American Journalist Woodruff Explains Thailand
Can Thailand's International Reputation be Restored?
American Journalist Lance Woodruff addressing an IABC meeting
Wednesday May 29 at noon, I attended a luncheon meeting of the International Association of Business Communicators, where American journalist Lance Woodruff spoke on the topic "Can Thailand's international reputation be restored?" Woodruff is the English editor at the Thai News Agency, Thailand's largest news organization. He's had more than 40 years of experience as a journalist in Thailand and in this part of the world. In a low-keyed, measured tone, Woodruff made some telling points about the current political situation in Thailand:
1. The divisions in Thai society are deep and there are no apparent ways or mechanisms to heal them. They will not go away on their own or by the mere passage of time.
2. Recent events have done incalculable damage to Thailand's international reputation. The airport closure by the yellow shirts in December, which stranded 300,000 visitors for a week, followed by a mob storming the ASEAN summit meeting on April 11, during which foreign leaders, including the Chinese president, had to be evacuated, with reports of some wives crying from fear in hotel lobbies occupied by the mob, and the April 13 street violence and burnings in metropolitan Bangkok, were widely reported on CNN, BBC and other international media. Some Thais naively think that just because things are quiet now, tourists and foreign investments will return to prior levels, but not only is that not happening, but governmental efforts to mount traveling "dog and pony shows," are ineffectual. No one doubts the damage done to Thailand's reputation.
3. His Majesty the King is 82 years of age and is reported not to be in robust health. In the scheme of things, a transition can not be too far off. Yet, there is uncertainty what will happen when the revered King and stabilizing influence in Thai life is no longer on the throne. Most people look on that eventuality with trepidation.
4. The deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin is waiting in the wings in one foreign country or another, to which he has fled to avoid imprisonment after conviction on abuse of power charges, to return to Thailand where he enjoys substantial support. He could very well try to make himself "president for life." Cataclysmic events would have to occur in order for this to happen, but it remains a possibility.
5. Most scary of all was Woodruff's observation that at the present time, there is merely a lull in the internal conflict, and that when (not whether) it starts up again, it could be much worse than what has been experienced so far. Woodruff's view that today's peaceful Thailand will not last, is shared by most political commentators.
American Journalist Lance Woodruff addressing an IABC meeting
Wednesday May 29 at noon, I attended a luncheon meeting of the International Association of Business Communicators, where American journalist Lance Woodruff spoke on the topic "Can Thailand's international reputation be restored?" Woodruff is the English editor at the Thai News Agency, Thailand's largest news organization. He's had more than 40 years of experience as a journalist in Thailand and in this part of the world. In a low-keyed, measured tone, Woodruff made some telling points about the current political situation in Thailand:
1. The divisions in Thai society are deep and there are no apparent ways or mechanisms to heal them. They will not go away on their own or by the mere passage of time.
2. Recent events have done incalculable damage to Thailand's international reputation. The airport closure by the yellow shirts in December, which stranded 300,000 visitors for a week, followed by a mob storming the ASEAN summit meeting on April 11, during which foreign leaders, including the Chinese president, had to be evacuated, with reports of some wives crying from fear in hotel lobbies occupied by the mob, and the April 13 street violence and burnings in metropolitan Bangkok, were widely reported on CNN, BBC and other international media. Some Thais naively think that just because things are quiet now, tourists and foreign investments will return to prior levels, but not only is that not happening, but governmental efforts to mount traveling "dog and pony shows," are ineffectual. No one doubts the damage done to Thailand's reputation.
3. His Majesty the King is 82 years of age and is reported not to be in robust health. In the scheme of things, a transition can not be too far off. Yet, there is uncertainty what will happen when the revered King and stabilizing influence in Thai life is no longer on the throne. Most people look on that eventuality with trepidation.
4. The deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin is waiting in the wings in one foreign country or another, to which he has fled to avoid imprisonment after conviction on abuse of power charges, to return to Thailand where he enjoys substantial support. He could very well try to make himself "president for life." Cataclysmic events would have to occur in order for this to happen, but it remains a possibility.
5. Most scary of all was Woodruff's observation that at the present time, there is merely a lull in the internal conflict, and that when (not whether) it starts up again, it could be much worse than what has been experienced so far. Woodruff's view that today's peaceful Thailand will not last, is shared by most political commentators.
posted by Buzz at 1:08 PM
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