RANONG — Police in southern Thailand say they did not find any illegal activity during an inspection of a fishing port in Ranong province today, conducted as part of a nationwide effort to stave off the European Union's impending ban on Thai seafood.

Police and other government officials inspected workers at Saphan Pla pier, a major fish market and distribution hub, in compliance with the government’s orders to crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU), and human trafficking.

The EU announced last week that Thailand has six months to implement new measures to counter illegal fishing, or else face a potential import ban that could cost the country at least 20 billion baht in lost revenue. 

Officials investigate Saphan Pla pier in Ranong province, 27 April 2015.

The raid was jointly led by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security officials, anti-trafficking police, marine police, the counter-insurgency agency Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC), among others.

Police said all of the workers on Saphan Pla pier, most of whom are from Myanmar, are properly registered.  

"They have established employers," a police officer said. "They were neither coerced nor enslaved." 

Operators of fishing boats in the area have also been instructed to register their port calls, fishing areas, crew lists, and licenses with local authorities, police said.

Experts say many Thai fishing boats are unregistered, and there is no effective record of where fish is caught, or who is working on the boats.

The lack of oversight has allowed Thai boats to fish in neighboring countries' waters, and also staff their ships with illegal and often abused labor. Thailand was downgraded last year in the US’s annual human trafficking report, which cited the widespread use of trafficked labor in the Thai seafood industry and the complicity of some Thai officials.

Junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told the nation in a televised address last Friday that Thailand is likely to miss the EU's deadline.

"We won't be able to meet [the EU’s deadline] because the issues are so numerous," Gen. Prayuth said, "Registering fishing boats alone is already difficult. In few days, in few months, we cannot do all of this. And we have received little cooperation so far, too."

Thailand is the world's third-largest exporter of seafood.  

NARATHIWAT — The commander of the Fourth Region Army has urged insurgents in Thailand's southern border provinces stop targeting civilians, especially children.

Lt.Gen. Prakarn Chollayuth made the plea while he was visiting a Muslim man and three children who were injured by a bomb in Narathiwat province on 24 April. The family was leaving a picnic on the beach when the roadside bomb exploded, police say. Authorities suspect the explosive was one of many planted by local militants who are aiming to create a breakaway Islamic state in the three southern border provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani. 

Lt. Gen. Prakarn Chollayuth  visiting a man and his  three children who were injured by a bomb in Narathiwat province. 27 April 2015.

"I'd like to tell them, please stop harming innocent civilians. There are only negative consequences," Lt.Gen. Prakarn said at the hospital this morning. "Especially children. They are important strength for the country's future. They should not harm children."

Lt.Gen. Prakarn said medical workers at the hospital are also providing counsel to the three children for the psychological trauma caused by the incident.

A network of shadowy insurgents has been locked in a bloody conflict with Thai authorities since early 2004, claiming more than 6,200 lives. In addition to attacking security officers, separatists also regularly target public schools and teachers, presumably because they are viewed as instruments of the Thai Buddhist state. 

Experts say the conflict is mostly fueled by ethnic and religious differences. While the vast majority of Thailand is Buddhist, the three southern border provinces are dominated by Malay Muslims who speak a distinct dialect and trace their ancestry back to the sultanate of Patani, which was annexed by Thailand in early 20th century.  

Approximately 60,000 security officers have been stationed in the Deep South to combat the militants. The counter-insurgency is mainly led by the Fourth Region Army, whose commander, Lt.Gen. Prakarn also visited local Muslim clerics in Narathiwat earlier today.

In a meeting at Nurul Huda mosque, Lt.Gen. Prakarn said authorities are focused on rehabilitating former insurgents and helping them return to their normal lives in society. 

"We are giving opportunities for the misguided to meet with security officers," Lt.Gen. Prakarn explained to the clerics, using a military term that refers to members of the separatist movement. "The misguided will receive lectures in political schools that we have established in the region, so that their attitude about many issues can be adjusted. I insist that those who went through the program will be able to live their lives normally again. They can leave the country for Hajj."

He continued, "The violent situation has been happening in this region for 11 years now. It only causes losses to the region. Therefore, I ask all of you to help create peace in this region, especially by cooperating with security forces, so that we can move forward to building peace together." 

Thai authorities have been criticized for their heavy-handed tactics in the region, which has been governed under martial law for the past nine years. Lt.Gen. Prakarn recently apologized for a military raid on a village in Pattani province last month that left four civilians dead. An independent panel later determined that the four men had no connection to the insurgency.

The site of roadside bombing in Pattani province, 27 April 2015.

This morning, a roadside bomb exploded in Khok Po district of Pattani province at around 8 am and injured two soldiers on patrol. One later died at the hospital. The deceased was identified as Master Sergeant Niphon Niyomchai, a 55-year-old native of Nakhon Ratchasima in northeastern Thailand. 

BANGKOK — Junta chairman and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha expressed resistance to postponing the election scheduled for early next year, citing the time frame outlined in the interim constitution.

Gen. Prayuth's remark came after politicians from across the political spectrum called for a delaying the poll in order to change what they see as a flawed charter, which was drafted by a junta-appointed council.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha at the Air Force Base in Bangkok, 26 April 2015.

"Who said that? What power do politicians have to do that?" Gen. Prayuth quipped at a reporter who asked him to comment on the issue yesterday, "What does the Constitution say?"

Answering his own question, Prayuth continued, "The [interim] constitution has already been written … this is my road map. We have 60 days, 90 days, it has to be like that. If it can be different, find me a way. How can I amend that?"

According to the time frame outlined in the junta’s interim charter, the draft of the new constitution must be finished in early August. The junta has said it will promulgate the new charter – Thailand’s 20th – by 4 September and hold a new election 150 days afterwards, estimated to be in February 2016. 

The charter draft was written by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), whose members were chosen by the junta last year. The draft is currently under deliberation by the National Reform Council (NRC), another junta-appointed body.

Last week, Jatuporn Prompan, leader of the Redshirt movement's official umbrella organization, called for postponing the election in order to address the new charter’s “undemocratic” nature, including a  clause that allows MPs to appoint an unelected Prime Minister, the establishment of an unelected Senate, and the establishment of powerful unelected "independent" agencies.

"Do not be afraid that a delayed election will damage the country," Jatuporn wrote on his official Facebook account. "Be afraid that a quick election under undemocratic rules will cause far more damages, in an unmatched way. We all wish to see a good, correct, and fair constitution, with rights and liberty that will lead to equality and fraternity that will take place in this society."

Other politicians from Thailand's both primary parties, Pheu Thai and Democrat, also urged postponing the election. 

In the press conference yesterday, Gen. Prayuth also spoke about other issues, including:

Media freedom

"The media has to write well. I will keep my eyes on what you write. You understand when I talk to you, but when you write, it turns out to be something different. I circle so many passages from newspapers when I am in the car. You are all geniuses. You suggest that I fix this issue and that issue. What kind of [professional] background do you have? I ask you. Those people who criticize me, have you ever done anything successful? Or you are only at good working for newspapers, since you were a baby, until you are old? You keep criticizing the government harshly. But this is a government that seized power. Don't criticize me like I'm a normal government. You cannot. We do everything for you. We fix everything. But you still criticize me. What the hell is matter with you? Am I being too kind? I don't know."

Decentralization

"Can [decentralization] be done? Today, we have decentralized a lot. We have PAOs [Provincial Administrative Organizations], we have SAOs [Subdistrict Administrative Organizations]. We have good ones and bad ones. Today, you may not want Governors, that's okay, but on that day, the country will be divided and there will be a war. Believe me, that will happen if you keep thinking like that. If you are ready, I'm fine with it. You may want something like the United States of America. But ask them how far apart each district, subdistrict, village, and state is to each other. It takes 5-6 hours on a plane ride. Is Thailand that far apart? Today we have DLA [Department of Local Administration], we have Municipal Offices. They are already good. It's just we need to improve their quality and rearrange works. What will people have? Where will be the budget come from? Today you say you want decentralization, but even without decentralization, things are a mess already. How far do you want it to be decentralized?"

The new background for his weekly TV show 

Gen. Prayuth used a new background for his weekly television show on 24 April 2015.

"I want to convey a message that forests are beautiful. Thailand should preserve its forests. Think, think! I want people to see that Thailand has beautiful forests, that we have an orderly society. Or do you want me to use something bad for the background? Do you want that?" 

KATHMANDU (DPA) — The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake at the weekend in Nepal was upped to 2,847, the Interior Ministry said Monday.

A child looks out of a hole in a temporary tent in Kathmandu after a powerful earthquake and aftershocks struck Nepal, in Kathmandu, Nepal, 27 April 2015. EPA/NARENDRA SHRESTHA

Around 6,238 people were injured in the quake that hit on Saturday, according to the government.

Communications Minister Minendra Rizal told people not to panic over rumours and to pay attention to safety.

Chief Secretary Lilamani Poudel asked all government employees and bodies to work on a "war footing" to help the injured and the displaced.

People try to free a man from the rubble of a destroyed building after an earthquake hit Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal, April 25, 2015.​

The Tourism Ministry said it was also focusing on rescuing the foreigners trapped around the country.

"We rescued around 82 people from the Everest Base Camp yesterday," ministry secretary Suresh Man Shrestha said.

"There are 18 dead bodies on Mount Everest but we brought down only the wounded. Hopefully there will be no more casualties."

"We are also using smaller helicopters and those from the Indian army too for rescue. We are focused on the Everest region and on Gorkha, Dhading, Nuwakot and Sindupalchowk districts."

People search for survivors stuck under the rubble of a destroyed building, after an earthquake caused serious damage in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 25, 2015.

The Nepal Army has also deployed forces.

"We have mobilized 90 per cent of our resources," military official Jagdish Chandra Pokharel said. "We're working on a war footing and we request people to do what they can to help people around them."

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala arrived back in Nepal on Sunday after cutting short a visit to Indonesia.

Authorities were struggling with limited capacity to respond to the crisis, he said.

"But we are expecting more foreign help now and now need to work on cremating people, on sanitation, on clean drinking water."

Efforts were also under way to fix phone lines and restore power on Monday, he said.

Reporting by Pratibha Tuladhar