News from Thailand – October 28, 2014
The dilapidated pier on the Chao Phraya River near the Chai Nat Provincial House is being temporarily dismantled. The pier has long been used by backpackers for camping. The province wants to put an end to it. The pier only operates on special occasions.
The governor has ordered the repairs in response to complaints from local residents. Since the murders on Koh Tao, they have been concerned about the safety of the campers. Many would also indulge in alcohol.
When the pier is repaired, surveillance cameras will be installed, prohibition signs will be put up and the tourist police will visit more often. The pier with Loy Krathong is planned to be operational again on November 6.
– Border controls in Sungai Kolok (Narathiwat) have been tightened following reports that an Indian terrorist, who escaped from prison 10 years ago, plans to go into hiding in Thailand. He could try to cross the border from Malaysia by posing as a tourist.
The man, Jagtar Singh Tara, was imprisoned for his part in a 1995 bomb attack in Punjab that killed 2004 people. He heads the Khalistan Tiger Force, a group that operates in India and Pakistan. In XNUMX, he and two others managed to escape from the EBI Burail in Chandigarh through an underground tunnel. Jagtar's possible flight to Thailand was brought to the attention of the Defense Minister during a recent meeting with Indian government representatives.
– The National Reform Council, Thailand's emergency parliament, has accepted the proposal of the whip* declined to appoint five outsiders to the Charter Drafting Committee (CDC), which will write the new constitution.
[* A whip is a person who, prior to a vote in parliament, must ensure that members of his own party are present and vote for the correct proposal. A bit of a strange expression in this context because the NRC has no parties.]
De whips had proposed that five of the 20 CDC members elected from their own ranks be brought in from outside, including representatives of the political force field, such as the former anti-government movement PDRC and the red shirts. The new constitution would thus be above criticism.
But the proposal foundered yesterday. Bringing in outsiders does not end political divisions. Nice idea, but it doesn't heal wounds, says NRC member Narong Phutticheewin. There was also some squabbling about the choice of the twenty candidates, but that probably does not interest my dear readers; nor me, by the way.
– The Stop Global Warming Association (SGWA) went to the Central Administrative Court yesterday with a petition demanding that the proposed auction of 29 concessions for gas and oil exploration be scrapped. The SGWA accuses the junta's energy policy committee and the Department of Mineral Fuels of trying to push through the auction.
The association wants to wait for recommendations from the NRC (National Reform Council) for energy reforms. Public hearings should also be held. She also advocates a new profit-sharing system instead of concessions. The state can then raise more money.
– The South of Thailand suffers from a lack of forensic doctors and psychiatrists. They don't want to work there because it's unsafe. Virasakdi Chongsuvivatwong, director of the Institute of Research and Development for Health of Southern Thailand at Prince of Songkla University, says health care in the Deep South is not short of money, but it is manpower. He argues for more investment in personnel, especially among the local population.
In the article, more people are given the floor, but it is unclear on which occasion the statements were made. Must have been another seminar, because they love that in Thailand. Two Muslim psychiatrists and a Buddhist work in the deep South. Only a third of the medical staff is Muslim.
– The incident with the navy men who carried weapons on Wednesday on the grounds of the provincial court of Phuket, is getting a tail. The Royal Thai Navy has ordered an investigation. The men had come to court to await their commander who had been called as a witness. The incident became known through a video clip on YouTube. Weapons are prohibited on the territory of the court.
The Navy spokesman calls the carrying of the guns a mistake by the commander's fans, not an intentional act. There are more government buildings on the site and it is unclear where the boundary of the court is. Some media are speculating that the commander will be transferred as social media has been rife with criticism of him for his role in combating illegal land use.
– Today the appointment of the new director of the Department of Special Investigation is expected, an important post because the DSI can be compared to the American FBI and they are not small boys either. Of course the necessary names are circulating; the acting director general of the DSI is favourite. The post has been vacant since Tarit Pengdith was fired after the coup. A man of 'As the wind blows, my skirt blows': Under the Abhisit government anti-Red, under the Yingluck government anti-Abhisit.
Yesterday, during a meeting in the Impact Arena, the Minister of Justice informed six hundred justice officials about his five urgent policy intentions, including combating and preventing narcotics and government corruption.
He criticized the prison system for failing to stop the smuggling of drugs and prohibited items in prisons. He gives the head of the Corrections Department six months to muck out the Augius stable. Prison wardens who put a hand over drug lords are being transferred.
On October 14, a prison guard who may have been involved in drug trafficking was shot dead in Surat Thani prison. The minister says that the prison director must deal with the problem or pack his bags.
– Short follow-up to the coverage of the murders of two Japanese. The suspect who made a confession was a butcher before switching to his current profession of taxi driver. Well, then you know how to chop someone up, I guess.
– He did not have Ebola, the Brit whose body was found in Phuket on Thursday, yet the health authorities are taking extra measures for fear of the spread of the virus. The disinfection and disposal of corpses and the forensic process must be improved, says the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health. A manual is also being produced for dealing with potential patients.
Tourists arriving from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will be monitored for 21 days. The Bangkok municipality has set up checkpoints for passengers arriving through Don Mueang and Khlong Toey port.
– Prasit Chaisrisa, former Pheu Thai MP for Surin, yesterday before the Criminal Court retracted his previous statement and pleaded guilty to lèse majesté. He has asked the court to cancel the hearing of witnesses. Verdict: December 3.
Two other lèse-majeste suspects were charged on Friday. They are said to have mocked the monarchy in a play performed at Thammasat University last year. One of the players says that the play is about a fictional monarch. According to him, the Public Prosecution Service interprets it incorrectly. The pair were arrested two months ago. Five requests for bail have been denied; a sixth is in preparation.
– The decision of the abbot of Wat Sa Ket to remove his assistant and four monks from posts they held under the previous abbot has been reversed by the acting Supreme Patriarch. The five monks were responsible for managing donations and they were said to have been tampered with. The abbot has been accused of associating with women and accumulating wealth. That accusation may have come from the assistant. Yeah, they're like people, those Buddhist monks.
– On Friday night he was killed, Vissanu Katesuriya, member of the Provincial Council of Rayong, and already there is a suspect against whom the police have applied for an arrest warrant. The suspect came into view thanks to surveillance cameras. Vissanu's body was found with his Toyota Fortuner, which had its number plates missing. He had been hit by nine bullets in the chest, ribs and the back of his right hip.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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