Scientific Watch

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2025

APRIL

  • Talking Indonesia: a growing protest movement, Indonesia at Melbourne, April 24. Click here to read. 
  • Thailand’s fragile democracy takes another hit with arrest of US academic, The Conversation, April 17. Click here to read.
  • 15 years after deadly crackdown, Thai protestors demand justice and amnesty, Peoples Dispatch, April 14. Click here to read.

MARCH

  • Southeast Asian Lawmakers Demand Indonesia to Halt Police Brutality and Uphold the Right to Protest, ASEAN Parlementarians for Human Rights, March 29. Click here to read.
  • Women activists call for end to violence against students in TNI Law protests, The Jakarta Post, March 29. Click here to read.
  • Myanmar’s military rule is crippling hope for young people like never before, The Conversation, March 12. Click here to read.
  • Brunei enacts new law giving citizens control over personal data, The Scoop, March 8. Click here to read.  
  • Lack of justice in Indonesia’s climate plan may backfire, harming people and environment, The Conversation, March 3. Click here to read.

FEBRUARY

  • Crackdown on protests, stifling of expression and repression in Papua continues in Prabowo’s first four months in power, Asian Human Rights Commission, February 27. Click here to read.
  • “Postpunk” dan Gerakan Sosial [Postpunk and social movement], Kompas, February 27. Click here to read.
  • ‘Dark Indonesia’ protests against Prabowo’s cutbacks enter fifth day, the Jakarta Post, February 22. Click here to read.
  • Nurses in Malaysia Protest Increase in Working Hours, Public Services International, February 20. Click here to read.
  • Students lead ‘Dark Indonesia’ protests against budget cuts, Reuters, February 20. Click here to read.
  • Malaysia to relax laws on public protests, The Business Times, February 13. Click here to read.
  • Thailand’s ongoing struggle for democratic stability, East Asia Forum, February 11. Click here to read.
  • Malaysia: Respect the right to protest and end intimidation, Article 19, February 4. Click here to read.
  • Ethnic solidarities in Myanmar: coalitions or movement?, New Mandala, February 3. Click here to read.

JANUARY

  • Thailand’s youth-led pro-democracy movement torn between hope and disillusion, France 24, January 31. Click here to read.
  • Seratus Tahun Pramoedya Ananta Toer: Hidup dalam Perburuan [One Hundred Years of Pramoedya Ananta Toer: Living in Pursuit], RRI.co.id, January 21. Click here to read.
  • Sierra Madre IP activist named 2025 Mountains Restoration Steward, Rappler.com, January 20. Click here to read.
  • Threats Of Ecological Damage And Local Community Life Due To Illegal Sea Fences In Tangerang, voi.id, January 16. Click here to read.

2024

DECEMBER

  • Thailand’s deinstitutionalised democracy movement, New Mandala, December 23. Click here to read.
  • Maginhawa Street’s colorful experiment to bring back ‘people-centered’ spaces, Rappler.com, December 2. Click here to read.

NOVEMBER

  • Gerakan Demokrasi Lampung Bakal Gelar Aksi Damai Tolak Politik Uang Besok [Lampung Democracy Movement Will Hold a Peaceful Action Against Money Politics Tomorrow], Lampung Tribun News, November 13. Click here to read.
  • Walhi Bersama Masyarakat Sukarahayu Tegas Menolak Tambang Pasir PT. Nanda Jaya Silika [Walhi and Sukarahayu Villagers Strongly Reject PT. Nanda Jaya Silika Sand Mine ], Saibumi, November 13. Click here to read.
  • Break-ins and breaking news: The Timorese fence-jumpers of Jakarta, New Mandala, November 8. Click here to read.
  • Tuntut Kinerja Kepolisian, Mahasiswa Demo di Polres Sukabumi [Demanding Police Performance, Students Demonstrate at Sukabumi City Police Station], Detik Jabar, November 7. Click here to read.
  • Massa Demo di Depan Balai Kota Solo, Kecam 10 Tahun Kepemimpinan Jokowi [Mass Protest in Front of Solo City Hall, Criticize 10 Years of Jokowi’s Leadership], Detik Jateng, November 6. Click here to read.

OCTOBER

  • Spanduk Penolakan PSN Rempang Eco City Selalu Dirusak, Warga Anggap sebagai Teror [Banners Rejecting PSN Rempang Eco City Always Get Damaged, Residents Consider It Terrorism], Tempo.co., October 16. Click here to read.
  • ‘Aku hampir mati perjuangkan tanah ini, sekarang tidak akan takut’ – Perempuan Desa Ria-Ria melawan di Food Estate Sumatra Utara [‘I nearly died fighting for this land, now I will not be afraid’ – A woman from Ria-Ria Village resists in the Food Estate of North Sumatra], BBC News Indonesia, October 4. Click here to read.

SEPTEMBER

  • Chin refugees protest outside UNHCR Malaysia Office, BNI Online, September 27. Click here to read.
  • Lost in Salvation: How the Current Victim Identification Systems Fail Survivors of the Online Scam Industry in Southeast Asia, Global China Pulse, September 26. Click here to read.
  • 11 Indonesian Workers Abducted in Myanmar: Union, Jakarta Globe, September 12. Click here to read.

JUNE

  • Konser di Malaysia, Bruno Mars Kena Boikot Imbas Dukung Israel [Bruno Mars Boycotted Concert in Malaysia Due to Support for Israel], CNN, June 28. Click here to read.

MAY

  • ASEAN needs political will to address forced migration, Jakarta Post, May 25. Click here to read.
  • Myanmar junta bans men from applying to work abroad, Frontier Myanmar, May 3. Click here to read.
  • “Koalisi Jerat Kerja Paksa Desak Polisi Tangkap Sindikat Perdagangan Orang” [The coalition against forced labor urges police to arrest human trafficking syndicates]. Trimurti.id. July 12. Click here to read. See also, “We Stand Ready to Work Together: Thai Ambassador Vows Cooperation in Moroccan Captive Case.” Morocco World News. May 4. Click here to read.

APRIL

  • Central Java activist jailed for Facebook post opposing shrimp farming, The Jakarta Post, 6 April. Click here to read. 

MARCH

  • Professors, university students to protest Indonesia’s declining democracy before election result announcement, Tempo.co, 14 March. Click here to read. 

FEBRUARY

  • Prospects shaky for Philippines government and communist peace talks, Aljazeera, 6 February. Click here to read.

JANUARY

  • Laos: UN raises concerns about summary executions, enforced disappearance and deportation of activists, Civicus, 23 January. Click here to read. 
  • Philippines red tagging puts activist risk, Human Rights Watch, 11 January. Click here to read.

2023

NOVEMBRE

  • Cambodian land disputants head to Thai court, Coca Cola documents in hand, Camboja News, 4 Novembre. Click here to read. 

MARCH

  • Inauguration of the peasants’ union SPI Food Sovereignty Area in Bogor, Indonesia, Defending Peasants’ rights, Click here to read.

2022

APRIL

  • Facing international criticism, Singapore defends disabled man’s execution, The Jakarta Post, 28 April. Click here to read.
  • Dry streets as Myanmar boycotts water festival to protest junta, The Irawaddy, 13 April. Click here to read.
  • Activist Ade Armando attacked, stripped by protesters he intends to join, Jakarta Globe, 11 April. Click here to read.
  • ING withdraws from complaint against the bank’s involvement in the palm oil sector, Milieudefensie, 7 April. Click here to read.

MARCH

  • À propos des Indonésiens qui approuvent l’invasion de l’Ukraine par la Russie [About Indonesians who approve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine], Asialyst. Click here to read.
  • Myanmar regime revokes citizenship of 11 prominent resistance figures, 7 March, The Irrawaddy. Click here to read.

FEBRUARY

  • Myanmar democracy activists hold rallies in support of Ukraine, 28 February, The Irrawaddy. Click here to read.

JANUARY

  • NagaWorld strike: eight out of 30 detained remain in custody, 7 January, Nikkei Asia. Click here to read.

2021

DECEMBER

  • In pictures: a photographer’s decision to quit Myanmar, 31 December, Nikkei Asia. Click here to read.

NOVEMBER

  • Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killing revealed, 20 December, BBC.com. Click here to read.

OCTOBER

  • Janjira Sombatposiri, Thai 2021 Demonstrations: Losing Traction Online, 26 October. Click here to read.
  • Joy and Sorrow as Myanmar Jun ta Frees Political Prisoners Detained in Anti-coup Protest, 20 October, South China Morning Post. Click here to watch video.

JULY

JUNE

  • Taking Aim at the Tatmadaw: The New Armed Resistance to Myanmar’s Coup, 28 June 2021, ICG Briefing n° 168.  Click here to read. 

MAY

  • Recognising Myanmar’s National Unity Government, 19 June 2021, Easy Asia Forum. Click here to read.
  • Not for a billion rupiah: Wadas villagers continue Bener Dam protest amid deaf ears, 28 May, Jakarta Post. Click here to read.

APRIL

  • No One is Saving Myanmar. The country’s people hold out hope for international help. None is coming, April 24, 2021, The Atlantic. Click here to read.

MARCH

  • Elago renews push for campus press freedom bill, March 20, 2021, Rappler. Click here to read.

FEBRUARY

  • Comparative Analysis of the 2020 Protests in Southeast Asia, Gabriele Natalia Siahaan, Australian Institute of International Affairs, Click here to read.
  • Myanmar’s Protest Movement Finds Friends in the Milk Tea Alliance, February 13, 2021, The Diplomat. Click here to read.
  • Myanmar’s civil-military maelstrom, 5 February 2021, East Asia Forum. Click here to read.

JANUARY

  • Usai FPI Dibubarkan, Eks-FPI Bentuk Front Persaudaraan Islam [After being closed down, Ex-Members of the Islam Defender’s Front/FPI Formed the Islamic Brotherhood Front]. January 9, 2021, Tirto.id. Click here to read.

2020

DECEMBER

  • Demonstran Menolak Kedatangan Rizieq di Makassar Diserang Sejumlah Orang [Demonstrators Rejected that Rizieq’s Arrival in Makassar was Attacked by a Number of People], December 1, 2020, Merdeka. Click here to read.

NOVEMBER

  • Action to reject Rizieq Shihab Held in Medan, His Oration to Reject Nation-Divide Groups, November 26, 2020, VOI. Click here to read.
  • Protesters must not resort to violence no matter the provocation, November 18, 2020, Thai Enquirer. Click here to read.
  • A more unequal society than ever before, November 14, 2020, Bangkok Post. Click here to read.
  • Twenty-two years on, families of Semanggi victims grasping at straws in search for justice, Saturday, November 14, 2020, Jakarta Post. Click here to read.

OCTOBER

  • Thailand doesn’t need you: Ultra-Royalists push back against protesters, October 26, 2020, France 26. Click here to read.
  • “No Peasant, No Food! No Youth, No Change” Peasant Youth from South East and East Asian region calls for food sovereignty!, October 21, 2020, Via Campesina.org. Click here to read.

MAY

  • Indonesia in COVID-19 Vortex: “Workers’ resistance to waves of mass layoffs & Omnibus Law”, 19 May 2020, Cetri.be. Click here to read. 
  • The #CoronavirusPandemic is affecting peasants and other people working in rural areas in many ways. Here we explain. #StayHomeButNotSilent. Click here to read.

APRIL

  • 3 Aktivis Aksi Kamisan Ditangkap, Polisi: Motifnya Melawan Kapitalisme [3 Thursday Action’s activists arrested, Police: charged over anti-capitalism], Wednesday 22 April 2020, Suara.com. Click here to read.