News from Thailand – October 16, 2014

The arson attack on six schools in Pattani on Saturday night was in retaliation for army operations last month, army commander Udomdej Sitabutr confirmed. And what else the good man said, I will not mention, because those are the well-known mantras that are vomited day in and day out by the authorities, summarized in: everything will be fine in the violence-ravaged South of Thailand.

Yesterday the brand new army chief visited the Phrom Yothi Military Camp in Prachin Buri, where the 104th anniversary of the 2nd Infantry Division was celebrated. And that resulted in another beautiful one photo op, as it is called in the information [read: propaganda]. If I were the enemy, I'd quickly get out of here.

– He did not say it in so many words, but a good listener needs only half a word. Prime Minister Prayut is keeping open the possibility of the junta remaining in power beyond the announced one-year term.

'When the NRC members fight each other out and cannot agree on anything, do you think the next step can be taken? Elections will be held when there is a new constitution and national reforms," ​​he said yesterday in response to questions about the possible extension of the third phase of the Roadmap to Paradise.

Prayut further admitted that some reforms cannot be achieved within a year; which will remain until the next government. He did not give details, but political coffee grounds viewers think that elections and the formation of a new government are the hottest issues.

The NRC (National Reform Council) meets for the first time on Tuesday. This body is tasked with proposing national reforms on the basis of which the CDC (Constitution Drafting Committee) can write the new constitution.

– The police have reopened the investigation into the drowning of a 13-year-old boy in April in Phitsanulok. A second autopsy, performed at the request of the mother, revealed that the boy must have been beaten. Bruises were found on his body and internal bleeding was found. According to the pathologist, the cause of death was circulatory failure and not drowning, as determined by the initial autopsy at a nearby hospital.

The mother became suspicious when a friend of the boy told her during the funeral that he had been beaten with a piece of wood by a group of teenagers and then thrown into a pond. The mother then canceled the cremation. She later complained to the Pavena Foundation for Children, the youth police, the military and the police.

– Prime Minister Prayut will speak for three minutes at the tenth Asia-Europe Summit in Milan, which started today. He will use that limited time for a 'substantive' speech, in which he pleads for regional and economic cooperation between Asia and the countries of Europe.

Two organizations have announced that they will demonstrate against the coup in the city and at some tourist spots. The protest is also a statement of solidarity to the family of an Italian photojournalist who was shot dead during the 2010 red shirt riots in Bangkok.

– Two soldiers and two neighborhood leaders were injured in Sungai Kolok (Narathiwat) yesterday when a roadside bomb exploded. The bomb targeted a military team called by a village chief to inspect messages from insurgents sprayed onto the road. When the soldiers arrived in a jeep, it was boom!

– The NLA (National Legislative Assembly, emergency parliament) will decide tomorrow whether it will consider the request for an impeachment procedure (with retroactive effect) against the former presidents of the House of Representatives and Senate. That request was made by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which was previously denied a court hearing.

The affair revolves around the consideration of a bill to amend the Senate at the time. Contrary to the constitution, the NACC rules harshly. The presidents should never have considered them. As to whether the NLA is authorized to impeachment opinions differ, but that is legal hair splitting.

– The Thai Farmers Association has asked the government to cancel farmers' debts or at least allow them to postpone repayments. The association says the farmers need help because they currently receive very little for their products and are faced with poor water management by the government and high production costs.

Prime Minister Prayut plays the ball back. Farmers who the warning to refrain from off-season ignoring rice should not lament when their crops fail due to water shortages. 'The population should realize that the government cannot solve every problem.' [And by way of exception, let me find that a sensible remark coming from Prayut.]

– They try again: stop the construction of the Xayaburi dam in Laos. Now by asking the Administrative Court to prohibit the national electricity company from buying electricity, which will be generated by the dam in the Mekong. The court action by villagers living along the river aims to delay the construction of the dam, which started in 2012.

Four months ago, the Supreme Administrative Court took up a petition against the Thai government, but the relationship between the two cases is beyond me, except that they share the same goal: Get rid of that damned dam that is destroying fish stocks and livelihoods. of the river inhabitants. The villagers' lawyer expects the dam to be 70 percent ready when the court rules.

The villagers hope that a court ban will undermine the confidence of contractors and banks to provide new loans, so that Laos will call off construction. But that seems to me to be a vain hope given the interests involved.

– Twelve villages in the district of Hua Hin (Prachuap Khiri Khan) have been cut off from the outside world after heavy rains had pushed up the water level of the Pran Buri and bridges and dams were destroyed (photo home page). And to that was added water from the Tenassarim and Pal Thawan mountain ranges. Units from the Thanarat Infantry Camp have come to the rescue. They build temporary wooden bridges.

In Surat Thani, 37 villages have been declared disaster areas due to continuous rainfall since October 4. This means that they receive financial support from a provincial fund. The Tapi River has been flooded in the province.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, preparations are being made for the evacuation of residents threatened by landslides and flooding. But the mayor of the city tells his residents: don't panic. Five canals in the area have recently been expanded and ten water pumps are on standby.

– There will be some clarity in the smuggling of luxury cars, which was in the news last year. Six cars then caught fire in Nakhon Ratchasima. The DSI (Thai FBI) ​​has requested arrest warrants for two Malaysians involved.

Investigators discovered that a gang had smuggled the cars out of Malaysia. The tax was evaded by declaring the cars as assembled in Thailand. The cars (a Lamborghini, BMW, two Bentleys, Ferrari and a Mercedes) caught fire as they were on their way on a truck to the Land Transport office in Si Sa Ket to be registered there. Two cars were stolen in Malaysia. Police don't know if it was arson or an accident.

One suspect was arrested in the case in August last year and two turned themselves in. One of the damaged Bentleys came from a customs depot. In June 2013, 584 cars, each more expensive than 4 million baht, disappeared from it.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post

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