AK Rockefeller Topics

Thailand

Undying Guardians of the North

Undying Guardians of the North

Part lion, part dragon. These ancient, mythical guardians protect a temple, Wat Mahawan, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photographs by Zashnain Zainal ...

Pro-democracy activists rally in Bangkok as election faces delay

Pro-democracy activists rally in Bangkok as election faces delay

Human rights activists protest possible postponement of Thai election. ...

Merge Into One: Photos from the Thai Floods of 2011

Merge Into One: Photos from the Thai Floods of 2011

In August 2011 the floods appeared aggressive, somewhat north of Thailand. Then it, like a raging beast, surge forth, southward – a destructive force of nature, that claimed land, farms, villages, towns and cit ...

Rap Against Dictatorship

Rap Against Dictatorship

“Polarizing the people is the authoritarian’s ultimate weapon. When this happens, the people’s power will be take away.” Rap Against Dictatorship Artist : – Lady Thanom – Gentle Pr ...

Thailand faces another coup d’etat if military hates election outcome

Thailand faces another coup d’etat if military hates election outcome

Thailand’s Chief of Defence Forces Pornpipat Benyasri has defended the army chief, who said he would not rule out another military coup, saying this would only be proposed as a final option to deal with politic ...

Forget Genuine, Rights-Respecting Democracy

Forget Genuine, Rights-Respecting Democracy

Thailand. General Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who seized power in a coup in May 2014, said in August that the election should take place on February 24. Previous time-lines for a poll were repeatedly pushed back. Human Rights ...

I am a politician who used to be a soldier

I am a politician who used to be a soldier

The head of Thailand’s military government declared Monday he is “interested” in participating in politics, in a new indication he may seek to remain in office after elections scheduled for early n ...

Lost Decade: Despite Military Persecution, Former Thai PM Thaksin Calls For Unity

Lost Decade: Despite Military Persecution, Former Thai PM Thaksin Calls For Unity

12 Years from September 19, 2006 to September 19, 2018 Via “Oak” Panthongtae Shinawatra. Today I wish all of us could for a moment, put ourself in the right frame of mind without any prejudice and serious ...

Media Regulator Intimidates Voice TV, Again

Media Regulator Intimidates Voice TV, Again

Pressures from Thailand’s media regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), has forced Voice TV to suspend two news commentators for alleged partiality and frequently reportin ...

An Election Without Fundamental Rights

An Election Without Fundamental Rights

It has been four years since the ruling Pheu Thai party was removed from power in Thailand in a military coup. Four years of flip-flops, of abrupt reversals of decisions, and of broken promises. Four years of propaga ...

Was ist das Proletariat?

Was ist das Proletariat?

Photos by Zashnain | Bangkok, Thailand.     ...

Thai Ban on Women Police Cadets Increases Vulnerability of Sexual Assault Victims

Thai Ban on Women Police Cadets Increases Vulnerability of Sexual Assault Victims

The Royal Police Cadet Academy announced this week that it will not admit female candidates from the next academic year. It has given no explanation for the decision. “This is a very backward move for womenR ...

Politics Fragmented into a Series of Hopelessness

Politics Fragmented into a Series of Hopelessness

Throughout a decade of struggles in a state of kleptocracy, Malaysians, mainly those from the lower middle class, have told me that they were unable to find equal opportunities for work. But then one day, Malaysians ...

Thailand’s 2014 Coup and Call for Democracy

Thailand’s 2014 Coup and Call for Democracy

Rome Ramsignam from Thailand’s Democracy Restoration Group (DRG) talks to Peoples Dispatch about the current political scenario in the country and the people’s movement for elections and democracy.   ...

A Tall Order: Free and Fair Elections

A Tall Order: Free and Fair Elections

While people talk about political parties and the usual predictions of who will be the prime minister, there’s very little open debate about the role and responsibilities of the Election Commission of Thailand. ...

Untangling the Complexities of Technology

Untangling the Complexities of Technology

Workers repair Bangkok’s endless, tangled wires. Photography by Zashnain Zainal   ...

A Sinuous Path Through the Slum

A Sinuous Path Through the Slum

There’s no way one can miss the presence of slum neighbourhoods in Bangkok. Urban poverty gets in your face, regardless where you’re travelling in the congested City of Angels. Despite its overbearing pre ...

Time Will Remember Their Perseverance

Time Will Remember Their Perseverance

Bangkok. As I walk on a narrow alley towards my sanctuary, I see no improvements for many urban poor Thai families. They live in slums – often seen as a labyrinth of confusion and destitution. The part where sm ...

Break Away from Work

Break Away from Work

Regular meals are important, despite the grueling work that is expected of the common man. Communities must be fed, and after that the cycle of hardship continues.   ...

Communities, Landscapes Shaped by Apathy

Communities, Landscapes Shaped by Apathy

Home Urban settlements, with their self-built structures of mismatched wood, cheap cement and rusted zinc. They’re vulnerable to rain and flood, and now, the dreaded cold. Maze Neighbourhoods, their alleys fill ...