Book on the Beach

My first book review column, Book on the Beach, has been published in the February issue of Guide of Pattaya magazine (no. 29, p. 8). The article is a review of Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s novel The Shadow of the Wind (La sombra del viento).

“The most powerful person ever elected to lead Thailand...”

Thaksin Shinawatra’s governing Thai Rak Thai party won yesterday’s general election in a landslide, with 377 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives. Thaksin has become the first elected Thai prime minister to serve a full term in office, and the first PM to be reelected. Yesterday’s result makes Thai Rak Thai the first party ever to win a majority of seats in Thailand’s parliament.

This indicates a strengthening of democratic norms, as TRT has shown that a civilian administration can remain in office without military intervention. On the other hand, Thaksin has dominated Thai politics with a combination of populist policies and the intimidation of his critics. In its report on the election result, AFP wrote that Thaksin has now become “the most powerful person ever elected to lead Thailand.”

Seeds Of Peace

Sulak Sivaraksa, publisher of the journal Seeds Of Peace, is being investigated for lèse-majesté due to an article in the journal's January-April issue (volume 21, number 1). Sulak is a Buddhist writer and academic, who has spoken in opposition to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The lèse-majesté charge relates to a feature titled Revenge Of The Forgotten Monarch.

The article, on pages 6-9, has no byline except for the initials BP. It discusses the unexplained death of King Rama VIII. Sulak previously wrote about the case in his book เรืองนายปรีดี พนมยงค์ ตามทัศนะ ส. ศิวรักษ์, in which he quotes from a 1948 diplomatic cable from the American ambassador reporting Phibun Songkhram's private comments on the matter. The book was later published in English translation as Powers That Be: Pridi Banomyong Through The Rise And Fall Of Thai Democracy.