News from Thailand – April 24, 2013
During the second peace talks between Thailand and rebel group BRN next week, the Thai delegation will ask BRN representatives how they intend to prevent more attacks. Delegation leader Paradorn Pattanatabut, secretary general of the National Security Council, said Thailand is deeply concerned about the wave of violence over the past month.
Paradorn believes that the BRN should put pressure on other groups that disagree with the dialogue. The banners, found this week in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, indicate that the militants are divided, witness the text 'Peace will not occur if talks are not held with the real owners'.
The ongoing violence, says Paradorn, is not solely related to the peace talks, but drug traffickers are also involved. Paradorn plays down speculation that some rebel groups are unhappy with the role of the so-called Wadah group. Members of that group, former Muslim politicians, have been engaged as advisers by Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung. According to Paradorn, the experience of those men can help solve the problem of violence.
Prime Minister Yingluck said yesterday that the peace process is necessary and that it takes time to build trust. 'We have no choice. When there are no talks, we have to endure the violence even longer. At the very least, the dialogue will help the authorities deal with the problem.”
Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha says the situation in the region will improve after 1.700 specially trained agents are deployed to the South next month.
The photo shows the bodies of three soldiers being carried to a plane in Narathwiwat. They were killed on Monday when a bomb with a suspected double detonator exploded after the first detonator had been defused.
- The documentary Fah Tam Pan Din Soong of Boundary of Nontawat Numbenchapol has been banned by the film censorship. According to the five members of the committee, the film is misleading and would disturb public order. The film, which took 2 years to complete with the support of the Asian Cinema Fund in South Korea, is about ending the red shirt protest in 2010 and the border conflict with Cambodia. It includes a long monologue by a Cambodian soldier criticizing Thailand.
– James McCormick (56), the man behind the fake bomb detectors that are also used in the South, has been found guilty of fraud by the Old Bailey in London. He earned £50 million from the sale of his three models. "The devices didn't work and he knew they didn't work," the prosecutor said. The National Anti-Corruption Commission launched an investigation last year into the purchase of the GT200 and Apha 6 by XNUMX government departments.
– Three hundred residents of Prachuap Khiri Khan demonstrated yesterday in front of the Supreme Court in Prachuap Khiri Khan (see photo homepage). The court is currently considering the murder of environmental campaigner Charoen Wat-aksorn in June 2004, but has acquitted the man who may have ordered the murder. And that worries the residents.
Charoen was shot dead after leading a protest against the Bo Nok and Hin Krud coal-fired power plants. The police arrested four suspects in that case and later the DSI arrested a fifth suspect.
Two suspects died in prison under suspicious circumstances in 2006 when the case was before the courts. Two suspects were acquitted by the Criminal Court in 2008 and the man, now acquitted by the Supreme Court, was sentenced to death.
The demonstrators believe that the public prosecutor should appeal to the Supreme Court. On Sunday, they are organizing a public debate on the matter at the Tha Phra Chan campus of Thammasat University.
– Sixty objects were stolen from the Chai Nat Munee museum. The police believe it was an inside job. Stolen are ivory tusks, King Rama V coins, amulets and porcelain. A possible suspect is a museum guard who resigned in February. Only the museum staff and guards have access to the key to the depot where the objects were stored. Traces of vomiting have not been found. It also seems that a computer hard disk on which images from the surveillance cameras are stored has been tampered with.
– The Bangkok Electoral Council heard media expert Seree Wongmontha and former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday. They allegedly acted in violation of the Electoral Act during the election campaign for the governorship of Bangkok. If they are found guilty, the elections must be over and they may pay the costs of 176 million baht. [I omit the details. They come down to the fact that both slandered the Pheu Thai candidate. Seree on the internet and Suthep in speeches.]
– And again the rural doctors demonstrate against the new P4P reward system (pay for performance) and the halving of their inconvenience allowance. Today they will go to the office of the attorney general, who they will ask to investigate the legality of the measure that took effect on April 1. The Rural Doctors Society is to collect signatures for a petition to the Senate President asking for the impeachment of the health minister.
– A dentist from Kamphaeng Phet is suspected of the murder of a bank employee and not only that: he cut the body into pieces, put them in two bags and dumped them in a dry canal. The victim's head has not yet been found.
On Monday, the dentist held a press conference in which he denied being gay, having had a relationship with his patient and killing him. He called reports in the media that he killed him out of jealousy a myth.
Political news
– What moves Thai politicians and others to take the slightest matter to court? It is not surprising that legal proceedings usually take a long time in Thailand.
Now Worapol Prommikbutr, a lecturer at Thammasat University, is going to the Crime Suppression Division with two complaints against the nine judges of the Constitutional Court. He believes they are guilty of dereliction of duty.
The first complaint concerns the disqualification of then Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej for his (paid) participation in a cooking show on TV. Samak was then forced to resign. The second complaint concerns the Court's decision to suspend the parliamentary discussion of an amendment to a constitutional article last July. At the time, the proposal to form a citizens' assembly, which would revise the entire constitution, was under discussion.
Worapol has also handed over an open letter to the Speaker of Parliament expressing support for the proposals to amend four articles of the constitution. Parliament has agreed to this in the first term. [Can we still follow it?]
Pheu Thai MP Samart Kaewmeechai will send an open letter to the Constitutional Court next week. In it he objects to the fact that the Court is considering a petition from a senator. [I'll leave out the details, otherwise no one will understand anything anymore.] Samart will also try to get the judges to challenge them for interfering with the legislative process.
On May 12, red shirts will hold a rally in Samut Prakan, in which they will demonstrate against the Constitutional Court.
– Thirty MPs from the Democratic party were heard yesterday by the Department of Special Investigation (the Thai FBI). They allegedly donated money to the party through a deduction from their salary, in violation of the Political Party Act. And that, boys and girls, is not allowed! Donations higher than 20.000 baht must be made through a bill of exchange or a crossed check are transferred.
Lawyer Wirat Kalayasiri says that the donations have been duly reported to parliament every month, accompanied by receipts. The Electoral Council, which received a financial statement every year between 2007 and 2012, has never objected to the method of payment, according to Wirat. He says the case is politically motivated. [I call it a witch hunt.]
Wirat threatens that the Democrats will initiate civil and criminal proceedings against the DSI. The DSI admits the matter is trivial, but it had to act because a former senator filed a complaint about the method of donation.
– A parliamentary committee that is considering the proposal to end the appointment of senators thinks that is a good idea: all senators should be elected. Since 1997 (not coincidentally a year after the military coup) half of the Senate has been appointed. The Senate currently consists of 150 members; that number will go to 200. The term that senators may sit in the plush is still being debated.
Economic news
– A former governor of the central bank proposes that the bank transfer part of its foreign reserves to an independent fund to intervene in the foreign exchange market. That seems better than the policy rate in order to curb the appreciation of the baht.
Last Friday, the baht scored another record; the rate had not been this high in 16 years: 28,61-28.85, but on Monday the baht weakened again to 28,67/69. The price increase prompted Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul to remark that the increase was 'something beyond economic fundamentals', but he did not announce any measures.
Chatumongkol Sonakul's proposal is inspired by measures taken by other countries, such as China. They intervene because of the appreciation of the regional currency against the dollar. China has used the equivalent of $3 trillion to intervene.
According to Chatumongkol, an independent wealth fund makes an average profit of 2 to 3 percent per year. He believes that monetary policy is primarily aimed at ensuring economic stability and limiting inflation. When the policy rate is reduced, as the Minister of Finance and the exporters, among others, want, inflationary pressure is built up and the population is screwed by a negative interest rate.
According to Assistant Governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, the appreciation of the baht due to the inflow of foreign capital is a sign of confidence in the Thai economy. The recent volatility of the baht has led Thai exporters to insure 60 percent of their exports against currency fluctuations. "We want everyone to be careful because there is a risk of a correction."
– The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) again appeals to the Bank of Thailand (BoT) for the policy rate to lower. She proposes a reduction from 2,75 to 2 percent. Vice chairman Tanit Sorat says the price has risen to an unacceptable level, making it difficult for companies to acquire new orders. The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee will meet again on May 29 to discuss the rate.
The FTI believes it should remain at 2 percent until foreign capital inflows slow down. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular are affected by the price increase. Those companies cannot adjust their prices to cover costs. 'The government must show courage,' says Tanit, 'to save the exporters and our agricultural sector.'
FTI Secretary General Sommat Khunset says the government and central bank have done nothing to stabilize the baht. The recent remark by the finance minister that he would rather lose the BoT governor than be rich is not good for investor confidence, he says.
The grapes are extra sour for small and medium-sized businesses, because they were confronted with an increase in the minimum daily wage to 300 baht at the beginning of this year. A spokesman for the Ministry of Industry says that the cabinet will decide today on support measures to mitigate the effects of both, such as low-interest loans.
– Just like last year, the banks are making big profits again. State-owned bank Krungthai made a record profit of 8,51 billion baht in the first quarter of this year, 34 percent more than in the same period last year. The money flowed in thanks to higher incomes in interest and rates.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post