BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand, once a poster child for democracy and freedom in turbulent Southeast Asia, has careened over the past two years from one image disaster to the next.
First a military coup. Then revelations of slaves in the seafood industry and other human trafficking horrors. In August, a deadly bomb struck central Bangkok. And now, the United States has declared Thailand’s aviation industry unsafe, striking at the heart of one of its biggest success stories, tourism.
Like the repeated scandals over Thailand’s role in human trafficking, the safety downgrade revealed years of official neglect and complicity. The stiff generals who …read more
Source: KXAN
