News from Thailand – September 18, 2012

So far, 20 percent less stir cases than last year. A repeat of last year's severe flooding is therefore not an option.

Plodprasop Suraswadi, minister and chair of the Water and Flood Management Committee, says Bangkok is outperforming this year not only because of lower rainfall but also because the city's drainage system has proved effective.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra acknowledges that the heavy rainfall since Friday has put a strain on the system, sometimes taking three hours for the water to drain and even longer on some minor roads.

Anond Snidvongs, director of the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, estimates that 900.000 rai of land in the North and Central Plains will be flooded this year, up from 35 million rai last year.

Other flood news

• In the city of Sukhothai, which was hit for the second time by a small flood on Sunday, the water has stopped rising. The water was pumped out within two to three days, says the director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department.
• Army Commander Prayuth Chan-ocha has announced that 100 military companies are ready to provide assistance.
• Three districts in Phitsanulok province were flooded when the Yom River overflowed its banks. More than 100 households in Tachang, in one of the three districts, are under water, as are 5.000 rai of farmland. The water reached a height of 1 meter.
• The Ministry of Science and Technology will form a 'dream team' of experts to draw up a long-term water management plan. The ministry will also award scholarships to students studying water management.

– 34 companies, mostly Chinese, are interested in one of the anti-flood projects, for which the cabinet has allocated 350 billion baht. They meet the requirements set out in the Terms of Reference. On Monday, the government will announce who may carry out the work. The lucky ones must submit their plan within 60 days.

The companies that have now dropped out have one week to appeal against the decision of the selection committee. And there are quite a few, because 300 Thai and foreign companies initially wanted to carry out a work.

– After 2 years of investigation into the disturbances in April and May 2010, the Truth for Reconciliation Commission (TRC), set up under the previous government, has presented its final report. The commission says its 400-page report is "the most reliable and credible overview" of events, although more facts would have come to light if the commission had more powers. Red shirt circles have already expressed their first criticism of the committee's conclusions.

The main conclusions of the TRC at a glance:

• The so-called 'men in black', men armed with M79 grenades and rifles, were supported by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship and had an association with Khattiya Sawatdipol. [Khattiya was in charge of security at Ratchaprasong Intersection, which was held by the red shirts.]
• Khattiya was killed from a place controlled by the military.
• The men in black are responsible for the deaths of eight soldiers, including General Romklao Thuwatham.
• The UDD leaders have failed to dissuade their supporters from violence. UDD leaders have provoked the protesters in speeches.
• Soldiers fired countless times with live ammunition.
• The Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Decree, which was responsible for enforcing the state of emergency, had no control over the military's operations.
• The government has failed to control the military's use of weapons of war.
• The six persons killed at Wat Pathum Wanaram on May 19 [a temple where red shirts had fled] have been hit by bullets from the direction where security forces were stationed. They exchanged fire with men in black.

– Former Prime Minister Abhisit and former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban risk being charged with murder after the court found that a 44-year-old taxi driver was killed by army fire in May 2010.

According to Tarit Pengdith, head of the Department of Special Investigation, the court has set a precedent for 35 other fatalities in 2010 during the Red Shirt riots, who were also killed by army fire.

The DSI will now investigate which soldiers were responsible and who gave the command. Because Abhisit and Suthep have ordered the army to end the disturbances, they could face charges of first-degree murder, Tarit says.

– Today the Senate will vote whether former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban (Democrats) retroactively loses his position, must give up his parliamentary seat and may not hold political office for 5 years. According to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Suthep violated the constitution at the time by asking the minister of culture to employ 19 people, including party members, in his ministry. Suthep defends himself by stating that it was a request and not an order.

The Senate has never sent a politician home. This requires a three-fifths majority. It is therefore expected on all sides that Suthep can remain calm in his warm parliamentary seat.

– Another group of southern insurgents is ready to surrender, says Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprasa. They would like to follow the example of the 93 men in Narathiwat who reported to the authorities last week.

Only three of them have been charged and will be prosecuted. The others merely violated the emergency ordinance. Many have already been punished, according to Yutthasak. He also said most are likely to be acquitted by the court due to lack of evidence. Because such a ruling can take a long time to arrive, the government is considering accelerating the procedure.

“I think it's good to welcome these people. They feel guilty and long for peace. The hawks among the insurgents will be isolated by this. They can't operate much longer because people distance themselves from them,' says Yutthasak.

Meanwhile, violence in the South continued. Early Sunday morning in Yala province, a couple was shot dead. They came under fire as they returned home from their rubber plantation on motorcycles.

– With paintball and BB guns, soldiers prepare for guerrilla warfare in the South. Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha emphasizes that soldiers must learn to fight rebels, who do not confront in the open field, but attack from an ambush. According to Prayuth, military operations in the South cannot be compared to normal warfare. "They are non-military operations because we can't consider the entire area as a battlefield."

The soldiers learn to operate in small teams, to avoid civilian casualties and to expect an attack from all sides.

– Only 5 of the 10 operators of illegal holiday parks in the Sirinat National Park on the island of Phuket have been reported. Those are Three Dolphins, La Cloline, Pavilion Beach Resort, Land State Co and Phuket Peninsula Spa and Resort. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation needs more time to gather evidence against the remaining five. According to those five, they already owned the land before the area was granted national park status in 1956.

– The US embassy in Bangkok will be closed from 12 noon and 'non-essential' staff will have the afternoon off due to a planned demonstration against the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims. Since Tuesday, twenty countries have already protested against the film. Seventeen people were killed and many injured.

– The BTSC, the manager of the above-ground metro, better known as BTS, will install control gates at the nine busiest stations to increase safety. Siam station will be the first. It has not been announced when work will begin.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post