Showing 1 - 7 of 7
Charter rejig ties MPs up in knots
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 01/03/2021
» Staunch royalist and conformist Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn recently complained about he and his colleagues' failed attempts to make the amendment of the 2017 military-sponsored constitution more difficult.
Rebel MPs want their share of the cake
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 08/06/2020
» When Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon told the media last week he was not ready to assume the leadership of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), that doesn't mean he will reject the offer in the near future. Otherwise he would have said he didn't want the job because he has been the de facto leader from the very beginning.
Temple raid is once again a shambles
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 27/02/2017
» A friend of mine who was once a senior official in the Religious Affairs Department told me at a reunion of Chulalongkorn University political science old boys on Saturday that he sent a letter to the prime minister with suggestions on how to deal with Phra Dhammajayo, the former abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya. He said he disagreed with the widely-publicised way the government has gone about its latest search of the temple to find the elusive monk, adding it will not work.
Struggle for power in the temple
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 15/02/2016
» The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) -- the red-shirt movement -- has until recently been keeping a safe distance from the controversies surrounding Phra Dhammachayo, the abbot of Wat Dhammakaya, who is under intense pressure by groups known to oppose former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to be defrocked.
Dhammakaya splits the Sangha and Thai society
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 11/01/2016
» There is little doubt about the influence of the Dhammakaya sect among the middle class in this country. That influence has now spread to the Sangha Supreme Council.
Reform bickering is not helping to get the job done
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 10/08/2015
» I just cannot understand the logic of Wanchai Sornsiri, a member of the National Reform Council (NRC), and his rejection of the draft constitution, and his "death wish" that this piece of supreme law be killed.
Chance to reform Sangha is slipping away
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 09/03/2015
» Paiboon Nititawan, chairman of the National Reform Council's committee on Buddhism, made a shock announcement last week that the panel would disband after accomplishing its mission.