I do have pictures from that trip, Aiontay. Hah, I hadn’t even thought of that! I remember losing a boat load of pictures because one of my digital cards was corrupted, but most of those pictures I’d taken in the north around Dali. I’ll have to go sorting through them and post them on my flickr, but I’ll post a link in the comments here in case anyone else is interested in seeing them.
1. The conference is going to be used to extol the king whatever is said and whoever is there. The local press will ignore anything said that is critical of the king, whether it is his anniversary or not. So the extra propaganda value of the conference would be nil.
2. In previous Thai Studies conferences there has not been much critical said about the king in papers, so why should this one be different? New coup, new junta, same old docile academics.
3. So given #1 and #2, what would a boycott do (especially in the absence of an “alternative” conference)?
Wouldn’t it be preferable that academics go to the conference and test the limits and bust the taboos?
[…] why am I writing this post? For one simple reason. The good folks over at New Mandala have posted a picture and short entry about Princess Sirindhorn’s recent participation in a […]
“Why is that modern/overseas trainings have very little impact on the way in which majority Thai academics ‘understand’ their nation and their monarchy?” > Very true. Even six years of PhD studies seem to have little impact other than that those graduates can reproduce some of the western discourse in their respective fields of study. Moreover, things will remain at that level, without up-dating or further intellectual development along those lines.
Streckfuss, David. 1995. “Kings in the Age of Nations – The Paradox of Lèse-Majesté as Political Crime in Thailand.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 37 (3): 445-475. (Reprinted in David Streckfuss, ed. 1996. Modern Thai Monarchy and Cultural Politics: The Acquittal of Sulak Sivaraksa on the Charge of lese majeste in Siam 1995 and Its Consequences. Bangkok: Santi Pracha Dhamma Institute, pp. 54-80.)
Streckfuss, David Eirich. 1998. “The poetics of subversion: Civil liberty and lese-majeste in the modern Thai state.” Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Wisconsin-Madison. 669 pp.
“Talking of Fah Diew Kan, they interviewed (PDF) David Streckfuss – who wrote his dissertation on lese majeste law in Thailand. It is certainly worth a read particularly as his dissertation and an earlier journal article were written in the 90s. He has same interesting statistics on lese majeste cases in the last 10 years. 22 cases and everyone was found guilty and in 21 of the cases the person was sentenced to jail.”
Anon: It was certainly not a joke about the Crown Prince. Streckfuss goes through the case in detail in both his dissertation and a journal article he wrote. The politician was imagining what his life would be like if he was a prince and living in a palace, he did not refer to a member of the Royal Family. He was found guilty because his statement was found to be indirectly insulting as it suggested members of the Royal Family were lazy.
Here is screenshot from Streckfuss’ article with the words in question.
Jon: “Every place and people holds some things as sacred” and “Topkapi palace where Mohammed’s sword” > Does this imply that you think that the Thai king is equal to a god, and to Mohammed?
We used to know someone who regularly to China (albeit not to Yunnan) to purchase clothing and textiles for selling it at Pratunam (in Bangkok). In her words not fakes but factory outlets. But who knows?
I even heard about stories about chinese cooks resigning from Thai Restaurants in China owned by Thai enterpreneurs just to open their own Thai restaurant…
After re-reading Vichai and company’s extremely good job at explaining why the “War On Drugs” sent shivers down peoples’ spines and waves of paranoia, in innocent people that is, who had never touched drugs in their whole life, like myself, all I can ask, is ***where was the boycott when all of this was happening?***
I remember riding my bicycle back from the internet cafe along the main street in Maesai and encountering a crowd around the first of two dead bodies that night. Shot down in cold blood in front of their residence/shops.
A wealthy Chinese friend explained that black-clothed special forces had carried out these executions. Vigellante justice is a scary and paranoia inducing thing, even for the innocent.
Again hearsay was the only way to gain any idea of what happened.
In my native country the United States a while back a crazy man joked about having a bomb on his person and then ran away even before the plane had taken off. He was shot dead.
The same year a crazy man attacked the Erawan shrine and destroyed it. Two guys chased him down and beat him to death and then were bailed out by a government official.
Likewise desecrating the holy places of any religion is not a good idea. I remember when my little four year old brother suddenly got sick in the room in Topkapi palace where Mohammed’s sword is displayed and my father quite discretely quickly ushered him from the room.
Every place and people holds some things as sacred, it’s not asking much to respect this, especially if it leads to peace in their society. I’m sure Thais would do the same for Australians and Americans. Wouldn’t they?
The Jinghpaw and Jinghpo written lingua franca are very similiar although regional differences in spelling are somehwat common. The same “Jinghpaw/Jinghpo Wunpawng” ethnic and cultural affinity is asserted across the borders in China.
I am far less familiar with the Rawang dialects but am open to input from readers.
Actually, I expect being dragged off by the police for lese majeste would be the a better prospect than being scummed by an offended mob if things go too far.
Jotman: Like I said – it’s all relative.
Even the more ‘advanced’ democracies still have elites that are virtually above politics and whichever political party is in power has no effect on them – they just do it in a more subtle way than in Thailand, and they are happy to let the masses think that because they have a vote they have some control.
anon: I bet the King does pardon Oliver if he happens to be convicted.
Perhaps it would be worth looking at the consequences of attending or not attending in a broader light. This is not just a conference being held to support the king and his junta. It is a serious attempt by a Thai university to organize an international event. Unless I have missed something, the organizers cannot all be involved in perpetuating, or even in agreement, with the current state of political affairs in Thailand. The most that a boycott could hope to achieve would be a dramatic reduction in the quality of the conference. This may prevent any grand claims about global scholars licking the shins and ankles of the junta, but it will only really hurt the few Thai scholars who are genuinely seeking an opportunity to participate in an international forum. Why not go and bloody well say what you want to say and see what happens? Why not use it as a forum to discuss politics. Form panels about the subject. Submit press releases to the media. Get the international media involved. Then if you get thrown into prison you will be making a brave moral point about the state of academic freedom in Thailand. I strongly doubt whether you are making one now by proposing a boycott. These days you have to be Swiss and drunk and in possession of a spray can to be charged with les majeste. Most academics do not fit this profile, at least during working hours. What of the ramifications for the study of other parts of the mainland? Thailand may think it exists in a bubble but research on it is a part of much broader regional studies. I understand you are not promoting a boycott on the study of Thailand, but where does this boycott on attending academic events stop and cooperation with local organizations start? Does this mean we should not be cooperating with research bodies in Burma, Laos and Vietnam because of the poor state of democracy in these countries? In academic affairs as in international affairs, sanctions don’t work. Be big, brave Aussie boys and go to the conference.
Elites are neither good nor bad. But they must be watched. To keep a check on the elites, people need access to information about them. They have to be free to talk about what the elites are doing.
Constitutional democracy — elections, a separation of powers, rule of law, the right to free speech — provides the basis for a self-correcting political system. It’s not perfectly stable, as you rightly point out, but at least it provides an open process by which troubles can be sorted out. Sadly, the Thai system has become again something like a black box — a closed system.
Which is to say an information-poor system. To me it all comes down to access to information. Unless information freely circulates, members of society won’t be able to recognize or address problems, taking corrective action from time to time.
I agree, Srithanonchai, its very disappointing – they protest anytime a muslim even gets questioned, and nobody seems to know who is committing the atrocities.
They obviously are not scared of the authorities, so on one level the ‘hearts and minds’ campaign is working, but if they dont start weeding out the extremists soon it will be too late.
I know it’s a drastic step, and the Buddhists who are forced to relocate would need compensation, but maybe the government should consider giving those provinces autonomy – let them take over the administration & security and they can see if they like living under full blown sharia law.
nganadeeleg, the last person well known to be convicted for lèse majesté was opposition politician Veera Musikapong, who was not only jailed but banned for politics for several years for making a joke about the Crown Prince. Other than him, numerous people have been imprisoned (but not convicted) for the crime, including the dumb Frenchman who refused to turn off his reading light on the plane even the princess ordered him to.
During the 70’s, during the reign of the the royalist Thanin Kraiwichian, dozens of people were imprisoned for lèse majesté (it was also the Thanin-government that changed the punishment for lèse majesté from
As for Thai academia, the question on freedom is not ‘Will academics be free?’ but ‘Why AREN’T they free?’
If the people aren’t free, then why should the elite academics be free? What makes them so special that they have the right to do what the normal man on the street can’t, unless if he wants to be dragged to the police station?
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Sino-Thai “tree of friendship” at the border
I do have pictures from that trip, Aiontay. Hah, I hadn’t even thought of that! I remember losing a boat load of pictures because one of my digital cards was corrupted, but most of those pictures I’d taken in the north around Dali. I’ll have to go sorting through them and post them on my flickr, but I’ll post a link in the comments here in case anyone else is interested in seeing them.
A Thai Studies boycott?
1. The conference is going to be used to extol the king whatever is said and whoever is there. The local press will ignore anything said that is critical of the king, whether it is his anniversary or not. So the extra propaganda value of the conference would be nil.
2. In previous Thai Studies conferences there has not been much critical said about the king in papers, so why should this one be different? New coup, new junta, same old docile academics.
3. So given #1 and #2, what would a boycott do (especially in the absence of an “alternative” conference)?
Wouldn’t it be preferable that academics go to the conference and test the limits and bust the taboos?
A Thai Studies boycott?
[…] pm р╕Ър╕ер╣Зр╕нр╕Бр╕Чр╕▓р╕Зр╕Фр╣Йр╕▓р╕Щр╕зр╕┤р╕Кр╕▓р╕Бр╕▓р╕гр╕кр╕▒р╕Зр╕Др╕бр╕ир╕▓р╕кр╕Хр╕гр╣М┬ New Mandala р╣Ар╕Бр╕╡р╣Ир╕вр╕зр╕Бр╕▒р╕Ър╣Ар╕нр╣Ар╕Кр╕╡р╕вр╕Хр╕░р╕зр╕▒р╕Щр╕нр╕нр╕Бр╣Ар╕Йр╕╡р╕вр╕Зр╣Гр╕Хр╣Йр╕ […]
Bring back the buffalo!
[…] why am I writing this post? For one simple reason. The good folks over at New Mandala have posted a picture and short entry about Princess Sirindhorn’s recent participation in a […]
A Thai Studies boycott?
“Why is that modern/overseas trainings have very little impact on the way in which majority Thai academics ‘understand’ their nation and their monarchy?” > Very true. Even six years of PhD studies seem to have little impact other than that those graduates can reproduce some of the western discourse in their respective fields of study. Moreover, things will remain at that level, without up-dating or further intellectual development along those lines.
Oliver Jufer, royal graffiti and global news
The bibliographical details for Streckfuss are
Streckfuss, David. 1995. “Kings in the Age of Nations – The Paradox of Lèse-Majesté as Political Crime in Thailand.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 37 (3): 445-475. (Reprinted in David Streckfuss, ed. 1996. Modern Thai Monarchy and Cultural Politics: The Acquittal of Sulak Sivaraksa on the Charge of lese majeste in Siam 1995 and Its Consequences. Bangkok: Santi Pracha Dhamma Institute, pp. 54-80.)
Streckfuss, David Eirich. 1998. “The poetics of subversion: Civil liberty and lese-majeste in the modern Thai state.” Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Wisconsin-Madison. 669 pp.
Oliver Jufer, royal graffiti and global news
Nganadeeleg: I posted this last year:
“Talking of Fah Diew Kan, they interviewed (PDF) David Streckfuss – who wrote his dissertation on lese majeste law in Thailand. It is certainly worth a read particularly as his dissertation and an earlier journal article were written in the 90s. He has same interesting statistics on lese majeste cases in the last 10 years. 22 cases and everyone was found guilty and in 21 of the cases the person was sentenced to jail.”
Anon: It was certainly not a joke about the Crown Prince. Streckfuss goes through the case in detail in both his dissertation and a journal article he wrote. The politician was imagining what his life would be like if he was a prince and living in a palace, he did not refer to a member of the Royal Family. He was found guilty because his statement was found to be indirectly insulting as it suggested members of the Royal Family were lazy.
Here is screenshot from Streckfuss’ article with the words in question.
A Thai Studies boycott?
Jon: “Every place and people holds some things as sacred” and “Topkapi palace where Mohammed’s sword” > Does this imply that you think that the Thai king is equal to a god, and to Mohammed?
Fakin’ it for the Thai market in Yunnan
We used to know someone who regularly to China (albeit not to Yunnan) to purchase clothing and textiles for selling it at Pratunam (in Bangkok). In her words not fakes but factory outlets. But who knows?
I even heard about stories about chinese cooks resigning from Thai Restaurants in China owned by Thai enterpreneurs just to open their own Thai restaurant…
A Thai Studies boycott?
After re-reading Vichai and company’s extremely good job at explaining why the “War On Drugs” sent shivers down peoples’ spines and waves of paranoia, in innocent people that is, who had never touched drugs in their whole life, like myself, all I can ask, is ***where was the boycott when all of this was happening?***
http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/2006/10/28/surayud-to-bring-love-harmony-and-virtue/
I remember riding my bicycle back from the internet cafe along the main street in Maesai and encountering a crowd around the first of two dead bodies that night. Shot down in cold blood in front of their residence/shops.
A wealthy Chinese friend explained that black-clothed special forces had carried out these executions. Vigellante justice is a scary and paranoia inducing thing, even for the innocent.
Again hearsay was the only way to gain any idea of what happened.
A Thai Studies boycott?
In my native country the United States a while back a crazy man joked about having a bomb on his person and then ran away even before the plane had taken off. He was shot dead.
The same year a crazy man attacked the Erawan shrine and destroyed it. Two guys chased him down and beat him to death and then were bailed out by a government official.
Likewise desecrating the holy places of any religion is not a good idea. I remember when my little four year old brother suddenly got sick in the room in Topkapi palace where Mohammed’s sword is displayed and my father quite discretely quickly ushered him from the room.
Every place and people holds some things as sacred, it’s not asking much to respect this, especially if it leads to peace in their society. I’m sure Thais would do the same for Australians and Americans. Wouldn’t they?
Sino-Thai “tree of friendship” at the border
Thanks for your comments, everyone.
Aiontay,
The Jinghpaw and Jinghpo written lingua franca are very similiar although regional differences in spelling are somehwat common. The same “Jinghpaw/Jinghpo Wunpawng” ethnic and cultural affinity is asserted across the borders in China.
I am far less familiar with the Rawang dialects but am open to input from readers.
Thanks for the questions.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
A Thai Studies boycott?
As long as the organizers let the participants wear any color they want…
A Thai Studies boycott?
Actually, I expect being dragged off by the police for lese majeste would be the a better prospect than being scummed by an offended mob if things go too far.
Oliver Jufer, royal graffiti and global news
Jotman: Like I said – it’s all relative.
Even the more ‘advanced’ democracies still have elites that are virtually above politics and whichever political party is in power has no effect on them – they just do it in a more subtle way than in Thailand, and they are happy to let the masses think that because they have a vote they have some control.
anon: I bet the King does pardon Oliver if he happens to be convicted.
A Thai Studies boycott?
Perhaps it would be worth looking at the consequences of attending or not attending in a broader light. This is not just a conference being held to support the king and his junta. It is a serious attempt by a Thai university to organize an international event. Unless I have missed something, the organizers cannot all be involved in perpetuating, or even in agreement, with the current state of political affairs in Thailand. The most that a boycott could hope to achieve would be a dramatic reduction in the quality of the conference. This may prevent any grand claims about global scholars licking the shins and ankles of the junta, but it will only really hurt the few Thai scholars who are genuinely seeking an opportunity to participate in an international forum. Why not go and bloody well say what you want to say and see what happens? Why not use it as a forum to discuss politics. Form panels about the subject. Submit press releases to the media. Get the international media involved. Then if you get thrown into prison you will be making a brave moral point about the state of academic freedom in Thailand. I strongly doubt whether you are making one now by proposing a boycott. These days you have to be Swiss and drunk and in possession of a spray can to be charged with les majeste. Most academics do not fit this profile, at least during working hours. What of the ramifications for the study of other parts of the mainland? Thailand may think it exists in a bubble but research on it is a part of much broader regional studies. I understand you are not promoting a boycott on the study of Thailand, but where does this boycott on attending academic events stop and cooperation with local organizations start? Does this mean we should not be cooperating with research bodies in Burma, Laos and Vietnam because of the poor state of democracy in these countries? In academic affairs as in international affairs, sanctions don’t work. Be big, brave Aussie boys and go to the conference.
Oliver Jufer, royal graffiti and global news
nganadeeleg:
Elites are neither good nor bad. But they must be watched. To keep a check on the elites, people need access to information about them. They have to be free to talk about what the elites are doing.
Constitutional democracy — elections, a separation of powers, rule of law, the right to free speech — provides the basis for a self-correcting political system. It’s not perfectly stable, as you rightly point out, but at least it provides an open process by which troubles can be sorted out. Sadly, the Thai system has become again something like a black box — a closed system.
Which is to say an information-poor system. To me it all comes down to access to information. Unless information freely circulates, members of society won’t be able to recognize or address problems, taking corrective action from time to time.
– Blogger Jotman
Bombs in the South: Hotel, Shopping Centres, Big C
I agree, Srithanonchai, its very disappointing – they protest anytime a muslim even gets questioned, and nobody seems to know who is committing the atrocities.
They obviously are not scared of the authorities, so on one level the ‘hearts and minds’ campaign is working, but if they dont start weeding out the extremists soon it will be too late.
I know it’s a drastic step, and the Buddhists who are forced to relocate would need compensation, but maybe the government should consider giving those provinces autonomy – let them take over the administration & security and they can see if they like living under full blown sharia law.
Oliver Jufer, royal graffiti and global news
nganadeeleg, the last person well known to be convicted for lèse majesté was opposition politician Veera Musikapong, who was not only jailed but banned for politics for several years for making a joke about the Crown Prince. Other than him, numerous people have been imprisoned (but not convicted) for the crime, including the dumb Frenchman who refused to turn off his reading light on the plane even the princess ordered him to.
During the 70’s, during the reign of the the royalist Thanin Kraiwichian, dozens of people were imprisoned for lèse majesté (it was also the Thanin-government that changed the punishment for lèse majesté from
A Thai Studies boycott?
As for Thai academia, the question on freedom is not ‘Will academics be free?’ but ‘Why AREN’T they free?’
If the people aren’t free, then why should the elite academics be free? What makes them so special that they have the right to do what the normal man on the street can’t, unless if he wants to be dragged to the police station?