Thailand Live Friday 13 Jul 2012

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Thailand Live Friday 13 July 2012

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 Thursday 12 Jul 2012

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Thailand braces for key court ruling

BANGKOK, July 13, 2012 (AFP) - Hundreds of police are expected to surround Thailand's Constitutional Court Friday as the country braces for a crunch ruling that threatens to rip open the kingdom's bitter political divisions.

Full story:

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update

THAI-KHMER TIES

Reports of shots fired at Thai aircraft near Cambodia downplayed

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A Thai commercial aircraft came under warning shots while flying over Sa Kaew near the Thai-Cambodian border, according to an unconfirmed report yesterday evening, with the Foreign Ministry saying it was checking the unaccredited claim.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa....50#entry5479360

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CONSTITUTION COURT

Pheu Thai break-up would deal a blow to GDP growth: Study

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Economic growth could be restricted drastically to 4-4.5 per cent this year, from an earlier projection of 5.6-5.8 per cent, if the Constitution Court rules today to dissolve the Pheu Thai Party, leading to political turmoil, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Full story:

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LESE MAJESTY LAW

Whereabouts of Gordon unknown

PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Though he has made international headlines, the whereabouts of former lese majeste convict Joe Gordon are not known and the media has not heard from him or his lawyer since he was granted a royal pardon on Tuesday afternoon and the US Embassy reportedly whisked him away.

Gordon, who holds dual Thai-US citizenship, was arrested last May and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in December for translating and posting excerpts from the banned book "The King Never Smiles" while in the United States. The book was written by journalist Paul Handley and published by Yale University Press.

Gordon's lawyer, Arnon Nampa, told The Nation that he understands Gordon is being "cared for" by the US Embassy since being released on Tuesday and will be leaving for the United States soon.

"I think they want him to leave quietly. It's a diplomatic move," Arnon said, adding that Gordon had told him several times while in prison that he did not feel like a Thai and wanted to return to the US once out of jail.

However, there has been some speculation as to whether Gordon is being barred from speaking to the media while in Thailand in order to prevent bilateral relations from being strained.

US Embassy spokesperson Walter Braunohler said yesterday that there was a lot of "speculation" about Gordon, but the embassy "unfortunately" would neither confirm nor deny anything about his whereabouts or say anything about the speculation that he is being prevented from speaking to media out of concerns for Gordon's privacy.

Arnon said he does not think that the 55-year-old Thai-born US citizen, who is also known as Lerpong Wichaikammat, is being restricted by the US Embassy in any way.

Asked if Gordon had been forced to confess, Arnon only said that his client had admitted to translating and uploading excerpts of the book after his request for bail had been denied eight times.

-- The Nation 2012-07-13

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ROYAL VISIT

Air Force prepares for royal flight

Panya Thiewsangwal

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) yesterday held a meeting to prepare pilots and helicopters for His Majesty the King's visit to Ratchaburi on Sunday July 15 to inspect a royal soil-rehabilitation project at Khao Cha Ngum.

At the 201st Helicopter Squadron (Royal Guard), the head of the Royal Helicopter Coordination Centre, Air Vice Marshal Saman Sangkhorn, joined the meeting with the pilots who are to transport HM the King, HM the Queen and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

The RTAF will provide three helicopters - including the Bell 412 EP helicopter number 36303, piloted by Air Vice Marshal Thanomsak Yenpiam and Group Captain Sermkiat Konmanee, for the monarch and royal family members - while the Royal Thai Army will provide one helicopter.

Air Force chief Air Chief Marshall Itthiporn Supawong will be the director of transportation for this royal trip.

The first pilot, Thanomsak, said he was proud and grateful to have a chance to fly the royal helicopter again. He has served in this important job since 1993. The most recent royal flight he piloted was on November 8, 2005, when the King and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Yang Chum reservoir.

The Bell 412 EP helicopter has been used by the RTAF since 2003. Its 1,800-horsepower engine can achieve a speed of 120 knots, altitude of 20,000 feet and can fly for up to three hours.

-- The Nation 2012-07-13

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Letting down the language

Marquie Leelatham

Special to The Nation

Thai kids at Bangkok's international schools risk getting 'lost in translation'

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok's international schools pack a surprise for first-time visitors, and it's not short skirts or vulgar language, which are in fact nowhere to be found. The surprise is how little Thai is spoken and how poorly - by the Thai students.

Full story:

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ECONOMY

IMF chief hails Thai resilience

Achara Deboonme

The Nation

Photo : Thanachai Pramarnpanich

Says impact of euro crisis here will be limited; warns Asean not to rush into single currency ; Region on right track via integration but 'no immunity to contamination through global interconnection'

Full story:

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EDITORIAL

Sacrifices have to be made when disaster strikes

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- IMF chief Christine Lagarde is in Asia this week; the message she can take back to Europe is that recovery is possible after taking a very bitter pill

Full story:

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ONESQA REPORT

Basic education levels worrisome

Saowanee Nimpanpayungwong

The Nation

Almost 2,000 schools under Obec in need of improvement

BANGKOK: -- The Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA) said it had certified only 5,690 of the 7,985 basic educational institutes it assessed.

Full story:

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FDA to crack down on illegal pharmacies

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will suspend the licenses of pharmacies that operate without an attending pharmacist and plans to amend a Public Health ministerial regulation to raise the quality and standard of drugstores.

Full story:

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PM defends bid process on flood projects

Piyanart Srivalo,

Prapasri Osathanon

The Nation

BANGKOK: - Countering allegations that a Bt350-billion flood and water-management project and its ongoing bidding process lacked transparency, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she welcomed outside inspection of the plans, adding that the e-auction process had been open to all bidders and terms of reference (TOR) details had been made public.

Full story:

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Kokaew slams military at budget meet

PANYA THIOSANGWAN

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The House committee vetting the military budget yesterday called a 15-minute recess following a Democrat-Pheu Thai spat over the 2010 political violence.

Full story:

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Yuthasak to discuss Thai detainees during Myanmar visit

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapha is expected to discuss the issue of Thai detainees with a high-ranking official in Myanmar when he visits the country on Thursday.

He will fly to Yangon this evening to attend a SEA Games Federation Council meeting and is expected to hold talks with the Myanmar official on the sidelines of the event.

General Yuthasak, assigned by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to welcome Myanmar President Thein Sein on his planned visit to Thailand on July 22, said he expected to see progress in the detainee case this week.

The investigation is underway, the deputy prime minister said, adding that Myanmar authorities had not yet specified the exact number of detainees they expect to be targeted for legal action.

Those thought to have committed no offence are likely to be freed first, while those accused of possessing illegal drugs or weapons will remain in custody. The Thai nationals were reportedly taken into custody by Myanmar troops on July 4 at Koh Song, opposite Ranong's Kra Buri district. They allegedly cut down trees and cleared a forest area to plant para rubber trees in Myanmar territory.

An initial investigation of the land encroachment found that the Thai workers had been lured by brokers to buy plots of land at a low price, not realising the land was actually in Myanmar.

Thai Supreme Commander Tanasak Pratimapakorn said after visiting Myanmar that negotiations were being carried out at the local and regional levels through the Thai-Myanmar Township Border Committee (TBC) and the Thai-Myanmar Regional Border Committee (RBC), as well as through diplomatic channels.

There should be no problem, as the two countries have good relations, he said. All detainees are safe and Myanmar officials have not filed any charges against them pending further investigation. Those who have not committed any crime are expected to be sent home before Thein Sein visits. The number of detainees has not yet been confirmed, as they were held in several areas, the supreme commander said.

Nevertheless, according to Colonel Pornsak Pullsawat, a commander of the Thepsattri Force, Myanmar has detained 92 Thais, not 49 as earlier reported, and is moving them to a prison at Koh Song, which is also known as Victoria Point.

Pornsak and his team travelled to the site in Myanmar where the Thais were detained, and the Myanmar army gave him the list of those detained for alleged encroachment for the purpose of growing rubber trees and marijuana.

"From the list, there are a total of 92 Thais detained - 82 men and 10 women - not 49 as earlier reported … The Myanmar army will transfer the detainees to a prison at Victoria Point, known as Koh Song," he said.

The detainees were rounded up on July 4 by three companies of Myanmar troops. They were accused of cutting down trees and clearing an area to plant para rubber trees at Victoria Point. Thai Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said the Myanmar authorities discovered military weapons during the operation, although the Thais have not been charged with any such offence.

Pornsak said Thais found not to be involved with weapons or growing marijuana would be charged with illegal entry. Those considered innocent of offences other than illegal entry would certainly be allowed to return to Thailand through a checkpoint between Victoria Point and Ranong's Muang district.

The Myanmar side has promised to take good care of the detainees, he said. Pornsak also showed the list of 92 detainees and said his unit would open a centre within the Thepsattri Force's barracks in Ranong's Muang district in the next few days to cooperate with relatives of the detainees.

-- The Nation 2012-07-13

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Two arrested for human trafficking

Wisit Chuanpipatpong,

Thanongsak Supakarn

The Nation

SAKHON MAKHON: -- Police arrested a karaoke bar owner and a Laotian woman in Sakhon Nakhon's Akat Amnuay district for human trafficking and also rescued 12 Laotian female workers, of whom eight were under the age of 18.

Anti-Human Trafficking Division chief Pol Maj-General Chawalit Sawaengpeuch announced yesterday that Boonsa Srisamai, 37, and Khamphan Sisamai, 33, were also charged with operating a bar without a licence, procuring prostitutes, illegally hiring immigrants, recruiting minors to work in a bar and exploiting them.

The rescued teenagers have been sent to a home for juveniles, while the other four women, aged between 19 and 25, have been charged with illegal entry to Thailand.

In related news, a pick-up truck transporting 18 foreign workers drove through a checkpoint in Chumphon's Muang early yesterday morning, resulting in a 10-kilometre car chase and the arrest of the driver and the workers.

Police manning the Tambon Khun Krathing checkpoint signalled a suspicious-looking truck to stop, but the driver revved up and drove straight through. Police gave chase and stopped the truck before arresting driver Somsak Imchan, 40, and finding 15 men and three women hiding under canvas at the back.

Somsak confessed that he picked up the workers at the Thai-Myanmar border in Ranong to deliver them to businesses in Songkhla's Hat Yai province in exchange for Bt8,000 per person.

-- The Nation 2012-07-13

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Dam projects needed, dept insists

The Nation

NAKHON SAWAN: -- The Royal Irrigation Department yesterday insisted that the controversial Mae Wong dam project in Nakhon Sawan and the Kaeng Sua Ten project in Phrae were indispensable to meet the huge demand for water by the growing population and expansion of farmland.

Lertwiroj Kowatthana, director-general of the department, said the Bhumibhol and Sirikit dams have been in service for more than 50 years without problems, serving 33 million people and two million rai of farmland.

However, now there were nearly 70 million people to feed and seven million rai of farmland during the normal crop-growing season and seven million more in the off season to irrigate.

The government has not decided whether to build the Kaeng Sua Ten dam, following year-long opposition by NGOs and residents. Another study has been ordered on it.

The Bt300-million Mae Wong dam project has been given the green light, pending an environmental impact assessment.

"We regard as normal the public's opposition to dam projects, but a public hearing and a study have been carried out," he added.

A network of environmentalists is planning to petition the Central Administrative Court to halt the Mae Wong dam project, which the group says is one of many things the government and agencies have done to damage the public through mismanagement.

"Mistakes have occurred at several projects such as the Rasi Salai and Pak Mool dams, which are past lessons that proved authorities wrong," said Srisuwan Janya, chairman of the Stop Global Warming Association.

-- The Nation 2012-07-13

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Constitution Court judges arrive at court to compile unified verdict before reading ruling at 2pm /MCOT

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RT @HuffingtonPost: 50 years ago today, The Rolling Stones performed their first gig http://huff.to/NzN5yo

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Red shirts rally at Royal Plaza to hear verdict on charter amendments

The Nation

BANGKOK: Red-shirt people started gathering at the Royal Plaza Friday morning to await the verdict from the Constitution Court on charter amendments.

Some of them from Pathum Thani, Samut Prkan and some northeastern provinces arrived at the ground since Thursday evening and set up a stage and their readers made speeches to attack the court.

Many more of them joined the rally Friday morning.

Police were deployed to keep security around the area and police also set up barricades around the rally site.

-- The Nation 2012-07-13

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Four companies of police deployed to guard Constitution Court

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Four companies of police have been deployed to guard the Constitution Court at the Government Complex and eight others companies are on stand by, a senior police officer said Friday.

Pol Maj Gen Samreng Suwanpong, commander of the Metropolitan Division 2, said three companies were deployed to be stationed inside the Government Complex Thursday night and another company was stationed around the complex.

-- The Nation 2012-07-13

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Thai stock index opens on Friday at 1,195.49, up 2.36 points /MCOT

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Senate seeks action on foreign tour guides in Phuket

Phuket Gazette

Phanomphon Thammachartniyom, an adviser to the Senate Standing Committee on tourism, wants to see an end to the problem of illegal foreign guides. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- An adviser to the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism has spoken out against the long-standing problem of foreign tour guides operating in Phuket.

Full story:

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Office of Ombudsman ends inquiry into ethical conduct of PM meeting privately Feb 8 at Four Seasons Hotel; no ethical offence found /MCOT

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RT @RichardBarrow: TrueVisions say that they will have 7 dedicated channels for the London Olympics from 28 July to 13 August

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Drug-addicted thief confesses to murder of Phuket teen 'Nong Som'

Phuket Gazette

The late Sunisa "”Nong Som” Saiyoy during a trip to the Phuket Aquarium.

Sunisa’s aunt has to be restrained by security officers as she tries to strike her neice’s confessed killer (seated, in blue). Photo: Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai

Full story:

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RT @RichardBarrow: 1:20pm Red Shirt leaders at Imperial Lad Prao with their supporters http://bit.ly/NRtVCN - MT @lisavoicetv

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RT@RichardBarrow: News just in, the planned trip by HM The King on Sunday to Ratchaburi has been postponed (h/t @bangkokpundit)

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RID: More dams are needed to meet water consumption demand in Thailand

BANGKOK, 13 July 2012 (NNT) – The Royal Irrigation Department has insisted that Thailand needs more dams to cope with the increasing demand for water.

Royal Irrigation Department (RID) Director-General Lertviroj Kowattana said that, as the construction of the Mae Wong Dam has been approved by the Cabinet, the RID will submit the result of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study to the National Environment Committee for an endorsement.

Mr. Lertviroj said that as soon as the EIA is endorsed, a budget of 13 billion baht will be acquired to execute the plan.

However, for the construction of the Kaeng Suea Ten Dam, the RID Director-General said that the details are still to be finalized and the location is still to be decided.

He added that more dams are highly needed to help Thailand manage water resources, especially when demand for water is likely to go up to the level that the country may suffer water shortage.

-- NNT 2012-07-13

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Office of Ombudsman drops complaints against Yingluck

BANGKOK: -- The Office of Ombudsman Friday dropped two complaints against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on ground that there were no clear evidences that she had violated her political ethics.

Full Story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/569610-office-of-ombudsman-drops-complaints-against-yingluck/#entry5480591