*All Photos Copyright*
This is more of the 'cutting room floor' in which a number of interesting images that have no general purpose other than illustrating the chaotic week will be posted.
Unfortunately, do to blogger's inability to utilize many images and format them with captions, there will not be captions explaining the context of the photos.
*All Photos Copyright*
Troops at ease outside Chitralada Palace last night (April 12th).
From Michael Montesano in the Malaysian Insider:
"A range of evidence indicates that the country is on the brink of a revolutionary situation. In this context, the fate of the Abhisit government represents a minor consideration.
...
The Thai military may yet use violence against the red shirts. This may require it to mount crackdowns not only in Bangkok but also across much of provincial Thailand.
At best, such an effort will bring temporary quiet. At worst, it may exacerbate divisions among Thailand’s soldiers and policemen, leading to Thais spilling the blood of fellow Thais.
But revolutions need not be violent. The revolutionary situation on the brink of which the country now seems to stand can lead to a new Thailand, one in which there is room for all Thais to participate constructively."
The whole article is really worth a read and makes a convincing argument that the chaos currently playing out on the streets is nothing short of a revolution.
After a day of chaos and violence, Bangkok is currently in a tense stand off.
Thousands of Red Shirt protesters are in control of a large geographic area around Government House.
They have armed themselves and have erected a number of roadblocks around the city.
In response to this challenge, the government has declared a state of emergency and it is reported that 56 companies of soldiers are preparing to confront them.
It is hard to imagine this scenario playing itself out without bloodshed.
The photos here were taken this Sunday evening (April 12th) between 9 and 11 PM around the Government House neighborhood.
*all images copyright*
Photos taken at Victory Monument on Friday April 10.
Jatuporn Promphan, a red-shirted leader, addressing the crowd from atop of a large truck.
Many portraits of Thaksin of course.
"I love Thaksin" claims the placard on the policeman mannequin.
Thai TV news carried numerous reports of hospital access being blocked by the protesters but ambulances, as pictured above, were moving freely through the protest lines.
A photo of mine, used without permission, to illustrate an article calling for jihad in Southern Thailand.
Who is promoting jihad in Southern Thailand?
The short and somewhat awkward answer is: me.
At a recent seminar about the conflict in Southern Thailand there was a presentation about jihadist websites and magazines calling for holy war in Southern Thailand.
One of my photographs take a couple years ago in Pattani province was used, without my permission and without remuneration, in an article calling for Indonesian Muslims to go to Southern Thailand and fight a jihad against the Thai infidels.
Here is the original photo:
The less factitious answer to who is promoting jihad in Southern Thailand is Sabili magazine.
This Indonesian magazine, along with Jihadmagz and other Indonesian/Malaysian websites, apparently has links to the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) and the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah or JI.
They use typical extremist non-sense about the duties of Muslims to wage war against infidels who 'invade Muslim lands'.
To reinforce their argument, they employ widely available footage of Thai military human rights abuses such as the infamous video taken during the crackdown on Muslim protesters in Tak Bai.
They also employ the logic of proximity.
If Malaysia and Indonesia are geographically proximate, the logical destination of jihad for able bodied Muslims from Southeast Asia is Southern Thailand.
The question of whether there are foreign fighters or foreign extremists supporting southern insurgents has always been a point of speculation.
There have been some case like the 'accidental jihadist' that Philip Golingai wrote about and much speculation about tacit support from some in Malaysia but the southern insurgency largely remains an internal matter for the Thai state.
Yet one wonders, as the conflict festers into its fifth year of open hostilities, how long it will remain an internal matter.
*Thanks to P.T. for her research on this matter
* photo copyright *
Laila Pohetaedaoh and daughter in Yala's Krong Pinang district on 19 August 2008. Bottom right is a photo of Laila's husband who was shot and killed by insurgents.
In 2008, I had the honor to interview Laila Pohetaedoh in her home in Krong Pinang, Yala for a forthcoming documentary on the southern conflict.
At the time, she told me that she had already lost her husband and two sons to insurgent attacks.
Insurgents accused her family of working with the government.
She told me that she felt trapped between two hostile forces. The militants who were making death threats against her, and the military who treated the villagers like terrorists.
Tragically, it appears that insurgents carried out their threats.
Her death was scarcely reported in the mainstream press: from the Bangkok Post on 12/03/2009:
"In Yala's Krong Pinang district, Laila Pohetaedaoh was shot. She was taken to Yala Hospital. She recently received an award for being among the most outstanding women of the district"
From a Human Rights Watch report titled Insurgents Target Leading Muslim Woman Activist:
"On March 12, 2009, an eyewitness saw an insurgent fatally shoot Laila Paaitae Daoh, a prominent Muslim women’s rights activist and peace advocate, in broad daylight in Krongpenang district, Yala province.
She was rushed to Yala Hospital Center, but died of her wounds the next day. Laila and her family had long received threats and had been targets of insurgent attacks. Alleged insurgents killed her eldest son in 2004 and her husband and second son in 2006."
Over at the New Mandala there is thorough coverage of Abhisit's Somsak Jeamteerasakul, for providing the link to the video above.
Also, at the Times Online, Richard Lloyd Parry makes some interesting comments about the exchange between Abhisit and Giles and the lack of open debate in Thailand:
"And such an open, unfettered and fearless debate could never take place in Thailand at the moment. Giles Ungpakorn wouldn't be there, for a start: he'd be locked up, for writing a book. And no Thai who wished to stay out of jail would dare to stand up and ask the frank questions about lèse-majesté which the Oxford audience put on Saturday. Abhisit may have said that he wants to promote democratic debate in Thailand, but whether he really intends to, or even has the power to do so, is another question yet to be settled. Perhaps his hands are tied by his PAD/military supporters; perhaps, having achieved power, he now finds that a certain amount of fear and hesitancy on the part of the population is an advantage."
Despite calling Southern Thailand "one of the most dangerous places on earth" - which i dont agree with - this report from France 24 is rather good.
Of particular note is the work of the Muslim Attorney Centre (MAC) which provides a much needed service in the South.
From the Nation:
"Web director Chiranuch Premchaiporn was arrested on a charge of committing a computer crime, because she allowed the offending comments to be posted on Prachatai's Web board.
...
The official said there was no clear criteria for judging what kind of comments and content on the Web might be deemed to constitute lese majeste. Police did not show the posted comments in question.
...
The authorities have launched a crackdown on websites accused of posting lese-majeste content. Many websites based inside and outside the country have been blocked."
* photo copyright*
Royal Guard on parade. November 23rd, 2008.
PRESS RELEASE (in full is attached)
March 4, 2009
International Scholars Call for Reform of Thailand's Lese Majeste Law
Over fifty international scholars and dignitaries have signed a letter to the Thai Prime Minister calling for reform of the lese majeste law. The letter comes after a spate of lese majeste cases in Thailand and moves by the Thai government to restrict internet discussion of the royal family.
The letter urges the Thai government to consider the following:
1. Please stop seeking more suppressive measures against individuals, web sites, and the peaceful expressions of ideas.
2. Please consider suggestions to reform the lese majeste law to prevent further abuses and to prevent the possibility of further damage to the international reputation of Thailand and the monarch.
3. Please consider taking action to withdraw the current lese majeste charges, and working to secure the release of those already convicted under the lese majeste law. They are charged for expressing their ideas. This should not be a crime.
The letter argues that frequent abuse of the lese majeste law against political opponents undermines democratic processes? and generates heightened criticism of the monarchy and Thailand itself, both inside and outside the country.
Signatories to the letter include:
- World leaders in human rights and civil liberties, such as Lord Eric Avebury, Dr. Caroline Lucas, Senator Francesco Martone, Smitu Kothari, Walden Bello;
- Prominent scholars who are famous throughout the academic world across fields and disciplines like Noam Chomsky, Stuart Hall, Arjun Appadurai, Jim Scott, Arif Dirlik, Stanley Tambiah, Immanuel Wallerstein, and many more;
- Presidents, former presidents and leaders of several internationally prestigious academic associations, namely the Associations for Asian Studies , the American Political Science Association, the American Sociological Association, the Asian Studies Association of Australia, and
more;
- Leading legal scholars such as a former judge in the International Court of Justice, a former President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, and leading scholars on human rights law;
- Leading international scholars of Southeast Asia and Thailand in many fields including political science, history, anthropology, literature, geography, economics, environmental studies, most of whom have long term experience in Thailand and the region.
Additional signatories are currently being collected. The letter will be delivered to the Honorable Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in late March or early April. Those who want to include their name on the letter are invited to send their name, title/ rank/position and affiliation to one of the
following Coordinators of this campaign.
Thongchai Winichakul, Professor, Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Andrew Walker, Senior Fellow, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. andrew.walker@anu.edu.au
Jim Glassman, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, University of
British Columbia, 217 - 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 Canada. nmsslg@yahoo.ca
Larry Lohmann, The Corner House, Station Road, Sturminster Newton, Dorset
DT10 1YJ, United Kingdom. larrylohmann@gn.apc.org
Adadol Ingawanij, Post-doctoral Researcher, Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media, University of Westminster, Harrow Campus, UK. M.Ingawanij@westminster.ac.uk
The web site New Mandala http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/
Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA. twinicha@wisc.edu
