By Anna Lawattanatrakul |
<p>Prachatai English interviews Polish political scientist Rafał Pankowski, Associate Professor at the Collegium Civitas in Warsaw, head of the "Never Again" Association's East Europe Monitoring Centre, and Deputy Editor of Never Again's magazine about the rise of right-wing extremism in Central and Eastern Europe, its effects on the human rights situation, the role of social media, and the common challenges of our time.</p>
<p>The Royal Thai Army is conducting a programme to educate kindergarten children to be patriotic through the junta’s controversial nationalistic 12 Thai Values. </p>
<p>On 21 December 2016, Lt Col Phansak Phraewphanit, Commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 29 Army Regiment in Kanchanaburi Province, welcomed a group of 180 kindergarten children and their teachers to participate in a ‘Homeland Defence Battalion’ programme, <a href="http://www.matichon.co.th/news/402675">Matichon Online reported</a>.</p>
By Kornkritch Somjittranukit |
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<div>Thai soap operas play a crucial social role in constructing political ideas of nationalism, Buddhism and morality. This mechanism, however, is not a stagnant process. The recent airing of a nationalistic soap has shown how Thai soaps adapt to changing political contexts.
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<p>Pro-coup ultra-nationalists have attacked the Facebook page of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/usembassybkk">US Embassy in Bangkok</a> after the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific criticized the junta’s martial law, with some comments going as far as calling the US terrorists.</p>
By Thaweeporn Kummetha |
<div>Sulak talked about lèse majesté cases involved former kings, analyzed the ultra-royalists who hold narrow and nationalistic views of Thai history, the planned education reform, with more nationalistic, and royalist elements, the coup and succession.</div>
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<div>12 Thai Values in comparison to youth values promoted by other Southeast Asian member states</div>
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<p>After a group of students launched a campaign against the coup makers’ controversial nationalistic 12 Thai Values, which have been imposed on the curriculum, the military has intimidated a Grade 11 student in a bid to stop her from challenging the regime. The Education Minister also thinks the students might be abnormal.</p>
<p>The junta reportedly called the director of the school to ask about the student activist in order to pressure the school, while the student activist insisted on carrying on with her activities for academic freedom</p>
By Suluck Lamubol |
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<p>The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took to the stage at Sanam Luang with intense nationalism. Fiery nationalist rhetoric was stressed and repeated, while decades-old nationalist anti-communist songs were played throughout. The ‘Hun Sen Model’ was the latest term introduced to characterize the Cambodian leader. A larger rally was called for 5 Dec.</p>