<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Now that Bangkok is under a state of emergency, one of the big questions is what will happen to the People&#39;s Alliance for Democracy mouthpiece, ASTV satellite television?</font></p>

<p> <font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Over the past three years, Thai politics has degenerated from the tyranny of a majority under former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to that of a minority led by the People&#39;s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). </font></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">&quot;Because last night there was unrest affecting the peaceful law and order in the country and obstructing the democratic process, the government has declared a state of emergency, which will affect people&#39;s individual freedoms,&quot; an announcement on state radio said.</font></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Advocates of media reform in Thailand have a long road ahead in their quest for democratisation of the Fourth Estate. Libel suits, self-censorship, profit-oriented mass media, cyber &#39;Big Brother&#39; &mdash; these are just some of the challenges that the media face these days. </font></p>

<p><font size="2">After the PAD&#39;s armed guards forced the police out in the early hours of this morning I </font><a href="http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/2008/08/change-for-pad.html"><font size="2">wondered </font></a><font size="2">how long the government could tolerate this. It seems not long.</font>&nbsp; <font size="2"><strong><a href="http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/2008/08/police-start-to-move.html">Update...</a></strong></font></p>

<p><a href="http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/2008/08/pad-tries-to-win-silent-majority.html"><span style="font-weight: bold">UPDATE</span>: For updates see below</a> </p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">What the hell are the guys from PAD trying to prove with all of this? With every update that I read, PAD increasingly comes across as a bunch of lunatics. Is this supposed to win the hearts of the people? It&rsquo;s an ugly, ungraceful attempt to do something, but it&rsquo;s unclear exactly what the goal is here. I think PAD is shooting itself in the foot here. </font></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">The rule of law has been getting talked up in Thailand a lot since the former prime minister&rsquo;s wife, Pojaman Shinawatra, lost a criminal case before a special bench of the Supreme Court, and her husband skipped both town and bail prior to a hearing against him too. </font> </p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">The visit of George W Bush to Bangkok early this month to mark the 175th anniversary of relations between Thailand and the United States drew great attention to the Burmese pro-democracy communities in Thailand. </font></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Almost a year has passed since the day Burma&rsquo;s military regime suddenly upped fuel prices without telling anyone, triggering off a series of small protests that led to some bigger ones, and finally, the really big ones that for a few days in September captured the world&rsquo;s headlines. </font></p>

<p>The chairman of Thailand&rsquo;s official human rights body, Saneh Chamarik, on July 29 sent an open letter to the head of the United Nations expressing his agency&rsquo;s most serious concern and dismay at a &ldquo;blatant violation of human rights.&rdquo; </p>

<p>The Khmer Empire was at its apogee during the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181-1215 A.D.). Its territory covered the current Cambodia, all of southern Vietnam, all of the current Laos, all of the current Thailand, and part of the current Malaysia. Unlike the Khmers, Thais, known then as Siameses, were not natives of the region. The kingdom of Thailand, known then as Siam, did not appear in Southeast Asia until the mid- 14th century.</p>