At New Year the King gave a television address. I was in a restaurant in Pimai, Korat. Things were quiet but there were 3-4 tables. None of the patrons nor any of the staff took the slightest bit of notice.
So how does this square with the quote above ?
” the monarchy highly regarded by Thai people with the utmost reverence “
Abid Bahar (#94),
You have succeeded in sucking me in with your preposterous response. What proof do you have that Aye Chan is a “Barua Mogh?” And did you just coin the term “Barua Mogh?” Are you like Shakespeare who can just make up an English word?
Also, how do you say Rakhine word began to be used since 1930’s? Are centuries/millennium of Rakhine writing not a proof? The term Rakhaing Tha/Thama/Prey has been in existence since time immemorial.
You seem to use the term Mogh quite freely, under a rookie debate trick of I’m not saying it but it’s been said. I am well familiar with the term “Mogher Mulluck,” which in Bengali implies land of lawless pirates. At times it is used derogatorily against Rakhines in Bangladesh. The irony in all this is the term Mogh in itself is Bengali!
You talk about the uniqueness of Rohingyas but in reality the language is the same as that of Cox’s Bazar/Chittagong Bengalis with a slight variation in accent.
The plight of Rohingyas in the camps near Teknaf is sub-human. The conditions are pitiful, akin/worse than city slums, which needs to be significantly improved.
Malaysia Chronicle: “For the first decade of the new century, Malaysia has lost a staggering RM1.08 trillion (US$338 billion) in illicit outflows which is the fourth highest in the developing world……The Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reported in January that RM930 billion flowed out of Malaysia from 2000 to 2008, growing to RM218 billion per year from an initial RM71 billion in that period. Malaysia lost RM150 billion in illicit outflows in 2009. The report elaborated further by stating that the increase was “at a scaled seen in few Asian countries”
One of the many mysteries of predominantly-Buddhist Myanmar is why there is no peace movement to foster harmony among the indigenous groups as well as those whose ancestors from India and China settled in the country during the colonial period. It is curious that Aung San Suu Kyi made no mention of Myanmar with Indian and Chinese ancestors being included in the second Panglong conference that she proposed early last year.
What is very clear is that she has been the victim of a PAD-led hate campaign for almost 18months.
Manager, Social Sanctions and other neo-fascist organisations (can we please STOP calling them “royalists”?) have been hunting this young woman down since she was only 17years old.
Her plight just seems to be typical of the nasty, malicious cyberstalking, hate speech and intimidation that has to be legislated against every bit as much as 112 needs to be amended/reformed/abolished.
In any nation where democracy has taken root it would be Kan Thoob’s stalkers that would be prosecuted, not her.
Natthakarn has decided to asked the police for postponement of her reporting for LM charge, from next Wednesday to sometime next month. The police agreed. The new date is tentatively set at 11 February.
The reason is that she has upcoming final exams for last semester (held up from October because of flood) within a few days after next Wednesday. At first she thought she could manage the preparation for both the exam and the reporting to police within few days of one another; but apparently the latter interfered too much with her time and concentration for the exam preparation.
I’d like to emphasize that the LM charge against Natthakarn “Kan Thoob” stills stands, the summon still stands, only the date of her reporting to police has been rescheduled.
……………….
I’d like also to give some further info about Natthakarn, that I just checked with her. She was born in May 1992. This means that her posting on facebook between March and April 2010, for which she is being charged, happened when she was not quite 18 years old. I am not quite sure about the law on this, but as I understand it, should the case come to court, she could be trial as a minor, presumably even in juvenile court (?).
In any case, this fact (and the fact that even now she has not yet reached 20), makes the charge all the more depressing. While nobody of any age (or political persuasions – not even Somdhi Lim), should be charged with LM; in the case like Natthakarn, the police should have exercised their good sense, and should not have laid formal charge against her. At most they should have contacted her, perhaps with her parents and her university supervisors, to warn her of potentials danger of posting ambiguous massages online. They should have let her get on with her life and study.
The problem is most Thai royalists do not realise that their action is undermining the Monarchy. They think that ‘to protect’ the Monarchy, they must ‘exterminate’ everyone who shows dissent, or even a mere indifference. They do not realise that this will achieve nothing but incur more hatred and polarisation in the Thai society. At the end, they would be the very people who destroy the Monarchy through their irrational fanaticism and their unwillingness to compromise with people who share different beliefs that they have.
This latest LM case against a Miss Natthakarn Sakuldarachat, a very young aspiring college student, as reported by Somsak J (#49) makes for a very depressing reading (all heavy-handed LM cases are depressing to learn).
Every report of these LM case abuses is a dagger that strikes deep into the hearts of the Thais who revere their beloved King Bhumibhol. Those who wield the LM dagger do truly harm, rather than protect, the Thai monarchy.
Mr. Mong Pru,
I didn’t mean to hurt you when I addressed Arakanese buddhists as the Rakhine Moghs. It is a historical truth, if you look for it, you will see the term Mogh is still in comon use everywhere except in official Arakani usage.. Please also check the Arakan gazateer, everywhere Arakanese buddhists were addressed, as “Moghs”.
Oh I see you wanted to be addressed by us as “Rakhine.” Ok, I will even call you as Mr Mong Pru. But a little dose of history here in case if we don’t know. The name “Rakhine” is as new as the name “Rohingya.”
The word Rakhine began to be used from the 30’s and the word Rohingya from the 50;s. I hve no problem with both words. What about you ? I understand that Arakani Moghs to avoid stigma that “Mogh” refers to the medieval ” lawless pirates” took up a new name called “Rakhine”which is again ok with me but I am sure it is ok with you also for the word “Rakhine” but not ok about the word “Rohingya.”
It is a problem with funny people like you because you have something in your head that causes “allergy” and you say for Rohingyas the “so -called Rohingya” or call them as “Bengalis.” You see you act like Aye Chan, who is a Barua Mogh, Neither you nor Aye Chan act like a Rakhine gentleman.
In all these, I see you are capable of typing on a computer but when you call Rohingyas as bengalis, you failed to grow into a Rakhine gentleman. The point is if you are abusive with people, people will also mistreat you, therefore, as it says: everything starts from the self.
There is much to learn from Mr. Ne Myo Win above who lived in Maungdu and saw human suffering but are we ready to accept Rohingyas as the Rohingyas, that they wanted to be called and treated at least as human beings?
Did you get it?
If this royalist hysteria continues, I can foresee many Thais who would have to seek political asylum overseas. Thais used to be proud for being a place which provides refuge for Cambodians, Vietnamese, Laotian, Burmese who seek political asylum. I can foresee the opposite happening in avery near future, because of their beloved King!
Abid Bahar
You have done a PhD in a university in the west on the history of Arakan and Mogh. What do you mean by Mogh? Should it be used for Rakhine, it shows how you as a Bengali xenophobe is happy branding the Rakhine and Burmese Buddhists as Mogh. Personally I think this is one particular word used by you and many Rohingyas in their publications to brand Rakhines.
This term Mogh is purely a Bengali origin, and should any Bengali speaking Muslim including socalled Rohingyas should use it, it just reiterated their Bengali origin and not ‘Rohingya’. Your study on genocide is onesided, since the illegal Bengali immigrants of Maungdaw also conducted genocide against the indigenous Rakhine people and settled there.
You don’t need to talk loudly, go and check it in the land records of Maungdaw and Buthidaung.
I agree to you to some extent. According to Dr. Khin Maung, president of National United Party of Arakan (NUPA), he said in a conference held in Chittagong in 2008 that the word Rohingya represents both Buddhist Arakanese and Muslim Arakanese. In my opinion, it is an unbiased speech. It also matches to your point of view to some extent.
According to the book with the title “Za Lok Kay Pho Lay?” written by San Kyaw Tuan (Maha Wizza) from Rathedaung, it is written in page No. 81 that there are enough evidences that Indo-Aryan people, Mro people, Thet people etc have been living in Arakan as long ago as B.C. 3323. Who were the Indo-Arayan people? What were they? They are the Indian people or people who look like Indians. They can be the very forefathers of Muslim Arakanese (no matter what they are called, Rohingya or others) who have converted to Islam with the arrival of Islamic propagation as in the case of Malaysia and Indonesia.
So, there are two communities that have been living in Arakan from the time of immemorial. They are Buddhist Arakanese (who are Mongoloids) and and Muslim Arakanese (who are Indo-Arayans). Since, according to some historians, Arakan was called as Rohang by some people, the people who live in Arakan has become Rohingyas (both Buddhists and Muslims).
Therefore, Rohingya can be the name for both communities living in Arakan. Since, Buddhist Arakanese no longer call them as Rohingya but specifically as Rakhine, the word “Rohingya” has become the name for the Muslim Arakanese.
At the same time, one can’t deny that there were high level of mobility of people from (today’s) Bangladesh side to (today’s) Arakan during the British colonial time and vice versa. So, mobility of people could be for not only Muslims but also Rakhines Buddhists because these very same people exist in both countries.
Therefore, there are some Bengali origin in Muslims in Arakan. Similarly, there are some Bengali Rakhine mixed in Rakhines in Arakan. And there are Arakanese Muslims living among Bengali Muslims and Rakhines of Arakan living in Bengali Rakhines in Bangladesh. Mobility of people is a universal truth and can’t be denied. Thinking in only one way and stereo-typically will not give any solutions to the present problems in Arakan. We have to think unbiased and fairly.
Even the Bengali Muslims living in Arakan have already been for generations let alone original Arakanese Muslims. They should be awarded nationality. Look at the modern world. Obama’s father was Kenyan and Obama is the president of US now. There is no such “Kenyan” word used for Obama even though his father is from Kenya. Look at the football player of Arsenal, Theo Walcott. His father is from Jamaica. Yet Walcott is not called as “Jamaican” but as English. Both father and mother of Patrick Viera is from Senegal but Viera is a French. We, people of Myanmar, have to grow up a lot. As long as we don’t get rid of this communal hatred and chauvinism, the bloody tyrannic junta will keep ruling people ruthlessly. As I were saying, let alone citizenship rights and nationality rights, these Muslim people in Arakan don’t even have human rights. They should at least be treated as humans. I have seen their tragedies with own eyes.
Before you ask me back anything, I would like to say that I have enough knowledge on Arakan as I have worked with UNHCR in Maung Daw for two years and in Bangladesh for one year. And now, I am studying Human Science in UKM, a university in Malaysia. Dear all Rakhine brothers, my intention here is not to hurt you all. It is just because we would like to have a peaceful and developed country. I shed into tears if I see progresses in Malaysia. Malaysia was nothing in front of Burma in 1950s. People from Malaysia used to go to Burma to study and work. I was told by many educated old Malays.
This lack of unity and hatred in Myanmar have ruined the country.
Thailand is becoming more and more like North Korea nowadays. Anybody who says they do not love the King is a traitor to the country. I wonder if LM exists in UK, Canada, Australia etc how many people would be jailed…
…but perhaps there would be none. Because what would happen is the Aussies, Canadians, and the Britons would abolish the Monarchy entirely for using jail to force people to love them.
I think more would be arrested once this lawful intercept machine is in use. I heard this machine can track down the IP of the posters without the need to contact the service provider to provide the IP address, a request which overseas service providers keep refusing to comply with the Thai authorities. Once the LI machine is in use, New Mandala may have to ‘hide’ most of the comments made by the posters here (including mine) to protect us from being charged with LM.
Thanks for keeping us informed of the situation, Aj. Somsak.
At the time of her dismissal from Silpakorn, I wrote to the Dean and the administration, asking why they had denied Ms Nattakarn her rightful place in the university and why they were prepared to deny her natural justice .
I received no reply.
As the news died down, I had thought at least that the persecution of this young woman was over and that she would be able to continue her education in peace.
I am pleased to learn from you that Thammasat, the university that I work at, has acted in accord with its best traditions and enabled her to do this at least for some time.
I am shocked and disgusted by this news. I hope Thammasat staff and students will continue to support her.
New LM case: a first year student at Thammasat charged.
I regret to inform all NM readers of the second of three new LM cases I mention above #6.
The fist case, that of ajarn Suraphot Thawisak, had already been reported.
The accused in this case is Miss Natthakarn Sakuldarachat (her name at the time of the incident she is being charged with, she has since changed her name and surname to avoid harassment). At this moment she is a first year student in the Faculty of Social Welfare, Thammasat University.
During March-April 2010, at the height of the rallies and crackdown in Bangkok, Natthakarn or “Kan Thoob” the nickname she used online then, under which she is more widely known, had just finished her high school course, and had already passed the written exam to the Silpakorn University.
She posted some comments on her facebook. Some online royalists saw them, quickly accusing her of LM, and widely attacking her on the internet and in “Yellow” media outlets.
These fierce attacks were such that the Dean of the Silapakorn Faculty (a known royalist) where Natthakarn “Kan Thoob” already passed the written exam, decided to reject her as new student, claiming she was not qualified because of her lack of loyalty to the monarchy.
A few weeks afterward, Natthakarn earned the right to take a oral exam at Kasetsart University. But the royalists hounded her, threatened to stage a protest at the university the day she was scheduled to appear for an oral exam. So Natthakarn decided to not show up and forfeited her right to study there.
Because of this, between mid-2010 and mid-2011, Natthakarn stayed at home, losing a whole year of study.
In mid 2011, i.e. at the start of this academic year, she passed the exam into the Faculty of Social Welfare, Thammasat University; although the administration knew of her case (Dr.Somkid, the university rector recently gave an interview about her case), she was more fortunate that here at Thammasat, they were more tolerant of differing opinion and accepted her without any incident. She already finished her first term as student her and is about to start the second term, postponed because of the flood until the middle of this month.
However, some royalists were not satisfied with just ruining her study for a year; unknown to Natthakarn, some of them apparently lodged LM complain about her case with the police.
At the end of last October, an LM charged and a summon had been issued to Natthakarn by the Bang Khen Police precinct. But because of the flood (the police precinct itself was flooded, and Natthakarn herself was back in her home province of Ratchaburi), the date she was summoned to appear was re-scheduled twice, finally being set at 10 am., Wednesday 11 January.
During the past two months (from the time Natthakarn received her summon), I together with some academic friends have tried to made informal contact with people in the authorities, urging them to reconsider Natthakarn’s case. After all, there is really little merit in the charge and still less any benefits to social and political order, but to no avail. So, Natthakarn is now officially the latest victim in this LM madness.
……..
A not-dissimilar case, in which a high school contestant of a popular “reality” program posted some comments on his facebook, shortly after Natthakarn posted her (the style and even the content of what both of them posted were very similar), caused an “uproar” among online royalists and made headline news. That young man was forced to withdraw from the show and apologize. The case then disappeared and no action was taken.
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Thailand’s latest lese majeste disgrace
At New Year the King gave a television address. I was in a restaurant in Pimai, Korat. Things were quiet but there were 3-4 tables. None of the patrons nor any of the staff took the slightest bit of notice.
So how does this square with the quote above ?
” the monarchy highly regarded by Thai people with the utmost reverence “
BBC under fire on Rohingyas
Abid Bahar (#94),
You have succeeded in sucking me in with your preposterous response. What proof do you have that Aye Chan is a “Barua Mogh?” And did you just coin the term “Barua Mogh?” Are you like Shakespeare who can just make up an English word?
Also, how do you say Rakhine word began to be used since 1930’s? Are centuries/millennium of Rakhine writing not a proof? The term Rakhaing Tha/Thama/Prey has been in existence since time immemorial.
You seem to use the term Mogh quite freely, under a rookie debate trick of I’m not saying it but it’s been said. I am well familiar with the term “Mogher Mulluck,” which in Bengali implies land of lawless pirates. At times it is used derogatorily against Rakhines in Bangladesh. The irony in all this is the term Mogh in itself is Bengali!
You talk about the uniqueness of Rohingyas but in reality the language is the same as that of Cox’s Bazar/Chittagong Bengalis with a slight variation in accent.
The plight of Rohingyas in the camps near Teknaf is sub-human. The conditions are pitiful, akin/worse than city slums, which needs to be significantly improved.
Questioning arms spending in Malaysia: From Altantuya to Zikorsky
Malaysia Chronicle: “For the first decade of the new century, Malaysia has lost a staggering RM1.08 trillion (US$338 billion) in illicit outflows which is the fourth highest in the developing world……The Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reported in January that RM930 billion flowed out of Malaysia from 2000 to 2008, growing to RM218 billion per year from an initial RM71 billion in that period. Malaysia lost RM150 billion in illicit outflows in 2009. The report elaborated further by stating that the increase was “at a scaled seen in few Asian countries”
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
In the last few days we visited Ah Kong, Surachai Saedan and Joe Gordon in prison.
I’ll be putting up a few thoughts and impressions about the visit on my Facebook page.
Please feel free to drop in, comment and take a look.
http://bit.ly/niKAlm
Burma’s independence and the year ahead
One of the many mysteries of predominantly-Buddhist Myanmar is why there is no peace movement to foster harmony among the indigenous groups as well as those whose ancestors from India and China settled in the country during the colonial period. It is curious that Aung San Suu Kyi made no mention of Myanmar with Indian and Chinese ancestors being included in the second Panglong conference that she proposed early last year.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
I wrote about Kan Thoob’s story back in August 2011.
http://bit.ly/p439lh
What is very clear is that she has been the victim of a PAD-led hate campaign for almost 18months.
Manager, Social Sanctions and other neo-fascist organisations (can we please STOP calling them “royalists”?) have been hunting this young woman down since she was only 17years old.
Her plight just seems to be typical of the nasty, malicious cyberstalking, hate speech and intimidation that has to be legislated against every bit as much as 112 needs to be amended/reformed/abolished.
In any nation where democracy has taken root it would be Kan Thoob’s stalkers that would be prosecuted, not her.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
UPDATE: Natthakarn-“Kan Thoob” LM case.
Natthakarn has decided to asked the police for postponement of her reporting for LM charge, from next Wednesday to sometime next month. The police agreed. The new date is tentatively set at 11 February.
The reason is that she has upcoming final exams for last semester (held up from October because of flood) within a few days after next Wednesday. At first she thought she could manage the preparation for both the exam and the reporting to police within few days of one another; but apparently the latter interfered too much with her time and concentration for the exam preparation.
I’d like to emphasize that the LM charge against Natthakarn “Kan Thoob” stills stands, the summon still stands, only the date of her reporting to police has been rescheduled.
……………….
I’d like also to give some further info about Natthakarn, that I just checked with her. She was born in May 1992. This means that her posting on facebook between March and April 2010, for which she is being charged, happened when she was not quite 18 years old. I am not quite sure about the law on this, but as I understand it, should the case come to court, she could be trial as a minor, presumably even in juvenile court (?).
In any case, this fact (and the fact that even now she has not yet reached 20), makes the charge all the more depressing. While nobody of any age (or political persuasions – not even Somdhi Lim), should be charged with LM; in the case like Natthakarn, the police should have exercised their good sense, and should not have laid formal charge against her. At most they should have contacted her, perhaps with her parents and her university supervisors, to warn her of potentials danger of posting ambiguous massages online. They should have let her get on with her life and study.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
@Khun Vichai,
The problem is most Thai royalists do not realise that their action is undermining the Monarchy. They think that ‘to protect’ the Monarchy, they must ‘exterminate’ everyone who shows dissent, or even a mere indifference. They do not realise that this will achieve nothing but incur more hatred and polarisation in the Thai society. At the end, they would be the very people who destroy the Monarchy through their irrational fanaticism and their unwillingness to compromise with people who share different beliefs that they have.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
This latest LM case against a Miss Natthakarn Sakuldarachat, a very young aspiring college student, as reported by Somsak J (#49) makes for a very depressing reading (all heavy-handed LM cases are depressing to learn).
Every report of these LM case abuses is a dagger that strikes deep into the hearts of the Thais who revere their beloved King Bhumibhol. Those who wield the LM dagger do truly harm, rather than protect, the Thai monarchy.
Burma’s independence and the year ahead
As long as the Burmans see the minorities as inferior there will continue to be strife.
BBC under fire on Rohingyas
Mr. Mong Pru,
I didn’t mean to hurt you when I addressed Arakanese buddhists as the Rakhine Moghs. It is a historical truth, if you look for it, you will see the term Mogh is still in comon use everywhere except in official Arakani usage.. Please also check the Arakan gazateer, everywhere Arakanese buddhists were addressed, as “Moghs”.
Oh I see you wanted to be addressed by us as “Rakhine.” Ok, I will even call you as Mr Mong Pru. But a little dose of history here in case if we don’t know. The name “Rakhine” is as new as the name “Rohingya.”
The word Rakhine began to be used from the 30’s and the word Rohingya from the 50;s. I hve no problem with both words. What about you ? I understand that Arakani Moghs to avoid stigma that “Mogh” refers to the medieval ” lawless pirates” took up a new name called “Rakhine”which is again ok with me but I am sure it is ok with you also for the word “Rakhine” but not ok about the word “Rohingya.”
It is a problem with funny people like you because you have something in your head that causes “allergy” and you say for Rohingyas the “so -called Rohingya” or call them as “Bengalis.” You see you act like Aye Chan, who is a Barua Mogh, Neither you nor Aye Chan act like a Rakhine gentleman.
In all these, I see you are capable of typing on a computer but when you call Rohingyas as bengalis, you failed to grow into a Rakhine gentleman. The point is if you are abusive with people, people will also mistreat you, therefore, as it says: everything starts from the self.
There is much to learn from Mr. Ne Myo Win above who lived in Maungdu and saw human suffering but are we ready to accept Rohingyas as the Rohingyas, that they wanted to be called and treated at least as human beings?
Did you get it?
Desperately seeking Marylene
New Mandala readers following this issue may also want to see the extra photos on Pavin’s Facebook page.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
CT: Some already have. There are at least 4 cases I can think of, not counting red shirts still outside the country.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
If this royalist hysteria continues, I can foresee many Thais who would have to seek political asylum overseas. Thais used to be proud for being a place which provides refuge for Cambodians, Vietnamese, Laotian, Burmese who seek political asylum. I can foresee the opposite happening in avery near future, because of their beloved King!
BBC under fire on Rohingyas
Abid Bahar
You have done a PhD in a university in the west on the history of Arakan and Mogh. What do you mean by Mogh? Should it be used for Rakhine, it shows how you as a Bengali xenophobe is happy branding the Rakhine and Burmese Buddhists as Mogh. Personally I think this is one particular word used by you and many Rohingyas in their publications to brand Rakhines.
This term Mogh is purely a Bengali origin, and should any Bengali speaking Muslim including socalled Rohingyas should use it, it just reiterated their Bengali origin and not ‘Rohingya’. Your study on genocide is onesided, since the illegal Bengali immigrants of Maungdaw also conducted genocide against the indigenous Rakhine people and settled there.
You don’t need to talk loudly, go and check it in the land records of Maungdaw and Buthidaung.
msp
Desperately seeking Marylene
Ajarn Pavin must be banking on Singaporean citizenship. Wonder if he’s done National Service yet? Or is he using a new Gillette razor with 112 blades?
Great post though!
BBC under fire on Rohingyas
Dear Mong Pru,
I agree to you to some extent. According to Dr. Khin Maung, president of National United Party of Arakan (NUPA), he said in a conference held in Chittagong in 2008 that the word Rohingya represents both Buddhist Arakanese and Muslim Arakanese. In my opinion, it is an unbiased speech. It also matches to your point of view to some extent.
According to the book with the title “Za Lok Kay Pho Lay?” written by San Kyaw Tuan (Maha Wizza) from Rathedaung, it is written in page No. 81 that there are enough evidences that Indo-Aryan people, Mro people, Thet people etc have been living in Arakan as long ago as B.C. 3323. Who were the Indo-Arayan people? What were they? They are the Indian people or people who look like Indians. They can be the very forefathers of Muslim Arakanese (no matter what they are called, Rohingya or others) who have converted to Islam with the arrival of Islamic propagation as in the case of Malaysia and Indonesia.
So, there are two communities that have been living in Arakan from the time of immemorial. They are Buddhist Arakanese (who are Mongoloids) and and Muslim Arakanese (who are Indo-Arayans). Since, according to some historians, Arakan was called as Rohang by some people, the people who live in Arakan has become Rohingyas (both Buddhists and Muslims).
Therefore, Rohingya can be the name for both communities living in Arakan. Since, Buddhist Arakanese no longer call them as Rohingya but specifically as Rakhine, the word “Rohingya” has become the name for the Muslim Arakanese.
At the same time, one can’t deny that there were high level of mobility of people from (today’s) Bangladesh side to (today’s) Arakan during the British colonial time and vice versa. So, mobility of people could be for not only Muslims but also Rakhines Buddhists because these very same people exist in both countries.
Therefore, there are some Bengali origin in Muslims in Arakan. Similarly, there are some Bengali Rakhine mixed in Rakhines in Arakan. And there are Arakanese Muslims living among Bengali Muslims and Rakhines of Arakan living in Bengali Rakhines in Bangladesh. Mobility of people is a universal truth and can’t be denied. Thinking in only one way and stereo-typically will not give any solutions to the present problems in Arakan. We have to think unbiased and fairly.
Even the Bengali Muslims living in Arakan have already been for generations let alone original Arakanese Muslims. They should be awarded nationality. Look at the modern world. Obama’s father was Kenyan and Obama is the president of US now. There is no such “Kenyan” word used for Obama even though his father is from Kenya. Look at the football player of Arsenal, Theo Walcott. His father is from Jamaica. Yet Walcott is not called as “Jamaican” but as English. Both father and mother of Patrick Viera is from Senegal but Viera is a French. We, people of Myanmar, have to grow up a lot. As long as we don’t get rid of this communal hatred and chauvinism, the bloody tyrannic junta will keep ruling people ruthlessly. As I were saying, let alone citizenship rights and nationality rights, these Muslim people in Arakan don’t even have human rights. They should at least be treated as humans. I have seen their tragedies with own eyes.
Before you ask me back anything, I would like to say that I have enough knowledge on Arakan as I have worked with UNHCR in Maung Daw for two years and in Bangladesh for one year. And now, I am studying Human Science in UKM, a university in Malaysia. Dear all Rakhine brothers, my intention here is not to hurt you all. It is just because we would like to have a peaceful and developed country. I shed into tears if I see progresses in Malaysia. Malaysia was nothing in front of Burma in 1950s. People from Malaysia used to go to Burma to study and work. I was told by many educated old Malays.
This lack of unity and hatred in Myanmar have ruined the country.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
Thailand is becoming more and more like North Korea nowadays. Anybody who says they do not love the King is a traitor to the country. I wonder if LM exists in UK, Canada, Australia etc how many people would be jailed…
…but perhaps there would be none. Because what would happen is the Aussies, Canadians, and the Britons would abolish the Monarchy entirely for using jail to force people to love them.
I think more would be arrested once this lawful intercept machine is in use. I heard this machine can track down the IP of the posters without the need to contact the service provider to provide the IP address, a request which overseas service providers keep refusing to comply with the Thai authorities. Once the LI machine is in use, New Mandala may have to ‘hide’ most of the comments made by the posters here (including mine) to protect us from being charged with LM.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
Thanks for keeping us informed of the situation, Aj. Somsak.
At the time of her dismissal from Silpakorn, I wrote to the Dean and the administration, asking why they had denied Ms Nattakarn her rightful place in the university and why they were prepared to deny her natural justice .
I received no reply.
As the news died down, I had thought at least that the persecution of this young woman was over and that she would be able to continue her education in peace.
I am pleased to learn from you that Thammasat, the university that I work at, has acted in accord with its best traditions and enabled her to do this at least for some time.
I am shocked and disgusted by this news. I hope Thammasat staff and students will continue to support her.
Thailand’s Fearlessness: Free Akong
New LM case: a first year student at Thammasat charged.
I regret to inform all NM readers of the second of three new LM cases I mention above #6.
The fist case, that of ajarn Suraphot Thawisak, had already been reported.
The accused in this case is Miss Natthakarn Sakuldarachat (her name at the time of the incident she is being charged with, she has since changed her name and surname to avoid harassment). At this moment she is a first year student in the Faculty of Social Welfare, Thammasat University.
During March-April 2010, at the height of the rallies and crackdown in Bangkok, Natthakarn or “Kan Thoob” the nickname she used online then, under which she is more widely known, had just finished her high school course, and had already passed the written exam to the Silpakorn University.
She posted some comments on her facebook. Some online royalists saw them, quickly accusing her of LM, and widely attacking her on the internet and in “Yellow” media outlets.
These fierce attacks were such that the Dean of the Silapakorn Faculty (a known royalist) where Natthakarn “Kan Thoob” already passed the written exam, decided to reject her as new student, claiming she was not qualified because of her lack of loyalty to the monarchy.
A few weeks afterward, Natthakarn earned the right to take a oral exam at Kasetsart University. But the royalists hounded her, threatened to stage a protest at the university the day she was scheduled to appear for an oral exam. So Natthakarn decided to not show up and forfeited her right to study there.
Because of this, between mid-2010 and mid-2011, Natthakarn stayed at home, losing a whole year of study.
In mid 2011, i.e. at the start of this academic year, she passed the exam into the Faculty of Social Welfare, Thammasat University; although the administration knew of her case (Dr.Somkid, the university rector recently gave an interview about her case), she was more fortunate that here at Thammasat, they were more tolerant of differing opinion and accepted her without any incident. She already finished her first term as student her and is about to start the second term, postponed because of the flood until the middle of this month.
However, some royalists were not satisfied with just ruining her study for a year; unknown to Natthakarn, some of them apparently lodged LM complain about her case with the police.
At the end of last October, an LM charged and a summon had been issued to Natthakarn by the Bang Khen Police precinct. But because of the flood (the police precinct itself was flooded, and Natthakarn herself was back in her home province of Ratchaburi), the date she was summoned to appear was re-scheduled twice, finally being set at 10 am., Wednesday 11 January.
During the past two months (from the time Natthakarn received her summon), I together with some academic friends have tried to made informal contact with people in the authorities, urging them to reconsider Natthakarn’s case. After all, there is really little merit in the charge and still less any benefits to social and political order, but to no avail. So, Natthakarn is now officially the latest victim in this LM madness.
……..
A not-dissimilar case, in which a high school contestant of a popular “reality” program posted some comments on his facebook, shortly after Natthakarn posted her (the style and even the content of what both of them posted were very similar), caused an “uproar” among online royalists and made headline news. That young man was forced to withdraw from the show and apologize. The case then disappeared and no action was taken.