Why not simply organise a cyber conference digitally outside Thailand, and suggest any Thai / Thai-based scholars take trips outside Thailand, from where they can post more freely, and anonymously, for duration of this cyber conference having its’ web pages open ?
Prosecuted, no, but certainly investigated and informed that if returning to Thailand they would face remand and conviction. Recall the 20 Thais in LA who heard a fellow Thai make a comment about you know who and payables for election cancelled. The 20 went and lodged complaint with Thai consulate, asking them to file plaint with MOFA and police which they did.
Is that intentional? Did you mean for it to refer in some way to the article?
I like your opinions, but find it very disrespectful to readers to just dump a link in a comment, especially when it leads to an article that is almost three years old.
Unfortunately, free and open discussion at this conference makes it de facto a political gathering of more than five persons under the present rule.
On the other hand, in 2017 we could have a less-thin-skinned elected govt which will permit such niceties as freedom of expression. (I’m not holding my breath!) And by then we may also be subject to the unknown variables surrounding the succession.
In the present climate, the only solution is to shutter the universities because they are, in principle, hotbeds of subversion and sediction, i.e. free speech. This was done to great effect in Burma and other countries. Thai military doesn’t care what opinions the UN or foreign govts have about Thailand so such a move could do nothing to tarnish the military’s already-black reputation.
Yes, I’m thinking of the incident you mention, and I’m thinking of the Facebook ‘Likes’ that got people in trouble over the Ratchaphak corruption demonstrations late last year, and the intimidation that has been created at conferences in the U.S. and in Thailand by military attendees and unofficial zealots, in some cases followed up by ‘invitations’ to come in for questioning. Scaremongering? Perhaps. Scared me the one or two times I encountered uniforms on campuses. Baseless? No.
Beyond any issue of risk from simply being present, it is still certainly the case that while foreign academics may feel freer to speak at a venue outside of Thailand, Thai academics cannot feel safe in that. That’s not me scaring up a threat; that’s a simple fact under current conditions.
By the way, thank you for the work. Thank you for the book, and all the research and the willingness to lose your easy access to Thailand. You have done us all a service.
[…] the end of May, we posted on a call by Professor Thongchai Winichakul, made at New Mandala, for academics and three sets of conference organizers to think carefully about the consequences of […]
[…] the end of May, we posted on a call by Professor Thongchai Winichakul, made at New Mandala, for acaademics and three sets of conference organizers to think carefully about the consequences […]
Information certainly helps transformation. Interesting too not just what’s going on inside Burma, but studies such as this one in 2004 from Canada about the diaspora.
Talking of authoritative forecasts, the predictions I made in my article “กลียุค”, published on 31 October 2013, turned out to be uncannily accurate:
“Yet another terribly damaging crisis is looming. The Yellow bloc will do its best to once again incite mayhem in Bangkok in coming days and weeks. The Democrat Party has totally abdicated its duty to be a responsible parliamentary opposition that holds the government to account via constitutional methods. Instead, they intend to continue to sabotage parliament’s ability to function, and then claim democracy in Thailand is no longer working… They will attempt to mount more mass rallies in Bangkok to paralyse the city. And when they have ramped up chaos and tension to fever pitch, they intend to remove the government via a judicial coup by partisan judges. They will then seek to freeze democracy for years and instal a government probably headed by Prawit Wongsuwan with no democratic mandate.”
As we saw, the judicial coup managed to decapitate and paralyse the Pheu Thai government but not bring it down, so in the end a coup was necessary. But overall I think the accuracy of my forecast demonstrates the value of strong source-based journalism on Thailand, whatever angry trolls and armchair theorists may say.
Dear Chris, if you have evidence exonerating Bhumibol, it would be extremely useful if you could share it here. In the absence of new evidence, frankly the only sensible conclusion to be drawn from the evidence is that it is overwhelmingly likely that Bhumibol shot Ananda, and highly likely that it was an accident. I summarise some of the most compelling evidence here: https://medium.com/@zenjournalist/thailand-s-saddest-secret-f99179fa8e9#.5oj96oi1s
Bhumibol said it was an accidental shooting in the days after Ananda’s death, but since then he has gone through a bewildering succession of other unlikely explanations.
I assume you are trying to hint at the theory that Sangwan Talapat killed Ananda. This is a remarkably persistent tale, but I don’t know of any credible analyst of 9 June 1946 who believes there is any truth in it.
“John G” — I am intrigued by your claim (which you have now made twice in this discussion) that Thailand-based scholars attending an academic conference abroad could face a risk of persecution upon their return even if they have said nothing that violates the lese majeste law or offends the (very-thin-skinned) junta, purely on the basis that others at the conference have criticised the junta or the monarchy and so all attendees are considered guilty by association.
This would be an extraordinary escalation of the highly oppressive conditions already facing people who live in Thailand, and as far as I know there has been no precedent for the Thai authorities to take such an outrageous position. The closest precedent is probably the disgraceful attempt to charge Patnaree Chankij, mother of Sirawath “Ja New” Seritiwat, with lese majeste for not explicitly condemning comments made in a private Facebook chat by somebody who was messaging her. Charging academic attendees at a conference purely because objectionable remarks were made within earshot of them would be even more ridiculous.
The absurd attempt to incriminate Khun Patnaree has spawned a new Thai meme on social media, in which people ironically reply “ติเตียน” to lese majeste content on Facebook and Twitter. A similar effect can be achieved in English by sharing lese majeste content along with a note saying “I denounce this!”. If there is a genuine worry that academics at conferences abroad could be judged guilty by association, I am sure we could come up with a similar ironic public gesture to protect them while also highlighting the ludicrousness of the situation.
But given that (to my knowledge) nobody has yet been persecuted simply for being present at a foreign academic gathering at which taboo comments were made, I fear you are guilty of skewing this debate with baseless scaremongering.
1) Hold it as scheduled in Thailand in 2017 in what one must expect would be conditions with respect to analytical and political speech that apply today.
2) Hold it somewhere else at approximately the same time, under conditions that are more favorable for scholars who reside outside of Thailand but without resolving the risk that Thailand based scholars might face with respect to what they say on their own, and, likely, with increased risk to Thailand based scholars for what others say.
3) Cancel or postpone.
One can make of both options one and two an opportunity for civil disobedience with respect to lese majeste and prohibitions on government criticism. If that is the objective, option one is perhaps the fairer choice, I think, since it puts all the attendees at a more similar level of risk. Of course, if one does that at Chiangmai, then one compromises the University, whose scholars have persevered in the face of the recent despotism, albeit not to the point of facing down the oppressor in the streets or conference hall.
I have no suggestions about how to win under these circumstances.
I always find unsubstantiated rumor and speculation re: motives and mindsets apparently drawn from the ether most uninformative.
I would warn you against feeling informed by this sort of “authoritative” voice being applied to such things as the motivations, thoughts and feelings of the people being speculated about herein.
It is a specialty of certain varieties of western journalist and Thai gossip queen, who, for example, before the most recent coup, were so certain that there would NOT be a coup (according to their ‘sources’) that they were ridiculing folks for stating the obvious mere hours before it was announced.
These same people were certain (according to their ‘sources’) that were the RTA to somehow manage to overcome its seriously debilitating lack of unity (according to their ‘sources’ the main reason a coup was impossible) they would face an armed insurrection from heavily armed cells of redshirt guerrillas.
For NM to trade in this sort of airy dreamwork is par for the course, especially in the comments section. Clickbait like this sort of royal gossip has fueled whole industries of yellow press after all. No reason for “academic blogging” not to take advantage of same.
I take exception to the claim : Bumiphol “almost certainly accidentally killed his brother”. Bumiphol is innocent. Nor was his brother’s murder “an accident”. The gun was loaded, and the safety catch unlocked – either deliberately, or it had been tampered with. SOMEBODY – certainly NOT Bumiphol – DELIBERATELY killed his brother. Bumiphol probably only says it was an accident, because HE HIMSELF does not want to be accused of violating the LM laws.
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Committing to open academic spaces in Thailand
Why not simply organise a cyber conference digitally outside Thailand, and suggest any Thai / Thai-based scholars take trips outside Thailand, from where they can post more freely, and anonymously, for duration of this cyber conference having its’ web pages open ?
The Kuala Lumpur logo controversy
This is quite a unique way of understanding Malaysia’s political quagmire. Penetrative but a little cynical. What is the way out?
Committing to open academic spaces in Thailand
Prosecuted, no, but certainly investigated and informed that if returning to Thailand they would face remand and conviction. Recall the 20 Thais in LA who heard a fellow Thai make a comment about you know who and payables for election cancelled. The 20 went and lodged complaint with Thai consulate, asking them to file plaint with MOFA and police which they did.
The King is (nearly) dead: long live the King?
That link is to an article published in 2013.
Is that intentional? Did you mean for it to refer in some way to the article?
I like your opinions, but find it very disrespectful to readers to just dump a link in a comment, especially when it leads to an article that is almost three years old.
Committing to open academic spaces in Thailand
Unfortunately, free and open discussion at this conference makes it de facto a political gathering of more than five persons under the present rule.
On the other hand, in 2017 we could have a less-thin-skinned elected govt which will permit such niceties as freedom of expression. (I’m not holding my breath!) And by then we may also be subject to the unknown variables surrounding the succession.
In the present climate, the only solution is to shutter the universities because they are, in principle, hotbeds of subversion and sediction, i.e. free speech. This was done to great effect in Burma and other countries. Thai military doesn’t care what opinions the UN or foreign govts have about Thailand so such a move could do nothing to tarnish the military’s already-black reputation.
New Mandala turns 10
Amen to that. Long may NM continue to enlighten and entertain us.
Is Cambodia becoming the sick man of Southeast Asia?
This is a sad news for Cambodians!
Committing to open academic spaces in Thailand
Yes, I’m thinking of the incident you mention, and I’m thinking of the Facebook ‘Likes’ that got people in trouble over the Ratchaphak corruption demonstrations late last year, and the intimidation that has been created at conferences in the U.S. and in Thailand by military attendees and unofficial zealots, in some cases followed up by ‘invitations’ to come in for questioning. Scaremongering? Perhaps. Scared me the one or two times I encountered uniforms on campuses. Baseless? No.
Beyond any issue of risk from simply being present, it is still certainly the case that while foreign academics may feel freer to speak at a venue outside of Thailand, Thai academics cannot feel safe in that. That’s not me scaring up a threat; that’s a simple fact under current conditions.
By the way, thank you for the work. Thank you for the book, and all the research and the willingness to lose your easy access to Thailand. You have done us all a service.
Questions about international conferences in Thailand in 2017
[…] the end of May, we posted on a call by Professor Thongchai Winichakul, made at New Mandala, for academics and three sets of conference organizers to think carefully about the consequences of […]
Questions about international conferences in Thailand in 2017
[…] the end of May, we posted on a call by Professor Thongchai Winichakul, made at New Mandala, for acaademics and three sets of conference organizers to think carefully about the consequences […]
New Mandala turns 10
Nice! Congratulations on your tenth birthday.
Academic analysis in the age of reform
Information certainly helps transformation. Interesting too not just what’s going on inside Burma, but studies such as this one in 2004 from Canada about the diaspora.
The King is (nearly) dead: long live the King?
Talking of authoritative forecasts, the predictions I made in my article “กลียุค”, published on 31 October 2013, turned out to be uncannily accurate:
“Yet another terribly damaging crisis is looming. The Yellow bloc will do its best to once again incite mayhem in Bangkok in coming days and weeks. The Democrat Party has totally abdicated its duty to be a responsible parliamentary opposition that holds the government to account via constitutional methods. Instead, they intend to continue to sabotage parliament’s ability to function, and then claim democracy in Thailand is no longer working… They will attempt to mount more mass rallies in Bangkok to paralyse the city. And when they have ramped up chaos and tension to fever pitch, they intend to remove the government via a judicial coup by partisan judges. They will then seek to freeze democracy for years and instal a government probably headed by Prawit Wongsuwan with no democratic mandate.”
As we saw, the judicial coup managed to decapitate and paralyse the Pheu Thai government but not bring it down, so in the end a coup was necessary. But overall I think the accuracy of my forecast demonstrates the value of strong source-based journalism on Thailand, whatever angry trolls and armchair theorists may say.
The King is (nearly) dead: long live the King?
Dear Chris, if you have evidence exonerating Bhumibol, it would be extremely useful if you could share it here. In the absence of new evidence, frankly the only sensible conclusion to be drawn from the evidence is that it is overwhelmingly likely that Bhumibol shot Ananda, and highly likely that it was an accident. I summarise some of the most compelling evidence here: https://medium.com/@zenjournalist/thailand-s-saddest-secret-f99179fa8e9#.5oj96oi1s
Bhumibol said it was an accidental shooting in the days after Ananda’s death, but since then he has gone through a bewildering succession of other unlikely explanations.
I assume you are trying to hint at the theory that Sangwan Talapat killed Ananda. This is a remarkably persistent tale, but I don’t know of any credible analyst of 9 June 1946 who believes there is any truth in it.
Committing to open academic spaces in Thailand
“John G” — I am intrigued by your claim (which you have now made twice in this discussion) that Thailand-based scholars attending an academic conference abroad could face a risk of persecution upon their return even if they have said nothing that violates the lese majeste law or offends the (very-thin-skinned) junta, purely on the basis that others at the conference have criticised the junta or the monarchy and so all attendees are considered guilty by association.
This would be an extraordinary escalation of the highly oppressive conditions already facing people who live in Thailand, and as far as I know there has been no precedent for the Thai authorities to take such an outrageous position. The closest precedent is probably the disgraceful attempt to charge Patnaree Chankij, mother of Sirawath “Ja New” Seritiwat, with lese majeste for not explicitly condemning comments made in a private Facebook chat by somebody who was messaging her. Charging academic attendees at a conference purely because objectionable remarks were made within earshot of them would be even more ridiculous.
The absurd attempt to incriminate Khun Patnaree has spawned a new Thai meme on social media, in which people ironically reply “ติเตียน” to lese majeste content on Facebook and Twitter. A similar effect can be achieved in English by sharing lese majeste content along with a note saying “I denounce this!”. If there is a genuine worry that academics at conferences abroad could be judged guilty by association, I am sure we could come up with a similar ironic public gesture to protect them while also highlighting the ludicrousness of the situation.
But given that (to my knowledge) nobody has yet been persecuted simply for being present at a foreign academic gathering at which taboo comments were made, I fear you are guilty of skewing this debate with baseless scaremongering.
The King is (nearly) dead: long live the King?
https://medium.com/@zenjournalist/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%84-1edb2f4465d0
Committing to open academic spaces in Thailand
I see three alternatives:
1) Hold it as scheduled in Thailand in 2017 in what one must expect would be conditions with respect to analytical and political speech that apply today.
2) Hold it somewhere else at approximately the same time, under conditions that are more favorable for scholars who reside outside of Thailand but without resolving the risk that Thailand based scholars might face with respect to what they say on their own, and, likely, with increased risk to Thailand based scholars for what others say.
3) Cancel or postpone.
One can make of both options one and two an opportunity for civil disobedience with respect to lese majeste and prohibitions on government criticism. If that is the objective, option one is perhaps the fairer choice, I think, since it puts all the attendees at a more similar level of risk. Of course, if one does that at Chiangmai, then one compromises the University, whose scholars have persevered in the face of the recent despotism, albeit not to the point of facing down the oppressor in the streets or conference hall.
I have no suggestions about how to win under these circumstances.
The King is (nearly) dead: long live the King?
You are a lucky fellow then, Peter George.
I always find unsubstantiated rumor and speculation re: motives and mindsets apparently drawn from the ether most uninformative.
I would warn you against feeling informed by this sort of “authoritative” voice being applied to such things as the motivations, thoughts and feelings of the people being speculated about herein.
It is a specialty of certain varieties of western journalist and Thai gossip queen, who, for example, before the most recent coup, were so certain that there would NOT be a coup (according to their ‘sources’) that they were ridiculing folks for stating the obvious mere hours before it was announced.
These same people were certain (according to their ‘sources’) that were the RTA to somehow manage to overcome its seriously debilitating lack of unity (according to their ‘sources’ the main reason a coup was impossible) they would face an armed insurrection from heavily armed cells of redshirt guerrillas.
For NM to trade in this sort of airy dreamwork is par for the course, especially in the comments section. Clickbait like this sort of royal gossip has fueled whole industries of yellow press after all. No reason for “academic blogging” not to take advantage of same.
The King is (nearly) dead: long live the King?
I take exception to the claim : Bumiphol “almost certainly accidentally killed his brother”. Bumiphol is innocent. Nor was his brother’s murder “an accident”. The gun was loaded, and the safety catch unlocked – either deliberately, or it had been tampered with. SOMEBODY – certainly NOT Bumiphol – DELIBERATELY killed his brother. Bumiphol probably only says it was an accident, because HE HIMSELF does not want to be accused of violating the LM laws.
The King is (nearly) dead: long live the King?
The most informative article on this subject that I have read since my arrival in Thailand 12 months ago .