Suffinator

"At the same time, efforts must [be made to] preserve Thai identity," said Surin, a former secretary- general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

There you go again ... protectionism because you know you cannot compete in an open and fair market.

The first step should be removing the 'No Fail Policy'. Once that's achieved they can separate the wheat fro the chaff; unfortunately they know that the current education system generally produces chaff which is why the no fail policy exists.

TWENTY-ONE police officers, most of whom were stationed in Nakhon Pathom and Provincial Police Region 7, were transferred to the police operations centre to boost efficiency, the national police chief explained yesterday.

You know this is total BS when he uses the word 'efficiency' in direct relation to the RTP. The truth is out there but it'll never come from a Thai as this would only cause more damaged to their already soiled reputation.

"We accept assistance from international organisations in the form of necessities at our request, not cash, as that could possibly lead to problems."

Yeah too many sticky fingers.

"I wonder whether these associations have been deliberately fanning the news right now, because the problem has been here for more than ten years," Gen. Prayuth said today. "We must completely trace how some of the news has emerged, and what the backgrounds of these associations are, whether they are legally registered. If they are, they have to obey Thai laws, since they are now in Thailand. We have to find clarity about this."

​So loosely translated ... These NGO's are causing deep embarrassment for Thailand diabolical human rights track record which could end up seeing the EU and US placing sanctions on Thailand which will inevitably damage the economy; that is on top of the money the police and other officials stand to lose now that human trafficking is in the media spotlight. The response is therefore to do everything we can to discredit the NGO's and imprison them if they don't have a valid work permit so as to further restrict their ability to uncover the truth.

Prayut is doing his country far more harm than any a journalist could make up. Simply print what he says word for word and the world will know what type of person he truly is.

Thai degrees = toilet paper; obviously useful for only one thing.

National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) spokesman Winthai Suvaree has warned students of being political tool. Any students who re-commit such an illegal action will receive stronger punishment.

Pure oppression and the denial of even the most basic of human rights. It's time the UN revoked membership and started piling on the sanctions.

I have never been against democracy

So under what justification did you commit an act of treason that effectively demolished the little democracy that was in place?

In the video he states; "I have been in the military all my life under a democratic system." He's either completely stupid or delusional or both. There's NOTHING democratic about how Thailand has been run for decades for as soon as the ruling elite don't like the outcome of an election where they feel they are about to lose power and money they roll in the military to take over.

I've listened to some delusional narcissistic BS in my time but this guy wins the award for Outright Idiotic Dictator of the Year hands down.

Yes we all appreciate that Thailand has it's problems but the underlying issue remains ... whilst corruption continues to fester like a cancer the ruling elite will do anything it takes to ensure power and money remains in their hands. This effectively removes any possibility of democracy prevailing now or in the future.

Why dont they lay the cables in the ground like most western countries ?

That involves common sense and having the smarts to create maps and install sensors.

I did hear from a friend in Phuket that they are starting (in certain places) to bury the cables and apparently the areas look much better for it.

Apparently last year they were digging up Rawai beach road for new sewers but it didn't occur to them to liaise with PEA to bury the cables at the same time and save a load of money.

I'm afraid the lights are on but nobody is home.

PM Prayut says military junta determined to return happiness to people ... even if that means it's force upon them through the use of 'military attitude adjustment camps'.

Shortly after seizing power in a coup that followed months of debilitating street protests, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha vowed to end Thailand's decade of political upheaval once and for all. In his words, "to bring everything out in the open and fix it."

What exactly has he fixed? The answer ... bugger all. He should of started off with corruption by opening up his own personal wealth to public scrutiny but of course that was never going to happen. I've read reports that he's worth millions of dollars and yet his annual army salary was just 1.4m baht ... how do you accumulate such vast wealth from such pittance?

"Our differences have just been pushed under the rug by a junta that prohibits freedom of expression. Nothing has been done to address the root causes of Thailand's deep divide," said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Yep and your basic human rights will continue to be abused as long as you have a dictator in control who works solely for the interests of the ruling elite. What's the different between Prayut and Thaskin ... not a whole lot, it's all about money and control.

Speaking to reporters the same day, Prayuth acknowledged that seizing power was wrong.

Actually if you want to get technical it was an illegal act known as treason but let's not worry about that when you have first place at the trough.

By contrast, criminal charges have been dropped against former lawmaker Suthep Thaugsuban, who led the protests that set the stage for last year's coup. His supporters had brazenly seized government ministries, attacked the prime minister's office with homemade rockets, and disrupted an election that Yingluck called in a failed bid to defuse the crisis.

Yeah but that's just another technicality that Prayut is prepared to overlook as it fits in the political ideology of getting power back in the hands of the ruling elite. This ain't rocket science folks just clear undeniable facts.

Let's be honest ... from day one all you've had is the rhetoric of peace through reform but nothing tangible has materialized.

Thailand's issues center around corruption and power and until the day that the likes of Thaskin and the ruling elite are put out of the picture the issue of the military coup will be played out time and time again; it's not about not learning from your mistakes but rather pure greed and corruption.

"Governments around the world need to press the military junta to end repression and restore fundamental rights, which are essential for a genuine return to democratic civilian rule," said Brad Adams, HRW Asia director.

Well there's now one group who have filed a lawsuit against Prayut for treason so that's a start. Why doesn't the UN step in and issue an ultimatum to either comply with international law and human rights or face expulsion from the UN?

"The date for elections continues to slide, with no certainty when they will happen. Backsliding on respect for basic rights and democratic reform seems to have no end in sight."

Does Mr Adams not get it or is he unwilling to simply state the truth ... Prayut doesn't care about democracy; he cares about ensuring the elite continue to rule with impunity and the last line of the OP aptly enforces such ... "The ruling National Council for Peace and Order led by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has prosecuted critics of military rule, banned political activity, censored the media, and tried dissidents in unfair military courts," HRW stated.

In the lawsuit they accuse Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha and other junta leaders of violating Article 113 of the Criminal Act by staging the coup on May 22 last year and throwing out the 2007 Constitution, which they said was punishable by death.

They are of course perfectly correct for it his actions where and remain an act of treason.

This only goes to show that Prayut and his merry band have no interest in democracy their only goal is to ensure that the ruling elite continue to rule with impunity.

Under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, to which Thailand is a signatory, they are also breaking international law by not allowing the basic right to freedom of speech and expression. It's time the UN stepped up to the plate and issued an ultimatum ... comply or face expulsion.

"Of the 1,250 respondents, roughly 49 percent said they became happier" What about the other 51% that are not ?

Simply ignored and overlooked, the focus remains on the 49%.

Let's just hope this never happens considering their air safety track record.

I doubt any carriers that are not Thai carriers will be signing up for Thai maintenance.

It's still common knowledge that the RTP are involved. They continue to take back-handers to look the other way and warn the Thais when a raid is about to take place. The biggest criminal organization in Thailand is the RTP so unless they can sort that our IP rights will never be solved.

Let's be honest here ... You have piss poor police training where most are subjected to the game of corruption even before graduating as they PAY for their graduation certificate. The only thing the RTP are good at is extortion, corruption, murder, covering for their friends, framing others, stealing jewels from Saudi Royalty, drug trafficking, human trafficking and the list goes on.

Essential the RTP is nothing more than a criminal organization run by even bigger criminals.

Once interviewed a lady with a Masters Degree in French. She couldn't read or write French and her vocabulary skills extended as far as 'Hello', 'How are you?' and 'Goodbye ... and that's a MASTER DEGREE.

Frankly the only thing a Thai degree is worth is toilet paper.

So where's the video?

Thailand’s Army Chief said today that Rohingya migrants fleeing persecution in Myanmar do not qualify for refugee status in Thailand, and will be treated as illegal migrants.

That Gen. Udomdet Sitabutr is the type of statement that should put you and your country to shame. Look up the word 'Humanitarian' and then after you've educated yourself maybe you might look at this a different way.

Let's just hope that the EU bans your fishing products, the FFA and ICAO refuse to provide you with airline safety certification and that the US keep you where you belong on the TIP ... at the bottom with the rest of the worlds scum. After that let's hope that the West piles on a crap load of sanctions and once that's all done we'll see whether you think the west is being inhumane.

Motorbikes, cars, vans, buses, trucks you name it; they all love to tailgate and this is the result.

Army chief says Yala bombings linked with criminal activities and politics

Wow, he's a smart cookie; I wonder how long it took him to figure that out?

Born in sin, come on in. This is nothing short of generations of people who know nothing else and they continuously see the criminal elite getting fatter off their criminality, including all those the Gen listed. It's amazing how they think this nation is superior; I guess it is if you consider criminal activities and the constant political divide achievements.

Rocket scientists they are not.

Nothing new here to see ... move along.

The Thais really don't understand foreign investment via property ownership. They honestly think they are losing land and property to foreigners or that foreigners will somehow take over Thailand.

The amount of money they lose annually is vast and as property changes hands the amount of money being invested in the country grows.

I doubt Thailand will ever allow foreigners to own property as the are ignorant to the real benefits and see it as merely losing something to a foreigner. I know a few Thais in the UK who own property and none are subjected to the 49% rule and why should they be ... their money is as good as anyone else's and it adds funds to the treasury.

After all, tourism is at stake and there has been a lot vested in promoting Thailand as the “Tourism Capital of Asia” and likewise, defending the kingdom’s safety record

How can you defend a piss poor safety record?