realthailand

child orphans of the war on drugs face malnutrition and lies

2006-11-29T03:23:00.000-08:00

There's always money for airports or other hare-brained schemes, never enough money to feed even one orphan of parents murdered by government death squads. Thailand's twisted and corrupt value system-- sign of a decadent and contemptable society, rotten to the core.

from The Nation:

Child victims of the war on drugs:

Ban Mae Maeh School director Saneh Jai-ut can never bring himself to speak the truth when his students ask him expectantly: "Have you had any word from my parents?"

Most of the 136 boarding-school students here come from families torn apart during the Thaksin Shinawatra government's war on drugs.

Some of the children are yet to learn the painful fact that their parents are either in jail for drug offences or were killed in the crackdown.

"The best thing I can say is, 'Yes, your parents ask

you to be good and study hard. They say they will come to pick you up when they have time'," Saneh said.

Located in the remote hill country of Chiang Dao district, the school is inaccessible by road and cellular telephone signal.

The government's Basic Education Commission provides needy schools with a daily food allowance of Bt6 per student. This meagre amount is not enough for Ban Mae Maeh School. It must serve three meals a day - not just lunches like others. "Boiled rice and boiled cabbage are our main dishes," a Grade-6 student at the school said.

Most students do not return to their homes during school breaks because they have no one to return to, he explained.

A young girl said she missed her home but had no idea how she could return by herself.

"Usually, I ask my headmaster to call my parents. But I have rarely seen any parent come to visit their children," she added.

When she first arrived, there were just 60 students but that soon doubled.

"I have shared a bedroom with 31 other girls. We take turns cooking and cleaning," she said.

Aree Boonkerd, a 26-year-old school worker, said border-patrol officers, village heads and government officials brought the children to the school during the government war on drugs.

The Thaksin administration launched the crackdown in early 2003. It left as many as 2,500 people dead. Many were the victims of extrajudicial killings.

Human-rights activists allege many innocent people were killed. They now demand Thaksin be held responsible.

Ban Mae Maeh headmaster Wong Kaewjaima said the number of children sent to the school did rise during the anti-drug efforts.

"The school has become overcrowded. The school and its students need assistance," he said.

Saneh hoped his students would be better fed and they could enjoy their education. "We teach students from kindergarten level up to Grade 6. Our concern is with our graduates. We don't know what will happen to those who cannot continue their education at secondary schools."

Saneh said the school tried hard to rehabilitate students so that they could live happily in society.

"We hope our students will be good members of society," he said.

Over 1,000 schools closed in Thailand's south as undereported guerilla war rages out of control

2006-11-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

The same reason exists for both the war's origins and why it has been underreported: Thai people in the central region control both the government and the national media.
Central Thais do not care about or feel any particular kinship with the majority Malay or Thai-Malay people who make up the bulk of the population in the three southernmost provinces. In fact, Thai-Malay or 'south people' are even less accepted when it come to credentials of 'Thai-ness' (vitally important in this extremely though falsely ethnocentric land) than the ethnic Lao and Thai-Lao who inhabit the rural northeast.

Central Thais see the south as a territorial issue, and always speak of it as such. Southern Thais view the south in different terms -- the holy trifecta of ethnography, identity, and self-determination.

The three southern border provinces of Thailand were historically an independent kingdom and did not really become part of Thailand until around 1900, an event which coincided with the emergence of finely drawn borders and modern 'nation-state' identity for Thailand. Most of those in the south are Muslim Malays and maintain a completely a different religion, custom, and language from the Buddhist Thais of the central, north, and northeast regions.

Over 1,000 schools closed

Narathiwat, Yala teachers follow Pattani colleagues

The Teachers Federation has decided to close down all schools in Yala and Narathiwat indefinitely until the government can guarantee the safety of teachers.

That will bring the number of schools shut down in the troubled South to more than 1,000.

Teacher representatives from Yala and Narathiwat yesterday met to discuss the issue of safety after a string of shootings and arson attacks last week left two senior teachers dead.

"The federation has reached an agreement that all 240 schools in Yala and 336 schools in Narathiwat would be … shut starting from [today]," said Sa-nguan Intarak, secretary of the Teachers' Federation of Narathiwat.

Sa-nguan said teachers in 100 private schools were also in fear of their lives and had agreed to close down, pushing the number of shut schools past the 1,000 figure.

Their move to close down the schools in Narathiwat and Yala followed their colleagues in Pattani who decided to close the province's entire 336 schools from yesterday because of fears for their safety.

Teachers have been a common target of the insurgency. Last week a headmaster was burned to death in his car and another teacher was shot. At least 60 teachers have been killed since the violence re-emerged in the three southernmost provinces in January 2004.

"The conclusion will be sent to all the schools, and it is up to each school's principal and executive members to decide if they want to follow suit," said Sa-nguan.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education said it was concerned about how Matthayom 6 students would perform in the upcoming entrance exam.

"We understand that closing schools is the best solution for teachers in the current situation. But what concerns us most is the fate of the Matthayom 6 students who will be having the entrance exam soon," said Prasert Kaewpetch, the inspector of education in Area Zone 12.

He said the ministry was planning special tuition classes for the students.

Third world flavor: Hundreds of cabbies block taxi terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport in protest over 'corruption'

2006-11-26T22:28:00.000-08:00

Before anyone makes the mistake of feeling sympathy for the Thai taxi drivers who inconvenienced thousands of Bangkok travellers last night with their single-minded, selfish, and totally over-the-top protest, it is good to keep in mind what lying theiving scumbags the majority of them are.

Taxis are supposed to turn on the meter when collecting fares from the airport, not attempt to extort a flat rate fee which is often two or three times the meter prices. At the old airport, due to heavy police enforcement, taxis switching on the meter slowly became the norm and there were far fewer taxi scam ripoffs. Reports from the new airport indicate that the old taxi scams are back. This 'protest' was all about the police trying to do their job, and the taxi 'union' responding like the petty mafia they are.

A spotty bit of leftist reporting from The Nation, with missing facts filled in:

Hundreds of cabbies blocked the taxi terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport last night in protest at a police arrest and ticketing of a driver. [ed. why is this allowed to happen? they should be arrested and their cars impounded]

As many as 300 police were deployed to the protest.

The arrested driver had failed to turn on his meter when ferrying a passenger to the airport from Chon Buri province. [ed. he left the meter off and then tried to extort an exorbitant sum from the passenger upon arrival; the passenger objected, and the police got involved. It should also be noted that the passenger was coming from nearby Pattaya, not the wilds of 'Chonburi province' - a factoid no doubt inserted to make the cabbie's case appear stronger.]

One of the protesting drivers said the blockade demanded justice for the arrested driver. [ed. no, the blockade was a revolt by thugs against a police crackdown on taxi scams. When is the light rail system to the airport going to be ready and why haven't the government officials involved in the delay been held accountable? A great example of the slap-dash and totally thoughtless way Thaksin and cronies 'got things done' regarding ill-conceived mega-projects like Suvarnabhumi airport.]

He said taxis travelling interprovincial routes did not have to use meters. [ed. there are set fares for Pattaya, Hua Hin, and other common destinations, but these are to and from central Bangkok, not Pattaya - Suvarnabhumi. Part of the rationale for placing the new airport at the Eastern edge of Bangkok was that it would serve as a local airport for Pattaya, which is quite near, as well]

The protest organiser, who asked to not be identified, alleged staff at a company that operated an Airports of Thailand taxi concession were corrupt.

They allowed "ghost taxis" to freely pick up passengers at the airport while those who paid Bt50 to enter the airport had to wait "hours" to collect a fare.

Staff received Bt20 kickbacks from each unauthorised taxi. [ed. I somehow doubt that. The real issue is taxis picking up passengers upstairs at the departure gates, after they have dropped off their fare. But this situation only exists because people are actually willing to physically carry their bags upstairs to avoid the anarchy and bedlam of the arrivals lounge downstairs. Much of this bedlam is caused by the taxi drivers failing to police themselves.]

Hundreds of taxis blocked entrances and exits to the commuter area while others blockaded the Thai Airways catering building, causing traffic congestion in the airport compound.

Passengers injured when train ferrying them to Chiang Mai flora expo in Thailand hit by another

2006-11-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

Phichit - A special-service train ferrying passengers from Bangkok to the flora expo in Chiang Mai was hit by another train, causing part of it to derail and injuring many passengers. [ed. the 'express train' was hit in the back by the normal train, believe it or not]

Police said the accident happened at ten minutes after midnight Sunday night between the Huayket and Taphan Hin stations in Phichit's Taphan Hin district.

Police said the normal service train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai hit the last car of the special service train, causing the last car and the engine and a goods car of the second train to derail.

Police said the injured passengers included foreigners but their exact number was not known yet.

The Nation

Suvanabhumi - a world class shithole that gives even the causual traveller a good idea of what Thailand is really like

2006-11-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

What a piece of shit Suwannapoom (badly translated and official name: Suvnabhumi) is. Thais seems hell bent on 'developing' Thailand into a totally unliveable and unvisitable shithole. All with sort of mounting arrogance that makes one want to drop a nuclear weapon on the country.

New airport is a bad first and last impression of Thailand

I am a frequent traveller through Bangkok's new airport, Suvarnabhumi, and am sad to say that even with the billions of baht spent, I can't see any improvement on Don Muang. In fact, many aspects of the new airport are far worse than the old-looking but well organised and convenient Don Muang.

The merging of three terminals at the old airport into one at Suvarnabhumi makes checking in much noiser and slower; the cramming in of as many shops as possible makes the air-side corridors narrower; the design of the gates means enormous distances have to be walked; the general dirtiness and shoddy construction don't appeal; and the departure lounges are cold and unwelcoming.

Whilst previously I could feel sure of reaching Don Muang in 20 minutes from downtown, it now takes the best part of an hour to reach Suvarnabhumi.

It's a poor first and last impression many tourists and businessmen now have of what is still a wonderful country. I beg the Thai authorities to reopen Don Muang as an alternative to the hell of Suvarnabhumi for discerning travellers.

Many other cities in the world have a choice of airports, why not Bangkok?

2006-11-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

Absolutely not a baht for people in need. Meanwhile, billions of baht are spent on idiotic projects like the latest SME / OTOP initiative.

FLOOD AFTERMATH
Inundated and frustrated

Orchid growers allowed their land to be flooded to protect Bangkok, but still await any form of relief

It has been almost a month since the triumphant faces of the director-general of the Royal Irrigation Department and the Bangkok governor appearing on television upset Suchart Dokrak.

"Khun Apirak always smiles on the news, full of pride, saying that he was able to save Bangkok. How about the life of simple people like me? I was good enough to help Bangkok, but not worthy enough to receive relief from the capital," said the orchid farmer, whose life was turned upside down overnight on October 26.

The 44-year-old resident of Song Phi Nong district was sailing a wooden boat given to him by his neighbour when The Nation visited him on Friday. Three metres below the surface were some 205,000 orchid plants he and his wife Rapeeporn had carefully planted two years ago.

From being one of the province's high-profile orchid growers who generated income of more than Bt10,000 a day by exporting their blooms to Italy and India, Suchart and Rapeeporn now make about Bt50-Bt60 daily by fishing in the three-metre-deep pond where a month ago their orchids flourished.

The turning point of their life was late on the morning of October 26.

"I heard a loud noise. I turned round. It was terrifying - a huge volume of water was flooding through a broken earth dam. By late afternoon it had become like this," Rapeeporn recalled, indicating the brown waters around her. "I fainted from shock and had to spend a day in hospital."

Yesterday Suchart and about other 100 orchid growers who were affected by the flooding gathered at the office of the Thai Orchid Garden Enterprise Association in Nakhon Pathom.

Payong Kong-udomsup, president of the association, said he had called the meeting so his members could share their suffering. Information was being collected and will be reported to Agriculture Minister Thira Sutabutra and Samart Chokekhanapitak, director-general of the Irrigation Department.

"We hope the details we collect here today will be used to evaluate compensation for flood-affected people," said Payong.

Payong said at least 30 big farms in Suphan Buri, Nakhon Pathom, Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi had been completely inundated. Though the majority of his members were able to save their farms, many had to spend more than Bt1 million to do so, he added.

Suchart said he had tried to protect his farm, but failed.

As a member of the Bangtakien Tambon Administration Organisation, he was informed on October 15 by local Irrigation Department authorities that all farm areas, including his 50 rai, were part of areas that had been designated for water retention to protect Bangkok from being flooded by the huge volume of water rushing in from the North.

Before being hit by the water, irrigation officials went to his farm to take photographs, saying the pictures would be used later when calculating his compensation.

Suchart decided to assign only 40 rai, where there was a fish pond and orchards, as areas to be submerged. The remaining 10 rai was an orchid farm, an area he had to protect.

Almost Bt100,000 was then spent on building a three-metre-high earth dam to encircle the 10-rai orchid farm, in the hope that it would be strong enough to protect the valuable blooms.

"We didn't know how high we should make the dam because the irrigation authorities failed to tell us the volume of water they estimated would be diverted to our land," said Rapeeporn.

The couple soon learnt the volume of water - on October 26 after the dam burst under the pressure of floodwater. By the evening, even the three-metre-high dam was under water discharged from the Prayabunleu irrigation system.

The orchids and other assets that drowned in the murky depths were worth about Bt2 million, he said, adding, "Now it's worse as I have no way to generate income to repay the Bt3.5-million loan I took out with the SME Bank in 2003 to invest in the farm."

Suchart said he would soon ask the bank for a three-year debt moratorium.

Hope surfaced when the couple heard that Prime Minister Surayud Chulanond was to visit flood-affected people in the province on November 10, with promises of compensation.

However, relief turned to despair again when Suchart was approached by the chief of Song Phi Nong district, asking him not to report his situation to the premier, saying that Surayud already knew about it and had ordered measures to assist all victims.

No assistance has been forthcoming so far.

Suchart said he wished the Bangkok governor and the head of the Irrigation Department would show more concern for people like him, who had sacrificed their entire fortune to protect the metropolis. At least, he said, they could help him by asking the SME Bank to accept his request for a debt moratorium.

He said that since the local irrigation authorities told him about their plan to discharge water onto his land, he had never seen anyone from the department again. Nor have representatives of any state agencies - not even the Agricultural Promotion Department or district officials - visited him.

The couple still do not know when their life will return to normal, and they have no idea how long they have to keep storing the water to protect Bangkok residents.

"I would like to meet the head of the Irrigation Department and ask him when he will come take his water back. He has left it with us too long," Suchart said.

SUPHAN BURI

BTS a major culprit in noise pollution

2006-11-20T23:33:00.000-08:00

The BTS is the local elevated rail system, also known as the 'skytrain'. The noise it generates is not the sound of trains on tracks but all the advertising announcements.

from letters section of The Nation:

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the editorial on "Tackling the problem of noise" (Bangkok Post, Nov 18). You rightly identify BTS as a socially irresponsible corporation.

Recently, in addition to their screens and loudspeakers positioned at the top of the stairs, BTS has installed loudspeakers at regular intervals along the platforms. Consequently, passengers who could previously avoid the ear-splitting noise of the advertisements are now terrorised by it wherever they wait for the train.

Moreover, BTS has not turned down the volume of its video advertisements on the trains, as you suggest. Quite the contrary. Even if you give up your seat and stand in the corners next to the doors, you will still need earplugs. At Mor Chit, while waiting for the train, you are bombarded by BTS-generated intrusive commercials, and while you are on the train waiting for it to leave, you get all the noise both from the platform and from the on-train video.

It has become unbearable. I think that only sick minds can come up with this sort of excessively intrusive and asocial advertisement strategy.

Bangkok's governor must keep in mind that he has promised us a "livable" Bangkok, and that BTS is public space operated by a private company. If people at BTS cannot control their greed, then Governor Aphirak must intervene with a regulation.

If nothing else helps, we might have to turn to this military government that has adopted "sufficiency economy" as a major approach to regulating economic activities. BTS clearly is still caught in the Thaksin-era of boundless greed for profit, and its concomitant asocial behaviour, including contempt for its passengers.

Maybe, thinking about their actions from this perspective will help people at BTS to come to their senses and become a good corporate citizen.

I don't hold my breath, though.

M N

Dual pricing - institutionalized racism in Thaland

2006-11-20T23:26:00.000-08:00

from the Bangkok Post letters section:

Mr Knipfing (Postbag, Nov 20) made some valid points and also appears to have been lucky. Not only have I seen non-Thais sail through the Thai queue, I have been with a white-skinned, Thai-born friend with an ID card, who was refused entry under the Thai price. The only explanation in this case was skin colour.

In many cases it is not double prices but as much as 20 times the local price, with foreign children being charged more that Thai adults.

I have seen the case with the Thai man in the latest BMW and gold Rolex (really) getting in for free, while the backpacker paid the special foreign prices.

I have also seen this pricing policy in action in India but this does not justify the practice.

Section 30 of the last Constitution covered discrimination based on race. If the prices were being set based on per capita personal income tax paid, then foreigners have more than covered their local upkeep obligations. [ed. and yet, some cretins have the cheek to call us 'guests']

Why Somchai can't export -- the real problem with SME competitiveness in Thailand

2006-11-20T22:56:00.000-08:00

The Thai government routinely interferes on an almost Stalinistic level with the day-to-day operations of SMEs. How they propose to 'help' by adding additional regulatory burdens and restrictions on the supposedly free market is paternalistic and insane. Most investors have figured out that doing business in communist Vietnam is far easier.

And why does The Nation continually publish 'blame it on the foreigner' allegations by lazy and corrupt Thai government officials without explanation or analysis?

Thousands of SMEs predicted to go under

Published on Nov 20, 2006

Competition from abroad proves too intense: agency

Nearly 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises will fold this year in the face of fierce competition from overseas.

These companies are neither capital-intensive enough to withstand cheap products from China and Vietnam, nor quality-oriented enough compete with high-end products from the United States and Europe.

According to Jhitraporn Techacharn, director-general of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, many SMEs in various industries will go under now free-trade agreements with countries like Australia, China and New Zealand are effective.

Meanwhile, SMEs face strong domestic competition from large foreign investors expanding in Thailand, especially in the retail sector. As a result, a number of SMEs have already closed. [ed. must be referring to Tesco and Big C. Erroneous, since it's been repeatedly proven that Thai owned 7-11 Thailand (CP Group) is the real competition faced by Thai mom and pop shops and the reason for their closure, not the huge box stores. Besides, if it benefits the average consumer, and employs plenty of Thais, which it does, then why is the Thai government interfering?]

"Some of Thailand's SMEs cannot adjust to meet the new business environment and as a result they have had to quit," Jhitraporn said on Friday. [ed. that's called free market economics, so take a macro view and stop fretting]

The value of SME business will comprise 4 per cent of gross domestic product this year, compared with 4.7 per cent last year. [ed. hardly a disaster]

Jhitraporn said SME business value had grown only slightly because of an increase in operating costs and a lack of competitiveness.

However, her office plans to help with product development and data to meet market demand. [ed. oh god!]

Though some SMEs are disappearing, others are emerging. So far this year 40,000 new SMEs have registered.

"SMEs have to develop niche products not cheaper products because they cannot compete with imports from China. But they have to develop trendy products or creative products that meet demand both domestically and internationally," she said. [ed. sweetie, let the free market figure out what's really needed]

The office will spend Bt700 million to help SMEs in the fiscal year ending next September. [ed. how many schools would that fund? total waste of taxpayer money]

That money will pay for new development centres. There are just six today but within the next 12 months their number will grow to 30. Centres provide suggestions for product development to meet customer demand both here and abroad. [ed. Thai government bureaucrats are going to give product development advice? Where do all these stupid ideas come from? I thought it was Thaksin, but he's gone now]

The office has another Bt500 million to spend expanding One Tambon One Product (OTOP) products. [ed. please de-list that line item from the central budget unless an equivalent return in tax revenue can be shown from last year's OTOP program]

Jhitraporn said makers of OTOP products had the potential to become SMEs if they received good advice and developed packaging and design. [ed. most OTOP products are a piece of shit that operate in a vacuum with no consumer demand. Demanding that SMEs spend more on packaging is not going to help.]

"Our target in the next year is not a high growth of SME numbers but to help existing operators produce high-quality products and strengthen businesses that will survive competition," she said.

Her office in conjunction with the Federation of Thai Industries has created six new projects to strengthen SMEs. It will spend Bt1.2 billion doing so.

These projects include promotion of industry standards, training, business matching between producers and buyers, logistics development, machinery renovation and industry development in provincial areas. All projects will last one year. [ed. what is needed is a fundamental overall of the Thai educational system, from the ground up. Nothing else will help]

Jhitraporn added it would soon work with other industry associations in similar joint ventures.

Today there are almost 2.25 million SMEs and 5,000 are active exporters.

Exporting SMEs recorded sales of Bt1.37 trillion in 2005 and that figure will be Bt1.54 trillion this year - a 12-per-cent increase.

Jhitraporn said if the target were met, SME export growth would average 11 per cent a year. [ed. so if we spend 1.2 billion baht and SME exports don't increase 11 percent by next year, can we shut this thing down?]

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul,

Somluck Srimalee

[ed. will you two newsies follow up this story in a year's time? Or even relate it to similarily idiotic stories from last year and the year before? No, of course not.]

The Nation

And now, a good summary of what really ails SMEs in Thailand:

Product development is not the main concern for SMEs

Re: "Thousands of SMEs predicted to go under", Business, November 20.

A government office giving suggestions about product development sounds like a bad idea. As the owner of a small SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) going for the high value-added, high-tech market, competing directly with European products, I think the biggest problems are:

1. Lack of skilled staff

2. Suppliers responding too slowly. In Singapore and China we receive quotations the same day. In Thailand it takes a week - but only after calling the supplier daily.

3. People not doing what they say they will do.

Please address these fundamental issues first, as they are the main reasons SMEs go under, not the products.

JB

Bangkok

Thailand's IP double standards -- the baby lizard with the forked tongue wants somethng for nothing

2006-11-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

Why don't the Thais get rid of the IT black market at nearly every shopping mall in Bangkok, Panthip in particular, before whining about someone patenting a drink with lychee flavoring in it, or bitching to the WTO about shrimp import quotas. Last I checked, the WTO considers intellectual property rights to be an important element of cross border trade that each and every member is expected to do their part to uphold and protect. Thailand has failed miserably at this, due to lack of honest effort. If the US decided to take this to the WTO, I am sure they would 'win'. But as a certain Thai trade negotiator is about to find out, 'winning' at the WTO is not the same as winning favorable trade for your country. That is done through trust, mutual respect for protocol, and competent negotiation between the two countries. The US side keeps showing up, ready to do business, but where are their competent counterparts on the Thai side?

Re: "Warning over Apec-wide FTA", Business, November 16.

This article warns about the possible dangers of an Asia-Pacific free trade area and the fact that the US wishes to enforce its intellectual property rules.

Some time back, a letter from a Thai professor stated words to the effect that, "Those cunning Americans will enforce ... IT rules ... [which would] cost Thais billions".

A few days later there was an article about an American company that wanted a patent on some kind of Thai fruit drink. This was met with fierce opposition in Thailand and a vehement desire to protect Thailand's intellectual property.

I don't care if the US trades with Thailand or not, but how do you deal with people who admit to being pirates and have two sets of standards?

Raymond O'Neal

Texas

21 hurt as Thai Airways nearly collides with Korean jetliner

2006-11-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

Total silence from the Thais on this. Accountability? Just last year, another Thailand based carrier, Phuket Air, was banned from landing at European airports due to longstanding failure to correct a variety of serious safety issues. It was Phuket Air which famously criticized passengers after an incident in which takeoff was aborted due to panic over copious amounts of aviation fuel spilling from the wing of one of their aircraft.

from The Nation:

21 hurt in plane's near-miss over SKorea

A THAI aircraft was suspected of flying on the same altitude of a Taiwanese plane and nearly caused collision.

SEOUL - Twenty-one people aboard a Taiwanese plane were injured Thursday when it was forced to change course to avoid another aircraft while approaching South Korea's Jeju island, airline officials said.

Nineteen of them needed hospital treatment and three are still in hospital including one with a brain haemorrhage, medical staff said.

The accident happened when a Boeing 757 operated by the Far Eastern Air Transport Corporation was approaching the southern resort island.

Airline spokesman Chang You-peng said the plane was told by flight controllers to reduce altitude from 35,000 feet to 34,000 feet.

But an alarm designed to avoid airborne collisions went off, prompting the pilots to make an emergency descent for around 10 seconds, Chang told AFP in Taipei.

"The pilots said they suspected it was a Thai jetliner flying nearby on the same altitude," he added, praising their "correct and proper" handling of the incident.

The pilots had no time to warn passengers of the sudden descent, Chang said, adding that 16 passengers and five crew were injured out of 129 passengers and eight crew members on board.

Medical officials in Jeju said two people suffered fractured ribs and one had a brain haemorrhage.,

Chang said around half the passengers were en route to Shanghai and were transiting in South Korea.

A four-member team from South Korea's transport ministry was sent to Jeju to investigate.

"An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the accident by analyzing the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the aircraft and interviewing the pilots, flight attendants and passengers," said ministry official Byeon Soon-Cheol.

"We don't know yet what caused the airplane to lose height so suddenly."

An official at Incheon Air Traffic Centre said the flight lost height some 50-60 miles (31-37 miles) south of Jeju.

"It is true that a Thai Airways aircraft was flying nearby," said the official, adding that it was bound for Bangkok after taking off from Incheon west of Seoul.

Agence France-Presse

UBC, Thai culture, and honesty -- a fundamental problem with telling the truth

2006-11-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

Being told absurd bald-faced lies by Thai customer service agents is routine in Thailand, especially where state sanctioned monopolies like UBC (the local cable company) and TOT (the predominant landline provider) are concerned. Often, the stupidity of this policy is underscored by the fact that it would be easier and more effective to simply state the truth than concoct fabulous lies.

In this case, UBC has cancelled the MTV and VH1 (two channels that form the basis of most customers' decision to sign an overpriced 'premium' contract) because the licensing fees would cut into UBC's existing profit more than offering third rate and basically free local programming.

UBC's inability to face up to this business decision and accept some acocuntability for it by maintaining some modicum of honesty and consistency in its message to customers is just a reflection of the inherent corruptness of Thai social practice and 'culture'. Until monopolies like tihs are disbanded, there will be no change in Thai society, as there will no opportunity for competitors to adopt a strategy of accountability and directness, which they might easily do as a means to distinguish themselves and gain a competitive edge. This has already happened to some extent with the deregulation of the mobile phone market as upstarts DTAC and TRUE introduced a simplified and above-board fee structure that eventually prompted industry dinosaur AIS to do the same.

from The Nation:

UBC keeps changing story on departure of music channels

Is it actually possible to get an honest answer from UBC? On the first of this month I called to enquire the wherabouts of MTV and VH1. I was told the channels were dropped because UBC had replaced them with "alternative channels"; namely Mahjung TV and TRUE Music, neither of which carry international music.

I called again on Friday to ask whether they had reconsidered and was told that actually they had wanted to keep MTV and VH1 but that those companies refused to sign a new contract with UBC. To quote: "Why would we cancel those channels when so many of our subscribers like them?"

Exactly! Why would they? And why would I be told two different stories? In the past I have enquired regarding English subtitles for movies such as Suriyothai and was told that subtitles weren't available. A curious excuse as I had already watched it at the cinema with subtitles! UBC seem to think that a polite voice and a "sir" or "khun" represents customer service rather than actually telling their customers the truth.

The sooner this monopoly is broken the better

40 Thai schools close as southern violence intensifies

2006-11-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

from The Nation:

Over 40 schools in Narathiwat closed after teacher slain by militants

Narathiwat - Over 40 schools in the Rusoh district are closed Thursday with no schedule for reopening after a female teacher was killed by a drive-by shooting on Wednesday.

Phairaj Saengthong, director of Narathiwat's Education Zone 1, said the schools stopped teaching because teachers feared about their safety and because they wanted to mourn the death of the female teacher.

Kulthida Inchampa, 33, acting deputy director of Lamoh School, was shot dead by militants while she was riding her motorcycle home after classes.

Phairaj said Kulthida had been teaching in the area for over 10 years and had a role for education development in the area.

Thailand's top heavy military bureaucracy gets a shake-up to forestall second coup in one year

2006-11-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

The question not asked by The Nation, as usual, is why a small country like Thailand with an outmoded and generally ridiculous army, total control over its borders, and little influence in international affairs would have hundreds if not thousands of 'Lieutenant Colonels'. Unreal.

Thai Army rotates 136 lieutenant colonels

The Army Friday released a list of rotations involving 136 lieutenant colonels assigned to battalion-level positions, seen by critics as an attemt to foil a second coup.

The list took effect since Tuesday and was endorsed by Army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin.

Army insiders said Sonthi had ordered his two assistants, General Saprang Kalayanamitr and General Anupong Paochinda, to reassign battalion commanders.

Sonthi's instruction coincided with the military jittery caused by the warning of former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh over the weekend.

The new lineup included Lt Colonel Banyong Thongnuam as commander of the Second Battalion of the First Infantry Regiment.

Lt Colonel Surin Preeyanupap became commander of the First Battalion of the Second Infantry Regiment.

The Nation

Thais reject US call to negotiate shrimp case because a renegade Thai bureaucratic thinks she can make big face and 'win'

2006-11-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, Thais fight for every last red cent they can squeeze out of a relationship today, fuck the future. Why does the US coddle these asses? Didn't we just extend the General System of Trade Preferences to help our little monkey friends here? And now they take up shrimp duties straight to the WTO, despite a diplomatic overture to settle things quietly? Fuck them, and fuck Thailand. Bring the trade war. You are seeing the true Thai national character, which is like that of spoiled brat adolescent-- smug, selfish to their own detriment, credentialed but far from educated ruling class, self-important, irrational, myopic, unreliable, incapable of comprehending the concept of partnership.

US call to drop shrimp case rejected

Thailand has insisted that it will continue to pursue a complaint lodged with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the United States for employing unfair trade practices against Thai shrimp exporters, despite a US request to cancel the petition.

The complaint relates to a practice called zeroing, under which sales that could reduce or remove margins are not counted.

Chutima Bunyapraphasara, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said Friday that Thailand was confident of winning the case. Although Washington has offered to review its zeroing calculation methods if the case is withdrawn, she said Thailand would follow the complaint through because the US practice clearly violates WTO regulations.

The Thai petition accuses the US of implementing dual trade protection measures against Thai shrimp since March this year through a continuous bond and an anti-dumping duty.

If Thailand succeeds in having zeroing removed the dumping duties on Thai shrimp entering the US would probably be heavily reduced or removed.

The WTO is considering setting up a panel with representatives from India, Mexico, Brazil, China, Chile and the European Union to review the case in January next year.

The Nation

US business leaders "puss out" on further action after meeting with Thai PM

2006-11-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

The US Chamber of Commerce came away with some empty words, broken promises, and forked tongue PR speak, and in true cowardly kiss-ass fashion declared victory. When are there going to learn that monkeys don't respect you in the morning?

Nevermind that Thailand has become, through it's government policy, one of the most hostile, corrupt, and inefficient countries to do business in this side of North Korea. Two-faced as well, because Thailand positively drools over foreign money then immediately slaps the face attached to the hand that feeds it, by blaming foreigners for Thai misdeeds and piling additional arcane and idiotic regulations on to a creaking bureaucracy of PO-faced Somchais who can barely comprehend and execute the ones in place now.

Hey Daley, whatever happened to the Treaty of Amity, goddamnit?

APEC SUMMIT
US firms 'committed to Thailand'

American business leaders affirm their support following Surayud's 'frank and professional articulation of policy'

American business leaders yesterday expressed their commitment to do business in Thailand after meeting Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

Matthew Daley, president of the US-Asean Business Council, said after the one-hour meeting: "I think the audience emphasised the commitment to Thailand and determination to continue business operations in Thailand. Everybody who spoke made that affirmation."

Surayud met with around 30 American businessmen from companies such as Chevron, Citigroup Inc, ConocoPhillips, FedEx, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co, Microsoft, New York Life International, Oracle, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Qualcom, Boeing, Dow Chemical, Time Warner, Saltchuck and Sierra Machinery.

Nicholas C Walsh, executive vice president of American International Group, said after meeting Surayud: "He is very open, very frank in his views on many issues. We appreciated his answers very much. He's very professional."

Asked if martial law had hindered his business operation in Thailand, Walsh said: "I am in the financial business, and there's business as usual."

Daley said: "We welcomed the prime minister's articulation of policy. There is recognition that there would be continuity in economic policy. He said that he believed his term in office will be only one year and so he's conscious that with some projects he can lay the foundations but perhaps will not see them through to completion."

Surayud's meeting was a highlight of his trip to Vietnam. Officials said his main agenda was to clarify the Thai situation to Apec investors.

Daley said the meeting had touched a wide variety of issues. For instance, the American audience asked about the maritime border dispute with Cambodia. Some also asked about the regulatory environment for the media, tourism and the telecommunications sector.

Surayud aimed to assure foreign investors that the military-installed government would continue to follow an open economic policy.

Before the meeting with American investors, Surayud gave a speech during the CEO summit. Catherine Weir, Citigroup's head of Asean corporate and investment banking, introduced Surayud to the podium by describing him as a "man known for his modesty and strong sense of duty to Thailand".

Asked what he planned to say to US President George W Bush at today's meeting between Asean and US leaders, Surayud said he did not plan to say anything specific.

"Nothing special. We are trying to do our best in a short period of time. I didn't think I wanted to do it [become prime minister], but it's a necessity. When I agree to do it, I have to do my best."

new parliament takes up issue of civil servants who aided in Thaksin admin. policy corruption

2006-11-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

NLA members lay into Thaksin

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra became an easy punching-bag for members of the National Legislative Assembly as they debated the new government's policies yesterday.

Surin Pitsuwan, an NLA member from the Democrat Party, slammed the Thaksin government for not ratifying the International Criminal Court, to which the Kingdom became a signatory under the Chuan Leekpai administration in 2000.

He asked the current government's position on the court.

Thaksin's foot-dragging on the issue was reportedly influenced by the United States, which openly opposed the idea out of concern it would be treated unfairly in the international forum.

Surin did not limit his attack to Thaksin, extending it to bureaucrats as well. He asked why the Department for Special Investigation (DSI) had suddenly come across evidence to support the belief that Somchai Neelaphaijit may have been killed.

"Is this the same DSI that was serving under the previous government?" he said.

Surichai Wankaeo, Chulalongkorn University sociologist-cum-NLA member, started his debate of the Surayud Chulanont government policies by stating that this government had to right the Thaksin administration's wrong.

"The past government caused a lot of damage to the country ... we are having a crisis of values and morality. The restoration will take the brains of the entire nation [not only this government]," he said.

Another member, Phaisarn Phuetmongkol, urged the new government to review mega-projects launched by the previous administration, as it might be able to save about Bt100 billion.

Phaisarn cited the government office centre project as an example. He said the previous administration had forced government agencies to lease space for offices from the private sector at an inflated rate of Bt400 per square metre, four times the market rate.

Phaisarn said the project would cost the government about Bt86 billion but if the government built the centre itself, it would have to pay only Bt13 billion. [ed. isn't this grounds for criminal charges?]

Mob of Isaan vendors block official opening of Chiang Mai Royal Flora 2006

2006-11-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Visitors being dropped off inside expo venue, leaving hundreds of stall owners along access road fuming

The main gate to Royal Flora Ratchaphruek was blocked for three hours yesterday by some 400 food and souvenir vendors protesting against "unfair" traffic rules that robbed them of customers.

"We host the world-class event, but we can't benefit from it," an angry food hawker said.

The locals had secured spots along Ratchaphruek Road leading to the expo site to cater to passers-by but complained that vehicles were not allowed to drop off visitors on the way. They slammed the event organiser for ignoring them while letting outsiders snap up food and souvenirs concessions on the expo grounds.

"We want a clear answer on how the organiser will help us. We spent a lot on rent, but can't make any money," Sakda Phreuksapan said.

He said he already paid Bt60,000 for three months' rent on a small roadside booth but sold only seven glasses of herbal drink yesterday.

One food vendor gave her wares away at the gathering.

Some traders asked for the 700-metre-long Ratchaphruek Road to be closed off to traffic from 3pm-10pm and turned into a walking street where they could market their wares. Others said they want the road to remain open but police must allow cars to stop along the road or at the private parking lots along the road.

The demonstrators dispersed after a deputy governor and the deputy provincial police commander promised to take them today to meet the governor, the director-general of the Agriculture Department, and Reed Tradex, the organiser. However, the protesters were asked to come to an agreement on their demands.

To prevent traffic jams and provide a convenient means of transport, the organiser prohibited non-official vehicles from entering the site and arranged for shuttle buses to pick up visitors and take them directly into the venue. While the traffic system was appreciated by tourists, it left the merchants outside the fairgrounds fuming.

The protestors said about 10,000 small shops had set up along Ratchaphruek Road. And they already paid high rent to the landowners because they expected that they could generate income from the international horticultural exposition. The rent ranged from Bt40,000-Bt120,000 for three months, depending on the size and location of the booth. They claimed the organisers had promised that Ratchaphruek Road would be crowded during the three months of the expo, as the road would be closed.

Preecha Sananvattananant, Reed Tradex's chief officer and project manager for event operations, activities and communications, said he was ready to follow the new traffic system arranged by police, as his company's responsibility was for only inside the expo.

"There are many ways to manage [the traffic system]. Police have to consider whether they want to keep the existing one that is comfortable for visitors," he said.

Pennapa Hongthong

The Nation

CHIANG MAI

criminal charges finally dropped against 2004 Tak Bai survivors; PM Surayad apologizes for massacre

2006-11-02T03:45:00.000-08:00

Charges dropped
The Justice Ministry yesterday agreed to drop charges against 58 suspects in the infamous Tak Bai protest as prosecutors have insufficient evident to prove their guilt, Justice Minister Charnchai Likhitjittha said yesterday.

The decision was made after a meeting of officials from the Office of the Attorney-General and the National Human Rights Commission, which responded to calls from the suspects and human rights defenders.

"The decision is a part of efforts to bring justice and reconciliation to people in the three southern border provinces," Charnchai said.

The 58 suspects were charged with illegal gathering and public disturbance after a bloody protest in front of Tak Bai district police station on October 25, 2004. The effort to quell the protest killed 85 people, including 78 who died of suffocation during transportation from the protest site to Pattani. The Tak Bai incident raised international outrage over the brutal crackdown.

But not all 58 suspects will escape the law completely as officials have solid evidence to pin down some of them in connection with masterminding the protest to create trouble in the region, Charnchai said.

Pattani - Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont made an emotional plea to the residents of the Muslimmajority region and publicly apologized for the death of at least 85 people who had taken part in the Tak Bai demonstrators two years ago.

In his first visit to the Malay-speaking in his capacity as the prime minister, Surayud stressed the need for reconciliation and "to move forward as a nation."

"I came here to apologize to you on behalf of the previous government and on behalf of this government. What had happened in the past was mostly the fault of the state," Surayudh told a packroom of about 1,000 local residents from all walks of life in this Muslim majority region who came to greet him.

"We must look for ways to work together. I came here today to extend my hand to you and to tell you that I was wrong. I came to apologize," said Surayudh who was greeted by a big round of applause for what was billed as a long over due apology.

Chiang Mai Royal Flora 2006 shoiw

2006-11-02T03:39:00.000-08:00

Typical Thai arrogance and lack of planning = the usual cockups. You have to be insane to attend events like this in Thailand.

The inadequacy of electric trailers and golf cars to take the visitors around the exposition was the main subject.

"I appreciated the exposition, but the trailer service is unacceptable," said Major General Thanee Wattanaphuti, a 76-year-old retired soldier, who waited three hours to get a trailer.

Thanee said the exposition was of the same high standard as the flower show he attended in the Netherlands four years ago, but the service here did not compare.

Soon after the gate was opened, the main station for trailers and golf cars became a scene of chaos, packed with visitors angry about inadequate vehicles and the staff's inability to arrange a queue.

While the organisers expected about 30,000 visitors a day, their total number of trailers and golf cars can only serve about 1,000 people - for round trips that take about 40 minutes each.

The food halls were a subject of complaint. One elderly woman from Lampang said she had to eat standing as no seat was available. And some toilets, including those near the Press Centre were already out of order.

The Royal Pavilion, described as the "heart" of the expo and a "must-see" attraction, was closed yesterday to prepare for the opening ceremony by the Princess.

Bottle trees from Australia were the talk of the town among many visitors due to their remarkable shape, but some other special trees were hard to locate.

more lying bastards at SCB Bank

2006-10-30T08:54:00.000-08:00

More answers needed on Temasek-Shin deal

Re: "Chirayu defends SCB's role in Shin deal", Business, October 28.

Chirayu Isarangkun na Ayutthaya, the chairman of Siam Commercial Bank and head of the Crown Property Bureau, is disingenuous at best when he blithely states that the bank's role in the Temasek-Shin deal was purely to help an indirect partner, Temasek, and further SCB's retail banking reach. Blatantly taking for granted the intelligence of the public, he failed to admit the integral role played by SCB's wholly-owned subsidiary, SCB Securities, who acted as advisor on the deal. Under the leadership of ML Chayotid Kridakorn and his management team, SCBS advised not only on the Temasek-Shin deal but also the prior, cookie-cutter Telenor-Ucom deal, along with the same team of Goldman Sachs and Hunton & Williams, who served as financial and legal advisors, respectively. They would have been directly involved in due diligence, financial and tax structuring, and the crossing of shares when the stakes were initially traded and at the time of the subsequent tender offers. The largest deal in Thailand for a long time, Chirayu must be aware of the substantial advisory fees and huge commissions on the stock trades that were earned.

SCBS would have been closely involved in advising on the "chain principle" transactions - a euphemism for nominee? - for all the companies which became the final shareholders in both the Telenor and Temasek holdings in Ucom-TAC and Shin-AIS, respectively, including the now notorious Kularb Kaew. Tellingly, most - if not all - of these companies have their registered address at Thai Wah Tower II on South Sathorn Road. Chirayu wears many hats. I ask him to speak sincerely and with probity, for all our sakes.

Chingchok on the Wall

Bangkok

Deputy Thai PM says new Suvarnabhumi airport an embarrassment to Thailand

2006-10-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

from the Bangkok Post:

Deputy PM says airport is embarrassing

AoT ordered to stop thinking of expansion

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula took senior Transport Ministry and airport officials to task yesterday for Suvarnabhumi airport's substandard services, which have become a big source of embarrassment for the country.

A lengthy campaign to project it as a world class airport has only brought embarrassment, he said.

Unhappy about the facilities, he has ordered Airports of Thailand (AoT) officials to stop thinking about expanding the airport and instead spend more energy and time over the next six months to make improvements to its services, according to sources at a closed-door meeting yesterday. The airport should first be worthy of praise for its services before any expansion is undertaken, he was quoted as saying.

Suvarnabhumi can currently handle 45 million passengers a year and officials hope to make it the region's biggest once the airport is fully expanded.

M.R. Pridiyathorn blamed the rush to open the airport for its poor services and stressed the need to rebuild its reputation, said the sources.

"Although the airport and its hardware are considered world class, its facilities are not. This is worrisome and everyone involved must help bring about improvements to the airport because it has been under constant criticism since the day it came into operation," said M.R. Pridiyathorn, who has already used Suvarnabhumi's services three times.

None of the senior officials attending the meeting disagreed with M.R. Pridiyathorn, who is also finance minister, and they promised to quickly get rid of the problems.

Most complaints from travellers have been about insufficient toilets, signs to direct passengers, and a shortage of meeting space, especially at the arrivals lounge.

Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen, his deputy Sansern Wongcha-um and AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya have all admitted that had the airport's opening been delayed, these problems would not have cropped up. "It's undeniable that the problems resulted from the decision to open the airport too soon when it was not ready," said Mr Chotisak.

The opening of Suvarnabhumi was ordered by the previous government amid warnings that its facilities were not yet ready to offer standard services.

The AoT top executive said the agency had earmarked about 40 million baht to build more toilets inside and outside the terminal by the end of the year.

Fifty toilets will be added outside the airport building and 205 additional toilets will be built inside on the first, second and fourth floors, with some of them occupying areas now being used as the AoT offices, according to Mr Chotisak.

M.R. Pridiyathorn promised to continue a plan of the previous government to build more mass transit lines to transport commuters from residential areas outside Bangkok to the downtown area.

The previous administration picked three lines for construction _ the Red Line from Rangsit to Phaya Thai, the Violet Line from Bang Sue to Bang Yai and the Blue Line route, an expansion of the underground train from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae and Bang Sue to Tha Phra.

Their future depends on next week's talks, when the deputy premier will assess the benefits of the three routes with key officials at the Transport Ministry, including its minister and deputy, and those from the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority of Thailand and the State Railway of Thailand. But the policy is clear-cut, according to M.R. Pridiyathorn, who wants to see the mass transit lines to end traffic woes in the capital and enable users living in suburban areas to travel to Bangkok within an hour.

Thailand's Surakiart fails in UN bid, and rightly so

2006-10-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

excellent editorial from The Nation:

Some lessons from the failed UN bid

Thailand and Asean have both been made to look foolish by backing the ill-considered Surakiart campaign

Four valuable lessons can be drawn from Thailand's failed and wasteful campaign to get one of its own in the United Nations' top job. First, the candidate selected by the former government for the job was there for all the wrong reasons. Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was the biggest supporter of Surakiart Sathirathai's bid, thinking naively and selfishly that he could promote himself and Thailand if Surakiart prevailed. Even fielding a candidate for the position would raise Thailand's profile and help spread Thaksin's name around the world. What a cheeky way to promote a country.

Unfortunately, all the campaign to win Surakiart the UN's top job has done is hurt Thailand's reputation and diplomatic practices. Recent efforts have created a lot of criticism among New York-based diplomats, and now it could take years to smooth things over.

The other disappointment is that Thailand had plenty of other good potential candidates, people who would have been much more suitable in terms of personality, intellectual capacity and integrity. Too bad, then, that the Thaksin government opted to be partisan and myopic, refusing to even countenance the possibility that a better candidate existed.

So, it all boiled down to a foolish decision involving foolish people. In the future, the government will have to set up a more reasonable selection process if the country is to successfully put forward candidates for such high-profile positions.

Second, Asean must take some of the blame. This whole situation is something of a slap in Asean's collective face. In fact, this could be one of the biggest diplomatic blunders that the grouping has committed since it admitted Burma. For one thing, Asean staked its reputation and institutional integrity on backing the Thai candidate without first careful vetting his suitability. Of course, most member countries reluctantly supported Surakiart only because Thailand announced his candidacy three years before anybody else. The early bird got the worm, apparently.

This situation also revealed the weakness of Asean when it comes to talking to each other in a frank manner when sensitive issues are in play. None of the member countries had the guts to stand up and say at the beginning that there was no chance the Thai bid would succeed. [ed. a crude and archaic social philosophy known as 'face' destroys SE-Asia, yet again]

At the ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur last year, Singapore warned the other members of Asean that the South Korean candidate Ban Ki-moon had the right combination of support, but nobody listened. Of course, solidarity to the point of collective suicide is sort of the Asean way. In the future, Asean will have to learn how to speak out on such issues so it can head off potential embarrassments.

Third, now that Ban looks like a shoo-in for the post, how can Asean reconcile with South Korea, Japan and China, which strongly supported him? Asean's failure to cooperate with three Asian powers also revealed a lack of trust between them. These countries should have agreed on one candidate in the very beginning instead of fighting until the every end. On the surface, Asean seems to have believed that that its candidate would get backing from China and Japan, as well as the rest of the world. Imagine their surprise when the opposite occurred.

If Asean learns nothing else from the competition for the top UN spot, it must accept that its reputation does not carry as much weight as it may have once thought. Asean no longer commands the respect it did in the past. It is withering.

Finally, the Thai government must be held accountable for spending public money on such a foolish errand. The Council of National Security was too generous in allowing the candidate to continue his quest for the top spot even though he had condemned its actions on the night of the coup.

In the past three years, several hundred million baht - which could have be used to build at least 3,000 much-needed schools in the provinces - was wasted on first-class tickets, expensive wine and other perks and amenities. Worst of all, it will soon be payback time. Thailand made plenty of promises during the campaign that are likely to cost the country a fortune in terms of diplomatic reciprocity in the years to come.

Illegal logging results in oen of the worst flood seasons in Thai history

2006-10-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Flooding is probably the most tangible and observable consequence of the corruption and lack of effective leadership at all levels of Thai society.

from The Nation:

Angthong under water, and 7 more drown Health ministry prepares Bt10m for aid as tally of sick hits 100,000

Heavy rain continued to fall in many parts of Thailand as strong currents broke flood-prevention barriers yesterday and left the town of Angthong under 60 centimetres of water.

The Public Health Ministry prepared a Bt10-million budget to help people affected by the floods after the number of sick hit 100,000.

Strong pre-dawn currents burst the barriers at Anthong - piles of sandbags and existing earthen dikes - and submerged government offices, hospitals, schools, and Kasetsuwaphan Market.

Chaiyo, Pa Moke, Wiset Chai Chan, and Sawaengha districts - flooded for nearly 10 days now - also saw water rising.

Governor Wiboon Sanguanpong said floods affected over 10,000 residents in six districts and had damaged over 3,000 rai of farmland. Persistent rain has added to the crisis and prevented officials from assessing damage.

Permanent Secretary for Public Health, Dr Prat Boonyawongwirot, who gave medical supplies to Pa Moke residents, said the ministry had set Bt10 million for a central fund to assist flood victims.

He said nearly 100,000 people in 11 flood-hit provinces had been laid low -suffering conjunctivitis, athlete's foot or diarrhoea.

The floods caused seven more deaths yesterday - three drowned in Sukhothai, one in Tak, one in Nakhon Ratchasima, one in Si Sa Ket, and a student disappeared in strong currents in Prachin Buri.

In Nakhon Sawan, residents in flood-hit Chumsaeng and Kao Lieo districts now suffer foul-smelling stagnant floodwater - and a lack of toilets. Its well-known natural lake, Bung Boraphet, overflowed, inundating 10 tambons in Tha Tako district, while a local market was under 50-centimetres of water.

In Sukhothai town, officials hurried to repair eroded earthen dikes to prevent the rising Nan River from flooding the inner city.

In Phitsanulok, officials gave out 100 pairs of plastic boots to villagers in flood-hit Bang Rakam district to prevent leptospirosis. The province has so far had five cases - but no reported deaths.

In Tak's Phop Phra district, a forest run-off at 5am destroyed one and submerged 10 other homes on the Thai-Burma border.

In Lop Buri, the Pasak Cholasit Dam increased its water release to 35 million cubic metres, after 84 million cubic metres of water poured into the dam yesterday. It is now at 89-per-cent full.

The Royal Irrigation office in Nakhon Ratchasima said Lam Takong, Lam Phra Pleung, Lam Chae, and Lam Mul Bon reservoirs now contain enough water for next year's dry season.

In Khon Kaen's Wang Yai district, heavy rain made the Chi River overflow and flood 9,600 rai of farms; 671 families were affected.

In Si Sa Ket's Uthumphon Phisai district, dozens of homes were under one metre of water following two days of very heavy rain, but people remained positive as the depression had brought much-needed water to drought-stricken crops and would fill reservoirs for next dry season.

The weather bureau said the low-pressure cell - would bring heavy rain to some areas of the lower North, Central, and eastern regions.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon would bring heavy downpours in Bangkok this evening and further rain to the southern provinces of Ranong, Chumphon, and Phang Nga. The department is also monitoring another storm - "Bebinca" - now developing in the Philippines.

Ex-government Thai politicians should not be allowed to hide behind resignation

2006-10-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

from a letter to The Nation:

I'm delighted to see so many Thai Rak Thai members resigning. However, the reason cited in some cases was to avoid being banned from politics for five years if a court were to determine that Thai Rak Thai and its executives had violated the law, requiring disbanding and banning from politics.

If I am not mistaken, their status at the time of the violation is the issue, not their resignation post facto. [ed. Very true. But given the corruption and incompetence of the judiciary here, and the generally soft-brained press and populace, red herrings like that have a real chance of success].

That's good news for Thailand. Excluding such people from politics and from any government post can only improve the health of the Kingdom.

chaos as predicted; difficult check-ins and plenty of lost luggage at Suvarnabhumi

2006-10-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

from The Nation:

Lost baggage, crashed computer check-in systems, shouting passengers - AOT calls opening day a '75% success'

It took the Korean visitors three hours to get their luggage, and they left no one in doubt as to their displeasure. A computer system crash forced staff into the unfamiliar role of manually checking-in passengers. Then more bags were lost and a scrum formed around the "Lost and Found" office. Flights were delayed time and again. Snafu was the order of the day.

Utter chaos for Suvarnabhumi's opening? Definitely not, say the airport's spin doctors.

Officials and system consultants shrugged off the teething problems and expressed complete confidence that Suvarnabhumi Airport would soon be free of "hiccups".

"We are 75 per cent satisfied," Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand Plc, said yesterday. "There were some minor problems that have upset us."

At 11am, the centralised check-in system crashed, first paralysing 11 counters of Thai Airways International and later spreading to 13 counters of Nok Air and some international airlines.

Ground staff resorted to using computer notebooks and filling out boarding passes by hand.

According to reports, many passengers on a variety of flights waited for at least two hours to get their luggage. Over 100 visitors from Incheon, arriving on flight OX301, vented their anger at Thai Airways International's counters. They shouted at THAI ground agents when three hours passed and still their luggage had not appeared. [ed. I don't feel bad for Thai Airways' ground crew, as they are typically the most officious arrogrant pricks imaginable]

Passengers on other flights encountered similar problems. Those on TG343 from Jakarta also waited for three hours. TG 917 from London landed at 3pm and the designated carousel was empty until 5pm. To the dismay of first-class passengers, they retrieved their belongings at the same time as economy-class travellers.

"The Lost and Found counter was flooded with complaints," said a ground officer who asked not to be named.

"Passengers of airlines including THAI and Aerosvit Airlines faced the same problem," said one AOT official.

Air Chief Marshall Chalit Pukbhasuk, chairman of the Council for Democratic Reform's committee in charge of the airport opening, visited the facility at 7am. He acknowledged the foul ups but said all units were attacking the mishaps one by one.

"Problems are common for the first operating hour of a new airport. We should know better later on," he told a swarm of reporters.

AOT's Chotisak said it took time for ground crews to transfer bags from planes to conveyer belts due to the delay in the relocation of baggage handling equipment from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. THAI supplies the AOT with the baggage-handling equipment.

A fierce overnight storm had thrown THAI's schedule for its migration programme completely out of whack. As of 7am, only 80 per cent of the removal was complete.

"The conveyor system functioned well, but there was a problem transferring luggage from the aircraft to the conveyor belts because baggage lorries had not arrived [from Don Muang]," Chotisak said. "This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over."

About 200 suitcases were also found left behind at the airport after some THAI flights took off for domestic and international destinations. [ed. the phrase 'goddamn asshole motherfuckers' comes to mind]

THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni was sure that his airline's system functioned well, but the problem could lie with the baggage handling system, which is under AOT's supervision. [ed. no accountability, pass the blame while denying the problem even exists; uniquely Thai, this incompetence and dishonesty.]

"We are contacting the bag owners to send them their belongings. This is a big blunder happening at THAI," he said.

Somchai Swasdipol, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said AOT is investigating the matter. The bungling could have arisen from the slow transfer of luggage rather than any trouble with the actual baggage handling system, he said.

The botched baggage handling was partially attributable to flights arriving late. About 17 flights were overdue, 45 minutes in the worst case. Most departing passengers anticipated the delay and arrived at the airport well in advance.

The first commercial flight to alight at Suvarnabhumi was also 20 minutes behind schedule. Flying from Kiev, the Aerosvit Airlines plane landed at 4.30am, instead of the original time of 4.10am. It landed at the same time as an EVA Airways flight from Amsterdam.

"Aerosvit's flight was delayed at the originating port, not because of technical problems at Suvarnabhumi," the AOT official said.

Upon arrival, the first passengers received commemorative souvenirs from AOT chairman Srisook Chandrangsu and his management team, who waited in front of Gate E4. One of the passengers was a local from Udon Thani who was unaware that his plane would put down at the new airport.

"I'm confused. Don Muang is more familiar to me as I don't know the traffic network of Suvarnabhumi," he said.

Aerosvit Airlines also operated the first flight from Suvarnabhumi. Bound for Kiev, it left at 5.40am. It took four minutes for each passenger to check in, instead of the normal two minutes at Don Muang, as staff needed time to get used to the new IT system.

Cathay Pacific also operated a flight from Hong Kong, but with only a 55-per-cent load factor rather than the usual 80 per cent.

"Passengers were worried about convenience on the first day of operations," [ed. as well they should be] said Yongyut Lujintanont, marketing manager for Thailand and Burma. The cabin factor should return to normal today, he said.

The chaotic environment on the first day also dulled the appetite for shopping among passengers. Most of the visitors concentrated on checking out the airport's amenities. Some of the duty free shops were still being fitted out and were not open yet. [ed. typical.]

A manager for King Power Duty Free Shop said total sales on the first day were only Bt3,000-Bt4,000, less than 10 per cent of what the company used to ring up at Don Muang. However, she was optimistic that more customers would come later.

Tesco Lotus lets consumers try out electronic gadgets

2006-09-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

A great story on how Tesco is finally bringing an international level of customer service to Thailand. So why again is the Thai Commerce Ministry demanding that Tesco sign a memo prohibiting it from opening more stores? Is it better that Thai consumers buy electronics from sketchy retailers in rented stalls at the local market?

Test drive your gadgets

Tesco Lotus store lets users play around with the technology before buying

SASIWIMON BOONRUANG

A customer tests a mobile phone at Tesco Lotus recently. — PHOTOS BY SASIWIMON BOONRUANG

IT product displays that offer customers a chance to "look but not feel" are a thing of the past at Tesco Lotus Rama IV branch, which is revamping its IT section and introducing "try before you buy" counters where customers can test any product before deciding to purchase.

The IT section has a new look and has also increased the number of IT and consumer electronics items that it offers.

The Rama IV branch will pilot the try-before-you-buy concept with a range of brands and products, including phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and camcorders.

In the mobile phone area, for example, once a customer picks up an N70 Nokia, an LCD monitor on the counter will automatically show the features of that phone, with no need for assistance from counter staff. They could also test the sound quality of the MP3 players in the same way they listen to music through headphones at CD shops.

Sales staff are on-hand when needed though, explained Tesco Lotus CEO Jeff Adams. "The customer will get a neutral sales staff who won't be cheering for a particular brand because all the 30 sales staff are Tesco Lotus employees, not from the suppliers," he said.

Tesco Lotus CEO Jeff Adams says customers can see how the products actually work, touch them and check out the various features.

Once the customer decides on a product, they pick up a tag nearby the stand of that demo model to show at the counter, which will then provide a competely new item.

Adams said customers want to be able to check a product thoroughly before making a significant purchase, but often sales representatives simply show them the price and leave the product locked in the display cabinet.

"We know how frustrating this can be so we decided to give the customers what they told us they want," the CEO explained. "So here is the display where they can see the products actually working, they can touch them, check out functions and get a feel from them," he added, noting that this was the first service of its kind offered in Thailand today.

In line with the new display approach, Tesco Lotus has increased the number of products available, although Adams said pricing would remain competitive.

"We still position ourselves on competitive pricing plus value add because customers today are not concerned on price only," the CEO said.

The super store also plans to expand the IT shopping concept to a further 20 branches around Bangkok by early 2007.

Competition Meanwhile IT City, the pioneering IT retailer that today has the largest coverage area nationwide, will open four new branches. This will give it 30 branches by the end of this year - 13 in Bangkok and 17 upcountry.

IT City president Ekachai Sirijirapatana predicted that Thais would follow the US when it comes to consumer behaviour, although he noted that the market here was 10 years behind the US. [ed. IT City tends to focus on lower end products at very uncompetitive prices, and in terms of staff training and after sale support they are much more than 10 years behind the US]

"American people mostly buy IT products from modern trade or specialty stores such as Com[p]USA, BestBuy, Circuit City, WalMart, Costco, while such IT stores in Thailand account for around 15 percent of the overall market," he said.

Citing a report by IDC and the Association of Thai Computer Industry (ATCI), Mr Ekachai pointed out that home-use and small office and home office (SOHO) users was the fastest growing sector here. He said this group was more likely to buy IT and electronics products at a shopping centre.

He also noted that with a PC penetration rate of just 7-8 percent, there was still a lot of room for growth.

"IT City today concentrates on IT and IT-related products and our strategy is to be close to customers," Mr Ekachai said. [ed. IT City is one of the worst options for buying electronics in Thailand. It caters to totally clueless consumers, who just can't be bothered to figure out that shops next door sell the same product with better warranty for 40% less.]

Other competitors such as electonics specialist Power Buy claimed the new Tesco Lotus strategy would have little effect on its business. "We are now monitoring them to see how long it takes to work because Tesco Lotus has had to change an entire buying system," said Sa-angthip Amornchat, Power Buy vice president of marketing. [ed. no, they had to change an entrenched Thai mentality regarding the sale of consumer electronics, which is inherently more difficult but can be done (like other Tesco innovations) with appropriate and direct leadership. Good luck to Power Buy]

Founded in 1997, Power Buy started with home appliances and diversified into IT products several years ago.

Mrs Sa-angthip agreed that the IT market had big potential for growth and said Power Buy shops were also broadening. "We are not a hardcore IT store like IT City, we do not speak a technical language, but we talk to end-users generally," she said. The marketing VP noted that Power Buy had conducted in-house training for its personal consultants for over four years now. Consultants at all 72 branches nationwide have to pass training at its headquarters.

Among Power Buy's three major sectors - audio visual (AV), home appliances and digital IT - the vice president said that digital IT accounted for 45 percent of the total business and was the highest growth division. Notebook computers grew at 100 percent in the last year, while digital cameras grew at 20 percent and mobile phones 40 percent.

Mrs Sa-angthip said the digital revolution was still in the early stages, while consumers also have more purchasing power than in the past. "Unless the economic situation turns bad, the technology market will grow far beyond what it is today," she concluded.

Tesco, Carrefour, 7-11 and others hang tough in the face of Thai Commerce Department thuggery

2006-09-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

It's really really simple. Retail law should benefit the consumer, and Commerce Department regulations should be written to reflect the interests of the consumer, not some loud-mouth mom and pop lobby that's trying to stick it to the chain stores. Most consumers prefer to shop at a brightly lit, well stocked shop with fixed fair prices and convenient locale like 7-11 than hike several kilometers to some indifferent Thai shop run out of someone's dingy living room where you have to haggle with some cretin over a carton of stale milk.

Big retailers refuse to sign store freeze

Commerce Ministry threatens more rules

PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP

Operators of 15 modern retail businesses refused to sign an agreement to freeze their store expansion at a meeting with Commerce Ministry officials yesterday. Some executives told officials they had no authorisation to make such commitments and would need to consult with their offices, adding that they needed more details of the proposal.

The response displeased Preecha Laohapongchana, the caretaker deputy commerce minister. Mr Preecha said retailers would have to stop store expansion voluntarily or would face tougher regulations that could make growth even more difficult.

The ministry gave the retailers a week to think about their position and rescheduled the signing of a memorandum of understanding for next Wednesday. The agreement would call for them to freeze expansion until a new retail law or regulations are passed.

The Commerce Ministry has been under pressure from small local retailers and suppliers, who for the past few weeks have been staging protests demanding the government do more to deal with big foreign retail chains.

The small operators claim they cannot compete in terms of price, selection or amenities with the chains, from convenience stores to discount hypermarkets. Including nearly 3,000 7-Eleven stores, the big chains have a total of about 3,700 outlets and are expected to have 4,700 within two years.

Mr Preecha has threatened ministerial announcements to control the business if big retailers do not sign an agreement.

He did not specify how long expansion should be frozen. ''It would not take a long time and would depend on how much co-operation retailers give us,'' Mr Preecha said.

He said the agreement would contain provisions for big retailers and government officials to study how to help small shops survive in a more competitive market.

Mr Preecha blamed modern retailers for lacking the intention to solve environmental problems such as traffic and pollution, caused directly by aggressive store expansion.

Gwyn Sundhagul, customer marketing director of Tesco Lotus, said his company was ready to comply with the state rules whether they were fair or not.

''But,we want the government to carefully consider any new regulations. Besides, we want to know which is the real party that has been affected by the problem,'' Mr Gwyn said.

He said that if consumers were affected by Lotus's business, they would not be visiting its stores.

Mr Preecha acknowledged that Tesco Lotus was popular because it offered good prices, but said the rapid expansion of its smaller Express outlets in subdistricts and tambons had worried local retailers.

But Mr Gwyn argued that only 100 Tesco Express outlets were available in Bangkok, compared with around 380,000 shophouses.

Currently, four Tesco Lotus outlets are being constructed in addition to 18 Tesco Express stores and one Talad Lotus.

Praphan Eamrungroj, senior vice-president for properties at Big C Supercenter Plc, said halting store expansion would not only affect retailers but also contractors and new job opportunities.

Currently, Big C has three new outlets under construction in Chiang Mai, Samui and Chon Buri.

According to Jariya Chirathivat, vice-president for marketing and communication at Big C, she believed both traditional and modern retailers could co-exist as consumers still patronised both types of businesses.

Mr Gwyn cited figures by the market research firm ACNielsen, which found that the frequency of visits to small shops had increased to 19 times per month as of March, from 17 a year earlier. In the same period, it said, hypermarket visits declined to twice a month from four times.

As well, the survey reported, 87% of respondents still patronised small grocery stores and 78% went to wet markets.

Suchada Ithijarukul, the president of Siam Makro Plc, said her company had 470,000 members. Of the total, 323,000 are small grocery stores, which rose by 5,400 from the same period last year.

She added that 65% of total sales at Makro were to small grocery stores and shops, and were up 15% year-on-year in the first eight months of 2006.

After almost 7 years, Thai court still deliberating murder vs suicide in Hangthong Thammawattana case

2006-09-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

Personally, I would go with the detailed scientific findings of the only impartial investigator whose integrity has never been successfully impuned : Dr. Pornthip. Dr. Pornthip ruled this case a murder many years ago, and carefully articulated the evidence-based reasons why. Her findings have never been rebutted or even addressed, only her integrity attacked, though no one has been able to come up with a reason why this superstar forensic scientist would lie.

The latest autopsy on the body of Hangthong Thammawattana concluded the billionaire MP shot himself, switching the theory back to suicide.

Sawet Kanluan, head of the third autopsy team, testified in court yesterday there were no bruises on Hangthong's body which suggested he may have been beaten before he was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in the family mansion in 1999.

Dr Sawet was testifying in the trial in which Noppadol Thammawattana is accused of killing Hangthong, his own brother.

The body was discovered in Mr Noppadol's room.

Dr Sawet is a forensic pathologist based in Chicago. His testimony is at odds with the result of an earlier, second autopsy carried out by Porntip Rojanasunan, acting director-general of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, which concluded Hangthong was murdered. The first autopsy was conducted by the police who ruled the former Prachakorn Thai MP committed suicide.

More perjury suits filed against Thaksin despite Bangkok courts bizarre ruling on statute of limitations

2006-09-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

Apparently in 2006 the Thai judicial system is still trying to iron out how it intends to apply a basic legal concept like statute of limitations. I can't imagine that there isn't some case history on this, though Thai courts don't seem overly concerned with judicial precedence or consistency of process. We saw this in the first landmark Shinawatra tax case where a massive share transfer to the Prime Minister's son was ruled exempt from personal income tax. This contradicted many other cases where income tax liability was held to attach to such transfers, as it would in any system in the world. You can't gift a billion dollars to your son tax free.

Again, contrary to international standard, the Criminal Court did not supply any legal support for its strange and results-oriented interpretation of 'tolling periods' in the preceding Monson perjury case against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. At the minimum this shows a real lack of transparency in the Thai judicial system, one of the tests of a legitimate democracy.

New perjury charge

JUSTICE :US businessman William Monson is expected to file another perjury charge in the South Bangkok Criminal Court against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today after the court earlier rejected a similar charge due to the statute of limitations having lapsed.

Paramet Sutabutr, Mr Monson's lawyer, said the charge would be lodged today alleging Mr Thaksin lied twice during a trial on Nov 12, 1996 and again on Jan 12, 1997.

Mr Monson took Mr Thaksin to court over his alleged violation of an agreement to jointly operate a cable television enterprise.

He claimed Mr Thaksin lied to a civil court by calling him an employee and alleging Mr Monson's company had stolen some equipment from their business deal.

On Sept 11, the Criminal Court dismissed the case in which Mr Monson accused Mr Thaksin of lying to court during a trial on July 22, 1996.

The court said the statute of limitations for that date had expired. Mr Monson is lodging an appeal, saying the statute of limitations in the case should be calculated differently.

Now he is filing the charge based on Mr Thaksin's Nov 12 and Jan 12 testimony to ensure the statute of limitations won't yet have expired.

Bangkok government switches off water all night, no advance notice to residents / tourists affected

2006-09-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine this? A city of ten million people and no notice that water will be off all night until the very day it happens?

From this afternoon's Bangkok Post:

CITY :Tapwater will run dry in much of Bangkok and surrounding areas tonight until tomorrow morning to allow for the replacement of the watergate panel at the Bang Khen water plant.

The Metropolitan Waterworks Authority said the water supply would be cut for seven hours from 10pm tonight to 5am tomorrow in areas served by the waterworks offices in Samut Prakan, Sukhumvit, Phra Khanong, Taksin (only areas on Suksawasdi Road), and some areas on Ratchadapisek Road from Lat Phrao to Rama IX Road.

Inquiries can be directed to the MWA contact number at 1125 around the clock.

Criminal Court says it's too late to hear perjury charges against Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Monson case

2006-09-12T04:03:00.000-07:00

from The Nation:

Court says it's too late for Thaksin perjury case

The Criminal Court yesterday dismissed the first of two lawsuits filed by United States businessman William Monson against caretaker premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

According to the court, the statute of limitations for the 1996 perjury charge had expired.

Thaksin, a former cable television businessman, was accused of giving false evidence in court in a related civil case against Monson, a cable television business owner.

Besides this case, another perjury lawsuit filed by Monson against Thaksin is pending in court.

The court scheduled a total of five hearings, starting on September 18, to determine if there should be a full trial.

The court will make a decision on October 16.

While yesterday's court decision was a setback for Monson, the businessman said he remained optimistic.

Monson added he would appeal the ruling on the first of his two perjury lawsuits against Thaksin.

"A boxing match has many rounds. This is only one round," Monson said after learning of yesterday's decision.

Monson is currently the proprietor of Clearview cable television in Seattle.

He was a former business partner of Thaksin at cable broadcaster IBC.

Monson said karma would eventually catch up with Thaksin. "You call it karma. We say 'what goes around comes around'. This is just a second case."

Monson and Thaksin fell out and Thaksin accused Monson of embezzlement in 1989. He was acquitted.

Yesterday's lawsuit was filed on July 20 - three days ahead of the expiration of the statute of limitations.

But, the court ruled yesterday counting could not stop at the filing of charges. It said the defendant had yet to report to the court and could not be considered to be under its authority.[ed. That's ridiculous. In every legal system the statute of limitations period always stops at the time of filing of suit. This is the only logical outcome, as otherwise defendants could delay proceedings until they are outside of the limitations period. Furthermore, it is not necessary for a defendant to submit to a court's jurisdiction in order for that court to properly hear the case. Just imagine that any time a criminal charge is filed against someone, all they have to do is hide in the open, refusing to show up at court, and the court will not have jurisdiction. Of course this is not the law in Thailand and it is preposterous for these judges to pretend it is so.]

Monson's lawyer Poramet Sutabut said it was impossible for Monson to get the caretaker prime minister to appear in court. [ed. why should this matter? He should be compelled to appear or some reason, such as executive privilege, formally given so that it can be either accepted or rejected by the court. Otherwise Thaksin should be treated as any other criminal suspect in Thailand and arrested by the local police if he refuses to turn himself in voluntarily]

He believed evidence in the hearing commencing next week was overwhelming and proved Thaksin offered false testimony to the court. The chances of the court agreeing to hear the argument were high.

He said Thaksin lied "on numerous occasions" during Monson's embezzlement trial "because he thought he could get away with it".

"That's his habit. What can I say? He's not stupid but he thought he could get away with it," Poramet said.

Thaksin's representative Sombat Chao-wanapreecha played down any political impact.

"I don't know if it will have an impact or not," he said.

Thailand decides to kick out most foreigners who stay by doing 'visa runs'

2006-09-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

from the Bangkok Post:

Visa rules will be tightened

Maximum stay of 90 days for foreigners

By Chatrudee Theparat

Visa-on-arrival (VOA) regulations will be tightened for nationals of 41 countries to prevent abuse of the privilege and curb the rising number of illegal entries, according to the Immigration Police Bureau (IPB). Foreign nationals from those countries, including the US, China and India, will be able to stay longer but with fewer chances of renewing the VOA. [ed. this is inaccurate. US nationals and the nationals of 40 other countries get 30-day 'entry stamps' which are not visas and not treated the same way in terms of renewal etc by Thai immigration. One can only assume that both VOA (for various 3rd world countries) and 'entry stamp' (for various 1st world countries) will *both* be restricted]

IPB commissioner Suwat Tumrongsiskul [ed. who was last seen 'clowning' for the foreign press during the Ramsey-Karr episode] said nationals from those specific countries are currently allowed to remain in Thailand for 15 days maximum after the VOA is granted. The VOA is normally renewable once. [ed. this applies to the VOA, not the 41 countries which receive 30 day entry stamps on arrival, as noted above. Somehow I'm not surprised that Suwat doesn't know the actual regulations of the department he oversees, or that the Bangkok Post reporters/editors are similarly ignorant].

However, some foreigners including tourists ''tiptoe around the law'' by resorting to so-called visa runs to extend their stay. Most take a bus to a border, check out of the country and then return the same day to have the VOA renewed. [ed. for entry stamps, this is actually the official procedure promoted in writing by staff at Bangkok immigration, since there is no alternative. It is not 'tiptoeing around the law', it is the law.]

They repeat the practice as many times as they wish, affording them almost unlimited stay in the country. The policy is largely intended to serve tourism. [ed. no, the policy is half-assed and exists because nobody in the administation will sit down and craft an equitable long stay law, although the gov has set up a dept to do this]

Pol Lt-Gen Suwat said the change of the VOA rules is in order. [ed. why? and why in this way? is it good for the country? aren't these questions professional reporters and editors would ask?]

In future, foreigners from those 41 countries will be able to stay in the country for 30 days from the first VOA stamp, which will be renewable twice at most, each time for a maximum of 30 days. In other words, a foreigner will be permitted to remain in Thailand for no longer than 90 days in total after three VOA stamps. [ed. again, it's not a VOA stamp, it's an entry stamp w/o visa. The lack of visa is important for many reasons, including making it more difficult to open up a bank account, get a phone line installed, or pretty much do anything other than stay in a hotel while in Thailand on the entry stamp. Funny that even the Thais can't get a handle on the serpentine intricacies of their ridiculous regulations]

The commissioner said the current system is prone to abuse as many foreign nationals make numerous visa runs so they can stay on long term to do business. In some cases, they have gone unregulated, causing social problems. [ed. like what exactly? They are spending their foreign earned income in Thailand, in some cases paying taxes, supporting, and employing Thai people. Even Prime Minster Thaksin has said that the crime rate among foreigners is quite low, especially in comparison to the rate among Thai people. Suwat can change the visa regulations if he wants but he does not and never will have the right to defame foreign residents of Thailand. He should either put up the evidence to back what he's saying or shut the fuck up]

Official figures showed that about 400,000 Chinese nationals were granted a VOA last year, and 18,000 of them have stayed behind. [ed. 4.5%? and what harm have they done? in many cases they have family and businesses here but no rational visa process to address their situation and become legal]

Around 200,000 Indians made VOA visits last year and it was found that 16,000 of them have not left. [ed. again, this does not seem to address the people who are making visa runs and trying to stay within the law. Prohibiting visa runs (a sad recourse in an absurd immigration system) will only force more people to overstay as they have no choice]

Pol Lt-Gen Suwat said the new VOA rules will be put into effect once approved by the Royal Thai Police Office. [ed. the police? Shouldn't these kinds of decisions be handled at the departmental or ministerial level, say by the Ministry of Tourism etc?]

He said more information technology will be employed in the blacklisting system. The IT-operated immigration clearance system is now in use at 15 out of 55 checkpoints nationwide to check in tourists and screen out undesirable individuals. The technology lets the bureau enlarge its database of foreign visitors to identify those on the blacklist and expel them.

Pol Col Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai, head of the Pattaya immigration centre, said its IT-operated database is shared by many hotels and resorts in Pattaya to help track down blacklisted people. The technology has been credited with weakening the local mafia network. [ed. ah, that must be why Pattaya remains such a cesspit of Thai criminals who prey on tourists]

The Betong immigration centre in Yala is also using the system to trace people of dual nationality, some of whom are believed to be behind the southern strife.

Pol Lt-Gen Suwat said more authority to issue visas will be delegated to regional IPB offices.

At present, IPB chief inspectors are authorised to grant visas, and in future their deputies will also be able to approve visa requests. [ed. so does that mean it is back to the 'good old days' of being able to bribe a rural immigration office into giving you a visa? That will surely achieve the purported objectives, yes.]

Thai government: more of the yearly big talk and no action re: protecting Asian elephant

2006-09-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

We don't need any new laws to protect Thai elephants. Simply enforce the ones that already exist, such as the one that prohibits elephants from walking the streets of Bangkok so their dirtball 'keepers' can sponge whiskey money off tourists by reselling the same food to the elephant again and again. Two years ago an elephant crushed one of these village boys to death, after said village boy snatched food out of the elephant's mouth. I think that pachyderm should have received a medal.

Elephants may get IDs, more protection

Public opinion will be sought on a proposed new law relating to elephants before a final revision of the draft bill is submitted for parliamentary consideration, the vice minister of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said yesterday [ed. no public opinion is needed, this is a clear cut issue of moral and governmental responsibility. Public opinion is needed for the proposed FTAs and other governmental policies, where it has been disallowed, but not for this]

Noppadol Pattama said the bill, which the ministry has recently drafted, complies with and consolidates about 10 existing elephant-related acts and contains 17 key provisions to protect both wild and domestic elephants. These include controversial new regulations regarding the issue of elephant identification documents and the establishment of a DNA database of the animals.

Under the new law, the birth of a domestic elephant must be reported to the ministry within seven days for an elephant ID card to be issued. If an elephant dies, the owner must report the death to officials within 24 hours. The draft bill also states that a DNA database will be set up when such technology is available in the country.

It has been more than a decade since the government and conservationists first tried to revise all elephant-related laws.

Soraida Salwala, secretary-general of the Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, was happy with the draft bill, saying it closes loopholes in the existing law that only requires elephant owners to register newborn animals within eight years and does not require them to report a death.

She said eight years was long enough for anyone to hunt a wild elephant or falsify information, since it was difficult to check in many cases whether elephants were born in captivity or in the wild.

The bill also covers the process of importing and exporting elephants, as well as measures to provide welfare for the animals.

Noppadol said the ministry was seeking comment from all parties, especially people who had businesses that utilise elephants.

Thai press announces election postponement by running a wire service article

2006-09-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Weird that the official announcement regarding the postponement of the elections would be an Agence-France Presse wire story, not a locally written article. Well, Thai press, what can you expect.

from The Nation:

Elections to be postponed: PM

The elections slated for next month will be postponed, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday, confirming a delay in polls intended to end months of political deadlock.

"It's very likely the election must be postponed. (A delay) is expected because it will take time before the king endorses the new Election Commission," he said.

Senators late Friday selected five new commissioners in the first step towards a new vote.

But officials warned that the election body will not be ready in time and that the polls slated for October 15 will more likely take place at the end of the year.

Any pushback could tip Thailand into a political crisis threatened since last April's elections were invalidated.

Those polls were called three years early by Thaksin to quell demands that he quit.

Thaksin refused Saturday to say for how long the elections would be delayed, saying the government had to meet with the Election Commission before a date could be set.

He also side-stepped questions about the commission selection, which saw three reportedly anti-Thaksin candidates passed over.

A block of 67 senators out of 187 voted for the same five candidates, all of whom are aligned with the government.

"It is not our duty to comment on such matters. It is our duty to comply with the rules and regulations," he told reporters.

One new commissioner, Prapun Naigowit, told Thai television late Friday that he also thought October elections should be postponed to avoid legal problems.

Agence France-Presse

Five more people die as a result of illegal logging in Thailand

2006-09-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

A record season of floods caused by illegal logging has been followed by disease in what were once some of Thailand's most beautiful places to live.

This has been going on for a long time, with known consequences. Those behind the illegal logging in the north should be charged with murder.

Swamp fever kills five in Nan

Five people have already died as a result of leptospirosis in the aftermath of the major floods in Nan province.

Dr Pisit Sriprasert, the province's chief health officer, said villagers had become tense and a team of counsellors had been dispatched to alleviate the situation.

Some 43 people are still hospitalised for various reasons.

Pisit urged all rescue volunteers to take anti-bacterial pills, especially people with open wounds. Although some people's wounds have healed, they still need to have injections, especially if exposed to floodwater. The Ministry of Public Health has been deployed to disinfect the area.

Meanwhile, two female students in Phitsanulok province drowned when they fell into a deep canal, which they were unaware of due to nearby flooding.

Water in the area reached heights of 30-50 centimetres and it took one hour for a search team to recover the bodies.

Thai government refuses to address residential noise issues around new airport

2006-09-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

Proving that social development is proceeding much more slowly than every other kind of development in Thailand, the TRT government refuses to acknowledge even the most basic standard of living issues such as relentless noise, air, and water pollution faced by its citizens.

from The Nation:

Residents up in arms over noise

Many want AOT help in relocating, or soundproofing their homes

Residents around the new Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday said they wanted to move away from the unbearable noise and urged Airports of Thailand (AOT) to negotiate with them regarding payments to relocate or Bt1-million compensation for each home to be made soundproof.

The residents - together with the King Mongkut's University of Technology Lat Krabang - appealed for the company to solve the noise and environmental problems before the airport's opening on September 28, and vowed to set up a movement to pressure the company.

Living just one kilometre away from the runway, residents already know from trial flights that they will be affected by the roar of jet engines as aircraft take off and land, resident Suradech Benjakul said. The sound of a jet engine often reaches 120 decibels while the generally acceptable maximum level for human health is 70 decibels.

Suradech said residents needed the company to discuss with them the problems following the airport's opening, when they will have to endure an aircraft arrival or departure every two minutes.

At this stage AOT apparently lacked clear solutions and had no interest in talking with them, he said.

"We want the expropriation payment to be the current market price, or compensation - possibly Bt1 million to each home - for ceiling and wall renovations as well as air-conditioner installation to reduce the impact of the noise," Suradech said.

They also want the government to solve the regular flooding, he said, and with no clear answers for both issues, residents would join the university in a protest on Friday.

Residents may also file complaints with international airlines and media, such as the Far Eastern Economic Review and Times, so that the world would know that Thailand, while boasting of being the aviation hub of Asia, did not care about the effects on the neighbourhood, said resident Jutharat Janthorn.

AOT had earlier said it would pay the university Bt214 million, something that would be discussed by the airport development panel on Wednesday, said the president of the university's lecturer council Pongthip Intakaew.

The university has insisted all along that if it received such compensation, the affected communities should get compensation too, he said.

Thai food exports improve as international quality standards finally recognized

2006-09-09T15:12:00.001-07:00

Hmmm, so there are direct economic benefits to doing things to international standards rather than whining and insisting on 'the Thai way'. Who would have thought? And before some ass says that there are more important things than economics, tell that to the 9 yr old girl who was run over at Asoke intersection selling garlands so her brothers could go to school.

from The Nation:

Thai food exports to rise thanks to stepped-up attention to quality

The National Food Institute (NFI) has predicted that the country's export earnings from food will grow by 10.3 per cent next year as a result of improved product quality.

Speaking at the NFI's annual roundtable titled "How the Thai Food Industry Will Survive and Sustain", Yuthasak Supasorn, deputy executive director of the institute, said another factor supporting the growth of overseas sales was the economic recovery of the Kingdom's major markets, including Japan and Europe.

In addition, he said, as a result of disasters in some the country's major trading competitors - China, Taiwan and Vietnam - Thai agricultural products such as rice, tapioca, and vegetable had been exported at good prices.

Yuthasak, however, said there were risk factors that exporters should take into consideration, such as fluctuations in oil prices and the domestic political turmoil.

He added that the costs of international trade, especially transportation, had risen due to high interest rates and rising oil prices.

To handle these risk factors, Yuthasak said the government would set up a

traceability system to control the quality of agricultural products from farmers,

logistics operators and processed-food product manufacturers, through to

retailers.

Yuthasak added that the main strategy was to emphasise the safety of the manufacturing process and good after-sales service, rather than competing solely on the basis of cheaper prices.

The NFI predicts the volume of food exports in 2007 will reach 25.82 million tonnes, up 9.8 per cent from this year's target of 23.52 million tonnes.

The value of food exports is expected to be Bt607.06 billion next year - a 10.3-per-cent rise over the Bt550.49 billion targeted for this year. For the first half of the year, Thai food exports were worth Bt259 billion, an increase of 5.9 per cent over the same period last year.

Thailand's top five food export markets in the first half were Japan (Bt45.743 billion), the United States (Bt44.984 billion), Europe (Bt37.393 billion), Malaysia (Bt9.874 billion) and Australia (Bt6.817 billion).

Oct 15 Thai election pushed back to early November, supposedly

2006-09-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

from The Nation:

EC eyes earliest possible new date

Opposition calls on commissioners to overhaul system to ensure free and fair national poll

Prapan Naikowit, a newly elected member of the Election Commission (EC), said yesterday that he and his colleagues would try to organise the next general election as soon as possible because a free and fair poll will help to solve the protracted political crisis.

However, Prapan - who received the highest number of confirmation votes from the Senate (124) - added that the scheduled poll date of October 15 would have to be delayed because there was not enough preparatory time for the new EC.

"I will consult with the four other commissioners as well as political parties and other related officials on a new date," said Prapan, a former public prosecutor.

"I think we will have to postpone the poll because the legislation for the new election on October 15 came into effect on August 24. According to law, we need to have MP candidates registered for the election within 20 days after August 24.

"That means we will have to complete this by September 12 or else we could face legal problems afterwards."

According to Prapan, all five new EC members will hold their first meeting on September 14 to select a chairman and to outline their tasks and responsibilities.

Besides Prapan, the four other new commissioners are all former Supreme or lower-court judges, namely Apichat Sukhakkanon, Somchai Jungprasert, Sumet Oupanisakorn and Sodsri Satayathum.

The Senate picked these candidates from the final 10 nominees to fill all five vacant seats.

After reorganising the EC, the immediate task is to hold the next election in a free and fair manner, Prapan said.

Earlier, the People's Alliance for Democracy and other anti-Thaksin networks urged the new EC to reorganise the whole agency before holding the next poll.

They said the new election would not be transparent if most of the local EC officials in each of the 400 constituencies nationwide remained unchanged, since they were appointed by the previous chairman and commissioners, who were accused of being "part of the Thaksin regime".

These critics urged the new EC to replace pro-Thaksin election officials with those who are politically impartial.

However, Prapan said such a reorganisation will take several months and was not yet practical because the new EC needed to hold the election first.

Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra believed the new election would be held by the end of November.

He said the new election decree could be royally endorsed and become effective by October 1. As the law requires that an election be held within 60 days of the decree becoming effective, the new election should take place by the end of November, he added.

Chuan Leekpai, chairman of the opposition Democrat Party, said the new EC would have to do their utmost to ensure a fair election.

"I hope the new commissioners will be able to prevent election fraud and irregularities because the last poll was said to be dishonest," he said.

"I guess the Thaksin regime and its political influence is still evident, as seen in the Senate votes for the new EC members.

"Still, all five new commissioners are good guys, but they will have to work hard. They need to understand new fraudulent techniques and introduce preventative measures."

the criminal politician class in Thailand and its complaints about unfair press coverage

2006-09-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

snippet of a nice editorial from The Nation:

Considering the vast sums that politicians can make, luxuriating in wealth that might make a sultan blush, it might be churlish to suggest that the government is only getting the press it deserves, but let's allow it anyway. One can imagine Cabinet ministers sitting in the backs of high priced Mercs on gridlocked roads, reading The Nation and the Bangkok Post and shuddering at the indignity of it all.

It's a reality that these days emotions and feelings count for more than even a passing nod to any objectivity. In more confident times this wouldn't be a problem. After all, many of us our ignorant of our own ignorance and it doesn't disturb us a bit. But indifference is no longer a defence.

The fact is, a shade over five years have turned Thai politics into a train crash. A looted one at that. It is vulnerable to derision. That's why the pro-Thaksin radio shows doctor the truth for their supporters' consumption. Your opinion matters, as long as you agree. If you don't, the delivery is spittle flecked, venomous, scary. It's like watching two winos fight: bloody and not much skill involved.

And if the elections aren't held within a month a fellow called Noppruj Worachitwuthikil has promised to set fire to himself in front of the Election Commission's office. One can only admire his restraint. And our need for entertainment.

Thailand needs better-educated citizens, kids need better-educated parents and we all deserve a better calibre of leadership. As the old Italian proverb has it: Governments are like underwear. They need to changed often and for the same

reason.

Thai chains surprised that anti-big store legislation will apply to them too, not just foreigners

2006-09-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

from The Nation:

Central surprised local retail giants are also restricted

A senior department store executive yesterday spoke out against the government's clampdown on big retail operators, calling it "bizarre", rushed and unfair.

"It's kind of strange to include shopping mall operators like us [Central, The Mall Group, and Robinson] on the list of retailers that are required to limit their expansion," said Likit Fahpyochon, executive vice president of Central Retail Corp Ltd.

The Commerce Ministry should focus instead on those retailers that really disturb local, traditional shops, rather than label all "modern" trade as troublemakers, he said.

The three shopping-centre chains always gave more serious consideration than other types of retailers to planning the opening of an outlet in any area to ensure that it did not stir up trouble with long-standing community businesses, he said.

Each branch is also usually large, so it's not easy to add new stores lightly.

Likit said he was still not clear on which type of retailers the ministry really wants to control.

Late last month the ministry set temporary measures to rein in modern retailers' expansion moves nationwide in an effort to help mom-and-pop stores survive.

The ministry has asked for cooperation from 15 retailers to sign a memorandum of understanding tomorrow that imposes two main requirements.

First, the retailers have to stop all their current expansion plans, including projects that are already under construction.

Second, the retailers have to hold public hearings and get the agreement of all concerned organisations and people in all regions where they want to locate new branches.

Likit said Central hadn't received any form of request from the ministry yet for

the memorandum. If the ministry really sends the request to the company tomorrow, Central would want to clarify the issue before signing anything, he said.

And Central already has a plan to meet caretaker Deputy Commerce Minister Preecha Laohapongchana at 2pm

tomorrow with other members of the Thai Retailers Association to make their views known

about unfair treatment in the enforcement of "eight guidelines" on what retailers should do in running their businesses.

The ministry and other organisations - including the Consumer Protection Board, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Board of Trade of Thailand - as well as various scholars came up with the guidelines without discussing them with the association beforehand, Likit said.

Both the two main points stipulated in the memorandum and the "eight guidelines" would cause all sorts of problems for retailers who have already received government approval for their expansion plans or are in the midst of construction, he said.

The ministry should think of how the memorandum and the "eight guidelines" impact

the retailers and other businesses that work with them in the expansion plans, including construction companies, in terms of financial loss and who would take responsibility for that, he added.

Students' safety risked in rush to open airport

2006-09-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

fresh on the heels of the school milk scandal, here's another example of Thai style caring. Gosh, it's good to keep the foreigners out by passing racist anti-foreigner legistlation, they'd be so much worse to Thai people than Thais are, right?

from The Nation:

Students' safety 'risked in rush to open airport'

College claims government ignored plea for Bt1.02 bn to address noise impact

The safety and welfare of thousands of students at Thailand's leading college is being ignored in the rush to open nearby Suvarnabhumi Airport, claim college executives.

Siriwat Bhothivejjakul, deputy rector of King Mongkut Institute of Technology, Lad Krabang, said the government had rushed the opening of the airport, even though environmental and security problems facing the college and its students have yet to be solved.

The institute's 12-storey building has not been fitted with an obstruction light to warn aircraft, while another 22 buildings that would be severely affected by high-level noise from aircraft landing and taking off have not been sound-proofed.

"About 100 of our buildings need to be modified to prevent noise and quake problems from the airport, which is located only 3-4 kilometres from us," Siriwat said.

The institute had asked Airports of Thailand (AOT) to set a budget of Bt1.02 billion to solve the problems, but it had been ignored, Siriwat said.

In February, the government resolved to pay a first instalment of Bt214 million, but the academy has not received the money, although the airport is going to open on September 28.

Siriwat said each time the institute consulted the government about other possible effects, it would simply set up a committee which failed to take any action. He said the formation of more than 100 committees had failed to solve the problems.

"If the airport is opened without these problems being solved, the opening would go against the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation," Siriwat said.

"The institute plans to gather students and residents in the affected area to protest about the airport opening and to petition the Administrative Court."

Somchai Sawasdeepon, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said the Bt214 million payment to the college was being processed.

He pledged the airport would look after all organisations, institutes and people affected by the airport during construction and after its opening.

But Siriwat said even if the money was paid today, it would be impossible to modify the college buildings before the airport opened. The institute would have to spend at least two or three months on the work.

An institute source studying the airport's environmental effects said the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning had called on the AOT to clarify the reasons for its delay in taking action to prevent environmental effects following the environmental impact assessment.

Thai companies resort to 3rd world thuggery when cash and accountability don't mix

2006-09-05T05:09:00.000-07:00

Thailand has pulled off an amazing public relations coup for many years, portraying itself as an 'attractive' market for foreign investment. The reality is that this is far from the truth, as many expat employees of international companies find out.

some snippets from from a Business Week article that appeared during the same period as the Michael Wansley sugar mill murder:

Desperate Thai companies will stop at almost nothing to thwart foreign intervention

It's 8 p.m., and Anthony Norman has called it quits for the day. A bodyguard concealing a handgun beneath his pinstripe suit escorts him to the elevator, where a second man waits. The three descend 23 floors to the basement garage. The guards make sure no assassin is lurking behind a pillar. One bundles Norman, 50, into the back of a maroon Mercedes 300E, then climbs in front to ride shotgun. The other, in a second car, brings up the rear as they pull onto Bangkok's busy Sathorn Road.

The man at the wheel of Norman's car is a Thai cop trained by the Australian Special Air Services commando unit. He keeps a wary eye out for suspicious-looking motorcycles that might be carrying gunmen. If one pulls alongside, Norman is trained to grab a bulletproof vest and use it to block the flying lead. Mindful that a Thai hit man will take a life for $800, he flashes a small smile: ''I protect myself.'' [ed. can you imagine living like this? Doing business in Thailand is a joke]

Anthony Norman is an accountant. He works for Ferrier Hodgson, an Australian firm that specializes in restructuring the debt of profligate companies. It's easy to see why Norman wants someone to watch his back. His firm is wielding the hatchet in Thailand's biggest financial restructuring, the $3.7 billion debt workout of Thai Petrochemical Industries. In December, Norman replaced TPI's founder, Prachai Leophairatana, as acting chief executive. While Norman has not received any death threats, one can't be too careful. Two years ago, an Australian auditor was murdered while looking into creative accounting at a Thai sugar mill.

Welcome to Thailand's Debt Wars. On one side are the foreign accounting firms, of which Norman's is by far the most active: To date, Ferrier Hodgson has handled more than $10 billion worth of debt restructurings at Thai companies (table, page 22). Competitors at the Big Five accountancies are catching up fast. Last month, PricewaterhouseCoopers clinched the $1 billion debt-workout plan for the Bangkok Skytrain.

Pitted against the foreign number-crunchers are companies like TPI, whose founder, Prachai, has tried just about everything to thwart his creditors--from accusing the Finance Minister of conspiring with the International Monetary Fund against him to suing Ferrier Hodgson for embezzlement on the grounds that it is billing TPI for Norman's bodyguards. (Prachai did not respond to requests for an interview and did not answer faxed questions.)

COZY AGREEMENTS. The Invasion of the Accountants is a slap in the face for Thailand Inc. Until the crisis, few Thai companies had to endure outside scrutiny. The concept of bankruptcy didn't exist. Bank loans were sealed with a handshake, and cozy relationships between bankers and their blue-chip clients ensured that loans would be automatically rolled over if the debtor couldn't service them for some reason.

The 1997-98 financial meltdown changed all that. And no one was harder hit than Prachai. He founded TPI in 1978, and by 1994 had plans to build it into Southeast Asia's first fully integrated petrochemical company. This involved spending billions on a sophisticated plant that breaks down semi-crude oil into compounds used to produce plastic, rubber, and lubricants. To bring in raw materials, he invested in wharf and handling facilities on Thailand's eastern seaboard. And to provide a steady supply of electricity, Prachai built a 100-megawatt power plant. TPI even opened its own gas stations.

By 1996, the company was poised to take advantage of economies of scale for both products and sources of supplies. ''There were fundamental reasons behind what they did; it made a lot of sense,'' says Maria Lapiz, a senior analyst with SG Securities in Bangkok. ''But they borrowed too much. That's the prime reason the whole thing failed. Had there been no crisis, this wouldn't have happened.''

After the crash, Prachai tried to appease his creditors by putting a cement company on the block. But he was asking far more than what the plant was worth, and it became clear that his notion of debt restructuring was not going to fly with his creditors. Prachai's strategy seems to have been to halt loan payments, drag out the process, and hope that the loans would be forgiven. In all of this, his main aim was to keep control of TPI. Many Thai companies did the same.

When the Asian economic boom was at its peak, foreign lenders arrived by the planeload offering Thai companies loans, often doing only cursory due diligence. Later, Prachai and other Thai industrialists, with some justification, held outsiders responsible for their plight. But as Prachai and his ilk played the blame game, the debt mess worsened, putting pressure on the banks and the rest of the economy. Fearing further economic damage, the government amended the bankruptcy law in 1998. This was a major breakthrough, but it had limitations. Before they can force a debtor company to accept a planner, creditors must prove insolvency in the courts--a process that can take years, especially when the debtor refuses to cooperate.

COERCION. As a result, indebted companies often must be coerced by the new bankruptcy court into restructuring. ''The bank doesn't want to take a haircut, and the owner doesn't want to lose the company,'' says the Thai director of a U.S.-owned venture-capital firm who says he has received death threats for his role in a debt workout. ''And these are politically connected people, so it's difficult to get things moving.''

The need to get things moving has become even more pressing since the Jan. 6 election of telecom tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra as Prime Minister. He has proposed setting up a national asset-management corporation to take over bad loans and revising investment laws to make it harder for foreigners to buy distressed assets. ''If they do this, people will say, 'let's invest somewhere else,''' says outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi, who in September will become chief of the World Trade Organization. ''This won't bring us more credibility in the international community.''

Given the unwillingness of Thai executives to move aggressively, the burden has fallen on foreign lenders to play bad cop. That's where auditors like Anthony Norman come into the picture. His success at sorting out TPI could determine whether or not Thailand stays the course in cleaning up its mess. It's a dangerous job, but someone has to do it.

Needing 24-hour protection was the last thing Norman expected when he flew to Thailand in September, 1997. Bangkok Bank had hired Ferrier Hodgson to help it recover more than $600 million in loans from TPI. Back then, Thailand's biggest lender didn't even have a debt-recovery department; Ferrier Hodgson sent Norman to help it set one up. He promised his wife he would be home by Christmas.

''A LOT OF SOCIAL STRAIN.'' By the spring of 1998, Norman's wife and son had joined him in Bangkok. Ferrier Hodgson had opened a permanent office and was fast becoming a leading player in Thailand's burgeoning debt-workout business. Founded in Sydney in 1977, the firm made its name working with deadbeat borrowers during Australia's early-'90s recession.

Part of Norman's job was to get basic data on TPI's assets and liabilities. He quickly realized there was no point trying to bully the company's founder, Prachai. In the U.S. and Europe, creditors play hardball, but the Thais have no such tradition. ''If you gave creditors the same bargaining power as in the West,'' explains Thai Farmers Bank President Banthoon Lamsam, ''there would be a lot of social strain.''

The strain was clearly showing in March, 1999, when Michael Wansley, an Australian accountant who worked for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, was gunned down near Nakhon Sawan, a town 240 km north of Bangkok. Wansley had been on his way to inspect bookkeeping irregularities at a sugar mill owned by Kaset Thai Co. His murder sent shudders through the accounting industry. Later, as Norman tangled with Prachai, he wondered if a TPI factory worker might think he was ''doing his boss a favor by getting me out of the way.''

After Wansley's murder, many foreign firms introduced sensitivity training to ensure that staff treated the Thais with respect. Norman, a burly but soft-spoken man, knew better than to be confrontational as he set about persuading Prachai to open the books. Norman says Prachai was never hostile, but he was obstructionist, keeping Norman hanging around, for example, in the anteroom to his office. One day, after he got tired of waiting for a scheduled meeting, Norman left. Downstairs, he saw Prachai's Mercedes 500E in the parking lot. ''A few minutes later [Prachai] called to say he was stuck in traffic,'' says Norman. ''We used to have these kinds of games.''

On another occasion, Norman sent a subordinate to check TPI's books. First, TPI wouldn't hand over the keys to the secure document room, and when it finally did, the auditor received keys for the filing cabinets--but not for the door. Such stalling happened elsewhere, too. Deloitte partner Hugh Mosley was hired to work on the books of a cash-strapped auto-parts maker. ''We'd be locked in a windowless room with no access to staff and be handed papers one at a time,'' he recalls. ''It was impossible to make a link between them and the factory itself.''

Throughout the TPI saga, Prachai fretted about his reputation. His creditors urged him to publicly declare TPI insolvent, but pride stopped him. Finally, on Mar. 15, 2000, the Central Bankruptcy Court ordered a debt workout to begin, and five weeks later, TPI's 150 creditors chose Ferrier Hodgson's subsidiary, Effective Planners, to oversee it.

Norman's first task was to get the creditors to agree on a debt-workout strategy, a process that is always arduous because each lender has its own agenda. Ferrier Hodgson's staff spent half their time flying to meet with TPI's far-flung creditors. These included not only Thai lenders such as Bangkok Bank and state-owned Thai Krung Bank but also global giants such as International Finance Corp. (the World Bank's investment arm), Citibank, and Bank of America. While foreign lenders were less concerned about stepping on toes, Thai creditors were leery of shaming one of their own in a society where bankruptcy isn't mentioned in polite circles.

Under Norman's workout proposal, the creditors would convert about $756 million in unpaid interest into a 75% stake in TPI, reducing the Leophairatana family holdings from 60% to 15%. The idea must have horrified Prachai. Norman recalls him saying things like ''If you make me eat poison, I'll make you eat it, too.'' While Prachai continued publicly to express optimism, Norman says he wasn't so sanguine in private, and recalls Prachai asking him: ''If you get control of the company, you're going to get rid of me, aren't you?'' Norman says he replied: ''Of course.''

DRIPPING FANGS. On Nov. 15, the day before creditors were to vote on Norman's rehabilitation plan, he met with 3,000 TPI employees to explain things. It didn't go well. When Norman got up to talk, the mike was turned off, and when he did speak the crowd heckled him. The next day, he pulled his staff out of TPI facilities. Meanwhile, thousands of TPI employees converged on the convention center where the creditors were set to vote, brandishing banners depicting Norman as a vampire with dripping fangs. ''Norman the bloodsucker,'' the signs declared. The vote was postponed for 10 days, but in the end the creditors approved Effective Planners' four-year blueprint.

Norman suffered Prachai's increasingly frantic maneuvers with his customary stoicism. ''I'm rather fortunate that I've always been able to switch on and off,'' he says, ''though in this job it's more difficult than any other.'' After work, Norman unwound by spending time with his six-year-old son, tossing around a rugby ball and stargazing. ''I get lost in parentalism,'' he says. ''I indulge in simple, worthwhile things.''

On Dec. 14, Prachai tried and failed to have the bankruptcy judges disqualified, paving the way for Norman to become TPI's acting CEO. His job has really only just begun. TPI still must be rehabilitated, after all. The company needs to borrow money so it can boost crude-oil consumption at its refinery from 60,000 to 110,000 barrels a day. Norman plans to raise up to $200 million this year by selling off the power plant, water-treatment facility, and part of the cement factory. He says that TPI will be able to retire another $900 million in debt over the next four years thanks to cash flow that, he expects, will hit $640 million in 2003.

And he still has Prachai to contend with. The dogged Thai continues to show up at his old office and has been posting notices in the elevators telling staff he's still in charge. In mid-January, Prachai made a last-ditch attempt to regain control of the company, filing an appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn the bankruptcy decision. A ruling isn't expected until later this month. That's a hassle because it's preventing Norman from getting the loans that TPI needs. Norman compares Prachai to a man who doesn't realize the battle is over. ''He still hears guns and thinks he's winning the war.''

Of course, not all Thai executives are so hard to deal with. Consider Ferrier Hodgson's client SVOA PLC, Thailand's largest PC retailer. An exclusive distributor for Epson and Acer Inc., SVOA sank under $190 million in debt when the baht collapsed in 1997. Management voluntarily met with creditors and admitted a diversification into real estate had been unwise. The creditors got 90% of the equity, but at least the company kept operating. ''Now, we make sure every single penny is [spent] on core business,'' says Vira Intanete, chief operating officer of IT distribution. ''Ferrier Hodgson enhanced the discipline in our organization.''

Unfortunately, SVOA is the exception. Few of the thousands of troubled Thai corporations have been able to reorganize and start over with clean balance sheets. True, nonperforming loans on corporate and bank ledgers have declined from 44% of all loans in 1998 to 22% today. But that's mostly because so much debt has been shifted into government-run asset management corporations, where it is sold for a fraction of its value or written off.

Even successful restructurings cause long-term problems. Banks end up holding most of the equity in companies that lack the management expertise to save them. ''The tradition of owners and management being the same makes the transition difficult,'' says Chumpol NaLamlieng, president of Siam Cement Public Co. ''And because of language and cultural barriers, it's not easy to bring expats in.''

More troubling is the fact that some companies are again not servicing their debts: They cling to the belief that they can grow their way out of trouble and pay their creditors off later. ''I don't know if it's reckless optimism or denial,'' says Norman. Either way, it seems he and his firm will have work for years to come.

Triggermen in Michael Wansley murder case finally sentenced after 7 years of constant pressure from Australian government

2006-09-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

No explanation as to why they did it leaves the question open as to who was really behind the murder.

from The Nation:

Death penalty for Michael Wansley's murderers

Criminal Court delivered death penalties on two men on Tuesday for murdering an Australian auditor, Michael Wansley in Nakhon Sawan province in 1999.

The Court found that Somchoke Suthiviriwan and Sompong Buasakoon guilty of planned murder Wansley in March 1999.

Wansley, 58 at the time of his death, was travelling to a sugar mill in Nakhon Sawan when two men on a motorcycle pulled alongside his van and shot him dead.

Wansley, an employee of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, had been hired by the banking creditors of the Kaset Thai Sugar Co to help address the firm's Bt17.1-billion debt.

The Court acquitted the mill's owner, Pradit Siriviriyakul, who was initially charged with masterminding the murder, because of lack of evidence.

Australia had complained in 2003 of what it called tardiness in the slow investigations and trial into the murder. At that time, police was still only at the stage of interrogating state witness.

Thai government responds to teacher shortage by offering minimum wage salaries

2006-09-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

The minimum wage is actually 6,000 baht a month (USD 150). The current proposal is to pay new teachers about USD 175 a month, which is a very low wage, even for Thailand, and about what totally unskilled labor makes.

Another interesting fact is that if you crunch the numbers, there's some slack in the proposed budget to the tune of approx. 36 million baht, which is almost one million US dollars. Since that only comes out to about 4,500 per teacher, you could say that's earmarked for recruitment or overtime pay, but this being Thailand, I don't think so.

Also begs the question of why this new budget allocation is needed, simply to replace current teachers who are retiring.

Finally, I suppose the purpose of the scheme is to encourage senior teachers to retire, making way for new teachers who can be paid an embarassingly low wage.

Note no discussion of checking police records or qualifications, despite a recent pedophile scandal involving Thai teachers. I suppose that sort of thing is only directed at foreigners.

Cabinet approves Bt786 million for hiring teachers

The caretaker Cabinet Tuesday approved Bt786.4 million for hiring 8,180 temporary teachers for 12 months, Deputy Government Spokeswoman Sansanee Nakpong said.

She said the 8,180 teaches would be hired on temporary basis at the salary of Bt7,630 per month for 12 months.

The teachers would be hired by the Office of the Basic Education Commission.

The temporary teachers will be hired to tackle the teacher shortage following early retirement programme.

and here's a good letter from today's The Nation, which just happens to address the same issue:

Education undermined by class sizes, low pay for teachers

Two fundamental factors that undermine education in Thai schools are student-teacher ratios and teacher compensation. Implementing the following two policies would improve the quality of education drastically and quickly. First, limit the student-teacher ratio to a maximum of 25 students per teacher per class, which would thus not require a teaching assistant. Increase starting salaries of teachers to at least Bt12,000 per month up to a maximum of Bt35,000, based on seniority and performance, plus health and retirement benefits and regular professional enrichment activities, such as seminars, training, observation visits, etc.

Of all the investments any government at any level can make that will yield the greatest possible return to society as a whole and increase tax revenues, education ranks first. "Free" public education should mean exactly that: all costs covered. The current government claims public education is free, but it is not. Parents must pay all kinds of charges and costs.

Teachers have huge classes, probably averaging nationwide - especially in cities - for both public and private Thai schools from 40-60 students per teacher per class. How can a teacher get to know each student, give each student an opportunity to ask and answer questions or permit students to engage in classroom exchanges among themselves? The only choice a teacher has with such huge classes is to lecture as fast as they can go, trying to cover all the material in the course syllabus. How fatigued and demoralised the teachers must be. A ratio of 25 students to one teacher, while still high, does dramatically change the educational experience for both the teacher and the student.

Many teachers must work outside the school to make enough money just to survive, because their salaries are so low. Paid properly, they could be available after class hours to help students and guide extracurricular activities. This would virtually eliminate the need for tutorial schools and give Thai children a chance for a real childhood.

Thai election looks likely to be delayed beyond Oct 15

2006-08-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

The usual bureaucratic infighting and lack of attention to detail at the front end of a process may derail the Thai election scheduled for Oct 15.

from the Bangkok Post:

The Oct 15 general election will very likely be postponed, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra conceded for the first time yesterday. And a candidate for the Election Commission has alleged there have been attempts to influence the selection process.

Mr Thaksin said the cabinet will have to discuss the election date with the incoming election commissioners.

But before any postponement of the date, the Senate must say exactly when it will be able to complete the selection of the five members of the Election Commission.

After that, the new commissioners must make it clear to the caretaker government what they plan to do about the election date, Mr Thaksin said after a meeting of his Thai Rak Thai party.

The Senate's EC vetting committee is currently listening to the explanations of eight of the 10 candidates who face allegations made against them in hundreds of letters of complaint.

Many of the letters questioned their impartiality.

EC staff accepted yesterday it would be almost impossible to have the polls on Oct 15 because of the complicated legal procedures involved in appointing the new commissioners which will probably take at least 18 days to complete.

For the elections to be on Oct 15, the law requires the EC to arrange for the registration of election candidates by Sept 12.

Supreme Court chief justice Wasant Soyphisuth, one of the candidates invited to clarify allegations against him, said yesterday that he had received a phone call during which the caller had tried to convince him to side with a certain party if he wanted to be confirmed as an election commissioner.

''I received the call just moments after I finished presenting my vision statement to the Senate's vetting committee,'' said Mr Wasant.

The caller offered him supporting votes in the Senate, but he turned down the offer.

Several other candidates had received similar phone calls, and they all knew which party the callers were working for, said Mr Wasant.

Mr Wasant believed his candidacy would be rejected by the Senate.

''A list was issued on Aug 11 showing that four candidates who would certainly not be made election commissioners would be Wasant, Kaewsan Atipho, Nam Yimyaem and Wicha Mahakhun.

So far, the list hasn't changed,'' Mr Wasant said.

However, he said it did not matter who eventually were appointed as the commissioners because all 10 had agreed that those who were not elected would still be asked to assist those appointed as election commissioners in the organisation of the general election.

Election commissioners had the right to appoint their own assistants, he said.

''It won't matter who the Senate votes for. They'll still get all 10 working at the EC,'' Mr Wasant said.

Another EC candidate noted that the issuance of the royal decree setting Oct 15 as the election date seemed to be incomplete. Udom Fuengfung, a senior judge of the South Bangkok Criminal Court, said the royal decree, which took effect on Aug 24, required that it be enforced by both the caretaker prime minister and the EC chairman.

Since the selection of new election commissioners was still not complete when it took effect, there was no Election Commission chairman.

That could render the issuing of the decree incomplete, he said.

If someone was to file a complaint on the matter, the Administrative Court might have to intervene and rule whether or not the issuance of the decree was indeed legally complete, said Mr Udom.

Thai court declines police request to issue arrest warrants for key opposition leaders 6 weeks before election

2006-08-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

from The Nation:

PAD leaders targeted for arrest

Court declines to issue arrest warrants, seeks clarification of charges from police

Eight leading members of the People's Alliance for Democracy yesterday were targeted for arrest over their anti-government roles during months of mass rallies, but the Criminal Court declined to issue the warrants pending a hearing today.

Maj-General Chatchawal Suksomchit, deputy Metropolitan Police chief, was reported to have asked the court to issue arrest

warrants for the eight PAD members.

Police claimed that the suspects tried to incite political upheaval after they held a series of rallies across the country, attacking the government and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with their allegations.

The PAD members are Suriyasai Katasila, Karun Sai-ngam, Rosana Tositrakul, Pian Yongnu, Suwit Watnu, Chaiwat Sinsuwong, Ouaychai Watha and Sirichai Mai-ngam.

The court said it had considered the police's request and decided to seek clarification today from Chatchawal on the justification for the request and charges against the PAD members before concluding if the arrests were warranted.

Nitithorn Lamlua, an attorney for the eight PAD members, earlier reported to police seeking to have all charges against his clients dismissed. He claimed that the effort by police to charge the PAD members with endangering national security and practising sedition was illegal.

Police had earlier booked charges against two groups of leading PAD members, including Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang and Chirmsak Pinthong.

Suriyasai said police were serving the government in an attempt to stop a new round of the PAD movement before the election.

He insisted that the PAD's activities were constitutional.[ed. I fully agree, and wonder how the police can justify waiting 6 months after the protests to try to have the leaders arrested]

Rosana said she and the others would fight all the way through the legal process if the court issued the arrest warrants.

in wake of Shinawatra scandal, Thailand creates vague new rules to inhibit foreign investment

2006-08-29T03:04:00.000-07:00

from the Bangkok Post:

Foreign firms uneasy about new venture funding rules

Foreign investors have expressed concern over new regulations requiring joint ventures to declare their source of funds.

Members of the Joint Chambers of Commerce, which represents foreign businesses, plan to seek clarification of the new corporate registration rules and of regulations regarding nominee shareholders.

The president, Peter Van Haren, said foreign businesses were concerned about how the new rules would be applied.

"We need the Commerce Ministry to explain it more," he said yesterday.

The Business Development Department last month announced that from Aug 15 Thai partners in all new companies with foreign shareholdings over 40% must declare their source of funds. Companies with at least one alien director must also make full disclosure of their funding.

The rule requires each partner or shareholder to identify bank documents or other evidence showing the source of funds.

The regulatory change comes amid an investigation by the Commerce Ministry into Kularb Kaew, an indirect holding vehicle in Shin Corp. Authorities are looking to determine whether Kularb Kaew is a nominee for Singapore's Temasek Holdings to bypass the 49% foreign shareholding limit under the Foreign Business Act and the Telecommunications Act.

Mr Van Haren said it remained uncertain how the new rules would be applied.

"For new foreign investors, the concern is that the new application process may create red tape as more documents are needed," he said. "Existing investors are concerned that if they need to restructure their financial or management structure, will they need to make new declarations. [ed. the red tape involved in setting up even a Board of Investment approved company in Thailand is already ridiculous by international standards-- the rules change from clerk to clerk and are often contradictory, there are long delays in processing and afternoons spent sitting on plastic chairs as officials eat noodles, lots of irrelevant questions etc. You have to really fight the 'cannot do' attitude of the government officials to get your company set up legally]

"The bottom line is, we absolutely support legislation, but would rather see an efficient system in place."

Foreign chamber representatives also discussed a new "nominee-monitoring" rule proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to force shareholders holding more than 5% in any listed company to disclose their identity.

Mr Van Haren said tighter regulations could affect foreign investment, but long-term investors were unlikely to be affected.

"Even among Asean countries, Thailand has many rivals. Foreign investors are increasingly talking about Vietnam. Investors are always looking for convenience, incentives, stability and good infrastructure," he said. "Tighter restrictions will cause many to think more carefully.

JonBenet suspect charges dropped; Thai gov. looking stupid after abetting sensationalist coverage

2006-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Not much of a surprise to anyone with at least half a brain following the case.

After Thai gov. officials were so happy to be quoted in the press regarding this case, Thailand is just left with the sour aftermath of all the negative global hype that resulted. FYI Thailand's status as 'child sex trade capital' and 'haven for pedophiles' has been hugely exagerrated. There is probably much less of that sort of thing in Thailand than there is in the US. It's one of the many myths about Thailand that are just too good at selling news for the global media to do any kind of serious re-think.

from the BBC:

JonBenet suspect charges dropped

Mr Karr had told reporters JonBenet's death was an accident
A man arrested in Thailand and accused of killing US child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey will not be charged with the murder, prosecutors say.

The case against John Mark Karr was dropped after forensic tests found that his DNA did not match that discovered at the scene of the crime.

Mr Karr, 41, was arrested in Thailand two weeks ago and had been due to appear in court on Monday.

He has said he was there when the girl died, but her death was an accident.

But outside court in Colorado on Monday public defender Seth Temin said in a statement: "The warrant on Mr Karr has been dropped by the district attorney. They're not proceeding with this case.

"We're deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok, Thailand with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him, and no independent factors leading to a presumption that he did anything wrong."

However, Mr Karr is still in police custody, following a request that he be taken to California to face child pornography charges dating back to 2001.

'No forensic evidence'

Mr Karr's arrest sparked hopes in the United States that one of the most infamous crimes of recent years might finally be solved.

The BBC's John Kay in California says there has been hysterical media coverage of developments since he was arrested in Bangkok.

He was held on a US warrant which sought his arrest for murder, kidnapping and sexual assault of a child.

JonBenet Ramsay
JonBenet was found strangled, her skull fractured

But Mr Karr's ex-wife Lara has insisted he was with her in Alabama for the entire Christmas period of 1996, when JonBenet died.

And Mr Karr's family insisted he was innocent, saying he was deluded, possibly as a result of taking drugs.

JonBenet's body was found in the cellar of her family home after her parents had reported her missing on 26 December 1996.

She had been garrotted with a cord and her skull had been fractured.

JonBenet's family, who later moved to Atlanta, Georgia, fought for years to clear their names of persistent accusations that they were involved in the death of their daughter.

Thai IM Kongsak Wantana miscites pre-election demonstration law; Thai gov. wrongly threatens protestors with police action

2006-08-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Caretaker Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana needs to read the law, which is quite clear and written so even a high school kid could understand it, before he makes pronouncements. The Election Law is quite clearly written and unambiguous.

This is very common here, with government officials citing laws that don't exist or giving mangled and farcical interpretations of the ones that do. But if you visit them at their offices, you will find them to be the most pompous self-assured cretins imaginable.

I think even countries like Haiti do better at this sort of thing, with a lot less arrogance and a lot more self-perspective.

Election law will be invoked: Kongsak

Minister says rally against PM would break law, but legal experts disagree

The government is preparing to invoke the election law to punish the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) if it holds an anti-Thaksin rally during the lead-up to the new election, caretaker Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana said yesterday.

"The electoral rules cover the period between August 24 and October 15 and the PAD must stop activities seen as opposing or crediting a candidate or a party," Kongsak said.

He reminded police to arrest anti-Thaksin campaigners found violating the election law.

But Thammasat University's law lecturer Prinya Thewana-ruemitkul said Kongsak might have misunderstood the legal provisions.

"The election law bans the framing of parties or candidates with the malicious intent to sway votes but it does not prohibit the voicing of critical views," he said.

Prinya said political activists were sanctioned by relevant provisions to raise constructive criticism of the government or to convince voters on how they should cast their ballots.

An Election Commission official said the ban against attempts to convince voters not to vote for a particular candidate would be enforced after the completion of candidacy registration process next month.

Anti-Thaksin campaigner Sangsit Piriyarangsan said he would organise a mass rally on September 9 to oppose conflicts of interest and corruption.

"If the Interior Ministry or police try to disrupt the rally, then I will file the administrative lawsuit for abuse of power to block free speech as guaranteed by the Constitution," he said.

He said the election law applied to political parties and electoral candidates but not non-partisan activities.

Meanwhile, It is unlikely the Senate will be able to choose the new election commissioners by the Thursday deadline, according to caretaker Senate Speaker Suchon Chaleekrua.

He said it was probable the Senate would have to approach the Cabinet for a Royal Decree convening another special session.

That could sit in the second or third week of next month, he said.

It appeared the full Senate would be unable to vote on the final five new commissioners by Thursday.

That was when the current special session expired.

A Senate special committee disclosed it could not complete vetting the 10 nominees for five vacant Election Commission (EC) seats in time for a vote on Wednesday.

Sunthorn Chindain, chairman of the special committee, said the task could not be completed in time because two sub-committees had yet to interview some nominees about allegations made against them.

Once the sub-panels were finished the special committee would consider their reports.

Its secretary, Senator Wallop Tangkhananurak, said the panel hoped to consider those reports on Friday.

Suspect in alleged Thai assassination plot admits culpability, refuses to implicate others

2006-08-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Suspect in alledged assassination plot makes partial confession, after 3 days of non-stop police interrogation.

Apparently there were others involved, to whom he 'gave his word' that he would not implicate them if caught. That, at least, is his own statement, which also mentions a 'power play'.

The jury is still out (for me) as to whether this whole thing was faked by the PM's office or whether the opposition was involved. Also, if we take the initial inventory of explosives as being correct, then it looks like this was not a serious attempt (the explosives were not assembled, just the parts, and fairly small scale at that) but rather a 'warning' of sorts.

This being Thailand, even the simplest facts may be unknowable. We may never know what this was all about.

from The Nation:

Paranoia as mystery grows

Video of interview session shows lone suspect talking of 'power play' and apologising to the public and premier

In a pre-recorded statement released yesterday by police, the lone suspect in the car-bomb case said yesterday he would take sole responsibility for what he did and vowed to not implicate anyone behind the scheme.

In a 13.09-minute VCD recorded of a police questioning session, Army Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana also cited "a game of power play" that led to what police described as an assassination attempt against the caretaker prime minister.

He also apologised to the public and Thaksin Shinawatra for what happened.

"I am sorry for [driving the car around] knowing that the car is loaded with explosives. The Siam Thewathirat Guardian Angel proves to exist [to me], making the bomb fail.

"If the bomb went off a lot of people would suffer and I would be sinned forever. Why do we Thais do this [to each other]? All this started from a game of power play.

"I want all sides to turn to each other and talk in order to end all conflicts. I want to apologise to the public and the prime minister for what happened.

"I make all statements at my own will. No one made me do it. I will take responsibility for driving the bomb-laden car. Will I implicate other people? I wouldn't. I am a soldier and a man of my word. I and I alone take the blame."

Crime Suppression Division chief Police Maj-General Winai Thongsong, who released the statement, said Thawatchai told him that he had driven the "bomb-laden" sedan three days in a row until the vehicle was intercepted by police last Thursday.

Winai said security officers at the Air Force terminal at Don Muang spotted the suspect driving the Daewoo on August 9 and 10, when the prime minister's motorcade visited there.

Police spokesman General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj, who also watched the VCD, said ownership of the Daewoo had been transferred four times, and that all other people involved in the ownership would be identified within the next 10 days.

Winai said police were able to get Thawatchai to talk through morality conditioning ploys. These were recommended by human behavioural experts who noticed that the suspect said his prayers before bedtime every night during his four days in police custody.

The video started with Thawatchai having his handcuffs unlocked while he sat at a desk in a room in the CSD compound with many senior police and two military officers from the Judge Advocate Corps present. Winai was heard asking Thawatchai how his life was and making an offer to give him what he needs.

Thawatchai asked for a battery-powered mosquito bat. Winai said he could not comply with the request but promised to get police to spray Thawatchai's cell with pesticide instead.

Earlier, the suspect's lawyer released an open letter to the national police chief complaining about an unexplained increase in the items of evidence in various investigation reports.

Reading out the letter, Sirichai Phakdee said police indicated there were three items found in the Daewoo sedan driven by Thawatchai, shortly after the vehicle was intercepted.

In statements issued later by police, the lawyer said seven items were reported as found in the vehicle, without explanation as to why the number had increased.

"The inaccuracy concerning strategic information in official documents has confused the public over how police are handling the case, as well as panicking them about the explosives' actual radius of impact," he said.

Bangkok police chief Pol Lt General Wiroj Jantharangsee and the first police statement asking that the suspect be kept in custody - submitted to the Bangkok military court last Thursday - said there were only three items found in the car driven by the suspect.

But all police statements later said a total of seven items had been found.

CSD chief Winai said police were confident they had produced concrete evidence against the suspect. But he did not know whether there were civilians also involved in what police described as an assassination attempt against the caretaker prime minister.

More than 20 witnesses have been questioned and it would be decided soon, depending on evidence to be further compiled, whether more suspects would be arrested.

The office dismissed Thawatchai's reference to a man identified merely as Jui as an accomplice. "The person might not even exist," he added.

The Bangkok military court turned down a request late yesterday evening for temporary release of Thawatchai on bail of Bt3 million, submitted by his lawyer and wife Sangworn.

make it up as you go human rights: Thailand's datastardly treatment of Burmese migrant labor

2006-08-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

I don't believe for one moment that this raid was unplanned, due to the participation of immigration officers on a Saturday as well as the huge turn out of almost the entire district police force in what is essentially a small town.

The Nation newspaper should do more to draw a bright red line under facts like these instead of sleepily parroting the info supplied by government officials.

from The Nation:

Burmese workers find Thai police are not very good sports

When more than 10,000 itinerant Burmese labourers gathered at the sports ground of the Royal Police Cadet Academy in Sam Pran, Nakhon Pathom, yesterday, they were looking forward to enjoying their annual traditional celebration.

But within moments their hopes were dashed when some 200 officers of the Sam Pran District Police and the Immigration Police went to the field to round up the workers, who began to flee in panic. When calm was restored, 674 had been detained.

The workers thought they had been given permission to use the field.

Those who arrived for the event included Burmese and Karen labourers and Burmese students from several provinces in Thailand. They claimed that one of their community leaders had already sought permission to use the field for the event.

An officer at the academy reported to local police yesterday that a huge number of alien labourers were arriving by bus and taking over the football field.

Nirun Sukkrai, 30, a leader of the Burmese group, said he thought the academy had given permission for them to use the field for the traditional ceremony, so he invited 10,000 Burmese people in Thailand to attend and take part in football matches.

The event, subsidised by 70,000 Burmese migrants, had been held 14 times before at various other places in the province such as at college or school sports fields.

"But we were not allowed to use the old places this year, so my friend Thanasit Kheiwsaard asked for permission to use the field of the Royal Police Cadet Academy. We never thought we would be arrested," Nirun said.

Col Padsanong Boonyakiet, deputy commander of the academy, said he mistakenly gave permission because Thanasit told him he wanted to use the field for soccer games involving only 200 factory workers.

"I had no idea it would turn out to be 10,000 foreign labourers coming here," he said.

Sam Pran district police chief, Col Kritsakorn Plithanyawong, said some of those detained were illegal workers who would be sent back to Burma.

Another officer said the police were looking for Thanasit, the leader of the group, who had fled the scene yesterday.

The Nation

Nakhon Pathom

US hopes to end GSP trade preferences for Thailand

2006-08-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Thailand is not for sale? Ok, idiots. Why should the US subsidize your rice and plastic rubbish by not collecting normal import duties when cheaper rice and plastic rubbish are available from China? So keep your junk, get some 'edu-ma-cation', and learn that trade is a two-way street.

Help end Thailand's preferential trade treatment by the US NOW.

Tuesday is the deadline set by the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) for accepting comments on the proposed GSP changes

Please email your comments in support of ending the preferential treatment Thailand has received at fr0052@ustr.eop.gov.

Thailand has seen trade as a one-way street for far too long. Thailand demands special treatment from developed countries yet maintains a xenophobic and ultra-nationalistic stance when it comes to foreign investment. Thailand is often duplicitous, pledging reciprocity but delivering an onerous bureaucratic system designed to stall or outright prohibit any business venture in which Thais are not granted majority shares.

Other reasons to end Thailand's preferential treatment include: discriminatory and arbitrary tariff systems and a notoriously corrupt Customs Department which routinely misclassifies goods and demands 'bribe negotiations' to release shipments imported by foreign businesses. This puts American business at a disadvantage as they are forced to choose between losing their investment through improper seizure or complying with the US Foreign Anti-Corrupt Practices Act.

Thailand has also refused to renew the Treaty of Amity signed in 1961 or to roll over its terms by signing an FTA with the US. In fact, any mention of reciprocal protection of US interests via an FTA has led to wild anti-US rallies in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Bangkok.

Thailand and the Thai people remain adamantly opposed to any tightening of IP regulations in a country of 70 million known for its production and open sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, clothing, electronic goods, watches, movies and software. These counterfeit goods are exported around the world, damaging the interests of many American businesses.

Thailand, according to its government, has also enjoyed record trade growth over the past 5 years. Given these figures, it is now reasonable to expect Thailand to compete in the global market without the need for preferences or special treatment.

It is time to extend GSP to a more favorable and deserving country, where any system of preferences will be both reciprocated and effective.

GSP STATUS AT RISK
'One million jobs could disappear' if benefits lost

FTI, Board of Trade to put findings to govt

The latest assessment indicates that at least one million local workers across all industries would lose their jobs and many small and medium-sized enterprises would be forced to shut down should the United States in November confirm its intention to end the tax holiday on Thai goods under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and the Board of Trade of Thailand met last week to assess the effects of the US announcement of plans to cut duty-free benefits on Thai goods. Their findings will be submitted to the Commerce Ministry and then forwarded to the US Embassy in Bangkok this week.

The withdrawal of the privileges would cause major problems for Thai manufacturers, which in a worst-case scenario would see businesses forced to shut down their operations.

This could cause the loss of about one million domestic jobs, with the impact on one sector often spilling over into other industries.

The US government is reviewing GSP benefits to 13 countries: India, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, Russia, the Philippines, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Romania, South Africa, Turkey, Venezuela and Thailand. It has opposed the renewal of the programme because it says the benefits are unfairly distributed to a small group of countries.

Manufactured products hardest hit by GSP removal include electronics and electrical appliances, rubber and plastic goods, jewellery and ceramics.

Kramol Trevibul, deputy secretary-general of the Electronic and Electrical Appliances Club of the FTI, said the end of the privilege programme would have a domino effect not only manufacturing but also the supply chain.

"Export growth will definitely drop in many sectors and it will lead to operational closure for manufacturers and suppliers," he said.

Kramol said more than 200 suppliers in the electrical appliances industry would be forced to close if the US cut off the GSP privileges. They would immediately lose their export competitiveness, to China in particular.

"The actual unemployment effect could be about 100,000 lost jobs in this sector alone," he added.

Somsak Borrisuttanakul, chairman of the FTI's Plastics Industry Club, said about 30,000 workers in this sector would lose their jobs because exports to the US would drop sharply. The US is Thailand's largest export market for plastic goods.

The industry has 200,000 workers, of which almost one-quarter are involved in producing goods for the export trade.

"Losing the privileges would have a double-edged effect. Thai manufacturers would face higher production and export costs, as a result of which American importers would face increasing prices," he said.

Somsak said plastic goods exported to the US were currently subject to an average import duty of 4.2 per cent. Loss of GSP benefits would lift the tariff to 7.2 per cent. This would be on top of Thai manufacturers having already shouldered higher production costs caused by the rise in oil prices.

He said Thai plastic products would be phased out of the US market and replaced with goods produced more cheaply in China.

Pornchai Chuenchomlada, president of the Thai Gems and Jewellery Traders Association, said at least 50,000 people in the industry would lose their jobs if the GSP benefits were removed. The US is the Kingdom's largest jewellery export market, with an average value of Bt40 billion per year.

"Unquestionably, jewellery export value and volume will drop because of lost competitiveness to China and other competitors such as Belgium and Italy," he said. He added that this would force some SME businesses to close down.

Pornchai said the industry's exports were forecast to drop by 10-20 per cent in the post-GSP era.

Last week's meeting decided that the US should be told that the removal of GSP benefits would not only harm Thai exports but also lead to losses on the part of the US.

A Commerce Ministry official who participated in the meeting said the US would lose out to other developed countries, and also to its major export competitor, China.

The source also said US consumers would have to pay higher prices for goods as a result of any import-tariff increases following the withdrawal of GSP.

"Cutting off the GSP benefits of these countries will pave the way for cheaper Chinese goods to flood the US market. Other exporting countries will lose their competitive advantage," the ministry source said, adding that US companies that have set up manufacturing plants in Thailand and ship their products to the US would also lose the tax benefits.

"US companies in Thailand may consider shutting down their operations and shifting their plants to China," the source said.

As an indication of Chinese competitiveness, exports of television sets from China to the US have increased despite a GSP cut on that country's products. China exports 14 million sets per year, double the number shipped by the Kingdom.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

Thai TV stations make correct choice and broadcast audio of anti-Thaksin demonstration

2006-08-26T13:23:00.001-07:00

Yes, we do need to hear it.

By the way, Nikorn Chamnong is sounding like an even bigger ass than Thaksin when it comes to analyzing social policy and democratic theorizing. Is the Thai-Chinese shopkeeper class really incapable of producing better leaders?

from the Nation:

We don't need to hear it

Television channels should have killed the sound on footage of the exchanges between pro and anti-Thaksin demonstrators on Monday as it could lead to greater political confrontations and even killings, Chart Thai Party deputy leader Nikorn Chamnong said yesterday.

"Why did they have to air those words. People who heard them have become even more divisive. They should make an effort to consider the matter," he said, adding the issue was sensitive and should be treated like that of rape victim whose face is normally not shown by the media. [ed. if the 'rape victim' purposefully incited his/her attackers, this would indeed be worth knowing. Cheesy and inappropriate analogy, by the way.]

"The country is being divided into two and civil war could break out if we're not careful.

"I believe from now on, some people could die. Thai society always puts feeling before facts and the exchange of words is about feelings and should have been censored," Nikorn told a seminar on communication and politics at Krirk University. [ed. I agree with the bolded part of Nikonn's statement. The rest of it is nonsensical and sounds like he didn't have a fully formed thought when his mouth started moving]

Nikorn said in the end, nothing was worth the violence. He said politics was just a "sport" in which the winner gets the chance to serve the public and no one should think about killing one another in order to win. [ed. this is totally wrong. Politics is about who gets to make the life or death policy decisions that affect everyone in this struggling 3rd world country. The idea that politics and democracy are just 'play' is sick and wrong. I thought only the most uneducated Thais could be forgiven for parroting this simple-minded notion.]

"It's a family matter," he said of the current social rift, citing the familiar refrain that all Thais belong to one large family with the King and Queen as the father and the mother of the nation.

Foreign stewardess assaulted by cab driver on way home from Bangkok's Bed Supperclub

2006-08-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

Cabs in Bangkok are for chancers, especially at night when many cab drivers have been drinking, doing drugs, and are generally wound up and resentful after spending 8 or more hours driving in circles in Bangkok's notorious traffic.

These are not guys who own their own cabs, or even belong to a routine service; most cabbies are just failed farmers who rent the cab for a day from the local mafia at usurious rates in a desperate bid to turn some profit before the rental period expires. These are guys with nowhere to go and nothing to lose.

Like most Thais, they are inherently cowardly and superficially appeasing, but if they spot weakness they will zero in on it and are indeed capable of classic 3rd world savagry.

The way they drive is also reckless in the extreme. You will quickly understand that they 'just don't care'. It is common to come upon the remains of spectacular wrecks in the middle of a downtown street. You can tell from the condition of the vehicles that they had been moving at a totally unreasonably rate of speed for surface streets in a crowded and chaotic city.

Bangkok is not safe for tourism, not is Thailand generally. Remember that, and don't be dissuaded by the delusional musings of drunken sexpats or the greedy self-interested phoniness of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

from the Nation:

A British Airways flight attendant alleged she was molested by a taxi driver while he was driving her to a hotel early yesterday.

Flight attendant Catherine Norman, 34, called police for help after fleeing the taxi on Phetchaburi Road in Huai Khwang district at 1.30am.

Police took her to Din Daeng station where she said she had hailed the taxi from a pub on Sukhumvit Soi 11 seeking to go to the Amari Watergate Hotel.

The driver attempted to touch and kiss her, she said.

Police were informed about a distressed woman by passers-by.

No charges have been filed and police are yet to arrest the driver.

Thai gov expert insists bomb was put together by professionals

2006-08-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

from the Bangkok Post:

Expert insists bomb was put together by professionals

An expert who foiled what was said to be a bomb plot against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has maintained the bomb was assembled by professionals. Pol Lt-Col Kamthorn Ouicharoen, a 38-year-old officer of the Metropolitan Police Bureau's bomb disposal unit, said the materials found in a Daewoo sedan were ready to explode.

He explained the operation before reporters in a bid to dispel suggestions that the discovery of explosive materials on Thursday was a set-up.

''On seeing the detonating circuit, I could tell immediately that it was a professional job made in a military fashion by an expert,'' said Pol Lt-Col Kamthorn, who is currently on holiday from a bomb disposal mission in the three southernmost provinces.

He served in the air force's Directorate of Armaments for almost 20 years before transferring to become a police officer.

''From the video recording, the detonating circuit was ready to set off a massive explosion,'' he said.

Pol Lt-Col Kamthorn said the explosives were second only in size to the huge bomb discovered by police in Soi Lang Suan in Bangkok in 1994 in a foiled terror attack against the Israeli embassy.

The officer said there were three possible reasons to explain why the bombs did not go off. The person who had the remote control device might have been too far away to send a signal to detonate them, or he might have been hidden in the area with something blocking the signal.

Lastly, he said, the detonating circuit might have become faulty or the person may not yet have tried to detonate the bombs. The explosives with labels showing numbers and technical details would enable police to trace their origin.

An intelligence officer based in the deep South said that the TNT explosives could have caused damage over a 50-metre radius.

That remark was at odds with an assertion by police that the explosion could have devastated everything in a one-kilometre radius.

Panithan Wattanayakorn, a political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said only international terrorist groups would typically plant a bomb with the potential to cause extensive damage over a one-kilometre radius. Such a bomb had never gone off in Thailand.

Mr Panithan cited the Bali bombing where hundreds of kilogrammes of explosives were used.

The explosives discovered on Thursday, weighing 67kg, were not capable of inflicting such extensive damage, he said.

No real specialists had come out to provide details of the explosives.

He said the police were particularly active in this case and seemed to have complete details and information, which was a far cry from their approach to the southern unrest.

Army specialist Maj-Gen Khatiya Sawasdipol, alias ''Seh Daeng'', said he believed the bomb plot was a set-up by police to deceive people.

He said electrical wires in the detonating circuit were not connected properly and the bombs could not have been set off.

Prem resists attempt by Thai PM supporters to link him to car bomb

2006-08-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

from the Nation:

Thaksin supporters plead with Prem to save premier

Supporters' move seen as bid to link Prem to alleged murder attempt

Supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday gathered outside the Privy Council president's home to urge him to "help protect the prime minister of the poor", but Thaksin's critics viewed this as an orchestrated attempt to link General Prem Tinsulanonda to the alleged plot on the premier's life.

A group of about 150 people submitted a petition calling for Prem's intervention to ensure the safety of Thaksin, who disclosed on Thursday that he was the target of an alleged assassination plot.

A military officer attached to the International Security Operation Command, Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana, was arrested on Thursday morning near the prime minister's residence. Police found explosive devices in his car.

Prem, who turns 86 today, yesterday welcomed well-wishers, including caretaker Defence Minister Thamarak Isarangura, top commanders of the three armed forces, and national police chief General Kowit Watana.

The people who described themselves as a "grassroots group" gathered outside the Sisao Thewet residence at about 8.30am, shortly before Prem started to welcome his guests inside the compound.

Prem's aide, Vice Admiral Pajun Tamprateep, accepted the petition from the group on behalf of the Privy Council president.

The petitioners claimed to represent the grassroots people. They expressed shock at the uncovering of the explosive-laden car allegedly meant for an assassination attempt on Thaksin.

"When Prem was the prime minister, he faced verbal attacks, survived an assassination attempt and was punched in the face. Therefore he should understand the plight of Thaksin," the petition said. [ed. nice, Thai politics-- you can just feel the slime and insincerity dripping off this crudely spun petition]

It asked Prem to help restore social peace and prod the government's opponents to abide by democratic methods.

One representative of the group appealed to Prem to "help protect the life of the prime minister of the people and help restore peace to Thai society".

Some apparently drunk members of the group started singing the patriotic song "Rak Kan Wai Therd" (Let's Love One Another), prompting others to follow. Pajun urged them to stop singing and said that it was improper to drink before joining such an occasion.

The group members came to Prem's home in 16 vehicles, most of which carried licence plates of Uthai Thani province.

PM's secretary-general Prommin Lertsuridej yesterday made a comment similar to that by the grassroots group. Prommin said Prem had faced similar threats when serving as prime minister.

"He [Prem] was fired at with war weapons. What happened then was similar to what is happening now. The methods may or may not have been similar, but the culprit was arrested. The attempt to change the regime is not based on democratic means,'' he said.

Prasong Soonsiri, an intelligence expert who is critical of Thaksin, yesterday said the appeal for Prem's assistance was an attempt to link the Privy Council president to the alleged plot to kill the PM.

"It's aimed at making Thai society believe that the threat to Thaksin's life is so serious he needs to appeal to Prem. This is an awful set-up. It's intended to defame [Prem] and the military," said Prasong, a former chief of the National Security Council.

Maj-General Chamlong Srimuang said the gathering of Thaksin's supporters in front of Prem's residence was aimed at sending out a message that Prem would like to kill the prime minister.

"This is absolutely nonsensical. They would like to destroy General Prem. They have tried once to kill General Prem by throwing a bomb in front of his house. But nobody was arrested. Now it shows that Thaksin will stoop to any level," Chamlong said.

Assoc Prof Kriangkrai Liewchanpattana, a coordinator of an anti-Thaksin group in Songkhla, said yesterday that the appeal to Prem was "aimed at implying that the Privy Council president can influence those capable of threatening the PM's life".

Two other Songkhla residents shared his view, saying they suspected certain politicians in power were behind the move by the grassroots group.

Prasit Janlamphu, 54, said: "It's a set-up aimed at linking [Prem] to the attempt on the PM's life. ... It appears Thaksin wants to appeal for public sympathy."

Thawil Kammankanurak, 63, said: "I believe politicians are behind [the appeal for Prem's help]. This is a bid to link Prem to this matter."

Phairoj Suwanchave, a former Thai Rak Thai party-list member, tried to ridicule Prem. He said: "I have been observing General Prem for several years. Now foreigners are startled when they see a military officer aged 70-80 years old wear full combat uniform. This kind of picture would not be seen in other countries, particularly civilised countries. When they asked me about it, I simply said 'no comment'."

Wattana Sengpairoh, a former Thai Rak Thai MP for Bangkok, said the assassination plot against Thaksin showed that a "charismatic person beyond the Constitution" does really exist.

"There are some forces in the Thai society, trying to influence politics," he said.

Odd police reaction to Thai bomb raises 'hoax' question

2006-08-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

I think it's great that the Thai press has the courage to ask whether the recent alleged assassination attempt on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was faked to galvanize public support ahead of elections. Such a scenario would fit with Thaksin's very bizarre attempts to market himself to a sleepy and muddleheaded Thai electorate as 'the defender of democracy'.

Brickbats to the Nation, however, in not being able to nail down the actual composition of the explosives found in the car. Two sticks of dynamite and some loose bags of fertilizer tossed in the passenger seat or a carefully prepared package of C-4, primed and ready for detonation?

from the Nation:

Reaction to 'bomb' raises key questions

Failure by police to follow standard safety procedures discredits view that an 'assassination plot' was underway

National Intelligence Agency director Jumpol Manmai was very emotional on Thursday night when discussing the alleged plot to bomb Thaksin Shinawatra's motorcade with Channel 9 news talk-show host Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda. He said that when he saw the explosive materials in the seized car, he became speechless and tears welled up in his eyes. From what he and other senior police officers said, the bomb had been assembled and was ready to go off. And if it had, the explosion would have caused destruction on a tragic scale. Initial police accounts mentioned that the devastation from the explosion could have covered a one-kilometre radius. The Krung Thon Bridge, they said, would have borne the brunt of the blast.

This brings us to a very important question: why weren't efforts made to save people's lives? Crowd control was sloppy to say the least. Television footage as well as newspaper photos show that to be the case. Onlookers and news crews were allowed within 50 metres or so of the car. No warnings were given to residents in the vicinity of the vehicle that their lives were in grave danger. If the bomb posed as serious a threat as police contend, the non-existence of safety measures mocks their statements.

With doubts already widespread as to whether the bomb scare was genuine or rather a set-up intended to reverse the caretaker prime minister's political fortunes, police ignorance of standard safety procedures only fuel that perception. This raises more disturbing questions and increases suspicions concerning the course of events on Thursday. And if the police fail to provide a reasonable explanation as to why for all practical purposes they treated it like a simple grenade where crowd control was concerned, this issue will become the biggest loose end in the assassination theory.

First, it brings the issue of whether the explosives had actually been assembled and were ready to be detonated to the fore. According to reports, police initially said the materials had not been connected, meaning it was an incomplete bomb, thus undermining the assassination theory significantly. Police later changed their story, saying the bomb was ready to be triggered by remote control.

It's not clear exactly when it dawned on police that the bomb was "complete" and that someone could set it off at any minute by remote control. But the manner in which police approached the car and handled the crowds as well as endangered residents did not suggest a professional awareness of public safety. The possibility that the mastermind behind the bombing plot might decide to blow up the car to destroy all of the evidence apparently did not cross the minds of senior police officials in charge at the scene.

And responsible and prudent police officers would never have discounted the possibility of this being a terrorist act, targeted at the public in general. Of course, a carload of explosives found near the prime minister's residence would cause anyone to assume who the most likely target was. But what if there had been a Bali-style malicious intention behind the act? How were the police so sure that the bomb was intended to kill Thaksin?

In the event that it was a Bali-style terrorist act, there would always have been the possibility that the bomb would be detonated at any time by remote control. The police apparently did not take this into account, judging from the way they allowed onlookers to be within killing range of the bomb. Sheer ignorance or incompetence?

Surely, the anti-Thaksin movement may be thinking that there was something worse at work here than police inefficiency. They may presume that the police were not interested in crowd control or a possible evacuation because they knew the bomb's real secret - that it was never intended to go off to begin with.

Police have vowed to get to the bottom of the incident. They have asked the public, media, government politicians and the anti-Thaksin movement all to stay calm and stop speculating or accusing anyone. They have asked for time to complete their investigation and for suspects to be sent to court.

The request is fair enough, but what the police must do first is to make us fully trust them, which the virtual lack of safety awareness they displayed does not help accomplish.

Gen Pallop speaks out after being implicated in Thai assassination attempt

2006-08-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

from the Bangkok Post:

Defence Minister Thamarak told me to resign as his adviser or be sacked, General Pallop says

General Pallop Pin-manee said yesterday that Defence Minister General Thamarak Isarangura had ordered him to resign as his adviser.

Pallop also said he would also cancel his membership of the Thai Rak Thai Party.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sacked Pallop as deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) on Thursday after Isoc officer Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana was arrested while driving a car loaded with explosive devices near Thaksin's home.

It was said the incident was part of plot to assassinate Thaksin. Thawatchai was also a driver for Pallop several years ago.

"General Trairong Intaratat, the defence minister's chief of staff, called me this morning, saying that Thamarak wanted me to resign as his adviser. If I refused, he would sack me," said Pallop.

"How can I refuse the minister's order? With all my pride and dignity, I will submit my resignation.

"I will also cancel my membership of the Thai Rak Thai Party," he said.

The 70-year-old general said there were still many questions lingering over information given by the police about the alleged plot to assassinate Thaksin.

"Police said the vehicle left Isoc headquarters at 5.45am on Thursday. From there to where the car was found would take about 20 minutes or at about 6am. The premier said he escaped the plot as he left home earlier than usual or at about 8.30am.

"So anyone who wanted to assassinate the premier had almost two hours, from 6am to 8.30am, to prepare and detonate the explosives," Pallop said.

"So why didn't he complete the job, as he had more than enough time?"

Moreover, Pallop said that Thawatchai's wife said he drove a Nissan car from their house at about 6am, not 5.45am as earlier reported.

Pallop said he could not understand police statements which said the vehicle had circled the premier's residence several times.

"Why did a driver drive a car loaded with heavy explosives around Thaksin's residence? This is unusual as security officials would have noticed the car and the bombs," he said.

He said he believed the assassination plot was just a fabrication by a group of people who wanted to spin a story aimed at eliciting sympathy for a government whose popularity was declining.

"A few days ago, the government was heavily criticised and is on the downturn. It used the assassination plot to put a spin on the situation," he said.

Pallop said that about five days ago his source telephoned him saying somebody had said he would stage a coup d'etat.

"I laughed because how can I stage a coup d'etat. I am 70 years old and have no power to do so," he said.

"The problem of the country at the moment is the leader. The leader should recognise this for the sake of the country.

"If he waits until chaos ensues, there will be casualties. The leader should sacrifice himself," Pallop said.

More news about suspect arrested in alleged assassination attempt on Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

2006-08-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

The common serio-comic joke about the Thai judicial system is as follows: "In Thailand, all suspects are presumed innocent until such time as a confession can be beaten out of them."

Wife told Thawatchai will simply 'die in prison' if he does not confess his crime

Lieutenant Thawatchai Klin-chana's wife was told by police to persuade her husband to confess to attempting to assassinate caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra or else her family would be in trouble, a relative disclosed yesterday.

Thawatchai was arrested on Thursday morning while getting into a car loaded with a huge amount of explosives that was parked near Thaksin's home.

Following the arrest, Thaksin claimed to have narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. His security officers later provided the media with photographs of Thawatchai and the explosive materials found in the vehicle.

Thawatchai's elder sister Thavorn Klinchana, 54, yesterday described him as a "scapegoat" that could be silenced.

"We are afraid that he will be killed so the case can be closed. We are worried he will die despite doing nothing wrong because he's a victim at the hands of the powers that be," she said.

Thavorn said relatives were not being allowed to visit Thawatchai because police claimed the investigation was not yet complete.

"But police called my sister-in-law and asked her to push my brother into confessing things. Police said my brother would just die in jail if he refused to confess," Thavorn said, quoting what Thawatchai's wife, Sangworn Tadjampa, had told her.

Thavorn said she did not believe Thawatchai would ever attempt to assassinate Thaksin. She said the family would try to find good lawyers to defend him.

Thavorn said she had kept the news of Thawatchai's arrest from their paralysed father.

"I am afraid it might be too much for him to bear. But I don't know how long I can keep it a secret from him," Thavorn said.

She said she was also worried about Thawatchai's health because he needed regular medication for hyperthyroidism.

"From what I saw on TV, my brother seemed so exhausted," Thavorn said.

Sangworn said her two children cried over Thawatchai's arrest. "He has never criticised Thaksin. I don't believe my husband would ever try to kill the premier," she said.

After his arrest, Thawatchai said he was paid Bt200 by an unnamed friend to drive the car from the spot where he was arrested to nearby Soi Suan Oy.

Thawatchai was formerly a driver for Pallop Pinmanee, who was sacked from the post of deputy director of the Internal Security Operation Command immediately after the arrest on Thursday.

Pallop has denied being behind an assassination plot. "You know me. If I was behind it, I would not have missed," he told reporters after his sacking.

US Ambassador Ralph Boyce lobbies for more free trade in American cigarettes to Thailand

2006-08-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

This is really sad and disappointing. Up until now, Ralph Boyce was one of the more respected members of the foreign diplomatic establishment in Bangkok. An affable and charismatic guy who learned to speak near fluent Thai in advance of his posting, he was the darling of the Thai media and an excellent spokesperson for US interests in Thailand. How he could rationalize lobbying the Thai government to relax it's smoking cessation measures on behalf of US tobacco firms, is beyond me. Totally despicable and immoral.

This also comes at a time of political turmoil, as Prime Minister Thaksin is widely seen as selling out the country for foreign interests, in particular the US , vis a vis the recently proposed US-Thai Free Trade Agreement. This finally gives the anti-US and anti-FTA contingent a really excellent case in point to work with.

US envoy under fire after meeting Phinij

Ambassador 'supports alcohol, tobacco firms'

The National Health Foundation (NHF) yesterday denounced the US ambassador to Thailand and US alcohol and tobacco companies for calling for a revision of the Public Health Ministry's liquor and tobacco advertisement control act. The move came after Ambassador Ralph Boyce led representatives of the US-Asean Business Council, tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris, alcohol firms Diageo and Riche Monde, and pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly in a meeting with caretaker Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat and senior officials of the Disease Control Department and the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday.

Hatai Chitanondh, president of the Health Promotion Institute under the NHF, said in a statement that the move reflected Mr Boyce's strong support for the liquor and tobacco industries, despite the US government's policy instructing US embassies worldwide to refrain from supporting liquor and tobacco businesses. [ed. I hope this is the case. It is unconscionable for the ambassador of a civilized country to represent tobacco interests to the 3rd world.]

Dr Hatai said Public Health officials should not negotiate with the companies because their businesses will never benefit the public. He said he would coordinate with health advocates in the US to keep a close watch on Mr Boyce's actions involving the support of liquor and tobacco companies.

''The negotiation marks the first step for both the US and the Thai sides to work together. Hopefully we will have more opportunities in the future,'' Mr Boyce said after the meeting, which was held for the first time in 15 years.

Mr Phinij said the meeting mainly focused on bilateral cooperation in which the Americans called for help ''to strengthen alcohol and tobacco businesses in Thailand''.

A ban on alcohol and tobacco advertisements seemed to be the main trade barrier in the US' point of view. It also asked the ministry to ensure fair treatment as cigar producers were not facing the same controls, according to Mr Phinij.

Unlike cigars, the ministry employs strict controls on cigarette producers by imposing high taxes and requiring the manufacturers to print health warning labels on cigarette packets.

The advertisement of liquor products is allowed on television only after 10pm.

Watchara Panchet, assistant to the public health minister, said it was necessary to take the US proposals into account for the benefit of Thai entrepreneurs in the US.

However, the ministry did not make any commitments during the closed-door meeting, he said.

Narong Sahamethapat, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department, said the authority would continue to discourage alcohol and tobacco consumption in the country.

He said tobacco manufacturers would soon be required to label the hazardous chemical contents of cigarettes that could cause cancer.

A regulation to ban the use of the terms ''light'' and ''mild'' on cigarette packets, which have misled people into believing that some brands were less harmful to health than regular brands, will come into effect in October.

The new regulation would also cover cigars and tobacco leaves, he said.

Animal abuse in Thailand; Canadian grey wolf dies at Chiang Mai Night Safari after lengthy escape

2006-08-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

Officials at the Chiang Mai Safari didn't notify the public for three weeks when this Canadian grey wolf first escaped, and they didn't see fit to notify anyone when it died either.

from the Bangkok Post:

Wolf dies after brief flirtation with freedom

Chiang Mai _ A grey wolf which recently made a brief break for freedom from Chiang Mai Night Safari Zoo died over a week ago, but its demise was kept under wraps until yesterday. Just as zoo officials did not try to alert the public when the three-year-old wolf escaped, they also chose to keep quiet about its death.

The wolf's escape came to light only when villagers living near the zoo complained that a strange animal had stolen and eaten about 200 fowls and puppies over the previous month.

Zoo officials then admitted that the wolf had disappeared from its enclosure a month earlier, explaining they had kept quiet because it was tame, bred in captivity, posed no threat and they expected to quickly recapture the animal.

The missing animal was given the nickname Lhong, a Thai word for lost.

A team from the zoo finally recaptured the wolf on Aug 5. It was kept under close watch for rabies and other diseases and then returned to the enclosure it shared with five other Canadian grey wolves, the zoo's director for management, Supot Metapiwat, said yesterday. [ed. it was immediately returned to the same enclosure as other animals after spending weeks in the wild?]

However, the wolf then became sick and was sent to the animal hospital at Chiang Mai University. The animal died over a week ago, Mr Supot said.

Veterinarians were examining the carcass to find out what killed it.

The other five wolves are still in good health.

Surakiart's Foreign Ministry embroiled in passport corruption scandal

2006-08-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

This is Surakiart's Foreign Ministry, now embroiled in a typical government contract corruption scandal. How can anyone take Surakiart seriously as a candidate for UN Secretary General when human rights and bureaucratic reform are the top two "must-do-better" categories for the next Secretariat? After Surakiart's recent spearheading of a 1 billion US dollar loan to the pariah regime in Myanmar (Burma) plus the Thai Foreign Ministry passport scandal detailed below, there is reason enough why his bid should spectacularly fail.

from the Nation:

Auditors find irregularitiesin Bt7-bn bid

Foreign Ministry asked to explain awarding of big contract to a firm called 'incapable'

The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) has found irregularities in the Foreign Ministry's tender for a Bt7-billion electronic passport project, a source said.

"There is a pattern of irregularities. It seems unfair to award the project to an incapable company [consortium] and leave others disqualified with unfair practices. This has caused the country a huge revenue loss," said an OAG source, who asked not to be named.

He said the OAG investigation was about to end and the result would be forwarded to the Attorney-General's Office. At the moment, the investigation had not gone far enough to implicate those who might be involved in irregularities, he added.

He noted that it seemed irregular for the ministry to adopt the project knowing it would lose almost Bt1,000 per passport to a private consortium.

In January last year, the ministry awarded the e-passport project to a consortium of Chan Wanich Co Ltd, Chan Wanich Security Printing Co Ltd and Singapore-based NEC Solutions Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.

The e-passports have technology offering improved security, including images and a person's biographical and biometric data, as required by International Civil Aviation Organisation standards.

Under the contract, the consortium is obliged to produce 7 million e-passport books over a 10-year period. In return, it will be paid Bt953.25 for each passport.

Four consortia submitted bids to the ministry. The unsuccessful ones were MFEC Consortium, 3S E-Passport Consortium (which included Sagem Defense Securite, Summit Computer Co Ltd and Setec Oy) and ACC Consortium.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said he knew nothing about an investigation into bidding for the project. He said an investigation by the OAG and Attorney-General's Office had centred on the winning consortium's ability to fulfil the contract, including its ability to produce 3,000 passports in a day and to check identities.

"It's not about the price or other things. These problems have been corrected, and we are prepared to quote the penalties that the consortium has to pay for any mishap," he said.

Kitti said the investigation was a routine practice, given the huge cost. He was also confident that no ministry official would have colluded to award the project to the Chan Wanich-led consortium.

"I have heard only complaints from the losing bidders. Some quoted a lower price, but their specifications were not up to standard and had less memory capacity. How can they say the winner is incapable? After the problems at the start of the project were fixed, right now the queues on immigration booths are shorter and everybody is commending the faster service," Kitti said.

The ministry's consular department director-general Theerakun Niyom also said the OAG investigation was a routine one to check whether administration was in line with the project's terms of reference. It had focused on the functioning of the "auto gate", which had problems and obstructed production of the e-passport.

The ministry's permanent secretary-general Krit Garnjana-goonchorn had instructed officials to cooperate fully with the OAG in the investigation, he added.

Chan Wanich Security Printing, part of the winning consortium, made news after the Election Commission was found to have spent Bt2 billion on organising the April election. It was among companies awarded projects by the commission without bidding. It was commissioned to print election ballots at a cost of Bt63.44 million.

With Marnchai and Thanapol Kongboonma as directors, the company has run a printing house for 83 years, supplying special items including bank books to financial institutions.

It also won the bidding for the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology's first smart-card project. After the bidding was recalled, it lost the deal to another company.

Thais imprison 175 North Korean refugees, hold out for immigration fine payment

2006-08-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

How nice to see Thailand doing its humanitarian part, imprisoning political and economic refugess from North Korea over some bullshit immigration fine. No doubt the Thai Immigration Dept. is hoping that South Korean missionaries will pay these outrageous fines on behalf of the refugees so that they can be expatriated. Kudos also to the Thai neighbors who turned these refugees in. What charming, giving, karma-conscious people Thais are.

from the Bangkok Post:

Seoul takes N Koreans from Thailand

Seoul (dpa) - Among 175 North Koreans held in Thailand, 18 refugees were due to arrive in South Korea aboard Asiana Airlines late Thursday night, local news media reported.

They are 16 North Koreans who have papers giving them formal refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and two North Koreans who have been separately detained by Thai immigration police, according to the South Korean embassy in Thailand and NGO officals.

The 16 North Koreans are among 175 North Korean defectors who were rounded up by Thai police in a raid on a Bangkok suburb Tuesday while they were hiding in a two-storey house with the help of South Korean missionaries.

Since 23 children under the age of 17 and the 16 North Koreans who are listed as the Persons of Concern (PoC) on the UNHCR list are excluded from trials, 134 North Koreans appeared in Thai court Thursday morning and were sentenced to fines amounting to 157 dollars each, local media reported.

The media reports quoted Thai polices and UN officials in Bangkok as saying the North Koreans were likely to be deported to third countries, including South Korea, after being imprisoned in Bangkok for the 30-day equivalent of the 157-dollar fine.

"Most of these 134 North Koreans prefer South Korea as their next destination," said a diplomat who asked not to be named.

The Seoul government has been cautious about the arrival of North Korean defectors in large numbers since its airlift of 468 defectors from Vietnam in 2004 upset North Korea.

Food shortages and severe flooding in July have been blamed for pushing North Koreans out of their homeland. Thailand is often chosen as a haven for them, partly due to a regional office of the UNHCR in Bangkok.

Thaksin comments on missed assasination in Bangkok

2006-08-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

from the Bangkok Post:

Thaksin says he missed assassination

Bangkok (dpa) - Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Thursday because he left his house earlier than normal.

Thaksin said that two soldiers driving a car rigged with an improvised bomb were stopped when they were spotted circling his home in southern Bangkok in the morning.

"It's my lucky day. I have been varying my travel times after the intelligence services told me people were trying to kill me. If I hadn't left an hour earlier than usual, I might not be here now," he said on Thai television.

Thaksin added that several other attempts have been made to harm him in recent months when traveling on official duties. He alluded to "incidents" at military airports and a recent car crash that involved a car in one of his convoys.

The controversial deputy chief of the Internal Security Operations Command, Panlop Pinmanee, was promptly sacked on the prime minister's orders Thursday, after the two suspected assassins were found to belong to his military oversight office.

Panlop caused consternation earlier this year when he said a military coup could not be ruled out if political instability persists. There were unconfirmed reports that one of the suspects is Panlop's driver.

Tension has been climbing in the Thai capital ahead of an October 15 general election that Thaksin is expected to win, despite being widely disliked by the middle class and old Bangkok elites.

The driver and passenger in the suspect car, who attempted to flee, were later arrested and were being interrogated by the police. The two suspects, one a lieutenant, were identified as soldiers serving with the Thai army's Internal Security Operations Command.

The army's deputy spokesman, Colonel Akkara Thiprote, said two sticks of dynamite were found in the car and that the army would cooperate with police in the investigation.

Two bags of urea fertilizer, often used in making bombs, were also reportedly found in the car.

The discovery came on the first day of official campaigning for what is shaping up to be a bitterly fought general election on October 15. Fistfights have broken out between opponents and supporters of the premier at his recent public appearances.

The prime minister said that after this "assissination attempt" he would make only vital public appearances. "I must assign routine appearances to my deputies. We can't let these people succeed," he said in a television interview.

The opposition People's Alliance for Democracy has said this week that it would restart the mass demonstrations that rocked the government earlier this year if the authorities did not quickly identify the Thaksin supporters who kicked and punched protestors this week.

Thai newspapers reported Thursday that at least two people who beat protestors while police looked on Monday were known to have links to officials close to the prime minister.

A vehicle-free security zone has been temporarily declared around Thaksin's sprawling compound on Snitwongse Road, extending as much as a kilometre from the house.

Those opposed to Thaksin - many in Bangkok's middle class, Thai intellectuals, the older elite, advisers to the monarch and elements in the armed forces - have accused the prime minister of running a corrupt regime designed to enrich his family and a clique of rich businessmen while also undermining and eliminating checks and balances on his government.

The prime minister remains popular, however, with many rural voters and entrepreneurs and is likely to win the election. The prime minister has repeatedly claimed since taking power in early 2001 that threats have been made against his life, although his critics have accused him of paranoia and sympathy-seeking.

Interior Minister Kongsak Wanthana said Monday that there were credible but unconfirmed reports of an assassination conspiracy.

Earlier this year, several bombs exploded around the capital, primarily aimed at prominent opponents of the prime minister. The origins of these devices remain a mystery.

More violence predicted in run up to Thai elections

2006-08-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

from the Nation:

More violence predicted

Opponents vow to keep on hounding PM; suporters warn of 'terrible' happenings

The national rift over Thaksin Shinawatra deepened yesterday following Saturday's Siam Paragon scuffle, with his supporters and opponents accusing each other of instigating the incident and planning to provoke further violence.

The caretaker prime minister's Thai Rak Thai Party claimed opponents had developed a "guerrilla strategy" that involved sending a few "hooligans" to hound Thaksin at every public function.

"They will employ a suicide-bomber strategy, one which requires just a few hooligans who will boo and jeer at him wherever he goes," said Thai Rak Thai executive Pairote Suwanchawee.

"This is meant to dispirit him and lure the broadcast and print media into highlighting such incidents and invariably create an impression [of a divisive phenomenon]."

The other side insisted at a press conference yesterday that the Siam Paragon fist-fight erupted because men who looked like Thaksin's bodyguards zoomed in on protesters after a five-year-old boy shouted "plunderer get out!"

The anti-Thaksin camp said they would keep protesting at public places where Thaksin appears until "he has no place to be". [ed. is stalking, physical confrontation and shouting insults a laudable opposition strategy?]

In Saturday's incident, a man was left with a swollen mouth when a shouting match between government supporters and opponents [ed. instigated by anti-Thaksin protestors who followed him to a non-political event] turned into a scuffle while Thaksin was opening an exhibition in honour of His Majesty the King. "We have heard that Thaksin will not set foot in Silom any more and it will also be the case with Siam Paragon," said Sangsit Piriyarang-san, leader of a group seeking social sanctions against the prime minister. [ed. this speaks more to the failings of mall security than any 'victory' by the protest mob- sad]

The so-called Civil Society Network to Stop the Thaksin System organised the press conference at Rajabhat University's Chankasem campus to decry what it claimed to be "uncivilised" ways of handling peaceful expression of political discontent. [ed. what is peaceful about screaming insults? many of the protestors were upset that the media carried video footage with sound-- it's great that media did so; it's important to get the full sense of the way the opposition conducted itself]

"We will keep eliminating the space where Thaksin can be in Thai society," caretaker Buri Ram Senator Karun Sai-ngarm told the press conference to a big applause.

"Witnesses" appeared at the press conference to claim that Saturday's incident started with "men in black jackets" assaulting those shouting anti-Thaksin slogans. The network's leaders insisted if the incident did not involve Thaksin's bodyguards, it was an alarming sign of things to come if Thaksin, the "root cause" of the present national divide, refused to leave politics quietly.

Former veteran envoy Asda Jayanama said he had never seen anything like the Siam Paragon incident in his life.

"I have been a diplomat for 35 years and been in seven countries," he told the press conference. "I have never seen bodyguards of any prime minister attack peaceful anti-government protesters before."

The network claimed the incident took place because more and more pro-Thaksin demonstrations were being stage-managed to create the false impression that the premier remained hugely popular.

"How can Thaksin continue to preside over a nation as divided as this?" said Prasarn Maruekkapitak, leader of an anti-Thaksin businessmen's group.

"The incident was not the first and surely it won't be the last," said Suriyasai Katasila, a leader of the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

"We are not sure how much more violent things can get. Our objective remains ousting the prime minister through peaceful means, but his people are trying to inflame the situation by calling us names like suicide bombers."

According to Pairote, the "hooligans" or "suicide bombers" strategy is not aimed only at ousting Thaksin, but also at neutralising Thai Rak Thai as a whole.

"The undemocratic measures coincide with attempts to delay the October 15 election. Those people believe the longer the election is delayed, the more our party will be weakened or be even more likely to break up," he said.

Thai Rak Thai deputy spokesman Jatuporn Prompan accused the anti-Thaksin movement of instigating the Siam Paragon incident and strongly criticised its "lack of respect" for an event meant to honour His Majesty.

"What if we send Thai Rak Thai followers to disrupt every gathering of the PAD? This kind of confrontation could lead to something terrible. The other side should think about this with a really open mind," Jatuporn said.

"Their admission that they sent people to create a nuisance is no different from terrorists claiming responsibility for bomb explosions."

But caretaker Bangkok Senator Wallop Tangkananurak insisted that all the scary scenarios would disappear if the man at the centre of the confrontation would step down.

"I just want to ask him if he's happy to see Thailand go on like this. Our country has never been so divided. Every good leader has to think real hard if things like this happen in his country," said Wallop. [ed. typical Thai tactic of blaming the stronger when conflict arises; it's an argument based on (and sure to appeal to) feeling rather than logic]

Nation coverage of recent clashes a bit biased, as usual

2006-08-24T01:19:00.000-07:00

The Nation news coverage of the recent protests is, as expected, a bit biased in favor of the anti-Thaksin camp. The headline of the following article is a good case in point -- saying that Thaksin's bodyguards 'targeted' protestors ignores the fact that protesters are precipitating these conflicts by following Thaksin around town, loudly and belligerently disrupting every public appearance he makes. If anyone is being 'targetted', it is Thaksin.

from The Nation:

Three hurt, three arrested after PM's minders target protesters on third day of violence

Three people were injured and three others arrested yesterday when fights erupted between supporters and opponents of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It was the second such clash in three days.

Television broadcasts of the skirmishes showed police failed to intervene.

An elderly man could be seen being kicked and stomped by alleged supporters of the prime minister. Two men shouting "Thaksin, get out" were manhandled and dragged away by others.

According to a top policeman, it was suspected some attackers were policemen in civilian clothes.

"One of them is a man in a black shirt who can be seen on a video recording. Police will look into this," Colonel Manit Wongsomboon, deputy commander of the Metro-politan Police Division 6, said.

Yesterday's clashes occurred shortly after Thaksin departed the Central World Plaza shopping complex. His attendance at the opening of the Digital Thai Knowledge Park was accompanied by tight security. Metropolitan Police commissioner general Viroj Chantarangsi was also present at the function.

Thaksin supporters and opponents sparred verbally outside the building. A man shouting "Thaksin, get out" was punched by another in the crowd.

Police arrested three men during the skirmishes. Those arrested have been identified as Vichai Uasila-phan, 53, Ritthirong Likhitprasert-kul, 68, and Mongkol Boontem, 18.

Vichai and Ritthirong, who shouted anti-Thaksin messages, were charged with causing a public nuisance. Mongkol had been charged with assault, Manit said.

The injured were identified as Itthiphon Sorawitsakul, 70, Vasu-porn Boonmee, 41, and Khwanchai Juimanee, 30.

Itthiphon was knocked down and stomped by more than 10 men until he was unconscious. He required two stitches to the head. Most of his attackers wore new white shoes.

Khwanchai sustained a wound to his left eye and bruising to the head.

Wasuporn was punched in the face and knocked to the ground. She told reporters she was merely an observer. "I'm so scared, I don't want to file a police complaint," she said.

On Saturday, a small anti-Thaksin group was attacked when it shouted at the prime minister as he attended a Royal exhibition at the Siam Paragon shopping mall.

In a related development, government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said the government and the Thai Rak Thai Party denounced the verbal attacks that led to clashes. He accused the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy of instigating the latest melee.

In response to a PAD call for Thaksin to step down, Surapong said there was no guarantee peace would be restored if the Thai Rak Thai leader quit politics.

Senior opposition figures yesterday expressed concern over the escalating violence.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit called on people to act with restraint, warning the situation could get out of control.

"Everyone has the right to free expression but they should also act within limits," he said.

Abhisit said government officials should not treat demonstrators as political puppets, adding that making disparaging comparisons would fuel anger.

Mahachon Party deputy leader Akapol Surasuchart expressed concern political tensions would escalate in the lead-up to the election.

"Thaksin should quickly make his decision whether to take a political break," he said.

The longer Thaksin defied his critics, the more clashes would occur.

He believed the party had fanned a climate of animosity by attacking opponents. He referred to Thai Rak Thai claims opponents were planning a suicide bombing against Thaksin.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attacked by mob at King's exhibition

2006-08-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm going to side with Thaksin on this one.

The conduct of the Bangkok-ified spontaneous protest mob was totally outrageous. It may sound trivial but stamping on someone's foot repeatedly warrants a trip to the police station. That conduct may be de riguer on the pak soi or their rough little khanom shop in Din Daeng, but who the hell do these people think they are?

Thaksin was badly let down by his bodyguards and mall security, as well as the local police. The Prime Minister of Thailand was verbally and physically attacked for 20 minutes in the middle of a downtown shopping mall and nothing was done about it.

If this can happen to the PM while attending an exhibit in honor of the King, then anything can happen to anybody in this country. It looks like a country of savages who can't handle basic civic responsibility, nevermind full blown democracy. There is no honor in screaming insults at someone from a crowd, or trying to use the monarchy as a shield.

The protestors should have been thrown out immediately, by force if necessary. If they resisted, they should have been cuffed and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest.

Before any nimrods start blathering about freedom of speech, Siam Paragon is a private shopping mall, not the street or other public place. You have no inalienable right to be there. Again: You have no inalienable right to be there. If you harass other patrons or create any sort of disturbance you can and should be removed by mall security.

What's next, fist fights in Parliament a la the Taiwanese or Koreans?

from the Nation:

Thaksin ambushed with protest in Siam Paragon

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ambushed verbal attacks in Siam Paragon by a group of protesters Saturday afternoon, leading a clash between the protesters and his supporters.

The angry prime minister cut short his visit of an exhibition to honour His Majesty the King after some 20 to 30 protesters kept on shouting abuses against him.

Before leaving in his car, Thaksin strongly criticized the protesters as "lacking developed mind" and asked officials to take legal action against them.

The clash and exchange of verbal attacks between the groups of supporters and protesters happened at about 2 pm and lasted about 20 minutes.

The fight came after Thaksin chaired a ceremony to launch books and CDs in memory of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's Accession to the Throne in the shopping mall.

While Thaksin was visiting the exhibition, a woman stepped on his foot twice and he asked his bodyguard to watch out against the woman.

"Please check if she is insane or not. She stepped on my foot twice already," Thaksin told his bodyguards. [ed. why were people allowed to get so close to the head of state? I can't think of any country where such cosy proximity would be tolerated.]

While Thaksin was continuing seeing the exhibition, some 20 to 30 people, shouted "Thaksin is bad, Thaksin cheats, Thaksin get out."

The prime minister was seen apparently startled and turned to look at the protesters.

His bodyguards then tried to lead Thaksin to leave the shopping mall, but a group of his supporters charged toward the protesters.

The supporters and Thaksin's bodyguards tried to ask the protesters to stop shouting but they kept on shouting criticism against Thaksin.

At the moment, a university student shouted "You cheat the country" and some three to four supporters charged toward him and hit and kicked him until he fell down. [ed. I guess we're supposed to feel sorry for a guy who joined in heckling someone and got smacked upside the head]

The protesters then helped pulled the student away.

Another woman, who carried her young daughter, also shouted "Thaksin cheats" and she was pushed backed by Thaksin's bodyguard, causing her to nearly fall down. [ed. she's engaging in a protest while cradling her infant daughter? Who is truly the bad person here, this woman or the bodyguard who pushed her away from the prime minister?]

Some observers also shouted "We are Thais. Why did you do this in exhibition to honour His Majesty?" [ed. Let's see, they scream insults at the prime minister and then they blame him for causing a ruckus? I despise this type of cowardly aggression. Bullying and then pretending to be the one bullied.]

The protesters then started retreating and walked away and shouted abuses against from afar. [ed. like soi dogs]

They later walked down the escalator and kept on shouting criticism against Thaksin from a lower floor.

At the same time, Thaksin's supporters shouted back at them and asked the protesters to go home.

The protesters later left the shopping mall and the confusion ended.

While Thaksin was leaving, a group of supporters surrounded him and kept on shouting "Thaksin Fight On" until he reached his car.

The supporters waited there and kept on cheering Thaksin while he was giving interview to reporters.

Before leaving in his car, Thaksin told reporters that the tussle should not have happened during the important exhibition. [ed. he is absolutely right, and it shouldn't have happened at any other time either]

"These people do not have developed mind. They showed what was undemocratic behaviour," Thaksin said.

He said the protesters should have waited until October 15 to express their dislike against him by not voting for him.

The Nation

foreigner bashing continues even as Thaksin notes that crime rate 'extremely low' among 12 million who visit Thailand each year

2006-08-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

By the way, about half of the 12 million 'arrivals' each year are simply foreign residents who must exit and re-enter Thailand every 30 days to renew their 'tourist visas' due to the fact that residency permits are almost unobtainable.

It should also be noted that Karr was not accused of committing any crime while in Thailand.

Nevertheless, many of the Thai government officials quoted in the article below have taken the position that 'something must be done' about these 'evil evil' foreign language teachers, in the wake of the Ramsey suspect arrest.

I guess these so-called leaders have graduated from kicking the dog to kicking the foreigner in order to bolster self-confidence during the present political imbroglio.

What troubles me more is that whenever a foreigner makes the news here in a bad way, a round of foreigner bashing ensues and there is not a single Thai voice to countermand it. That's really disappointing (and cowardly) on the part of our Thai so-called friends.

And what about the foreign community? Not a peep. Probably nervously clutching their non-immigrant 'O' retirement visas in mortal fear that if they speak up the government might be separate them from their fat Issan wives.

I can't imagine any immigrant community in the world putting up with the kind of nonsense foreigners put up with in Thailand.

Imagine how the 300,000 Thais in Los Angeles would react if California government officials waxed xenophobic in the LA Times about the 'criminal background' of 'many' Thais residing in the US? But that would never happen. And that's part of the reason they choose to live where they do.

from The Nation:

Suspect was employed by prestigious schools

Education officials concede that process of checking qualifications has sometimes taken too long

Various authorities yesterday expressed concern that John Mark Karr - a suspect in the 1996 murder of an American child beauty queen - had managed to find teaching jobs in Bangkok.

At the time of his arrest on Wednesday, he had just been given employment by an international school in the Sathorn district.

Before that he was allowed a trial period at two of the country's most prestigious schools - the boys-only Bangkok Christian College and the girls-only St Joseph Convent School.

The Education Ministry's permanent secretary Khunying Kasama Varawarn na Ayutthaya yesterday said she would have a meeting with the International Schools Association of Thailand next week to tighten recruitment of foreign teachers.

She admitted that the ministry had allowed international schools to recruit teachers before an entire check of their qualifications had been completed.

"We relaxed the rules after many international schools complained that the whole process took too long," Kasama said. [ed. so why not speed up the clerks at the Education Ministry rather than relaxing standards?]

She said the Office of Private Education Promotion Commission did general checks on whether applicants have the educational credentials that match the requirements. "The office has contacted foreign universities to verify overseas degrees submitted by applicants." [ed. this takes 5 minutes and a phone call -not a letter, not an email, not a fax- a phone call. There is no need for documents to cross the Pacific like it's 1822.]

The office has also cooperated with special-branch police and the National Intelligence Agency to check the history of applicants.

"Normally we receive a response from the special-branch police within three weeks but the overseas institutions have taken longer to respond."

[ed. Sorry, but I think this is a total fabrication because it makes no sense at all. 'Special branch police'? Never heard of such an entity having any info on the 'history' of foreign teachers, unless it pertains solely to criminal history in Thailand. If that is the case, then it shouldn't take 3 weeks to check. As for 'overseas institutions', it's been noted above that 5 minutes and a phone call to the registrar's office of any Western uni will get you an answer as to someone's degree status.]

"...When international schools started complaining, we relaxed the rule. Recruitment can be completed first, and if there is any problem we can take action later," Kasama said.

So far, she said, there had never been any problems. [ed. so why change the system if you've had only one bad apple out of thousands in so many years?]

"Generally, persons with criminal records won't be able to pass through immigration checkpoints," she said, but in the wake of Karr's arrest, Kasama planned to ask international schools not to hire any foreign teachers before their qualifications check had been completed. [ed. this is just utter nonsense. Immigration has no ability to check foreign criminal records, and does not even check Thai ones, before stamping your passport. Only people specifically placed on blacklist are barred from entry, and this list is very short.]

Anusorn Thaidecha, who heads the Office of Private Education Promotion Commission, added that he would ask immigration police and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to be stricter about granting entries or visas to foreigners. [ed. how does this promote private education? I guess the PEPC is just like the IT Ministry, notorious for blocking websites and doing fuck all else, in that both seem only concerned with prohibiting rather than fostering activity in their respective sectors. A government of cops, but not one leader.]

PM's deputy secretary general Jakrapob Penkair, who is assigned to oversee education matters, said there had in the past been many sexual-abuse accusations against teachers at some international schools.

"They have sex with minors - girls and boys - and they have been arrested," Jakrapob said. [ed. who is 'they'? A couple of cases in the past five years out of maybe 500,000 foreign teachers who've passed through in that time? Should back that libelous shit up, Jakrapob. In the meantime, there have been numerous government officials, senior police, and even senior Thai clergy accused (and in some cases convicted) of the same thing. What's being done about them?]

He said all parties must join in preventing undesirable foreigners from getting close to students in Thailand. [ed. what about undesireable Thais?] He added that he was going to raise the issue with the Education Ministry, teacher organisations, parents and international schools.

In a related development, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said there were relatively few cases of crimes committed by foreigners in Thailand, given the fact that up to 12 million foreign visitors flocked to the country each year. He added that Thai authorities had worked closely with other countries in watching out for people who had been blacklisted.

[ed. Thaksin, of all people, was the only one who spoke up for foreigners by stating the simple facts. Incredible.]

Crackdown On "Farang" Teachers in Thailand post arrest of John Karr in the Ramsey case

2006-08-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Just like clockwork, the Thai government responds to the arrest of John Karr in the Ramsey case with typical reactionary flourish by increasing the already ridiculous bureaucracy surrounding work permits and the like for foreigners.

Frankly, I see this as just an excuse for our darling Thai bureau-fuckwits to show some activity and get their names in the paper. What do they do the rest of the year? Absolutely nothing. It's government by crackdown. The new regulations will just make the road to legality even more onerous for law-abiding teachers in Thailand.

As it stands, the impracticalities of work permit registration under the current Thai system are such that most schools refuse to process them until the teacher has been at the school for at least three months, if at all.

Has the Thai government ever thought that most schools employ foreigners under the table because the process to work legally is too long and absurd already? Or that simplifying and expediting the process would actually result in greater compliance?

As for qualifications, this would not have stopped someone like Karr from working in Thailand. His credentials were actually quite impressive, in a creepy way. Furthermore, few teachers with similar resumes would work in Thailand for the low wages and ill-treatment that are norm here.

And as I'm sure Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with his honorary Ph.d in Criminology from the University of Houston would aver, qualifications do not guarantee non-criminality.

The Thai government is confusing and compounding two totally unrelated areas; sexual abuse and qualifications, into one category. I cannot find any correlation between the two.

Finally, since we're on the subject of qualifications, when will the no-fail policy at Thai schools be revoked? That's right, Thai schools do not allow failing grades to be given in English language class. Failing grades in other classes are also unlikely to stand. Thai students, of course, are well aware of this policy and behave accordingly.

Crackdown On "Farang" Teachers:
Qualifications of foreign teachers in Thailand must meet 'required standards'

BANGKOK: -- Authorities concerned are believed to soon set a common standard for all local schools in recruiting teachers, including those of foreign origins, following a recent case in which an American teacher was arrested for an alleged murder of a six-year-old girl in the United States 10 years ago.

Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister Jakrapob Penkair said here Friday that he would meet secretary of the education minister next week to discuss standardized qualifications of all teachers in Thailand and criteria on teacher recruitments.

"All teachers in Thailand must have the same career standard, no matter what nationalities they are. We must now be serious about that," noted Mr. Jakrapob, who is also secretary of Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai. [ed. does that mean that all Thai teachers of English will actually have to be able to speak English? At present, quite a few could not hold a conversation in English if their life depended on it. Luckily, for them, neither their life nor their job does.]

Mr. Surakiart, among other tasks, supervises the Ministry of Education. [ed. he's also the Foreign Minister when not campaigning hard for the position of UN Secretary General, a candidacy seen by many to be a fool's errand and which even the former Thai Ambassador to the US would not support]

"I'll discuss with the education minister's secretary on qualifications of teachers and tutors in Thailand, particularly those who work for international schools, as well as criteria for screening their backgrounds and issuing work permits for them," he told journalists. [ed. why start with the International Schools? They already have the strictest standards. What about starting with the notoriously lax Thai government schools, or would an inquiry into their 'standards' prove too embarrassing?]

Mr. Jakrapob's remarks followed Wednesday's arrest of John Mark Karr, 41, who had worked as a teacher of some international schools in Thailand. [ed. he was hired by 1 school, rejected by the others for lacking a B.Ed. or US teacher certification required by international schools. He was allowed to conduct a demonstration class at one private school but parents objected when he required the students to work quietly on assignments in class (i.e., do actual work)]

The middle-aged American was arrested by the Thai Immigration Police Bureau in a downtown Bangkok apartment Wednesday afternoon following a request by US security officials on August 11. [ed. he wasn't exactly hiding out, now was he, since he put his real address on the perfunctory forms one fills out at the Immigration Department. Looks like the procedures already in place worked just fine.]

According to Thai Immigration Police Bureau Commissioner Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsriskul, the American authorities had informed Thailand that Mr. Karr had fled the US to hide, first in Malaysia, and then in Thailand.

As the latest development, a court in Boulder, Colorado issued arrest warrants for the suspect on August 16 on charges of abduction and murder.

The arrested suspect confessed to strangling to death the then six-year-old 'beauty queen', Jon Benet Ramsey, in her home in the US state of Colorado on December 26, 1996.

The suspect said that he initially wanted to kidnap the young girl for ransom, but his demand was not met; so he strangled the kidnapped girl.

Mr. Karr left Penang, Malaysia, and entered Thailand on June 6 this year.

The immigration bureau chief said that he had ordered Mr. Karr's visa to be revoked, and that the man, found not to have committed any wrongdoing in Thailand, would be then extradited for trial in the US.

There have been thousands of foreigners working for local schools in Thailand, particularly international and language schools, a number of whom entered the kingdom as tourists with no work permits as professional teachers, according to Mr. Jakrapob. [ed. work permits are only issued in Bangkok. It is impossible to enter the country with a work permit already in hand.]

--TNA 2006-08-18

Some comments heard 'round the net:

...

First the knee, then the jerk. Then the response.

Here are some possible scenarios:

1. Create more paperwork and bureaucracy, which makes it harder for foreigners to work legally as teachers. End result as market demand stays the same: more foreigners work illegally as teachers.

2. Create insanely high qualifications for foreigners to work in Thailand. End result: Foreigners without insane qualifications leave the country, suddenly market demand goes through the roof without accompanying salary rises ("We will pay 30K baht a month for a Ph.D in Education!"); more foreigners work illegally.

3. Make a song and dance show to save face, then continue business as usual. End result: Normal number of foreigners working illegally.

...

Incidentally, it seems from the articles that it isn't the qualifications of the guy that should have been an issue, but his criminal record. Why isn't there a call for police background checks? Answer: It simply wouldn't work in the "plan at the last minute" world of Thai schools.

[ed. exactly, as usual, the Thai reaction fails to solve the problem while increasing the burden on normal law-abiding citizens]

...

...how will the Thais deal with this situation:

Khun A., an incompetent idiot who happens to be in charge of hiring the farang staff, has put off advertising for one or two teachers until the week just before school starts. Khun A. puts the ad in the paper. Teachers apply. When told they need a background check paper, they check with their embassies and are told it will take (1-2 months, fill in the blank with any reasonable number).

Do you think the Thai schools will:

1) Do the right thing and pay overtime and temporary substitutes (who must also have background checks, remember) until the teacher candidates check out, or

2) Employ them anyway and hope everything works out ok?

Even the process of getting a work permit is already so complicated and so much of a joke that most foreign teachers start out by working illegally- there's actually little choice in the matter.

To imagine that Bangkok could become this rigourous in vetting teacher candidates presumes an entire overhaul of the entire visa and work permit system. Desirable, and not impossible, but extremely improbable.

In fact, the real solution to the problem must lie NOT in putting further restrictions and barriers to people getting real work permits. Most people who have real work permits look pretty good on paper- believe me, it's not easy.

To be honest, I can't blame BCC that much. They were down a teacher (nevermind that it was their own fault the previous one left, apparently) and they had to get someone to fill in. Even in the best circumstances, it takes a month or so usually to get someone legally up to speed. What were they supposed to do? There aren't any work-permitted positions in Bangkok for "temporary school substitute at a moment's notice."

Most of the real problem lies in the foreign teacher population who are working illegally for long stretches of time and completely unregulated (and unprotected). The de facto situation must be addressed realistically: either Thailand must lose a large percentage of its foreign teachers because they don't have minimum qualifications or don't earn the standard set for the permit, or some lower standard must be set and regulated which allows those with fewer academic credentials and earning lower salaries to be regulated and vetted and receive work permits and be legal (and also be protected from the abuse they often experience). However, this takes the power away from the Thai school directors and puts it into the law. I can't see that as something they'd really want to have happen.

...

and while we're at it how about background checks on politicians?
known criminal associations
fraudelent business transactions
evidence of corruption
Lets sweep the country clean of "undesirables"

...

...the fact that every time the prime minister sneezes, there's a new education minister, who has absolute power. It's not like the Japanese system where the bureaucracy maintains stability- everything can go up in the air.

...

Criminals are of every ethnicity in Thailand. In fact the problem of Thai teachers behaving in an unacceptable manner is being covered extensively at the moment in the "Thai Rath" newspaper.

...

One bad apple! Seek references, check references, check authenticity of credentials, plan your recruitment and conduct proper interviews. Maybe accept the fact that better salaries will have to be paid to obtain better people. But would all of this stopped this character? I doubt it.

In this case the chap was qualified, but dangerous.

...

One of the problems here is that every time one foreigner does something bad, there is a round of foreigner bashing by the Thais, and not one Thai actually speaks up to be the voice of reason.

...

But how are foreign teachers in Thailand to be vetted from their country of origin?

To take Britain as an example, there is no way the Criminal
Records Bureau (CRB) would release details of a police record direct to organisations in Thailand. The data on the police records is clearly protected under the Data Protection Act in the UK - and quite rightly so, too.

If you try to obtain it yourself, how would the Thai school know whether the result was not forged? Would they know what a UK police record report looked like?

Even supposing it were possible to obtain a CRB check for a Thai school, who would pay for it (it's about 35 pounds a pop and is only valid for 6 months) and what happens about the delay? When I applied for a CRB check last year via my uni (I was doing a PGCE) I had to wait 2.5 months for the result. If the TES forum is anything to go by, I was pretty lucky - others were waiting 3 or even 4 months.

Would the teacher be allowed to work temporarily before being sacked due to a 'negative' CRB result (this in itself opens a can of worms - who decides if, say, a speeding conviction should disqualify you from school employment) or should he have to wait 3 or 4 months before starting teaching? At that rate there would be no farang teachers for most Thai schools.

...

There hasn't been any suggestion that the guy had a criminal record. He seems to have been caught because he wanted to be caught.

...

Thailand needs teachers to educate the government officials on how not to be stupid, they are children, something I have discovered after living here a while...............they are like children

present some of the senarios that we see govenment take here to a primary school in the west and I really think you will see similar ressults

they just haven't got a clue

...

Background checks wouldn't have kept him from landing the job because he wasn't charged yet. We need to simply accept that sh-t like this happens, and there will never be a way to protect ourselves 100% from coming into contact with bad people.

...

So what would you say if a teacher applied for a job with a B.S. in Education, more than five years of experience teaching, including several years of overseas teaching experience? Those are John Karr's qualifications.

"All teachers in Thailand must have the same career standard, no matter what nationalities they are. We must now be serious about that," noted Mr. Jakrapob, who is also secretary of Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Right, so here comes the knee jerk and additional mounds of paperwork and of course more budget for the responsible authorities. And in the end, people like Mr. Karr will have impecable qualifications by any standard of assessment. Does Mr. Jakrapob think that psychotic paedophiles are incapable of getting a degree and holding a teaching job back home for a few years? Granted, this might weed out some of the backpackers with BS degrees from the University of Khao San Road, but it cannot be expected to prevent people like Mr. Karr from teaching in Thailand.

...

Do any of you guys realise how farang teachers are viewed by Thais?

I worked as a teacher in Thailand for 10 years until I had enough of the bullshit.

No respect given at all by Thai teachers and parents.

If they want to stop getting the farang scum, they had better change their attitude to the farang teacher, and farang in general.

I only know a couple of guys who still teach here after 10years - it really is a shite 'trade' to be in.

Even at university level, the Thais use the pronioun 'man' for the foreign teacher behind their backs (but Ajarn to their face), while many teachers go around thinking that they are well respected in Thailand.

There is also a big resentment from Thai teachers as the farang get 'mega-wages' like 30,000 a month.

Background checks are a waste of time - it's so easy for a criminal to get a new passport and identity.[ed. post 9/11 I'm not so sure about that. However, it always be possible to teach sub rosa in Thailand, as long as you keep your head down and don't make waves.

...

Speaking of salaries, many Thai teachers earn more baht in a year than the average farang teacher, if you deduct the farang teacher's additional expenses, and add in the value of the Thai teacher's pension and other benefits.

...

It is no easy matter for a foreigner to come to Thailand (with, say, an actual bachelor's degree and a TEFL certificate, but no teaching degree) and get legal. You can't get a teaching license or a work permit until you've worked here for MONTHS. I never got either one in YEARS. And, unlike bona fide foreign workers in most countries, the foreign teacher has an almost constant battle trying to remain legal. In order to learn $8,000, after related expenses, per year.

Lack of cooperation by Thai attorney-general is hindering investigation into rape/murder of British backpacker Kirsty Jones

2006-08-19T02:56:00.000-07:00

Hunt for Jones killer 'hindered'

Thai intransigence is preventing UK police from questioning witnesses to the murder six years ago of a backpacker in Thailand, officers were reported as telling London's Daily Telegraph yesterday.

This year, Thai police relaunched the hunt for the killer of Kirsty Jones, the daughter of a Welsh farmer, who was raped and strangled in a Chiang Mai guesthouse, after the original investigation was declared incompetent.[ed. the lack of cooperation at this point is probably due to Thai fear of loss of face; officials in the Justice Ministry would rather let the rapist/murderer of a foreign tourist walk than risk the chance of being exposed for even the slightest error]

But eight months after saying that witnesses would be re-interviewed, authorities have yet to release the paperwork which would allow British officers to question witnesses in the UK.[ed. typical Thai tactic, agree to cooperate then stonewall]

Jones, 24, from Brecon, Powys, had just graduated from Liverpool University and was on a world tour when she was murdered on August 10, 2000, at the Aree guesthouse in Chiang Mai.

A string of suspects were charged or arrested, and subsequently cleared and released.

Dyfed-Powys Police, who helped the Thai authorities to secure the killer's DNA, say they now have the "key" to the crime and it is vital that they be allowed to speak with witnesses to get the killer's name. According to the genetic profile, the killer is a Thai man. Any of the British witnesses who were in Thailand at the time of Jones' death might hold clues to his identity.

Chief Inspector Steve Hughson, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: "There are witnesses back in the UK and we feel, and the Thais feel, there might be some merit in speaking to them now. In order to do that, on the Thais' behalf, we need a letter of request, an official document."

Royal Thai Police are understood to have written to the Thai attorney-general months ago asking that British police be allowed to question "two or three" witnesses, but permission has yet to be granted.

foreign media in Ramsey case slowly realize that Thai senior officials are anything but credible or reliable sources

2006-08-19T01:30:00.000-07:00

Judge for yourself the behavior of Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, senior Thai official entrusted with running Thailand's notorious Immigration Department. Personally, I find his behavior embarrassing, though typical of the ludicrous bureaucrosaurs who are still in positions of power here. I'm sure Suwat sees nothing wrong with his buffoonery - after all, he's just being himself - but it's fascinating how dumb it looks on the world stage.

The Thai tradition of presuming guilt may backfire in lots of exploded face when it turns out that Karr wasn't even in Colorado during the Ramsey killing. Another good reason to withhold smug pronouncements until someone is actually convicted of a crime.

"The tickets for John Mark Karr's departure are ready," Thailand's immigration police chief, Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, told reporters. "He is leaving for the United States on Sunday evening." [ed. what tickets? He's going to flown out on a Thai Airways flight? Did they have to go to a travel agent and buy him a 'prisoner' fare? I somehow doubt that]

A U.S. Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, could not confirm Karr's departure date, saying that authorities were working through legal paperwork to expedite his deportation.

On Friday, Suwat recanted details he gave of Karr's confession — details that raised suspicions that Karr was lying to gain entry to a sensational killing that fascinated him.

Suwat initially said Karr confessed to sexually assaulting the girl and giving her drugs. But her autopsy showed no signs of drugs. He also told reporters that Karr had claimed to have picked up JonBenet at school, though her death came during the holiday break.

On Friday, Suwat confirmed to the AP his account of the sexual assault. But asked if Karr gave the girl drugs, Suwat said the suspect described the encounter as "a blur." Suwat said the part about JonBenet being picked from school was based on his recollection of watching a documentary about the case.

arrest of Jon Benet Ramsey murder suspect in Bangkok leads to reflexive round of 'farang bashing'

2006-08-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

Thai Immigration Police chief Lieutenant-General Suwat Tumroungsiskul clowning while Ann Hurst, US Department of Homeland Security 'attache' looks on.

Interesting how Thais, especially government officials, seldom have any capacity for solemnity. Suwat also engaged in a bit of foreigner bashing, offering: "We have criminals from all over the world running away from their home countries to look for teaching jobs in Thailand." Fantastic. What an asshole. Nevermind that Thai criminals are world-renowned, engaging in everything from prostitution to protection rackets to credit card fraud, and that Thailand's Thai-on-Thai per capita violent crime rate is among the bloodiest in the world. Nevermind that foreign teachers are on the whole an incredibly law-abiding and untroublesome lot. Part of the reason it's such big news when a 'farang' (mildly perjorative Thai word for 'foreigner') gets arrested for anything serious here.

Yet still we have to listen to this immature racist buffoon, head of one of the most notoriously corrupt branches of the Thai civil service, paint all foreign teachers with the 'criminal' brush.

Incidentally, another item making the rounds in the local news today concerns several Thai teachers at a local elementary who have been accused of raping numerous female students. The school has actually 'lawyered-up' and is actively fighting to suppress DNA samples requested by the police. Rape of children by Thai police, Thai schoolteachers, and Thai clergy is no more uncommon here than it is in the West, perhaps even less so. So please, shut the fuck up about 'foreign teachers' being criminals, especially since there is currently a shortage and the government itself has asked for more foreigners to come teach here.

Finally, it's also interesting that Homeland Security has apparently taken on special police powers and spends a good deal of time and money clandestinely investigating American expats for possible sex crimes, here in Thailand as well as Cambodia. Such activity appears to be unrelated to the original mission of the DHS, which was to protect America from terrorist attacks.

By SUTIN WANNABOVORN, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 40 minutes ago

A former American school teacher said publicly Thursday he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she was killed and called the 6-year-old's death "an accident," a stunning admission that should help answer 10 years of questions in the unsolved murder case.

John Mark Karr, 41, will be taken within the week to Colorado, where he will face charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault, Ann Hurst of the Department of Homeland Security told a news conference in Bangkok.

"I was with JonBenet when she died," John Mark Karr told reporters afterward, visibly nervous and stuttering as he spoke. "Her death was an accident."

Asked if he was innocent of the crime, Karr said: "No."

Karr confessed to the killing after his arrest Wednesday at his downtown Bangkok apartment by Thai and American authorities, said Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, head of Thailand's immigration police.

He said Karr insisted his crime was not first-degree murder but that she died during a kidnapping attempt that went awry.

"He said it was second-degree murder. He said it was unintentional. He said he was in love with the child, she was a pageant queen," Suwat said.

Karr declined to say what his connection was to the Ramsey family. Dressed in a turquoise polo shirt and khaki trousers, he appeared ashen with an expressionless look on his face.

An attorney for the Ramsey family said Wednesday that Karr once lived near the family in Conyers, Ga.

JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996.

Wednesday's arrest was a surprise development in one of America's most lurid murder cases, which had left a cloud of suspicion over her family after years went by with no arrests. Some feared the case would never be solved.

Striking video images of the blonde-haired girl in child beauty pageants helped propel the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States.

A law enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Karr had been communicating periodically with somebody in Boulder who had been following the case and cooperating with law enforcement officials.

A University of Colorado spokesman, Barrie Hartman, said journalism professor Michael Tracey communicated with Karr over several months and contacted police. The university spokesman said he didn't know what prompted Tracey to become suspicious of Karr.

Tracey produced a documentary in 2004 called "Who Killed JonBenet?" A woman who answered the phone at a number under his name said he didn't live there anymore; his office phone mailbox was full.

The Ramseys learned that police were investigating Karr at least a month before the June death of JonBenet's mother, Patsy Ramsey, of ovarian cancer, the family said.

In a statement Wednesday, father John Ramsey said that if his wife had lived to see Karr's arrest, she "would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder."

Suwat quoted Karr as saying he tried to kidnap JonBenet for a $118,000 ransom but that his plan went awry and he strangled her. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house demanding $118,000 for her daughter.

Investigators said at one point that JonBenet's parents were under an "umbrella of suspicion" in the slaying, and some news accounts cast suspicion on JonBenet's older brother, Burke. But the Ramseys insisted an intruder killed their daughter, and no one was ever charged.

Over the years, some experts suggested that investigators had botched the case so thoroughly that it might never be solved. The Ramseys moved back to Atlanta after their daughter's slaying.

"It's been a very long 10 years, and I'm just sorry Patsy isn't here for me to hug her neck," said Lin Wood, the family's longtime attorney.

"John and Patsy lived their lives knowing they were innocent, trying to raise a son despite the furor around them," Wood told MSNBC.

Suwat said U.S. authorities informed Thai police on Aug. 11 that an arrest warrant had been issued for Karr on charges of premeditated murder. The warrant was sent to Thai police on Wednesday.

"Through investigation we were able to determine where his residence was and the Thais arrested him," Hurst said. "He did not resist. He did express surprise."

Hurst said Karr has been "very cooperative" with authorities and that he's shown a "variety of emotions."

Suwat said Karr arrived in Bangkok on June 6 from Malaysia to look for a teaching job. It was not clear whether he had gotten a job, the police officer said.

Karr's visa has been revoked as an "undesirable person" given the accusations against him, and U.S. authorities were expected to take him to the United States in the next few days, Suwat said.

Hurst, with the department's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Bangkok, said that Karr had left the United States several years ago and had not returned.

The immigration and customs office had assisted the Boulder County District Attorney's Office and the Royal Thai Police in the investigation.

The suspect, who has been in Thailand five times over the past two years, was being detained by immigration police pending arrival of U.S. officials, Suwat said.

When asked how he could travel for so many years in Asia, and whether he was independently wealthy, Hurst responded, "We're asking the same questions."

Police said Karr had been living in a dormitory-style hotel called The Blooms in a neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agents that cater to expatriate residents and sex tourists. The nine-story hotel offers rooms for as short as three-hour rentals. [ed. actually, it's in a pretty normal neighborhood: http://www.bootsnall.com/hostels/di/8189/Map-Directions-The-Blooms-Residence.php]

The district attorney in Boulder, Mary Lacy, said the arrest followed several months of work.

She said Karr, who had traveled extensively across the world, may also be connected to a prior case in Santa Rosa County, Calif. She did not provide further details.

Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Joan Risse confirmed the child pornography charges and arrest warrant against a John Mark Karr, though she cautioned that she didn't know if he was the same person held Bangkok. State records show Karr lost his teaching credential in 2002.

...

The suspect's resume:

http://www.job4teacher.com/Candidates/JohnKarr.html

...

A psychic's sketch of the perpetrator, several years ago. Uncanny how well it matches the actual suspect.. or does it? Take a look:

Is there some reason why these monkeys had to have their hands literally all over this guy? Notice the professional demeanor of the Thai police, giggling and pawing the suspect. It makes me embarrassed to live here.

By the way, I thought there was a decision at the start of the year that Thai police were no longer going to stage 'perp walks' for the media.

Update, below. Looks like head of Immigration Suwat Tumrongsiskul, enjoying the limelight, was more than happy to share details on the case with the international media. Excellent foresight on the part of the US authorities, not allowing Suwat to participate in the earlier interrogation or other aspects post-arrest:

BANGKOK, Thailand - The American suspect in the killing of JonBenet Ramsey told investigators that he drugged and had sex with the 6-year-old beauty queen before accidentally killing her, a senior Thai police officer said Thursday.

An autopsy on Ramsey said a blood screening showed no drugs or alcohol in her body but said she had vaginal abrasions.

Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, head of Thailand's immigration police, said by telephone that he was not present for the questioning, which was conducted by U.S. law enforcement officials.

But, according to what the general said he was told of the questioning, the suspect, John Mark Karr, "said he drugged the child." Suwat did not say who briefed him on the questioning. U.S. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Karr claimed he had sex with Ramsey, who was still alive, Suwat said. Karr said he then realized he had "accidentally" killed her, according to the general. [ed. take this second-hand info with a grain of salt]

More info! Apparently Homeland Security took an apartment in the same building as the suspect in order to keep tabs on him prior to his arrest. Looks like he was undone by emails he sent to a researcher in Colorado who was writing a book about the killing.

BANGKOK, Thailand - The suspect in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey said he loved the 6-year-old beauty queen "very much" and is "very sorry for what happened."
ADVERTISEMENT

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, John Mark Karr said that he contacted JonBenet's mother, Patsy, before she died of cancer in June to express his remorse for the killing.

"I conveyed to her many things, among them that I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet," Karr said as U.S. and Thai authorities escorted him from his Bangkok hotel, where he spent over an hour packing his belongings.

Karr said it was his understanding that Patsy Ramsey read letters that he sent to her. He said JonBenet's death was "an accident."

"It's very important for me that everyone knows that I love her very much and that her death was unintentional," said Karr, who sweated and stuttered occasionally as he spoke in a quiet voice.

Karr, 41, was arrested Wednesday, halfway around the world from Boulder, Colo., where JonBenet's body was found beaten and strangled in her parent's basement on Dec. 26, 1996.

He declined to disclose the nature of his supposed relationship to the Ramsey family, or how he may have known JonBenet.

Asked for details of how she died, Karr replied: "It would take several hours to describe — to describe that."

"There's no way I could be brief about it. It's a very involved series of events," said Karr, who speaks with a thick Southern accent. "It's very painful for me to talk about."

Earlier in the day, Karr spoke briefly to reporters after a news conference by American and Thai authorities.

"I was with JonBenet when she died," he told reporters. Asked if he was innocent, he said: "No."

Karr will be taken within the week to Colorado, where he will face charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault, said Ann Hurst of the Department of
Homeland Security, one of several officials who accompanied the suspect back to his hotel.

In the run-up to Karr's arrest, U.S. authorities had rented rooms at The Blooms, the budget hotel where Karr was staying in a central Bangkok neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agencies catering to expatriates and sex tourists.

The hotel offers rooms for as little as three hours — for $8 — and monthly stays starting at $170.

Karr was staying on the top floor of the nine-story hotel in a small single room.

U.S. and Thai authorities wearing plastic gloves sorted through his possessions, which were wheeled away on a luggage rack, and included a laptop computer and two suitcases.

Dressed in a baggy turquoise polo shirt and khaki pants, Karr said that JonBenet's death was "not what it seems to be," though he declined to elaborate.

"In every way," he added, as authorities bundled him into a waiting vehicle. "It's not at all what it seems to be."

foreign investors beware - you will be the scapegoats for Thai mismanagement

2006-07-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Pha-Ngan official warns not to sell land to foreign

Samui used as an example of how to destroy island environment by excessive

Villagers on the island of Koh Pha-Ngan have been urged by a provincial official to help promote eco-tourism and keep their land out of the hands of foreigners.

Thawatchai Terdphaothai, the deputy governor of Surat Thani province, said yesterday he did not want to see Koh Pha-Ngan face the same fate as neighbouring Koh Samui, where land rights have been sold legally to foreign investors and the natural environment has been ruined by tourism.

Koh Pha-Ngan, which is 15 kilometres from Koh Samui, is situated in the Gulf of Thailand, 100km from Surat Thani, the district centre.

Thawatchai asked Koh Pha-Ngan villagers to learn from the recent case of (alleged) illegal land sales on Koh Samui involving foreigners.

The deputy governor said local communities should set rules to prevent villagers selling their land to foreigners.

Thawatchai said Koh Pha-Ngan is well known for its full-moon parties but still has beautiful natural attractions and local culture to attract more tourists.

The provincial authority and local investors would join communities in developing 'eco-cultural' tourism, he said.

Chan-chod Piriyasatit, the head of the Koh Pha-Ngan Tourism Association, said he would ask the authorities, especially the police, to be more concerned about the safety of tourists on the island.

Meanwhile Pramote Sabyen, the director-general of the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) Southern Office, said the long-term development of tourism on Koh Pha-Ngan would still focus on promoting the full-moon parties, because these were the main source of income.

However, the preservation of local culture should also be promoted, the director-general said.

He added that villagers should be confident their participation in eco-cultural tourism would draw more visitors to the island.

Pramote said the TAT is cooperating with police and provincial authorities to improve security for tourists.

Since 2003, the number of visitors to Koh Pha-Ngan had increased by at least 19 per cent per year. He asked local people to take care of tourists and not exploit them.

Following the case on Koh Samui and a land-ownership probe there, officials were checking land rights on Koh Pha-Ngan, said Damrong Pidej, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

The department was preparing to declare Koh Pa-Ngan a new national park, he said.

Ridiculous. The majority of development on Koh Samui is Thai owned and administered, as can be seen from the ugly streetscape and constant construction noise in what were once charming areas like Chaweng beach. Blaming foreigners for Thailand's poor zoning that has resulted in the destruction of most anything in the country that was once beautiful is a pernicious lie.

The few nominally foreign owned big ventures like the Amari Palm Reef Resort are actually a welcome relief from the chaos, stupidity and ugliness of the rest of modern Koh Samui.

realBuddhism, from the Dalai Lama

2006-07-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

“I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the
selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a
sense of peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation
of altruism, of love and compassion, and elimination of ignorance, selfishness, and greed.”
-- the Dalai Lama

US - Thai FTA: 'democratic' Thai government's refusal to discuss FTA leads to irrational debate

2006-06-29T00:32:00.000-07:00

<-the question mark is ironic. So is the use of the word 'whore', which should probably have a comma after it.

from the Nation:

'Rational debate on FTA nearly impossible'

Allegations have surfaced that the Bush administration intervened earlier this year to arrange the transfer out of Thailand of a World Health Organisation representative who published comments critical of the proposed Thai-US free-trade agreement (FTA).

...

They have also revived interest here in the FTA, an issue lost in the shuffle of Thailand's ongoing political crisis and privately viewed as dead by even high-ranking officers of the US State Department. Evidently, these officers' views have not reached the US Consul-General in Chiang Mai, who last week organised another of her government's series of attempts to educate the Thai public about the benefits of the FTA. Insulting to Thailand as they are, these attempts do call attention to a general lack of clarity, perspective and constructive debate on the proposed FTA in the Kingdom.

The history of Bangkok's dealings with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is not a happy one. A major local daily once suggested wryly that President Bill Clinton's USTR, Charlene Barshefsky, took as her personal motto: "Free trade is what I say it is." And it would be fair for Bangkok to remind Barshefsky's successors at the USTR, early and often, that American pressure to liberalise the Thai financial sector during the early 1990s resulted in the Bangkok International Banking Facility (BIBF). As much as any other single factor, US-dollar-denominated loans taken under the BIBF by firms with baht revenues accounted for the 1997 financial crisis. [ed. disagree, artificially high valuation of the baht, lack of public and private sector transparency as well as rampant crony-lending was what brought about the Thai financial 'crisis'. This was a banking system was run by Thais, for Thais, resulting in the standard practice of massive loans to insolvent firms headed by corrupt government officials]

It is also important to note that Washington's current lead negotiator on the proposed FTA, Assistant United States Trade Representative for the Asia-Pacific (and for Pharmaceuticals) Barbara Weisel, brings immense knowledge and sophistication to her task. She very well may, in fact, have thought through Thailand's trade position and international economic interests more rigorously than the Thai officials whom she has faced across the negotiating table. [ed. sad, but if Thailand wants to sit at the big table, like it's always begging to do, then it needs to pick civil servants based on ability, not pompous fools with huge empty heads and family connections]. Her job does not, however, include looking out for those interests. Nor can her grasp of economic issues be expected to extend to other realms of Thai life that the FTA would affect. [ed. actually she probably understands more about average Thai life, at least on a practical and public-health level, than the pale-skinned Thammasat graduates sitting across from her].

For it needs bluntly to be pointed out that compliance with the US-Thai FTA of which Weisel, the American economic interests she represents and the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AmCham) dream will require transformation of many domains of Thai life as it has long been known. That in a number of those domains, Thailand has not yet returned to a stable, pre-1997 equilibrium empowers those foreign interests. [ed. examples?]

The smaller, pre-crisis American business community in Thailand understood the country and appreciated its sensitivities far better than today's. [ed. hmmm, sounds like a personal beef, no pun intended] This change helps explain the audacious nature of some of its demands for the FTA.

What is harder to explain is current Thai reluctance to call that audacity what it is. This reluctance may or may not also reflect a continuing post-1997 lack of cultural and social self-assurance in Thailand. But it means the job of debating the FTA has been left largely to rather utopian non-governmental organisation (NGO) activists. They have made many valid points in their cautionary attacks on the proposed agreement. Those attacks have, however, not yet served the cause of clear debate well, for several reasons:

First, the polarising effect ... of [Thaksin Shinawatra's] very approach to government [including his personal sale of Shin Corp. to Singapore's Temasek] during the past five and a half years has made rational discussion of public-policy issues almost impossible.

Second - and compounding the problem - the Thaksin government and Thai advocates of the FTA have, through cowardice or incompetence, failed to make a case for the agreement.

One particularly important example of this failure lies in the area of extended intellectual-property protection for pharmaceuticals. In fact, the global pharmaceutical industry's determination to secure such protection relates to Thailand's aspiration to become a leading biomedical research hub. The industry expects such a hub to take its side in the protection of patent rights, which it considers the foundation of pharmaceutical innovation. This perspective has never surfaced in local debate over the FTA, nor have the possibility of Thailand's emergence as a biomedical research hub and the benefits that that development might bring to the Thai economy. The failure of local advocates of the FTA to make their case in detail and with honesty helps explain the efforts of Washington's representatives to educate the Thai public themselves.

Third, by holding themselves above electoral politics and not offering a progressive alternative to urban poor and rural voters, NGO activists and their sympathisers have similarly failed the country. They have ceded those voters' support to the Thai Rak Thai Party. And they have dodged the need to make a compelling, detailed, comprehensive case against the FTA and for their own vision for the future of the Thai economy in the global arena. Instead, they confuse talking to each other with contributing to the public good in a democratic society. [ed. excellent points]

Fourth, enemies of the Thai-US FTA, no matter what its eventual content, have too rarely admitted they now seek to close the barn door after the horse has already run off. Because trade experts - and, tacitly, Bangkok's business elite - understand that the Thai-Chinese FTA in effect since 2003 is far more disadvantageous to Thailand and those Thai values and interests that NGOs here seek to protect than anything now demanded by the USTR and AmCham.

Fifth, ever since His Majesty King Mongkut and Chaophraya Si Suriyawong (Chuang Bunnag) negotiated the Bowring Treaty with the United Kingdom in 1855, Thailand has been integrated into the world economy. Some economic historians have argued that in comparison with Japan, for example, the terms of Thailand's integration condemned it to sustained underdevelopment and only ersatz industrialisation. Other observers credit Thailand showing remarkable flexibility in adapting to the demands of the world economy and achieving prosperity and growth.[ed. what was Thailand going to do, build space shuttles?]

Failure to conclude an FTA with the United States would not bring this historical pattern of integration to an end overnight. [ed. no, only education would do that, but that's not a government priority] But it is worth recalling that prior to the Bowring Treaty, Thailand's international trade was largely with China and very much on China's terms. Concluding an FTA with China but not the US may well drastically limit Thailand's flexibility in the future, especially as China grows more and more powerful and aggressive in regional affairs.

Should Thailand conclude an FTA with the United States? At this time, a good answer is impossible. And such an answer is not even desirable. For perspective, clarity, and debate have not yet been brought to bear on the real costs and potential benefits that an FTA would involve. The maturity, responsibility and sophistication that speakers and listeners alike demonstrated night after night in the anti-Thaksin rallies this year have been sorely missing from discussion of the agreement. But during both the negotiation and ratification phases of any Thai-US FTA and on the part both of the government and the public, clear, cogent and serious debate is clearly possible and clearly necessary.

Michael J Montesano is an assistant professor in the Southeast Asian Studies Programme at the National University of Singapore and visiting researcher in the Regional Studies Programme at Nakhon Si Thammarat's Walailak University.

Michael J Montesano

Special to The Nation

Each Thai Rak Thai MP candidate given a $5,000 personal grant to remain with party

2006-06-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

Outside of some cartoony regimes in Africa, I can't think of another place where it's perfectly legal for a political party to openly bribe its members. This isn't campaign financing, soft money, or 'pork barrel' politics. This is straight-up 'Here's a wad of cash for your personal use, now be a good guy and don't change parties.'

Each MP hopeful given Bt200,000 incentive to stay

Ruling party leader attempts to lock in support as battle for TRT's future looms

Thai Rak Thai Party leader Thaksin Shinawatra has doled out Bt200,000 for each of his MPs seeking re-election in a show of confidence that he can secure a comeback as prime minister and win the court battle over the disbanding of his party.

...

"Thai Rak Thai will never be disbanded. It is a major party in Thailand and all hell will break loose if its extinction is decreed," a source quoted Thaksin as saying at yesterday's party meeting.

...

"Please rest assured that the new election will happen and that Thai Rak Thai will win another term under my leadership," he said.

Reacting to reports that Thaksin had inside information on the prosecution order against Thai Rak Thai, party executive Suranand Vejjajiva said Thaksin had heard about the matter from the local press.

"The ruling party had no advance warning," he said.

Suranand said the ruling party was innocent and was not involved in the bankrolling of small parties.

He said he had found no precedent for disbanding a ruling party anywhere in the world. In the United States, the Republican Party remained intact after the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, he added. [ed. true, but Thailand's ad hoc constitutional and legal framework has always differed radically from that of the US or any semi-civilized nation, so it stands to reason the results will be uniquely Thai as well. Besides, it's all right there, written down in the Thai constitution. Suranand should take a look at that document some time.]

Thailand, the land of a thousand polyster garments

2006-06-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

One thing that hasn't changed in SE-Asia for more than 30 years is the relentless use of polyster. In fact, it's maddeningly hard to find anything that's not 100% plastic, from shirts to shoes. Thai silk? If you buy a 'silk' tie here, you're most likely buying rayon or straight up polyester (which is actually very similar in feel, 'Thai' silk having a rougher and cheaper feeling in hand than you'd expect).

from The Nation:

...

The survey conducted by Cotton USA found that Thai and British consumers were less concerned about the type of textile used in the clothing. Only 29 per cent of the Thais surveyed said they often look at the fabric label when purchasing clothes, whereas 65 per cent of Chinese consumers carefully examine the fabric label.

...

I'm surprised even 29 percent look at the label, except out of misguided belief that there is some functional difference between types of synthetics. It's all brand driven, with little variation in style and almost none in quality. Price tracks brand, however, and there can be huge differences in price depending on where you shop for essentially the same goods.

This is one of those tricks that Thai cosnumers can't seem to figure out. For all the tacky unbridled greed and consumerism here, the mentality really remains at the kindergarten level in terms of skills of discernment.

despite all the shlock about Thai hospitality, Bangkok 'courtesy' ranks near bottom of the manners pile in Reader's Digest global survey

2006-06-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

My only surprise is that Bangkok did not rank lower than 25th out of 35.

Keep in mind that this courtesy survey was conducted mostly around the downtown / hotel areas. Get outside of this (comparatively) orderly enclave into the actual neighborhoods and the behavior gets much worse.

Courtesy? What a load of old cobblers!

Get upset when people push past you to pile into a lift before you've had a chance to get out first? Disappointed when strangers refuse to say "thanks" when you hold open a door for them?

How about people chatting during a movie? Or who jump in front of you in a queue?

These sorts of small but tiringly irksome incidents are far too common in Bangkok, it would seem. Indeed, our so-called "City of Angels" has received a devil of a ranking in a survey by Reader's Digest of the the levels of courtesy shown to researchers in major cities around the world.

"This was the world's biggest real-life test of common courtesy," said Kaidsuda Suriyayos, managing editor of Reader's Digest Sansara Thai edition.

"Our researchers conducted more than 2,000 separate tests of actual behaviour, producing results that were both revealing and thought-provoking."

Out of 35 cities around the world, Bangkok came 25th in the magazine's latest survey, conducted to find out more about the "dying art" of courtesy.

The magazine's reporters were dispatched to different corners of the world to assess politeness in the most populous city in 35 countries. In every location, they staged scenarios to see if people would hold open a door, say "thank you" after making a sale in a shop, and help someone pick up papers dropped in a busy location. Points were awarded for polite responses, and the results for each city tallied and compared.

...

In Bangkok, a teenage girl entering a crowded department store let the door swing back without looking behind. "I've never glanced back to hold doors for others before; this kind of behaviour is not common for me," she told the researcher. [ed. no doubt; many Thais have seemingly made it all the way to adulthood without a single lesson in citizenship or manners. Think that sounds superficial or silly? Visit Thailand and see what a difference a lack of basic manners can make]

...The magazine said that eight out of nine Asian cities finished in the bottom 11.

Worldwide, New York topped the list for the most courteous residents, followed by Zurich, Toronto, Berlin, Zagreb and Sao Paulo, respectively.

Reader's Digest quoted Niwes Kanthairaj, a renowned columnist on social affairs, as saying: "The effort to develop generosity is not enough. People tend to forget to be considerate, to be concerned for other's feelings, which is part of basic manners in a society."

The survey results will be published in the Reader's Digest next month. The magazine claims it is the most extensive global collaboration in its 84-year history.

The Nation

Thai PM meets with Attorney General on eve of major decision in case

2006-06-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra met one-on-one with Attorney General Prachara Yutithamdamrong, the evening before the AG was to decide whether to seek dissolution of the PM's ruling party on electoral fraud charges.

Prachara said the meeting was not about the electoral fraud case, but rather the unrelated issue of unrest in the Southern provinces. No explanation was given as to the bizarre and highly unlikely timing of the meeting. No transcripts, summaries or minutes of their discussion were made available.

That Prachara agreed to hold such a meeting on the eve of an important decision involving the PM raises obvious concerns about Prachara's judgment, at best, and integrity, at worst.

The next day, Prachara issued his recommendation. The AG recommended not just the dissolution of Thai Rak Thai (TRT), but all five major political parties in Thailand.

As strategy, the AG's 'loaded' recommendation is quite brilliant in that it will most likely result in no party being dissolved, since all would have to be. It is highly unlikely that the Constitution Court would ever agree to dissolve all stakeholders in the current political process.

At the same time, the AG's recommendation provides perfect political cover for both Prachara and Thaksin by seeming to go against the ruling party.

The Constitution Court has no particular deadline for ruling on this matter, so the current political impasse could stretch well into 2007, believe it or not, as a firm date for new elections (tentatively scheduled for Oct 15) will probably not be set until the case is resolved.

Bangkok BTS installs television sets in skytrain carriages

2006-06-26T23:51:00.000-07:00

I managed to dig out the original article before it disappeared from The Nation website, so here it is:

from The Nation:

Commuters want peace quiet

TV sets have been installed in some Skytrain carriages to show advertisements, much to the dismay of many passengers.

If Bangkok isn't already noisy enough, now there is TV inside the Skytrain

People fed up with noise pollution in Bangkok have turned their wrath on the operators of the Skytrain over loud television sets installed in train carriages.

They recently formed a group and issued their first statement yesterday calling on the mass transit operator to stop bombarding them with unwanted noise.

"It's tiring and we don't like the noise. We have to put up with visual pollution and now noise pollution," said Panchalie Sathirasas, a well-known potter who represents the newly-formed People Who Love Quiet Club.

Television monitors have been installed by BTS on six of its trains to show advertisements with the volume turned up. The test run, said a BTS public relations official, began earlier this month.

But Panchalie, who formed the group with 90 others, including academics, writers, office workers and media people, said it was time to oppose the new audio-visual ads inside the carriages.

It was bad enough that commuters had to listen to blaring television sets on the platforms while waiting for a train.

"It's loud outside [on the platform] but it used to be quiet inside [the carriage].

"We put up with it. But they're taking too much advantage of us now.

"It's also tasteless and perhaps illegal," she said.

The group's statement issued to The Nation said their peace of mind had been disturbed by this latest attempt to force advertising on commuters.

"When we go to work in the morning, our heads are still clear but we're forced to listen to these televisions.

"When we return home we are tired and need rest. Instead we have to put up with this irritating noise again which causes headaches and a bad mood," the group said.

"Please spare our ears . . . We have enough with other noise intrusion."

Other countries, Panchalie said, do not allow the volume to be turned on.

"We will wait for their response. But we shall continue [the protest] and the numbers will grow," she vowed, saying two weeks should be enough time for the BTS management to do something.

Panchalie said the group had contacted Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin but had received no reply from him.

The Skytrain management has made no response to the complaint, saying only that

the matter was a "sensitive" issue.

"I'll inform you later," Kannikar Tor-trakul, a BTS public relations officer, said about the Skytrain management meeting to discuss the matter.

For now, it seems, the television are there to stay.

Panchalie Sathirasas and the People Who Love Quiet Club

2006-06-26T23:17:00.000-07:00

More information on Khun Panchalie's quest for noise abatement can be found here:

http://www.ihtthaiday.com/IHT/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9480000131920

There's a good 'noise map' on there was well.

Unfortunately, no info on how to join. I think a lot of people would be willing to fork over some membership dues. No doubt a better use of money than, say, joining the Siam Society.

A google search also reveals that she is a ceramic artist of some renown.

Her quest for enforcement of noise laws in Bangkok apparently stems from the severe, permanent, and totally preventable damage to her hearing she has suffered while living in Bangkok, a fact which saddens and enrages me to no end.

from today's letters to The Nation:

Carry anti-noise campaign right across the country

Re: Three (silent) cheers for the People Who Love Quiet Club, Letters, June 23.

Panchalie Sathirasas and her "PWLQC" are terrific news for Thailand. I had always thought the Thai people had some hereditary condition by which they were unable to survive in ambient noise levels less than 80dBA. Happily, I was wrong.

When Khun Panchalie has sorted out Bangkok's transport systems, I would invite her to tour up and down Thailand's coastlines to explain to resort operators that holidaymakers do not want to hear "Hotel California" or Thai pop divas singing down their noses while they are eating their corn flakes. Actually, they prefer to hear the sound of waves lapping on the beach.

Then she could turn her attention to inland waterways, starting at Kanchanaburi. To have garishly-lit barges decorated as steam locomotives, floating in a river, blaring out amplified "chugging" noises at a thousand times their natural volume is not only absurd, it is probably disturbing to the families of victims of the Death Railway who have come to pay their respects. [ed. tourism in Thailand is not about what foreigners want, it is about what Thais decide foreigners want]

As a longer-term project, perhaps she could help the government draw up an enforceable Noise Abatement Act. I am sure it would be welcomed by the foreign property owners of Phuket and elsewhere whose quality of life (not to mention property value) has been wrecked by noise from adjacent karaoke bars, mafia-run and therefore "untouchable".

How do we sign up to PWLQC? I want to be part of the (silent) action.

Suvarnabhumi Airport - latest vehicle for policy corruption

2006-06-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Thai cabinet has given preliminary approval to a scheme to create an entirely new province around the yet to be opened Suvarnabhumi (pronounced Su-wanna-poom) international airport. This is to facilitate infrastructure improvements in the area surrounding the new airport, huge tracts of which are owned by leading members of the current ruling party (Thai Rak Thai, or "Thai Love Thai").

The fact that this will be costly and of no public good is perhaps the reason why it was not debated or put forward for public or parliamentary approval.

A brazenly undemocratic move, especially for an interim government with absolutely no legal or popular mandate (the last election was annulled due to rampant corruption).

Truly remarkable in that months of protests aimed at toppling the current regime were sparked by exactly this kind of opaque public policy implementation.

If there are good reasons for the creation of another province/metropolis right in the shadow of Bangkok, and why this can't wait until a legally elected government can review the issue, then it should be simple enough for the caretaker regime to state those reasons.

New airport metropolis is a well planned attempt to grab taxpayer money

I don't think it takes that much discussion of the pros and cons to convince people about the unfeasibility of building a metropolis surrounding the new Suvarnabhumi Airport and in the shadow of Bangkok Metropolis.

This mega project is fit only for the dustbin for two reasons:

1. No such city can be found on earth today. Dear planners, you can go ahead with your mega project if you can find an example. [ed. a good example of the arrogance of the current regime (and most 'credentialed' Thais) is this kind of 'closed room' 'Thai-know-best' decision-making whereby reactionary 'solutions' to often imaginary problems are implemented without a moment's research into how similar situations have been handled by other countries]

2. State investment in infrastructure and real estate around the Suvarnabhumi area will have to be increased several times over. We taxpayers have to pay for the enormous extra costs, most of which will go into the pockets of land speculators and project contractors who are close to the government.

At first I thought they must have been blinded by lust for gain; no, they are clear-headed with a lust for gain. They have long planned it and must have it done at all costs - all costs on the people - for their dirty gain. Watch out, they are starting to advertise the mirage on TV - at our expense.

No requests for improvement please, we're Thai

2006-06-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

Thais seem to have a problem with criticism. Any suggestion, no matter how diplomatically couched, is typically met with anger and accusations of whining (or worse). Sadly, many 'bamboo' foreigners in Thailand parrot this low-brow reactionary line, for reasons that are still unclear to me.

The letter below serves as a good response.

from letters to the Nation

Asking for improvement is not simply whining

Re: "Farangs like low cost of living but want it to be like home", Letters, June 21.

Meechai Burapa said he thought farangs were "whining" too much regarding lack of English commentary in Thailand for the World Cup. Why that should upset him is anybody's guess since Thailand's image would have been enhanced in the eyes of visitors, in that it would have come across as a progressive, modern, and forward-looking country. He also makes the unrealistic observation that there was never any Thai language commentary for televised sports events during his stay in the United States.

Meechai is wrong on several counts. Firstly, there is nothing wrong with complaining. On the contrary, complaints very often result in better products and better services, thus complainants provide a public service for which they should be commended, and it should not be referred to as "whining".

Second, farangs in Thailand must come from about 40 different countries, all with their own national language, yet none of these farangs would expect television commentary in their own national language because, like Thai, these are national languages. On the other hand, English is an international language spoken by billions across the globe, which is why English television commentary is expected, and why it is unrealistic for Meechai to expect Thai-language television commentary in the US - or any country besides Thailand.

Finally, Meechai seems to object that farangs "would like it to be like home" in Thailand. Again, this is a rather strange observation to make. It would seem that he prefers that farangs live under some sort of hardship in Thailand. I would urge Meechai to reflect on his stay in the US, where he was a free man in every respect and was no doubt encouraged to feel at home there, and by Western standards rightly so. [ed. Thais complaining about some aspect of their living conditions while in the US would not be told to 'go home' etc at first flush, which is the rude and unjustifiably smug response foreigners are likely to receive in Thailand]

from ya-ba to football gambling and knife-wielding somchais, so smuch of called Thai 'culture' is about poor impulse control

2006-06-25T00:31:00.000-07:00

Thai gambling on football has reached new heights during the World Cup season. Keep in mind that Thailand itself has never qualifed for World Cup competition.

from The Nation:

Football punters nabbed

Police have arrested 532 football gamblers in Bangkok and the metropolitan area in the last two weeks.

Of that number, 92 were unofficial bookmakers. Money being gambled totalled Bt196 million but only Bt500,000 of cash was seized, police said. [ed. this reflects huge unpayable debts once World Cup is over]

...

The arrests follow a special mission aimed at stopping gambling, especially among youths, during the World Cup. Police have checked about 3,000 premises around the capital.

From June 10-16, Assumption University conducted a public survey, from which it concluded that the number of people in Bangkok involved in football gambling was expected to rise from 850,000 to one million during the World Cup.

The poll also estimated that the amount being gambled would rise from Bt2 billion to Bt3 billion.

[ed. this amounts to between 54 and 81 million dollars US-- a huge sum by Thai standards, equivalent to nearly a week's wages for every working age Thai in Bangkok]

no justice for three tourists murdered in Kanchanburi

2006-06-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

Locking up criminals is the best tourism inducement

There seems no point in the Tourism Authority of Thailand being given more taxpayer money to waste in wining and dining foreign travel agents in order to persuade visitors to come here. An Australian girl tourist just died after being shot in a restaurant in Kanchanaburi ("Australian shooting victim dies", News, June 23), and there are suspicions that the murderer of two British tourists in the same town in September 2004 may have been secretly freed (" 'Killer cop' loses appeal; absence raises questions", News, June 22).

With such adverse publicity, the tourism industry is likely to decline. It's time for a clampdown on criminals who target foreigners in Thailand, not for dubious promotions.

where the money doesn't go

2006-06-24T00:28:00.000-07:00

For the second time this week, the Northeast has seen a fatal collision between a truck and a pickup ferrying students to school.

June 21- A 10-wheeled truck slammed into a pickup packed with students [on Tuesday], killing six children and injuring at least 19 other people.

June 22- A 13-year-old boy was killed and 21 other children injured in a crash in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district.

Instead of spending 4 *billion* baht to buy a British football team with the vague hope of "promoting Thai football," perhaps the elected government could use a small portion of that money on basic public policy issues like procuring a few school buses for the kids.

Boy succumbs to his injuries

A 12-year-old boy, the victim of a horrible car accident in which one person died and 20 others were injured, died yesterday after fighting for his life for two days.

Theerapong Traisoongnoen had been operated on twice but died at Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital yesterday at 5.30am.

His father, Jare, was inconsolable. "Please let father and son be together again in our next lives," he said, weeping.

The hospital was forced to provide a coffin for Theerapong, because Jare had no money to pay for one.

As he earns just Bt150 a month, Jare hopes his relatives and neighbours will help with his eldest son's funeral.

Jare said he had been worried about the pickup service that ferried his son to school each day and had been pondering alternatives at the time of the accident.

"Had I made the decision sooner, my son might have survived," said Jare.

Survivors said the pickup's driver, Duangrat Paeseng, had been talking on her mobile phone when the accident happened.

Witnesses said Duangrat had not noticed an oncoming truck blaring its horn at the pickup just moments before the accident.

"We have not yet questioned the survivors ... They are frightened and grieving," said Lieutenant Charnchai Urataka of Nong Sarai Police Station.

Four other students remain in critical condition.

Responding to questions of why the accident occurred in the first place, Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said: " . . . I've already asked the Basic Education Commission to review regulations [concerning how students get to school]."

The Nation

Nakhon Ratchasima

Bangkok -- City of Angels or City of Noisy Assholes?

2006-06-22T23:58:00.001-07:00

Finally a local Thai movement for noise abatement within Bangkok. This is great, because as long as this was regarded as a foreigners-only issue, there was little hope of progress.

Over the past 10 years the noise in Bangkok has gone from terrible to worse. Several times a day one is forced into situations where the screech from some megaphone, motorbike, or machinery actually makes your ears hurt. Nevermind the constant din that you must grit your teeth and endure anytime you leave your abode.

Most of this noise is the result of assholish, greedy, self-centered behaviour on the part of about 30% of Thais. Noise levels in Bangkok could easily be cut in half if existing noise ordinances were enforced.

from letters to the Nation

Three (silent) cheers for the People Who Love Quiet Club

Re: "Commuters want peace and quiet", News, June 21

Hooray for Panchalie Sathirasas and her People Who Love Quiet Club! And thank you to Pravit Rojanaphruk and The Nation for giving front-page prominence to her campaign to stop the ever-expanding noise pollution that has gripped every nook and cranny of Bangkok - and the country as well!

Skytrain operator Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc is a horrendous culprit. Not only is it impossible for commuters to get up to the platform without being bombarded by the loud and intrusive speakers used by video kiosks and other hawkers cluttering the ticket platform, but once upstairs and waiting for the train we must suffer from the greed of the management, who have rented out TV screens for advertisers to force their products on commuters. And for the past several months we have had to accept this inside the trains as well!

Don't bother to complain to customer service: several colleagues and I have registered at least 50 complaints over the past months, to no avail. Somebody is getting rich at the expense of our right to peace and quiet.

But while we're at it, let's not stop with the BTS. Those who manage every department store, hyperstore, restaurant, supermarket, shop and stall in this city, and even Thai Airways, seem to think that it's just fine to impose TV or loudspeaker advertising, music, irritating announcements, propaganda and all manner of noise and we poor consumers merely have to take it. Just see what happens when you ask someone to turn down the noise.

The din of traffic, crowds, mechanical equipment, etc is loud enough. One of our basic rights as citizens should be the freedom to enjoy silence in public places and venues.

It's a crime to throw trash on the streets, to smoke in public buildings, to release excessive vehicle exhaust into the air, to pollute the waterways. Please help to make it a crime to litter our ears, and help those misguided folk who run establishments to understand that the common denominator should be silence.

And please tell me how I can become a member of the People Who Love Quiet Club!

Another Quiet Lover

new Suvarnabhumi airport community latest in act-first, think-later Thai megaprojects

2006-06-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

from the Nation:

Proposal for metropolis around new airport will take us back to square one

Re: "New metropolis is a dubious proposal", Editorial, June 22.

Your concise analysis is right on the nail. I for one have been wondering over the years why government initiatives, more often than not, do not or need not go through vigorous environmental impact assessment (EIA), social impact assessment (SIA), health impact assessment (HIA), traffic impact assessment (TIA) and so on. The EIA, above all, is required by law for all projects of any significant magnitude, such as a sizeable hotel, a hospital, a gas pipeline, gas plant, a road through natural reserves, power lines, etc. However, this metropolis seems likely to be exempted from any formal scrutiny and public input before it is regarded as feasible and acceptable to be implemented.

Hype about building a city complex in rural or suburban areas close to Bangkok Metropolis has been created numerous times without actual implementation, be it the Chachoengsao government administration metropolis, the Ban Na Nakhon Nayok administrative capital and the like. All were proposed without any proper prior study, like pie in the sky that will be shot down sooner rather than later to make way for yet another bright idea. Possibly the only benefit from these was to speculators and insiders to the process.

Innovative as it is, this latest move to establish a city on some 500 square kilometres of land surrounding the new international airport needs a big shot of common sense and engineering sense even before the notion can be publicised. The Don Muang Airport, as it is generally known, is being abandoned primarily because it is thought to be unable to cope with the demands of ever-growing air traffic. It has been stated that the area is now surrounded by so much development that expansion is virtually impossible, hence the need for another, unconfined area and the eventual selection of a new site at Nong Ngu Hao on some 32 square kilometres of lowland.

The move from a "don" (high ground) to a "nong" (swamp) is justified by the above constraints. However, even before it goes into operation this September, the idea for surrounding the new airport with settlements blatantly explodes in our faces. This will force our poor descendants back to square one: a problem like the one we face with Don Muang airport. Then there are the problems with all civil engineering on soft ground (remember reports of differential subsidence and cracks in the new airport's tarmac not so long ago?), traffic volume affecting the airport's accessibility, and proper sewage in a lowland that itself serves as an important drainage area for Bangkok.

As for the noise problem and ecological disturbances along its air corridors, nothing seems to have been thoroughly thought through - if at all - by those proposing the new metropolis. In other countries airports have been built offshore simply because the noise of landing and take-off at odd hours was not acceptable to local residents, ruling out the 24-hour operations required by the growing aviation industry. One example is the Kansai International Airport in Japan.

I have always taught my students that engineers are basically creators - and sometimes disaster-makers if things go really wrong. It seems to me now that we are the lesser evil compared to politicians. They are so blind to constructive criticism that they are willing to commit - even in a caretaker capacity - to something unsustainable by our children without prior study so as to avoid or mitigate probable problems before any real calamity takes place.

Go ahead with your bright idea, my elected politicians, as you think you are legitimately empowered by the majority of the people in this country to do it. But to serve them well you should at least have your hype independently and academically scrutinised together with some sort of public participation before laying out your plans. Let's hope this is not another pie in the sky scheme concocted to serve certain friends of yours, or yourselves.

Thaksin Shinawatra to stand trial on criminal charges Sept 18

2006-06-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

You need a Thai business partner like you need a hole in the head. Confiscation off assets using hired police mercenaries and as well as criminal charges designed to drive you out of the country are well-used tools of the trade here.

Now, a brilliant example of mafioso style thuggery on the part of the current Prime Minister will finally get a thorough airing in criminal court.

Notice that this case has gone unresolved for 17 years. Congrats to Monson for his tenacity in seeing this through.

Thaksin to stand trial for perjury on Sept 18

Court says no need for criminal trial to wait until appeals in civil suit end

The Southern Bang-kok Criminal Court yesterday scheduled a September 18 trial date for a lawsuit filed by an American businessman against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra over their cable television business venture that dates back to the late 1980s.

Thaksin is accused of perjury, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment.

The court granted a request by the plaintiff, William L Monson, that the criminal trial begins without waiting for a court ruling in a similar civil case.

Monson filed criminal charges on May 2 after winning a civil court case last year against Thaksin.

Thaksin appealed to the Supreme Court after losing in the Court of Appeal.

The court yesterday rejected the defence's request for the criminal trial to begin after the highest court made its ruling on the civil case.

The plaintiff charged Thaksin and four others with perjury for their testimonies given during the trial in a separate case filed by Thaksin in 1995 accusing Monson of embezzlement. Monson was later acquitted.

The American businessman counter-sued on grounds that Thaksin had falsely accused him of a criminal act - a charge that carries a maximum penalty of

seven years' imprisonment.

In early May, Monson emerged at Parliament and called a press conference along with Senator Kraisak Chonhavan, the caretaker chairman of the Upper House committee on foreign affairs.

The Criminal Court yesterday agreed with the plaintiff that the trial should begin soon. It scheduled September 18 for the first hearing into the case.

The legal wrangling goes back to 1989, when Monson claims Thaksin - who was then starting to build his telecommunications empire - violated an agreement to jointly operate a cable television enterprise, seized transmission equipment and levied criminal charges against Monson, his company and his staff.

Both parties filed several lawsuits against each other in Thailand and the United States.

Monson's successful Clearview Cable TV company, based in Seattle, Washington, moved into Thailand in the early 1980s and forged a joint venture, Video Link, with Thaksin's Shinawatra Computer and International Broadcasting Corp in 1985.

Thaksin was initially able to facilitate the required official approvals of the deal, but then the government halted it.

Thaksin and Monson negotiated another agreement, hoping to restart operations.

Monson says Thaksin abruptly violated the agreement and planned to operate the cable system alone.

Police, Monson says, then broke into his offices to remove transmission equipment, while his manager was taken to jail, warrants were issued for Monson and criminal charges levied against him, his company and staff. A court later dismissed the charges.

Hua Hin Jazz Fest -- hotel staff steal guest valuables, refuse to cooperate in contacting police

2006-06-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Seems obvious to me that this was an inside job, and probably a series of inside jobs across Hua Hin during the recent 'jazz fest'. What really makes my blood boil is the typical asshole attitude of the Thai hotel staff, all too common, actively obstructing the guest's attempt to file the necessary police report concerning the theft in his room. There was absolutely no valid reason or excuse for that. I certainly wish the name of the hotel were given.

Unfortunately, this kind of outrageous behaviour is all too common and likely to become a part of your holiday if you visit Thailand. I don't agree with the poster that this scenario would have played out differently had he stayed at pricer digs such as the Sofitel, for example.

from today's letters to the Nation:

Mysterious hotel thefts spoil Hua Hin's image

Last weekend, I made my way down to Hua Hin to enjoy the annual jazz festival. I stayed at a hotel just opposite the Sofitel Hua Hin, which was ideal because of its central location and vicinity to the beach.

On Saturday night, my room was broken into and my camera bag, containing a camera body and four lenses, and my PDA phone and charger were stolen. I woke up on Sunday morning to find them gone and my room door closed, but unlocked and unchained. There were no signs of a break-in.

I reported immediately to the reception staff, who were unwilling to make a police report on my behalf. They said they did not get involved in such cases because they are not sure whether their guests actually lost the items from their rooms. They also did not have the phone number of the police station! The management was not helpful at all and did not want to take any responsibility. I was appalled by how they tried to wash their hands of any responsibility and distance themselves from me.

When I went to make a report at the police station, I was surprised to find that all around Hua Hin there were many people who had had their rooms broken into and lost phones, laptops, PDAs and cameras. The police were very helpful, collecting all the relevant information and then coming to the hotel to take pictures, inspect the room and speak to the hotel staff. I have to compliment the staff at Hua Hin Police Station for being very helpful and doing the best that they could.

I hope the Hua Hin authorities apprehend the people behind these robberies. They are not good for the town's reputation as a quiet, cosy and pristine seaside getaway. Also, please be careful where you stay the next time you are in Hua Hin. I would definitely recommend staying in a reputable place with proper security.

Disgruntled Jazz Fan

Bangkok

Thai Supreme Court president: Law doesn't matter, ad hoc rulings OK

2006-06-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this remind you of Thaksin's famous "Democracy is not the goal" statement that he was universally panned for?

from today's Nation:

Justice more important than letter of law: judges

The presidents of three top courts agreed yesterday that judges and lawyers must ensure that justice is served, rather than the law being strictly followed to the word.

"The law is not justice itself. It's just the means to maintain justice. To ensure justice, it depends on people who use the law. They must be neutral and retain the goal of the law," Supreme Court President Chanchai Likhitjittha said.

"To interpret the law strictly and ignore justice is against common sense. And it's not the right thing to do," he said.

He was speaking at a panel discussion on the "Role of Lawyers under Royal Auspices", which was held at Thammasat University's Faculty of Law in the afternoon.

Such a stance was disputed by former House of Representatives speaker Bhokin Bhalakula, who was a panel speaker at yesterday's event. Bhokin said laws should be strictly followed.

"If you say the law is not good or is not fair and you can't follow the law, there will be a lot of problems. If enforcers of the law are not good, what should we do?" he asked.

Many members of the audience appeared to disagree with Bhokin, a deputy leader of the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party. While those in the room where the panel discussion was held were mostly calm, many people in an adjacent room, to which the event was broadcast on closed-circuit television, jeered and booed from time to time while Bhokin was speaking.

Some people in the smaller room even shouted "Thaksin, get out", the message used by anti-Thaksin protesters.

[...]

I'd have to disagree completely with the judges here. If the law isn't something to be followed, judges are left with nothing but their own prejudice and ignorance to guide them. The judicial system also loses all predictability, an important asset.

An ad hoc judiciary is the last thing Thailand needs at this point in its (so far fruitless) 200 year struggle to evolve into a modern state.

realTSUNAMI and the greedy aftermath

2006-06-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

a beautiful letter from today's Nation re: 'outrage' over the recent filming of a BBC drama about the 2004 tsunami in Thailand:

Re: "Thais hired to play corpses in BBC tsunami TV show", News, June 4.

I was one of the victims of the tsunami. I lost a shop, two cars, three motorbikes, a kitchen, hundreds of trees and two Christmas guests. If this film is to go ahead, I would request a few more starring roles for Thais.

We need one for the interior minister who threatened to fine, jail and deport the foreign volunteers who were rebuilding the Sea Gypsies' homes. We need one for the village headman who pocketed government money for new homes, to build houses for his three children on public land. We need one for the schoolteacher who put her children on a list of orphans to get education allowances from a German charity.

We need several dozen for the unaffected villagers who drove up in their remarkably unscathed SUVs to collect government rehabilitation cash. We need several more for the land-"owners" who suddenly remembered they had tin-mining concessions up and down the coast and evicted the villagers who had been living there for generations.

[...]

Beautiful and so much more REAL than the typically myopic, arrogant, and self-aggrandizing diatribes of a few 'professional' Thai pundits who have covered the filming.

thailand -- only too happy to help launder money from regimes in burma and north korea

2006-05-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

letters to The Nation

Where did North Korea get the fertiliser it sold to us?

South Korea donates fertiliser to North Korea as a part of its cooperation to assist with food shortages in the North. This activity is handled by a government firm named the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra).

Kotra recently claimed that North Korea exported a total of 25,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser with a value of US$5 million [Bt191 million] to Thailand in 2005.

Kotra reported it had requested cooperation from Thailand in disclosing the type of fertiliser imported from North Korea, but the Thai government has so far refused to provide any details.

I believe that Thailand should immediately take some action to clarify its position on this matter.

KT

Bangkok

massive flood caused by illegal teak cutting; poached logs threaten to overflow flood dam in Phrae Thailand

2006-05-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

... provincial governor denies their existence while foresty workers brought in from Bangkok struggle to remove the logs, hoping to prevent another man-made disaster

The Nation:

Race against time to remove logs

Forestry workers yesterday began retrieving wood and timber debris from Mae Man reservoir in Phrae, to ward off the threat of a water overflow which could flatten downstream villages. Logs, suspected of being felled by poachers, were carried by strong water currents from the Paya valley to the reservoir, where they became trapped. The reservoir holds around 18 million cubic metres of water.

Tourism in Thailand -- an unregulated industry notoriously awash in the lowest forms of human garbage

2006-05-27T04:19:00.000-07:00

from letters to the Nation

Unlike other tourism agencies, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has no enforcement powers

...

Sagittarius's letter makes some admirable points in pleading for improvements in the behaviour of those who intimidate or cheat tourists. He also rightly pleads for a clean-up of tourist sites and an end to the infamous double-pricing of tourists. After all, visitors who feel they have been fleeced will not only decide not to return, but also encourage others not to come.

The pursuit of these goals is something few could argue about. However, it needs to be clearly understood that the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is primarily a government marketing agency, promoting Thailand's tourist industry abroad and at home, through often well-hidden resort offices. Unlike the government tourist organisations of Hong Kong and Singapore, for example, the TAT has no enforcement powers to redress the complaints of tourists who find themselves at the end of dishonest deals. The TAT, of course, does license travel agencies to provide guidance for tourists.

Neither does the TAT have any power or willingness to ensure good environmental standards at tourist sites. Those are issues for provincial governors and tambon heads.

Thailand has laws on the statute books for almost every offence, but such is the tolerance (and some might say lethargy) of the law-enforcement agencies and local authorities that tourists remain alone and at the mercy of the unscrupulous.

International standards, where they are present, are set by the better representations of the private sector, not that pathetic excuse for a government in Bangkok. It's sad that despite the presence of mobile phones, Mercedes cars and five-star resorts, Thailand remains seriously behind the most of its competitors in the way it maintains its tourist assets.

Uttaradit landslide -- another case of mai pen rai

2006-05-25T02:57:00.000-07:00

A preventable disaster repeated

Govt incompetence and a lack of simple public awareness result in yet another round of needless deaths

At press time, 30 people were confirmed dead and some 100 others reported missing in the aftermath of the catastrophic mudslides and flash-floods that struck in the northern province of Uttaradit in the early hours of Tuesday. And the death toll is expected to rise, with rescue workers continuing to search for more bodies of victims trapped underneath debris or tonnes of mud that was swept down the mountain slopes to engulf low-lying communities.

The Civil Defence Agency of the Interior Ministry, military units and relief organisations all rushed to the affected areas to provide assistance to thousands of residents who were made homeless by the tragedy. Utmost attention must be paid to helping these people come to grips with their grief over the loss of their loved ones and property, pull themselves back up, rebuild their homes and resume their lives to the greatest extent possible. And the emergency relief must be followed up with more comprehensive assistance, in order to ensure that the survivors are able to recover from their horrific ordeal. The post-emergency assistance could involve resettlement to safer ground, so as to avoid any more problems with mudslides in the event the ravaged areas are deemed unsafe for further human settlement.

Meanwhile, the Mineral Resources Department made the shocking revelation that most of those who perished in Uttaradit could have been saved if only local officials had followed existing precautionary safety measures stipulated for incidents of torrential rainfall and ordered the evacuation of communities located at the foot of mountains or in valleys. The department reported that all of the areas affected by mudslides and flash-floods in that province had previously been designated areas that were prone to natural disaster. And local officials had apparently received instructions in the past in regard to following clear-cut early-warning procedures, including a contingency plan for evacuating residents from high-risk areas.

The safety precautions involved community leaders and local officials closely monitoring rainfall in areas prone to mudslides and flash-floods. An early warning must be issued and evacuation under way as soon as rainfall measures more than 60mm in a 24-hour period. Rainfall surpassing 100mm in 24 hours warrants community leaders and local officials to alert the district office to prepare for a rescue operation.

It soon became clear that these safety procedures were not followed. The Meteorological Department said up to 330mm of rain was recorded in the 24 hours preceding Uttaradit's mudslides and flash-floods.

Basically, mudslides are made up of rock, earth, uprooted trees and other debris flowing down a slope like liquid. They can occur on almost any terrain given the right conditions of soil, rainfall and slope angle. In this country, mudslides are usually triggered by heavy rains and flash-floods. Geophysical conditions and human factors like deforestation and poorly managed land use on mountain slopes or in valleys combine to make mudslides possible and often with devastating results, as seen on Tuesday morning.

The Uttaradit disaster is reminiscent of a similar one that befell Phetchabun's Lom Sak district that killed more than 100 people in August 2001. And an even deadlier one in 1988 in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Phipun district, in which 317 people perished.

Following the Phetchabun mudslide, the Mineral Resources Department drew up a detailed map of disaster-prone areas in 51 provinces throughout the Kingdom, complete with detailed information about specific locations, names of villages, districts and provinces and precautionary measures that must be taken by community leaders and local officials.

The Uttaradit disaster should serve as a reminder that having good preventive measures against natural disaster and contingency plans for emergencies is not in itself enough. The Mineral Resources Department, in collaboration with other government agencies, should train community leaders and local officials so they are able to ensure that all standard procedures are followed strictly and consistently - and with no exceptions. Provincial and district-level officials must provide sufficient oversight to make sure that local officials and other leaders always do what they are supposed to.

The provincial officials responsible for this man-made disaster should be arrested and taken straight to jail. Laziness, corruption, and deft manipulation by the local poltical mafia of both rural ignorance and the outmoded concept of 'mai pen rai' are the root causes of this catastrophe.

Koh Samet -- a paradise only in your guidebook

2006-05-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

A middle class Thai perspective on the asshole circus one can expect visiting Koh Samet. The only thing that makes this letter unusual is that it was written by a Thai.

from letters to The Nation

Re: "Tourists charged more but get little for their money", Letters, May 21.

Having read Sandy Shores' comments on Koh Samet, I feel compelled to add my twopence.

I took my staff on a trip to Rayong recently, and we had a wonderful holiday. However, when we visited Koh Samet for a day trip, my gentle staff from Chiang Mai were horrified at the unacceptable language and verbal abuse they encountered by unsmiling Koh Sametians. Service was poor, bad language was used, insults were flung around, and we also overheard innocently passing farangs being insulted by shopkeepers and harassed by officials, using most improper language. Comments such as, "Go home if you want to bargain" and, "We don't need your money, we have many tourists here every day," and general insults as to the shapes, race and looks of farangs walking past.

There was not one smiling face that we saw. In short, this is an island apparently inhabited by people with no manners. I would urge whoever is in charge to instil some etiquette lessons as well as basic business principles to these greedy islanders who live off tourists whom they feel only contempt for. Needless to say, we will not be visiting again.

On our boat ride back, I heard one of our graphic designers shake her head and say, "Mai khao jai, this is not Thailand. These are not Thais." Sadly, they are.

Pim Kemasingki

Chiang Mai

Thailand to re-nationalize telecom sector; tells foreign shareholders to fuck off

2006-04-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

Investing in Thailand is a fool's game, and always has been. Most foreign investors have the same naive aura as the love struck punters being led around downtown Bangkok by their rural prostitute 'girlfriends'.

Foreign participation in the Thai telecoms market led to drastically reduced fees and dramatically improved services. Frankly, they kicked the shit out of the Thai run companies and all telecom subscribers benefitted.

But the Thais who sold out have spent the share money on frivilous Siam Paragon purchases by now and are getting antsy and itchy to take back what they sold through typical abuse of the legal system, 'Thai law' on the matter notwithstanding.

Foreign-domination regulations spark international outcry

The Norwegian government is concerned with draft regulations preventing foreign domination of Thai telecom operators and says rules being drawn up by the Thai National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) could interfere with the rights and interests of foreign shareholders of Thai telecom firms.

Its concern follows similar protests made by the European Commission delegation to Thailand.

"The government of Norway is seriously concerned about both procedural and substantives issues raised by this draft notification," said a letter from the Norwegian Embassy in Thailand to the NTC earlier this month.

The Norwegian government is the major shareholder of Telenor.

Telenor Asia Pte Ltd, an indirect, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenor, currently holds a 32.9-per-cent stake in Total Access Communication (DTAC) and a 25-per-cent stake in DTAC's parent, United Communication Industry (Ucom).

Telenor Asia also owns 49 per cent of Thai Telco Holdings, which controls about 61 per cent of Ucom.

"We are concerned that the proposed provisions of the draft notification infringe the laws of Thailand and unfairly prejudice the rights and interests of foreign shareholders of Thai companies as well as foreign companies," said the letter.

The NTC drafted the regulations as required by the amended Section 8 of the Telecommunications Business Act of 2001.

The commission's board approved the first draft on March 23 and posted it on its website, www.ntc.or.th, for interested parties to send comments via e-mail, with no deadline. It recently posted an amended draft on the website and invited interested parties to send comments by May 12.

The Norwegian Embassy's letter said the NTC should provide sufficient time for interested parties to review "such crucial issues" and for those issues to be openly debated.

"We are therefore concerned about the lack of transparency of the current process, as nowhere on the website is there any indication about when comments should be submitted," it said.

The European Commission delegation to Thailand expressed similar concerns about the draft regulations in another letter sent to the NTC early this month.

"We believe that the draft notification is unduly restrictive and discriminatory," said that letter. "It is clearly a step backwards in efforts to open and liberalise Thailand's telecom markets, and it sends the wrong signal to investors all over the world."

Besides DTAC, Shin Corp Plc is likely to be affected by the new NTC regulations governing foreign dominance. Currently, Cedar Holdings and Aspen Holdings, subsidiaries of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, own 51.98 per cent and 44.14 per cent, respectively, of Shin.

Aspen is wholly owned by Anderton Investments Ltd, which is in turn indirectly wholly owned by Temasek.

Cedar's shareholders include Cypress Holdings (46.55 per cent), Kularb Kaew (43.16 per cent), and Siam Commercial Bank (5.2 per cent). Cypress, which is indirectly wholly owned by Temasek, also owns 29.9 per cent of Kularb Kaew.

Shin is the parent of Thailand's largest cellular operator, Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS).

An analytical report by UBS Investment Research said that if read literally, the NTC regulations appeared to prevent any form of foreign control over a Thai telecom operator. However, the report suggests the real intent is to ensure that foreign involvement does not affect the local competitive landscape, and this may be reflected in the final version.

Under current Thai law, the multi-tiered shareholding structures that give Telenor control of DTAC and Temasek control of Shin are legal. Neither DTAC nor Shin is considered "owned" by foreigners, although both are mainly "controlled" by foreigners.

Although the law does allow foreign control, it is conceivable the NTC could use its regulatory power to disallow it, or at least make it more difficult in the case of the telecom industry.

The report said that if that happened, DTAC would probably the most at risk, because it was quite clear in terms of management structure that Telenor ultimately controls the company. AIS would also be at risk, but less so, given its existing shareholding and management structures.

The NTC will also require that TOT Plc and CAT Telecom Plc make sure their private concessionaires comply with regulations for preventing foreign dominance.

Actions deemed to be foreign dominance of local telecom operators include foreigners' shareholdings (as well as those of their nominees) exceeding the legal ceiling of 49 per cent, and foreign shareholders or their representatives having voting rights exceeding the entitlement of their actual shareholding.

Dominance also means foreign shareholders or their representatives appointing or removing key policy-makers of a Thai operator, the use of nominees to dominate them or the appointment of foreigners linked to foreign shareholders to key policy-making posts.

If dominance is exerted by a foreign government or foreign state enterprise, and the NTC believes that the dominance poses a threat to national security, it will consult with certain local agencies, such as the National Security Council.

If any of the local agencies agree that a threat to national security does exist, the NTC will order the licensee involved to end the foreign dominance.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation

Thai Election Commission ruled "inefficient" and "incompetent" by regional org

2006-04-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

from The Nation re: the recent Senate election in Thailand:

SENATE ELECTION
EC's conduct panned as 'inefficient, incompetent'

Asian Network for Free Elections slams small, nameless ballots; campaign ban

Inefficient and "incompetent" is how the coordinator of the Asian Network for Free Elections des-cribed the conduct of the Election Commission (EC) during yesterday's Senate election.

Network coordinator Somsri Harn-ananthasuk said many technical problems were apparent, ranging from ballots lacking names and pictures of candidates to not enough space between the horizontal rows of boxes for marking. The ballots confused voters and even election officers, Somsri said.

The network will seek a meeting with EC secretary-general Ekkachai Warunprapha today to file complaints. An earlier complaint about the ballots went nowhere.

"Such [inefficient and incompetent] work is detrimental to all candidates," Somsri, who observed the election in Nakhon Ratchasima province, told The Nation.

She said the rule preventing candidates from doing anything more than introducing themselves to the electorate meant rich and well-connected candidates emerged as winners, especially in rural provinces. [ed. how the hell can people vote when the candidates haven't outlined a single policy position?]

The law should be changed to allow some limited campaigning within certain budgetary limits, she said. "Well-known figures or people with senior positions are not necessarily good people." [ed. fucking excellent quote]

Pongsak Chanon, a member of the network who observed the election in Surin, said many voters could not recall the number of the candidate they wanted to vote for while others said they mistakenly marked the extra boxes on the ballot papers, which were meant for no one.

Many voters did not realise that the ballot papers had marking spaces at the back as well, and election officials did not remind voters of this, Pongsak said. [ed. Thai bureaucracy and form-making at its finest again]

"People also have very little interest or participation in the counting process," said Pongsak, adding that reports of vote-buying were also made. "Many ballot papers were nullified."

The problem in Samut Songkhram was the lack of independent candidates, said Chatchawan Rakchart, another election observer from the network.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation