What Does the Draft Constitution Actually Say? Read it Yourself, in English

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28 June 2016, 16:34

Cover page of a unofficial translation of the proposed charter written by the junta-appointed Constitution Drafting Commission.

BANGKOK — On Aug. 7, Thailand will be asked whether to adopt a new constitution.

An unofficial English translation of the second version of what’s proposed to be the next constitution was published Friday. It was translated by the United Nations, International Commission of Jurists and International IDEA.

“The United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator in Thailand has collaborated with the International Commission of Jurists and International IDEA to produce an unofficial English translation of the 2016 Draft Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand produced by the Constitution Drafting Commission,” read the note accompanying the document posted online. “This unofficial English translation is provided as a public service for reference only and has no legal authority. The original Thai text as formally published by the Royal Thai Government remains the sole authority having legal force.”

It is embedded into this story below:

Activists Hope Constitutional Court Affirms Right to Campaign

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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28 June 2016, 16:18

Activists opposed to the junta’s charter draft speak to reporters June 28 in front of Bangkok Remand Prison, where seven campaigners are being jailed for urging the public to vote against the draft.

BANGKOK — The leader of 100 academics and activists who petitioned the Constitutional Court over a law which criminalized campaigning in the run-up to the charter referendum gives even odds the court will roll it back when it rules on its constitutionality Wednesday.

Jon Ungphakorn, director of the Internet Law Reform Dialogue, or iLaw, led the petition via the Office of the Ombudsman. He said that he expects significant loosening of legal restrictions if the court finds the clause unconstitutional.

“If the court is on our side, the National Council for Peace and Order’s legitimacy in banning people from campaigning will be gone. In reality [the junta] doesn’t have any legitimacy to begin with. But if the door is shut [by the court] we will need to discuss among members of society what to do next,” he said, referring to the formal name of the junta which staged the May 2014 coup d’etat.

Jon thinks the ruling could go either way.

“It’s 50/50. The first 50 percent is because the court may want to demonstrate its independence from the junta,” he said. “The other 50 percent possibility is because the court won’t change the status quo.”

A ruling favorable to the group would grant a foothold for citizens to campaign publicly for or against the charter written by drafters hand-picked by the junta.

Thirteen people – democracy and labor activists – were arrested Thursday and charged with violating the Referendum Law, passed in late April. In Clause 2 of Article 61, it expressly forbids any campaigning, but enforcement has only been applied to those expressing opposition.

“I think it will make people bolder. I don’t believe the junta can cite the ruling against the clause as an excuse to defer the referendum,” said Jon, whose group iLaw advocates for reform of the legal system and monitors politically motivated cases. “They will be condemned, otherwise.”

Mahidol University academic Gothom Arya was among the signatories.

He said the ruling, one way or the other, will make the rules clearer.

“I feel sorry for the lost opportunities to make the referendum process free, so the results can be considered as truly representing the will of the people.”

Election Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said any ruling by the court will not delay the referendum set for Aug. 7. He added that the junta’s ban on political gatherings of more than four people remains in place even if Article 61 Clause 2 were voided.

Former Justice Minister and Pheu Thai Party member Phongthep Thepkanjana meanwhile said the junta can always pass a new order restricting public campaigns, even if the constitutional court found the clause unconstitutional.

Phongthep noted however that the referendum law of the previous 2007 referendum contains no prohibition on public campaigning.

Cambodia Confirms Angkor Boat 800 Years Old

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Associated Press

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28 June 2016, 15:48

Buddhist monks bless a helicopter and the lidar instrument within its pod at the remote temple complex of Banteay Chhmar in Cambodia in an undated photo. Photo: Damian Evans / French Institute of Asian Studies in Paris / Associated Press

PHNOM PENH — Tests have confirmed that a wooden boat found buried in a dry riverbed near Cambodia’s famous Angkor Wat temple complex is from the early 13th century, an official at the agency overseeing the archaeological site said Monday.

Apsara Authority spokesman Long Kosal said tests by a research institute in New Zealand confirmed the age of the 12.8-meter-long boat, which was carved from a single tree trunk. He said it is the oldest boat ever found in Cambodia, and its discovery will be useful for scholars of the Angkor era, when the Khmer empire dominated the region from the 9th to 15th centuries.

Read: Remnants of Ancient Underground City Discovered Beneath Angkor Wat

A farmer discovered the boat in April while digging mud from the riverbed, several kilometers from the temple complex. The boat has been sunk in a pond in front of the temple to keep it preserved pending restoration for public viewing. Photos of it can be found in the Phnom Penh Post.

An Australian archaeologist announced earlier this month that he and colleagues have found evidence of previously undiscovered medieval urban and agricultural networks surrounding the ancient city of Angkor Wat.

Using high-tech lasers to scan the Cambodian jungle, Damian Evans and colleagues said they found traces of extensive networks surrounding the monumental stone temple complex at Angkor Wat. Evans said their findings could further our understanding of Khmer culture and throw into question traditional assumptions about the decline of the empire.

For years, experts have proposed a variety of reasons for the collapse of the Khmer civilization in the 15th century, including invasions by Thai armies, social and religious change, internal power struggles, and overpopulation and prolonged drought which forced populations to relocate to southern Cambodia. But Evans said their laser maps showed no evidence of relocated, dense cities in the south and that it wasn’t clear there was any such mass migration.

Story: Sopheng Cheang

Asian Stocks Start to Shake Off ‘Brexit’ Worries

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Associated Press

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28 June 2016, 15:08

The currency signs of the Japanese Yen, English pound, euro and Thai baht are displayed at a money exchange shop Tuesday in Hong Kong. Photo: Kin Cheung / Associated Press

HONG KONG — Most Asian stock benchmarks rebounded from early losses Tuesday as investors started shaking off the jitters from Britain’s vote to quit the European Union and its messy aftermath.

Global financial markets have been roiled by the result of last week’s vote, which also sent the pound to its lowest level in three decades. The turmoil and uncertainty over the decision to leave the EU prompted ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch on Monday to strip the UK of its top-shelf credit rating.

Asian markets were broadly lower in early trading but reversed some of their losses later on optimism for more government support policies. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed officials to take steps to reassure markets, the Kyodo news agency reported, while South Korea’s government unveiled a 20 trillion won (600 billion baht) stimulus package and backup budget for big infrastructure projects.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6 percent to 15,399.79 while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4 percent to 1,934.23. The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China edged up 0.1 percent to 2,898.35 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 percent to 5,113.20. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia also rose.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.8 percent to 20,077.75, dragged down by companies with high exposure to Britain’s economy. One of the index’s biggest losers was billionaire tycoon’s Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings, which has British retail, ports and telecom investments and fell 2.5 percent.

“When you pull a spring, after you let it go it oscillates up and down for a little while and that’s still what we’re seeing in the markets,” said Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader at Haitong Securities. “This is nothing about individual companies per se, this is about the effect of forex on their earnings,” he said.

Britons voted last Thursday to leave the EU over concerns including immigration and regulation, an unprecedented move that stunned financial markets and triggered waves of selling on Friday and Monday.

The results sent the British pound sliding. On Monday it fell another 3.5 percent to hit a new 31-year low of USD$1.3199.

The yen also surged as investors fled risky assets in favor of the currency, which is considered a haven and is hovering near its strongest level in two years. The dollar rose to 102.04 yen from 101.90 in late trade Monday. The euro strengthened to USD$1.1055 from $1.1020.

Benchmark U.S. crude rebounded 76 cents to USD$47.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slid USD$1.31, or 2.7 percent, to settle at $46.33 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 77 cents to $47.93 a barrel in London.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.5 percent to close at 17,140.24. The S&P 500 index slid 1.8 percent to finish at 2,000.54 and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.4 percent to 4,594.44.

Story: Kelvin Chan

Klimt Goes Kwai and Other Buffaloes Touched by Greatness

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Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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28 June 2016, 15:00

Klimt’s The Kiss painted on albino buffalo. Photo: Maitree Siriboon/ Courtesy

BANGKOK — Artist Maitree Siriboon has turned buffaloes’ bodies into large canvases filled with famous works to draw attention to their rapidly dwindling numbers.

See works by Gustav Klimt, Cristobal Balenciaca, Keith Haring, Joan Miro, Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami and others carefully reproduced using non-toxic paints on the gentle giants at a photo exhibition opening next month in Bangkok.

The 33-year-old artist chose to paint the animals with world-renowned works as social criticism, playing off their appropriation as symbols.

“Masterpiece works by foreigners such as Picasso and Warhol are often revered by Thais and even inspired some artists to produce similar works,” Maitree said. “So, I painted famous works on buffaloes, which are a symbol for stupidity, to change people’s perspective on them and to inspire others to conserve them. I want to construct a good remembrance of them for the future.”

Reminiscing on the role of these culturally significant animals now that few work the fields, the Ubon Ratchatani artist found the lovely animals are being trained to entertain tourists, decorate scenes or even butchered for food. That inspired Maitree’s first buffalo photographic project in 2010 to reinvent their significance in terms of art and to reflect the close relationship that once was.

In 2015, the government established a 5.8 billion baht conservation fund to protect Thailand’s buffaloes, which have dwindled from about 2 million at the turn of the century to fewer than 850,000 today.

The paints Maitree used are natural colors used for the Holi festival and imported from India.

Apart from photography, Maitree is also keen on mirror mosaic works. He’s presenting five new works in “My Universe,” a series reflecting his fading memory of Isaan anchored by a 3.5 meter mosaic tree.

“Save Thai Buffalo and New Mosaic series,” his fourth solo exhibition, opens July 9 and runs through Aug. 15 at YenakArt Villa on Soi Prasat Suk, Yen Akat Road. The nearest public rail service is MRT Lumpini.

Save Thai Buffalo and New Mosaic series

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Pattaya Cops Accused of Kidnapping, Raping Masseuse Freed on Bail

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Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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28 June 2016, 14:36

Police officers discuss the investigation with the victim, not pictured, June 23 at the Pattaya Police Station in Chonburi province.

PATTAYA — Six cops and police volunteers accused of raping and extorting money from a drug suspect in Pattaya are now free on bail, police said Tuesday.

Commanders of the local police force also promised they will be impartial in the case, and two of the officers suspected in the crime have been expelled while the investigation in underway.

“We have expelled them from the force at the moment,” Maj. Gen. Amphol Buarubporn, commissioner of Chonburi Provincial Police, said by telephone Tuesday. “They are also under both disciplinary and criminal investigations.”

The two officers and four volunteers – essentially, civilians recruited to assist with police work – allegedly raped a 33-year-old masseuse who had brought in for suspected drug possession earlier this month. During the four days she was held, June 8-12, the alleged victim said the suspects assaulted her in several locations, including at the police station where she was detained.

Khaosod English does not publish the names of potential victims of sexual assault.

According to the victim, the six men also demanded 100,000 baht from her family in exchange for her freedom. After reportedly gaining her release by paying a negotiated sum of 60,000 baht, she later went to the police on Wednesday.

The two accused cops are Thanyakiat Sertdilok and Bandol Thongma, both senior sergeant majors of Na Jomtien Police Station. The four unsworn volunteers are Pairoj Boonmee, Apichart Fankampern, Chamnarn Kongplian and Kanueng Kesa.

All six have been charged with rape, illegal detention, extortion and kidnapping.

Pattaya Police Station chief Apichai Klobpetch said all of the suspects admitted to knowing the victim, and each gave different versions of what happened.

“Some confessed; some denied,” Col. Apichai said. “Some of them said they did rape the woman, some said the woman consented, and some said they didn’t [have sex] with her at all. … Some admitted to receiving money; some didn’t.”

Maj. Gen. Amphol, the provincial police commander, said he believes the suspects committed similar crimes in the past, and there must be other victims, but no one else has stepped forward.

“At this time, there’s still only one victim,” Amphol said. “No one else came forward. I believe there are others, but this is all we have in terms of evidence.”

He also pledged to be fair to all sides in the investigation.

Pattaya, a coastal resort town east of Bangkok, is notorious for its seedy red light districts, frequent reports of scams and high crime rate.

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Prison Conditions Being Made ‘Unbearable’ Jailed Activist Says

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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28 June 2016, 13:37

Soldiers break up a small rally by activists seeking to show solidarity with the seven jailed referendum campaigners last July in front of the Bangkok Remand Prison.

BANGKOK — A year on from the last time some of them were jailed, pro-democracy activists say the military regime’s tactics have become more underhanded, and life behind bars harsher.

Seven activists jailed after refusing to post bonds are being made to clean prison toilets and reportedly pressured to seek release on bail so they will not become a magnet for anti-junta sentiments and international condemnation as was the case one year ago.

“Don’t worry about me. Right now the prison authorities is doing all they can to make it unbearable for us,” jailed student activist Rangsiman Rome said in a statement communicated through his lawyer. “But we will persist. What we’re facing is miniscule compared to the prospect of the draft charter being approved, because it would be like imprisoning the people for five to 10 years.”

Those present Thursday when the military arrested activists for campaigning against the draft charter said the military’s tactics included using an undercover officer to pose as a student activist to wrest away their leaflets and not telling an observer they would arrest and charge him.

Rackchart Wong-arthichart, a 25-year-old postgraduate student at Thammasat University, said he was misled by police and soldiers Thursday, who “invited” him to talk with them at the Bang Saothong Police Station in Samut Prakan province.

Rackchart insisted he was not participating and only there as an observer as Rangsiman, members of the New Democracy Movement and others wearing “Vote No” T-shirts distributed leaflets.

Best known for creating a satirical “politically incorrect” map of Thailand, Rackchart said he’d wandered off to buy a bunch of oysters from the market. When he returned with the oysters, he found all the activists had already been taken away and officers asked him to go with them to discuss what happened.

Instead of talking, officers placed him under arrest along with the other 12 student activists and factory workers taken away from the protest site.

“They fooled me. That’s what happened,” Rackchart said.

Another observer, labor activist Jittra Cotchadet, wrote online Sunday that several people arrested were told to “cooperate” by going with officers to talk at the nearby police station.

“They didn’t know it was an arrest. In an arrest, your must be informed of the charges against you and your rights. They must be told what wrongs they are accused of and not fooled like this.”

Rackchart was held overnight at the police station and later freed on bail, but Rackchart has been charged with violating the junta’s ban of political gathering of more than four people. He was also charged for violating the referendum law, which criminalized campaigning in the run-up to the Aug. 7 referendum on the military-backed charter. He could be jailed 10.5 years if convicted on both counts.

Rome and the other six members of New Democracy Movement countered by refusing to recognize the military court’s legitimacy and declined to seek bail.

This proved effective in inviting international scorn on Thailand’s military rulers when Rome’s group defied the authorities and refused bail.

Rackchart visited them at the Bangkok Remand Prison on Monday and learned they’re being forced to perform degrading labor such as cleaning prison toilets.

“They have separated the seven into different cells,” said Rackchart. “Prison officers are trying to convince them to seek bail.”

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See Dancing Bones and Guts, Learn About Life and Death This Weekend

By

Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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28 June 2016, 12:30

BANGKOK — Bones and internal organs are the stuff of life and death for three Japanese collaborators in a unique show this weekend.

After seven years producing a famous children’s show on NHK together, dancer and choreographer Kaiji Moriyama has joined up again with costume artist Kodue Hibino and composer Kohske Kawase to produce “Live Bone.”

Premiered in 2013, the show surprises the audience with Moriyama dancing in a surreal skeleton and entrail costumes. Yet, his fun and flexible movements attract people of all ages while mirroring the truth of all lives from birth to death.

Moriyama is a professional choreographer praised as one of the most talented dancers at the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has toured to various countries before making his solo debut in the United States in 2005.

Live Bone is organized by The Japan Foundation, Bangkok, as part of Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival, and will be performed at 3pm July 2-3, in the fourth floor studio of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

Tickets are 450 baht for adults and 150 baht for children under 16. They can be reserved online or by e-mail.

Also, on Thursday, Moriyama will hold a free dance workshop where children can have fun learning the importance of hand washing through body movements from 11am to 12:30pm at Sodsai Pantoomkomol Center for Dramatic Arts at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Arts.

The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre can be reached on foot from BTS National Stadium’s exit No. 3.

Live Bone

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New MRT Purple Line Will Connect to Blue Line, But Not Anytime Soon

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Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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28 June 2016, 12:26

People line up to register for free test run tickets for the Purple Line on June 5 at MRT Khlong Bang Phai in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Those traveling from the old and new MRT lines between Tao Poon and Bang Sue stations will have to hop on a bus for at least a year before the rails are connected.

The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand said yesterday it would not be able to operate a train to serve the missing, kilometer-long link between the Blue Line’s terminal station and the Purple Line when it opens in August.

The soonest the stations will be connected is by July 2017, MRTA Gov. Peerayuth Singpattanakul said Monday. Plan will go to the interim cabinet for approval by October, he added, after which the Bangkok Expressway and Metro operators would need another 10 months to build the infrastructure.

While the two stations do not connect, passengers wanting to travel between Nonthaburi province and inner Bangkok will be able to ride a shuttle between both stations from 6am to midnight. The frequency will depend on the amount of passengers.

Another solution is to take a regular train from the Purple Line’s Bang Son station, one stop before Tao Poon, to Bang Sue train station, which is colocated with MRT Bang Sue. But those trains will only run during rush hours, from 6:30am to 9:30am and 4pm to 8:30pm.

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Downed Huey Located, All Crew Dead

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Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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28 June 2016, 12:13

Members of the nearly 400-strong search and rescue operation fielded after an Air Force helicopter went missing near its wreckage found Tuesday morning in Chanthaburi province (Photo provided by Royal Thai Army).

CHANTHABURI — The wreckage of a missing Air Force helicopter was found Tuesday morning, three days after it went missing. All three crew members were dead.

The search and rescue team was to bring the bodies of pilots Squadron Leader Pasit Techasen and Flight Lt. Alongkorn Chankrachan, along with maintenance officer Flight Sgt. 1st Class Visut Puttharaksa down from the high mountain this morning.

They were found only 500 meters from the Air Force radar station they had been dispatched to resupply.

Their bodies were found near the wreck of their Bell UH1 helicopter.

The helicopter was last heard from Saturday morning as it flew over the Khao Chamao-Khao Wong National Park.

The airmen’s bodies were expected to be returned to Bangkok’s Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base later Tuesday.

The cause of the accident is still being investigated.

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