Showing 1 - 10 of 14
Ruling adds to popular grievances
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 04/12/2020
» Anyone who has wondered or insinuated that the student-led protest movement for Thailand's fundamental reforms must somehow be sponsored by some foreign government or politically motivated agents at home need look no further than the Constitutional Court's unanimous decision to clear Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of violating the 2017 charter by staying in army housing after retirement. In a 9-to-0 verdict, the nine-member bench sided with an army regulation over charter stipulations. The controversial verdict will exacerbate Thailand's political polarisation and add to popular grievances that are backing the student-led reform drive.
The karmic results of voter suppression
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/10/2020
» When Thailand's justice system issues decisions that have political ramifications, fewer people are holding their breath these days because conclusions are increasingly foregone. In fact, when the historical record comes into fuller view, it will be seen that the politicisation of the judiciary has fundamentally undermined Thailand's fragile democratic development and reinforced authoritarian rule that has been resurgent over the past 15 years. Nowhere are these judicial sins and shortcoming more salient and damning than the systematic and selective disenfranchisement of voters.
Reforms need broadening of the agenda
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/09/2020
» Thailand's student-led protest movement for overdue political change and reforms has reached a crucial juncture. In the aftermath of its most recent demonstration on Sept 19 at Sanam Luang public ground and open field in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok's old town, the protest agenda can be seen as either zooming in directly on monarchical reform or emanating more from the side and down below on broader institutional changes that include the monarchy.
TRC dissolution turns up political heat
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/03/2019
» It is deja vu all over again in Thai politics. Another political party aligned to Thaksin Shinawatra, an ousted, self-exiled and convicted former prime minister, found its way to the Constitutional Court where it was dissolved in short order for "opposing the democratic system with the King as head of state".
All quiet on the Thai-Cambodian front
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 18/01/2019
» The Hun Sen government's decision last week to annul Cambodian passports issued to foreigners, reportedly including self-exiled former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, has brought Thai-Cambodian relations into focus once again. As has been reported in international and local media, Yingluck apparently used a Cambodian passport to register as the sole director of a Hong Kong company. The Cambodian authorities' continuing cooperation with Thailand's military government demonstrates a workable new pattern in the bilateral relationship that is a break from the past.
Thailand's murky, muddled road ahead
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 31/03/2017
» In a new era of transformative technologies and tectonic geopolitical shifts, standing still is tantamount to falling behind. This is what Thailand is doing. Its recent news flow indicates the country is mired in a regressive holding pattern.
Let Thai electorate be referendum winners
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 12/08/2016
» Amidst the wide-ranging fallout from Thailand's second-ever referendum results, one clear outcome that should not be downplayed and marginalised is that Thai voters have more or less collectively spoken yet again. Their preference this time is to approve a military-inspired constitution that codifies longer-term military supervision of Thai politics. This sobering reality from Thai voters is not music to pro-democracy ears but it must be heeded.
Vote prospects in Thailand's long transition
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/08/2016
» Thailand's second-ever referendum on its second consecutive military-inspired constitution in 10 years should be a foregone conclusion. The government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha that seized power in May 2014 has deployed all instruments and organs of the state from village headmen and upcountry teachers to the entire bureaucratic apparatus and official media propaganda to ensure the charter's passage. The Referendum Act, a law that effectively prohibits open and inclusive debate and public discussion, has been enacted for good measure to keep the draft constitution on course. Yet what appears like a one-way state-sponsored campaign for referendum approval may boomerang into a rejection owing to several factors.
Thailand lags as Myanmar gains ground
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/04/2016
» Few next-door neighbours have moved so far in an opposite political direction than Thailand and Myanmar, also known as Burma. After more than half a century of military dictatorship from 1962, Myanmar has returned to democratic rule with a free and fair election last November and now a civilian-led government under Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Coup reorients relations with Cambodia
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 11/07/2014
» Thailand’s military coup has reoriented Thai-Cambodian relations with surprising effects. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s overt enmity and confrontation towards Thailand over the past several years have become conciliatory and accommodating for the time being. Whether this new pattern of bilateral ties is solidified depends on how post-coup Thailand plays out.