<p><em>A recent Supreme Court verdict has set a man free, while setting a troubling precedent about acceptable defences in lèse majesté trials.<strong> Myles Gough </strong>reports. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</em></p> <p><em></em></p>

<div>For Little Uncle Bandit Aneeya, 73-year old poor writer and 112 convict</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>What kind of Thai society does Uncle Bandit &nbsp;Aneeya dream of coming true in even in the last stages of his life? His dream is that in a land of wisdom and justice every single person is equal. &nbsp;I think this kind of dream is worth fighting for.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Yet he struggles, harder than other people his age. &nbsp;He has overcome difficulties and troubles since he was a child. </div>

<p><em>The conservative establishment’s nigh decade-long putsch to turn back the progress of Thai democracy and the empowering advances it has made since late in the last century has backfired on them with epic irony. Their illiberal acts have been designed to demolish popular electoral democracy and return the nation to a state of corrupt and ineffective government open to easy exploitation by the traditional elite.</em></p>

<p><strong>The 'Lao Question' becomes the 'Thai Lao Question' as Thai society realizes ethnic identity matters</strong></p> <p>Thailand has been described as a paradise by its own people, most famously in terms of the Ramkhamhaeng Inscription. It describes a land with fish in the water and rice in the fields. Thailand has also been marketed as such to foreigners: Amazing Thailand, the Land of Smiles.</p>

<p>Professor Thirayuth Boonmee raised the question on the television news whether or not respect my vote applied to respect the crook as well.<br /><br />This is a very bizarre question. It is as if Professor Thirayuth has been convinced that the voters have already decided whom they will select, and no matter whom they select, they will all be crooks (since the Democrat Party has boycotted the election).<br /></p>

<div style="text-align: right;">Nawaminthrachinuthit Triam Udomsuksa Phatthanakan School</div> <div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div> <div style="text-align: center;">27 January 2014</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban&nbsp;</div> <div>Secretary General of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC)</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Topic: &nbsp;Curiosity and anxiety of an ordinary student</div> <div>Dear Mr. Suthep:</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>My name is Netiwit Chotiphatpaisal and I am a Grade &nbsp;11 high school student with an interest in political news. </div>

<p>Today’s Thai general election results are now looming, and with the Pheu Thai Party government positioned to secure a likely victory, anti-government protesters will be intent on finding more ways to delegitimise their nation’s political process. Over recent years, the Thai political system has been able to resist the pressure to concede much to the demands of the Bangkok protesters who still remain defiant.</p>

<p><em>This article deals primarily with the sacrosanct relationship between the electoral process and democracy, and how the PDRC’s attempt to seize power without the electoral mandate that is required by democracy will lead the country into civil war.</em></p> <p>When the PDRC claimed they were staging a “shutdown” in Bangkok, few anticipated this would also include a shutdown on any meaningful dialogue or conversation, but there you have it (and you can’t say they didn’t warn you in advance).</p>

<div>There is widespread concern about the high potential for violence on the February 2 elections in Thailand, where a protracted political crisis has dragged on with no immediately foreseeable end as tension continues to mount.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The rising tension has kept many citizens from speaking out because of risks associated or the unwillingness to contribute to further polarization, as each side has invoked the name of the people for their respective ends.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>As this crisis has unfolded over the past three months, a number of opportunities have been w </div>

<p>The Constitutional Court of Thailand has recently adjudicated on 2 cases concerning alleged attempts to overthrow the country’s democratic system which is covered in Article 68 of the Constitution. In Case No. 15-18/2556, the Court stated that changing the senate from being half-appointed and half-elected to being fully elected is an attempt to overthrow the democratic system. And in the latest case, the Court rejected the amendment of Article 190 of the Constitution for the same reason.</p>

<p>Fuadi Pitsuwan, son of Surin Pitsuwan, former foreign minister, former ASEAN Secretary-General and a member of the Democrat Party, wrote an article, appeared in an online journal, PacNet, dated 8 January in response to what he saw as the <a href="http://csis.org/files/publication/Pac1403.pdf">“tyranny of global commentary.”</a> Fuadi is currently a fellow at the Asia Centre at the prestigious Harvard University.</p> <p></p>

<div style="margin-left: 40px;">Long as passing time, I'm buried,</div> <div style="margin-left: 40px;">Deep down inside my chest,</div> <div style="margin-left: 40px;">The voice hidden in my throat,</div> <div style="margin-left: 40px;">I shout out loud but there has no sound.</div> <div style="margin-left: 40px;"> </div>