News from Thailand – March 13, 2014
The farmers who have been waiting for months for payment for the rice they have handed in have bitten themselves off yesterday. They disrupted a rice auction and pelted riot police with hundreds of eggs.
The first incident took place at the Department of Commerce. The farmers set fire to images of two ministers and at half past eleven, after they had received reinforcements from demonstrators from the Lumpini Park, cut off the electricity. As a result, the auction of 244.000 tons of rice through the Agricultural Futures Exchanges of Thailand had to be cancelled. Three bidders participated, considerably less than the seventeen in the previous auction.
In the afternoon, the farmers went to the Ministry of Finance and brought rice with trucks. 2 tons were dumped in front of fence 12 of the ministry, a symbolic amount, because the farmers demand 12.000 baht per ton. With no response from the ministry, they started throwing eggs at the police guarding the building. Today the farmers come back and they are going to block all six gates of the complex with rice.
– More rice. Prime Minister Yingluck has asked for a 45-day extension to prepare for dereliction of duty charges against her over irregularities in the rice mortgage system. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) may prosecute her because she, as chair of the National Rice Policy Committee, let things take their course.
Yingluck has been called upon by the committee to provide an explanation on Friday. Yingluck's lawyers say they need more time to study the NACC file. They only received it on Tuesday.
Minister Chalerm Yubamrung (Employment) is also making a contribution. He calls on the NACC to be 'fair', as an unjust decision could provoke a violent reaction from pro-government supporters. In addition, the stability of the government will be affected if the committee takes a decision that is unfavorable to Yingluck, because she is widely supported by the population.
– That will not happen very often: a collision between a car and an elephant. And what makes this collision completely unique: Jumbo did not survive the collision. In addition, six persons were killed and two others were injured.
All this took place yesterday in Rayong province, near the Khao Anglunai game reserve that borders Khao Chamao National Park and Cambodia. Three wild elephants crossed Ban Bung-Klaeng Road.
One of the animals was hit by a four-passenger Mitsubishi Pajero. The car was thrown off the road. The driver and a passenger died on the spot, the other two later in hospital.
But that wasn't all. A short time later, a six-wheeler truck collided with a pickup truck as it passed the accident. The driver of the pickup truck was killed and three passengers were injured. One succumbed to her injuries in hospital.
The dead elephant has been taken to Khao Yai National Park for an autopsy.
– The Central Investigation Bureau will form a team to further investigate the behavior of the 19-year-old boy who shot his parents and younger brother Sunday in Thanyaburi (Pathum Thani).
CIB commissioner Pongpat Chayapan, a well-known behavioral psychologist, wants to learn lessons for the future. He thinks that the suspect suffers from a mental illness, but does not yet know which one. Possibly the boy was acting under the influence of drugs [or is it meant that he was on medication?] and was in emotional distress.
Ticha Na Nakorn, director of a youth training and observation center, says parents should not expect too much from their children. “They shouldn't force their children into a position they resist so that they do the opposite of what the parents want. Parents should accept their children's abilities and self-esteem.'
Teachers, she says, shouldn't compare students with poor grades to the brightest kids in the class. Good teachers help develop and enhance students' skills.
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is helping six women who want to visit a relative in Sydney. The woman (34) is in the ICU of a hospital with burns after she was allegedly set on fire by her boyfriend. The friend has been arrested. He suffered burns to his arms. The woman has been living in Australia for 8 years. She and her boyfriend would argue often. The friend is known to the police as a drug user.
– A round of applause from Prime Minister Yingluck for Chaiyaphum province, which she visited yesterday. The province pursues a zoning policy that overcomes the current water shortage. This means that farmers are being asked to grow crops that are best suited to dry conditions. Rice farmers have been advised to grow sugar cane. About 30 percent responded to the call, says Governor Phonsak Chiaranai.
Chaiyaphum, one of the provinces declared a disaster area, is suffering from a lack of water because the water level in the Chi River has dropped sharply. Farmers have so far relied on water from the Chulabhorn reservoir, which has a three-month supply.
– Foreign employees working in the tuna industry are satisfied with their work and do not want to change jobs. This has been established by the Asian Research Center for Migration at Chulalongkorn University in a survey of 527 workers from Myanmar and Cambodia. They work in 13 factories in Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Songkhla, Rayong and Nakhon Pathom. The exact percentages: 87 percent are satisfied, 95 percent do not want to change jobs.
To get the workplace, an amount of 5.000 to 20.000 baht had to be paid [to employment agencies?]. Some have paid the amount in advance, others pay in installments. The director of the research center is relieved that 98 percent of the companies concerned comply with the law and the relevant conventions of the ILO. Child labor and forced labor do not occur.
Advisor Andy Hall of the State Enterprise Workers' Relations Confederation points out that the interviews took place in the workplace, which puts the reliability of the conclusions into perspective. According to him, child labor does occur in the tuna industry. He says he met workers aged 14 to 17. According to him, the workers also have problems with the commission that intermediaries ask. And like employers, they would withhold documents such as passports.
– The government should allocate more money for investments in technological research. This is the plea the National Science and Technology Development Agency is going to make at its upcoming annual forum. Successive governments have defaulted, according to the NSTDA president. Investments are particularly needed in the industrial and agricultural sectors to maintain sustainable economic growth. Currently, only 0,1 percent of GPD (gross domestic product) goes to R&D.
The conference 'Science and Technology: Driving Force for Sustainable Development' will be held in the Science Park from March 31 to April 3. The guest of honor is Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. During the conference, 120 technological innovations will be presented in the fields of food, health and the environment. There are also seminars.
– After a night out, a man was shot dead on Tuesday night and his pregnant girlfriend was seriously injured. At the beginning of Ratchadaphisek soi 17, the car in which a friend wanted to take them home was blocked by another car. Five men stepped out of it, two of whom pulled out firearms and began firing. The woman was hit as she ran away. She has been hospitalized in critical condition. The police assume that it is a love affair or an argument earlier that evening in the place of entertainment.
Elections
– Sixteen Pheu Thai candidates and some ministers may write their chamber seat on their stomachs because they appeared as guest speakers in government channel 11 TV programs and that is in violation of the Electoral Act.
If found guilty by the Electoral Council, they may also pay a fine of 10.000 baht and/or face six months in jail. The Electoral Council will make a decision today. The Electoral Act contains an article on the use of state media for election campaigns.
When it turns out that the naughty politicians have slandered their political opponents, they run the risk of being prosecuted for this as well. Never before have state media asked candidates from one party to participate in a program.
– The police deploy 23 men on March 30 (prime elections) and March 100.000 during the senate elections. She has agreed with herself that there will be no repeat of the disturbances on February 2. The police will prosecute hundreds of suspects for those disturbances.
In addition to the police deployment on the day itself, there will also be security for the printing plant where the ballots are printed and the rooms where the ballots are stored.
On March 30, 77 senators will be elected. The remainder of the Senate, 73 seats, is made up of nominated senators. 457 candidates are trying to get a Senate seat. The registration of the candidates went smoothly.
Economic news
– The State Oil Fund, from which domestic fuel prices are subsidized, is in dire straits now that the price of crude oil is rising sharply. The fund is already 7,4 billion baht in the red and this shortfall could rise to 30 billion baht in the next six months if oil prices continue to rise.
Crude oil prices surged last week after Russia sent troops to Ukraine. Equally worrying is the situation in Libya, where wage increases continue to be demonstrated. In the US, oil inventories are on the rise as demand falls during refinery maintenance.
125 million is now being withdrawn from the State Oil Fund every day. The diesel excise subsidy will be maintained until the end of the month. The excise duty has been 0,5 satang per liter for three years. Without a subsidy, diesel would have to cost 40 baht per litre. Now motorists pay 29,99 baht per litre.
- The policy rate, the key rate on which banks base their interest rates, was cut by a quarter of a percentage point to 2 percent by the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) yesterday, but some economists say that cut is too small to do much for the country's economic growth. On the other hand, the reduction (the first since last year) indicates that the central bank is ready to support economic growth. Although inflationary pressures are rising, they remain within the range set by the bank. Controlling inflation is the main aim of the MPC. The committee was divided: 4 voted in favour, 3 against.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
Editorial notice
Bangkok Shutdown and the elections in images and sound:
www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws/videos-bangkok-shutdown-en-de-keuzeen/