Page 6 - aruba-today-20230110

A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 10 January 2023
Thai prime minister joins new party to seek another term

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAY- in office and the steady
AVECHNUKUL and GRANT strength of civilian-led par-
PECK ties have eaten away at its
Associated Press advantages.
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai Puangthong Pawakapan,
Prime Minister Prayuth a political science pro-
Chan-ocha has broken fessor at Bangkok’s Chul-
with the military-backed alongkorn University, said
political party that helped Prayuth’s move to a new
him take office after a party shows he is eager to
2019 general election and stay in power.
joined a new rival party on “However, this coming
Monday with which he is election is not going to be
likely to seek another term easy for him.
this year. Prayuth first seized Everyone knows that his
power as army chief in a new party is separate from
2014 military coup and the Palang Pracharath Par-
then became prime min- ty, but much weaker.”
ister in a military govern- A main contender for the
ment. He did not run in the prime minister’s job is Pub-
2019 election but was the lic Health Minister Anutin
prime ministerial candidate Anutin Charnvirakul of the
of the Palang Pracharath Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha , center, officially gestures as he announces he is Bhumjai Thai party, a well-
Party, which put together a joining the United Thai Nation Party as a newly-established party’s candidate in Bangkok, Thailand, funded partner in Prayuth’s
post-election coalition that Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. coalition government.
named him to the nation’s Associated Press It picked up many of the
top political post. 2020. Their political falling legal reasons. are low, with critics accus- 14 members of Parliament
On Monday, Prayuth for- out became clear when “I have been thinking how ing him of mishandling the who recently abandoned
mally joined Ruam Thai Palang Pracharath an- I could continue to solve economy and botching Palang Pracharath.
Sang Chart, or the United nounced that Prawit would the country’s problems. I Thailand’s initial response The main opposition party,
Thai Nation Party, which be its candidate for prime can’t do this alone. I need to the COVID-19 pandem- Pheu Thai, remains popular.
held its first meeting in Au- minister in this year’s gener- a team, I need to work with ic. He is also limited by the It is closely linked to former
gust last year. The move al election, which must be what you call a political constitution to serving a Prime Minister Thaksin Shi-
had its roots in an often de- held by May. party,” Prayuth told thou- maximum of two more nawatra, who was ousted
nied but barely concealed Prawit is widely seen as har- sands of supporters wear- years as prime minister rath- in a 2006 coup, and the
rift between him and Dep- boring ambitions for the ing blue, red and white er than a full term. military’s hostility to his po-
uty Prime Minister Prawit top job and seemed visibly shirts, the colors of Thai- The 2014-2019 military gov- litical machine led to the
Wongsuwan, a close mili- energized last year while land’s flag. ernment arranged election downfall of Thaksin’s sister,
tary comrade for decades serving as acting prime There are questions about laws to favor the Palang Yingluck Shinawatra, as
who became leader of the minister when Prayuth was Prayuth’s political viabil- Pracharath, but the party’s prime minister in 2014 and
Palang Pracharath Party in temporarily suspended for ity. His popularity ratings uninspiring performance another army takeover. q

United Arab Emirates says it will teach Holocaust in schools

By JON GAMBRELL primary and secondary in the Emirates, a federa- bat antisemitism, praised many systematically killed
Associated Press schools across the country, tion of seven sheikhdoms, the announcement in her 6 million European Jews
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- the country’s embassy in on Monday did not ac- own tweet. “Holocaust during World War II. Israel,
ates (AP) — The United the United States said. knowledge the announce- education is an imperative founded in 1948 as a ha-
Arab Emirates will begin The embassy provided no ment. However, the an- for humanity and too many ven for Jews in the wake of
teaching about the Holo- details on the curriculum nouncement comes after countries, for too long, con- the Holocaust, grants auto-
caust in history classes in and education authorities the UAE normalized rela- tinue to downplay the Sho- matic citizenship to anyone
tions with Israel in 2020 as ah for political reasons,” of Jewish descent. Other
part of a deal brokered by Lipstadt wrote, using a Arab nations have refused
the administration of Presi- Hebrew word for the Holo- to diplomatically recognize
dent Donald Trump. caust. “I commend the UAE Israel over its decades-long
“In the wake of the historic for this step and expect occupation of land Pales-
(hashtag)AbrahamAc- others to follow suit soon.” tinians want for their future
cords, (the UAE) will now in- The announcement comes state. The announcement
clude the Holocaust in the as a meeting of the Negev by the UAE also comes after
curriculum for primary and Forum Working Groups, the federation and other
secondary schools,” the which grew out of the nor- Arab nations condemned
embassy said in a tweet, re- malization, began in Abu an ultranationalist Israeli
ferring to the normalization Dhabi on Monday. Officials Cabinet minister for visit-
deal that also saw Bahrain from Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, ing a flashpoint Jerusalem
and ultimately Morocco Morocco, the UAE and the holy site last week, for the
The Emirati and Israeli flags fly overhead as Israeli President also recognize Israel. U.S. are to attend. Egypt first time since Prime Minis-
Isaac Herzog gives a speech at Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Ambassador Deborah E. has diplomatically recog- ter Benjamin Netanyahu’s
Emirates, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. Lipstadt, the U.S. special nized Israel for decades. new far-right government
Associated Press
envoy to monitor and com- In the Holocaust, Nazi Ger- took office.q