News from Thailand – January 25, 2013

The criticism of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk's 10-year prison sentence for lèse-majeste has angered the court. Court president Thawee Prachuablarb calls the criticism unbalanced. The sentence is reasonable and is somewhere between the minimum of 3 and the maximum of 15 years.

Thawee responds to criticism from the European Union, which has stated that it is 'deeply concerned' about the court's decision. The court convicted Somyot based on two articles in his magazine The Voice of Taksin, which were written by someone else. He got 5 years for each article. Other organizations, such as Amnesty International and Freedom House, have also criticized the court ruling, citing freedom of expression.

The court president points out that those articles were not scholarly treatises on the monarchy like those of Nitirat, a group of law professors at Thammasat University. "The articles were essentially offensive and caused damage to the king."

Furthermore, the president warns critics to give their opinions "in good faith and without prejudice"; if not, they risk being prosecuted for contempt of court. "The court staff is following the case, especially on websites," he said.

– [Follow-up] The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, yesterday called Somyot's imprisonment a human rights setback and an undermining of freedom of expression. She expressed deep concern about the 10-year sentence, the long pretrial detention, the repeated refusal to release him on bail and his chaining during several court hearings.

Benedict Anderson, emeritus professor of history, said he was shocked to hear that not the writer of the articles, but the publisher of the magazine was punished. Anderson believes the issue should be addressed during the election campaign for the governor's post in Bangkok.

Human rights activists plan to burn law books in front of the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road today in protest. On Wednesday evening, red shirts gathered at a clock tower in Chiang Mai. They lit candles and sent eleven lanterns into the sky.

– Many small and medium-sized enterprises will be in trouble in seven months, unless the government meets them with support measures. This has emerged from a poll by the Economic and Business Forecast Center of the Thai Chamber of Commerce University among 600 SMEs.

Prime Minister Yingluck said yesterday that help is on its way. She has directed the National Economic and Social Development Board and the Ministries of Finance and Commerce to take action. Those authorities will soon sit down with the private sector to discuss possible measures. As always, the prime minister spoke soothing words: 'We are closely monitoring the situation and are considering steps to reduce the risks. But there's no reason to get too concerned. We will find a solution.'

– Dimming, Prime Minister Yingluck said to opposition leader Abhisit because of his criticism of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. According to the prime minister, such criticism could jeopardize bilateral relations between the two countries.

Abhisit defended Hun Sen's comments earlier this week. He had said that Abhisit provides no evidence for his claim that former Prime Minister Thaksin benefits from the gas and oil deals in the Gulf of Thailand. Yingluck has no objection to Abhisit debating this issue with Hun Sen, provided the relationship between the two countries is not damaged. Yingluck thinks that Abhisit should now keep his mouth shut.

– One of the three suspects, whom the police are looking for in connection with the smuggling of Rohingya, has voluntarily reported to the police. He is accused of smuggling and hiding a group of 157 Rohingya refugees. The Rohingya were found during a raid on his homes in Padang Besar (Songkhla). According to the suspect, he received 5.000 baht from a man from Myanmar every time he made his houses available as a shelter.

In the province of Narathiwat, the police have searched two places in a dense forest for Rohingya, who according to local residents are hiding there. Rohingya were not found, but traces that they must have been there.

– The cold-blooded murder on Wednesday of a teacher who was supervising a school canteen has shocked the government and security authorities. Prime Minister Yingluck has ordered an investigation. The Internal Security Operations Command says the (Islamic) school was not considered a high-risk place.

Twenty schools in Narathiwat province have closed in protest. Police have released a list of four suspects. The teacher was shot dead in front of 292 students and 15 colleagues. Because the school is not known as a risk, it is protected by village volunteers and not the army.

– Three doctors, who work in remote areas, received the Outstanding Rural Doctor award 2012 yesterday. The doctors have distinguished themselves because they provide excellent healthcare, although their budgets are limited and there is a shortage of staff.

– In September, the tendering procedure for the construction of the high-speed line Bangkok-Chiang Mai will start. When it is there, a ride takes 3 hours. There is interest in the work from foreign companies. The 680-kilometer route costs 387 billion baht. Construction is expected to start early next year. A ticket is expected to cost up to 2.000 baht.

– Princess Bajrakitiyabha has been appointed ambassador of Slovakia. She is currently ambassador of Austria. Slovakia's ambassador moves to Germany.

- Bangkok Post devotes a second message to the mobile toilets of Boels Verhuur. This time the newspaper writes correctly (unlike yesterday) that the company has apologized. The two Thai Facebook users who brought the matter into the public eye are now also mentioned. Well, that's how you can rectify a message without putting "Certification" above it.

Political news

– A Nida poll gave the Democratic candidate for governor of Bangkok a lead over Pongsapat Pongcharoen of ruling party Pheu Thai: 24 percent against 17,55. But now Abac throws a spanner in the works with a poll that gives Pongsapat 41,8 percent of the vote and Sukhumbhand 37,6 percent.

The question of which candidate has the most attractive personality and displays appealing behavior yielded similar percentages: Pongsapat 43,6 percent, Sukhumbhand 36,3 percent. The poll was conducted door-to-door among 1.766 voters.

Pongsapat also scored better than Sukhumbhand when asked for the most competent and well-informed candidate. And if it can't be said: Pongsapat is also running the best campaign and his policy would be the best for the rising costs in the capital and traffic congestion.

– Ex-governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra of Bangkok and candidate for the March elections shrugs his shoulders at Abac's poll in which he is overtaken by his major rival from the ruling party Pheu Thai, Pongsapat Pongcharoen.

Sukhumbhand says the election race has barely begun and the balance may end in his favor. He hopes to score 3 million votes by March 1. Bangkok has 4,33 million voters, of whom 55 percent are expected to vote. Nida's poll showed that most voters had not yet decided on their choice.

According to Sukhumbhand, his opponent's election slogan is not convincing. It reads 'working with the government seamlessly'. Sukhumbhand: 'With such a policy, the governor is under the rule of the central government. A candidate who is too dependent on the central government overlooks the specific needs of the local population. Why waste money on an election if we want a 'seamless' governor?'

Economic news

– The fiscal policy of this government is a fiasco. Programs such as the rice mortgage system cost the government capital. Korn Chatikavanij, finance minister in the Abhisit government and currently deputy party leader of the Democrats, does not have a good word for the financial policy of the Yingluck government. Yesterday at a seminar of economists he did not make a killing pit of his heart.

And yet Korn is not a black eye, because Thailand has great potential to grow economically at great heights in the next twenty years, if policymakers exercise discipline in public spending, tackle corruption and address the imbalance in income distribution. Korn estimates that the economy could grow fivefold to 50 trillion baht over the next 5 years, assuming average annual economic growth is 3 percent and inflation is XNUMX percent.

According to Korn, so far only the wealthy have benefited from the policies of the Yingluck administration. Only the big companies benefit from the corporate tax cut, and the income tax changes benefit the wealthy. What also irritates Korn is that the government is financing its plans by going over budget.

Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong (Finance), also present at the seminar, was not so gloomy. The core goals of the current government are sustainable growth, price stability and a fair distribution of income. With the economies of the US, Europe and Japan weak, Thailand needs to build its domestic market and increase purchasing power to reduce dependence on exports.

According to Kittiratt, one of Thailand's strengths is its relatively low debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. "So we can afford to take on new debt to finance investments."

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post