Stories of prison are always in demand, perhaps because prison is a world not encountered by the majority of people. There are many Thai-language books about prison that span those written from first-hand experience to those collected from the experience of others who spent a stint inside. But All They Could Do To Us is different from other written accounts of prison.

Following a recent investigation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Amnesty International has gathered new evidence that the Myanmar military is committing war crimes and other human rights violations. The military operation is ongoing, raising the prospect of additional crimes being committed.

Friedrich Hegel, the German philosopher, once said “the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history”. With regard to Thai political history, I cannot deny that this quotation expresses one of the “all-time” brutal truths. It is clearly true that most Thai people have never learned any political lessons in Thai history. They have not only made no democratic progress but have also strengthened the authoritarian rhetoric peace-making to repeatedly disrupt democracy by undertaking a series of coups.

With growing suspicion and anger over the Election Commission’s handling of the March poll, Thais have expressed their displeasure in a variety of ways: netizens have mocked and criticised the commission online, a demonstration against the agency at Victory Monument attracted around a hundred peo

If one thinks that the song “Scum of the Earth” is merely another patriotic song produced by the Thai government, then one has gravely misunderstood. The lyrics of all of the songs referred to as patriotic -- beginning when the Sayamanusathi was put to music and up until the songs of Luang Wichit and all the others -- aim to promote the unity of Thais to fight against enemies who were outsiders.