Thread by @rapplerdotcom

LIVE: Two of Southeast Asia’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, @mariaressa of the Philippines and José Ramos-Horta of Timor Leste, hold a dialogue on ethical issues and the future of the ASEAN region.

@mariaressa Today's discussion will focus on ethical issues and the future of the ASEAN region in the areas of governing democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and social media.

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@mariaressa .@mariaressa: It is a crucial day for you (José Ramos-Horta) and for Timor Leste. We are waiting for the results.

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Ramos-Horta is a 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner, together with Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. The two won “​​for their work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.”

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Ramos-Horta was one of the leaders of the resistance when Timor-Leste was occupied by Indonesia in 1975.

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Ramos-Horta: In our political system...the President has limited powers. He is the one to swear in the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. LIVE

Ramos-Horta: In this case, incumbent Francisco Guterres never resigned from the position of president of Fretilin. The Constitution is very clear in one single paragraph, saying the president cannot hold any other political office. LIVE

CONTEXT: In March, Ramos-Horta, and incumbent leader Guterres have emerged as the early frontrunners in East Timor’s presidential election, official data showed. rappler.com/world/asia-pac…

Ramos-Horta: It was a very strange feeling (going out of the town/city). it was like someone coming out of a locked city. The people were so happy to see me. When I traveled the country, I never saw the presence of any gov't personality. LIVE

Ramos-Horta: In the first round [of elections], I got 47% of the votes – the incumbent, 22%. In any other democracies, I would have been elected already. LIVE

Ramos-Horta says Timor Leste's constitution requires another round of elections, even if he already won by a big margin against incumbent leader Francisco Guterres. LIVE

.@mariaressa: We have followed each other for the last few decades.... Someone like you, who's a revolutionary, was able to rally the international community. LIVE

.@mariaressa: Can you give us one or two lessons that you learned from your transition from being a revolutionary to leading a state? LIVE

Ramos-Horta: I was always a center-left. Not left, left.... For me, the guiding principle in justice is freedom, not ideology. LIVE

Ramos-Horta: I was never guided by ideology.... I always tell our people, in the fight for justice and democracy, we fight because we believe in these principles. We fight because of our beliefs. LIVE

Ramos-Horta says 'strong dose of compassion and heart' is an essential quality of a leader.

"It has to be brains and big heart – heart to look at the dispossessed, the children, the pregnant mothers," says Ramos-Horta. LIVE

Ramos-Horta on strengthening democracy in the Southeast Asian region: We have to bear in mind that democracy is a belief, it's a process. Sometimes setbacks come because of failure of elected leaders from traditional political party system, from the political elites.

Ramos-Horta: In Southeast Asia, if democracy does not deliver, does not embrace people disenfranchised...there goes politicians who will make false promises – promises that we know they will not deliver. LIVE

Ramos-Horta on ASEAN's relevance in changing landscape: We should not expect too much from ASEAN in dealing with some challenges, like Myanmar. LIVE

Ramos-Horta: The positive thing I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the leadership that Indonesia did in regard to Myanmar. I was pleasantly surprised with Malaysia, Singapore. This illustrates that societies have progress in views of where ASEAN is.

Ramos-Horta says ASEAN members have to be persistent, saying principle that military cannot come in and bring down democratically elected leaders must be upheld. LIVE

Romas-Horta on the state of information ecosystem: It is an extraordinary challenge for people to spread the message of tolerance, inclusivity, and social justice.

He adds that this has become an opportunity for populists leaders. LIVE

Romas-Horta says populist leaders have polluted social media with propaganda, which was enabled by social media and AI. LIVE

Ramos-Horta on ASEAN ethics and diversity: In a region with countries with different political systems and histories, it is not always possible to reach a consensus and reconcile. LIVE

Ramos-Horta says ASEAN has made progress, adding that the region no longer accepts military coup.

"We just have to be fighting to improve democracy," he says. LIVE

Ramos-Horta: Don't lose sight of what's important.... Fight with brains, wisdom, and great deal of humility. LIVE

Ramos-Horta's final message: ASEAN must live up to its responsibility to Myanmar.

"You want a better Southeast Asia. You want a better community – generous, embracing, rich in ethnic diversity – then fight for it," he says. LIVE

.@mariaressa on the Philippine situation: I am a journalist, always have been. I have no interest in politics.... I liked the interface between holding power to account, the people elected and the people who deserve the best. LIVE

.@mariaressa: Our elections is existential and emblematic.... Decades after the ouster of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his namesake is now a poll frontrunner. Social media has been used to change history. LIVE

.@mariaressa: Regardless of who will win, I certainly hope that he/she should bring the best government for the people.

Ressa adds that officials should restore trust in public service. LIVE

#FromOurArchives: Disinformation, coordinated amplification, use of an extensive network of anonymously-managed pages and groups are part of the Marcos comeback playbook.

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.@mariaressa on the role of journalists: I said this in the Nobel lecture that the last time a journalist was given the Nobel Prize was almost 100 years ago. LIVE

.@mariaressa: He languished in a Nazi concentration camp. He couldn't get his prize. So I think the Nobel Committee was just signaling that. This is the kind of world we live in now. LIVE

.@mariaressa: This is the kind of world we live in now, where our democracy is. I became a journalist because information is power. Well, now, this power is being turned against us. LIVE

.@mariaressa: I forgot to tell you that I had 10 arrest warrants in less than two years filed against me by my government, in an effort to try to intimidate us, to silence us. LIVE

.@mariaressa: So this is part of the challenge of ASEAN that there are so many different types of governments. And now the challenge of the UN Security Council is what happens when there are no common principles, that they will fight. LIVE

.@mariaressa: In my case, I always say in the Philippines, @rapplerdotcom and journalists have been forced to hold the line. I was forced very early on to draw the line. LIVE

.@mariaressa on 'ethics code' in ASEAN region: In each of our countries, I hope it's the Constitution, which oftentimes gets violated.... I think gov't officials' struggle for power should not impede their ability to deliver what their citizens need. LIVE

.@mariaressa: I think the call of Ramos-Horta is really that we must continue demanding our rights and demanding good governance. LIVE

.@mariaressa: If the right leaders are in power, then we could have a golden age.... I used to jump country to country to just do stories on this. when you have endemic corruption, it inevitably leads to bad governance. LIVE

.@mariaressa: If you're a student, watching then have to think through your values. If you don't see that the type of ethical leadership, you have the ability to become that. LIVE

.@mariaressa: I'm an old journalist now, and I can distill almost everything wrong into two words, power and money. LIVE

.@mariaressa: How do you put guardrails around the people who have money and power? Ethics, rules-based. LIVE

.@mariaressa: So, for the generation coming up, your challenges are harder than when I was learning, because the world is more fragmented, our region is more fragmented. LIVE

.@mariaressa: I would echo Chris Wiley, who was the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower: "Colonialism never died. It just moved online." LIVE

.@mariaressa: In many instances what social media has proven to us is that these differences in culture and nation-states are far less important than what we all have in. LIVE

.@mariaressa: There are more than 3.2 billion accounts on Meta's properties, the same operating system is manipulating all of us. We have the same biology. We have the same needs. LIVE

.@mariaressa: EO Wilson actually defined the greatest problem we face today: Our paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and our godlike technology. LIVE

.@mariaressa: The reason why Ukraine is a story, and I think rightfully so, not just for the West but for all of us, is because it is the first time.... Imagine another nation coming in and invading another. LIVE

.@mariaressa on Russian disinformation networks: Now, if the social media platforms did something years ago in 2014, would the world be where we are today? Would our democracies be as weak as they are today? I would posit no.

Q: What is your advice on this ethics of freedom for the region of ASEAN?

.@mariaressa: Should you be a journalist today? There is no better time to be a journalist but there is no tougher time for you individually.

.@mariaressa: This is a time when we will make a difference because journalism for the 21st century is being determined, both in form and substance.

.@mariaressa: As Filipinos, we have the right to vote, but our information ecosystem is now a behavior modification system. So, have we lost our agency?

.@mariaressa: My advice is this: Before you have to make decisions, figure out what kind of world you want. Figure out your own values. What are you willing to fight for?

Indonesia Rep to ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights Yuyun Wahjunigrum shares 2021 data from Economist Intelligence Unit, tackled flawed democracies and authoritarian ranking in the region.

Wahjunigrum discusses the impact of influence operations and disinformation on social media, and their impact on democratic societies in the ASEAN region.

Faculty of Political Science Chulalongkorn University lecturer Surachanee Hammerli Sriyai talks about digital politics: When freedom get exercised, it's fine. But at one point without proper controls or regulations, like on social media...(1/2)

Sriyai: ...There's nobody to really...hammer you or regulate your speech, and it can have some serious consequences. (2/2)

Ateneo de Manila University political science student Vincent Carlo Legara: The potential impact of digital politics is clear, especially among the youth.... [But] there is the real possibility of unknowingly falling into echo chambers. LIVE

Legara: There is a need to complement social media efforts with on-the-ground initiatives. LIVE

Q: What sort of media literacy should individuals adopt to not be susceptible to disinformation? LIVE

Sriyai: I think it also depends on how you would define media literacy.... I'm trying to disentangle media literacy from 'regular literacy,' because that's also linked to critical thinking. LIVE

Wahjunigrum: The law is not the only proper response. Because if you're not careful about this, we may rather restrict freedom of expression or opinion. Now, governments around the world have a similar challenge regarding how to balance restriction and freedom itself.

Wahjunigrum: I see the increase the quantity and quality of digital literacy: some basic, some cannot keep up with the development and modernity – but they are doing something in form of educating their citizens. LIVE

Legara: It's easy to fall for misinformation and a lot of lies you see on YouTube, TikTok, and all these social media platforms. If the history education that has been taught is not enough. LIVE

Legara recommends revisiting school curricula, especially for formative years. LIVE

Watch the full webinar here: