Not All Is Well With Thai Youth

The drug trade has flourished….with the number of drug-related cases rising by 63 percent in the two years after the 2006 military coup to 150,000 cases in 2008, the latest full year for which figures are available.
“Our country is going to rank at the top of Southeast Asia — in drugs, teenage pregnancy and violence,” said Sompong Jitradub, a lecturer in education at Chulalongkorn University and one of Thailand’s leading educationalists.
Thailand’s scores are well behind those of Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea, which have successfully made the transition from poverty to prosperity. Since 2007, student performance in Thailand’s so-called O-Net national exams has fallen steadily in all five core subjects: Thai, math, science, social studies and English. » From this New York Times article - By Thomas Fuller – Published: August 24, 2010

Thailand’s answer: martial law will continue for another three months, Abhisit’s military-backed government decided

Thailand’s army-backed government is now wielding overwhelming surveillance, imprisonment, censorship and other “state of emergency” powers across much of this Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation. The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, commonly known as the Red Shirts, acknowledge that they have been strangled and are struggling to stay alive. Thousands of cameras are to be installed all over Bangkok, making it probably the most heavily surveilled city in Asia.
“The government’s use of terrorism charges to go after Red Shirt leaders, as well as Thaksin, is inappropriate for what was mostly a peaceful political movement that did not target civilians,” said the Belgium-based International Crisis Group on July 5.
The emergency decree, described by the ICG as “draconian,” conveniently also “grants officials immunity from prosecution,” the ICG said. » The full Asia Sentinel article – By Richard S. Ehrlich – July 8, 2010

Looking back:

Would Abhisit’s party, which hasn’t won a nationwide poll since 1992, be in power if their “yellow shirted” supporters had not hijacked the airports and held them hostage for 8 days in 2008 stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers?
None of the “yellow shirts” have been convicted for shutting down the airports, nor have inquiries been made to identify and take action against their financial backers. The cable station they use was not closed nor have any of their print publications been banned, whereas persistent and vengeful government attacks have blocked or closed down communications of those that oppose the current government.

BBC News, Bangkok -

The government continues to demonise the red-shirts as “terrorists”, or mere followers of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Prof Thitinan Pongsudhirak believes it is too late for Mr Abhisit. “He had his chance last year and has not been able to get the job done. In fact he has further alienated the reds,” the political scientist from Chulalongkorn University said.
Those fearful of further violence argue that Thai society is more divided now than it was two months ago, because the protests lasted so long, and the denouement was so violent. » The full BBC article – By Vaudine England.

• The Learning Foundation – Who chooses the way a country is governed? –
  “It’s my country – I can do what I want!” – A Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.
• The Learning Foundation – Making Good Laws: “Is the Thai Constitution credible?” -
  Go to this Building a Healthy Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network – Democracy in Action –
  Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government. Their learning is further enhanced by reflecting on what has transpired in these countries to date. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network – The Political is Personal –
  Overview | Students explore their own personal political philosophies by identifying events, people and experiences that have helped shape their beliefs and writing an essay. Go to this Building Society and ESL Lesson.