Interesting times in Thailand....arsenal theft at army camp!

and no not my Arsenal, just the army arsenal. blah...but in a way its my taxes!

war weapons stolen from army base in South Thailand. Its amazing how the country's supposed security forces cannot secure its own compounds? Especially when this is not the first time its happening. Back in Early 2004 they claimed similar thing....only this time more weapons disappeared :)

the question is how can the security at army facilities be so lax.....if it happened one time ridiculous as it may sound you can come up with some lame excuse of being unprepared, not thinking someone would dare break in to army camp. but when there has already been a precedence?

Im not proposing any theories, cos Thailand being Thailand, it could be any number of things:
someone supporting either side of the political divide decided it might be a good idea to create some headline to discredit the other side
someone decided some group of civilians/insurgents/mob need to be armed
someone needed some cash and decided to distribute the arms to one of the groups in 2 above
the weapons never existed in the first place (I love my last theory - it conforms with my favorite line from the Matric "There is NO spoon!")

by the way, the list is ofcourse not exhaustive, and in no way a scientific analysis of the situation. Just my 2am written in 2minutes take on things.

German Unity

3rd October marks the day the West and East Germany were reunited. Today Germany celebrates the 17th anniversary of reunification on October 3.

ofcourse another date of significance is 9 November 1989, when the last icon of the cold war, the Berlin Wall, was struck down. not by any authority or government body or military might, but by the people of East Germany.

more on this later.

We must act NOW. stop the violence in Burma

In recent days the junta in Burma have started to use violence to disperse the demonstration against the regime. Many have been reported dead, including atleast one international journalist (Japan -- with the incident captured in photos and on video), possibility of an American and a German journalist too, a curfew installed, theres talks of internet being cut off.

Theres been lots of call to get China to pressure Burma, or even calls to Russia and India. My question is, is that enough? and pressure Burma to do what? The regime has been talking about their roadmap for transition to democracy for years! Yet year after year the Lady remains in house arrest. They have shown no sign of relenting and have exacerbated the suffering of Burmese people. Is it not time for the international community to take some real action?

The UN Human Rights Council is finally calling for an emergency session to discuss the Burma crisis amid crackdown on the anti-regime protesters. Would be interesting to see if they can even decide on any action apart from discussing it. They have been doing discussions for far too many years!
The EU Parliament has included Burma on the agenda for their urgency debate session. Again to be seen what derives out of that meeting.
ASEAN has issued a statement...in my opinion less than lukewarm considering the graveness of the situation (and yes I know I would NEVER make a diplomat). ASEAN need to move away from its 'non-interference' excuse. The effects of what happens in Burma is most definitely not contained within Burma (Thailand should know this better than anyone! Currently Thailand hosts hundreds of thousand Burmese refugee, and some 2 million migrant workers from Burma...legal and illegal ones).

For those that are interested to find out more...apart from conventional media like Reuters and BBC (who have extensive coverage) you can also visit Burma/Myanmar Genocide blog
which is an up-to-minute translated English version of many Burmese/Myanmar blogs from within the country.
Those that read the language or wish to see the photos (must warn you they are far from pleasant) you can also access some of the blogs that provide the source such as these ....

• http://niknayman.blogspot.com
• http://mmedwatch.blogspot.com
• http://ko-htike.blogspot.com

There are also images here.

There are also unconfirmed report of dissent by some section of the army, as well as disagreement amongst the Generals over the violent suppression. If this is true, perhaps we can hope for some change for the better?

I also urge you to sign this online petition that has been runnning since some years, in particular since a report commissioned by Desmond Tutu and Vaclav Havel(Threat to the Peace) was released in September 2005. The report calls on the UN Security Council to take action....

if any of you wish to read the report, its available on the same site,

I dont know what the best solution maybe...but atleast it will let the powers that be know there are enough people that feel the situation going on in Burma is unacceptable......
Time to act!

Politics....Thai style

new elections set for 23rd December 2007. Already some strange characters wanting to have a piece of the pie. Sonthi bunyaratgalin...CNS Chief...leader of the coup makers....is now going to run for elections in Lopburi. Lopburi province has a hugeeeeeeeee army base thats been there since years. So even if not counting the military personnel who are eligible to vote in that province, the other people that live there would easily in some way or the other be under the influence of the army wouldnt you think?

anyhow leaving aside what constituency he decides to run in, the very first question is if its appropriate at all that he runs for political office! The guy overthrew an elected government, put in people as Cabinet to run the country.....appointed the Elections Commission....andnow is gonna contest in the elections. talk about Thaksin abusing power....I wonder what this is called.
maybe they will come up with a new term for this too...like they do for everything else....
coup makers are called Council for Democratic Reform....that would have to be the best of them all.

so much for Thai politics and a new era. Im going to bed. yawwwwn.

Bangkok......a referendum.....

landed back on Monday afternoon...a day after the referendum on the constitution had taken place. I will explain why I didnt make it back for the referendum......much as I wanted to cast my much needed 'no' vote against that constitution!!


more later too

Thailand Update: Constitution

Ive been somewhat remiss with the political updates on the blog,partly yes because of the travelling, but also partly cos Im really getting very tired of the military and its pretend-democratic front.
As you know there will be a referendum to vote on accepting the Constitution being drafted by military-installed people on 19th August. In Thailand there is a large part of the voting population that live outside their constituency,and during elections they will be advised to register to pre-vote or vote outside their constituency...the same applies to voting on the referendum. Except of course for the tiny small little fact that this time the Election Commission seem to have done SUCH a great job of advertising these deadlines thatthe first I heard of it was one day AFTER this registration process had closed!! And guess how many people registered? 50,000! this compared to the already more than 2million Bangkokians who have their house registration outside of Bangkok! This number could be higher....

and now the latest? Taxi drivers have been warned they could get arrested for displaying stickers on their car with a message saying they rejectthis draft Constitution!?!?! huh?? and why would that be a crime?! read more at the Nation article on this here

Burma/Myanmar

Following on my previous post about the Burma/Myanmar situation.....I can understand the sentiment of frustration... I personally feel it too...years of lobbying and demanding...and most times you end up with not much change after 10 years. Its like moving around in a square (slightly better than circle...cos for limited time you feel like you are moving forward..then things take a turn...another few steps..then another turn...until you complete the sqaure...and well...)

anyhow....on the other hand...you meet and talk to or mostly hear about the numerous of people in and outside of Burma/Myanmar who continue to do what they do day after day, year after year.....educating even if its one person at a time...helping the plight of one woman at a time......and htey continue on....... I gotta not only admire that.....but also admit that yes IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE
an old Senator from the Philippines shared her experience...telling us how way back when...when they were protesting against their own government....things also seemed hopeless at the time....and yes it took a great number of years...but they still rid themselves of the corrupt era.....
so hopeless and useless as things may seem....we still have to continue to support those who are trying to bring about change...cant give up...if we stop...then that would be the end

this reminds me of the below words that I first saw use by someone I know in his email messages signature:
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good (wo/)men do nothing.
------Edmund Burke

Women of Burma Day

Speaking of birthdays....not too long after my birthday ......was the birthday Anniversary of the 'Lady' : Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (well thats not exactly correct either....since she was obviously born before me..but I think you get the drift..) The day, 19th June, also marked the celebration of Women of Burma Day...now in its 10th year.
I went along to the event held at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, where there was a panel discussion and a book launch. Impressive crowd as it was, the panel consisting of activists from Burma/Myanmar, members from the Asean Inter-Parliamentary
Myanmar Caucus, representative from Thai National Human Rights Commission, and some former Thai Senators, and of course the scores of media, yet one question on most people's minds and worded by a freelance journalist remains..... where will we be next year? chances are we will all come back to celebrate YET ANOTHER birthday for Daw Aung San while she remained under house arrest.
ASEAN has a bigger role to play, but more crucial would be the direction India and China adopt on their relationship with Burma's junta.

Politics Thai style

so..I hadnt posted since the judgement day....but as said....result was as I feared....Thai Rak Thai dissolved...and ofcourse Democrat the victorious hero with a clean slate. To make matters worse is that all TRT executives were also banned from politics for 5 years, thats 111 exec members! The problem is this ban is a result of a law that was incorporated into the Interim Constitution by the military junta since September 2006. The crime committed by the TRT took place in March 2006....so the Constitution Tribunal applied the law in retrospect for crimes that was committed before the law existed! Im no expert of the law...but gee....if they can always choose to do that then perhaps 5 years from now if say eating/possessing/buying chocolates suddenly become banned and chocolate considered an abused substance...then applying that law in retrospect....guess Id be going to jail for a really really long time with all the chocolate trade Ive been involved in as of today!!

interesting things about how lawyers will always use their technical jargon to intimidate us layfolks....but wait....I thought this was meant to protect OUR civic rights? hmmm

ofcourse being Thailand...the story doesnt end there does it........already from day 1, and then only a couple of days later....they are talking about Amnesty...by the very same junta leader who had that ridiculous law imposed into the interim constitution in the first place......all in the name of national unity...what a load of <> oh nevermind
but seriously.....how can people, particularly the so-called educated Bangkokians with their mightier-than-thou attitude fall for this. stop letting these junta and people with vested interest manipulate you by using words like national unity, and ofcourse the all time favorite...we do this because we love the King. wake up thai people....oh u are awake???then better open your eyes too!! and ears....and please.....use that alleged wonderful education you claim to have :)

Judgement Day: thailand's political parties

so as I write this, already the verdict against Democrats has been passed, and OFCOURSE they are not found guilty on any of the four charges. nothing surprising there....mind you not because I believe they didnt do anything wrong.....but thats all I can say on this matter I suppose.
Now Thai Rak Thai hearing is starting.......I have my own speculation....but ofcourse its all speculation....so will wait to see what happens before I comment further.

Those interested to get an update and details on the verdict...check the Nation's page

ANZAC Day commemoration in Australia

All photos courtesy: ninemsn.com.au

Anzac Day

Often my non-Australian friends have asked me what it is that I like so much about Australia..when you have spent time with the Australians you will understand there are many reasons for it, but I take the occasion of ANZAC Day to share with you one aspect of the Australian spirit. I can only hope that the memories of the casualties and cruelties of war will remind each of us on the need for us to continue to play a role in rejecting and condemning violence.

ANZAC Day commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops on the shores of Gallipoli at ANZAC cove on April 25, 1915. The Australian and New Zealand soldiers were part of a largely British force that contained troops from France, India and New Foundland. On April 25, the allies began an attack on the Ottomon Empire (now Turkey), which was fighting on Germany's side. Tens of thousands of soldiers lost their lives and many more were injured. The allied had to evacuate almost a year later, basically ending in a defeat for the allied force.

In Australia and New Zealand, the day their force landed on Gallipoli was picked as the day to commemorate and honour the lives of those that fought and died. It was not a day of victory that was chosen, but a day to honour the courage of those that fought and died during the campaign. Since then Australians recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration, a day to remember all Australians who served and died in all wars and peace keeping operations.

And from Major General Bill Crews who puts it across much more clearly than I can:
"And yes, they (servicemen and women) fought for our nations, our flags, our people, and their families. But as noble as these ideals were, their commitment in combat, their raw courage, and their self-sacrifice in the face of often overwhelming odds, were driven largely by those physically closest to them – their mates. .........Mateship is at the heart of what we refer to as the ANZAC values: it drives loyalty, courage, endurance and sacrifice. It is a compelling reason for most acts of heroism, and the suffering so often experienced by our servicemen and women: for not letting down the team is a powerful motivator in our nation’s psyche."

So strong is the spirit of mateship and equality in Australian culture that the Roll of Honour that lists by surname and initials all those Australians who have died in war are shown without rank or any other distinguishing award, general and private soldier alike honoured in equal sacrifice.

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old age shall not weary them nor the years condemn at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them lest we forget.

Rest in peace


*Photos curtesy: Ninemsn.com.au

Another bomb goes off in Pattani

Some of you may know...since I spoke to some .....that I was in Malaysia today. Anyhow coming back I was thinking an update of this blog might be due...with perhaps some pics of my latest chocolate buys. So we get home, have a nice relaxing meal at home, drop off my Mom's friend back at her place, and slowly make our way back home.

Suddenly we hear sirens and honking behind us, giving way we see police cars, ambulances and rescue cars rushing past. Suddenly it occurs to us that these cars arent going all that far, and stops less than a 100 metres away.

Getting quite curious to find out, as the scene is so close to our place which is basically the city centre, we decide to follow to check out whats going on. Getting there a police tells me that a bomb had just gone off, injuring one person. They had the area blocked off, obviously worrying that another bomb might have been implanted. We drive back home, only to see a bomb squad heading to the scene. was the first time I had seen one of these vans, look pretty scary.
when we got back there for more photos, some journalist...a guy from Associated Press who was staying at the hotel almost next door, had arrived and was taking photos. He hadnt heard anything further either.....I guess there'll be more in the news later on.

It could be a business sabotage ploy? since the bomb went off at a busy restaurant....but then again it could be the result of unhappiness that the incident on Friday where teenagers were accidentally shot at by police didnt receive a lot of coverage in the news. obviously another tragic incident..........

Thailand's websites fiasco

in recent months since the military has been in charge there has been lots of censoring of websites. The most controversial is ofcourse the infamous google video, resulting in google being blocked completely.
As with many other things that goes wrong in the country lately, again this is being linked with the pro-Thaksin group. But just to show how far fetched things can be...this is how a blogger Kittinun on www.oknation.net tries to establish the link (which you will see really doesnt make sense!)
As per the news reported on Khom Chud Luek newspaper, the blogger accsued the pro-Thaksin faction run website www.hi-thaksin.net of having ties to the person who uploaded inappropriate video clips of Thailand's King, simply by the fact that both websites (of the video uploader and of hi-thaksin.net) are registered through the domain provider www.godaddy.com a site that has close to 20Million client sites registered through them. Interestingly...the website I previously worked on for the Naumann Foundation Malaysia is also registered through GoDaddy. Does this also make us the culprit by association? not to mention the 19Million other sites. what a joke!!

Further news about protesting taxi driver

I would rather this news didnt exist for me to report...but here it is.... :(
if you read my earlier post about the taxi driver who drove his car into army tank to protest againt the coup....
well to demonstrate his point further....in an even more dramatic way....he committed suicide last week :(
he left a note saying that this was to show the army, particularly some comments made after his action that said it could not have been done in the name of protest, and that no one would give up their life for a cause. so he decided he need to prove his point :(
it is all so sad...I cant bring myself to comment further on this.

Interim Constitution Oct 06

So on October 1st the coup-makers announced the Interim Prime Minister, a retired General. They also annonced an Interim Constitution, a lengthy document in thai. I will try to find some short summary in english later on. but some of the points I will highlight here now.....

Leaders of coup becomes National Security Council
They select member of committee that will draft the more permanent constitution!
Prohibit political parties from taking part, or from having any activity
Ban on gathering of more than 5 people
Restriction on press freedom, with an order to media to report "constructively"
The Prime Minister will answer to a National Assembly, comprising citizens chosen by the National Security Council (leaders of the coup)
The power to National Security Council (leaders of the coup) to join and Chair meeting with the Cabinet, for matters concerning national peace and security, BUT there is a phrase added in at the end saying, "and any other matter". This in effect means pretty much anything, and of course as the Chair of the meeting they have the right to veto any decision made by Cabinet.

there was a debate about it on one TV programme the other day, and one side was arguing that the although the clause was there, it isnt necessary that they will exercise that right. On the other side, one of the arguing academic said....yes I trust the integrity of Gen. Surayud, but it is still alarming to see this clause included in the Constitution. It basically says, at least on paper and can be invoked, that the coup leaders retain the power over the new Cabinet.

All we can do is wait and see where all this takes us.........

Taxi driver says bricks are too small for a tank

On September 30, a taxi driver Nuamthong Praiwan, decided to ram his cab into a tanked parked near the Royal Plaza (Sanam Luang) in Bangkok. He said he risked death to tell the world that he and many other Thais do not support the coup.

And since he took such a huge risk to his personal safety, the least I could do is help him get his message out. As I recall he is already quite an old man, close to 60 if not older. He had to pay Baht 30,000 to repair his taxi (thats roughly EUR600 or USD 750), not including his medical bill. (He was in hospital with 3 broken ribs). He also face charges of reckless driving, damaging private and state property.

Despite all that, he says he would do it again, his point being he feels the coup has brought disgrace to Thailand, and has brought the country to a stand-still. According to him....even with the civilian government installed, the military is still at the helm, so it is hard to predict where that will take the country. He cited the example of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in her fight for democracy for Burma.

Pretty impressive and courageous guy. My brother and I talked about it, and decided we will contribute towards his medical bill, coupled with a bouquet of flowers.

Endorsing and Encouraging

I am no expert on the english language, but if I had to guess I would say the 2 are quite different. It is one thing to endorse an act AFTER it has taken place, and yes that may imply agreeing with it. But the political situation in Thailand and the division of powers are not as simple as what the media sometime tend to present. The King is loved and respected, yet he exercise also certain restraint on himself in terms of when he chooses to use the power that this love and respect begets.

On the other hand, there is encouraging, which to me usually would happen before and during the act takes place.

What the local media repeatedly talks about is the fact that the King gave his endorsement to the Military rule, and sure enough the international media has picked up on that and sends out that same message to the world.

What I dont understand is how can the media forget the fact that it was the King himself who asked that Thailand's Constitutional Court re-look at the April 2 Elections, which they did, and had declared it void. As a result the Elections Commissions was sacked and sentenced to jail for misconduct! Since then a new Commission have been selected and only recently appointed, about 2 weeks before the coup took place.

A clear message from the King that he would like to see things rectified, through legal democratic process! This obviously shows that the only thing he encouraged was the use of democratic process to end Thailand's political impasse at that time. That is the first thing I would like to highlight.

There was still a case under process on the allegations against Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai political party for misconduct during the same April 2 Elections.

So whats my point? Many people have over the last week or so asked me the question whether if the military did not interfere with the coup, would Thailand's judiciary and democratic system be strong enough to correct itself.
I cannot say that the process will be fool-proof, but what system in the world can claim that. However, in my limited knowledge of the law and such, I personally feel that in the past few months since the start of 2006 the people's voices have in fact become stronger! The media, although seen as under pressure from government, were able to report also about the negative aspects or alleged abuse of power by the government. Does that not spell some form of strengthening of the democratic process?

And yes then I get asked about how people in power take advantage of loopholes in the Constitution and the law. To me, democracy is a continuous process of work-in-progress, it does not end at a point where a certain Constitution is produced and that is the be-all perfect answer to everything. There will always be loopholes as things change, society change, problems change. What needs to be done is an update/improvement rather than throw things away and always start from scratch. The 1997 Constitution in Thailand is referred to as the first true People's Constitution, as it was drafted with input from various sectors. Flaws there may be, but totally useless to the extent that needs to be thrown away?
That is a question I would leave for all of us to think about......

Message to media..including internet forums and blogs

All media was today 2006-09-21 ordered by ICT (thats Ministry of Information and Communications of Thailand) to exercise censorship of any news critical of the coup-makers and the new military regime. Offenders face up to six months in jail, a fine of up to Bt10,000, or both.

Rumour has it..........

Rumour has it.....BLACK is in trend in Bangkok today ;)

Siam Paragon is Bangkok's popular place still.......

and those that have seen my wardrobe.......might know what proportion black makes up of it.....

well try to put 2 and 2 together.... is that the expression Im looking for...hmmm

if it confuses some, well and good....