Well, that didn't take long...
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Well, that didn't take long...
Decades of dominance and a junta’s demise
JAMES L TAYLOR - 11 AUG, 2016
Thailand’s referendum has installed the military junta for the long haul. But could it also be their undoing?
The result is out; it is back to 1978.
No surprises. Now the junta can gloat over its inevitable, foregone conquest and lecture the Western world about minding its own business, which they were quick to do after the win.... (read more)...
http://www.newmandala.org/decades-do...juntas-demise/
World | Thu Aug 11, 2016
Thai police want to intercept phone calls in 'national security' cases
BANGKOK | BY AUKKARAPON NIYOMYAT
A new scheme that would allow Thai police to intercept telephone calls in national security cases has been put forward to cabinet for approval, police said on Thursday, a move that has alarmed rights groups.... (read more)...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-th...+World+News%29
Thailand Bombings Suggest Mounting Anti-Junta Sentiment
Nash Jenkins
An investigation official collects evidence from the crime scene after a small bomb exploded in Hua Hin, Thailand, on Aug. 12, 2016
At least four were killed in the series of explosions in Thai tourist towns
A string of bombings across Thailand has left four dead and upwards of 20 injured in what experts say was a coordinated attempt to undermine the country’s military junta....(read more)... http://time.com/4449708/thailand-bla.../?xid=tcoshare
Thailand attacks: who are the likely perpetrators?
Coordinated bomb and arson incidents in southern Thailand, home to an insurgency, could signal new phase of confrontation
Thitinan Pongsudhirak in Hua Hin
Friday 12 August 2016
The coordinated bomb and arson attacks across Thailand’s southern provinces may signal a new phase of confrontation and brinkmanship, following the vote in favour of a military-backed constitution in a referendum on Sunday.
Such incidents are not unheard of in Thailand. Violence and mayhem is an almost daily occurrence in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, where a deadly Malay-Muslim insurgency pushing for greater administrative autonomy from Bangkok has raged for more than a decade.... (read more)... https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...P=share_btn_fb
Northeast still hostile to junta: E-saan Poll
Submitted by editor2 on Thu, 11/08/2016
Despite the junta’s attempt to restrict criticism of the regime-backed draft charter, a public poll conducted in northeastern Thailand, the Isaan region, shows that Isaan people are still hostile to the military regime.
E-saan Poll, a public poll of the Faculty of Economics of Khon Kaen University, reveals that 60.3 percent of Isaan people rejected the draft constitution while 65.8 per cent were against the second referendum question on allowing the unelected senate to jointly vote with the House of Representatives to select the future Prime Minister, Isaan Record news reported.... (read more)... http://prachatai.org/english/node/6468
Thailand's Power-hungry Generals - August 12, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/13/op...rnational&_r=0
THIS IS NOT THE END OF THAI DEMOCRACY
By Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer - August 13, 2016
Retention A week before the referendum on the junta-favored charter draft, which ended in a decisive victory for a constitution written entirely by junta appointees, I asked a taxi driver how he would vote.
The question was posed out of curiosity, and the driver’s answer made me even more curious.... (read more).... http://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinio...hai-democracy/
Bombs, facts, and myths in southern Thailand
ANDERS ENGVALL - 13 AUG, 2016
Truth shouldn’t also be a casualty after Thailand’s 10-12 August bombings.
It is no surprise that Thai authorities go out of their way to rule out Malay-Muslim separatists as potential perpetrators of the string of bombs in the upper south on 10-12 August. It is after all what they always do.... (read more)...
http://www.newmandala.org/bombs-fact...hern-thailand/
August 13, 2016
Thitinan Pongsudhirak -- Violence returns to Thai politics as stakes rise
The latest spate of coordinated bomb and arson attacks in Thailand's southern provinces has left at least four people dead and scores injured, and bears unmistakable political implications. In view of its distinctive targets and its timing, this round of violence may signal a new phase of confrontation and brinkmanship as the stakes in Thailand's political endgame rise following public approval of a new constitution in a referendum on Aug. 7... (read more)... http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Econ...n_cid=NARAN012