“Young commented on one of the entries about him and then got a barrage of questions from Nick Nolstitz.”
Just “a barrage of questions”? – and he couldn’t manage to answer? Poor thing. I knew from his bio that he has led a sheltered life, but had no idea he can’t face questions – except perhaps from the likes of Khun Suthichai fawning and drooling over his every utterance like a chat-show host “feeding” a guest….. ?
Thaksin introduced CEO governor model, with governors being answerable solely to the Interior Ministry. They underwent some ad-hoc training and were forced to come with plans and strategies to develop their provinces and the only evaluations came from Bangkok.
Governors were supposed to have a lot more authority, though. I don’t know if it counts for “decentralization” as people were completely excluded from the process.
Thaksin spoke about creating “ten Singapores” in Thailand, media were filled with reports about some poor governors being knocked off their feet with all this new business talk and others trying to outdo one another with their visions.
In the case of dual citizenship issues, it depends on which passport you entered the country. Nyi Nyi Aung entered on a Myanmar passport, therefore the American embassy has no jurisdiction or ability to help him out. They can request and request and request to visit him in prison, but any concessions the government makes are voluntary, at least according to the Vienna convention.
In law, the GoUM does not recognize dual citizenship, but in practice, many people are able to de facto maintain both Myanmar and other citizenship.
Andrew, you may be right, but my feeling is that this coverage may have squandered the Government’s embryonic efforts to answer and be included in some of the political debate and concerns.
By no means has the government’s, or more specifically the NSC’s domestic response to open debate been positive. However, given your own coverage over the years and calls for an inclusive debate, how much effort would it have taken to respect this one request pursuant to a more inclusive forum?
I suspect that without extending the same courtesy of anonymous attribution to the government, as you do to your other contributors and commentators, myself included, this exercising of a ‘double standard’ in this independent web-forum, maintained to encourage free and open debate, undermines its very purpose.
Whatever the perceived strengths or weaknesses of the panel may be, at least the government has fielded a panel for the first time.
Perhaps more considered analysis and coverage on the themes, rather than the transcripts provided herein, would, in the longer term, reap the wide-ranging scrutiny and discussion you have called for.
Khattiya also said that Thailand had three types of people:
“Normal buffalos” – those who watch TV Channels 3, 5, 7, 9 and so on.
“Stupid buffalos” – those who watch ASTV
“Ordinary citizens” – those who watch the red-shirt TV station.
Another bit:
– You say over and over again that you never lie, so tell us about the bomb at the Army headquarters.
– On that I have to lie a little.
– Will there be shooting? (Will there be political bloodshed?)
– That depends on me.
Then there was something really strange:
..discussion went from China’s revolutions to Napoleon to how real “warriors” dealt with their unchanged underwear. And at this point, he responded to many questions with a blunt “You don’t understand warriors”
Intimidation is intimidation, and it’s unfortunate they picked a controversial law to use in this case. Had there been no such law they’d use something else, perhaps even more sinister, to get people to talk.
In that case Thomas should be bashing them for intimidation, it doesn’t really fit into English vs. Thai story.
And good luck with “precision and accuracy” when dealing with translations reported in the media. I don’t see much hope there as in his own Part1 Thomas apparently misread Kevin Hewison speaking English.
They just sentenced two army captains to death, for sending the foreign media a few photos of General Maung Aye’s secret visit to North Korea. I think I have said on New Mandala enough for at least three death sentences back home.
But these training films are widely shown to the general public in Burma especially in the towns with large army bases. The films are shown by the traveling movie units from the Psychological Warfare Unit of the War Office.
Regularly, the local battalion will announce the time and date of screening the movies and the program normally has one Burmese movie and one foreign movie, mostly war ones with said training modifications.
The soldiers will setup a large white screen out in the open, normally a nearby soccer field, and set up the projectors and almost the whole town come and watch the free entertainment. With many temporary snack shops around the atmosphere there is always festive and enjoyable for everybody.
Most Malaysians deeply disturbed by the ongoing trial of Anwar, which I, like most Malaysians feel is unnecessary, politically motivated and will lead to a national disaster.
For the first time there is a real possibility of a two-party system.
For the first time there are hopes for a change of government for the better. For the first time there are hopes for untangling of racial politics. For the first time there are hopes for more democratic and more accountable governance. For the first time there are hopes for a more productive economy for the nation. All these were made possible by one man – Anwar Ibrahim.
It is indeed sad that the forces of destruction are bent on eliminating these hopes of the people and the nation.
Of late Malaysians have shown great wisdom and maturity. Will these be sufficient to thwart the destructive efforts of the minority out to take the nation backwards to the era of divisive rule along racial line? Only time will tell.
Confusing movies with reality. Hmmm. The marines fought in the pacific. It was the army that landed on the French coast.
That aside, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is just a movie. My oldest brother, now deceased, landed on Omaha Beach. I asked him what he thought of the movie – he refused to see it. I suppose that it could be said that soldiers who were really there have no desire to see actors muck it up with make believe.
I’m seriously thinking of making a video of my dog burying a bone in the backyard. I could upload it to Youtube and do the narration of my hound digging up SPDC landmines. Be about as realistic as the one you referred us to, don’t you think.
By the way; there is a video – not a training film – of the KNLA mortaring the living hell out of a SPDC camp.
I have a video I shot in Kayah State. If you play it backwards you can clearly hear Than Shwe saying, “I’m a mass murderer”.
Sounds incredible. Is there any chance you, or somebody out there, has a copy of this tatmadaw training material? I’m sure I’m not alone in my curiousity. A YouTube upload would be a handy contribution for anybody who felt so inclined.
I wish you have seen the Burmese Army’s training version of “Saving Private Ryan” complete with Burmese subtitles, the regular pauses with the narrator’s clear comments of what to do and what not to do in similar situations, and the slow-mos and repeats of particular scenes so that the viewing soldiers can clearly understand what the hell was going on.
The long scene of German MG42 crews mowing down US marines on the Normandy beach was repeated three times just because of the fact that Burmese infantry uses the German MG3, the modified version of old MG42, as their GPMG.
American propaganda cleverly turned into a Burmese propaganda, ha ha ha?
Stan G, charges may not get to the prosecution stage but if they scare people the desired intimidatory effect is achieved just as well. You seem to think that harrassment and threats of criminal charges are of no importance at all.
Other words for nitpicking might be precision and accuracy. That’s what I hope to achieve.
The property ownership is the massively grey area in Burmese legal system for the Burmese with dual citizenship.
It appears that ASSK’s brother was originally a Burmese citizen and so he has a legal right to his inherited property, even though legally he was supposed to surrender his Burmese citizenship when he was naturalized as US citizen. (I know as a duel citizen of both Burma and Australia and I still have a property in Rangoon.)
That dual citizenship affairs is a massively confused area not just in Burma but everywhere in the world.
Is Stern Hu from Rio Tinto a Chinese or an Australian from the Chinese legal point of view when Chinese arrested him for alleged bribery and corruption? I think they don’t give a damn about his Australian citizenship.
Is Nyi Nyi Aung a Burmese or an American when Burmese arrested him for alleged terrorism charges at the Rangoon Airport? The generals simply said he was a Burmese and a traitor. They wouldn’t dare to treat a genuine American that way.
Hla Oo thanks for clarifying. However, I wouldn’t confuse more pagodas with a spread of Buddhism, unless you consider the Burmese military a bunch of good Buddhists.
I watched the video. All I saw was a training film with no combat. I suppose the narrator can say whatever he wants, since it IS propaganda. But that doesn’t make it so.
This is an interesting case and has been ongoing intermittently for a while. Oddly enough, foreigners aren’t allowed to own property in Burma, so Suu Kyi’s brother’s legal claim is rather dubious.
Sorry, I have to rephrase it. What I mean is that the ethnic Burmese number in Kachin State is growing much faster than the native Kachins because of the massive relocation and also the natural growth.
Unless one has access to the guarded figures from the People Manpower and Settlement Department(Pa-La-Na in Burmese) of the Interior Ministry one do not have a clue of what the population demographic is in the states and divisions of Burma.
These government sponsored resettlement villages (a.k.a. Pa-La-Na villages) are now all over the Kachin land especially along the Ledo Road.
One crucial thing I observed while I was there was that the Burmese families are much bigger than average Kachin families for some unexplained reason.
Spread of Buddhism also is the evidence of the changing racial mix. Thirty years ago one could easily count the number of pagodas in Myitkyina. Now it appears every second hilltop in Southern Kachin state has a whitewashed one.
Young commented on one of the entries about him and then got a barrage of questions from Nick Nolstitz. I was tempted to ask Nick to tone it down a bit if he wanted a response but Nick added another comment on Young’s silence.
I don’t think we are going to hear from him again any time soon.
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Report on SOAS event, part I
“Young commented on one of the entries about him and then got a barrage of questions from Nick Nolstitz.”
Just “a barrage of questions”? – and he couldn’t manage to answer? Poor thing. I knew from his bio that he has led a sheltered life, but had no idea he can’t face questions – except perhaps from the likes of Khun Suthichai fawning and drooling over his every utterance like a chat-show host “feeding” a guest….. ?
Report on SOAS event, part I
Thaksin introduced CEO governor model, with governors being answerable solely to the Interior Ministry. They underwent some ad-hoc training and were forced to come with plans and strategies to develop their provinces and the only evaluations came from Bangkok.
Governors were supposed to have a lot more authority, though. I don’t know if it counts for “decentralization” as people were completely excluded from the process.
Thaksin spoke about creating “ten Singapores” in Thailand, media were filled with reports about some poor governors being knocked off their feet with all this new business talk and others trying to outdo one another with their visions.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s leaking roof
In the case of dual citizenship issues, it depends on which passport you entered the country. Nyi Nyi Aung entered on a Myanmar passport, therefore the American embassy has no jurisdiction or ability to help him out. They can request and request and request to visit him in prison, but any concessions the government makes are voluntary, at least according to the Vienna convention.
In law, the GoUM does not recognize dual citizenship, but in practice, many people are able to de facto maintain both Myanmar and other citizenship.
SOAS Thai politics event
Andrew, you may be right, but my feeling is that this coverage may have squandered the Government’s embryonic efforts to answer and be included in some of the political debate and concerns.
By no means has the government’s, or more specifically the NSC’s domestic response to open debate been positive. However, given your own coverage over the years and calls for an inclusive debate, how much effort would it have taken to respect this one request pursuant to a more inclusive forum?
I suspect that without extending the same courtesy of anonymous attribution to the government, as you do to your other contributors and commentators, myself included, this exercising of a ‘double standard’ in this independent web-forum, maintained to encourage free and open debate, undermines its very purpose.
Whatever the perceived strengths or weaknesses of the panel may be, at least the government has fielded a panel for the first time.
Perhaps more considered analysis and coverage on the themes, rather than the transcripts provided herein, would, in the longer term, reap the wide-ranging scrutiny and discussion you have called for.
Report on SOAS event, part I
Chris #2
“All attempts at de-centralisation have failed”
apart from Thaksins introduction of elected officials at regional and local levels, who and when were attempts made to introduce decentralisation
I think there are still elections for officials in Chiang Mai but Thaksins other initiatives have been wound back
what are/were the reasons for failed attempts apart from the obvious desire by the military for central control
why cant major cities including in the south easily adopt the Chiang Mai and Bangkok models of elected admnistrative heads?
Two soldiers
Khattiya also said that Thailand had three types of people:
Another bit:
Then there was something really strange:
Elephants in the room: Part 2
Intimidation is intimidation, and it’s unfortunate they picked a controversial law to use in this case. Had there been no such law they’d use something else, perhaps even more sinister, to get people to talk.
In that case Thomas should be bashing them for intimidation, it doesn’t really fit into English vs. Thai story.
And good luck with “precision and accuracy” when dealing with translations reported in the media. I don’t see much hope there as in his own Part1 Thomas apparently misread Kevin Hewison speaking English.
Dave Everett and fighting for the KNLA
Not me, Nich, for they will hang me.
They just sentenced two army captains to death, for sending the foreign media a few photos of General Maung Aye’s secret visit to North Korea. I think I have said on New Mandala enough for at least three death sentences back home.
But these training films are widely shown to the general public in Burma especially in the towns with large army bases. The films are shown by the traveling movie units from the Psychological Warfare Unit of the War Office.
Regularly, the local battalion will announce the time and date of screening the movies and the program normally has one Burmese movie and one foreign movie, mostly war ones with said training modifications.
The soldiers will setup a large white screen out in the open, normally a nearby soccer field, and set up the projectors and almost the whole town come and watch the free entertainment. With many temporary snack shops around the atmosphere there is always festive and enjoyable for everybody.
Malaysia on Trial – Really?
Anwar Trial: An insult of the people
Most Malaysians deeply disturbed by the ongoing trial of Anwar, which I, like most Malaysians feel is unnecessary, politically motivated and will lead to a national disaster.
For the first time there is a real possibility of a two-party system.
For the first time there are hopes for a change of government for the better. For the first time there are hopes for untangling of racial politics. For the first time there are hopes for more democratic and more accountable governance. For the first time there are hopes for a more productive economy for the nation. All these were made possible by one man – Anwar Ibrahim.
It is indeed sad that the forces of destruction are bent on eliminating these hopes of the people and the nation.
Of late Malaysians have shown great wisdom and maturity. Will these be sufficient to thwart the destructive efforts of the minority out to take the nation backwards to the era of divisive rule along racial line? Only time will tell.
Dave Everett and fighting for the KNLA
Confusing movies with reality. Hmmm. The marines fought in the pacific. It was the army that landed on the French coast.
That aside, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is just a movie. My oldest brother, now deceased, landed on Omaha Beach. I asked him what he thought of the movie – he refused to see it. I suppose that it could be said that soldiers who were really there have no desire to see actors muck it up with make believe.
I’m seriously thinking of making a video of my dog burying a bone in the backyard. I could upload it to Youtube and do the narration of my hound digging up SPDC landmines. Be about as realistic as the one you referred us to, don’t you think.
By the way; there is a video – not a training film – of the KNLA mortaring the living hell out of a SPDC camp.
I have a video I shot in Kayah State. If you play it backwards you can clearly hear Than Shwe saying, “I’m a mass murderer”.
Dave Everett and fighting for the KNLA
Thanks Hla Oo,
Sounds incredible. Is there any chance you, or somebody out there, has a copy of this tatmadaw training material? I’m sure I’m not alone in my curiousity. A YouTube upload would be a handy contribution for anybody who felt so inclined.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
Dave Everett and fighting for the KNLA
Dear Charles F.
I wish you have seen the Burmese Army’s training version of “Saving Private Ryan” complete with Burmese subtitles, the regular pauses with the narrator’s clear comments of what to do and what not to do in similar situations, and the slow-mos and repeats of particular scenes so that the viewing soldiers can clearly understand what the hell was going on.
The long scene of German MG42 crews mowing down US marines on the Normandy beach was repeated three times just because of the fact that Burmese infantry uses the German MG3, the modified version of old MG42, as their GPMG.
American propaganda cleverly turned into a Burmese propaganda, ha ha ha?
Elephants in the room: Part 1
Kevin, I’ll correct that in any future published version.
Elephants in the room: Part 2
Stan G, charges may not get to the prosecution stage but if they scare people the desired intimidatory effect is achieved just as well. You seem to think that harrassment and threats of criminal charges are of no importance at all.
Other words for nitpicking might be precision and accuracy. That’s what I hope to achieve.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s leaking roof
The property ownership is the massively grey area in Burmese legal system for the Burmese with dual citizenship.
It appears that ASSK’s brother was originally a Burmese citizen and so he has a legal right to his inherited property, even though legally he was supposed to surrender his Burmese citizenship when he was naturalized as US citizen. (I know as a duel citizen of both Burma and Australia and I still have a property in Rangoon.)
That dual citizenship affairs is a massively confused area not just in Burma but everywhere in the world.
Is Stern Hu from Rio Tinto a Chinese or an Australian from the Chinese legal point of view when Chinese arrested him for alleged bribery and corruption? I think they don’t give a damn about his Australian citizenship.
Is Nyi Nyi Aung a Burmese or an American when Burmese arrested him for alleged terrorism charges at the Rangoon Airport? The generals simply said he was a Burmese and a traitor. They wouldn’t dare to treat a genuine American that way.
China and the Wa
Hla Oo thanks for clarifying. However, I wouldn’t confuse more pagodas with a spread of Buddhism, unless you consider the Burmese military a bunch of good Buddhists.
Dave Everett and fighting for the KNLA
I watched the video. All I saw was a training film with no combat. I suppose the narrator can say whatever he wants, since it IS propaganda. But that doesn’t make it so.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s leaking roof
This is an interesting case and has been ongoing intermittently for a while. Oddly enough, foreigners aren’t allowed to own property in Burma, so Suu Kyi’s brother’s legal claim is rather dubious.
China and the Wa
Aiontay,
Sorry, I have to rephrase it. What I mean is that the ethnic Burmese number in Kachin State is growing much faster than the native Kachins because of the massive relocation and also the natural growth.
Unless one has access to the guarded figures from the People Manpower and Settlement Department(Pa-La-Na in Burmese) of the Interior Ministry one do not have a clue of what the population demographic is in the states and divisions of Burma.
These government sponsored resettlement villages (a.k.a. Pa-La-Na villages) are now all over the Kachin land especially along the Ledo Road.
One crucial thing I observed while I was there was that the Burmese families are much bigger than average Kachin families for some unexplained reason.
Spread of Buddhism also is the evidence of the changing racial mix. Thirty years ago one could easily count the number of pagodas in Myitkyina. Now it appears every second hilltop in Southern Kachin state has a whitewashed one.
Report on SOAS event, part I
Young commented on one of the entries about him and then got a barrage of questions from Nick Nolstitz. I was tempted to ask Nick to tone it down a bit if he wanted a response but Nick added another comment on Young’s silence.
I don’t think we are going to hear from him again any time soon.