Examining the aftermath of Bangladesh’s elections, marred by violence and a boycott by the opposition, other countries in Asia have also been failing democracies, wrote Victor Mallet in the Financial Times this week.
Citing the cases of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, Mallet said,
“From Sri Lanka to Cambodia by way of Thailand, parliamentary democracies have fallen prey to the diseases of authoritarianism, violence and strident populism”.
He went on to add,
“In nominally democratic Sri Lanka, those who won the civil war against the separatist Tamil Tigers nearly five years ago have been vengeful rather than magnanimous in victory and have consolidated their grip on the island”.
Read the full piece, entitled “Fears for Bangladeshi democracy rumble across region”, here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
