<p>Political activists and associates of high-profile Thammasat University historian Somsak Jiamteerasakul have reacted with shock to the lese-majeste charge filed against him.</p>

<p>In most democracies, the role of the Army and its chief are rather limited. However, it's different in Thailand, where the Army chief has been busy donning too many hats lately.</p>

<p>A Cambodian nongovernment organiฌsation claims that at least 10 Cambodian civilians had been shot dead while hunting for food or logging in the forested mountains on the ThaiCambodian border last year and early this year.</p>

<p>With rumours swirling of yet another military coup in the pipeline, along with calls from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for a government that is selected by the palace, one can't help but wonder why so many Thais continue to be so fond of instant political gratification.</p>

<p>Most red shirts still oppose congress headed by Prawase and Anand despite claim of 'transcending political divide'<br /> The three-day National Reform Congress concluded yesterday with its chairman Prawase Wasi boasting that the meeting, which drew some 2,000 participants, &quot;transcended&quot; political division and &quot;united&quot; people from all walks.</p>

<p>It is hard not to become depressed and sad following the news of the natural calamity unfolding in Japan, with the earthquake, tsunami, the possible nuclear meltdown and heavy loss of life. Heartbreaking images keep flooding the media, laying bare the vicissitudes of life as the expected death toll rises towards 20,000.</p>

<p>Democracy is perhaps one of the most overused, abused and confusing terms in Thai politics. Coup-makers, corrupt politicians, ultra-royalists, die-hard supporters of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, vote buyers and sellers as well as the autocrats all claim that they're committed to democracy.</p>

<p>Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) co-leader Weng Tojirakarn was recently released on bail after nine months in jail on charges of terrorism after the red-shirt uprising last year ended in a deadly crackdown on May 19. Here, Weng speaks to The Nation's Pravit Rojanaphruk about his time in prison, politics and internal divisions within the red-shirt movement.</p>

<p>Middle class and well educated Thais will be in for less shock and better equipped to handle political change if they do not cling on to the &quot;tales&quot; of rural folks being politically naive, of all Thais loving one another and coexisting in harmony under a benign father figure, said Thammasat University political scientist Prajak Kongkirati.</p>

<p>The mainstream Thai mass media faces a complex set of challenges ranging from legal barriers and political bias to other internal problems that prevent it from protecting the public interest and advancing freedom and democracy, Thailand's first Asian Media Barometer report has found.</p>

<p>Prejudice against Cambodians is bubbling as border clashes continue sporadically and villagers flee back and forth.</p> <p>While some national media are quick to cast Cambodians as people not to be trusted, locals in Si Sa Ket have a more complex view of their neighbours. This doesn't stop some national papers espousing archetypal bias towards Cambodians, though such popular misconceptions may backfire and hinder mending ties between the people of the two nations well into the future.</p>

<p>Both Thai and Cambodian leaders may say it was the other party that started the military intrusion into their territory, which led to death and injuries over the past few days. But the casualties were truly needless. This is not a time for Thais to unquestioningly unite behind their leaders but a time for calm, inquiry, scepticism and firm denunciation of war, no matter which side actually started it.</p>