News from Thailand – December 3, 2014

Ratchadamnoen Avenue on the eve of the King's birthday on Friday.

After a six-year legal battle, the bullet has finally passed: the 25-storey hotel Aetas (photo homepage) in Soi Ruamrudee (Bangkok) must be demolished within sixty days. Yesterday, the Supreme Administrative Court made a final determination: the hotel was built in violation of the Building Regulations.

The legal wrangling started in 2008 when residents filed a complaint against the governor of Bangkok and the head of the Pathumwan district office, who had granted the planning permission. They said the street was too narrow for a hotel of this size; it led to traffic congestion and put neighbors at great risk in the event of a fire. The municipality was accused of exaggerating the width of the street in order to push through the project. That was right.

According to Sitthichai Thuamsakon, head of the district office, the project developer can opt for partial demolition. If the building is no higher than 23 meters (seven or eight floors), it complies with building regulations. He doesn't know when the demolition will begin.

The project developer can still take the municipality to court because it has granted permission for construction. On this basis, he can be exempt from the demolition order. In short: the bullet may be through the church, but the wrecking ball does not seem to be swinging for the time being.

– How can you make the population understand what corruption is, think about solutions and more importantly how they can contribute to the fight against corruption? That, according to spokesman Vicha Mahakul of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), is the idea behind the soap operas (lakorn), films and books, for which she has commissioned ten producers.

Existing corruption cases, such as the mortgage system for rice and the wastewater treatment plant Khlong Dan, form the basis, but it is unclear how accurately the soaps will portray the actual events.

For the soaps, the actors have already been cast and the camera will be rolling soon. The first series will air on the channel True Thai Scene in the middle of next year.

The NACC also wants to be more open about the issues it is working on. “We cannot allow people to misunderstand our role and spread false information,” says Vicha. 'The population should have access to all facts, at every level: local government and national corruption cases. The new media can play a more important role in this.'

– Thailand is willing to talk to all resistance groups active in the South. We are now waiting for Malaysia to approach the groups. But when peace talks with the southern resistance resume, newly appointed Thai delegation leader Aksara Kerdol cannot say.

Yesterday he returned from Kuala Lumpur where a delegation led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha met with the neighboring country. Malaysia is acting as a facilitator of the talks, which stalled at the start of Ramadan last year. Aksara says his team is willing to talk, but he doesn't want to be pinned down to a timeline.

Thailand does not take place overnight in the talks. There are three levels involved: the highest headed by the prime minister, the bargaining level headed by Aksara and a coordinating level headed by the military.

– It is expected that the two guest workers from Myanmar, who are suspected of the murder of two British tourists on the holiday island of Koh Tao, will be charged this week. The Public Prosecution Service has announced this after consultation about the evidence collected and supplemented by the police.

When the two appear in court, they will be asked whether they maintain or withdraw their initial confession to the police, which they later did. Myanmar embassy officials said they confessed to being tortured.

The OM says it has hard evidence that the two raped the female tourist and killed her and her boyfriend. Activists distributed a letter yesterday, which they say was written by the suspects. In it they ask anyone who can help as a witness for the defence, to report.

– The provinces of Chiang Mai, Mukdahan, Chumphon and Nakhon Phanom are the first to be eligible for the issuance of land rights to poor, landless farmers. The land does not go to individuals, but to cooperatives, whose members work the land together and share in the profits. In total, the government wants to give 50.000 rai of government land to 10.000 farmers.

– Thai guest workers working in Israel smuggle methamphetamine pills and crystal methamphetamine into the country when they go to work, mainly in agriculture, or return from vacation. The youngest smuggling route is via airmail. This says Deputy Secretary General Witthawan Sunthornkhajit of the Office of the Narcotic Control Board. He has been told this by Israeli officials. He does not know how many Thais have been arrested in Israel.

Witthawan and other senior officials flew to Israel on Friday to take a closer look. The smuggling has been going on since 2012. The pills are hidden in soap boxes, shampoo bottles, coffee bags and cigarette packs.

– The new taxi brokerage service Uber has received an invitation for the second time to come to the Land Transport Department (LTD). Uber, based in the US, has been operating in Bangkok since April. Customers order a taxi through its app. Payment is made by credit card.

The LTD says the company is in violation. The drivers are not registered or insured for commercial trips. The fares are said to be too high and the drivers do not have a driver's license for public use.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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