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Thailand to change name to 'Siam' - but keep 'Thailand' New campaign to use 'Siam' and 'Thailand' BANGKOK: -- An heir of Thailand's first interior and education minister has called for the government to alternately use 'Siam' and 'Thailand' as the offcial name of the Thai kingdom. M.L. Panadda Disakul, the Deputy Governor of Pathum Thani Province on the outskirts of Bangkok, who is the heir of late Prince Damrong Rajanuparp, the first Thai interior and education minister, as well as the first Thai army chief, noted that 'Siam' is a historically dignified and auspicious name, designated by King Rama IV, and it should be honourably preserved. "Siam is an auspiciously dignified name, as it was designated by His Majesty King Rama IV, and it represents the longly-proud history of the Thai kingdom. So, it should be re-used as the official name of the Thai kingdom, alternately with Thailand", she said. "An official campaign should be launched to promote the use of the alternate national name among Thai youths and the general public", she added. She proposed the idea when she met Culture Minister Uraiwan Thienthong and senior Fine Arts Department officials yesterday. M.L. Panadda is also the head of Prince Damrong Rajanuparp Museum and Library, where Mrs. Uraiwan and the senior officials visited yesterday. She pointed out that many countries have more than one national name, such as the Netherlands and Holland; the United States and America; the Great Britain, the United Kingdom and England; Switzerland and Helvetia; Germany and Deutschland; and Japan and Nippon. A previous Thai government changed the national name from 'Siam' to 'Thailand' in 1939 amid the opposition of a large number of Thais, she said. --TNA 2005-05-14 ---------------------- Although I don't agree with some of the arguments in the article (i.e. england is a part of great brittain and great brittain is in fact a part of the UK... as is germany just the english translation of deutschland..) I want to hear what you think about it.? ---------------------- ALSO PLEASE VOTE ON OUR POLL SO WE KNOW WHAT YOU THINK...