Mystery meeting in Chiang Mai
This news did not appear in the English-language papers, but it might be of interest to those who follow Thai-US relations.
On February 3 a high-ranking US State Department official flew to Chiang Mai for a scheduled meeting with a radical group of Thai academics. Reporters were alerted, but their presence prompted the US mission to cancel the meeting. It’s not known whether the meeting took place elsewhere.
The US government has stressed that it’s a long-time and sincere friend of Thailand, yet it supports a small group of people who want to make Thailand a republic. What does such action construe? Can the US government elaborate on this?
Nat Vichaval
