News from Thailand – April 7, 2013
The suspicion is obvious. Someone must have leaked the itinerary of Yala's deputy governor and an assistant governor, who were killed in a bomb attack on Friday. Investigators therefore take into account that government officials have passed it on to militants.
The police questioned the six defense volunteers who accompanied the car in which they were both, but those interrogations turned up nothing suspicious. Bannag Sata district chief Somsak Charoenphaithon, where the attack took place, said travel by senior officials is usually kept secret. He promises to tighten security measures.
Police searched the scene for clues yesterday. She found electrical wires, bomb shrapnel and a T-shirt. They will be tested for DNA. The bomb, which weighed about 20 kilos, left a hole 1 meter deep in the road.
Prime Minister Yingluck said yesterday that Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who is responsible for operations in the South, should travel quickly to the area to discuss measures against the violence. Since Chalerm got the wallet, he hasn't been there yet. Responding to criticism that the peace talks have not led to a reduction in violence, Yingluck said the talks are still in the early stages. 'It will take some time before concrete results are achieved.'
Opposition leader Abhisit believes that Yingluck should relieve Chalerm of his duties if he continues to refuse to travel to the South.
Photos: The badly damaged car in which the victims were sitting. Inset: The escort's pickup truck.
– In the district of Muang (Pattani), a 35-year-old man was shot dead in his pickup truck yesterday. When he got into his car to return home after the meal and started the engine, he was fired upon by someone in another car. The police suspect that it was a personal conflict.
In Sakhon district (Narathiwat), a defense volunteer was slightly injured when a bomb exploded.
– Thailand is also involved in the investigation that will begin into fraud in the friendly football matches prior to the World Cup, three years ago in South Africa. Thailand then played against South Africa. The South African Ministry of Sport, FIFA and the South African Football Association decided on Friday to form a committee to investigate the allegations of match fixing will investigate.
The prime suspect is a man from Singapore who appointed the referees for the matches and who may have manipulated the matches to facilitate gambling scams. The man organized matches against Thailand, Bulgaria, Guatemala and Columbia.
– The report that thirteen soldiers from Myanmar were shot by Thais in a firefight at the border is completely unfounded. The men had lost contact with their base shortly after they believed they heard the sound of gunfire. One soldier who had lost the group gave the wrong message to the world. The soldiers have now been found and the gunfire appears to have been a crackling forest fire.
– In the Charoensuk district on Rama IV Road in Klong Toey (Bangkok), 39 retail properties were burned to ashes yesterday morning. It took firefighters 2 hours to get the fire under control. There were no injuries. Damage amount is missing in the message as well as an indication of the cause.
– Dictators in disguise: that is what opposition leader Abhisit calls the politicians who try to take legal action against his party members for alleged misconduct. "In the past, our party had to fight against the military dictators, but now we have to fight against elected politicians who are dictators in disguise."
Abhisit used the unflattering characterization yesterday at a public forum marking the party's 67th anniversary at King Rama VIII Park. He [I assume] was referring to, among other things, the Department of Special Investigation's witch hunt on former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban (due to the demolished construction of police stations and staff houses) and himself (kill 91 people during the red shirt riots).
Democratic MP and chief whip During the meeting, Jurin Laksanavisit denounced the loan of 2 trillion baht for infrastructure works and the proposal to amend four articles of the constitution. Jurin promised that the Democrats will do everything they can to stop both cases.
According to the Democrats, the government saddles the country with a huge debt burden for several generations by borrowing 2 trillion. The constitutional amendment, says Jurin, is a thinly veiled attempt to grant amnesty to former Prime Minister Thaksin.
– Minister Pradit Sintiwanarong (Public Health) says that the new remuneration system for rural doctors will not lead to lower salaries. Pradit said on the television program yesterday PM Yingluck Meets the People in response to the doctors' protests against the halving of their inconvenience allowance and the introduction of a performance bonus.
If it turns out that the P4P system (performance based payment) leads to a significant reduction in income, the ministry will 'address the matter urgently'. [Wonderful, such a vague promise.] Critics also fear that the system will lead to an exodus of doctors to better-paying jobs in private hospitals, which Pradit counters by saying that even when they work harder, the doctors' incomes will improve. to work.
According to Kriangsak Watcharanukulkiat, president of the Rural Doctors Society, 151 doctors have already resigned from community hospitals because of P4P. He fears a snowball effect as the workload for the remaining doctors increases.
– Beware of dengue fever during Songkran, warns the Ministry of Health. Many people then return to their native villages, in some cases to areas where the disease is common. The ministry urges the population to empty and clean open water tanks every 5 to 7 days, as these are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In the first three months of this year, 17.960 people contracted dengue fever, of whom 20 died.
– The derailment of the Phitsanulok-Bangkok train Friday at Lak Si station is believed to be the result of the theft of railway track pins. An investigation revealed that four pins are missing. Those who stole them probably also stole copper wire nearby, as remnants of it were found. Four people were injured in the derailment.
– A large-scale disaster drill will be held in Phetchaburi between 7 and 11 May. More than 27 representatives from international aid organizations and representatives from XNUMX countries are taking part in the exercise in Cha-Am district. Six aircraft are deployed during the exercise. The Disaster Relief Exercise is being held as part of the Asean Region Forum.
Opinions
– What is the point of an expensive system of checking criminals when we are not very good at keeping the police on the right track, asks Arglit Boonyai in his weekly column in Bangkok Post about the introduction of Electronic Supervision (see: Arrangements being made for Electronic Surveillance, dated April 1). He points out that the police do not want to prosecute the Red Bull billionaire who killed one of its own officers for drunk driving and speeding violations, so that he can get off with a reduced prison sentence.
Electronic Surveillance via a wrist or ankle bracelet requires an effective detection system and a rapid response to violation of the conditions, argues Arglit. But when it comes to new technology, Thailand has little to be proud of: the GT200 bomb detector turned out to be a pig in a poke, CCTV cameras are often fake, the government accounts of Facebook and Twitter have been hacked.
Furthermore, rapid action is required if the person goes outside the permitted area. Arglit thinks the police are on the mutebutton when the alarm starts to ring. Just as the police do nothing against motorists who do not wear a seat belt, who use the telephone while driving and motorcyclists who do not wear a helmet.
Finally, Arglit writes that he is not against ET relieving the overcrowded prisons, but "first, let's make sure that the police enforce law enforcement, that our justice system cannot be abused through loopholes and last but not least that the whole system is not superfluous'. (Source: Bangkok Post, Apr 6, 2013)
Economic news
– Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will stop its daily non-stop flights between Bangkok and Copenhagen on Monday after 60 years. The company has one for three routes code share agreement signed with Thai Airways International: Bangkok-Copenhagen, Bangkok-Stockholm and Bangkok-Oslo.
For SAS, this is the best solution, as the airline struggles with high costs and low labor productivity, resulting in losses and a weak balance sheet, according to sources in the aviation industry.
SAS has closed its Suvarnabhumi office, but the office in the city remains open. THAI flies daily to Copenhagen and Stockholm and five times a week to Oslo. Between July 1 and August 18, two flights per week will be added to the Bangkok-Copenhagen route.
– The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has a boss again. Somsak Pureesrisak filled the vacancy and immediately started to say that the safety of tourists is a priority for him. "If Thailand is not a safe destination in the eyes of foreign tourists, it is pointless to invest hundreds of billions of baht to boost tourism to Thailand." The new minister says he wants to take similar measures as in Japan, a country where tourists are safe. Furthermore, Somsak promises to commit itself to the target of 2 trillion baht in 2015 in tourism income.
– In addition to the high price that the government pays to farmers for their paddy (40 percent above the market price), the expensive baht is also an important handicap when selling the rice abroad. Nevertheless, Minister Boongsong Teriyapirom (Trade) insists that this year it will be possible to sell 8 million tons of rice [the report also mentions 6-7 million tons] through G2G contracts (government-to-government). But he also said that last year and then a measly 1,4 million tons were sold.
The Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA) considers 6,5 million tons more realistic. The association is still in the dark to whom that rice was sold last year and at what price. The minister says that negotiations are underway with South Korea, China, Nigeria and Guinea. Soon he will fly to South Africa for talks about rice deals. Currently, Thai rice costs $560 per ton and 15.200 to 15.500 baht in the domestic market.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post