News from Thailand – November 19, 2014

Protest by twenty students against the planned construction of a dam in Mae Wong National Park. Tigers live in the wild in the park. Their habitat is threatened if that dam continues.

The bodies of the nine soldiers killed in a helicopter crash on Monday were transferred from Phayao to Phitsanulok yesterday for the royal-sponsored ritual ablution. The cremation will take place on Tuesday.

Although the cause of the crash is not yet known, the 3rd Army Region is grounding all Bell 212 helicopters for a maintenance check just to be on the safe side. The plane that crashed was a rather old model of the Bell 122, a model that is still used by other countries, according to Prime Minister Prayut. The military even has older models, 30 to 40 years old, in use. No problem, he says, as long as they are well maintained.

The army currently has 285 helicopters, of which only 90 are airworthy. A number consists of helicopters left behind by the US after the Vietnam War.

– The operators of minibuses (in Thai rot too) have until the end of December to register with the Land Transport Department (LTD). 3.074 vans have now been inspected, but registration is also required.

The operators and drivers must adhere to the rules of the LTD: do not deviate from the permitted route, calculate the correct fare, do not carry too many passengers. When they go wrong for the third time, the permit expires.

The LTD warns operators of illegal vans with a black license plate. They risk a prison sentence of up to 5 years and a fine of 20.000 to 100.000 baht.

The registration of motorsai drivers runs smoothly. Of the 104.134 motorcycles, 80.135 have already been registered; the others are pending. In December, the drivers will receive a new vest with their ID and queue number.

Of the taxis that have been inspected so far, 80 percent turned out to be in order.

– Russia wants to improve diplomatic relations with Thailand, said the Russian ambassador yesterday during a short press conference. In recent years they have been on the back burner. The Russian Prime Minister has invited Prime Minister Prayut to visit his country when they met in the corridors of the Asean summit in Myanmar last week.

In 2013, the trade volume between Russia and Thailand was US$3,3 billion. The ambassador called that "unacceptably small." Both countries have enormous economic potential, he says. The main economic engine is tourism.

1,7 million Russians visit Thailand annually, making Russia second only to China for foreign arrivals. "Russia loves Thailand," the ambassador exulted. "Russians like to come here."

In addition to tourism, there will be closer cooperation in the fields of information and communication, technology, banking, agriculture and cultural exchanges.

– The body of Swiss Hanspeter Suter (8) who went missing on the island of Koh Tao on November 44 washed up on the beach at a holiday park in Suan Taeng (Chumphon) yesterday afternoon. An initial investigation indicates that he must have drowned while snorkeling.

– I have written about it before: the bill that sets requirements for the organization of public meetings. The cabinet has given its blessing to it, now for the emergency parliament. Organizers must report such a meeting (including protests and demonstrations) 24 hours in advance to a police station, stating the place, times and the expected number of visitors. If they fail to do so, they risk a six-month prison sentence or a 10.000 baht fine.

Gatherings are prohibited at Government House and official places [?] and public transport areas [?]. Stages are prohibited between 22 p.m. and 6 a.m.

– Yesterday the newspaper left that in the middle, but today it reports that the two American videographers who were previously questioned by the police in connection with the human organs found in DHL packages are now suspected of having taken them from the medical museums of Siriraj hospital. Police have enlisted Interpol's help in tracking them down.

The Americans previously stated that they had bought the body parts on the market. They would now be in Cambodia. The message does not state on what evidence the police suspect the Yankees. See also News from Thailand from Monday and Tuesday and Horrific discovery in Bangkok: Babies' remains in postal package.

– Former opposition party Bhumjaithai and ruling party Chartthaipattana want the new constitution to make it more difficult to dissolve political parties in case of electoral fraud. That rule should only apply to fraud committed by board members, but not to fraud committed by non-board members. They put that wish on the table yesterday at the Constitution Drafting Committee, which will draw up the new constitution.

The two also believe that independent MPs do not belong in parliament. According to them, they cause problems, but they gave no further explanation. I leave the other wishes unmentioned; they are only of interest to political connoisseurs.

– Lower civil servants receive a salary increase of 1000 baht per month. Prime Minister Prayut has approved the increase because salaries have not been increased for many years, while the cost of living has risen in the meantime. About three thousand civil servants will receive the extra with retroactive effect to October 1.

– The district of Pathiu (Chumphon) has been hit by flooding, caused by heavy rains last weekend. Several villages, 120 village roads and farmland have been flooded.

– Drug use measures are urgently needed to prevent drug resistance that threatens Thailand and other Asean countries. Thai health experts urged this yesterday during the seminar 'A Way Forward in Combatting Antibiotic Resistance'.

AMR (antimicrobial resistance) is caused by incorrect use of medicines (doses that are too low, not completing a course of treatment), faulty medicines, incorrect prescriptions and a lack of infection control. According to the experts, between 41 and 91 percent of prescriptions are unnecessary. The wrong medicines are often prescribed, especially for bacterial infections.

Pathom Sawanpanyalert, deputy secretary general of the Food and Drug Administration, says that 38.000 people die from AMR in Thailand every year out of a population of 67 million. That is proportionally much more than in the US and EU.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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