New Mandala

Youtube is carrying footage of the events of Black May 1992 (though, for some reason, the clip is titled “black September”). The clip shows special warfare forces that were under the ultimate command of Surayud Chulanont invading the Royal Hotel that had been established as a temporary hospital for those injured in the suppression. It [...]

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Andrew Walker’s groundbreaking book The Legend of the Golden Boat has made a significant contribution to the study of border trade regulation in the upper Mekong area for more than a decade now. It is not my intention here to do provide a book review, but rather to keep the readers of New Mandala up [...]

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Last week Australians with an interest in southeast Asia had to endure the embarrassment of our diplomatically gormless prime minister marking his first visit to Vietnam with an endorsement of the Vietnam war. During New Mandala’s Focus on Laos, it is appropriate to recall the impact of that war on the Lao people. Here is [...]

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In a lengthy reply to Johpa’s statement that “Quite frankly, I thought that the comparison of the current coup leaders to Sarit to be at minimum a bit premature and, dare I say, perhaps politically naive”, regular New Mandala commentator Patiwat has put together a helpful summary that attempts to put this year’s events in [...]

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The Irrawaddy’s Khun Sam - a rising star who I have highlighted in the past as a top contributor to regional media - has penned an informative new report that follows his previous article on forced labour in the southern Kachin State.  It looks like he has asked some pretty hard questions of the local Kachin Independence Organization liaison officer in his efforts [...]

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Grant Evans has advised me that his important Short History of Laos: The Land in Between has been tranlated into Lao and Thai:
A Lao translation of Grant Evans’ Short History of Laos: The Land in Between has just been published by Silkworm Books. The translation and printing of the book was supported by a grant [...]

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With a headline lauding “Surayud, the Charmer“, the widely discussed sycophantic inclinations of The Nation’s coverage of Thailand’s military leadership have been given a public airing like never before.  The “Charmer” headline links to this blog post by reporter Jeerawat Na Thalang.  The comments at the bottom of the blog page neatly sum up a range of reactions that could [...]

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Discussion of the formation of the modern borders of Laos often focus on the formal processes of treaty making and boundary demarcation. In this paper (Borders in Motion) I take a rather different approach. I focus on the localised processes of negotiation, dialogue, compromise and misunderstanding involved in the establishment and consolidation of the upper-Mekong [...]

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Just for something a little bit different, Manivan Larprom’s Thai and Lao Food blog has a range of recipes for delicious looking Lao meals.  She has produced a book that includes over 30 regional dishes.  Her professional content is augmented by informative “how to” videos.�
With Thai and Lao cuisine a new staple for global appetites, sites like Manivan’s [...]

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The Asian Human Rights Commission has issued a strongly worded condemnation of the Thai coup and some of its key ideological justifcations. In part, it reads:
One of the excuses [for the coup] being constantly intoned, but not explained, is that national unity was at risk now more than ever. The preamble to the interim constitution [...]

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