Showing 1 - 5 of 5
Democracy really needs to be more pro-worker
Oped, Published on 25/06/2024
» Even if the feared extremist wave did not quite materialise in the European Parliament election this month, the far right performed well in Italy, Austria, Germany, and especially France. Moreover, its latest gains have come on the heels of major shifts toward far-right parties in Hungary, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden, among others.
Move Forward case reveals autocracy
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/06/2024
» The Constitutional Court's announcement that it will consider the Move Forward Party's (MFP) written defence in its dissolution case on June 12 appears ominous. After several attempts to make its argument that a campaign pledge to amend the lese majeste law against royal insult is not tantamount to "overthrowing Thailand's democratic regime with the King as head of state", the party's time is up. As the biggest election winner in May 2023, the MFP's dissolution is perceived as a foregone conclusion. Such a revelation might risk Thailand being perceived as an autocratic regime based on legal manoeuvres, and power plays that do not derive from voter preferences.
Defeat symbolises normalisation
News, Published on 03/06/2024
» Last Thursday, a television news crew made its way to former South African president Jacob Zuma's homestead, an ugly monstrosity controversially built at a cost of 250 million rand (500 million baht) of taxpayers' money, in his rural village of Nkandla. The crew got to interview Zuma after midnight. At about 2am, the crew watched in amazement as a genial Zuma, aged 82, welcomed a delegation of French diplomats into his living room for a meeting.
Protests of both despair and conflict in Gaza
Oped, Published on 30/05/2024
» These are crazy times. Biblical disturbances in nature, such as the repeated torrential rain in Dubai or the mass fish die-off in Vietnam's overheated reservoir, seem to mirror our overheated politics and social environment.
Divestment from Israel will not bring peace
News, Published on 27/05/2024
» The Oct 7 terrorist attack by Hamas has rightly generated enormous sympathy for the people of Israel, especially given Jews' history of persecution, culminating in the Holocaust. But the plight of civilians in Gaza since the attack is horrifying as well. Both sides need to support an immediate cessation of hostilities, followed by good-faith efforts to address the underlying issues.