Round Up

7 Aug 2017
Over the past week, a teenage singer was slammed by nationalists after complaining about her country on Twitter. A lecturer put a student in a headlock for protesting a university ceremony. And various prosecution cases moved forward against human rights advocates and politicians.   Late last week, Thai social media heated up over tweets from a pop singer called ‘Image’ who had expressed her discontent at living in Thailand.
2 Aug 2017
From the beginning, the trial of Yingluck Shinawatra over her rice pledging scheme has lacked a clear legal basis. What will be the legacy of prosecuting a politician, not for breaking the law, but simply for bad policy? 
27 Jul 2017
Three years after it staged a coup, Thailand’s junta is subjecting rural people to harassment and prosecution, but pleasing investors, according to local NGOs.    The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has been repeatedly criticised for its failure to solve economic problems and for the slide back to authoritarianism.
24 Jul 2017
The “most political” Thai studies conference was held last week, with calls for academic freedom in Thai society. The junta, however, responded by summoning three scholars.   Every three years, the International Conference on Thai Studies (ICTS) is held as a platform for scholars and researchers. This year, the 13th ICTS was hosted in Chiang Mai and 385 papers were presented between 15 and 18 July.    But the 13th ICTS was also a symbolic protest against the ruling junta.
18 Jul 2017
Social media has taken up arms the past week over repeated stories of flamboyant military spending, first on a shiny new set of fighter jets and then on a ski trip to Japan.   Against the backdrop of a quickly declining economy, the Ministry of Defence has announced intentions to procure eight fighter jets from South Korea that will cost 8.8 billion baht.    The fighter jet shopping spree comes only a month after the Ministry of Defence announced the purchasing of tanks worth 2.3 million baht from China.
10 Jul 2017
After a relatively long absence, a pop music band has made a stunning comeback with a music video mocking the junta. The MV neatly sums up Thailand’s politics during the past week.    For the sake of a peaceful life, artists in Thailand usually stay away from politics.
7 Jul 2017
Under the current military regime, women suffer injustice and human rights violations significantly more than men due to a lack of legal protection and social discrimination, according to women’s rights reports to the UN.    On 4 July 2017, representatives of Thai women’s rights NGOs read a statement on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) at UN headquarters in Geneva.
4 Jul 2017
The 1932 Siamese Revolution was heralded in part by stories, novels and and writing groups. The ideals of the People’s Party were nothing new, compared to movements that had already taken place in the literary field.
26 Jun 2017
Last Saturday marked the 85th anniversary of Thailand’s 1932 Democratic Revolution. Academics, politicians and activists enthusiastically commemorated the historical event. Meanwhile the authorities worked hard to clamp down on ‘sensitive issues’.
24 Jun 2017
Despite relentless attempts by Thailand’s conservative elite to bury the memory of the People’s Party, which brought to an end the absolute monarchy, the legal legacy of the 1932 democratic revolution which gave birth to the first constitution of the nation and laid the foundation of the rule of law lives on.
24 Jun 2017
How much room is there to learn about revolution in Thailand’s education system, a system facing mounting criticism for preaching obedience over creativity? Today, on the 85th anniversary of the 1932 Democratic Revolution, few students are likely to remember the arguable birth of democracy in Thailand.
19 Jun 2017
Last week, liberal values prevailed in social media controversies, while the junta faced unprecedented resistance to its attempts to abolish universal healthcare and the fast-track construction of a Thai-Chinese high speed train.     Thai people love a good drama, both on TV and in real life.

Pages

Subscribe to Round Up