New Mandala

However Prime Minister Surayud fills the Pridiyathorn gap, his government is in crisis. Its technocratic team is in disarray, its policy-making machinery becoming murkier by the day. This latest morass raises questions and doubts over the prime minister’s own credentials and leadership qualities.
We may have overestimated him. It is a sad reflection for a man [...]

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New Mandala readers keen to read about some often-overlooked people and events in the history of the Burmese Armed Forces should have a look at a recent Irrawaddy article.  Its profiles of military figures, both “heroes” and “villians”, are all well worth a look.  The biographies of Gen Kyaw Zaw and Gen Thura Tin Oo are especially [...]

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For a fascinating study of the extent of Thailand’s royal wealth see the two part article appearing in Asia Sentinel. This is an important study of the operation of the Crown Property Bureau. Here is an extract:

… fear of upsetting the monarchy goes a long way to explain why so little has been written about [...]

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