News from Thailand – June 27, 2013
The hunt for former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, now opposition leader, and Suthep Thaugsuban, former Deputy Prime Minister, is entering its next phase.
After the court of three persons has definitively determined that they were killed by army fire in 2010, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI) has now asked the OM to prosecute both for wrongful death.
DSI Deputy Director General Wannapong Kotcharag and his investigative team escorted Abhisit and Suthep to the Attorney General's office yesterday, where they reported to Winai Damrongmongkolkul, Director General of Special Courts. He said he had formed a working group of five staff members to review the DSI's request. On August 26, the PG will announce whether both will be prosecuted.
The DSI, which is investigating the deaths and injuries of the red shirt riots, has found Abhisit and Suthep responsible for cracking down on the protests, leaving a taxi driver, a boy and the driver of a van dead. These three are proven to have been killed by soldiers.
The DSI wants to have them prosecuted for this. Abhisit was prime minister at the time, Suthep was director of the Center for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation, which was responsible for enforcing the state of emergency. The CRES had given the army permission to fire live ammunition.
Abhisit and Suthep believe that the DSI is not authorized to investigate their role. In April they filed a complaint with the Criminal Court against the DSI director and DSI staff. The court will consider that on July 8.
Photos: Abhisit (left) and Suthep (right) prove popular with staff from the Attorney General's office.
– A lot of heads are going to roll in the cabinet, believes Bangkok Post namely on the basis of anonymous sources at government party Pheu Thai. Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom (Trade), responsible for the controversial rice mortgage system, has to pack his bags. He is succeeded by the current Finance Minister or a minister from the Prime Minister's office (two names are mentioned).
There are speculations that the cabinet's strongman, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, is moving to the post of Employment Minister. Chalerm is now responsible for the failing security policy in the South. It's raining further speculations, but I'll leave that aside.
The so-called reshuffle, the third (?) already since the Yingluck cabinet took office, has consequences for ten people and almost twenty cabinet posts. In recent days, candidates for the new cabinet have handed in their qualifications at Government House and at the SC Park Hotel. The new composition of the cabinet will be known within a week and will be submitted to the king for confirmation. The amendments aim to boost the government's waning popularity.
Prime Minister Yingluck was rather hesitant to change the cabinet quickly. She wanted to wait until August when parliament returns from recess. But she now bows to her big brother Thaksin, who had advised a quick change - ordered, so to speak. Thaksin is said to be dissatisfied with the government's performance in the field of the rice mortgage system, water and flood management and he is concerned about the rise of the white mask movement.
– Four executives of rice hulling mill L-Gold Manufacture Co in Pichit are suspected of embezzling 12.000 tons of rice, handed in by farmers under the mortgage system. Many of them haven't seen a penny yet. An arrest warrant has been issued against three, one has already voluntarily reported.
Governor Chakkarin Plianwong will ask the affected farmers to file a complaint against the company. Two hundred farmers have handed in their rice to the company, 96 of whom have been duped by the scandal. Seventy farmers have so far filed a complaint. Many farmers do not dare to do so for fear of losing their money.
– Three hundred farmers from the southern provinces of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla demonstrated yesterday in front of Wat Bo Lor in Chiang Yai. They are calling on the government in a petition to maintain the guaranteed price of 15.000 baht for a ton of paddy and to continue the mortgage system for the current (second) crop until November 30. The cabinet has decided to lower the price to 12.000 baht.
– The government has all 2.506 warehouses in 50 provinces, in which mortgaged rice is stored, inspected. When more than 5 percent of the husked rice or 10 percent of the paddy (brown rice) is missing, legal action is taken against the managers.
– Businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr is the victim of a robbery and he was not killed for political motives, says Khamronwit Thoopkrajang, chief of the Bangkok municipal police. Every piece of evidence points to robbery and murder. But the police welcome new information that could be useful.' The police have been investigating the case for three weeks and have questioned 51 witnesses. Akeyuth's valuables that disappeared during his kidnapping and murder have not been found.
Lawyer Suwat Apaipak questions the police's conclusion. 'There is more to the case than meets the eye.' He submitted a list of thirteen questions. Before the police conclude their investigation, they should be answered, he thinks, but according to Khamronwit they have already been answered.
Billionaire Akeyuth was killed by his driver while driving south. He teamed up with four others. They stole 5 million baht. The driver was aggressive and addicted to gambling, according to the police.
– The South Korean company Korea Water Resources Corp (K-Water) is unable to build waterways and storage areas, two works that are part of the water management projects, for which the government has allocated 350 billion baht. A South Korean environmental activist says the company is not solvent and has caused environmental damage to projects in South Korea.
Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisa (PM's Office) does not care about the accusation. The government has checked the company's qualifications and found them to be in order. "Let the man say what he wants."
The director of the company says his company is very capable of carrying out the two 160 billion baht works. There are no financial problems, because the South Korean government is the largest shareholder in the company. And there would be no question of environmental damage in South Korea.
Democratic MP Ong-art Klampaibul wants Prime Minister Yingluck to pay attention to the matter to ensure the projects are transparent and benefit the population.
– The honorary doctorate from Thammasat University for Nguyen Phu Trong (69), Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam, has gone down the wrong way with human rights activists in the region and Europe. In an open letter they point out that Nguyen is partly responsible for the hunt for dissidents in recent years. Peaceful demonstrations are crushed, people are arbitrarily detained and dissidents and human rights activists are given harsh sentences, the letter said.
– One of the six luxury cars that caught fire in Nakhon Ratchasima during transport appears to have been used in a scam to evade import duties on another car. The Ferrari was imported in parts, assembled in Thailand, converted to LPG, later a request was made to go back to petrol and the owner claimed that he car registration book had lost.
Investigators from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) have discovered that a plate with a false number was attached to the engine number, presumably for the purpose of applying for a new license plate. The DSI suspects that the five other cars would be used for the same purpose.
– The proposal of a panel of the Ministry of Education to select the subjects science and technology en mathematics to combine them into one subject did not go down well with two teachers from Chulalongkorn University. This would degrade the quality of the combined course. Sathon Vijarnwannaluk from the faculty science van Chula says such a merging does not occur in any other country. Moreover, he points out that Thai students are already weak in both subjects.
The panel, which was formed in October, proposes to reduce the eight core subjects in the national curriculum to six. She also wants to reduce the number of contact hours from 700 to 800 per year to 600 hours. The number of self-study hours should increase from 200 to 400 hours per year.
Pawit Thongroj, adviser to the minister, denies that the quality of the subjects deteriorates when the number of contact hours is reduced. "Teachers need to understand that learning doesn't just happen in the classroom." The new curriculum is 80 percent ready. It will be the first to be introduced in three thousand schools.
– Ridiculous: This is how many YouTube users judged a video clip, in which Deputy Minister Nattawut Saikuar (Trade) and others sing the praises of traditional grocery stores and dance to it. The critical viewers and listeners thought the clip was a waste of time and government finances. Some thought the song was too much black superman seemed. The video, which had attracted 50.600 page views by yesterday morning, has been hastily removed.
– The meetings of the White Masks may violate Article 63 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceful meetings. The rallies can easily turn violent as most protesters wear white masks and can remain anonymous. This is what a law lecturer from Thammasat University said at a seminar yesterday.
Although Thailand, unlike Germany, for example, does not have a ban on wearing a mask, it considers there to be a risk of violence, which would violate the constitutional article.
According to another law teacher, the population seems to be confused about their right to free expression in public space. For example, a protest against a pipeline project in the South led to violence by the authorities against the demonstrators. The protesters have sued the police for misconduct. That case is currently before the court.
– The son of former Prime Minister Thaksin appears to have put the two photos on his father's Instagram account. The photos evoked speculation that Thaksin would have visited Thailand.
– The Thai Railways (SRT) will purchase fifty new locomotives and retire old locomotives, some of which have been in service for half a century. The locomotives cost 6,5 billion baht. The first twenty are of Chinese manufacture. An e-auction will then be held. The Chinese machines will pull freight trains to and from the port of Laem Chabang.
Economic news
– A warning about the dangers of smoking, which covers 85 percent of the surface of a pack of cigarettes: that is an illogical requirement. This new requirement has no effect and only penalizes trade. There is also little room left for the cigarette brand. The Thai Tobacco Trade Association (TTTA), which says so, is going to take the Health Ministry to court next week to get the demand off the table.
Since 2005, half of cigarette packs consist of a warning with a frightening photo. The warning had hardly any effect on the percentage of smokers: 19 percent of the population smoked in 2005; 18,4 percent in 2011. According to a WHO survey, 97 percent of smokers are aware of the risks.
TTTA director Varaporn Namatra says the new rule will create problems for retailers because of higher operational costs and because smokers will switch to cheaper tobacco. There is no warning on those bags, which is strange because half of all tobacco sales in Thailand consist of the sale of loose tobacco.
If the 85 percent requirement passes, Thailand will have the largest warning after Australia where 82,5 percent of its area is a warning.
Minister Pradit Sintawanarong (Public Health) does not deny the TTTA and the companies the right to sue the ministry, but they should not go to court. The Ministry is prepared to defend the decision in court. "I am aware that increasing the warning has an impact on cigarette sales, but the companies need to understand that they are making money at the expense of people's health."
– Thailand as a production base for Muslim fashion: isn't that a commercially attractive idea, because there are 1,62 billion Muslims, of which 320 million live in Asia? In addition, Muslims in the Middle East have great purchasing power.
The Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP), in collaboration with Srinakharinwirot University, will introduce Muslim clothing manufacturers to the global market by guiding them in improving quality, design and organization. The DIP aims for Thai producers to have the largest market share when the Asean Economic Community comes into force in 2016.
– Sales of personal computers fell 20 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, but the good news is that sales of tablets and smartphones have increased. In the first quarter, 800.000 PCs were sold. It is the first time that the market has shown a negative growth figure. Although the consumer market is sluggish, demand for PCs from private organizations and public services remains strong, particularly in the finance, telecommunications and healthcare sectors. Experts expect the PC market to remain slack for the rest of the year.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
Dossier
Dossier is a section with information about topics that are or have been regularly in the news. Dossier provides background information, based on articles Bangkok Post. It's been a while since the last episode came out. On April 10, it was about P Move (People's Movement for a Just Society – nothing heard of it for a long time) and traffic in Bangkok (the city had 7 million cars last year). Today city parks in Bangkok.