Found Wanting – Foreign Policy has exclusive details from a leaked report on the failed Arab League monitoring mission in Syria – and it’s grim reading for the organization. “Regrettably, some observers thought that their visit …
thailand
“We're a counterbalance to China. That's what we heard from the leaders in these countries.”
Refugee Case Highlights Global Plight of Ahmadi Muslims
Almost 100 Pakistani refugees, including dozens of children and a month-old infant, were freed from a Thai immigration prison on Monday, after a rights group put up a $150,000 bond for their release. The men, women and children, all members of Ahmadiya, a minority Muslim sect, were detained in police raids between December and …
Rights Group Says Thailand Murdered Civilians, Urges Investigation
A year after a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bangkok that killed at least 90 people, not a single official has been charged. Now, Human Rights Watch, an influential American NGO, says they’ve collected evidence that government snipers targeted civilians, including unarmed medical personnel. Their claims are laid out …
Thailand’s ‘Topless Teen’ Scandal and the Sexual Politics of Southeast Asia
During last week’s Songkran festival, three Thai teenagers danced topless in front of a crowd in central Bangkok. The footage was uploaded to the Internet and went viral, sparking a nation- and region-wide scandal. The police promised a crackdown and politicians denounced the incident as an affront to Thai culture and a national …
How Soccer Explains the Middle East
A soccer game was held yesterday in the West Bank. That may not be quite out of the ordinary in this soccer-mad part of the world, but the teams competing were: on one side, you had Thailand, and the other, Palestine. A qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympics, this was the first ever internationally-sanctioned game in the Occupied …