By Prachatai political editorial team |
<p>In 2023 fiscal year, a number of agencies were allocated budget related to the monarchy, all of which total approximately 34.75 billion baht or 1.09% of the total national budget (3.185 trillion baht), divided into 16.92 billion baht in direct expenses and 17.83 billion baht in indirect expenses.</p>
By Prachatai and VOD |
<p>He worked for the current Bangkok governor and was photographed with an ousted Thai premier and a current Phnom Penh deputy governor. Missing since 2020, Wanchalearm Satsaksit also helped other Thai dissidents flee to Cambodia. But his associates have sought to erase all ties.</p>
By Political editorial team |
<p>The Thai monarchy’s influence and role in politics have for decades been debated in academic circles and on the street. Under the current reign, the focus of analysis has shifted from the old network to a new one that is gradually becoming clearer - the military.</p>
By Yiamyut Sutthichaya |
<p>At least 30 critics of the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration had their phones infected with Pegasus spyware, a powerful tool for surveillance and eavesdropping. Although government authorities have yet to be tied to the bugging, an investigation strongly suggests state involvement.</p>
By Kritsada Subpawanthanakun |
<p>A study by the Centre for Research on Inequality and Social Policy (CRISP) finds that low-income people were heavily affected by the pandemic. Without appropriate support, the lingering damage may slow their recovery more than expected. </p>
By Sorawut Wongsaranon |
<p>Prachatai interviewed Thitirat Thipsamritkul, lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, and also the Chair of Amnesty International Thailand, on the impacts that the Non-profit Organisation Act may have if passed.</p>
By Teeranai Charuvastra |
<p>A disability rights advocate spent half a day in jail – in his wheelchair – after a court unexpectedly accepted a criminal case against him and held him in custody as his lawyers scrambled to raise bail. His alleged crime: posting a photo of a car that he believed was improperly occupying a wheelchair user’s parking space.</p>
By Yiamyut Sutthichaya |
<p>A talk with Thep Boontanondha, author of “The King’s Soldiers and the Fostering of Faith and Loyalty” in an attempt to see how the Thai armed forces have been imbued with monarchism. As the influence of the monarchy ebbs and flows, the practice lives on, affecting the political landscape even after the fall of the absolute monarchy.</p>
By Yiamyut Sutthichaya, Natchalee Singsaohae |
<p>See inside the dark abyss of an online business in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville where over 20 Thais were tricked into leaving home for a promising salary, only to find themselves forced to work in an online fraud scheme, a growing trend in illegal work that shades into human trafficking and modern day slavery in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>
By Investigative report team |
<p>An international investigative report reveals that Credit Suisse Bank account holders include dictator elite, intelligence officers, corrupted officials and people who are involved in human rights abuse. Leading businessmen, bureaucrats and a foreigner who was questioned for tax evasion are found in Thailand.</p>
By Nuttaphol Meksobhon |
<p>10 months after the coup, many Karen and Karenni refugees are still hiding in the forests and mountains, while concerns over wars on the border have increased. We discuss with academics the role of diplomacy in refugee assistance to enhance national security and developing diplomacy to pressure Min Aung Hlaing.</p>
By Nutcha Tantivitayapitak |
<p>When the state locked down workers’ camps without providing assistance to camp residents, the volunteer network ‘No One Cares’ was born.</p>