Chula university cancels launch of book critical of Thai military

[snoop1130]

 

Chulalongkorn University cancelled plans to host a seminar and book launch for a publication by one of its scholars, Doctor Puangthong Pawakapan, which discusses the role of the Thai military. The event, originally scheduled for this upcoming Friday, September 27, has been moved to the Jim Thompson Museum instead of being held on campus as originally planned.

 

Dr Puangthong, an academic at the Political Science Faculty, shared the news on Facebook, stating that university executives barred the use of any venue at Chula for the launch of her book titled ‘Infiltrating Society: The Thai Military’s Internal Security Affairs,’ without providing a clear reason.

 

Despite this, the university’s International Relations Department continues to support the event.

 

The seminar will focus on the Thai edition of her award-winning book, originally published in English by the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore in 2021. The Thai edition is printed by Same Sky Books. The book is based on a two-year research project that earned awards from Chulalongkorn University in 2023 and from Foreign Affairs magazine in 2022.

 

 

 

 

This cancellation follows criticism from the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) on 14 September, which accused Dr Puangthong of lacking expertise in security matters. ISOC called for the book and related forums to be banned, claiming they could mislead the public and harm the image of the military.

 

The agency threatened legal action against her and requested the university review her ethics.

 

In response, Dr Puangthong defended her work in a subsequent, highlighting that her research had been rigorously reviewed by international experts. She invited ISOC to join the seminar and publicly discuss the issue instead of seeking to suppress it.

 

The upcoming forum will include notable speakers such as Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, co-founder of the now-disbanded Future Forward Party, and Prajak Kongkirati from Thammasat University’s Political Science Faculty, both known for their criticism of military coups and political interference by the armed forces, reported Bangkok Post.

 

By Ryan Turner

Image courtesy of Same Sky Books

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-09-23

 

[Cardano]

Not cancelled, just moved to a different venue at a later date.

[Encore]

I posted this a few days ago but no comments so maybe I did it wrong

 

 

[Tropicalevo]

Sadly, Dr Puangthong is likely to end up in gaol at this rate.

Detained without bail under archaic laws.

I hope not, but the dinosaur generals are panicking.

[jippytum]

No suprise here.  Heaven probid any criticism of the military. 90% of politicians have military connections. 

[hotchilli]

10 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

This cancellation follows criticism from the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) on 14 September, which accused Dr Puangthong of lacking expertise in security matters. ISOC called for the book and related forums to be banned, claiming they could mislead the public and harm the image of the military.

I guess alternative views are not welcome.... 

[Classic Ray]

Most democratic societies separate the military and the state, with military and the police forbidden to take any active role in politics.  They are seen as the servants of the society rather than the masters.

 

Unfortunately they don’t seem to take this role in Thai society, with even teachers and civil servants wearing military style uniforms. 

[Rotweiler]

The book has been publicly  available for over 2 years.  Why the hubbub now?

[PeterPan63]

September 28th is a Saturday, not a Friday!  So what date is it? 

[Andycoops]

No surprise at all that the military want to surpress freedom of speech,  it's all they did in the miserable 10 years after the last illegal government took over from a democratically elected one.

 

Some of the laws they introduced are still in effect.

 

[john donson]

military, useless everywhere... if only they protected their own borders... thailand coup land... what's the number count at ? 21 ? 23 ?

[JimHuaHin]

Over the past decade or so Dr Puangthong has delivered several conference papers (one of which I attended in Chiang Mai, with some ISOC personnel also in the audience) and seminar papers on this topic.

 

As noted in the article, the English language version of the book, "Infiltrating Society: The Thai Military’s Internal Security Affairs", was published 3 years ago, and has been widely available in English language bookshops in Thailand.

[retarius]

Who could possibly find anything to criticise about the Thai military. Pure as the driven snow, they are.

[brianthainess]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

ISOC called for the book and related forums to be banned, claiming they could mislead the public and harm the image of the military.

Is this a related forum I ask myself, and any way how can the image of the military be harmed any more than it already is, they are the one's, who harm the image of themselves, even by this act alone, of banning the reading, they are heaping even more bad imagery on top of the huge pile of it. 

[Thingamabob]

1 hour ago, Rotweiler said:

The book has been publicly  available for over 2 years.  Why the hubbub now?

Because it's now available in Thai, not only in English as previously.

[spidermike007]

A very significant, very loud, and very critical discourse of the military is required at this point in Thailand. They are a spectacularly corrosive institution, they have insinuated themselves into so many different aspects of Thai society, they are no doubt very corrupt, they are nearly useless, and they suck huge amounts of treasury from the Thai nation.

 

Yet no criticism, and no discourse is allowed, and as usual Thailand demonstrates that it is not a democracy. 

[Doctor Tom]

7 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

A very significant, very loud, and very critical discourse of the military is required at this point in Thailand. They are a spectacularly corrosive institution, they have insinuated themselves into so many different aspects of Thai society, they are no doubt very corrupt, they are nearly useless, and they suck huge amounts of treasury from the Thai nation.

 

Yet no criticism, and no discourse is allowed, and as usual Thailand demonstrates that it is not a democracy. 

An exaggeration.  The most stable that Thailand has ever been since the restoration of the Monarchy, has been when the Military have been in charge, restraining the Thai rich Elite. The last manifestation of this, with Prayut in change has seen economic progress, infrastructure progress and an excellent, measured response to Covid. I would take a Military government over any civil administration here. By the way, the Thai Marines are some of the best in the World, with an high reputation as jungle troops. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Doctor Tom

[brianthainess]

3 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

Most democratic societies separate the military and the state, with military and the police forbidden to take any active role in politics.  They are seen as the servants of the society rather than the masters.

 

Unfortunately they don’t seem to take this role in Thai society, with even teachers and civil servants wearing military style uniforms. 

And PEA staff.

 

[Sydebolle]

Now - I for one - have not seen this coming ........ surprise, surprise