Islam in Thailand: Myths, Facts, and Opportunism

November 8, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Muslims have lived in and around Thailand - and before that, Siam - for centuries. They have contributed significantly to Thailand's long history as a nation, from Malay Muslims moving up into central and even northern Thailand over the centuries, bringing their unique form of Islam with them, to Persian Muslims arriving in the 17th century and integrating themselves into business and ruling circles through trade and marriage.

Today, Muslims comprise as much as 12% of the Thai population and have become part of the sociocultural and economic fabric of the nation. Their restaurants, businesses, and mosques are scattered across the country side-by-side Buddhist and secular businesses and institutions. Tolerance and mutual respect are hallmarks of this coexistence between people who identify themselves first as Thais, and second as members of their respective faiths.

Contrary to popular belief, of Thailand's 7.5 million Muslims, only 1.4 million reside in the nation's southernmost violence-racked provinces. However, in the south, Muslims represent over 70% of the population and observe cultural and political identities standing apart from Muslims throughout the rest of the nation. They do not see themselves as "Thais" first, but rather still as Malay.

These three southern most provinces - Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat - and their unique circumstances, are a result of a regional power struggle stretching across centuries and includes more recently, attempts to use this region as a buffer between Thailand and British Malaya (now modern day, independent Malaysia).

Over the centuries, these three provinces once known as the Pattani Kingdom, have vacillated between a track of integration and assimilation within Thailand, to separatism and violent rebellion against it.

US Attempts to Shame Asia for "Caving to China"

October 24, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - It is becoming clear that US influence - despite its "pivot toward Asia" - is waning across the Asia Pacific region. Washington has suffered geopolitical setbacks in virtually every nation in Asia Pacific, including those now led by regimes it has meticulously organized, funded, and backed for decades. It is also waning, however, among those nations considered long-time and crucial US allies.

This includes Southeast Asia's Thailand, whom the US repeatedly reminds the world has been Washington's ally since the Cold War and America's war in Vietnam, and allegedly, even before that.

Washington's Waning Influence is Based on Floundering Fundamentals  

However, in reality, Thailand has incrementally dismantled American influence over it, and has diversified its trade and cooperation with a large variety of nations - including China - as a means of depending on ties with no single nation in particular.

US Seeks to Exploit Thailand's Transition to Destabilize Asia

October 21, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - The passing of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej marks a historical, cultural, and geopolitical event of yet unknown proportions. His time as Thailand's head of state spanned decades, and the stabilizing progressive nature of his reign has transformed Thailand into an economically and culturally significant center of power within Southeast Asia and in Asia itself.

With his passing, the Western media, long attempting to undermine him in life, took the opportunity to defame him in death, claiming he resided over a "divided" nation bound to unravel with his passing.

They also took the opportunity to defame and distort the character of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's heir, Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.  Despite the baseless gossip and speculation about the Prince's private life, his public life has been marked with distinction in service to the nation, serving as a special forces operator in combat along Thailand's borders, a trained pilot, and a regular figure presiding over public functions.

Like his father, the Prince's role in Thai society is not determined by the Western media and the perception they dishonestly try to foster before their intentionally ill-informed audiences, but by the Thai people themselves. And during the days of mourning following the late King's death, it has become abundantly clear that the vast majority of Thais are committed to preserving their ancient institutions, understanding them by far more deeply than the Western media has presented.

Undeterred, the West, and the United States specifically, seeks an opportunity to disrupt and destabilize Southeast Asia as a means of disrupting China's growing influence in the region as well as Beijing's growing ties to its regional neighbors.

Already cultivating opposition fronts and faux-nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) region wide, funded by the US State Department itself, the US believes that Thailand is experiencing a vulnerable moment of weakness it can use to create a domino effect of destabilization across the entire region.

Why is the Passing of Thailand's King a Big Deal?

Image: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

October 16, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - The passing of Thailand's head of state, the 88 year old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, marks a historically significant event in Thailand's history. For most Thais, they have known only one king their entire life - King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The significance of Thailand's monarchy to Thai people is difficult for Westerners to understand. Unlike Western monarchies who rule from above, Thailand's monarchy has historically ruled through service to the people. It is in recognition of this service that drives hundreds of thousands of Thais into the streets of Bangkok to participate in the beginning of funeral rites this week.

The depth and scope of this service includes not only the political boundaries and stability the monarchy provided when politicians and political parties clashed within the nation, but also service in driving long-term infrastructure projects regarding irrigation, energy, and agriculture shortsighted politicians refused to pursue.

Many aspects of Thai agriculture, from the introduction of new crops to the concept of cooperatives and localizing rice mills, were introduced through initiatives promoted and funded by the Royal Family itself. King Bhumibol Adulyadej's royal palace in Bangkok was many years ago converted into a demonstration and training center where today, foreigners and Thais alike can augment their skills and diversify their economic activity.

Politically, the monarchy's ability to reside above contests of political power and the deep respect Thais hold for the institution, creates a set of boundaries that have prevented dangerous - even violent political struggles - from expanding into the sort of destructive conflicts seen previously in neighboring Cambodia or currently expanding across the Middle East.

For Thailand's enemies who seek to undermine political stability or overthrow Thailand's political order, their primary obstacle and thus target has always been the nation's revered, powerful monarchy. The passing of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej presents a perceived vulnerability Thailand's enemies will undoubtedly seek to exploit to weaken Thailand and thus by doing so, disrupt regional stability.

Thailand's Importance to Southeast Asia 

Thailand is a prominent Southeast Asian nation, home to 70 million people, a dynamic and diverse economy ranging from agriculture to manufacturing, and remains the only nation in the region to have eluded Western colonization.

It has played a pivotal role throughout history, leveraging colonial powers against one another before the World Wars, a battlefield during World War 2, a contributing  factor to France's loss of Indochina and host to US military forces during the Vietnam War.

Since the conflict in Vietnam, Thailand has slowly and incrementally pivoted away from its role in US regional hegemony toward a more balanced place in the region.

Thailand: The Truth Before the Storm

Before Western lies begin, what you need to know about this critical moment for Thailand.


October 13, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Thailand is a pivotal nation centered amid Southeast Asia and commanding a prominent economy with a large population. It played a pivotal role during the US war in Vietnam, but has since then incrementally diverged from serving US hegemony in Asia.

As of now, Thailand has clearly and decisively performed its own "pivot" away from Washington and toward a diverse portfolio of alternative ties, including with Beijing and Moscow. Its military inventory has been incrementally transformed from housing aging American hardware to Russian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and even Swedish weapon systems. It also is increasingly cooperating closer with China regarding economics and regional security, a role the US has presumed a monopoly over for decades.

In fact, Thailand has diverged so much so that its political stability has now become the regular target of US efforts to undermine it. This includes through economic and sociopolitical attacks, as well as through covert means up to and including terrorism.

The key to Thailand's political stability, despite fierce infighting between rival special interests and political camps throughout the nation's ancient history, has been the nations much revered and unique monarchy. Knowing this and seeking to undermine stability in Thailand, and thus undermine yet another ally of Beijing and Moscow, the United States through its media has pursued a campaign of disinformation to attack and destroy the monarchy, hoping Thailand emerges exponentially weaker after the current head of state, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, passes on from advanced age.

The True Nature of Thailand's Monarchy

Unlike Western monarchies, Thailand's historically possesses an entirely different social contract between its head of state and the people. Despite superficialities cited by dishonest Western commentators to portray the Thai people as subservient - like prostration and a prayer-like gesture known as a "wai" - much of the symbolic respect Thais exhibit toward their king is identical to that which they exhibit toward their own parents, including both prostration and the "wai."

Image: Thai prostration is a sign of respect, not submission.

Both the monarchy itself and its "subjects" see themselves as a large family and a living sociocultural expression of Thai culture and history. The role Thailand's king has served historically to rally and unite the Thai people has contributed to the fact that Thailand is the only nation in Southeast Asia to escape European colonization - and is perhaps another reason why the West is so determined to eliminate this institution.

The Western media intentionally exploits both culturally differences between East and West as well as their audiences' general ignorance to paint Thailand's institutions in the most negative light possible.

An Institution That Serves, Not Merely a Throne to Sit 

The kings of Thailand have historically served the role as living founding fathers - for 800 years - pushing the nation forward through difficult transitional periods politicians were unable or unwilling to navigate the country through themselves.

This includes the abolition of slavery, a period of technological modernization similar to Japan's Meiji Restoration, and the current king's lifetime of work toward promoting socioeconomic self-sufficiency to combat encroaching globalization and the immense debt and disparity it sows.

US Hypocrisy: Preaching Human Rights, Inviting Mass Murderers as Guests

October 12, 2016 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - On October 6, Los Angeles' Loyola Marymount University invited ex-Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra to give a talk on the subject of “The Secret of Reducing Poverty and the Rich-Poor Gap: The Power of Political Will." The Los Angeles Loyolan newspaper in an article titled, "Los Angeles LoyolanVisit from former Thai PM causes controversy," reported that:

There is, however, some controversy regarding his visit. Shinawatra governed Thailand from 2001 to 2006 until a military coup pushed him out on accounts of corruption, abuse of office for personal gain and several other convictions. 

According to LMU’s Asia Media website, Shinawatra was exiled from Thailand in 2006 and is considered a fugitive by many. He is widely criticized by Thai students, families and citizens across the country. Because of this, Shinawatra’s presence on campus this Thursday sparked controversy among Thai students at LMU. 

The students interviewed asked to be kept anonymous due to fears about personal safety when stating their opinions on the former prime minister.

Thai students in California were right to fear for their safety. While in power, Shinawatra mass murdered upward to 3,000 people, including thousands during a 90-day "drug war" in 2003, over 80 protesters in a single day in 2004 and a wide range of political opponents and activists.

After being ousted from power in 2006, Shinawatra would deploy heavily armed militants in Bangkok in 2010 and again in 2013 and 2014 in a violent bid to seize back and hold political power. Over 100 would die during the violence.

The West's Weaponisation of Corruption Indexes

October 9, 2016 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - For the Southeast Asian state of Thailand, overcoming corruption could be one of several essential steps required to fully tap the human and natural resources this already influential ASEAN state has benefited from for centuries. However, to tackle corruption, the nation must first define what it is, and what it hopes to achieve by confronting and overcoming it.

Currently, the focus unfortunately appears to be on addressing Thailand's score upon the so-called Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) put out by alleged nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Transparency International.

Transparency International Leverages CPI as a Geopolitical Weapon 

Despite describing itself as an NGO, Transparency International's funding is dominated by the governments of the United States and the European Union.

More specifically, as listed on Transparency International's own website, its funding comes specifically from the US State Department, the European Commission, the US State Department's National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and controversial Open Society, chaired by convicted financial criminal George Soros.

Such funding presents an alarming conflict of interest, considering that these are the same interests who, in Thailand and across the rest of ASEAN, have worked actively to overthrow governments and undermine local institutions, seeking to overwrite them with organisations and institutions promoted by and serving foreign interests via NED and Open Society specifically.

Thus, Thailand's score on the CPI is more a result of politically-motivated interference in Thailand's internal affairs than it is an honest appraisal of the nation's corruption. Thailand's low score and pressure placed upon it by the West to improve this score results not from genuine concern regarding corruption, but instead from the fact that the current government successfully ousted a regime sponsored by and working for Western special interests.

Why is a Hong Kong "Activist" in Bangkok?

Joshua Wong's arrest at a Bangkok airport is portrayed as a slight against "democracy," yet the US-funded and backed agitator undermines his own principles of "self-determination" by meddling in another nation's politics. 

Joshua Wong.

October 5, 2016 (The New Atlas) - Thai PBS in its article, "HK democracy activist Joshua Wong detained in Bangkok," would claim:

Wong, 19, famed for his galvanising role in the city’s 2014 pro-democracy “umbrella movement”, was held as he landed at the airport late Tuesday, his party Demosisto said in a statement, citing a Thai student activist, Netiwit Chotipatpaisal, who was due to meet him. 

Wong was invited by Thai student activists to take part at an event marking the anniversary of a military crackdown in October 1976. 

Demosisto “strongly condemns the Thai government for unreasonably limiting Wong’s freedom and right to entry, and requests the immediate release of Wong,” the statement said.

What Thai PBS fails to mention is that Joshua Wong and his party, "Demosisto," are US-funded and directed, and represent Western interests attempting to subvert Chinese control over its own territory of Hong Kong, as well as undermine national sovereignty across the entire Asian region.

Indeed, the entire "Occupy Central" movement, also referred to as the "Umbrella Revolution," was led by US-backed opposition figures, including Joshua Wong, Benny Tai and Martin Lee, the latter of which was literally in Washington D.C. lobbying for backing just months before the 2014 protest began.

West Backs Dangerous Myanmar-style Attempt to Divide Thailand Along Religious Lines

(George Soros chairs & funds the Crisis Group)

August 23, 2016 (The New Atlas) - Matthew Wheeler of the International Crisis Group (sometimes referred to as ICG or simply, the Crisis Group), recently wrote an editorial in the New York Times titled, "Can Thailand Really Hide a Rebellion?" The editorial took a coercive tone, with its final paragraph appearing almost as a threat, stating:

It would be shortsighted and self-defeating of the generals running Thailand to insist on dismissing these latest attacks as a partisan vendetta unconnected to the conflict in the south. They should recognize the insurgency as a political problem requiring a political solution. That means restoring the rights of freedom of expression and assembly to Thai citizens, engaging in genuine dialogue with militants, and finding ways to devolve power to the region.

Wheeler's editorial intentionally misleads readers with various distortions and critical omissions, mischaracterising Thailand's ongoing political crisis almost as if to fan the flames of conflict, not douse them as is the alleged mission of the Crisis Group.

Wheeler's recommendations to allow violent opposition groups back into the streets for another cycle of deadly clashes (which have nothing to do with the southern insurgency) while "devolving power" to armed insurgents in the deep south appear to be a recipe for encouraging a much larger crisis, not resolving Thailand's existing problems.

Wheeler never provides evidence linking the bombings to the insurgency or provides any explanation as to why the insurgency, after decades of confining its activities to Thailand's southern most provinces, would escalate its violence so dramatically. Wheeler also intentionally sidesteps any mention of evidence or facts that indeed indicate a "partisan vendetta."

Instead, his narrative matches almost verbatim that promoted by the primary suspects behind the bombings, ousted former-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his political supporters.

Wheeler's distortions include an intentional omission of the scale of violence Shinawatra and his followers have carried out in the past, as well as the political significance of the provinces targeted in the recent bombings in connection to Shinawatra's conflict with the current ruling government, not the insurgency's,

The provinces targeted represented political strongholds of anti-Shinawatra political leaders and activists, all of whom have no connection at all to the ongoing conflict in Thailand's deep south.

Crisis Group is Covering up an Engineered Buddhist-Muslim Conflict

More alarming are Wheeler's attempts to cite growing tensions in Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai between Buddhists and Muslims as evidence, he claims, of the real dimensions of Thailand's conflict. Wheeler is attempting to claim Thailand is experiencing a potential nationwide religious divide, separate from Shinawatra's struggle to seize back power.

Thailand Gets the Libya-Syria Treatment

August 14, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Just as the Western media attempted to hide the true nature of violence unfolding in Libya and Syria during the opening phases of the so-called "Arab Spring," it is now attempting to do likewise regarding the Southeast Asian country of Thailand.

Between August 11-12 and within a 24 hour period, several bombs detonated in four separate regions of Thailand including Trang, the resort city of Hua Hin, Phuket, and Surat Thani. Several deaths were reported and dozens were maimed as shrapnel tore through their bodies.

The Western media was quick to blame the violence on southern separatists - however - that low-intensity conflict over the course of several decades has never ventured into any of the areas recently struck. There also is a matter of no motive existing for such a drastic escalation.

What the Western media intentionally is omitting, however, or ambiguously referring to dozens of paragraphs down within their respective reports, is that the primary suspects are instead the US-backed opposition headed by ousted ex-Prime Minster Thaksin Shinawatra, his Pheu Thai political party (PTP), and his ultra-violent street front, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as "red shirts."

They possess the means and the motive, and the targets and timing also all point to them.

The areas hit are all strongholds of anti-Shinawatra sentiment, including areas with leadership who helped oust his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, from power in 2014. Hua Hin also serves as a second residence to the nation's highly-revered king who also serves as head of state.

The timing coincided with Thailand's Mothers' Day, which is also a day Thais celebrate their royal institution. Shinawatra and his followers have spent years attempting to undermine and overthrow this institution, seeking to replace it with a political dynasty headed by Shinawatra's family.

The attacks also take place just days after a democratic referendum overwhelmingly approved a new national charter that all but ended any prospects of Shinawatra returning to power.

Finally, there is also the matter of Shinawatra's enthusiastic use of violence and terrorism as political tools, on a scale much wider than ever seen in the nation's troubled southern region.

Thailand's Bombing: Likely Suspects

August 12, 2016 (The New Atlas) - Bombs rocked two tourist destinations in Thailand yesterday, in Trang and in the coastal city of Hua Hin. Several people are reportedly dead and many more are injured. The bombings have now been splashed across international headlines, likely at least temporary damaging Thailand's tourism sector, one of several likely objectives behind the attacks.

The most likely culprits are forces linked to ousted former-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his political party Pheu Thai and his street front, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD or "red shirts").

Shinawatra and his supporters suffered a significant defeat just days ago in a pivotal national referendum which saw the passing of a new charter that would all but end his party's prospects of returning to power.

In the past, when Shinawatra's forces have felt politically cornered, they have violently struck back. The move will harm the nation's economy, undermine the government's ability to maintain peace and stability, give the more radical elements of Shinawatra's movement a boost in morale and send a message to Shinawatra's opponents to come back to the table for talks rather than continue one with the systematic dismantling of his political party.

Shinawatra's History of Violence 

Shinawatra has a history of excessive violence, having led a "War on Drugs" in 2003 that leftnearly 3,000 people dead in under 90 days. The following year, Shinawatra would put down a protest in Thailand's troubled south, killing in excess of 80 people in a single day. Throughout his time in power and after being ousted amid a 2006 military coup, Shinawatra has systematically kidnapped, assassinated or otherwise "disappeared" his political opponents.

(Shinawatra's red shirts in 2009)

In 2009 he would organise protests in Bangkok which eventually unravelled into an orgy of looting and arson. Two would die, shot down by Shinawatra followers armed with pistols.

The following year, Shinawatra would again put protesters in the streets. This time he would augment them with approximately 300 heavily armed militants brandishing M16s, AK47s, hand grenades, M79 40mm grenade launchers and even rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

In-Depth: "Yes" Vote Corners Thailand's Opposition, Foreign Backers

August 8, 2016 (The New Atlas) - Thais took to the polls yesterday voting overwhelmingly in favour of a new national charter organised under the military-led interim government.

The interim government has attempted to restore peace and stability to the country since coming to power in 2014. Prior to 2014, Thailand has suffered nearly a decade of unprecedented political corruption, conflict, violence and instability under the influence of former-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his political party, Pheu Thai.

The new charter aims to further restrict the abuse of power possible under previous frameworks by introducing a more rigid system of checks and balances between elected and appointed members of government.

Voter turnout reached nearly 60% and despite attempts by Shinawatra supporters and the Western media to question the legitimacy of the vote citing "low voter turnout," it should be noted that the percentage of eligible voters to vote "yes" on the referendum matched closely to those in 2011 who voted for Shinawatra's Pheu Thai Party.

In 2011, the Western media characterised what was essentially only 35% of eligible voters backing Shinawatra's party, as a "landslide victory."

A possible explanation as to why the Western media favours Thaksin Shinawatra and has exhibited double standards in its reporting on Thailand, lies in the fact that Shinawatra had for years eagerly served US-European interests while in power. Today, Shinawatra exists as a convicted criminal living in self-exile to evade a two-year prison term and a raft of pending criminal charges, according to the London Guardian.

US Has Long-Favoured Shinawatra's Return to Power  

Wikileaks would reveal the US Embassy in Bangkok depicting Shinawatra as a stalwart ally of both Washington and Wall Street who genuinely believed he had a "special relationship" with America's political establishment.

Case Study: How Amnesty International Turns Predators into Victims

August 6, 2016 (The New Atlas) - Amnesty International strongly condemned tomorrow's referendum regarding Thailand's new charter aimed at moving the nation forward after over a decade of political chaos and now two military coups, the most recent having been in 2014.

Thailand's The Nation would report in an article titled, "Amnesty International questions reliability of referendum," would claim:

The Amnesty International has questioned the reliability of the Sunday referendum, pointing out it will be held under “chilling climate” when the people cannot speak their minds freely. 

In its press statement issued Friday, the Amnesty International said the referendum is taking place "against a backdrop of pervasive human rights violations that have created a chilling climate". It said the Thai authorities have arbitrarily arrested scores of people, have cancelled or disrupted peaceful assemblies and took off the air a television station in recent weeks. 

It said these incidents were just the most recent undue restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.

However, what Amnesty International does not say is that the arrests were not "arbitrary," and instead targeted supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now a convicted criminal living in self-exile to evade a 2 year jail sentence and a raft of other pending criminal charges, according to the London Guardian. 

Amnesty also fails to mention that the "peaceful assemblies" and the "television station" they referred to are also both organised and run directly by Thaksin Shinawatra and his political forces.

Amnesty International, based in the United Kingdom, would likely find it difficult to defend a political party in England run openly by a convicted criminal living abroad who regularly organised attempts to subvert state power including through the use of armed terrorism.

So one wonders why Amnesty International obfuscates the fact that this is precisely what Shinawatra has done in regards to Thailand, and why Amnesty believes arresting and disrupting the activities of those involved in such subversion amounts to "pervasive human rights violations"rather than the impartial application of the rule of  law.

Amnesty International's Convenient Omissions 

According to Wikileaks, the US Embassy itself noted a string of terrorism carried out by the supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra leading up to and in the wake of the first military coup aimed at ousting him and his political forces from power in 2006.

In one cable titled, "Thai Government Ascribes Bombings to Political Opponents," the US Embassy in Bangkok would admit:

Many observers will find it plausible that Thaksin or his supporters may have orchestrated bombings in order to discredit those who overthrew him. During the last two years of Thaksin's administration, there were numerous incidents in which bombs were placed at Bangkok sites associated with Thaksin's opponents...

In the cable, at least 5 separate incidents were listed.

Since then, Shinawatra has deployed violent mobs into the streets on a number of occasions, the most notable of which occurred in 2009, 2010, and between 2013-2014.

(For now over a decade, Thailand opposition groups (called "red shirts") have repeatedly depended on Western human rights advocates to pressure the government into allowing widespread protests which then are inevitably used as cover for armed violence. Today, Amnesty International is attempting to reignite the violent cycle once again.)

Thai Vote This Sunday Will Further Weaken "Thaksin Forces"

August 5, 2016 (The New Atlas) - Australian-based lecturer of Southeast Asian history, Dr. Patrick Jory, once wrote during Thailand's 2013-2014 street protests against embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, that it was"getting closer to game over" for Thailand's traditional institutions, and that the initiative was held by what he called, the "Thaksin forces."

In hindsight, Jory's flawed and uninformed analysis seems almost comical. Had he truly assessed the strengths and weaknesses of Thailand's opposing camps, rather than tallied up the perceived authority and legitimacy each side held, he might have seen the critical weaknesses of his so-called "Thaksin forces," and the likelihood that they, not Thailand's institutions, were in grave danger. 

With this Sunday's charter vote coming up, that danger is deepening even further, allowing Thailand's institutions to restore both a balance of political power, and something resembling peace and stability most Thais now desperately crave.

The Weakness of the Thaksinists 

In the 2011 elections which led to Thaksin Shinawatra's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra coming to power, a meagre 35% of the eligible electorate would cast votes for Shinawatra's Pheu Thai Party. In fact, Pheu Thai failed to secure even a popular majority during the election.

Upcoming Thai Referendum is a Key to Wider Asian Stability

August 4, 2016 (The New Atlas) - An upcoming referendum regarding Thailand's new charter is predicted to further move the country toward greater political stability whether or not the charter passes this latest vote.

That is because, should the charter pass the vote, it will validate the current interim government's vision for moving the country forward after a successful military coup in 2014. Should the charter fail to pass, it will give the current government yet more time to work out a more agreeable charter before putting it to a vote again in the near future.

Either way, what will not happen in the near future is a return to political instability triggered by elections contested by controversial political parties like Pheu Thai, still openly run by convicted-criminal and self-exiled ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin Shinawatra's rise and fall from power between 2001-2006 was marked by immense and transparent abuse of power, a rash of mass killings between 2003-2004 that left nearly 3,000 dead according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and a concerted attempt to consolidate political power, contravening the checks and balances common in modern representative governments.

In the wake of the first of two military coups aimed at removing Shinawatra and his political allies from power, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison. The London Guardian would report in their 2008 article, "Former Thai PM Thaksin found guilty of corruption," that:

Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was today sentenced to two years' imprisonment in absentia over a corrupt land deal. 

In a ruling that made him the first Thai politician to be convicted of corruption committed while prime minister, Thaksin was found to have violated conflict of interest rules in helping his wife buy land from a state agency at a reduced price.

The Guardian also reported that in addition to this criminal conviction, Shinawatra still faced "a raft of other corruption charges." 

The Dirty Business of US-Funded "Election Monitors"

July 30, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Thailand faces an upcoming referendum regarding a new national charter meant to put the country back on track after over a decade of political conflict revolving around US-backed proxy Thaksin Shinawatra. Shinawatra and his foreign sponsors have increased pressure on the Thai government as the vote in early August nears.

This includes maneuvering into place overt fronts engaged in political agitation, and leveraging the West's monopoly over the international media to portray any attempt to crackdown on such fronts as heavy-handed and unjust.

Bangkok-based English newspaper the Nation in their article, "Thai junta refuses to accredit election monitors in referendum vote," reports that:

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) said that repeated attempts to gain accreditation to monitor the August 7 referendum, Thailand’s first trip to the polls since the military took power in 2014, were met with silence.

What the Nation does not report is who ANFREL is, who funds them, or the obvious conflicts of interest involved in their "monitoring" work across all of Asia, including Thailand. 

ANFREL is funded by the US State Department through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), USAID, convicted financial criminal George Soros' "Open Society Institution" (OSI), and even the Australian government and the British Embassy.

This is according to ANFREL's own annual reports, this one from 2010 (.pdf), where they admit on page 7 (11 of 33 of the pdf) that:

Regarding the budget for 2010, NED has provided supported for administration expenses while other activities have been supported on a project by project basis by AusAid, USAID, OSI, Euro-Burma, Netherlands Embassy, TAF, Misereor and the British Embassy.

ANFREL's 2011 report also makes mention of US State Department NED subsidiary, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), on page 5 (3/30 of the .pdf). In all of ANFREL's annual reports, none of these organizations are mentioned by their full names, and in no part of the annual reports are ANFREL's financial sponsors fully and transparently enumerated.

ANFREL's local affiliate in Thailand, PNet (under the Open Forum for Democracy Foundation (GNDEM)), is also openly funded by the US government. On GNDEM's own website, it states:

GNDEM appreciates the support provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the support that the NED and USAID have provided to the process surrounding the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations.

One wonders whose best interests are served by such "monitoring" groups who apparently cannot find any support in the very region they supposedly serve, and instead rely entirely on foreign funding from nations who have historically sought to control and subjugate Asia, its people, and their resources.  

ANFREL Picks Sides, So is Incapable of Impartial "Monitoring" 

More alarming than ANFREL's foreign sponsors or the fact that it serves as an instrument for foreign interests to interfere with the internal political affairs of sovereign nations in Asia - particularly in light of the US' own allegations that Russia is doing likewise in regards to US elections - is the fact that the US State Department, the NED, NDI, and Open Society are also engaged in funding overt opposition groups across Asia, including in Thailand.

Behind West's Biased Coverage of Asia

July 28, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) As the US loses ground in Asia, between its failure to coerce states to adopt its Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, and its inability to garner greater support for its manufactured crisis in the South China Sea, it has doubled down on efforts to undermine and replace governments in the region it perceives as obstructive to its regional "primacy." 

Paramount to this process of undermining and removing governments, is the targeting and manipulation of public perception. This has always been an essential ingredient for special interests throughout human history. Today, the sophistication through which this is done is unprecedented. While all nations do this to a certain extent, the West has, by far, the largest and widest range of activities dedicated to this purpose.

Policy and objectives set out by corporate-financier funded think tanks are translated into media headlines and campaigns carried out by everyone from large Western news networks to hired bloggers and lobbyists posing as independent third parties. Together, this concerted effort is meant to maximize perceived credibility, and can even take a non-news event, and turn it into a minor crisis.

Just such an example has been exposed, just days before a crucial referendum in Thailand regarding the Southeast Asia nation's new charter.

The new charter is meant to set the nation back on course after over a decade of political instability rooted in the rise and fall of US-backed billionaire, mass murderer, and convicted criminal Thaksin Shinawatra. Should the charter pass, it will deliver yet another blow to a political machine the US has invested heavily in for over a decade, and further contribute to the US' geopolitical retreat from the region as a whole.

While the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey locks away thousands of political opponents, and even ponders executions for them with only muted protest from the West's politicians and media networks, a single alleged arrest in Thailand set off a minor firestorm across the Western media - highlighting the biased, politically-motivated nature of so-called Western journalism and how it seeks to misshape public perception at every given opportunity.

Behind the Scenes 

Bangkok police allegedly detained the wife of UK-based ex-Reuters editor Andrew Marshall briefly for questioning on July 22, before releasing her the same day. Despite the hysterical headlines that followed in the Western media, there were some essential details intentionally left out.

Marshall himself was fired from Reuters in 2011 after he and a colleague were caught mocking female victims of the horrific Fukushima disaster with racist and misogynist jokes. A 10 page appeal letter penned by Marshall (pdf) attempted to blame his actions on drug and alcohol abuse, as well as claims of deep mental illness. Since his dismissal from Reuters, he has served as a lobbyist for US-backed dictator Thaksin Shinawatra and his violent "red shirt" movement, serving as an ever-ready "expert" to provide spin for US, British, and Australian news networks eager to portray Shinawatra as a progressive  democrat.

America's "Human Rights" Racket in Action

July 6, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Southeast Asia's Thailand has been racked by political conflict for now over a decade. During the rise and fall of US-backed political proxy Thaksin Shinawatra, there have been numerous protests and counter-protests, two military coups aimed at dislodging the despot and his deep political and paramilitary networks, and episodes of violence involving heavily armed terrorists deployed by Shinawatra in a bid to cling to power.

Image: Despite claims of being "independent," Amnesty International is both funded and directed by Western governments with a clear and present "revolving door" between the US State Department and the highest levels of Amnesty's organization. Pictured above is Susan Nossel at her Amnesty job, and her US State Department job. 

During each and every episode of violence, Shinawatra - a convicted criminal and accused mass murderer - and his armed proxies, received various levels of support from his Western backers.

First, they received a virtual media blackout across Western news networks. There is one infamous news broadcast by CNN's Dan Rivers in which he sets out to find Shinawatra's armed gunmen, known locally as the "men in black" in an attempt to prove stories of their existence was manufactured by the Thai military as a pretext to crackdown on what he repeatedly referred to as unarmed protesters.

At one point during the broadcast, almost comically, he is forced to take cover as a 40mm grenade strikes nearby, launched by the militants he insinuates didn't exist.

Similar charades have played out elsewhere around the world - particularly in Syria - where Western news services have played a direct role in concealing the existence, nature, and activities of terrorist groups operating on behalf of Western geopolitical objectives.

Second, the West's extensive network of alleged "human rights" advocacy groups have been engaged in a politically-motivated, biased campaign to portray Shinawatra and his supporters as victims of human rights abuses, and those attempting restore peace and stability to the country as "human rights violators."

Image: The Western media as well as Western "human rights" advocates have played a direct role in covering up for, spinning, or otherwise excusing actual human rights abuses, including terrorism and mass murder carried out by US proxies.

This became particularly transparent during Thailand's political crisis when between 2013-2014 hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest and call for the departure of Thaksin Shinawatra's nepotist appointed sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, from office.

GT200: How London Sold Fake Bomb Detectors and Got People Killed

The UK proves that power and profits come before the lives of even its own allies' soldiers and police.

June 23, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - LD) - The GT200 is an otherwise useless plastic box that does nothing with equally useless "sensor cards" that serve no discernible function.

Image: Faced with mounting violence in Thailand's deep south, the government in Bangkok placed its trust in its British allies. It is clear that this trust was not only misplaced, but shamefully used and abused by London in a multi-million dollar scam involving the British military, government, and diplomatic corps.

Despite this fact, UK-based Global Technical and an array of salesmen ranging from experts in the British military serving as equipment export support teams, to British ambassadors, to even the British government's Department of Trade and Industry (now renamed the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) peddled the useless item as a "bomb detector," putting lives at risk in the nations they were peddled in, and even costing the lives of hundreds including dead police and soldiers in both Iraq and Thailand.

In Thailand, amid the wake of the scandal, US and British backed media services have attempted to capitalize on the political fallout, laying the blame squarely on the Thai government, never mentioning the central role of the British government in promoting the useless and ultimately deadly device.

Critics of the Royal Thai Army and the current government have seized upon the scandal to opportunistically and dishonestly undermine both, with some even going as far as blaming the soldiers who risked their lives in the restive southern provinces of Thailand while employing the fraudulent British-made GT200.

The BBC and Guardian Expose the UK Government's Role 

While the BBC's Jonathan Head in Thailand politically wields the GT200 scandal against the Thai government and its military exclusively, the BBC itself has exposed the breadth and depth of the UK government's involvement.

Asia: US "Pivot" Turns to Panic

June 20, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - US foreign policy in Asia Pacific has centered around the so-called "Pivot to Asia," initially rolled out as an alleged means for the US to strengthen ties with Asia, but was incrementally revealed as the latest leg in a decades-long attempt to encircle and contain China by overrunning the socioeconomic and political sovereignty of its neighbors, thus maintaining what US policymakers themselves refer to as American "primacy over Asia."

It is no surprise then that nations across Asia have responded negatively to the "Pivot." What gains the US has made, have been made through coercion, political subversion, and even terrorism - and this is done in front of an increasingly geopolitically aware Asian population.

Yet despite this, the US appears to still be struggling against both Asia's overall desire to cooperate among themselves, and their own "pivots" toward alternative centers of power, in Beijing, Moscow, and beyond.

Panicking Policymakers 

Thailand's English language newspaper, the Bangkok Post, has recently transformed its coverage almost entirely pro-Washington, London, and Brussels. It regularly posts op-eds lobbying for various US and European interests. A recent op-ed, published by regular Washington apologist Achara Ashayagachat, titled, "Despite gains, China still second fiddle to West, analysts say ," claims:

Thai military rule may complicate and weaken Asean's position in the international security setting, but the gestures made to date by the junta should not be seen as a shift from the western-allied camp to China, analysts caution.

Achara never qualifies why Thailand's current government "complicates or weakens ASEAN's position in the international security setting," aside from implying that anything running contra to Washington's interests, thus runs afoul of "international order."

Achara attempts to conclude - based on several US-based analysts' opinions - that several delayed deals between Thailand and China signifies a lack of any real shift from West to East for Bangkok. She also attempts to conclude that Thailand is increasingly becoming "isolated" as the US shifts its attention toward the governments and sociopolitical systems of the Philippines, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

However, in reality, the shift from West to East is not recent for Thailand, or many other nations in Southeast Asia. It has been gradual - in tandem with China's growing influence and Beijing's ability to provide equitable alternatives to US "free trade" and compromising military "partnerships."