laoguy introduced the quack หมอหยอง asking how many bodies more . . . and now he asks what was that VIP’s name responsible for the quack’s confirmed disappearance . . . you have lots of b/s laoguy. if you truly don’t know . . . then you are a liar.
The Thai military government has taken up the late King Bhumibol’s philosophy and knowledge as the main theme of the 2017 Children’s Day.
On 11 January 2017, Col Thaksada Sangchan, Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Officer, said that from 8 am-3 pm on 14 January the government will organise an event for Children’s Day at the Government House in Bangkok, according to Wassana Nanuam, the Bangkok Post reporter.
She said that the theme th 2017 Children’s Day is ‘Land of Happiness under the King’s Knowledge’
“The PM wants children to play and learn from activities set up for them which are related to the knowledge and philosophies of the late King Rama IX. ”
tuck
Oh dear. Could you be so honest as to put that ‘who cares’ back into its correct context. Your comment and mine are directly adjacent, they can be compared.
Any problems you have with Jim T feel free to take them up with him. He is after all a Thaksin supporter who in my not so humble opinion is a major criminal. Thaksin also made people disappear. He also had a lot of partners in crime, so don’t forget to mention them too, there were some big names amongst them.
Artful riff in ophthalmology and “vision”, but Ms Tyler, this is nonsense:
“A parallel can be found in Thailand, where several iterations of Thaksin opponents were unsuccessful in dismantling the former prime minister’s 30-baht health scheme.”
In fact, several iterations of Thaksin opponents (as well as allies) endeavored to put the program on a firm financial footing and to expand the program. None, to my knowledge tried to “denegrate” it, except to say that it was poorly funded. It was only with the current ruling junta that the idea of rolling it back was floated. Your point holds in that even the dictators didn’t dare dismantle the program. But there has been nothing similar to the long-term, short-sighted call for repeal of the ACA in the US.
Steve
Who cares about your irrelevant distinctions. Who cares if they are Lao or Thai. Or if they are covert or overt disappearances. Or if they are some delicate political operator or some social lightweight. The same neolithic political terror tactic of “kill the chicken to scare the monkey” is being used to deny fundamental human rights. The semantics of this tactic have long been understood by both Thais and the Lao and indeed the present Philippine government’s copy of Thaksin’s war on drugs is just a minor variation of the theme of maintaining fear in the population.
“And หมอหยอง was not a political dissenter but a quack who crossed some VIP” Quite a revealing statement of your social and moral ethics it seems. This person is of no consequence, lets not include him in the big boys talk. And that VIP you speak of, would you care to name him? Surely, not the same guy who was rumoured to have ordered the hit on Sonthi Lim in the middle of Bangkok and has since gone on to higher things?
But then again it has always been the fevered search for “distinctions” that has justified support for Thailand’s theatrically costumed mafia. Maybe your clamoring endeavors will be rewarded in this life or if not, maybe the next.
First comment after reading articles and watching what is often a clown-show of comments. I regard what Christine Gray and McGregor Marshall have to say most highly, though not for exactly the same reasons. Some of the commentators need to grow up and abandon the status games or someone will nominate them for Thai passports.
In general, it seems obvious that the new guy is unwelcome in the estimation of most Thais and has been pretty much since he was slippered by his Dad for shouting at a courtier that he was the future head-boy so have some respect. I really don’t think there’s an argument about this, not a credible one imho, though of course I haven’t canvassed ‘most’ Thais.
On the other hand, I strongly suspect that he and that nice Mr Prayuth are heading for an epic confrontation, and I have no doubt whatever that Uncle Too will lose that game. Shadowy hands that have long been forgotten are still at work. Kicking the collective backside of the army is one thing that will endear the new guy to the populace as well, though I doubt his machinations to be the head boy *and* live in Germany will not appeal very much.
I suppose that time will tell. It’s a fine game though… considerably more entertaining than what passes for prime-time TV in Thailand.
Any way, thanks for providing such an entertaining (if sometimes boisterous) forum, by far the best around, and bound to be more so later this year when TV finally manages to flush itself down the pan.
หมอหยอง died in prison. For a guy from laos, where lots of disappearances of dissenters is a fact of daily life, laoguy should have been able to make the distinction.
And หมอหยอง was not a political dissenter but a quack who crossed some VIP laoguy.
I cannot blame the Buddhist religion for this animosity against the Rohingya. We must blame the Burmese government and their policies that support and promote religious intolerance. World War I and II were fought because of economic reasons. Any offense committed by ordinary Burmese citizens against anyone can fall easily within the ambit of Burma’s Penal Code. Domestic law could have taken care of conspiracy to commit crimes-assault, battery among others. These crimes are committed because the Burmese government closes a blind eye. ICC should charge Burmese government for genocide.
Is there any full-list of special regions in Myanmar? I am trying to find out more details of the NDA-K in SR 1 in north-eastern Kachin State. Special regions are not stipulated in the Constitution, thus the legal ground of these administrative bodies seems unclear and confusing in many ways. How do we understand social regions in Myanmar? Are they ab extrajudicial – but effective power sharing mechanism?
On 10 January 2016, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, announced that the King through his privy council requested for certain charges in the constitution, which was approved by the public referendum last year.
The junta leader said that he would use absolute power stated under Section 44 of the Interim Charter to change the interim constitution in order to pave the way for the amendment of the new constitution.
Laos, the Police State of Asean, is the worst place to be a dissenter as the dissenter could quickly end up dead and disappeared. For the really very poor, the worst place in Asean would be the Philippines as that very poor guy could quickly end up as statistic to President Duterte’s police-directed extra-judicial killings of suspected drug dealers and addicts. For the religious minority like the Muslim Rohingya, Myanmar will be their death trap in an ethnic cleansing that’s being going on for decades in this place. Najib’s attempt to cover-up his stealing ways in that 1MDB scandal is also turning into a very dangerous campaign to pit the Malaysian Muslims against the Chinese/Christian minority, as distraction and to get back at the dissenters who wish Najib to be held accountable. Abuses against dissenters also continue on at Vietnam and Thailand (lese majeste! and the junta). Brunei is getting Sharia serious to tighten the screws against any dissenter or disgruntled of the Sultan’s family rampant abuses and corruption. Singapore is probably the only good place in Asean for the politically disconted, or is it?
But hey at least we’re NOT living in the Middle East, or North Korea, or Russia.
So far three reported disappeared under Gen. Prayut’s junta rule:
(1) Pholachai “Billy” Rakchongcharoen (via Falang) – “The United Nations human rights office called Thursday on Thailand to speed up an investigation into the disappearance of an ethnic minority environmental activist who has helped villagers report illegal activity in Thailand’s largest national park.” (April 2015 http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-speedy-probe-urged-over-missing-thai-2015apr15-story.html).
(2) and (3) compliments of Jim T: Den Kumlae, a community leader from Chaiyapoom Province and Ittipol Sukpan aka DJ Sunho who was reported missing while he was seeking asylum in Laos. Note that there is no other news about these two missing persons other than Jim T’s claim.
Any other Thai disappeareds under General Prayut from NewMandala commentators?
Tuck, what we do know for sure, Den Kumlae, a community leader from Chaiyapoom Province. Disappeared under your admired Prayut. Ittipol Sukpan aka DJ Sunho is another person who was reported missing while he was seeking asylum in Laos. Indeed, he was relentless hunted down a ross the border. Prayut has a massive and well funded apparatus at his disposal for such witchhunts, including harrassment as we recently saw in the case of Yingluck and her family. There are two more cases that need confirmation,,, As I said the censorship and repression on the freedom of expression is extreme. It is time to end excuses.
The reason why you will not hear much if anything about political killings or disappearances post-coup is the extensive censorship and fear by legal and human rights activists in speaking out. Information to the people is blocked. Pity. Thailand is now “less free” than neighbouring Cambodia, so do not expect anything antithetical to the junta to be reported in electronic (–though still good for Thai soapies) or Thailand’s normalised print media. We rely only on informal networks for disappearances, which for obvious reasons remain a discrete discussion. Human Rights and independent academic legal groups in Thailand have no rights now or support to pursue cases. Disappearances also require checking household registers to support claims. Washington-based Freedom House has Thailand in 2016 as “not free” for press freedom status and “not free” for Net Freedom Status, and around the same scores for civil liberties 5, political rights 6 (7 being the least free) and total aggregate score as Cambodia (except Cambodia is in fact better than Thailand and now “partly free” for Net Freedom Status). In 2014, before the coup and Prayut’s watch, Thailand was ranked at least “partly free”, and going back earlier to 2001-6 (under whose government?) an impressive 2-3 for all categories with a “free” status.
In 2016 most red shirt media were forced to close down, media leaders arrested. Check also Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, AHRC, and iLaw Freedom. Indeed, the reader may want to see Freedom of Expression Documentation Centre (iLaw Freedom) website (English) “charges-against-individuals-after-2014-coup”, (though last update was 30 April 2016) under NCPO regime. Staggering, and this is only what the group of lawyers can actually document given constraints and regime blockages. I no need to mention the pitiless increasing use of 112, 116, –and section 44, etc. since Prayut came to dominance. Many regional and local pro-democracy (formerly red shirt) activists, at village, district and provincial levels, have disappeared since 2010. There are no traces of some of these leaders. Documentation of these disappearances became blurred since Prayut’s censorship (I believe iLaw Freedom started to document this earlier, but were not able to continue).
Prayut pledged to make torture and enforced disappearance criminal offenses, according to Human Rights Watch and last year announced it would submit a bill to criminalize torture and enforced disappearances to the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly. He also said Thailand would ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This has not been undertaken. Even if it were, the double speak of the junta would make this legislation worthless. For the reader “enforced disappearance” is defined under international law as the arrest or detention of a person by state officials, or their agents, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty, or to reveal the person’s fate or whereabouts. This happened even within the extensive use of “attitude adjustments”. Enforced disappearances violate a range of fundamental human rights protected under international law, including prohibitions against arbitrary arrest and detention; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and extrajudicial execution. All of the above have been, and continue to be, normalis usum for the military junta in an excuse to control dissent and return to the old order of things.
You do not know much about Indonesian politics, do you? Many of us, Indonesians, see SBY’s administration as a failure. Did rampant corruption by officials subside? Did nation building and unity improve? Was sustainable economic growth retained? What about minority rights?
Very good and balanced article! Two wrongs do not make a right, but the policies and laws in Malaysia date from long before the Rohingyas were targeted in Myanmar, let alone the laws were enacted. Except that none of those who now shout so much about human rights in Myanmar ever bothered to highlight the injustices in Malaysia: forced and unilateral conversion, prevention of conversion from Islam to Christianity and so on. These seem to be known only to a select circle who take pains to take note of this.
Keep up the good work!
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A response to the Thai government
laoguy introduced the quack หมอหยอง asking how many bodies more . . . and now he asks what was that VIP’s name responsible for the quack’s confirmed disappearance . . . you have lots of b/s laoguy. if you truly don’t know . . . then you are a liar.
Southeast Asian snapshots
The Thai military government has taken up the late King Bhumibol’s philosophy and knowledge as the main theme of the 2017 Children’s Day.
On 11 January 2017, Col Thaksada Sangchan, Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Officer, said that from 8 am-3 pm on 14 January the government will organise an event for Children’s Day at the Government House in Bangkok, according to Wassana Nanuam, the Bangkok Post reporter.
She said that the theme th 2017 Children’s Day is ‘Land of Happiness under the King’s Knowledge’
“The PM wants children to play and learn from activities set up for them which are related to the knowledge and philosophies of the late King Rama IX. ”
http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/6832
A response to the Thai government
tuck
Oh dear. Could you be so honest as to put that ‘who cares’ back into its correct context. Your comment and mine are directly adjacent, they can be compared.
Any problems you have with Jim T feel free to take them up with him. He is after all a Thaksin supporter who in my not so humble opinion is a major criminal. Thaksin also made people disappear. He also had a lot of partners in crime, so don’t forget to mention them too, there were some big names amongst them.
Oh, and what was the name of that VIP again?
Doctor, my eyes
Artful riff in ophthalmology and “vision”, but Ms Tyler, this is nonsense:
“A parallel can be found in Thailand, where several iterations of Thaksin opponents were unsuccessful in dismantling the former prime minister’s 30-baht health scheme.”
In fact, several iterations of Thaksin opponents (as well as allies) endeavored to put the program on a firm financial footing and to expand the program. None, to my knowledge tried to “denegrate” it, except to say that it was poorly funded. It was only with the current ruling junta that the idea of rolling it back was floated. Your point holds in that even the dictators didn’t dare dismantle the program. But there has been nothing similar to the long-term, short-sighted call for repeal of the ACA in the US.
Steve
A response to the Thai government
Was Jim T lying when he said Gen. Prayuth’s junta are responsible for many ‘disappearances’ of Thai dissenters?
Laoguy says ‘who cares’?
A response to the Thai government
Who cares about your irrelevant distinctions. Who cares if they are Lao or Thai. Or if they are covert or overt disappearances. Or if they are some delicate political operator or some social lightweight. The same neolithic political terror tactic of “kill the chicken to scare the monkey” is being used to deny fundamental human rights. The semantics of this tactic have long been understood by both Thais and the Lao and indeed the present Philippine government’s copy of Thaksin’s war on drugs is just a minor variation of the theme of maintaining fear in the population.
“And หมอหยอง was not a political dissenter but a quack who crossed some VIP” Quite a revealing statement of your social and moral ethics it seems. This person is of no consequence, lets not include him in the big boys talk. And that VIP you speak of, would you care to name him? Surely, not the same guy who was rumoured to have ordered the hit on Sonthi Lim in the middle of Bangkok and has since gone on to higher things?
But then again it has always been the fevered search for “distinctions” that has justified support for Thailand’s theatrically costumed mafia. Maybe your clamoring endeavors will be rewarded in this life or if not, maybe the next.
The futility of Prayuth’s war on truth
First comment after reading articles and watching what is often a clown-show of comments. I regard what Christine Gray and McGregor Marshall have to say most highly, though not for exactly the same reasons. Some of the commentators need to grow up and abandon the status games or someone will nominate them for Thai passports.
In general, it seems obvious that the new guy is unwelcome in the estimation of most Thais and has been pretty much since he was slippered by his Dad for shouting at a courtier that he was the future head-boy so have some respect. I really don’t think there’s an argument about this, not a credible one imho, though of course I haven’t canvassed ‘most’ Thais.
On the other hand, I strongly suspect that he and that nice Mr Prayuth are heading for an epic confrontation, and I have no doubt whatever that Uncle Too will lose that game. Shadowy hands that have long been forgotten are still at work. Kicking the collective backside of the army is one thing that will endear the new guy to the populace as well, though I doubt his machinations to be the head boy *and* live in Germany will not appeal very much.
I suppose that time will tell. It’s a fine game though… considerably more entertaining than what passes for prime-time TV in Thailand.
Any way, thanks for providing such an entertaining (if sometimes boisterous) forum, by far the best around, and bound to be more so later this year when TV finally manages to flush itself down the pan.
A response to the Thai government
หมอหยอง died in prison. For a guy from laos, where lots of disappearances of dissenters is a fact of daily life, laoguy should have been able to make the distinction.
And หมอหยอง was not a political dissenter but a quack who crossed some VIP laoguy.
Is Ma Ba Tha really in decline?
I cannot blame the Buddhist religion for this animosity against the Rohingya. We must blame the Burmese government and their policies that support and promote religious intolerance. World War I and II were fought because of economic reasons. Any offense committed by ordinary Burmese citizens against anyone can fall easily within the ambit of Burma’s Penal Code. Domestic law could have taken care of conspiracy to commit crimes-assault, battery among others. These crimes are committed because the Burmese government closes a blind eye. ICC should charge Burmese government for genocide.
Tough year for human rights in Southeast Asia
And Russia, Israel and even Turkey is worse than ASEAN, save Singapore ? Not very likely.
From the archives: Special regions in Burma
Is there any full-list of special regions in Myanmar? I am trying to find out more details of the NDA-K in SR 1 in north-eastern Kachin State. Special regions are not stipulated in the Constitution, thus the legal ground of these administrative bodies seems unclear and confusing in many ways. How do we understand social regions in Myanmar? Are they ab extrajudicial – but effective power sharing mechanism?
A response to the Thai government
Well หมอหยอง is not not coming back. How many bodies will satisfy you?
Thailand’s containment constitution
On 10 January 2016, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, announced that the King through his privy council requested for certain charges in the constitution, which was approved by the public referendum last year.
The junta leader said that he would use absolute power stated under Section 44 of the Interim Charter to change the interim constitution in order to pave the way for the amendment of the new constitution.
http://prachatai.org/english/node/6827
Tough year for human rights in Southeast Asia
Laos, the Police State of Asean, is the worst place to be a dissenter as the dissenter could quickly end up dead and disappeared. For the really very poor, the worst place in Asean would be the Philippines as that very poor guy could quickly end up as statistic to President Duterte’s police-directed extra-judicial killings of suspected drug dealers and addicts. For the religious minority like the Muslim Rohingya, Myanmar will be their death trap in an ethnic cleansing that’s being going on for decades in this place. Najib’s attempt to cover-up his stealing ways in that 1MDB scandal is also turning into a very dangerous campaign to pit the Malaysian Muslims against the Chinese/Christian minority, as distraction and to get back at the dissenters who wish Najib to be held accountable. Abuses against dissenters also continue on at Vietnam and Thailand (lese majeste! and the junta). Brunei is getting Sharia serious to tighten the screws against any dissenter or disgruntled of the Sultan’s family rampant abuses and corruption. Singapore is probably the only good place in Asean for the politically disconted, or is it?
But hey at least we’re NOT living in the Middle East, or North Korea, or Russia.
A response to the Thai government
So far three reported disappeared under Gen. Prayut’s junta rule:
(1) Pholachai “Billy” Rakchongcharoen (via Falang) – “The United Nations human rights office called Thursday on Thailand to speed up an investigation into the disappearance of an ethnic minority environmental activist who has helped villagers report illegal activity in Thailand’s largest national park.” (April 2015 http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-speedy-probe-urged-over-missing-thai-2015apr15-story.html).
(2) and (3) compliments of Jim T: Den Kumlae, a community leader from Chaiyapoom Province and Ittipol Sukpan aka DJ Sunho who was reported missing while he was seeking asylum in Laos. Note that there is no other news about these two missing persons other than Jim T’s claim.
Any other Thai disappeareds under General Prayut from NewMandala commentators?
Defending Islam and reclaiming diversity
Thank you for the article! Not once did I feel like I was reading a personal opinion, unlike when reading other NM articles.
A response to the Thai government
Tuck, what we do know for sure, Den Kumlae, a community leader from Chaiyapoom Province. Disappeared under your admired Prayut. Ittipol Sukpan aka DJ Sunho is another person who was reported missing while he was seeking asylum in Laos. Indeed, he was relentless hunted down a ross the border. Prayut has a massive and well funded apparatus at his disposal for such witchhunts, including harrassment as we recently saw in the case of Yingluck and her family. There are two more cases that need confirmation,,, As I said the censorship and repression on the freedom of expression is extreme. It is time to end excuses.
A response to the Thai government
The reason why you will not hear much if anything about political killings or disappearances post-coup is the extensive censorship and fear by legal and human rights activists in speaking out. Information to the people is blocked. Pity. Thailand is now “less free” than neighbouring Cambodia, so do not expect anything antithetical to the junta to be reported in electronic (–though still good for Thai soapies) or Thailand’s normalised print media. We rely only on informal networks for disappearances, which for obvious reasons remain a discrete discussion. Human Rights and independent academic legal groups in Thailand have no rights now or support to pursue cases. Disappearances also require checking household registers to support claims. Washington-based Freedom House has Thailand in 2016 as “not free” for press freedom status and “not free” for Net Freedom Status, and around the same scores for civil liberties 5, political rights 6 (7 being the least free) and total aggregate score as Cambodia (except Cambodia is in fact better than Thailand and now “partly free” for Net Freedom Status). In 2014, before the coup and Prayut’s watch, Thailand was ranked at least “partly free”, and going back earlier to 2001-6 (under whose government?) an impressive 2-3 for all categories with a “free” status.
In 2016 most red shirt media were forced to close down, media leaders arrested. Check also Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, AHRC, and iLaw Freedom. Indeed, the reader may want to see Freedom of Expression Documentation Centre (iLaw Freedom) website (English) “charges-against-individuals-after-2014-coup”, (though last update was 30 April 2016) under NCPO regime. Staggering, and this is only what the group of lawyers can actually document given constraints and regime blockages. I no need to mention the pitiless increasing use of 112, 116, –and section 44, etc. since Prayut came to dominance. Many regional and local pro-democracy (formerly red shirt) activists, at village, district and provincial levels, have disappeared since 2010. There are no traces of some of these leaders. Documentation of these disappearances became blurred since Prayut’s censorship (I believe iLaw Freedom started to document this earlier, but were not able to continue).
Prayut pledged to make torture and enforced disappearance criminal offenses, according to Human Rights Watch and last year announced it would submit a bill to criminalize torture and enforced disappearances to the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly. He also said Thailand would ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This has not been undertaken. Even if it were, the double speak of the junta would make this legislation worthless. For the reader “enforced disappearance” is defined under international law as the arrest or detention of a person by state officials, or their agents, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty, or to reveal the person’s fate or whereabouts. This happened even within the extensive use of “attitude adjustments”. Enforced disappearances violate a range of fundamental human rights protected under international law, including prohibitions against arbitrary arrest and detention; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and extrajudicial execution. All of the above have been, and continue to be, normalis usum for the military junta in an excuse to control dissent and return to the old order of things.
Why we still need SBY
You do not know much about Indonesian politics, do you? Many of us, Indonesians, see SBY’s administration as a failure. Did rampant corruption by officials subside? Did nation building and unity improve? Was sustainable economic growth retained? What about minority rights?
Race to the bottom
Very good and balanced article! Two wrongs do not make a right, but the policies and laws in Malaysia date from long before the Rohingyas were targeted in Myanmar, let alone the laws were enacted. Except that none of those who now shout so much about human rights in Myanmar ever bothered to highlight the injustices in Malaysia: forced and unilateral conversion, prevention of conversion from Islam to Christianity and so on. These seem to be known only to a select circle who take pains to take note of this.
Keep up the good work!