News from Thailand – April 12, 2014
The first of the 'seven dangerous days', which claim a record number of road casualties every year with Songkran, ended yesterday with thirteen dead and eighty injured.
The most serious accident occurred in Thai Mai (Chanthaburi). A bus veered off the road, crashed into a tree and caught fire when the gas fuel cylinders failed. Nine Cambodians did not survive the accident and twelve people were injured. Most of the victims perished in the flames. Police suspect the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel. See photo above.
In Rayong, a double-decker bus ran over a motorcyclist's sidecar. The driver and her passenger were killed. The bus driver stated that he had no good visibility in a bend due to the fog. After the collision, the bus went off the road, injuring 47 passengers.
In Dan Chang (Suphanburi) a pickup truck hit the back of a truck at 1 am. Three youths died and six were injured. They must have been in the cargo box. According to one of the injured, the driver was driving too fast on the unlit road. He left after the collision.
In Ayutthaya, a bus carrying Minibea Thai employees drove into a ditch after a 50-metre skid and overturned. The driver has stated that he lost control of the wheel, but according to some passengers he had fallen asleep.
– Australia and England issued a travel warning for the South of Thailand on Thursday. "New information" (no details) has revealed that Westerners are the new target of insurgents. The 'urgent' advice applies to the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla and to overland travel to and from the Malaysian border.
– The Ministry of Health wants strict enforcement of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act this year. That means: no alcohol in religious places, in health centers and pharmacies / drugstores, schools, universities, gas stations, public parks and on public roads. The sale of alcohol to persons under the age of 20 is prohibited, as well as between 14 and 17 pm and midnight to 11 am. Street vending and alcohol advertising on public media are also prohibited.
– The Capo is a toothless tiger, we dare to conclude, because many civil servants do not care about the ban on speaking with demonstrators of the anti-government movement while on duty. Yesterday, about a thousand officials from the Ministry of Health gave action leader Suthep Thaugsuban and his supporters a warm welcome at the ministry in Nonthaburi. Some nurses and officials even blessed Suthep with holy water, a traditional practice during Songkran.
The Center for the Administration of Peace and Order (Capo), which oversees enforcement of the special emergency law in force for Bangkok and parts of surrounding provinces, issued the ban on Wednesday following the protest movement's visits to ministries. At the Ministry of Justice they were even received by the highest official boss, the permanent secretary. The Capo is threatening disciplinary action against officials involved.
At Public Health, Suthep was also received by the permanent secretary, his deputy and several senior officials. Suthep spoke to them behind closed doors. The permanent secretary received a golden whistle from Suthep, because 'health officials are very progressive with reforms', according to Suthep. "When we can form a people's government, the proposals of the ministry will be implemented immediately."
– A guard was injured in a grenade attack on the guards' tent at the Chaeng Watthanaweg protest location on Thursday evening.
– The lawyers who are assisting Prime Minister Yingluck now that she has been accused of negligence by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) continue to try. They ask the committee to allow two more witnesses for the defence. Earlier, they already managed to get permission for three of the eleven witnesses they had wanted to show up.
The lawyers have high expectations of Somchai Sujjapongse, director of the Fiscal Policy Office. It could counter statements by Supa Piyajitti, permanent assistant secretary of the Ministry of Finance.
Supa opened a book last year about corruption in the rice mortgage system and calculated the loss at 400 billion baht. According to one of the lawyers, the case at the NACC is largely based on her statements. Supa has been nominated as a new member of the NACC. [The newspaper writes that she was appointed on April 9, but earlier the newspaper wrote that the Senate must appoint her and that has not happened yet.]
When the NACC finds Yingluck guilty of negligence for failing to address corruption and charges as chair of the National Rice Policy Committee, she asks the Senate to begin impeachment proceedings. Yingluck must then cease its activities with immediate effect. It is unclear whether she will drag the cabinet down with her.
– Children in Thailand whose rights have been violated, or their representatives, can try to get their rights from next week through a committee of the UNCRC in Switzerland. This has been announced by UNICEF Thailand. The abbreviation stands for UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Swiss commission takes up a case when all attempts at home have failed. If a violation is found, she asks the government to take action and put an end to the abuse.
The UNCRC was established in 1989 by the UN General Assembly. Thailand is one of the 193 signatories. The 'optional protocol' containing the complaints procedure has also been ratified by Thailand, the first in the world and the only country in Asia.
UNICEF Thailand compliments the government for this. "An important and admirable act by the government." Other optional protocols have also been signed by Thailand. They relate to armed conflict, child trafficking, prostitution and pornography.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post