News from Thailand – August 3, 2012

About 2003 teenagers were extrajudicially shot dead between 2005 and XNUMX during Thaksin's war on drugs in Kalasin province, the Department of Special Investigation says.

In one case, the officers were convicted on July 23 (three were sentenced to death), but the other cases were never brought to trial.

The convicted officers were released on bail on Tuesday. The lawyer for the boy who was killed by the officers worries that they will tamper with the evidence or intimidate witnesses.

Human Rights Watch is also concerned about the safety of the witnesses. The Network of People Affected by Article 12 points out that prisoners charged with lèse majesté are never released on bail. 'You may wonder whether double standards are not applied here,' says the wife of one of them.

– The authorities are still considering a curfew in the South of Thailand in response to increased violence. The Internal Security Operations Command has been instructed to work with the fourth Army region to determine in which areas the curfew will take effect. The cabinet will probably make a decision on this after the end of Ramadan.

The Air Force does not use fighter planes, as reported yesterday, but AU-23 aircraft for reconnaissance flights and taking pictures. An air force special unit will guard Bo Thong airport in Pattani province.

Airports of Thailand says security measures have been tightened at southern airports and Transport Co says bus terminals are being monitored more closely, especially passengers' luggage.

Madaree Mama, a local religious leader in the town of Narathiwat, said the government should consult with businesses about the proposed curfew to see how economic losses could be avoided.

Thepthai Senapong, Democratic MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat, believes the curfew could make the livelihood of the population more difficult. He urges the government to improve its intelligence work so that authorities can better prevent violence in the future.

The bomb explosion at CS Pattani hotels Tuesday has already led to a decline in tourism, according to Somsak Isriyapinyo, president of the Pattani Chamber of Commerce.

Violence continued yesterday. Three people were killed in Pattani. One victim was dumped in a bag in the Panare River.

– Academics, Muslim leaders and members of the opposition party Democrats reject Prime Minister Yingluck's plan to establish a (new) command center in Bangkok to combat violence in the South. They label the plan as 'political gain'. The center would be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung and two deputy ministers.

The director of the Center of Conflict Studies and Cultural Diversity at Prince of Songkla University thinks the new center is superfluous, because numerous services are concerned with the southern problem and, according to him, they function well. Instead of establishing a center, Yingluck should go to the South to get a first-hand experience from residents and officials information so that it better understands the problems and can better assist the local authorities in solving them.

– For a moment it seemed as if three-time junior world champion Ratchanok Intanon (17) would dethrone the world number 2 in the quarterfinals, the Chinese Wang Xin, with badminton, because she won the first set. But in the second set, Xin made a formidable comeback, which was completed in the third set. Ratchanok then appeared exhausted and she had to be treated for a foot injury.

There were no other victories in London either. Bodin Isara and Maneepong Jongjit lost to the Malaysian team in the doubles quarterfinals. Also lost in the mixed doubles and Boonsak Ponsana was eliminated in the first round.

– The anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD, yellow shirts) sharpens the knives. As soon as the four provisionally postponed reconciliation bills are considered by parliament, she will organize a mass rally. "The best reconciliation is strict application of the law for people who have broken the law," said PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang. The PAD suspects that the proponents of the proposals want to grant amnesty to Thaksin and red shirts who behaved violently in 2010.

The four bills were introduced by three Pheu Thai MPs, Deputy Minister Natthawut Saiku and Sonthi Boonyaratglin, leader of the Matubhum coalition party and curiously one of the leaders of the 2006 military coup that ended Thaksin's rule.

Parliament returned from recess on Wednesday. For the time being, consideration of the four proposals has been suspended. The King Prajadhipok Institute has been asked to hold forums in the country on the proposals. The PAD is going to boycott them. The forums would have a hidden agenda to favor certain groups, according to the yellow shirts.

– Two factories in Chachoengsao that process chemical waste have been closed by order of the authorities. Neither did anything about chemically contaminated water leaking into public waterways near their factory. They also dumped untreated industrial waste and chemicals elsewhere.

– A parliamentary committee has rejected the requested increases in the budget for 2013 by a number of independent services. These are applications from the office of the Constitutional Court, Court of Justice, Administrative Court, Election Commission and the Ombudsman. The opposition sees this as a disguised attempt to curb those bodies.

– Two scientists received the Outstanding Scientist Award from the Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Technology for their research into brain and heart diseases. The neurologist researched the effects of the melatonin hormone; the cardiologist researched electrical stimulation of the heart. His team is currently researching new methods to measure iron levels in patients with thalassemia, a blood disorder that affects hemoglobin production.

– The Talay Noi peat swamp in Phatthalung province is on fire and if it is not possible to bring the fire under control quickly, it will be completely lost. Talay Noi is internationally recognized as an important wetland. It is registered with the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention). The fire has also spread to a game reserve. Long-tail boats are trying to stop the fire.

Elsewhere in the province, fire has broken out at the Phatthalung Botanical Gardens. Al 70 rai has been reduced to ashes in 2 days. Ten forest rangers try to contain the fire.

Source: Bangkok Post – Dick van der Lugt