PM lashes out at EU fisheries panel over 'red card' idea

[Lite Beer]

PM lashes out at EU fisheries panel over 'red card' idea
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- PRIME Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha lashed out Friday at a proposal from a European parliamentary committee to "red card" Thailand for illegal fishing practices, saying his government had taken better action than many other countries.

Gabriel Mato, from the European parliament committee on fisheries, had said earlier he would support a red card for Thailand, banning the import of Thai fishery products, if the Kingdom failed to curb illegal fishing and abandon the use of slave labour.

Prayut retorted by saying his government had done its best in tackling the problem. "Today we are sincere about addressing the problem that many countries have not tried to solve it. Why haven't they been [punished]?" he asked.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/PM-lashes-out-at-EU-fisheries-panel-over-red-card--30265176.html

-- The Nation 2015-07-24

[Kannikapor88]

Gabriel Mato, from the European parliament committee on fisheries, had said earlier he would support a red card for Thailand, banning the import of Thai fishery products, if the Kingdom failed to curb illegal fishing and abandon the use of slave labour.

Well deserved ... --- and after that comes the aviation ban

[thesetat2013]

I don't understand? What did Mr. P expect? Every country except China has put him down not just for his coup but for him continuing to keep his position. The extensions continuing with excuses as to why now an election may not happen for 2 more years. Of course all of these governments are going to look at everything more closely and criticize everything harder. They all know from the past that Thailand makes a lot of show but never follows up or continues and that only the poor and lo-so or people in lower positions get punished and even then they are let off with minute punishments given if any. Of course they will also use thainess to let them off scott free.

Lip service and going after small fry doesn't show much. Also, they just let all of those illegal boats to go back out to see without the requirements needed. That shows Thailand is really making an effort more than the other countries. Hmmpppp

[MarkmBha]

Blame the other guy - just doesn't work.

[Just1Voice]

Once again we see the "We're Thai, we're always right," and try to shift responsibility to someone else argument.

[GanDoonToonPet]

One member of a panel / committee does not represent the views of the whole. Also, isn't this just restating the demands which originated from the 'yellow card', namely that Thailand will be 'red-carded' unless...?

...the Kingdom failed to curb illegal fishing and abandon the use of slave labour.

[TheAppletons]

Well, this Not-A-Dictatorship is working out well, isn't it? Look over there - is that forest or trees?

On the bright side, at least those pesky vocational school students will have to ride their scooters an extra 300 meters to buy a beer, thus moving Thailand forward by.....uh.....did I mention the lottery ticket prices?

Great job by all, keep up the good work!

[phoenixdoglover]

When my children were young, they often tried this same sort of argument: "Why are you punishing me? Billy's dad isn't punishing him!" (usually a lie made up on the spot).

My reaction then, as now, is to smile that bemused smile that we parents love to smile.

Oh Mr. PM, I'm smiling now.

[magnacarta]

Well, this Not-A-Dictatorship is working out well, isn't it? Look over there - is that forest or trees?

On the bright side, at least those pesky vocational school students will have to ride their scooters an extra 300 meters to buy a beer, thus moving Thailand forward by.....uh.....did I mention the lottery ticket prices?

Great job by all, keep up the good work!

I may be naive,but,maybe but do I suspect sarcasm in your post.I hope so.

[Emster23]

"Prayut retorted by saying his government had done its best in tackling the problem"

Well, sometimes "its best" just isn't good enough. You have to up your game if you want to play in the big leagues. You need a better best.

[ratcatcher]

Well, this Not-A-Dictatorship is working out well, isn't it? Look over there - is that forest or trees?

On the bright side, at least those pesky vocational school students will have to ride their scooters an extra 300 meters to buy a beer, thus moving Thailand forward by.....uh.....did I mention the lottery ticket prices?

Great job by all, keep up the good work!

I may be naive,but,maybe but do I suspect sarcasm in your post.I hope so.

magnacarta, try and remember this.

[dominique355]

If this military government has done its best and this still does not satisfy the EU, perhaps this government simply isn't good and competent enough. Time to admit it.

[fasteddie]

The slow march back to the stone age, well done General, you really are bringing back "happiness".

[magnacarta]

Well, this Not-A-Dictatorship is working out well, isn't it? Look over there - is that forest or trees?

On the bright side, at least those pesky vocational school students will have to ride their scooters an extra 300 meters to buy a beer, thus moving Thailand forward by.....uh.....did I mention the lottery ticket prices?

Great job by all, keep up the good work!

I may be naive,but,maybe but do I suspect sarcasm in your post.I hope so.

magnacarta, try and remember this.

sarc.jpg

Well you live and learn,sometimes.

[thesetat2013]

If this military government has done its best and this still does not satisfy the EU, perhaps this government simply isn't good and competent enough. Time to admit it.

You mean the same way they won't build more prisons so they don't have to admit they have a problem with society?

[Always18]

Yes, that's the Thai answer - "lash out" at those whose requirements you have to comply with.

Children masquerading as adults.........................

[noitom]

Red carding Thai fisheries trade is terrific! That's the right thing to do. Naturally, the Thais lash out in defense by pointing at others. Cheers for doing the right thing to Gabriel Mato.

[shirtless]

Thailand must act no more lies and feel good stories you have been told now fix the problem.

[NongKhaiKid]

I'm sure they won't believe in the possibility of a red card until it actually happens and they won't know how to handle it except scream to the high heavens about not being understood and all the other weak, overused excuses.

[Roadman]

I must be missing something.

In one article thai fishing boat owners are doing their banana because they are finally being held to account by the current thai government by forceful compliance means and in this article we have the usual clowns doing their usual thai bashing on everything going on the back of that legal enforcement.

Keep up the good work Prayuth. Even those that want to enforce change still have to dance around the clowns and monkeys.

[ksamuiguy]

These things take time, give him a chance.

How come no one is looking into Burmese, Indonesian, even Malaysian fishing industries.

Thailand must be a problem because it has a Military Government, Bull Shit!

Stop the threats and let Thailand have time to sort this out.

Boat owners are selling their boats, good they probable can't produce the necessary papers to prove ownership, and taxes paid.

Yep, the Burmese and buying the boats, how about that!

The Malaysians are in deep shit, took time as they are better at keeping secrets, the tip of the iceberg is visible and soon it will be big enough to sink the boat.

I am still wondering why no one is criticizing,China, Iran, Iraq, Sudan the list goes on and on, Why is Thailand picked on when the real Killers of the world get away with murder and no one says anything

There are no guns on the streets, people are secure in their homes, crime on citizen is very low just as it is against tourists.

Comparatively "The Kingdom" of Thailand is the safest country in the world.

On this forum we only get the bad things that happen to people, look at the statistics lo low to even calculate.

The economic refuges send them home, ileagel workers send the home. They are a drain on limited resources at the present time.

Patriotism and Thainess are very much needed now in "The Kingdom"

I interact with Thai's and Farangs every day the only complaints I hear are "personal preferences" no hot water, food to hot, immigration slow long lines. Nothing substantive or really important, all are happy, so why do all most bitches seem to come from this forum?

[carstenp]

This article describes it more deep, and it not only one there want .

“Thai authorities exert very little control over their fishing vessels, with many activities illegally damaging fish stocks and the marine environment, and this is linked to some of the most exploitative and inhuman working conditions documented anywhere. These conditions include the use of slaves and extreme violence.”

In recent weeks, testimony from survivors, human rights groups, as well as articles, have exposed appalling practices in Thailand’s export-oriented seafood business. These include slave labour, and the exploitation of thousands of stateless Rohingya boat people.

The basic problem

In April, the Commission had cited the following failures in Thailand’s fishing policies:

• Weak fisheries legal framework. Following the last EU mission in 2014, Thailand rapidly adopted a revised fisheries act to replace the 1947 act, but the revised text was inadequate in both content and scope and does not address the complexities of fisheries and processing industries in Thailand;
• The legal framework does not target serious infringements with deterrent sanctions depriving offenders of the economic benefits derived from the illicit activity and, therefore, it does not dissuade IUU fishing.
• Monitoring, control and surveillance systems are poor. Satellite Vessel Monitoring Systems are equipped on less than 100 out of 45.000 fishing vessels (of which more than 7.000 commercial vessels) and thousands of vessels are thought to still be unregistered.
• Traceability systems are failing to ensure fishery products exported to the EU are compliant with the requirements of IUU Regulation. This is in part due to the weak cooperation between the different Thai administrations dealing with control at ports.

http://www.eureporter.co/world/2015/07/23/thai-community-leaders-rally-support-for-illegal-fishing-crackdown/

Edited July 25, 2015 by carstenp

[impulse]

If this military government has done its best and this still does not satisfy the EU, perhaps this government simply isn't good and competent enough. Time to admit it.

Because the slave trade and illegal fishing popped up out of nowhere the day after the coup, right?

[zakk9]

These things take time, give him a chance.

How come no one is looking into Burmese, Indonesian, even Malaysian fishing industries.

Thailand must be a problem because it has a Military Government, Bull Shit!

Stop the threats and let Thailand have time to sort this out.

Boat owners are selling their boats, good they probable can't produce the necessary papers to prove ownership, and taxes paid.

Yep, the Burmese and buying the boats, how about that!

The Malaysians are in deep shit, took time as they are better at keeping secrets, the tip of the iceberg is visible and soon it will be big enough to sink the boat.

I am still wondering why no one is criticizing,China, Iran, Iraq, Sudan the list goes on and on, Why is Thailand picked on when the real Killers of the world get away with murder and no one says anything

There are no guns on the streets, people are secure in their homes, crime on citizen is very low just as it is against tourists.

Comparatively "The Kingdom" of Thailand is the safest country in the world.

On this forum we only get the bad things that happen to people, look at the statistics lo low to even calculate.

The economic refuges send them home, ileagel workers send the home. They are a drain on limited resources at the present time.

Patriotism and Thainess are very much needed now in "The Kingdom"

I interact with Thai's and Farangs every day the only complaints I hear are "personal preferences" no hot water, food to hot, immigration slow long lines. Nothing substantive or really important, all are happy, so why do all most bitches seem to come from this forum?

You're way off the mark. While illegal fisheries flourish around the world, few are as active as the Thai fishing boat owners. They fish in the waters of all neighbouring countries, even as far as Indonesia. It's common to have several boats under the same license, which have resulted in far to many vessels and no control over how much fish is actually caught. As for Myanmar, they lack vessels, but partly due to the Thais activities in their waters (which were legal until last year, but not on the scale that was actually happening), catches are diminishing.

When that is said, Prayut's government has actually done more than any other government the last few decades to fix this. The problem is that fishing boat owners have immense influence locally and that enormous amounts of money are involved. In reality, the government doesn't have the means to control this in a proper way unless they replace all corrupt government officials that are supposed to oversee this nationwide. Another problem is that a EU boycott probably won't affect the fishing boats much. There are other markets, they can deliver in neighbouring countries and they can deliver fish for production of fishmeal, a product that is profitable and very much sought after worldwide.

[NongKhaiKid]

These things take time, give him a chance.

How come no one is looking into Burmese, Indonesian, even Malaysian fishing industries.

Thailand must be a problem because it has a Military Government, Bull Shit!

Stop the threats and let Thailand have time to sort this out.

Boat owners are selling their boats, good they probable can't produce the necessary papers to prove ownership, and taxes paid.

Yep, the Burmese and buying the boats, how about that!

The Malaysians are in deep shit, took time as they are better at keeping secrets, the tip of the iceberg is visible and soon it will be big enough to sink the boat.

I am still wondering why no one is criticizing,China, Iran, Iraq, Sudan the list goes on and on, Why is Thailand picked on when the real Killers of the world get away with murder and no one says anything

There are no guns on the streets, people are secure in their homes, crime on citizen is very low just as it is against tourists.

Comparatively "The Kingdom" of Thailand is the safest country in the world.

On this forum we only get the bad things that happen to people, look at the statistics lo low to even calculate.

The economic refuges send them home, ileagel workers send the home. They are a drain on limited resources at the present time.

Patriotism and Thainess are very much needed now in "The Kingdom"

I interact with Thai's and Farangs every day the only complaints I hear are "personal preferences" no hot water, food to hot, immigration slow long lines. Nothing substantive or really important, all are happy, so why do all most bitches seem to come from this forum?

No guns on the streets, do you actually read the news ?

Only a couple of days a bus driver shot a passenger who complained about his driving. Guns are everywhere yet it doesn't rate a comment from officialdom far less a useless ' crackdown '.

[Bob12345]

I must be missing something.

In one article thai fishing boat owners are doing their banana because they are finally being held to account by the current thai government by forceful compliance means and in this article we have the usual clowns doing their usual thai bashing on everything going on the back of that legal enforcement.

Keep up the good work Prayuth. Even those that want to enforce change still have to dance around the clowns and monkeys.

Yes you are missing something.

The forceful compliance means you are mentioning have been postponed (again) because boat operators did not want to comply.

[tx22cb]

Oh Prayut, Prayut ...... Toys and Prams come to mind

[Bob12345]

These things take time, give him a chance.

How come no one is looking into Burmese, Indonesian, even Malaysian fishing industries.

Thailand must be a problem because it has a Military Government, Bull Shit!

Stop the threats and let Thailand have time to sort this out.

How much more time should they give Thailand to sort it out?

Another 6 months, maybe a year? Or how about 5 years, or 25 years? Wait, lets give them another 100 years to sort it out themselves, that would be enough time right?

Would you speak the same when it would be your relatives who are slaves on fishing boats? I think not. Maybe try to grow some compassion.

[Bob12345]

Comparatively "The Kingdom" of Thailand is the safest country in the world.

Maybe compared to the other 2 countries you have seen in your life, but compared to developed countries Thailand is not even close (freedom of speech, rule of law, corruption police force, corruption judicial, availability of firearms, etc etc etc)

[impulse]

Oh Prayut, Prayut ...... Toys and Prams come to mind

Doesn't anyone think it's strange that Thai fishermen have been illegally fishing with slaves for generations, migrants have been trafficked through Thailand for decades, Thai airlines have had substandard standards for years, and yet, it's all coming to the fore now?

I suspect the reason it is coming to the fore is because the guy is actually trying to do something about it. And the first step- is to allow the media to report on it. Which it's been doing. Unlike the past where we rarely read about mass graves of Rohingyas, slaves on fishing boats, poor airline standards, etc.

I don't blame the guy for getting hacked. These are problems that took generations of corruption and kleptocracy to create and ferment. They're not going to be unwound in a typical news cycle.

Given the disdain the EU and USA have for military rule, he's pretty reasonable for suspecting they're turning the screws now for fishing, TIP and airline safety, but their real agenda is to get back to the Kleptocracy.

It ain't paranoid if they're really after you.

Edited July 25, 2015 by impulse