Timeline Thailand: formerly Siam
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The capital is Bangkok. It is located on
a bend of the Chao Phraya River.
Within its borders once flourished the kingdoms of Sukhothai,
Ayuthaya and Lanna. The Thai language has 44 consonants and 32 vowels.
The country covers 513,000 sq km. Six main tribes inhabit the region:
Karen,
Hmong, Lahu, Lisu, Mien, and Akha. The Thai new year, Songkran,
is
celebrated in mid-April.
(WSJ, 11/22/95, p.A-7) (Hem., Nov. '95, p.33)(Hem., 3/97,
p.27-29)
12,000BC-10,000BC The site at Chiang
Saen indicates long term occupation that dates back to the late
Pleistocene.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
1000BC Ban Prasat pottery from the site at Prasat Hin
Phanom Wan dates to this time.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.H)
1000-1BC A cemetery at the Noen U-Loke site has
revealed jewelry, bronze and iron tools and pottery.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
500BC Black Phimai pottery and
bracelets indicate that the site of Prasat Hin Phanom Wan was occupied
at this time.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
300-200BC Ban Chaibadan on the Pasak River is one of
several sites that has archaeological remains that show the development
of a complex society.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
1-600AD The Non Muang Kao was a moated settlement of
this time.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
800-900 Sadokkokthom was a Khmer sanctuary on the
Thai-Cambodian border in the Aranyaphrathet region.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.H)
900-1000 The site of Prasat Hin Phanom Wan was an
important Khmer sanctuary in the Upper Mun River Valley of northeastern
Thailand.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
1200-1300 The site at Prang Ku was probably one of
108 hospital sites built by the Khmer king Jayavarman VII.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
c1200-1500 In 2005 researchers using mitochondrial
DNA estimated that 3-6 individuals founded the Mlabri hunter gatherers
of Northern Thailand about this time.
(Econ, 4/16/05, p.71)
1300-1400 A monarchy was established in Thailand.
(SFC, 6/10/96, C3)
1300-1700 Kilns at Intrakil date from the Lanna
kingdom of this time.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)
1351-1767 The port city of Ayutthaya (Thailand) was
one of the capitals of the kingdom of Siam until the Burmese invaded,
sacked the city and left it in ruins. The capital was then moved to
Bangkok. Prior to this Phananchoeng was the capital.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G)(WSJ, 4/21/05, p.D7)
1431 Thai armies invaded and
plundered the Khmer civilization at Angkor Thom in Cambodia. The court
moved south of the great lake Tonle Sap and later to Phnom Penh.
(SFEC, 7/26/98, p.T6)
1457 Pattani, later southern
Thailand, was declared an Islamic kingdom.
(AP, 9/23/05)
1534 The King of Siam died of
smallpox.
(SFC, 10/19/01, p.A17)
c1538 A colossal gilded statue of
Buddha was erected at Ayutthaya (Siam). It survived the sacking of the
city in 1767 and in 1854 was renamed Si Mongkhon Bophit by King Monghut.
(WSJ, 4/21/05, p.D7)
1548 In Thailand King Chakrapat
was saved by his wife Suriyothai, who maneuvered her elephant in front
of the invading Burmese King Tabinshweeti and took the sword thrust
intended for her husband. The historical film “Suriyothai” was directed
by Chatri Chalerm Yukol and premiered in August, 2001. It was about the
16th Queen Suriyothai who saved her husband King Thianracha during a
war with invaders from Myanmar.
(SFC, 9/30/99, p.E6)(WSJ, 8/30/01, p.A11)(SFC,
7/3/03, p.E1)
1569 Burmese King Bayinnaung
invaded Thailand and took as hostage Princess Suphankalaya. It was
later believed that the princess gave up her freedom in exchange for
her kingdom's independence from Burma. In 1999 The Thai government
offered to help Burma restore a palace in exchange for information
about the princess.
(SFEC, 7/4/99, p.A11)
1571 Siam’s Naresuan the Great (8)
was taken hostage by Burmese invaders. It was the custom of the time
for the victorious nation in a battle to take a royal child of the
defeated monarch home as insurance against further aggression.
(www.muaythaionline.org/disciplines/naresuan1.html)
1590 Prince Naresuan (35) became
King upon the death of his father (the puppet monarch). Naresuan
continued to drive the Burmese from the Kingdom of Ayutthaya
(Siam-Thailand).
(www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/two-great-kings.html)
1767 Burmese invaded the port city
of Ayutthaya (Siam-Thailand), sacked the city and left it in ruins. The
capital was then moved to Bangkok.
(WSJ, 4/21/05, p.D7)
1782 The Wat Phra Kaew Temple was
built in Bangkok, Thailand. It houses the most sacred image of Thai
Buddhism, the Emerald Buddha.
(Hem, 3/95, p.58)(SFCM, 9/23/07, p.22)
1782 The Grand Palace was built by
King Rama I on the Chao Phraya River. The city of Bangkok grew up
around it.
(SFEC, 7/16/00, p.T14)
1800-1900 King Chulalongkorn enacted reforms that
espoused entrepreneurism, hard work, and self-reliance. King Mongkut
accepted the fealty of his subjects, but also pledged his loyalty to
them.
(Hem., Nov. '95, p.33)(SFC, 6/10/96, C3)
1828 Siamese forces invaded Laos.
(SFEC, 8/28/98, p.T4)
1833 Mar 20, the United States and
Siam (now Thailand) concluded a commercial treaty in Bangkok.
(AP, 3/20/97)
1834 Pres. Jackson had special
1804 silver dollars minted for the sultan of Muscat (later Oman) and
the King of Siam (later Thailand) for trade treaties negotiated by
Edmund Roberts.
(SFEC, 8/8/99, p.A6)
1851 Rama IV (d.1868) began his
rule over Siam and played off European powers against each other.
(Econ, 1/10/04, p.76)
1854 King Monghut, a devout
reformist, renamed the colossal gilded statue of Buddha at Ayutthaya
(Siam) to Si Mongkhon Bophit.
(WSJ, 4/21/05, p.D7)
1868 Oct 1, Rama IV, [Phra
Chomklao Chaoyuhua], died at 63. He served as king of Siam (Thailand)
from 1851-68. His son Chulalongkorn, Rama V (d.1910), took over and
encouraged the beginnings of a modern state.
(MC, 10/1/01)(Econ, 1/10/04, p.76)
1895 Anna Leonowens wrote her
memoirs that included King Rama IV. These memoirs formed the basis for
the 1946 film “Anna and the King of Siam,” the Broadway musical
“The King and I” and the 1956 film “The King and I.” Leonowens was at
the court of King Mongkut.
(Hem., Nov. '95, p.34)(SFC, 11/10/98, p.E4)(SFC,
9/30/99, p.E6)
1902 Thailand annexed 3 southern
provinces, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, that had been part of a Malay
Muslim sultanate called the Kingdom of Pattani.
(SFC, 1/23/04, p.A7)(Econ, 6/4/05, p.40)
1904 The Siam Society, a bastion
of Thai culture, was founded.
(WSJ, 3/5/97, p.A16)
1910 Oct 23, The reign of King
Chulalongkorn (Rama V) ended. He had introduced state corporations as a
way to modernize Thailand. Rama V (b.1853) lived in the Vimanmek
Mansion in Bangkok. It was made entirely of golden teak wood. King
Vajiravudh succeeded his father as Rama VI.
(SFC, 7/9/99, p.A12)(Econ, 3/20/10,
p.27)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chulalongkorn)
1923 King Rama VI wrote the poetic
drama “Madanabhada.” The 5-act play was dedicated to one of his queen.
In 2001 Somtow Sucharitkul premiered it in opera form.
(WSJ, 3/15/00, p.A16)
1923 The Bangkok Snake Farm was
established to help Thais co-exist with native poisonous snakes. Venom
was harvested to produce antivenin. It is the 2nd oldest such farm in
the world. An older one was in Brazil.
(SFEC, 3/15/98, p.T5)
1927 Dec 5, King Bhumibol
Adulyadej was born.
(SFC, 12/6/99, p.A14)
1932 Jun 24, A coup ended the
absolute monarchy in Thailand.
(http://countrystudies.us/thailand/19.htm)(SFC,
5/28/96, p.A17)
1932 Jun 27, In Thailand King
Prajadhipok (Rama VII) signed a new provisional constitution. The
absolute power of kings ended and a constitutional monarchy began. By
2008 Thailand had gone thru 17 permanent or temporary constitutions.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Thailand)(Econ, 5/24/08,
p.27)
1932 Jun 29, Siam’s army seized
Bangkok and announced an end to the absolute monarchy.
(HN, 6/29/98)
1932-2001 The country experienced 16 successful
military coups, 17 constitutions and 23 prime ministers.
(SFC, 1/6/01, p.A8)
1933 Silpakorn, Thailand’s largest
fine arts university, was founded by the Italian sculptor Corrado
Feroci.
(WSJ, 3/5/97, p.A16)
1935 Mar 2, King Prajadhipok
abdicated and left for England. He was replaced by Ananda Mahidol
(1925-1946), who became Rama VIII.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mahidol)
1939 Siam became Thailand. [see
1949]
(Hem., 3/97, p.27)
1941 Japanese forces land in
Thailand. After negotiations Thailand allows Japanese to advance
towards British-controlled Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Burma.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1243059.stm)
1942 Thailand declared war on
Britain and US, but Thai ambassador in Washington refuses to deliver
declaration to US government.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1243059.stm)
1943 Oct 25, Japanese
forces held an official ceremony for the 415-km Thailand-Burma
railroad. The rail was completed Oct 17 at Konkuita, Thailand.
During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and
were buried along the “Death Railway.” An estimated 80,000 to 100,000
civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labor
brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam
(Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar). The movie “The Bridge on the River
Kwai” (1957) was a part of this effort and is today a big tourist
attraction in Thailand.
(www.bmw.ukf.net/3pagodas/TBRandON.htm)
1944 Jun 5, The first B-29 bombing
raid struck the Japanese rail line in Bangkok, Thailand.
(HN, 6/5/98)
1944 The Bangkok Bank was founded.
In 2004 it was Thailand’s biggest commercial lender and the
Sophonpanich family, whose patriarch helped found the bank, still owned
10-20%.
(WSJ, 5/19/04, p.A16)
1945 At the end of World War II
Thailand was compelled to return territory it had seized from Laos,
Cambodia and Malaya. The exiled King Ananda returned.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1243059.stm)
1945-1949 A series of wars for independence during
this period spread from India to Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and
Singapore. In 2007 Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper authored “Forgotten
Wars: Freedom and Revolution in Southeast Asia.”
(WSJ, 8/9/07, p.D7)
1946 Jun 9, In Thailand King
Ananda was assassinated. Bhumibol Adulyadej (b.1927) ascended the
throne as a teenage King after his older brother’s death.
(SFC, 6/10/96, C3)(AP, 6/12/06)
1946 The film “Anna and the King
of Siam” starred Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne and was directed by John
Cromwell.
(TVM, 1975, p.19)(SFC, 11/10/98, p.E4)
1947 In Thailand Phibun Songkhram,
a wartime pro-Japanese leader, led a Military coup. The military retain
power until 1973.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1243059.stm)
1949 May 11, Siam changed its
named to Thailand. [see 1939]
(AP, 5/11/97)
1949 Thailand’s Grand Palace Coup
took place.
(Econ, 1/10/04, p.76)
1950 May 21, French sources
reported that Viet Minh guerrillas had infiltrated Cambodia and opened
an arms-smuggling corridor to Thailand.
(www.geocities.com/khmerchronology/1950.htm)
1951 Thailand’s Manhattan Coup
took place, named after a ship stormed by coup leaders.
(Econ, 1/10/04, p.76)
1954 Albert Pickerell (d.1999 at
86) served in Thailand as a Fulbright lecturer and helped establish a
School of Journalism at Thammasatt Univ.
(SFC, 2/19/99, p.A19)
1954 Sep 8, SEATO (Southeast Asia
Treaty Organization), a sister organization to NATO, was created under
the Manila Pact by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, to
stop communist spread in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos).
The United States, Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, the
Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand signed the mutual defense treaty.
SEATO dissolved in 1977.
(HNQ, 4/2/01)(http://tinyurl.com/hpawj)
1955 Feb 23, Eight nations (the
United States, Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, the
Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand) met in Bangkok for the first SEATO
council.
(HN, 2/23/98)(HN, 9/8/98)
1955 Paul Grimes (1924-2002)
worked as an editor for the Bangkok Post. He joined the NY Times in
1957 and helped establish Conde Nast Traveler in 1987.
(SFC, 5/2/02, p.A27)
1957 Sep 17, The Thai army seized
power in Bangkok.
(HN, 9/17/98)
1957 Thieves looted a sacred
chamber at Wat Ratchaburana at Ayuthaya, Thailand. Much, but not all,
of the booty was recovered.
(SFC, 3/5/05, p.A2)
1960s-1973 Thanom Kittikachorn (d.2004) ran Thailand
in the 1960s and early 1970s with his son, Col. Narong Kittikachorn,
and Narong's father-in-law, Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien.
(AP, 6/17/04)
1962 Mar 6, US promised Thailand
assistance against "communist" aggression.
(MC, 3/6/02)
1962 May 11, US sent troops to
Thailand.
(MC, 5/11/02)
1962 The Int’l. Court of Justice
awarded the Preah Vihear temple, located on the Cambodia-Thai border,
to Cambodia, but did not specify where the border should be drawn.
(Econ, 7/26/08, p.47)
1967 Mar 26, Jim Thompson,
American ex-serviceman, disappeared while on holiday in the Cameron
Highlands of Northern Malaysia. He revived the Thai silk industry after
WW II. He was one of the first to adopt a classic Thai house to the
requirements of modern life, and his home is now a museum in Bangkok,
Thailand.
(Hem, Mar. 95, p.63)(SFEC, 7/16/00, p.T14)
1967 Aug 8, The Association of
Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established in Bangkok by the five
original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January
1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Laos and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and
Cambodia on 30 April 1999.
(www.aseansec.org/64.htm)
1968 Mar 22, In southern Thailand
Tuanku Biyo Kodoniyo set up the Pattani United Liberation Organization
(PULO). It called for an independent Islamic country.
(www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/pulo.htm)
1968 Dec 10, Thomas Merton
(b.1915), American Trappist monk and writer, died in Bangkok, Thailand
from accidental electrocution. He had just finished his 7th journal
"The Other side of the Mountain." Merton was influenced by the Hindu
scholar Mahanambrata Brahmachari (d.1999). Merton's work also the
spiritual autobiography "The Seven Story Mountain." In 1978 Monica
Furlong (d.2003) authored a biography of Merton.
(SFC, 2/24/98, p.A22)(SFEC, 9/27/98, BR p.3)(SFC,
11/2/99, p.A26)(SFC, 2/3/03, p.B4)(WSJ, 3/26/03,
p.D8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton)
1969 At their peak in 1969, 68,889
combat troops from Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea,
Thailand and the Philippines were deployed in Vietnam.
(HNQ, 4/14/00)
1973 Oct 14, In Thailand thousands
demonstrated against the military dictatorship and some 77 people were
killed.
(www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=531)
1973 Oct, Thailand’s King Bhumibol
Adulyadej sheltered pro-democracy demonstrators from the military
dictators they were seeking to overthrow. The generals who were in
power saw it was time to exit. A student-led uprising ousted 3 military
figures who had ruled Thailand for much of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Thanom Kittikachorn (d.2004) was ousted in a popular uprising. The
military ruler of Thailand had helped the US during the Vietnam War.
(AP, 12/19/05)(AP, 6/17/04)(WSJ, 9/20/06, p.A12)
1974 Jun 3, The last Air America
aircraft crossed the border from Laos into Thailand. American forces
left Laos and abandoned some 36,000 Laotians hired to battle North
Vietnamese troops. The Hmong and Iu Mien were 2 hill tribes hired by
the Americans to break codes and rescue downed pilots. Many of the
soldiers fled to Thailand where they lived in refugee camps. Some
35,000 Iu Mien later moved to the US.
(SFC,12/27/97, p.A15)(SFEC, 1/24/99,
p.A8)(http://tinyurl.com/3mzgcy)
1975 Jul 1, Thailand and China
signed a formal agreement on diplomatic relations.
(www.thaiembdc.org/politics/foreign/diprelat.htm)
1975 Jul 31, The Bangkok Agreement
was signed as an initiative of the Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). As Asia’s 1st preferential trade
agreement between developing countries it aimed at promoting
intra-regional trade through exchange of mutually agreed concessions by
member countries. Five countries, Republic of Korea, India, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka and Lao People’s Democratic Republic, were the initial
signatories. China joined in April, 2000. Thailand and the Philippines
did not ratify the agreement due to their ASEAN commitments.
(www.unescap.org/tid/apta.asp)(www.siamindia.com/scripts/Bankong.aspx)
1975 Thailand issued a warrant for
the arrest of Charles Sobhraj on charges of drugging and killing six
women, all wearing bikinis, on a beach at Pattaya. Sobhraj is also
accused of killing more than 20 young Western backpackers across Asia,
usually by drugging their food or drink, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Sobhraj, serving 20 years in India, escaped from prison in the
mid-1980s, but was caught and returned to jail until 1997. In 2003
French national Sobhraj was arrested from a casino in Kathmandu on
charges that he traveled to the Himalayan nation on a fake passport 32
years ago. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison for
murdering an American backpacker in 1975.
(Reuters, 12/19/07)
1976 Jul 20, US Air Force
Brigadier General Harry Aderholt lowered the American flag for the last
time at Military Assistance Command Thailand headquarters on Bangkok’s
Sathorn Road.
(www.nationmultimedia.com/sunday/20060709/)
1976 Aug 6, Thailand and Vietnam
established diplomatic relations.
(WSJ, 3/5/97,
p.A16)(www.vietnamembassy.or.th/relations.html)
1976 Oct 6, In Thailand right-wing
political power-brokers, including Kriangsak Chomanan and Samak
Sundaravej, provoked mobs to lynch left-wing pro-democracy student
protesters at Bangkok's Thammasat University. At least 46 protesters
were killed and hundreds wounded by the police and army. A coup
installed a new military-guided, right-wing government.
(AP, 12/23/03)(WSJ, 9/20/06, p.A12)(Econ, 9/6/08,
p.14)
1976 Nov 23, The Thai government
returned 26 refugees to Cambodia saying that they are a threat to the
national security. The government said some 70,000 refugees in Thailand
who escaped Communist rule in other Indochina states, including 10,000
Cambodians, would also not be permitted to stay.
(AP, 11/23/02)
1976 Thailand’s King Bhumibol
Adulyadej showed sympathy to the forces of the establishment who
believed that students and other liberal forces were leading the
country into chaos. In response the military again took the reins of
power.
(AP, 12/19/05)
1977 Oct 20, A bloodless military
coup was staged in Thailand. Kriangsak Chomanan was appointed prime
minister, Thailand's 15th since it became a constitutional monarchy in
1932.
(AP, 12/23/03)(WSJ, 9/20/06, p.A12)
1978 Sep 15, In Thailand PM
Kriangsak Chomanan submitted an amnesty bill for the "Bangkok 18"
left-wing students and labor activists jailed in connection with the
1976 crackdown. He also initiated an amnesty program for former members
of the Communist Party, a reconciliation policy that eventually helped
quash its insurgency.
(AP, 12/23/03)(http://tinyurl.com/2w4xdx)
1878 PM Kriangsak's government
promulgated a constitution setting up a timetable for the restoration
of parliamentary democracy, beginning with a 1979 election.
(AP, 12/23/03)
1979 Jan 7, The Vietnamese army
captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh overthrowing the Khmer
Rouge government. The People’s Party, a Hanoi installed Khmer Rouge
faction, took power with Hun Sen as prime minister. This finally ended
the mass genocide depicted in the 1984 film "The Killing Fields." The
Khmer Rouge retreated into sanctuaries along the Thai border, set up
bases and picked up support from Thailand and China.
(NG, 5/85, p.574-5)(WSJ, 2/27/96, p.A-1)(SFC,
6/14/97, p.A15)(WSJ, 5/3/96, p.A-10)(SFC, 4/29/97, p.A8)(AP, 1/7/98)
1980 PM Kriangsak resigned
after losing the support of an influential faction of
independent-minded middle-ranking army officers known as the Young
Turks.
(AP, 12/23/03)
1981 Former PM Kriangsak
staged a minor comeback, successfully running for a seat in parliament
at the helm of his own National Democracy Party.
(AP, 12/23/03)
1985 Sep 9, In Thailand there was
a failed coup attempt. Former PM Kriangsak was caught with other
retired military officers at the headquarters of the plotters.
(AP, 12/23/03)
1986 Karen refugees established
the Huay Ko Lok refugee camp in Thailand. The camp was burned 3 times
between 1996-1998 by the Burmese military. Residents were relocated in
Aug, 1999, to Um Phien.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, Z1 p.4)
1987 Rebel leaders of a Thailand
southern insurgency were offered general amnesty.
(SFC, 1/23/04, p.A7)
1988 Aug 28, The Yan Hee
Polyclinic in Bangkok, Thailand, reported on a new slimming technique.
Overweight Thais were suppressing their appetites by sticking lettuce
seeds in their ears and pressing them in ten times before meals.
(HTnet, 8/28/99)
1988 In Thailand a general amnesty
freed all those involved in the 1985 coup attempt.
(AP, 12/23/03)
1988 Thailand introduced its
10-baht coin. In 2002 the EU complained that it was being used in
vending machines all over Europe due to its similarity to the 2-euro
coin.
(SSFC, 2/24/02, p.C7)
1989 The government granted
investment incentives to the Sahaviriya group to build the first mills
for making steel.
(WSJ, 8/27/96, p.A10)
1989 John Gray formed Sea Canoe,
an ecotourism venture, to show tourists the southwestern coast
limestone caves known as hongs.
(SFC, 11/23/99, p.A14)
1989 Saudi diplomat Abdullah
al-Maliki was gunned down in Bangkok. Adbullah A al-Besri, Fahad AZ
Albahli and Ahmed A Alsaif were assassinated in January 1990. All were
linked to the so-called Blue Diamond theft committed by Thai laborer
Kriangkrai Techamong, who was working at Prince Faisal's palace in
Saudi Arabia in 1989. The legendary diamond was among several valuable
stones and jewelry pieces stolen from the palace of a Saudi Prince when
he was employed as a gardener in the Arab kingdom.
(www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/04/07/opinion/opinion_30070238.php)
1991 Feb 23, Tanks rolled in the
streets of Bangkok and a coup was held to get rid of the corrupt
government of Chatichai Choonhavan. After months of investigations a
military-appointed committee seized the assets of 10 men from the
ousted administration. Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon toppled a civilian
government in a bloodless takeover. He was ousted in 1992 following
street demonstrations.
(WSJ, 12/11/96, p.A16)(AP, 9/20/06)
1991 May 26, An Austrian Lauda Air
Boeing 767 crashed in Thailand, killing all 223 people aboard. Crash
investigators blamed an engine thrust reverser that had inexplicably
deployed shortly after takeoff. The plane was enroute to Vienna and
crashed shortly after takeoff from the Bangkok airport.
(AP, 5/26/97)(WSJ, 11/13/01, p.A14)
1991 In Bangkok the Kaset Thai
sugar mill was built for some $200 million by the Siriviriyakul family.
(WSJ, 4/2/99, p.A9)
1992 Mar 8, Ninety people were
killed when a ferry carrying pilgrims to a Buddhist shrine collided
with an oil tanker in the Gulf of Thailand.
(AP, 3/8/02)
1992 Mar, The military Junta
formed a party with politicians it had investigated in 1991 to contest
the elections.
(WSJ, 12/11/96, p.A16)
1992 Apr 7, Suchinda Kraprayoon,
leader of a military coup, became PM of Thailand he served until 24 May
1992.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchinda_Kraprayoon)(Econ, 6/17/06, p.49)
1992 May 17, Pro-democracy
protests began in Thailand; in four days of clashes with troops, 44
people reportedly were killed, although activists charged that hundreds
died.
(AP, 5/17/97)
1992 May 20, Thailand's
much-revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, called for an end to
violent clashes between troops and pro-democracy protesters.
(AP, 5/20/02)
1992 May 24, Thailand protests,
supported by numerous political movements, climaxed with the
resignation of PM Suchinda. Deputy PM Meechai Ruchuphan took office for
a transitional period until the new government was assigned. He was
succeeded by Anand Panyarachun.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchinda_Kraprayoon)
1992 The Hmong began living at the
Tham Krabok Buddhist monastery after monks traveled into the mountains
to free 2,000 Hmong from opium addiction.
(SFC, 6/18/97, p.A10)
1992 The Asian Development Bank
began building and improving transport and telecom links between China,
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Econ, 11/8/03, p.42)
1992 The Greater Mekong Subregion
was created grouping 5 South-East Asian countries (Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) and 2 Chinese provinces.
(Econ, 2/6/10,
p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Mekong_Subregion)
1992-1995 Chuan Leekpai served as Prime Minister
until a land scandal split his coalition and the government collapsed.
(SFC,11/8/97, p.A12)
1993 Mar, The Supreme Court threw
out the cases against the 10 politicians who were ousted in the 1991
coup.
(WSJ, 12/11/96, p.A16)
1993 May, A fire at Bangkok’s
Kader doll factory killed 187 people and injured 600.
(SFC, 11/26/96, p.B1)
1993 Jul, In Nakhon Ratchasima a
6-story hotel collapsed and crushed 102 people.
(SFC, 11/26/96, p.B1)
1993 Southeast Asia accounted for
1.4% of the world’s agricultural land and 3.6% of global pesticide
imports by value. The highest use was in Thailand.
(WSJ, 10/3/96, p.B11B)
1994 Feb, Hot-rolled coil steel
production began.
(WSJ, 8/27/96, p.A10)
1994 The lower Mekong River was
spanned for the first time with a bridge between Nong Khai, Thailand
and Vientiane, Laos.
(SFC, 5/14/97, p.A22)(Econ, 1/3/04, p.29)
1994 In Thailand The Pak Mun Dam
along the Mun River, a major tributary of the Mekong, was completed
with money from the World Bank. It is a 56 foot high, 984 foot long
wall of concrete and severely impacted fish life on the river.
(WSJ, 3/12/96, p. A-15)(Econ, 1/3/04, p.30)
1994 The Australian foreign
minister, Gareth Evans, accused “freelance military personnel and
business spivs” (shady dealers) in Thailand of providing refuge for
Khmer Rouge leaders and helping them get gems and timber out of
Cambodia. The statement was made after 2 Australians were murdered by
the Khmer Rouge.
(SFC, 6/7/96, p.A12)
1995 Thailand announced that it
would close all of its refugee camps. This would force the 4,500 Hmong
remaining in those camps to either go to the US or return to Laos.
(SFC, 5/26/96, p.C-8)
1995 PepsiCo Inc. bought out its
Thai partner and took over a production plant and hired 1500 farmers to
grow potatoes according to company spec.
(WSJ, 6/13/96, p.A1)
1995 Aug 21, Prince Thitiphan
Yugala (60), aka Luk Pla (Baby fish) was poisoned by his new wife
Chalasai Yugala (23). He died after 8 days and Luk Pla ran off with
Uthet Choopwa (19), a chestnut peddler. She had become his lover at 14
and wife at 23. In 2002 she was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
(SFC, 2/20/02, p.A2)
1996 Mar, Thailand authorities
arrested 3 N. Korean diplomats and Yoshimi Tanaka for supplying
counterfeit US $100 bills. The bills were very high quality and called
“Super K” notes. The arrest opened up the possibility for the first
case of state-sponsored counterfeiting since WW II.
(SFC, 6/16/96, p.A10)
1996 May 16, GM is expected to
pick Thailand over the Philippines for a $1 billion vehicle assembly
plant.
(WSJ, 5/16/96, p.A-1)
1996 May 16, A joint venture
between Texas Instruments, Acer of Taiwan, and Alphatec of Thailand
plan a $200 million chip facility. Operations are to start in 1997.
(WSJ, 5/16/96, p.A-11)
1996 Jun 2, Bangkok voters elected
Pichit Rattakul, an independent environ-mentalist, as mayor. The city
is one of the most polluted in the world.
(SFC, 6/3/96, p.A11)
1996 Jun 13, Citicorp’s Citibank
has captured 40% of Thailand’s credit-card market.
(WSJ, 6/13/96, p.A1)
1996 Jul 7, The average cost of a
Big Mac in Thailand was $1.90.
(SFC, 7/7/96, Parade, p.17)
1996 Jul, 29, A report from the
economics faculty of Bangkok’s Thammasat Univ. warned that the economy
was sick.
(WSJ, 7/29/96, p.A8)
1996 Sep 21, Thai Prime Minister
Banharn Silpa-archa resigned after 14 months in offices under charges
of corruption and ineptitude.
(SFC, 9/21/96, p.A10)
1996 Nov 18, Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, former defense minister, led the New Aspiration Party to
victory in elections and recruited 5 other parties to form a coalition
government. He was later endorsed and called “fatso” by Buddhist monk
Luang Phor Khoon Parisuttho. The government lasted into 1997.
(SFEC, 11/19/96, p.A15)(SFC, 11/26/96, p.B1)
1996 Thanong Siriprechapong, a
former member of the Thai parliament, was arrested for smuggling 49
tons of hashish into the US. The case was later hampered due to a
kickback made by a key informant to US Customs agent, Frank Gervacio,
in Aug, 1992.
(SFC, 9/11/98, p.A18)
1996 Salang Bunnag directed a
hostage rescue operation that freed all the captives from a drug gang.
Bunnag was later accused of ordering the summary execution of the 6
kidnappers while they were in custody.
(SFC, 8/27/01, p.A9)
1997 Jan 1, The Buddhist Era year
is 2540.
(Hem., 3/97, p.27)
1997 Feb 26, Thai soldiers pushed
Karen refugees back across the border into Burma as Burmese troops
massed for an offensive.
(WSJ, 2/27/97, p.A1)
1997 Jun 5, The film "Sunset at
Chaopraya" by Euthana Mukdasnit was an Int’l. film festival award
winner and premiered in the Bay Area.
(SFC, 6/5/97, p.E3)
1997 Jun 18, It was reported that
in this year 25,000 Hmong lived in Laos, 18,000 in Thailand and 140,000
in the US with some 48,500 in the San Joaquin Valley of Calif. A clan
of 15,000 lived at the Tham Krabok Buddhist monastery north of Bangkok.
(SFC, 6/18/97, p.A8)
1997 Jun 21, It was reported that
operators of illegal logging ventures in northern Thailand were feeding
their elephants amphetamine-laced bananas to speed up work before the
rainy season. The practice began a few years ago and 10 animals have
died of overwork and exhaustion.
(SFC, 6/21/97, p.A11)
1997 Jul 1, Thailand let its
currency, the baht, float and it devalued about 20%. This event marked
the beginning of the Asian economic crises. In 1999 Thailand sought to
extradite Rakesh Saxena, a currency trader, from Canada for his role in
an alleged fraud that drained over $2 billion from the Bangkok Bank of
Commerce, which led to the devaluation of the baht. Pin Chakkaphak was
blamed for the collapse of the currency and fled Asia. He was ordered
back from Britain in 2001 to face accounting and theft charges. In 2009
Saxena (57) arrived in Thailand after his extradition from Canada to
face charges he embezzled $88 million from the Bangkok Bank of
Commerce, which collapsed in 1995. Saxena was also implicated in
backing the attempted 1997 coup in Sierra Leone.
(SFC, 7/3/97, p.D4)(WSJ, 7/21/97, p.A1)(SFEC,
5/31/98, p.D1)(WSJ, 5/7/99, p.A1)(SFC, 3/9/01, p.A16)(Econ, 3/25/06,
p.80)(AP, 10/30/09)(Econ, 11/7/09, p.42)
1997 Jul 9, It was reported that
elephants were dying around pineapple orchards, possibly from chemical
poisoning. Only some 500 elephants remained in Thailand.
(SFC, 7/9/97, p.A7)
1997 Jul 11, In Thailand a kitchen
fire went out of control at the 450-room Royal Jomtien Hotel in Pattaya
and killed 91 people with 64 injured.
(SFC, 7/12/97, p.A10)(WSJ, 7/11/97, p.A12)(AP,
7/11/07)
1997 Aug 11, Int’l. donors offered
Thailand a $16-17 bil loan package.
(SFC, 8/12/97, p.A8)(SFC, 1/8/98, p.A7)
1997 Sep 15, From Thailand it was
reported that layoffs, salary cuts and downsizing was spreading across
the economy under an expensive foreign debt load and a 40% fall in the
value of the baht.
(SFC, 9/15/97, p.A10)
1997 Sep 27, The parliament passed
a “good governance” constitution intended to fight government
corruption and rejected a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister
Chavilit. It called for the old-guard politicians to be replaced by a
new, 200-member elected body. National Counter-Corruption Commission
was formed.
(WSJ, 9/29/97, p.A1)(SFC, 3/3/00, p.A20)(SFC,
3/30/00, p.A18)
1997 Sep 30, The cabinet
officially scrapped the $3.2 billion rail and road system under
construction by Hopewell Holdings. The Bangkok Elevated Rail and
Transport System known as Berts was one fifth built and several years
behind schedule.
(WSJ, 10/1/97, p.A18)
1997 Nov 3, Prime Minister
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh announced that he would step down later in the
week. Stock and currency markets rallied on the news.
(SFC,11/4/97, p.A8)
1997 Nov 9, Former Prime Minister
Chuan Leekpai formed a new government with a coalition of 8 parties.
(SFEC,11/10/97, p.A12)
1997 Dec 8, The government
announced that it will liquidate 56 of 58 insolvent finance companies
shut down by the Central Bank earlier in the year. The move was part of
the conditions of the $17.2 billion IMF bailout.
(SFC,12/897, p.A15)
1997 The radio program “Ruam Duay
Chuay Kan” (Let’s Get Together and Help Each Other) began broadcasting
from Bangkok.
(SFC, 6/20/00, p.A12)
1997 The Thai constitution
guaranteed citizens 12 years of free education. This effectively
reduced the number of Thai girls sold into the sex industry.
(SFC, 2/6/02, p.A12)
1997 Thailand’s King Bhumibol
developed his “sufficiency economy” theory during the Asian economic
crises of this year. In 2007 it was described as a plan for
sustainability, moderation and broad-based development.
(Econ, 1/13/07, p.38)
1997 In Rangoon, Burma, talks
between the Karen National Union and Burmese officials broke down when
the Karen refused to disarm. After the talks broke the Burmese army
swept through Karen territory and forced thousands of refugees into
Thailand.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, Z1 p.4)
c1997 Luangta Maha Bua, a revered
monk from Wat Pa Ban Tad Temple, used his status and the threat of
suicide to urge the Thai people to help replenish the state coffers
with donations.
(SFC, 9/26/00, p.A11)
1997-2002 Thailand and Indonesia were hit the hardest
in an Asian financial crises and suffered a slump in GDP during this
period of around 35%.
(Econ, 6/30/07, p.79)
1998 Jan 28, Officials at
Chulalongkorn Univ. posted posters forbidding the wearing of miniskirts.
(SFC, 1/29/98, p.A11)
1998 Mar 31, It was reported that
in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province, women of the Padaung tribe of
Burma were attracting tourists with their necks elongated by wearing
brass coils. They began fleeing Burma’s Kayah state over a decade ago
(SFC, 3/31/98, p.B4)
1998 Apr 17, A Thai military team
collected evidence from the body of Pol Pot, former chief of Cambodia's
Khmer Rouge guerrillas, to confirm that one of the century's worst
tyrants was truly dead.
(AP, 4/17/99)
1998 Jun 26, Four Pakistanis were
reported to have been arrested in Bangkok. They were suspected of
planning to assassinate US Ambassador William Itoh and to launch a
terrorist strike against the US embassy.
(SFC, 6/27/98, p.A14)
1998 Jul 8, Thailand was expected
to withdraw a plan to deport foreign workers and planned to announce
proposals to widen work opportunities for migrant workers from Burma,
Cambodia, Laos and Bangladesh.
(SFC, 7/9/98, p.A10)
1998 Sep 23, The economy was
expected to contract by 7-10%. Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai called for
an investigation into the sale of medical supplies.
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.A12,16)
1998 Nov 2, In Thailand 6 Buddhist
worshippers were killed and dozens injured when 3 giant ceremonial
incense sticks collapsed at the Phra Pathom Pagoda.
(SFC, 11/2/98, p.A16)
1998 Dec 11, A Thai Airways Airbus
A310-200 jet crashed near the airport at Surat Thani. 45 people
survived and 101 died.
(SFC, 12/12/98, p.A15)(WSJ, 12/14/98, p.A1)
1998 Three prominent academics
published the book “Guns, Girls, Gambling and Ganja.”
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.A16)
1998 Dr. Chris Baker and Pasuk
Pongpaichit published “Thailand’s Boom and Bust.”
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.A16)
1998 The film “Fun, Bar, Karaoke”
was directed Penek Ratanaruang. It satirized Bangkok’s juxtaposition of
modern ways and ancient folk religion.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)
1998 Thaksin Shinawatra, former
police officer and telecom entrepreneur, founded the Thais Love Thais
(Thai Rak Thai) party.
(SFC, 1/6/01, p.A8)
1998 Hong Kong suffered a slump in
GDP of over 6% as did Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.
(Econ, 11/22/08, p.51)
1998 Burmese refugees in Thailand
created the Backpack Health Worker Team to effectively sneak health
into eastern Burma (Myanmar), where the military junta provides little
health care.
(SSFC, 3/22/09, p.A8)
1998 Officials in 2001 reported
that AIDS accounted for 16% of all deaths in 1998.
(SFC, 9/1/01, p.A10)
1999 Mar 10, Michael Wansley (58),
an auditor for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, was shot to death on his way
to the Kaset Thai sugar mill. The murder was traced to Pradit
Siriviriyakul, one of the brothers running the family mill.
(WSJ, 4/2/99, p.A9)
1999 Oct 1, In Thailand the
Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors took 38 diplomats as hostages at the
Burmese Embassy in Bangkok. Two Thai officials were exchanged for the
hostages and 12 [5] students were reported to have flown to the
Thai-Burma border by helicopter, where they were released. The students
demanded the release of political prisoners, dialogue between the
military and Aung San Suu Kyi and an elected parliament.
(SFC, 10/2/99, p.A12)(SFEC, 10/3/99, p.A25)
1999 Oct 2, Bo Mya, leader of the
Karen National Union, said he would grant sanctuary to the Burmese
students who were flown to the Thai-Burma following a 26 hour takeover
of the Burmese Embassy.
(SFEC, 10/3/99, p.A25)
1999 Nov 27, It was reported that
at least 26 people had died recently in Phrae province from
leptospirosis, a disease transmitted by rat urine. Farmers not wearing
boots and gloves in their fields were vulnerable.
(SFC, 11/27/99, p.A17)
1999 Dec 5, In Bangkok the 15-mile
$1.4 billion light rail Sky Train began operating on the 72nd birthday
of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
(SFC, 12/21/99, p.A16)
1999 The Thai film "Nang Nak" was
a stylish ghost story.
(SFC, 9/30/99, p.E6)
1999 The Thai historical film
"Suriyothai" was directed by Chatri Chalerm Yukol. It was about the
16th century Queen Suriyothai who saved her husband King Thianracha
during a war with invaders from Myanmar.
(SFC, 9/30/99, p.E6)
1999 Thailand’s Siam Winery
launched its first label, Chatemp. In 2003 the "Monsoon Valley" range
was introduced abroad by Chalerm Yoovidhya, whose father Chaleo gave
the world the "Red Bull" energy drink.
(AFP, 1/24/07)
2000 Jan 24, Security forces
stormed a hospital and ended a 22-hour standoff with Burmese
guerrillas. 10 rebels of the "God's Army" were reported killed. The
hostage-takers were executed after surrendering to security forces.
(SFC, 1/25/00, p.A10)(SFC, 1/27/00, p.A12)
2000 Jan, The Karen of Burma,
displaced in Thailand, celebrated their new year 2739.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, Z1 p.4)
2000 Jan 26, In Thailand the
legendary 24-year leader of the Karen National Union (KNU), was voted
out of the chairmanship. Saw Ba Thin was elected as the new chairman of
the Karen National Union (KNU).
(SFC, 1/28/00, p.A14)(SFC, 2/22/00, p.A8)
2000 Mar 29, Sanan Kachornprasart
(64) resigned as interior minister after the National
Counter-Corruption Commission charged that he had concealed his assets
in a fabricated million-dollar loan.
(SFC, 3/30/00, p.A18)
2000 Apr 2, It was reported that
some 100,000 Karen refugees from Burma lived in 8 refugee camps along
the Thailand border.
(SFEC, 4/2/00, Z1 p.1)
2000 May 7, In Thailand thousands
of protestors besieged the annual meeting of the Asian Development
Bank. The 13 nations agreed to rescue each other’s currencies to fend
off economic crises.
(SFC, 5/8/00, p.A14)
2000 Sep 25, Flooding left 47
people dead.
(WSJ, 9/26/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 22, In Thailand 9 inmates
escaped from Samut Sakorn prison with 7 prison officials. Thai
commandos killed the inmates.
(SFC, 11/23/00, p.D8)
2000 Nov 24, It was reported that
recent monsoon flooding killed 10 people in Malaysia and at least 5
people in Thailand. The death toll from flooding in Thailand reached
over 30, mostly children. At least 49 died from mudslides in West
Sumatra.
(SFC, 11/24/00, p.D8)(WSJ, 11/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 19, It was reported that
swiftlet colonies in Thailand were threatened due to the excessive
harvesting of their edible nests for Chinese restaurants.
(SFC, 12/19/00, p.A16)
2000 Dec 26, An anti-corruption
body ruled that Thaksin Shinawatra, the leading candidate for prime
minister, engaged in financial wrongdoings that disqualified him from
holding office.
(SFC, 12/27/00, p.A15)
2001 Jan 6, Thailand government
elections pitted PM Chuan Leekpai’s Democratic Party against the Thais
Love Thais (Thai Rak Thai) party of Thaksin Shinawatra (51). Elections
for 500 seats in the lower parliament were scheduled with new laws to
reduce vote-buying. Shinawatra, Thailand’s richest man, won with 248
seats and divested his assets to relatives.
(SFC, 1/6/01, p.A8)(SSFC, 1/7/01, p.D1)(WSJ, 2/2/01,
p.A1)(Econ, 2/5/05, p.11,24)
2001 Jan 16, Luther and Johnny
Htoo, twin adolescent leaders of an ethnic Karen rebel group,
surrendered to Thai border police.
(WSJ, 1/17/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 17, Electoral officials
annulled the victories of 14 candidates.
(WSJ, 1/18/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 18, A court agreed to
hear a corruption case against Prime Minister-elect Thakson Shinawatra.
(SFC, 1/19/01, p.D4)
2001 Jan 18, In Bangkok 2 bombs
exploded and at least 8 people were killed.
(SFC, 1/19/01, p.A17)
2001 Jan 23, Electoral authorities
ordered re-votes in 62 of 400 districts.
(WSJ, 1/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Feb 6, It was reported that
Thailand planned to open a chain of over 3,000 Thai restaurants
world-wide over the next 5 years with 1,000 slated for the US. The
fast-food branches would be named Elephant Jump, Cool Basil for the
mid-priced, and Golden Leaf for the upscale eateries.
(WSJ, 2/6/01, p.B1)
2001 Feb 11, Thai troops fought a
gunbattle with some 200 Burmese soldiers who crossed the border chasing
Shan rebels.
(SFC, 2/12/01, p.B2)
2001 Feb 12, It was reported that
Thailand’s bad loans mounted to 20 billion and accounted for 20% of all
bank lending. Thai Petrochemical Industries (TPI) was the largest
debtor and owed banks over $3.5 billion.
(WSJ, 2/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Mar 2, In Thailand a bomb
blast gutted a Thai Airways Boeing 737-400 in Bangkok just before PM
Shinawatra was to board. One crew member was killed. It was later
reported that the empty center fuel tank of the plane had exploded.
(SFC, 3/5/01, p.A12)(WSJ, 6/26/08, p.A12)
2001 Apr 15, The annual water
festival of Songkran was reported to have turned from a gentle ritual
of respect to a youthful melee that included water bombs, squirt guns,
water rifles and vats of ice.
(SSFC, 4/15/01, p.D8)
2001 Aug 3, The Constitutional
Court acquitted PM Thaksin Shinawatra of corruption charges.
(SFC, 8/4/01, p.A7)
2001 Aug 11, In northern Thailand
heavy rains triggered flash floods that left at least 86 people dead
and 70 missing.
(SSFC, 8/12/01, p.A18)(WSJ, 8/14/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 27, It was reported that
AIDS victims in Thailand were packing stadiums to receive V-1
Immunitor, a locally produced drug advertised as a clinically tested
oral AIDS vaccine. Salang Bunnag sponsored the giveaway directed at
Thailand’s 755,000 AIDS patients.
(SFC, 8/27/01, p.A1)
2001 In Thailand Jaruvan Maintaka
(54) was appointed to head the new auditor-general's office, an
independent body created to track state financial transactions and spot
signs of corruption. By 2005 with only half of her term gone she
amassed a menagerie of adversaries, from vested interests to corrupt
politicians, and in the process became a target for elimination. In
2004 a court ruled that she was illegally appointed. In 2005 the Senate
endorsed a replacement, but the king did not approve. In 2006 she was
reinstated.
(AP, 9/19/05)(WSJ, 2/9/06, p.A7)
2002 Apr 8, It was reported that a
Thai version of the TV show “The Weakest Link” was “promoting fierce
competition and selfishness among recipients,” in contrast to general
Thai generosity.
(SFC, 4/8/02, p.A2)
2002 Jun 3, In Thailand 3 gunmen
attacked a school bus and killed 2 teenage students in the Ratchaburi
province near Burma. 15 others were injured.
(SFC, 6/4/02, p.A12)
2002 Jul 8, In southern Thailand a
bomb tore through a parked passenger railway coach injuring a policeman
and a security guard.
(Reuters, 7/8/02)
2002 Jul 29, On a mission to stamp
out Islamic militancy in Southeast Asia, U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell held talks with Thai leaders, who deny their country is facing a
Muslim insurgency.
(Reuters, 7/29/02)
2002 Aug 29, A joint force of Thai
police and soldiers killed six armed drug traffickers and seized a
million methamphetamine pills after ambushing a drug convoy near the
Golden Triangle.
(Reuters, 8/29/02)
2002 Aug 30, Floodwaters along the
lower stretches of the Mekong have wreaked havoc in Laos, Cambodia
(18), Thailand (12) and Vietnam (25), claiming at least 55 lives and
leaving thousands homeless across the region.
(AP, 8/30/02)
2002 Sep 2, At least 14 people
were killed and more than 20 were missing after their makeshift houses
on the banks of an overflowing stream collapsed after heavy rain in
northern Thailand.
(Reuters, 9/3/02)
2002 Dec 4, Thailand released
thousands of prisoners, including many jailed for minor narcotics
offences, to mark the 75th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the
world's longest reigning monarch.
(Reuters, 12/4/02)
2002 Dec 19, It was reported that
AIDS in Thailand infected 1 in 60 people and that by 2006 some 50,000
annual deaths would result from AIDS-related causes.
(SFC, 12/19/02, p.A18)
2003 Jan 29, In Cambodia
protesters looted and set fire to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. The
protest was against a Thai TV star who was quoted in the media as
saying Cambodia had stolen the famous Angkor Wat temple from Thailand.
(AP, 1/29/03)
2003 Jan 30, Thailand sealed its
border with Cambodia, recalled its ambassador and sent military planes
to evacuate hundreds of terrified Thais after rioters looted and
torched its embassy in the Cambodian capital.
(AP, 1/30/03)
2003 Feb 13, Thailand officials
arrested SF financier Thomas Frank White at the request of the Mexican
government for the rape of a teenage boy. In 2004 White was indicted in
SF on 2 counts of sex tourism.
(SSFC, 9/11/05, p.A2)
2003 Feb 14, A Thai court ruled to
extradite Florida millionaire James Vincent Sullivan (61), wanted in
the US for the 1987 murder of his socialite wife. He was accused of
paying another man $25,000 to kill Lita McClinton Sullivan to avoid
losing property in a divorce. In 2006 he was convicted of murder and
sentenced to life in prison.
(AP, 2/15/03)(AP, 3/14/06)
2003 Feb, Thailand’s PM Thaksin
Shinawatra began a war on drugs aimed primarily at the methamphetamine
market. Some 5% of the population were reported to be addicts. A
3-month shooting spree left some 2,500 people dead.
(SFC, 5/29/03, p.A7)(Econ, 1/26/08, p.42)
2003 Mar 5, Cambodia sealed
its border with Thailand, due to sluggish progress “to normalize
relations in border areas” since January’s anti-Thai riots.
(AP, 3/5/03)
2003 Mar 25, In Thailand police
said they shot and killed 42 people during a 7-week-old crackdown on
drugs that has drawn protest from human rights groups. Nearly 400 drug
makers and more than 12,000 dealers were arrested.
(AP, 3/26/03)
2003 Apr 11, Cambodia and Thailand
agreed to resume full diplomatic relations, which were suspended after
anti-Thai riots shook Cambodia's capital in January.
(AP, 4/11/03)
2003 May 2, Chuwit Kamolvisit, A
sex club operator in Thailand, was arrested for unlawfully demolishing
a downtown Bangkok block housing scores of bars and shops to make way
for another massage parlor, the Taj Mahal. He soon claimed to have
spent about $289,156 each month in payoffs to policemen.
(AP, 8/2/03)
2003 Jun 5, Thailand's
Constitutional Court ruled that Thai women will no longer be required
to take their husband's family name when they marry.
(AP, 6/5/03)
2003 Jun 13, In Thailand Narong
Penaman (44) was arrested with as much as 66 pounds of radioactive
cesium-137 for sale.
(SFC, 6/14/03, p.A3)
2003 Aug 11, Hambali (39), an
Indonesian whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was captured in a raid
in the ancient temple city of Ayutthaya, Thailand. Hambali, the
operational head of Jemaah Islamiyah, was handed over to US authorities
and flown out of the country. He was al Qaeda's top man in Southeast
Asia and the suspected mastermind behind a string of deadly bombings
including the Bali attacks.
(Reuters, 8/15/03)(SFC, 8/15/03, p.A3)(AP, 8/16/03)
2003 Oct 16, Laos and Thailand
signed a pact aimed at stamping out border attacks by unknown militants.
(ST, 10/17/03, p.A13)
2003 Oct 19, President Bush met
with Thailand's PM Thaksin Shinawatra and pressed him to help restore
democracy in neighboring Myanmar. Some 1,000 protesters marched in
downtown Bangkok on against a summit of 21 economic leaders.
(AP, 10/19/03)(SFC, 10/20/03, p.A1)
2003 Oct 21, Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation leaders ended their two-day annual summit in Thailand with
a statement seeking to boost trade and intensify the fight on terror.
(AP, 10/21/03)
2003 Oct, The Thai government
planned to launch 2 "Vayupak" mutual funds for retail and institutional
investors.
(Econ, 8/23/03, p.59)
2003 Nov 19, In Canada Justice
Minister Martin Cauchon has ordered fugitive banker Rakesh Saxena to
surrender to Thailand to face allegations that he looted a Bangkok bank.
(AP, 11/19/03)
2003 Dec 23, Kriangsak Chomanan
(b.1917), an army general who became PM of Thailand in 1977 through a
series of coups, died at age 87. He helped steer Thailand to democracy.
(AP, 12/23/03)(Econ, 1/10/04, p.76)
2003 Dec 27, In Iraq insurgents
launched 3 coordinated attacks in the southern city of Karbala, killing
12 people, including six Iraqi police officers, 2 Thai soldiers and 5
Bulgarians.
(AP, 12/27/03)(AP, 12/28/03)(SSFC, 12/28/03,
p.A3)(WSJ, 12/29/03, p.A1)
2003 PM Thaksin Shinawatra set a
2005 growth target for Thailand of 10%. The rate for 2003 was projected
to be 6.4% and 7.5% for 2004. The economic boom raised some concerns.
(WSJ, 11/28/03, p.A6)
2003 Thailand produced some
470,000 pick-up trucks and ranked behind the US as the world’s 2nd
largest producer. Production in 2004 was expected to approach 600,000.
(Econ, 9/11/04, p.60)
2004 Jan 4, In southern Thailand
assailants set fire to 21 schools and stormed a military armory,
killing four soldiers in nearly simultaneous raids. The attacks took
place in Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala provinces.
(AP, 1/4/04)(SFC, 1/24/04, p.A7)
2004 Jan 5, In Thailand 2 bombs
exploded in the southern town of Pattani, killing 2 policemen and
injuring several people, police said. Two other bombs were found before
they could go off.
(AP, 1/5/04)(WPR, 3/04, p.32)
2004 Jan 8, It was reported that
Thailand's PM Thaksin Shinawatra had ordered the Finance Ministry and
stock exchange to set up a task force to examine the balance sheets of
listed companies.
(WSJ, 1/8/04, p.A14)
2004 Jan 13, Thai and Malaysian
military forces began joint land and air patrols along their jungle
border for the first time since the 1970s.
(AP, 1/14/04)
2004 Jan 22, In southern Thailand
a Buddhist monk was hacked to death. Muslim extremists were blamed.
(WSJ, 1/23/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 24, In Bangkok, Thailand,
a world record for a mass jump was set by 672 skydivers from 42
countries who leaped from six aircraft.
(AP, 1/25/04)
2004 Jan 26, A 6-year-old Thai boy
became Asia's seventh confirmed bird flu fatality.
(AP, 1/26/04)
2004 Feb 2, A 6-year-old
Thai boy, who had been in contact with roosters used in cock fights,
died in Bangkok of bird flu. Thailand breeders began hiding their
valuable fighting roosters.
(WSJ, 2/10/04, p.A1)
2004 Feb 16, Thailand officials
said bird flu has been detected in a previously unaffected Thai
province and has resurfaced in eight other provinces that were under
observation.
(AP, 2/16/04)
2004 Mar 10, Thai PM Thaksin
Shinawatra replaced his finance, interior and defense ministers in a
Cabinet reshuffle as the government faces a Muslim insurgency in the
south, a volatile stock market and a public outcry over a privatization
plan.
(AP, 3/10/04)
2004 Mar 12, Somchai Neelapaichit,
Thailand human rights lawyer, was kidnapped in Bangkok and never heard
from again. 2 days before he vanished he had formally accused the
police of torturing 5 Muslim men in custody.
(Econ, 3/14/09, p.46)
2004 Mar 16, China declared
victory in its fight against bird flu, saying it had "stamped out" all
of its known cases, while a factory worker in Thailand became Asia's
23rd victim of the virus.
(AP, 3/16/04)
2004 Mar 28, The Thailand
government said violence in the Muslim-dominated south was at a
"crucial stage" and pledged tougher measures, after a bombing in the
region injured 29 people, including 10 Malaysian tourists.
(AP, 3/28/04)
2004 Apr 23, In Thailand a massive
fire raced through a slum in downtown Bangkok, snarling traffic and
spewing plumes of black smoke over embassies and five-star hotels in
the area. Armed assailants fatally shot an army officer, just hours
after unidentified attackers set fire to about 50 public buildings in
all 13 districts of Narathiwat in the worst day of arson attacks in
Thailand's Muslim-dominated south.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 28, In Thailand police
gunned down machete-wielding militants who stormed security outposts in
Thailand's Muslim-dominated south, killing at least 112 people. The
16th century Krue-sae Mosque was damaged by soldiers who fired
automatic weapons, tear gas and grenades at it and killed 32 suspected
Islamic insurgents.
(AP, 4/28/04)
2004 Jun 10, In Thailand hooded
assailants with assault rifles slashed the throat of a night guard
outside a government school in the Muslim south and seized weapons from
other security personnel who were inside.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 16, Thanom Kittikachorn
(92), ex-military ruler of Thailand died at the age of 92. He helped
the US during the Vietnam War before being ousted in a popular uprising
in 1973. Thanom came to be known as one of Thailand's "Three Tyrants"
when he ran the country in the 1960s and early 1970s with his son, Col.
Narong Kittikachorn, and Narong's father-in-law, Field Marshal Praphas
Charusathien.
(AP, 6/17/04)
2004 Jul 4, Australia and Thailand
signed a free-trade agreement that officials believe will boost the
economies of both countries by billions of dollars over the next two
decades.
(AP, 7/5/04)
2004 Jul 11, The 15th Int’l. AIDS
conference began in Bangkok, Thailand. UN chief Kofi Annan challenging
world leaders to do more to combat the raging global epidemic.
(SFC, 7/13/04, p.A1)(AP, 7/11/05)
2004 Jul 15, The Gates Foundation
announced a $44.7 million award at the AIDS Conference in Bangkok to a
consortium of TB and AIDS researchers. The 2 diseases were often linked.
(WSJ, 7/15/04, p.B1)
2004 Jul 15, Thailand officials
said avian flu had been detected in 10 of its 76 provinces.
(SFC, 7/16/04, p.A3)
2004 Jul 16, In Thailand the 15th
Int’l. AIDS Conference ended in Bangkok.
(SFC, 7/17/04, p.A14)
2004 Aug 20, Thailand’s PM Thaksin
said he would overturn the country’s current ban on commercial
production and trade in genetically modified food (GMOs).
(WSJ, 10/29/04, p.A13)
2004 Sep 8, In Thailand a young
man died from bird flu and increased fears of a avian influenza
pandemic. Asian deaths from bird flu for the year totaled 28.
(WSJ, 9/10/04, p.A2)
2004 Sep 27, In Thailand officials
announced that a case of avian-flu was possibly caused by
human-to-human transmission.
(SFC, 9/28/04, p.A3)
2004 Oct 3, In central Thailand a
huge explosion at a fireworks factory killed eight workers and injured
three others.
(AP, 10/3/04)
2004 Oct 19, A Thailand tiger zoo
housing hundreds of the big cats was shut down as bird flu tests
confirmed 23 tigers had died of the virus since Oct 14, and another 30
had fallen ill. They caught the flu from feeding on chicken carcasses.
(AFP, 10/20/04)(Econ, 4/16/05, p.36)
2004 Oct 25, In southern Thailand
78 people were suffocated or crushed to death after being arrested and
packed into police trucks following a riot over the detentions of
Muslims suspected of giving weapons to Islamic separatists. Over 1,300
people were packed in 6-wheeled trucks and taken on a 5-hour journey to
barracks in Pattani province.
(SFC, 10/27/04, p.A7)(AP, 10/25/05)(Econ, 10/28/06,
p.52)
2004 Oct 28, In southern Thailand
a bomb exploded outside a bar, killing two people and injuring 21.
(AP, 10/28/04)
2004 Nov 2, In Thailand Jaran
Torae, a local Buddhist official, was beheaded by suspected Muslim
insurgents as revenge for the deaths of 85 rioters last week.
(AP, 11/2/04)
2004 Nov 4, In southern Thailand 9
Buddhists were killed including 2 policemen.
(WSJ, 11/5/04, p.A1)
2004 Nov 13, In Thailand's
Muslim-majority south a 60-year-old Buddhist man was killed and at
least 13 people injured in the 2 latest two bomb blasts. 5 bombs hit in
the last 24-hours.
(AP, 11/13/04)
2004 Nov 25, The 3rd IUCN World
Conservation Congress closed in Bangkok. Its final resolutions included
a resolution urging governments to limit the use of loud noise sources
in the world’s oceans.
(SFC, 12/13/04, p.C1)
2004 Nov, China signed a free
trade deal with Thailand.
(WSJ, 10/3/05, p.A1)
2004 Dec 5, Thailand airdropped
nearly 100 million Japanese-style origami cranes over the predominantly
Muslim southern region in a psychological effort toward peace. A series
of bomb attacks followed the next day.
(AP, 12/6/04)
2004 Dec 26, The world's most
powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that
slammed into villages and seaside resorts across southern and southeast
Asia. The initial estimated death toll of 9,000 soon rose to some
230,000 people in 14 countries. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was the
world's fifth-largest since 1900 and the largest since a 9.2 temblor
hit Prince William Sound Alaska in 1964. The epicenter was located 155
miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on
Sumatra, and six miles under the seabed of the Indian Ocean. In
Indonesia at least 166,320 people were killed.
Bangladesh reported 2 killed; India: at least 9,691 deaths: thousands
were missing and possibly dead in India's remote Andaman and Nicobar
Islands. Indonesia: At least 101,318 people were killed on Sumatra
island and small islands off its coast. Kenya reported 1 killed.
Malaysia: At least 68 people, including an unknown number of foreign
tourists, were dead. Myanmar: At least 90 people were killed. Sri
Lanka: At least 30,680 were killed in government and rebel controlled
areas. The Maldives, an archipelago of 1,190 low-lying coral islands
and a tiny population of 280,000, at least 82 people were killed and
missing. At least 42 islands were flattened in the low-lying atoll
nation. Somalia: At least 298 were killed. Tanzania: At least 10
killed. Thailand: The confirmed death toll for Thailand reached 5,322,
but many suspected Myanmar migrants were not counted.
(SFC, 12/28/04, p.A1)(AP, 12/30/04)(SSFC, 1/2/05,
p.A12)(AP, 1/7/05)(Econ, 1/22/05, p.41)(AP, 12/25/09)
2004 Dec 26, The confirmed death
toll for Thailand reached 5,322, but many suspected Myanmar migrants
were not counted.
(Econ, 1/22/05, p.41)
2004 Dec 31, Thai authorities said
more than 2,230 foreigners from 36 nations were confirmed dead from
Thailand's southern resorts alone.
(AP, 12/31/04)(SFC, 1/1/05, p.A1)
2005 Jan 1, Thailand was forecast
for 5.3% annual GDP growth with a population at 65.1 million and GDP
per head at $2,610.
(Econ, 1/1/05, p.92)
2005 Jan 2, Thailand's confirmed
death toll from the Dec 26 tidal wave disaster approached 5,000,
including more than 2,400 foreign holidaymakers.
(AP, 1/2/05)
2005 Jan 9, In Thailand a 6-story
building caught fire and collapsed in Bangkok, trapping five
firefighters inside the wreckage.
(AP, 1/9/05)
2005 Jan 17, In Thailand a
collision on Bangkok’s new subway injured 200 and suspended service for
a week. A crew error was blamed.
(WSJ, 1/18/05, p.A1)
2005 Jan 24, In Thailand a tourist
boat returning from Pa Ngan island capsized and at least 7 people were
dead. Another 20 were missing.
(WSJ, 1/25/05, p.A1)
2005 Feb 6, Thailand voters handed
PM Thaksin Shinawatra a 2nd term with an expanded mandate. In his 1st
term he broadly managed to keep 3 promises centering on cheap health
care, debt forgiveness for farmers and micro-credits for villages.
Under his tenure public debt fell from 54% of GDP to 39%.
(AP, 2/6/05)(Econ, 2/5/05, p.11,23)
2005 Feb 15, The Thailand Cabinet
approved establishing a new infantry division of 12,000 troops to be
based permanently in southern Thailand, where violence blamed on Muslim
insurgents has claimed more than 650 lives in the past year.
(AP, 2/15/05)
2005 Feb 17, In southern Thailand
a bomb exploded near a tourist hotel in the border town of Sungai
Kolok, killing 5 people and wounding over 40.
(AP, 2/17/05)(SFC, 2/18/05, p.A3)
2005 Feb 19, Former Presidents
George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited a Thai fishing village that
had been devastated by the December 2005 tsunami.
(AP, 2/19/06)
2005 Feb 26, Thailand police
reported 4 more people killed in surging violence in the Muslim south.
PM Shinawatra defended his hard-line policies and accused his critics
of sympathizing with separatists.
(AP, 2/26/05)
2005 Apr 3, in southern Thailand 2
near-simultaneous bombs exploded, including one at the airport in Hat
Yai city killing one person and wounding a dozen.
(AFP, 4/3/05)
2005 Apr 4, Chevron announced
plans to purchase Unocal Corp. for $18.4 billion. Chevron’s eventual
acquisition of Unocal included a stake in the Yadana project in
Myanmar, in which Unocal invested in the 1990s along with France’s
Total, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and the petroleum Authority of
Thailand. Total with a 31% stake operated the project. The Yadana
project brought in an estimated $969 million to the government
undercutting international sanctions to isolate the regime.
(SFC, 4/5/05, p.A1)(SFC, 10/4/07,
p.A10)(SFC, 4/29/08, p.D3)
2005 Apr 24, In southern Thailand
suspected Islamic separatists detonated a bomb, killing two police
officers and wounding three other people.
(AP, 4/24/05)
2005 May 1, Thai fishermen netted
a 646-pound Mekong giant catfish believed to have been the world's
largest freshwater fish ever caught in Thailand.
(AP, 6/30/05)
2005 May 13, In southern Thailand
a roadside bomb exploded near a passing military truck, killing two
Thai marines and seriously wounding eight others.
(AP, 5/13/05)
2005 May 26, In Tham Krabok,
Thailand, the largest refugee camp for ethnic Hmong, who had fled
communist Laos, was officially closed.
(AP, 5/27/05)
2005 May 30, Miss Canada, Natalie
Glebova, was crowned Miss Universe in the 54th annual pageant held in
the Thai capital of Bangkok.
(AP, 5/31/05)
2005 Jun 3, Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in New Delhi, India, for talks on a free
trade agreement and civil aviation liberalization.
(AFP, 6/3/05)
2005 Jun 18, The beheaded bodies
of a Laotian couple were found in southern Thailand over the weekend
and were believed to be the latest victims of Muslim separatist
violence.
(AP, 6/19/05)
2005 Jun 20, In Thailand 3 Muslim
men were shop dead in Pattani.
(Econ, 7/23/05, p.40)
2005 Jun 22, A lawmaker from
Thailand's ruling party fell to his death from his 10th floor
apartment, followed a few hours later by a woman with whom he had been
quarreling. Separately suspected Islamic separatists beheaded a man at
a teashop and then left his head in a sack on the side of the road.
(AP, 6/22/05)
2005 Jun 24, Thailand police
reported that attackers in Yala province had slashed the necks of a
couple, almost severing their heads in the latest killings attributed
to Islamic separatists.
(AP, 6/25/05)
2005 Jun, India's tsunami-hit
Andaman islands signed a tourist deal with Thailand’s resort town of
Phuket. Environmentalists slammed the deal saying such a move would
destroy the fragile ecology of the Andaman and Nicobar islands and
encourage the sex trade.
(Reuters, 8/3/05)
2005 Jul 5, Thousands of poor
ethnic Hmong refugees from Laos were living without shelter in northern
Thailand, forced from their homes under a Thai campaign to pressure
them to return to their native land. Landlords said the government had
set a July 4 deadline for them to evict the some 6,500 refugees from
their bamboo shelters.
(AP, 7/6/05)
2005 Jul 11, Thailand reported the
discovery of 10 new cases of bird flu just as it was about to declare
the country free of the disease.
(AP, 7/11/05)
2005 Jul 14, In southern Thailand
at least 60 insurgents plunged Yala city into darkness by destroying
electrical transformers, then roamed the streets with fire-bombs,
explosives and guns, targeting an area near a hotel, convenience
stores, a restaurant and the railway station. Suspected Islamic
separatists set off 5 bombs and exchanged gunfire with security
personnel in an attack, killing a police officer and wounding 19 other
people.
(AP, 7/14/05)(AP, 7/17/05)
2005 Jul 15, Thailand's
government, reeling from bold attacks by suspected separatists in the
Muslim-dominated south, granted PM Thaksin Shinawatra sweeping powers
to tap phones, directly command security forces and order curfews.
(AP, 7/15/05)
2005 Jul 17, In Thailand an
emergency decree was signed into law that granted PM Shinawatra
sweeping powers to tap phones, directly command security forces and
order curfews. It also granted immunity to security forces in emergency
zones.
(Econ, 7/23/05, p.40)
2005 Sep 19, Lukman B. Lima, a
veteran leader of Thailand's insurgency, issued a warning: militants
from Indonesia and Arab nations might join the fight for a separate
homeland if the Thai government continues a crackdown that's provoking
a new generation of Muslim fighters.
(AP, 9/23/05)
2005 Sep, In Thailand a weekly
talk show on government run TV hosted by Sondhi Limthongkul, founder of
the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), was cancelled. Weekly
rallies soon followed in which Mr. Sondhi unveiled fresh allegations of
official corruption and misconduct.
(Econ, 12/17/05, p.42)(Econ, 9/6/08, p.47)
2005 Oct 5, In southern Thailand
suspected Islamic insurgents shot and killed five soldiers as they ate
dinner at a military outpost.
(AP, 10/5/05)
2005 Oct 16, In southern Thailand
about 20 suspected Muslim separatists stormed a monastery, hacked an
elderly Buddhist monk to death and fatally shot two temple boys.
(AP, 10/17/05)
2005 Oct 18, Thailand's Cabinet
announced it was extending a state of emergency in three southern
provinces to cope with an escalating Muslim insurgency.
(AP, 10/18/05)
2005 Oct 20, Thailand PM Thaksin
Shinawatra said new lab results confirmed the country's 13th death from
bird flu.
(AP, 10/20/05)
2005 Oct 26, Suspected Muslim
insurgents raided 60 targets in southern Thailand, stealing 90 weapons
and causing at least seven deaths.
(AP, 10/27/05)
2005 Nov 2, In southern Thailand
several bombs exploded in Narathiwat, killing one attacker and knocking
out electricity.
(AP, 11/2/05)
2005 Nov 3, Thailand's government
imposed martial law in two Muslim-dominated districts of its
insurgency-wracked south, a day after Islamic separatists staged a new
show of strength with bombings that blacked out a provincial capital.
(AP, 11/3/05)
2005 Nov 7, In Thailand at least
three people were killed, two others injured and dozens of suspected
Muslim insurgents arrested as militants attacked more than 20
government targets in the southern Yala province.
(AP, 11/8/05)
2005 Nov 16, In Thailand suspected
Muslim separatists stormed 2 houses in a southern village and opened
fire on the families with assault rifles, killing 9 people and injuring
9 others.
(AP, 11/16/05)
2005 Dec 7, In Thailand a
5-year-old boy became the country’s 2nd bird flu fatality in two months.
(AP, 12/9/05)
2005 Dec 4, Thailand's King
Bhumibol Adulyadej publicly rebuked PM Thaksin for pursuing lawsuits
against media outlets that oppose his policies.
(www.bangkokpost.net/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=69917)
2005 Dec 20, Troops in southern
Thailand struggled through mountains of mud in an effort to reach
thousands stranded by floods and landslides that have killed at least
35 people.
(AP, 12/20/05)
2005 Dec, In Thailand Steward
Keith McLeod of Australia beat his Canadian wife, Barbara Lynn (61), to
death with a hammer and dumped her battered body in bushes along a
residential street in Bangkok. In 2006 McLeod (45) was sentenced to 34
years in prison.
(AP, 12/28/06)
2005 In southern Thailand the
Buddhist vigilante group Ruam Thai, or Thais United, was established
late this year by police officials led by Maj. Gen. Phitak Ladkaew,
then chief of investigation in Yala, one of the 3 Muslim-majority
provinces.
(AP, 8/8/07)
2006 Jan 9, Jaruvan Maintaka,
locked out of her auditor-general office, launched a Web site with
other activists to track graft in Thailand.
(WSJ, 2/9/06, p.A7)
2006 Jan 10, In Thailand
protesters pushed through a police barricade outside a hotel where
negotiators were trying to hammer out a US-Thai free trade pact, as
demonstrations against the deal gained momentum but failed to disrupt
the talks.
(AP, 1/10/06)
2006 Jan 18, In Thailand 2
fishermen were sentenced to death in the rape and murder of a British
tourist, a crime that prompted the PM to demand the maximum penalty.
Bualoi Posit (23) and Wichai Somkhaoyai (24) pleaded guilty to the New
Year's Day slaying of Katherine Horton, a 21-year-old student from
Wales.
(AP, 1/18/06)
2006 Jan 18, An American couple
claiming to be of Lao royal descent were shot dead in northeastern
Thailand. Anouwong Sethathirath IV (49) and Oulayvanh Sethathirath (38)
were killed at a Buddhist monastery in Nong Khai. The next day Thai
police said they might have been targeted by Laos' government on
suspicions that they were working against the communist regime.
(AP, 1/19/06)
2006 Jan 23, The family of Thai PM
Thaksin Shinawatra sold their controlling stake in the telecom Shin
Corp. for $1.87 billion to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. Legal
loopholes were used to avoid taxes on the sale.
(WSJ, 2/6/06, p.C10)(Econ, 3/4/06, p.39)
2006 Feb 4, Tens of thousands of
people filled a plaza near the Thai parliament, chanting slogans
demanding that PM Thaksin Shinawatra step down amid allegations of
official corruption. Thaksin said he would step down if the king asked.
(AP, 2/4/06)
2006 Feb 8, In Thailand
skydivers from 31 countries set a new world record of 400 people
holding hands in a midair free-fall formation.
(AP, 2/8/06)
2006 Feb 11, Thailand's PM
Shinawatra, facing growing calls for his resignation, agreed to hold a
national referendum on amending the country's constitution.
(AP, 2/11/06)
2006 Feb 17, French President
Jacques Chirac has arrived for his first visit to Thailand as head of
state, with Paris hoping to secure lucrative contracts in one of the
most dynamic countries in the region.
(AFP, 2/17/06)
2006 Feb 24, Thailand's embattled
PM Shinawatra dissolved parliament, a move forcing national elections
three years early and guaranteeing a showdown with his political
opponents.
(AP, 2/24/06)
2006 Feb 26, In Thailand some 50
thousand people gathered in Bangkok for a new mass rally to demand the
ousting of PM Thaksin Shinawatra as opposition parties said they were
considering boycotting a snap election which he has called in response.
(AFP, 2/26/06)
2006 Mar 5, Tens of thousands of
Thais marched to Government House, demanding the resignation of PM
Thaksin Shinawatra in the fourth protest against him in as many weeks.
(AP, 3/5/06)
2006 Mar 14, Thailand's PM Thaksin
Shinawatra vowed to declare an emergency if anti-government protests
turned violent, as tens of thousands marched on his office to demand
his resignation for alleged corruption.
(AP, 3/14/06)
2006 Mar 21, In Thailand
demonstrators seeking the resignation of PM Thaksin Shinawatra brought
their protests to Bangkok's commercial district.
(AP, 3/21/06)
2006 Mar 22, In Thailand a truck
crashed through a railroad crossing barrier and slammed into a
passenger train in Ratchaburi, causing a derailment and killing at
least six people.
(AP, 3/22/06)
2006 Mar 25, Tens of thousands
rallied in Bangkok, begging their king to intervene in a last-ditch
effort to force PM Thaksin Shinawatra from office.
(AP, 3/25/06)
2006 Mar 29, In Thailand tens of
thousands of protesters seeking the ouster of PM Thaksin Shinawatra
descended on Bangkok's busiest shopping district, disrupting business
and traffic in the heart of the capital.
(AP, 3/29/06)
2006 Mar 29, In Thailand 7
decomposed bodies found in a jungle near the border with Myanmar. The
remains of four Hmong Americans are believed to be among the dead.
Eight men, including four Hmong with US citizenship, were reported
missing March 16.
(AP, 3/29/06)
2006 Apr 2, Thailand citizens
voted in snap parliamentary elections. Thailand's PM urged citizens to
ignore an opposition boycott, saying the vote was crucial to ending the
country's deepening political stalemate amid demands for his
resignation. Bombs exploded at three polling stations in restive
southern Thailand, injuring four soldiers and a police officer.
(AP, 4/2/06)
2006 Apr 3, PM Thaksin claimed
victory in Thailand's general election that followed weeks of
anti-government protests, saying his party won more than half of the
popular vote, the threshold he had set for staying in office.
(AP, 4/3/06)
2006 Apr 4, Thailand’s Embattled
PM Thaksin Shinawatra abruptly announced he will step down from office,
bowing to a mounting opposition campaign seeking his ouster over
allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
(AP, 4/4/06)
2006 Apr 5, Thailand’s PM Thaksin
Shinawatra handed over power to a longtime friend and fellow police
officer, less than 24 hours after saying he would step down over
allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
(AP, 4/5/06)
2006 Apr 18, Thailand's government
said it will extend a state of emergency in southern Thailand as part
of measures to combat a Muslim insurgency that has left over 1,000
people dead.
(AP, 4/18/06)
2006 Apr 23, Opponents of
Thailand's outgoing prime minister wore black and tore up their ballots
to protest parliamentary elections they said were unfair. Weekend
elections failed to fill several seats in Parliament, deepening the
country's political crisis.
(AP, 4/23/06)(AP, 4/24/06)
2006 Apr 27, Reports from Myanmar
and Thailand said Myanmar troops were waging their biggest military
offensive in almost a decade and have uprooted more than 11,000 ethnic
minority civilians in a campaign punctuated by torture, killings and
the burning of villages.
(AP, 4/27/06)
2006 May 7, A fire broke out at a
club in the Thai resort town of Pattaya, killing at least seven people
and injuring at least 49.
(AP, 5/7/06)
2006 May 8, Thailand's
Constitutional Court invalidated last month's parliamentary elections
and ordered fresh polls in a bid to end a political impasse that has
left the country unable to form a new government.
(AP, 5/8/06)
2006 May 10, In southern Thailand
a bomb exploded at a tea shop near a busy market, killing at least
three people and injuring more than a dozen.
(AP, 5/10/06)
2006 May 23, In Thailand PM
Thaksin Shinawatra resumed his duties as challenges to his hold on
power mounted even after a self-imposed leave of absence for seven
weeks.
(AP, 5/23/06)
2006 May 23, In northern Thailand
flash floods left thousands of people stranded on rooftops and trapped
inside trains. 9 people were reported killed.
(AP, 5/23/06)
2006 Jun 9, Thailand's King
Bhumibol Adulyadej (b.1927), the world's longest-reigning monarch,
began celebrating his 60th anniversary on the throne. He became the 9th
king of the Chakri dynasty, succeeding his older brother, Ananda,
killed by an unexplained shooting on June 9, 1946.
(AP, 6/12/06)
2006 Jun 15, In Thailand suspected
Muslim insurgents exploded more than 40 bombs in attacks on government
offices across the restive south, killing at least two people.
(AP, 6/15/06)
2006 Jun 27, In Thailand
prosecutors asked the Constitutional Court to disband both the
governing Thai Rak Thai (TRT) and the main opposition Democrats for
gross misconduct in the April elections. In southern Thailand 7 people
were killed by suspected Islamic insurgents in attacks, including a
bombing that left five security officers dead.
(Econ, 7/1/06, p.38)(AFP, 6/27/06)
2006 Jul 13, In Thailand a top
court decided to accept a case that accuses PM Thaksin Shinawatra's
ruling party and its main rival of electoral fraud.
(AP, 7/13/06)
2006 Jul 25, Thailand's three
election commissioners, seen as close allies of embattled PM Thaksin
Shinawatra, were convicted of allowing unqualified candidates to run in
parliamentary elections and sentenced to four years in prison.
(AP, 7/25/06)
2006 Aug 1, Assailants carried out
at least 40 bomb and arson attacks in Thailand's three Muslim-dominated
southernmost provinces. At least three people were reported hurt.
(AP, 8/1/06)
2006 Aug 2, In southern Thailand a
bomb planted along a railroad exploded and killed three policemen.
(AP, 8/2/06)
2006 Aug 16, John Mark Karr (41),
a former American school teacher, was arrested in Thailand for the
December, 1996, murder JonBenet Ramsey in Boulder, Colo. He said he
tried to kidnap JonBenet for a $118,000 ransom but that his plan went
awry and he strangled her. Karr's confession that he had killed
JonBenet was later discredited.
(AP, 8/17/07)
2006 Aug 22, Thailand police
arrested 175 North Koreans, mostly women and children, who illegally
entered the country and were found hiding in an abandoned home in
Bangkok.
(AFP, 8/23/06)
2006 Aug 31, In southern Thailand
nearly two dozen bombs exploded almost simultaneously inside commercial
banks, killing two people in a region bloodied by a Muslim insurgency.
(AP, 8/31/06)
2006 Sep 7, A Thai court decided
to extradite a Vietnamese dissident to face charges of violating
airspace for a stunt that involved hijacking a plane and dropping
50,000 anti-communist leaflets over Ho Chi Minh City. Ly Tong, a South
Vietnamese air force veteran who later became a US citizen, hijacked
the twin-engine plane from Thailand in November 2000.
(AP, 9/7/06)
2006 Sep 16, In southern Thailand
bomb blasts killed four people including a Canadian (29), who became
the first Westerner to die in the two-year Muslim insurgency. At least
five bombs exploded: two in department stories; two in front of a bar
and a parking lot at the Odean Shopping Mall; and a fifth at a nearby
massage parlor in Songkhla province's Hat Yai city.
(AP, 9/17/06)
2006 Sep 19, In Thailand a 6-man
military junta launched a coup against PM Thaksin Shinawatra, circling
his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a
provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king. This was the 18th
coup since 1932. General Prem Tinsulanonda was widely seen as the
mastermind of the coup.
(AP, 9/19/06)(Econ, 9/23/06, p.27)(Econ, 12/6/08,
p.34)
2006 Sep 20, Gen. Sondhi
Boonyaratkalin, the army commander who seized Thailand's government in
a quick, bloodless coup, pledged to hold elections by October 2007. He
received a ringing endorsement from the country's revered king.
(AP, 9/20/06)
2006 Sep 21, Thailand's new
military rulers said that four top members of deposed PM Thaksin
Shinawatra's administration had been detained. The regime also assumed
the duties of parliament, which was dissolved when the government was
ousted in a coup earlier this week, and banned meetings by all
political parties.
(AP, 9/21/06)
2006 Sep 24, Thailand's military
council issued new orders intended to stave off any possible opposition
to their coup, banning political activities at the district and
provincial levels.
(AP, 9/24/06)
2006 Sep 28, Thailand's auditor
general, Jaruvan Maintaka, told reporters that Gen. Surayud Chulanont
(62), a highly regarded retired officer, would lead the country until
promised elections next year. The US suspended $24 million in military
aid due to the coup.
(AP, 9/29/06)(WSJ, 9/29/06, p.A1)
2006 Sep 28, Thailand’s new
Suvarnabhumi Airport, built on an area known as "Cobra Swamp,"
officially opened its doors, more than four decades after the project
originated.
(AP, 9/27/06)(AP, 9/28/06)
2006 Oct 1, In Thailand retired
army commander Gen. Surayud Chulanont (b.1943) was sworn as interim
prime minister following the announcement of a temporary constitution
that reserved considerable powers for the military coup makers.
(AP, 10/1/06)(WSJ, 10/2/06, p.A7)
2006 Oct 2, Thailand's respected
central bank chief said he has agreed to join the interim Cabinet, a
move that appeared likely to reassure the business community.
(AP, 10/2/06)
2006 Oct 3, Thailand's deposed
premier Thaksin Shinawatra resigned from his once all-powerful party in
a letter faxed from London.
(AP, 10/3/06)
2006 Oct 5, Thai coup leaders
agreed to talk with southern rebels reversing Thaksin’s confrontational
approach to the insurgency.
(WSJ, 10/6/06, p.A1)
2006 Oct 5, The Latvian and Thai
candidates dropped out of the race to become the next U.N. chief on
Thursday, leaving South Korea's foreign minister as the lone remaining
contender and near-certain successor to Kofi Annan.
(AP, 10/5/06)
2006 Oct 9, Thailand's king
approved a post-coup Cabinet lineup, ushering in an interim government
expected to rule the country for one year until the next elections are
held.
(AP, 10/9/06)
2006 Oct 14, Thailand's
military-installed premier Surayud Chulanont visited Vientiane on the
first stop of a weekend tour aimed at reassuring neighbors Laos and
Cambodia that Bangkok won't pull any more surprises.
(AFP, 10/14/06)
2006 Oct 18, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents attacked an army base, killing one soldier
and leaving four others injured.
(AP, 10/18/06)
2006 Oct 20, Thailand's military
government said it had extended emergency rule in the Muslim-majority
south where another 21 people were killed this week despite moves to
resolve bloody unrest.
(AFP, 10/20/06)
2006 Oct 21, The death toll from
severe flooding in Thailand and neighboring Myanmar has jumped to 143
after Thai authorities confirmed another 16 victims. The severe
flooding began in late August in Thailand's central and northern
provinces
(AFP, 10/21/06)
2006 Oct 26, Thailand's
military-installed PM Surayud Chulanont visited Vietnam for the last of
a series of trips aimed at reassuring Bangkok's neighbors after last
month's coup.
(AFP, 10/26/06)
2006 Oct, In Thailand Queen
Sirikit saw news reports that showed footage from a nearby motorcycle
shop that had hired a group of Coyote Girls to promote its wares. The
dancers were named after the 2000 American film "Coyote Ugly," about a
group of sassy 20-somethings who dance seductively on a New York City
bar top. The queen’s reaction prompted a crackdown that turned Coyote
Girls into a subject of national debate and official disapproval.
(AP, 12/27/06)
2006 Nov 5, In Thailand a bomb
blast killed two soldiers and injured three others in the restive
south. 4 people were shot dead and six wounded in a string of shootings
and simultaneous bomb attacks in the south. PM Surayud Chulanont
apologized to Muslims for the government's failure to quell the
long-running insurgency.
(AFP, 11/5/06)
2006 Nov 9, In southern Thailand 8
bombs exploded almost simultaneously at car and motorcycle showrooms,
wounding nine people.
(AP, 11/9/06)
2006 Nov 15, In southern Thailand
suspected Islamic militants over the last 2 days shot dead three people
in separate drive-by shootings, while one soldier was hurt in a bomb
attack.
(AP, 11/15/06)
2006 Nov 17, In southern Thailand
3 bomb blasts killed one person and wounded at least 30 others.
(AP, 11/18/06)
2006 Nov 22, In southern Thailand
a woman was shot and her body burnt in Narathiwat, while a second
victim, believed to be Buddhist man, was shot several times in the
face. A separatist leader said the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah
(JI) extremist network is helping groups of young fighters stage
attacks in Thailand's Muslim-majority south.
(AP, 11/22/06)
2006 Nov 24, In Thailand attackers
shot a school principal, and then set his body on fire. The principal
became the 59th teacher or school official killed in three years of
violence.
(AP, 11/25/06)
2006 Nov 25, In Thailand a
regional representative for teachers said more than 300 schools in the
south will close indefinitely Nov 27, after attacks by suspected Muslim
insurgents left two teachers dead.
(AP, 11/25/06)
2006 Nov 28, Thailand's
military-installed government agreed to lift martial law in Bangkok and
in more than half of the country's provinces.
(AP, 11/28/06)
2006 Dec 9, In Thailand a police
informant who survived two attacks by suspected Muslim insurgents was
killed in a drive-by shooting in the restive south.
(AP, 12/9/06)
2006 Dec 13, Two Laotian-American
men were shot to death at a bus station in northeastern Thailand after
returning from a trip to Laos. Thai police said they suspect a
political connection to the killings.
(AP, 12/14/06)
2006 Dec 19, Thailand’s stock
market experienced a record decline as the government moved to clamp
down on foreign investment. Thailand’s SET index lost 15% of its value.
By the end of the day the government partially lifted its restrictions.
(WSJ, 12/20/06, p.C1)(SFC, 12/21/06, p.C3)(Econ,
1/6/07, p.59)
2006 Dec 24, Bo Mya (79), a
longtime leader of the Karen National Union, died in Thailand. The KNU
was Myanmar's largest guerrilla group.
(AP, 12/24/06)
2006 Dec 29, In southern Thailand
2 teachers were shot and burned to death and a government worker gunned
down in attacks blamed on Muslim insurgents.
(AP, 12/29/06)
2006 Dec 31, In Thailand 6 bomb
blasts rocked Bangkok on New Years Eve and 3 more just after midnight.
3 people were killed 38 wounded. The city cancelled its major New
Year's Eve celebrations just as revelers had begun to gather ahead of
the countdown.
(AP, 1/1/07)
2006 Paul M. Handley authored “The
King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand’s Bhumidiol Adulyadej. The
import of Handley's book into Thailand was banned by police order even
before its publication.
(Econ, 7/29/06, p.74)(AP, 1/10/08)
2006 Phantarak Rajadej (104), a
former police chief in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, died. He had
begun making and selling Jatukam Ramathep amulets in the 1980s to raise
money for a Buddhist shrine and was believed to have mastered the art
of black magic to ward off his enemies. Production of the amulets
surged following his death. In 2008 the market collapsed.
(WSJ, 4/7/08, p.A9)
2007 Jan 13, In southern Thailand
a Buddhist man and his wife were working at a rubber plantation in Yala
province when a group attacked them, shooting the man three times in
the chest before beheading him and killing his wife. Another Buddhist
was killed in a drive-by shooting in a separate attack in Yala. The
Islamic insurgency, that flared in January 2004, has killed more than
1,900 people.
(AP, 1/14/07)
2007 Jan 14, Two passenger trains
collided near a beach resort town south of Bangkok, killing three
people and injuring more than 100 others.
(AP, 1/14/07)
2007 Jan 17, In Thailand suspected
separatist rebels shot dead two Buddhist villagers in the
Muslim-majority south. The insurgency there has killed more than 1,800
people in three years.
(AFP, 1/17/07)
2007 Jan 26, Suspected Muslim
separatists ambushed police patrols and torched a school as PM Surayud
Chulanont returned to southern Thailand for a third attempt at ending
the bloody insurgency.
(AP, 1/27/07)
2007 Jan, In Thailand the film
“The Legend of King Naresuan,” directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol, set a
new box office record taking in $3.4 million (120 million baht) in its
1st four days. The 2nd episode of the trilogy was scheduled to open
February 15.
(Econ, 2/3/07, p.44)
2007 Feb 12, Thailand, which has
upset big drug companies by issuing patent-overriding licenses for
generic versions of heart and HIV/AIDS pills, said it would issue more
unless the firms cut prices.
(AP, 2/12/07)
2007 Feb 18, In Thailand 29
bombings and 20 other attacks rocked the country's four southernmost
provinces. Most of the attacks took place in a span of 45 minutes.
(AP, 2/19/07)
2007 Feb 19, In Thailand violence
continued as bombs exploded at four locations in the south, killing an
army major and wounding two soldiers, three policemen and 13 civilians.
(AP, 2/19/07)
2007 Feb 21, Thailand police said
suspected Islamic separatists had set ablaze Thailand's biggest rubber
warehouse and shot dead four people in fresh attacks across the
Muslim-majority southern provinces. A top economic aide to ousted PM
Thaksin Shinawatra resigned from his position in the current
military-appointed government following sharp criticism from
pro-democracy groups.
(AFP, 2/21/07)(AP, 2/21/07)
2007 Feb 27, Pridiyathorn
Devakula, Thailand’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, quit.
(Econ, 3/3/07, p.49)
2007 Mar 2, In the jungles of
southern Thailand soldiers killed five suspected Muslim insurgents
during a raid on a weapons training camp.
(AP, 3/2/07)
2007 Mar 6, Thailand's
military-installed government took over the country's only independent
television station and said it would be temporarily pulled off the air
after it failed to pay millions of dollars in unpaid license fees.
(AP, 3/6/07)
2007 Mar 9, Thailand's junta chief
urged people living in restive Muslim-majority provinces to act as
informants for security forces trying to quell three years of
separatist unrest.
(AP, 3/9/07)
2007 Mar 14, Thai prosecutors said
they would charge the wife of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra with
tax evasion. In southern Thailand suspected Muslim insurgents opened
fire on nine Buddhists who were riding in a commuter van, killing all
of them execution-style.
(AP, 3/14/07)(AFP, 3/14/07)
2007 Mar 17, In southern Thailand
attackers hurled explosives and opened fire on an Islamic school,
killing three students and sparking a riot by angry Muslim villagers.
Shortly after the attack, three Buddhists were shot dead in the same
district.
(AP, 3/18/07)
2007 Mar 19, In Thailand suspected
Muslim separatists shot and killed three Buddhist women involved with a
project for victims of the insurgency.
(AP, 3/19/07)
2007 Mar 22, Malaysia and Thailand
agreed to map out a series of socio-economic measures to end rising
sectarian tensions and violence in the kingdom's insurgency-wracked
south.
(AFP, 3/22/07)
2007 Mar 29, A Swiss man was
jailed for 10 years for insulting Thailand's revered king by
vandalizing his portraits during a drunken spree.
(AP, 3/29/07)
2007 Apr 2, Thailand's premier
hailed ties with Japan as he prepared to sign a free-trade agreement
with his country's top investor, easing international isolation of the
kingdom since last year's coup. Army-installed PM Surayud Chulanont
will sign the deal April 3, which Thailand hopes will boost investment
from Japan.
(AFP, 4/2/07)
2007 Apr 3, Japan and Thailand
signed a free trade agreement that will cut tariffs on a wide range of
traded goods, from seafood to automobiles.
(AP, 4/3/07)
2007 Apr 5, Attackers fired a
grenade into a mosque in Thailand's restive south, wounding 16 Muslim
worshippers in an act of defiance after authorities imposed a strict
curfew to contain escalating violence.
(AP, 4/5/07)
2007 Apr 12, Thailand police said
the king has pardoned a Swiss man who was given a 10-year sentence for
spray-painting over images of the revered monarch, but the longtime
Thailand resident has been ordered to leave the country.
(AP, 4/12/07)
2007 Apr 14, Flash floods swept
over two waterfalls on a southern Thai mountain packed with picnickers
and swimmers celebrating the country's New Year, killing at least 35
people and leaving dozens more missing.
(AP, 4/15/07)
2007 Apr 29, Suspected Muslim
insurgents in southern Thailand killed two Buddhist villagers,
beheading one of them, and left a note saying the attack was revenge
for a deadly weekend bombing at a mosque.
(AP, 4/30/07)
2007 Apr 30, In southern Thailand
suspected Islamic insurgents exploded a bomb at a busy night market and
wounded 20 people.
(AP, 5/1/07)
2007 May 2, Thailand's
military-installed PM Surayud Chulanont said he has tasked his southern
army commander with developing a detailed amnesty proposal for Islamic
militants.
(AP, 5/2/07)
2007 May 4, Delegates meeting in
Thailand from 120 countries approved the first roadmap for stemming
greenhouse gas emissions, laying out what they said was an affordable
arsenal of anti-warming measures that must be rushed into place to
avert a disastrous spike in global temperatures.
(AP, 5/4/07)
2007 May 8, Thailand and the
United States launched their annual war games.
(AP, 5/8/07)
2007 May 11, In southern Thailand
separatist militants killed two policemen in a raid on a security
checkpost, attacking it with guns and grenades before setting it ablaze
with the victims inside.
(AFP, 5/11/07)
2007 May 20, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents shot and killed two Buddhist civilians and
wounded a third, while a bomb wounded 11 people, including five
policemen.
(AP, 5/20/07)
2007 May 23, In southern Thailand
7 people including two teenagers were killed, while 11 others were
injured in a spate of bombings by suspected separatist rebels.
(AFP, 5/23/07)
2007 May 27, In southern Thailand
6 bombs ripped through a key commercial district, wounding 10 people.
(AP, 5/28/07)
2007 May 28, In southern Thailand
a bomb in a market in Kolomudo killed four Buddhists, including two
children.
(AP, 8/7/07)
2007 May 29, Senior Thai judges
began deliberating on whether to dissolve the kingdom's two main
political parties as thousands of troops were put on alert amid
security fears ahead of the court verdict.
(AP, 5/29/07)
2007 May 30, Two senior officials
with Thailand's Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party were found guilty of election
fraud in a ruling that could doom the political powerhouse founded by
ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra. A court disbanded the political party of
Shinawatra, barring him and 110 party executives from politics for five
years due to election law violations.
(AFP, 5/30/07)(AP, 5/31/07)
2007 May 31, In southern Thailand
suspected insurgents sprayed gunfire into a mosque, killing 7
worshippers. Black-uniformed raiders roared into Kolomudo, a Muslim
village, firing assault rifles and hurling grenades from a pickup truck
at a group of teenagers relaxing near the mosque. When the attack was
over, five of the youths lay dead. Buddhist vigilantes were suspected.
A roadside bomb killed 11 paramilitary troops almost simultaneously in
some of the worst recent violence. A 12th soldier died the next day.
(AP, 6/1/07)(AP, 8/7/07)
2007 Jun 9, Thailand deported 163
ethnic Hmong asylum-seekers to Laos who authorities said had entered
the country illegally in recent years trying to reach a large refugee
camp.
(AP, 6/9/07)
2007 Jun 14, In insurgency-wracked
southern Thailand a bomb exploded during a soccer match, wounding 14
police officers who were providing security.
(AP, 6/14/07)
2007 Jun 15, In southern Thailand
a roadside bomb and shootings killed seven soldiers in one of the
deadliest attacks on security forces this year.
(AP, 6/15/07)
2007 Jun 16, Thailand's
military-installed government offered to negotiate with ousted PM
Thaksin Shinawatra over his recently frozen assets, as thousands of
people protested in support of the former leader.
(AP, 6/16/07)
2007 Jun 19, Police charged ousted
PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife with concealing assets and ordered
the exiled leader to return to Thailand.
(AP, 6/19/07)
2007 Jun 20, Thailand’s
legislature approved an anti-rape law that widens the definition of the
crime and makes it illegal for a husband to have sex with his wife
without her consent.
(AP, 6/21/07)
2007 Jun 21, Thai prosecutors
filed corruption charges against ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra in the
Supreme Court, in the first formal charges lodged against the exiled
former premier. Separatist militants in southern Thailand shot a Muslim
man and then partially severed his head, while the nation's junta
leader was visiting the region. A 54-year-old Buddhist was gunned down
in a drive-by shooting.
(AP, 6/21/07)(AFP, 6/22/07)
2007 Jun 22, In southern Thailand
10 people, including five soldiers, were hurt in two separate bombings.
(AFP, 6/22/07)
2007 Jun 25, The Thai government
said it will freeze an additional $147 million in assets believed to be
controlled by ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
(AP, 6/26/07)
2007 Jun 26, The Asian Development
Bank in Thailand said Asian governments must promote clean energy such
as wind and solar power to maintain their booming economies and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades.
(AP, 6/26/07)
2007 Jul 5, Thailand's military
junta unveiled a new outline constitution with controversial proposals
that could limit the role of any future elected prime minister.
(AFP, 7/5/07)
2007 Jul 11, In southern Thailand
suspected separatists over the last 24 hours shot dead 4 people
including a government official, as the Thai premier began a two-day
visit to the region.
(AP, 7/11/07)
2007 Jul 12, In southern Thailand
suspected rebels killed five people.
(AFP, 7/12/07)
2007 Jul 17, In southern Thailand
twin bomb attacks killed one policeman and wounded 18 other people, as
the junta formally extended a state of emergency in the region.
(AP, 7/17/07)
2007 Aug 1, In southern Thailand a
rebel ambush and bombs left 11 people dead.
(SFC, 8/2/07, p.A3)
2007 Aug 2, In Thailand a lawyer
said the wife of Thailand's deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra will
seek 1.4 billion dollars in compensation from military-backed
authorities that have frozen her assets.
(AP, 8/2/07)
2007 Aug 6, PM Surayud Chulanont
said Thailand will return some 8,000 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos
despite their claims that they face persecution in their homeland.
(AP, 8/6/07)
2007 Aug 14, A Thailand judge
issued arrest warrants for ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife
for failing to appear at their trial on corruption-related charges.
(AP, 8/14/07)
2007 Aug 19, A new constitution
for Thailand, that is to usher in December general elections and end
military rule, was approved by millions of voters in the country’s
first ever nationwide referendum. This was the 18th constitution since
the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.
(AP, 8/19/07)(Econ, 8/25/07, p.38)
2007 Aug 31, The Thai government
said it has lifted a four-month ban on YouTube after the popular
video-sharing Web site's operator agreed not to allow videos that
violate the country's laws or are deemed offensive to Thai people. 3
people including a state railway worker were shot dead in separate
attacks in the restive Muslim-majority south.
(AP, 8/31/07)
2007 Sep 3, A Thai court issued
arrest warrants for former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife over
their alleged violations of stock-trading laws.
(AP, 9/3/07)
2007 Sep 15, In Thailand a
roadside bomb planted by suspected separatist rebels killed one soldier
and wounded five others in the insurgency-torn south. 2 men were killed
in a drive-by shooting by suspected militants in Pattani province.
(AP, 9/15/07)
2007 Sep 16, In Thailand a
One-Two-Go Airlines passenger plane filled with foreign tourists
crashed as it tried to land in pouring rain on the island of Phuket,
splitting in two and bursting into flames. 89 people were killed.
(AP, 9/17/07)(AP, 9/16/08)
2007 Sep 30, Thailand's General
Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who led last year's coup, stepped down as head of
the nation's junta, paving the way for him to join the cabinet.
(AFP, 10/1/07)
2007 Oct 2, Thailand's coup leader
General Sonthi Boonyaratglin was officially named a deputy prime
minister, but he denied that his appointment to the cabinet was an
attempt to cling to power.
(AP, 10/2/07)
2007 Oct 13, In southern Thailand
6 European tourists and their two Thai guides died when a flash flood
engulfed a cave they were exploring.
(AFP, 10/14/07)
2007 Oct 19, Christopher Paul Neil
(32), a Canadian schoolteacher suspected of sexually abusing boys, was
arrested in rural Thailand and charged after a 3-year international
manhunt that relied on digitally unscrambled photos and tips from the
public. Neil later pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy
and was sentenced to three years and three months in jail; he faces
other charges involving the victim's younger brother.
(AP, 10/19/07)(AP, 10/19/08)
2007 Oct 30, Thailand's
military-installed government lifted martial law in more than half of
the 400 districts where it remained after being imposed during a coup
last year.
(AP, 10/30/07)
2007 Nov 21, In southern Thailand
unidentified gunmen killed four local government employees in the same
district where a prominent political party leader was campaigning.
(AP, 11/21/07)
2007 Nov 28, In southern Thailand
a Muslim military informant was shot and crucified, while two Buddhist
men were beheaded by suspected Islamic separatists.
(AFP, 11/28/07)
2007 Dec 4, In southern Thailand a
bomb killed six people and injured 20 in one of the deadliest attacks
in recent months.
(AP, 12/4/07)
2007 Dec 6, The 24th Southeast
Asian Games officially opened in Korat, Thailand.
(AFP, 12/6/07)
2007 Dec 12, Thailand smashed
through the 100-gold barrier at the SEA Games as they continued their
relentless pursuit of top spot on the medals table.
(AFP, 12/12/07)
2007 Dec 13, An official said Thai
tax authorities have seized assets worth about $34.2 million from
family members of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
(AP, 12/14/07)
2007 Dec 18, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents shot and killed four people before
beheading one victim, days before the country's first election since
last year's coup.
(AP, 12/18/07)
2007 Dec 20, Thailand's
military-installed parliament approved a controversial internal
security law. Critics warned it will allow the military to maintain a
grip on power even after this weekend's general election.
(AP, 12/21/07)
2007 Dec 23, In Thailand allies of
deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra appeared to emerge as victors in the
post-coup election but failed to secure an absolute majority in
parliament. Thaksinites won 233 seats, 8 short of a majority in the
480-seat lower house.
(AP, 12/23/07)(Econ, 1/5/08, p.33)
2007 Dec 24, The Thai political
party allied with deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra said that it has
recruited enough other parties to form a coalition government following
its win in the country's first election since a 2006 coup.
(AP, 12/24/07)
2007 Dec 25, Deposed PM Thaksin
Shinawatra said he was planning to return home from exile and might
advise the victorious party in last weekend's elections, sparking fears
of another year of intense political conflict in Thailand.
(AP, 12/25/07)
2007 Dec 27, In Thailand officials
said deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra would be arrested if he returns home
from a self-imposed exile as planned, even if his victorious allies
form a government following last weekend's general election.
(AP, 12/27/07)
2007 Dec 31, In Thailand a bomb
attack wounded 27 people in Sungai Kolok, a tourist town where people
had gathered to celebrate the New Year.
(AP, 12/31/07)
2007 In Thailand 751 people died
in prison or under police custody this year.
(Econ, 4/19/08, p.55)
2008 Jan 8, The wife of ousted PM
Thaksin Shinawatra was handed an arrest warrant after she returned to
Thailand to face corruption charges that could put her behind bars for
20 years.
(AP, 1/8/08)
2008 Jan 13, In Thailand six
suspected militants escaped in a jailbreak.
(AP, 1/15/08)
2008 Jan 14, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents killed eight soldiers, leaving one
beheaded, in a bomb and shooting attack.
(AP, 1/14/08)
2008 Jan 15, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents exploded a bomb that left at least 39
people injured in a market in Yala.
(AP, 1/15/08)
2008 Jan 24, In southern Thailand
Muslim militants fatally shot a Buddhist teacher as he pulled out of
his driveway to head to work.
(AP, 1/24/08)
2008 Jan 26, In western Thailand a
bus packed with passengers heading to a funeral tumbled down a
mountain, killing nine people and injuring 26 others.
(AP, 1/26/08)
2008 Jan 28, Thailand’s parliament
chose Samak Sundaravej, representing ex-PM Shinawatra’s interests, as
premier easily beating the Democratic party candidate 310-163.
(SFC, 1/29/08, p.A4)
2008 Jan, In southern Thailand
killings rose sharply this month to 55. Some 2,800 deaths were counted
since 2004.
(Econ, 3/1/08, p.45)
2008 Feb 1, The US announced it
will resume military and other aid to Thailand as a result of the
country's successful election and its formation of a democratically
elected government.
(AP, 2/1/08)
2008 Feb 3, Thailand's new PM
Sundaravej said he will also become the defense minister in a
soon-to-be unveiled Cabinet to deter the military from staging a coup
against his government.
(AP, 2/3/08)
2008 Feb 4, In southern Thailand a
bomb exploded outside an Islamic boarding school, killing one person
and wounding 12. A separate bombing wounded six people, in the latest
violence attributed to an Islamic separatist rebellion that has entered
its fifth year.
(AP, 2/4/08)
2008 Feb 6, Thailand made an
uneasy return to democracy with the swearing-in of a Cabinet dominated
by loyalists to the prime minister ousted nearly 17 months ago in a
military coup. Suspected Muslim insurgents detonated a bomb near a
Chinese shrine in southern Thailand, killing one soldier and wounding
six other people.
(AP, 2/6/08)
2008 Feb 14, In Thailand General
Secretary Mahn Sha (64), leader of the Karen National Union (KNU), was
shot and killed at his home in Mae Sot by three men who arrived in a
pickup truck. The KNU is one of the biggest ethnic groups fighting
Myanmar's military government. Initial investigations showed that the
assailants were also Karen.
(AP, 2/14/08)
2008 Feb 19, In Thailand Glenn
Richard Allen (61), an American man was sentenced, to 16 years in
prison for raping a 13-year-old girl and sexually abusing a second
teenager in Pattaya, a Thai seaside resort town notorious for its sex
industry.
(AP, 2/19/08)
2008 Feb 19, In Thailand Glenn
Richard Allen (61), an American man was sentenced, to 16 years in
prison for raping a 13-year-old girl and sexually abusing a second
teenager in Pattaya, a Thai seaside resort town notorious for its sex
industry.
(AP, 2/19/08)
2008 Feb 28, Former Thai premier
Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to clear his name on corruption charges and
called for national unity as he flew home to a jubilant welcome from
thousands of supporters.
(AP, 2/28/08)
2008 Mar 2, Thais went to the
polls to vote in the country's first elections for the upper house of
Parliament since a 2006 military coup ousted elected PM Thaksin
Shinawatra.
(AP, 3/2/08)
2008 Mar 6, Viktor Bout, a
suspected Russian arms dealer, was arrested at a five-star hotel in
downtown Bangkok on allegations that he supplied Colombian rebels with
arms and explosives. He had been accused of flouting UN embargoes and
was wanted by Interpol.
(AP, 3/6/08)
2008 Mar 15, In southern Thailand
a bomb exploded in the parking lot of an upscale hotel, killing two
people and wounding 14 others.
(AP, 3/15/08)
2008 Apr 1, Poor countries at a UN
conference in Thailand said they won't sign a global warming pact
unless industrialized nations guarantee them billions of dollars needed
to adapt to the impact of climate change.
(AP, 4/1/08)
2008 Apr 2, Thailand's Health
Ministry ordered hospitals and medical clinics to temporarily stop
performing castrations for non-medical reasons, saying that the
procedure performed on transsexuals needs stricter monitoring.
(AP, 4/2/08)
2008 Apr 4, In Thailand climate
negotiators ended 5 days of talks. More than 160 nations agreed to
consider how to reduce rapidly growing emissions from air and sea
travel as they worked toward drafting an ambitious new treaty on global
warming.
(AFP, 4/4/08)(WSJ, 4/5/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 7, It was reported that
Thailand’s market bubble in religious talismans had popped leaving many
small business people in debt. The market in Jatukam Ramathep amulets
had swelled to $1.5 billion in 2007.
(WSJ, 4/7/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 9, Thai police dropped
charges against Viktor Bout (41), a Russian man accused of being one of
the world's most prolific black market arms dealers, saying they will
proceed with hearings to extradite him to the United States.
(AP, 4/9/08)
2008 Apr 10, In Thailand 54
illegal migrant workers from Myanmar suffocated in the back of an
unventilated truck, while the rest of the passengers being smuggled to
Thailand pounded on the container and screamed in vain for the driver's
help. 37 of the dead were women and 17 were men. A Thai court the next
day convicted some 64 survivors of illegal entry and rule to send them
back to Myanmar.
(AP, 4/10/08)(Reuters, 4/11/08)
2008 Apr 18,
Thailand's PM Samak Sundaravej said that Thais should be honored
the Olympic torch is passing through their country and protesters have
no reason to disrupt the relay. Up to 2,000 police will guard the April
19 relay, a 6.3-mile run.
(AP, 4/18/08)
2008 Apr 21,Thailand’s government
said more than 10 million people in parts of its rice bowl region have
been hit by drought causing further concerns as prices of the staple
grain soared.
(AP, 4/21/08)
2008 May 20, Ian Shuttleworth
(42), a former British police officer, was arrested in Bangkok in an
international crackdown on a sex trafficking ring that saw nine Thais
detained last month in London. He was arrested at his apartment in
downtown Bangkok, where he had set up a security company providing
bodyguards to Thailand's elite. He is accused of luring Thai women into
prostitution by promising them well-paid restaurant jobs in London, and
then selling them to a madam.
(AFP, 5/21/08)
2008 May 22, Thailand's PM
Sundaravej pledged to sell rice to Manila at "negotiable" rates, as he
began a visit to the Philippines, which is working to boost its stocks
of the grain.
(AFP, 5/22/08)
2008 May 28, Thailand police said
3 soldiers and four suspected separatist rebels have been killed in a
series of incidents across the far south, including a shootout at a
wedding party.
(AFP, 5/28/08)
2008 Jun 11, In Thailand thousands
of truckers went on a half-day strike demanding government help against
rising fuel prices, the latest in a series of protests that have swept
across Asia and Europe.
(Reuters, 6/11/08)
2008 Jun 18, Thousands of
demonstrators accused the Thai government of yielding a disputed border
region with an ancient temple to Cambodia, the latest trouble for the
embattled prime minister who has been facing daily protests calling for
his resignation.
(AP, 6/18/08)
2008 Jun 20, In Thailand several
thousand protesters pushed through a heavy police cordon around the
seat of government, vowing to besiege the compound until PM Samak
Sundaravej resigns. They accused Samak's government of interfering with
corruption charges against former PM Thaksin and trying to change the
constitution for its own self-interest. A Thai army helicopter crashed
in southern Thailand, killing all 10 people on board.
(AP, 6/20/08)
2008 Jun 22, Thailand’s PM Samak
Sundaravej agreed to resign if he lost a no-confidence vote in
Parliament.
(AP, 6/22/08)
2008 Jun, In Thailand 3 legal
advisers of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra were jailed after giving court
officials a bag holding $60,000.
(Econ, 7/12/08, p.52)
2008 Jul 1, Thailand’s deputy
prime minister said the Thai government has suspended its decision to
support Cambodia's bid to have an 11th century temple near the Thai
border declared a world landmark. In 1962, the International Court of
Justice awarded the Preah Vihear temple and the land it occupies to
Cambodia.
(AP, 7/1/08)
2008 Jul 5, In southern Thailand
suspected insurgents shot up a bustling cafe, killing three customers
and injuring four others.
(AP, 7/5/08)
2008 Jul 7, A UNESCO official said
that an 11th century temple that sits on Cambodia's disputed border
zone with Thailand has been designated as a world heritage site.
Hindu-themed Preah Vihear reflects the beliefs of the kings who ruled
what was then the Angkorean empire.
(AP, 7/8/08)
2008 Jul 11, Thai prosecutors
filed new corruption charges against ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra for
alleged abuse of authority to benefit his family business.
(AP, 7/11/08)
2008 Jul 16, Cambodia assembled
its troops near the Thai border in the second day of alleged incursions
by Thai soldiers amid tensions over disputed border land near a
historic temple.
(AP, 7/16/08)
2008 Jul 17, An organization
claiming to represent groups involved in southern Thailand's Muslim
insurgency announced it will end all violence in the region as of July
14. Former army commander and Defense Minister Chetta Thanajaro said
the organization that made the announcement represented 11 different
underground groups operating in southern Thailand.
(AP, 7/17/08)
2008 Jul 18, Thailand sent more
military reinforcements to a disputed part of the Cambodian border,
after the tense four-day standoff nearly erupted into gunfire during
the night.
(AFP, 7/18/08)
2008 Jul 21, Talks between
Cambodia and Thailand to resolve a military stand-off on their joint
border ended without a solution.
(AFP, 7/21/08)
2008 Jul 22, Cambodia asked the UN
Security Council and its Southeast Asian neighbors to intervene in
resolving a military standoff over disputed border territory around an
ancient temple, stepping up its rhetoric against Thailand.
(AP, 7/22/08)
2008 Jul 31, In Thailand the wife
of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra was found guilty of evading millions of
dollars in taxes and sentenced to three years in prison, dealing a
staggering blow to a man who was once one of the richest and most
powerful in Thailand.
(AP, 7/31/08)
2008 Aug 3, Cambodia said that
Thai soldiers are occupying a second temple site on their border in an
escalation of an ongoing armed standoff that nearly led to clashes
between the neighbors last month.
(AP, 8/3/08)
2008 Aug 6, President George W.
Bush flew into Bangkok on the latest leg of a pre-Olympics Asian tour,
although his focus in Thailand is mainly on the "outpost of tyranny"
junta in neighboring Myanmar.
(AP, 8/6/08)
2008 Aug 7, In Thailand first lady
Laura Bush, meeting with refugees who fled a brutal campaign by
Myanmar's military junta, urged China and other countries to join the
US in imposing sanctions against the country.
(AP, 8/7/08)
2008 Aug 11, Thailand's Supreme
Court issued arrest warrants for ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra and his
wife after they failed to appear at a hearing on corruption charges and
fled to London, saying they could not get justice in their homeland.
(AP, 8/11/08)
2008 Aug 12, Somali pirates
hijacked the Thor Star, a Thai cargo ship with 28 crew members onboard.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 16, A monthlong standoff
between Cambodia and Thailand appeared to be ending as both sides
pulled back their troops from disputed territory around a temple near
their shared border.
(AP, 8/16/08)
2008 Aug 21, Forbes magazine
reported that Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej (80) is the world's
richest royal sovereign with a fortune estimated at 35 billion dollars,
and oil-rich Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (60) of Abu Dhabi is
far back at No. 2 with 23 billion.
(AFP, 8/21/08)
2008 Aug 26, In Thailand thousands
of anti-government demonstrators pushed into the Thai prime minister's
office compound and rallied outside several ministries. A violent
masked mob from the same protest group forced a state-run TV station
off the air.
(AP, 8/26/08)
2008 Aug 27, Thailand issued
arrest warrants for protest leaders besieging the main government
complex, as authorities scrambled to find a peaceful end to the
administration's most serious challenge yet.
(AP, 8/27/08)
2008 Aug 30, Thai PM Samak
Sundaravej vowed not to quit in the face of intensifying protests aimed
at toppling his seven-month-old government.
(Reuters, 8/30/08)
2008 Aug 31, Thailand's Parliament
convened an emergency session at the request of the country's prime
minister, who acknowledged that his administration cannot control
spiraling anti-government protests.
(AP, 8/31/08)
2008 Sep 2, Thailand's prime
minister declared a state of emergency in the capital Bangkok after a
week of political tension exploded into violent street clashes between
supporters and opponents of the government that left one person dead.
(AP, 9/2/08)
2008 Sep 9, Thailand's PM Samak
was forced to resign along with his Cabinet after a court ruled that he
had violated the constitution by hosting TV cooking shows while in
office. The Cabinet will remain in a caretaker position until a new
administration is installed.
(AP, 9/9/08)
2008 Sep 12, Samak Sundaravej
ended his bid to return to power as Thailand's prime minister, after a
revolt within the ruling party torpedoed his re-election in parliament.
(AFP, 9/12/08)
2008 Sep 15, Thailand's ruling
party chose the brother-in-law of ousted former leader Thaksin
Shinawatra as its nominee to become the next prime minister,
immediately drawing opposition from anti-government protesters and
dozens of its own members.
(AP, 9/15/08)
2008 Sep 16, Thailand's ruling
People's Power Party announced that it has reconciled with a renegade
faction, clearing a hurdle toward the selection of Somchai Wongsawat as
a consensus candidate for prime minister.
(AP, 9/16/08)
2008 Sep 17, Thai lawmakers turned
to Somchai Wongsawat, the brother-in-law of deposed leader Thaksin
Shinawatra, to be the new prime minister, setting up a showdown with
protesters determined to tear down his political legacy.
(AP, 9/17/08)
2008 Sep 20, The Thai government
said floods have killed 14 people and sickened more than 53,000 others,
including many who contracted waterborne ailments. The 14 people were
swept away by flash floods that hit 36 of Thailand's 76 provinces over
the past nine days.
(AP, 9/20/08)
2008 Oct 3, Soldiers from both
Cambodia and Thailand were wounded in a brief clash along their
volatile border.
(AP, 10/3/08)
2008 Oct 5, Apirak Kosayodhin, the
leader of Thailand's opposition Democrat Party, won re-election as
governor of Bangkok, defeating the ruling party candidate as well as a
one-time sex tycoon. Thai police arrested Chamlong Srimuang, a key
protest leader and one-time Bangkok mayor, on charges of insurrection
in a continuing crackdown against an anti-government movement that
spearheaded the ouster of a prime minister last month.
(AP, 10/5/08)
2008 Oct 7, Thai riot police
clashed with thousands of opposition PAD protesters who barricaded
Parliament and vowed to block the government from exiting the building.
2 people were killed. Deputy PM Chavalit Yongchaiyudh resigned to take
responsibility for the chaos.
(AP, 10/7/08)(SFC, 10/9/08, p.A16)(Econ, 10/11/08,
p.55)
2008 Oct 9, The leaders of
Thailand's anti-government protesters said they will surrender to
police after a court dropped treason charges against them, but vowed to
continue their occupation of the prime minister's office after posting
bail.
(AP, 10/9/08)
2008 Oct 10, Leaders of Thai
anti-government protests were granted bail after surrendering to police
and immediately vowed new rallies, raising fears of mounting turmoil
days after deadly street clashes. At least 22 people were killed and 24
others injured when a bus packed with passengers crashed in eastern
Thailand.
(AP, 10/10/08)
2008 Oct 11, Thailand's embattled
PM Somchai Wongsawat, indicated that he may resign in the wake of
fierce anti-government protests earlier this week that left two people
dead and hundreds injured. Thousands of supporters of the ruling
coalition gathered on the outskirts of Bangkok in a show of strength,
two days ahead of a planned major protest by a group hoping to topple
the elected government.
(AFP, 10/11/08)
2008 Oct 13, Cambodian PM Hun Sen
gave Thailand an ultimatum to withdraw troops from a disputed stretch
of jungle-clad border within 24 hours or his forces would turn the area
into a "death zone." Thai troops retreated the next day.
(Reuters, 10/13/08)(AP, 10/14/08)
2008 Oct 13, Swiss authorities
said they have found high concentrations of melamine in biscuits from
Thailand and Sri Lanka and have called on other European countries to
withdraw the products.
(AP, 10/13/08)
2008 Oct 15, Cambodia and Thailand
exchanged fire on the border in a clash over disputed land which left
two soldiers dead and several wounded.
(AFP, 10/15/08)
2008 Oct 16, Cambodia and Thailand
agreed to joint patrols of disputed border areas after deadly clashes,
but made little progress toward resolving their long-standing
territorial spat.
(AFP, 10/16/08)
2008 Oct 17, In southern Thailand
a 25-year-old man was shot dead in a gunfight with security officials
after the arrests of five other suspected militants.
(AFP, 10/18/08)
2008 Oct 18, In southern Thailand
2 Muslim men were killed in separate drive-by shootings.
(AFP, 10/18/08)
2008 Oct 18, Somali pirates
released a Thai ship after receiving a ransom.
(AP, 10/19/08)
2008 Oct 20, In Thailand thousands
of anti-government protesters marched through the streets of Bangkok,
calling the prime minister a "murderer" and demanding he resign over
the violent quashing of a previous rally.
(AP, 10/20/08)
2008 Oct 21, A Thai court found
former PM Thaksin Shinawatra (59) guilty of corruption and sentenced
him to two years in prison. His wife, Pojaman (51), was acquitted.
(AP, 10/21/08)
2008 Oct 30, In Thailand
assailants threw a grenade into a crowd of anti-government protesters
occupying a bridge, wounding 10 people ahead of a demonstration outside
the British Embassy in Bangkok.
(AP, 10/30/08)
2008 Nov 4, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents detonated two bombs at a tea stall and
shopping area, killing one person and wounding at least 71.
(AP, 11/4/08)
2008 Nov 9, Kuo Te-tsai (42), a
Taiwanese drug trafficker, was arrested at a Thai beach resort with 229
pounds of heroin worth millions of dollars in a joint operation by
American, Taiwanese and Thai drug enforcement authorities.
(AP, 11/10/08)
2008 Nov 13, In Thailand
assailants hurled explosives at vendors protesting a rent increase by
new managers of a government-owned market in Bangkok, wounding 13
people.
(AP, 11/13/08)
2008 Nov 18, The Indian naval
frigate Tabar sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden
and chased two attack boats into the night. Separate bands of pirates
also seized a Thai ship with 16 crew members and an Iranian cargo
vessel with a crew of 25 in the Gulf of Aden. The pirate "mother ship"
was later reported to have been the Thai fishing trawler seized hours
earlier by pirates. One crew member was killed, 14 were missing and one
was rescued 4 days later. The Iranian vessel was released on Jan
9, 2009.
(AP, 11/19/08)(AP, 11/26/08)(SFC, 11/26/08,
p.A3)(AP, 1/10/09)
2008 Nov 20, In Thailand a grenade
attack on demonstrators occupying the Thai premier's offices killed one
person and wounded 29, prompting protest leaders to call for a new
march against the government.
(AFP, 11/20/08)
2008 Nov 23, In Thailand
protesters seeking the resignation of the prime minister massed in the
capital for what they said would be their biggest rally yet and a final
showdown with the government. Thousands of soldiers and police were
ordered to use nonviolent means to keep the peace.
(AP, 11/23/08)
2008 Nov 24, In Thailand thousands
of anti-government protesters fanned out across Bangkok, causing
Parliament to shut down and forcing a group of riot police to retreat
in what the activists called their final bid to oust a corrupt
administration.
(AP, 11/24/08)
2008 Nov 25, In Thailand Bangkok's
main international airport halted all flight operations after
anti-government protesters stormed the departures area.
(AFP, 11/25/08)
2008 Nov 27, Thailand's government
prepared to crack down on protesters occupying the capital's two
airports, but called on the public not to panic as rumors of a coup
swept through the city.
(AP, 11/27/08)
2008 Nov 30, In Thailand attackers
set off explosions at anti-government protest sites, wounding 51 people
and raising fears of widening confrontations in Thailand's worst
political crisis in decades, which has strangled its economy and shut
down its main airports. Thousands of government supporters wearing red
shirts, headbands and bandanas joined a rally against the protest
alliance. So far six people have been killed in bomb attacks, clashes
with police and street battles between government opponents and
supports.
(AP, 11/30/08)
2008 Dec 1, In Thailand a senior
tourism official said an estimated 350,000 passengers have been unable
to fly out since anti-government protesters shut down Bangkok's two
airports last week.
(AFP, 12/1/08)
2008 Dec 2, Thailand's PM Somchai
Wongsawat resigned after weeks of protests closed the capital's
airports, stranding 300,000 travelers. Protesters promised to lift
their siege, and international flights were expected to resume on Dec
5. Deputy PM Chaowarat Chandeerakul will become the caretaker prime
minister. Parliament will have to pick a new prime minister within 30
days.
(AP, 12/2/08)
2008 Dec 3, In Thailand the first
commercial flight in a week arrived in Bangkok as anti-government
protesters ended their siege of the country's two main airports,
declaring victory after PM Somchai Wongsawat was ousted by a court
ruling.
(AP, 12/3/08)
2008 Dec 5, In southern Thailand 4
people were killed by a bomb at a drugstore suspected to have been
planted by Muslim insurgents.
(AP, 12/5/08)
2008 Dec 7, Thailand's main
opposition party called for an emergency parliament session to prove
its majority in a bid to form the next government and end months of
political chaos, as loyalists of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra
struggled to stay in power.
(AP, 12/7/08)
2008 Dec 12, In Thailand a
commercial fishing commission agreed to cut the catches of bigeye tuna
in parts of the Pacific Ocean, a small step in an effort to save a
threatened species that is a favorite among sushi lovers.
Environmentalists lambasted the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries
Commission's decision to reduce catches by only 10 percent in each of
the next three years. They wanted an immediate 30 percent reduction
that scientists advising the body had recommended.
(AP, 12/12/08)
2008 Dec 15, In Thailand Abhisit
Vejjajiva, a patrician 44-year-old with an Oxford education, was
elected the prime minister in a parliamentary vote amid hopes that he
can calm the political storms that have battered the country for the
past three years.
(AP, 12/15/08)
2008 Dec 28, In Thailand thousands
of supporters of exiled former PM Thaksin Shinawatra began converging
on Parliament, vowing to stage demonstrations until the new government
holds elections.
(AP, 12/28/08)
2008 Dec 29, The Indian Coast
Guard rescued two people off India's east coast during a search for
more than 300 illegal immigrants missing for the past four days and
feared dead. Survivors told Indian authorities that more than 300
people from Bangladesh and Myanmar, members of the ethnic Rohingya
minority, had jumped from a rickety boat that had been drifting for 13
days in the Indian Ocean and tried to swim to shore near the Andaman
Islands. On Jan 16 a refugees' advocacy group accused the Thai navy of
tying up four illegal immigrants and throwing them into the ocean
before abandoning hundreds of others on a barge in open water, where
some 300 drowned. At least 100 were rescued in Indian waters. Survivors
at the time told Indian authorities they had been detained by Thai
authorities, who towed them into the open sea and left them.
(AP, 12/30/08)(AP, 1/16/09)(SSFC, 1/18/09, p.A5)
2008 Dec 30, In Thailand
anti-government protesters abandoned their siege of the Foreign
Ministry building, easing a standoff that threatened to re-ignite a
long-running political crisis.
(AP, 12/30/08)
2008 Dec 31, In Bangkok, Thailand,
a New Year's Eve fire erupted at the Santika nightclub. Before the
revelry was over, 62 people were killed and more than 200 injured after
they tried to flee what swiftly became a charred, gutted ruin in a
glitzy Bangkok entertainment area.
(AP, 1/1/09)(AP, 1/4/09)
2009 Jan 11, New Thai PM Abhisit
Vejjajiva's government won the most seats in by-elections,
strengthening his shaky coalition in its first test at the polls.
(AP, 1/11/09)
2009 Jan 19, In Thailand Harry
Nicolaides (41), an Australian writer, was sentenced to three years in
prison for insulting Thailand's royal family in his novel, a rare
conviction of a foreigner amid a crackdown on people and Web sites
deemed critical of the monarchy. Bangkok's Criminal Court sentenced
Nicolaides to six years behind bars but reduced the term because he had
entered a guilty plea. His 2005 book “Verisimilitude” had sold 7
copies. Nicolaides returned home on Feb 21, after he was granted a
royal pardon.
(AP, 1/19/09)(SFC, 1/20/09, p.A3)(AP, 2/21/09)
2009 Jan 26, The Economist
magazine said this week's edition has not been distributed in Thailand
because of local objections to an article about the royal family, the
second disruption in two months.
(AP, 1/26/09)
2009 Jan 26, The Thai navy
detained a boat filled with 78 illegal Rohingya migrants, many of whom
had lacerations and burns they said were inflicted by Myanmar soldiers.
(AP, 1/27/09)
2009 Jan 28, A Thai court
convicted 66 barefoot, disheveled migrants detained at sea of illegally
entering the country, raising the prospect they could be sent back to
Myanmar despite fears they would be persecuted there.
(AP, 1/28/09)
2009 Jan 31, In Thailand some
30,000 supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra gathered in
Bangkok, promising to fight on indefinitely unless the new Thai
government leaves office within 15 days. In northeastern Thailand a
grenade blast killed eight people and wounded 27 others during an
outdoor celebration next to a Buddhist temple.
(AFP, 1/31/09)(AP, 2/1/09)
2009 Feb 2, Indonesia's navy
picked up 198 starving, dehydrated boat people from Myanmar who said
they drifted for three weeks after authorities in Thailand forced them
to sea in a boat without an engine. Indonesian fishermen had discovered
the 40-foot (12-meter) boat off Aceh's coast in northern Sumatra and
towed it to shore.
(AP, 2/3/09)
2009 Feb 20, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents ambushed a military convoy and beheaded two
soldiers in the second such attack this month.
(AP, 2/20/09)
2009 Feb 24, In Thailand thousands
of protesters surrounded the prime minister's office demanding that
parliament be dissolved and new elections held, the latest challenge to
the two-month old coalition government.
(AP, 2/24/09)
2009 Feb 28, In Thailand prominent
activists from military-ruled Myanmar and Cambodia were barred from a
meeting with Southeast Asian leaders (ASEAN), upstaging the opening of
the annual summit billed as a historic step toward greater human rights
in the region.
(AP, 2/28/09)
2009 Mar 1, In Thailand Southeast
Asian leaders (ASEAN) vowed to push ahead with ambitious plans to
become a European Union-style economic community by 2015 despite
roadblocks posed by the global financial crisis and Myanmar's dismal
human rights record.
(AP, 3/1/09)
2009 Mar 8, Off southern Thailand
a 60-foot (18-metre) diving boat, carrying 30 people including 19
foreigners, was reported missing in the Similan islands. Police and
navy rescued 23 passengers and crew the next day but two Swiss
nationals, two Austrians, a Japanese, a German and a Thai member of the
crew remained missing. The body of one woman was found on March 10.
(AFP, 3/10/09)
2009 Mar 12, Thailand's opposition
filed a censure motion against PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and five government
ministers, accusing them of corruption.
(AP, 3/12/09)
2009 Mar 13, In Thailand suspected
Muslim militants killed 3 soldiers in an ambush in southern Narathiwat
province.
(SFC, 3/14/09, p.A2)
2009 Mar 19, A Thailand army
spokesman said a roadside bomb had killed four paramilitary rangers on
an intelligence-gathering operation in southern Pattani province.
(AP, 3/19/09)
2009 Mar 26, In Thailand more than
20,000 protesters ringed the prime minister's office, demanding the
government resign and deriding its distribution of checks to millions
of low-income workers as a payoff.
(AP, 3/26/09)
2009 Mar 27, Thai PM Abhisit
Vejjavija's rejected calls for his resignation by thousands of
anti-government protesters who ringed his office for a second day in a
boisterous rally.
(AP, 3/27/09)
2009 Mar 30, Thailand's prime
minister avoided his office, as thousands of protesters calling for his
resignation surrounded the seat of government for the fifth day and
ignored police warnings to disperse.
(AP, 3/30/09)
2009 Apr 1, In Thailand thousands
of demonstrators defied a court order to clear a road they have blocked
to the prime minister's office, vowing to continue ringing the compound
until the government resigns.
(AP, 4/1/09)
2009 Apr 3, Cambodian and Thai
soldiers traded fire with machine guns and rocket launchers along a
disputed border, killing as many as four people in an escalation of
tensions in a long-standing feud over an 11th century temple.
(AP, 4/3/09)
2009 Apr 3, A Thai citizen was
sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of insulting the king and
his family by posting edited photos of the monarchy on the Internet.
(AP, 4/3/09)
2009 Apr 7, In Thailand protesters
surrounded the prime minister's car and smashed a window as he rode in
it, escalating tensions a day before a massive anti-government rally
that the leader said has sparked concerns of civil war.
(AP, 4/7/09)
2009 Apr 8, Thailand’s central
bank cut its benchmark interest rate by .25% to 1.25% to help prop up
the worsening economy. more than 100,000 anti-government protesters
rallied in Bangkok in their biggest bid yet to topple premier Abhisit
Vejjajiva, deepening the political crisis ahead of a key Asian summit.
(WSJ, 4/9/09, p.C2)(AFP, 4/8/09)
2009 Apr 11, In Thailand
anti-government protesters stormed a convention center in Pattaya where
leaders of Asian nations planned to meet, smashing doors and searching
room by room for the prime minister. Thailand canceled the summit and
airlifted the leaders out by helicopter.
(AP, 4/11/09)
2009 Apr 12, Thailand's ousted PM
Shinawatra, called for a revolution after rioting erupted in the
capital, with protesters commandeering public buses and swarming
triumphantly over military vehicles in unchecked defiance after the
government declared a state of emergency.
(AP, 4/12/09)
2009 Apr 13, Thai troops unleashed
volleys of gunfire in street battles with anti-government protesters
across Bangkok, forcing them back to their main rallying site in a
final push to end days of turmoil.
(AFP, 4/13/09)
2009 Apr 14, Thailand issued an
arrest warrant for fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra for
inciting street battles between anti-government protesters and troops.
Leaders of the demonstrations called off their protests after rioting
killed two and injured more than 120. Police issued warrants for 14
people, including the ousted prime minister at the heart of three years
of turmoil.
(AFP, 4/14/09)
2009 Apr 16, Thailand’s former PM
Thaksin was reported to have received a Nicaraguan passport.
(WSJ, 4/16/09, p.A1)
2009 Apr 17, In Thailand the
founder of the “yellow shirt” protest movement that shut down Bangkok's
airports last year was shot and wounded in a possible assassination
attempt, just days after troops quelled rioting by a rival,
anti-government group. Sondhi Limthongkul, a media tycoon and supporter
of the current government, was in stable condition after surgery that
removed "small pieces of bullet" from his skull.
(AP, 4/17/09)
2009 Apr 24, Malaysia's PM Najib
Razak vowed to investigate a scathing report by US lawmakers saying
thousands of Myanmar refugees were handed over to human traffickers and
ended up working in Thai brothels.
(AP, 4/24/09)
2009 Apr 25, In Thailand around
2,000 anti-government protesters gathered for a rally in Bangkok, a day
after PM Abhisit Vejjajiva lifted a state of emergency imposed amid
violent demonstrations earlier this month.
(AFP, 4/25/09)
2009 Apr 27, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim rebels killed 10 civilians in a flurry of attacks,
just ahead of the fifth anniversary of a bloody assault by security
forces against militants at the Krue Se mosque.
(AP, 4/28/09)
2009 May 3, In Thailand an
American identified as Jill St. Onge (27) a bartender and artist from
Seattle, died while staying at a popular destination for budget
travelers. Norwegian Julie Michelle Bergheim (22) died the next day.
Both died after suddenly falling ill within hours of each other at the
Laleena guesthouse on Koh Phi Phi in southern Thailand.
(AP, 5/7/09)
2009 Jun 4, David Carradine (72),
star of TV series "Kung Fu" (1972-1975), was found dead in
Thailand. At first suicide was suspected but a forensics expert said
circumstances suggested that he may have died from autoerotic
asphyxiation. His career had roared back to life when he played the
assassin-turned-victim in Quentin Tarentino's "Kill Bill" (2003).
(AP, 6/4/09)(SFC, 6/6/09, p.E3)
2009 Jun 5, In Myanmar refugees
began streaming out of the Ler Per Her camp in eastern Karen state and
into Thailand as Myanmar forces shelled near a camp where they were
sheltering.
(AP, 6/7/09)
2009 Jun 7, In southern Thailand
Islamic insurgents shot dead a villager and then detonated a car bomb
as a crowd gathered, killing one and wounding 19 in the Yi-ngo district
of Narathiwat.
(AP, 6/7/09)
2009 Jun 8, In Thailand gunmen
opened fire on a mosque in Narathiwat province’s Hoh-I-Rong district
killing at least 10 people and wounding 19 others.
(SFC, 6/9/09, p.A2)
2009 Jun 13, In Thailand 2
suspected insurgents riding a motorcycle hurled a bomb at a bus,
killing one passenger and wounding 13 others in downtown Yala city. In
Yala province's Bannang Sata district, a husband and wife were shot
dead in an ambush while riding their motorcycle. In Narathiwat province
a village headman's wife was killed and another person wounded while
riding a motorcycle to a market.
(AP, 6/13/09)
2009 Jun 14, Thai PM Abhisit
Vejjajiva urged the country not to panic about swine flu, after the
number of cases grew nine-fold in four days and a cluster emerged in a
key tourist hub. Health authorities reported that confirmed cases of
the A(H1N1) virus soared to 150, compared with just 16 on June 10,
including a number of foreigners.
(AFP, 6/14/09)
2009 Jun 18, Thailand security
forces killed four suspected Muslim militants in a gunbattle in
southern Yala province.
(AP, 6/18/09)
2009 Jun 27, In Thailand more than
18,000 "Red Shirt" protesters loyal to fugitive premier Thaksin
Shinawatra gathered in Bangkok for the biggest anti-government rally
since bloody riots two months ago.
(AP, 6/27/09)
2009 Jul 1, In southern Thailand a
rampaging elephant stomped three rubber tappers to death after it was
left to wander freely by its handler.
(AP, 7/1/09)
2009 Jul 12, Thailand's swine flu
death toll rose to 18 as the government confirmed three more fatalities
and opened a vaccine plant to prevent tens of thousands of infections
across the country.
(AFP, 7/12/09)
2009 Jul 19, In
Thailand’s Yala province a 48-year-old rubber plantation owner was shot
dead in a drive-by shooting as he returned home by motorcycle. In
another attack a gold shopkeeper was killed after suspect insurgents
fired assault rifles into his shop in Narathiwat province before
fleeing on a motorcycle.
(AP, 7/20/09)
2009 Jul 20, In Thailand Southeast
Asian foreign ministers (ASEAN) endorsed the region's first human
rights watchdog, rejecting criticisms that the body would be powerless
to tackle rogue members such as Myanmar. 2 assailants on a motorcycle
shot and killed a Buddhist man who was traveling on a road in Pattani
province.
(AFP, 7/20/09)(AP, 7/20/09)
2009 Aug 4, In Thailand a
passenger plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a building
after landing on the Thai resort island of Samui, killing the chief
pilot and injuring at least seven people including foreign tourists.
(AP, 8/4/09)
2009 Aug 11, A Thai court rejected
a US request to extradite Viktor Bout, an alleged Russian arms smuggler
dubbed the "Merchant of Death," dealing a setback to American efforts
to try him on charges of plotting to supply weapons to Colombian
rebels. The court rejected the extradition request because Bout had not
been accused of committing any crimes against Thailand, which has not
listed FARC as a terrorist group.
(AP, 8/11/09)
2009 Aug 17, In Thailand thousands
of supporters of deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra rallied in central
Bangkok and then marched to the royal palace, seeking a pardon for the
fugitive leader.
(AP, 8/17/09)
2009 Aug 21, A massive oil and gas
leak forced the evacuation of an oil rig off Australia's northwest
coast. PTTEP Australasia, a branch of Thai-owned PTT Exploration and
Production Co. Ltd., said about 40 barrels of oil had been discharged
in the initial incident, and it was still attempting to bring the leak
under control at the rig, owned by Norway's Seadrill. After 2 days
PTTEP said plugging the leak will take weeks. Government officials said
there was little threat of environmental damage. By the end of October
an estimated 400 barrels a day of oil continued leaking from the
fissure off the Australian coast. PTTEP Australasia has failed
repeatedly to stop the leak but said it is still trying.
(AFP, 8/22/09)(AP, 8/23/09)(AP, 10/30/09)
2009 Aug 26, In Thailand suspected
Muslim insurgents detonated a car bomb outside a crowded open-air
restaurant during lunchtime, wounding 26 people.
(SFC, 8/26/09, p.A2)
2009 Aug 28, In Thailand former
journalist Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul was sentenced to 18 years in
prison for insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej during a speech in 2008.
(SFC, 8/29/09, p.A2)
2009 Sep 2, In Thailand a number
of drive-by shootings in the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala
left eight dead, including a Muslim teacher and his son (13). Security
forces raided a rubber plantation in Yala and a house in Narathiwat,
sparking separate gunbattles in which two suspected insurgents were
killed.
(AP, 9/3/09)
2009 Sep 3, In Thailand a bomb
hidden in a motorcycle parked outside a row of open-air shops and
restaurants in Pattani city exploded, killing a Buddhist man and
wounding 24 others.
(AP, 9/3/09)
2009 Sep 4, In southern Thailand
bomb believed to have been planted by Islamic insurgents exploded
outside a restaurant where security forces were eating breakfast,
killing a policeman and wounding 12 other people.
(AP, 9/4/09)
2009 Sep 9, Thailand's national
police chief resigned after being transferred to an inactive post in
the wake of an official recommendation that he be prosecuted for his
role in a deadly crackdown against anti-government protesters last year.
(AP, 9/9/09)
2009 Sep 9, A teacher (29) in
Bangkok, Thailand, was captured on film beating a student (14) and
bashing his head against a blackboard. The 50-second clip, filmed by a
classmate using a mobile phone, was broadcast Sep 21 on a nationally
televised morning news program, sparking national outrage and pledges
from education officials to crack down on corporal punishment in
classrooms.
(AP, 9/22/09)
2009 Sep 13, In southern Thailand
suspected Muslim insurgents shot and killed five paramilitary troops in
Yala province.
(AP, 9/14/09)
2009 Sep 19, Thai nationalists
clashed with police and villagers as they tried to march toward an
ancient temple on the Cambodian border, while anti-government
protesters in the capital marked the third anniversary of a coup that
continues to create political turmoil.
(AP, 9/19/09)
2009 Sep 24, In Thailand an
experimental combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines cut
the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31%, in the world's
largest AIDS vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers. This was the
first time an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the
AIDS virus.
(AP, 9/24/09)
2009 Sep 25, An environmental
group said a gecko with leopard-like spots on its body and a fanged
frog that eats birds are among 163 new species discovered last year in
the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia, which included Laos,
Thailand and Vietnam.
(AP, 9/25/09)
2009 Sep 28, In Thailand climate
talks kicked off in Bangkok with the UN urging nations to break the
deadlock over a global warming deal that is supposed to be finalized in
just 70 days time, and warning that failure to act would leave future
generations fighting for survival.
(AP, 9/28/09)
2009 Oct 5, In Thailand a train
derailed during heavy rains near the coastal city of Hua Hin, killing 7
people, including a 2-year-old girl, and injuring 88 others. A
fact-finding panel later said the deadly crash was the fault of the
driver who fell asleep after taking antihistamines and other cold
medicine.
(AP, 10/5/09)(AP, 10/13/09)
2009 Oct 11, In Thailand thousands
of supporters of deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra, all in red shirts,
rallied in Bangkok to demand the government step down and call fresh
elections.
(AP, 10/11/09)
2009 Oct 17, In Thailand some
17,000 "Red Shirt" supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra rallied in Bangkok
to pressure the Thai government over their petition seeking a royal
pardon for the fugitive former prime minister.
(AP, 10/17/09)
2009 Oct 23, In Thailand the
annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began
inauspiciously when half the bloc's 10 leaders failed to show up at the
opening of the 3-day conference due to a tropical storm, domestic
politics, a VIP visit and a possible illness. ASEAN nations inaugurated
their first regional human rights commission, a watchdog immediately
derided as toothless by activists who walked out of a meeting to
protest being snubbed by five of the governments involved.
(AP, 10/23/09)
2009 Oct 25, In Thailand Asian
leaders heard competing plans from Australia and Japan for a massive
EU-style community covering half the world's population as they wrapped
up their annual East Asian summit. Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva said
leaders of 16 Asian countries gave high priority to finding a new
economic growth model to free half the world's population from merely
serving as producers for the West.
(AFP, 10/25/09)
2009 Oct 28, In Thailand suspected
Muslim insurgents shot and killed two Buddhist civilians in separate
drive-by attacks in the insurgency-plagued south.
(AP, 10/28/09)
2009 Nov 2, A Thai official said
about half of Thailand's national lawmakers are taking advantage of a
new government plan allowing them to purchase guns at a discount and
receive a license to carry them anywhere.
(AP, 11/2/09)
2009 Nov 4, Cambodia said it has
appointed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as economic
adviser to premier Hun Sen and his administration.
(AFP, 11/4/09)
2009 Nov 5, Cambodia and Thailand
recalled their ambassadors from each others' countries, deepening a
diplomatic row after Cambodia made fugitive former Thai PM Thaksin
Shinawatra an economic adviser.
(Reuters, 11/5/09)
2009 Nov 6, Japan pledged $5.5
billion in aid over 3 years for Southeast Asia's 5 Mekong River nations
(Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam), seeking to deepen ties
with the region amid growing influence from China.
(AFP, 11/6/09)
2009 Nov 10, Thailand's ousted PM
Thaksin Shinawatra, whose political battle against his successors has
left his country bitterly divided, received a warm welcome in
neighboring Cambodia, which shares his disdain for the current
government in Bangkok.
(AP, 11/10/09)
2009 Nov 15, In Thailand thousands
of demonstrators attended a protest by the royalist "Yellow Shirt"
movement against a visit to Cambodia by their arch-foe, fugitive former
premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
(AP, 11/15/09)
2009 Nov 16, Thai police arrested
Samart Chokechoyma (36) and Kanokwan Wongsaroj (38) on charges of
smuggling African ivory into the country to supply shops that sell
jewelry and trinkets, including to customers in the US. DNA tests
showed that it was of African origin.
(AP, 11/17/09)
2009 Nov 24, In Thailand Samak
Sundaravej (74), a firebrand right-wing politician and TV cooking show
host who served a brief and tumultuous term last year as prime
minister, died of cancer.
(AP, 11/24/09)(Econ, 12/5/09, p.96)
2009 Dec 8, In Cambodia Siwaraks
Chothipong (31), a Thai employee of the Cambodia Air Traffic Service,
was ordered to serve seven years in prison for spying on Thailand's
former prime minister while he was in Cambodia as a guest of the
government. Chothipong was accused of stealing Thaksin's flight
schedule before his Nov. 10 arrival and sending it to the Thai Embassy
in Phnom Penh. The case threatened to worsen a diplomatic feud
between the two neighbors. On Dec 11 Cambodia's king pardoned
Chothipong.
(AP, 12/8/09)(AP, 12/11/09)
2009 Dec 10, In Thailand thousands
of red-shirted supporters of former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra flooded
back into the streets of Bangkok in an attempt to step up pressure on
the embattled government.
(AFP, 12/10/09)
2009 Dec 12, In Thailand 4 Kazakhs
and a Belarusian were detained and their New Zealand registered
aircraft impounded after it landed in the Thai capital with tons of war
weaponry on board that originated in North Korea. The Ilyushin 76
transport from Kazakhstan was allegedly traveling from North Korea to
Sri Lanka when it asked to land in Bangkok to refuel. According to a
flight plan seen by arms trafficking researchers, the aircraft was
chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top Management Ltd. to fly oil
industry spare parts from Pyongyang to Tehran, Iran, with several other
stops, including Bangkok, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
A New Zealand shell company, SP Trading Ltd., had leased the airplane.
(AP, 12/12/09)(AP, 12/23/09)(AP, 1/22/10)
2009 Dec 27, Human rights groups
warned that the Thai government's planned expulsion of 4,000 ethnic
Hmong to Laos could turn violent.
(AP, 12/27/09)
2009 Dec 28, Thailand sent army
troops with shields and batons to evict more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong
asylum-seekers and send them back to Laos despite strong objections
from the US and rights groups who fear they will face persecution.
(AP, 12/28/09)
2010 Jan 22, New Zealand’s
commerce minister, Simon Power, said New Zealand is reviewing its
liberal system of company registration after investigators found a
shell company based here leased an airplane that smuggled arms from
North Korea. A New Zealand shell company, SP Trading Ltd., leased an
airplane seized last month in Thailand carrying an illegal arms
shipment from North Korea.
(AP, 1/22/10)
2010 Jan 24, Cambodian and Thai
troops exchanged fire near a disputed border temple, the latest in a
string of gun battles between the countries since last year.
(AFP, 1/24/10)
2010 Jan 27, In Thailand 13 tiger
range states attended the first Ministerial Conference on Tiger
Conservation. The aim of the 3-day meeting was to convince countries to
pledge to spend more on tiger conservation and set targets for boosting
their numbers. The meeting was being organized by Thailand and the
Global Tiger Initiative, a coalition formed in 2008 by the World Bank,
the Smithsonian Institute and nearly 40 conservation groups. It aimed
to double tiger numbers by 2022. The 13 countries attending were
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
(AP, 1/27/10)
2010 Jan 29, In Thailand a dozen
Asian nations and Russia vowed to double the number of wild tigers by
2022, crack down on poaching that has devastated the big cats and
prohibit the building of roads and bridges that could harm their
habitats.
(AP, 1/29/10)
2010 Feb 1, Thailand and the
United States began their annual Cobra Gold military exercise, now in
its 29th year, with South Korea taking part for the first time.
Singapore, Japan and Indonesia will also participate in the three-week
training exercise, describes as the largest of its type in the world.
(AP, 2/1/10)
2010 Feb 11, Thai prosecutors said
they have dropped charges against the five-man crew of an aircraft
accused of smuggling weapons from North Korea, saying the men, arrested
on Dec 12, might be guilty but would be deported to preserve good
relations with their home countries. The decision was made after the
governments of Belarus and Kazakhstan contacted the Thai Foreign
Ministry and requested the crew's release so they can be investigated
at home.
(AP, 2/11/10)
2010 Feb 16, Thailand officials
said tests conducted by the government have found that British-made
bomb detectors it bought for a total of $21 million have an accuracy
rate of only 20 percent, but they will continue to be used.
(AP, 2/16/10)
2010 Feb 24, Thailand officials
seized two tons of elephant tusks from Africa hidden in pallets labeled
as mobile phone parts in the country's largest ivory seizure.
(AP, 2/25/10)
2010 Feb 26, Thailand's highest
court ruled to seize 46 billion baht ($1.4 billion) from ousted PM
Thaksin Shinawatra's $2.29 billion in frozen assets, saying he had
abused his political power for personal gain.
(AP, 2/26/10)
2010 Feb 27, In Thailand 4 banks
were targeted with small explosives, but no one was hurt.
(SFC, 3/1/10, p.A2)
2010 Mar 3, In Laos senior
officials from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam met in Luang
Prabang to discuss the Mekong River. The Mekong River Commission in a
draft report said severe drought has dropped the river to its lowest
level in nearly 20 years, halting some cargo traffic and boat tours on
the waterway, the lifeblood for 65 million people in six countries.
(AP, 3/3/10)
2010 Mar 7, In Thailand some 3,000
supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra demonstrated a
week ahead of a crucial mass anti-government protest.
(AFP, 3/7/10)
2010 Mar 13, In Thailand tens of
thousands of supporters of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra gathered
near ministry buildings in Bangkok to rally against the government,
sporting their signature red shirts.
(AFP, 3/13/10)
2010 Mar 14, In Thailand as many
as 100,000 anti-government demonstrators vowed to march on military
barracks housing Thailand's top leaders as their icon, deposed premier
Thaksin Shinawatra, urged them from exile not to give up.
(AFP, 3/14/10)
2010 Mar 15, Thailand's PM Abhisit
Vejjajiva, backed by a formidable military force, rejected an ultimatum
to dissolve Parliament as tens of thousands of red-shirted protesters
vowed to splatter the seat of government with their own blood if their
demands weren't met.
(AP, 3/15/10)
2010 Mar 16, Thai protesters
poured several jugs of their own blood at the front gate of the
government headquarters and outside the ruling party's offices in a
symbolic sacrifice to press their demands for new elections.
(AP, 3/16/10)
2010 Mar 19, Thai anti-government
protesters announced plans to snarl up the capital with a travelling
rally in a bid to win support after rejecting a conditional offer of
talks by PM Abhisit Vejjajiva.
(AFP, 3/19/10)
2010 Mar 21, Thailand was mired in
political deadlock as demonstrators used their own blood to create a
giant piece of protest art and rejected the government's offer of talks
designed to end their rally.
(AFP, 3/21/10)
2010 Mar 25, China agreed to share
water level data at 2 dams to ease pressure from nations downstream,
including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
(SFC, 4/6/10, p.A3)
2010 Mar 27, Thai troops retreated
from security posts in the capital, bowing to demands from 80,000
jubilant red-shirted protesters who mounted a rally to demand fresh
elections.
(AFP, 3/27/10)
2010 Apr 1, In Thailand 6 people
were shot dead by suspected militants and 10 police officers were
wounded by a roadside bomb in the latest attacks in Thailand's restive
south.
(AFP, 4/1/10)
2010 Apr 3, In Thailand tens of
thousands of protesters swarmed Bangkok's tourist heartland, defying a
warning to leave or face arrest.
(AFP, 4/3/10)
2010 Apr 5, In Thailand thousands
of defiant anti-government demonstrators fanned out to other parts of
Thailand's capital and threatened businesses with ties to the
government after ignoring police orders to leave Bangkok's paralyzed
commercial district.
(AP, 4/5/10)
2010 Apr 6, In Thailand tens of
thousands of red-shirted protesters took over sections of Bangkok,
pelting police with eggs and dancing in the streets as they pushed
through barricades to press the prime minister to call new elections.
(AP, 4/6/10)
2010 Apr 7, Thai PM Abhisit
Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, handing the army
broad powers to restore order after anti-government protesters broke
into Parliament, forcing some lawmakers to flee by helicopter.
(AP, 4/7/10)
2010 Apr 8, Thailand's beleaguered
government shut down a satellite television station and Web sites of
anti-government demonstrators after declaring a state of emergency,
while the activists vowed to retaliate by escalating their nearly
monthlong protests.
(AP, 4/8/10)
2010 Apr 9, Thai anti-government
protesters stormed into a telecom company compound where authorities
had shut down their vital TV channel, as soldiers and riot police
failed to hold them back with tear gas and water cannons.
(AP, 4/9/10)
2010 Apr 10, Thai soldiers and
police fought pitched battles with anti-government demonstrators in
streets enveloped in tear gas, but troops later retreated and asked
protesters to do the same. Ten people were killed, including a Japanese
journalist, and more than 500 wounded, according to hospital officials.
(AP, 4/10/10)
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Subject = Thailand
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