Showing 21 - 30 of 64
Pardons due to journos
News, Editorial, Published on 20/04/2019
» Two Myanmar journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, have been locked up in Yangon's Insein Prison for almost 500 days for allegedly "exposing state secrets".
A divisive one-note tune
News, Editorial, Published on 20/02/2019
» The troubling response of the army commander to a rather benign political campaign promise has quickly escalated. Gen Apirat Kongsompong didn't just try to refute the call to cut both the military budget and the number of general officers. He retaliated by reviving the most hateful song in Thai political history, and promised to flood military bases and the airwaves with it. It is a move with an ironclad guarantee of major political and national division.
The lack of refugee policy
News, Editorial, Published on 19/02/2019
» Thailand has been at the centre of asylum and refugee disputes since the year began. But in the past six weeks, what has emerged is not a pretty picture. A young Saudi woman won world Twitter backing and a ticket to Canada. A Bahraini refugee from Australia won freedom for a second time with inventive diplomacy. Now three of the seven Uighur migrants who escaped detention at the Mukdahan Immigration office have "won" a police manhunt and a legal limbo where extradition back to China is their No.1 likely future.
Justice fails rape victims
News, Editorial, Published on 20/12/2018
» Reports of an alleged gang-rape of a 12-year-old girl in Saraburi province have dismayed the public over the past few days, not only because the incident was so appalling in its nature but also because of police leniency towards the suspected rapists.
It's time to tackle domestic violence
News, Editorial, Published on 25/11/2018
» Another young woman has fallen victim to domestic violence. Saifon, a young farmworker in Nakhon Si Thammarat, was killed this week by her jealous former husband after she tried to end the relationship.
A test of the election date
News, Editorial, Published on 29/10/2018
» The regime claims that it has just discovered that its advertised, "most likely" date for the general election will horrendously clash with another, hugely important event. For some time, the government has been teasing the likelihood for a general election on Feb 24. However, late last week came the "discovery" that tens of thousands young men and women will be busy in the midst of something else that day: University entrance exams, which will be held between Feb 18-23.
Death penalty taints the record
News, Editorial, Published on 14/10/2018
» Thailand has missed a chance to be part of the world majority in marking the international day against the death penalty this week after it carried out the execution of a young convict in June amid high publicity.
End military interrogation
News, Editorial, Published on 27/09/2018
» In a court ruling on Tuesday on what has been dubbed the "budu bomb" case, the legitimacy and transparency of the military's unusual role in the justice process has again been questioned.
Lese majeste losing ground
News, Editorial, Published on 22/09/2018
» The Appeal Court's acquittal of six young men on Tuesday of lese majeste charges -- on the grounds that they did not intend to commit the crime -- marks another positive step forward in the way allegations of defaming the Crown are handled.
Government exploits Wild Boars
News, Editorial, Published on 30/07/2018
» The government's actions towards the rescued Chiang Rai football team makes it appear confused and cold, not to mention exploitative. This may seem ironic to some, since the government's stated aim was to protect the 12 Wild Boars and their families, along with coach Ekapol Chanthawong. In fact, almost everything ministers and senior officials have done in the days since the rescue succeeded on July 10 has been poorly planned and executed.