The farmers must have a much larger say in the way the country is run.
How can there be a democracy when one must have a degree to sit in the parliament. If the farmers cannot vote for their own, they have to vote for the rural Phu-yai to represent them. This in itself leads to corruption of the voting process.
Whether peope like it or not, the rural areas do represent 60% of the population and to deny them a real voice is wrong. Until there is a voice for the poor, as advocated in other posts, a left party, Thailand will continue to be a divided and patronge based country.
I get very scared when I read these kind of articles such as the one in the Nation.
The issue was never whether the lending of 1,000,000 to a village was right or wrong, the issue was “How dare he give these people so much money”.
Bangkok is a small part of Thailand, but it’s economic power reaches to all power of the country. Thailand is a country in flux, I live up country and work in BKK and to hear factories in the provinces claiming they cannot find labour is a worrying situation. Bangkok is booming out of control, the city is grinding to a halt while the provinces are receiving less and less investment.
The ruling elite have to realise that there is life beyond Rangsit in Thailand and that only by investment in the provinces along with massive improvements in education will Thailand be able to continue growing.
Thailand can no longer rely on agriculture and textiles as a business. China will consume these industries completely and Thailand will be left behind.
The poor are suffering (farmers) and if Thailand cannot find a way to educate the next generation and accept that to be the worlds largest rice exporter is no great achievement, Thailand will be left behind.
The future is in technology and innovation, and without an educated populous this will be impossible to achieve. Where this money is all to come from, is not for me to say, however an estate tax would seem a logical place to start along with taxation of land.
The true wealth of the country is concentrated into the hands of very few families who pay relatively little tax in comparison with a middle class families – 30 to 60,000 baht per month who are struggling to make ends meet. Something must give.
I am not advocating making the pips squeak, but the tax burden on the middle classes is very heavy in comparison to their earning capacity, if the wealthy do not start to pay their share, social development in Thailand will become a forgotton concept whilst the drivers of BMW and MERC’s in Bangkok will continue to multiply.
Economic conflict between the rich and poor in Thailand will (if it hasn’t already) the most important issue in Thailand.
To read the business pages complaining about Thailand’s inablity to compete with China, resentment and resistance to increasing the minimum wage, opposition to FTA’s on very flimsy grounds, and the desire to legally import foreign labour for industry proves one thing.
The gravy train for the ruling class in Bangkok is over. They can no longer rely on a flood of cheap labour to bankroll their inefficient business.
Of course Thailand should invest in better schools and encourage the economy to develop, however, this has one very large problem. Who will sit in the sweat shops to make to clothes or the tin pots that Thailand’s wealth holders rely on.
There has never been a more dangerous time for Thailand both economically and socially and it will take a lot more planning than to increase minimum wages. Thailand has to accept that it needs the next generation of rice farmers to be working in factories and to have university education, but will the ruling classes let it happen? I believe they would rather hide between trade restrictions and business restricitions to save themselves.
The next 20 years are vital for Thailand or I fear it will be battered economically by China.
I have commented on this article in other websites, and to say that my blood was boiling when I saw it is a complete understatment.
The Thai newspapers periodically print this kind of nonsense from such and such a professor/ajarn, as though it provides some kind of moral superiority.
To print such blatently slanted stories is very dangerous and xenophobic and is a complete smokescreen.
To quote about the demise of Thai culture as though eating somtaam is some kind of a right of passage the Thainess shows how naive the intelligencia of Thailand really is.
This article is extremely xenophobic and whilst I have no doubt about the origin of some of these marriages it is no business of mine, let alone an Assistant Professor of Nursing (what does she know about statistical analyis of relationships). These kind of articles are convenient smokescreens to divert attention away from the true social problems of Thailand.
Why were these women attracted to marrying foreign husbands?
a. My Thai husband left me and gave me no money so I couldn’t provide for me and my kids. I had no choice but to go and work away in BKK/Pattaya etc etc
b. He has a steady income and has bought us a house so I can take care of us.
c. My kids have clothes and food enough now
The list goes on and on. I know people sometimes think it unsavoury for older europeans to marry younger Thai girls, but in all reality they are saving a generation of Thai women who had no hope. Very few Thai men will marry a divorcee, or a woman with a baby. The Thai “upper class” deride these women, so what option does Thai culture give them.
I have worked and lived in Asia and Thailand for 11 years and have been married for 5. I am 32 and my wife is the same age and we know the difficulties of mixed marriages, we do not need a half baked survey from a Pooyai in the University with no relevance printed on the front page of a newspaper.
I quote” It cited the example of many Thai wives now being keener on eating Western food and almost forgetting somtam – the region’s popular papaya salad dish.”
If the survey was conducted in Khon Kaen, Udorn and Roi-et to the best of my memory, Khon Kaen has on Mcdonalds and One Pizza hut. Roi-et none and Udorn maybe one of each. Whereas there must be one million somtaam restaurants so where is this flood of fast food?
In any case why shouldn’t a wife cook what her husband wants to eat?
“said her team interviewed 231 Thai wives in Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Roi Et and found that foreign son-in-laws had caused the community-oriented Northeasterners to become the more individualistic and give less attention to social interaction.”
a. So what?
“Thai culture in these families was thus overshadowed by Western culture, with the families’ own consent, due to the pride of having foreign sons-in-law, she said. ”
a. How on earth can you deduce this from a question. I very much doubt that the question was asked “Do you feel that Western culture overshadows Thai in your house?” This is a blatent opinion of the researcher from hearsay.
“The researchers also found most wives interviewed were either not interested or less enthusiastic about traditional Thai holidays – such as Buddhist Lent and Makha Bucha Day – compared with Western holidays like Christmas Day or Valentine’s Day. ”
a. Is this not true of the whole of Thailand as a rule, shops in Bangkok have Xmas lights and are covered with hearts at Valentines day. Meanwhile, Songkran, Loi Kratong are still alive and well in the whole of Thailand. Do the Chinese community not close up shop in Chinese New Year to celebrate, or the Indian and Moslem community celebrate their festivals? This statement may well be breaking the consitiution fo Thailand.
“”In some Khon Kaen villages, with dozens of women marrying farangs, Christmas Day is no different from the movies with real traditional Christmas celebrations, while many Northeastern festivals were forgotten,” the academic said. ”
a. This is a complete falsehood, since I live here and have seen reality and anyway, so what if a foreigner wants to celebrate Xmas. Is it hurting Thai culture? I would say less so than Coyote dancers inside a temple.
“With the obvious increase in wealth of wives married to farang, due to their husbands’ financial support, some 90 per cent of residents surveyed said they wanted their daughters to marry foreigners, Supawatanakorn said. ”
a. Is this not a sad indictment of Thai society that really needs investigation?
“However, the cross-cultural marriage weakened the children’s language skills as parents spoke to them in a mix of Thai and English, which confused the kids and made them less fluent in the Thai language, she said.
The children’s English skills were limited to basic daily communication due to the parents’ limited educational background or a less stimulating social environment”
a. And the biggest lie of them all, the best way for children to become bi-lingual is to have two languages in the home.
As you can see this entire article is basically hearsay and rumour based on social stereotyping and has no place on the front page of a newspaper. There are a myriad of beneits to cross-cultural marriages which of course have their onw inherent cultural and social difficulties also. They are not the business of a brainless ajarn.
If I had held the survey and asked:
a. Do you feel more financially secure now you have a foreign husband?
b. Do you feel more confident in Thai society now you have a successful marriage?
c. Do you believe your children had a better future now you have a secure marriage?
The headline would have been “Farangs spark social and economic revival in Isaan”.
I have calmed down a bit since the orginal article was written, but this kind of high school research deserves no place in a newspaper. What is more worrying is that an Ajarn really thought it OK to conduct it in such a way and draw such xenophobic deductions.
Wow, a bit surprised that Sondhi raises such passion.
First, despite his claims to the contrary, Sondhi is very much a Thai politican. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, well then I saw a Thai politician quacking away who is currently at the top of the political totem pole in Thailand. Prof. Keyes is justifiably proud to get a top tier Thai politician to speak at the university where he worked for years to establish a bonafide Southeast Asian program. Now you may not like what Sondhi represents or what he says, but having him speak at the UW was indeed a milestone for the Southeast Asian program at the UW, unless of course you are so insecure that you wish to muzzle those with whom you disagree, in which case, may it be cut and thrown to the ducks as food.
Second, I see no evidence of any seeping out of communist or socialist sentiment here. Nor do I see any elites posting here, only some hapless academics and equally hapless interested parties such as myself. Sondhi’s clearly negative opinions of the rural folks does highlight a problem of Thai democracy in balancing the needs of the rural poor (some 60%+ of the electorate) with the needs of the middle class city folks, as well as the true elites who I doubt are posting here or anywhere else in “bloggoshpere”. (I wonder if the newly imagined bloggosphere fits in with Anderson’s Imagined Communities?…..grad students take note)
A further email comment in relation to Sondhi in Seattle:
Whatever one’s views of Thaksin or the putsch that has, at least for the present, ended his premiership, it is high time to put an end to these very curious “Thaksin was the only politician in my memory who did anything for the poor.” lines. In the mid-1970s, Prime Minister Khuekrit Pramot and his finance minister Bunchu Rotchanasathian introduced a raft of policies aimed at Thailand’s rural poor. In comparative perspective, the thoughtful design and frankly progressive rationale (little surprise, in view of Bunchu’s very long association with the Thai left) of these policies set a standard not equaled till today. In the event, Khuekrit and Bunchu had only a brief period in office to implement their policies. Nevertheless, many have endured, both as specific measures (consider, for example, the Thai rural credit system) and as examples to leaders like Thaksin and his advisors. As luck would have it, too, last year saw the publication of Nawi Rangsiwararak’s excellent Bon thanon sai kanmueang khong Bunchu Rotchanasathian. >From this book one can learn much about that way that a sophisticated, committed man engaged with the problem of social inequality in Thailand in an era neglected by all too many commentators on recent events.
[…] Author of The King Never Smiles, Paul Handley, was interviewed on Australian radio last night. He was interviewed by the ABC Late Night Live’s Phillip Adams. The interview is available online here (the interview with Handley starts about half way through the recording). The Late Night Live promo reads: There is one topic in Thailand that is off limits: the King and his family. A journalist interested in doing a story about the monarchy will be given a range of excuses from “the palace has nothing more to say other than what has been put in the official press statements”, ot that the “subject is too susceptible and intricate for palace outsiders to handle”. Or simply that it “is too risky”. […]
[…] Looks like my work on the binding of water in the land as a form of agricultural imagination has a history outside of Cambodia of which I was not aware. Check the post at New Mandala on the binding of water and moisture in forests. Posted by Erik Filed in Agriculture […]
This is becoming an oft regurgitated story in the press, Farang husbands in Isaan, “Swiss & German villages” and the like. I really don’t think that 15,000 Farang men married to Isaan women, many of whom only visit on occasion, will have any permanent impact upon culinary trends in Isaan. The economic impact is probably more significant as these families are sending money back into a region of Thailand that gets little investment from Bangkok. Can anyone show me a single baat actually invested in the region collected by the “Green Isaan” movement, a popular cause with many a celebrity concert happening during the late 1980s?
More interesting will be the political attitudes of the children of these marriages (the luuk khreung) who grow up in Thailand and how they may influence local politics.
And for the record, I am a Farang who has been married to a Thai national for 20 years and I have spent extended periods of time in rural Thailand rarely eating western food.
You are Absolutely right!! Bangkok is almost our city, it s Udorn where the sub-culture is still happening (although only if you measure such things according to “official standards”…).
I’m left scratching my head…. what is this “left” that they are talking about? Lots of issues that leftists in the US and Europe traditionally care about aren’t really issues at all in Thailand.
– Abortion/Women’s reproductive rights: Chamlong Srimuang entered politics, not to fight against corruption or military dictatorship, but to fight against a raped woman’s right to get an abortion. Since then, nobody has dared touch the issue.
– Feminism: Lots of girls go to university and enter industries like IT and finance. But women are still largely viewed as sex-objects, yet lots of girls these days (especially teenagers and university students) take pride in their own sexuality. Does that make Thai women opressed? Or does that make them feminists, or post-feminists?
– Human rights: Nobody really cares about this. All those NGOs that complain about the war against drugs did so, not during 2003, but during 2005, when the tide was turning against Thaksin. Self-serving hypocrites, they were.
– Socialism: Lots of people seem to want the government to nationalize/re-nationalize industries like energy and the media. But I don’t think this is because they are socialists as much as they want to undo as many Thaksin policies as possible.
– Environment: Nobody really cares about conservation that much. Since when has a political party ever had a concrete policy about the environment.
– Institutionalized wealth and power: OK, finally an issue that means something in Thailand. Except that the only political party in the past 20 years that has campaigned on and implemented programs to redistribute wealth to the poor has also lined its own pockets. Is a self-serving leftist still a leftist?
kradortom: and there’s “Eat Me”, a most delightful fusion eating place on Silom Soi Convent run by a gay Australian guy and his Thai boyfriend. The food is divine, probably some of the best non-Thai food in Bangkok, and the “Sticky Date Pudding” (cracks me up every time I say it!) is the best desert I have had, ever. And I’ve spent years in New York, Hong Kong, and London. Expat gays are a most welcome part of Bangkok society. No need to be a sub-culture – you’re practically mainstream!
That sign in the photo is gone. Both billborads have been taken down but not replaced. This makes for more light for the weekend market at Thapae Gate …
Thai students understand what was behind Sondhi’s visit, why couldn’t the U. of Washington? See especially the last paragraph, which alleges that the organizers of the seminar attempted to effectively censor the Thai anti-coup protesters by various means, including calling the police! This is what the royalist dictatorship is doing in Thailand, how dare they attempt to do it in America! How could the U. of Washington let this intimidation of Thai students protesting for democracy take place? Under such conditions one can only praise the courage of those Thai students.
“I am happy, nonetheless, that Seattle and the University of Washington should have been put on the map of Thai politics through Khun Sondhi’s visit.”
This comment astounds me. Does this mean that the U. of Washington is “happy” to be a megaphone for royalist ideologues who are attempting to create legitimacy for the disenfranchisement of the Thai electorate at the barrel of a gun? Thai villagers who have just had their right to vote for their own government stolen from them can not protest or even publicly criticize what has happened for fear of arrest (or worse!) under the conditions of martial law, yet the U. of Washington is “happy” to give Sondhi an international stage and the imprimatur of Western academic authority to publicly jeer at the foolish, uneducated villagers! What has happened to your democratic sensibilities? Where is your concern for the weakest and most abused group in Thailand? This makes you “happy”?!
This is an appalling, disgraceful stance to take, in my opinion. Everyone knows Sondhi’s political-business views (as I have said before, Sondhi is fighting for his business survival; if Thaksin had not fallen Sondhi would have been ruined. Please don’t credit him with any political principle. Only the royalist regime can save him, which is why he defends it so staunchly). So why give Sondhi the satisfaction of being able to trumpet his anti-democratic/royalist views in his media back in Thailand with the endorsement of U. of Washington, which is so well-known in the world of Thai Studies? Why give this man a megaphone to legitimize the coup and the royalist dictatorship it has installed?! One can only conclude that U. of Washington is concerned solely with being put on the “map of Thai politics” – and one knows where on the map it wishes to be located: in that dark, thoroughly corrupt, anti-democratic kingdom of the royalists.
What this coup has revealed is the complicity of Western centres of Thai Studies around the world (SOAS, U. of Washington, etc.), and a large proportion of the academics that work within them, with the royalist-military seizure of power and instalment of a dictatorship. The next time one reads an article or book produced from one of these centres purporting to be in the interests of the people of Thailand bear this in mind.
It is not only women who have farang husbands but a number of men as well. I have lived in Udorn Thani for 23 years with my boyfriend and who is from there. We met in Bangkok and moved to Udorn not long after and have lived here since. We have many friends who are also gay and have local and foreign boyfriends. There are so many of us now that Udorn Thani has a thriving gay subculture and nightlife and I know of at least 20 more couples like us scatteered throughout the northeast and I am not that into going out and socialising so I imagine there are thousands more. The gay scene in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket is as cosmopolitan as anywhere in the west and then there are th gogo bars. Gay couples are worth a lot to the Thai economy, esp the northeast. It might interest some of you (researchers) that the men in gay relationships haven’t stopped eating som tam and I for one love sticky rice…!
A most tangled skein of political economy is woven indeed, James. The nexus of state labour-needs drawing people into a position of marked disadvantage and vulnerability vis a vis selling their labour, subsequent socio-economic position in Thailand and the sets of state categorisations that they become labeled with and “processed” out and back home (is this a strategy of destabilisation by state agencies to ensure a compliant class of labour?), all the while the migrants themselves are treading a dangerous path through a sociality fraught with HIV and then deported back to their country of origin where services and facilities to cope with the disease are fundamentally limited/non-existent.
This is a very different version of Migrant Labour to the domestic kind Mary Beth Mills writes about in the northeast of Thailand and would be a very interesting point of juxtaposition that could better contextualise Thailand’s place in the region in terms of political economy.
I had heard the same kind of anecdote regading children being in increased demand due to fears of HIV by customers…
I have read Graham Fordham’s and Chris Lyttleton’s work on HIV in Thailand as well as some chapters in edited collections Like Nerida Cook and Peter Jackson’s book on Gender and sexualities inThailand. The only one that I found provides a thorough political economy of the disease was Fordham’s and both he and Lyttleton provide very interesting insights into social change and its impact on sexual norms etc and the implicationsfor the diseases spread through the Thai population. Neither discuss the foreign migrant labour in any detail however, Do you know of any one who does? Or is this an area you are working on yourself?
I saw mention of the “midnight University” in that article on the Thai coup in hot soup, did this site have links to it? Couldn’t New Mandala provide an alternative venue for it until freedom of speech is returned to Thailand? It would make for another picture link that would certainly attract more attention to this site, raising your profile and academic voices in a public forum? Assuming the administrators here share these kinds of political leanings, that is.
Does anyone onthis site know of similar sites with such political links?
Nirut: You’re quite right that I was drawing inspiration from Thongchai – I should remember this is an academic board and cite my sources!
On HIV/AIDS my general impression is that the epidemic was brought more or less under control among potential Thai victims; but now an ever-increasing number of workers in the Thai sex industry are from the surrounding countries (and from ethnic minorities within Thailand) rather than being ethnic thai. These people are usually oppressed by the Thai state (though there has been some progress on this front since the MOUs on migrant labour in 2004) and sex workers are far more likely to be prosecuted and deported as “illegal migrants” rather than treated as “human trafficking victims” or “potential victims of HIV” as more sympathetic constructions might have it. Male migrant labour is also more likely to go to cheap sex workers who are less likely to take anti-HIV precautions (I have heard some anecdotes about an increase in the child sex trade as a result of thai sex consumers demanding virgins out of fear of HIV/AIDS).
The Thai business lobby is in general anti-migrant rights and anti-workers rights as this keeps wages down, and this translates into, eg, not allowing health workers or NGOs who want to educate about HIV into work sites (The ILO has done a few reports on this). HIV/AIDS is being deported from Thailand to its neighbours who are far less equipped to do anything about it.
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Charles Keyes on Sondhi Limthongkul
The farmers must have a much larger say in the way the country is run.
How can there be a democracy when one must have a degree to sit in the parliament. If the farmers cannot vote for their own, they have to vote for the rural Phu-yai to represent them. This in itself leads to corruption of the voting process.
Whether peope like it or not, the rural areas do represent 60% of the population and to deny them a real voice is wrong. Until there is a voice for the poor, as advocated in other posts, a left party, Thailand will continue to be a divided and patronge based country.
Can farmers be trusted with debt? Part 2
I get very scared when I read these kind of articles such as the one in the Nation.
The issue was never whether the lending of 1,000,000 to a village was right or wrong, the issue was “How dare he give these people so much money”.
Bangkok is a small part of Thailand, but it’s economic power reaches to all power of the country. Thailand is a country in flux, I live up country and work in BKK and to hear factories in the provinces claiming they cannot find labour is a worrying situation. Bangkok is booming out of control, the city is grinding to a halt while the provinces are receiving less and less investment.
The ruling elite have to realise that there is life beyond Rangsit in Thailand and that only by investment in the provinces along with massive improvements in education will Thailand be able to continue growing.
Thailand can no longer rely on agriculture and textiles as a business. China will consume these industries completely and Thailand will be left behind.
The poor are suffering (farmers) and if Thailand cannot find a way to educate the next generation and accept that to be the worlds largest rice exporter is no great achievement, Thailand will be left behind.
The future is in technology and innovation, and without an educated populous this will be impossible to achieve. Where this money is all to come from, is not for me to say, however an estate tax would seem a logical place to start along with taxation of land.
The true wealth of the country is concentrated into the hands of very few families who pay relatively little tax in comparison with a middle class families – 30 to 60,000 baht per month who are struggling to make ends meet. Something must give.
I am not advocating making the pips squeak, but the tax burden on the middle classes is very heavy in comparison to their earning capacity, if the wealthy do not start to pay their share, social development in Thailand will become a forgotton concept whilst the drivers of BMW and MERC’s in Bangkok will continue to multiply.
Whose free lunch?
Economic conflict between the rich and poor in Thailand will (if it hasn’t already) the most important issue in Thailand.
To read the business pages complaining about Thailand’s inablity to compete with China, resentment and resistance to increasing the minimum wage, opposition to FTA’s on very flimsy grounds, and the desire to legally import foreign labour for industry proves one thing.
The gravy train for the ruling class in Bangkok is over. They can no longer rely on a flood of cheap labour to bankroll their inefficient business.
Of course Thailand should invest in better schools and encourage the economy to develop, however, this has one very large problem. Who will sit in the sweat shops to make to clothes or the tin pots that Thailand’s wealth holders rely on.
There has never been a more dangerous time for Thailand both economically and socially and it will take a lot more planning than to increase minimum wages. Thailand has to accept that it needs the next generation of rice farmers to be working in factories and to have university education, but will the ruling classes let it happen? I believe they would rather hide between trade restrictions and business restricitions to save themselves.
The next 20 years are vital for Thailand or I fear it will be battered economically by China.
New research – the demise of Somtam?
I have commented on this article in other websites, and to say that my blood was boiling when I saw it is a complete understatment.
The Thai newspapers periodically print this kind of nonsense from such and such a professor/ajarn, as though it provides some kind of moral superiority.
To print such blatently slanted stories is very dangerous and xenophobic and is a complete smokescreen.
To quote about the demise of Thai culture as though eating somtaam is some kind of a right of passage the Thainess shows how naive the intelligencia of Thailand really is.
This article is extremely xenophobic and whilst I have no doubt about the origin of some of these marriages it is no business of mine, let alone an Assistant Professor of Nursing (what does she know about statistical analyis of relationships). These kind of articles are convenient smokescreens to divert attention away from the true social problems of Thailand.
Why were these women attracted to marrying foreign husbands?
a. My Thai husband left me and gave me no money so I couldn’t provide for me and my kids. I had no choice but to go and work away in BKK/Pattaya etc etc
b. He has a steady income and has bought us a house so I can take care of us.
c. My kids have clothes and food enough now
The list goes on and on. I know people sometimes think it unsavoury for older europeans to marry younger Thai girls, but in all reality they are saving a generation of Thai women who had no hope. Very few Thai men will marry a divorcee, or a woman with a baby. The Thai “upper class” deride these women, so what option does Thai culture give them.
I have worked and lived in Asia and Thailand for 11 years and have been married for 5. I am 32 and my wife is the same age and we know the difficulties of mixed marriages, we do not need a half baked survey from a Pooyai in the University with no relevance printed on the front page of a newspaper.
I quote” It cited the example of many Thai wives now being keener on eating Western food and almost forgetting somtam – the region’s popular papaya salad dish.”
If the survey was conducted in Khon Kaen, Udorn and Roi-et to the best of my memory, Khon Kaen has on Mcdonalds and One Pizza hut. Roi-et none and Udorn maybe one of each. Whereas there must be one million somtaam restaurants so where is this flood of fast food?
In any case why shouldn’t a wife cook what her husband wants to eat?
“said her team interviewed 231 Thai wives in Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Roi Et and found that foreign son-in-laws had caused the community-oriented Northeasterners to become the more individualistic and give less attention to social interaction.”
a. So what?
“Thai culture in these families was thus overshadowed by Western culture, with the families’ own consent, due to the pride of having foreign sons-in-law, she said. ”
a. How on earth can you deduce this from a question. I very much doubt that the question was asked “Do you feel that Western culture overshadows Thai in your house?” This is a blatent opinion of the researcher from hearsay.
“The researchers also found most wives interviewed were either not interested or less enthusiastic about traditional Thai holidays – such as Buddhist Lent and Makha Bucha Day – compared with Western holidays like Christmas Day or Valentine’s Day. ”
a. Is this not true of the whole of Thailand as a rule, shops in Bangkok have Xmas lights and are covered with hearts at Valentines day. Meanwhile, Songkran, Loi Kratong are still alive and well in the whole of Thailand. Do the Chinese community not close up shop in Chinese New Year to celebrate, or the Indian and Moslem community celebrate their festivals? This statement may well be breaking the consitiution fo Thailand.
“”In some Khon Kaen villages, with dozens of women marrying farangs, Christmas Day is no different from the movies with real traditional Christmas celebrations, while many Northeastern festivals were forgotten,” the academic said. ”
a. This is a complete falsehood, since I live here and have seen reality and anyway, so what if a foreigner wants to celebrate Xmas. Is it hurting Thai culture? I would say less so than Coyote dancers inside a temple.
“With the obvious increase in wealth of wives married to farang, due to their husbands’ financial support, some 90 per cent of residents surveyed said they wanted their daughters to marry foreigners, Supawatanakorn said. ”
a. Is this not a sad indictment of Thai society that really needs investigation?
“However, the cross-cultural marriage weakened the children’s language skills as parents spoke to them in a mix of Thai and English, which confused the kids and made them less fluent in the Thai language, she said.
The children’s English skills were limited to basic daily communication due to the parents’ limited educational background or a less stimulating social environment”
a. And the biggest lie of them all, the best way for children to become bi-lingual is to have two languages in the home.
As you can see this entire article is basically hearsay and rumour based on social stereotyping and has no place on the front page of a newspaper. There are a myriad of beneits to cross-cultural marriages which of course have their onw inherent cultural and social difficulties also. They are not the business of a brainless ajarn.
If I had held the survey and asked:
a. Do you feel more financially secure now you have a foreign husband?
b. Do you feel more confident in Thai society now you have a successful marriage?
c. Do you believe your children had a better future now you have a secure marriage?
The headline would have been “Farangs spark social and economic revival in Isaan”.
I have calmed down a bit since the orginal article was written, but this kind of high school research deserves no place in a newspaper. What is more worrying is that an Ajarn really thought it OK to conduct it in such a way and draw such xenophobic deductions.
Charles Keyes on Sondhi Limthongkul
Wow, a bit surprised that Sondhi raises such passion.
First, despite his claims to the contrary, Sondhi is very much a Thai politican. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, well then I saw a Thai politician quacking away who is currently at the top of the political totem pole in Thailand. Prof. Keyes is justifiably proud to get a top tier Thai politician to speak at the university where he worked for years to establish a bonafide Southeast Asian program. Now you may not like what Sondhi represents or what he says, but having him speak at the UW was indeed a milestone for the Southeast Asian program at the UW, unless of course you are so insecure that you wish to muzzle those with whom you disagree, in which case, may it be cut and thrown to the ducks as food.
Second, I see no evidence of any seeping out of communist or socialist sentiment here. Nor do I see any elites posting here, only some hapless academics and equally hapless interested parties such as myself. Sondhi’s clearly negative opinions of the rural folks does highlight a problem of Thai democracy in balancing the needs of the rural poor (some 60%+ of the electorate) with the needs of the middle class city folks, as well as the true elites who I doubt are posting here or anywhere else in “bloggoshpere”. (I wonder if the newly imagined bloggosphere fits in with Anderson’s Imagined Communities?…..grad students take note)
Charles Keyes on Sondhi Limthongkul
A further email comment in relation to Sondhi in Seattle:
Whatever one’s views of Thaksin or the putsch that has, at least for the present, ended his premiership, it is high time to put an end to these very curious “Thaksin was the only politician in my memory who did anything for the poor.” lines. In the mid-1970s, Prime Minister Khuekrit Pramot and his finance minister Bunchu Rotchanasathian introduced a raft of policies aimed at Thailand’s rural poor. In comparative perspective, the thoughtful design and frankly progressive rationale (little surprise, in view of Bunchu’s very long association with the Thai left) of these policies set a standard not equaled till today. In the event, Khuekrit and Bunchu had only a brief period in office to implement their policies. Nevertheless, many have endured, both as specific measures (consider, for example, the Thai rural credit system) and as examples to leaders like Thaksin and his advisors. As luck would have it, too, last year saw the publication of Nawi Rangsiwararak’s excellent Bon thanon sai kanmueang khong Bunchu Rotchanasathian. >From this book one can learn much about that way that a sophisticated, committed man engaged with the problem of social inequality in Thailand in an era neglected by all too many commentators on recent events.
Mike Montesano
Bangkok
The King Never Smiles?
[…] Author of The King Never Smiles, Paul Handley, was interviewed on Australian radio last night. He was interviewed by the ABC Late Night Live’s Phillip Adams. The interview is available online here (the interview with Handley starts about half way through the recording). The Late Night Live promo reads: There is one topic in Thailand that is off limits: the King and his family. A journalist interested in doing a story about the monarchy will be given a range of excuses from “the palace has nothing more to say other than what has been put in the official press statements”, ot that the “subject is too susceptible and intricate for palace outsiders to handle”. Or simply that it “is too risky”. […]
The aesthetics of moisture
[…] Looks like my work on the binding of water in the land as a form of agricultural imagination has a history outside of Cambodia of which I was not aware. Check the post at New Mandala on the binding of water and moisture in forests. Posted by Erik Filed in Agriculture […]
New research – the demise of Somtam?
Johpa: The luuk khreung will most probably never get involved in politics. More likely to be models, singers, or movie stars…
New research – the demise of Somtam?
This is becoming an oft regurgitated story in the press, Farang husbands in Isaan, “Swiss & German villages” and the like. I really don’t think that 15,000 Farang men married to Isaan women, many of whom only visit on occasion, will have any permanent impact upon culinary trends in Isaan. The economic impact is probably more significant as these families are sending money back into a region of Thailand that gets little investment from Bangkok. Can anyone show me a single baat actually invested in the region collected by the “Green Isaan” movement, a popular cause with many a celebrity concert happening during the late 1980s?
More interesting will be the political attitudes of the children of these marriages (the luuk khreung) who grow up in Thailand and how they may influence local politics.
And for the record, I am a Farang who has been married to a Thai national for 20 years and I have spent extended periods of time in rural Thailand rarely eating western food.
New research – the demise of Somtam?
You are Absolutely right!! Bangkok is almost our city, it s Udorn where the sub-culture is still happening (although only if you measure such things according to “official standards”…).
The Thai left – missing in action.
I’m left scratching my head…. what is this “left” that they are talking about? Lots of issues that leftists in the US and Europe traditionally care about aren’t really issues at all in Thailand.
– Abortion/Women’s reproductive rights: Chamlong Srimuang entered politics, not to fight against corruption or military dictatorship, but to fight against a raped woman’s right to get an abortion. Since then, nobody has dared touch the issue.
– Feminism: Lots of girls go to university and enter industries like IT and finance. But women are still largely viewed as sex-objects, yet lots of girls these days (especially teenagers and university students) take pride in their own sexuality. Does that make Thai women opressed? Or does that make them feminists, or post-feminists?
– Human rights: Nobody really cares about this. All those NGOs that complain about the war against drugs did so, not during 2003, but during 2005, when the tide was turning against Thaksin. Self-serving hypocrites, they were.
– Socialism: Lots of people seem to want the government to nationalize/re-nationalize industries like energy and the media. But I don’t think this is because they are socialists as much as they want to undo as many Thaksin policies as possible.
– Environment: Nobody really cares about conservation that much. Since when has a political party ever had a concrete policy about the environment.
– Institutionalized wealth and power: OK, finally an issue that means something in Thailand. Except that the only political party in the past 20 years that has campaigned on and implemented programs to redistribute wealth to the poor has also lined its own pockets. Is a self-serving leftist still a leftist?
New research – the demise of Somtam?
kradortom: and there’s “Eat Me”, a most delightful fusion eating place on Silom Soi Convent run by a gay Australian guy and his Thai boyfriend. The food is divine, probably some of the best non-Thai food in Bangkok, and the “Sticky Date Pudding” (cracks me up every time I say it!) is the best desert I have had, ever. And I’ve spent years in New York, Hong Kong, and London. Expat gays are a most welcome part of Bangkok society. No need to be a sub-culture – you’re practically mainstream!
Sign of the last days of the Thaksin government
That sign in the photo is gone. Both billborads have been taken down but not replaced. This makes for more light for the weekend market at Thapae Gate …
Charles Keyes on Sondhi Limthongkul
Thai Report from Sondhi’s Trip to U. Washington by р╕Кр╕ер╕┤р╕Хр╕▓ р╕Ър╕▒р╕Ур╕Ср╕╕р╕зр╕Зр╕ир╣М posted on р╕Яр╣Йр╕▓р╣Ар╕Фр╕╡р╕вр╕зр╕Бр╕▒р╕Щ website (http://www.sameskybooks.org/webboard/show.php?Category=sameskybooks&No=448)
Thai students understand what was behind Sondhi’s visit, why couldn’t the U. of Washington? See especially the last paragraph, which alleges that the organizers of the seminar attempted to effectively censor the Thai anti-coup protesters by various means, including calling the police! This is what the royalist dictatorship is doing in Thailand, how dare they attempt to do it in America! How could the U. of Washington let this intimidation of Thai students protesting for democracy take place? Under such conditions one can only praise the courage of those Thai students.
р╕Щр╕▒р╕Бр╕ир╕╢р╕Бр╕йр╕▓р╣Др╕Чр╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╕Лр╕╡р╣Бр╕нр╕Хр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╣Йр╕ер╣Ар╕Ир╕▓р╕░р╕вр╕▓р╕Зр╣Ар╕зр╕Чр╕╡р╕Ыр╕гр╕▓р╕ир╕гр╕▒р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤ р╕ер╕┤р╣Йр╕бр╕Чр╕нр╕Зр╕Бр╕╕р╕е
р╣Ар╕гр╕╡р╕вр╕Бр╕гр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╕лр╕вр╕╕р╕Фр╕кр╕гр╣Йр╕▓р╕Зр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╕Кр╕нр╕Ър╕Шр╕гр╕гр╕бр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г
р╕Лр╕╡р╣Бр╕нр╕Хр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╣Йр╕е р╕зр╕нр╕Кр╕┤р╕Зр╕Хр╕▒р╕Щ: р╕Щр╕▒р╕Бр╕ир╕╢р╕Бр╕йр╕▓р╣Др╕Чр╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Лр╕╡р╣Бр╕нр╕Хр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╣Йр╕е р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕зр╕нр╕Кр╕┤р╕Зр╕Хр╕▒р╕Щ р╕Фр╕│р╣Ар╕Щр╕┤р╕Щр╕Бр╕┤р╕Ир╕Бр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Др╕▒р╕Фр╕Др╣Йр╕▓р╕Щр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г 19 р╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╕вр╕▓р╕вр╕Щ 2549 р╣Гр╕Щр╕Ър╕гр╕┤р╣Ар╕зр╕Ур╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕Ыр╕гр╕▓р╕ир╕гр╕▒р╕вр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤ р╕ер╕┤р╣Йр╕бр╕Чр╕нр╕Зр╕Бр╕╕р╕е р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Др╕Ур╕░ р╕Чр╣Ир╕▓р╕бр╕Бр╕ер╕▓р╕Зр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Вр╕▒р╕Фр╕Вр╕зр╕▓р╕Зр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕Юр╕нр╣Гр╕Ир╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щ р╕Фр╣Йр╕▓р╕Щр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤ р╕ер╕┤р╣Йр╕бр╕Чр╕нр╕Зр╕Бр╕╕р╕е р╕вр╕╖р╕Щр╕вр╕▒р╕Щр╕Ир╕░р╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╣Гр╕Ир╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╣Гр╕Ир╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕зр╕▒р╕Хр╕┤р╕ир╕▓р╕кр╕Хр╕гр╣Мр╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕в
р╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕зр╕▒р╕Щр╕Чр╕╡р╣И 14 р╕Юр╕др╕ир╕Ир╕┤р╕Бр╕▓р╕вр╕Щ 2549 р╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤ р╕ер╕┤р╣Йр╕бр╕Чр╕нр╕Зр╕Бр╕╕р╕е р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Др╕Ур╕░ р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╣Ар╕Фр╕┤р╕Щр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕бр╕▓р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╕бр╕лр╕▓р╕зр╕┤р╕Чр╕вр╕▓р╕ер╕▒р╕вр╕зр╕нр╕Кр╕┤р╕Зр╕Хр╕▒р╕Щ р╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Лр╕╡р╣Бр╕нр╕Хр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╣Йр╕е р╕бр╕ер╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕зр╕нр╕Кр╕┤р╕Зр╕Хр╕▒р╕Щ р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╣Ар╕Юр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Ыр╕гр╕▓р╕ир╕гр╕▒р╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╕лр╕▒р╕зр╕Вр╣Йр╕н “р╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕Бр╣Ир╕нр╕Щр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕лр╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╕Ыр╕Пр╕┤р╕гр╕╣р╕Ы р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Др╕нр╕гр╕▒р╕Ыр╕Кр╕▒р╣Ир╕Щ р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Шр╕┤р╕Ыр╣Др╕Хр╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╣Др╕Чр╕в” р╣Вр╕Фр╕вр╕бр╕╡р╕Кр╕▓р╕зр╣Др╕Чр╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Лр╕╡р╣Бр╕нр╕Хр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╣Йр╕ер╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕гр╕▓р╕з 200 р╕Др╕Щ р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕бр╕╡р╕Кр╕▓р╕зр╕нр╣Ар╕бр╕гр╕┤р╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Ыр╕гр╕▓р╕в
р╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤ р╕ер╕┤р╣Йр╕бр╕Чр╕нр╕Зр╕Бр╕╕р╕е р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Хр╕Щр╕вр╕╖р╕Щр╕лр╕вр╕▒р╕Фр╕нр╕вр╕╣р╣Ир╕Ър╕Щр╕лр╕ер╕▒р╕Бр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Шр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕бр╕░р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕вр╕╢р╕Фр╕Хр╕┤р╕Фр╣Гр╕Щр╕ер╕▓р╕ар╕вр╕ир╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Чр╕гр╕▒р╕Юр╕вр╣Мр╕кр╕бр╕Ър╕▒р╕Хр╕┤р╣Гр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕кр╕╣р╣Йр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕У р╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤р╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╣Ар╕лр╕Хр╕╕р╕Ьр╕ер╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Хр╕Щр╕кр╕Щр╕▒р╕Ър╕кр╕Щр╕╕р╕Щр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Ыр╕Бр╕Ыр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕Ур╣Гр╕Щр╕Кр╣Ир╕зр╕Зр╣Бр╕гр╕Бр╕зр╣Ир╕▓ р╕Хр╕нр╕Щр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щр╕Хр╕Щр╕кр╕┤р╣Йр╕Щр╕лр╕зр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Кр╕зр╕Щ р╕лр╕ер╕╡р╕Бр╕ар╕▒р╕вр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Фр╕│р╣Ар╕Щр╕┤р╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Хр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Ж р╣Ар╕Кр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Зр╕Кр╣Йр╕▓ р╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Бр╕нр╕Ър╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕Юр╕гр╕гр╕Др╣Др╕Чр╕вр╕гр╕▒р╕Бр╣Др╕Чр╕вр╕бр╕╡р╕Щр╣Вр╕вр╕Ър╕▓р╕вр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Фр╕╡р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕бр╕╡р╕Др╕Щр╕Фр╕╡р╣Ж р╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕бр╕▓р╕Б р╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Др╕гр╕Бр╣Зр╕Хр╕▓р╕б р╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕бр╕▓р╕Хр╕Щр╕кр╕│р╕Щр╕╢р╕Бр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕Ур╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Бр╕гр╕░р╕Чр╕│р╕Ьр╕┤р╕Фр╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╕бр╕▓р╕Бр╕бр╕▓р╕в р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕гр╕╣р╣Йр╕кр╕╢р╕Бр╕ер╕░р╕нр╕▓р╕вр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╣Гр╕Ир╕Хр╕Щр╣Ар╕нр╕Зр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Др╕нр╕вр╕Ыр╕Бр╕Ыр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╕Др╕Щр╕Кр╕▒р╣Ир╕з р╕Фр╕▒р╕Зр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щр╕Хр╕Щр╕Ир╕╢р╕Зр╣Ар╕гр╕┤р╣Ир╕бр╕Щр╕│р╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕╣р╕ер╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Бр╕гр╕░р╕Чр╕│р╕Ьр╕┤р╕Фр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕Ур╕бр╕▓р╣Ар╕Ыр╕┤р╕Фр╣Ар╕Ьр╕вр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Кр╕Щр╕Ьр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕гр╕▓р╕вр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╣Др╕Чр╕вр╕гр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕▒р╕Ыр╕Фр╕▓р╕лр╣Мр╕Ир╕Щр╕Бр╕гр╕░р╕Чр╕▒р╣Ир╕Зр╕гр╕▓р╕вр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Цр╕╣р╕Бр╕Ыр╕ер╕Фр╕нр╕нр╕Бр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Ьр╕▒р╕Зр╕гр╕▓р╕вр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Кр╣Ир╕нр╕З 9 р╣Гр╕Щр╕Чр╕╡р╕кр╕╕р╕Ф
р╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤р╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕Ур╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Йр╕╡р╕Бр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Шр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Щр╕╣р╕Нр╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕нр╕вр╕╢р╕Фр╕нр╕│р╕Щр╕▓р╕Ир╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Ар╕Зр╕╡р╕вр╕Ър╣Ж р╣Др╕Ыр╣Бр╕ер╣Йр╕зр╕Бр╣Ир╕нр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕вр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕Др╕зр╕Ър╕Др╕╕р╕бр╕нр╕Зр╕Др╣Мр╕Бр╕гр╕нр╕┤р╕кр╕гр╕░р╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕З р╕Ыр╕Ыр╕К. р╕ир╕▓р╕ер╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Шр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Щр╕╣р╕Н р╣Бр╕ер╕░ р╕Бр╕Бр╕Х. р╕гр╕зр╕бр╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Фр╕│р╣Ар╕Щр╕┤р╕Щр╕Шр╕╕р╕гр╕Бр╕┤р╕Ир╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ьр╕╣р╕Бр╕Вр╕▓р╕Ф р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Др╕зр╕Ър╕Др╕╕р╕бр╕Др╕гр╕нр╕Ър╕Зр╕│р╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕╣р╕ер╕Вр╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕кр╕▓р╕гр╕Хр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Ж р╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Кр╕Щ р╕Фр╕▒р╕Зр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щ р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ир╕░р╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╣Гр╕Ир╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г 19 р╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╕вр╕▓р╕вр╕Щ 2549 р╕Ир╕╢р╕Зр╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╣Гр╕Ир╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕зр╕▒р╕Хр╕┤р╕ир╕▓р╕кр╕Хр╕гр╣Мр╕лр╕гр╕╖р╕нр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕бр╕▓р╕Хр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Ж р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Ар╕Бр╕┤р╕Фр╕Вр╕╢р╣Йр╕Щр╣Гр╕Щр╕Кр╣Ир╕зр╕Зр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕Ур╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕в р╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╣Ар╕Щр╣Йр╕Щр╕вр╣Йр╕│р╕Цр╕╢р╕Зр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╕кр╕│р╕Др╕▒р╕Нр╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕бр╕зр╕ер╕Кр╕Щр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕нр╕┤р╕кр╕гр╕░р╣Гр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕кр╕гр╣Йр╕▓р╕Зр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╣Гр╕Ир╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Цр╕╣р╕Бр╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Кр╕Щ р╕Юр╕гр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Бр╕▓р╕Ър╕▒р╕Хр╕гр╣Ар╕ер╕╖р╕нр╕Бр╕Хр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╣Гр╕Щр╕Кр╣Ир╕нр╕Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Ар╕ер╕╖р╕нр╕Бр╣Гр╕Др╕г (NO VOTE) р╣Гр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕ер╕╖р╕нр╕Бр╕Хр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Др╕гр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ьр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕бр╕▓р╕бр╕╡р╕Ир╕│р╕Щр╕зр╕Щр╕бр╕▓р╕Бр╕Цр╕╢р╕З 10 р╕Бр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕ер╣Йр╕▓р╕Щр╣Ар╕кр╕╡р╕вр╕Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Бр╣Зр╣Ар╕Юр╕гр╕▓р╕░р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╕│р╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕Вр╕нр╕З ASTV р╕Юр╕гр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Щр╕│р╕лр╕╕р╣Йр╕Щ ASTV р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕лр╕Щр╕▒р╕Зр╕кр╕╖р╕н “р╕Ыр╕гр╕▓р╕Бр╕Ор╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ур╣Мр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤р╕п” р╕бр╕▓р╕Ир╕│р╕лр╕Щр╣Ир╕▓р╕вр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕в
р╕нр╕Щр╕╢р╣Ир╕З р╣Гр╕Щр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕Др╕гр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Щр╕╡р╣Йр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕бр╕╡р╕Щр╕▒р╕Бр╕ир╕╢р╕Бр╕йр╕▓р╣Др╕Чр╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Лр╕╡р╣Бр╕нр╕Хр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╣Йр╕ер╣Гр╕Кр╣Йр╕Кр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕зр╣Ир╕▓ “All the People’s Man Group” р╕бр╕▓р╕Хр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╣Вр╕Хр╣Кр╕░р╕Др╕▒р╕Фр╕Др╣Йр╕▓р╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г р╣Вр╕Фр╕вр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Ыр╕┤р╕Фр╣Вр╕Ыр╕кр╣Ар╕Хр╕нр╕гр╣Мр╕Ър╕гр╕┤р╣Ар╕зр╕Ур╣Вр╕Фр╕вр╕гр╕нр╕Ър╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕бр╕╡р╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╕зр╣Ир╕▓ “р╕лр╕вр╕╕р╕Фр╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╕Кр╕нр╕Ър╕Шр╕гр╕гр╕бр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г” “р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕бр╕╡р╕Вр╣Йр╕нр╣Бр╕Бр╣Йр╕Хр╕▒р╕зр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╕│р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г” р╣Бр╕ер╕░ “’р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г’ р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣И ‘р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ыр╕Пр╕┤р╕гр╕╣р╕Ы’” р╕Юр╕гр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╣Бр╕Ир╕Бр╕Ир╣Ир╕▓р╕вр╣Ар╕нр╕Бр╕кр╕▓р╕гр╕Кр╕╖р╣Ир╕н р╕бр╕▓р╕вр╕▓р╕Др╕Хр╕┤ 9 р╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Бр╕╡р╣Ир╕вр╕зр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г 19 р╕Бр╕▒р╕Щр╕вр╕▓р╕вр╕Щ 2549 р╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щ р╣Ар╕нр╕Бр╕кр╕▓р╕гр╕Фр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕бр╕╡р╣Ар╕Щр╕╖р╣Йр╕нр╕лр╕▓р╣Вр╕Фр╕вр╕гр╕зр╕бр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Вр╕▒р╕Фр╕Вр╕зр╕▓р╕Зр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Чр╕│р╕ер╕▓р╕вр╕Бр╕гр╕░р╕Ър╕зр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Юр╕▒р╕Тр╕Щр╕▓р╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Шр╕┤р╕Ыр╣Др╕Хр╕вр╣Гр╕Щр╕кр╕▒р╕Зр╕Др╕бр╣Др╕Чр╕в р╕гр╕зр╕бр╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Кр╣Ир╕зр╕вр╕Др╕ер╕╡р╣Ир╕Др╕ер╕▓р╕вр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╕Вр╕▒р╕Фр╣Бр╕вр╣Йр╕З р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Ыр╕▒р╕Нр╕лр╕▓р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Бр╣Ир╕нр╕Вр╕╢р╣Йр╕Щр╣Вр╕Фр╕вр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ър╕▓р╕ер╕Чр╕▒р╕Бр╕йр╕┤р╕У р╕нр╕▒р╕Щр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╣Бр╕Бр╣И р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╕╕р╕Ир╕гр╕┤р╕Хр╕Др╕нр╕гр╕▒р╕Ыр╕Кр╕▒р╣Ир╕Щ р╕Ыр╕▒р╕Нр╕лр╕▓р╕Кр╕▓р╕вр╣Бр╕Фр╕Щр╕ар╕▓р╕Др╣Гр╕Хр╣Й р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕ер╕░р╣Ар╕бр╕┤р╕Фр╕кр╕┤р╕Чр╕Шр╕┤р╕бр╕Щр╕╕р╕йр╕вр╕Кр╕Щ р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕Ыр╕┤р╕Фр╣Ар╕кр╕гр╕╡р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Др╣Йр╕▓ р╕нр╕╡р╕Бр╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕гр╕Бр╣Зр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Гр╕Кр╣Ир╕лр╕Щр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Щр╕│р╣Др╕Ыр╕кр╕╣р╣Ир╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ыр╕Пр╕┤р╕гр╕╣р╕Ыр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕З (р╕Фр╕╣р╕гр╕▓р╕вр╕ер╕░р╣Ар╕нр╕╡р╕вр╕Фр╣Гр╕Щр╕ер╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕Бр╕гр╕нр╕Ъ/р╣Ар╕нр╕Бр╕кр╕▓р╕гр╣Бр╕Щр╕Ъ)
р╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Щр╣Ир╕▓р╕кр╕▒р╕Зр╣Ар╕Бр╕Хр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╣Бр╕бр╣Йр╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕кр╕Щр╕Шр╕┤ р╕ер╕┤р╣Йр╕бр╕Чр╕нр╕Зр╕Бр╕╕р╕е р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Щр╕▓р╕вр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕╕р╕У р╣Гр╕кр╕Зр╕▓р╕б р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ыр╕гр╕▓р╕ир╕гр╕▒р╕вр╕нр╕╡р╕Бр╕Чр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕╢р╣Ир╕З р╕Ир╕░р╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Яр╕▒р╕Зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Юр╕зр╕Бр╕Хр╕Щр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕кр╕Щр╕▒р╕Ър╕кр╕Щр╕╕р╕Щр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Ар╕лр╣Зр╕Щр╕Фр╣Йр╕зр╕вр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕гр╕▒р╕Рр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕лр╕▓р╕г р╣Бр╕Хр╣Ир╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕Бр╕ер╕▒р╕Ър╕Вр╕▒р╕Ър╣Др╕ер╣Ир╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Вр╕▒р╕Фр╕Вр╕зр╕▓р╕З “All the People’s Man Group” р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╣Бр╕Ир╕Бр╣Ар╕нр╕Бр╕кр╕▓р╕гр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╣Вр╕Фр╕вр╕кр╕░р╕Фр╕зр╕Б р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕Хр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╕вр╣Йр╕▓р╕вр╣Вр╕Хр╣Кр╕░р╕Др╕▒р╕Фр╕Др╣Йр╕▓р╕Щр╕нр╕нр╕Бр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Ър╕гр╕┤р╣Ар╕зр╕Ур╕ер╣Зр╕нр╕Ър╕Ър╕╡р╣Йр╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓р╕лр╣Йр╕нр╕Зр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕╕р╕бр╕бр╕▓р╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╕Фр╣Йр╕▓р╕Щр╕Щр╕нр╕Бр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Хр╕╣р╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕нр╕▓р╕Др╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕бр╕╖р╕Фр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╕бр╕╡р╕нр╕▓р╕Бр╕▓р╕ир╕лр╕Щр╕▓р╕зр╣Ар╕лр╕Щр╣Зр╕Ър╕вр╕┤р╣Ир╕З р╣Гр╕Щр╕Вр╕Ур╕░р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Щр╕▒р╕Бр╕ир╕╢р╕Бр╕йр╕▓р╕лр╕Нр╕┤р╕Зр╣Др╕Чр╕вр╕Др╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕Бр╕│р╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╣Бр╕Ир╕Бр╣Ар╕нр╕Бр╕кр╕▓р╕гр╣Гр╕Щр╕Ър╕гр╕┤р╣Ар╕зр╕Ур╕ер╣Зр╕нр╕Ър╕Ър╕╡р╣Йр╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╣Бр╕Бр╣Ир╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щ р╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕Ър╕▓р╕Зр╕Др╕Щр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╣Ар╕Фр╕┤р╕Щр╕Хр╕▓р╕бр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕бр╕▓р╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Щр╕▒р╕Бр╕ир╕╢р╕Бр╕йр╕▓р╕Др╕Щр╕Фр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕гр╕▒р╕Бр╕Кр╕▓р╕Хр╕┤р╣Бр╕ер╕░р╣Ар╕кр╕╡р╕вр╣Бр╕гр╕Зр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Др╕Щр╣Др╕Чр╕в р╕Юр╕гр╣Йр╕нр╕бр╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Бр╕▓р╕ир╣Гр╕лр╣Йр╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╕гр╣Ир╕зр╕бр╕Щр╕│р╣Ар╕нр╕Бр╕кр╕▓р╕гр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕гр╕▒р╕Ър╣Др╕Ыр╕Чр╕┤р╣Йр╕Зр╕Цр╕▒р╕Зр╕Вр╕вр╕░ р╕Щр╕нр╕Бр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Щр╕▒р╣Йр╕Щ р╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щр╕вр╕▒р╕Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕кр╣Ир╕Зр╕Др╕Щр╣Др╕Чр╕вр╕Др╕Щр╕лр╕Щр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╕Лр╕╢р╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Бр╕зр╣Йр╕▓р╕Зр╕Вр╕зр╕▓р╕Зр╣Бр╕лр╣Ир╕Зр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╕Лр╕╡р╣Бр╕нр╕Хр╣Ар╕Хр╕┤р╣Йр╕ер╕бр╕▓р╣Ар╕Ир╕гр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕Бр╕ер╕╕р╣Ир╕б р╕гр╕зр╕бр╕Чр╕▒р╣Йр╕Зр╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╣Бр╕Ир╣Йр╕Зр╣Ар╕Ир╣Йр╕▓р╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓р╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Хр╕│р╕гр╕зр╕И (UWPD) р╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕бр╕╡р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕бр╕▓р╕Бр╣Ир╕нр╕Бр╕зр╕Щр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щ р╕нр╕вр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Др╕гр╕Бр╣Зр╕Хр╕▓р╕б р╕лр╕ер╕▒р╕Зр╕Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕Чр╕╡р╣Ир╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Бр╕зр╣Йр╕▓р╕Зр╕Вр╕зр╕▓р╕Зр╕Др╕Щр╕Фр╕▒р╕Зр╕Бр╕ер╣Ир╕▓р╕зр╣Бр╕ер╕░р╣Ар╕Ир╣Йр╕▓р╕лр╕Щр╣Йр╕▓р╕Хр╕│р╕гр╕зр╕Ир╣Др╕Фр╣Йр╕Юр╕╣р╕Фр╕Др╕╕р╕вр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╕Бр╕ер╕╕р╣Ир╕бр╕Бр╣Зр╣Ар╕Бр╕┤р╕Фр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╣Ар╕Вр╣Йр╕▓р╣Гр╕Ир╣Бр╕ер╕░р╣Ар╕лр╣Зр╕Щр╕зр╣Ир╕▓р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Бр╕кр╕Фр╕Зр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╕Др╕┤р╕Фр╣Ар╕лр╣Зр╕Щр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╣Ар╕бр╕╖р╕нр╕Зр╣Ар╕Ыр╣Зр╕Щр╣Ар╕гр╕╖р╣Ир╕нр╕Зр╕Ыр╕Бр╕Хр╕┤р╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕кр╕▒р╕Зр╕Др╕бр╕Ыр╕гр╕░р╕Кр╕▓р╕Шр╕┤р╕Ър╣Др╕Хр╕в “All the People’s Man Group” р╕Ир╕╢р╕Зр╕Фр╕│р╣Ар╕Щр╕┤р╕Щр╕Бр╕┤р╕Ир╕Бр╕гр╕гр╕бр╕Хр╣Ир╕▓р╕Зр╣Ж р╕Хр╣Ир╕нр╕Ир╕Щр╕Бр╕гр╕░р╕Чр╕▒р╣Ир╕Зр╕Ир╕Ър╕гр╕▓р╕вр╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕Чр╣Ир╕▓р╕бр╕Бр╕ер╕▓р╕Зр╕Др╕зр╕▓р╕бр╣Др╕бр╣Ир╕Юр╕нр╣Гр╕Ир╕Вр╕нр╕Зр╕Др╕Ур╕░р╕Ьр╕╣р╣Йр╕Ир╕▒р╕Фр╕Зр╕▓р╕Щ
Charles Keyes on Sondhi Limthongkul
“I am happy, nonetheless, that Seattle and the University of Washington should have been put on the map of Thai politics through Khun Sondhi’s visit.”
This comment astounds me. Does this mean that the U. of Washington is “happy” to be a megaphone for royalist ideologues who are attempting to create legitimacy for the disenfranchisement of the Thai electorate at the barrel of a gun? Thai villagers who have just had their right to vote for their own government stolen from them can not protest or even publicly criticize what has happened for fear of arrest (or worse!) under the conditions of martial law, yet the U. of Washington is “happy” to give Sondhi an international stage and the imprimatur of Western academic authority to publicly jeer at the foolish, uneducated villagers! What has happened to your democratic sensibilities? Where is your concern for the weakest and most abused group in Thailand? This makes you “happy”?!
This is an appalling, disgraceful stance to take, in my opinion. Everyone knows Sondhi’s political-business views (as I have said before, Sondhi is fighting for his business survival; if Thaksin had not fallen Sondhi would have been ruined. Please don’t credit him with any political principle. Only the royalist regime can save him, which is why he defends it so staunchly). So why give Sondhi the satisfaction of being able to trumpet his anti-democratic/royalist views in his media back in Thailand with the endorsement of U. of Washington, which is so well-known in the world of Thai Studies? Why give this man a megaphone to legitimize the coup and the royalist dictatorship it has installed?! One can only conclude that U. of Washington is concerned solely with being put on the “map of Thai politics” – and one knows where on the map it wishes to be located: in that dark, thoroughly corrupt, anti-democratic kingdom of the royalists.
What this coup has revealed is the complicity of Western centres of Thai Studies around the world (SOAS, U. of Washington, etc.), and a large proportion of the academics that work within them, with the royalist-military seizure of power and instalment of a dictatorship. The next time one reads an article or book produced from one of these centres purporting to be in the interests of the people of Thailand bear this in mind.
New research – the demise of Somtam?
It is not only women who have farang husbands but a number of men as well. I have lived in Udorn Thani for 23 years with my boyfriend and who is from there. We met in Bangkok and moved to Udorn not long after and have lived here since. We have many friends who are also gay and have local and foreign boyfriends. There are so many of us now that Udorn Thani has a thriving gay subculture and nightlife and I know of at least 20 more couples like us scatteered throughout the northeast and I am not that into going out and socialising so I imagine there are thousands more. The gay scene in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket is as cosmopolitan as anywhere in the west and then there are th gogo bars. Gay couples are worth a lot to the Thai economy, esp the northeast. It might interest some of you (researchers) that the men in gay relationships haven’t stopped eating som tam and I for one love sticky rice…!
Thai Studies Conference, Bangkok, 2008
A most tangled skein of political economy is woven indeed, James. The nexus of state labour-needs drawing people into a position of marked disadvantage and vulnerability vis a vis selling their labour, subsequent socio-economic position in Thailand and the sets of state categorisations that they become labeled with and “processed” out and back home (is this a strategy of destabilisation by state agencies to ensure a compliant class of labour?), all the while the migrants themselves are treading a dangerous path through a sociality fraught with HIV and then deported back to their country of origin where services and facilities to cope with the disease are fundamentally limited/non-existent.
This is a very different version of Migrant Labour to the domestic kind Mary Beth Mills writes about in the northeast of Thailand and would be a very interesting point of juxtaposition that could better contextualise Thailand’s place in the region in terms of political economy.
I had heard the same kind of anecdote regading children being in increased demand due to fears of HIV by customers…
I have read Graham Fordham’s and Chris Lyttleton’s work on HIV in Thailand as well as some chapters in edited collections Like Nerida Cook and Peter Jackson’s book on Gender and sexualities inThailand. The only one that I found provides a thorough political economy of the disease was Fordham’s and both he and Lyttleton provide very interesting insights into social change and its impact on sexual norms etc and the implicationsfor the diseases spread through the Thai population. Neither discuss the foreign migrant labour in any detail however, Do you know of any one who does? Or is this an area you are working on yourself?
The Thai left – missing in action.
I saw mention of the “midnight University” in that article on the Thai coup in hot soup, did this site have links to it? Couldn’t New Mandala provide an alternative venue for it until freedom of speech is returned to Thailand? It would make for another picture link that would certainly attract more attention to this site, raising your profile and academic voices in a public forum? Assuming the administrators here share these kinds of political leanings, that is.
Does anyone onthis site know of similar sites with such political links?
Thai Studies Conference, Bangkok, 2008
Nirut: You’re quite right that I was drawing inspiration from Thongchai – I should remember this is an academic board and cite my sources!
On HIV/AIDS my general impression is that the epidemic was brought more or less under control among potential Thai victims; but now an ever-increasing number of workers in the Thai sex industry are from the surrounding countries (and from ethnic minorities within Thailand) rather than being ethnic thai. These people are usually oppressed by the Thai state (though there has been some progress on this front since the MOUs on migrant labour in 2004) and sex workers are far more likely to be prosecuted and deported as “illegal migrants” rather than treated as “human trafficking victims” or “potential victims of HIV” as more sympathetic constructions might have it. Male migrant labour is also more likely to go to cheap sex workers who are less likely to take anti-HIV precautions (I have heard some anecdotes about an increase in the child sex trade as a result of thai sex consumers demanding virgins out of fear of HIV/AIDS).
The Thai business lobby is in general anti-migrant rights and anti-workers rights as this keeps wages down, and this translates into, eg, not allowing health workers or NGOs who want to educate about HIV into work sites (The ILO has done a few reports on this). HIV/AIDS is being deported from Thailand to its neighbours who are far less equipped to do anything about it.