News from Thailand – February 15, 2014
As in previous years, the Bang Rak district office was once again the ideal place for young couples to register their marriage on Valentine's Day. Finally, Bang Rak means 'village of love', so a marriage registered there can never fail.
In addition, a second guarantee is available, but for that they had to go to Wat Takhian. There was a double coffin. Couples who lie down in it are therefore sure that they will be together, as fairy tales say, "happily ever after".
970 couples came to Bang Rak this year. Last year there were 548. The first pair arrived at 1 am. Until 8 o'clock they were joined by 272 couples, who were allowed to draw lots for a golden marriage certificate. Ten were given away this year. A total of 50 couples registered their marriages in the 2.253 district offices of Bangkok (1.184 last year). The strong increase must have had to do with the fact that yesterday was also Makha Bucha day, an important Buddhist holiday.
There was even more happening on the marital front. In Chiang Mai, nine gay and transgender couples went to the district office of Muang, but they returned empty-handed. No registration for them: the law does not (yet) allow this.
In Si Sa Ket province, couples had themselves photographed on top of the Pha Mo E-Daeng cliff in Khao Phra Wihan National Park near the border with Cambodia in Kanthalarak district. A corner on that cliff was especially decorated for them.
Ten couples in Phetchabun celebrated their wedding atop Khao Takian Mountain in Khao Kho National Park. Before reaching the mountain top, they had fun kayaking and trekking.
In Nakhon Ratchasima, a 79-year-old man and a 71-year-old woman got married. Their wedding ceremony took place on a stage placed in a sugar cane field.
– It will be difficult to find a neutral prime minister, says Noppadon Pattama, member of the strategy committee of the former governing party Pheu Thai. Any proposal with that suggestion will be a difficult talking point in negotiations. Noppadon wonders if anyone can be found who is considered neutral by all parties.
Noppadon's comments are in response to suggestions from various parties that have raised an effort to bring the government and the protest movement to the negotiating table. Some legal experts have suggested finding a neutral prime minister to deal with national reforms followed by a general election. This idea is supported by the protest movement. But Noppadon points out that the voters have spoken [on February 2] and it is difficult to get rid of the prime minister of their choice.
Noppadon thinks it is a good idea if a neutral person acts as a mediator in talks between the two parties under the condition that the constitution is respected and with the aim of preserving democracy. No party should come to the negotiating table with preconditions, he says.
– Next week, the Electoral Council will talk to the government about the re-elections needed to complete the election process. The conversation is also attended by the electoral council officials of the 28 constituencies in the South, which could not vote for a district candidate because their registration was thwarted by protesters in December.
The Electoral Council proposes that the government issues a second Royal Decree with a date for registration and elections in those districts. The Electoral Council is of the opinion that it is not authorized to do so. It is doubtful whether this proposal will get the hands of the government. If the government refuses, the Electoral Council will go to the Constitutional Court.
Spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut of the opposition Democrats urges the government and the Electoral Council to request a ruling from the Constitutional Court. 'It is time for the Electoral Council and the government to find a solution. If they disagree, they must go to court.'
A group of 29 Pheu Thai candidates, who were unable to register in the South, have filed a complaint with the police's Crime Suppression Division against the five electoral commissioners. They would have been guilty of abuse of power. According to them, the Electoral Council is deliberately delaying attempts to solve the election problem and the commissioners are unable to hold fair and transparent elections.
– The National Human Rights Commission condemns the assassination attempt, which killed four people in Pattani on Thursday, including a monk and a 12-year-old boy. The committee asks the government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a statement issued yesterday, the NHRC called the attack "cruel and inhumane." She asks the authorities involved to keep the population informed of the progress of the investigation into the perpetrators. The families of the dead and injured should receive financial support.
In Pattani and Narathiwat provinces, a volunteer ranger was shot dead and a resident's pickup truck was set on fire. The volunteer came under fire in Sai Buri (Pattani) as he was returning home on his motorcycle.
– The CMPO, the body responsible for maintaining the state of emergency, is asking for an extension of the detention of protest leader Sonthiyan Chuenruthainaitham. An earlier request was rejected by the court. The CMPO wants to detain Sonthiyan for another twelve days.
The criminal law provides for a pre-trial detention of up to 84 days, or seven extensions of XNUMX days. The court justified its earlier rejection by saying that the authorities had had sufficient time to interrogate the suspect. Sonthiyan is charged with treason, provoking unrest and encouraging people to break the law.
– And again a batch of the protected rosewood has been intercepted. Police found the wood worth 500.000 baht in a pickup truck stopped at a checkpoint in Soeng Sang (Nakhon Ratchasima). The driver confessed to being hired by a local lumberjack to take it from Buri Ram to Nong Khai. From there it would be smuggled abroad across the Mekong.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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Bangkok Shutdown and the elections in images and sound:
www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws/videos-bangkok-shutdown-en-de-keuzeen/