<p><em>An important agency is rendered toothless by its Quisling chairwoman</em><br /><br />Amara Pongsapich, the chairperson of Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission must have felt frustrated to hear that former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had been charged with murder in connection with his role in a military crackdown against pro-Thaksin protesters in 2010.<br /></p>

<p>Bangkok is preparing for the return of the infamous neo-fascist ultra-right group, Pitak Siam (Protecting Siam). From the police force to members of the general public, that name carries confusion and the hint of pandemonium. However this time the boundaries of politics have changed, Thailand saw Pitak Siam declaring their intent to forcibly remove the legitimately-elected Government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and install a junta similar to the previous ruling tyrannical power of Myanmar.<br /></p>

<p>On behalf of the volunteers who collected information on the impact of 2010 April-May crackdown in Ubon Ratchathani, I would like to make the following observations regarding the complete Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) report as follows.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/category/thanthawut-thaweewarodomkul">Thanthawut Taweewarodomkul</a> (also known as “Num” and “Num Red Non”) is a 40-year-old father currently serving a 13-year sentence for alleged violations of Article 112 and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. In September 2012, he withdrew his appeal petition as part of the process of applying for a pardon. Shortly thereafter, he wrote this letter to his lawyer, Anon Numpa, who then posted it on the website of the <a href="http://rli.in.th/">Ratsadornprasong Legal Institute</a>.</p>

<p>An awkward silence in a small restaurant in Yangon: The veteran dissident and pro-democracy activist had just explained why he does not have much sympathy for the Rohingya despite the widespread and systematic violence they have faced, because, as he saw it, ‘Rohingya’ is a ‘made up’ name’ and ‘they are all illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and they should go back there.’<br /></p>

<p>Prof. Chaiwat Satha-Anand, a political scientist at Thammasat University and a prominent peace scholar, spoke at a seminar on &ldquo;Peace Dialogue Seminar in ASEAN Context&rdquo; on 7 September 2012. He delivered a peace massage to southern insurgents. Here is his full speech:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>

<p>Among all the sociopolitical babble we are constantly faced with is the steady hum of logic &ndash; apparently, however, unheard. Hidden in this unsettling background noise is the issue of opportunity and readiness to avail ourselves of it.</p>

<p>Originally published on the Facebook page of Poonsuk Poonsukcharoen, lawyer for Amphon (Ah Kong); Republished on Prachatai: <a href="http://prachatai.com/journal/2012/08/42182">สถิตย์ ไพเราะ ความเห็นต่อคดีอากง (ถอดความคำบรรยายเนติบัณฑิตยสภา)<br /> </a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/3303">The first article</a> in this series ended with a paragraph referring to a felt need to &lsquo;reinvigorate&rsquo; Thainess as perceived - by the ruling elite, or as otherwise referred to, a loose confederation of mutual interest entities that former deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said during a public forum on 29 July do not exist.</p>

<p>After serving about 2 years and 4 months in prison, <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/category/nat-sattayapornpisut">Nat Sattayapornpisut</a> was released on 19 April this year.&nbsp; He was jailed for sending e-mails to a foreign friend containing links to some materials available on the internet deemed offensive to the Thai monarchy. </p>

<p>Recently on one Facebook account (called &lsquo;IUV&rsquo;), a picture showing crowd formation that appears similar to one popular photograph of HM the King holding and talking on a walkie talkie attracted over 66,000 &lsquo;like&rsquo;. Last week, a red-shirt woman who &lsquo;defamed&rsquo; a portrait of the King by her foot was later confronted with a group of ultra-royalist protesters as she was trying to leave Suvarnabhumi Airport for New Zealand where she resides. One of the protest placards read: &lsquo;blasphemy&rsquo;.</p>

<p>[This abstract is for a paper intended for presentation at the Governance, Human Rights &amp; Development:, Challenges for Southeast Asia and Beyond, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand, 19-20 May 2011. While travel plans interrupted the presentation and completion of the longer paper, this abstract may prove of brief interest in the subject of what is termed &lsquo;Thainess,&rsquo; an elusive characteristic said both to be imaginary and real. - Frank G Anderson]</p>