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How does Thailand get away with it?

January 20, 2009 By Isabel Esterman Leave a Comment

In the latest in a long string of outrageous human rights and civil liberties violations perpetrated by the Thai government, political scientist Giles Ji Ungpakorn is facing prison for lese majeste — insulting the king — in a recent article about the 2006 Thai coup.

You can read the offending paragraphs here and judge for yourselves.

He’s not the only writer to face such charges — an aspiring Australian novelist was just sentenced to three years for the same offense. But there’s something particularly chilling about this case. Ji Ungpakorn is an academic of international stature. Chulalongkorn, the university where he is a lecturer, is (along with Thamassat) one of the top two universities in Thailand, his work is read and cited by academics across the globe, and he is the son of national hero Dr. Puey Ungpakorn.

There doesn’t seem to be any element of “let’s see if we can get away with this.” Instead, it seems to be a clear and deliberate message to critics that prominence is no protection.

Usually the media’s all over this kind of stuff. But I’ve seen very little about this case. In Thailand, it’s explained by a call from the Minister of Justice to refrain from covering lese majeste cases. With the international media, it’s a little bit more complicated. [Read more...]

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Juana Change

January 17, 2009 By Isabel Esterman Leave a Comment

I’ve been a bit out of the Philippines loop this past month, so I just now heard about Juana Change’s Youtube channel, which is making a huge splash in the Philippines right now (thanks Noah) — the Youtube view counts may not be all that high, but the videos have been replayed on major news networks.

The videos, four so far, are in heavy Taglish, and probably make no sense without translation and explanation of specific cultural references. (Someone should get on this, and it is NOT gonna be me, I already have WAY too much on my plate as it is). But trust me, they’re hilarious.

The video below, for example, tackles Charter Change, known as Cha-Cha — attempts by politicians to change the current constitution (which was put into place following the popular uprising that overthrew the dictator Ferdinand Marcos). Among other things, Cha-Cha might make it possible to extend much-reviled current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s term beyond 2010 (the current constitutional limit) and is widely viewed as a power grab by Arroyo and her political allies.

Juana Change takes on corruption, power grabs, brain drain, political assassinations and much more in just a few minutes, and calls on viewers to reengage with politics.

Even if you don’t get the language or the political context, I still think it’s a powerful example of how social media and satire can be used to send a political message to a wide audience.

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Erap and Sin

January 22, 2008 By Isabel Esterman Leave a Comment

Estrada: RP suffering for defying Vatican in 2001 uprising

“Claiming vindication, former president Joseph Estrada said on Monday the country has been suffering because the late Jaime Cardinal Sin did not heed “God’s voice” and, instead, backed the Edsa II People Power revolt, despite a Vatican order to stay away.” more...

I first read this story yesterday, and I still can’t stop laughing about it. Estrada’s chutzpah on this one is almost unbelievable.

It was recently revealed that the highly influential — and very amusingly named — Cardinal Sin defied orders from the Vatican when he leant his support to the 2001 “People Power II” movement that swept Estrada from power.

The role of the Church in Philippine politics is ambiguous, and a case can certainly be made for church-elite collaboration against even pseudo-populist politicians like Estrada (Eva-Lotta Hedman’s In the Name of Civil Society is one interesting take). But for Estrada to take this moralistic tone is pretty incredible.

This is the man who managed to reach transparency international’s top-ten list of all-time most corrupt leaders after just 31 months in office! In addition to old standards like graft, kickbacks, complicity in drug smuggling and illegal gambling, Estrada was particularly notorious for spending millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains buying houses for his various mistresses.

But of course, the problems in the Philippines are not caused by corrupt, morally bankrupt leadership. Oh no, says Estrada, it’s because god is punishing the country for Cardinal Sin’s disobedience.

Wala siyang hiya! Ang kapal ng mukha nya!

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The Arroyo Imbroglio

January 17, 2008 By Isabel Esterman Leave a Comment

I highly recommend “The Arroyo Imbroglio in the Philippines,” political scientist (and former teacher of mine) Paul Hutchcroft’s new article in The Journal of Democracy to anyone interested in a lucid summary of a century of Philippine political history. In an impressively concise article (13 pages), Hutchcroft manages to address most of the key issues facing the Philippine political system — corruption, fraud, violence, human rights abuses, impunity, insurgency and public disenchantment — in a manner accessible to a non-specialist.

Although the Philippines can boast the oldest democratic structures in Asia, they are currently weak and lacking in legitimacy. Battered by scandal after scandal, these structures need careful and well-considered reform if they are to survive. read more..

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Huckabee strikes again

January 16, 2008 By Isabel Esterman Leave a Comment

Don’t get me wrong — I can’t stand any of the presidential candidates. But there’s still something about this guy that takes it to another level.

I’m not even all that old, and I can still remember a time when this would not have been considered acceptable political discourse.
And of course, the cheering crowd is probably full of the same kind of people who freak out about Shariah law and theocracy in the Middle East.

UPDATE: Check out a very interesting article by Ira Chernus about Faith-based politics at Tomdispatch

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Huckabee

January 4, 2008 By Isabel Esterman 2 Comments

I just feel the need to publicly express how disturbed I am that one of the front runners for the next president of the United States is a man who does not believe in evolution.

Darwin help us all!

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