BANGKOK— The state-owned Transport Company is looking to relocate its bus terminal in northern Bangkok in a move that is estimated to cost more than 1.5 billion baht.

Wuttichart Kallayanamitr, managing director of the Transport Company, said the Bangkok Bus Terminal needs a larger space and a new location to meet the growing number of buses traveling between Bangkok and other provinces. 

"We need a space larger than 100 rai," Mr. Wuttichart said. "As for the location, we may choose somewhere on Phaholyothin Road because the new terminal will handle transports from northern and northeastern routes, which are used by a lot of passengers."

Furthermore, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), which owns the plot of land where Mo Chit Terminal is currently located, has requested the Transport Company move because it needs the space to develop other projects.

Mr. Wuttichart expects the plan will cost over 1.5 billion baht and suggested three ways to foot the bill: the state could bear sole responsibility for the budget, the state and the private sector could share the cost, or the private sector could pay for the relocation in exchange for rights to administer the new terminal for commercial purposes.

Although the SRT requested the Transport Company move Mo Chit Terminal by next year, the relocation won’t be completed until three years from now, Mr. Wutthichart said.

The Transport Company director added that the plan still needs formal approval from the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). 

BANGKOK — The Democrat Party’s deputy leader has thrown his support behind a military-dominated National Legislative Assembly, which is expected to be formed later this year.

“There has to be a guarantee that they can control the majority in the Assembly,” said Nipit Intarasombat, referring to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which seized power in a coup d’état on 22 May.

“The government has to be confident that it has a majority [in the Parliament],” he said. “If the NCPO cannot control the majority, the methods of reforms will not be achieved.”

Mr. Nipit's comment followed reports that at least half of the National Assembly seats in the interim government will be filled by military officers loyal to the NCPO. The reports have raised concerns among pro-democracy activists that the military will continue to dominate Thai politics long after it cedes administrative power to an interim government. 

According to NCPO leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha's roadmap for the country, the interim governement will be appointed in September and tasked with carrying out a series of constitutional reforms. The next election will be held in October 2015 at the earliest and only if conditions are deemed stable. 

Gen. Prayuth has also indicated that the junta will reserve the authority to intervene in matters of "national security" even after the interim government is formed. 

The 22 May coup followed six months of protests aimed at toppling the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and replacing it with an unelected people’s council to carry out unspecified “national reforms.” In solidarity with the anti-government protesters, the Democrat Party boycotted the 2 February poll, accusing Ms. Yingluck’s government of widespread corruption and demanding reforms before elections.

The Democrat Party, which fields most of its support from Bangkok and southern Thailand, has lost to political parties backed by Ms. Yingluck’s brother and former premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, in every national election since 2001. In 2006, the party helped pave the way for the military coup that ousted Mr. Thaksin and led to constitutional reforms that made Thailand's electoral system less democratic.

"I'm not concerned with the persons [in the National Assembly],” Democrat Party leader Mr. Nipit said today. “I am concerned with how they will reform the country. I will evaluate them based on the interim charter and their policies in terms of reform."

This May, Mr. Nipit accused the former government of being a "dictatorship of the majority" for its majority rule in Parliament.

Correction: The name of Democrat Party’s deputy leader was misspelled in the original article. He is called Nipit, not Pinit. 

BANGKOK — Protesters rallied in front of the Israel Embassy in Bangkok today to voice their anger over Israeli air strikes in Gaza, despite the Thai military junta’s ban on public gatherings.

The activists, many of whom were Muslim, held up signs denouncing Israel's operations in the Gaza Strip and burned Israel’s national flag.  

"Jews is terrorists [sic]" one placard read. "I hate Jews. They are murderers," proclaimed another.

Some protesters also distributed stickers reading, "There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of God."

Yet another sign read, “You don’t need to be Muslim to stand up for Gaza. You just need to human.”

One of the demonstrators, who did not give his name, said the protest was meant to show solidarity with Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. 

"I want everyone to understand the plight of Palestinians," the activist said. "Because what has happened is unbearably violent. It has no shed of humanitarian concern. Palestinians are the victims of international politics."

Almost 200 Palestinians have been killed since Israeli forces launched a fresh military assault last week against what they say are Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. The UN has estimated that three-quarters of the fatalities were civilians. The Israeli government says its goal is to “inflict a significant blow on Hamas,” who has launched hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory in the past week.

The Israeli Embassy in Bangkok closed down today after it learned about the planned protests, embassy officials said.

More than 100 police officers and plain-clothed agents watched the protest from afar without interfering with the protesters.

Since seizing power in a coup d’etat on 22 May, Thailand’s military government has not consistently enforced its ban on public demonstrations.

While all recent anti-junta rallies have been swiftly put out by security officers, often followed arrests, a number of other protests have been permitted without interference. The latter includes a one-man anti-American protest in front of the US Embassy several weeks ago, a rally in support of the death penalty as punishment for convicted rapists, and sporadic pro-coup rallies over the past few months.

Despite its close relations with the US, a major Israeli ally, Thailand recognised Palestine as an independent country in 2012. The Kingdom has also established diplomatic relations with Palestine and voted in favour of its membership status in the UNESCO.

Thailand's ruling military junta has not publicly commented on the ongoing conflicts in Gaza. 

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