(For the record, if this is a recent broadcast, I wasn’t able to locate any related story on the CNN Web site. Perhaps this graphic was related to recent drought problems, though.)
Here are some items from the last several days that I wanted to point out, at least belatedly:
On Aung San Suu Kyi and reforms in Myanmar:
The AP provides the context on Aung San Suu Kyi’s parliamentary swearing in today:
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in to Myanmar’s military-backed parliament Wednesday, taking public office for the first time since launching her struggle against authoritarian rule nearly a quarter century ago.
The opposition leader’s entry into the legislature heralds a new political era in Myanmar, cementing a risky detente between her party and the reformist government of President Thein Sein, which inherited power from the army last year.
Meanwhile, representatives of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have an op-ed in today’s WSJ headlined “Burma’s Reform Is Still on Parole.”
A Thai judge postponed a verdict that had been expected Monday for a webmaster accused of failing to act quickly enough to remove Internet posts deemed insulting to Thailand’s royalty.
Judge Nittaya Yaemsri said more time was need to process documents in the case, which has drawn global criticism because many see it as an assault on freedom of speech. A new court date was set for May 30.
Australian Chef David Thompson’s restaurant here in Bangkok, Nahm, has come in at number 50 on the newest list of the “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.”
(Previously at Newley.com: Here’s an earlier post on Thompson and the issue of foreigners cooking Thai cuisine. And here’s an audio slide show I made about Thompson in 2009.)
And finally, speaking of Thai food:
Thanks to my good friend Dan S. for Tweeting the photo, above, of Bangkok Center Grocery in New York City.
If you’re interested in the Thai language, you might like to know that the image prompted a a back-and-forth on Twitter, embedded below and on Storify here, about the establishment’s name and its spelling in Thai:
Former Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand last night. (Details on the event are on the FCCT site here.)
Embedded below and collected here are my Tweets from the evening, in reverse chronological order.
As I’ve noted following Abhisit’s remarks at previousFCCT events, he is a highly adept politician, at least by Western standards: He stays on message, he uses his wit to good effect, he speaks excellent English, and he has a deep knowledge of policy issues.
Overall, my feeling was that the audience of non-journalists — Thais and foreigners alike — were fairly receptive to his remarks.
Abhisit received some cheers for a few of his statements, and though I heard some rumblings of discontent among some in attendance, the environment was not at all hostile.
(Of course, that may have to do with the fact that the non-media audience was self-selecting: His supporters are more likely to turn out to hear him speak, perhaps, than his detractors.)
To summarize a few notable elements of Abhisit’s remarks:
He argued that his administration focused on economic issues and aimed to restore “some normalcy” to Thai politics.
He said Yingluck’s government is forsaking economic development and focusing on amnesty for Thaksin, and that such amnesty will only create more divisions in Thai society.
Regarding exiled former PM Thaksin’s potential return, he said that if Thaksin comes back and serves even a short sentence but is pardoned legally, “we’re fine with that.”
Abhisit was asked if he felt any personal responsibility for the 2010 violence. He said, before elaborating, “we are all responsible in some way or another.”
Proceedings in Thailand’s parliament have been interrupted after the graphic image of a semi-naked woman flashed up on giant screens during a debate.
The close-up picture of a young woman striking a provocative pose appeared on monitors as an MP addressed the house.
The images appeared in between footage of the debate, on a controversial constitutional amendment.
The session was halted and the monitors hastily switched off after an MP complained.
The origin of the images is now being investigated. The Speaker, Somsak Kiatsuranont, said an official told him that the image’s appearance was the work of hackers outside of parliament.
Hackers? Or could the image have come unwittingly — or even intentionally — from others in the building?
Electronic devices of a particular brand were found yesterday to be capable of sending data to display screens inside Parliament and could be responsible for a recent “porn pic” scandal.
Kamphi Ditthakorn, deputy secretary-general of the House of Representatives, who chairs a fact-finding team investigating the scandal, said yesterday the culprit could be a Samsung smart phone.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident on the same day, The Bangkok Postsaid:
In addition, an unidentified MP was caught by an unnamed photographer looking at an erotic photo on his cell phone during the House meeting today.
Note that the MP was looking at a different image — not the one that ran on the large screens. Click through for a photo of the MP.
A red-faced Democrat Party MP, a son of former party leader Banyat Bantadtan, Thursday admitted that he accidentally viewed a porno picture during a parliamentary meeting Wednesday.
Nat Bantadtan admitted during the meeting held to deliberate the charter amendment bill in the second reading that he used his mobile phone to watch a porno picture.
So, to re-cap:
1) A graphic photo was displayed on large screens in the Thai Parliament.
2) Later, an MP was photographed viewing an erotic image on his mobile phone.
For more info on both events, see this post by Kaewmala at Asian Correspondent, and this one by Bangkok Pundit.
Embedded at the top of this post and on YouTube here: A Thai-language news report about the first incident.
Given my past writings about hamburgers in Bangkok, I feel compelled to point out this news: the well-known U.S. burger chain Carl’s Jr. says it is opening an establishment here in Bangkok on May 15.
As you can see in the Tweet below, a restaurant representative says the establishment — apparently one of three to come in Thailand — will be located on Thanon Thaniya, in Bangkok’s Silom area.
@silentfoot @qandrew @newley Yes! @CarlsJr is scheduled to open May 15 at 62/11-14 Soi Thaniya, Silom Road, Surawong District, Bangkok.
Carl’s Jr. restaurants are generally located in central and Western U.S. states. But East-coast fast food fans should fret not: Carl’s Jr.’s parent company apparently owns Hardees and serves their signature biscuits.
(Hat tip to Patrick Winn for spotting the Soi 24 site.)
Following my recent post on Thaksin’s Songkran rally next door in Cambodia, I wanted to point out a related Economist piece.
The story examines the exiled former Thai prime minister’s relationship with Cambodia’s PM, Hun Sen:
As much as the rally was a testament to Mr Thaksin’s popularity, it was perhaps even more a reflection of the unusual friendship that has burgeoned between him and Mr Hun Sen over the past few years. At a cost that the Cambodian government has refused to disclose, thousands of its security officers were deployed along with hundreds of support staff including street sweepers, electrical engineers, health workers and many more besides. While much of Cambodia had been shut down over the weekend to celebrate the Khmer New Year, which took place Friday, the authorities in Siem Reap went into overdrive.
Embedded above and on YouTube here: New Mandala’s “Asia-Pacific future trends.” (Academics from Columbia University and the Australian National University answer the question, “Based on what you know of the Asia-Pacific region, what keeps you up at night?”)
(Previous link round-ups are available via the links tag.)
Will former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra end his self-imposed exile and return to Thailand?
The AP reports that Thaksin, on a visit to Cambodia, said his homecoming isn’t far off:
Exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra celebrated Thailand’s most important holiday in neighbouring Cambodia this weekend, telling thousands of fervent supporters who crossed the border to meet him that he intends to return home soon on his own terms.
Thaksin, ousted by a 2006 military coup after being accused of abuse of power and disrespect for the monarchy, led a song-filled rally to mark Songkran, the Thai New Year. Between appearances on stage, he worked the crowd in a manner recalling his past political campaigning.
Thaksin, 62, has been living overseas since jumping bail in 2008 to avoid a two-year jail term on a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated. Saturday’s event, just a few hours’ drive from northeastern Thailand, raises the question: Will he be celebrating the next Songkran at home?
Thaksin – by far Thailand’s most divisive politician – has said in the past few days that his return will be “in the next three to four months”, “not so long” and when “everything is stable”.
He sang several popular songs during his appearance on Saturday, with lyrics changed to stress his homesickness or urge his supporters to support his younger sister Yingluck, the current prime minister. He added an off-key rendition of My Way, which segued oddly into Let It Be.
(On the subject of Thaksin’s singing: Yes, embedded above and on YouTube is footage of him singing “My Way” and “Let it Be.”)
The WSJ, meanwhile, has this analysis of Thaksin’s statements:
Six years after the military coup that ousted him from power, Mr. Thaksin shows he has lost little of his potential to rub his opponents the wrong way. He remains a deeply polarizing force in Thailand at a time when this pivotal Southeast Asian economy is trying to reassure investors after last year’s floods swamped large parts of the country’s industrial belt. The rally in Cambodia also coincided with his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra’s push to change the country’s post-coup constitution and introduce a possible amnesty for Mr. Thaksin after she became prime minister last year following a landslide election victory—a move that could set the stage for a fresh round of turmoil in the country.
Mr. Thaksin’s foes already view the new government’s plans to change the constitution as a thinly-disguised attempt to enable the former leader to return to Thailand a free man instead of serving a two-year prison sentence on a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated. It is unclear what form the new charter might take, but analysts say the government could be looking at removing constitutional protections for the army officers who planned the 2006 coup.
At the same time, the government is also considering ways to introduce a potential amnesty for people caught up in Thailand’s political violence since 2006. A parliamentary House Committee on National Reconciliation—headed by coup leader turned politician Sonthi Boonyaratglin—has proposed a broad reprieve for key players in the country’s political conflicts, and also has suggested dropping all charges brought by the army’s now-defunct Assets Examination Committee—including the corruption case against Mr. Thaksin.
Elsewhere, on the topic of political reconciliation, The Economistsays:
Almost six years after Thaksin Shinawatra…was ousted as prime minister in a coup by royalist generals, it might seem like time to move on. Not a bit of it, Thailand’s politicians seem to think. Legislators have spent the past few weeks arguing obsessively and bitterly about the rights and wrongs of the coup and its long aftermath—all, apparently, in the name of “national reconciliation”. The result, not unexpectedly, is not so much reconciliation as even more recrimination.
Read the whole thing.
And finally, for more analysis of what might happen if the controversial ex-PM were to return, see this New Mandala post: “When Thaksin Comes Home”
, by David Goldblatt
, by Max Hastings
, by Atul Gawande
, by Tyler Cowen
, by Diana B. Henriques
, by Simon Kuper
, by Charles Duhigg
