'Understanding the Rohingya crisis : A Talk at University of Philippines
Date - 11 December 2017

The Rohingya refugee crisis has increasingly become an international concern, especially in the aftermath of the attacks on Myanmar security posts on August 25 by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and the subsequent ‘clearance operations’ launched by the Myanmar security forces. The violence has driven out more than 620,000 Rohingya out of Rakhine State to Bangladesh.

The United States and the United Nations have called the systematic violence against the Rohingya a case of ethnic cleansing, which the Myanmar government denies. This talk will focus on the fundamental problems and its future prospects. It will be held on December 11, 2017 (Monday) from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at Bulwagang Salam in Romulo Hall of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies.

The distinguished speaker is Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen, an Assistant Professor and Executive Director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs. He is a Political Scientist whose concentration are in Comparative Politics and International Relations. Since 2013, Dr. Kipgen has served as a “country expert” on Myanmar for Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), a collaborative academic research project of the Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg (Sweden), and the Kellogg Institute, University of Notre Dame (USA).

Dr. Kipgen has published single-authored books in Routledge (Taylor & Francis), Oxford University Press, and Ruby Press; peer-reviewed academic articles in Social Research, International Studies, World Affairs, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Ethnopolitics, Strategic Analysis, South Asia Research, Indian Journal of Political Science, Economic and Political Weekly, Asian Profile, and Asian Affairs. He has also published over 160 articles in various leading international newspapers and magazines in five continents – Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America.

His books are:
– Myanmar: A Political History (Oxford University Press, 2016)
– Democratization of Myanmar (Routledge, 2016)
– Democracy Movement in Myanmar: Problems and Challenges (Ruby Press, 2014)

The talk is moderated by Asst. Prof. Frances Antoinette Cruz of the UP European Languages department. She is an affiliate faculty member of UP Center for International Studies and the President of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO).

Everyone is invited and it’s open to the public. Before attending the event please email us (iis@up.edu.ph and iis@upd.edu.ph) your name and affiliation, and if you’re coming as a group submit to us the list of names and their affiliations.