There is an email going around that claims that this is a new year message written by Princess Sirinthorn. I have no idea if it is authentic or not, but the sentiments are lovely! (Click for a larger image.)
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She did it for Phoofa Shop to print on many products such as card, T-shirt, cups and etc. (I think she has done this for other years too.)
พระราชทาน ส.ค.ส. ปีขาล (เสือ) แก่ร้านภูฟ้าเพื่อนำไปพิมพ์จำหน่ายเนื่องในวันส่งท้ายปีเก่า ต้อนรับปีใหม่ 2553 โดยทรงพระอักษรลงใน ส.ค.ส. ความว่า ……
http://www.saisawankhayanying.com/s-friends/poofa/
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Sawatdi Bee Mai – Happy New Year – to this wonderful Princess who does so much good. And the same wishes to all Thailand’s Royal Family : God Bless Them.
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It seems to me that majority of Thais and neighboring countries have preference for Sirinthorn than her brother Vachiralongkorn. As such, I wonder if there could be a referendum on this issue.
I do think the character and values of leaders matter. It shapes the direction of the country toward progress and hope or backward and more turmoils. The monarchy has been a major political player in Thailand, succession should then be a matter essential for public discussion.
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Susie Wong : a referendum extremely unlikely, I’d guess.
There would probably have to be a referendum on whether to have a referendum, on such a question !!
And from memory, Thailand has only ever had one referendum.
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In modern monarchy system like the British monarchy, everything they do is public and transparent. On the contrary, majority of Thais didn’t even know that Vachiralongkorn went to Germany or why he flew to Germany so often.
More importantly, Thai political history record of King Prachatipok (Rama 7) met with Hitler in 1933 before World War II. So when Vachiralongkorn made frequent flight to Germany, the past history came back to haunt Thais again.
Foreign policy alliance is paramount involving the State. Yet Siam has an out-of-date lese majeste law that prohibits discussion about someone whose actions affect public affairs. In this context, the country will always be in crisis because the top is not in step with majority of Thai people.
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Susie Wong – I agree with what you say about Thailand’s ridiculous, repressive LM laws.
But you do not have to worry about the Crown Prince going to Germany.
I was once an exchange student in Germany – it has long been a completely different type of country, compared to when Rama 7 visited.
Also it should be noted that Rama 7 visited in 1933, when Hitler had only just come to power – few people had much idea then about how just how bad Hitler would turn out to be.
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Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the esoteric world of Prachatipok and the Axis, when the matter is serious. Prachatipok met Emperor Hirohito in 1931 (1932). Pracahtipok met with Hitler in 1933. In 1934, Prachatipok again met with the Foreign Minister of Germany Konstantin von Neurath who was found guilty on crimes against humanity at Nurenberg in 1946.
Who made possible for Japan to station some 150,000 troops in Thailand and built the infamous “death railway”? This is a huge number of troops especially in the 1940s. Could they just march in without earlier arrangement?
Fast forward to the present time, Vachiralongkorn made frequent flight to Germany. The current Foreign Minister of Thailand was the ambassador to Germany and Japan before this ministerial post.
Last month, PAD key leaders went to Egypt for holidays. The 9/11 militants came from Egypt. They were engineering students in Germany before the 9/11 bombings in the U.S.
Could all these events be random phenomena or actions that maneuver toward a certain objective.
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Susie – 19 out of the 21 attackers, on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, not Egypt.
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The ones that hit the World Trade Center came from Egypt, they were trained as engineering students in Germany. Over 3,000 lives were unnecessarily lost on the 9/11.
Secondly, hardly any Thai would go to Egypt for holidays. Here the top key PAD leaders went to Egypt for the second times. What was the meeting about?
Lastly, last week, on their political public appearance on ASTV, the PAD leaders wore clothes identical to HAMAS color, hardly any Thai men would wear that kind of color. We must always remember that PAD was capable of closing the international and domestic airports, Thailand was completely cut off from outside world. Logistically, it was very serious. Furthermore, we must realize that in the current international conflicts the actors are non-state actors.
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They were Saudi – never stressed by the US as they need their oil. Are Thais allowed to visit Saudi Arabia? Aren’t diplomatic ties very problematic?
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