News from Thailand – July 11, 2014
The junta welcomes the BBC World Service's initiative to start posting domestic and foreign news in both English and Thai on Facebook.
As a result, the BBC can develop a better understanding of the domestic situation, says NCPO spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipak. The junta has no problem with it as long as it does not post messages that are "negative or affect the stability of the country". It starts with a trial period of three months.
– The provisional constitution is expected to come into force this month, but whether this will end the state of siege is unclear. The junta would martial law to maintain for another year. Paiboon Kumchaya, assistant army commander and head of the NCPO legal affairs committee, hints at that possibility. The draft constitution has been approved by the NCPO and will now go to the king for signature.
The constitution provides for the formation of a legislative assembly, reform committee and a panel that will draft the final constitution. When that constitution is in place, sometime in the middle of next year, new elections will be held. The legislative assembly can be formed in August and the appointment of an interim prime minister and ministers will follow in September.
When asked whether coup leader Prayuth will become prime minister, Paiboon does not want to answer.
The junta is still doing well in the polls. She gets an 8,82 on a scale of 10 in a poll by Suan Dusit. But that's not enough for Prayuth, Paiboon said. He wants to score a 10.
– A convicted and released murderer, who has obtained a law degree in prison, is not admitted to the bar by the Thai Bar Association (TBA). The executive board of the TBA has unanimously decided to reject the application of Chaiya Tathakhanont (photo home page). Membership of the bar opens up the opportunity to take a law course, opening the way to the post of prosecutor or judge.
His conviction is given as the reason for Chaiya's rejection. Chaiya was sentenced to life in prison in March 1998 for the murder of his girlfriend, whom he also mutilated. [I think cut up and dumped the body parts.] Both were medical students at the time. His sentence was shortened several times, so that he was finally imprisoned for 13 years and 9 months. He was released in 2011. In 2009, he obtained a bachelor's degree in law from Thammathirat Open University.
His application for membership in the Lawyers Council of Thailand is pending. He has to take an exam, but even if he passes, he will not be admitted, says the president. This means that he will not be granted a license to practice the profession of lawyer. 'It's a respected profession; a lawyer must have the trust of society," said the president.
Chaiya was what is called a gifted child. At 15 he started studying mechanical engineering at Chulalongkorn University and at 19 he studied medicine at Mahidol University.
– And again, rice of inferior quality was found yesterday during an inspection in a warehouse in Ayutthaya. The inspection team suspects that rice that has been systematically bought up by the government [under the mortgage system] has been replaced by low-quality rice.
This is the warehouse of PP&P Co. At least a hundred bags of rice contain rice grains that are yellow or black, and that rice had only been there eighteen months. It was also suspected that rice was missing because there were open spaces in the orderly piles. This can only be determined after all bags have been counted.
Rice inspections of the 1800 warehouses and 137 silos will continue until August. They take longer than originally thought. The results of further research, including DNA testing, will be available in September.
– John W Ashe, president of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, believes that the Thai political problems should be solved by the Thai. He hopes that all parties will return to the negotiating table and find a way to help the country move forward. Ashe made this statement after talking to Sihasak Phuangketkeow, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who serves as minister.
Sihasak was in the US for a meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Conclusion of Sihasak, who also spoke with the chief of the cabinet of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: The UN is not leaving Thailand isolated.
– The nine remaining student nurses in a hospital in Yala have been recalled by the Sirindhorn College of Public Health, after two second-year student nurses were shot dead by insurgents outside a market in Yala on Wednesday. The students had only been working at Yaha Crown Prince Hospital since July 1. The killed students had gone to the market to buy food, because the hospital does not provide meals for them. As often in the South, the insurgents managed to escape. They disappeared into a forest.
– The Rights and Liberties Protection Department (RLPD) supports the proposal to create a 'white' list of human rights, political and environmental activists who need protection because they are under threat. The National Human Rights Commission doesn't think it's a good idea; the frame could fall into the wrong hands and become a double-edged sword. Nor is the NHRC confident that the authorities are up to the task.
The request for such a list comes from various NGOs and human rights groups. They hope that this will prevent 'enforced disappearances'. Well-known victims include labor activist Thanong Pho-an, human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit and Karen activist Porlajee Rakchongcharoen.
The head of RLPD says the proposal is still in its infancy. It is not easy to compile such a list. You need tools.' For example, Thailand has signed the Convention Against Enforced Disappearances, but has not yet ratified it. He also acknowledges that some authorities could leak the list, which must be prevented.
– The government must do more to arrest gangs that smuggle people. The emphasis is now too much on sending the victims back, so that they fall back into the hands of the smugglers. So says a subcommittee of the Lawyers Council of Thailand [with a very long name].
Last year, the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Thailand registered 2.000 new refugees. This year there are already 7.000. They come from Syria, Turkey, Egypt and Afghanistan. The smugglers use Thailand as a transit country.
An LCT lawyer who represents refugees says that the rights of refugees are being flouted in legal proceedings. He urges Thailand to sign the UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.
That's called decentralization. The junta will give provincial governors and district heads more powers over transfers and promotions. These matters are now regulated by the Ministry of the Interior. Yesterday a meeting was held in Bangkok with 1.350 hotel guests.
During the meeting, the country's drug problems were also discussed. Assistant army chief Paiboon Kumchaya asked the governors and district chiefs to inform him what can be done about it so that he can take action. The directors must come up with plans within three months.
– Cars, gold and other assets worth 50 million baht have been seized from the wife of a former police officer in Surat Thani who was fired on suspicion of drug trafficking. Drugs and ammunition were found during a raid on her home. The cars are a Mercedes Benz sedan, pickup truck, four ten-wheel trucks and two six-wheelers. The police also seized a speedboat. Two other suspects were in possession of ya ba taken pills.
– The police in Muang (Rayong) found 21 slot machines near a swamp in Tapong.
– 4.700 local radio stations are allowed to broadcast again from telecommunications watchdog NBTC. After the coup of May 22, they were closed. The equipment and technical standards of 600 stations were inspected and found to be in order. The stations are allowed to broadcast immediately after registering with the NBTC office in their region. The 4100 others have yet to be inspected.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post