Disappearance of Arnaud Dubus, former RFI correspondent in Thailand

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Arnaud Dubus has been RFI correspondent in Thailand for nearly 30 years. Personal archives of Arnaud Dubus

It is with deep sadness that we learn this Monday, April 29 the brutal death of our colleague Arnaud Dubus, former correspondent of RFI in Bangkok. Arnaud was one of the best connoisseurs of Thailand, author of several reference books on the society, culture and history of the Thai people. The editorial pays tribute to him.

Arnaud Dubus was passionate about RFI's French correspondence in Thailand and throughout the region, from 1988 until last October. He was a reporter and a fine analyst of sometimes the most complex situations in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Laos or the Philippines, he was one of the best connoisseurs of this area. He has marked many RFI journalists who met him, by his great kindness and his desire to pass on his skills.

He had ceased his activities as a journalist in 2018 to join the French Embassy in Thailand. In a message he sent to RFI editorial staff before taking on new duties, he confided: " I had my best meetings and had my best hours as a journalist with RFI ".

His colleagues at RFI pay tribute to him and mention the kindness and professionalism of Arnaud Dubus.

Hard to find the words after the disappearance of Arnaud Dubus. It was while reading his papers and listening to him on @RFI that I started to like #Thailand. He had welcomed me to assist him with kindness and patience. 1/2

Arnaud Dubus, @rfi correspondent in Thailand for decades left us. An adorable man with remarkable skills. Sadness .. https://t.co/kCG1ITWgMz

Arnaud collaborated for Libération . " He was someone who had both the passion of field journalism and the concern, the rigor, the accuracy of an academic, a scientist who knew the field well, the region where he had been for thirty years. years. He had been living in Thailand for thirty years. He knew this area very well, it was remarkable. It was a little journalism, at the crossroads of journalism and academia, a little Anglo-Saxon. He had lived there for 30 years, and it was someone who, while continuing to work as a journalist, continued to pursue ideas. He had just released a book on Buddhism and politics (...) His work was fed all that, this knowledge , "said RFI Arnaud Vaulerin, deputy chief of the international service and journalist in charge of the Asia to the newspaper Libération .

Arnaud Dubus also worked for other media. Many tributes from confreres who knew him well on the social networks.

Stunned by this news. Arnaud Dubus was an adorable, talented, passionate, @libe correspondent in Bangkok for ages. https://t.co/gBYS5AOi7p

How sad to hear the death of French journalist and diplomat Arnaud Dubus https://t.co/NowhUSTkZa. What memories to @rfi on the radio and in the pages of the website. pic.twitter.com/c0fAnp04Qf

Pravit Rojanaphruk, a Thai journalist, expresses her emotion. " Tragic new. I just learned that the former French journalist and member of the French Embassy Arnaud Dubus has died. He fell from a BTS train station this afternoon. Unsolved circumstances. Rest in p aix. "

Tragic news. Just learn what to train French journalist & news staff at French Embassy @Arnaud_Dubus passed away. He fell from a BTS sky train station this afternoon. Circumstances unclear. RIP. #Thailand #France cc @stephffart @pakhead @FCCThai

A Thai caricaturist also pays homage to him:

pic.twitter.com/AYFuXudJKu

In 2016, OutsideNews, Arnaud Dubus talks about his job as a journalist and his life in Thailand:

Some reports from Arnaud Dubus on RFI :

• Thailand: on the eve of the verdict of Thaksin Shinawatra's trial

The political temperature rises in Thailand in the run-up to the Supreme Court's Friday, February 26, 2010 verdict on the fortune of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The court must decide whether to confiscate the equivalent of 1 billion 700 million euros. Thaksin is accused of using his position as head of government to promote his family conglomerate: Shin Corp. Why does this trial trigger passions in the country?
(International report broadcast on February 25, 2010)

• At the heart of the "red shirts" bastion in Bangkok

In Thailand, the capital Bangkok experienced several consecutive nights of violence in May 2010. Fires, explosion of grenades, incessant shooting, street fighting have increased in intensity. The army has tightened its grip on the main camp of anti-government protesters, the "red shirts", in Bangkok's commercial district, but has not yet attempted to bring down that stronghold.
(International story broadcast on May 18, 2010)

• Thailand, the larks' mirror for African footballers

More than 3,000 African footballers play in clubs outside their home continent. If the favorite destinations are those of the major European championships - Italy, France, Spain, England and Germany - many must resolve to deploy their talents on more distant lands, like those of Thailand , Burma or Indonesia. They arrive there after passing through the hands of more or less scrupulous agents.
(Grand Report broadcasted on January 5, 2011)

• Thailand, 10 years after the tsunami

On December 26, 2004, the tsunami ravaged the west coast of the Thai peninsula. 5,400 people died in Thailand in the onslaught of giant waves. Among the most affected areas, the village of Baan Nam Khem, a fishing village of about 5,000 inhabitants. 1,400 of them lost their lives in the disaster. Ten years later, our correspondent in Thailand, Arnaud Dubus, returned to the scene. Which brands left the disaster? How did she transform the life of the village?
(Grand Report broadcasted on January 5, 2015)

• Thailand: 40th anniversary of the Bangkok student massacre

Thailand commemorates a sad anniversary, the massacre of October 6, 1976. Forty years ago, police and right-wing groups organized by the military attacked hundreds of students entrenched in Bangkok's Thammasat University. The students were accused of being communists. Some were hanged, others burned alive. Officially, there have been 46 deaths, but many believe that the real record is one hundred students killed. This massacre is a black task in the history of the country. Especially since no government has since wanted to deal with it.
(International report of October 5, 2016)