Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Human Rights in Southeast Asia: Rhetoric and Reality

  • Chapter
Southeast Asia in the New World Order

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

It was not so long ago that powerful western governments preferred to treat the appalling human rights records of their Southeast Asian allies and trading partners as unpleasant secrets among friends. The killing of more than 500,000 people in the aftermath of the 1965 Indonesian coup, the 1975 invasion of East Timor and the subsequent decimation of a third of its population, raised scarcely a murmur of protest, and still less in the way of concrete action. On the face of it, the situation has changed rather dramatically in the past few years. International reactions to the November 1991 massacre in East Timor, to the re-pression of the peaceful opposition in Myanmar (Burma) from 1988, and to a lesser extent the 1992 killing of scores of pro-democracy protesters in Bangkok, for example, were usually swift and strong.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • AFP (Agence France Presse) (1992) ‘Forcing Foreign Values on Other Countries Violates Human Rights: Soeharto’, 13 February.

    Google Scholar 

  • AIPO (ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization) (1993) ‘Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Human Rights’.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1991a) Philippines: ‘Disappearances’ in the Context of Counter-Insurgency (February, ASA 35/05/91).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1991b) Philippines: Human Rights Violations and the Labour Movement (June, ASA 35/16/91).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1991c) Malaysia: Administrative Detention of Sabahans (October, ASA 28/09/91).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1991d) East Timor: The Santa Cruz Massacre (November, ASA 21/23/91).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1991e) East Timor: After the Massacre (November, ASA 21/24/91).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1992a) Indonesia/East Timor: Santa Cruz–The Government Response (February, ASA 21/03/92).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1992b) Philippines: The Killing Goes On (February, ASA 35/01/92).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1992c) East Timor: ‘In Accordance with the Law’–Statement before the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (July, ASA 21/11/92).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1992d) Myanmar: ‘No Law at All’ - Human Rights Violations Under Military Rule (October, ASA 16/11/92).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1992e) Facing up to Failures: Proposals for Improving the Protection of Human Rights by the United Nations (December, IOR 41/16/92).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993a) Indonesia/East Timor: A New Order? Human Rights in 1992 (February, ASA 21/03/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993b) Cambodia: Human Rights Concerns July to December 1992 (February, ASA 23/01/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993c) Oral intervention by Amnesty International, before the World Conference on Human Rights, Regional Meeting for Asia, 29 March 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993d) Letter to H.E. Squadron Leader Prasong Soonsiri, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 31 March 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993e) ‘Asian Governments Defensive on Human Rights’ (2 April, IOR 41/WU 04/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993f) Open letter to heads of state and government from Amnesty International’s Secretary General (19 April, IOR 41/15/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty Internationalaa(1993g) Indonesia: ‘Shock Therapy’–Restoring Order in Aceh, 1989–1993 (July, ASA 21/07/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993h) Cambodia: Arbitrary Killings of Ethnic Vietnamese (September, ASA 23/05/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993i) Myanmar: The Climate of Fear Continues, Members of Ethnic Minorities and Political Prisoners Still Targeted (October, ASA 16/06/ 93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993j) Papua New Guinea: Under the Barrel of a Gun (November, ASA 34/05/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1993k) Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Continuing Concerns (October, ASA 41/06/93).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994a) Kingdom of Cambodia: Human Rights and the New Constitution (January, ASA 23/01/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994b) Myanmar: Human Rights Developments July to December 1993 (January, ASA 16/03/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994c) Peace-keeping and Human Rights (January, IOR 40/01/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994d) Indonesia and East Timor: Fact and Fiction: Implementing the Recommendations of the UN Commission of Human Rights (16 February, ASA 21/05/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994e) East Timor: Who Is To Blame? Statement Before the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (13 July, ASA 21/31/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994f) Indonesia and East Timor: Power and Impunity - Human Rights Under the New Order (28 September, ASA 21/17/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994g) Myanmar: Human Rights Still Denied (1 November, ASA 16/ 18/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994h) Indonesia: ‘Operation Cleansing’–Human Rights and APEC (3 November, ASA 21/50/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994i) Indonesia and East Timor: The 12 November Protests (15 November, ASA 21/53/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1994j) Indonesia and East Timor: Update on the 12 November Protests (23 November, ASA 21/56/94).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1995a) Indonesia and East Timor: Political Prisoners and the ‘Rule of Law’ (January, ASA 21/01/95).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1995b) Indonesia and East Timor: Human Rights in 1994: A Summary (January, ASA 21/03/95).

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International (1995c) Kingdom of Cambodia: Human Rights and the New Government (14 March, ASA 23/02/95).

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, Benedict (1977) ‘Withdrawal Symptoms: Social and Cultural Aspects of the October 6 Coup’, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 13–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arase, David (1993) ‘Japanese Policy Toward Democracy and Human Rights in Asia’, Asian Survey, vol. XXXIII, no. 10 (October, pp. 935–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ASEAN (1993) Joint Communiqué of the Twenty-sixth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Singapore, 23–24 July 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asiawatch (1992) Indonesia: Charges and Rebuttals Over Labor Rights Practices (23 January).

    Google Scholar 

  • Buszynski, Leszek (1992) ‘Southeast Asia in the Post-Cold War Era: Regionalism and Security’, Asian Survey, vol. XXXII, no. 9 (September), pp. 830–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dagg, Christopher J. (1992) ‘Human Rights and Aid: A Canadian Perspective’, Indonesian Quarterly, vol. XXI, no. 1, pp. 38–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Parliament (1991) ‘Resolution on the Situation in South-East Asia’ in Minutes of Proceedings of the Sitting of Thursday, 12 September 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • European ParliamentEE(1992a) Committee on External Economic Relations, ‘Report by Mr Ben Visser, Rapporteur on Relations with the ASEAN Countries, on his Mission to Indonesia, 19–24 December 1991’.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Parliament (1992b) ‘Resolution on East Timor’ (17 December).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinz, Wolfgang S. (1993) ‘Concepts of Democracy, Development and Human Rights in Asian Political Thinking. The Examples of China and ASEAN’, paper prepared for the Conference on Nationalism and the Ethnicity in Southeast Asia, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Islam, Shada (1991) ‘Values for Money: ASEAN, EC clash on human-rights criteria’, Far Eastern Economic Review, June, pp. 9–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Islam, Shada (1992) ‘Stumbling Block: Indonesia–EC Agreement Ditched by Timor Issue’, Far Eastern Economic Review, 30 July, pp. 9–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lev, Daniel S. (1990) ‘Human Rights NGOs in Indonesia and Malaysia’, in Claude E. Welch Jr and Virginia E. Leavy (eds) Asian Perspectives on Human Rights (Boulder: Westview Press), pp. 142–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, Winston (1993) Statement by US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs before the Senate on 31 March 1993, reprinted in the Jakarta Post, 13 and 14 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lubis, T. Mulya (1992) ‘Human Rights Standard Setting in Asia: Problems and Prospects’, Indonesian Quarterly, vol. XXI, no. 1, pp. 25–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauzy, Diane and R. S. Milne (1995) ‘Human Rights in ASEAN States: a Canadian Policy Perspective’, in Amitav Acharya and Richard Stubbs (eds) New Challenges for ASEAN (Vancouver: UBC Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Muntarbhorn, Vitit (1993) ‘Law and State: The Human Rights Challenge in Thailand’, a study prepared for the Asian Studies Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford University.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) (1992a) ‘Tenth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, Jakarta, 1–6 September 1992’, Indonesia News (London), vol. 20, no. 37 (15 October).

    Google Scholar 

  • NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) (1992b) ‘The Jakarta Message: A Call for Collective Action and the Democratization of International Relations’, Indonesia News (London), vol. 20, no. 37 (15 October), Appendix.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newsletter on Aid (Japan) (1993). NGO Declaration on Human Rights. Bangkok, April 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Republic of Indonesia (1992a) ‘Indonesia Rejects Dutch Aid’, press release, 25 March.

    Google Scholar 

  • Republic of Indonesia (1992b) Statement of the Minister of the Interior… Concerning the Ban on Receipt of Dutch Aid by Social Organizations and Institutions. (24 April). (Unofficial translation)

    Google Scholar 

  • Republic of Indonesia (1992c) Address by President Suharto of the Republic of Indonesia at the Inaugural Session of the Tenth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, Jakarta, 1 September 1992. Indonesia News (London), vol. 20, no. 37 (15 October), pp. 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Republic of Indonesia (1993a) Statement by H. E. Mr S. Wiryono before the Regional Meeting for Asia of the World Conference on Human Rights, Bangkok (29 March).

    Google Scholar 

  • Republic of Indonesia (1993b) Statement by H. E. Mr Ali Alatas, Minister for Foreign Affairs, before the Second World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna (June).

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, Geoffrey (1993) ‘Some Thoughts on Political Violence in Indonesia and East Timor’, paper prepared for the Annual Meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Los Angeles (March).

    Google Scholar 

  • Shawcross, William (1993) ‘A New Cambodia’, New York Review of Books, 12 August.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (1992) Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture on his Visit to Indonesia and East Timor in November 1991 (UN Doc. E/CN 4/ 1992/17/Add. 1).

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (1995) Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions on his Mission to Indonesia and East Timor in July 1994 (UN Doc. E/CN 4/1995/61/Add. 1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Vatikiotis, Michael (1992) ‘Coping with the Critics’, Far Eastern Economic Review, 29 October, p. 28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wanandi, Jusuf (1992) ‘Asia, Too, Should Have a Human Rights Forum’, International Herald Tribune, 20 October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolcott, Richard (1992) ‘Reality and an Asian Neighbour’, Time, 7 September, p. 76.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Geoffrey Robinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan

    David Wurfel (Professor of International Relations, Senior Research Associate) (Professor of International Relations, Senior Research Associate)

  2. Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies, York University and University of Toronto, Canada

    David Wurfel (Professor of International Relations, Senior Research Associate) (Professor of International Relations, Senior Research Associate)

  3. University of Windsor, Canada

    Bruce Burton (Associate Professor of Political Science) (Associate Professor of Political Science)

Copyright information

© 1996 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Robinson, G. (1996). Human Rights in Southeast Asia: Rhetoric and Reality. In: Wurfel, D., Burton, B. (eds) Southeast Asia in the New World Order. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24673-1_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation