Stories about Thailand from January, 2009
Rohingya Muslims facing cultural genocide
Prof. Marranci writes that Rohingya Muslims are “victims of their lack of strategic value, both for their native Southeast Asia and the wider international community.” The Rohingyas are also “facing a slow, silent cultural genocide.”
The plight of the Rohingya
The Rohingya have been called “trafficked victims”, “refugees”, “forced migrants” and “illegal migrants”. The Irrawaddy provides a comprehensive background to the situation of the Rohingya. This issue has involved Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and even the United States.
Thailand: Media investigates Rohingya refugees
Bangkok Pundit summarises some of the foreign media's investigations of the cases of the Rohingya refugees. Thailand Crisis says the incident represents the failure of the Abhisit government.
Thailand: Kissing in public
Kissing in Public is an ongoing project in Thailand which invites residents in Thailand to perform the act of, well, kissing in public. According to organizers, this is an exercise in socio-cultural politics. “At the time where all the eyes in Thailand and the media focus on national politics, we’d...
Thailand: Economic conditions last November 2008
The Bank of Thailand released a report on the country's economic and monetary conditions during the month of November 2008. According to the report, “the overall economy notably decelerated. Despite the acceleration in crop production, crop prices continued to decelerate. The number of tourists declined markedly due to the political...
Thailand: Australian writer jailed for lese majeste
Australian writer Harry Nicolaides was given a three year prison sentence for lese majeste in Bangkok on Monday. He was charged with the offense of offending the monarchy for a passage in a book he published in 2005 titled Verisimilitude. Only 50 copies of the book were ever printed and...
Thailand: Rohingya refugee story coverage
Bangkok Pundit provides a round up of the story about Rohingya refugees who were allegedly pushed out to sea by the Thai Navy. The story has been reported in detail by BBC News. According to Bangkok Pundit the news was originally broken by the website Phuket Wan.
Southeast Asia: Ship of dreams and friendship
Take a luxury cruise liner, fill it with some 300 vibrant youths from Southeast Asia and Japan, stir in cultural agenda and social interactions. The result: a strong bond and lifetime friendship. This is the story of the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Programme.
Thailand: Prime Minister talks to the press
Thailand's new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke to foreign journalists at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand. Newley Purnell has posted some notes of the PM's speech.
Bangkok nightclub fire
Check out a YouTube video clip and the Wikipedia page on the Bangkok nightclub fire disaster which claimed the lives of 60 persons.
Thailand: Nightclub Fire
Dozens of New Year party goes were killed in a fire that broke out at a Bangkok nightclub.