Beauty queen speaks up about missing activist

[webfact]

Beauty queen speaks up about missing activist

By THE NATION

 

 

Thai-Swedish model and beauty queen Maria Lynn Ehren (or Maria Poonlertlarp) took on the cause of exiled political activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who went missing in Phnom Penh on June 4, by frankly airing her opinions on Instagram on Monday (June 8).

 

“What’s scary is that many exiled Thais have been disappearing and later found dead stuffed with concrete under water … what kind of place are we living in when we cannot simply voice our opinion? Life is diverse and so are opinions,” her post read.

 

She also pointed out that Thailand has been ruled through fear for as long as she can remember. “I’m tired of living in fear. Aren’t you?” her post read. “I’m nervous yet excited that people in my country are becoming more vocal. Time for change is near.

 

“I am standing together with Thai people, demanding that what is happening is wrong and we want an answer.”

 

Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon, some 30 activists, led by activist-cum-magazine editor Somyot Prueksa, gathered outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, calling on the Cambodian government to help find the missing activist.

 

The activists were met by an embassy representative who assured them that their message will be passed on to Prime Minister Hun Sen. The activists said they will return in a week on June 15 to get an update.

 

The Mirror Foundation announced on June 4 that Wanchalearm had gone missing in a move to raise awareness in Thailand, especially among netizens and political groups.

 

The activist fled Thailand in 2014 after the military coup and has been a vociferous critic of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s administration since, openly posting his views on Facebook.

 

Now, with him missing, many celebrities and influencers are being urged by netizens to pay attention.

 

On Sunday, Thai actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Praya Lundberg came under fire for staying silent about the case, with many people accusing her of failing in her duty to speak up.

 

The actress said she was personally sorry about what happened, but clarified that speaking up for the activist was beyond the purview of her humanitarian work at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She also said that the case was highly sensitive and complicated.

 

However, her comments were met with disappointment, with many netizens insisting that she give up her post.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30389263

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-06-09

 

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[nausea]

Well, knock me down with a feather, that took me by surprise, I must admit.

[torturedsole]

Well done, Maria.  Not sure it'll make a lot of difference but a good start.  

[xtof2]

She’s quite brave 

[yellowboat]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

She also pointed out that Thailand has been ruled through fear for as long as she can remember. “I’m tired of living in fear. Aren’t you?”

Fear holds the whole country back.   Most Thais are afraid to talk about politics.  Since 2014, Thailand as been without hope.  

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

“I’m nervous yet excited that people in my country are becoming more vocal. Time for change is near.

Nice sentiments, but it is way past due.  Good for her for cutting through the "complications", not recognizing limitations and speaking up.

Edited June 9, 2020 by yellowboat

[kingstonkid]

2 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Fear holds the whole country back.   Most Thais are afraid to talk about politics.  Since 2014, Thailand as been without hope.  

 

Nice sentiments, but it is way past due.  Good for her for cutting through the "complications", not recognizing limitations and speaking up.

I agree with your statement about Thailand being held back but disagree with your 2014 date There is a group of people that have been in power (non military) for a long time behind the scenes.

[LomSak27]

Brave statement

 

Sounds terrible but I hope she is not currently living in Thailand, for her own safety.

[AlexRich]

Wonderfully said. Now my favourite Thai.

[BobbyL]

She is absolutely correct. We know which establishment is solely to blame for the fear it has caused in this country for decades. There is no way of denying that here you can be quite literally killed for having a different opinion. 

[Odysseus123]

5 hours ago, xtof2 said:

She’s quite brave 

A gentle correction-she is VERY brave to have come out and made this public statement.

 

The only place The Land of Smiles ever really existed was in the tourist brochures.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Odysseus123

[Misterwhisper]

Now... there's a cue for you, "goodwill ambassador" Praya Lundberg!

 

[Misterwhisper]

If all the beauty queens in this country (after all, every single hamlet has got at least a dozen of them) took to the streets, the days of this regime probably would be numbered. 

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, xtof2 said:

She’s quite brave 

Yeah, only took a side swipe on social media to get her to speak up... 

[BigC]

Cambodia is far more dangerous than thailand

 

Funny why she chose that country to out line 

Freedom if speech 

[sweatalot]

3 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

There is a group of people that have been in power (non military) for a long time behind the scenes.

Please tell me who

[Rancid]

The way most countries work is the uber rich run things and use stooge politicians from all sides to implement their agenda, elections are just a pressure release for the illusion of choice. But another part of the system are those that are allowed to exist as upper middle class or mildly wealthy, which is why we rarely hear criticism coming from them, they just want to protect what they are allowed to get.

 

In Hollywood the stars pretend to support progressive causes, but it doesn't matter as progressives are just a fake left with no real agenda except the illusion of empowering some minority elements. Stars are just the bread and circus entertainers to create distraction to help stop people using any objective thought. Conservatives fare little better, as most of their agenda is not about freedom but about putting more money in the pockets of the already rich, so really the same as progressives.

 

As such it is rare for this girl to speak out against the system, perhaps being dual nationality she can at least escape when the payback of no work arrives. Either that or the old and proven technique of discrediting the messenger will be used.

[worgeordie]

I hope we don't see headlines in the future  "Beauty Queen disappears "

Sweatalot...asks  Please tell me who .......and get disappeared ,no thanks.

Regards Worgeordie

[nausea]

1 hour ago, Rancid said:

The way most countries work is the uber rich run things and use stooge politicians from all sides to implement their agenda, elections are just a pressure release for the illusion of choice. But another part of the system are those that are allowed to exist as upper middle class or mildly wealthy, which is why we rarely hear criticism coming from them, they just want to protect what they are allowed to get.

 

In Hollywood the stars pretend to support progressive causes, but it doesn't matter as progressives are just a fake left with no real agenda except the illusion of empowering some minority elements. Stars are just the bread and circus entertainers to create distraction to help stop people using any objective thought. Conservatives fare little better, as most of their agenda is not about freedom but about putting more money in the pockets of the already rich, so really the same as progressives.

 

As such it is rare for this girl to speak out against the system, perhaps being dual nationality she can at least escape when the payback of no work arrives. Either that or the old and proven technique of discrediting the messenger will be used.

I approve this message.

[rkidlad]

Spoke to a local lady here about the disappearance of this activist. A self-proclaimed academic who said she had sympathy for the activist but who said you should be careful what you say. I told her I'm a huge advocate for freedom of expression. She said she was too, but not for for speech that's going to offend people.

 

Much like in the West - people are okay with free speech until you talk about something that offends them. As my old man used to say to me when I was a kid, "get good at saying no and get good at hearing no". 

[ChipButty]

If she come back to Thailand and gets arrested I'll stand bail for her

[Donutz]

10 hours ago, sweatalot said:

Please tell me who

Some sort of  pizza company.

[DrTuner]

The Swedish passport will become handy when fleeing the military states of Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. 

[richard_smith237]

Thailand has a Military Government who took over power with a show of force, muted the media, quashed political opposition in one fell swoop and has continued to do so.

 

This story is of no surprise..... the greatest irony of it all came when Prayut suggested that Thai's read George Orwell's Animal Farm...

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1103607-prime-minister-suggests-that-people-read-george-orwell’s-“animal-farm”

 

[mikebell]

On 6/9/2020 at 3:22 AM, webfact said:

an embassy representative who assured them that their message will be passed on to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

who will post it off to Prayuth for further instructions.

Do they have an agreement ' we'll kill all your dissenters if you kill all ours?'

[phetphet]

I feel a telephone call to come in for "attitude adjustment" coming her way.

[Donutz]

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

I feel a telephone call to come in for "attitude adjustment" coming her way.

Aren't they more into house visits? 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

Andrew MacGregor Marshall makes an interesting read on Twitter.