Tessera

Phil Robertson

@reaproy.bsky.social

Human rights & labor activist, working mostly in SE Asia. FCCT Board member and chair of Programs Committee. Boston sports fan, rock & roll lover, fisherman. JHU SAIS. Cape Cod, Korat, Khon Kaen, Bangkok. Thai/Lao speaker

562 Posts455 Follower 100 Folgt

Milk Tea Alliance Calendar @mtacalendar.bsky.social · 10h ago

New event! 📆6th Aug 🕐13:00 Thailand Time Join Bright Future, Myanmar Diaspora & allies for protest "Get Out Min Aung Hlaing" to object to the visit of the murderous Junta Leader to Thailand.

Event flyer by Bright Future for protest

Features picture of Min Aung Hlaing

Text reads Get out Min Aung Hlaing
6th Aug 2026
Location UN building, Bangkok
Time 1pm to 3pm
Dress code all black

Phil Robertson@reaproy.bsky.social · 15h ago

Not at all surprising that there will apparently be a major protest against #Myanmar military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing when he comes to #Bangkok tomorrow. Protest will be in front of the United Nations office, starting at 13:00. Thai officials should let the protest proceed w/o interference!

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 15h ago

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 15h ago

Absolutely shocking, outrageous & unacceptable that #Thailand is receiving #Myanmar's murderous dictator, former Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, for bilateral discussions in #Bangkok. Min Aung Hlaing belongs at the Int'l Criminal Court, not fancy meeting rooms at Thai Gov't House.

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · last wk.

Speaking w/TV Free Asia (TFA), an amazing Radio Free Asia (#RFA) spin off of courageous Khmer journalists working to ensure the truth reaches the #Cambodia people! Time for the OIF and international community to advocate for the immediate & unconditional release of #MNC5 tfakhmer.org/internationa...

អ្នកការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្សអន្តរជាតិបន្តទាមទារឱ្យរដ្ឋាភិបាលដោះលែងសកម្មជនបរិស្ថាន៥រូប - ទូរទស្សន៍អាស៊ីសេរី

ការទាមទារនេះ ក្រោយពីតំណាងអង្គការ មូលនិធិប្រ៊ូណូ មែនសឺរ (BMF) និងចលនាមាតាធម្មជាតិ (MNC) បានទៅសុំជួបពិភាក្សា ជាមួយអគ្គលេខាធិការនៃអង្គការអន្តរជាតិហ្វ្រងកូហ្វូនី ប៉ុន្តែពុំបានជោគជ័យ។

tfakhmer.org

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · last wk.

Speaking w/Luke Hunt on The Diplomat @thediplomat.com podcast about #Thailand's return to 'swap mart' practices of when to trade away foreign activists who are refugees. Transnational repression is rearing its ugly head in #Bangkok and must urgently be stopped! www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSPe...

Transnational Repression, Organized Crime, and Conflict in Southeast Asia

YouTube video by The Diplomat

youtube.com

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · last wk.

Coming on 8/27 at FCCT @fccthai.bsky.social in #Bangkok - looking forward from a painful past in East Timor. Featuring Timor Leste's Ambassador #Thailand, amazing film from last days of #Indonesia's occupation, photos & panel discussion. Don't miss it, starts 6.30 pm www.fccthai.com/event/timor-...

Timor-Leste (East Timor): ASEAN’s newest member looks forward from a painful past | FCCT

Join us for Timor-Leste (East Timor): ASEAN’s newest member looks forward from a painful past at FCCT. Aug 27, 2026. Members free, non-members 400 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.

fccthai.com

@billkittle.bsky.social · 2w ago

JB Pritzker @jbpritzker.bsky.social · 2w ago

We were excited to attend one of the largest Latino street festivals in the country! Thrilled to celebrate 54 years of community, connection, and resilience.

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 2w ago

Let's go Troy, you can beat her!

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2w ago

Troy Jackson, the new Democratic nominee in Maine’s Senate race, is inheriting a difficult situation. He has just over four months to build a defense against a towering Republican super PAC apparatus that is intent on re-electing Senator Susan Collins.

Justice For Myanmar @justiceformyanmar.org · 2w ago

Myanmar junta head Min Aung Hlaing's daughter coordinated a failed junta-linked plot to launder 800 kg of gold, valued at approximately US$48 million, through Thailand, Laos and Hong Kong in the months following the Myanmar military’s illegal coup attempt. ✅ Read our investigation 👉🏽 buff.ly/A5qDxri

Min Aung Hlaing’s daughter coordinated failed junta-linked gold laundering plot | Justice For Myanmar

In the months following the military’s February 1, 2021 illegal coup attempt, a junta-linked network sought to sell 800kg of gold through Thailand, Laos and Hong Kong, coordinated by Min Aung…

buff.ly

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 2w ago

With apologies to Alien. Worried 😟 about what sort of monster bursts forth later!

Milk Tea Alliance Calendar @mtacalendar.bsky.social · 2w ago

Weekend is here, So here's the upcoming event 🧵for it! We seen to much complicity by Thai authorities in Chinese Transnational repression & it giving a free hand to Chinese agents to interfere with groups & activists in Thailand, It must stop. Statement by us & #MilkTeaAlliance Thailand 1/

Milk Tea Alliance Calendar@mtacalendar.bsky.social · 2w ago

แถลงการณ*คัดค.านการแทรกแซงของสถานเอกอัครราชทูตจีนประจํากรุงเทพมหานครตBอ การเคลื่อนไหวของนักกิจกรรมไทยและการปราบปรามข.ามพรมแดน Link to full text in Eng: drive.google.com/file/d/1DyTx... Link to full text in Thai: drive.google.com/file/d/1rum_...

Milk Tea Alliance Calendar @mtacalendar.bsky.social · 2w ago

Transnational repression carried out by Thai authorities on behalf of the Chinese state & increasing interference by the Chinese Embassy against community spaces & activists in Thailand must stop! Is 泰国省 true? Successive Thai govt's seem to act that way😒 From #MilkTeaAlliance Thailand & us. 1/

In 2025, the Chinese government pressured the Bangkok Art and Cultural Center to Censor an exhibition, "Constellation of Complicity”, by Myanmar, Tibetan, Uyghur & Hong Kong Artists . Ironically, this made the exhibition's point for it.

Then this year (2026) alone, the Thai police have violently attacked environmental protesters in Chiang Mai who wanted to submit a letter about pollution coming from Chinese-affiliated mines in Myanmar . Furthermore, Thai authorities have detained a Hong Kong Activist with a UNHCR card who was due to be resettled in Canada while she was boarding a plane. Other journalists and activists are also under threat of being deported back to China or Hong Kong by Thai authorities .

China’s purported "Non-interference" policy is a sham, and the actions of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok make that clear. We have long known that the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok carries out these activities; indeed, in 2020 as the Milk Tea Alliance hashtag arose on Twitter, it issued a warning to the Thai public not to get involved but many Thai friends shrugged off this demand and stood up for themselves and us, and have continued to do so ever since, despite repression by their own government and attacks by the CCP. We owe our Thai friends much and won’t stay silent.

泰国省
Depressingly, it seems that the current Thai government is more than happy to behave like a vassal state of China, as the recent joint statement it affirmed its unwavering commitment to the One China Policy, recognizing the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. Which is a view we fundamentally disagree with.

We call on the Thai Government to fully implement and enforce the non-refoulement principle already enshrined in Section 13 of Thailand’s Anti-Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act

B.E. 2565 (2022), alongside its obligations under international human rights law. This domestic legal safeguard explicitly prohibits the deportation, expulsion, or extradition of any person to a state where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face torture, cruel treatment, or enforced disappearance.

We urge the government to ensure this law is applied consistently and in practice, not only in policy; to protect dissidents, human rights defenders and members of the diaspora and displaced communities residing in Thailand from forced return to countries where they face persecution. Upholding this obligation is not a concession to outside pressure but an exercise of Thailand’s own sovereign legal commitments, reflecting the rule of law it has chosen to establish.

We further call for transparent, independent screening mechanisms to identify individuals at risk prior to any deportation or extradition action, and for accountability where these protections have been circumvented.

We stand in solidarity with our Thai friends and friends who have made Thailand their home or place of refuge. We see their struggles and challenges and thank them again for all that they have done for other causes in the midst of their own. We see your works, we see your struggles and we are committed to helping in what ways we can, amplifying your voices and sharing your stories.

With love & in solidarity always

#MilkTeaAlliance Calendar Team
&
#MilkTeaAlliance Thailand

Milk Tea Alliance Calendar @mtacalendar.bsky.social · 2w ago

New event! 📆27th July 🕠5:30pm AEST Join Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA to hear Maung Maung (CTUM) & @debbiestot.bsky.social of @altsean.bsky.social discuss "Myanmar Workers Resistance to Authoritarianism" in Sydney, Aus. Details: www.facebook.com/UnionAidAbro... Reg: actionnetwork.org/events/myanm...

Myanmar Workers Resistance to Authoritarianism
Start: Monday, July 27, 2026•05:30 PM
Location: Trades Hall Auditorium • 377 Sussex Street, Sydney, 2000 AU
Host Contact Info: campaigns@unionsnsw.org.au

Speakers:

Maung Maung, President, Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM)
Debbie Stothard, Coordinator, ALTSEAN-Burma
Local Union Leaders

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 2w ago

“From the Lao government perspective, this case has always been less about those who died and more about trying to repair the serious public relations damage” - truth about #Laos failure to hold accountable ALL those responsible for methanol poisoning deaths. #VangVieng www.scmp.com/week-asia/pe...

As Laos’ methanol poisoning case begins, friend of victim slams ‘cover-up’

A British man who was blinded in the incident says he feels sorry for the families of the six victims who died, but is ‘not angry’ any more.

scmp.com

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 2w ago

Radio Free Asia reports on the Mother Nature #Cambodia 5's continued fight for freedom & justice. Global environmental activists are demanding the L'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) speak out for the #MNC5 & urge PM Hun Manet to release them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8iU...

អង្គការការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្សអន្តរជាតិ ទាមទារជាថ្មីឲ្យលោក ហ៊ុន ម៉ាណែត ដោះលែងសកម្មជនបរិស្ថាន

YouTube video by RFA Khmer

youtube.com

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 2w ago

Viva Spain 🇪🇸

FCCThai @fccthai.bsky.social · 2w ago

FCCT STATEMENT ON THE DETENTION OF CHINESE JOURNALIST BAI ZHAODONG Released on July 17, 2026 www.fccthai.com/news/fcct-st...

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 2w ago

Foreign Correspondents Club of #Thailand issued a statement on 17 July about the detention of Chinese investigative journalist Bai Zhaodong at the Bangkok Immigration Detention Center. The @fccthai.bsky.social calls on Thai authorities to not send him back to #China. www.fccthai.com/news/fcct-st...

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 2w ago

Speaking to the News of Australia about foreigners getting in trouble in #Thailand. While Thailand has not executed anyone since 2018, the “cruel and unusual punishment is unfortunately still on the books for many offenses." www.news.com.au/travel/trave...

news.com.au

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 3w ago

No additional comment necessary!

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 3w ago

Thailand: Don’t Forcibly Return Chinese Dissidents says Human Rights Watch - time for action to pressure the Thai government to let these 4 Chinese refugees seek resettlement overseas in a country where they can be protected against #Beijing. www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...

Thailand: Don’t Forcibly Return Chinese Dissidents

The Thai government should not forcibly return detained Chinese dissidents to China.

hrw.org

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 3w ago

Still registering US Democrats in #Thailand to vote in US elections! Contact me if you have questions on how to register to vote, it's critical this year to take back the House & Senate!

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 4w ago

Supporting campaign transparency, and the continued legality of recreational cannabis, in a letter to my US hometown newspaper, the Falmouth Enterprise. www.capenews.net/falmouth/opi...

Don't Be Misled By Petition Tactics - Letter

Last week, while shopping at the Market Basket in Bourne, campaigners outside the store approached me seeking signatures for the ballot initiative to repeal recreational cannabis in Massachusetts. Onc...

capenews.net

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 4w ago

What's happening next in #Myanmar's bloody civil war? Find out tonight (8 July) at the FCCT @fccthai.bsky.social in #Bangkok from an amazing panel of experts. Starts at 7 pm, all the details here: www.fccthai.com/event/myanma... #Burma #WhatsHappeninginMyanmar

Myanmar’s civil war: What happens next? | FCCT

Join us for Myanmar’s civil war: What happens next? at FCCT. Jul 08, 2026. Members free, non-members 450 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.

fccthai.com

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · 4w ago

In the end, it didn't matter. But what's certain is FIFA ended up with egg on its face for kowtowing to the Orange Tyrant.

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · last mo.

Today at the World Cup.

Phil Robertson @reaproy.bsky.social · last mo.

Very important statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, demanding that #Cambodia immediately and unconditionally release the Mother Nature Cambodia 5. They have been unjustly imprisoned for far too long on bogus 'plotting' charges! #FreetheFive #MNC5 #PhnomPenh #Kampuchea