An elderly woman cries amidst the remains of her home in
Cambodia after people in her community of Borei Keila in
Phnom Penh
were forcibly evicted in January 2012. (Photo from http://ki-media.blogspot.hk)
The Role of
Religions in Society
Hor Hen
The author shares his thoughts about the social responsibilities of
religion in society and uses his country of Cambodia as an example
of some of the social, economic and political problems that arise
when people of faith fail to live out their responsibilities. [Read
more]
Multilingualism, Social Harmony and the
Role of the Teacher
Shree Ram Chaudhari
The ability to speak and understand more than one language not only
enhances a person’s ability to communicate with people from other
ethnic groups and nationalities, but, as the author makes clear, to
also build relationships with them that can foster human and
communal bonds, especially in a diverse national context like the
author’s native country of Nepal where 122 different languages are
spoken. [Read more]
Upcoming Census Is
a Grave Threat to National Reconciliation and Should Be Postponed
Burma Partnership
Normally, holding a national census is an innocuous process that
helps define the demographic composition of a country. In Burma,
however, conducting a census at this juncture of the country’s
history has the potential to increase tensions and perhaps even
conflict among different ethnic and religious communities at a time
when there are so many other significant issues for the country to
address. [Read more]
Betrayal of EDSA: A Throwback to the
Martial Law Era?
Edre U. Olalia
It was on Epifanio de los Santos Ave.—more commonly known as EDSA—that
the People Power Revolution in the Philippines dethroned Ferdinand
Marcos in February 1986 after more than 20 years as the country’s
dictatorial president. Now, more than 20 years later, the author
asks a very basic and significant question: Has anything changed? If
not, another equally basic and significant question arises: Why? [Read
more]
‘They Tortured Me, Used Me to Get
Reward’
Rolly Panesa
On Jan. 14, 2014, the Court of Appeals’ Fifth Division in the
Philippines concluded that Rolly Panesa, a 48-year-old security
guard, could not possibly be Benjamin Mendoza, a leader of the
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), rejecting the claim of the
police and soldiers as justification for his arrest.
In its decision, the court hearing Panesa’s petition for habeas
corpus rejected the petition by the police and the soldiers that
asked the court to reconsider its decision in August 2013. The
police and the military appealed the court’s
decision in order to allow them to rearrest Panesa.
However, after nearly five months, the court concluded with finality
that the police and military could not arrest Rolly Panesa again:
“There is no reason for the rearrest of Rolly Panesa.”
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in Hong Kong spoke with
Panesa via Skype. This article is a
transcription of their interview with Panesa. [Read
more]
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