Thailand Live Tuesday 3 Jun 2014

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Convicts' products go up for sale in Phuket
Wiparatana Nathalang

PHUKET: -- Products made by inmates of prisons across the 14 provinces of Southern Thailand will be for sale at the area around the Saphan Hin stage from Friday (June 6) to June 14. Stalls selling the products will be open from 9am to 10pm.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731325-convicts-products-go-up-for-sale-in-phuket/

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Meth pills worth 200 million baht seized in Chiang Rai

CHIANG RAI, 3 June 2014, (NNT) - Soldiers and anti- narcotics officials in Chiang Rai have intercepted a drug smuggling ring, seizing more than 1 million methamphetamine tablets being smuggled from Myanmar into Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731324-meth-pills-worth-200-million-baht-seized-in-chiang-rai/

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Reconciliation center launched in Nakhon Phanom

NAKHON PHANOM, 3 June 2014 (NNT) – Nakhon Phanom has established a provincial reconciliation center in a bid to allow locals to patch things up, create love, and bring unity back to the society.

According to Mr. Adisak Thepart, theNakhon Phanom Governor, the province has joined hands with the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) setting up a reconciliation center in the hope of restructuring state agencies and private organizations as well as promoting mutual cooperation among all sides, especially those with differing political viewpoints.

The center, led by the ISOC, will be working hand in hand with other security agencies in bringing about peace and order to the community.

The establishment of such a center is in accordance with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s policy to help unite Thais and create a socially and politically peaceful atmosphere in the province.


-- NNT 2014-06-03

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NCPO to set up budget inspection body

BANGKOK, 3 June 2014 (NNT) - The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is preparing to set up a committee to inspect the use of state budget.

Army deputy spokesman Col Winthai Suwaree said the move is expected to bolster public confidence.

The committee will track and inspect the disbursement of state budget in a bid to strengthen good governance and transparency.

According to the NCPO, the planned budget management must be fair and can respond to the needs of the people and must not create financial burden on future governments, while fiscal and financial discipline must be maintained.

The body has outlined three stages of national administration during the transitional period, which include implementing national reforms and setting up legislative assemblies as the junta prepares the country for a new election.


-- NNT 2014-06-03

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Junta to build social network alternative, new Internet gateway
By Coconuts Bangkok



BANGKOK: -- Soon no one will need Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, as the government will create its own social network for Thais to use.

The Information and Communication Technology Ministry plans to create a national networking site called "Thailand Social Network," and a national internet gateway to decrease the “abuse” of the internet.

The ruling junta has made this an “urgent” priority to control content online and combat “provocative” information.

The ministry is planning the "National Digital Internet Gateway" and “Thailand Social Network," to “ensure safety” for Thai users and crack down on “improper” use of the internet. The projects are expected to finish within two months, according to Surachai Srisarakam, ministry secretary-general.

The national gateway is a policy by the military regime to monitor the country’s internet usage and track down provocative and inappropriate contents, Surachai said.

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2014/06/03/junta-build-social-network-alternative-new-internet-gateway


-- Coconuts Bangkok 2014-06-03

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Lucky escape: Plane almost lands on German sunbather
Amanda Hoh
Journalist

HELGOLAND: -- A man sunbathing on a German beach will be reconsidering his choice of location next time after a plane almost landed on top of him as it was approaching the neighbouring runway.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731333-lucky-escape-plane-almost-lands-on-german-sunbather/

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Yasothon officials crackdown on drugs in the province

YASOTHON, 3 June 2014 (NNT) – Yasothon authorities are currently stepping up measures in cracking down on its drug problems in the province in accordance with the recently invoked martial law.

Yasothon Governor Prawat Thithakaew presided over the ceremony of dispatching police officers and Army officials in the initial stages of eradicating drug trafficking and drug-related crimes in the province.

The measure has been carried out in accordance with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s commands to ensure security in the Kingdom. Over 300 officials have been dispatched to keep a close watch and repress any ongoing crime in Yasothon.

These recent actions by officials, following the invocation of martial law, are merely a prelude of more tough measures to come aiming to maintain peace and order in the community and protect its people from theft and robbery.

-- NNT 2014-06-03

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National Broadcasting Commission to allow 40 of the 90 satellite TV channels to resume broadcasting, mostly entertainment, kids programs /The Nation

NCPO denies report former Transport Minister Chadchart invited to give information on dual track train, high speed train projects /MCOT

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Officials step up measures to crackdown illegal logging ring

TAK, 3 June 2014, (NNT) – Tak provincial security forces have seized illegal logs of timber worth a combined value of several million baht.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731347-tak-officials-step-up-measures-to-crackdown-illegal-logging-ring/

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Emirates chief asks why no fighter jet tracked MH370

SYDNEY: -- Emirates chief Tim Clark has reportedly questioned why fighter jets did not intercept Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 when it veered widely off course, but said he believed the missing plane will be found.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731351-emirates-chief-asks-why-no-fighter-jet-tracked-mh370/

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Suvarnabhumi confirms services at airport not affected by curfew
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, June 3 -- Suvarnabhumi International Airport said that Thailand's curfew, enforced by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) since May 22, has not disrupted services provided by the airport to passengers.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731361-suvarnabhumi-confirms-services-at-airport-not-affected-by-curfew/

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NCPO moves press briefings to Government House; Public Debt Management Office to open bids for Bt50 billion loan to pay farmers /MCOT

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Drinking water from plastic bottles in cars safe

Drinking water from heated plastic bottles in cars is safe, says the Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731368-drinking-water-from-plastic-bottles-in-cars-safe/

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Focus
Hunger Games salute becomes symbol of Thai resistance
by Daniel ROOK

BANGKOK, June 3, 2014 (AFP) - Opponents of Thailand's military coup are risking arrest by flashing the three-finger salute from the "Hunger Games" movies to defy a junta that has banned all public protests.

The gesture has become the unofficial symbol of resistance against a military regime that has suspended democracy and severely curtailed freedom of expression.

"Showing three fingers has become a symbol to call for basic political rights in a country ruled by one person as if with the most sovereign power, who is General Prayut Chan-O-Cha," Sombat Boonngamanong, a prominent activist wanted by the junta, wrote on Facebook.

Critics of the May 22 coup, including the youngest daughter of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, have posted photographs of themselves flashing three fingers on Facebook and other social media sites.

"Dear #HungerGames. We've taken your sign as our own. Our struggle is non-fiction," wrote one Twitter user.

In the "Hunger Games" movies, the residents of a dystopian future North America -- who are forced to compete in a televised death match -- initially use the gesture to mean thanks, admiration and good-bye to someone they love.

It later becomes a more general symbol of their uprising against a wealthy, totalitarian regime.

In Thailand some protesters say the salute is also a nod to the French revolutionary motto "liberty, equality and fraternity".

The military -- which has imposed martial law, controls on the media and a night-time curfew -- has warned that people flashing three fingers could face arrest under its ban on public protests.

"If they gather as more than five people and show the symbol of three fingers then it's against the law," army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told reporters.

But he suggested that people posting photos on the Internet were unlikely to be detained, saying coup makers were "not paying any attention" to the three-finger salute by Thaksin's daughter.

- Protest crackdown -

The junta mounted a show of military strength over the weekend to deter small but defiant anti-coup flashmob rallies that popped up outside shopping malls and near train stations in the capital Bangkok.

Some people have taken to the streets reading George Orwell's dystopian novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four".

Six people were arrested, included a woman shoved into a taxi by undercover police apparently disguised as journalists.

Security forces, many carrying riot shields, were deployed, backed briefly by an armoured humvee with a soldier manning a mounted machine gun.

The army has warned protesters that they -- and even their families -- face punishment under strict martial law, which has imposed sweeping curbs on freedoms.

The harsh response "reveals a totalitarian mindset that discounts respect for human rights as a hindrance to exercise of power," said Brad Adams, Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch.

"The Bangkok street protesters' three-fingered Hunger Games salute is a symbolic act of peaceful defiance by those who recognise -- like those in the rebellious districts in the movie -- that they face overwhelming odds but decide to bravely raise their voices nonetheless."

The coup makers said they were forced to seize power after nearly seven months of anti-government protests which saw 28 people killed and hundreds of others wounded.

Prayut, the army chief, has said elections are not expected to be held for at least a year to allow a new constitution to be drawn up in an effort to end a political crisis stretching back almost a decade.

Critics accuse the junta of using the violence as a pretext for a long-planned power grab by the military-backed royalist establishment which loathes Thaksin, who was himself ousted in a coup in 2006.

The billionaire tycoon-turned-populist politician lives in self-exile in Dubai to avoid jail for a corruption conviction.

Thaksin or his allies have won every election in more than a decade, including in 2011 under his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra, helped by strong support among voters in the northern half of the country.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-06-03

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Abbot Swaps Shrine Angels' Swords With M16s, Grenades
By Khaosod English


Chiang Mai City Pillar Shrine, 2 June 2014.

CHIANG MAI — The abbot of the City Pillar Shrine in Chiang Mai has ordered local artists to alter the angels painted on the shrine’s walls by swapping their traditional swords with modern weapons.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731381-chiang-mai-abbot-swaps-shrine-angels-swords-with-m16s-grenades/

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AVIATION
Steps planned to tackle problem of unruly passengers
The Nation

DOHA: -- Governments are urged to work together with the airline industry towards a balanced package of measures to effectively deter and manage the significant problem of unruly air passenger behaviour.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731394-aviation-steps-planned-to-tackle-problem-of-unruly-passengers/

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Phuket entertainment venues plead with Gov for help to end curfew
Tanyaluk Sakoot


From left, President of the Patong Entertainment Association, Weerawit Kuresombat; Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut,; and Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup.

PHUKET: -- The owners of more then 100 entertainment venues in Patong, hurting from the effects of the nationwide curfew from midnight to 4am every day appealed to Governor Maitri Inthusut last night (June 2) to pass on a request to coup leaders to cancel the curfew altogether in Phuket.

At a subdued meeting outside the police booth on Bangla Rd, the President of the Patong Entertainment Association, Weerawit Kuresombat, told The Phuket News that the group had gathered to request an end to the curfew.

“We support the NCPO [National Council for Peace and Order] but [the curfew] has had a very serious effect on us. We hope that the NCPO will cancel the curfew in tourism provinces.

“All businesses – restaurants, entertainment venue, and others – are in trouble. Normally entertainment venues open at 8 pm but now we have to open four hours earlier and close at midnight. Tourists come here for their vacation and want nightlife. But entertainment business owners have no choice, they have to close at midnight.

“The result is that revenue [of all entertainment businesses in Patong] has fallen from B10 million a day before the curfew to B5 million.”

Before the curfew was imposed, he said, the average tourist would spend B2,000 a night in Patong. But with the curfew, there were not enough hours for them to spend that much.

"It is lucky that this has happened in the low season, not the high season,” he added.

“Some tourists went to Bangkok first and found it frightening [under military rule and with anti-coup street protests]. Then, they checked the news and found that there were no protests in Phuket.

“But when they arrived they found that Phuket was closed early each night. That disappointed them.

“We have sent a number of requests to the NCPO asking for mercy. Every year we pay tax to the government of about B180 billion. Ten days of slashed revenue will not have much effect on that but if it goes on for a month, there will be a huge effect.”

He said that bigger businesses are managing but the small ones in particular are suffering, and some cannot afford to pay rent or staff salaries.

“We just need everything to go back to normal,” he said.

Gov Maitri said, “I have already reported the issue to the NCPO. They know that Phuket is a tourist centre and the province is top of the list of items being considered by them. The NCPO announced last Friday that tourism province may be exempted.

He said, “I was already planning to visit Patong before I got the invitation from the Patong Entertainment Association.

“I have already sent a report to Ministry of Interior about the Patong Entertainment Association request [to end the curfew].

“In Phuket there are no political gatherings. Everyone gets on with the island’s officials. The NCPO should cancel the curfew.

“Phuket people should be patient and cooperate with the Police, the Navy and the Army who are all here to make life better for us.

“People and individuals should cooperate for peace. For example, I have told officials in Phuket to be stricter about [such things as] drug enforcement and encroachment on national parks. Anyone with information about crimes can inform the officials.”

The Governor held a brief closed-door meeting in the police booth with Pol Col Chiraphat Pochanaphan, Superintendent of Kathu Police, Patong Mayor Chalermlak Kebsup, Mr Weerawit and others. He asked them to work together to keep the lid on gambling, indecent shows and drug abuse in the area.

After that the group strolled along Bangla Rd, with the Governor stopping from time to time to chat with tourists and commiserate with business owners.

Tourist Adam Savitch, 36, from the USA, told The Phuket News, “I have been here since January. It’s silly [the curfew]. What’s the difference if the town shuts down at 10, 12, 2 or 4 am? It only hurts the businesses. It doesn’t really affect our nightlife – the party comes back to our house. But Phuket is still a beautiful place. The beach is still nice.”

Another American long-stay tourist, 38-year-old James West, remarked, “So far the curfew has not affected me.” But, he said, he had been thinking about doing business in Phuket and “the coup is a much more serious matter when it comes to making decisions about business.”

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-entertainment-venues-plead-with-gov-for-help-to-end-curfew-46637.php


-- Phuket News 2014-06-03

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Two arrested for possession of metampetamine
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police on Tuesday arrested a man and a woman in Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district for alleged possession 80,000 yaba pills.

The suspects were identified as Chansri Chanta, 45, and Kittipong Chikta, 31.

The police also searched the homes of both suspects.

At Kittipong’s house in Chiang Dao district, the police found illegal firearms as well as 44 bullets. Police search Chansri's house confiscated her car and a gold necklace.


-- The Nation 2014-06-03

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NCPO adjusts spokesperson team, intensifies efforts to clarify coup to foreign countries; stresses no violence against anti-coup group /MCOT

NCPO adjusts spokesperson team, intensifies efforts to clarify coup to foreign countries; stresses no violence against anti-coup group /The Nation

Education Ministry sets up panel to review tablet project; proposes NCPO to increase number of students by 94,000 to get money from Student Loan Fund /MCOT

NCPO disclosed details of 3-phase plan for reconciliation;appoint Lt Gen Kampanart Ruddith to head new Reconciliation Ctr for Reforms /The Nation

Domestic consumer confidence index (May) at 70.7 pts,up for 1st time in 14 months,on prospects of peace,stability outlook, UTCC reported /The Nation

NCPO wants state-run financial institutions to provide low interest loans to small businesses to reduce reliance on loan sharks /The Nation

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Survey shows confidence rising after military coup



BANGKOK: -- The University of Thai Chamber of Commerce says consumer confidence index (CCI) in May rose for the first time to highest in four months after the military coup.

It said the increase is the first time in 14 months and the highest on hope that the military coup could strengthen political stability.

The CCI in April was 67.8 but after the coup in May it clamped up to 70.7.

UTCC president Saowanee Thairungroj,attributed the rising consumer confidence to optimism that the remedy measures announced by the National Council for Peace and Order could help to stabilise political situation and stimulate economic growth.

She also said the NCPO’s speedy payment to rice farmers under the rice-pledging scheme was also a driver to rising consumer confidence.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/survey-shows-confidence-rising-military-coup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=survey-shows-confidence-rising-military-coup


-- Thai PBS 2014-06-03

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Three dead in Pattani, Yala shootings

PATTANI: -- Two rangers and a villager were killed on Tuesday in separate attacks in Pattani and Yala provinces.

The Pattani victims were identified as Prapon Sommaneewan, 40, of Chiang Mai province and Sumpun Aonprawat, 26, of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

They were part of a six-member patrol unit and were riding a motorcycle along Narathiwat-Pattani road in Sai Buri district when armed men in a pickup opened fire.


-- The Nation 2014-06-03

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SET index closed 1,454.24, up 13.30; Bt/USD32.56; GBP54.41; AUD29.99; EUR44.16; CAD29.74; HKD4.19; SGD25.80; JPY31.69

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Urgent: Curfew lifted in Pattaya, Samui, Phuket

BANGKOK: -- The National Council for Peace and Order Tuesday lifted the curfew in popular tourist destinations Pattaya, Samui and Phuket.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731411-curfew-lifted-in-pattaya-samui-phuket/

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Anti-corruption commission questions officials in rice corruption case

BANGKOK, 3 June 2014 (NNT) - Director-General of the Internal Trade Department Somchart Soithong on Tuesday traveled to the office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to testify in the rice subsidy corruption case following the findings that rice worth many billions of baht has disappeared from the government’s warehouses.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731446-nacc-questions-officials-in-thai-rice-corruption-case/

[Lite Beer]

Junta is closely monitoring activities to set up government in exile

BANGKOK: -- The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is closely monitoring the activities of Chakkrapob Penkhae, a former foreign affairs official, who was reported to have told the foreign media in Cambodia of a plan of coup opponents to set up a government in exile.

Army deputy spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said today (Tuesday) that military junta had to be cautious in taking any action against Chakkrapob because, so far, there has been no solid evidence or firm information to prove that he has used Cambodia as a base for his anti-coup activities.

Regarding anti-coup protests or activities at home, the colonel said that the NCPO had laid down a policy that besides legal actions which would be used against the opponents, the authorities would try to reason with them to change their attitude.

The NCPO has also stepped up publicity campaign to forge better understanding with members of the public about the necessities to stage the coup and the objectives of the coup makers, said Colonel Winthai, adding that the Foreign Ministry had also been tasked to clarify to some countries which still do not have full grasp of the political situation in Thailand.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/junta-closely-monitoring-activities-set-government-exile/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=junta-closely-monitoring-activities-set-government-exile

-- Thai PBS 2014-06-03

[Lite Beer]

RT@191Thailand: 8:20pm Suspicious package at BTS Asok Exit 3 - RT @ohmudomv: BTS อโศก ล้อมกระเป๋าต้องสงสัยสีดำ ทางออก 3 pic.twitter.com/11TruuPuD0

[Lite Beer]

RT@tulsathit: Urgent: Summoned to report to NCPO tomorrow are media tycoon Kanchai Bunpan and Banpot Damapong.

[george]

OPINION

[Video] Thailand Coup 2014 - Message to John Kerry and the World

View video: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731479-video-thailand-coup-2014-message-to-john-kerry-and-the-world/

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to continue:

Thailand Live Wednesday 4 Jun 2014

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/731533-thailand-live-wednesday-4-jun-2014/