Thank you, Andrew. I should emphasize that people were getting on with their lives also in Bangkok – including in the evening of the 13th. Just the atmosphere was prevalently silent and sober.
yeah Baz, the fact that even today one cannot “comment further” (as you say) exemplifies this reign. In a Benjaminian take of Klee’s Angelus Novas, an angel always glancing backwards with the pile of debris growing in front of him, a time which has been and continues to be antithetic to the aspirations of democracy. That to me is sad.
I doubt very much if we can accurately predict what will happen next in Thailand, for example the King in Waiting has asked for a waiting period of 12 months, this was unexpected and proves how unpredictable events may turn out to be. In the meantime they have appointed a 96 year old to be head of state for 12 months which gives me the confidence to think that humans around here can predict a 97 year life span. Is Prem the World’s oldest head of state following the world’s longest reigning monarch? Records being smashed every where we look.
On a related note, I would also be very interested to hear from anybody based in northern Thailand, the Isaan region or the deep south, on what the atmosphere is like there and what kind of mourning activities are taking place. As usual, all media attention is focused on Bangkok, and the scenes of mass grief there, but what about other parts of the country where extremist ultra-royalism is less prevalent? What is the mood like in Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen, and Patani, and other places where the Chakri monarchy was never fully accepted? Is there widespread grief there too, and is everybody wearing black, or are people just getting on with their lives?
As a decade long ex-pat living in Thailand, I would like to comment on the various articles that have appeared in New Mandala since the death of the King. However, the most telling comment that I can make, in view of the laws of Thailand as they stand now, is to say nothing.
p.s. not publishing my email address is totally insufficient. Not publishing my name would allow much freer discussion.
Trump Towers – years ago I was able to walk through one of the major border controls, straight into Thailand. Nobody was on duty – they were all at lunch ! I could easily have kept walking right into the rest of Thailand, unnoticed. But being a law-abiding character I did n’t. Eventually I managed to rouse one of the guards – katoey ! – who came and stamped my passport. There should be a public record of this, because I was so shocked that out of a sense of patriotic duty, I e-mailed my embassy to let them know. The borders are very porous. During the Cold War they had to move Bangkok troops to the borders, especially Isaarn, because Bangkok could not be certain the Isaarn troops would resist any advance by their Lao phi-nong cousins. And my experience was quite awhile ago now, when Thailand was more united than now, and the socio-economic links with Laos were not as strong as now. If Thailand fractures further in the way it now seems to be, I for one think local border guards will take a long lunch !
Excellent article ! Lets hope that , sooner rather than later, the Thai people will peacefully reach justice and democracy, free from the yoke of the reactionary, Royalist, militaristic elite , in a new Thai Democratic Republic.
Expect this to NOT end up as anybody, including Thai pundits, predict. We’re all flying blind, including the power brokers, and especially the power brokers, their plans, if any, are worthless assumptions. This is history in the making, I love it!
It’s a different world now to the bad old 70’s when Communism was the irrational bogeyman.
Don’t get me wrong Communism is a very bad idea, but our western fear and loathing was a bit misplaced, laughter and mockery should have been the response; not expensive wars!
The whole commie structure is unsustainable, a lesson China and the ‘retard’ states, will soon learn! (Oh Boy, I can’t wait!)
But I doubt Thailand will be the next Aleppo.
There are turbulent times ahead, but Thailand will prevail as a unified entity., So long as the elite wise up, and start doing deals, instead of dreaming they’re living on the set of ‘Anna and the King’.
The pretense by the CP and his handlers to “decline” to ascend to the Thai Throne and control over the 50 billion dollars at the CPB as well as control over the 400,000 man Thai Army in my view is simply “theatrical posturing”. The Prince will participate in the various stupendously elaborate, intricate and visually spectacular mourning and funeral rituals as THE Central Figure and as the brilliant Christine has pointed out numerous times, the splendor and power of Thai Royal rituals and ceremonies is the ultimate code to understanding who is commanding the Thai State.
That is one surefire way to guarantee a revolution, and I am not being flippant. Such a decree would hand the country on a plate to populism instantly, they’d need an army of teetotallers to enforce it!
It’s the most ridiculous concept ever, and would be suicide for the government to propose. Thailand is NOT Saudi Arabia , Thank Allah!
Chris, my gut reaction was to disparage this remark, but… you may know something we don’t.
Is this wishful thinking, or do you have evidence to support this assertion?
Scotland likely, in light of brexit events (yay!). Scotland will/can succeed as a modern independent nation no matter what the EU or UK do in the future…
Lanna? Not right now.
Comparing the two is nonsensical.
Much as I like beer (I was told of the news exactly 9 minutes after it happened -and rushed to my local northern supermarket to buy 2 cases of Chang at 5:05pm!)
I think we are all grasping at straws. It’s titillating to imagine the heir presumptive will ‘blow away the cobwebs’, but it’s a libertine wet-dream.
There are some statements of fact present, but no matter how exalted the players, they’re humans, under enormous pressure, and their decisions will be judged by humans, multitudes of them, who revered HM, but have little patience with his entourage of gold diggers, currently playing the usual power games.
There will be as yet unknown twists and turns, but I’d be very surprised to see Thailand dis-integrate, without some external shock on a scale similar to WW2, to propel it. You’d need the emergence of a Military leader with Shin-like charisma to achieve such a Secession, and such a leader does not appear to be in the wings -yet.
The change I hope fir is a middle-classs led velved revolution, that somehow engages the lower classes of ethnic Lao, and the Lanna, but that in itself seems to be pure science fiction.
Unless, the revulsion for the military (which draw thousands of uneducated subservient youths from the ‘opposition’ provinces) grows so great that the grassroots prevail upon Bangkok to some uneasy power sharing deal under an alternative threat of the total breakup of the Kingdom of Thailand.
In short, I doubt it.
Just the same old elites, playing the same old games, while everyone else makes do with the corrupt, nepotic, despotic, and half-baked way things get done…
To Chris Beale, and others; The South China Post is now owned totally by Jack Ma and his Alibaba Group of Chinese Mandarins.
The Post was owned by Murdoch till 1993 when sold to Malaysian tycoon R. Kuok. In late 2015 Jack Ma bought the Post from Kuok.
Well, well well.
Nice dreams. however, there won’t be anything happen, alike. The Thai ELITE, speak any royal fart, won’t give up power, including their divine rights to continue to plunder and murder!
Now they will just use the devil’s spirit. Simple as that.
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Private: Managing the death of King Bhumibol
Really enlightening. Thanks for this.
Private: Managing the death of King Bhumibol
Thank you, Andrew. I should emphasize that people were getting on with their lives also in Bangkok – including in the evening of the 13th. Just the atmosphere was prevalently silent and sober.
What is King Bhumibol’s legacy?
yeah Baz, the fact that even today one cannot “comment further” (as you say) exemplifies this reign. In a Benjaminian take of Klee’s Angelus Novas, an angel always glancing backwards with the pile of debris growing in front of him, a time which has been and continues to be antithetic to the aspirations of democracy. That to me is sad.
What now?
I doubt very much if we can accurately predict what will happen next in Thailand, for example the King in Waiting has asked for a waiting period of 12 months, this was unexpected and proves how unpredictable events may turn out to be. In the meantime they have appointed a 96 year old to be head of state for 12 months which gives me the confidence to think that humans around here can predict a 97 year life span. Is Prem the World’s oldest head of state following the world’s longest reigning monarch? Records being smashed every where we look.
Private: Managing the death of King Bhumibol
Very interesting analysis, many thanks indeed.
On a related note, I would also be very interested to hear from anybody based in northern Thailand, the Isaan region or the deep south, on what the atmosphere is like there and what kind of mourning activities are taking place. As usual, all media attention is focused on Bangkok, and the scenes of mass grief there, but what about other parts of the country where extremist ultra-royalism is less prevalent? What is the mood like in Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen, and Patani, and other places where the Chakri monarchy was never fully accepted? Is there widespread grief there too, and is everybody wearing black, or are people just getting on with their lives?
Private: Managing the death of King Bhumibol
As a decade long ex-pat living in Thailand, I would like to comment on the various articles that have appeared in New Mandala since the death of the King. However, the most telling comment that I can make, in view of the laws of Thailand as they stand now, is to say nothing.
p.s. not publishing my email address is totally insufficient. Not publishing my name would allow much freer discussion.
Politics of the interregnum
“Wouldn’t it be pretty to think so?”
Private: Managing the death of King Bhumibol
Nice work.
What now?
Trump Towers – years ago I was able to walk through one of the major border controls, straight into Thailand. Nobody was on duty – they were all at lunch ! I could easily have kept walking right into the rest of Thailand, unnoticed. But being a law-abiding character I did n’t. Eventually I managed to rouse one of the guards – katoey ! – who came and stamped my passport. There should be a public record of this, because I was so shocked that out of a sense of patriotic duty, I e-mailed my embassy to let them know. The borders are very porous. During the Cold War they had to move Bangkok troops to the borders, especially Isaarn, because Bangkok could not be certain the Isaarn troops would resist any advance by their Lao phi-nong cousins. And my experience was quite awhile ago now, when Thailand was more united than now, and the socio-economic links with Laos were not as strong as now. If Thailand fractures further in the way it now seems to be, I for one think local border guards will take a long lunch !
Politics of the interregnum
Excellent article ! Lets hope that , sooner rather than later, the Thai people will peacefully reach justice and democracy, free from the yoke of the reactionary, Royalist, militaristic elite , in a new Thai Democratic Republic.
What now?
Expect this to NOT end up as anybody, including Thai pundits, predict. We’re all flying blind, including the power brokers, and especially the power brokers, their plans, if any, are worthless assumptions. This is history in the making, I love it!
What now?
It’s a different world now to the bad old 70’s when Communism was the irrational bogeyman.
Don’t get me wrong Communism is a very bad idea, but our western fear and loathing was a bit misplaced, laughter and mockery should have been the response; not expensive wars!
The whole commie structure is unsustainable, a lesson China and the ‘retard’ states, will soon learn! (Oh Boy, I can’t wait!)
But I doubt Thailand will be the next Aleppo.
There are turbulent times ahead, but Thailand will prevail as a unified entity., So long as the elite wise up, and start doing deals, instead of dreaming they’re living on the set of ‘Anna and the King’.
Speaking of the succession
The pretense by the CP and his handlers to “decline” to ascend to the Thai Throne and control over the 50 billion dollars at the CPB as well as control over the 400,000 man Thai Army in my view is simply “theatrical posturing”. The Prince will participate in the various stupendously elaborate, intricate and visually spectacular mourning and funeral rituals as THE Central Figure and as the brilliant Christine has pointed out numerous times, the splendor and power of Thai Royal rituals and ceremonies is the ultimate code to understanding who is commanding the Thai State.
What now?
That is one surefire way to guarantee a revolution, and I am not being flippant. Such a decree would hand the country on a plate to populism instantly, they’d need an army of teetotallers to enforce it!
It’s the most ridiculous concept ever, and would be suicide for the government to propose. Thailand is NOT Saudi Arabia , Thank Allah!
What now?
Chris, my gut reaction was to disparage this remark, but… you may know something we don’t.
Is this wishful thinking, or do you have evidence to support this assertion?
What now?
Scotland likely, in light of brexit events (yay!). Scotland will/can succeed as a modern independent nation no matter what the EU or UK do in the future…
Lanna? Not right now.
Comparing the two is nonsensical.
What now?
It’s possible, but not probable… turmoil yes, total anarchy, no… things need to get “Lybia” bad before that happens.
What now?
Much as I like beer (I was told of the news exactly 9 minutes after it happened -and rushed to my local northern supermarket to buy 2 cases of Chang at 5:05pm!)
I think we are all grasping at straws. It’s titillating to imagine the heir presumptive will ‘blow away the cobwebs’, but it’s a libertine wet-dream.
There are some statements of fact present, but no matter how exalted the players, they’re humans, under enormous pressure, and their decisions will be judged by humans, multitudes of them, who revered HM, but have little patience with his entourage of gold diggers, currently playing the usual power games.
There will be as yet unknown twists and turns, but I’d be very surprised to see Thailand dis-integrate, without some external shock on a scale similar to WW2, to propel it. You’d need the emergence of a Military leader with Shin-like charisma to achieve such a Secession, and such a leader does not appear to be in the wings -yet.
The change I hope fir is a middle-classs led velved revolution, that somehow engages the lower classes of ethnic Lao, and the Lanna, but that in itself seems to be pure science fiction.
Unless, the revulsion for the military (which draw thousands of uneducated subservient youths from the ‘opposition’ provinces) grows so great that the grassroots prevail upon Bangkok to some uneasy power sharing deal under an alternative threat of the total breakup of the Kingdom of Thailand.
In short, I doubt it.
Just the same old elites, playing the same old games, while everyone else makes do with the corrupt, nepotic, despotic, and half-baked way things get done…
The king still never smiles
To Chris Beale, and others; The South China Post is now owned totally by Jack Ma and his Alibaba Group of Chinese Mandarins.
The Post was owned by Murdoch till 1993 when sold to Malaysian tycoon R. Kuok. In late 2015 Jack Ma bought the Post from Kuok.
Politics of the interregnum
Well, well well.
Nice dreams. however, there won’t be anything happen, alike. The Thai ELITE, speak any royal fart, won’t give up power, including their divine rights to continue to plunder and murder!
Now they will just use the devil’s spirit. Simple as that.