Showing 1 - 10 of 43
France's failings a lesson for Thailand
News, Editorial, Published on 15/11/2020
» Five years on after the Bataclan massacre, France is once again facing a resurgent Islamist threat. Over the past few months, three separate attacks have rocked the proud secular nation which champions freedom of expression: stabbings near the former office of political satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, the beheading of 47-year-old school teacher Samuel Paty, who showed his students caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, and a knife attack in Nice.
Give voice to the Rohingya
Oped, Editorial, Published on 25/09/2020
» The Rohingya saga has been prominent in some international headlines of late. In addition to the mass exodus, with nearly 300 Rohingya drifting to the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province after spending months at sea, another major cause for concern is the deprivation of voting rights of those Rohingya remaining in western Rakhine state as well as the one million refugees living in neighbouring Bangladesh.
TM30 not fit for purpose
News, Editorial, Published on 13/09/2019
» In March, the Immigration Bureau resurrected the draconian regulation known as TM30 with the aim of keeping track of foreigners' whereabouts. It is legitimate to wonder whether any foreign criminals have disclosed their movements to authorities via the TM30 form.
TM30 a shot in the foot
News, Editorial, Published on 31/07/2019
» At a time when the tourism industry needs a shot in the arm, perhaps the last thing the Immigration Bureau should do is resuscitate an outdated rule to make the lives of foreigners and Thais more difficult -- but that's what the bureau has done with the dreaded TM30 form.
The war on Christianity
News, Editorial, Published on 26/04/2019
» There's a war going on -- against a religion whose name is often treated as an embarrassing footnote. It's a war against Christianity, and while its tentacles of hatred reach across the globe, they were seen most horrifically in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday with multiple deadly suicide blasts.
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.
Prawit's joke in bad taste
News, Editorial, Published on 18/01/2019
» As one of the country's leaders, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon should be keen to avoid bad jokes, especially ones that -- due to a lack of sensitivity -- could hurt the feelings of people in mourning, not to mention embarrass Thailand diplomatically.
Xmas spirit a Thai virtue
News, Editorial, Published on 24/12/2018
» The celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is one of the few holidays so widely marked. It may not be a holiday in Thailand, but there is probably no one unaware of Christmas. Many Christians criticise the commercial atmosphere, but there's really no escaping it. The giving of gifts and the "Christmas spirit" of peace and joy is worth noting by everyone, everywhere.
Religious abuse perils
News, Editorial, Published on 15/08/2018
» Friday is the third anniversary of the worst single terrorist attack in modern Thailand. The poorly investigated, badly prosecuted bombing of the Erawan shrine killed 20 people and injured more than 100. The hurried police work concluded it was the act of foreigners angry at the government's success against human trafficking. The "foreigners" turned out to be Chinese Uighurs, two of whom were arrested and are still undergoing trial. The only known Thai suspect is on bail and her trial is officially pending, unofficially unlikely.
Time to come clean on secret CIA prison
News, Editorial, Published on 27/05/2018
» Now Gina Haspel has been sworn in as the CIA's first female director, it is time the government speak out on a matter in which it has kept silent for over a decade.