News from Thailand – September 30, 2014
“Support the government as we remain in power for a while to run the country. I'm leaving to take care of the country. I never thought I'd do that again.'
With those words, army commander and Prime Minister Prayut said goodbye yesterday at the Royal Chulachomklao Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok. Today he - and with him 262 officers, some at their own request - retire.
In his speech, Prayut compared the army personnel to bamboo: flexible and strong. He said he was satisfied with the performance of the army over the past four years in which he led it. With a parade of infantry, vehicles and in the air, the soldiers waved goodbye to their old boss.
– Prime Minister Prayut has already withdrawn his prediction that the southern violence will end within a year. I didn't mean it that way, he said yesterday. I meant that the government expects to bring all groups and those involved in the violence around the negotiating table before the end of 2015, when the Asean Economic Community comes into effect.
That is also the goal the junta strives for: not just talking to one group, as happened last year, but as far as possible with all separatists. Okay, Prime Minister, that sounds a lot more realistic. And wiser.
– Security measures in Patani have been tightened after a key insurgent was killed in a firefight on Sunday. Residential areas, government buildings and traffic on highways and secondary roads are closely monitored. Vehicles passing through checkpoints will be turned inside out. Two people (the previous report mentioned one) were also arrested during the raid on a house in Panare. Seven arrest warrants are pending against one, the other is the owner of the house.
– Airports of Thailand (AoT), the manager of Suvarnabhumi airport, will discuss in December the slimmed-down plan for the construction of a second terminal and a monorail connection to the existing terminal. The previous plan was budgeted at 54 billion baht, the current one costs 24 billion baht.
Board chairman Prasong Phunthanet defends the downsizing and says the new plan is better for passengers because there will be more check-in counters. The original plan was based on a satellite building that would only serve as a waiting room.
The second terminal will be located north of Concourse A and will have a capacity of 20 to 25 million passengers per year. The current terminal can handle 45 million passengers per year. If the NCPO gives the green light, construction can start within a year and then it will take 48 months for the terminal to become operational.
– Easier said than done. For example, a source at the Tax and Customs Administration responds to the suggestion of the newly appointed chairman of the State Audit Commission to take a hard look at politicians who are guilty of tax evasion.
The committee chairman will discuss this with the Ministry of Finance. He points out that the Tax Act offers the possibility to impose an ex officio assessment on politicians who do not file a tax return. The assessment may even be based on what others in a similar position have to pay.
The source has little faith in it. It requires the necessary expertise and it takes a lot of time to discover hidden assets. In addition, the Tax and Customs Administration could be accused of discrimination against taxpayers.
– The widow of a taxi driver shot dead in 2010 during the red shirt riots and a man who was seriously injured at the time, have appealed against the court's decision not to prosecute former Prime Minister Abhisit and Deputy Prime Minister Suthep for first-degree murder. They would have been guilty of this because they gave the army permission to shoot live ammunition.
The court dismissed the charge, arguing that it belonged to the Supreme Court's Holders of Political Positions Division. Not the DSI (Thai FBI) that brought the case, but the National Anti-Corruption Commission should investigate the case, the court reasoned. But that is disputed by the lawyer of the two complainants.
– A judge of the Municipal Court in Phitsanulok shot his wife and then shot himself. Police found their bodies on the first floor of their home near the bedroom on Sunday night. The 16-year-old son says he heard his parents argue, after which three shots were fired.
– Twenty members of the People's Movement for a Just Society have asked the government for permission for activities Monday on the occasion of World Habitat Day. Permission is required as martial law prohibits gatherings of more than 5 people.
– A villager from Tha Pla (Uttaradit) received XNUMX stitches from a fight with a bear. He suffered numerous injuries and a broken nose. The man had gone into the woods with a friend to hunt mountain toads and crabs. When they returned, the Asiatic black bear struck. The friend was certainly spared, because the message says nothing about him.
– The National Health Security Office (NHSO) wants to vaccinate all babies born from 2016 against Japanese encephalitis (JE). Deputy Secretary-General Prateep Dhanakijcharoen announced that plan last week during his visit to the Chengdu Institute of Biological Products in China, which produces the vaccine. The vaccine has been administered in ten northern provinces since 2009.
Most vaccines currently come from Europe, but the price has risen. The NHSO is now looking for cheaper alternatives from India, China and Indonesia. In Thailand, only 'inactivated' vaccine is produced in Saraburi. [?] Making 'live attenuated' vaccine requires more know-how, says Prateep.
The director of the Aids Access Foundation thinks the 'inactivated' vaccine is more useful than the other type in babies born with HIV because they have low immunity.
JE is a disease spread by mosquitoes. Children under the age of 10 and especially those under the age of 4 get the symptoms in particular. The disease is fatal in 30 percent of cases.
– The girl who lost her legs three years ago when she fell off a subway platform in Singapore, and her father will face the Supreme Court tomorrow. The Court will then rule on their appeal against the judgment of the Singapore High Court that rejected the claim for damages of 81 million baht. The station, the judge ruled, was 'reasonably safe' and the defendants (the metro operator and the Land Transport Authority) had not acted negligently.
At the time, the father pointed out that platform partitions were missing, although the law does require this. At least 24 passengers had already died in the same way, two of them at the relevant station. The medical costs for the girl's treatment were entirely for her own account; the operator did not pay a penny.
– The Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute has developed a mobile data center that provides accurate information in the event of flooding, on the basis of which it is possible to respond quickly and efficiently to emergency situations. The center has a satellite connection and can quickly process all collected information, especially information about the water level. The authorities can then take precautions to prevent serious flooding.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
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