Maria Ressa, Nobel Prize Winner 2021 speaks: How states use laws to curb freedom of expression.
PEOPLE'S VOICES
Charles Santiago, MP, Malaysia speaks on: Governments’ use of sedition to curb individual freedoms and right to speech
ASEAN countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with China and several countries, with the hope of increasing exports. Research shows that with RCEP, the balance of trade does not favour the ASEAN nations. Dr.Rashmi Banga, Senior economic affairs officer, UNCTAD explains this.
Experience shows that the trade proposed by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is not compatible with ASEAN value chains explains, Dr. Ika Riswanti, Vice-Dean, Diponegoro University, Indonesia.
Josua Mata Secretary General, SENTRO, Philippines, says that ASEAN countries should not ratify Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as experience has already shown that it will curb the ASEAN countries’ decision making choices, especially for pro-people policies.
8 years ago, on 15 December 2012, Sombath Somphone, was kidnapped from a street in Vientiane, Laos and has not been seen since. Footage from CCTV cameras reveals that he was last seen at a police check-post where his vehicle was stopped and within minutes individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove away.
Andy Rutherford, member of the AEPF International Organising Committee, is one of many people who continues to ask for the whereabouts of Sombath Somphone. On behalf of the AEPF, he visits the UK foreign office to ask about Sombath every year.
Charles Santiago, member of the AEPF International Organising Committee and Member of Parliament in Malaysia talks about the role of governments and parliamentarians. He has been closely involved in the investigation of Sombath’s disappearance.
Professor Eduardo Tadem, of ‘Alternatives’ Philipines, focuses on why the Philipines Left performed so badly in the 2019 elections.
Tur-Od Lkhagvajav, Transparency International, of Mongolia, speaks on the institutional reforms in Mongolia, that threaten to capture institutions and may lead to human rights violations.
Sharan Raj, youth activist from the Parti Sosialis Malaysia, makes the point that while populism is rising in many countries, Malaysia has a narrative of ‘iconism’, making the leader into an icon moves into populist authoritarianism.
Achin Vanaik, writer from India, and fellow of the Trans National Institute, shows how the rise of right wing exclusivist forces are based on targeting minorities, and based on the ideology of Islamaphobia.
Shalmali Guttal of the Focus on the Global South, Thailand, says that voting is just one aspect of democracy, but democracy is a daily practice of rights.
Brid Brenon of the TNI Amsterdam, and activist from Ireland, says that a Binding Treaty is important to control the runaway power of corporations which are capturing democracies in Asia and Europe.
Dinara Musabekova representing the Central Asian Countries, talks on the challenges of democracy in these young countries.
Walden Bello, former parliamentarian, Philipines, shows that there is a competing militarisation between China and the USA that is increasing tensions in the ASEAN region.
Eulalia Reguant-Cura, former MP from Catalonia, says liberal democracy has been based on inequality but we need to find alternate centres of power in democracy which will benefit people.
Mercy Barends, Member of Parliament from Indonesia, talks of how democracy has to be inclusive and rights based to be substantive.
Dr. Deepak Bhatt, Member of Parliament, Nepal, speaks on the attempts in Nepal to develop a inclusive, grassroots economic democracy.
Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy formerly from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ne w Delhi, says that a major issue of many countries of the Global South is that big business companies are not giving advantages to people, but focus only on their own profits.
Mylvaganam Thilakaraja, member of Parliament, Sri Lanka says that democracy has been weakened world wide. Democracy can be health only if it is inclusive.
Hassan Murtaza, Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Pakistan, says that AEPF meeting was very useful, and hos work is to move Pakistan’s politics towards the Left.
Pamela Philipose, senior journalist, India, speaks on how authoritarian leaders use the media industry and social media to build a narrative to enhance their control
Dr. Francine Mestrum, research, author and activist. Her concerns are the social dimension of globalization, poverty, inequality, social protection, public services and gender. She is an active member of the International Council of the World Social Forum and helps in the organization of the Asia Europe People’s Forum events. She is the founder of the global network, Global Social Justice, and currently works on a project for social commons.
David Hall is a Visiting Professor in the Business School, University of Greenwich, London. Formerly, he was Director of the Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) , which carries out empirical research into public services and privatization, globally.
Satoko Kishimoto is an activist researcher at the Transnational Institute (TNI) and started the water justice project in TNI to seek Alternatives to Water Privatisation.
Míriam Planas is a member of Engineering Without Borders Catalonia, working for development cooperation to guarantee universal access to basic services. She is also actively involved various citizen platforms, Spanish Public Water Network and the European Water Movement.
Meena Menon is an activist, researcher and writer, formerly a full-time organizer with a left party for 20 years and formerly with Focus on the Global South.
Barry Coates was recently a Green Party MP in the New Zealand Parliament. He has been active in campaigns on climate change, corporate accountability and trade justice for the Pacific as Executive Director of Oxfam Aotearoa New Zealand for 2003-14, and co-Chair of the Global Campaign for Climate Action before the Copenhagen Summit.
Dr. Mladen Domazet is a Research Director at the Institute for Political Ecology, in Zagreb, Croatia. He works on public services.
The current reality is one where increasingly people cannot afford medical care, give quality education to their children, get pensions, as youth face employment insecurity. This three minute presentation explains this phenomenon. It calls for support and mobilization for the Social Justice Charter.
Sushovan Dhar, of the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt, endorses the Social Justice Charter, and speaks of the needs and ways to end debt and close the inequality gap
David Boys of the Public Services International (PSI), refutes the arguments of the International financial institutions (World Bank, IMF) that propose further financialiasation to fund the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Charles Santiago (Member of Parliament, Malaysia) speaks on the situation in ASEAN Countries and tells how his party won the elections by increasing programs on social justice and through inclusive policies at “Social Commons, Social Justice, Systems Change: A Programme for Sustainability”, AEPF, Barcelona, 8-10 June, 2018
