A well put reminder for the international community to pay more attention to and engage with the ‘everyday politics’ of life under military rule.
But a few items, Nich:
You wrote that “Only a few armies have yet to sign ceasefires”. But as I understand it, almost all of the ceasefire agreements were verbal and only the KIA actually signed anything in the literal sense; At least according to Zaw Oo and Win Min in their helpful monograph Assessing Burma’s Ceasefire Accords.
Also, you gave an estimate of the Tatmadaw’s “armed strength of almost 500,000”, but it’s not clear where this figure comes from. I know that Maung Aung Myoe has given a figure of over 600,000, but people like Mary Callahan and Andrew Selth have generally given figures of 350,000 to 400,000.
Regarding the transition of ceasefire groups into a Border Guard Force you wrote that (at least for the KIA) “this would mean a transition from an armed strength of around 5,000 to only a few hundred.” However, as I understand it, the figure of 326 personnel is per battalion (see a breakdown here), not for the entire armed group. At least this appears the case with the DKBA which is reportedly set to expand its size from a current estimate of 3,000 to a total of 9,000 as a Boarder Guard Force.
Finally, you wrote that “Command loyalty and solidarity remains a hallmark of the Burmese military system.” While this may very well be the case amongst mid and high ranking officers, this seems less likely between rank-and-file soldiers and low-level officers on the one hand and the higher level officers one the other (see, for example, Mary Callahan “ kyay-zu and kyet-su: the military in 2006” and the many KHRG interviews with SPDC deserters).
Congratulations Nick!
Judging by the popularity of your posts, White Lotus have landed a good deal on this I am certain (and hope you do benefit too – for the sake of continued quality journalism from you)! I will buy a copy on my next trip to Thailand.
So far, I know that Kinokunya has ordered the book, and also the bookstore in Chula University. We are still waiting for Asia Books to order. I have seen so far one online store where it is available – http://www.dcothai.com . You can also order it directly from the publisher, his website hasn’t been updated yet, just send an email.
Who knows me personally can give me a ring, i have a copies for sale as well.
The regular price is 995.-, the 895.- baht is for the launch evening at FCCT only.
Land of Snarls#23
If you put it into this context “freedom of expression confers the right to criticise ANYTHING” then I cannot disagree with you.
But the harsh reality is, as you have pointed out, THE WORLD IS “DYSFUNCTIONAL” and still very full of ‘little white lies’ and hypocrisies. I simply accept it as it is and hope that it could be better – in fact, at the very least, I am certain Thai Democracy have significantly progressed over the past 70 years and will be better but will remain dysfunctional.
On LM law, I will maintain that it is up to the Thai people. If you are Australian, then it is your right to “… come out of the woodwork” to support David Irving’s freedom of speech or if you are German, to demand the German government to abolish laws against Holocaust denial.
I am also a pragmatist here. LM laws will change if and only if the Thai people view a future monarch as abusing his/her ‘power’ (which, in Thai society, can only be accumulated anyway). Otherwise, you are right Thais – at every level – talk about the monarchy but in private. They also have their favorites (which directly conflicts with the thesis that rumors benefit the monarchy – they are actually highly selective). If a foreigner would like to publicly criticize the monarchy in Thailand, you are breaking the law – fair and simple. You can do it anywhere else in the world. I understand children anywhere are still taught to respect the local culture and norms.
Good points on precedents Ralph#25. At least the Thai courts and the police would have gained from these practices. I don’t think it would be too hard for those who would like to commit LM to know the possible consequences.
“It seems that rural Isan accept the harsh fact that it is an imperfect world – only that they are more tolerant of imperfections (corruption) than their urban-based countrymen.”
Another way of looking at this that is not psycho-cultural: compared with their wealthier urban business and middle-class fellows, over decades of exploitation and repression, poor people in the NE have learned how to measure power and know how they are expected to respond and can respond without retribution. They are not necessarily more accepting of corruption but know that the corrupt are immensely more powerful and can wield the coercive instruments of the state against them when they get uppity.
Perhaps this partly explains their dogged determination in voting for who they want in power since the 2006 coup. This is a chance to have a say and they keep saying the same thing. Collective voice.
He’s quite visible of late, in real life. Boy scouts, Wat Phra Kaew and extensive coverage of his seemingly brilliant daughter at the Chula graduation. Chula was at its royalist best yesterday.
By the way, is it true, as I have been told by two sources recently, that each student who graduates from university all over the country is required to make a 600 baht “donation” to the university for presentation to the royal personage who hands out their degree certificate? Or is this another rumour?
I agree with most of the other criticisms made of Sidh’s post above. One point to add: “I don’t agree with the Police’s case against FCCT – but on the other hand it’s a good chance to set precedents and clarify the law. Let’s see if the court accepts the case or throws it out. If they accept, let’s see how it is tried.”
LM is being used extensively at present. I can count some 45 allegations in complaints to police just in the past month or so. This means you have some 70+ cases in various states of process and investigation at present. So you’ll have lots of precedents. But precedents would only matter if the cases were in public, were published, and actually went to court for trial prior to forced guilty pleas. In most cases one or more of these important items is missing.
Moreover, let’s not get overboard again and equate Thai freedom of expression with the right to criticize the Thai monarchy. If we do that then can we equate Western freedom of expression with the restricted freedom, media self-censorship and extra-civic surveillance that come as a result of the War on Terrorism? What about the laws against Holocaust denial in many Western society?
In short,
First question: Yes.
Second question: They are incompatible with a free society.
Sidh #19: freedom of expression confers the right to criticise ANYTHING. Those of us who believe in it don’t have to faff around, specifying Catholic, Islamic, Orstralian or “Thai freedom of expression”. Either one believes that everyone should have the right to think about whatever irks them & discuss it as vigorously as they please, or one doesn’t. You apparently don’t. That means that to people who think as I do, you are dysfunctional, as is the Thai society. In a dysfunctional individual, family or society, when certain ‘taboo’ issues are raised, the discussion is filtered through a whole lot of sick mental processes, wherein meanings are altered and facts are changed (‘little white lies’),according to the conspiracy, and the result is as fake and as useless as the much-lauded smiles of the Thai people. I used to think Swift wrote Thailand. Now I think it was Kafka.
Yes, every other society has elements of dysfunctionality, but this discussion is about Thailand. I’ve noticed that you beg the question by frequently alluding to the faults of other countries, when justifying the faults of Thailand, often getting the facts muddled. Why do you do this? Do you think everyone’s going to say, e.g., “Oh, the U.K. has LM laws, so it’s all alright;” or “ Some British MPs have been fiddling their expense accounts, so it’s OK that the entire public sector of Thailand is filching 30-35% (or whatever monstrous figure it is at present) of the annual budget”?
On that score, you say, “What about the laws against Holocaust denial in many Western society ?” MANY Western societies? Really? Where are they? I was, quite annoyed when the Australian Government denied a visa to David Irving a few years ago. I regard holocaust deniers as loonies, like ‘flat-earthers,’ (this is based on the concrete & well-documented evidence that there was an attempt at genocide of the proportions generally given) but I would have been interested to see who came out of the woodwork to support him, i.e. how big the problem is. (There is no law against holocaust denial in Oz, BTW.) Your assertion is incorrect, but to bring such a huge and important issue into the discussion of a triviality like Thailand’s pathetically silly LM law is ridiculous.
Your comment re. discussion of Aung San Suu Kyi is equally silly, not to say rather bitchy. The Burmese issues have had reasonable coverage on NM, although as a blogsite, it does reflect the major interests (in some cases professional expertise) of its contributors, some of whose names I have seen on the older & very well-established sites dedicated solely to the Burmese discussion.
You mention “the right to criticize the Thai monarchy” as if Thai people do not have that right. I would have thought that they had it. Human rights are things that we have as essential parts of our identity. But, as you seem to be unable to conceive of something like a right to think freely & express our thoughts being an ‘inalienable’ part of being born into humanity, & you seem to need such freedoms to be given by someone: in his Birthday Speech in 2005, the King invited etc., etc.. Everyone from the very dysfunctional PM to Giles Ji is agreed that that is what he said, & it’s quoted all the time; we all know it by heart. That’s why I didn’t have to repeat it. We have that right. But we are being denied it. Isn’t that LM, an insult to the King?
I love your works, big fan. You have done a great job. I’m “red-shirt” of course. The other side of situation has never been printed or published in Thailand. So many Thai are brain-washed by local media and black propaganda from the invisible hand.
I’d like to make it clear here, the Red-Shirts is the combination of many groups of people, who have the same top objective, that is the true democracy.
For those Yellow Shirts, some of them are my friends or known ones, I understand and respect some of their opinions. They have been brain-washed for long long time.
It’s good to have your newly-published book, this one. I just hope it would open the blinded-eyes.
Sorry for my poor English. Just want to say, you have done good job and you’re a good journalist.
“Thailand has a moral leader in His Majesty the King and PM Abhisit”
I’m sorry for posting twice, but do I need to remind jonfernquest what his moral leader HMTK said about the war on drugs in one of his birthday speeches?
jonfernquest, I guess you were absolutely elated when Thaksin restricted press freedom and made Thailand slip far down the world ranking in this regard?
Wow….some of the posters here really come off as arrogant academic tools. I have graduate school linguistics training too and have worked at universities in Thailand for 10 years. Yet I would never consider deconstructing this guy’s essay like some our doing. This article was obviously written for laypeople and not linguists. Give the guy a break for Pete’s Sake. I applaud the folks at LTP for providing one more resource, and a very valuable one at that (considering the lack of audio/visual Thai learning material). I have quickly run though the entire conversation course to date and it is put together in excellent fashion. Is it flawless, no. Could it be improved, yes. But as it stands now, it will be of great help to those learning Thai independently. And, in the end, that is all that matters. Get it now, ajarn?
Congratulations to Nick! Come to the launch @ FCCT on the evening of Wed. 15th . Everyone’s welcome – good food @ reasonable prices, & a GREAT bar (journos, dontcha know!) – you don’t have to be a member, and no cover charge for this event. The book will be on sale @ 895Baht. Chris Baker will be there for Q & A. Mr A Khan will not be there – he’s been barred – & videos will NOT be on sale…
Jonfernquest #7, #12, #13 – I appreciate your point, but you should know as well as anyone here that Thai Les Majeste law is a pet fetish of NM and, as you will notice, gets highly disproportional responses and feedbacks. A mere comparison with Aung San Suu Kyi’s plight and the attention she gets here and you get a sharp picture of misplaced priority…
And for the many who would like the law to be reformed or abolished, please do let the Thais decide – don’t forget it’s their country and their law. If they want laws changed they’ll pressure their politicians to do so. We in NM (predominantly foreigners I understand) can’t order PMAbhisit to reform/abolish the law while demanding a more robust Thai democracy – or can we?
Moreover, let’s not get overboard again and equate Thai freedom of expression with the right to criticize the Thai monarchy. If we do that then can we equate Western freedom of expression with the restricted freedom, media self-censorship and extra-civic surveillance that come as a result of the War on Terrorism? What about the laws against Holocaust denial in many Western society?
On that note, I don’t agree with the Police’s case against FCCT – but on the other hand it’s a good chance to set precedents and clarify the law. Let’s see if the court accepts the case or throws it out. If they accept, let’s see how it is tried.
I also agree with Jonfernquest – Thai society is too free. People can take over international airports or attack an international summit with foreign dignitaries or the country’s own prime minister. If that happens to PresidentObama in the US, the assailant will likely be in the receiving end of a few bullets…
Why not investigate the allegations of the original Postbag letter against the Shinawatra clan too? Did they really own the company that issued the card (I will admit to have received one too which I never used)? Did they really buy up private hospitals that directly benefited from the scheme (I have read newspaper articles years ago on this)? I certainly agree with Jon#1 and Ralph#2 that the policy’s implementation needs detailed studies – not only to compare with pre-Thaksin practices – but also for the betterment of healthcare in the longer term, especially for a ‘middle income’ country like Thailand (I see the Obama administration are struggling to reform the US system).
The letter’s allegations against the Northeasterners are also worth further discussions, studies and analysis. I am of the belief that they were/are exploited by PMThaksin – although I disagree that they are “naive” or “woefully ignorant”. I am certain that they know he is a cheat – but I suspect it is something in the culture, Thai culture in general and Isan in particular (and a recent survey seem to have said that Thais are “ok” with corruption).
I’ve heard the statement made numerous times over the years (made by people, from Bangkok or urban centers in the northeast, who worked in Isan) – ‘do a favor to the poor Isan villagers once and they’ll love you forever’. The concept and practices of ‘Bhunkhuntong todtaen’, ‘one has to repay good deeds/favors’ (anyone who can give a more accurate explanation/translation please do) runs deep in Thai society – as everyone familiar with Thai society knows – but, from my observation, it is painfully real for the poor folks of Isan (or even the north). This plus the notion that parents have very important places in Thai society and religion, which, for me it is a beautiful aspect of the culture – but its darkest manifestation is in the selling of daughters as sex workers. The thing is those daughters often do not hold grudges or deep bitterness against their parents – on the contrary, they seem to view it as a ‘sense of duty’ to take care of their parents and siblings (of course the opposite also happens if the child contact HIV and dies, the grandparents will have to raise the grandchildren).
It seems that rural Isan accept the harsh fact that it is an imperfect world – only that they are more tolerant of imperfections (corruption) than their urban-based countrymen.
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Burma’s general objectives
A well put reminder for the international community to pay more attention to and engage with the ‘everyday politics’ of life under military rule.
But a few items, Nich:
You wrote that “Only a few armies have yet to sign ceasefires”. But as I understand it, almost all of the ceasefire agreements were verbal and only the KIA actually signed anything in the literal sense; At least according to Zaw Oo and Win Min in their helpful monograph Assessing Burma’s Ceasefire Accords.
Also, you gave an estimate of the Tatmadaw’s “armed strength of almost 500,000”, but it’s not clear where this figure comes from. I know that Maung Aung Myoe has given a figure of over 600,000, but people like Mary Callahan and Andrew Selth have generally given figures of 350,000 to 400,000.
Regarding the transition of ceasefire groups into a Border Guard Force you wrote that (at least for the KIA) “this would mean a transition from an armed strength of around 5,000 to only a few hundred.” However, as I understand it, the figure of 326 personnel is per battalion (see a breakdown here), not for the entire armed group. At least this appears the case with the DKBA which is reportedly set to expand its size from a current estimate of 3,000 to a total of 9,000 as a Boarder Guard Force.
Finally, you wrote that “Command loyalty and solidarity remains a hallmark of the Burmese military system.” While this may very well be the case amongst mid and high ranking officers, this seems less likely between rank-and-file soldiers and low-level officers on the one hand and the higher level officers one the other (see, for example, Mary Callahan “ kyay-zu and kyet-su: the military in 2006” and the many KHRG interviews with SPDC deserters).
Red versus yellow
Congratulations Nick!
Judging by the popularity of your posts, White Lotus have landed a good deal on this I am certain (and hope you do benefit too – for the sake of continued quality journalism from you)! I will buy a copy on my next trip to Thailand.
kebenaran terkini menyangkut Permainan Bandarq
Ralph#4, if so, that is certainly a positive development for Thai democracy.
Red versus yellow
Thank you all. 🙂
So far, I know that Kinokunya has ordered the book, and also the bookstore in Chula University. We are still waiting for Asia Books to order. I have seen so far one online store where it is available – http://www.dcothai.com . You can also order it directly from the publisher, his website hasn’t been updated yet, just send an email.
Who knows me personally can give me a ring, i have a copies for sale as well.
The regular price is 995.-, the 895.- baht is for the launch evening at FCCT only.
Thanks.
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
Land of Snarls#23
If you put it into this context “freedom of expression confers the right to criticise ANYTHING” then I cannot disagree with you.
But the harsh reality is, as you have pointed out, THE WORLD IS “DYSFUNCTIONAL” and still very full of ‘little white lies’ and hypocrisies. I simply accept it as it is and hope that it could be better – in fact, at the very least, I am certain Thai Democracy have significantly progressed over the past 70 years and will be better but will remain dysfunctional.
On LM law, I will maintain that it is up to the Thai people. If you are Australian, then it is your right to “… come out of the woodwork” to support David Irving’s freedom of speech or if you are German, to demand the German government to abolish laws against Holocaust denial.
I am also a pragmatist here. LM laws will change if and only if the Thai people view a future monarch as abusing his/her ‘power’ (which, in Thai society, can only be accumulated anyway). Otherwise, you are right Thais – at every level – talk about the monarchy but in private. They also have their favorites (which directly conflicts with the thesis that rumors benefit the monarchy – they are actually highly selective). If a foreigner would like to publicly criticize the monarchy in Thailand, you are breaking the law – fair and simple. You can do it anywhere else in the world. I understand children anywhere are still taught to respect the local culture and norms.
Good points on precedents Ralph#25. At least the Thai courts and the police would have gained from these practices. I don’t think it would be too hard for those who would like to commit LM to know the possible consequences.
Red versus yellow
Unfortunately I can’t make the launch and the book doesn’t seem to have a pre-order or be for sale on the White Lotus site yet.
How/when will it be available ‘in stores’, if it is to be available in stores…?
kebenaran terkini menyangkut Permainan Bandarq
“It seems that rural Isan accept the harsh fact that it is an imperfect world – only that they are more tolerant of imperfections (corruption) than their urban-based countrymen.”
Another way of looking at this that is not psycho-cultural: compared with their wealthier urban business and middle-class fellows, over decades of exploitation and repression, poor people in the NE have learned how to measure power and know how they are expected to respond and can respond without retribution. They are not necessarily more accepting of corruption but know that the corrupt are immensely more powerful and can wield the coercive instruments of the state against them when they get uppity.
Perhaps this partly explains their dogged determination in voting for who they want in power since the 2006 coup. This is a chance to have a say and they keep saying the same thing. Collective voice.
Where’s Vajiralongkorn?
He’s quite visible of late, in real life. Boy scouts, Wat Phra Kaew and extensive coverage of his seemingly brilliant daughter at the Chula graduation. Chula was at its royalist best yesterday.
By the way, is it true, as I have been told by two sources recently, that each student who graduates from university all over the country is required to make a 600 baht “donation” to the university for presentation to the royal personage who hands out their degree certificate? Or is this another rumour?
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
I agree with most of the other criticisms made of Sidh’s post above. One point to add: “I don’t agree with the Police’s case against FCCT – but on the other hand it’s a good chance to set precedents and clarify the law. Let’s see if the court accepts the case or throws it out. If they accept, let’s see how it is tried.”
LM is being used extensively at present. I can count some 45 allegations in complaints to police just in the past month or so. This means you have some 70+ cases in various states of process and investigation at present. So you’ll have lots of precedents. But precedents would only matter if the cases were in public, were published, and actually went to court for trial prior to forced guilty pleas. In most cases one or more of these important items is missing.
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
re: Sidh
Moreover, let’s not get overboard again and equate Thai freedom of expression with the right to criticize the Thai monarchy. If we do that then can we equate Western freedom of expression with the restricted freedom, media self-censorship and extra-civic surveillance that come as a result of the War on Terrorism? What about the laws against Holocaust denial in many Western society?
In short,
First question: Yes.
Second question: They are incompatible with a free society.
Where’s Vajiralongkorn?
According to Matichon, he was at his daughter’s graduation ceremony at Chula yesterday.
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
Sidh #19: freedom of expression confers the right to criticise ANYTHING. Those of us who believe in it don’t have to faff around, specifying Catholic, Islamic, Orstralian or “Thai freedom of expression”. Either one believes that everyone should have the right to think about whatever irks them & discuss it as vigorously as they please, or one doesn’t. You apparently don’t. That means that to people who think as I do, you are dysfunctional, as is the Thai society. In a dysfunctional individual, family or society, when certain ‘taboo’ issues are raised, the discussion is filtered through a whole lot of sick mental processes, wherein meanings are altered and facts are changed (‘little white lies’),according to the conspiracy, and the result is as fake and as useless as the much-lauded smiles of the Thai people. I used to think Swift wrote Thailand. Now I think it was Kafka.
Yes, every other society has elements of dysfunctionality, but this discussion is about Thailand. I’ve noticed that you beg the question by frequently alluding to the faults of other countries, when justifying the faults of Thailand, often getting the facts muddled. Why do you do this? Do you think everyone’s going to say, e.g., “Oh, the U.K. has LM laws, so it’s all alright;” or “ Some British MPs have been fiddling their expense accounts, so it’s OK that the entire public sector of Thailand is filching 30-35% (or whatever monstrous figure it is at present) of the annual budget”?
On that score, you say, “What about the laws against Holocaust denial in many Western society ?” MANY Western societies? Really? Where are they? I was, quite annoyed when the Australian Government denied a visa to David Irving a few years ago. I regard holocaust deniers as loonies, like ‘flat-earthers,’ (this is based on the concrete & well-documented evidence that there was an attempt at genocide of the proportions generally given) but I would have been interested to see who came out of the woodwork to support him, i.e. how big the problem is. (There is no law against holocaust denial in Oz, BTW.) Your assertion is incorrect, but to bring such a huge and important issue into the discussion of a triviality like Thailand’s pathetically silly LM law is ridiculous.
Your comment re. discussion of Aung San Suu Kyi is equally silly, not to say rather bitchy. The Burmese issues have had reasonable coverage on NM, although as a blogsite, it does reflect the major interests (in some cases professional expertise) of its contributors, some of whose names I have seen on the older & very well-established sites dedicated solely to the Burmese discussion.
You mention “the right to criticize the Thai monarchy” as if Thai people do not have that right. I would have thought that they had it. Human rights are things that we have as essential parts of our identity. But, as you seem to be unable to conceive of something like a right to think freely & express our thoughts being an ‘inalienable’ part of being born into humanity, & you seem to need such freedoms to be given by someone: in his Birthday Speech in 2005, the King invited etc., etc.. Everyone from the very dysfunctional PM to Giles Ji is agreed that that is what he said, & it’s quoted all the time; we all know it by heart. That’s why I didn’t have to repeat it. We have that right. But we are being denied it. Isn’t that LM, an insult to the King?
Red versus yellow
Nick
I love your works, big fan. You have done a great job. I’m “red-shirt” of course. The other side of situation has never been printed or published in Thailand. So many Thai are brain-washed by local media and black propaganda from the invisible hand.
I’d like to make it clear here, the Red-Shirts is the combination of many groups of people, who have the same top objective, that is the true democracy.
For those Yellow Shirts, some of them are my friends or known ones, I understand and respect some of their opinions. They have been brain-washed for long long time.
It’s good to have your newly-published book, this one. I just hope it would open the blinded-eyes.
Sorry for my poor English. Just want to say, you have done good job and you’re a good journalist.
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
“Thailand has a moral leader in His Majesty the King and PM Abhisit”
I’m sorry for posting twice, but do I need to remind jonfernquest what his moral leader HMTK said about the war on drugs in one of his birthday speeches?
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
jonfernquest, I guess you were absolutely elated when Thaksin restricted press freedom and made Thailand slip far down the world ranking in this regard?
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
Nick Nostitz #16
Ouch…
On learning Thai
Wow….some of the posters here really come off as arrogant academic tools. I have graduate school linguistics training too and have worked at universities in Thailand for 10 years. Yet I would never consider deconstructing this guy’s essay like some our doing. This article was obviously written for laypeople and not linguists. Give the guy a break for Pete’s Sake. I applaud the folks at LTP for providing one more resource, and a very valuable one at that (considering the lack of audio/visual Thai learning material). I have quickly run though the entire conversation course to date and it is put together in excellent fashion. Is it flawless, no. Could it be improved, yes. But as it stands now, it will be of great help to those learning Thai independently. And, in the end, that is all that matters. Get it now, ajarn?
Red versus yellow
Congratulations to Nick! Come to the launch @ FCCT on the evening of Wed. 15th . Everyone’s welcome – good food @ reasonable prices, & a GREAT bar (journos, dontcha know!) – you don’t have to be a member, and no cover charge for this event. The book will be on sale @ 895Baht. Chris Baker will be there for Q & A. Mr A Khan will not be there – he’s been barred – & videos will NOT be on sale…
“An attack on the rights of journalists”
Jonfernquest #7, #12, #13 – I appreciate your point, but you should know as well as anyone here that Thai Les Majeste law is a pet fetish of NM and, as you will notice, gets highly disproportional responses and feedbacks. A mere comparison with Aung San Suu Kyi’s plight and the attention she gets here and you get a sharp picture of misplaced priority…
And for the many who would like the law to be reformed or abolished, please do let the Thais decide – don’t forget it’s their country and their law. If they want laws changed they’ll pressure their politicians to do so. We in NM (predominantly foreigners I understand) can’t order PMAbhisit to reform/abolish the law while demanding a more robust Thai democracy – or can we?
Moreover, let’s not get overboard again and equate Thai freedom of expression with the right to criticize the Thai monarchy. If we do that then can we equate Western freedom of expression with the restricted freedom, media self-censorship and extra-civic surveillance that come as a result of the War on Terrorism? What about the laws against Holocaust denial in many Western society?
On that note, I don’t agree with the Police’s case against FCCT – but on the other hand it’s a good chance to set precedents and clarify the law. Let’s see if the court accepts the case or throws it out. If they accept, let’s see how it is tried.
I also agree with Jonfernquest – Thai society is too free. People can take over international airports or attack an international summit with foreign dignitaries or the country’s own prime minister. If that happens to PresidentObama in the US, the assailant will likely be in the receiving end of a few bullets…
kebenaran terkini menyangkut Permainan Bandarq
Why not investigate the allegations of the original Postbag letter against the Shinawatra clan too? Did they really own the company that issued the card (I will admit to have received one too which I never used)? Did they really buy up private hospitals that directly benefited from the scheme (I have read newspaper articles years ago on this)? I certainly agree with Jon#1 and Ralph#2 that the policy’s implementation needs detailed studies – not only to compare with pre-Thaksin practices – but also for the betterment of healthcare in the longer term, especially for a ‘middle income’ country like Thailand (I see the Obama administration are struggling to reform the US system).
The letter’s allegations against the Northeasterners are also worth further discussions, studies and analysis. I am of the belief that they were/are exploited by PMThaksin – although I disagree that they are “naive” or “woefully ignorant”. I am certain that they know he is a cheat – but I suspect it is something in the culture, Thai culture in general and Isan in particular (and a recent survey seem to have said that Thais are “ok” with corruption).
I’ve heard the statement made numerous times over the years (made by people, from Bangkok or urban centers in the northeast, who worked in Isan) – ‘do a favor to the poor Isan villagers once and they’ll love you forever’. The concept and practices of ‘Bhunkhuntong todtaen’, ‘one has to repay good deeds/favors’ (anyone who can give a more accurate explanation/translation please do) runs deep in Thai society – as everyone familiar with Thai society knows – but, from my observation, it is painfully real for the poor folks of Isan (or even the north). This plus the notion that parents have very important places in Thai society and religion, which, for me it is a beautiful aspect of the culture – but its darkest manifestation is in the selling of daughters as sex workers. The thing is those daughters often do not hold grudges or deep bitterness against their parents – on the contrary, they seem to view it as a ‘sense of duty’ to take care of their parents and siblings (of course the opposite also happens if the child contact HIV and dies, the grandparents will have to raise the grandchildren).
It seems that rural Isan accept the harsh fact that it is an imperfect world – only that they are more tolerant of imperfections (corruption) than their urban-based countrymen.