September 6, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - Khoasod newspaper* recently published an op-ed by their staff writer Pravit Rojanaphruk in which he attempted to deny US government funding of ongoing anti-government protests in Thailand through organizations like the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Yet Pravit has - nearly a decade ago - fully acknowledged opposition groups now involved in anti-government protests receiving US government funding.
His most recent opinion piece titled, "Deciphering the Thai Phakdee Royalist Group," attempted to portray patriotic Thais fully informed of US interference in Thailand's internal affairs as "dangerous" and implying their concerns were unfounded.
It claimed (emphasis added):
Virtually every aspect of the protests are funded by the US government including everything from forming the protest's leadership, to organizing petitions to rewrite Thailand's constitution, to promoting the protests across the media, to even filling up the protests with people.
READ MORE: What is the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED)?
Thailand's current protest's core leadership includes Anon Nampa, a lawyer working for Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) funded by the US NED via the Union for Civil Liberty. It was previously listed individually on the NED's website in 2014 - archived here.
The organization iLaw behind a current petition to rewrite Thailand's constitution is listed on the US NED's official website as, "Internet Law Reform Dialogue." And iLaw itself admits to its US government funding on its own website - fully confirming Thai Phakdee's concerns.
One organization calling itself "Assembly of the Poor" which regularly mobilizes its members to help fill the ranks of current ongoing protest is listed on the official NED website as "Thai Poor Act" with Thai Poor Act being registered under Assembly of the Poor leader Baramee Chaiyarat's name as "manager" and with Thai Poor Act's Facebook and YouTube accounts clearly using the name "Thai Poor Act" and "Assembly of the Poor" interchangeably.
Thai media fronts funded by the US NED include Prachatai, The Isaan Record, Benar News, and The 101 Percent.
Prachatai - listed on NED's website as the Foundation for Community Educational Media - in particular has been funded by the US government for years. Its "executive director" Chiranuch Premchaiporn is also listed on the NED's website as an "NED Fellow."
Not only is there 100% verified, documented evidence that the US government is funding and backing virtually every aspect of current anti-government protests in Thailand - there is 100% verified evidence that Pravit Rojonaphruk has been fully aware of it for nearly a full decade and is now simply covering it up.
Yet Pravit has - nearly a decade ago - fully acknowledged opposition groups now involved in anti-government protests receiving US government funding.
His most recent opinion piece titled, "Deciphering the Thai Phakdee Royalist Group," attempted to portray patriotic Thais fully informed of US interference in Thailand's internal affairs as "dangerous" and implying their concerns were unfounded.
It claimed (emphasis added):
A number of speakers on the stage believe the US is either funding or using and manipulating anti-government protesters to undermine not just the Prayut Chan-ocha administration but that of the monarchy and Thailand. Cases of countries like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have been mentioned on stage as precautionary tales.And that:
The discourse means anti-government protesters are now perceived as a pawn, willingly and knowingly or not, of the United States. It’s dangerous. It basically pushes those unhappy with the Prayut regime and the monarchy into becoming not just “nation haters” (khon kliad chart) but that of traitors (khon khai chart). They are not just opponents but enemies.Another article from Khaosod - also written by Pravit - further attempts to dismiss evidence of US meddling by calling Thai Phakdee's concerns "unfounded accusations."
...there is 100% verified evidence that Pravit Rojonaphruk has been fully aware of it for nearly a full decade and is now simply covering it up.However, fact checking Thai Phakdee's concerns is as simple as visiting the US NED's own official website which lists each and every core organization involved in current anti-government protests in Thailand as recipients of US government money.
Virtually every aspect of the protests are funded by the US government including everything from forming the protest's leadership, to organizing petitions to rewrite Thailand's constitution, to promoting the protests across the media, to even filling up the protests with people.
READ MORE: What is the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED)?
Thailand's current protest's core leadership includes Anon Nampa, a lawyer working for Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) funded by the US NED via the Union for Civil Liberty. It was previously listed individually on the NED's website in 2014 - archived here.
The organization iLaw behind a current petition to rewrite Thailand's constitution is listed on the US NED's official website as, "Internet Law Reform Dialogue." And iLaw itself admits to its US government funding on its own website - fully confirming Thai Phakdee's concerns.
One organization calling itself "Assembly of the Poor" which regularly mobilizes its members to help fill the ranks of current ongoing protest is listed on the official NED website as "Thai Poor Act" with Thai Poor Act being registered under Assembly of the Poor leader Baramee Chaiyarat's name as "manager" and with Thai Poor Act's Facebook and YouTube accounts clearly using the name "Thai Poor Act" and "Assembly of the Poor" interchangeably.
Thai media fronts funded by the US NED include Prachatai, The Isaan Record, Benar News, and The 101 Percent.
Prachatai - listed on NED's website as the Foundation for Community Educational Media - in particular has been funded by the US government for years. Its "executive director" Chiranuch Premchaiporn is also listed on the NED's website as an "NED Fellow."
Not only is there 100% verified, documented evidence that the US government is funding and backing virtually every aspect of current anti-government protests in Thailand - there is 100% verified evidence that Pravit Rojonaphruk has been fully aware of it for nearly a full decade and is now simply covering it up.
Pravit Knew About US-Funded Subversion in Thailand for a Decade
In his most recent piece he bragged about "ringing up" the US Embassy to hear (and unquestionably repeat) US denials of their involvement.
Pravit also mentions the NED and convicted financial criminal George Soros' Open Society Foundation by name, refusing to explore who these groups are and if there is any evidence that they are indeed funding groups inside of Thailand.
Yet for nearly a decade Pravit Roojanaphruk has been aware of US NED and Open Society activities in Thailand. He even wrote a vigorous defense for these groups and their foreign funding in a 2011 article published in The Nation where he used to work before moving to Khaosod in 2015.
Pravit's article titled, "Transparency essential for democracy campaigner," was published in 2011 and was in response to my own 6 month effort to expose Prachatai's US government funding.
After 6 months of pressure in 2011, Prachatai finally admitted it was funded millions of Thai Baht a year since its founding by the US government and US-based corporate foundations like Open Society.
Pravit in his article would claim:
At the time, he fully acknowledged how problematic Prachatai's US government funding was. He would admit (emphasis added):
If there is any "danger" regarding Thai Phakdee's warning over US interference in Thailand's internal politics - it's only to those involved in foreign-funded sedition being exposed, confronted, stopped, and held fully accountable within the rule of law.
*Controlling shares of Khaosod newspaper's parent company Matichon are owned by the family of US-backed billionaire opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit leading current protests.
In his most recent piece he bragged about "ringing up" the US Embassy to hear (and unquestionably repeat) US denials of their involvement.
Pravit also mentions the NED and convicted financial criminal George Soros' Open Society Foundation by name, refusing to explore who these groups are and if there is any evidence that they are indeed funding groups inside of Thailand.
Yet for nearly a decade Pravit Roojanaphruk has been aware of US NED and Open Society activities in Thailand. He even wrote a vigorous defense for these groups and their foreign funding in a 2011 article published in The Nation where he used to work before moving to Khaosod in 2015.
Pravit's article titled, "Transparency essential for democracy campaigner," was published in 2011 and was in response to my own 6 month effort to expose Prachatai's US government funding.
After 6 months of pressure in 2011, Prachatai finally admitted it was funded millions of Thai Baht a year since its founding by the US government and US-based corporate foundations like Open Society.
Pravit in his article would claim:
The not-for-profit prachatai.com online newspaper has come under ferocious accusations of late, to wit that the left-leaning newspaper is actually a fake and an agent of the "neo-imperialist" United States, to use the word of its accuser, who comes by the name of Tony Cartalucci.
Cartalucci has for months demanded on Twitter that prachaitai.com reveal its funding sources but has failed to reveal his own identity.Pravit only admits to Prachatai's US government funding 10 paragraphs in - and only after sufficiently smearing me personally for attempting to reveal Prachatai's hidden funding and the various conflicts of interest that funding represents. Pravit would admit (emphasis added):
Prachatai eventually disclosed its funding sources, with names like the US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) spending roughly Bt1.5 million for fiscal 2011-12. In the 2010-11 year, the same amount was funded by NED, while Bt1.8 million came from George Soros' Open Society Foundation.So Pravit - since 2011 - has known Prachatai - one of the primary media organizations now promoting and supporting ongoing protests today in Thailand - was and is fully funded by the US government and US-based corporate foundations.
At the time, he fully acknowledged how problematic Prachatai's US government funding was. He would admit (emphasis added):
Prachatai insisted in its English-language funding disclosure that "none of our foreign donors has ever put up any demands connected to the funds they provided, nor did they interfere with our reporting". But one can hardly be independent if a major bulk of its income comes from a few organisations.It could be assumed that Pravit Rojanaphruk would agree that other organizations now forming the core of current protests face similar conflicts of interest and that Thai Phakdee's concerns are both verified and fully founded.
Being too dependent on funding from the US can make prachatai shy about being critical of the US' role abroad, Thailand included. The same can be said of, say, any newspaper owned by a big corporate, which perhaps cannot be fully trusted to report critically on, not to mention criticise, the business of such a firm.
If there is any "danger" regarding Thai Phakdee's warning over US interference in Thailand's internal politics - it's only to those involved in foreign-funded sedition being exposed, confronted, stopped, and held fully accountable within the rule of law.
*Controlling shares of Khaosod newspaper's parent company Matichon are owned by the family of US-backed billionaire opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit leading current protests.