Top French Court Rules Burkini Bans Violate Basic Freedoms

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27 August 2016, 11:49

'No to Islamophobia, yes to Burkinis,' reads the blanket spread by activists outside the French embassy in London during the "wear what you want beach party" Thursday to protest the French authorities' clampdown on Muslim women wearing burkinis on the beach. Photo: Frank Augstein / Associated Press

PARIS — France’s top administrative court on Friday overturned a ban on burkinis in a Mediterranean beach resort, effectively meaning that towns can no longer issue bans on the swimsuits that have divided the country and brought world attention to its fraught relationship with Muslims.

The ruling by the Council of State specifically concerns a ban on the Muslim garment in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but the binding decision is expected to impact all the 30 or so French resort municipalities that have issued similar decrees.

The bans grew increasingly controversial as images circulated online of some Muslim women being ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.

Lawyers for a human rights group and a Muslim collective challenged the legality of the ban to the top court, saying the orders infringe on basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.

Despite the court victory, the debate was unlikely to go away. Prime Minister Manual Valls, who supported the bans, called the debate “fundamental” for secular France, where religious displays are unwelcome in the public space.

Valls wrote on his Facebook page that denouncing the burkini “in no way puts into question individual freedom” and is really about denouncing “fatal, retrograde Islamism.” The burkini, he wrote, “is the affirmation of political Islam in the public space.”

Mayors had cited multiple reasons for the bans, including security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks, risk to public order, and France’s strict rules on secularism in public life.

The Council of State ruled that, “The emotion and concerns arising from the terrorist attacks, notably the one perpetrated in Nice on July 14, cannot suffice to justify in law the contested prohibition measure.”

It ruled that the mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet overstepped his powers by enacting measures that are not justified by “proven risks of disruptions to public order nor, moreover, on reasons of hygiene or decency.”

“The contested decree has thus brought a serious and manifestly illegal infringement on basic freedoms such as freedom to come and go, freedom of conscience and personal freedom,” the ruling read.

Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, said that women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday’s decision. He told The Associated Press the group plans to ask all French mayors who bannedburkinis to withdraw their orders and, if they refuse to do so, he will systematically take each case to court.

“It is a decision that is meant to set legal precedent,” Spinosi said to reporters earlier outside the court. “Today all the ordinances taken should conform to the decision of the Council of State. Logically the mayors should withdraw these ordinances. If not, legal actions could be taken” against those towns.

The head of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, the other group that appealed to the top court, hailed the decision but lamented that the crackdown “will remain engraved in the history of our country.”

“One cannot take back the harm which was caused, humiliations that were provoked,” Marwan Muhammad told reporters outside the court.

The bans have become a symbol of tensions around the place of Islam in secular France and the heated debate has brought about divisions even among cabinet ministers.

While Valls argued that burkinis oppress women, two ministers in his cabinet, Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and Health Minister Marisol Touraine, have said banning burkinis is not a good option. Vallaud-Belkacem, a feminist with North African roots, argued that while she doesn’t like the burkini swimsuit, banning the garment amounted to a politically driven act that encouraged racism.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who is also in charge of faiths, said that “it is now up to everyone to seek calm.”

The conservative mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet, Lionnel Luca, said that “far from calming, this decision can only heighten passions and tensions, with the risk of trouble we wanted to avoid.”

Luca, also a lawmaker, said that now only a law can stop troubles. He denounced a “rampant Islamization” in the country and said that, with Friday’s ruling, “they’ve gained a small additional step.”

While addressing only one local ban, the Council of State sets general principles in its ruling that any mayors will now have to abide by when using their powers in the future.

Technically, other local bans are still in effect until mayors revoke them or groups contest them in courts. But de facto the town decrees are hollow because burkini fines can be contested.

Nevertheless, the mayor of the Corsican town of Sisco said he wouldn’t lift the ban he imposed after an Aug. 13 clash on a beach. “Here the tension is very, very, very high and I won’t withdraw it,” Ange-Pierre Vivoni said on BFM-TV.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who announced this week he’s seeking the conservative nomination for the 2017 race, said at a rally Thursday night in southern France that he wants a law banning the burkini “on the entire territory of the Republic.”

Far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen said the battle is not over. She said in a statement that lawmakers must vote “as quickly as possible” to extend a 2004 law that bans Muslim headscarves and other ostentatious religious symbols in classrooms to include all public spaces.

“The burkini would obviously be part of it,” said Le Pen, who is running for president in the 2017 race.

President Francois Hollande has remained neutral on the issue, arguing that society “presumes that each person conforms to the rules, and that there is neither provocation nor stigmatization.”

But critics said the bans had been feeding a racist political agenda.

Amnesty International praised the court decision Friday, calling the local decrees “invasive and discriminatory” and saying their enforcement has led to “abuses and the degrading treatment of Muslim women and girls.”

Story: Philippe Sotto

‘Wolf Bride’ and ‘Da Torpedo’ Freed From Prison

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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27 August 2016, 11:18

Pornthip Munkong, in white with flowers, and Daranee Charnchoensilpakul, in grey with flowers, outside the central prison Saturday morning in Bangkok. Photo: Matichon

BANGKOK — The patience of family, friends and supporters was rewarded Saturday when an activist performer and Redshirt firebrand were among 138 women to walk out prison Saturday morning.

Pornthip Munkong, a 28-year-old activist convicted over a 2013 student play; and Daranee Charncherngsilpakul, aka “Da Torpedo;” were released at about 6:45am on Saturday morning from the Central Women’s Correctional Institution in Bangkok.

Both women were jailed for actions deemed insulting to the monarchy. Pornthip was arrested soon after the 2014 coup and later convicted for performing in “The Wolf Bride,” a 2013 play staged at Thammasat University.

Daranee, 58, is a former Redshirt activist who campaigned against the 2006 military coup. She was convicted of three offenses under Section 112 of the penal code, a crime known as lese majeste, in 2008 for three speeches in the Sanam Luang denouncing the 2006 coup and monarchy.

Both women were freed under annual royal pardons. While Pornthip was to be released soon, Daranee had another decade to her sentence.

According to Weeranan Huadsri, an activist and Pornthip’s boyfriend, a total of 138 female prisoners were released this morning. No notification was posted outside the prison, however.

“The welfare work staff had to call the prisoners’ families,” Weeranan said.

Wait Not Over For Loved Ones of Jailed ‘Wolf Bride’ Actress

Exasperating Wait For Release of Loved Ones From Prison

Theater Activists Jailed Over Satirical Play About Monarchy

Activists Charged With Lese Majeste After 70-Day Detention

Funk All Night With Bangkok’s ‘Gramaphone Children’

By

Mongkorn Timkul, Correspondent

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26 August 2016, 18:48

Top: Jaree Thanapura, aka Gramaphone Children, at left, with MC Sinnamon on Aug. 25 at Live RCA Bangkok.

Since originating in the good ol’ U-S-of-A, funk music spread across the world. Thailand was no exception, where a small but vibrant scene emerged in the Sixties. While much of that early music has been lost, folks such as Zudrangma Records spread the gospel to a new generation along with artists such as NYTE, Cyndi Seui and one American-born dude named Jaree Thanapura.

Jaree, better known as Gramaphone Children, has led the way for Thailand’s Funk scene since his label debut in 2001.

Speaking English in a husky drawl somewhere between his native Kentucky and Malibu beach, Jaree is a mass of contradictions happily occupying one loud shirt at a time. His mop of long hair and slacker aesthetic belie a technical perfectionist who hovers over every knob, slider and setting in his studio to get it all just right.

In American slang, he explains how he got into music after going from ‘80s American kid to ‘90s teen of Bangkok, and eventually, in-demand DJ of the now at venues such as Bad Motel and Studio Lam.

“When I first arrived to Thailand from the states, I solved boredom by learning guitar and drums on my own,” said Jaree, now 38. “I literally took a couple guitar lessons at first though, and got really turned off when my instructor started reading the paper while simultaneously eating nuts, leaving me to practice the melody of ‘Old MacDonald’ on a classical guitar. I went twice and never went back.”

Jaree Thanapura at his Sky Tone music production studio. Photo: Gramaphone Children / Courtesy

Those two guitar lessons and 30 releases later, the producer’s latest offering “Slice & Dice Vol. 01” is due in September. The album will be released on his label Kitsch Kat and will see him flex his production muscles to the fullest with a nine-track album of sophisticated and stylish grooves.

This is some of his best work yet. It raises the standard of funk produced in the kingdom to an international level along with the likes of George Clinton, Breakbot and Dam Funk.

What is the madness to this producer’s method for cooking up such delicious beats in the studio?

“I stared countless hours at a tiny black-and-greenish LCD screen with tiny buttons and knobs that incorporated a 16-step sequencer,” he says, arcanely. “It was a great experience which allowed me to create new ideas with a different kind of workflow since there were limitations. But these limitations made me think out of the box and that was the beauty of it.”

With Jaree building the album’s beat framework, the vocals came by way of Bangkok city’s own MC Sinnamon, a longtime collaborator of your’s truly, and up-and-coming songstress Pyra. On the track “Jelly Beato,” Sinnamon flips an old school hook ala Kurtis Blow and turns it into Thai-style block rockin’ party rap. Pyra’s contribution to the album come in two tracks, with her in full B-girl rap mode for “Trouble Makers.” But it’s “Move Slowly” where her sultry vocals shine.

Jaree is just as process-oriented when it comes to collaborating with people as formulating his sounds.

'Pyra' lends vocals to Gramaphone Children's latest dropping Sept. 1. — ‘Pyra’ lends vocals to Gramaphone Children’s latest dropping Sept. 1.

“I tend to plan ahead of time before I meet vocalists and musicians who come and collab with me,” Jaree says. “I’ll lay down a melody guide, or I’ll brief them about the storyline, as well as mood and tone before we record. With Pyra I sent her a demo first and when we met, we went through the lyrics on ‘Move Slowly’ and finalized it together.”

To fully experience the Gramaphone Children vibe, Jaree regularly brings it out of the studio and to the dance floor. He’s a featured DJ every month at Studio Lam’s Nite Ride, a funk/boogie get-down along with DJs Lows and Boogie G. In the past year, Nite Ride has made a name for itself as one of the most full-on, dedicated funk nights in Bangkok. Get ready for the next edition on Sept. 16.

“Slice & Dice Vol. 01” will be available Sept. 1 at all major digital stores, through Bandcamp and with a run of CDs printed. Get updates at Gramaphone Children on Facebook.

<a href="http://gramaphonechildren.bandcamp.com/track/the-way-you-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Way You Move by Gramaphone Children</a>Funk in Bangkok has a bright future thanks to producers like Jaree, who says the city finds its way into the music.

“The more you listen to music, especially the roots of any genre, it naturally gives you ideas subliminally. Or sometimes a particular synth sound or bassline might inspire me and open a door in my mind,” he explains. “Bangkok traffic also helps, there’s not much to do in a taxi or car, so I’ll think of something in my head, hum a small riff and beat into my phone and develop something when I arrive home.”

Until next time, may the funk be with you!

Jaree Thanapura in his studio. Photo: Gramaphone Children / Courtesy

Jaree Thanapura's tricked-out home studio. Photo: Gramaphone Children / Courtesy — Jaree Thanapura’s tricked-out home studio. Photo: Gramaphone Children / Courtesy

Political Prisoners Among 476 Inmates to Be Freed Saturday

By

Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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26 August 2016, 18:39

Dozens of people protest outside the Bangkok Remand Prison in June demanding the release of seven activists.

BANGKOK — An elderly man jailed for bathroom graffiti and Redshirt guards from 2010 are among 476 convicts expected to be freed Saturday, according to information reportedly released by corrections officials.

Two weeks after the first batch of pardoned prisoners walked out of the Bangkok Remand Prison, an activist working with prisoners of conscience said Friday that prison officials have posted a list of prisoners to be released at 9am tomorrow as part of a second wave of royal pardons.

“I’m 100 percent certain about the listed names, as they’re on the board at the Bangkok Remand Prison,” said Ekachai Hongkangwan, who said it was there when he visited the prison in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district this morning.

Ekachai, who works with the For Friends Association, posted online Thursday the list of 476 prisoners who received a second batch of royal pardons and will be released at 9am on Saturday.

Earlier this month, he had raised hopes among some loved ones by sharing a list of names he’d obtained, but some of them were not released.

Among the 476 names are two people convicted of insulting the monarchy, a crime known as lese majeste: Phuchit Wongtanarat and Opas Chansuksai. Opas, 69, was jailed for a year and half for writing something on the wall of a mall restroom deemed offensive to the monarchy.

Also to be released is Pornchai Aksornwit, who was convicted of plotting with two other men to blow up major buildings on Silom Road in 2009. Kowit Yaemprasert and Prasong Maneein were two Redshirt guards jailed since the 2010 unrest. Wanlop Ratanarung was convicted of carrying explosives near an anti-government protest site in 2014.

Lists of prisoners to be released are normally posted so their families can come pick them up on the appointed date. However no such list was posted Aug. 12 when a number of prisoners were released, including one of two actors convicted of lese majeste over a 2013 student play.

At the time, corrections officials would neither confirm or deny any further prisoners would be released, saying it would post notice when and if any more were forthcoming.

Ekachai noted that the Department of Corrections has changed its process and now requires inmates be interviewed prior to release about where they will be staying. He mentioned that a third batch of prisoners would follow within two weeks, as they were interviewed Wednesday.

Asked if any women would be released from the women’s facility, Ekachai said no list has been posted there. The two prisons follow different systems, he added.

“It’s already bad being in the men’s Prison, but the women’s is worse,” he said.

Exasperating Wait For Release of Loved Ones From Prison

Prayuth to Add 30 ‘Mostly Military’ to Rubber-Stamp Parliament

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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26 August 2016, 15:51

Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday chooses food from a truck at Government House in Bangkok. He’s set to pick 30 new members of the interim parliament next month.

BANGKOK — The interim parliament on Friday voted unanimously to increase its membership from 220 to 250 in line with the military government’s request for more lawmakers to move a backlog of legislation before next year’s election.

All new members of the National Legislative Assembly will be handpicked by junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha, a move that led some in the opposition to accuse the regime of tightening its grip on power before a new civilian government takes charge.

Prayuth Promises 2017 Election

The regime has not yet said who will be appointed, but Prayuth mentioned Tuesday that they would be “mostly military officers.”

The remark raised alarm among junta critics such as former Pheu Thai MP Chusak Sirinil, who said the military government is giving jobs to its favorites to expand its power.

“Personally, I don’t see any reason to increase the number of the NLA,” Chusak said Thursday. “I think that their legislative work is not complicated or sophisticated like in a normal situation. Take a look at the NLA’s motions: each law they deliberate upon has barely any opposition.”

The plan was approved by a 189-0 vote in Friday’s assembly session, with three abstentions. The lawmakers will now work on amending the current interim charter to allow for the new members, which will take about 30 days.

Speaking before the vote, deputy Prime Minister Visanu Krua-ngarm said the extra manpower is needed to approve laws and government policies prior to the election expected in late 2017.

“The current 200 members of the NLA may not be sufficient to perform their important duties, because I expect that in the remaining year and four months, there will be about 100 laws … flowing into deliberation sessions of the NLA,” Visanu told the parliament.

But, he stressed, the government has no agenda beyond needing more hands on deck.

“We are not appointing them to do any other thing, and they are not going to stay long either,” Visanu said Wednesday.

‘Mr. Smith’ Asks: Is There Life After 40 in Bangkok?

By

Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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26 August 2016, 14:38

Nophand Boonyai, Pattarasuda Anuman Rajadhon and Suphasawatt Purnaveja in a promotional image for ‘Happy New Year Mr. Smith.’

BANGKOK — At the turn of a year, some might fear aging while others embrace it with grace. The almost-midlife crises of those turning 40 inspired stage director Nophand Boonyai’s latest dark comedy, “Happy New Year Mr. Smith.”

In Mr. Smith, three friends who’ve gone “over the hill” gather on New Year’s Even and find they’re all suffering for different reasons: a recently widowed scriptwriter, an intimacy-fearing actor cast in a romantic role, and a woman who resists tying the knot with her boyfriend.

A turning point comes when they spot an older neighbor, Mr. Smith, commit suicide. To their surprise, his ghost comes back to haunt them.

“Mr. Smith poses the question of whether we can really be alone or have to live unhappily with someone,” he said. “Are those our choices? Maybe the answer isn’t applicable to everyone.”

The 37-year-old, who also wrote the script and performs in the play, said it’s drawn from tales of his own urban life.

“The story reflects and at the same time questions people’s lives today, especially in Bangkok,” Nophand said. “Aging is a good thing which implies that we’re stronger. But here, being 40 means we’re done.”

The play’s generational tale also gets at changing social mores in a cosmopolitan culture breaking from that past.

“When we reach a certain age, Thai society seems to force a role for us, like we must start a family, but what if we don’t want to choose any path at all?” he wondered. “We might not enjoy what we’re doing but have to stick to it, as there’s no other choice. While some people might succeed in what they’re doing, what’s next?”

With a background in graphic design and film, Nophand’s plays are striking for their cinematic and satirical qualities, such as 2014’s “The Cult of Monte Cristo,” a gothic mystery questioning beliefs, virtues and education.

Also performing in the play are Pattarasuda Anuman Rajadhon, Suphasawatt Purnaveja and Nikorn Sae Tang.

The play kicks off Sept. 29 and runs through Oct. 18, in The Studio of the Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre on the seventh floor of the Siam Square One shopping mall. The performance is in Thai with English surtitles.

Tickets are 600 baht for the Sept. 29 – Oct. 4 run, 650 baht for Oct. 7 – 11, 700 baht Oct. 14 – 18. Students can attend any show for 450 baht. Tickets can be reserved by phone via 081-852-1641 or its event page.

Brash Young Artists Push Limits of Contemporary Art

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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26 August 2016, 13:27

BANGKOK — Frustrated by censorship, enforced beauty standards and more, five emerging artists want to seize the narrative and show what they are thinking.

Experimental dissonant music, installations, film, photography, sculptures, 3D prints, LED displays and probably more will greet audiences at “One,” a group exhibition by artists Alisa Chunchue, Anon Chaisansook, Napat Vattanakulijalas, Pim Sangwarnphan and Thanart Rasanont.

“I think the media determines who’s beautiful and who’s not,” Pim says about her work Bangkok Glamorous, in which she reached into past and present to mash up women from advertisements and soap operas “make it look overwhelmed.”

Anon said his project Secret is about censorship, though it’s portrayed to be nebulous and symbolic through a mixed-media installation.

“When I have an opinion about something, I’d rather not express it directly,” he said.

The exhibition is organized by Taigers, a new project promoting next-gen artists.

“One” opens at 6pm on Sept. 3 and runs until the end of the month at NACC, a new art space on Charoen Krung Road’s Soi Nana 17.

Art installation by Anon Chaisansook. Photo: Taigers / Facebook

Film still of sculpture by Alisa Chunchue. Photo: Taigers / Courtesy

Installation by Napat Vattanakuljalas. Photo: Taigers / Courtesy

Mass Pokemon Go Gathering Saturday at Bangkok’s CentralWorld

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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26 August 2016, 13:12

Bangkok police chief Sanit Mahatavorn warns motorists not to catch Pikachu or other Pokemon while driving on Aug. 21 in Bangkok. — Bangkok police chief Sanit Mahathavorn warns motorists not to catch Pikachu or other Pokemon while driving on Aug. 21 in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — The elusive unity and national reconciliation of Thais will finally be realized Saturday, when the kingdom comes together as one in CentralWorld Plaza.

That’s right, it’s the first gathering for Pokemon Go players.

Organized by Pokemon Go Thailand, the event starts at 11am on the southern side of the shopping mall’s outdoor plaza. Event organizers promise activities including giveaways of free goodies, a cosplay contest and “trainer battle.”

Since the mobile phone-based game became available in the country Aug. 6, it has sent crowds of players, or “trainers,” to search for Pokemon at major landmarks and prompted threats by authorities to ban it outright.

Bangkok police have also expressed concern about people playing the game as they drive, launching a special task force called “Pokemon Traffic No Go” to catch those traffic scofflaws.

Forty-two people have been arrested and fined for playing Pokemon Go behind the wheel, according to Bangkok police chief Sanit Mahatavorn.

Khaosod English Livestreams Pokemon Go Craze at Siam Paragon

French Lawyers Seek Overturn of Burkini Ban, Verdict Friday

By

Associated Press

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26 August 2016, 12:18

An activist protests outside the French embassy during, the "wear what you want beach party" on Thursday in London. Photo: Frank Augstein / Associated Press

PARIS — Human rights groups challenged the legality of municipal bans on full-body burkini swimsuits before France’s highest administrative court Thursday, a practice that one lawyer fiercely denounced as reflecting “a reflex of fear.”

The three-judge Council of State heard arguments from both sides and said it would issue its ruling Friday over whether to overturn the locally ordered bans. They have elicited shock and anger worldwide after photos this week appeared to show police instructing one Muslim sunbather to remove her body-concealing tunic in Nice, scene of last month’s truck slaughter.

The legal fight over the right of Muslim women to wear burkinis has fired a national debate over the place of Islam in France, a strictly secular country, and fueled concerns at home and abroad that some French mayors are overstepping their powers.

Pleading in a courtroom packed with journalists, legal experts and ordinary citizens, the lawyers for two human rights groups expressed fears that the bans on wearing any religious garments on beaches, if upheld by the court, would be extended to public transportation networks and other public places.

“France has lost any sense of proportion in this matter. The Council of State must be a compass in the tempest and show the right way,” said Patrice Spinosi, a lawyer for the Human Rights League. “The bans have been issued by a reflex of fear.”

Spinosi argued that, before about 30 coastal towns and cities introduced the ban, there weren’t “any riots on the beaches.” He said the bans, by contrast, had stirred “disruption to public order,” driven by the sight of police issuing fines to Muslim women on some Riviera beaches.

Divisions have emerged in President Francois Hollande’s government over the bans, and protests have been held in London and Berlin by those defending women’s right to wear what they want on the beach.

Critics of the local decrees have said the orders are too vague, prompting local police officials to fine women wearing the traditional Islamic headscarf and the hijab, not burkinis. The bans do not generally use the word “burkini” but forbid any clothing that is deemed overtly religious.

Thursday’s arguments focused on a ban in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but Friday’s binding decision will set a legal precedent on whether any municipality can tell Muslim women what to wear on the beach.

Francois Pinatel, the lawyer for the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, acknowledged the mayor’s order had infringed basic freedoms but argued this was legal because the decree was intended to safeguard public order following the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice 15 kilometers (9 miles) away.

“There is a climate of absolute tension in the region with an extremely explosive situation,” Pinatel told the judges.

Parallel to Thursday’s court deliberations, public debate continued even among cabinet ministers.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said burkinis represent the “enslavement of women.” He urged police to enforce the bans fairly and respectfully.

Hollande himself has remained neutral on the issue, arguing that society “presumes that each person conforms to the rules, and that there is neither provocation nor stigmatization.”

Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, a feminist with North African roots, argued that while she doesn’t like the burkini swimsuit, banning the garment amounted to a politically driven act that encouraged racism. Health Minister Marisol Touraine took a similar stance.

In London, about 30 demonstrators threw a “wear what you want” beach party Thursday outside the French Embassy.

Recent militant attacks on France don’t justify “men with weapons standing over a woman telling her what not to wear. That’s not a sight that any of us should stand for,” said church curate Jenny Dawkins, 40, one of the protesters.

In Berlin, about 60 people — some wearing burkinis, others bikinis — protested outside the French embassy in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

The Human Rights League and the Collective Against Islamophobia in France —the other rights group pursuing Thursday’s lawsuit — say the Villeneuve-Loubet mayor’s decree violates basic freedoms of dress, religious expression and movement.

The Villeneuve-Loubet order bars from beaches anyone whose garments don’t respect the principles of secularism, health and safety, and good moral standards.

On Monday, a lower court in Nice ruled that the Villeneuve-Loubet ban was “necessary, appropriate and proportionate.” The administrative court added that wearing “conspicuous” religious clothing on the beach may be seen as a “provocation” and increase tensions.

The Nice court said that burkinis can be viewed as “erasing” women from the public eye and “a lowering of their place.”

Religious clothing is particularly sensitive in France, where an unusually large part of the population has no religious affiliation. The first provision in France’s constitution declares it is “a secular republic.”

Story: Philippe Sotto

Traffic Notice: Olympic Triumph Parade Kicks Off This Afternoon

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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26 August 2016, 12:04

Thailand’s Olympic delegation pose Aug. 5 before the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

BANGKOK — A parade honoring Thai Olympians will take place at 3pm today in Bangkok and will likely complicate already notorious Friday traffic.

The convoy, which will consist of up to 20 cars and 60 motorcycles, is scheduled to depart the Hua Mak Sports Complex at 3pm.

It will continue along major roads and landmarks of the capital city such as Ramkhamhaeng, Rama IX, Din Daeng, Victory Monument, Phaya Thai, Petchaburi and Yommarat roads before ending at Government House around 5:30 pm, where a reception banquet will be hosted the military government for the athletes.

Large crowds are expected the route.

Highlights of the parade will be Sukanya Srisurat and Sopita Tanasan, who return from Rio with gold medals in weightlifting.

Other medalists are Tawin Hanprab (silver, Taekwondo); Pimsiri Sirikaew (silver, weightlifting); Sinphet Kruaithong (bronze, Taekwondo); and Panipat Wongpattanakit (bronze, weightlifting).

Threats of bad weather hang over the celebration, however: The Met’s forecast for today suggests a rainstorm may hit the capital city in the later afternoon.

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