News in brief from Thailand – December 15
Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha will not be transferred. Prime Minister Yingluck said this yesterday in response to questions from reporters during a visit to the Internal Security Operations Command.
She chaired a meeting of the Isoc there and was informed about the activities. The Isoc is responsible, among other things, for security in the South of Thailand. [Prayuth's sympathies are with the Democrats; hence the question from the reporters.]
– Prime Minister Yingluck has ordered the authorities to strengthen security so that the population can celebrate a peaceful New Year's Eve. 'I would like the New Year to be a happy moment for people.' Asked to comment on Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung's comments that bombings are to be expected during New Year's Eve, Yingluck replied: 'I don't expect that kind of situation to arise and all agencies are joining forces to prevent anything untoward happening. '
– Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung denies having said that bomb attacks are to be expected at 10 locations at the turn of the year. According to him, he had referred to the 2007 bombings. 'I am not so insane as to say things that would shock people.' He said about the bomb on Ratchadamnoen Avenue that it was placed for a political purpose but not for the purpose of injuring people. The bomb was not hidden but was in a place where it could be easily spotted and it was in a bag that was open. The police put the water spray on it, which was not even necessary, it turned out later, because the ignition circuit was not complete.
– The prosecution of some red shirts, who disrupted the Asean Summit in Pattaya in April 2009 (as a result of which the ministers of the Asean countries immediately went home) can continue. So is the blocking of a beach road in Pattaya and an attack on the Prime Minister's car. According to the Constitutional Court, the articles in the Criminal Code on the basis of which the Public Prosecution Service prosecutes the suspects do not violate the constitution. At the request of the suspects, the court of Pattaya had asked the Court to rule on this.
– On Monday, red shirt leader Arisman Pingruangrong will be told whether he will be released on bail. Arisman turned himself in last week after hiding for 18 months. He said he fled because he feared for his life. The court refused to release him last week because of the seriousness of the charges. Arisman promised the court yesterday that he will avoid street rallies when he is free.
– Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday defended the operations against the red shirt protesters last year. Suthep was heard by police a second time as part of an investigation into 16 of the 92 deaths, which occurred in April and May last year. At the time, Suthep was head of the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation, the body responsible for enforcing the state of emergency. According to Suthep, all his instructions were legal and based on the emergency ordinance. Suthep accuses his political rivals of distorting the facts of the operations. Some of the people in power today were involved in the political violence at the time. They are now using their position to take action against him, Suthep said.
– The police say they know who killed Chutidet Suwannakerd (38). The suspect is a political rival, who had a personal conflict with him, and has hired a team of assassins. Before becoming a voter for a Democratic candidate in Don Muang district, Chutidet worked for Karun Hosakul, Pheu Thai MP for Bangkok. He denies any involvement in the murder. Chutidet was shot dead by a motorcyclist's pillion passenger at a market in Don Muang on Saturday night in front of his family.
– Prime Minister Yingluck and Minister Surapong Towijakchaikul (Foreign Affairs) will attend the Greater Mekong Sub-region summit in Nypidaw (Burma) on Monday and Tuesday. Surapong takes the opportunity to consult with the Burmese Minister of Energy on energy issues. Surapong will go to Burma again early next year to discuss the construction of the Davoy port and related matters.
Thailand extracts natural gas in Burma and purchases hydroelectricity. Several Thai companies have invested in Burma in electricity production, hydropower development and natural gas exploration.
– Today Surapong meets his Cambodian counterpart. He is going to put in a good word for Veera Somkomenkid and his secretary, who have been imprisoned in Phnom Penh since December. They were sentenced to 8 and 6 years respectively for espionage. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen promised Prime Minister Yingluck in September that he would do his best to get the two Thais released earlier.
– A group of 36 Laotian women and underage girls were rescued from a karaoke bar in the district of Muang (Narathiwat) on Wednesday. They were forced to work as prostitutes. The owner of the bar has been arrested. He is being prosecuted for human trafficking. The victims will be repatriated.
– The province of Phrae in the north of Thailand has been declared a disaster area because the temperature has dropped sharply. About 198.000 people are suffering from cold. The province will distribute blankets and warm clothing. In Buri Ram in the east, the temperature has been below 15 degrees for three days. 50.000 blankets will be distributed in Phutthaisong and Prakhon Chai districts.
– Two American professors and one Australian have won the Prince Mahidol Award 2011. The Americans made important contributions to the treatment of depression; the Australian professor developed a vaccine against Rotavirus diarrhoea, which can mainly affect children under the age of 6.