Over the past couple of years New Mandala has been proud to feature regular photo-essays by Bangkok-based journalist Nick Nostitz. Nick’s exposure of the street-level dynamics of Thai protests — Red, Yellow and Blue — has won him well-deserved acclaim. His unique reports remain among our most popular content. They have been read by tens of thousands of people on New Mandala alone and have been translated, and published, in many other places. Based on my reading of the links and the numbers, I would be confident in betting that many hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps even a million, have seen some part of his online output.
Nick is the first to admit that his reports are only one angle on the presentation of Thai political positions.
Over at the UDD Today website, there are thousands of pictures from Red Shirt rallies, and from Thaksin’s recent years in exile. Most are taken from angles on political events that few, if any, of us have good access to. They provide insights about the types of events and people that matter to the Red side of the political chasm. There is also a list of over 4,000 “Red Members” with accompanying profiles and graphics, and there are hundreds of videos (mostly Thaksin-centric). It all comes together to give a sense of the way the Red Shirt movement is presenting itself these days. And it is all contributing to an increasingly sophisticated online battlefield for Thailand’s political warriors. As I type, @uddtoday is holding its own (among, I might add, many other Thai activist/commentator voices) in the Asia Semi-final of the Mr Twitter competition.
These components of the Red-Shirt self-portrait are worth highlighting because, as the third anniversary of the 2006 coup looms, New Mandala readers who follow Thai political matters will be keeping one eye on the obvious faultlines. Red-shirt leaders have, not surprisingly, decided that Saturday 19 September will be a good day for a mass rally. Of course, the September/October window is, we are often told, one of Thailand’s traditional times for political strife.
Chatter about what will happen next — mostly informal and speculative at this stage — is well and truly underway. It reminds me, in some key senses, of a previous period of uncertainty when many of us were grasping around for a clear analysis of what was going on. That period of uncertainty ended on 19 September 2006. When will this one end?
Your link to “thousands of pictures” on the UDD website is now BIT — Blocked in Thailand.
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Thanks BKK Lawyer,
Seriously? But then again I note that this apparently happens to that site from time-to-time. Today I spent a fair bit of time trawling around UDD Today. From what I saw it was hardly that subversive. In fact I went away with a sense that much of the content was, well, innocuous. But far be it for me to say…
If somebody wants to point out the content on UDD Today that is considered illegal in Thailand I would be very grateful. Understanding the specifics of why a website of that ilk gets blocked is something we could all learn from.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
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they are pro-Thaksin, therefore Prem is scared of them
Prems friends dont like him to be discomfited so try to hide them
thats it
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Not blocked as I write this – access via TOT in Chiang Mai.
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Yes, it does seem it’s gone the same way as the Not The Nation link you posted a few months back. mitc.gov.th has somehow stuck its oar in and we are therefore not allowed to see how the red half live.
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Thanks Marcos, and everyone,
Not The Nation, Liberal Thai, UDD Today, etc — not a good time to be producing satire, translation, or political networks in the kingdom. What’s next?
Another point that continues to intrigue me about these efforts to “block” certain sites is that the implementation tends to be haphazard and incomplete. But, by the sounds of it, that may change soon. According to that report over 10,000 websites are blocked because they “are considered as affecting national security”. For a comparative dimension: that is 57.52% of the total number of blocked websites. Drug advertisements, gambling sites and pornographic material all pale into insignificance behind online security concerns. A full typology of these sites (and any updated list) would be interesting. Is this article still blocked? Apparently this is blocked too???
Randomly clicking around on other supposedly “blocked” sites reveals that many are no longer online, or have found a new home. And some, no doubt, have found other ways around the censorship. It was ever thus…
And one final thought: many readers will know that Thammasat University Library at Tha Phrachan has a collection of “politically banned books [that] mark an important period of the struggle for freedom from military dictatorship”. Should they be thinking about making an online archive to store all of the currently censored content? “Available only on special request”?
Best wishes to all,
Nich
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The UDD site seems to be working ok again today.
Regarding the books at Thammasat can anyone view them Nick? I would be grateful for any information you can give me as I will begin studying Thai government and politics have been trying to get in as much prior reading as possible in advance.
Cheers for any advise.
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Thanks Son of Owain,
Yes, it is possible to read the “banned books” at Thammasat. They are held in an area with rare and other precious materials. Once at Thammasat you would need to organise access with the staff but I imagine this is still a common matter. Ajarn Somsak, or other New Mandala regulars, will probably have more details and suggestions.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
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Son of Owain #7 – I still can’t get to the UDD site on the link here. I get:
Oops! This link appears to be broken.
Suggestions:
Go to www. mict. go. th
Search on Google: mict.go.th
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I doubt they will be showing the picture currently all over the media of soap opera star Methi beating up an old man.
That the old man had openly campaigned for the PT in Surat Thani and was asking for expenses incurred to be covered seem to have been his crime.
How the PT deals with this one will be maybe more of an indicator of what they represent than any kind of self portrait. Will the PT hieracrchy side with someone brave enough to campaign for the party in Suthep’s fiefdom or will it favour sticking by one of its pretty boy stars?
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