Thailand Voice

In December 2008 the UDD leader Natthawut Saikua made a beautiful speech to the crowd of redshirts in front of parliament. Invoking powerfully elemental imagery, this speech (excerpt translated below) portrays the redshirts in the figurative form of the sons and daughters of the land who know full well that a… Read full story >>>

With the yellow-shirted PAD protesters now joining the red-shirted UDD supporters in taking to the streets of Bangkok a compromise certainly looks distant. Perhaps that would chance if we could get the leaders together at a table. Well look what I found at… Read full story >>>

Federico Ferrara, an academic from the National University of Singapore, has written a Facebook note speculating whether there will be a civil war in Thailand. Tumbler covered Federico’s Facebook note, but if you don’t have Facebook then well you don’t can’t read it Read full story >>>

At our hotel there is a great pool, actually 4 pools in all. Our rooms are in the Sabai Wing overlooking the large pool. It is funny as back home I had a pool at my place and hardly ever used it. Here we are swimming every day, twice a day in fact… Read full story >>>

(credit: motifake.com ) Federico Ferrara , an academic from the National University of Singapore and regular commentator on Thai politics, has written a Facebook note speculating whether there will be a civil war in Thailand. He argues that while a… Read full story >>>

A few weeks ago I featured the World Bank’s blog about the Nam Theun resettlement. A reader has sent me this email (originally addressed to the World Bank, I think) about the downstream impacts on the Xe Bang Fai (the river into which the water is discharged from the Nam Theun 2 dam). When I… Read full story >>>

“ The level of hate in Thailand ” (picture courtesy of Mark MacKinnon ) The Economist has yet another article about Thailand that might caused the magazine not to appear on the newsstands there. While there was one topic that certainly was the main reason for the non… Read full story >>>

AFP has a quote from NLD spokesman Nyan Win who states that after meeting Suu on Saturday, she specifically referred to the situation in Thailand. Key excerpt: ‘A new government coming to power under a constitution drawn up by the military will … Read full story >>>

Pictures emerged from Bangkok on Monday morning of troops securing various spots in Silom, the financial area of Bangkok. A few hours ago rumors of a crackdown have been making the rounds at the main rally site of the red shirts as the mood has been reported as tense. Tony Joh of Thai-FAQ… Read full story >>>

After a few days of silence prime minister Abhisit went on air again in a televised public address on Friday evening and announced that Thai army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda would be put in charge of the Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations (CERS), thus replacing deputy prime minister Suthep… Read full story >>>

Anti-government leaders and Thai Buddhist monks chant prayers for the dead Saturday, April 17, 2010, at a rally in Bangkok, Thailand. Last weekend, a major attempt to clear one of the two main protest sites ended in fierce clashes, 24 deaths and hundreds of injuries. It also failed to dislodge…

America’s Dairyland is the setting for the Wisconsin Film Festival , which wraps up this weekend. Among the selections on Sunday in the Madison, Wisconsin, festival is Agrarian Utopia ( Sawan Baan Na ), a hardscrabble tale of rice farmers, struggling to bring their crop in and survive another season. It’s been too long since I’ve… Read full story >>>

Here are some articles and essays on the current situation I’ve read the past few days. They are all worth a read. First up the Asia Foundation focusses on the role of the King and the changing perception of the red shirts. But politicians are another matter, and the image… Read full story >>>

Follow the money: well, it is a possible method of approaching the truth. In this case, let us say for the sake of argument that there are three factions within the army (the navy and air force are not considered… Read full story >>>

From Andrew Drummond, Bangkok April  11 2010 Link to Daily Mail Link to The SUN Tourists, among them scores of Britons, joined a mass exodus from Bangkok today (Sunday) in the wake of bloody anti-government demonstrations in which 19 died and over 800 were injured. Millions headed to the country … Read full story >>>

I was interviewed on ABC Radio’s World Today earlier this afternoon about the situation in Bangkok. Here is the sound file. (Higher quality of the full show available here .) In brief, I put the following views: The red shirts are in a stronger position now than … Read full story >>>

The Nation: Coalition party leaders felt uneasy over the heavy casualties from ‘Black Saturday’ with both troops and red-shirt protesters suffering hundreds of injured after moves to disperse a red mob at Khok Wua intersection near Democracy monument, the sources said….”We ini… Read full story >>>

Whilst tomes will no doubt be written analysing the explosive events in Bangkok on Saturday night, it may be useful to provide some commentary on the situation in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s northern capital, particularly in light of media reports on the weekend indicating … Read full story >>>

Heard about f this via twitter, but well it is not an urban legend and a photo exists. See here (NSFW).  … Read full story >>>

(Picture by @SaiManasvee ) First it was taken off air , then back on , and now it is off air again . Today’s action saw yet another escalation in the increasing fierce anti-government protests of the red shirts as they stormed a television satellite compound in the North… Read full story >>>

A traffic policeman walks past a group of Bangladeshi Jumma Buddhist student monks and novices during a rally outside the United Nations building in Bangkok March 5, 2010. The monks urged the Bangladesh military and Bengali Muslim settlers to stop attacks on the Jumma indigenous people…

Supharp Prakna (2rd L), a Thai national, is escorted by military personal after his trial at a military court in Phnom Penh February 12, 2010. The Cambodian military court convicted and sentenced Prakna to 20 years in prison for terrorism charges. 39 year-old Prakna was…

A U.S. Marine eats a scorpion during a jungle survival exercise with the Thai Navy, as part of the “Cobra Gold 2010″ (CG10) joint military exercise, at a military base in Chon Buri Province February 9, 2010. About 14,073 soldiers from six countries, …

Myanmar’s ethnic Karens move out from their refugee camp in Tha Son Yang district, Tak province near the Thai-Myanmar border February 5, 2010. Thailand suspended on Friday the forced repatriation of ethnic Karen refugees from military-ruled Myanmar, heeding calls from U.S. lawmakers and rights…

A South Korean Marine rides on an amphibious assault vehicle before it touches the ground during a joint military exercise codenamed Cobra Gold at Hat Yao beach in Rayong province, eastern Thailand Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. Besides Thailand and the United States, this year’s annual exercise, in its 29th year, also…

Middle ranked soldiers led by Col. Apirat Kongsompong, third left, talks during a gathering with other soldiers at a military barrack in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010. The soldiers gather to show their support to Army Commander in Chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda and express opposition…

A Thai military personnel secures the gates of the office of Thailand’s army chief in central Bangkok. (Reuters) A Thai soldier checks the weapon of a fellow soldier as he stands guard outside the Bangkok army base, housing the office of army commander-in-…

In this March 13, 2009, file photo a Cambodian soldier looks at the Thai border through binoculars from an entrance of Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple near the Cambodian-Thai border, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodia’s military says its troops have clashed briefly with Thai soldiers along a disputed border area. Lt. Gen…

More evidence of the clear, rational and forward-thinking of our beloved military: exorcisms of evil spirits are to be held at two locations to rid the Kingdom of bad luck: “[Fortune teller] Mr Niphon [Rohitsathian] said when the prison was removed to make way for a… Read full story >>>

” … the professional soldiers, members of that curious esoteric world which has so little contact with the civilian world, and works in such different ways. The non-professional soldier, the conscript or temporary officer, or in most cases the policeman, however heavily armed, tends to react much more like the civilians to whom … Read full story >>>

Related Posts The Family Farm The Port of Nakhon Phanom Songkran 2009 Revisited The Illuminated Boat Procession 2009 Thailand Mystery to Me Copyright © 2007-2009 This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this feed on other websites without express permission by Thailand, Land of Smiles… Read full story >>>

It is fairly well-established that one of the major factors inhibiting the social and economic development of Thailand is the huge proportion of the budget devoted to the military. The most recent example of this is the attempt to … Read full story >>>

Farang an f-word? The first time you were in Thailand and kids called you “farang!” you were smiling. How sweet they are! After a while you wondered why every foreigner is a farang. Or do you call all Asians back … Read full story >>>

A staple of Pattaya nightlife are the many GoGo Bars that dot the city.  Here you will find scantily clad Thai Girls dancing to the latest music.  If your looking for the best place to find go go bars in Pattaya, head to … Read full story >>>

I wanted to point out, quickly, this intriguing AP story from Monday about a plan to revamp Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International airport: Baggage handlers at Thailand’s main airport now wear uniforms with pockets sewn shut to prevent pilfering. Police are hauling away illegal taxi touts. And cushions are being added to metal … Read full story >>>

Even though the Democrats have their men as the Acting Police Chief, the are still imposing the Internal Security Act which gives the military more power , but are putting the police at the forefront as AFP reports : Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said that ” police will be the core force with the military acting… Read full story >>>

The Bangkok Post reports : Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon left for Singapore on a two-day official visit on Thursday to discuss cooperation between Thailand and the city state. Gen Prawit will introduce himself to the top brass in Singapore. They are expected to discuss security, economic and social cooperation. However, as… Read full story >>>

Martin Petty in Reuters has some analysis on what may transpire in the aftermath of submission of the red’s petition. It outlines 4 scenarios over the coming months. 1. ATTEMPT TO SUBMIT PETITION TRIGGERS UNREST (“Most commentators, however, believe this is unlikely to provide a flashpoint… Read full story >>>

Kurt Westergaard’s image of Mohammed wearing a bomb as a turban, the most controversial of the twelve Mohammed caricatures printed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005, will be included in an exhibition of Westergaard’s work this month. The cartoon … Read full story >>>

The Thai Fruit, Passiflora Edulis has the exotic name of Passion Fruit. In Thailand, this Thai Fruit is known as Saowarot. Passiflora Edulis has purple, yellow or brownish skin depending on the variety and is oval or round in shape. The unripe Passion Fruit has green skin. When fully ripe Read full story >>>