Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Stepping back from chaos
Oped, Editorial, Published on 24/07/2025
» Ta Muen Thom temple, situated in an overlapping area of Thailand and Cambodia, has emerged as another conflict hotspot between the neighbouring countries, fuelled by angry scrapping at the border by locals from both sides.
Bdap's arrest a litmus test
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/06/2024
» As Thailand vies for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for the 2025-2027 term -- something the previous Prayut government failed to do -- the arrest of Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese political activist with UN refugee status, will serve as a litmus test for Thailand's human rights standards.
Suvarnabhumi can shine again
Editorial, Published on 10/03/2024
» When it was opened to the public in 2006, Suvarnabhumi Airport reflected the mood and aspirations of the entire nation. The airport's main terminal -- a sprawling glass-and-steel structure that covered an area of about 500,000 square metres before its subsequent expansions -- was designed to look like a floating pavilion, its undulating canopy creating an illusion of space. The airport's design language is worlds apart from Don Mueang's, and the message to arriving passengers that Thailand, like its gleaming, brand-new airport, is open and ready to take a step into modernity was clear.
Look beyond Sea Games
News, Editorial, Published on 18/04/2022
» The delayed 31st Southeast Asian Games (Sea Games) will take place in Hanoi, Vietnam next month, and as in previous games a crucial event will be men's football.
Killing the golden goose
News, Editorial, Published on 19/09/2019
» It's evident that the tourism authorities have woken up to the slowdown in arrivals, a key source of income for the country, and have intensified efforts to improve the situation.
No country for dissidents
News, Editorial, Published on 14/09/2019
» Despite some restrictions on freedom of expression, Thailand was once a place where government dissent was tolerated. It was seen as a safe haven for dissidents in the region, many of whom arrived seeking asylum in a third country under UN Human Rights Commission rules. Od Sayavong, a 34-year-old Lao political activist, was one of them. But that hope was extinguished when he went missing in Bangkok on Aug 26.
Nuke walkout not a disaster
News, Editorial, Published on 05/03/2019
» United States President Donald Trump won a lot of praise for walking out of the negotiations with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, last week. Prior to the two-day summit, there was speculation that both leaders were looking to make a deal. Hopes for such a deal have been dashed, at least for now, after Mr Trump refused to give in to Mr Kim's demand to move forward.
Momentum for peace
News, Editorial, Published on 26/02/2019
» The cast is assembling in Hanoi for a performance probably worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. Trump-Kim Summit II isn't likely to produce anything resembling nuclear disarmament. But the personal diplomacy of the US president and North Korea's leader has indisputably removed the threat of the most terrible kind of warfare from Northeast Asia and the entire region.
Horror of the disappeared
News, Editorial, Published on 11/02/2019
» Cases of the sudden disappearance of political dissidents continue to mount. The latest such case occurred in daytime, inside a well-known Bangkok mall. Truong Duy Nhat, a well-known journalist and blogger in Vietnam, was seized and dragged out of Future Park shopping centre. He had just registered his personal details and applied for asylum through the UN refugee office. His disappearance on Jan 26 has received the usual silence from governments involved.
Defending the indefensible
News, Editorial, Published on 19/09/2018
» The conversion of Aung San Suu Kyi from human rights champion to defender of military violence has been painful to watch. The Myanmar leader capped her change last week. At a UN-sponsored conference in Hanoi, she sloughed off questions about the brutal expulsion of 700,000 Rohingya, who now are refugees. Shockingly, she defended the imprisonment of two Myanmar reporters by praising a law written by colonialists to intimidate and punish her own country's citizens.