Showing 1 - 10 of 31
The unseen human cost of cheap power
Oped, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 29/07/2020
» On July 23, 2018, the villagers of Attapeu, a sleepy town in southern Laos, suffered their worst nightmare when the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower dam suddenly burst, unleashing massive torrents of water that swallowed local villages, killing 71. More than 7,000 were made homeless.
Outbreak no reason to delay polls
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 22/06/2020
» After a six-year vacuum in local politics, by the end of this year, some Thais might be able to cast their votes to elect local administrators.
Don't drag the press into fake news mess
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 25/11/2019
» Known for her constant criticism of the opposition, Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) MP for Ratchaburi, Pareena Kraikupt, has been unusually quiet when it comes to speaking of her controversial ownership of land plots which allegedly are located in a land-reform zone.
Cruel forest law helped condemn Billy to death
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 11/09/2019
» Details of the gruesome murder of missing Karen rights activist Porlajee "Billy" Rakchongcharoen released last week by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) sent shivers down many spines. As the case made headlines, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha echoed public sentiment in calling for the culprit to be punished.
Public starts to reject our abnormalities
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 29/10/2018
» The rap song with music video Prathet Ku Mee (My Country's Got It) by a rapper group called Rap Against Dictatorship (RAD) has truly sent shockwaves into our society, with views surpassing surpassing 12 million in a very short time.
EEC mustn't steamroll locals' rights
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 08/10/2018
» An hour after a public forum on land disputes in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) zone started on Thursday in tambon Yothaka in Chachoengsao's Bang Nam Prieo district, military personnel and security officers from the Internal Security Operation Command arrived at the scene and took over the stage. They describe their intervention as an act to "listen to the people".
Growing pains for Myanmar amidst reform
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 17/05/2018
» When San Dar Aye, a young ethnic Mon woman living in Ye town in the south of Myanmar, showed me a vast mudflat where her fellow villagers had replanted a mangrove forest, she told me the saplings would be "the future" of their communities.
Forest project might be legal but is it right?
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 19/04/2018
» 'People and forests can live in harmony." I believe this saying is true and practical for guarding forests in a long run. Ironically, government officials have recently cited it in their defence of a new housing project for judicial officials that involved massive forest clearance.
2017 killing shows minorities' plight
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 16/03/2018
» Saturday marks the first anniversary of the death of 17-year-old Lahu youth activist Chaiyaphum Pasae, who was killed by a soldier in Chiang Mai.
Weathering water's extremes
Spectrum, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 12/11/2017
» Since downpours from the North swept down into the central Chao Phraya River basin early last month, people are fearfully bracing for the next big flood to hit Bangkok. The Thai government tells the public it is making a concentrated effort to ensure the capital will be protected from future flooding. Despite the heavy rainfall this year, leaders have dismissed the possibility of another flood like 2011's.