To the Institute for Economics and Peace:
Dear Steve Killelea, Board of Directors,
As signatories of the open letter to the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) from 11 May 2022 and scholars specializing in politics and society of Myanmar, we welcome the redaction of the Myanmar section of your Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report.
This could have been an opportunity for the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) to regain trust amongst the people of Myanmar and rebuild its reputation amongst regional experts. Unfortunately, your redaction statement and response to our letter did not make use of this. Neither included an honest reflection about the report’s shortcomings. Nor did you issue an apology to the very people that you had accused of being terrorists. This was and still is a key demand of our open letter.
An apology to Myanmar’s resistance is important for two main reasons:
Firstly, terrorism is the most damaging label one could possibly use for political stakeholders in the 21st century. It is unfortunate that a well-resourced think tank in the Global North thought that it made an adequate label for the resistance against Myanmar’s military dictatorship and its security forces. As explained previously, this also has real-world implications because it plays into the very narrative that the junta uses to justify its atrocities. Myanmar’s resistance deserves an apology in and of itself.
Secondly, nothing in IEP’s explanations given so far indicates that a similar debacle is not bound to happen again in the future. On the contrary, the defense of what seems to be deep-rooted methodological flaws in the GTI itself (rather than simply an issue of data), cautions against the report’s wider findings and IEP’s research more generally. An apology would provide another opportunity for the IEP to reflect more genuinely on the GTI’s shortcomings.
We thus urge the IEP to use this opportunity and issue a more appropriate statement that includes a genuine apology to the people that it wrongfully accused of being terrorists.
Sincerely,
Dr Tun Myint, Chair and Professor of the Department of Political Science, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Dr David Brenner, Lecturer, Department of International Relations, University of Sussex
James C. Scott, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, Yale University
Dr Alexandre Pelletier, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Université Laval
Georg Bauer, PhD candidate, Department of History, University of Vienna
Kristian Stokke, Professor, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Tual Sawn Khai, PhD Candidate, Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Kyaw MinOo, MA candidate in Southeast Asian Studies, Ohio University
Luke James Corbin, Myanmar Research Centre, Australian National University
Nicola Tannenbaum, Professor of Anthropology, Lehigh University
Catherine Morris, Independent researcher, and Director of Peacemakers Trust
James Francis Cerretani, Postgraduate Researcher in Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr Mary P. Callahan, Associate Professor, University of Washington
Rosalie Metro, Assistant Teaching Professor, College of Education and Human Development, University of Missouri-Columbia
Martin Smith, author and independent analyst on conflict in Myanmar
Liyun Wendy Choo, Professional Teaching Fellow, University of Auckland
Dr Justine Chambers, Postdoctoral Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies
Dr Ashley South, Research Fellow, Chiang Mai University
Bridget Anderson, Professor of Migration Mobilities and Citizenship University of Bristol
Wen-Chin Chang, Research Fellow, Academia Sinica
Angshuman Choudhury, Senior Research Associate, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi
Minn Tent Bo, London based Independent Consultant focused on human rights, democracy and elections in Myanmar
Dr Francesco Buscemi, Research Fellow, Einaudi Foundation
David Scott Mathieson, author and independent analyst on conflict in Burma/Myanmar
Dr John Buchanan, Associate, Asia Center, Harvard University
Richard Roewer, Research Fellow, German Institute for Global and Area Studies, DPhil Candidate, University of Oxford
Dr. Charlie Thame, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Aung Kaung Myat, MPhil Candidate, University of Hong Kong
Paul Taylor, Independent Research Consultant
Kirsten McConnachie, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies, University of East Anglia, UK
Dr Leanne M. Kelly, Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University, Melbourne
Dr Anne Décobert, School of Social and Political Studies, The University of Melbourne
Dr Sharon Bell, Independent Researcher, Aotearoa New Zealand
Prof Anthony Ware, Deakin University, Melbourne
Dorothy Mason, Department of Political and Social Change, Australian National University
Dr Vicki-Ann Ware, Deakin University, Australia
Mike McGovern, Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan
Dr Susan Banki, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney
Peter Suante, PhD Researcher, The University of Hong Kong
Dr Kristina Kironska, Senior Researcher, Palacky University Olomouc
Siew Han Yeo, PhD Candidate, University of Toronto
Dr Chika Watanabe, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, University of Manchester
Dr Matthew J Walton, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
Alex Moodie, PhD Candidate, School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University
Dr Laurence Cox, Associate Professor in Sociology, National University of Ireland Maynooth
Dominique Dillabough-Lefebvre, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology, LSE
Dr Patrick Meehan, Department of Development Studies, SOAS University of London
Dr Jasnea Sarma, University Of Zurich
Dr Ardeth Thawnghmung, Professor, Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Dr Jonathan Saha, Associate Professor of History, University of Durham
Dr Elliott Prasse-Freeman, Assistant Professor, National U of Singapore
Nora Wuttke, PGR, SOAS University of London
Kei Nemoto, Professor, Sophia University (Tokyo)
Tharaphi Than, Associate Professor, Northern Illinois University
Htet Min Lwin, PhD student, Department of Humanities, York University, Toronto
Dr Cecile Medail, Visiting Fellow, Political and Social Change, Australian National University
Dr Yuri Takahashi, Lecturer, School of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University
Dr Johanna Garnett, Lecturer, Peace Studies, University of New England (UNE), Armidale
Dr Elisabeth Olivius, Associate Professor, Political Science, Umeå University
Dr Ronan Lee, Doctoral Prize Fellow, Loughborough University London
Dr Lisa Brooten, Associate Professor, School of Media Arts, Southern Illinois University Carbondale