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Thailand Live Wednesday 22 Oct 2014

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King Bhumibol congratulates new Indonesian leader

BANGKOK, 22 October 2014 (NNT) - His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej sent on October 20 a message of congratulations to Mr. Joko Widodo on the occasion of his swearing in as President of the Republic of Indonesia.

In the royal message sent via the Royal Thai Embassy in Jakarta, His Majesty the King offered his sincere wish for the President’s success and happiness and for the prosperity of Indonesia and her people.

His Majesty was confident that the friendly relationship and cooperation that had existed between the two countries would continue to be enhanced in the years to come.

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-- NNT 2014-10-22 footer_n.gif

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webfact Grand Master Member

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Interpreter assaulted us, say Koh Tao suspects
Suwannee Bandisak,
Phumpetch Roumjit
The Nation

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Lawyers' council agrees to assist Myanmar men accused of murders

BANGKOK: -- TWO MEN from Myanmar accused of killing two British tourists on Koh Tao last month yesterday denied the charge and insisted they were assaulted during a police interrogation. They said this to three representatives from the Lawyers' Council of Thailand during a lengthy prison visit.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770369-koh-tao-murder-suspects-retract-confessions-interpreter-assaulted-us/

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Khon Kaen model suspects deny all charges, including uprising plot
Jitima Janphrom
The Nation

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BANGKOK: -- THE 26 suspects, arrested for being part of the so-called "Khon Kaen model", denied all charges yesterday - including complicity in terrorist plots - that were levied against them at the 23rd Military Circle Court.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770371-khon-kaen-model-suspects-deny-all-charges-including-uprising-plot/

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DECADE OF COURT BATTLES
Court drops lawsuit over GMO trial
Wasu Vipoosanapat
The Nation

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Greenpeace fears move will lead to more openair testing and crop contamination

BANGKOK: -- AFTER MORE than a decade of court battles, the Supreme Administrative Court yesterday dismissed Greenpeace's lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture (DOA) for alleged negligence in relation to a demonstration plot of genetically modified (GM) papaya, which had prompted fears of contaminated crops.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770373-greenpeace-thai-court-drops-lawsuit-over-gmo-trial/

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STOPPAGE TIME
Heat is being turned up on 'fortified' Prayut
Tulsathit Taptim

BANGKOK: -- Nobody needs to remind the media that there are more annoying things in politics than Prayut Chan-o-cha at his grumpiest - like elected leaders who evade legitimate questions for a living, or old-fashioned dictators who don't bother to confront anyone at the podium but prefer to have troops beat down the doors and throw sceptics in jail. But someone has to tell Prayut that asking for "patience" has to work both ways.

Last week, he was a couple of provoking questions away from totally losing it, although some critics will say a few toys had already been sent flying out of the pram. Prayut ended the strange showdown with reporters with an apologetic "wai" gesture, which added weirdness to the supposed Thai dictatorship. Not many dictators do that.

But what kind of a leader Prayut is doesn't matter much, as it can't prevent clips of his "emotional" moments making their way to every tablet or desktop near you. The heat is obviously on, and it absolutely shows. And as the saying goes, anyone who can't stand it must leave the kitchen.

To General Prayut, time must be flying faster than it seems to most other Thais. More than a quarter of a year has passed since his coup against the Pheu Thai-led administration in May. A lot has happened in politics since: He has become the country's interim prime minister; an interim Parliament has been set up; a "reform" assembly has taken shape; a military reshuffle has occurred; and a fragile political peace has somehow endured.

The red shirts have been relatively quiet. There are rumours about a conflict with Privy Council chief Prem Tinsulanonda and conspiracy theories concerning "secret arrangements" between Prayut and Thaksin. But all that is just a prelude to the real "trial by fire", which has yet to come, though its gathering heat is making the man in the kitchen uncomfortable.

No matter how slow the process seems where "reform" pledged by Prayut is concerned, there is no avoiding what promises to be another major political climax for the country. Prayut, who has promised to get bitterly divided Thais to live peacefully together, will be walking a very thin tightrope. Criticism over the composition of the reformist assembly will be nothing compared to what will follow when it gets down to work and contemplates clashing ideological measures.

Should there be a Senate? If so, should it be appointed or elected? These are just the easier questions the reformists will face. A slightly tougher one has to do with the roles and power of anti-graft institutions or independent bodies like the Constitutional Court. All of them have been instrumental in guiding the political course of Thailand over the years. Rightly or wrongly, they have been discredited by one half of Thailand and complimented by the other. How can the country have an anti-corruption apparatus that is acceptable to both camps?

Then there are the less political issues that may, nevertheless, be of utmost importance - like education. And apart from measures designed for politicians, the reformists must also figure out ways to reshape the national conscience so that the divided Thai people judge such issues as corruption, budget use, agricultural subsidies and mega concessions with the same principles. Thailand's political crisis has become serious and deep-rooted not because politicians see those issues differently, but because the ordinary Thai people do.

Prayut has consolidated his power, or analysts think he has, through changes in the military. He has also sought to quash rumours about rifts between him and Privy Council chief Prem. It could be said that things have been unfolding pretty much step by step in accordance with his roadmap - from the appointment of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) that elected him as prime minister, to his hand-picked Cabinet, to the annual military reshuffle that seemed to defuse threats of a counter-coup, and on to the selection of members of the National Reform Council (NRC) - which critics say is filled with too many pro-Prayut figures for comfort.

Last but not least, his participation in the Asia-Europe Meeting in Italy did not end in a PR disaster, though his "I won't stay a single day longer than promised" has now become an international pledge translated into several languages.

No matter how consolidated and secure his power seems, political reform is not about having the military top brass and the entire Parliament on your side or about registering high approval ratings in opinion polls. It's a lot more than that. Prayut is attempting what a normal Parliament under the pro-Thaksin administration failed miserably at, and a special democratic process leading to the drafting of the 1997 Constitution only provided short-lived glimpses of hope for.

Prayut may have been given the time he needs. But in politics, things can change very quickly and what looks like an impregnable fortress can crumble in mere days. He only needs to recall how strong the Yingluck administration was before a political bill turned everything upside down. What Prayut's consolidated power has to steer through, moreover, is a lot more complicated and potentially explosive than that amnesty legislation.

But first things first: one can't call for patience by appearing to lose patience himself. He was dead wrong about one thing. A journalist's work isn't finished when the article is published. Whatever Prayut does next, new articles will be written about it. He has to live with that and bear with them, just as he wants the country to bear with him.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Heat-is-being-turned-up-on-fortified-Prayut-30245935.html

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-- The Nation 2014-10-22

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UPDATE:

Police: Missing Japanese killed, dismembered and thrown into klong

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BANGKOK: -- The husband of a woman who used an ATM of a missing Japanese language teacher to make several withdrawals from his bank account was taken into custody today after he admitted that he killed the Japanese.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770372-body-of-missing-japanese-man-found-off-bang-na-trat-road/#entry8566539

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NACC may sue Ms Yingluck by itself on the rice pledging scheme

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BANGKOK: -- The National Anti-Corruption Commission will have to decide on November 7 whether it will take the case of negligence of duty against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to the court directly instead of through the public prosecution.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770383-nacc-may-sue-ms-yingluck-by-itself-on-the-rice-pledging-scheme/

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Thai maths whizzes win 19 gold medals in India
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thai primary students won a total of 19 gold medals and five silvers in the Wizard at Mathematics International Competition 2014 (WIZMIC), held from October 14 to 22 in the Indian city of Lucknow, Office of Basic Education Commission chief Kamol Rodklai said yesterday. The 16 students will land back in Thailand this evening.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770390-thai-maths-whizzes-win-19-gold-medals-in-india/

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Seizing T-shirts a sign of paranoia: magazine editor
Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The editor of the left-wing Same Sky (Fah Diew Kan) magazine has accused the military junta of over-reacting and becoming paranoid after T-shirts at the magazine's booth at Book Expo Thailand were removed by police and banned for possible infringement of the lese majeste law.

Thanapol Eawsakul, the magazine editor, who has been detained by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) twice without charge since the coup, said the threats came even before the removal of three-types of T-shirt on Sunday.

He said the junta wanted to inspect Same Sky's booth even before the Book Expo at Queen Sirikit Convention Centre opened on October 15. However, the organiser, the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand, refused to yield to the request for a search of the Same Sky booth.

Thanapol yielded to one demand by the military, exercising its power under martial law, when the NCPO asked him last week to remove a Facebook posting of an interview with a Thammasat University political scientist deemed critical of the junta.

"The Same Sky [journal] is being watched no matter what we do. I'm worried about the sales of our books. It also reflects the paranoia [of the military junta]," Thanapol said yesterday.

He added that the NCPO was well aware that what they did by staging the coup was wrong and were troubled by criticism.

Charun Homtientong, president of the Publishers and Booksellers Association, defended the NCPO, saying the organiser was not being threatened.

"They used a rather polite method and came to talk with me as the organiser," he said, adding that an organiser has to be careful.

In a related development, about 40 representatives from a media association yesterday submitted a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, urging him to relax regulations so that community radio stations could operate and receive trial operating licences.

The group, led by Pongpat Kaewsrithongthada, filed the petition through the PM's Office, saying that broadcasts by 5,000 community radio stations had been suspended after the May 22 coup as they did not possess trial operating licences.

Operators had requested licences from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, he said, but there was no clear timeframe when they would receive them.

Some community radio stations had made a large investment in these businesses and feared their investment might be lost. He pleaded with Prayut to relax coup orders by allowing the stations to resume operations and grant them the licences.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Seizing-T-shirts-a-sign-of-paranoia-magazine-edito-30246003.html

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-- The Nation 2014-10-22

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Consumer research: Europeans not revise planned visits to Thailand despite Koh Tao murders

BANGKOK, 22 October 2014 (NNT) – Most Europeans who have plans to visit Thailand do not rethink their visits after the murders of the two British tourists on Koh Tao, according to consumer research firm Envirosell.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770442-europeans-not-revise-planned-visits-to-thailand-despite-koh-tao-murders-survey/

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Jet-skis told, 'Get back off Phuket's beaches'
Nattha Thepbamrung

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Wrong place – jet-skis were specifically told they must not park on beaches.

PHUKET: -- A meeting yesterday (October 21) to follow up on application of the policies of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) repeated that all beaches must be cleared of commercial activity – and that includes jet-skis that have once again crept back onto the sand, particularly at Kamala.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770449-jet-skis-told-get-back-off-phukets-beaches/

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UPDATE:

European tourists still like to visit Thailand despite of the British tourist murders in Koh Tao

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BANGKOK: -- The murder of two British backpackers in Koh Tao has no impact on decision making of European tourists as most of them still do not change their minds and will continue to visit Thailand.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/770442-europeans-not-revise-planned-visits-to-thailand-despite-koh-tao-murders-survey/#entry8567678

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