By Michael Allen on March 8, 2010
Sadly, Burma VJ didn’t win the Oscar for best documentary. The film features covertly filmed footage of the 1988 Saffron Revolution filmed by a small group of video journalists — the “VJs” of the film’s title — working the Oslo-based exile group Democratic Voice of Burma, a grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy.
But it’s [read full story]
Posted in Asia, Burma, Democracy assistance, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, democracy support, freedom of expression, media, promoting democracy | Tagged Burma VJ, Democratic Voice of Burma |
By Michael Allen on March 4, 2010
Never mind Avatar, George Clooney and that bomb-disposal team in the Iraq war. A grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy could be the star of this week’s Oscars, writes Christian Caryl over at Foreign Policy.
Burma VJ, a favorite for best documentary, features covertly filmed footage of the 1988 Saffron Revolution filmed by a small [read full story]
Posted in Burma, Democracy assistance, National Endowment for Democracy, autocrats, democracy support, media | Tagged Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country, Democratic Voice of Burma, foreign policy, National Endowment for Democracy, saffron revolution |
By Michael Allen on February 18, 2010
The world’s democracy and human rights advocates need to develop genuinely global responses and new approaches to deal with the current authoritarian offensive against fundamental freedoms of association and expression, former Czech President Vaclav Havel told a Washington meeting last night.
There is a compelling moral imperative for solidarity with dissidents within totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Cuba, Democracy assistance, Human rights, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, autocrats, backsliding, communist regimes, democracy, democracy and development, democracy support, dissidents, freedom of expression, promoting democracy, solidarity, totalitarianism |
By Michael Allen on February 17, 2010
Burma’s military junta today sentenced four democracy activists to two years imprisonment with hard labor as a U.N. envoy arrived to assess the regime’s human rights record.
The four women were accused of providing alms to Buddhist monks, said Nyan Win, spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy headed by detained Nobel Peace prize winner [read full story]
Posted in Asia, Burma, Human rights, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, engagement, foreign policy, promoting democracy |
By Katherine Bannor on January 25, 2010
National Endowment for Democracy
Currently available opportunities include: Audit Associate, Database/Web Developer, Information Technology Services Manager, and Senior Director of Finance. Further details here.
National Democratic Institute
Currently available international opportunities include: Afghanistan: Reporting/Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Afghanistan: Women’s Political Participation Specialist, Afghanistan:Resident Program Director for Elections and Political Processes, Angola: Resident Program Manager – Legislative Strengthening, [read full story]
Posted in Afghanistan, Africa, Burma, Democracy assistance, Elections, Guinea, Human rights, International Republican Institute, Jobs/Opportunities, NGOs/Civil society, National Democratic Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, Pakistan, democracy, democracy promotion, democracy support, democratization, governance, promoting democracy |
By Michael Allen on January 19, 2010
The United States will continue to engage Burma’s ruling military junta in an effort to promote democratic reform, a senior official said today.
But Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell conceded that engagement had delivered little more than a “mixed bag” of results.
The ruling military junta’s plans for “elections” later this year combined its efforts to [read full story]
Posted in Asia, Burma, India, Indonesia, Thailand, democracy promotion, democracy support, dictatorships, engagement, foreign policy, promoting democracy |
By Michael Allen on January 6, 2010
Media advocacy groups are appalled by the 20-year jail sentence imposed on Hla Hla Win, a freelance video reporter working with Democratic Voice of Burma, a grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy.
“People had been expecting signs of an opening and goodwill gestures from the military junta in this election year, but this extremely severe [read full story]
Posted in Burma, National Endowment for Democracy, freedom of expression | Tagged Democratic Voice of Burma |
By Michael Allen on January 5, 2010
A year on from his inauguration, the foreign policy commentariat is assessing President Barack Obama’s record, not least his administration’s approach to promoting democracy and human rights.
Robert Kagan detects a strategic shift from the grand strategy adopted after World War II based on military and economic “preponderance of power” to one reconciled to managing America’s [read full story]
Posted in Burma, China, Cuba, Featured, Global, Human rights, India, Iran, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, authoritarianism, autocrats, democracy promotion, democracy support, engagement, foreign policy, promoting democracy |
By Michael Allen on December 10, 2009
“We will bear witness…to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran,” said President Obama in his acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony today.
Referring also to “the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi” and “the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face [read full story]
Posted in Burma, Iran, Zimbabwe, autocrats, democracy support, dictatorships, dissidents, protests |
By Michael Allen on November 20, 2009
The cameraman known only as T was told last week he faced a minimum jail sentence of 10 years for filming without government permission.
This week he won an award from the Rory Peck Trust.
T is one of 13 other cameramen working for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) jailed by Burma’s military junta since the [read full story]
Posted in Asia, Burma, Closed societies, National Endowment for Democracy, media |
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