On a program on KQED’s The Forum with Michael Krasny about the massacre in Mindanao, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in the Philippines Steve Rood was a guest. Listen to the program: “Philippines Massacre.”
In a post on The New York Times‘ blog The Lede about the response to the massacre in the Philippines, findings from The Asia Foundation’s 2007 rido report are cited. Read the full post: “Philippine Government Blamed for Creating ‘Monster’ to Battle Insurgents.”
The Asia Foundation’s Center for U.S.-Korea Policy has released its November newsletter, featuring: “What Can We Explore to Enhance the ROK-U.S. Alliance?” by Jin Ha Hwang, Chairman of the Second Policy Coordination Committee of the Grand National Party, ROK National Assembly. Read his essay and find out about the Center’s latest activities in the November issue.
Asia Foundation trustee Teresita Schaffer is interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition on what Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Washington means for U.S.-India relations. Listen to the program: “Obama Honors India’s Singh With State Visit.”
In an Agence France-Presse wire story about a U.S. delegation visiting North Korea Nov. 21-24 to meet with officials involved in Pyongyang’s nuclear program, The Asia Foundation’s Center for U.S.-Korea Policy Director Scott Snyder is mentioned as a participant. Read the full article: “US experts to visit Pyongyang before envoy.”
In a New York Times article about the kidnapping on Monday by armed men of a group of 40 people in Mindanao that resulted in at least 21 killed, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in the Philippines Steve Rood is quoted on the violence. Read the full article: “21 Filipinos Are Reported Dead in Election Violence.”
In a NPR online article about Karzai’s inauguration as president on Thursday, findings from The Asia Foundation’s 2009 Survey of the Afghan People are cited. Read the full article: “New Term For Karzai Brings Same Old Problems.”
Pacific Forum CSIS features an article by Scott Snyder and See-Won Byun on China-Korea relations in its quarterly assessment of East Asian bilateral relationships. Read the full article, “China’s Nuclear North Korea Fever.”
The Asia Foundation’s office in the Philippines announced it has accepted an invitation from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to join the newly-formed International Contact Group (ICG). The ICG, agreed upon September 15, is tasked with supporting the next stage of peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF to end conflict in Mindanao. The Asia Foundation will lend its reputation as a credible and reliable partner committed to forging a more peaceful, prosperous, and just Asia-Pacific region, as well as its 55-year track record of effective program design and management, trusted and extensive network of Asian partners, and dedicated staff.
The ICG, comprised of a select number of countries and international NGOs, will provide crucial support for the peace process. As stated in the ICG’s Framework Agreement, The Asia Foundation, as an INGO, will network with stakeholders in the negotiation, coordinate with the Facilitator (Malaysia) to provide research input, and give feedback and advice for the peace process.
For more than 30 years, The Asia Foundation has led successful programs in Mindanao and has identified peace and development there as among the highest priorities for the Philippines. Through its resident office in Manila, opened in 1954, and its satellite offices in Cotabato City and Zamboanga City, the Foundation has been working with local governments, civil society organizations, and private sector partners throughout Mindanao. The Foundation’s programs address issues related to conflict and development in Mindanao and building constructive relationships between Manila and Mindanao. Joining the ICG will enable the Foundation to play a direct, landmark role in the formal GRP-MILF peace process.
The Asia Foundation supports a variety of activities, drawing on its long-standing relationships with many actors throughout Mindanao, and utilizes its on-the-ground presence to work toward peace and development in the region. In cities from Zamboanga to Surigao and municipalities throughout Mindanao, the Foundation has helped to professionalize human resource management in government offices. Pioneering work with local partners on resolving clan feuds (rido) has led to the settlement of over 100 such conflicts, making communities more peaceful. The Foundation also supported private sector consultations among local chambers of commerce and a roadshow to Manila to devise how the private sector and its investments can contribute to peace.
The Asia Foundation supports local efforts to improve the prospects for peace in long-running sub-national conflicts. Our programs support the implementation of peace processes where there are formal peace agreements, such as in Nepal, Mindanao (Philippines), and Aceh (Indonesia). We also support peace-building efforts in other conflict-affected areas such as southern Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste. We work with governments, civil society, and conflict-affected communities to address the obstacles to peace, facilitate track two dialogues, and encourage key political reforms that will make peace more likely. Our programs also include efforts to reduce community-level conflicts through mediation and rapid response to impending crises.
An op-ed in The New York Times by Asia Foundation Board of Trustee members Karl Inderfurth and Theodore Eliot about the mood of the Afghan people as the Obama administration deliberates next steps to take in the escalating war there analyzes findings from The Asia Foundation’s 2009 Survey of the Afghan People. Read the full piece: “Listen to the Afghan People.”
In a Washington Times article about the effects that the escalating war in Afghanistan has on the role of women there, The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment Program Director Carol Yost and Board of Trustee member Karl Inderfurth are quoted on the topic. Read the full article: “Democrats torn on Afghanistan, women’s rights.”
In a Yonhap News Agency wire story about the United States’ response to the naval skirmish that took place midday when a North Korean patrol boat entered South Korean waters and ignored warning shots, The Asia Foundation’s Center for U.S.-Korea Policy Director Scott Snyder is quoted. Read the full story: “U.S. warns N. Korea not to escalate tensions in Korean Peninsula: White House.”
In a blog post on Newsweek’s Wealth of Nations about the mood of the Afghan people, findings from The Asia Foundation’s 2009 Survey of the Afghan People are cited. Read the full piece: “Afghans Optimistic Despite U.S. Public Opinion.”
In an interview about Afghan public opinion for Foreign Policy In Focus with Mariam Nawabi, an attorney, activist, and founding member of the Afghanistan Advocacy Group, The Asia Foundation’s 2009 Survey of the Afghan People is mentioned and its findings referenced throughout. Read the full interview: “Underlying Causes of Insecurity in Afghanistan.”
Read press release in the Thai language.
A new weekly TV talk show premiered this week in Thailand. Let’s Talk Rights will feature debates between policymakers, government officials, academics, and citizens on important and sometimes sensitive issues, such as land disputes, human rights, community rights, and gender equality. The one-hour program will air every Thursday on Thai PBS at 10 a.m. in the Thai language and is supported by The Asia Foundation.
“We will tackle subjects that are controversial in nature,” says former National Human Rights Commissioner Sunee Chaiyarose, who will moderate the program. “To address challenging issues, differences need to be openly discussed in a respectful way, and not ignored.” Ms. Sunee was a member of the Constitution Drafting Assembly and played a significant role in bolstering the human rights agenda in the 1997 Constitution drafting process. She is also a respected authority on community rights and labor law issues.
The show’s debut episode, on November 5, centers on the contentious Article 67 of the 2007 Constitution, which has made national headlines. Following a court injunction, 76 industrial projects worth 400 billion Baht located in Rayong province were put on hold. Representatives of disgruntled communities adversely affected by these mega-industrial projects will meet face-to-face with relevant government officials to voice their grievances and try to find a common solution. The November 12 episode will convene law enforcers and victims of the southern unrest to debate the efficacy of special security laws in curbing the ongoing insurgency.
Content from Let’s Talk Rights will also be available on YouTube.
In a Yonhap News Agency wire story about a delegation set to visit North Korea later this month to meet with key officials involved in Pyongyang’s nuclear program, The Asia Foundation’s Center for U.S.-Korea Policy Director Scott Snyder is mentioned as a participant. Read the full story: “Group of U.S. experts to visit N. Korea this month.”
In a Christian Science Monitor blog piece about the legitimacy of President Karzai’s next term as president and the UN’s announcement that it will withdraw 600 of its 1,100 foreign staffers from Afghanistan, findings from The Asia Foundation’s 2009 Survey of the Afghan People are cited. Read the full post: “UN Afghanistan drawdown, fraud charges leave tough task for Karzai.”
On Thursday, November 5, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host and stream live a discussion on President Obama’s trip to Asia next week. Asia Foundation Trustee Douglas Paal, who is Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, will discuss President Obama’s trip with Michael Pettis, a senior associate in the Beijing-based Carnegie China Program, and Taiya Smith, a senior associate in the Carnegie Energy and Climate Program, and the Carnegie China Program. The trip is expected to be among the most important foreign tours during the President’s first year in office. He will visit Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea from November 12 through November 19 and will attend the annual summit of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation in Singapore, where he will be the first U.S. leader to hold formal talks with all 10 heads of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Watch “Mr. Obama Goes to Asia: Defining a Regional Policy” live at 12:15 p.m. EST.
A blog post on The Economist’s Democracy in America page discusses findings from The Asia Foundation’s 2009 Survey of the Afghan People. Read the full post: “Afghanistan is not the same country as Iraq.”
In a blog post on The Spectator’s Coffee House about President Karzai’s election rival Abdullah Abdullah’s announcement to boycott the run-off election, findings from The Asia Foundation’s 2009 Survey of the Afghan People are cited. Read the full post: “Even in Afghanistan, an election needs at least two candidates.”
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