New Mandala

The Old Vic Theatre in London’s West End is soon to stage the play “Lady of Burma” by Richard Shannon. The performance has been organised by the Burma Campaign UK for Sunday, 12 November. This performance is part of a gala evening which will, according to whatsonstage.com, “feature poetry readings and speeches by [...]

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The Evan Williams documentary, “Burma: State of Fear“, will be broadcast in the US on Tuesday, 31 October, at 9 pm ET on PBS.  My investigations suggest that this is the American version of the program titled “Burma’s Secret War” that was shown in Britain in early October.  Some weeks ago, I posted a lengthy [...]

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Some more fascinating insights from coup supremo and born-again-democracy-guru General Sonthi in this interview with The Nation. How about this for starters:
During the two-hour interview, [Sonthi] revealed tales of mistrust between him and the former prime minister. The general disclosed that during their recent visit to Burma, shortly before the coup, he had instructed his [...]

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The Nation’s interview with coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin gives the junta supremo a chance to air his thoughts on democracy. The General says:
The armed forces’ aim is to reform politics and introduce sustainable solutions. The administrative system should be rectified in line with true democratic rule. We want to place emphasis on having [...]

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As I have written earlier, much of the ideological justification for Thailand’s coup rests on the view that Thaksin’s electoral mandate was illegitimate given that it was “bought” from a politically naive and unsophisticated rural electorate. The so-called pro-democracy movement of Sondhi Limthongkul makes much of the need to educate the rural masses before they [...]

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The Irrawaddy has a useful report by Clive Parker that covers the arguments of the UK Conservative Party MPs who have been recently agitating against the Burmese junta. This Irrawaddy coverage paints an interesting picture, particularly when read in light of yesterday’s and earlier New Mandala posts on the topic of Western government “engagements” [...]

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Courtesy of ThaiBlogger it is possible to mark a website or blog with the type of Royalist paraphernalia that has been so very prominent on the streets of Thailand over the past year. The banners and bands include choices of text: “We Love Our King”, “Long Live the King”, “I Love You, Mom” and [...]

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On Tuesday, Stephen Crabb, a Conservative Member of the British House of Commons, made a parliamentary speech that calls for action to counter the “gross violations of human rights perpetrated by the military regime” in Burma.  In part, Crabb said:
I would like to ask again whether it is the view of HMG [NF: Her Majesty's Government] that the [...]

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Further to an earlier New Mandala post here is a detailed article from Asia Sentinal about “the end of the Thailand visa run.”

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As I indicated in an earlier post I am interested in pursuing the discussion about vote buying in Thailand. But I would like to broaden the discussion somewhat to become a consideration of what might be called “local electoral culture.” I would like to invite New Mandala readers to submit their observations and insights [...]

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