News from Thailand – November 17, 2014
Five demonstrators, mouths taped with black tape and statements in hand, were detained yesterday as they protested against the junta's ban on a land reform talk show at the Oct 14 Memorial at the Kok Wua intersection of Ratchadamnoen Avenue.
The talk show plus a concert should have taken place yesterday at the Alliance Française on the Witthayu road. According to the army, the talk show was not acceptable because of some speakers, but the organizers have not been told more details. They suspect that Sulak Sivaraksa was specifically referred to, invariably described by the newspaper as one prominent social critic. Land reform, ecology and housing would be discussed.
One of the five, Nitirat Sapsomboon, former secretary general of the Student Federation of Thailand, had moved a little further to avoid breaking martial law (which prohibits gatherings of five people or more), but the trick failed. He too was arrested.
The five were taken to Chana Songkhram police station where they were sternly spoken to [or something like that]. By five o'clock they were released without being charged with anything, which is not too bad, because martial law is strict and court-martial trials are no fun.
– The working group Media for National Reform of the Thai Journalists Association is meeting today with the other media organizations, media, media experts and others about the Nattaya Wawweerapkul affair, a Thai PBS reporter who was taken off a program last week after soldiers attacked the TV station visited. See the post: Press wants restrictions lifted.
– The Chinese consul Qin Jan in Songkhla has urged the repatriation of the Muslim Uighurs refugees who have been arrested in Thailand. He denies that they are subject to persecution in China. "If they don't have a criminal record, they won't be prosecuted in China."
The refugees themselves say they are Turks, but that claim cannot be verified and they refuse to cooperate with identification by the Chinese authorities. The group of 220 people was found in March in a remote camp, where they are believed to have been held by human traffickers. Turkish embassy staff met the group, but could not serve any clear wine.
The Uighur American Association, based in the US, is calling on the Thai government not to return the refugees but to put them in contact with the UN refugee agency so that they can apply for asylum.
– The Thai Labor Solidarity Committee urges ratification of two conventions of the International Labor Organization. But the private sector is pushing for a delay, because employers say migrants will have too much power. 'Indecent and unfounded', says chairman Chalee Loysung about this fine example of discrimination.
Chalee emphasizes that the conventions lead to better rules. They relate, among other things, to the freedom to form trade unions and to negotiate with employers.
Lae Dilokwitthayarat, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Department of Economics, the conventions are useful because many foreign workers are exploited and not protected by law. But he doubts it will succeed in getting everyone on the same page because the conventions give workers the right to negotiate with the government. In Thailand, however, it is unheard of to negotiate with your superiors. Keep your mouth shut and do what is said is the watchword.
– Suan Pereewong, nicknamed the Thai Robin Hood, has died at the age of 101. At the beginning of the evening on Saturday, he breathed his last in the Hankha hospital in Chai Nat. Suan suffered from an enlarged heart and had problems with his kidneys. He will be cremated on Saturday.
Suan was a well-known bandit in the Central Region after World War II. He was protected by an amulet that allowed him to survive shelling by the police. Like Robin Hoof, he stole from the rich and gave away what he stole to the poor. After his imprisonment [no details] he was ordained a monk and later a Hindu priest. Two feature films have been made about his life.
– Prime Minister Prayut will visit Malaysia early next month and will then introduce the head of the Thai delegation to the peace talks with the southern resistance. The former army chief of staff Aksara has been appointed, a choice that Malaysia (which has the role of facilitator in the talks) would not be happy with. [Militaries are not that popular with the Southern Resistance.]
During the visit, an agreement on the resumption of talks will be signed with the BRN, a group that was already discussed last year, and the Patani Liberation Organisation. According to a source, they have already agreed to this. The message does not mention whether other groups will join it. The negotiating teams will be reduced from 15 to 10 people.
– The Mae Wong dam, for which 13.260 rai of protected forest area in Mae Wong National Park has to make way, is not necessary at all, says the Seub Nakhasathien foundation. The same result can be achieved at less cost by digging ponds in paddy fields. This method has already been successfully used in the province of Uthai Thani. The proposal comes ahead of an expert meeting on Wednesday to discuss the health and environmental impact assessment.
According to Sasin Chalermlap, secretary general of the foundation, who staged a protest march against the construction of the dam last year, the storage capacity of the Sakeakrang River can be significantly increased by the ponds. The cost is 2 billion baht against 13 billion baht for the construction of the dam.
The foundation disputes that water from Mae Wong National Park is responsible for flooding in Lat Yao (Nakhon Sawan), which is one of the arguments for the construction of the dam. According to the foundation, that problem is caused by ineffective water management and poorly designed structures that block waterways.
Yesterday students demonstrated in front of an art museum [no name] in Bangkok against the construction of the dam (photo home page). Presumably the Bangkok Art and Culture Center is meant, but why doesn't the newspaper write that, bunch of amateurs.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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