BANGKOK — The former leader of the conservative protest movement that brought about the 2014 coup d'etat left the monkhood today after spending a year at a monastery in southern Thailand.

Suthep Thaugsuban is famous for leading street protests against then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from November 2013 to May 2014, when the military intervened with the stated aim of restoring peace and order. The following month, Suthep became a monk at a forest monastery in Surat Thani province. 

Speaking to the press after his disrobing ceremony this morning, Suthep said he plans to join a foundation that other former protest leaders have established to promote vocational education and other grassroots projects. Later in the evening Suthep took to his official Facebook account to declare that he's done with politics.

"I was in monkhood for one year and thirteen days. I have presided over ceremonies … at over 500 temples. I have conducted merit making for many of you." Suthep wrote.

"After leaving the monkhood, I will work with the Foundation of the Great Mass of the People for Reform of Thailand. I will never go back to run in an election ever again. But I will be working in civil politics alongside the Great Mass of the People for the benefit of our country." 

Prior to his foray into street protest, Suthep was deputy chairman of the pro-establishment Democrat Party, followed by Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 – 2011.

After Yingluck's government tried to pass a controversial amnesty bill that would have absolved the corruption conviction of her brother, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, Suthep resigned from the Democrat Party to lead mass street protests against the measure. 

Although the protests were sparked by criticism of the amnesty bill, the movement later escalated into a full-scale anti-government demonstration that demanded Yingluck and her government be removed. Suthep called for replacing Yingluck with a royally-appointed Prime Minister, and allowing an unelected "People's Council" to spearhead a series of national reforms.

Suthep also led demonstrators to boycott the February 2014 snap election called by Yingluck in response to the protests.

Speaking to reporters today, Suthep said he plans to contest the charges that have been filed against him in relation to his protest campaign, which include insurrection and breaking into state buildings, among others. 

"I don't want any amnesty for me, even though some of my charges carry maximum penalty of execution of life sentence," Suthep said. "There should not be any amnesty for people who are charged with lese majeste [insulting the monarchy] and other serious offences either. It should be processed in accordance with the laws. But as for ordinary people who joined political struggle, there should be amnesty for these people." 

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BANGKOK (DPA) — Many exports of Western civilization have been well received in Asia: indoor-plumbing, the internet and the HBO series Game of Thrones to name just a few.

However, a recent trend among tourists to strip naked and pose alongside the world's major landmarks has drawn the ire of governments and residents across the region.

After an earthquake that struck Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu on June 5 claimed the lives of 18 people, regional deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan blamed it on the naked derrieres of a few Western exhibitionists.

Kitingan said the mountain had been angered by the foreigners who "showed disrespect to the sacred mountain" by uploading naked selfies taken there to social media.

Masidi Manjun, Sabah state minister of tourism, culture and the environment, explained that the indigenous people believe Mount Kinabalu is the final resting place of departed souls, and thus the tourists' actions were "sacrilege."

The perpetrators were eventually caught, fined and expelled from Malaysia – fully clothed – amid a scrum of media coverage.

All the commotion surrounding the case felt overblown to people like Canadian Emil Kaminski, one of the first and most prominent figures in the naked-tourism phenomenon, who say the growing social media trend is "just for laughs."

"[It started] because no one else did it at the time. [We were] tired of the same old boring photos … that everyone does," Kaminski, a videographer for the Monkeetime travel blog, told dpa.

He acknowledged that there are some limits. He would not advocate walking around a crowded tourist area in the buff, but if alone in a secluded place, then "why not?"

The trend has seemingly caught on. A Facebook group calling itself Naked at Monuments has received thousands of followers while the photo-sharing website Instagram is littered with naked bottoms from around the globe.

As a major destination for travellers, South-East Asia has been inundated with tourists looking for a good time.

From Penang in Malaysia, to Chiang Mai in Thailand and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, tourists have been caught in various stages of undress by local authorities who are shocked at the growing trend.

Since the beginning of the year, three French and two Americans have been arrested at the Angkor Wat temple complex that dates to the 12th century.

One 22-year-old Canadian student who declined to be named also posed naked at Angkor Wat with her friends, but was not caught by authorities.

"We were just having a bit of fun," she says. "The weather is so hot and we saw it on social media so we thought we would try it too."

According to Maria Lombard of Northwestern University, the need for tourists to connect with locations "in a tangible way" and the ire that it draws are not new or unique.

Lombard points out that tourists have been carving initials into landmarks and historical sites for ages.

"This desire to show that "I was here" is not new; just the mode for expressing it is."

But such reassurances are no comfort to tourism officials across the region who argue that such stunts have no place for monuments that natives consider sacred.

"Everywhere on Earth, when someone takes off their clothing and becomes nude in public, it offends," said Phay Siphan, a spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of the Interior.

"Angkor Wat is a World Heritage site and it has [important] cultural value," he said. "Nudity is not a cultural value."

Local officials are also puzzled why Western tourists who flaunt their bits at revered sites in Asia refrain from doing so in their own countries in front of landmarks like St Peter's Basilica.

"They don't seem to strip off much in the Notre Dame or Hagia Sofia or any other place I can think of," said Lawrence Osborne, a bestselling author who has written extensively about the clash of culture and identity in South-East Asia.

"Modesty and restraint are still respected virtues in the East, so stripping naked at tourist sites that are sacred or highly visible is not only taboo in these countries but a "loss-of-face" for local officials."

But what started as fun and games for Kaminski and his followers has quickly become a rallying cry in a fight against traditional conservatism.

After Malaysians blamed the earthquake on naked tourists, Kaminski took to the internet to ridicule such statements, engaging in a Twitter tussle with state tourism minister Masidi Manjun.

"While it started as a goofy thing to do with friends, at this point it has evolved into a statement about people needing to stop being Taliban-like and update their ancient social norms."

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT — Police in southern Thailand have asked Buddhist monks to help promote road safety by explaining to temple-goers that accidents are caused by recklessness, not bad karma.

Pol.Col. Wanchai Ekpornpitch, deputy commander of Nakhon Si Thammarat police force, told over local 90 monks in an auditorium today that police are looking to cut traffic accident fatalities by half by the year 2020.

"We want to encourage 100 percent of motorcyclists and their passengers to wear motorcycle helmets, so we invited the monks to listen to accident statistics and other measures, because religious institutions are very important in spreading information, through sermons, discussions, and other public relations efforts with people who make merit at temples," Pol.Col. Wanchai told reporters.

He explained, "They [monks] should hand out the idea that when people don't wear motorcycle helmets, and they go on to have accidents that cause deaths and injuries, it was not because of karma. It was because of reckless behavior." 

Pol.Col. Wanchai said he hopes monks who attended today's conference will be able to "accurately and successfully spread the information." 

According to Pol.Col. Wanchai, an average of 2 people are killed every day in road accidents in Nakhon Si Thammarat province. 

BANGKOK — A Thai government spokesperson said the United States is obligated to explain why it did not upgrade Thailand's ranking in an annual assessment of human trafficking around the globe.

In the 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report released last night, the US State Department retained Thailand’s"Tier 3" status, citing a the government’s failure to "fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking."

Thailand was first downgraded to Tier 3 – the lowest rank possible – last year. 

Speaking to reporters this morning, Thai government spokesperson Maj.Gen. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said he disagreed with the ranking. 

"Thailand's clear stance is to prevent anyone from using Thailand as a transit country or [location] of human trafficking networks, and punish any wrongdoer," Maj.Gen. Sansern told reporters.

"It is the duty and responsibility of the report publishers to explain clearly to the world community about the source of the data they collected, and what standards they used to make their analysis, in order to make that report truly credible and accepted."

He added, "They have to confirm that this is an action based on facts without any hidden agenda."

The 2015 TIP Report described Thailand as a source, destination, and transit country for victims of human trafficking, both foreigners and Thais, who are often defrauded by brokers into working in the sex trade or fishing industry.

The report also faulted Thai authorities for discouraging media coverage of human trafficking, creating an environment where victims are afraid to report crimes, and failing to root out corruption among officials. 

"Some Thai officials are complicit in trafficking crimes and corruption continues to undermine anti-trafficking efforts," the report said.  "Thailand investigated and prosecuted some cases against corrupt officials involved in
trafficking but trafficking-related corruption continued to impede progress in combating trafficking."

The report also noted some progress made by Thailand's military government, which came to power through a coup in May 2014, including new laws regulating the fishing industry, harsher punishments for trafficking crimes, and efforts to register undocumented migrants who are vulnerable to exploitation.

"Thailand is neither worried nor dispirited by this report, because we are well aware of how much progress our problem-solving has brought,” Maj.Gen. Sansern said today, noting the Thai police’s dismantling of a human trafficking network in southern Thailand following an investigation in May.

The May 2015 crackdown, which led to the indictment of more than 70 people on trafficking charges, was not included in the TIP assessment because it occurred after the reporting period, which ended on 31 March 2014.

In a statement published on its website, the US Embassy in Bangkok said it was encouraged by the anti-trafficking efforts in Thailand that came after the March deadline and will be included in next year's report. 

"We welcome additional efforts by the Thai government since March 31 to fight trafficking in persons, including efforts to create special units within criminal courts to adjudicate trafficking cases and the arrests of dozens possibly involved in human trafficking crimes and other abuses against migrants in southern Thailand," the statement said. 

The US Embassy's statment also noted that "TIP report rankings are made based upon a thorough evaluation of the country’s anti-trafficking record and is made without consideration of the country’s current political context."