Showing 91 - 100 of 120
Govt backs information as public good
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 30/11/2021
» At the recent Unesco General Conference this month, one of the key issues discussed and debated among member countries was the state of global media development. The overall picture painted was very gloomy. For one thing, traditional journalism, for which the writer needs to be on the ground to report, is vanishing fast. In newsrooms around the world, the craft of journalism is becoming a rarity due to budget constraints in terms of hiring staffers to report, check and verify sources, as well as put into context all the information received.
Policy on Myanmar must be prudent
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 16/11/2021
» Ten months into the crisis in Myanmar, Thailand is still scrambling for a well-balanced policy that would lessen the anxiety of all the peoples of Myanmar, both living in and outside the country. The latest news of a new influx of migrant workers across the Thai-Myanmar border has sent a chilling message to the Thai authorities, especially those who deal with national security.
Thailand's high stakes for Apec 2022
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 09/11/2021
» Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was happy to have a chat and a photo with US President Joe Biden at COP26 in Glasgow last week. Gen Prayut also took the opportunity to personally invite Mr Biden to Bangkok for the Asia-Pacific Economic Leaders Meeting (Apec) in late November next year. He could have done the same to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin if they were there but unfortunately but both leaders only participated in COP26 via online.
Cambodia takes to global stage again
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 02/11/2021
» For the next 365 days, every move Cambodia, especially Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, makes or takes will be scrutinised by strategists and political pundits around the world. Phnom Penh will be the new fulcrum in the post-pandemic era to which global leaders can converge and discuss their future, which could further intensify cooperation or tension. After nearly four decades of continuous power, Hun Sen's brinkmanship is well known and most of all, he knows exactly what he wants to say and do. Uniquely, none of the regional leaders knows the region's pulse and global politics as well as Hun Sen.
Asean leaders face off with big powers
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 26/10/2021
» In Bandar Seri Begawan, whether Asean leaders decide to upgrade China and Australia's dialogue status to comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) this week or defer it to a later date will be a weather vane of the bloc's future engagement and management with the great powers, especially over the ripple effects of the US-China rivalry and potential military build-up.
Boosting human rights in Thailand
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 19/10/2021
» Thailand's human rights record will be the subject of global scrutiny on Nov 10. The members of the UN Human Rights Council will examine the country's performance during its third universal periodic review (UPR). It will be an extraordinary event for Thailand as it is battling both domestic political turmoil and the coronavirus pandemic, which has allegedly led to numerous unwarranted violations of human rights.
Dual task: Save Asean, save Myanmar
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 12/10/2021
» Never before in the 54-year history of Asean had its members encountered such a bitter debate about the situation in Myanmar as they did last Monday when they unknowingly nearly tore down the founding fathers’ commitment to keep the Asean roof over all countries in Southeast Asia.
Asean can live with Quad and Aukus
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 05/10/2021
» The current strategic situation is not quite the same as Asean faced in its early days, but there are several similar characteristics. The rivalry between the two then superpowers -- the US and the former Soviet Union -- was visible and rising incrementally and would soon reach its peak. Fuelling the enmity was their ideological differences -- free world versus orthodox communism. Today, the fight is about technological supremacy and governance.
Thailand's 'Next Normal' vision at UN
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 28/09/2021
» This year the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was quite exceptional because of its jam-packed agenda dealing with ways to save lives from natural and man-made disasters, not to mention the fraught US-China relationship.
We must end torture in all its forms
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 21/09/2021
» The whole country has been shocked by a video clip of a rogue police officer torturing a drug suspect to death last month. The Thai public generally know and accept that the Thai police are not good cops but to watch them from their living rooms so blatantly torturing a man was a bit too much. The drama helped lawmakers pass the draft bill on prevention and suppression of torture and enforced disappearances last week without any objection; that same bill that was quickly dismissed in the parliamentary debate some six years ago.