Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Mines, rivers, and a regional crisis
Oped, Tuenjai Deetes, Published on 18/12/2025
» 'When I was a child, the Kok River and the Mekong were clear and alive. We drank directly from the river. Women and mothers gathered along the banks, hauling in fishing nets fully loaded with heavy fish, which we cooked and ate the same day. We were happy. We lived without fear -- fear of toxins, fear for our health.
Derelict outpost
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/12/2025
» Re: Toxic threat sweeps all before it", (BP, Dec 1). Your recent report left me more than a little confused about a village I have known for 37 years. The description bore little resemblance to the village I visit maybe four times a week when I visit my local supermarket or withdraw money from the ATM. Those golden years of rafting took place before the highway was constructed over the mountain range.
Make use of MRC talks
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/11/2025
» Thailand is set to host a meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Chiang Rai from Nov 25-27. The choice of location couldn't be more appropriate -- for over a decade, local civic groups have been using the northern province as a base for their campaigns against major infrastructure projects, which they believe could harm the region's rivers.
Reshuffle a bad sign
Oped, Editorial, Published on 17/10/2025
» The mass reshuffle involving 45 senior officials under the Interior Ministry, including provincial governors and department heads, is causing a stir.
Can Abhisit help the ailing Democrats?
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 22/09/2025
» Can Abhisit Vejjajiva, former prime minister and four-time former leader of the Democrat Party, Thailand's oldest political party who is reported to be keen to return to politics, save the Democrat Party from almost certain electoral doom? No one dares to bet.
Toxic rivers need help
Oped, Editorial, Published on 23/05/2025
» The government's reaction to heavy metal contamination in transboundary rivers in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces has left local villagers in despair. Almost three months after heavy metal contamination was recently detected in such rivers, our officials and ministers are still just at the stage of warning people not to consume water and fish from the Kok River in the North.
Govt slow on floods
Oped, Editorial, Published on 30/04/2025
» The report of flash flooding in the Sai River in Chiang Rai yesterday has renewed fears among local communities that floods and mudslides will return in ever greater numbers. Their fears are valid. In less than an hour, the flooding in the Sai River swelled to knee level, forcing villagers along the river to move their property and elders, as well as bedridden patients, out of harm's way.
God complex
Oped, Postbag, Published on 19/02/2022
» Re: "PM invokes epic myth to hammer opposition," (BP, Feb 18). Self-appointed Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha apparently thinks he is Phra Ram (Lord Rama), or God in other words.
Beware the 'third hand' in Thai conflict
Oped, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 26/08/2021
» The use of live ammunition against protesters demanding the resignation of the Prayut Chan-o-cha government is an ominous sign that the protests will escalate into prolonged bloodletting.
PDRC jailings reveal Ratsadorn's fate
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 27/02/2021
» On the one hand, the Criminal Court's verdict on Wednesday, which threw core figures of the now-defunct People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) in jail for their role in the 2013-2014 protests, means a cabinet reshuffle is on the way. Particularly for the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), the ruling is a political windfall for the faction led by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon who can now tighten his grip on the ruling party.