ELIZABETH NA’AI WRITES – Thailand’s military junta is crafting an Orwellian state. Junta leader and self-imposed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha declared those who cross the lèse majesté line, or espouse anti-junta political dissent will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)…
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – The famed Land of Smiles could be mistaken for the Land of Scowls as the color-coded political strife continues. On November 3, junta leader and present Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha prescribed a Thaksin-detox for the media to remedy Thailand’s conflict. […]
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – Religious violence taints Thailand’s picturesque south shores. Most Thais are Buddhist, but the south hosts a large Muslim Malay population near neighboring Malaysia. Both religions renounce violence, but attacks have claimed 5,700 lives since ethnic religious conflict began there in 2004. Recently, eight minutes of raining…
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – A Yellow-shirt “boy’s club” has Thailand’s Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in its cross hairs. Democrat party leaders and public spokespersons air Yingluck’s dirty laundry as a further attempt to delegitimize her and undermine the February 2nd snap election. Khao Sod daily newspaper released a video of Somchai…
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – The “Bangkok shutdown” is drawing a darker, deeper line between the country’s rural, poor, pro-government Red Shirts, and the reform-oriented Yellow Shirts. While strong influences of sadkina (ศักดินา) – Thai feudalism – make corruption an old friend in Thailand’s national politics, reform is still a new beast…
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – Do uniforms foster a collectivist culture, or a class system? Thammasat University’s second year student, nicknamed Aum Neko, believes forcing students to wear uniforms violates the individual’s freedom of expression. A relic of sexual objectification, and domination, Neko released a provocative campaign of posters exploring Thailand’s…
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – It seems as if George Orwell’s 1984 has become a reality in this technological age — anyone could be listening or doctoring conversations. Two weeks after Yuthasak Sasiprapa was appointed Deputy Defense Minister, a YouTube clip was released on July 6 of two voices: one allegedly…
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – On Tuesday, May 21st Thailand’s largest blackout to date engulfed fourteen southern provinces, including major business industries and tourist destinations in Hat Yai, Koh Sumai, and Phuket. After losing power at 6:30 p.m., many residents and businesses did not recover electricity until 9:30 p.m. that night.…
