Thailand Live Monday 5 Jul 2010

[webfact]

Thailand Live Monday 5 July 2010

News, Bits and Tweets

with webfact

Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.

For breaking news,national, regional and international news updates on

a daily basis only, this thread is closed to commentary so that those

who wish to follow the news can find it here...

Commentary is still open for Thailand news in the relevant thread posted in News Clippings.

FOLLOW US:

You can also follow us on

- Twitter: http://twitter.com/georgebkk

- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ThaiVisaNews

- Breaking News via SMS text messages to your mobile phone or handheld device

To subscribe dial *424010011 on AIS, One-2-Call, DTAC or True Move networks

14 days complementary subscription for Thaivisa members.

If you have questions about the Breaking News SMS service,

email: sms [at] thaivisa.com

________________________________________________________________________________

Thailand's current weather and forecasts: http://weather.thaivisa.com/

________________________________________________________________________________

Related topic: Thailand Live Sunday 4 July 2010

[webfact]

PM denies using Emergency Decree to strain the opposition

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has denied imposing the state of emergency to put pressure on the opposition side, amid concerns expressed by both national and international organizations.

In response to a call by human rights groups, both Thai and foreign, for the revocation of the state of emergency, Prime Minister Abhisit said he deemed the request as normal because everyone would like to see the situation within the society return to normalcy.

The prime minister continued to say that all sides could raise the problem to the government’s attention whenever any human rights violation was found.

The cabinet will draw conclusion on whether to extend the emergency decree at the upcoming meeting on Tuesday. The Center for the Resolution of Emergency Situation will evaluate and conclude by 5 July 2010 if the special law should be extended or partially revoked.

The state of emergency remains effective in 24 provinces nationwide, including Bangkok and will expire on 7 July 2010.

Earlier, Asian Human Rights Commission CEO, Basil Fernando, filed a letter to Mr Sihasak Phuangketkeow, the newly elected president of the UN Human Rights Commission, requesting him to order the Thai government to scrap the security law in all provinces of Thailand, including the restive south.

Similar to the international commission, Prof Dr Amara Pongsapich, the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission questioned the government for the reason to keep the special law in effect and called on the government to have the special law revoked.

-- NNT 2010-07-05

[webfact]

PM rejects ex-PM Chavalit’s comments

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajva has refused to heed comments expressed by former Prime Minister and incumbent opposition Pheu Thai Party Chairperson, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, notably about the establishment of a national government.

Speaking to news reporters at Government House on Sunday, the prime minister admitted that he still could not understand the initiative of the ex-prime minister regarding the establishment of the national government to solve political disputes although Gen Chavalit had been taking about it for a while.

Prime Minister Abhisit believed that the national political strife could be petered out by the government itself and the parliamentary mechanism. He continued to say that the general election would soon be arranged in about a year.

The prime minister noted that actually Thai people could help put an end to the political standoff by abiding by the law, respecting personal political differences, and refraining from use of violence in dealing with conflicts.

General Chavalit on Saturday restated his initiative about the establishment of the national government to find an exit to the ongoing political division. The reconciliation government of the ex-prime minister will feature all parties running the country together without the opposition side.

The Pheu Thai Party chairperson also noted that the three core institutions of the nation could contribute to the matter, including the monarchy, the government, and the military; however, people must be united if the institutions could not do so.

-- NNT 2010-07-05

[Maestro]

PM rejects pleas to end emergency

By The Nation

Published on July 5, 2010

Businesses, local and international groups including ICG want emergency lifted for sake of reconciliation

The business community and local and international organisations yesterday heaped pressure on the government to immediately lift the state of emergency for the sake of national reconciliation and stability, but Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was only willing to relax some restrictions.

"If anybody sees any rights violations, they should tell the government so we can adjust the law's enforcement," he said.

It was still necessary to retain the state of emergency, but not because the government wanted to squeeze the opposition, he said.

The government just wanted to implement the law effectively, he said.

Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said the protracted tussle between the royalist establishment and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's alliance has left the country deeply polarised.

The divide caused a series of clashes between the armed forces and the red-shirt group, ICG said in a report on "Bridging Thailand's Deep Divide".

The military crackdown in April and May to disperse a marathon protest in the heart of the capital killed 90 and wounded more than 1,800 people. Abhisit unilaterally offered a "roadmap" toward national reconciliation. It persisted with this plan despite having created an atmosphere of repression where the basic rights of the red-shirt group are denied by the emergency law, ICG said.

"There is little prospect that genuine reconciliation will succeed when the offer comes from the same government directly responsible for the recent deadly crackdown on the red shirts and their ongoing repression," said Jim Della-Giacoma, ICG's Southeast Asia project director.

"The first gesture that might demonstrate a renewed commitment to building bridges would be to unconditionally and immediately lift the state of emergency."

Authorities have used their extraordinary powers under the emergency law imposed in 24 provinces to prohibit red shirts' demonstrations, shut down their media, detain their leaders and ban the financial dealings of their alleged financiers.

Reconciliation, when the government's partners in resolving this conflict are on the run and denied their political rights, is impossible, ICG said.

Invoked on April 7, the state of emergency expires this Wednesday, but the government is considering extending it for up to three more months.

Local civic groups denounced the government for retaining the draconian emergency measures even though the situation had calmed down enough to be controlled with regular laws.

The groups included the Human Rights and Legal Assistance Centre for those affected from Political Turmoil, Human Rights Lawyers Association, Cross Cultural Foundation, Union for Civil Liberty, Campaign Committee for Human Rights, Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for the Wants, and Deep South Watch.

The emergency law was meant to be imposed only temporarily when regular laws were insufficient to cope with an emergency situation, they said.

The business community reiterated that the state of emergency was crippling the tourism industry.

Tour operators and tourism associations were the first group of local businesses to urge the government to retract the emergency law.

Foreign travel agencies have had to avoid business risk by withholding travel insurance from their customers. The prolonged state of emergency has made them reluctant to accept bookings for Thailand, they said.

The tourism industry has reported that reservations for this quarter have been slow. The country would lose the inbound market to neighbouring destinations like Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, they said.

Payungsak Chartsutipol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said lifting the emergency law would show the world that peace in Thailand has been completely restored. The government should ensure that other regulations could be enforced as usual.

The emergency law has had a detrimental effect not only on the private sector's confidence but also on human rights, he said.

It will also make businessmen think twice about investing further here. They are worried about the higher cost of insurance that they have to purchase to protect against business risk in case of a contingency.

The joint standing committee of the private sector would raise this issue at its meeting today on the merits and demerits of the law.

Phongsak Assakul, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said maintaining the law will directly hit the tourism industry.

"The government should communicate with the global community that such a stringent law is needed to ensure security but it would not impede on people's daily lives, tourism or business transactions," he said.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

One killed, four wounded in Yala roadside bomb attack

By The Nation

Yala

A roadside bomb killed one and seriously wounded four paramilitary rangers while conducting a routine foot patrol in Yala's Banang Sata district Sunday afternoon amid a spike of violence in this southernmost province.

YALA: -- The five men were from Ranger Unit 47 in the district. They were dispatched in what appeared to be an attempt to counter a spate of insurgency-related violence that erupted in Yala and surrounding districts following the June 7 shooting death of a local Islamic teacher, Dora-mae Da-che, 51, also known as Ustaz Mae, in Banang Sata.

Mae was said to be connected to the local militant cell who retaliated with a series of bomb attacks on soft targets, including restaurants.

His assassination was said to be a violation of a "gentlemen agreement" between the local cell and the military unit. According to informed sources, the agreement stipulated that there would be no target killing of suspected militants or sympathizers in exchange for taking soft targets off the militants' hit list.

Mae was believed to have been killed by a pro-government assassin.

Yesterday roadside bomb attack in Banang Sata came just two days after similar back-to-back attacks on Friday and Saturday in Yala's Yaha district, and Narathiwat's Rusoh district, respectively. The two incident resulted in the death of eight people, six of whom were members of security forces.
 Last Monday, a soldier and two teachers were injured when a bomb, also buried under the road, exploded in Narathiwat's Si Sakhon district.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Japanese investors wary after recent turmoil

By Achara Pongvutitham

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

Jetro chief says concerns about stability and losses in riots have forced a rethink.

BANGKOK: -- In the aftermath of the recent political violence, Japanese investors in Thailand have a variety of concerns when it comes to weighing their future plans in the Kingdom.

In an exclusive interview with The Nation, Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) Bangkok president Munenori Yamada said the political turmoil had had a direct impact on foreign investors, in particular those from Japan, the largest source of foreign direct investment in the Kingdom.

Yamada said Japanese investors could be broken down into three main business clusters: the manufacturing sector; the services industry - largely information and communication technology firms, and banking services; and businesses related to tourism and domestic consumption. All three had their own take on the current investment climate in Thailand, he said.

Yamada pointed out that many Japanese investors are worried about putting more money into Thailand, as confidence in the likelihood of recouping their investments has declined.

"[investors in] sensitive business clusters like tourism, shopping malls, and small and medium-sized businesses such as restaurants and retail shops, which rely on domestic consumption, are rethinking their business plans as to whether they will invest more here," said Yamada.

He said that many businesses have been badly hurt by the turmoil, suffering long closures and having received no compensation from the government.

While some of these firms are considering maintaining their investments, many will likely reduce the planned period of investment and try to recoup in a shorter period, he said.

Concerns about political stability mean the amount of capital will likely be lowered, as well.

The Board of Investment reported that Japanese applied to invest in 120 projects with a combined value of Bt33.03 billion during the first five months of this year.

Only investors in the manufacturing sector are still eager to expand operations in Thailand as advantages still exist for them. However, some are facing difficulties in convincing their headquarters of this, and have come up against obstacles at banks when it comes to getting loans approved.

Yamada pointed out that parent companies and banks are reluctant to lend large amounts of capital to subsidiaries in Thailand, believing the situation is still risky.

To restore investors' confidence, Yamada said the Thai government should take concrete action to rescue both Thai and foreign businesses that were impacted by the turmoil.

Japanese investors' first priority is for the government to restore security. The government must not only rebuild the damaged areas and businesses quickly, but also compensate firms for damages and opportunities lost to the violence, Yamada said.

"Many firms have had no income during the past two months, but have continued to pay salaries, rental fees and other expenses," noted Yamada, adding that Japanese firms pay tax in Thailand, so the government must help them during this difficult time.

Moreover, the government must revitalise all business activities and provide incentives to stimulate consumer spending and investment growth, he said.

Yamada also suggested that Thailand shift its focus to value-added or knowledge-based industries. This strategy will enable Thailand to better compete with other countries, particularly those in the Asean region, he said.

Thailand turn from manufacturing to focus on competitiveness at more advanced levels, he said, pointing out that Japanese investors still show a lot of interest in investing in Thailand in all sectors.

To promote the country as a destination for more advanced levels of investment, he said, two major areas of development are needed: Firstly the government must increase its budget for human resources development, as well as industrial research and development.

Yamada said that many Japanese firms, such as automobile manufacturers, want to use Thailand as a production base for high-technology cars. Therefore, they need to hire better-educated and higher-skilled labourers.

Additionally, he said, the Thai government must continue to develop financial services to ensure that the country can serve as a base of operations for multinational corporations' regional headquarters. Yamada pointed out that Thailand has the high levels of competency needed to achieve the goal, but said the government must improve related law and financial regulations to make the country more attractive.

He added that investors are also concerned about Thailand's industrial-development strategy. After the Map Ta Phut mess, he said, investors have grown cautious about Thailand, perceiving the regulations here to be unclear. He said the government must not only focus on resolving the Map Ta Phut issue, but also draw up clear regulations in all sectors in order to promote investment nationwide.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Cambodia's handover of 2 Thai bomb suspects a thaw in relations?

By The Nation

Published on July 5, 2010

Cambodia has detained two Thais wanted by Thailand for allegedly plotting last month's botched bomb attack on the Bhum Jai Thai Party's headquarters and plans to turn them over to the Thai embassy today.

"Although there is no request from the Thai government, the Cambodian government has decided to arrest and send the two terrorists back to Thailand," the Cambodian foreign ministry was quoted by Agence FrancePresse as saying in a statement issued Saturday evening.

Cambodia adheres to an "antiterrorism policy", according to the statement, which confirmed an earlier media report that the man and woman were believed to be sheltered by Phnom Penh.

The first report of the capture of Warisriya Bunsom, 42, and Korbchai Bunplod, 41, came Saturday afternoon from the Cambodian consulgeneral's office in Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet border town. Both were located and apprehended in Cambodia's Siem Reap.

Warisriya and Korbchai are among four people accused of providing logistics support for alleged bomber Anek Singkhunthod, who was wounded when the explosive hidden in a motorcycle with a sidecar modified into a fruit stall went off prematurely.

Two other suspects implicated by Anek, Kamphol Khamkhong and Dejphol Phutthajong, were arrested in the following few days.

Police have said the bomb was assembled at Warisriya's Bangkok home on Soi Choke Chai 4 with the assistance of three men including Korbchai.

Another bomb also allegedly made by the four suspects was discarded off RamIntra Road in northern Bangkok for fear of arrest after the first bomb attack on the party's compound failed.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said all details about the arrests and the handover of both suspects would be made public today.

Security at border checkpoints remains high as military and police are on alert to catch redshirted leaders and protestors who may try to flee the country.

AFP, which reported both suspects' ages at 33, also noted that Cambodia's decision to take them into custody could be seen as an attempt at thawing diplomatic ties with its neighbour, with which it has a history of rocky relations.

Tensions have also enveloped a troop standoff at the disputed border between the countries after clashes erupted near the ancient Preah Vihear Temple in July 2008, AFP added.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Sakhon Nakhon man among 26 red shirts 'missing' or hiding

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Phuwanart Moondee

The protest and riots in Bangkok ended more than a month ago but 60yearold mother Phaitoon Moondee is still waiting for her son, who joined redshirt rally, to come home.

"I just want to know whether he is still alive," she said.

Her 32yearold son Phuwanart Moondee went back and forth between their home in the northeastern province of Sakhon Nakhon - together with many friends from the same village - to the protest sites in Bangkok from April 23.

It was Phaitoon herself who asked her son to join the fight for democracy and stay put until the redshirt protesters won.

"I told him to not leave his friend, whatever happened. But since the demonstration ended on May 19, he has never come back," Phaitoon said with a tremble in her voice.

Phuwanart called his mother the last time on the morning of May 17 to say he was safe and all right.

Youngsters who travelled with him said they saw Phuwanart the next evening at Ratchaprasong intersection and asked him to take a bus home but he refused. Nobody has seen him since.

His mother has since asked Mirror Foundation's missing people's centre to find her boy. She provided all information about Phuwanart's appearance and personality, plus gave photos of him to the centre in the hope that someday they could find him. She also notified the police.

Phuwanart is thin and tall, with a height of 180cm. His skin is rather light. He had short and dark hair, plus a scar on his head.

The Mirror Foundation's missing people's centre said Phuwanart was among 35 people missing since the crackdown on May 19 - six and a half weeks ago.

The centre's chief, Eaklak Loomchoomkhae said there were many reasons to explain why some protesters have disappeared. Many had gone into hiding, he said, because they were afraid of being arrested for attending the demonstration.

Of 86 people recorded by the centre as "missing", 51 had already been found. Of the 35 still "missing", most - 26 - had told relatives they planned to join the redshirt protest.

Most of people who were found did not give any story about why they disappeared but just contacted their families, Eaklak said.

However, the centre only had a limited capacity to search for the missing as just two people worked for the centre on that task, he said.

The centre asked Kanit na Nakhon, the man picked by the government to chair an official panel to probe the crackdown, to set up a subcommittee to search for people still missing.

"We must have answers for their relatives on whether they have died or are alive," he said.

"If we don't have any answers for their families, it could be another source of conflict in the future."

Kritaya Archavanitkul, the deputy director of the Institute for Population and Social Research, who conducted an academic study entitled "Missing, Dead and Injured in the 1992 Political Crackdown", said finding missing people this time around was more difficult than the "Black May" crisis 18 years ago because the Abhisit government had announced a state of emergency, which obstructed factfinding.

"Everything related to the crackdown is now under the carpet," Kritaya said. "We just have a blurred picture of how people died, got injured and disappeared," she said.

In 1992, at least seven leading universities, educational institutes and state agencies teamed up to systematically seek out missing people for two years.

To date, some 2030 people from the May 1992 incident were still missing, she said.

"Nowadays, forensic science is more advanced but we have found that their work was not so efficient and that they took sides with the government."

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Noppadon: EU 'concerned about Thai freedoms, political prisoners'

[webfact]

PM Abhisit needs a break from critics for the sake of reconciliation

[webfact]

Ministry set to get biggest ever budget, but will results follow?

By Chularat Saengpassa

The Nation

In the next fiscal year, the Education Ministry will receive up to Bt388.05billion or the biggest chunk from the government's annual budget.

BANGKOK: -- It is going to be the first time the Education Ministry gets the largest share in the state budget. Interesting? Yes, but the key question here is how the ministry will translate such big budget into big results too. In the 2011 Fiscal Year, the Education Ministry will see its annual budget grow by much as Bt41.33billion.

Of the total budget, the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec) will receive Bt241billion because it has up to 8.5 million students under its supervision and 400,000 teachers under its care. If Obec can use budget efficiently, the country's educational sector should be able to see impressive results at a big scale.

Asked about its budget plan, Obec reveals that it has to allocate about 75 per cent of its annual budget to teacher salary. A big portion of its budget will also need to go to schools as subsidies to make education free to all children, who are bound to get free school uniforms, free textbooks, free teaching materials, free tuition and free supplementary courses.

However, in addition to stipends, Obec insists that it has extra projects to boost teachers' abilities too. If the teachers work more efficiently, students' performances are bound to improve.

To date, findings about students' academic performances and teachers' abilities on average remain rather disappointing. According to the Education Ministry, most highschool maths, science and computer teachers almost flunked their professional competency tests. The tests have been recently conducted among more than 19,000 math, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, astronomy and computer teachers nationwide. Of them, between 60 and 80 per cent are rated as being in a lowcapacity group.

School administrators are having problems too. Nearly 95 per cent of the 37,500 administrators were poor in English and ICT skills.

The Ordinary National Educational Test (Onet) scores, meanwhile, tell a lot about students' poor performance.

From the Onet tests for 2009 Academic Year, Pathom 6 students' average scores in Thai language stood at just 42.02. Their average scores in math and science were at 43.76 and 51.68 respectively.

The Onet average scores were worse among the Mathayom 3 students as they were lower than half in all five subjects: 41.03 for Thailanguage test, 41.36 for socialstudy test, 34.56 in Englishlanguage test, 32.63 in math test and 39.38 in science test.

For the Mathayom 6 students, they could score just 30.64 on average in Englishlanguage test and merely 34.67 in social study. Their average science scores were also as low as 33.64, while their average math scores stood at just 35.97. Their Thailanguage average scores were at 46.41, their healtheducation average scores at 56.74, and their art average scores at 43.21. For occupationalbasic test, their average scores stood at just 40.01.

According to the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (Onesqa), students in general also lack analytical skills and creativity.

Such findings came up at the time the government has started the educational reform 10 years ago with the launch of many projects to improve teaching/learning. Computers, Internet, educational tools and educational software have already been integrated into classrooms nationwide at a big budget.

Will the Education Ministry spend its budget more efficiently this time round? Let's hope that the historic big budget from the 2011 Fiscal Year will usher the country's educational sector towards a brighter era for the benefits of children and the future of Thailand.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

New council aims to lift quality of universities

By Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

Critics say too many institutions geared for profits,not student quality.

Many universities and their councils are said to have abused their authority in an attempt to compete commercially, causing graduate quality to slip. Their independent recruitment of students and launching of academic programmes are causing an unbalanced workforce for the country. Some universities are like rubber stamps - only approving what they are proposed.

To cope with such problems, the Council of UniversityCouncil Members of Thailand was recently set up.

And, its president Chumphon Phornprapha says the new council will develop the university councils' role because it had the mandate to control the general affairs of the universities. The council would guide them on how to use their authority to improve academic quality and offer a variety of ideas on how to overcome their problems.

The council is waiting for the personnel of 166 private and public higher education institutions in the country to apply as its members, which were expected to reach 4,000.

It will hold the first meeting on the role of university council members in driving education reform so they can share their experiences and work together on July 19 at Chulabhorn Research Institute's convention centre.

Chulalongkorn University lecturer Sompong Jitradab Angsuwathin said the quality of graduates had fallen, as universities were not competing to boost education quality but to make a profit.

"Almost 140,000 new graduates from last year are at risk of being unemployed," he said.

"The universities ignore their responsibility to develop society. They conduct research for commercial benefit while their councils do not perform their duties appropriately. They abuse authority, conspiring with universities to seek profits," he said.

Somwang Pitiyanuwat, a former director of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (Onesqa), said he noticed that new private universities were springing up in almost every province and questioned their quality.

Privy Councillor Kasem Watanachai, a former education minister and president of the Chiang Mai University Council and Rajamangala University of Technology Suvarnabhumi, said not only were some private universities providing educational services for commercial gain, but also some public universities or those under state control.

Kasem and Sompong urged the Higher Education Commission (Hec) to come up with a national labour force plan for the long run and implement financial measures to control student recruitment and the opening of academic programmes.

However, Somwang urged giving councils more power depending on their educational maturity.

"Why don't they, the ministry, use financial policies? If any university recruits too many students for any field of study with sufficient graduates, they will not be subsidised for the number of superfluous students by the Budget Bureau," Kasem said.

Ministerial regulations are needed to give more authority to Hec and enable it to control those councils improperly using their power. Hec should strictly examine new universities more frequently than old private and state universities with good records.

"It's time for Hec to organise discussions among university councils' approvers of academic programmes so they can share their procedures for approving new programmes to find the best procedures as models," he said.

Somwang said councils should not be given absolute power. Those with high quality as assessed by Onesqa should be given more decisionmaking power, but others with low quality should not have the same degree of power. Those with low quality were considered as lacking in maturity and probably abused authority.

At a meeting among academics and senior education officials in February to discuss education reform, several urged the Education Ministry to seek collaboration from universities and their councils in order to recruit students for each field of study and open new academic programmes that suited the demands of employers in the country.

Deputy Minister Narisara Chavaltanpipat also participated in the discussion. She agreed to push this recommendation.

"Decentralising administrative power to universities and university councils has made central educational organisations weak. I'll ask them to cooperate with the ministry to adjust the numbers of students to be recruited in each field of study.

"A measure that counts how many students in each field of each university will affect their educational quality assessment results will be set up," she said.

Box

Under the Act that establishes a particular university, the powers of the university council include the following:

Issuing policies and approving development plans regarding research, academic services and the conservation of Thai culture and traditions.

Issuing rules and regulations for the university or assigning other institutions under the university to do so for specific matters.

Proposing the establishment, combination and closure of institutes in the university.

Allowing the university to develop curricula in line with the policy of the university and standards defined by the Higher Education Commission.

Approving graduation certificates for students completing each level.

Appointing and relieving vice presidents, deans, deputy deans, directors and department heads to and of their positions.

Proposing to His Majesty the King the appointment and dismissal of the president and professors.

Passing regulations for the university's fiscal management.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Yala TK Park ready to spread its success

By Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

After three years of great success in educating local people, especially children and youngsters, in academic knowledge, local wisdom and living in harmony, Yala TK Park is now ready to mentor other local governments in setting up their own living library.

Yala is the only official branch of Thailand Knowledge Park in Bangkok.

Yala TK Park combines local wisdom and culture with academic knowledge in different fields. Like the headquarters in the capital, it features a relaxed atmosphere for sitting and reading, interesting activities that all can join and do together and edutainment material to broaden one's knowledge. It's no wonder this local living library draws in lots of people both young and old.

Pongsak Yingchoncharoen, the mayor of Nakhon Yala, who founded the branch, said he was happy to see the warm response from residents. More and more were spending time seeking knowledge there although the insurgency had made it difficult to operate the facility.

The library received over 170,000 visitors last fiscal year, and has welcomed about 160,000 during the first eight months of this year, well on the way to reaching nearly 200,000 in this whole year, he said.

To celebrate the Yala branch's third anniversary, a seminar was organised to show local administration organisations from across the country how it was established and run. The seminar took place at the Prince Palace Hotel in Bangkok last Friday.

Tatsanai Wongpisethkul, directorgeneral of TK Park, said expanding the concept to other provinces would give more residents access to enjoyably learning at a living library.

TK Park presented the pilot branch's operation to encourage them to open their own living library.

Pongsak said Yala TK Park focuses on promoting residents to live together peacefully despite the different cultures and religions so the young generations can grow up in harmony because the militants had tried to make Buddhists and Muslims distrust each other.

"The library provides stories for children that show that people from both religions can live together peacefully and several activities that they can do together, for instance, visiting the historical sites of both religions.

"Parents accompanying their children who join these activities get to know and learn more about those from other religions, so they understand each other better," he said.

"It helps me make them understand each other more easily. Many violent incidents are caused by insurgents intending to make them suspicious of each other. The insurgents killed Buddhist residents then set ablaze a Muslim shop to make people believe the Buddhists took revenge against the Muslims a few years back. However, they easily understood [the situation] after I explained it to them," he said.

Local scholars also play a key role in transferring their local wisdom to the young generation. Rare local music and folk tales are gathered and kept at the library for them to learn about their roots.

Wannapa Khaopa

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

PM Abhisit: Moving Thai-Cambodian provisional demarcation won’t affect Thai territory

BANGKOK -- In an attempt to dispel worries among the public that Thailand might lose some areas along the disputed border with neighbouring Cambodia, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday that the ongoing moving of the provisional demarcation markers would not affect Thailand’s boundary area.

Mr Abhisit confirmed that border demarcation must be made after supervision based on negotiations and the Thai government must submit results of the negotiations for debate in Parliament. So far, Parliament has not approved discussions between the two countries and until now only verifications of the global positioning system (GPS) have been conducted, Mr Abhisit said, noting that none would involve losing Thai territory

Army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda will conduct additional investigation, he added. It is impossible that the [Thai] military would give away certain territory to another party, he said, noting that a survey must be made to eliminate the dispute.

Clashes between the military of the two countries occurred sporadically along the poorly-defined boundary including the area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple in July 2008. UNESCO endorsed the nearly one thousand year old Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site in August 2008 as proposed by the Khmer government.The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2010-07-05

[webfact]

PM Admits Disappointment in “Thailand Moves Forward” Hotline

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has admitted that he is quite disappointed with the “6 Days, 63 Million Ideas, Thailand Moves Forward” hotline which was launched last week. After it's fourth day of operations, around 30,000 calls were received by volunteers who were on standby throughout the campaign to received ideas on national reform.

However, a majority of callers used the opportunity to voice their grievances about the cost of living, underground debts, and education issues. Few calls offered ideas on how Thailand should move forward with reform.

Prime Minister Abhisit admitted that he is disappointed that the public did not offer as many ideas on national reform as he had hoped, but went on to say that related agencies will come in to acknowledge and deal with other types of grievances. The Finance Minister will be handling the issue of underground debts as there was an original initiative by the ministry to deal with the situation.

In terms of the few calls which did offer some insight on national reform, the government will forward those ideas to the independent committees headed by former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun and social critic Dr. Praves Wasi.

The government was previously criticized for its “6 Days, 63 Million Ideas, Thailand Moves Forward” hotline for an apparent public relations campaign.

-- Tan Network 2010-07-05

[webfact]

CRES to Decide on Extension of Emergency Decree Today

Deputy Prime Minister in charge of national security Suthep Thaugsuban, who is also the director of the Center for the Resolution of Emergency Situations, or CRES, revealed that the center will be deciding today whether an extension of the emergency decree will be proposed to Cabinet tomorrow. The prime minister had earlier hinted that the decree could possibly be lifted in some areas while extended in others.

-- Tan Network 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Quake with magnitude of 6.3 jolted northern Japan, no danger of tsunami

The quake occurred off the coast of Iwate, 500 kilometers north of Tokyo at 7:08 am (2208 GMT) Monday. The quake's center was 30 kilometers below the sea surface.

-- TNA 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall

If you want to learn more about the Thai history, head down to the recently opened Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall, and immerse yourself in Thailand's history lesson.

The Hall is located on Bangkok's Ratchadamnoen Klang Road, near Wat Ratchanadda.

It is an interactive self learning centre with state-of-the-art multimedia technologies giving information on history, arts and culture of the Rattanakosin era, which has been since 1782.

Visitors can view 4D multimedia spectacles presenting the beginning of the Rattanakosin period. Admission is Bt200 for adults and Bt50 for children. (MET107FM)

-- TNA 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Brutal Robber Arrested for Robbing and Shooting a 71-Year-Old

BANGKOK: -- Police have arrested a 27-year-old man for attempted murder and robbery. The suspect reportedly has an extensive history of crime and drug trafficking.

Twenty-seven year old Ekkarat Kaewpakdee was apprehended by the Metropolitan Police Division 7 at a house in Samae Dum area.

He shot 71-year-old Pongsai Kumpreedi and robbed her of 200,000 baht worth of valuables at her home in Talingchan district in April.

The victim survived the gunshot wounds to her stomach and thigh, but sustained serious injuries.

Officers seized a .38-caliber revolver loaded with nine bullets, a motorcycle, and stolen valuables.

Ekkarat was charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, and illegal arms possession and confessed to all his crimes.

He told police that he usually targets female victims, because they're weaker and easier to deal with.

He said he has committed similar crimes five times before. Ekkarat once shot dead a woman who fought him to defend herself earlier in May.

Althogh, the suspect denied using the stolen money to buy drugs, he has served two years in jail for drug trafficking.

-- Tan Network 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Grenade attack at home of Channel 9 technician in Huay Kwang area, damaging 3 cars; no casualties reported /MCOT

[webfact]

Private sector hopes for a non-political central bank governor

[webfact]

Water Levels in Reservoirs Remain Critical Nationwide

The water supply in major reservoirs nationwide remains critical despite some rainfall over the past week.

A monitoring center for the water situation at the Royal Irrigation Department has reported that the water levels in reservoirs nationwide are currently at 33.4 billion cubic meters or 45 percent of capacity.

The water supply at Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit is at 34 percent capacity, and at Pa Sak Cholasit Dam it's at 16 percent capacity.

The reservoir levels in the northeastern region remain low, with Huai Luang Dam in Udonthani and Nam Oon Dam in Sakon Nakhon holding 22 percent and 26 percent of capacity.

Water levels in reservoirs in the central region have inched up but remain low. For example, the water supply at Krasiew reservoir in Suphan Buri is 31 percent capacity.

The center noted that although there has been some rainfall recently, it has not been enough to increase the water levels of major reservoirs.

Meanwhile, the demand for water still exceeds the supply. Authorities have stopped releasing water at some reservoirs to keep the supply above the crisis level.

-- Tan Network 2010-07-05

[webfact]

Sondhi indicted on lese majesty charge

Sondhi Limthongkul, a co-leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, was indicted at the Criminal Court Monday on lese majesty charge.

Public prosecutors charged that Sondhi had defamed the Royal Family by repeating statement of Daranee Charnchoengsilapakul, a red-shirt member.

Sondhi was accused of repeating the defamatory statement at a PAD rally on July 20.

The court will examine evidence of Sondhi on August 16.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

New Mae Sai office are now issuing electronic border pass in 25 seconds

[webfact]

Urgent! Bhum Jai Thai' bomb suspects arrived BKK from Cambodia via @jin_nation, INN a/via RT @tukky_nt

Thailand: New Mae Sai office are now issuing electronic border pass in 25 seconds:

Thailand: Sondhi Limthongkul indicted on lese majesty charge

Water levels in reservoirs remain critical nationwide

Thailand: Woman arrested for masturbating:

Thailand: Private sector hopes for a non-political central bank governor

Bangkok: Grenade attack at home of Channel 9 technician, damaging 3 cars; no casualties reported

Bangkok: Brutal robber arrested for robbing and shooting a 71-year-old

Bangkok: If you want to learn about Thai history, visit Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall

Thailand: CRES to decide on extension of Emergency Decree today

PM admits disappointment in “Thailand Moves Forward” hotline

PM Abhisit: Moving Thai-Cambodian provisional demarcation won’t affect Thai territory: http://bit.ly/dlRMtj about 4 hours ago via Seesmic

Thailand: Yala TK Park ready to spread its success

Thailand: New council aims to lift quality of universities

Thailand: Education Ministry set to get biggest ever budget, but will results follow?

Thailand: PM Abhisit needs a break from critics for the sake of reconciliation:

Thailand: Noppadon: EU 'concerned about Thai freedoms, political prisoners':

Thailand: Sakhon Nakhon man among 26 red shirts 'missing' or hiding

Cambodia's handover of 2 Thai bomb suspects a thaw in relations?

Thailand: Japanese investors wary after recent turmoi

[webfact]

RED SHIRTS LEADERS

Why not Arisamun?

By The Nation

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Monday declined to comment on why Cambodia did not arrest and return a leading red shirt leader; Arisamun Pongruengrong, who is reportedly taking refuge in Cambodia.

Suthep said many people have asked him the same question. "Many have asked me that. However we should not jump to conclusions. We should wait and see," Suthep said.

Cambodia has detained two Thais; Warisriya Bunsom, 42, and Korbchai Bunplod, 41, who are wanted in Thailand for allegedly plotting last month's botched bomb attack on the Bhum Jai Thai Party's headquarters.

It planned to turn them over to the Thai embassy today. They are scheduled to arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport around 11am.

"Although there is no request from the Thai government, the Cambodian government has decided to arrest and send the two terrorists back to Thailand," the Cambodian foreign ministry was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying in a statement issued Saturday evening.

Phnom Penh's move surprised the Thai side. Many have asked why Cambodia arrested the duo not Arisamun who narrowly escaped Thailand after the ending of the Rajprasong rally. He is now believed to be taking shelter in Cambodia.

Apart from Arisamun, other red shirts leaders reportedly residing in Cambodia included Jakrapob Penkair.

The first report of the capture of Warisriya Bunsom, 42, and Korbchai Bunplod, 41, came Saturday afternoon from the Cambodian consulgeneral's office in Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet border town. Both were located and apprehended in Cambodia's Siem Reap.

Warisriya and Korbchai are among four people accused of providing logistics support for alleged bomber Anek Singkhunthod, who was wounded when the explosive hidden in a motorcycle with a sidecar modified into a fruit stall went off prematurely.

Two other suspects implicated by Anek, Kamphol Khamkhong and Dejphol Phutthajong, were arrested in the following few days.

-- The Nation 2010-07-05

[webfact]

16 Pakistanis Arrested For Forging Passports For Sale

[webfact]

Paedophile agent busted following Pattaya Investigation

[webfact]

Thailand's Banpu bids for Australia's Centennial Coal

[webfact]

Pattaya: Heavy rain and negligent driving results in fatal accident