Homeless, many have no ID card will not be allowed inside Sanam Luang during public mourning period.
BANGKOK — As homeless people were being evicted from Sanam Luang, the center of mourning for the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a veteran activist assisting homeless people urged the government and the general public to rethink, be more understanding and not exclude them from the area.
The plea came as the Social Welfare Ministry and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration removed homeless people Thursday night from Sanam Luang. Entering the inside of Sanam Luang is also now subjected to one being in possession of a valid ID card or passport.
Natee Issarachon, secretary general of Issarachon Foundation which provides free food and other assistance to homeless people said Saturday that most homeless people are automatically excluded because they have no ID cards.
“All people are subjects of His Majesty the King and have the right to be close to the king’s remains. Everyone has the right to express their loyalty, regardless of whether or not they are physically clean or dirty. To bar them from the area is not the way of His Majesty, as the King considered everyone to be like his children,” Natee said on the phone.
The activist added that most homeless people know how to conduct themselves and are no longer sleeping in the area as they know it is being used for public mourning.
Natee added that homeless people still return to the surrounding areas around Sanam Luang for free food as well as to collect empty plastic water bottle for sale. They should continue to be allowed to do so and enter through security check-points, Natee said. He suggested the authorities give them some black t-shirts and enlist them to help clear up daily rubbish instead of trying to chase them away.
He insisted that a number of poor people who come to collect free food in excess amount from various booths are not homeless but from urban poor communities in Bangkok.
Natee defended homeless people, saying they were not involved in the half dozen cases of pick-pocketing reported in the area over the past three weeks.
“Homeless people have been accused of various things including being a nuisance and a danger. I insist that this is not true. Don’t look at them with disdain. Don’t think of them as trouble-makers,” Natee urged.
LGBT Activist Sulaiporn Chonwilai, front right, lights a candle at a June 13 vigil held at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok for victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.
UNITED NATIONS — African nations are seeking to initially suspend and then get rid of the first U.N. independent expert charged with investigating violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Botswana’s U.N. Ambassador Charles Ntwaagae said Friday that African nations want the General Assembly to delay consideration of a Human Rights Council resolution adopted on June 30 that authorized the appointment of an expert to monitor LGBT rights in order to discuss “the legality of the creation of this mandate.”
Ntwaagae told the 193-member world body that a General Assembly resolution introduced by African nations seeking a delay also calls for suspending the activities of the first expert, Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand, pending a determination of the legality.
The resolution is expected to be put to a vote on Tuesday.
The Human Rights Council resolution establishing the LGBT expert was adopted by a vote of 23-18 with 6 abstentions, reflecting the deep divisions internationally on gay rights.
The U.N. has worked to improve the rights of the LGBT community in recent years but has repeatedly run into opposition from some member states – especially from countries in the Middle East and Africa as well as China and Russia. According to a U.N. human rights report last year, at least 76 countries retain laws used to criminalize and harass people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, including laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships among adults.
Ntwaagae said African nations “are alarmed” that the Human Rights Council is delving into national matters and attempting to focus on people “on the grounds of their sexual interests and behaviors, while ignoring that intolerance and discrimination regrettably exist in various parts of the world, be it on the basis of color, race, sex or religion, to mention only a few.”
African nations are also concerned that sexual orientation and gender identity are being given attention “to the detriment of issues of paramount importance such as the right to development and the racism agenda,” he said.
Ntwaagae said African countries want to stress that sexual orientation and gender identity “are not and should not be linked to existing international human rights instruments.”
Muntarbhorn, a law professor who has been on the council’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria and previously served as U.N. special investigator on North Korea and on child prostitution and child pornography, was given a wide mandate by the Human Rights Council for three years.
It includes looking at ways to overcome violence and discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, addressing the root causes, and working with states to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Sarah Mendelson expressed deep concern at the African resolution, telling the assembly that the Human Rights Council has approved numerous resolutions on people experiencing violence and discrimination, including those belonging to minority groups.
Mendelson said the African measure would have the General Assembly re-open a Human Rights Council mandate for the first time and could undermine the council’s ability to function.
She urged the assembly to support an amendment expected to be introduced by Latin American and Caribbean nations that would remove the African call to delay the Human Rights Council resolution and suspend Muntarbhorn.
Francesca Cardona, speaking on behalf of the European Union, stressed that countries must “protect the human rights of all individuals without distinction of any kind.”
She said any attempt to call into question the legitimacy of the council resolution establishing the independent expert to protect against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity “has no legal foundation.”
Muslim protesters march Friday during a demonstration in Jakarta, Indonesia. Tens of thousands of hard-line Muslims converged Friday on the center of the Indonesian capital to demand the arrest of its minority-Christian governor for alleged blasphemy. Photo: Achmad Ibrahim / AP
JAKARTA — Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Saturday canceled a visit to Australia after a massive rally in the capital by Muslim hard-liners descended into violence, leaving one dead and 12 injured.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that Jokowi’s trip scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday will be rescheduled because “current development has required the president to stay in Indonesia.”
Jokowi addressed the nation late Friday after clashes broke out between police and hard-liners who refused to disperse and demanded the arrest of Jakarta’s minority-Christian governor for alleged blasphemy.
Police said one elderly man died from asthma attack after being exposed to tear gas, and the injured included eight soldiers and police and four civilians.
Jokowi blamed “political actors” for taking advantage of the rally. He didn’t elaborate, but his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had backed plans for the protest, drew tens of thousands of people.
The accusation of blasphemy against Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese and minority Christian who is an ally of Jokowi, has galvanized Jokowi’s political opponents in the Muslim-majority nation of 250 million, and given a notorious group of hard-liners a national stage.
The Islamic Defenders Front, a vigilante group that wants to impose Shariah law, is demanding Ahok’s arrest after a video circulated online in which he joked to an audience about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. The governor has apologized for the comment and met with police.
As the rally turned violent overnight, MetroTV reported that a mob tried to enter the housing complex where Ahok lives in northern Jakarta but were stopped by police who fired tear gas.
Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono said rioting in north Jakarta involving the looting of a convenience store and damage to police vehicles had been brought under control.
Michael Jackson is greeted by children in traditional dress as he arrives ahead of his 1996 concert in Bangkok. Photo: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press
BANGKOK — Wirintip Siriratanaanan remained in her seat for all of three songs. After that, with the world’s biggest superstar on stage, the high school sophomore leaped from of her seat when the funky bass line of “Smooth Criminal” began and ran to the stage.
The year was 1996, and today is exactly 20 years since Michael Jackson’s History World Tour brought him to Impact Muang Thong Thani. It was to be the last time he would perform in Thailand, and an army of thousands flocked to see the King of Pop perform. His visit was on the front page of every newspaper and overwhelmed most television channels.
Wirintip, who had been to his previous Bangkok show in 1993, stalked the 38-year-old singer, upon his arrival a few days prior to the Nov. 5 concert.
When Michael went to the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao, Wirintip was there. When he showed up at Tower Records in Siam Square, Wirintip was waiting. It was finally at a school for blind children that she got close enough to get his signature.
Three years earlier when she was 12, Wirintip watched Oprah Winfrey interview a man in a red shirt, black slacks and green arm band in an incredibly enormous house. She didn’t even know his name, or that this was his first interview in 14 years as he sought to fight allegations of pedophilia.
It was his this enormous playground-home called Neverland that gripped her attention.
“I love his house. I love the Neverland,” Wirintip, now a 35-year-old auditor, said in interview. “I was like, ‘Your house has an amusement park. It’s so cool. I want an amusement park like this at my house too.’ Since then, I became interested in what the man did.”
Snippet from Michael Jackson’s ‘Black or White’ music video.
Today, 20 years later after the concert and seven after his death, Jackson’s Thai fans endure. There are active groups and online communities such as Michael Jackson Club Thailand and Fan Pan Tae Michael Jackson (Hard-Core Fans of Michael Jackson) in which passionate members share rare pictures, video clips and lyrics translated into Thai. Two years ago group members gathered to perform their own tribute music video “Love Never Felt So Good.”
Michael Jackson at the Bangkok School for the Blind on Nov. 4, 1996. Photo: Wirintip Siriratanaanan / Courtesy
Wirintip said it was Jackson’s music that motivated her to become fluent in English.
“I listened to his songs and interviews over 100 times. I lost count,” she said. “I thought if only I could meet him one day, I would be able to talk to him. But when I actually met him, I cried.”
Like Wirintip, Pruwakit Ratchanondeacha went to both Michael Jackson’s performances in Thailand. Although the second was “less exciting,” Pruwakit was also outside the Centara Grand when Michael checked in.
So desperate for a memento touched by Jackson, he placed a towel on the ground for the car carrying him to drive over and leave a mark.
“He walked very fast. He rarely looked around,” Pruwakit recalled of the moment.
A few days later, Pruwakit sat in Impact Arena on a hot sunny day for 10 hours until the scheduled performance at 8pm.
Posterbook signed by Michael Jackson in Bangkok. Photo: Wirintip Siriratanaanan / Courtesy
“I never thought he would come back. I thought he would think Thailand was a small country and he wouldn’t see any importance in returning,” Pruwakit said. “It was the best concert in the world.”
Jackson travels to Thailand in the early ‘90s came after the tabloids had begun calling him “Wacko Jacko” and the first accusations of abusing children were made against him. He had already begun wearing the face mask that would replace the famed glove as his signature accessory.
The 1996 tour had only one date in North America, in Hawaii. The dozens of other dates took him throughout Europe and Asia, where his fandom was uncomplicated and drew out a record crowd of 4.5 million people.
Pruwakit was first introduced to Jackson when he was 13, and his father played “Thriller” to calm his four sons down, jokingly saying “here comes a ghost!”
Now the 39-year-old business owner has a collection of thousands of Michael Jackson objects, from rare vinyl records and vintage Michael Jackson cigarette lighters to a sparkling silver Billie Jean glove.
Pruwakit Ratchanondeacha poses with his Billie Jean glove. Photo: Pruwakit Ratchanondeacha / Facebook
“He paid attention to all the details in his work. Every single work of his is so unique. So delicate,” Pruwakit said. “Although he’s gone, his lifestyle is still something I look up to these days.”
The music legend died of a heart attack brought on by an overdose of painkillers on June 25, 2009, at his mansion in Los Angeles only two weeks before he was to embark on This Is It, what was to be his final series of concerts in London. His death triggered an outpouring of grief around the world including in Thailand, where tribute concerts and events took place throughout the year.
Michael Jackson leaves Tower Records at Siam Square in November 1996. Photo: Andrew HudsonMichael Jackson on Nov. 2, 1996, gives a thumbs up to fans and cameras while being accompanied by officers at a hotel in Bangkok. Photo: Charles Dharapak / Associated PressPhoto: Michael Jackson (The Most Rare Videos And Pics) / FacebookPruwakit’s Michael Jackson collection. Photo: Pruwakit Ratchanondeacha / FacebookA set of Michael Jackson’s cigarette lighters. Photo: Pruwakit Ratchanondeacha / FacebookPhoto: Pruwakit Ratchanondeacha / Facebook
American actress and UNHCR Ambassador Angelina Jolie, left, with her daughter Zahara, and Brad Pitt, right, with Jolie's son Maddox, walk near the Gateway of India in 2006 in Mumbai, India. Photo: Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Brad Pitt is asking a judge to grant him joint custody of his six children in his split from Angelina Jolie Pitt, according to a divorce filing Friday.
The actor’s request was included in his response to Jolie Pitt’s Sept. 20 petition to end their two-year marriage. The actress sought sole physical custody of their six children, who range in age from 8 to 15.
Custody has been the major issue in the breakup so far, with authorities investigating Pitt over what happened during a dispute on a private flight with his family in mid-September. The couple reached a temporary custody agreement that allowed the actor to visit his children while the investigation by a child welfare agency in Los Angeles is ongoing.
The outcome of the investigation could impact how a judge determines custody arrangements, although courts in California generally favor awarding joint custody. The actors could also reach a private agreement that would not involve a public custody fight in court.
Pitt’s filing does not include any new details about the couple’s breakup. Pitt cited irreconcilable differences and makes no mention of a prenuptial agreement that will govern how the pair divides their assets. He also cites Sept. 15 as the day of their separation, one day after the alleged plane altercation between Pitt and his 15-year-old son, Maddox.
Pitt was accused of being abusive toward the teenager, sources told The Associated Press, but authorities were not notified when the plane landed in Minnesota. Several sources said the incident was being investigated by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, but the agency said it could not confirm whether it was involved.
The actors were together for 12 years after becoming close while filming 2005’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”
As one of Hollywood’s elite power couples, the actors transformed the flurry of headlines into a force for good.
They adopted children from Cambodia, Vietnam and Ethiopia. In 2006, they formed the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to which they funneled many of the millions they made selling personal pictures to celebrity magazines.
Jolie Pitt, who became special envoy for the United Nations in 2012, became an outspoken voice for refugees, as well as for breast cancer treatment after undergoing a double mastectomy herself. Pitt built homes in New Orleans for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The pair recently sold a home they purchased in New Orleans’ French Quarter for $4.9 million.
Their only other on-screen role together is in 2015’s “By the Sea,” about a troubled American couple vacationing in France.
Pitt skipped the Sept. 28 premiere of the Terrence Malick’s new documentary “Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience,” which he narrated. In a statement, Pitt said he was skipping the premiere because he was currently focused on my family situation and don’t want to distract attention away from this extraordinary film.”
Pitt stars with Marion Cotillard in Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming spy thriller “Allied.”
Jolie Pitt earlier this year finished shooting her fourth feature as director, “First They Killed My Father.” The film, about the 1970s Khmer Rouge regime, was shot in Cambodia.
Muslim protesters chant slogans Friday near burning police trucks during a clash with the police outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Dita Alangkara / Associated Press
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s president blamed political meddling for violence in the capital Jakarta on Friday that killed one person and injured seven following a protest by hard-line Muslims demanding the arrest of the city’s minority-Christian governor for alleged blasphemy.
In a televised address, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the riot showed “political actors have taken advantage of the situation.” He did not identify any individual as responsible, but earlier in the week former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono went on national television to say he supported plans for the massive protest.
“They should have dispersed, but instead they turned to rioting,” Jokowi said of the protesters.
Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono said an elderly man died during the violence, possibly from the effects of tear gas. He said four civilians and three police officers were injured.
Clashes broke out between police and hard-core protesters who refused to disperse following nightfall. Police fired tear gas and water cannons and protesters set alight three police vehicles and piles of rubbish left behind from the protest, which drew tens of thousands of people.
Indonesia, with a population of more than 250 million people, is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Most people practice a moderate form of Islam but a vocal minority wants to impose a stricter interpretation.
Setiyono said police responded after protesters near the presidential palace threw stones, bamboo sticks and bottles. The confrontation subsided after a protest leader appealed for calm.
MetroTV reported that a mob tried to enter the housing complex where Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama lives in northern Jakarta but were stopped by police, who fired tear gas. Setiyono said rioting in north Jakarta involving the looting of a convenience store and damage to police vehicles had been brought under control but live TV footage showed a standoff continuing between police and a mob in the area.
Fearing violence, police put on a show of force for the protest, supported by soldiers and public order officers, while embassies closed, some shops were shuttered and Jakarta’s normally traffic-clogged streets were nearly empty of cars.
The predominantly male demonstrators, most wearing white shirts and skull caps, had massed at the Istiqlal Mosque for the protest following weekly Friday prayers and marched on the nearby presidential palace. Large protests also took place in other cities including Medan on Sumatra, Makassar in Sulawesi and Malang in East Java.
The accusation of blasphemy against Ahok, an ethnic Chinese and minority Christian who is an ally of the president, has galvanized his political opponents in the Muslim-majority nation of 250 million, and given a notorious group of hard-liners a national stage.
The Islamic Defenders Front, a vigilante group that wants to impose Shariah law, is demanding Ahok’s arrest after a video circulated online in which he joked to an audience about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. The governor has apologized for the comment and met with police.
Ahok, who is seeking a second term as Jakarta governor, is popular with the city’s middle class. He is adored as a blunt speaker who doesn’t tolerate corruption and articulates a vision of making the chaotic, dysfunctional city more like clean, orderly and efficient Singapore.
But the anti-corruption stance has made him enemies, and the evictions of thousands of the city’s poorest people to make way for urban improvement has stoked anger and resentment and played to a stereotype of Chinese as exploiters ofIndonesia’s poor Muslim masses.
On the national stage, Ahok is ranged against former Yudhoyono, the former president, whose son is a candidate for Jakarta governor, a position that is a stepping stone to national leadership.
A farmer in a rice field Monday in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima.
BANGKOK — When the military government approved spending at least 20 billion baht to guarantee prices for rice farmers, two questions were raised: How did it differ from the subsidy program that lost billions under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, and how would it succeed this time?
Answering those questions is tricky however. Expert opinions vary wildly, often depending on the political persuasion of the source. One economist critical of both governments’ programs said the junta’s more conservative scheme is unlikely to suffer the same losses – but also unlikely to work. And the consensus of economists in general is that the regime is wrong to blame market conditions on politically motivated manipulation of the market.
One thing made clear by economists is that this type of price-pledging subsidy has been implemented by governments since the 1980s, long before Yingluck’s election in 2011.
While critics doubt the scheme’s fundamental effectiveness, experts said it isn’t intended to move big market changes but rather stabilize volatile prices over the course of the harvest season, which runs about four months.
“The point is not to improve long-term problems about the price,” said Decharut Sukkumnoed, a agricultural economics lecturer at Kasetsart University. “To improve the price of rice, you need to fix some other issues.”
It’s a matter of managing supply to keep prices stable. Otherwise, at the beginning of the harvest period, the glut of rice hitting the market drives them down. The subsidy works by allowing farmers to “sell” their rice to the government at a fixed price. It’s actually a loan secured by their inventory. Later in the season, the farmers can reclaim their rice for sale at a better market rate and repay the “loan” to the government.
Farmers dry rice grains Monday in Buriram province.
Despite being directly involved in farmer welfare issues and skewing pro-democracy, Decharut finds fault in both approaches taken by Yingluck then and the military regime now.
The lecturer explained that in order for the program to work, the government must set the right buying price. Decharut said it must be higher than what the milliers are offering to farmers at the beginning of the season, when the market is oversupplied, to attract farmers. At the same time – and here’s where some gambling happens – it must also be lower than where the price lands at the end of the season.
This increase is supposed to happen because the rice bought from the farmers is held in reserve, lowering supply and therefore driving up prices, assuming demand is relatively inelastic.
So for the program to succeed and be effective for farmers, the right price must be set and enough farmers must participate to affect the market.
“It’s basic principle of economics, neither Yingluck nor Prayuth invented it,” he said.
He said there were some big policy differences that could make for different results.
Yingluck’s biggest mistake was announcing a price – 15,000 baht per metric ton – while campaigning in the election. While that may have helped secure the support of her rural constituents, she was stuck with that promise when harvest season came around and it proved much higher than the market could bear.
Her government also committed to buying an unlimited amount of any type of grain at that price, regardless of its market value.
The result was that at the end of the season, when prices were still low, a lot of farmers didn’t reclaim their rice and default on their loans. The government was left with silos full of aging stock.
Where Yingluck was too soon, Decharut said Prayuth was too late to be effective.
“The perfect timing would have been early October,” Decharut. “It was late now. Some rice was already sold to the market.”
The regime’s lower guarantee of 13,000 baht only for a relatively small quantity of premium jasmine rice made for a safer bet.
But Decharut said its low quantity, capped at two million metric tons, was another reason it was would not be effective.
“Will it help lift the price up in the end, because the amount of rice they are buying is very low compared to the whole market?” he said.
Soldiers inspect a mill in Phichit province in the north of Bangkok Wednesday.
No Foul Play
Most agricultural economists, including a fierce critic of Yingluck’s program, agree that the government is falsely blaming the current market conditions on supply-side political sabotage.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha suggested Tuesday the worst price for rice in years was caused by market manipulation by millers in cahoots with the political opposition. He even dispatched soldiers to the provinces to investigate.
Under pressure and accused of being responsible for the plummeting prices, the Thai Rice Mills Association on Thursday dissolved its executive committee.
“I don’t have the competence to collude with millers nationwide,” said President Manus Kitprasert as he announced his resignation, explaining it was impossible to control the thousands of mills nationwide.
Manus said millers base their prices to buy from farmers on what exporters are willing to pay. Experts agree the pricing situation was out of the control of the millers. In fact, they had long expected this year to be the worst for one simple reason: an oversupply of rice.
Economist Viroj NaRanong of the Thailand Development Research Institute wrote Wednesday on Facebook that strong rice production combined with lower consumption led to the depressed market conditions. Nine million metric tons of rice bought during Yingluck’s administration were also left in the country’s stock.
Viroj declined to answer questions Friday and urged the media to publish his entire, lengthy post.
The world rice market isn’t likely to recover anytime soon either. Global rice stocks at the end of this year are forecast to grow to their highest levels in over a dozen years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rice prices in the kingdom depend on the world market and are usually decided before orders are placed, Viroj wrote.
An officer takes notes Wednesday morning at the spot where Don Daengchantip, 34, was allegedly beaten to death in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Police on Friday said an investigation was being launched into a group of policemen who during the course of a raid on a gambling den were seen kicking a suspect senseless who later died of his injuries.
Don Daengchantip, 34, was cornered and beaten by officers from Sutthisan Police Station as he attempted to flee a suspected gambling den in Bangkok’s Samsen Nok district. A police spokesman said it would take up to 30 days to establish why Don died and who was responsible.
“Please don’t rush to judgment yet,” Col. Kritsana Pattanacharoen said by telephone. “We must be fair to both sides.”
Kritsana said police and other experts would jointly conduct an autopsy on Don’s body to ascertain the cause of death. The results are expected in 30 days, though police can extend it to 60 more days if needed, the spokesman said.
A formal inquiry was also set up to discover whether the policemen involved in Don’s death were guilty of excessive force.
Don, who worked as a driver for a Japanese businessman, was betting hi-lo with fellow gamblers when police officers raided their den early Wednesday morning. Don attempted to flee and swung a fist at his pursuers once cornered, prompting the officers to subdue him, according to eyewitness Wichan Kwanmuang.
In security camera footage of the incident, a man is seen attempting to break free, at which point four or five other men all begin delivering swift kicks to him on the ground.
Wichan told reporters police kicked Don until he passed out. The suspect was later pronounced dead at the scene by rescue workers. He left behind a 2-year-old daughter.
Don’s family can file a complaint against police if they believe he was a victim of excessive force, police spokesman Kritsana said.
BANGKOK— A woman was being treated for burns after a fire broke out Friday afternoon near the Russian Embassy in Bangkok.
Col. Nakorn Thongpanich of Bangrak police said the fire began at about 4pm, destroying five residences in Soi Santiphap. The woman, who was unidentified, was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The fire has since been brought under control, he said.
A graduate and family in black Friday at a graduation ceremony practice at Thammasat University.
BANGKOK — Traffic around the the Grand Palace was expected to be worse this weekend as Thammasat University would hold its graduation practice ceremonies as mourners continue to stream in.
Those who come to express their condolences over His Majesty the Late King or congratulations to Thammasat’s graduates were advised to use public transportation, traffic police said Friday.
Just as the weekend prior, a total of 27 roads leading to the palace will be closed from 8:30am to 8pm. A free shuttle service will run during those hours.
Cars coming to drop off graduates can only enter the university from Phra Athit Road and cannot park inside the university, according to Maj. Gen Jiraphat Poomjitraksa.
In practice, it may prove difficult to reach Phra Athit Road as many surrounding roads will be closed, including the Phra Pinklao Bridge and Ratchadamnoen Avenue.
Traffic police recommended graduates and guests park at nine shuttle stops far from the area, such as at Impact Muang Thong Thani and Future Park Rangsit. From there they can take the free shuttles, originally intended for mourners, to the university.
