News from Thailand – December 17, 2013
The Mae Fah Luang University (MFU) in Chiang Rai, known for its environmentally friendly measures, is developing a motorcycle with a 1 kilowatt solar cell.
The electric motorcycle was donated last year by Sammitr Green Power. It can reach a maximum speed of 40 km per hour, can travel for an hour and takes 5 to 8 hours to charge. If the module is a success, the MFU and the Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department will develop the motorcycle on an industrial scale.
This year, the university has taken care of its buildings by installing low-energy light bulbs and energy-efficient air conditioning. The streetlights around the building work on solar cells. Due to all these measures, the electricity bill was reduced from 4,5 to 3 million baht in October.
The MFU also recycles in its waste processing. A small power station that runs on waste is being built with a contribution from the Ministry of Energy. Three-quarters of the campus is covered with vegetation. Each student is expected to plant and care for a tree.
– The man who was arrested for kidnapping and murdering a 6-year-old girl has confessed to having assaulted ten children, four of whom he killed. The suspect stated that he assaulted girls "once a month," police said.
The 36-year-old Nui (his last name is not registered) is known to the Justice Department. He was imprisoned in Khon Kaen for three years and eight months for kidnapping a child. He is now linked to the disappearance of a 4-year-old girl on February 5 in Loei. That disappeared during a fancy fair of the Red Cross. Another case concerns a girl who disappeared in Bang Bon in Bangkok. Police say he released six others.
The man worked at one luk thung-company. On December 6, he kidnapped Nong Cartoon. The girl had been put to sleep by her father, who was attending a performance at Sukhumvit 105 (Soi Lasalle), in the pickup truck he and his friends had come with. Nui took her away, assaulted her and strangled her. Ten days later he was apprehended in Nong Khai, where the troupe gave a performance.
The Mirror Foundation warns parents not to take their children to crowded places or leave them alone. Parents should also not trust others when they offer to pick up their child from school. And they should tell their children not to accept presents from strangers. Nui had lured the girl in by telling her he would buy her candy at a 7-Eleven.
– The civil servants of four ministries cannot yet start work. Three are located close to the People's Democratic Force to Overthrow Thaksinism and Dhamma Army protest site and the Democracy Monument. A fourth is blocked by protesters. The other ministries have returned to normal operation since yesterday after protesters ended sieges and marched en masse to Ratchadamnoen Avenue on December 9.
The three closed ministries are Agriculture and Cooperatives, Tourism and Sport and Transport. Some officials did collect work and move equipment to safety. Number four is the Ministry of the Interior on Asadang road.
Most Transport Ministry officials work in temporary offices at the Department of Land Transport, as protesters have chained and padlocked the Ministry's gate and officials must ask protester guards if they can enter. They can only do that for a short time.
Agriculture officials are working from home and some have moved into the Royal Irrigation Department office. The ministry building has been closed for three weeks.
– Government party Pheu Thai is hunting opposition party Democrats. She has petitioned the Electoral Council and the Constitutional Court to dissolve the party because of its ties to the anti-government movement. The Constitutional Court has been asked to order action leader Suthep Thaugsuban to end the rallies. They would be in violation of the constitution because government buildings have been stormed and weapons have been used.
A member of parliament from Pheu Thai has filed a complaint against Suthep with the Crime Suppression Division for lèse majesté. He would be guilty of this because he calls on the population to boycott the elections (promulgated by Royal Decree).
– Opposition party Democrats rejects a proposal from ruling party Pheu Thai to implement political reforms only after the elections of February 2. Pheu Thai made that proposal on Sunday during the first meeting of a government-rigged forum, but the Democrats wonder what guarantee there is that that promise will be kept.
Most forum participants turned out to be in favor of the elections to be held on February 2 on Sunday. The anti-government movement, incidentally not present, pleads for a postponement. She wants political reforms first.
The forum meets again today. There will be another attempt to bring the anti-government movement and opposition party Democrats to the table. Local authorities complained yesterday that they were not invited to the forum.
– Demonstrators yesterday handed over a petition to the Ministry of Energy calling for the tender for oil concessions to be postponed. The Ministry's Fuels Department is expected to publish a list of sources eligible for tender next month. The demonstrators believe that this should wait until political calm has returned. The Inspector General of the Ministry agrees to a two-month extension.
– We want the flag back, was the demand of a hundred demonstrators of the Network of Students and People for the Reform of Thailand (NSPRT) yesterday at the Dusit police station. The 1,4 kilometer flag, which they had stretched against the fence of Government House on Friday, was removed by the police on Sunday. Pieces of the flag were returned to the demonstrators. If the rest is not returned by tomorrow at the latest, they will file a theft report.
– The security of the army headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue has been increased after the NSPRT threatened to lay siege to it.
– If the anti-government movement succeeds in forming a Volksraad, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) will organize massive rallies. This is what UDD chairman Tida Tawornseth says in response to action leader Suthep Thaugsuban's demand that reforms should precede the elections. 'The elections on February 2 must go ahead.'
The UDD also does not want Prime Minister Yingluck to resign, another of Suthep's demands. "That does not solve problems, but on the contrary damages democracy and paves the way for undemocratic governance." Red shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan also calls Suthep's proposals undemocratic. Tomorrow the UDD will talk to seven private organizations about the political crisis.
– To put the pressure on, a forum of the anti-government movement will be held today at Chulalongkorn University, tomorrow at Ramkhamhaeng University and Thursday at the National Institute of Development Administration. The State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation also meets on Thursday to discuss political reform.
Meanwhile, provincial branches of the PDRC are starting to be formed. Five thousand people have registered as members in Prachuap Khiri Khan. As an office, the department uses the Bang Saphan police station. That was occupied by rubber farmers at the beginning of November.
In the National Health Building of the Ministry of Health in Nonthaburi, a thousand people have signed the demand of five citizen networks that Prime Minister Yingluck and her cabinet should resign.
– The nine countries of Asean call on all parties to the political conflict to resolve the issues through peaceful negotiations. In a statement, they urge "dialogue and consultation in a peaceful and democratic manner." The political crisis in Thailand was discussed in Tokyo on 13 and 14 December during the ASEAN-Japan summit.
According to Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul (Foreign Affairs), 45 countries have already expressed support for Thailand's democracy and the elections, scheduled for February 2, in statements.
– Producers of alcoholic beverages try to entice new drinkers with new products and illegal marketing activities, such as beer-flavored ice cream. This is what the Stop Drink Network of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation says.
These illegal activities refer to beer gardens, beer buffets and concerts. Alcoholic beverages would be sold in places where it is prohibited. According to the Network, beer ice cream may not be sold to persons under the age of 18, just like alcoholic beverages. It calls on the population not to give alcohol as a gift at Christmas and New Year in order to reduce the number of traffic accidents.
– The Royal Forest Department wants to see the number of forest fires reduced by 10 percent this year. Last year, 2.215 forest fires lost 15.400 rai of forest. It was particularly grim and angry in Nan province. Forests were burned down to make room for maize plantations. To prevent the spread of fires, the RFD creates firebreaks with a total length of 3.500 kilometers. The fires cause health problems every year.
– Red shirts in Chiang Mai yesterday demonstrated at the Regina Coeli College in Muang in protest against an anti-government meeting of parents and teachers on Sunday. Another group of red shirts protested against the rector of Chiang Mai University and the director of Regina Coeli College for allowing their staff to use the institution's name to support their own political agenda.
Economic news
– Thailand's Nok Air and Scoot from Singapore will compete with Thai AirAsia X in the budget segment with a joint venture. The new company NokScoot will probably take to the air from the second half of this year. She will fly from Don Mueang with two or three Boeing 777-200s to Japan, South Korea and northern China. So far, Nok Air only flies to destinations in Thailand and Myanmar.
– Through a trick, the Ministry of Finance can provide a start of the infrastructural works of 2 trillion baht. The bill to borrow that money is awaiting review by the Constitutional Court because opposition party Democrats believe it is unconstitutional. But the Public Debt Management Act authorizes the government to borrow 10 percent of spending in foreign markets each fiscal year. The ministry may also borrow the money domestically if the borrowing conditions are favorable and if this supports the local market.
In the 2014 budget year (which started October 1), expenditures amount to 2,525 trillion baht, so that 252,5 billion baht can be borrowed. The 2 trillion plan assumes 120 billion baht per year over a period of 7 years.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post