"Cosi Fan Tutte" at the Siam Society

Siam Society. Bangkok, Thailand. February 22, 2012. Students from the voice performance department of Mahidol University College of Music, presented selections from Mozart’s comic opera, “Cosi Fan Tutte.” While not mature singers, they were, nonetheless, quite good and accomplished. It was a delightful evening at the Siam Society. These students will present a fully staged performance of this wonderful opera, with orchestra, in March, and I think I’ll go see it.

An Activist Wildlife Hero Speaks Out

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. February 22, 2012. One of the most disgraceful and sad situations existing in Thailand is the cruel trafficking of protected wildlife, such as elephants, tigers, bears, pangolins, and monkeys. This illegal trade exists in two forms: the killing of the wildlife and the harvesting of body parts for supposed medicinal purposes, and for fertility, potency and sexual potions. Trade is worldwide and Thailand acts as a regional and international export hub. The amounts of money involved at all levels of this illegal activity, is staggering. Thankfully, there are foreign NGO’s which are dedicated to stamping out the trade and rescuing and protecting captured and tortured animals. I have attended many presentations at the FCCT, which detail the problems and outline some of the steps being taken to solve them. Unfortunately, little has been accomplished and much needs to be done.

The illegal trafficking exists only because of corruption. At many levels of the trade, the criminals are protected and enabled by bribed government officials. Dutchman Edwin Wiek, who runs a wildlife sanctuary for the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand (WFFT), recently spoke out publicly about the poaching of baby wild elephants from protected areas in the national parks, and their eventual sale to elephant camps in Thailand catering to tourists. The price obtained for a trained illegal baby elephant is about $30,000-$50,000. The result of his going public was that WFFT's sanctuary was raided by armed police over a period of several days, Wiek’s wife was arrested, and many animals were seized by the police. They claimed, falsely, that Wiek was harboring illegal and undocumented animals. Just to make their point, which is to intimidate anyone from speaking out, the police also raided the elephant home run by Netherlands activist Antonette van de Water, whom I heard speak at the FCCT previously, and whose book “The Great Elephant Escape” I’ve purchased.

The police actions against Wiek are scary and show the ugly underside of corruption, which some people excuse as just another cost of doing business in Thailand. Following his oral presentation, Wiek showed a film of how baby elephants are tortured and abused in order to turn them into trained elephants who can obey commands and cater to tourists. Suffice it to say, that the bloody torture of these animals was so cruel, and the suffering so manifest, that I had to leave the FCCT before it was over. It was just too much cruelty for me to watch.

Wiek and others like him maintain that they will fight on. I hope that they do.

The TPO Returns After the Floods

German-Japanese violinist Koh Gabriel Kameda signs autographs following his performance of the Glazunov Violin Concerto

Mahidol Salaya Campus. Nakhonpathom, Thailand. February 18, 2012. The campus was hard hit by the floods and was under several feet of water. The first several concerts of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2012-13 season were canceled. In this, my first trip back since the floods ended, I was pleased to see that there was no visible damage remaining. Certainly, the TPO was in fine form with an expressive and exciting performance of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2. The German-Japanese violinist, Koh Gabriel Kameda, performed Alexander Glazunov’s Violin Concerto in a minor, a work I had never heard before and am not eager to hear again. I’m looking forward to the rest of the TPO’s season, which guarantees beautiful music excellently played.

A Charming and Principled Anwar Ibrahim Addresses the FCCT

Anwar Ibrahim eats with FCCT members prior to his commentary

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. February 14, 2012. Anwar Ibrahim is a big name in this part of the world. He’s the leading opposition figure in Malaysia, where he heads a coalition which is trying the loose the hold that the ruling UNMO party has held for decades in Malaysia. Anwar himself was slated to be the prime minister, but he broke ranks with the Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s former strongman prime minister, and since then, the UNMO has arrested and jailed Anwar on trumped up charges at least twice.

With elections probably imminent, Anwar will again challenge the ruling UNMO party, but I don’t think that anyone believes that, in Malaysia’s sham democracy, he has much of a chance of becoming prime minister. Still, if he can keep out of jail and continue to present an alternative to UNMO, that in and of itself, could help Malaysia to become a truly democratic state.

Anwar has been a politician all of his life, first as a student leader, and he is charming and convincing. I think the sense of the audience at the FCCT was one of support for him, but, then again, Anwar may be better-known and better-liked abroad than he is in Malaysia.

Thai Government Whitewashing Bombing

Bangkok, Thailand. February 17, 2011. The three Iranian terrorists responsible for the bomb blasts in central Bangkok, have now been apprehended. One of them blew both of his legs off and is unconscious in a Bangkok hospital. Another was caught at the airport and is in jail. The third was caught after he escaped to Malaysia, where he is now being held. The Thai government is still maintaining that this is not terrorism, but the photos of the bombed out house where the terrorists were assembling bombs, has been circulated world wide, and the Thai authorities will, I believe, ultimately get their act together and face the realities of international terrorism.

Thailand Responds to Bomb Blasts with a “Good News” Publicity Blitz

Bangkok, Thailand. February 16, 2012. Although it’s too early to tell for sure what the intentions were of the three Iranian terrorists who exploded three bombs in central Bangkok, the initial public reaction of the Thai government was to try to downplay the incident as something other than a terrorist attack. In stead, according to the Thai government, at most it was a targeted assassination of the Israeli ambassador or other Israeli officials. This interpretation is supposed to calm Thais and all potential visitors to the kingdom, except, of course, the Israeli ambassador himself. No one need to worry about security in public places and Thailand is still safe for the 16 million tourists who are welcomed here with open arms, according to tourist officials.

There are few countries as easy for a foreigner to enter as Thailand. Nationals of many countries can just show up at immigration with a passport and receive a stamp permitting them a 30-day stay. The nationals of many other countries, including Iran, can also show up and receive a “visa on arrival” good for a 15-day visit. Iranian visitors to Thailand increased 20%-30% in the last three years. Once here, visitors can, and many do, overstay their visas, and there is virtually no attempt to search for or apprehend them. An overstay simply pays a relatively small fine when he exists the country.

A good beginning for Thailand would be for it to stop denying the threat of international terrorism, and to take measures to deal with it.

Bomb Blasts in Central Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand. February 15, 2012. I awoke this morning to the news that three bomb blasts had occurred in a residential area of Bangkok, not too far from my condo. Three Iranian terrorists were involved. It appears that the explosions were premature and that the terrorists had other targets in mind. Unfortunately, with its emphasis on welcoming tourists in ever greater numbers, anyone with a passport can come into Thailand and overstay without much fear of being caught. I’m watching this story with personal interest.