Back from Bali August 24, 2009
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It was the middle of April, the heart of summer, and I was stuck in Bali due to dehydration and hypoglycemia. But it didn’t stop me from going to Sogo Department Store, just walking distance from the hotel I was staying, to catch a whiff of the sea breeze and snap some photos at the same time.
It might just be an imitation of an ancient Hindu ruin, but this structure at Denpasar airport really caught my eye. Love the color, the symmetry, the tiny carved details.
A snapshot of the beach behind Sogo. This was taken around 4 pm, the sun still high but my modest Canon point-and-shoot held up nicely against backlighting; it captured that lovely blue sky smeared with cirrus clouds, the foam of the surf and the deeper blue hue of the sea. The angle of the seawall, accented by the row of palmettos and their shadows gives some depth. For this scene alone, I’d go back to Bali!
The curving patterns of the gray staircase contrasts nicely with the blueness of the horizon.
Same location, but the focus is on those dark clouds. Ominous!
…And yes, I’ll be back!
Brief updates August 24, 2009
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I have to provide a (brief) roundup of sorts before resuming my regular posting:
Went abroad twice, with one trip successful (Norway) towards the end of May, and the other (supposed to be Timor Leste but ended up in Bali, Indonesia), well, let’s just say unsatisfactory (mid-April).
Paid the tuition for the kids’ new school (Yesss!!!) and moved to a new place, a condominium unit overlooking the Chao Phraya River and a view of four bridges (there are around 10 or so) that span it.
Also, Lizl’s celebrating her birthday today. I’ll join her and the kids later for dinner tonight.
Treasures at the Siam City Hotel April 6, 2009
Posted by pinoyronin in Uncategorized.Tags: antique porcelain, bangkok, Bin Thuan shipwreck, chinaware, Geldermalsen shipwreck, Hun Krabok, Khmer art, Nanking Cargo, SEAPA, Siam City Hotel, South China Sea shipwrecks, Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Thai puppets, Vung Tau shipwreck
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The NGO I work for, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), held its latest board meeting at the Siam City Hotel last month. I was not impressed with the name when I first heard of it; it sounded like a backpackers’ inn or something. It just so happened that the hotel was near our office that it was chosen as venue for the meeting (located at the corner of Sri Ayuthya and Phyathai roads).
However, when I got there on the first day of the meeting, I had to change my opinion. The lobby was small but it had an atmosphere of plushness. As I walked around, what really caught my attention were the works of art on display.
Mounted on glass display cases were antique china recovered from shipwrecks, along with Thai and Khmer artworks.
Here is my favorite exhibit, part of the so-called Nanking Cargo, some 160,000+ pieces of chinaware that were recovered from the Dutch ship “Geldermalsen” which sunk off the South China Sea more than 200 years ago.
Corals have engulfed these china. The calcified reddish and orange coral provide a stark contrast to the white and bluish hue of the porcelain.
One of my favorite pieces in the collection. The design is so intricate, the color so cool to the sight. I wish I were rich enough to bid for something like this at Christie’s!
Another set
Exquisite
For some backgrounder on the “Gendermalsen’s” treasures, please see:
http://www.oceantreasures.org/rubrique-1070661.html
http://www.antiques.dk.com/cat.php/Oriental/Ceramics/Shipwreck%20Cargoes/Nanking%20Cargo
Also displayed is this collection of Vietnamese porcelain from the Vung Tau (1690) and Bin Thuan (1608) shipwrecks.
Some more background info:
http://www.maritime-explorations.com/vung%20tau.htm
http://www.seaantique.com/Binhthuan.htm
On the other hand, here is an exhibit of Thai “Hun Krabok” (“pole puppets”) puppets.
Briefer on Hun Krabok puppets:
http://www.culturenetworks.org/hunkrabork-thaipuppet.html
Near the elevator lobby, my attention was caught by this relief of Khmer female dancers:
I knew right away it was not Thai artwork, but I was of two minds whether it is Khmer or Indian. So I checked the Internet and saw this:
It is interesting to note, though, that Khmer art is heavily influenced by Indian mythology and art form. (Of course, the reason why Indochina is called such is because the area had been the battleground for centuries between China and India. I read somewhere that modern-day Vietnam fell under the influence of China while those on the western part of the mountain range separating Vietnam and the rest of Indochina fell under the influence of India).
Surviving the night April 1, 2009
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The dream was not that bad. None of that stuff about being pursued by mysterious persons. Yet I’d still wake up with a start, my heart banging against my chest as I tried to take in gulpfuls of air. I feel the onset of another panic attack setting in. I get up from bed, grab my watch and observe the second hand as I feel for my pulse. My heart rate is normal, around 80 or so. Nevertheless, my heart is palpitating, and I feel the sensation, sometimes even the certainty that any minute now and I’d feel that hammer blow to my chest, constricting the flow of my blood. I can imagine one of my hands reaching for the source of the pain as it spreads from my chest. My thoughts would race: Is this it? Is this the appointed time? Would scenes from my life start rushing before my eyes? Would I finally be sucked into that dark tunnel and emerge in the light? Crazy thoughts like this swirl in my mind as I grope for my medicines. There. I pick a tablet, break it into two and swallow half with the help of a glass of water by the bedside. Then I know it would be alright as I start praying. This will pass. This will pass. Then I would lie back in bed again, beside my wife and youngest child, whose peaceful sleep I don’t dare disturb. I check my watch again. It’s 5 am. It always happens at this time. Then I drift off to peaceful sleep, to be woken up at 7 am with knocks on the door. Paulo and Chubby will be on their way to school and are dropping by to kiss Lizl and me and say goodbye. I’d mutter an “I love you” as I kiss them back and try to resume my sleep, if only for half an hour more.
The past three nights have been peaceful. This means no sudden wake-ups at 4 am or 5 am. No shortness of breath or palpitation. No panic attack. I’d just wake up at 7 am, feeling refreshed. Yet it’s deceptive. It means my blood sugar is up. Unlike one time when I was forced to wake Lizl up and ask her to test my blood sugar level and the glukometer would tell us it’s 100 or 105. Diabetes. It’s weird. You feel better when you sugar is a bit high; you feel being in shit state when it dips.
I had my routine check-up today. Nothing new. The doctor told me to keep balancing my blood sugar. Take sweets when you feel the symptoms of hypoglycemia, she told me. Right now I’m taking Avandia 4 mg and Metformin 850 mg. She suggested that if my blood sugar continues to fluctuate to try insulin. I said I’d think about it. In truth I’m not inclined to. Due to the cost and also the fact that I don’t relish the idea of puncturing myself with a needle. I sent an SMS to my cardiologist in San Pedro and asked her if it’s advisable for me to take insulin regularly. She replied back that as much as possible, I should stick to diet, exercise and the prescribed medicines as insulin can damage the kidneys. That’s the clincher for me. My heart is already getting affected by my diabetes (I had rheumatic heart disease when I was a teenager. The same cardiologist cured me of it before I turned 21). Undergoing dialysis in a few years’ time is something I don’t want to consider at the moment. In the meantime, I’ll just have to try to survive the nights when my blood sugar plummets again.
Turning 37 (or A Rambling Account of How I Spent the Day I Turned 37) March 28, 2009
Posted by pinoyronin in Uncategorized.Tags: bangkok, Benjamin Button, BTS, Burma VJ, Chulalongkorn University, DVB, Grand President, Rosa Bieng, Skytrain, Sukhumvit Soi 11, Thai restaurants
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I have not given much thought on my birthdays ever since I turned 30. But this year, my wife Lizl was more excited than me in planning a celebration, especially since my birthday fell on a Saturday. Infected with her enthusiasm, I also started to plan. How about a weekend getaway? Somewhere outside of the city? We’ve already gone to historic Ayutthya and the flesh market that is Pattaya (uh oh, bad move!). Chiang Mai is too far away. Phuket is pricey, so does Samui. And what would we see in Kanchanaburi, that old bridge built by POWs? Ho-hum. Hhmm…Hua Hin? I was about to say this to my wife when the hammer fell:
I have work on my birthday (!).
Turns out the NGOs in Bangkok will stage a series of conferences on that same weekend and come up with some statements and resolutions for the ASEAN Summit the following week. SEAPA’s contribution would be a screening of the docu-film “Burma VJ”, a recounting of how DVB, an Oslo-based independent Burmese broadcasting outfit, covertlycovered the Saffron Revolution in 2007. The only available spot was Saturday, 21 February, 6-9 pm. There goes my weekend getaway!
Anyway, Lizl and I just came up with a Plan B. We’ll stay in a hotel in Bangkok. Instead of surf and sand, we’ll have a swimming pool. In between, I can go to work. OK then.
The eve of my birthday, we went to Central World to catch a film. Would it be “Valkyrie”, “The Reader”? We ended up with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. And what a film it was to see a day before one turns a year older! We both sat there carried away by the story of a man who ages in reverse. The subtext are the same themes you try to avoid thining about when you turn 37: Age, youth, memories, and yes, as a memorable quote in the film reminds us, opportunities both taken and missed. It was a sobering night, to say the least, with all these thoughts swirling in my head even as we went to sleep that night.
The following day, we checked in at the Grand President in Sukhumvit Soi 11. Lizl liked the place. We were there in December when they slashed their rate by half. We ended up in a suite, with a separate bedroom and a kitchen. It was already February but, owing perhaps to the financial crisis, the hotel still maintained its promotion, a suite for just THB3500.
But as our scheme unfolded, I started getting stressed. Lizl and I found ourselves transporting the whole gang, including the yaya, to downtown Bangkok, with all the matching luggages and sibling spats. Then when we got to the hotel, we were checked in a suite not to our taste. The place smelled of sweaty feet (must’ve been the moldy carpet) and the bathtub was dirty. So we called up the front desk and asked for a change of room. The exchange between me and the reception guy took 20 minutes; we simply could not understand each other. Why, oh, why do these hotels not hire frontliners who can speak better English? And why, oh, why have I, after three years of living in Bangkok, not yet learned to speak decent Thai?
Call time for us in the crew for the film screening was 5 pm. It was already quarter to 5 and no response yet from the front desk regarding our room transfer. My boss already called me up. The trip to Chulalongkorn University, the venue of the screening, from our hotel in Soi 11, on a Saturday afternoon, might take at least 30 minutes. And we still havent’t changed rooms. While we were waiting, the kids have gone to the pool to take a dip. At the stroke of 5, finally, we were informed the new room was ready. Pack up again, cross the courtyard to the other wing. We found out the room was on the second floor, nothing much to see on the window. But at least, it was cleaner and smelled fresher. Good enough. Once everybody’ settled down, Lizl and I hurried to Chula. Do we take a taxi or the BTS? Rama 1 Road might be choked with traffic jam, so we opted for the Skytrain. It meant walking for more than 200 meters to the mouth of the soi and the nearest BTS station (Nana). At Siam station we got off. 5:10 pm. Lizl bought some snacks and munched while we took a taxi that will bring us to Chula. Oh by the way, Chula’s a big university and within its enclosure is the Economics building beside which was the auditorium, the venue. I lost all appetite already. The taxi turned left on Phayathai Road and we counted the gates of Chula (based on Nu’s improvised map). Is this it? Is there another gate over there? Wait, I can already see Rama 4 Road. “Liyaw sai! Liyaw Sai!” (“Turn left, turn left!”) I screamed at the driver. Once inside, we cruised slowly. Finally, the auditorium!
There, the College of Economics building. There was a sign that said “Burma VJ” so we followed it and ended up in the 2nd floor where the faculty room was. Hmm, did someone from the Burmese Embassy sabotage our signs? I ended up calling my boss, who gave us directions. Finally, we spotted my Burmese colleague, Nai Nai, who led us to the right place.
When we got there, it seems everything was already prepared. Good. I’d play receptionist then. Lizl was also shanghai’d into doing frontline work. No sweat. It was easy and fun. Just smile at the arriving viewers, greet them, hand them a copy of the annual report which I helped write (“Empty Promises”) and ask them to register. For around 90 minutes we did that, to the sound of camera clicks as Nai toyed around with her new digicam, catching us at inopportune moments.
I was able to relax only when the film started. Nai and I stayed 10 minutes more at the front desk for any latecomers. Then I went in and joined Lizl. It was cold inside. The auditorium had a seating capacity of around 700 or so. We filled up a third of that. Not bad. I had seen the film already, but it was good watching it again, this time, with Lizl, sharing with her a slice of my work. We had a working date.
Three hours later, after a brief Q & A with a representative from DVB, the viewers slowly made their exits, depressed by the state of affairs in Burma, while me and the rest of the SEAPA crew packed up our stuff. With all things done, we walked from the building to the university gate, under the trees and lighted lampposts. “We’ll find a spot somewhere here,” I jokingly told my boss and his wife. But it felt good, strolling with my wife, along a quiet university road.
Hey, we haven’t had dinner yet! Once out of the gates, the blare of Bangkok came back. We were able to get a cab and we went back to Soi 11. Rosa Bieng, a Thai restaurant, was still open. Lizl loved it there. The food was good, the price, better. The owner must be a toy train buff. There are model trains everywhere. There’s even a diorama depicting railways in the Alps. Well, at least the diorama featured mountains, their sides cut by railroad tracks, leading to tunnels. The mood was relaxing as the adrenaline drained out of me. I can feel my birthday at that point. Just sheer understated pleasure…the food, the jazz from the live band outside, the subdued lights, and Lizl’s presence . I wanted to have a drink, whether red wine or just a beer, one for the road, one for my 37th birthday. But it was already 11 pm and the restaurant was closing. We paid the bill. Reluctantly, we stood up and left the place.
Homecoming 2: Pacita goes ‘Gesselschaft’ January 28, 2009
Posted by pinoyronin in Uncategorized.Tags: Adelina Complex, Chrysanthemum Village, gesselschaft, Juana Complex, Pacita Complex, Rosario Complex, San Pedro Laguna, subdivision, suburbia
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As Lizl and I wandered around her hometown’s “poblacion” last month, she kept repeating, like a mantra: “This street used to be so long. Why does it look shorter now? That house used to be so enormous, but not anymore.”
I teased her about streets getting shorter as you get older, which earned me a good-natured pinch. But I have to admit, it’s a sensation you get whenever you revisit places you spent your childhood in. I remember the house in Makati where I grew up. It was in a compound with four apartment units with a common parking lot. When I was seven years old or so, my cousins and playmates would run around the parking lot as if it was the car park of Makro.
It was big enough for us to play “patintero” too. But as an adult, I would always be surprised whenever I make a visit to the old place and realize how small the car lot really is.
I had a somewhat similar sensation while I was walking around Pacita Complex when Lizl and the kids and I went home for a visit last month. It’s not spatial though. The streets were of the same length as I remember them (Ouch! There goes another pinch!). But the sensation was more about the atmosphere of the place.
My family moved to San Pedro, Laguna in 1984. Compared to my old playground in Makati, San Pedro was a backwater. A hicktown. But that’s San Pedro, the town.
We settled in a government-built subdivision called Rosario Complex, adjacent to its more popular cousin, Pacita Complex. It had pre-fabricated houses; no doors, windows or ceilings, though; you have to improve them yourself. And yes, there were no fences. No trees either. There was good water supply and electricity was not a problem. Nevertheless, Rosario Complex was suburbia. One lingering image I have of Rosario Complex is of a summer day, the sky so blue, unmarred by tall trees or buildings, with some of houses bereft of greenery but for dottings of green to mark plants and saplings struggling to become trees. The streets are straight and clean of both trash and stand-bys. The entire place smelled of fresh paint. I would forever be indebted to my parents for bringing us there during our adolescence. Somehow, Rosario Complex sheltered us in its suburban cocoon.
Fast-forward to 2006, shortly before my family left for Thailand. At the time, we had been living in a nearby subdivision called Juana Complex (let me digress, the original developer, so the story goes, had several daughters after whom he named the subdivisions, so there’s Pacita, Rosario, Adelina and Juana). Pacita Complex is now a far cry from its modest beginnings. Aside from the two bus terminals that service both Manila- and provincial-bound passengers, several fastfood chains are now well-established and the main road looks like the main thoroughfare of BF Homes Sucat, that is, lined up with small business establishments.
December 2008. I spent a lot of time going around the place, visiting places I used to hang out in. Somehow, I felt a tinge of melancholy; the place has changed, I thought to myself, not without a trace of regret. I don’t know if its residents see these new things as progress but somehow, despite the stores and other businesses, Pacita looked…shabbier. There are more stores now, yes, but it seems they were built in a haphazard way, their materials makeshift. Houses with neatly-trimmed lawns have given way to multi-door apartment units crowded with tenants. Tricycles with their oily fumes have taken over. …their drivers complete strangers. Twenty five years ago, we were on first-name basis with the tricycle drivers. It seemed everyone knew everyone else. Sure, Pacita is not as sleepy as Chrysanthemum Village, another government housing nearby which had been built in the early 70s. Chrysanthemum has apparently turned into a retirement community, as if the youth of that place has fled to other places, leaving only their aging parents to sit under the trees and dream of their past glories.
Pacita is vibrant, but in a different kind of way. It’s in a cusp…It is serene suburbia giving way to inner city chaos. It’s simply not the same Pacita Complex I grew up in. It’s not my place anymore…
Homecoming: The Long Road from Sorsogon to Manila January 26, 2009
Posted by pinoyronin in Uncategorized.Tags: Aranyaprathet, Bulan, Bulusan Lake, Gubat, Manila, Philippine highways, philippines, Philtranco, San Pedro Laguna, Sorsogon, Thailand infrastruture
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The whole family went home for a visit. Arrived in Manila December 20, left January 3. Too short yet definitely better than our visit in 2007.
After spending the night in my parents’ place in San Pedro, we went to Lizl’s home province of Sorsogon. It was a long bus trip, 14 hours, but made bearable by the Philtranco bus’ small toilet cubicle, the day trip which afforded us views of the countryside, and most important, the company of Lizl’s older sister, Ate Nette, her husband and their teenage kids.
Lizl hasn’t been back in her hometown since we got married; her father is also sick, so I understand how significant the trip was for her. Gubat, Sorsogon used to be a robust town in the 50s and 60s, Ate Nette’s husband, Kuya Daniel told me, because it was Samar’s main link with Luzon. It was a crossroads town. One reason why Lizl’s parents had to leave Batangas and join their cousins in doing business in Sorsogon. The construction of a better port in the nearby town of Bulan spelled the decline of Gubat, however. In our walks around the poblacion, one thing that struck me were the grand houses most probably built during the town’s heyday. I see no such grand houses of recent vintage, except for those of families who have members working abroad.
The same thing with the hot spring resort we went to. It must have been the province’s main tourist attractions during the time of Lizl’s parents, but now, the owner has not bothered to invest in some renovation work. The water’s fine, it was really hot, and the springs were gushing everywhere, but the place could have used an improvement or two.
On our way back, we detoured to see Lake Bulusan, halfway up the dormant volcano of the same name. It’s an old caldera that later got filled with water, the sheer sides now overgrown with trees, with only a cleft on one side the sole means of access. The lake looked placid. There are no inhabitants, considering it’s high up in the mountains and the trail going there have dangerous turns. A couple of fishermen later sold us a half a dozen small tilapia for a hundred pesos. The topic for the rest of the ride home was how regretful the government hasn’t been doing anything to improve this national park and turn it into a tourist attraction, hence generate income for the province.
On our way back to Manila, we decided to take the Philtranco again. Ate Nette and her family would be staying a bit longer, Lizl, the three kids and I will travel all by our lonesome this time. Took a jeepney ride from Gubat to Sorsogon town where the Philtranco terminal was. Glad to learn there were only a dozen passengers (it was December 26, hardly a good time to go back to Manila), with some more Manila-bound passengers to join us in the stopover in Legazpi.
I was glad to note that we made it to Legazpi in two hours. Yes! By early evening, we’ll be home in Laguna. I said to myself. I was wrong. We ended up riding that bus (except for a couple more of stopovers) for a good 17 hours. You read it right. Seventeen hours. December 26. No heavy traffic. Well, we had to stop for some repairs for an hour in Camarines Sur, but that’s it. I remember telling Mick from IFEX Toronto that our trip to Bicol will be something like 12 hours. When he learned that the distance is more or less 500 kilometers, he was aghast. Same thing with my colleague here in SEAPA, Nu. Such a distance could have been covered in a shorter time here in Thailand. But while I sat there in the bus seething at the slowness of it all, I had an idea or two why it was taking too long. Foremost of which is that the provincial highways linking the Philippines only have a lane for each side. Which would mean a frequent need to overtake slower vehicles in front of you, unless of course, there’s another bus barrelling from the other direction. So much for Philippine infrastructure. I have been on several trips to Aranyaphrathet, a Thai town bordering Cambodia, some 300 kilometers east of Bangkok. The bus covers the distance in three hours or so.
‘Nuff said.
The state of the press in Southeast Asia 2008 January 20, 2009
Posted by pinoyronin in Uncategorized.Tags: burmese media, cambodia, cambodian media, defamation, Indonesia, indonesian media, ISA, journalist killings, journalists, lao media, laos, libel, malaysia, malaysian media, philippine media, philippines, SEAPA, singaporean media, souteast asian press alliance, southeast asian media, southeast asian press, Thai media, thailand, timor leste, timor leste media, vietnam, vietnamese media
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Looking back, looking ahead: The state of the press in Southeast Asia
18 January 2009
Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
The months ahead will hold much peril and uncertainty for members of the press in Southeast Asia. The years 2009 and 2010 will be highly charged, for starters, anticipating national election seasons for most countries in the region.
Even without the chaos and violence attendant to electoral exercises in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma, the unpredictability of the contests and the inevitability of uncertainty will give the region’s journalists not only compelling stories and issues to follow, but also dangerous times and situations to navigate.
The coming months will also be a crucial period for ASEAN itself—in particular with respect to how the regional body proves and demonstrates the value of a new charter that came into force in December 2008.
Beyond rules of membership and ASEAN’s vision for single free trade area by 2015, the ASEAN Charter affirms that among others, one of ASEAN’s purposes is “to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule of law, and to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms…”
The Charter’s outline of Principles emphasizes the need for “adherence to the rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government” as well as for the community’s “respect for fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of social justice.”
Article 14 of the ASEAN Charter goes as far as to commit that “ASEAN shall establish an ASEAN human rights body.” The mechanisms of such a body, however, have yet to be spelt out and finalized. Indeed, analysts and critics of the Charter stress that the stated principles and purposes relating to human rights and democracy must be weighed against ASEAN’s historical emphasis on “non-interference” and on its tradition of moving by consensus.
The region’s press, meanwhile, must note for itself: “press freedom” is not even mentioned in the Charter, nor, for that matter, “free expression”. How it all plays out for press freedom, therefore, is uncertain.
To be sure, 2008 saw a lot of promise for change on this front. Or “promises”, at least. Singapore promised to relax its Films Act. Laos introduced a new media law that promised to allow more private sector participation in its state-dominated media landscape. East Timor promised to decriminalize defamation. The Philippine Supreme Court didn’t quite decriminalize libel, but it essentially encouraged lower courts to ignore options to imprison journalists over defamation. Meanwhile, sea changes in the political environments of Malaysia and Thailand have caused people to assume that changes in the environments for media and press freedom.
But assumptions are one thing. How it all actually falls into place—or falls apart—must yet be seen. For all the above promises, after all, little has actually changed in the laws that govern the media in Southeast Asia.
Indeed, if anything defines the media situation in Southeast Asia, it is the larger political considerations of the region’s governments and political powers. Upcoming elections are but one factor that pulls for the status quo. From East Timor to Thailand, the agenda of recapturing “stability” is overwhelming, and in 2008, it was often used to rationalize a low prioritization—and even a sacrifice of—the press freedom agenda.
Looking back on the year that was, therefore, is crucial to anticipating and understanding how much journalists will be allowed to do their job in 2009 and beyond. For a more detailed country-by-country report, please click on the following link:
Thai journalists caught in crossfire December 3, 2008
Posted by pinoyronin in Uncategorized.Tags: bangkok, Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, Thai journalists, Thai media, thailand
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SEAPA Capsule Report: Thai journalists caught in crossfire of tense standoff
2 December 2008
As the political crisis in Bangkok escalates, Thai journalists are increasingly finding themselves caught in the crossfire between two warring political factions and their respective supporters, with reports of harassment, shootings, and physical attacks targetting media offices and practitioners.
Anti-government protesters led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been occupying Bangkok’s two main airports – the Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Muang Airport – for more than a week now. More than 200,000 are believed stranded in Thailand, as the protests plunge the country into deeper political crisis and worsening economic fallout from the same.
As tensions rise, however, the media has been vulnerable and has indeed come under direct attack.
On November 24, unidentified men aboard a motorized boat along the Chao Phraya River fired grenades at the ASTV head office. Net surrounding the building fortunately deflected the grenades, which fell to the waters and exploded without causing damage or injuries. ASTV is a satellite TV service provider owned by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) anti-government movement. Its security officials believe the attackers’ main target were the satellite dishes on the building’s roof.
Four days later, another such attack took place. The launched grenades exploded on the fourth level of the ASTV building, shattering glass windows and injuring a newscaster.
The two airports, focal points of the stand-off, are also the site of direct harassment and intimidation against individual journalists.
A photographer from the Thai-language newspaper “Thai Rath” was attacked by PAD guards at Don Mueang on the night of November 28.
The photographer, who requested anonymity, said a PAD guard struck him from behind, causing him to fall to the ground. At the time, he said he had been taking photographs of another PAD guard beating a man.
He said he was then surrounded by eight or nine guards who snatched his camera and accused him of being an imposter. More guards showed up and assaulted him further until reporters came to his aid, confirming that he was a real photographer.
In another incident, the PAD stopped reporters and photographers from covering the capture of a policeman by PAD guards at Suvarnabhumi Intenational Airport on November 30. The “Bangkok Post” reported that some PAD protesters also hurled insults at the journalists.
Reporters complained that PAD protesters videotaped them while doing their job. One PAD guard tried to see what they were typing on their computers at Suvarnabhumi airport’s One Stop Service area, which has been turned into a temporary press room.
“The Nation” reported that PAD protesters also cajoled reporters to report only the good side of the PAD.
“Ban Muang” newspaper reporter Natthawut Karanyasophon said two PAD followers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport forced him to take off his white T-shirt marked with the message, “Stop Violence”. The guards told him the T-shirt missed the point as only the PAD was treated unfairly.
“The Nation” said other protesters surrounded Natthawut. PAD co-leader Saranyu Wongkrachang stepped in and moved the media’s work centre to another area.
Natthawut said the Thai Journalists’ Association (TJA) encouraged reporters to wear the T-shirt while they covered stories at Government House to call for peace. He claimed that though he did not fear the protesters, he changed his T-shirt to avoid more trouble.
Also on November 30, “The Nation” reported that PAD guards opened fire at a TV station’s OB van at Don Mueang airport, riddling the vehicle with bullet holes. The technician and the driver were unharmed.
Phanumart Jaihork, a TNN relay controller, said he and the driver were lost in the airport vicinity. They stopped at a checkpoint manned by PAD guards in front of the terminal building to ask for directions. Phanumart said he heard gunfire. The guards then told them to drive on and look for a safe place in the airport building.
However, when they passed the second checkpoint, the technician and the driver heard more gunshots, prompting them to flee from the area. The OB van, which bore the TV station’s markings, sustained many bullet holes on the sides, tailgate and roof .
Still in Don Mueang, a scuffle almost broke out between AFP and local Thai media photographers and PAD protesters after the latter demanded for the cameras of the photographers after accusing them of taking pictures of a protester without his consent.
Alarmed by the series of attacks on journalists, the TJA—a founding member of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)—along with The Press Council of Thailand, the Confederation of Thai Journalists, the Thai Broadcast Journalists’ Association and the Association of Thai Cable Operators, issued a statement on December 1 calling on both the government and the PAD to stop violent acts against journalists and allow them to perform their duties unhampered.
“These acts are unacceptable since they obstruct the work of the media and threaten the people’s right to access to information. We appeal to protestors of all sides to stop these acts once and for all,” said the media groups in their statement.
The statement emphasized the need for media to stay in the middle in order to report facts as fairly as possible, “No matter how the current violence turns out, the media has a duty to report facts with balance so that the public is equipped with enough information to make its own decision.”
“We, therefore, appeal to demonstrators to realize and understand the work of the media. Any group that attacks the media will not win public support,” the statement added.
At the same time, the media groups advised their colleagues to exercise their journalistic duties with caution, reminding them of their duty to “adhere to their professional ethics and not allow themselves to be influenced by any particular group.”
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The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (http://www.seapa.org) is a coalition of press freedom advocacy groups from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Established in November 1998, it is the only regional network with the specific mandate of promoting and protecting press freedom throughout Southeast Asia. SEAPA is composed of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Indonesia), the Jakarta-based Institute for the Study of the Free Flow of Information (ISAI), the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Thai Journalists Association. SEAPA also has partners in Malaysia, Cambodia, East Timor, and exiled Burmese media, and undertakes projects and programs for press freedom throughout the region.
For inquiries, please contact us at: seapa@seapa.org, or call +662 243 5579.
ASEAN Sec. Gen. Surin: Free press, access to info contribute to the ASEAN vision November 18, 2008
Posted by pinoyronin in Uncategorized.Tags: access to information, ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, bangkok, free press, freedom of expression, press freedom, SEAPA, Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Surin Pitsuwan
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Note: I’ve been working in SEAPA since July this year. On November 8, it celebrated its 10th anniversary. The fact that Sec. Gen. Surin Pitsuwan had also been present at the organization’s birth 10 years ago (he was foreign minister of Thailand at the time) somehow completes the circle. Coincidentally, the ASEAN was established here in Bangkok on August 8, 1967.
