Self-promotion: World Policy Journal's "When should language be restricted?"
I have been recently approached by World Policy Journal, a magazine on global affairs and international relations, to contribute to their most recent issue. In each issue, the publication tackles a certain broad topic to be reflected in several ways from several perspectives and with an international focus. Their newest Spring issue is all about language and "The Big Question"-section asks:
"When should language be restricted?"
As often as language is used with great facility to promote beauty, express deeply felt emotions, and convey vital information, it is all too often used malevolently to pit nations or communities against one another. Rather than promoting peace and understanding, it can undermine these aspirations. We have asked our panel of global experts to weigh in on this critical question about the use and abuse of language.
Head over here to see what my answer to that is and be also sure to check out what other contributors like renowned Egyptian blogger "Sandmonkey" are thinking about this issue.
Thailand's Formula 1 ambitions - revving up a pipe dream?
Originally published at Siam Voices on March 26, 2012
On Sunday the Formula One World Championship made its first annual stop in Southeast Asia with the Grand Prix of Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur. A night race on the streets of Singapore will be the other race in the region later this year in September. Even though the 2012 calendar is filled to the brim with 20 races until late November, there are other venues vying to host Formula 1 in their country - Thailand is one of them:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism and Sports Chumpol Silpa-archa has announced that Thailand has its eyes set on being host of the Formula One (F1) racing in 2014.
Following discussions with relevant parties on the possibility of Thailand hosting the Formula One race, Mr. Chumpol stated that the Thai government has confirmed its interest to host the racing tournament within three years time. He also revealed that a number of companies from the private sector, such as Red Bull, PTT and automobile manufacturers, have shown enthusiasm in co-hosting the event with the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT).
Meanwhile, Tourism and Sports Spokesperson Watchara Kannikar disclosed that , Mr. Chumpol will within this week submit Thailand's letter of intent to be a candidate to host the race to Formula One President, Mr. Bernie Ecklestone [sic!].
"Thailand eyes hosting Formula One race in 2014", National News Bureau, March 7, 2012
This is not the first time Thailand has expressed its ambitions to host a F1 race. The most recent campaign was fueled in late 2010, when Red Bull Racing (back then freshly crowned world champions for the first time) did a demo run on the streets of Bangkok. Reportedly, over 100,000 spectators were there when Australia's Mark Webber drove (a somewhat modified 2009 RB5) around Democracy Monument on Rajadamnoen Avenue.
It is not surprising that Red Bull Racing were involved in that show run, given the titular energy drink's origins in Thailand. In its original form, Krathing Daeng (Red Bull in Thai) was created by Chaleo Yoovidhya in the late 1970s and then over the next decades became world famous after a joint venture with Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz, both holding a 49 percent share each.
However, it is Mateschitz who runs the company and thanks to aggressive marketing, the drink became a ubiquitous sponsor at sport events, beginning with extreme sports and more recently with the ownership of several football clubs worldwide and two Formula One teams: championship winning Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso (formerly the backmarkers known as Minardi).
Chaleo, considered to be among the richest people in Thailand, recently passed away and it is now speculated whether or not his son Chalerm, who until now holds the remaining 2 per cent of the company, will take over the shares of his father. Chalerm Yoovidhya is the founder of Siam Winery and also co-owner of Cavallino Motors, the country's only Ferrari dealer. The other half is owned by the Bhirombhakdi family of the Singha Corporation, who are reportedly close to the opposition Democrat Party - we have previously reported on Chitpas Bhirombhakdi, the Singha-'heiress', and her political ambitions.
In that regard, there's enough financial support for a potential F1 race from the private sector. And it is Mateschitz himself who apparently is working on a deal with Bernie Ecclestone, the series' commercial rights holder and promoter, to build up a potential Thai Grand Prix:
"The idea is good. We are in talks. Thailand could host a Formula One race in the next two or three years," Msteschitz said in an interview yesterday."Ecclestone agrees with the idea. We may sign an agreement soon."
Asked how long it would take for Thailand to get approval, Matesschitz said: "I don't know. That is as far as I know. I can't give you details because it is not my responsibility. All I can tell you is that a race could take place here in the next two or three years."
"Thailand receives Grand Prix boost", Bangkok Post, March 25, 2012
The other question would be where the Grand Prix would take place? The only race track in Thailand that is certified by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), F1's governing body, is Bira Circuit near Pattaya. However, the 2.41 km long track is nowhere near to the standard to host Formula One, having only been the venue to national and regional championship touring car races - a costly reconstruction is virtually unavoidable.
The other option is of course a very attractive one, albeit very challenging:
On possible circuits, Mr Chumpol said he favoured Rajdamnoen Avenue (...)
Ministry of Tourism and Sports spokesperson, Watchara Kannikar (...) added: “Initially, the budget was Bt10 billion. However, it is possible that the cost will triple.”
Although racing on city street requires a lower initial budget, there will be additional costs that could cause opposition. They include the annual closure of roads for set-up, building stadiums annually and noise prevention measures.
"Chumpol catches F1 fever", TTR Weekly, March 14, 2012
No doubt temporary street race circuits like Monaco and Singapore serve here as ideal role models, the latter being the season's only night race. However, given Bangkok's notorious traffic problems, one can hardly imagine what would happen if a substantial part of the city would be blocked for weeks.
Costs are indeed a potential problem for hosting a Grand Prix. The Singapore Grand Prix was estimated to have cost $120m with the government paying 60 per cent of it. Also, another question is whether or not Thailand has an big enough fan base for the sport that can also afford to pay the (more than often very expensive) tickets to see the event.
That's not to say that Thailand does not have any tradition with Grand Prix racing - it's just been quite a long while though. Prince Birabongse is so far the country's only Formula 1 driver, starting out in the first years of the F1 World Championship between 1950-55. Before that, he organized a race in Bangkok on a 3.22 km circuit around Sanam Luang and the Royal Palace. However, the even was supposed to take place on December 10, 1939 - and was subsequently cancelled due to the second World War.
Tongue-Thai’ed! Part XII: Dumb questions, dumb answers
Originally published at Siam Voices on March 19, 2012 “Tongue-Thai’ed!” encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures – in short: everything we hear that makes us go “Huh?!”. Check out all past entries here.
We all know the special role the Thai military plays in the country's politics and also the apparent entitlement with which they are participating in the system:
Thailand continues to allow professional officers to take on explicitly political roles, both before and after retirement. Part of the attraction is certainly financial, but the trend is also born of a culture that sees no problem with army involvement in national politics.
Third, civil society and the media are not currently forcing the army into ever-greater professionalisation, since the latter is adept at hiding its political activities; it has seemingly mastered the dark arts of public-relations spin.
"Thailand’s soldiers of political fortune", by Desmond Ball and Nicholas Farrelly, East Asia Forum, January 7, 2012
However, we also all know the army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha's blunt outspokenness and more than often unfortunate handling of the media. So, with the still on-going debate about a potential pardon for Thaksin, the press went to somebody who's apparently most suited to say something on this matter.
The outcome is not surprising, as an audio clip titled "Army chief fumes!! Press bombards him with questions on [Thaksin] pardon" reveals:
Prayuth: "Who's petitioning for a pardon [for Thaksin]? The military?"
Reporter: "Pheu Thai does it!"
Prayuth: "Then leave it to them!"
Reporter: "But the Democrat Party is against this...!"
Prayuth: "That's the Democrat Party - who the hell do you think I am?! A political party, the Thailand Party?! If you want everyone to accept it, then [you must have] reconciliation! If not, you have to keep doing it. If that fails, then the whole country will kill each other! Do you want this to happen?!"
Reporter: "There are efforts to reinvestigate [Thaksin's] cases...!"
Prayuth: "So what? Then they should do that - that has nothing to do with me! Why are you asking me?! The military has nothing to do with it! It's YOU who's asking too much! You're asking me about everything. You're asking me too many questions, so you might think that I have much power! Why are you asking me that? It's got nothing to do with me! But I still answer it! I'm still being considerate to you, I still answer to you - otherwise you won't have any news to write and then you blame me for it! Then I give an answer, people will say I have [too] much power! We don't! The army is under the constitution, the army is under the rule of the ministry of defense, under the control of the government. The army chief does not have any powers - not at all!"
Audio: "14/03/55 ผบ.ทบ.ฉุน!! ถูกสื่อซักนิรโทษฯ", Manager Radio, March 14, 2012 - translation by me
As usual, the army chief shows once again that he is in desperate need of media training and even the most hotheaded football manager is more confident at giving interviews than Prayuth. First he reacts very snootily to the reporter's questions and then digs himself a deeper hole with every sentence - whilst giving a glimpse into his black-and-white perception. And his insistence that he and the armed forces do not have any powers - well, there's no need to explain much (see above).
On the other hand (and I can't believe I'm saying this): Prayuth has a point! Bear with me here - Prayuth's complaint that the press is apparently asking him about nearly anything, regardless if he has anything to do with the issue, showcases some problems with the Thai press (see above) and the need to collect soundbites even just for the sake of it.
Prayuth (and his ego) traps himself with the belief that somebody of his rank needs to say something in order to show authority - even if he has no clue whatsoever. That leaves us with a chicken-or-egg situation in which the Thai press corps should ask the right questions to the right people and in which the army chief should consider - well, nearly everything!
If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us a email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and also on his public Facebook page here.
Thai Navy's $250m submarine plan scuppered
Originally published at Siam Voices on March 14, 2012 The Thai Navy's desire to have a submarine fleet has existed for as long as the doubts surrounding the submarines' real-life strategic utilization. Over the course of 2011, it appeared that they came one step closer to realization when the Thai government was reportedly ready to earmark $681 million dollars for a submarine fleet and was ready to buy decommissioned submarines from the Germans. The number of the soon-to-be purchased subs varied somewhere between two and the maximum of six.
With the change of government in August last year the plan was in jeopardy - even a small glimmer of hope was shattered thanks to a mix-up by prime minister Yingluck. Nevertheless, the Navy was still gunning for a purchase and still in late February, defense minister Air Chief Marshall Sukampon Suwannatat threw his support behind the project.
However, today...
Navy chief Admiral Surasak Runroengrom conceded yesterday the Navy would no longer push for the purchase of four used submarines with a Bt7.6 billion [$250m] price tag from Germany.
"The deadline for purchase passed on February 29, and the Navy will not seek to keep the buying option," he said.
Surasak said the Navy had done its best but failed to push through plans for the deployment of the submarines.
Following a series of reviews, Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat reportedly finalised his decision to scuttle the project. He has yet to instruct the Navy on whether to come up with a spending plan for new submarines.
"Navy torpedoes Bt7.6-billion submarine project", The Nation, March 14, 2012
Industry sources say that two have been already purchased by the Columbians and that there was tough competition over the remaining four. It appears that in this particular case Thailand has been out-bid by other countries interested in the 35-year old diesel submarines, as the anticipated price tag has risen from THB 5.5bn [$180m] to THB 7.6bn [$250m] within a few weeks.
This setback for the Thai Navy comes during a time of an apparent arms race in the region, as several other neighbors such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam will buy or already have bought submarines. It seems for the navy the only way to "gain respect from the others", as uttered by the then-navy chief back in 2010, is to buy some impressive hardware. Whether or not any of them will be seen in practical use is a whole different story, but given its dodgy equipment procurement history (here and here), that has never stopped the armed forces from going on shopping sprees in the past.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and also on his public Facebook page here.
Thailand's yellow shirts change focus, abandon street protests... for now
Originally published at Siam Voices on March 12, 2012 The ultra-nationalist "People's Alliance for Democracy" (PAD), also commonly known as the yellow shirts, have assembled for the first time since Yingluck Shinawatra became prime minister. Yingluck is the sister of their arch-nemesis and former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
With the change of government came also the concerns of a return of widespread anti-Thaksin protests, and fears that the current administration ultimately only governs to benefit the big brother exiled in Dubai. In other words, if Thaksin re-emerges, so will the yellow shirts.
About 2,000 to 3,000 "rowdy PAD supporters" (not my words, astonishingly the Bangkok Post's!) gathered in a convention hall at Lumphini Park, Bangkok Saturday to discuss the group's future direction. The gathering came amid heated (at times physical) debate over the Nitirat group's proposals to amend the constitution and the lèse majesté law - both pressing issues where the yellow shirts and, especially when it concerns the monarchy, will ferociously defend.
Given its history of protests, blockades and nationalistic diatribes - and amidst the developments of recent weeks - the following results of the meeting might be surprising at first sight:
The People's Alliance for Democracy yesterday backed away from its threat to stage a major Bangkok rally against the charter rewrite in a move hailed by the government as a breakthrough in easing political tensions.
PAD spokesman Panthep Phuaphongphan said the mass rally may be put on the table again if "the conditions are ripe enough for a big political change among Thai people".
"Under these conditions ... the PAD will hold a major rally immediately," said Mr Panthep. (...)
He said they would start a nationwide campaign as soon as possible about the charter rewrite and the direction parliament has taken on the issue.
Nanta, a 59-year-old teacher from Chon Buri, welcomed the PAD's resolution, saying the issue was far too critical for the group to handle alone and the public needed to be better educated about the issues.
"PAD shelves mass rally over constitution", Bangkok Post, March 11, 2012
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will set up a committee to campaign for national reform instead of holding mass rallies to counter the Pheu Thai-led government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, according to PAD spokesman Panthep Pourpongpan.
Panthep said the group would launch protests if the government changes Article 112 of the Penal Code, amends the charter or any laws to waive penalties on Thaksin Shinawatra and his group, and when the time is right.
"PAD vows to pursue reforms", The Nation, March 11, 2012
There have been some politicians and academics who hail this development as a move forward to "ease the political tension". However, it should be noted that the PAD is neither the same broad alliance against Thaksin seen in 2006, nor the less broad collective who took over government house, then Bangkok's airports in 2008. Under the Democrat-led government, the ties between the two were steadily getting worse, ultimately broken during the conflict over Preah Vihear.
Another issue that plagued the movement were the financial problems of their founder and main leader, media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul. Rumors of his financial demise were further fueled after his satellite channel and PAD-mouthpiece ASTV were forced off air. In general, Sondhi has been largely low-key in his appearances, even a plea for a military coup was (fortunately) largely ignored (and his outlandish conspiracy theories don't help either!). And in the latest sign that even Sondhi is not untouchable anymore, he recently was found guilty on multiple accounts of corporate fraud and sentenced to 20 years. However, he was released on a hefty bail and appealed against the verdict.
In a way, this reflects the marginalized role the PAD has in the political landscape today. The Preah Vihear protests at the beginning of 2011 were an early sign of a diminished supporter base and burned bridges with many political allies. Smaller off-shoot groups were solely there 'to defend the monarchy' from whatever perceived threat during the Nitirat discussion and Sondhi himself is still obsessed fixated to fight against his former business partner Thaksin:
Sondhi said , "We have to win this fight. This is not to change the government. The country will survive only if bad politicians are gone," he said.
"PAD vows to pursue reforms", The Nation, March 11, 2012
Hard-core yellow shirt leader Sondhi Limthongkul told the crowd he would continue fighting Thaksin as he had done for eight years. He said he did not believe the government's promise not to touch on the issue of the monarchy in the charter rewrite.
"PAD shelves mass rally over constitution", Bangkok Post, March 11, 2012
And again, the focus to (re-)"educate" people about their ideas on how to reform the country does raise some questions whether or not the current mindset of the PAD has changed from a past outright anti-democracy position (including the infamous "close down the country for a few years"-approach) to a more moderate one.
The yellow shirts might have taken a step back, but given the controversy surrounding the planned changes and their arch-nemesis Thaksin still looming in the air, a return to street protests is not out of the question.
Note: A sentence mentioning Sondhi's lastest conviction has been added to this article.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and also on his public Facebook page here.
Did Thai report really say Facebook 'causes teen pregnancy'?
Originally published at Siam Voices on March 5, 2012 Last week, we have reported on a report by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) that suggests that "Facebook partly causes teen pregnancies". While this assertion is still totally laughable, I grew somehow skeptical about the English language article the previous post was based on.
Upon further study of the original report titled "Social Situation and Outlook 2011" (original title: "ภาวะสังคมไทยไตรมาสสี่ และภาพรวมปี 2554", PDF here) - there were a few discrepancies that might suggest that some lazy journalism was at work here and the NESDB might not sound completely ridiculous.
For example there was that last sentence here...
The public health survey in 2010 indicated that out of 760,000 babies born, 411,000 had died. The NESDB said that the figure shows that a number of mothers decided to have abortion.
“NESDB: Facebook partly cause of teen pregnancies“, National News Bureau of Thailand , February 28, 2012
Over a half of the babies born have died within that year? Not really - according to UNICEF, Thailand just has an infant mortality rate of 1,1 per cent. Also, a look into the report reveals on page 15 that of the precisely 766,370 babies that were born that year, 105,487 of these pregnancies were carried out by mothers aged 20 years (13.76 per cent) - higher than the Asian average.
So, where does this monumental screw-up come from? Well, the same page indicates that 411,311 people of ALL ages have died in 2010. Simply put, that 'reporter' - deliberately or not - has taken the total grand mortality figure and wrote this as the infant mortality rate!
But does the NESDB report differs from the negative press coverage on the notion whether or not Facebook is partly to be blamed for teen pregnancies? Let's take a look - in the chapter "The number of revealing, inappropriate pictures in the online community is increasing, including children and youths" ("การเผยแพร่ภาพไม่่เหมาะสมในสังคมออนไลน์มี จํานวนเพ่ิมขึ้นและเป็นกรณีเด็กและเยาวชน มากขึ้น") it says:
ทั้งนี้ ในภาวะที่มีการขยายตัวของเครือข่ายทาง สังคมในโลกออนไลน์เช่น Facebook (...) มีผู้ใช้ เพ่ิมข้ึนอย่างรวดเร็ว โดยในปี 2554 เพิ่มข้ึนจากปี 2553 ถึงร้อยละ 96.3 โดย กลุ่มเยาวชนช่วงอายุ 18-24 ปีเป็นกลุ่มผู้ใช้ Facebook ท่ีใหญ่ที่สุดคิดเป็นสัดส่วนเกือบร้อยละ40ของผู้ใช้ท้ังหมด
And thus, with the presence of expanding online communities like Facebook (...) which has user base is rapidly growing at a rate of 96.3 per cent between 2010 and 2011. The biggest group of Facebook users are the youths between 18-24 years of age, which counts for 40 per cent of all users.
ปัญหาการใช้เทคโนโลยีไปในทางที่ผิดนั้นมีผลกระทบต่อเน่ืองตามมาต่อ (...) ชีวิตเด็กและเยาวชนมากมาย เช่น ก่อให้เกิด อาชญากรรม การล่อลวง ละเมิดทางเพศ การแสวงหาผลประโยชน์ทางเพศจากเด็กและเยาวชน และการต้ังครรภ์ก่อนวัยอันควร นำไปสู่ปัญหาการทำแท้ง (...) ซึึ่่งปััจจุุบัันมีีมากขึ้นต่อเน่ืองและกลุ่มเด็กวัยรุ่นรวมถึงเยาวชนมักเกิดพฤติกรรมเลียนแบบและซึมซับในสิ่งท่่ีเห็นซ้ําๆ
The problem of the wrong usage of such technology has several consequences on the (...) life of children and youths, which could cause crime, fraud, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of children and youth, and unwanted underage pregnancies, which lead to abortion (...) a problem that has increased in the present. Groups from teenagers to youths might imitate what they have seen over and over again.
"ภาวะสังคมไทยไตรมาสสี่ และภาพรวมปี 2554", NESDB, pp. 13-14 - translation by me
So, essentially they say Facebook might be a cause among many for teen pregnancies - if used improperly. While the authors of the report do not put the blame entirely on the social media network, they are concerned about the rapid speed where young people can share stuff online with each other and also that youths are easily enticed to do what their peers are doing or whatever the mass media is broadcasting.
However, the tone of the report is not as dogmatic as I initially thought - it even offers some sensible advice (and by that I do not mean "playing football")
วัยรุ่นไทยมีเพศสัมพันธ์เร็วขึ้น สาเหตุมาจากเด็ก ได้รับสิ่งยั่วยุ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นการแต่งตัว การเลียนแบบ การใช้สื่ออินเทอร์เน็ต เกมออนไลน์ ภาพยนตร์ นิตยสารท่ีย่ัวยุทางเพศทําให้เกิดแรง กระตุ้นอยากมีเพศสัมพันธ์ ซ่ึงจะนําไปสู่การตั้งครรภ์ โดยไม่พึงประสงค์และการทําแท้ง
Thai youths have increasingly more sexual intercourse, because of enticement. Whether it's by fashion, imitation, the internet, online games, movies, glossy magazines that causes sexual tension [or arousal?], fueling the urge to have sexual intercourse, which may result in unwanted teen pregnancies and abortions.
แนวทางการป้องกัน - Guidelines
วัยรุ่นควรได้รับการอบรมและฝึกให้มีทักษะในการปฏิเสธในสถานการณ์ต่างๆ (...) การศึกษาพบว่าสถานที่ ที่นักเรียนระดับมัธยม ศึกษาปีท่ี2 มีเพศสัมพันธ์ครั้งแรก อันดับแรกร้อยละ 71.1 คือบ้านเพื่อน/บ้านตนเอง (สํานักระบาดวิทยา 2552) เทศกาลต่างๆ โดยเฉพาะเทศกาลวันแห่งความรัก เป็นจุดเริ่มต้นสําคัญอันดับหนึ่งท่ีทําให้วัยรุ่นมีพฤติกรรมชิงสุกก่อนห่าม ร้อยละ 47 (รู้ใจวัย รุ่นไทย: สื่อรักวาเลนไทน์ 2554)
Teenagers should taught to able to say 'no' in various situations. (...) Studies have found out that the most preferred place for Matayom 2 students [about 13-14 years old] to have sex for the first time is the friend's or his/her own home with 71.1 per cent (Source: สํานักระบาดวิทยา 2552) and special occasions, especially on Valentine's Day are an important day for 47 per cent of the teenagers to have 'premature behavior' [?] (Source: รู้ใจวัย รุ่นไทย: สื่อรักวาเลนไทน์ 2554)
ระดับครอบครัว/ชุมชน พ่อ-แม่ ต้องมีมุมมองเชิงบวกในเร่ืองเพศ เปิดใจรับฟังปัญหา ให้ความเอาใจใส่ ดูแลและให้ความร้กความอบอุ่น แนะนําและสอนให้รู้ถึงข้อดี/ข้อเสียของการมีเพศสัมพันธ์ก่อนวัยอันควร ร่วมกันมีส่วนร่วมในการพัฒนาและบ่มเพาะวุฒิภาวะให้กับเด็กและเยาวชน
Families, communities, parents have to have a positive perspective regards to gender, be open to listen to their problems, give support, warmth and reassurance, inform about the pros and cons of sex, in order to [help] develop and advance the children and youths.
"ภาวะสังคมไทยไตรมาสสี่ และภาพรวมปี 2554", NESDB, p. 15 - translation by me
However, I see a few problems here. First off, as it has been previously often mentioned here on Siam Voices, Thailand has a fundamental problem with sexual education and a fundamental lack to acknowledge sexuality as normal. With that in mind, it is doubtful whether or not on a grander (the society, the community) or on a smaller (the family, the parents) scale anyone could give sensible advice to a young person during the terribly exciting and excitingly terrible life period of puberty.
And second, one of the pieces of advice above suggests kids should stand up for themselves and say 'no' sometimes. Again, given the sorry state of our education system (see Kaewmala's brilliant series of posts on this here, here and here), how can you be taught to take care of yourself and to be a critically-thinking individual, when everything in else in school you are being taught is to follow suit?
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and also on his public Facebook page here.
Thai delegation examines alternatives to nuclear power in Germany
Originally published at Siam Voices on March 5, 2012 Note: This article was originally published in German on February 9, 2012 and written for the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the political foundation affiliated to German Green Party.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster of March 2011 has raised doubts over the security and reliability of nuclear power once again and showed that even in a highly advanced country like Japan such accidents can happen.
Shortly thereafter, the German Federal Government reversed a recently made decision to extend the running period of nuclear power plants and, as the world's first industrial nation, wants to end its dependency on nuclear energy by 2022. Meanwhile in Thailand, the plans to build such nuclear power plants was still openly considered to meet the increasing energy demand, where natural gas is the main source to generate electricity, followed by coal and imported electricity from neighboring Laos and Malaysia.
More important is the development of alternative energy sources. But only 1.6 per cent of the country's electricity comes from renewable energy. That is not enough, say environmental activists and experts for alternative energy. In a cooperation between the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin and the regional office in Bangkok, a Thai delegation of experts on renewable energy and energy market regulation traveled to Germany to learn more about the energy turnaround and the challenges that comes with it.
Petra Zimmermann, project coordinator for Southeast Asia at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, says: "The aim of this trip was to inform the members of the delegation as much as possible about the challenges of Germany's energy turnaround and the implementation of the transition, especially on the legislative level."
On the program were meetings and panel discussions with proponents (such as the Federal Association for Wind Energy, Greenpeace and the Citizens' Group of Asse) and critics (German Atomic Forum) of the energy turnaround.
Civil movements brought in the change
One of the most crucial lessons is the involvement of civic society in the turnaround. "At first I thought that the Federal Government themselves took the initiative - very progressive," says Rosana Tositrakul. The Thai senator was a long-time environmental activist and now tries to path the way for renewable energy on the political level. "But now I see that it was civil movements that pressured the stakeholders," she adds.
Santisukh Sobhanasiri, another Thai veteran activist and now an advisor to several Senate committees, agrees with her: "The work of citizens' groups seems to be more systematic and steady. They succeeded to work together with the policy makers and in the end brought in the change."
Many delegates lament the lack of cooperation. Boonyuen Siritam works as the head of the Provincial Power Consumers Commission of Ratchaburi Province in favor for the people's participation in the regulation of the energy market: "We cannot wait for politicians until they have passed some bills, because there is no green, environmental party. But we need green citizens, with whom we can work together on a legislative initiative."
Her colleague Wanun Permpubul from the Heinrich Böll Foundation's regional office in Bangkok recalls some citizens' movements, especially from the South, which have been successful in the past, but on a national level not all are equally effective. Nevertheless, she sees great potential for alternative sources of energy, such as solar cells. "The more important it is that more people are involved to give the push into the right direction and to make a change in the energy policy possible."
However, it also needs a rethinking in society, says Lieutenant Commander Borpit Thossatheppitak of the Royal Thai Navy's research and development department. "Here in Germany, people are being made aware of the environment from very early on. For example, kids in school learn about such things like waste separation and that stays on over the course of their lives. Thailand has still a lot to catch up in that regard."
Another hurdle in Thailand for an energy change is politics and the legislation when it comes to energy issues. "It has always been difficult to work with the Thai government, no matter who was in power," says Saree Aongsomwang, general-secretary of the Federation of Consumer Protection.
Local energy supply as a role model
Also on the program was a visit to the town of Dardesheim in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, which gets its energy from 33 nearby wind turbines at the Windpark Druiberg - it produces more energy than the 1000 inhabitants consume within a year.
Boonyuen sees this kind of energy supply for small communities as an ideal role model for Thailand and goes even one step further: "The goal of our organization is that villages are able to supply themselves with energy from local, renewable sources - independent from energy companies, who would take away the properties of the residents to build a power plant on it."
One point of concern is that after the nuclear phaseout this very technology could be exported abroad to build nuclear power plants elsewhere. Thailand recently had several offers from China, Norway, France and especially South Korea.
In the end, Thailand's nuclear ambitions were for now pushed to 2026 after heavy criticism in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. "We hope that until then Thailand will not go the nuclear route," says Senator Rosana at the end of the week-long delegation trip.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and on Facebook.
Tongue-Thai’ed! Part XI: Suthep's nightmares and Godwin's law
Originally published at Siam Voices on February 29, 2012 “Tongue-Thai’ed!” encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures – in short: everything we hear that makes us go “Huh?!”. Check out all past entries here.
It's been been a while since former deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban has said anything outrageous, even though there was enough material while he was in office. But with the controversies surrounding the Nitirat group, the proposed constitution amendments, and the always imminent threat of a return by Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand has Suthep finally lashing out against his political enemies again.
Thai Rath reports on a special lecture by him titled something like "Solutions to the Thai Crisis and the Deputy Prime Minister in Context to [the Nation's] Stability" (“การแก้ไขปัญหาวิกฤติประเทศไทยในระหว่างดำรงตำแหน่งรองนายกรัฐมนตรีฝ่ายความมั่นคง”) - unfortunately failing to mention when and at what location - where Suthep responds to the recent red shirt rally in Khao Yai. During the event, where 30,000 red shirts gathered to show their support to a charter change and against any potential military coup. Thaksin inevitably phoned in yet again (video here) and also reportedly said that he would be willing to pay compensation for the victims of the 2010 anti-government rally out of his own pocket, only if the then-ruling Democrat Party would admit that "it has killed people." Suthep here compares Thaksin to former prime minister Chuan Leekpai, while the latter is described by him as a politician with integrity and the former is not - so far, so simple is his good-vs-evil-dichotomy.
He then continues:
นายสุเทพ กล่าวต่อว่า [...] แต่นายไตรรงค์ สุวรรณคีรี เคยพูดว่า ตอนที่ฮิตเลอร์ขึ้นมาเป็นผู้นำของเยอรมันก็มาจากการชนะเลือกตั้ง เขียนกฎหมายเพิ่มอำนาจให้ตัวเอง ตนกังวลว่าภาพคล้าย พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ วันนี้ มีความพยายามเขียนกฎหมายให้ตนเองยึดประเทศได้แบบเบ็ดเสร็จ
Suthep continues: "[...] but Trairong Suwankiri has once said that when Hitler became leader of Germany through elections, he rewrote the law only to give himself more power and is concerned that this is the similar case with Thaksin today, who tries to amend the law [in favor] to himself in order to readily seize the country."
"'สุเทพ' ยก 'ฮิตเลอร์' ผู้นำแก้ก.ม.เพิ่มอำนาจตัว", Thai Rath, February 27, 2012 - translation by me
We have seen the muddled world history knowledge by members of the Democrat Party before (see here and here) - but instead of diving into a factual history lesson to prove them wrong, let's just say that by invoking Godwin's Law, they clearly show that they cannot come up with a better, more reasonable argument against Thaksin.
But wait, there's more...!
“วันนี้จึงเป็นช่วงเวลาที่คนไทยต้องคิดร่วมกันว่าจะทำอย่างไรจึงจะป้องกัน รักษาประเทศให้อยู่รอดปลอดภัย ผมฝันร้ายมาตลอดว่าถ้าเสื้อแดงยึดประเทศไทยได้ จะรุนแรงมากกว่าเขมรแดงยึดกัมพูชาวันนี้รัสเซียเลิกคอมมิวนิสต์ แต่คนเสื้อแดงคิดให้พรรคของตัวเองปกครองพรรคเดียว ทุกคนต้องตื่นตัว ติดตามสถานการณ์อย่างเท่าทันเหตุการณ์ ต้องแสดงออกทำหน้าที่เจ้าของประเทศคัดค้านการแก้ไขรัฐธรรมนูญและการแก้กฎหมายอาญามาตรา 112 [...]” นายสุเทพ กล่าว
"These days, it is a time where the Thai people have to think how to protect and safely get through [the political crisis]. I constantly have nightmares that when the red shirts take over Thailand, it would be more violent than when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia! Today, Russia has done away communism, but the red shirts think that their party is the only ruling party! Everybody has to wake up! Follow the situation as close as you can! We have to follow our national duty to oppose the charter amendments and the amendments Article 112 [...]" said Suthep.
"'สุเทพ' ยก 'ฮิตเลอร์' ผู้นำแก้ก.ม.เพิ่มอำนาจตัว", Thai Rath, February 27, 2012 - translation by me
Suthep and many like-minded fellows are stuck in their own nightmare that they have constructed in their minds and created in reality all by themselves. It's time for them to wake up!
If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us a email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Hamburg, Germany. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and also on his public Facebook page here.