BANGKOK (AP) — When Prayuth Chan-ocha led a military coup to take over Thailand’s government five years ago, he wore a dowdy officer’s uniform. A five-year makeover transformed him into a politician, now styled in a well-tailored Western suit or an elegant silk “suea phraratchathan,” a Thai spin on the …
BANGKOK — After he took off his army general’s uniform and put on a prime ministerial suit in 2014, Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha pledged to lead the country back to democracy, although he said it would be “Thai-style democracy.” Four years on, it appears that “Thai-style democracy” means holding an election …
Standing with the world’s more developed nations has long been an obsession for Thai elites – and a source of anxiety. Thailand’s political crisis has been dragging the country down for nearly a decade now but things went from bad to worse in 2015. The military junta, whichgrabbed power in …
Young student activists are unlikely to bring down the junta — but they can make its life more difficult. Activists in Thailand have a busy calendar. Throughout the year they solemnly mark anniversaries of key dates in the struggle to establish a meaningful democracy in the kingdom. The surfeit of …
The move, condemned by the UN, reflects an increasing alignment. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recently challenged Thailand’s repatriations of Uyghurs to China. This act, under international law could be termed refoulement, the return of a victim to their persecutor. Why would Thailand do this? The answer reflects …
A look at some of the faces in the region’s new generation of change seekers. The 14 anti-junta protesters in Thailand. The teenager who criticized Singapore’s founding prime minister. The student who heckled the Philippine president during the country’s Independence Day celebration. They are young activists and critics who were …
Given recent comments by Prayuth, it is unclear when Thailand will return to democracy. In a recent letter to the Washington Post, Thailand’s new ambassador to the United States insisted that despite the May 2014 coup, continued martial law, crackdowns on activists of all types, and an unclear path to election, Thailand …