News from Thailand – Sunday, March 29, 2015

This page contains a selection from the Thai news. We list headlines from major news sources including: Bangkok Post, The Nation, ThaiPBS, MCOT, etc.

There is a web link behind the news items. When you click on it you can read the full article at the English source.

News from Thailand – Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Nation opens with the message that no less than 70 percent of the Thai population supports the principles of the new constitution. According to Borwornsak chairman of the Constitutional Commission (CDC) Thais are also not paranoid about a not directly elected prime minister. This would appear from the results of an opinion poll recently conducted by the CDC (a butcher who inspects his own meat?): http://goo.gl/mFjSfS

Bangkok Post opens on Sunday with criticism of Article 44 of the temporary constitution that would give Prayut even more power and that is dangerous. Critics including Yodpol Thepsitthar, a law professor at Naresuan University, have called it a "dictatorial law." Yodpol says the article was introduced by former Thai dictator Field Marshal Sarit Thanasatin in 1959, who used it to have criminals executed without trial. Article 44 gives Prime Minister Prayut absolute power. He may then order the arrest, imprisonment and even execution of persons without the consent of parliament or the judiciary. Phongthep Thepkanchana, a former member of ruling party Pheu Thai, calls the article even a greater threat to human rights than martial law: http://goo.gl/Fw1lVm

– A 38-year-old Thai woman drowned after a boat on the Chao Phraya River in Ayutthaya capsized by bad weather: http://goo.gl/VLY4wC

– More than 12 entrepreneurs in Chiang Rai say they have been extorted by the police. The police forced them to pay fines of up to 75.000 baht for copyright violations. The police, together with representatives of Inter Music Copyright, would have visited a number of bars to collect the money. If payment was not made, they threatened with imprisonment. However, the company mentioned does not exist: http://goo.gl/mxy5W6

– Koh Tachai is still called Koh Tachai. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation denied yesterday that Koh Tachai's name would be changed to "Sirivannavari". Earlier it was reported that HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana gave the island her name because she was impressed by its beauty. That turns out not to be correct. The island takes its name from a local resident named “Tachai” who first discovered the island: http://goo.gl/GHGC2H

– You can read more current news on the Twitter feed of Thailandblog.nl: twitter.com/thailand_blog