By The Isaan Record |
<p>KHON KAEN – In late January, about 250 Northeasterners from six provinces gathered at the conference room of the Petcharat Garden Hotel in Roi Et to participate in the drafting process of Thailand’s twentieth constitution. The military government claims to be seeking citizen participation in drafting the constitution, but these public forums to gather input from Thais across the country seem to be nothing but a false front in the Northeast.</p>
By The Isaan Record |
<p><em>The Khon Kaen Municipality, Khon Kaen University and the Isan Culture Maitenance and Revitalization Program are collaborating to create programs to teach the Isaan heritage script, Tai Noi.</em></p>
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<p><a href="http://isaanrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ToiNoiScript.jpg"><img alt="ToiNoiScript" height="401" src="http://isaanrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ToiNoiScript.jpg" width="600" /></a></p>
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By The Isaan Record |
<p><em>This week, Patiwat S. was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for lèse majesté because of his role in the play, “The Wolf Bride.” Patiwat is the most recent student to have been imprisoned under the law, and has been an advocate for Isaan peoples’ rights and democracy for years.</em></p>
<p>On Monday, the criminal court sentenced Khon Kaen University student Patiwat S. and activist Pornthip M. to five years in jail for their involvement in a satirical play that was deemed “damaging to the monarchy.” The court reduced the sentence by half for their admission of guilt.</p>
By John Draper |
<div><em>Without an official language policy, Thailand’s many ethnolinguistic minorities cannot experience equality.</em></div>
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<div>This past Saturday marked International Mother Language Day, and while it is not particularly celebrated in Thailand, there were a couple of academic seminars in Chiang Mai and at Mahidol University in Bangkok.
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By Paul Sullivan and Wilder Nicholson |
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<p>The NCPO claims to be reclaiming forest land from investors, but the poor continue to suffer. Junta policy introduced under martial law destroys livelihoods of thousands of forest inhabitants.</p>
By The Isaan Record |
<p><img alt="" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5568/14941957720_4c92208d65_z.jpg" /></p>
<p><span><em>Baw Kaew villagers recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of their community’s re-establishment. Standing in front of their eviction notice, villagers intend to continue to fight peacefully for their land. Photo credit: Wilder Nicholson, Bowdoin College</em></span></p>
By The Isaan Record |
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<p>KHON KAEN – Since the May 22 coup d’état, Thailand’s military has tried to sweep the country clean of weapons to quell fears of a violent uprising. But in Isaan, the heartland of the Red Shirts, some of the soldiers’ actions have raised doubts about the military’s intentions. Red Shirts here believe that the military may be wrongly framing peaceful Red Shirts as violent terrorists in a high-profile legal case, which could set the stage for a wider crackdown on Red Shirts in the region.</p>
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By John Draper |
<p><strong>The 'Lao Question' becomes the 'Thai Lao Question' as Thai society realizes ethnic identity matters</strong></p>
<p>Thailand has been described as a paradise by its own people, most famously in terms of the Ramkhamhaeng Inscription. It describes a land with fish in the water and rice in the fields. Thailand has also been marketed as such to foreigners: Amazing Thailand, the Land of Smiles.</p>
By The Isaan Record |
<p>KHON KAEN – On February 28, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) released a <a href="http://isaanrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%99.pdf">report</a> condemning Khon Kaen University (KKU) for arbitrarily and unjustly dismissing Kittibodi Yaipool from his position as the Acting Dean of the Law Faculty. Mr.</p>
By The Isaan Record |
<p>KHON KAEN – The Campaign Committee to Amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code (CCAA 112), the first aggressive, nationwide campaign to reform the world’s harshest lèse-majesté law, made its way to Khon Kaen this past Sunday with a panel discussion and petition-signing held at Khon Kaen University (KKU). Over 100 signatories gathered in the Kwan Mor Hotel to endorse the amendment drafted by the small group of Thammasat Law lecturers know as the Nitirat group.</p>
By The Isaan Record |
<p>KHON KAEN – Pheu Thai will win 80 of Isaan’s 126 constituency MP seats in the upcoming election, Northeastern Red Shirt leaders projected this past Sunday. Approximately 150 UDD provincial and district level leaders met at Khon Kaen University’s Mo Din Daeng Hotel to share their election forecasts and formulate their campaign strategies.</p>