Reporter in Exile

Return of the red shirts

A red rally which was to circulate through symbolic sites in Bangkok has stopped at Ratchaprasong intersection. The same site they'd occupied prior to being violently swept out four months ago. A bid to retake the area? Or a strong reminder to Bangkok that they could do so at any time? A more instructive experience might be found at the government-organized rally where Interior Minister Chavarat and the "Monarchy Defense Network" will administer an oath of allegiance to the king.

Update: Today was a reminder to the red shirt movement itself, not just Bangkok and the government, of their power. It was an energetic and enthusiastic gathering free of violence or enmity. Surprisingly, anti-monarchy sentiments were being aired quite openly. The construction barrior in front of the burnt Central World mall was covered in handwritten messages challenging not just the government, but openly criticizing the royal institution.

More details from me twits here, and I'll post some video and images by tomorrow.

ThaiGov: Human rights presser "detrimental" to Vietnam

Although I haven't visited the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand of late, I'd planned to stop by for Monday evening's press conference "From Rhetoric to Reality: HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM, Under its Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2010."

The FCCT has just publicized the fact its being pressured to cancel the the event by Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the letter posted by the FCCT, although the government "attaches great significance to the principles" of free speech, it considers the conference "detrimental" to Vietnam and wants it canceled:

"While the Royal Thai Government attaches great importance to the principles of freedom of expression and diversity of views, it also has a long-standing position of not allowing organizations and/or persons to use Thailand as a place to conduct activities detrimental to other countries. I therefore hope that the FCCT will respect this position and not allow its premises to be used for such activities.

"I thank you for your understanding and cooperation."

UPDATE: Paris-based groups organizing the event have canceled after saying the Thai government denied visas to its speakers.

Bomb

When Sunday's IED detonated across from the ruined Central World Mall -- killing one and injuring 10  --  Bangkok's lingering malaise tipped toward fear. Fueling the anxiety is the dreadful wait to see whether it was an isolated event linked to Sunday's special parliamentary election or the opening salvo of an urban insurgency.

Despite being encouraged to embrace the official narrative that Everything is Fine (just not quite enough to lift a draconian, national 'emergency decree'), people have grimly resigned to expect further calamity, knowing May's crackdown was no happy ending.

Since the red shirts were violently flushed from Bangkok two months ago, a kind of post-traumatic depression has gripped the Thai capital.  There's been little of the ambient mirth that is a cornerstone of Thai exceptionalism. Two days after the May 19 crackdown, I rode the just-reopened Skytrain down Sukhumvit Road, past the still-steaming pile of mall at Ratchaprasong intersection. Almost every commuter turned their back or looked away from the gaping commercial wound. One or two cautious peeks the only recognition.

From behind the bamboo

Come to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand this Thursday evening to hear journos  discuss our favorite topic: ourselves.

View from the Trenches: The Dramatic End to the Red Shirts' Rally

Cameramen and journalists discuss their first-hand experiences

8pm Thurs, June 10, 2010

Members: Free Non-members: 350 baht

Cameramen and journalists who covered the street battles in central Bangkok will gather at the club again this Thursday to present their work and give witness accounts about the dramatic end of the epic red shirts protest. Representatives of major news outlets and photographers who captured the riots leading up to the army dispersal on May 19 will join us to outline what they saw, and what they think about the two-month-long protest that left 88 people dead and about 2,000 injured.

FCCT panel debate re: foreign media coverage of Thailand recap

Wednesday evening panel as described by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand:

"Thailand has been through some tumultuous months with scenes that have both horrified and bemused many. The world has drunk a heady cocktail of ramwongs, snipers, firebugs, rogue generals, blood-pouring rituals, live firing, burning tyres, APCs, black militia/magic/smoke, terrorism warrants, VIP prisons, dead journalists, travel advisories, Kevlar, empty streets, failed compromises, broken deadlines, government statements, razor wire, outraged letters to the editor, burnt-out buildings and disputed body counts."

...

The FCCT is pleased to welcome an expert Thai panel to offer some insights into their land and how they feel it has recently been presented:

- Dr Sumet Jumsai – Architect, artist and social commentator

- Kraisak Choonhavan – Deputy Chairman of the Democrat Party, former senator and expert in foreign relations

- Pana Janviroj – Chief Operating Officer of the Nation Group

- Somtow Sucharitkul – Composer, author and social commentator

My abbreviated Twitter coverage:

• Opening with montage of video coverage
• Moooore video coverage recap
• Good recap of coverage, let's get to the debate!
• Somtow, who I don't recall seeing in the field - journalists didn't get the full picture
• Dr Samet - journos intellectually bankrupt ... Great damage done to this country. BBC was great in past, but not now
• Dr Samet-people shot were shot by reds
• I don't recall seeing these guys anywhere during the conflict...no elaboration on their evidence
• Sumet-journos worse than nazis. Reds were barbarians.
• Kraisak-of Citizen Juling fame-who previously objected to military coup-now indignant of the assertion govt installed by military
• Kristina [Kraisek per 'spellcheck']the stage they were not addressing the true class struggle, reds never addressed true injustices of Thailand
• raisek-nobody admits seh daeng part of red shirts. (Must have not read MiB story) He represented violence and Thai "impunity"
• Kraisek done. Pana janviroj of the Nation up. Trashin BBC for saying Abhisit not elected. Say what?
• In related news, Sarbil is officially drunk
• Pana endorsing Economist coverage. Whooduhthought?
• Pana-our photog was shot, and he believed by the military, but he's not angry.
• Q from Swedish embassy re freedom of speech-Sumet:sweden is land of free sex
• I'm behind the anti-cnn letter author to ask a question
• Got my q in; despite the critique of foreign media, what of Thai media, who I saw showing red positions and black bombs to army...
• A: Thai media infiltrated by partisan forces
• UDDs Sean Boonpracong: when can we be heard? A: derision and scorn 

It was we that burnt this city, and it hurts: Bangkok governor

Residents of Bangkok may not "entrust this present government with reconciliation," a process requiring the involvement of the man it blames for the recent crisis, said Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paripatra Tuesday evening at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.

Sukhumbhand, a cousin to the Thai king and only directly-elected provincial head, wielded sharp wit and humor in his responses to reporters who sought to pin him down on his involvement in negotiations during the recent crisis.

Many of the red-shirt protesters occupying central Bangkok were locals not from the hinterlands, Sukhumbhand acknowledged. The daily crowds at Rajprasong numbered only about 2,000-strong at dawn, but swelled considerably in the evening, reaching up to 70,000 to 80,000 later at night.

"It was we that burnt down the city, and it hurts," he said.

He put damage to the private sector at 4.5 billion baht ($138 million), and promised to take an active role in moving a "new Bangkok" toward reconciliation and assisting the business community.

Asked how those plans would further reconciliation with those smoldering most in the aftermath of the crackdown, the marginalized poor, Sukhumband promised to initiate unspecified "community activities."

Before I could recognize the governor from several roadside billboards around Bangkok, I thought he looked like a Thai William Shatner. So it was amusing when he described himself as Spock. Because, in Sukhumbhand's own words, he is so very logical.

Applying that "logic" to reconciliation, Sukhumbhand suggested it wouldn't be possible without the involvement of fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, formally indicted on terrorism-related charges last week.

"If you say Mr. X is responsible, you have to deal with Mr. X," he said, adding that he himself is "just a local politician" with "no opinion."

With the rest of the red shirt leadership members locked up, that left only Thaksin to parley with, he said.

"There are only two ways to bring about reconciliation," he said. "Negotiate with the other side, or impose dictates." Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva may not be willing to do either, he said.

One thing Sukhumbhand refused to elaborate upon was his rumored April meeting with Thaksin in Brunei. He didn't deny it, but he declined any comment on the matter. 

Bangkok's "Men in Black" unmasked

Those who've followed this blog have likely wondered just what was the back-story to certain updates from the field regarding two days spent among the much-speculated upon "Men in Black." I'm pleased to share the story of who they are, what they did, and whom they took orders from in my exclusive at Asia Times, excerpted below:

Unmasked: Thailand's men in black

By Kenneth Todd Ruiz and Olivier Sarbil

BANGKOK - A cigarette hanging from his lips, a sinewy man with a knotted-up beard perched on the back of a plastic chair and spoke into a military-grade radio.

''Happy birthday," he said in English. Moments later a sonorous detonation boomed from afar in the heart of the Thai capital. A cluster of anti-government protesters crowded around him exulted, shouting ''Happy birthday'' in unison. Many more such coded celebrations would follow in the next 24 hours.

It's five days before the army would send armored personnel carriers into central Bangkok on May 19 to decisively quash the "red shirt occupation," and your correspondents are inside a tent with the infamous paramilitaries, dubbed ''men in black'' by the media, as they prepared for war.

They let us inside their secret world on one condition: if we took any pictures, they would kill us.

You can read the full story online at Asia Times.

"Picking up the pieces"

The Economist consistently offers some of the finest analyses of Thailand in print. For this, it has on occasion either been banned by the government or voluntarily withheld an issue from the Thai market.

From today's story:

When CentralWorld was belching smoke on May 19th, shocked residents likened the sight to the September 11th 2001 attacks in New York on the World Trade Centre. That the mall, renamed after the New York attacks, was once also known as the World Trade Centre suggested parallels. They are largely imaginary. Most of the 88 people killed in Bangkok since the red shirts began protesting on March 12th died during clashes with combat troops. However, as in New York, a gaping hole in the skyline is a reminder of the nightmare the city has just endured. Red shirts complain that rich Bangkokians care more for their smouldering mall than for their slain countrymen.

This is probably unfair. Many Thais were appalled by the death toll. But it is a symptom of deep and abiding tensions. In this respect, comparisons to 9/11 are instructive. President George Bush’s Manichean worldview—“you are either with us or against us”—is now echoed in Bangkok by those who see the red shirts as terrorists in the pay of Mr Thaksin. To sympathise with their cause is to risk being tarred with the same brush. And the red shirts feel no less bitter towards the government. There is none of the sense of grief, wounded pride and purpose shared by Americans in the aftermath of that catastrophe. Far from pulling together, Thailand appears to be tearing itself apart.

Bangkok in black and white

Olivier Sarbil works exclusively in black and white on celluloid and has captured a wealth of stunning images, despite being a villainous Frenchman. He's still processing his recent work from the urban malaise, but you can check out his intense images from throughout the region at OlivierSarbil.com.

Under fire from heavily armed paramilitaries, Thai soldiers take cover on April 10, 2010, in Bangkok. (Olivier Sarbil)

Former Thai PM Thaksin's first interview since the Bangkok crackdown

Tony Jones of the Australian Broadcasting Company interviews Thaksin Shinawatra for Lateline:

TONY JONES: Amongst the peaceful Red Shirt demonstrators there was a hard-core of armed militants. The same men who evidently set fire to dozens of buildings in Bangkok...

THAKSIN SHINAWATRA: No... I think..

TONY JONES: and the other places after the army moved in to break up the demonstration. Who were these men? Who do you say they were?

THAKSIN SHINAWATRA: If you look at it, you know, why, the Red Shirts burn the central, why not other sites, the central, if you look at many analysis in Thailand you will understand better that the Red Shirts, they are not sophisticated enough to burn the whole building down.

Bangkok charges Thaksin with terrorism; arrests foreign nationals

• Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled Thailand after being deposed to avoid jail time for corruption, has been officially charged with terrorism for, according to officials, being the architect of the red-shirt movement. For years Bangkok has been frustrated with its inability to win an extradition of Thaksin from any of the nations he's visited. Dubai has been his base; Montenegro granted him citizenship.

• Thai authorities have arrested two Western foreign nationals since last week's crackdown. Briton Jeff Savage, 48, explained his actions, which include throwing stones at Thai soldiers while screaming "Kill them!" and vowing to burn down a large shopping mall (which did) as 'roid rage and "old British sarcasm." Australian Conor David Purcell, at right, spoke from the red-shirt stage on several occasions and drew comparisons between the Thai security response and Ireland's "Bloody Sunday." An unnamed source at his own embassy accused Purcell of lying about his military service and violating Thai law. Both men face up to two years jail time for violating the government's emergency decree.

• With insurgent elements still at large in the Thai capital and elsewhere, the curfew for Bangkok and many provinces has been extended through Friday.

• Thailand's official minders of its language at The Royal Institute of Thailand will retroactively define certain terminology used by the government during the crisis, such as "terrorist act" and "reclaiming the area." Doubleplusgood!

• "The Daily Dose" program on Voice TV featured this blog in its final-minute "The Daily Picture" segment.

Video of Bon Kai's street pyrotechnics during the Bangkok crisis

Red shirt protesters seemed to have bought all the fireworks from Chinatown last week to antagonize Thai army soldiers entrenched on Rama IV Road. The street was a sniper kill zone, and sure enough, one of the protesters next to the Lumpini Tower building was shot in the head just before sunset. I was editing and writing about this early in the morning on Wednesday, May 19, when I had to drop the matter because the army had assembled for the endgame push. Completing my narrative of May 14 through 20, here's the footage of my coverage of covering the Thai crisis, two days before the crackdown.

Unexpectedly, some good news for Thailand

Thai film takes out top prize at Cannes:

Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives has won the coveted Palme d'Or for best picture at the Cannes film festival. The mystical exploration of reincarnation as a well-to-do farmer confronts his imminent death was directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. "I would like to thank all the spirits and all the ghosts in Thailand who made it possible for me to be here," he said after receiving the award, decided by the jury headed by US director Tim Burton.

Update: And apparently none other than Thaksin Shinawatra was there! (h/t BP)

Thai-style justice?

Leaders of the anti-government red-shirt movement, who inspired tens of thousands to traverse Thailand to fight against the "double standard" enjoyed by the status quo, don't seem to be complaining about it since being arrested.

From my gallery: About one dozen detained red-shirt protesters, including several "red" Buddhist monks, were cuffed, blindfolded and interviewed before being taken away in a police truck during the Thai military crackdown of May 19. (Photo: Kenneth Todd Ruiz/reporterinexile.com)

Red shirt leader Nattawut Saikua and others appear with cell phones and cameras on May 20 in air-conditioned guesthouses at a camp in Phetchaburi district, not far from the beach. Some had reportedly posted messages on Facebook from detention. (Photo: Unknown)

Clarification regarding Bangkok crackdown "field hospital" photo

It's always interesting to observe the life-cycle of an Internet conspiracy take shape. Healthy skepticism and inquisitiveness are vital to critical thinking but are best balanced by reason and inquiry. Although it may not succeed in preventing misinformation from becoming cherished folklore, I've reworded the caption for this image in my "Bangkok crackdown" gallery to read "inside the same car garage at Sarasin intersection used to hold detainees" instead of "inside a car garage at Sarasin intersection." Hopefully the preserved watermark, an inquisitive mind and translate.google will help to resolve any confusion.

 Blood and supplies mark the spot Thai combat medics tended to two soldiers and Chandler Vandergrift, a Canadian journalist, inside the same car garage at Sarasin intersection used to hold detainees.

The location, a car garage adjacent to "Brown Sugar" restaurant, served to both hold detainees and treat those injured by a grenade blast. No detainees were harmed at this location. I witnessed the blood seen in the image run from a Thai soldier whose arm was shredded by the blast.