Weekly highlights

Published: 14/01/2011

The foolhardy adventurism of seven Thais remains the talk of the town two weeks after their arrest by Cambodian soldiers. Meanwhile in Bangkok, business owners at Ratchaprasong intersection can no longer tolerate the red-shirt protests and ask the UDD to give them a break.

The border intrusion saga involving seven Thais who were caught by Cambodian forces before the year's end took a turn for the better, but only slightly, when the Phnom Penh Municipal Court decided on Thursday to release two of the detainees on bail.

The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh put up one million riel, about 7,500 baht, for each of them - Democrat MP for Bangkok Panich Vikitsreth and Ms Narumol Chivarattana. They were released on the condition they must not leave Cambodia and must report to authorities when summoned.

Mr Panich and Ms Narumol have taken temporary refuge at the Thai embassy.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya disclosed that a group of Cambodian border crossers held in Thailand were sent home in return for the release of the two Thais.

The other five Thais, including Veera Somkwamkid, a leader of the Thai Patriots Network, a splinter faction of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, were still being detained at Prey Sar prison in the Cambodian capital on charges of illegal entry and trespassing on a military area. Mr Veera and Ms Ratree each face an additional charge of spying.

Yellow-shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid (centre left) and Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth (centre right) are escorted by Cambodian police at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Jan 6, 2011.

The seven were arrested while on a trip they said was to investigate alleged intrusions into Thailand near a border village in Sa Kaeo province by Cambodian people. A video clip posted on YouTube showed Mr Panich, talking with a man via mobile phone and admitting that his team was on Cambodian soil. The inspection trip led by Mr Panich had the blessing of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Meanwhile in Bangkok, members of the Thai Patriots Network (TPN) led by Chaiwat Sinsuwong rallied in front of Government House Thursday to demand the resignation of Mr Abhisit and Mr Kasit. They threatened to block the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border crossing, which is a major trading post for Thais and Cambodians alike. Besides, the Cambodian border town of Poipet boasts several casinos which attract thousands of Thai punters, especially on weekends.

But TPN members will face stiff resistance if they carry on with their threat to shut the border checkpoint. Some 1,500 local people from several districts of Sa Kaeo province staged a rally Thursday at Muang district to protest against the TPN, which was later reported to have cancelled the protest.

On the political front, the main spotlight of the week was on the conflict between the Democrats and their coalition partners over a single issue in the charter amendments bill which passed the first reading in the parliament and which narrowly won the endorsement of the constitutional amendments scrutiny committee by only 18 votes to 17 on Tuesday, with the chairman casting the deciding vote.

The issue is about the proportion of constituency and party list MPs in the House of Representatives. The amendments bill seeks to change the ratio from 400 for constituency MPs and 80 list MPs to 375 and 125 respectively. The coalition parties, minus the Democrats, want the seating formula to revert to the 400 and 100 formula specified in the previous constitution of 1997.

The minor coalition parties, which include Bhumjaithai, Chart Thai Pattana and Puea Pandin, argue that the 375 plus 125 formula will benefit only the Democrats, as it will help them win more party list seats.

After their proposed formula was outvoted in the constitutional amendments scrutiny committee led by Democrat MP Therdpong Chaiyanant, Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart of the Chart Thai Pattana Party told reporters that he was confident that their formula would, in the end, be accepted.

So far, the Democrats have stuck to their guns and Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has been assigned to discuss the matter with the coalition partners.

The opposition Puea Thai Party has supported the dissenting coalition parties’ formula although they have boycotted the government’s charter amendments bill from the very beginning. The party wants to revive the 1997 charter with changes made to the chapter regarding the Privy Council.

Another significant event of the week was the rally on Tuesday by some 2,000 business operators, vendors, employees and residents at Ratchaprasong shopping district against red-shirt protests, which they say have seriously affected their lives, businesses and livelihood generally.

The Ratchaprasong Square Traders Association said that red-shirt protests during March and May last year caused big losses for some 2,000 business operators, to the tune of 11.2 billion baht, and that the protest on Sunday Jan 9 this year alone cost them about 100 million baht in lost sales.

RSTA wants the red-shirts to protest elsewhere and the government to find a suitable location for future gatherings by all political groups. The traders also called on the government to accelerate the passing of a law on public gatherings to ensure that such activities do not cause hardship or inconvenience to other people.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva

A discussion is under way between representatives of the red-shirt movement and the Ratchaprasong business operators about the next protest, scheduled for Jan 23, at Ratchaprasong intersection.

Another topical political issue of the week was the government’s nine New Year "gifts" for the Thai people announced by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last week as part of the government’s ambitious Pracha Wiwat programme.

The nine gifts are; continued free electricity for households which use less than 90 units a month; credit arrangements for taxi drivers to buy new cars; social security coverage for informal workers; registration of motorcycle taxi-drivers so they are freed from having to pay under-the-table fees to loca mafia; additional trading spots for vendors; and the freezing of the price of LPG for home and transport sector use.

Criticism of the handouts range from borrowing future money to curry favour from voters ahead of the coming general election and putting the burden on future generations, weakening the Thai people to the extent that they will have to depend on government handouts, and potentially bankrupting the economy.

Among the critics was Privy Councillor Kasem Wattanachai, who voiced serious concern over the populist policies. He said that politicians all over the world are of the same mould – that is, they care only about getting votes in an election.