Thursday, April 9, 2009

Thai Premier Stands Firm as Protests Spread, Threaten Summit


By Daniel Ten Kate and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected the demands of protesters who used taxis to block Bangkok’s streets in a bid to force his ouster before he hosts a summit of Asian leaders that starts today.

Tens of thousands of people remained camped out at the premier’s office and other locations in the capital after bringing traffic in key intersections to a standstill. Abhisit, declaring today a public holiday, said the protesters “broke the law” and vowed not to quit or call an election.
“Dissolving the parliament is not an appropriate option at the moment,” Abhisit, 44, said in a nationally televised address late yesterday. “The right time to consider that is when we have political stability and the expression of people’s rights without a climate of violence.”

The expanding rallies threaten to undermine Abhisit’s four- month-old administration as he welcomes 15 leaders attending the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Demonstrators, who have surrounded his office since March 26, say his government is illegitimate because he took power after a court disbanded the former ruling party.

“The situation is volatile and could turn violent,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “They have pent-up rage from being insulted, underestimated and dismissed by the establishment.”

Protesters planned to travel to Pattaya, a resort town 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, where the Asean summit will take place, said protest leader Jatuporn Prompan. Leaders from China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand also plan to attend the meeting.

Disable Government

“Our aim is to make the government unable to function,” protest leader Jatuporn Prompan said by telephone. “Our demand hasn’t been met.”

Abhisit said the government has stepped up security in Pattaya to prevent demonstrators from disrupting the summit. His car was attacked by a group of protesters on April 7 in the resort town as he returned to Bangkok from a cabinet meeting.

The protests escalated on April 8 when crowds besieged the house of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, 88. They say Prem, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s top adviser, and two fellow advisers should step down for allegedly plotting the coup that ousted former Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra. Prem has denied any involvement in the 2006 coup.

In targeting Prem, a former army chief and prime minister, the demonstrators face accusations they are criticizing the monarchy, a crime in Thailand that can see offenders jailed for as many as 15 years. Under Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the king is head of state while the prime minister and parliament govern. The king must still approve all legislation.

Red Shirts

The protesters wear red shirts to distinguish themselves from rivals who sported yellow to show loyalty to King Bhumibol during a 193-day campaign to remove a pro-Thaksin government last year. They came from 35 provinces, mostly in Thaksin’s electoral base in northeast Thailand, to join the April 8 march.

“We love peace, but we need to fight,” Thaksin told a rally late yesterday via videophone. “We have to tell the world this government is no longer legitimate.”

Thaksin, who fled Thailand last year to escape corruption charges, has spoken to his supporters through a video link-up in rallies throughout the country since Abhisit took power. He was sentenced to two years in prison in October for helping his wife buy land from the government while he served as prime minister.

Since the coup, the courts disbanded two pro-Thaksin parties and banned about 140 politicians loyal to him, including former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in December. Parties linked to Thaksin have won the past four national elections on heavy support from the northeast, Thailand’s poorest region.

Airport Protest

Abhisit took power in December after protesters who support him shut down the country’s airports for eight days and a court dissolved the ruling party for vote buying. He wooed a faction of lawmakers that previously backed Thaksin to join his coalition, and consolidated his parliamentary majority in a March 21 confidence vote.

Thailand’s consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in more than seven years in March, buffeted by the protests and an economy heading for its first annual contraction in more than a decade. The index dropped to 66 from 67.2 in February, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.

Thailand’s Stock Exchange of Thailand will remain open today along with banks, Patareeya Benjapolchai, its president, said by phone. The benchmark SET Index has risen 1.6 percent since protests began March 26, compared with a 3.7 percent rise in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net

Thai Premier Stands Firm as Protests Spread, Threaten Summit


By Daniel Ten Kate and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected the demands of protesters who used taxis to block Bangkok’s streets in a bid to force his ouster before he hosts a summit of Asian leaders that starts today.

Tens of thousands of people remained camped out at the premier’s office and other locations in the capital after bringing traffic in key intersections to a standstill. Abhisit, declaring today a public holiday, said the protesters “broke the law” and vowed not to quit or call an election.
“Dissolving the parliament is not an appropriate option at the moment,” Abhisit, 44, said in a nationally televised address late yesterday. “The right time to consider that is when we have political stability and the expression of people’s rights without a climate of violence.”

The expanding rallies threaten to undermine Abhisit’s four- month-old administration as he welcomes 15 leaders attending the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Demonstrators, who have surrounded his office since March 26, say his government is illegitimate because he took power after a court disbanded the former ruling party.

“The situation is volatile and could turn violent,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “They have pent-up rage from being insulted, underestimated and dismissed by the establishment.”

Protesters planned to travel to Pattaya, a resort town 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, where the Asean summit will take place, said protest leader Jatuporn Prompan. Leaders from China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand also plan to attend the meeting.

Disable Government

“Our aim is to make the government unable to function,” protest leader Jatuporn Prompan said by telephone. “Our demand hasn’t been met.”

Abhisit said the government has stepped up security in Pattaya to prevent demonstrators from disrupting the summit. His car was attacked by a group of protesters on April 7 in the resort town as he returned to Bangkok from a cabinet meeting.

The protests escalated on April 8 when crowds besieged the house of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, 88. They say Prem, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s top adviser, and two fellow advisers should step down for allegedly plotting the coup that ousted former Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra. Prem has denied any involvement in the 2006 coup.

In targeting Prem, a former army chief and prime minister, the demonstrators face accusations they are criticizing the monarchy, a crime in Thailand that can see offenders jailed for as many as 15 years. Under Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the king is head of state while the prime minister and parliament govern. The king must still approve all legislation.

Red Shirts

The protesters wear red shirts to distinguish themselves from rivals who sported yellow to show loyalty to King Bhumibol during a 193-day campaign to remove a pro-Thaksin government last year. They came from 35 provinces, mostly in Thaksin’s electoral base in northeast Thailand, to join the April 8 march.

“We love peace, but we need to fight,” Thaksin told a rally late yesterday via videophone. “We have to tell the world this government is no longer legitimate.”

Thaksin, who fled Thailand last year to escape corruption charges, has spoken to his supporters through a video link-up in rallies throughout the country since Abhisit took power. He was sentenced to two years in prison in October for helping his wife buy land from the government while he served as prime minister.

Since the coup, the courts disbanded two pro-Thaksin parties and banned about 140 politicians loyal to him, including former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in December. Parties linked to Thaksin have won the past four national elections on heavy support from the northeast, Thailand’s poorest region.

Airport Protest

Abhisit took power in December after protesters who support him shut down the country’s airports for eight days and a court dissolved the ruling party for vote buying. He wooed a faction of lawmakers that previously backed Thaksin to join his coalition, and consolidated his parliamentary majority in a March 21 confidence vote.

Thailand’s consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in more than seven years in March, buffeted by the protests and an economy heading for its first annual contraction in more than a decade. The index dropped to 66 from 67.2 in February, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.

Thailand’s Stock Exchange of Thailand will remain open today along with banks, Patareeya Benjapolchai, its president, said by phone. The benchmark SET Index has risen 1.6 percent since protests began March 26, compared with a 3.7 percent rise in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net

Thai Premier Stands Firm as Protests Spread, Threaten Summit


By Daniel Ten Kate and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected the demands of protesters who used taxis to block Bangkok’s streets in a bid to force his ouster before he hosts a summit of Asian leaders that starts today.

Tens of thousands of people remained camped out at the premier’s office and other locations in the capital after bringing traffic in key intersections to a standstill. Abhisit, declaring today a public holiday, said the protesters “broke the law” and vowed not to quit or call an election.
“Dissolving the parliament is not an appropriate option at the moment,” Abhisit, 44, said in a nationally televised address late yesterday. “The right time to consider that is when we have political stability and the expression of people’s rights without a climate of violence.”

The expanding rallies threaten to undermine Abhisit’s four- month-old administration as he welcomes 15 leaders attending the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Demonstrators, who have surrounded his office since March 26, say his government is illegitimate because he took power after a court disbanded the former ruling party.

“The situation is volatile and could turn violent,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “They have pent-up rage from being insulted, underestimated and dismissed by the establishment.”

Protesters planned to travel to Pattaya, a resort town 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, where the Asean summit will take place, said protest leader Jatuporn Prompan. Leaders from China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand also plan to attend the meeting.

Disable Government

“Our aim is to make the government unable to function,” protest leader Jatuporn Prompan said by telephone. “Our demand hasn’t been met.”

Abhisit said the government has stepped up security in Pattaya to prevent demonstrators from disrupting the summit. His car was attacked by a group of protesters on April 7 in the resort town as he returned to Bangkok from a cabinet meeting.

The protests escalated on April 8 when crowds besieged the house of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, 88. They say Prem, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s top adviser, and two fellow advisers should step down for allegedly plotting the coup that ousted former Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra. Prem has denied any involvement in the 2006 coup.

In targeting Prem, a former army chief and prime minister, the demonstrators face accusations they are criticizing the monarchy, a crime in Thailand that can see offenders jailed for as many as 15 years. Under Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the king is head of state while the prime minister and parliament govern. The king must still approve all legislation.

Red Shirts

The protesters wear red shirts to distinguish themselves from rivals who sported yellow to show loyalty to King Bhumibol during a 193-day campaign to remove a pro-Thaksin government last year. They came from 35 provinces, mostly in Thaksin’s electoral base in northeast Thailand, to join the April 8 march.

“We love peace, but we need to fight,” Thaksin told a rally late yesterday via videophone. “We have to tell the world this government is no longer legitimate.”

Thaksin, who fled Thailand last year to escape corruption charges, has spoken to his supporters through a video link-up in rallies throughout the country since Abhisit took power. He was sentenced to two years in prison in October for helping his wife buy land from the government while he served as prime minister.

Since the coup, the courts disbanded two pro-Thaksin parties and banned about 140 politicians loyal to him, including former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in December. Parties linked to Thaksin have won the past four national elections on heavy support from the northeast, Thailand’s poorest region.

Airport Protest

Abhisit took power in December after protesters who support him shut down the country’s airports for eight days and a court dissolved the ruling party for vote buying. He wooed a faction of lawmakers that previously backed Thaksin to join his coalition, and consolidated his parliamentary majority in a March 21 confidence vote.

Thailand’s consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in more than seven years in March, buffeted by the protests and an economy heading for its first annual contraction in more than a decade. The index dropped to 66 from 67.2 in February, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.

Thailand’s Stock Exchange of Thailand will remain open today along with banks, Patareeya Benjapolchai, its president, said by phone. The benchmark SET Index has risen 1.6 percent since protests began March 26, compared with a 3.7 percent rise in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net

Thai Premier Stands Firm as Protests Spread, Threaten Summit


By Daniel Ten Kate and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected the demands of protesters who used taxis to block Bangkok’s streets in a bid to force his ouster before he hosts a summit of Asian leaders that starts today.

Tens of thousands of people remained camped out at the premier’s office and other locations in the capital after bringing traffic in key intersections to a standstill. Abhisit, declaring today a public holiday, said the protesters “broke the law” and vowed not to quit or call an election.
“Dissolving the parliament is not an appropriate option at the moment,” Abhisit, 44, said in a nationally televised address late yesterday. “The right time to consider that is when we have political stability and the expression of people’s rights without a climate of violence.”

The expanding rallies threaten to undermine Abhisit’s four- month-old administration as he welcomes 15 leaders attending the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Demonstrators, who have surrounded his office since March 26, say his government is illegitimate because he took power after a court disbanded the former ruling party.

“The situation is volatile and could turn violent,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “They have pent-up rage from being insulted, underestimated and dismissed by the establishment.”

Protesters planned to travel to Pattaya, a resort town 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, where the Asean summit will take place, said protest leader Jatuporn Prompan. Leaders from China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand also plan to attend the meeting.

Disable Government

“Our aim is to make the government unable to function,” protest leader Jatuporn Prompan said by telephone. “Our demand hasn’t been met.”

Abhisit said the government has stepped up security in Pattaya to prevent demonstrators from disrupting the summit. His car was attacked by a group of protesters on April 7 in the resort town as he returned to Bangkok from a cabinet meeting.

The protests escalated on April 8 when crowds besieged the house of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, 88. They say Prem, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s top adviser, and two fellow advisers should step down for allegedly plotting the coup that ousted former Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra. Prem has denied any involvement in the 2006 coup.

In targeting Prem, a former army chief and prime minister, the demonstrators face accusations they are criticizing the monarchy, a crime in Thailand that can see offenders jailed for as many as 15 years. Under Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the king is head of state while the prime minister and parliament govern. The king must still approve all legislation.

Red Shirts

The protesters wear red shirts to distinguish themselves from rivals who sported yellow to show loyalty to King Bhumibol during a 193-day campaign to remove a pro-Thaksin government last year. They came from 35 provinces, mostly in Thaksin’s electoral base in northeast Thailand, to join the April 8 march.

“We love peace, but we need to fight,” Thaksin told a rally late yesterday via videophone. “We have to tell the world this government is no longer legitimate.”

Thaksin, who fled Thailand last year to escape corruption charges, has spoken to his supporters through a video link-up in rallies throughout the country since Abhisit took power. He was sentenced to two years in prison in October for helping his wife buy land from the government while he served as prime minister.

Since the coup, the courts disbanded two pro-Thaksin parties and banned about 140 politicians loyal to him, including former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in December. Parties linked to Thaksin have won the past four national elections on heavy support from the northeast, Thailand’s poorest region.

Airport Protest

Abhisit took power in December after protesters who support him shut down the country’s airports for eight days and a court dissolved the ruling party for vote buying. He wooed a faction of lawmakers that previously backed Thaksin to join his coalition, and consolidated his parliamentary majority in a March 21 confidence vote.

Thailand’s consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in more than seven years in March, buffeted by the protests and an economy heading for its first annual contraction in more than a decade. The index dropped to 66 from 67.2 in February, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.

Thailand’s Stock Exchange of Thailand will remain open today along with banks, Patareeya Benjapolchai, its president, said by phone. The benchmark SET Index has risen 1.6 percent since protests began March 26, compared with a 3.7 percent rise in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net

Thailand protesters demand Prime Minister Abhisit resign


Supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also seek the ouster of a top advisor to the king.

April 9, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Jakkapun Kaewsangthong
Los Angeles Time (California, USA)


Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- A sea of red-clad anti-government protesters flooded into central Bangkok on Wednesday to demand the resignations of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and a key advisor to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
City officials estimated that 100,000 supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra filled the capital's government district. The protesters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship are demanding the resignation of Vejjajiva and his 4-month-old administration because they say he gained power undemocratically.

In the afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators broke through police barricades and surrounded the home of Privy Council President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, who they say was behind the 2006 military coup that ousted Thaksin. Prem, a close advisor to the highly respected king, has denied any involvement in the coup.

Wednesday's rally came after a two-week sit-in outside Abhisit's office by thousands of protesters.

On Tuesday, the so-called red shirts attacked Abhisit's motorcade in the resort town of Pattaya, pelting his vehicle with bottles, smashing the rear window and punching his driver and guards. The brazen attack raised security concerns about a summit of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, scheduled to commence in Pattaya on Friday.

Government officials said Wednesday that the summit would proceed as planned. Abhisit has refused to step down or employ violence to quell the protests.

"If it becomes a riot, the government will have to do something," Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok. "I can assure you there will be no violence starting from the government's side."

Last year, Thaksin fled Thailand before a court convicted him of abuse of power and he was sentenced to a two-year prison term. Using a video linkup Wednesday, he called on more supporters to join the protesters in pursuit of "a true democracy."

Thaksin's supporters point to the former telecommunications magnate's alleged economic prowess as the way out of the global financial crisis.

"He is smart guy. When he was in his power, poor people could make a lot of money. Today when they look at their wallet, it is empty. We want him and his policies back," 45-year-old restaurant owner Nattapon Karaked said.

According to government officials, 10,000 police officers and military troops have been deployed in central Bangkok. Pattaya is also on high alert.

Bus routes were diverted from Bangkok protest areas and visitors have been warned to avoid those sites.

Chanisa Rangtes, a 27-year-old receptionist, said the gathering of protesters in central Bangkok caused worse problems than the usual traffic jams and noise pollution.

"This isn't going to do any good for our society. People will get hurt and it will ruin our reputation, which is already getting bad. In the end we don't get anything," she said. "I'm not sure if it's even really about democracy."

Thailand protesters demand Prime Minister Abhisit resign


Supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also seek the ouster of a top advisor to the king.

April 9, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Jakkapun Kaewsangthong
Los Angeles Time (California, USA)


Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- A sea of red-clad anti-government protesters flooded into central Bangkok on Wednesday to demand the resignations of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and a key advisor to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
City officials estimated that 100,000 supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra filled the capital's government district. The protesters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship are demanding the resignation of Vejjajiva and his 4-month-old administration because they say he gained power undemocratically.

In the afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators broke through police barricades and surrounded the home of Privy Council President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, who they say was behind the 2006 military coup that ousted Thaksin. Prem, a close advisor to the highly respected king, has denied any involvement in the coup.

Wednesday's rally came after a two-week sit-in outside Abhisit's office by thousands of protesters.

On Tuesday, the so-called red shirts attacked Abhisit's motorcade in the resort town of Pattaya, pelting his vehicle with bottles, smashing the rear window and punching his driver and guards. The brazen attack raised security concerns about a summit of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, scheduled to commence in Pattaya on Friday.

Government officials said Wednesday that the summit would proceed as planned. Abhisit has refused to step down or employ violence to quell the protests.

"If it becomes a riot, the government will have to do something," Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok. "I can assure you there will be no violence starting from the government's side."

Last year, Thaksin fled Thailand before a court convicted him of abuse of power and he was sentenced to a two-year prison term. Using a video linkup Wednesday, he called on more supporters to join the protesters in pursuit of "a true democracy."

Thaksin's supporters point to the former telecommunications magnate's alleged economic prowess as the way out of the global financial crisis.

"He is smart guy. When he was in his power, poor people could make a lot of money. Today when they look at their wallet, it is empty. We want him and his policies back," 45-year-old restaurant owner Nattapon Karaked said.

According to government officials, 10,000 police officers and military troops have been deployed in central Bangkok. Pattaya is also on high alert.

Bus routes were diverted from Bangkok protest areas and visitors have been warned to avoid those sites.

Chanisa Rangtes, a 27-year-old receptionist, said the gathering of protesters in central Bangkok caused worse problems than the usual traffic jams and noise pollution.

"This isn't going to do any good for our society. People will get hurt and it will ruin our reputation, which is already getting bad. In the end we don't get anything," she said. "I'm not sure if it's even really about democracy."

Thailand protesters demand Prime Minister Abhisit resign


Supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also seek the ouster of a top advisor to the king.

April 9, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Jakkapun Kaewsangthong
Los Angeles Time (California, USA)


Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- A sea of red-clad anti-government protesters flooded into central Bangkok on Wednesday to demand the resignations of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and a key advisor to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
City officials estimated that 100,000 supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra filled the capital's government district. The protesters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship are demanding the resignation of Vejjajiva and his 4-month-old administration because they say he gained power undemocratically.

In the afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators broke through police barricades and surrounded the home of Privy Council President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, who they say was behind the 2006 military coup that ousted Thaksin. Prem, a close advisor to the highly respected king, has denied any involvement in the coup.

Wednesday's rally came after a two-week sit-in outside Abhisit's office by thousands of protesters.

On Tuesday, the so-called red shirts attacked Abhisit's motorcade in the resort town of Pattaya, pelting his vehicle with bottles, smashing the rear window and punching his driver and guards. The brazen attack raised security concerns about a summit of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, scheduled to commence in Pattaya on Friday.

Government officials said Wednesday that the summit would proceed as planned. Abhisit has refused to step down or employ violence to quell the protests.

"If it becomes a riot, the government will have to do something," Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok. "I can assure you there will be no violence starting from the government's side."

Last year, Thaksin fled Thailand before a court convicted him of abuse of power and he was sentenced to a two-year prison term. Using a video linkup Wednesday, he called on more supporters to join the protesters in pursuit of "a true democracy."

Thaksin's supporters point to the former telecommunications magnate's alleged economic prowess as the way out of the global financial crisis.

"He is smart guy. When he was in his power, poor people could make a lot of money. Today when they look at their wallet, it is empty. We want him and his policies back," 45-year-old restaurant owner Nattapon Karaked said.

According to government officials, 10,000 police officers and military troops have been deployed in central Bangkok. Pattaya is also on high alert.

Bus routes were diverted from Bangkok protest areas and visitors have been warned to avoid those sites.

Chanisa Rangtes, a 27-year-old receptionist, said the gathering of protesters in central Bangkok caused worse problems than the usual traffic jams and noise pollution.

"This isn't going to do any good for our society. People will get hurt and it will ruin our reputation, which is already getting bad. In the end we don't get anything," she said. "I'm not sure if it's even really about democracy."

Thailand protesters demand Prime Minister Abhisit resign


Supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also seek the ouster of a top advisor to the king.

April 9, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Jakkapun Kaewsangthong
Los Angeles Time (California, USA)


Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- A sea of red-clad anti-government protesters flooded into central Bangkok on Wednesday to demand the resignations of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and a key advisor to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
City officials estimated that 100,000 supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra filled the capital's government district. The protesters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship are demanding the resignation of Vejjajiva and his 4-month-old administration because they say he gained power undemocratically.

In the afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators broke through police barricades and surrounded the home of Privy Council President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, who they say was behind the 2006 military coup that ousted Thaksin. Prem, a close advisor to the highly respected king, has denied any involvement in the coup.

Wednesday's rally came after a two-week sit-in outside Abhisit's office by thousands of protesters.

On Tuesday, the so-called red shirts attacked Abhisit's motorcade in the resort town of Pattaya, pelting his vehicle with bottles, smashing the rear window and punching his driver and guards. The brazen attack raised security concerns about a summit of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, scheduled to commence in Pattaya on Friday.

Government officials said Wednesday that the summit would proceed as planned. Abhisit has refused to step down or employ violence to quell the protests.

"If it becomes a riot, the government will have to do something," Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok. "I can assure you there will be no violence starting from the government's side."

Last year, Thaksin fled Thailand before a court convicted him of abuse of power and he was sentenced to a two-year prison term. Using a video linkup Wednesday, he called on more supporters to join the protesters in pursuit of "a true democracy."

Thaksin's supporters point to the former telecommunications magnate's alleged economic prowess as the way out of the global financial crisis.

"He is smart guy. When he was in his power, poor people could make a lot of money. Today when they look at their wallet, it is empty. We want him and his policies back," 45-year-old restaurant owner Nattapon Karaked said.

According to government officials, 10,000 police officers and military troops have been deployed in central Bangkok. Pattaya is also on high alert.

Bus routes were diverted from Bangkok protest areas and visitors have been warned to avoid those sites.

Chanisa Rangtes, a 27-year-old receptionist, said the gathering of protesters in central Bangkok caused worse problems than the usual traffic jams and noise pollution.

"This isn't going to do any good for our society. People will get hurt and it will ruin our reputation, which is already getting bad. In the end we don't get anything," she said. "I'm not sure if it's even really about democracy."

Making sense of Thailand’s turmoil


(Photo: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images)

Thu, 04/09/2009
By Roberto Herrera-Lim
Foreign Policy


Bangkok's streets are again filled with protesters this week in what will likely prove a boisterous but futile attempt to force the government's resignation. But behind all the noise, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been directing these demonstrations from outside the country, may well have a more subtle, longer-term agenda.

Thaksin and his supporters have been attacking the country's "aristocracy"--and top adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Prem Tinsulanonda, in particular. This suggests that Thaksin's maneuvers are related less to any effort to immediately oust the current government but instead to undermining the power structures centered around the monarchy, particularly the King's privy council, and the succession process that Thailand will face once ailing King Bhumibol passes from the scene.

The protests are generating more noise than usual thanks to warnings from Thaksin that "the time for talks has passed" and the sense that protesters (known as "red shirts") are pushing for a confrontation. The former prime minister, ousted in a 2006 coup, is still able to create tension in the capital by rallying his supporters from Thailand's northeast and among Bangkok's poor. But without support from the military, the monarchy, and Bangkok's middle class, these protests are highly unlikely to divide the country's political elite and threaten the current regime. Even Thaksin's allies know that even if they could force new elections, the elite-controlled institutions could undermine their administration. Thaksin is believed to be in either Dubai or Cambodia, and evidence suggests that the military is trying to block his satellite telephone calls to followers inside Thailand.

The real motive behind Thaksin's use of these protests is probably to weaken Prem, which would then allow him to position himself to eventually take advantage of a government weakened by the economic crisis, to negotiate his return to the country, and to settle his many outstanding legal and financial problems. The big unknown is whether Thaksin's moves reveal that he has inside information on how and when the succession process (and resulting power struggle) will begin to unfold, and whether his rhetoric is an attempt to position himself in the conflict for power that could follow.

To up the ante, Thaksin has warned that he expects to see a "revolution by the people" that is more intense than the civilian unrest that rocked the country in 1973 and 1992. He has also explicitly accused Prem and retired General Surayud Chulanont of having organized the 2006 coup that ousted him from office.

These are bold (and unprecedented) criticisms, because Prem has been considered for the past decade a direct representative of King Bhumibol and therefore beyond this kind of accusation. Protesters have organized demonstrations near Prem's home. By proving that he still commands considerable public support and boldly attacking Prem (and members of the military complicit in the 2006 coup), Thaksin may well be trying to establish himself as a political force to be reckoned with following the King's death-particularly if the succession process fails to produce a strong monarch.

In short, Thailand is in the midst of a power struggle that could reach deeply into its institutions and power structures. It started with a fight between the elites and Thaksin in 2006, and has begun to spill over into the public sphere. The stakes have been magnified by the uncertainty around the royal succession in a country in which the monarchy remains the most powerful political institution. Thailand's history shows that this type of conflict will take time to resolve, with results ranging from the absurd to the tragic.

Making sense of Thailand’s turmoil


(Photo: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images)

Thu, 04/09/2009
By Roberto Herrera-Lim
Foreign Policy


Bangkok's streets are again filled with protesters this week in what will likely prove a boisterous but futile attempt to force the government's resignation. But behind all the noise, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been directing these demonstrations from outside the country, may well have a more subtle, longer-term agenda.

Thaksin and his supporters have been attacking the country's "aristocracy"--and top adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Prem Tinsulanonda, in particular. This suggests that Thaksin's maneuvers are related less to any effort to immediately oust the current government but instead to undermining the power structures centered around the monarchy, particularly the King's privy council, and the succession process that Thailand will face once ailing King Bhumibol passes from the scene.

The protests are generating more noise than usual thanks to warnings from Thaksin that "the time for talks has passed" and the sense that protesters (known as "red shirts") are pushing for a confrontation. The former prime minister, ousted in a 2006 coup, is still able to create tension in the capital by rallying his supporters from Thailand's northeast and among Bangkok's poor. But without support from the military, the monarchy, and Bangkok's middle class, these protests are highly unlikely to divide the country's political elite and threaten the current regime. Even Thaksin's allies know that even if they could force new elections, the elite-controlled institutions could undermine their administration. Thaksin is believed to be in either Dubai or Cambodia, and evidence suggests that the military is trying to block his satellite telephone calls to followers inside Thailand.

The real motive behind Thaksin's use of these protests is probably to weaken Prem, which would then allow him to position himself to eventually take advantage of a government weakened by the economic crisis, to negotiate his return to the country, and to settle his many outstanding legal and financial problems. The big unknown is whether Thaksin's moves reveal that he has inside information on how and when the succession process (and resulting power struggle) will begin to unfold, and whether his rhetoric is an attempt to position himself in the conflict for power that could follow.

To up the ante, Thaksin has warned that he expects to see a "revolution by the people" that is more intense than the civilian unrest that rocked the country in 1973 and 1992. He has also explicitly accused Prem and retired General Surayud Chulanont of having organized the 2006 coup that ousted him from office.

These are bold (and unprecedented) criticisms, because Prem has been considered for the past decade a direct representative of King Bhumibol and therefore beyond this kind of accusation. Protesters have organized demonstrations near Prem's home. By proving that he still commands considerable public support and boldly attacking Prem (and members of the military complicit in the 2006 coup), Thaksin may well be trying to establish himself as a political force to be reckoned with following the King's death-particularly if the succession process fails to produce a strong monarch.

In short, Thailand is in the midst of a power struggle that could reach deeply into its institutions and power structures. It started with a fight between the elites and Thaksin in 2006, and has begun to spill over into the public sphere. The stakes have been magnified by the uncertainty around the royal succession in a country in which the monarchy remains the most powerful political institution. Thailand's history shows that this type of conflict will take time to resolve, with results ranging from the absurd to the tragic.

Making sense of Thailand’s turmoil


(Photo: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images)

Thu, 04/09/2009
By Roberto Herrera-Lim
Foreign Policy


Bangkok's streets are again filled with protesters this week in what will likely prove a boisterous but futile attempt to force the government's resignation. But behind all the noise, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been directing these demonstrations from outside the country, may well have a more subtle, longer-term agenda.

Thaksin and his supporters have been attacking the country's "aristocracy"--and top adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Prem Tinsulanonda, in particular. This suggests that Thaksin's maneuvers are related less to any effort to immediately oust the current government but instead to undermining the power structures centered around the monarchy, particularly the King's privy council, and the succession process that Thailand will face once ailing King Bhumibol passes from the scene.

The protests are generating more noise than usual thanks to warnings from Thaksin that "the time for talks has passed" and the sense that protesters (known as "red shirts") are pushing for a confrontation. The former prime minister, ousted in a 2006 coup, is still able to create tension in the capital by rallying his supporters from Thailand's northeast and among Bangkok's poor. But without support from the military, the monarchy, and Bangkok's middle class, these protests are highly unlikely to divide the country's political elite and threaten the current regime. Even Thaksin's allies know that even if they could force new elections, the elite-controlled institutions could undermine their administration. Thaksin is believed to be in either Dubai or Cambodia, and evidence suggests that the military is trying to block his satellite telephone calls to followers inside Thailand.

The real motive behind Thaksin's use of these protests is probably to weaken Prem, which would then allow him to position himself to eventually take advantage of a government weakened by the economic crisis, to negotiate his return to the country, and to settle his many outstanding legal and financial problems. The big unknown is whether Thaksin's moves reveal that he has inside information on how and when the succession process (and resulting power struggle) will begin to unfold, and whether his rhetoric is an attempt to position himself in the conflict for power that could follow.

To up the ante, Thaksin has warned that he expects to see a "revolution by the people" that is more intense than the civilian unrest that rocked the country in 1973 and 1992. He has also explicitly accused Prem and retired General Surayud Chulanont of having organized the 2006 coup that ousted him from office.

These are bold (and unprecedented) criticisms, because Prem has been considered for the past decade a direct representative of King Bhumibol and therefore beyond this kind of accusation. Protesters have organized demonstrations near Prem's home. By proving that he still commands considerable public support and boldly attacking Prem (and members of the military complicit in the 2006 coup), Thaksin may well be trying to establish himself as a political force to be reckoned with following the King's death-particularly if the succession process fails to produce a strong monarch.

In short, Thailand is in the midst of a power struggle that could reach deeply into its institutions and power structures. It started with a fight between the elites and Thaksin in 2006, and has begun to spill over into the public sphere. The stakes have been magnified by the uncertainty around the royal succession in a country in which the monarchy remains the most powerful political institution. Thailand's history shows that this type of conflict will take time to resolve, with results ranging from the absurd to the tragic.

Making sense of Thailand’s turmoil


(Photo: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images)

Thu, 04/09/2009
By Roberto Herrera-Lim
Foreign Policy


Bangkok's streets are again filled with protesters this week in what will likely prove a boisterous but futile attempt to force the government's resignation. But behind all the noise, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been directing these demonstrations from outside the country, may well have a more subtle, longer-term agenda.

Thaksin and his supporters have been attacking the country's "aristocracy"--and top adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Prem Tinsulanonda, in particular. This suggests that Thaksin's maneuvers are related less to any effort to immediately oust the current government but instead to undermining the power structures centered around the monarchy, particularly the King's privy council, and the succession process that Thailand will face once ailing King Bhumibol passes from the scene.

The protests are generating more noise than usual thanks to warnings from Thaksin that "the time for talks has passed" and the sense that protesters (known as "red shirts") are pushing for a confrontation. The former prime minister, ousted in a 2006 coup, is still able to create tension in the capital by rallying his supporters from Thailand's northeast and among Bangkok's poor. But without support from the military, the monarchy, and Bangkok's middle class, these protests are highly unlikely to divide the country's political elite and threaten the current regime. Even Thaksin's allies know that even if they could force new elections, the elite-controlled institutions could undermine their administration. Thaksin is believed to be in either Dubai or Cambodia, and evidence suggests that the military is trying to block his satellite telephone calls to followers inside Thailand.

The real motive behind Thaksin's use of these protests is probably to weaken Prem, which would then allow him to position himself to eventually take advantage of a government weakened by the economic crisis, to negotiate his return to the country, and to settle his many outstanding legal and financial problems. The big unknown is whether Thaksin's moves reveal that he has inside information on how and when the succession process (and resulting power struggle) will begin to unfold, and whether his rhetoric is an attempt to position himself in the conflict for power that could follow.

To up the ante, Thaksin has warned that he expects to see a "revolution by the people" that is more intense than the civilian unrest that rocked the country in 1973 and 1992. He has also explicitly accused Prem and retired General Surayud Chulanont of having organized the 2006 coup that ousted him from office.

These are bold (and unprecedented) criticisms, because Prem has been considered for the past decade a direct representative of King Bhumibol and therefore beyond this kind of accusation. Protesters have organized demonstrations near Prem's home. By proving that he still commands considerable public support and boldly attacking Prem (and members of the military complicit in the 2006 coup), Thaksin may well be trying to establish himself as a political force to be reckoned with following the King's death-particularly if the succession process fails to produce a strong monarch.

In short, Thailand is in the midst of a power struggle that could reach deeply into its institutions and power structures. It started with a fight between the elites and Thaksin in 2006, and has begun to spill over into the public sphere. The stakes have been magnified by the uncertainty around the royal succession in a country in which the monarchy remains the most powerful political institution. Thailand's history shows that this type of conflict will take time to resolve, with results ranging from the absurd to the tragic.

Escaping the Khmer Rouge --- and building a new life


St. Anthony parishioner Mara Doung.
Friday, April 10, 2009
By Doris Benavides
Tidings Online (Los Angeles, California, USA)


To Mara Doung it seems it was yesterday when he told God he was not ready to die, but in reality 33 years have passed.

"It was 7 p.m.," Doung clearly recalls. The then-15-year-old boy had been hiding for three days at a coconut farm in his native Cambodia. He was separated from his family by the Khmer Rouge, the communist forces led by Pol Pot that took over in April 1975.
Doung's great grandmother Prak Him, with whom he lived from the ages of 5 through 12, had taught him that there is only one God --- and he was not Buddha, as most Cambodians believed.

Doung is one of a very small number of Catholic Cambodians. Most of his countrymen practice Theravada Buddhism, their country's state religion before Pol Pot's rule. He is a parishioner of St. Anthony Church in Long Beach, a city that is home to the largest Cambodian community outside Southeast Asia (more than 100,000, including about 17,000 Cambodian-American).

Thousands of Cambodians, including Doung, fled to the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, escaping a communist regime that oversaw what is regarded as one of the worst genocides in human history. Its victims included Doung's father and a sister.

Growing community

About 95 percent of Cambodia's population of 12 million is Theravada Buddhist. Only 19,000 are Catholic. But though most immigrants to the U.S. adhere to the Theravada Buddhism of their homeland, the percentage of Christian (and Catholic) Cambodians is growing.

The genesis of this conversion locally took place in the 1970s, as Sister of Charity Lucille Desmond led an effort to establish an outreach program to newly-arrived Cambodians who settled in Long Beach. With the growth of this immigrant community, in 1992 a group of Catholic lay men and women started Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cambodian (parochial) Mission, to provide spiritual support to Southeast Asian citizens.

The majority of these refugees had arrived in Long Beach with nothing more than what they were wearing. They had been drawn here by family and friends, the potential for jobs, the coastal climate, and the Port of Long Beach's Asian imports.

Most of them, like Doung, had lost at least one close relative during the four years of the Khmer Rouge's genocide, and after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 (by which time an estimated 2 million people had died).

Today, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a few blocks away from St. Anthony Church, recently-arrived Cambodians learn to adjust to the American way of life. Mary Blatz, the mission's coordinator and one of its cofounders, helps them navigate through the immigration, health and educational systems, and teaches English as a Second Language.

Blatz, a Columbia University graduate in International Education Development, helped begin the parochial mission in Long Beach at the request of Cambodian Bishop Yves Ramousse (whom she had met in previous years while he was living as a refugee in New York,) and with the sponsorship of the late San Pedro Region Auxiliary Bishop Carl Fisher.

Blatz had started working with refugees in 1979, training teachers who taught English to other refugees. In the early '80s she traveled to Hong Kong and Indonesia, where she continued working with refugees.

She still teaches ESL, advises on employment and refers people to a network of employers and attorneys she has built throughout the years. Her services, she said, are available to everyone, regardless of their faith.

But her main task is to provide spiritual and emotional support to the people with whom she has a special bond.

"It is my concern they know about God and the faith," Blatz said. "Most of the Cambodians, especially the elderly, fell in a strong depression as a result of the atrocities against them by the Khmer Rouge and during their stay in refugee camps in Thailand or Indonesia."

To help alleviate their burden, Blatz let the elderly build a Cambodian-style vegetable garden in the mission church's backyard that keeps them busy and helps them with their tight household budget.

Since its 1992 founding, the mission has grown, funded through grants, fundraisers and financial support of parishioners of St. Mary Church, Blatz's home church in her native Colts Neck, New Jersey.

Traumatic memories

Many times Blatz has also served as an intermediary between the oldest generations and the younger generations, Cambodian-Americans who only speak English and only know about the genocide through the stories told by their parents or grandparents. Some others barely remember their stay at the refugee camps.

"A vast majority of Cambodians lost a close relative, which left them with emotional wounds difficult to heal," Blatz noted. Many children lost one or both parents from the genocide which targeted religious people, professionals and intellectuals, those considered threats to the government.

Those who were not assassinated left the country and established in Long Beach, Boston, Virginia, Texas, Rhode Island and Washington. (A smaller percentage settled in Canada, France and Australia.) Locally, Catholic Cambodians are scattered in Long Beach, San Diego, Santa Ana, Pomona, San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

David Hort, now 33, arrived in the U.S. with his parents when he was 8 years old after living in a refugee camp in Thailand for several months. The family was among the few Cambodian Catholics.

Now a parishioner at Our Lady of the Rosary in Paramount, Hort recently married Sothea Keov, in her 20s, a Cambodian Buddhist he met in his native country. Marrying her fulfilled a dream, he says. Another is his desire to maintain Cambodian values and traditions, including close family relationships and respect for the elderly, values he fears may be vanishing among the younger generations.

Better days?

Today's Cambodian immigrants celebrate the church's "restart" in Cambodia, which began in the early 1990s, thanks to a youth wave that is changing the face of the church. There are struggles: the majority of catechists are between the ages 18-35, and they do not have any formal catechetical certification, because the local church has no official catechism school. But the situation is better overall.

Mara Doung has observed the change in trips he has made to his homeland, and is trying to help it along. With the support of his family in Cambodia, the businessman (he is a former owner of two restaurants and an importing sports business) started a nonprofit that helps the poor in Cambodia and helps law students to stop corruption, which is high in the Southeast Asian country.

He says he learned this from his great grandmother, who woke him up early every weekend to go feed the poor in a neighbor village.

"She woke early to cook noodles and rice," he said. "I used to ask her 'Why do you do this for no money?' She would answer me, 'When you grow up you will understand.'"

The father of five is now trying to instill the same values and beliefs on his children. Three of them attend St. Anthony Elementary School.

Still, the scars left from his years of hiding and escaping the communists affect on him. He remarried after two divorces, but had to quit his job due to sporadic panic attacks for which he is receiving psychological treatment.

In the meantime he went back to culinary school. He started Bible study with other Cambodians. And he hopes, he says, to become a deacon.

For more information about Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cambodian Mission, call Mary Blatz at (562) 394-2216.

Escaping the Khmer Rouge --- and building a new life


St. Anthony parishioner Mara Doung.
Friday, April 10, 2009
By Doris Benavides
Tidings Online (Los Angeles, California, USA)


To Mara Doung it seems it was yesterday when he told God he was not ready to die, but in reality 33 years have passed.

"It was 7 p.m.," Doung clearly recalls. The then-15-year-old boy had been hiding for three days at a coconut farm in his native Cambodia. He was separated from his family by the Khmer Rouge, the communist forces led by Pol Pot that took over in April 1975.
Doung's great grandmother Prak Him, with whom he lived from the ages of 5 through 12, had taught him that there is only one God --- and he was not Buddha, as most Cambodians believed.

Doung is one of a very small number of Catholic Cambodians. Most of his countrymen practice Theravada Buddhism, their country's state religion before Pol Pot's rule. He is a parishioner of St. Anthony Church in Long Beach, a city that is home to the largest Cambodian community outside Southeast Asia (more than 100,000, including about 17,000 Cambodian-American).

Thousands of Cambodians, including Doung, fled to the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, escaping a communist regime that oversaw what is regarded as one of the worst genocides in human history. Its victims included Doung's father and a sister.

Growing community

About 95 percent of Cambodia's population of 12 million is Theravada Buddhist. Only 19,000 are Catholic. But though most immigrants to the U.S. adhere to the Theravada Buddhism of their homeland, the percentage of Christian (and Catholic) Cambodians is growing.

The genesis of this conversion locally took place in the 1970s, as Sister of Charity Lucille Desmond led an effort to establish an outreach program to newly-arrived Cambodians who settled in Long Beach. With the growth of this immigrant community, in 1992 a group of Catholic lay men and women started Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cambodian (parochial) Mission, to provide spiritual support to Southeast Asian citizens.

The majority of these refugees had arrived in Long Beach with nothing more than what they were wearing. They had been drawn here by family and friends, the potential for jobs, the coastal climate, and the Port of Long Beach's Asian imports.

Most of them, like Doung, had lost at least one close relative during the four years of the Khmer Rouge's genocide, and after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 (by which time an estimated 2 million people had died).

Today, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a few blocks away from St. Anthony Church, recently-arrived Cambodians learn to adjust to the American way of life. Mary Blatz, the mission's coordinator and one of its cofounders, helps them navigate through the immigration, health and educational systems, and teaches English as a Second Language.

Blatz, a Columbia University graduate in International Education Development, helped begin the parochial mission in Long Beach at the request of Cambodian Bishop Yves Ramousse (whom she had met in previous years while he was living as a refugee in New York,) and with the sponsorship of the late San Pedro Region Auxiliary Bishop Carl Fisher.

Blatz had started working with refugees in 1979, training teachers who taught English to other refugees. In the early '80s she traveled to Hong Kong and Indonesia, where she continued working with refugees.

She still teaches ESL, advises on employment and refers people to a network of employers and attorneys she has built throughout the years. Her services, she said, are available to everyone, regardless of their faith.

But her main task is to provide spiritual and emotional support to the people with whom she has a special bond.

"It is my concern they know about God and the faith," Blatz said. "Most of the Cambodians, especially the elderly, fell in a strong depression as a result of the atrocities against them by the Khmer Rouge and during their stay in refugee camps in Thailand or Indonesia."

To help alleviate their burden, Blatz let the elderly build a Cambodian-style vegetable garden in the mission church's backyard that keeps them busy and helps them with their tight household budget.

Since its 1992 founding, the mission has grown, funded through grants, fundraisers and financial support of parishioners of St. Mary Church, Blatz's home church in her native Colts Neck, New Jersey.

Traumatic memories

Many times Blatz has also served as an intermediary between the oldest generations and the younger generations, Cambodian-Americans who only speak English and only know about the genocide through the stories told by their parents or grandparents. Some others barely remember their stay at the refugee camps.

"A vast majority of Cambodians lost a close relative, which left them with emotional wounds difficult to heal," Blatz noted. Many children lost one or both parents from the genocide which targeted religious people, professionals and intellectuals, those considered threats to the government.

Those who were not assassinated left the country and established in Long Beach, Boston, Virginia, Texas, Rhode Island and Washington. (A smaller percentage settled in Canada, France and Australia.) Locally, Catholic Cambodians are scattered in Long Beach, San Diego, Santa Ana, Pomona, San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

David Hort, now 33, arrived in the U.S. with his parents when he was 8 years old after living in a refugee camp in Thailand for several months. The family was among the few Cambodian Catholics.

Now a parishioner at Our Lady of the Rosary in Paramount, Hort recently married Sothea Keov, in her 20s, a Cambodian Buddhist he met in his native country. Marrying her fulfilled a dream, he says. Another is his desire to maintain Cambodian values and traditions, including close family relationships and respect for the elderly, values he fears may be vanishing among the younger generations.

Better days?

Today's Cambodian immigrants celebrate the church's "restart" in Cambodia, which began in the early 1990s, thanks to a youth wave that is changing the face of the church. There are struggles: the majority of catechists are between the ages 18-35, and they do not have any formal catechetical certification, because the local church has no official catechism school. But the situation is better overall.

Mara Doung has observed the change in trips he has made to his homeland, and is trying to help it along. With the support of his family in Cambodia, the businessman (he is a former owner of two restaurants and an importing sports business) started a nonprofit that helps the poor in Cambodia and helps law students to stop corruption, which is high in the Southeast Asian country.

He says he learned this from his great grandmother, who woke him up early every weekend to go feed the poor in a neighbor village.

"She woke early to cook noodles and rice," he said. "I used to ask her 'Why do you do this for no money?' She would answer me, 'When you grow up you will understand.'"

The father of five is now trying to instill the same values and beliefs on his children. Three of them attend St. Anthony Elementary School.

Still, the scars left from his years of hiding and escaping the communists affect on him. He remarried after two divorces, but had to quit his job due to sporadic panic attacks for which he is receiving psychological treatment.

In the meantime he went back to culinary school. He started Bible study with other Cambodians. And he hopes, he says, to become a deacon.

For more information about Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cambodian Mission, call Mary Blatz at (562) 394-2216.

Escaping the Khmer Rouge --- and building a new life


St. Anthony parishioner Mara Doung.
Friday, April 10, 2009
By Doris Benavides
Tidings Online (Los Angeles, California, USA)


To Mara Doung it seems it was yesterday when he told God he was not ready to die, but in reality 33 years have passed.

"It was 7 p.m.," Doung clearly recalls. The then-15-year-old boy had been hiding for three days at a coconut farm in his native Cambodia. He was separated from his family by the Khmer Rouge, the communist forces led by Pol Pot that took over in April 1975.
Doung's great grandmother Prak Him, with whom he lived from the ages of 5 through 12, had taught him that there is only one God --- and he was not Buddha, as most Cambodians believed.

Doung is one of a very small number of Catholic Cambodians. Most of his countrymen practice Theravada Buddhism, their country's state religion before Pol Pot's rule. He is a parishioner of St. Anthony Church in Long Beach, a city that is home to the largest Cambodian community outside Southeast Asia (more than 100,000, including about 17,000 Cambodian-American).

Thousands of Cambodians, including Doung, fled to the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, escaping a communist regime that oversaw what is regarded as one of the worst genocides in human history. Its victims included Doung's father and a sister.

Growing community

About 95 percent of Cambodia's population of 12 million is Theravada Buddhist. Only 19,000 are Catholic. But though most immigrants to the U.S. adhere to the Theravada Buddhism of their homeland, the percentage of Christian (and Catholic) Cambodians is growing.

The genesis of this conversion locally took place in the 1970s, as Sister of Charity Lucille Desmond led an effort to establish an outreach program to newly-arrived Cambodians who settled in Long Beach. With the growth of this immigrant community, in 1992 a group of Catholic lay men and women started Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cambodian (parochial) Mission, to provide spiritual support to Southeast Asian citizens.

The majority of these refugees had arrived in Long Beach with nothing more than what they were wearing. They had been drawn here by family and friends, the potential for jobs, the coastal climate, and the Port of Long Beach's Asian imports.

Most of them, like Doung, had lost at least one close relative during the four years of the Khmer Rouge's genocide, and after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 (by which time an estimated 2 million people had died).

Today, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a few blocks away from St. Anthony Church, recently-arrived Cambodians learn to adjust to the American way of life. Mary Blatz, the mission's coordinator and one of its cofounders, helps them navigate through the immigration, health and educational systems, and teaches English as a Second Language.

Blatz, a Columbia University graduate in International Education Development, helped begin the parochial mission in Long Beach at the request of Cambodian Bishop Yves Ramousse (whom she had met in previous years while he was living as a refugee in New York,) and with the sponsorship of the late San Pedro Region Auxiliary Bishop Carl Fisher.

Blatz had started working with refugees in 1979, training teachers who taught English to other refugees. In the early '80s she traveled to Hong Kong and Indonesia, where she continued working with refugees.

She still teaches ESL, advises on employment and refers people to a network of employers and attorneys she has built throughout the years. Her services, she said, are available to everyone, regardless of their faith.

But her main task is to provide spiritual and emotional support to the people with whom she has a special bond.

"It is my concern they know about God and the faith," Blatz said. "Most of the Cambodians, especially the elderly, fell in a strong depression as a result of the atrocities against them by the Khmer Rouge and during their stay in refugee camps in Thailand or Indonesia."

To help alleviate their burden, Blatz let the elderly build a Cambodian-style vegetable garden in the mission church's backyard that keeps them busy and helps them with their tight household budget.

Since its 1992 founding, the mission has grown, funded through grants, fundraisers and financial support of parishioners of St. Mary Church, Blatz's home church in her native Colts Neck, New Jersey.

Traumatic memories

Many times Blatz has also served as an intermediary between the oldest generations and the younger generations, Cambodian-Americans who only speak English and only know about the genocide through the stories told by their parents or grandparents. Some others barely remember their stay at the refugee camps.

"A vast majority of Cambodians lost a close relative, which left them with emotional wounds difficult to heal," Blatz noted. Many children lost one or both parents from the genocide which targeted religious people, professionals and intellectuals, those considered threats to the government.

Those who were not assassinated left the country and established in Long Beach, Boston, Virginia, Texas, Rhode Island and Washington. (A smaller percentage settled in Canada, France and Australia.) Locally, Catholic Cambodians are scattered in Long Beach, San Diego, Santa Ana, Pomona, San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

David Hort, now 33, arrived in the U.S. with his parents when he was 8 years old after living in a refugee camp in Thailand for several months. The family was among the few Cambodian Catholics.

Now a parishioner at Our Lady of the Rosary in Paramount, Hort recently married Sothea Keov, in her 20s, a Cambodian Buddhist he met in his native country. Marrying her fulfilled a dream, he says. Another is his desire to maintain Cambodian values and traditions, including close family relationships and respect for the elderly, values he fears may be vanishing among the younger generations.

Better days?

Today's Cambodian immigrants celebrate the church's "restart" in Cambodia, which began in the early 1990s, thanks to a youth wave that is changing the face of the church. There are struggles: the majority of catechists are between the ages 18-35, and they do not have any formal catechetical certification, because the local church has no official catechism school. But the situation is better overall.

Mara Doung has observed the change in trips he has made to his homeland, and is trying to help it along. With the support of his family in Cambodia, the businessman (he is a former owner of two restaurants and an importing sports business) started a nonprofit that helps the poor in Cambodia and helps law students to stop corruption, which is high in the Southeast Asian country.

He says he learned this from his great grandmother, who woke him up early every weekend to go feed the poor in a neighbor village.

"She woke early to cook noodles and rice," he said. "I used to ask her 'Why do you do this for no money?' She would answer me, 'When you grow up you will understand.'"

The father of five is now trying to instill the same values and beliefs on his children. Three of them attend St. Anthony Elementary School.

Still, the scars left from his years of hiding and escaping the communists affect on him. He remarried after two divorces, but had to quit his job due to sporadic panic attacks for which he is receiving psychological treatment.

In the meantime he went back to culinary school. He started Bible study with other Cambodians. And he hopes, he says, to become a deacon.

For more information about Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cambodian Mission, call Mary Blatz at (562) 394-2216.

Escaping the Khmer Rouge --- and building a new life


St. Anthony parishioner Mara Doung.
Friday, April 10, 2009
By Doris Benavides
Tidings Online (Los Angeles, California, USA)


To Mara Doung it seems it was yesterday when he told God he was not ready to die, but in reality 33 years have passed.

"It was 7 p.m.," Doung clearly recalls. The then-15-year-old boy had been hiding for three days at a coconut farm in his native Cambodia. He was separated from his family by the Khmer Rouge, the communist forces led by Pol Pot that took over in April 1975.
Doung's great grandmother Prak Him, with whom he lived from the ages of 5 through 12, had taught him that there is only one God --- and he was not Buddha, as most Cambodians believed.

Doung is one of a very small number of Catholic Cambodians. Most of his countrymen practice Theravada Buddhism, their country's state religion before Pol Pot's rule. He is a parishioner of St. Anthony Church in Long Beach, a city that is home to the largest Cambodian community outside Southeast Asia (more than 100,000, including about 17,000 Cambodian-American).

Thousands of Cambodians, including Doung, fled to the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, escaping a communist regime that oversaw what is regarded as one of the worst genocides in human history. Its victims included Doung's father and a sister.

Growing community

About 95 percent of Cambodia's population of 12 million is Theravada Buddhist. Only 19,000 are Catholic. But though most immigrants to the U.S. adhere to the Theravada Buddhism of their homeland, the percentage of Christian (and Catholic) Cambodians is growing.

The genesis of this conversion locally took place in the 1970s, as Sister of Charity Lucille Desmond led an effort to establish an outreach program to newly-arrived Cambodians who settled in Long Beach. With the growth of this immigrant community, in 1992 a group of Catholic lay men and women started Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cambodian (parochial) Mission, to provide spiritual support to Southeast Asian citizens.

The majority of these refugees had arrived in Long Beach with nothing more than what they were wearing. They had been drawn here by family and friends, the potential for jobs, the coastal climate, and the Port of Long Beach's Asian imports.

Most of them, like Doung, had lost at least one close relative during the four years of the Khmer Rouge's genocide, and after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 (by which time an estimated 2 million people had died).

Today, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a few blocks away from St. Anthony Church, recently-arrived Cambodians learn to adjust to the American way of life. Mary Blatz, the mission's coordinator and one of its cofounders, helps them navigate through the immigration, health and educational systems, and teaches English as a Second Language.

Blatz, a Columbia University graduate in International Education Development, helped begin the parochial mission in Long Beach at the request of Cambodian Bishop Yves Ramousse (whom she had met in previous years while he was living as a refugee in New York,) and with the sponsorship of the late San Pedro Region Auxiliary Bishop Carl Fisher.

Blatz had started working with refugees in 1979, training teachers who taught English to other refugees. In the early '80s she traveled to Hong Kong and Indonesia, where she continued working with refugees.

She still teaches ESL, advises on employment and refers people to a network of employers and attorneys she has built throughout the years. Her services, she said, are available to everyone, regardless of their faith.

But her main task is to provide spiritual and emotional support to the people with whom she has a special bond.

"It is my concern they know about God and the faith," Blatz said. "Most of the Cambodians, especially the elderly, fell in a strong depression as a result of the atrocities against them by the Khmer Rouge and during their stay in refugee camps in Thailand or Indonesia."

To help alleviate their burden, Blatz let the elderly build a Cambodian-style vegetable garden in the mission church's backyard that keeps them busy and helps them with their tight household budget.

Since its 1992 founding, the mission has grown, funded through grants, fundraisers and financial support of parishioners of St. Mary Church, Blatz's home church in her native Colts Neck, New Jersey.

Traumatic memories

Many times Blatz has also served as an intermediary between the oldest generations and the younger generations, Cambodian-Americans who only speak English and only know about the genocide through the stories told by their parents or grandparents. Some others barely remember their stay at the refugee camps.

"A vast majority of Cambodians lost a close relative, which left them with emotional wounds difficult to heal," Blatz noted. Many children lost one or both parents from the genocide which targeted religious people, professionals and intellectuals, those considered threats to the government.

Those who were not assassinated left the country and established in Long Beach, Boston, Virginia, Texas, Rhode Island and Washington. (A smaller percentage settled in Canada, France and Australia.) Locally, Catholic Cambodians are scattered in Long Beach, San Diego, Santa Ana, Pomona, San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

David Hort, now 33, arrived in the U.S. with his parents when he was 8 years old after living in a refugee camp in Thailand for several months. The family was among the few Cambodian Catholics.

Now a parishioner at Our Lady of the Rosary in Paramount, Hort recently married Sothea Keov, in her 20s, a Cambodian Buddhist he met in his native country. Marrying her fulfilled a dream, he says. Another is his desire to maintain Cambodian values and traditions, including close family relationships and respect for the elderly, values he fears may be vanishing among the younger generations.

Better days?

Today's Cambodian immigrants celebrate the church's "restart" in Cambodia, which began in the early 1990s, thanks to a youth wave that is changing the face of the church. There are struggles: the majority of catechists are between the ages 18-35, and they do not have any formal catechetical certification, because the local church has no official catechism school. But the situation is better overall.

Mara Doung has observed the change in trips he has made to his homeland, and is trying to help it along. With the support of his family in Cambodia, the businessman (he is a former owner of two restaurants and an importing sports business) started a nonprofit that helps the poor in Cambodia and helps law students to stop corruption, which is high in the Southeast Asian country.

He says he learned this from his great grandmother, who woke him up early every weekend to go feed the poor in a neighbor village.

"She woke early to cook noodles and rice," he said. "I used to ask her 'Why do you do this for no money?' She would answer me, 'When you grow up you will understand.'"

The father of five is now trying to instill the same values and beliefs on his children. Three of them attend St. Anthony Elementary School.

Still, the scars left from his years of hiding and escaping the communists affect on him. He remarried after two divorces, but had to quit his job due to sporadic panic attacks for which he is receiving psychological treatment.

In the meantime he went back to culinary school. He started Bible study with other Cambodians. And he hopes, he says, to become a deacon.

For more information about Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cambodian Mission, call Mary Blatz at (562) 394-2216.