by the Freedom House and the V-Dem Institute claiming that India’s democracy has lost its integrity is not a surprise to India-watchers observant of the recent trajectory of the Indian government. In this Issue Briefing, Neelanjan Sircar, Assistant Professor at Ashoka University, looks into the demotion of India’s status in various democratic indices. An investigation into Prime Minister Modi’s BJP government shows that the execution of anti-democratic laws and practices, prevalent throughout India’s history, has increased. The sedition law and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act have been used to stifle voices of opposition against the government. Additionally, not only has the mass media been increasingly biased towards the BHP, but the government has resorted to internet (and phone data) shutdowns and harassing key opposition leaders when it senses threat. Amid such troubling developments, the author calls upon the necessity for India to refrain from using legal machinery and harassing critics of the government. If such practices continue, prospects for the restoration of democracy in India will remain bleak.
- Topic:
- Democracy, Narendra Modi, Democratic Backsliding, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
678. Malaysia`s emergency ordinance and the clampdown on public discourse
- Author:
- Imran Shamsunahar
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Upon the demise of the controversial Anti-Fake News Act of 2018, Malaysia witnessed the emergence of a similar mechanism to target fake news amid the COVID-19 crisis. The Emergency (Essential Powers) (No. 2) Ordinance 2021 was designed to combat the rise of fake news, which bears grave consequences to public health such as stifling COVID-19 vaccinations. However, upon its declaration, it has only stirred controversy. Imran Shamsunahar, Executive for External Relations at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), explains that a recent series of unwarranted events associated with the pandemic led many to believe that the ordinance serves to stifle public discourse regarding the state of emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government’s poor management of the crisis. Having failed to draw the line between ‘fake news’ and its counterpart, the ordinance was subject to criticism from not only civil society organizations but also politicians. He argues that in order for the government to properly engage with the public amid the crisis, it must find ways that align with values such as transparency rather than through means that are restrictive and repressive.
- Topic:
- Elections, Democracy, COVID-19, and Fake News
- Political Geography:
- Malaysia and Asia-Pacific
679. Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act: An Anti-Minority Cudgel
- Author:
- Neil DeVotta
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Upon its enforcement, Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been condemned both domestically and internationally for its draconian measures. In this Issue Briefing, Neil DeVotta, Professor at Wake Forest University, claims that anti-terrorism legislation in South Asia was instituted on the basis of penal codes from the colonial era. In Sri Lanka, the PTA was designed as a mechanism to counter Tamil rebellion movements that stemmed from the community’s failed pursuit of securing a separate state of Eelam. Nonetheless, Professor DeVotta states that the PTA does more harm than good; the act has, in essence, brutalized the Tamil community and fuelled pre-existing sentiments of Islamophobia in the country. On top of that, the arbitrary enforcement of the PTA, illustrated by the detainment of key Muslim personalities, further supports prevalent claims that the PTA is imposed onto the Muslim community on unfair grounds. In this regard, the author calls for the government to scrap up the PTA for the upkeep of democracy and to mitigate anti-Muslim attitudes in Sri Lanka.
- Topic:
- Terrorism, Minorities, Democracy, and Legislation
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and Sri Lanka
680. Navigating Rough Water: Indonesia’s Approach to Domestic and Regional Conflicts
- Author:
- Gabriel Lele
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- While many of the conflicts that have unfolded in Indonesia have been somewhat resolved, the conflict revolving around separatist movements in Papua remains unresolved. Upon its dawn, the Papua conflict has claimed thousands of lives, most of which are those of civilians. In this Issue Briefing, Gabriel Lele, Senior Lecturer at Universitas Gadjah Mada, explains the paths Indonesia has taken to resolve conflicts both in the domestic and regional realms. From a domestic standpoint, the author claims that the Indonesian government has failed to properly diagnose the conflict and that its measures have been futile as it was unable to take an accommodative approach towards the issue. From a regional standpoint, Indonesia utilized two strategies – litigation and dialogue. While the latter strategy contributed to sustainable political stability in the region, it has failed to yield significant progress towards conflict resolution. In this regard, the author claims that Indonesia should design more approaches that are more accommodative and apply more critical engagement.
- Topic:
- Democracy, Conflict, Separatism, and ASEAN
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia and Southeast Asia