New Mandala

Here is a first-hand account of the new phase of anti-government protests in Thailand, written by anthropologist Jim Taylor of the University of Adelaide.
The pro-Democracy Red Army or Nor Por Chor (aka People’s Alliance Against Dictatorship) gathered over the past two days starting at a mass rally at Sanam Laung on 28 December with an [...]

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The East Asia Forum has an  overview piece  on Thailand in 2008 by Dr Pisit Leeatham,  Dean of the Faculty of Economics at Chiang Mai University (and Head of the Macroeconomics and Finance Working Group of the Thai National Economic and Social Advisory Council and formerly Deputy Minister of Finance).  After a rundown on the year’s [...]

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Some new year’s reading for Thailand’s new Foreign Minister.
New Bookabout Preah Vihear (Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai 27.12.2008)
According to the Khmer newspaper Kampuchea Thmey, a commentary book about the history of Preah Vihear from the time of its construction up to the present time, including the Thai invasion, will be published soon. The book was written by [...]

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There is an interesting letter in today’s online edition of The Nation:
Wrong to use Kasit’s remarks against him
Published on December 29, 2008
It is easy enough to pick up words spoken by the new Foreign Minister when he was Kasit Piromya, a PAD supporter, and use them against him in his new job. Anyone who understands [...]

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Regular New Mandala reader, Ralph Cramden, made some interesting comments on our recent post Update on the Royal Taboo:
Alongside the various responses to the Economist, ranging from the bizarre (in the Nation) to off-target (by Surakiat), which have mentioned the culturalist notion that Westerners just don’t understand, a deeper royalist objection has been made by [...]

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New Mandala is now old enough to have traditions.
At the end of 2006 we introduced Thailand’s Christmas elf. It was, of course, Thaksin Shinawatra. At the end of 2007 we had no choice but to feature a proxy-elf, Samak Sundaravej. Today it is one year since Samak’s People Power Party fell just short of an absolute [...]

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On Friday, The Age ran an article supporting Melbourne-man Harry Nicolaides, locked up in Bangkok awaiting trial for lese majeste.  It is available here.

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The cabinet of Thailand’s new coalition government has been formally endorsed.  We can now start getting to know the personalities that have been entrusted with forging a post-Thaksin future.
By the looks of things, the commentariat will have much to work with…
…much has already been said about the new Prime Minister’s educational pedigree (Eton and PPE [...]

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At the start of December there was a New Mandala post about the international media’s efforts to break the taboo around public discussion of royal intrigues.  Since we identified this relatively abrupt new direction in media analysis and commentary there have been a number of other efforts to examine the role of the palace.  Some [...]

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Amata haeng pa prem: chak patiwat 19 kanya thung chutchop “thaksin” (The Eternal Pa Prem: From the September 19 Coup to the End of “Thaksin”) (2008) by Watsana Nanuam (ISBN: 9789743072734). A journalist for the Bangkok Post specializing in military affairs, Watsana has written a compelling account of the power and influence of General Prem, the so-called “invisible hand” [...]

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