Thailand Live Tuesday 8 March 2011

News, Bits and Tweets

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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.

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Related topic: Thailand Live Monday 7 Mar 2011

Govt Land Rented to Poor Farmers

The Finance Ministry is set to grant lease contracts of 56,000 rai of state-owned land to landless farmers by the end of this year.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij, along with Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Supachai Posu and related agencies, traveled to the northeastern province of Sakon Nakhon to present lease contracts to 201 farmers in Nikhom Nam Un, Phanna Nikhom, Kud Bak and Waritchaphum districts for a total of 800 rai of land owned by the Treasury Department.

The contracts will require farmers to only use the land for growing food and alternative energy crops, such as rice, sugarcane, cassava and eucalyptus.

Korn noted that his ministry aims to give lease contracts to more than 4,000 poor farmers in 52 provinces for a total of 56,000 rai of land by the end of this year.

The plan is part of the government's policy to address the poverty problem.

The minister further said that the land is to be rented to poor farmers who are Thai nationals of legal age.

To qualify, they must have settled in the respective provinces at least one year prior to the application and not own any farmland.

The farmers have to be screened by the provincial subcommittee to ensure that they are qualified to rent the land.

Each farmer can request up to 15 rai of land with the minimum annual rental rate of 20 baht per rai, depending on the location and activity.

Farmers will be asked to renew their rental contracts every three years.

-- Tan Network 2011-03-08

PAD: Govt must regain land back from Cambodia

BANGKOK (NNT) – The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has filed a letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, demanding that the government regain national sovereignty back from neighboring Cambodia.

PAD Spokesperson Panthep Puapongpan and PAD core leader Thepmontri Limpaphayom on Monday morning travelled to Government House to file a letter detailing demands of the group to the prime minister via an official of the Secretariat of the Prime Minister.

Mr Panthep stated that the government must retrieve the land now occupied by Cambodia from the Preah Vihear Temple, Phu Makua hill, Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda and Ban Nong, stressing that Thailand has already lost its sovereignty to its neighbour.

The spokesperson added that the PAD also wanted the government to cancel the Internal Security Act (ISA) since the special law’s imposition is against the constitution.

Mr Panthep announced that he would lodge a lawsuit against the prime minister for negligence of duties with the National Anti Corruption Commission on Tuesday at 10.00 hrs. He said the government failed to help seven Thais whom he said were arrested on the Thai soil.

The spokesperson noted that he would also file many other lawsuits, both civil and criminal ones, against the prime minister. According to the PAD, it will also seek impeachment against the prime minister. The group is currently compiling names to support the motion.

-- NNT 2011-03-08

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Pheu Thai asks British govt to probe Abhisit's nationality

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Red-shirt leader Weng 'turned crisis into opportunity'

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Thai Govt firm on subsidies

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Thai Health Ministry warns of raids over alcoholic sweets

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EDITORIAL

Foot-dragging puts Thailand at a disadvantage

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Red Shirts need to be pacified first

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Suthep hopes Hun Sen will be sympathetic to jailed Thai nationalist Veera

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Squatters want title deeds before

By Somroutai Sapsomboon

The Nation

Communities squatting on state land that are entitled to title deeds are calling on the government to ensure that relevant agencies comply with this policy before the Democrat-led administration ends its term.

"Dissolution of the House of Representatives is coming closer, and relevant agencies appear to be in neutral gear. The villagers are afraid that they might be left on their own if this Democrat-led government does not make a comeback. Also, the government's efforts over the past two years will just go up in smoke," Prayong Doklamyai, leader of the People's Movement for a Fair Society (P-Move), said.

He added that villagers from the 35 entitled communities wanted the government to guarantee that their rights to "community title deeds" were in order so they do not face legal action or eviction.

In late 2008, when this government came to power, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced that title deeds would be given to communities that have occupied state land three years or more. The title deed will be given to the community as a whole, and residents are required to take care of the land for their own common benefit without further encroachment.

PM's Office Minister Satit Wongnongtaey is leading the state panel that selects the communities that are entitled to the title deeds. Of the more than 180 communities nationwide that applied for title deeds, only 35 were approved last October. Yet, over the past five months, only one community - the Klong Yong community in Nakhon Pathom province - was given a title deed by Abhisit in a ceremony that was later broadcast in his weekly TV show.

Prayong said the remaining 34 communities did not get their title deeds because the relevant agencies had failed to cooperate.

"Of the remaining 34 communities, 17 are located on land belonging to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. The minister, Suwit Khunkitti, has refused to implement the policy. He said he could not comply with the Prime Minister's Office regulation [on community title deeds]," Prayong said.

The Satit panel is meant to inform the relevant agencies about the communities it has selected, and the agencies are then meant to present the deeds.

"We are surprised that the prime minister cannot tell Suwit to do what he is told about this, given the fact that the matter is a government policy and the prime minister is Suwit's supervisor," Prayong said.

Villagers associated with P-Move have been gathering at the Royal Plaza since early last month to demand that the government solve their problems. Yesterday, they moved their rally to Government House to increase the pressure on the government. They want the Cabinet to treat their problems as an urgent agenda.

"We are not hired to protest. We have to cover the costs ourselves, and the longer we stay, the more we have to pay. We want the government to solve our problems as soon as possible, so we can go home," Phuket resident Thutiporn Thipwong said.

The mother of three said she had become hopeful when she learned that a community in Nakhon Pathom had been granted a title deed last month, though she was convinced that the hype over that "success" was part of the government's publicity ahead of the general elections. This dream was shattered when Suwit refused to grant deeds to communities that occupy land belonging to his ministry.

"We feel like we are being left to fend for ourselves as the government is going to dissolve the House soon. We call on the government to offer us protection so we are not evicted later," she said.

-- The Nation 2011-03-08

PM to meet Election Commission Friday on upcoming poll

By The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that would meet with the Election Commission on Friday to discuss organising the general election.

He said he would have to discuss with the EC first how much time it needs to prepare before his decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.

Commissioner Sodsri Satayathum said the EC would ask the prime minister to ensure that the organic election laws were amended to comply with the recent constitutional changes before the House was dissolved so legal complications would not emerge after the poll.

Abhisit's coalition government will face a censure debate from March 15-17, with a no-confidence vote set for March 18, House Speaker Chai Chidchob said.

The censure motion has been put on the agenda, and Abhisit has been informed of the official debate schedule, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-03-08

SOUTHERN UNREST

Bomb wrecks Thai police residence complex

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Xayaburi dam faces groundswell of opposition from countries downriver

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Pali students need control: abbot

By The Nation

The abbot of Pak Nam Pasicharoen temple urged monks and novices yesterday to stop using mobile phones during school hours and urged teachers of the Pali language to keep students in line and make them study hard in order to keep Buddhism stable.

Somdet Phramaha Rajamangalajarn, from the Sangha Supreme Council, told a gathering of monk teachers that they should take care of students and stop them from using cellphones during school hours as it would affect their learning ability and make the state religion unstable.

The seminar was held to boost knowledge in the Pali language as well as come up with better teaching methods because literacy in the ancient language was one requirement for qualifying to be a Buddhist monk.

-- The Nation 2011-03-08

Dams' Strength Assured against Quakes

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand reiterates that dams nationwide are strong enough to withstand impact from earthquakes in the region.

It also expresses confidence that every dam contains sufficient water for irrigation throughout the drought season.

Bhumibol Dam Director Boon-in Cheunchavalit believes this year's drought season will not be as severe as in previous years.

Although the water level in the dam is only at 50 percent of its maximum capacity, he is confident there will be enough water for irrigation purposes.

He explained that the current water reserve would be enough to irrigate more than 10 million rai of farmland.

Nonetheless, related agencies have advised farmers to refrain from planting off-season rice to save water.

The Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Ministry may issue a regulation to officially restrict the frequency of off-season farming to manage water use.

Bhumibol Dam has planned to discharge around 1.5 billion cubic meters of water into the Chao Phraya River from the total of 2.6 billion cubic meters, while the rest will be reserved for emergency purpose if the drought is prolonged.

Nonetheless, if complications arise, the dam is prepared to seek assistance from the artificial rainmaking project.

Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, or EGAT, official at Bhumibol Dam, Weerachai Chaisakaew, stated that the dam's structure has been undisturbed by the tremors from the latest quake in Vientiane.

Weerachai said the dam can withstand a seismic tremor of more than seven on the Richter scale.

He added the dam has equipment to monitor any seismic activity and it was found that the recent quake measured at 5.9 to six on the Richter scale.

The EGAT has begun inspecting the strength of dams' structure across the country after a number of quakes have occurred in the region during the past two to three years.

-- Tan Network 2011-03-08

NATO starts 24/7 surveillance flights in Libya; US resumes Guantanamo trials; Gaddafi forces hit rebel town; French ex-president Chirac goes on corruption trial

Northern farmers continue blocking highway despite government agreement to increase guaranteed paddy prices; farmer representatives to meet PM this morning /MCOT

Special Report: Thai Nationality Bill, Hope for the Stateless

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Strong currents in Bali beach sweep away 5 high school students

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Government urged to allow diesel prices to rise

BANGKOK, Mar 8 – The government should allow diesel oil prices to increase so that consumers and commercial users can adjust to market realities and prices, according to Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) chairman Payungsak Chartsuthipol.

Speaking of the government’s plan to peg the price of diesel at no more than 30 baht per litre until April, he said it would be better to let fuel and product prices move in accordance with the market mechanism.

The government should oversee oil prices only when they fluctuate to ease the impact on the public, he said, but such measures should be temporary because subsidies, if allowed for too long, would cause problems.

“Should the diesel oil price surge to such a high level that the government is unable to [maintain] the peg, it will definitely skyrocket and raise production costs considerably. People will eventually be adversely affected,” he said.

Pongsak Assakul, vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the government should consider the revenue and expense balance of the State Oil Fund.

“It should find a way to cope with the rising fuel prices in the long run, not [only]t he short term. We don’t know what is the real goal set by the government, but we are afraid if the diesel prices are pegged for too long, they will surge dramatically when they are allowed to increase in response to the price mechanism,” he said. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-03-08

Net profits earned by companies listed on MAI surge in 2010

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Thai Army Chief Supports Crowd Control Law

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