#Thailand

The threat the Islamic State (IS) poses to Western nations is very real — witness in recent weeks the thwarting of a public beheading in Sydney, the raids on terrorist cells in Melbourne, raids in The Hague and Brussels, possible threats to subways in Paris and New York, and the recent averting of a terrorist plot in London.

As one of the godfathers of modern neoliberalism, it would be interesting to get Columbia University Professor Jeffery Sachs’ take on the recent government crackdown on protesting garment factory workers in Cambodia. The former Harvard economist once said “my concern is not that there are too many sweatshops, but that there are too few.” The […]

Until very recently, Ou Virak was President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. Being a human rights activist in Cambodia, a country with too many abuses in that category to possibly list here, is quite the daunting task. The government of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) have notoriously […]

Unable to mollify ongoing demonstrations staged by anti-government protestors throughout Bangkok over the past several weeks, Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved Parliament on Monday and called for snap elections to take place in the beginning of February. The announcement from the country’s first female premier did little to deter the protestors, estimated at around […]

In my update on Thailand and Maldives a few weeks ago, both countries were on the precipice of making decisions that would determine the direction of their democracies, or lack thereof. Let’s see how things turned out. Thailand On Monday, Nov. 11, 2013, Thailand’s senate made a strong statement against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who […]

If you thought U.S. President Barack Obama was suffering from a political crisis in the wake of his problematic healthcare rollout, you should see the situation in Thailand these days for beleaguered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. A day after the World Court ruled in favor of Cambodia in a territorial dispute over an ancient temple […]

Sadly, the adage “the more things change the more they stay the same” is perfectly to describe struggles in keeping strong democracy in Asia. Upon returning from hiatus, I started looking for story ideas and ran across some “updates” to items I had covered earlier this year. But in reality not much is different in […]

BANGKOK — Pictured above is Thailand’s “Democracy Monument,” an ironic name for a memorial in a country which has had ten coup d’états since it abolished the absolute monarchy in 1932. Indeed, it was only three years ago when blood and brains were spilled at this very sight which became the center of massive anti-government […]

The wave of protests  sweeping all corners of the world has reached Thailand. What’s more: Thailand appears as the latest disturbing example of leaders imposing their will on countries even when not officially in power. Thaksin Shinawatra served as prime minister of the Asian nation from 2001-06, when he was ousted in a military coup. […]

Two weeks ago, I used this space to lament the austerity measures currently being implemented in Europe. With the European Common Currency Zone stuck in six consecutive quarters of recession, it’s easy to understand just how sick the continent’s economy is on a macro scale. One country which is certainly not sick these days is Thailand. […]

Watching the news these days and hearing about yet another austerity plan being implemented in some European country usually requires a shake of the head and a rueful look directed at the television for most people. I’m not sure what else can possibly be cut, but it seems there is always more to take away […]

If you thought last week’s story about Thailand’s decision to forcibly deport Rohingya refugees escaping ethnic violence in Myanmar was horrifying enough, you should probably stop reading now. An investigation conducted by the BBC has uncovered evidence that Thai military and police officials have been complicit in intercepting refugees and then selling them to human […]