Thailand's battered image dealt new blow with aviation scare

First a military coup.

After mass protests toppled a military government in 1992, Thailand for years after was touted as a beacon of progress in a region where authoritarian governments held sway.

According to Human Rights Watch, the junta's rule has sent "Thailand's human rights situation into free fall."

Yet this week, government, tourism and airline officials rushed into damage control after the Federal Aviation Administration said Thailand's aviation industry does not meet international safety standards.

"Problems pile up all the time for any government, but the nature of a military government to handle complex issues and challenges is limited," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

The European Union is expected to decide this month whether Thailand's human trafficking abuses are severe enough to trigger EU sanctions, which could mean significant financial losses for Thailand at a time when its economy is flagging.

Some of the abuses were documented by The Associated Press during an in-depth investigation that found slavery in the Thai fishing industry which supplies seafood to the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Intent on cleaning up Thailand's image, the military government launched a crackdown this year on human trafficking.