Showing 1 - 10 of 47
Time for govt to show Karen some heart
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 12/04/2021
» After struggling for survival on an empty stomach for days, Karen villagers who fled the war atrocities in Myanmar, from an area under the control of the Karen National Union, took shelter along the Salween River. They received some food and medicine, supplied largely by non-profit organisations, temples, Thais, and fellow ethnic people.
Thailand must lend a hand to the Karen
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 05/04/2021
» Pictures of Karen people, including children and the elderly, crowded on the banks of Myanmar's Salween River while attempting to flee the country as their communities were targeted by air strikes launched by the Tatmadaw, and taking refuge on Thai soil triggered sympathy among many Thais. Criticism has also been deafening over allegations made by human rights groups that Thai authorities pushed back the Karen into the war zone.
Justice for Chaiyaphum still undelivered
Oped, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 28/10/2020
» More than three years after the death of Chaiyaphum Pasae, a Lahu ethnic activist who was killed by a soldier at a checkpoint in Chiang Mai, the perpetrator(s) remain free -- and the chances of anyone being accountable for his untimely death are zero.
Crackdown on youth protesters will backfire
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 10/08/2020
» Remember how just two decades ago, Thailand was regarded as a progressive democracy among Asian nations? The recent arrests of a civil rights lawyer and a student activist, which appear to be the prelude to a widespread crackdown on youth movements, made me lose hope over the state of democracy in the country.
'Wizards of democracy' wait to be heard
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 03/08/2020
» A movement by young students under the umbrella of Free Youth and the Students Union of Thailand appears to have gained steam. A series of "flash mob" rallies have taken place in Bangkok and the provinces almost on a daily basis.
When our govt gets into the fake news game
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 02/03/2020
» Browsing through social media platforms, many of us must have experienced a wave of information warfare propelled by dubious and mysterious social media users whose profile pictures are images of animals or scenery and whose friend lists are very short.
FFP demise adds fuel to political fire
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 24/02/2020
» I remember how my two friends reacted when they learnt about the Constitutional Court ruling on Friday, which disbanded the opposition Future Forward Party (FFP) and stripped its executives of their political rights.
No safe spaces in our faux democracy
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 18/09/2019
» As Asean chair, a Thailand governed by an "elected government" should have been well-suited to hosting meetings between governments and people from the region, and allowing those suppressed in their home countries to voice their plight and needs here.
Govt's South bias prolongs the conflict
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 05/08/2019
» A few hours after seven attempted or successful bomb blasts, which hurt four people, in five locations in Bangkok and Nonthaburi on Friday, media reports citing unnamed security officials linked the incidents to retaliation from the insurgency-hit deep South, even though the police investigation is not finished yet.
Landless poor bear brunt of failed policy
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 08/07/2019
» Last week, five villagers accused of encroachment on Saithong National Park in Chaiyaphum province were taken straight to jail after the Appeal Court upheld a ruling given previously by a lower court. The decision brought tears to their families and community members.