Two Links (One Old, One New) and a Schedule Update
Here are a couple of interesting links I’ve run across that make for a good bridge from our discussion of the corruption charges against Thaksin in that last substantive post and the discussion of human rights allegations in the next one. The first is a report from Bangkok from 2004 that appeared in the U.S. political journal The New Republic; it summarizes well the tight connection between business and politics under Thaksin’s regime, though it also engages in some anti-populism criticism as well. Anyway, it’s an interesting read that echoes some of themes raised by academics who have assesed Thaksin’s regime. Unfortunately, you may have to sign up for a free trial subscription to see the whole article.
The second is this article from the Sunday Mirror about the daughter of a female shopkeeper who was reportedly shot on the spot by Thai police during the infamous 2003 war on drugs, that also reports on Human Rights Watch’s letter from last week calling on the Premier League to ban Thaksin.
Finally, an update: the original timeline for future posts has turned out to be a bit too ambitious. The plan now is to have all the major posts planned for the site completed in advance of the Manchester United home match on August 19. The next substantive post, addressing the human rights charges against Thaksin’s regime, should go up in the next 24 hours.
