News from Thailand – December 20 -2012

News out Thailand – December 20 -2012

In all fairness it must be stated that in 2010 both the demonstrators and the security forces were guilty of violence, writes Bangkok Post today in its editorial.

The demonstrators included gunmen, who killed and wounded soldiers and bystanders, and the government used excessive force, resulting in unnecessary deaths and injuries.

But to charge then Prime Minister Abhisit and Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban with first-degree murder borders on absurdity and could even be considered political persecution. With this criticism, the newspaper responds to the action of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to hold both responsible for all the deaths and injuries that occurred in April and May 2010. She raises two questions:

1 At the time, the head of the DSI was a member of CRES, the body responsible for maintaining the state of emergency. The CRES gave the army permission to fire live ammunition. Therefore, the man is unfit to lead the investigation. And not wanting to prosecute CRES as a whole, but only Suthep and Abhisit, amounts to discrimination and double standards.

2 What makes the case suspicious is that the DSI does not accuse both of a crime of office, a standard charge against persons with a public function. Moreover, in that case, not the DSI should have investigated the matter, but the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The newspaper hopes that the court will eventually settle the matter. Then it will become clear whether the suppression of the red shirt protest was legitimate and who should bear responsibility if the army actions were unjustified.

– The accusations against former Prime Minister Abhisit are piling up. Not only are he being tried to strip him of his military rank, he is accused of first-degree murder, but now a corruption charge is also threatening to be added.

Tarit Pengdith, director general of the Department of Special Investigation, says he will receive a complaint today. When the Abhisit government was in power, only a few exporters would have been allowed to bid for 5,6 million tons of rice from the 2008 and 2009 harvest, bidding below market prices, resulting in a loss of 1 billion baht for the government.

It is not clear who is submitting the complaint, the Ministry of Commerce or government party Pheu Thai. Abhisit is involved because he was chairman of the rice commission at the time.

Furthermore, the DSI has set up a special office to deal with the Abhisit-Suthep case. The service wants to prosecute both, not only for premeditated murder but also for assault, which resulted in just under 2.000 injuries during the red shirt riots in April and May 2010. The office is tasked with collecting complaints from the victims.

– Unlike his predecessor, the new head of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Manophat Huamuangkaew, will not crack down on illegal construction on government land. His predecessor was not afraid to use the sledgehammer, but Mankophat sees more benefit in a 'balancing approach'.

This approach, prompted by the government, amounts to striking a balance between the management of natural resources and economic and social development.

The head of Thap Lan National Park is concerned about the policy change. He fears that his men will be taken to court for dereliction of duty if they do not take action against illegally constructed holiday parks in national parks. “When the agency doesn't act on other matters, my staff and I have a problem,” he says.

Manophat's predecessor Damrong Pidech, who retired in September, demolished several holiday parks in Thap Lan and Wang Nam Khieo (Nakhon Ratchasima) after the court found them illegal. The National Park Act gave him that authority. Damrong's tough actions met with objections not only from the owners concerned, but also from local residents who benefited from tourism.

– Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi must appear in court because in his then position as head of the Royal Forest Department in 2002 he authorized the transport of 100 tigers to China. According to the Thai Wildlife Protection Act, the export of protected wild animals is only allowed for research and protection, but in this case it was a commercial transaction, according to the OM.

The animals belonged to the private zoo Si Ratcha Tiger Zoo. The animals would go to a zoo in China for two months to mate and be fed. Plodprasop defends his signature from the time by arguing that the animals did not come from the wild, Si Ratcha had imported the animals and cared for them for 10 years. In the meantime, he has had to deposit 200.000 baht in order to be released on bail.

– About three thousand growers of palm kernels blocked the Phetkasem Road in Tha Sae (Chumphon) yesterday. They want the government to do something about the collapsed price of palm oil. But the National Oil Palm Policy Committee says it is unable to pay the guaranteed price of 6 baht per kilo of palm kernels demanded by farmers. The committee does not want to go further than 4 to 4,35 baht, depending on the size and weight of the kernels. That already costs the government 1,9 billion baht.

The angry farmers will not give up their action until the government steps in. They demand a meeting with the Prime Minister or Minister Kittiratt Na-ranong, chairman of the committee, and do not want to talk to government representatives as before. The farmers previously protested on December 11 and 12. Lowering the price of fertilizer is also on their wish list.

– On January 23, the court will decide whether Somyos Prueksakasemsuk is guilty of lèse majesté. Yesterday, the Constitutional Court rejected a petition by him and a second suspect, in which they had argued that they were being deprived of their right to freedom of expression.

Somyos is on trial for two articles in his magazine Voice of Taksin, written by someone else. He was detained in April 2011, five days after launching a campaign to collect 10.000 signatures for a request for parliament to review lèse-majeste legislation. Somyos has been imprisoned ever since; numerous requests for bail have been rejected each time. According to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Somyos' pre-trial detention violates human rights.

– The cars in which detainees are transported do not have air conditioning and that must change, says Pheu Thai MP Sunai Julapongsathorn. He made the proposal yesterday at a seminar on prisoners. The vehicles are used, among other things, for reconstructions of crimes or witness hearings. Sunai said he heard that a budget of 492 million baht will be earmarked for the purchase of 300 new trucks.

– A 3-year-old boy who disappeared without a trace from a street market in Tha Kham was found hours later in the back seat of a locked car. He suffered from severe heat stroke and exhaustion. He died in hospital shortly afterwards. His grandfather, with whom he lived, had taken him shopping and lost him at some point. The owner of the car says he always locks his car. The police are still puzzled.

– At the eleventh International Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition in Taiwan, Thai students won 31 prizes. The 20 students came from all grades: from kindergarten level 2 to secondary school. The highest prize was for a 7-year-old, who entered for the second time.

Political news

– Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, the hawk in the Yingluck government, does not think it is a good idea to hold a referendum on the constitutional amendment. He has serious doubts whether it will succeed in mobilizing enough voters and getting enough voters to vote 'yes'. "Stop fantasizing and be realistic," he says.

According to the referendum law, at least half of the voters must cast a vote for the referendum to be valid. And to win the referendum, the government must get half of it behind it.

But Chalerm has resigned himself to the fact that the four coalition parties have decided otherwise. However, the cabinet has not yet taken a decision; it has set to work a committee to establish the 'framework' of the referendum.

Economic news

– The World Bank warns of Thailand's rising national debt. The bank expects it to rise to 45 percent this year and 50 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year. Thailand would do better to spend the money that is now going to stimulus programs, such as the mortgage system for rice, on social programs.

The World Bank's estimate of the national debt includes 80 billion baht that the first car and first home buyer programs cost; 40 billion baht for civil servant salary increases; 120 billion baht for corporate tax cuts; 9 billion baht per month for diesel duty reduction and 330 billion baht for loans for water management projects.

The bank is particularly concerned about hidden liabilities, such as the rice mortgage system. Those obligations can be 'significant'. "While Thailand's debt is sustainable at the moment, a massive increase of 8 to 9 percent of GDP per year could make it unsustainable in the long run," said Matthew Verghis, the World Bank's South East Asia economist.

Assuming the government can sell the rice it has bought at market prices, the World Bank expects the mortgage system to generate a loss of 115 billion baht (2011-2012 crop season) and 132 billion baht in the 2012-2013 season. So far, the government has not reported any rice sales from last year's stock. The price of rice on the world market will drop from US$550 per ton to $520 this year, but it is still $200 below the mortgage price (the amount farmers get plus the cost of the program).

Verghis believes that the funds that currently go to incentive programs can be better spent on social programs that meet long-term needs. He mentions pensions, programs that reduce inequality and programs that promote craftsmanship.

Annette Dixon, the bank's Southeast Asia director, believes that the government should do more to eliminate the disparity in educational achievement of students in Bangkok and rural areas. 3/4 of the education budget goes to Bangkok, where 17 percent of the population lives, and 6 percent to the Northeast, where 34 percent of the population lives. 'Expenditure on education should focus on the competence of students in acquiring knowledge,' she says.

– Car manufacturers consider the 3-year adjustment period for the new tax structure for cars too short. They advocate a period of 5 years to adjust their production plans. In the new system, the tax is calculated on the basis of CO2 emissions and no longer the engine capacity.

Pickup trucks are the hardest hit by the tight adjustment period because they have a longer production time than passenger cars. And models that have recently been introduced require additional investment to qualify for the new calculation method.

Although the car guys agree in principle with the new set-up, they fear that the system could be too complicated. Government services have not yet information provided on the precise method of calculation. Nor do they know whether the emission levels set by the Tax and Customs Administration are appropriate for Thailand.

The old calculation method assumed that large engines use more fuel. But that theory is no longer tenable with the new technologies, because some large engines are more efficient than smaller ones. In the new system, the E85-compatible eco car is the cheapest with a rate of 12 percent. The tax on a normal eco car is 17 percent. Expensive guys are cars with a displacement of 3.000 cc or more; which are included in the 50 percent rate.

– When a lease is renewed, the landlord must verify that the tenant is the user of the property and has not sublet it. It is therefore important that the landlord talks directly with the tenant.

This is especially true for institutions such as the Office of Property Management of Chulalongkorn University (CU) and the Crown Property Bureau. If it appears that there is subletting, the rent should not be extended, advises Manop Bongsadadt, expert in the field of real estate.

Two years ago, tenants in Siam Square were dissatisfied because the rent went up when their leases expired, but the CU found that less than 20 percent were the real tenants. In some cases, subtenants had to pay amounts in the order of 500.000 baht, 10 times what the tenant paid to the CU.

Manop advocates that the rents correspond to the market rates, so that subleasing is prevented. In the case of the MBK Group, the rent will increase from April 85 million per month, an amount charged for 20 years, to 650 million baht. Subletting is not allowed; new tenants must inform the CU and sign a new contract. Sometimes the CU checks whether the tenant is the actual tenant or a subtenant.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post