Journal of Human Rights and Peace Studies

Ethnicity and the Politics of Revolution in Myanmar

2024-06-24T09:21:14+07:00

This article argues that because of the unresolved conflict between the state and ethnic groups that have existed in Myanmar since its independence, the country has been mired in a constant struggle between the majority Bamar population and ethnic minorities, which has led to the emergence of a plethora of peace processes whose efficacy is shaky at best. These tensions have endured for decades, and political elites have consistently played a significant role in raising identity issues to construct nationalism. However, nothing has been accomplished. This argument is supported by the nature of the peace process that government regimes have, at times, implemented to settle ethnic strife with the Arakan Army (AA) in Myanmar. The primary objective of this study is to examine the factors that impeded the peace process after 2011 and to identify how these influenced the behavior of the AA, especially in the wake of the latest coup in 2021. A qualitative research approach was used for this study because it congruously handled the research areas. The paper, within the framework of the British colonial strategy of "divide and rule," suggests that history has exacerbated ethnic animosity in Myanmar. Hence, political elites found it impossible to engage all ethnic groups in the nation-building effort. The nation's efforts to integrate minorities were thwarted following Aung San's death, culminating in decades of ethnic unrest. The article also considers the political atmosphere of each administration and, after the coup of 2021, the prospects for peace negotiations with the AA.

Everyday Forms of Resistance and Political Killings in Post-coup Myanmar After 2021

2024-11-18T11:47:26+07:00

From 1962 until 2010, Myanmar lived under one military junta or another. This period shaped how Myanmar people perceived the world and their behavior. This includes spelling the names of places in an officially prescribed way or adhering to specific clothing and hairstyles. This worldview and behavior remained unproblematic until the February 2021 coup. After the coup, some people changed their worldview and behavior; when writing, they started deviating from the official standardized spelling and calling places by their unofficial names. On one level, this can be interpreted as a variation of Scott's "everyday forms of resistance," in which people who are not willing to join armed resistance groups revolt subtly against the state. On another level, this can be seen as an attempt on the part of anti-military individuals to single themselves out from military supporters. Us versus them division appears. Since the February 2021 coup, political killings have been rampant throughout the country. This tendency to eliminate one's opponent is a dominant feature of Myanmar political culture, and every time, the victims were picked out due to their differences in behavior vis-à-vis the perpetrators. In understanding the political violence happening in Myanmar, it is necessary to grasp the role political killings play in post-coup Myanmar politics and how victims are selected and singled out based on their behavior. This paper will display the connection between "everyday forms of resistance" and "political killings" in post-coup Myanmar, mainly how "everyday forms of resistance" serve as criteria for selecting victims.

Disrupted Education System and Ongoing Conflict in Myanmar: An Analysis of the Education Situation in Pekon Township

2024-07-10T21:52:38+07:00

Despite being a fundamental right, access to education is compromised in conflict settings. Pekon Township in Myanmar became a conflict zone following the coup in May 2021. Since then, frequent clashes have occurred between the military and armed resistance groups. The ongoing conflict disrupts the education system and adversely affects children's formal and informal education. The prolonged state-run conflict that disrupts the national education system forced local civil society, monastic schools and community-sponsored schools in Pekon Township, to initiate alternative education where state schools are unavailable. With qualitative data, this research collected data through 20 semi-structured interviews with parents, education providers and educators, and a literature review. This paper explores education dynamics in Pekon Township, shedding light on how education becomes a conditional right in a conflict setting. Using the 4As tool, this study analyzes the following: The first A (Availability) (the state has ignored resuming education), the second A (Accessibility) (the conflict has disrupted school operations and made learning inaccessible), the third A (Acceptability), and the fourth A (Adaptability) (with school closure, community-based education by communities and religious organizations without accreditation and recognition) or no acceptability and adaptability. This study found that prolonged conflict, including targeted attacks on schools, universities, teachers, and students, and continued state neglect of education services have turned education into a conditional right in Myanmar. The study recommends immediate state action to resume safe education services for all in Myanmar and to stop targeted attacks on educational institutions, academics and pupils.

The Space for academic freedom in Myanmar before and after the 2021 military coup

2024-11-07T09:52:14+07:00

Academic freedom is particularly vulnerable during times of war. Since the start of the resistance war in Myanmar in 2021, the military has been repressing civil liberties and state surveillance has become entrenched in every aspect of people's lives. Although the military has often faced defeat on the battleground, there is a strong resilience in ideological control—especially within the university. This paper assesses factors limiting academic freedom in Myanmar by analyzing forms of coercion and consent prevailing in the education bureaucracy under the lens of Gramscian State Theory. Following its crackdown on the Civil Disobedience Movement of lecturers and university students, the State Administrative Council is bolstering its ideological influence by utilizing staff training and legal modifications as tools for the state's transmission of ideology. Universities must conform to the state's ideology and fulfill the legal, procedural, and institutional obligations of the ideological state apparatus. This paper employs document analysis, participant observation, and qualitative interviews to identify the constraint factors that hinder academics from exercising their rights in knowledge production while exposing them to legal and structural violations of their civil and political rights. It argues that the Civil Services Personnel Law and associated institutional culture deepen the deprivation of academic freedom. It also suggests that new educational institutions evolving out of resistance need not repeat the history of coercion, while there is a need to heal the damage done to the higher education system by successive military governments that suppressed political consciousness on campus.

INCORPORATING INFORMAL FEMALE WASTE PICKERS INTO PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF VIETNAM’S POLICIES AND REGULATIONS

2024-11-28T15:47:07+07:00

The vital role of informal female waste pickers (IFWPs) in managing plastic waste in Vietnam is undeniable. Nonetheless, the launch of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program in 2024 brings challenges for incorporating this recycling workforce into the plastic waste management system because EPR requires traceability of recyclables. This paper examines Vietnam’s existing policies and regulations that may hinder the incorporation of IFWPs into plastic waste management. A gender-responsive approach was used, including desk evaluations and interviews with experts and target audiences. The findings reveal that IFWPs 's contributions have not been adequately recognized, nor have they been provided with social safety nets. To effectively incorporate IFWPs into the EPR system, the government should enact a law that officially recognizes waste picking as a profession and professionalizes this workforce by incorporating them into more capable organizations.

Born Into Hospitality – Are Second-Generation Refugees Temporary Guests or Residents "at Home"?

2024-11-15T14:04:29+07:00

While the focus on the Rohingya refugees in Thailand tends to be on those who fled from Arakan/Rakhine State due to their violent persecution by the military regime, this paper focuses on the second generation of Rohingya born and/or growing up in Thailand. Based on an ethnographic inquiry, I argue that despite the state’s hospitality towards refugees, migrants, and stateless people, second-generation Rohingya create routes of home in Thailand. Focusing on the life story of Shafak, I show that second-generation Rohingya's sense of home is forged through floating intimate ties that allow them to secure their lives in Thailand and remake their homes elsewhere if needed. Though constructed as a ‘national security threat’ and perceived as unwelcome guests by the government, second-generation Rohingya act as residents and become residents at the margins of the nation-state where its sovereignty over territory and people remains challenged. I will demonstrate this specifically in Thailand's so-called deep South. In the end, I claim that second-generation Rohingya's routes of home along the thresholds of the nation-state beg the question of whether they can still legitimately be viewed only as 'temporary guests.’

The Achievement of Using the Process of Creating Inner Peace through Non-Harming as Buddhist Integration

2024-10-01T10:24:03+07:00

The research entitled "The Achievement of Using the Process of Creating Inner Peace through Non-Harming as Buddhist Integration" is a study of an Eastern philosophical approach, specifically Buddhism, with the following objectives: (1) to study the meaning of forgiveness (non-harming), Peace, and the relationship between non-harming and inner peace in Theravada Buddhism, (2) to create the process of practicing non-harming for inner peace, and (3) to synthesize the achievement of creating inner peace using the process of non-harming, as Buddhist integration. This research uses action research based on Stephen Kemmis' theory, which is aimed at creating change in individuals. Peace, in Theravada Buddhism, is "calmness," which is peace of mind, stillness, the abandonment of anger, irritability, and delusion; while "Abhaiyadana" (forgiveness) is the intention of "non-harming" oneself and others, which unlocks the unrest within the emotions or mind of the person, thus creating "Inner Peace". Forgiveness as "non-harming," through practice, has a deeper meaning than the usual understanding of "to forgive," which is primarily the intention not to seek revenge. As for the research findings, the achievement of using the process of creating inner peace through non-harming, with 30 people are as follows: (1) Regarding changes of emotions: 26 experienced much change, 3 were not sure, 1 experienced little change; (2) Regarding changes of thoughts and attitudes: 30 experienced much change; (3) Regarding changes in relationships: 25 experienced much change, 3 were not sure, and 2 experienced little change.