Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn waves to well-wishers who had gathered to see King Bhumibol Adulyadej before he departed to the Grand Palace from Siriraj Hospital to take part in his coronation anniversary ceremonies in Bangkok, Thailand May 5, 2010.
BANGKOK — A historic ceremony in which Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn is expected to accept the ceremonial invitation to become king will be televised nationally Thursday evening.
The broadcast starts at 6:30pm when Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, head of the junta-appointed legislature, will meet the Crown Prince at Dusit Palace and ceremoniously invite him to take the throne two days after he was proclaimed King Rama X.
He will succeed his father King Bhumibol, who died in October at 88.
Salema Khatu, at left, wraps her arms around her son Habil, who was suffering from tuberculosis in an area for Rohingya refugees on May 8, 2014, in north of Sittwe, western Rakhine state, Myanmar. Photo: Robin McDowell / Associated Press
BANGKOK — Abdul Razak Ali Artan, the Somali-born student accused of carrying out a car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University this week, reportedly protested on his Facebook page about the killing of minority Muslims in Myanmar.
Muslim Rohingya face discrimination and violence from the Buddhist majority in the country, also called Burma. Their plight generally goes unnoticed by the world at large, even though some rights activists say their persecution amounts to ethnic cleansing. Here are several things to know about the group:
Migrants including Myanmar Rohingya Muslims sit on a boat as they wait to be rescued by Aceh fishermen May 20, 2015, in the sea off East Aceh, Indonesia, after being pushed back to sea by Thailand. Photo: S. Yulinnas / Associated Press
‘The Most Friendless People in the World’
Although Rohingya – a Muslim ethnic minority of about 1 million among Myanmar’s predominantly Buddhist 52 million people – have lived in Myanmar for generations, most people view them as foreign intruders from neighboring Bangladesh.
Bangladesh, which hosts many Rohingya refugees, also refuses to recognize them as citizens.
“The Rohingya are probably the most friendless people in the world. They just have no one advocating for them at all,” Kitty McKinsey, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said in 2009.
Myanmar police officers patrol the border fence between Myanmar and Bangladesh on Oct. 14 in Maungdaw, Rakhine State, Myanmar. Photo: Thein Zaw / Associated Press
Almost all Rohingya live in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where the military has stepped up operations since November, when nine police officers were killed in attacks on posts along the border with Bangladesh. The identity of the perpetrators remains unclear. Rohingya villagers armed with homemade weapons resisted troops and an unknown number of villagers died, along with a handful of soldiers and officials.
Rohingya solidarity groups say several hundred civilians have been killed since October. The New York-based group Human Rights Watch says satellite imagery shows 1,250 houses and other structures have been burned down. In 2012, violence between Rohingya and the Buddhist community killed hundreds and forced about 140,000 people – predominantly Rohingya – to flee their homes to camps for the internally displaced. About 100,000 remain in the squalid camps and dependent on charity.
Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech on Nov. 2 during a meeting with Myanmar residents in Japan, at a hotel in Tokyo. Photo: Takumi Sato / Associated Press
Disappointment with Suu Kyi
There has been great disappointment that Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose political party took power in Myanmar this year after decades of military rule, has failed to ease the plight of Rohingya despite her reputation as a fighter for human rights. Speaking out for Rohingya rights is an unpopular political position.
However, Suu Kyi’s government in August appointed former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to head an advisory panel aimed at finding lasting solutions to the conflict in Rakhine state. He is scheduled to visit Rakhine on Friday.
The U.N. special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, on Tuesday expressed concern about reports of excessive use of force and other serious human rights violations against civilians, particularly Rohingya, including allegations of extrajudicial executions, torture, rape and the destruction of religious property.
This image released by Disney shows Moana, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, in a scene from the animated film, "Moana." (Disney via AP)
Stop me if this sounds familiar: A Disney animation film about a bright and spirited young woman who feels stifled by outmoded expectations and dreams of exploring beyond the confines of her home. It’s the premise of “Moana,” but it’s also that of “The Little Mermaid,” ”Beauty and the Beast,” ”Mulan,” ”Brave” and scores of other animated films about teenage girls.
It’s not a bad one by any means, and an understandably captivating foundation for children especially, but “Moana” is, like so many recent films, dressed up as something wholly new and bold and corrective against all the sins of fairy tales past. There’s an entire scene where Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) fights back against the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) for calling her a “princess” with such fervor that the ultimate effect isn’t “hooray” but more “who cares?” What is so wrong with being a princess versus being the daughter of a chief who will eventually lead the island? It’s just semantics.
It’s distracting from both the real virtues of “Moana,” of which there are many, and also fairly dismissive of the mere “princesses” who came before who basically accomplish the same things. In fact, the only real advancement lately is the recent excising of a love interest — but I imagine that has more to do with modern audiences wincing at the idea of a 16-year-old heroine getting married than actual progress in developing more complex female characters.
But perhaps that, too, is just getting bogged down in semantics in another way and deflecting from the very wonderful and joyous “Moana,” a classic Disney pic to the core, bursting with stunning visuals, good hearted humor, adventure and some truly catchy songs from “Hamilton” maestro Lin-Manuel Miranda. (Move over, “Let it Go,” there is something really grand and even superior about the swelling rally cry of “How Far I’ll Go.”)
On Moana’s island, everything looks like a dream — saturated colors and lush landscapes surrounded by an ocean, the lifelike waters of which are a technical and artistic marvel. But Moana’s people distrust the ocean and outsiders and keep themselves isolated from the rest of the world. Moana, however, is drawn to the sea, and the sea, a character in its own right, is likewise drawn to her. She has been selected as its chosen one. Thus, when things on the idyllic island start to decay, it’s Moana, encouraged by her quirky grandmother Tala (Rachel House), who takes the initiative to sail away to try to return the stolen heart to the fabled island of Te Fiti and save her people.
She journeys first to get the help of Maui, a cocky showoff who has his own agenda that doesn’t involve taking orders from a pushy teen, and then across the ocean where Moana, Maui and a dimwitted chicken encounter all kids of obstacles, including a band of hostile coconuts (a terrific gag), a glam rock hermit crab (Jemaine Clement) at the bottom of the ocean and a vindictive lava monster.
The fable of “Moana” is sweet, often funny, spiritual and epic, although Johnson’s reliable charisma gets lost under the animation and the writing. Moana, however, is an excellent character with spirit, doubts, drive and a heck of a voice. She is a perfect addition to the roster of modern Disney heroines and one whom young girls will admire for years to come, princess or not.
“Moana,” a Walt Disney Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for “peril, some scary images and brief thematic elements.” Running time: 113 minutes. Three stars out of four.
SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix subscribers can now binge on many of their favorite shows and movies even when they don’t have an internet connection.
The long-awaited offline option announced Wednesday gives Netflix’s 87 million subscribers offline access to videos for the first time in the streaming service’s decade-long history.
Netflix is matching a downloading feature that one of its biggest rivals, Amazon.com, has been offering to its video subscribers for the past year. It’s something that also has been available on YouTube’s popular video site, though a subscription is required in the U.S. and other countries where the site sells its “Red” premium service.
The new feature puts Netflix a step ahead of two other major rivals. Offline options aren’t available on HBO’s internet-only package, HBO Now, or Hulu, although that service has publicly said it hopes to introduce a downloading feature.
Netflix subscribers wishing to download a video on their smartphone or tablet need to update the app on their Apple or Android device.
Not all of the selections in Netflix’s video library can be downloaded, although several of the service’s most popular shows, including “Orange Is The New Black,” ”House of Cards,” and “Stranger Things,” are now available to watch offline.
Downloadable movies include “Spotlight,” this year’s Oscar winner for best film. Notably missing from the downloadable menu are movies and TV shows made by Walt Disney Co. Those still require an internet connection to watch on Netflix.
The Los Gatos, California, company is promising to continue to adding more titles to its offline roster.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had long resisted calls for an offline-viewing option, much to the frustration of customers who wanted flexibility to use their subscriptions to watch a show or movie when traveling on a train, plane or car where internet connections are spotty or completely unavailable.
Earlier this year, Hastings finally indicated he might relent and introduce downloading.
The change of heart coincided with Netflix’s expansion into more than 130 countries, including many areas with shoddy or expensive internet connections that make the ability to watch video offline even more appealing.
Netflix ended September with 39 million subscribers outside of the U.S.
The offline option may accelerate the decline of Netflix’s steadily shrinking DVD-by-mail service, which offers the ability to watch video without an internet connection. Netflix’s DVD side still has one distinct advantage — access to recent theatrical releases before they are available for streaming.
Netflix’s DVD service ended September with 4.3 million subscribers, a decrease of nearly 10 million customers during the past five years.
Thousands of Buddhists gather for a Wednesday prayer session at Wat Dhammakaya in the suburbs of northern metro Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha urged the leader of an influential Buddhist sect to surrender Wednesday, as the deadline for the abbot to surrender came to an end with no sign of him.
Prayuth’s call for the surrender of Dhammakaya’s Abbot Dhammachayo comes six months after he was last seen in public, when another deadline for his surrender on other charges expired. His acolytes said at the time the 72-year-old abbot was confined to his sick bed in the temple headquarters and too ill to meet with police. On Wednesday they declined to confirm his whereabouts.
“The person who did something wrong must come out, so other people won’t get in trouble, and they won’t get hurt. Just come and contest the case,” Gen. Prayuth told reporters. “He shouldn’t use a method of using the masses to contest the case like this. We’ve all seen in the past what happens when you use the mass. We have learned that lesson.”
Ever since an aborted siege of the temple in May, the authorities have labored to avoid any conflict to Dhammachayo to justice. He’s refused to meet with police to answer either the recent land encroachment charges or the previous, long-standing embezzlement case.
The Department of Special Investigation accused the abbot of accepting 1.4 billion baht in checks from a credit union executive now serving a 16-year jail sentence for money laundering. The temple insists Dhammachayo was unaware the money was tainted and the charges politically motivated.
Security forces withdrew from the temple earlier this year under the specter of confrontation. Thousands of the abbot’s followers blocked the entrances in June when officers attempted to search the Wat Dhammakaya complex in northern metro Bangkok. The operation was eventually called off.
The same tactic appears to be back on the table. Maha Nopporn Boonyachayo, a Dhammakaya spokesman, said the temple is organizing a mass merit-making ceremony for His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol in the next few days, which “tens of thousands” of adherents are expected to join.
Nopporn maintained the ceremony had nothing to do with the arrest warrants for Dhammachayo.
The monk also said he does not know whether Dhammachayo is still in the temple, as he has not personally met the abbot since he fell sick.
Gen. Prayuth conceded that the large number of people at the temple would affect a potential operation to arrest the abbot, because security officers want to avoid bloodshed.
“Let me ask you, do you want that to happen?” Prayuth asked reporters. “If you want it to happen, I’ll go today! Give them some time! You have to pressure the person who didn’t follow the laws. Don’t pressure the security officers. If a fight breaks out right at the temple entrance, can society accept that?”
National police commissioner Chakthip Chaijinda said officers are closely monitoring the situation around Wat Dhammakaya, but he did not mention any imminent plan to search the temple compound.
Talad Neon in a garishly colored mock-up visualization. Photo: Talad Neon / Facebook
BANGKOK — A new downtown market will light up Thursday evening with more than 900 cafes, bars and restaurants on 10 rais of land.
Talad Neon, by Platinum Fashion Mall owner Platinum Group, promises all the hip market essentials including shipping-container chic, food trucks, clothing stalls and more.
The market, located not far from Platinum, will be open 4pm to midnight Thursdays through Sundays. The parking lot can accommodate up to 200 vehicles.
Talad Neon is located between Soi Petchaburi 23 and Soi Petchaburi 39. The nearest rail transport is BTS Chit Lom or Airport Rail Link Ratchaprarop.
A free tuk-tuk shuttle service from Platinum Fashion Mall will be available 7pm to 9pm.
Photographer Saiful Huq Omi stands before one of his photos at Hof Art Space in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Over the years, there were times Saiful Huq Omi felt documenting Rohingya fleeing persecution from Myanmar was an exercise in futility that he wanted to stop.
Thinking about how big the human tragedy is made the Bangladeshi photographer, in his own words, feel tired and worthless.
“So what’s the point? Why do photograph? I think it’s a valid question,” he said Tuesday night at Bangkok’s Hof Art Space. “Are we doing enough?”
Based on the reactions of some 30 people at the opening of his black-and-white photo exhibition in Bangkok, many visibly moved, his work hasn’t been in vain.
Over the past eight years, Omi documented in photographs the flight of the Rohingya people to Malaysia, the United Kingdom and his own country, Bangladesh.
The exhibition opens as Myanmar’s army has embarked on a bloody crackdown, razing their villages in Rakhine state in what the United Nations warned Wednesday may be “crimes against humanity.” Myanmar has stoked nationalist sentiments and said it is going after terrorists in response to an attack on police.
Unregistered refugees often work illegally. One way to make a living is to collect shrimp from the sea and sell them to the local market. They risk arrest and an indefinite prison sentence, according to the caption.
Omi feels overwhelmed by his experience and speaks of our collective failure in alleviating the plight of the Rohingya.
“I just hope that some of us stand up one day and do your part,” the 36-year-old photographer from Dhaka said last night at Hof Art Bangkok at the exhibition organized by U.S.-based Fortify Rights, which has an office in Bangkok, along with Equal Rights Trust and Counter Foto.
Omi also said Bangladesh is the second-most important country in the unfolding man-made tragedy as it hosts the largest number of Rohingya refugees outside Myanmar. It shelters 32,000 registered refugees in two camps in the country’s southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar. Sure enough, the plight of those refugees were featured among the three dozen photos exhibited.
One shows a night scene of a border jungle at 3am, where a family waits to be smuggled across the border.
“At 3am, the family managed to get into Bangladesh. They were waiting in the jungle for their smuggler to come and take them to a safe house. Minutes after the photograph was taken in 2012, the border guards came and arrested the entire family for getting into Bangladesh illegally. The next morning they were pushed back to Myanmar,” the caption read.
While many depict suffering, Omi managed to display a few photos which exude his subject’s happiness, however fleeting.
“How do you want to photograph yourself?” read the caption of a family knee-deep in the sea, both father and mother holding a baby each and a boy enjoying the waves.
‘Just a week before this photograph was taken in late 2014, Saydul Islam came to Malaysia by boat. He still has nightmares and finds it difficult to live a normal life after the treacherous journey he took.’
If his photos alone were inadequate, Omi had this to say:
“I think we need to ask ourselves why it’s happening and what we need to do to stop it from happening.”
He warned that if Myanmar doesn’t deal with the issue in a humane manner, it risks turning the country into a racist, deeply divided and deeply violent nation.
As for Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Laureate and State Counsellor of Myanmar, Omi said her failure to deal with the issue in a constructive manner is shameful.
“I think she’s the only Nobel Peace Prize winner in human history under which major genocide is happening,” said the photographer, adding that the Nobel Committee should revisit her status as a Nobel Laureate.
Omi’s exhibition is open 10am to 7pm until Tuesday at Hof Art Bangkok, a short walk from BTS Phra Khanong. Hof Art is closed Sunday and Monday.
Vietnamese officials check seized ivory Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Le Thu Hoa / Associated Press
HANOI — Vietnamese authorities have seized nearly a ton of ivory smuggled from Africa after locating nearly five tons in five previous shipments to the same port in the past two months.
Ho Chi Minh City’s deputy customs chief, Le Dinh Loi, said the ivory seized Monday and Tuesday was hidden inside timber in two containers that arrived at Cat Lai port and was en route to neighboring Cambodia.
The smugglers packed the ivory with wax and sealed it inside emptied-out timber, he said Wednesday.
The seizures came less than two weeks after officials from more than 40 countries met at an international conference on illegal wildlife trade in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital.
Vietnam is one of the world’s major transit points and consumers of ivory and rhino horn.
Tourist gather to see sunrise Monday at Doi Inthanon, Chiang Mai province.
BANGKOK — Dig out those travel receipts in Thailand this year for tax deductions of up to 30,000 baht.
Travel expenses such as those paid to hotels, restaurants and travel agencies within December can be used for personal income tax deductions not exceeding 15,000 baht in order to boost weak domestic tourism during the year’s end under a plan approved Tuesday by the cabinet.
The scheme raised the ceiling for an existing 2016 tax incentive for travel costs to 30,000 baht, doubling the previously announced maximum of 15,000 baht in deductions for the year. That means 15,000 baht worth of deductions from costs accumulated through November and another 15,000 baht in December.
“It will stimulate the domestic economy and spending as well as support and revive the tourism sector,” said Natthaporn Chatusripitak, an advisor to the commerce minister.
Like last year, anyone who pays tax in Thailand can file receipts along with their annual tax returns to be eligible for the deduction.
Receipts must be itemized and issued legally by hotels or travel agencies. Summary purchase receipts from booking agencies such as Agoda are not eligible.
Couples who file separately can each get the deduction if both names are on the receipt.
The cabinet did not take up in its weekly meeting a proposed year-end sales tax rebate scheme called Shopping to Save the Nation intended to spur the weak economy in the year’s final quarter. It was expected to be extended an additional month.
Indonesian soldiers Wednesday perform national-flag-colored headbands during a military-sponsored interfaith rally held ahead of the planned Dec. 2 Muslim protest against Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Achmad Ibrahim / Associated Press
JAKARTA — Thousands of Indonesians on Wednesday joined nationwide interfaith rallies organized by the military in an attempt to demonstrate national unity as religious and racial tensions divide the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
Police estimated that 30,000 people attended a rally at the national monument in Jakarta, the capital, but said half of them were either from the military or police. Rallies were also held in other big cities.
Security forces are bracing for a second massive protest by conservatives Muslims in Jakarta on Friday against the city’s minority Christian governor, who is being prosecuted for alleged blasphemy. The first protest, which drew more than 100,000 people on Nov. 4, turned violent, with one person killed and dozens injured after hard-liners clashed with police.
Organizers of Wednesday’s rallies, led by the military chief, Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, also invited students and leaders of the six religions recognized in Indonesia. Groups of people wearing headbands in the red and white colors of the Indonesian flag prayed together and soldiers sang patriotic songs.
“Keeping Indonesia unified is our No. 1 obligation,” Nurmantyo told the cheering crowd in Jakarta. “We are gathered today across the nation to show that is true. We are united in the Republic of Indonesia. We are ready to defend our unity of diversity as patriots of the nation.”
The national police chief, Gen. Tito Karnavian, was also at the rally.
Jakarta’s governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, is the first ethnic Chinese to hold the position and the first Christian in half a century. He is an ally of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, and the accusation of blasphemy has animated their political opponents, including hard-liners who have used the issue to seize a national stage for their extreme agenda, which includes Shariah law.
The Nov. 4 violence forced Jokowi to cancel an official visit to Australia. Since then, he has spent much of his time shoring up his support with mainstream Muslim groups and political and military leaders.
Ahok’s blasphemy case took a step forward Wednesday, with the Office of the State Prosecutor announcing that the police dossier on the case had met the requirements for it to go to trial. The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison.
However, hard-line Muslim groups continue to demand that Ahok be arrested. He is campaigning for a second term as Jakarta governor in elections due in February.
Indonesian authorities have said they believe Friday’s protest could be a guise for treasonous acts and have tried to discourage organizers from proceeding with it.
After meetings early this week between police and Rizieq Shihab, a firebrand leader of the Islamic Defenders Front, as well as Indonesia’s major Islamic organizations, a deal was announced that Friday’s protest would be confined to the National Monument area and would consist only of prayers, chanting in praise of God and peaceful sermons.
