Junta Embarks On 'Happiness' Project

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2 June 2014, 17:53

Soldiers clean the street around Victory Monument in Bangkok, 2 June 2014

BANGKOK — In an effort to "return happiness" to Thai society after months of political unrest, the military junta is organizing road cleanups, army-band concerts, and free haircuts for the people.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief who led a coup on 22 May, recently said that the "happiness" of Thai people is among the top priorities of the military junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

"Thai people, like me, have probably not been happy for nine years, but since May 22, there is happiness," Gen. Prayuth said in a national address laying out a roadmap for the country, which includes 2-3 months of "national reconciliation" followed by a year of constitutional reforms.

Today, soldiers from a cavalry division based in Saraburi province were deployed to cleanup the area around Victory Monument in central Bangkok – the site of several anti-coup demonstrations last week.

Billed by the military as "Big Cleaning Day," the effort was aimed at bringing beauty and cleanliness back to the people, army officers said.

The military also held free concerts over the weekend, with soldiers playing guitars, keyboard, saxophone, trombone, and drums to the applauses of happy-looking audiences.

The concerts also featured free haircuts and dessert.

This Friday, the NCPO will begin airing a weekly television program to keep the public informed of it's efforts to return happiness to the 'Land of Smiles.'

"It will be an explanation of the NCPO's works, and will answer people's questions," an army spokesman explained on 31 May.

Since seizing power, the NCPO has summoned and detained more than 300 people, censored and closed down a number of TV stations and radios, and arrested protesters who voiced their opposition to the military junta.

NCPO spokesman Col. Winthai Suwaree said today that the military's crackdown on dissidents is a necessary part of the happiness project.

"Although those who disagree with the NCPO's ways are few, they affect the NCPO's mission to return happiness to the country," Col. Winthai explained.

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Chiang Mai Academics Report Themselves to the Military

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2 June 2014, 16:19

At 1 p.m., a dozen academics in Chiang Mai province reported themselves to the 7th Infantry Regiment in Chiang Mai after they were summoned by the army and police for “talks.” (Prachatai English).

(Prachatai English)

A dozen academics in Chiang Mai province reported themselves to the 7th Infantry Regiment in Chiang Mai at 1pm this afternoon after they were summoned by the army. They were released around 4.30 p.m.

The army told them to stop all political activities for the sake of the nation’s “reconciliation.”

Myanmar Firms Compete For Place On Yangon Stock Exchange

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2 June 2014, 15:19

A Thai investor monitors share prices at a stock brokerage in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 October 2013. Myanmar will allow five companies to be listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange when it is launched next year. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT

YANGONG (DPA) — Myanmar will allow five companies to be listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange when it is launched next year, local media reports said Monday.

"Six local public companies have applied to be listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange and we have already granted permission to two companies," Deputy Finance Minister Maung Maung Thein told The Standard Times.

"To ensure the quality and compactness of the stock exchange we have decided to go with just five companies initially although there have been many applications," he said.

Two local public companies, Asia Green Development Bank (AGD) and Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation (MAPCO) have been approved for listing and another three will be chosen before the launch of the stock exchange in October 2015.

Maung Maung Thein said the Japanese Finance Ministry's research team, the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and Myanmar's Ministry of Finance had together drafted rules and regulations for the Yangon Stock Exchange and had submitted them to the General Attorney last month.

The stock exchange will be operated by the Myanmar Economic Bank in partnership with Japan's TSE and Daiwa Securities Group, he said.

Cambodia Demands Thais Remove Fence Near Disputed Temple Site

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2 June 2014, 15:19

A photo made available 11 November 2013 shows a Cambodian security officer guarding Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, 18 July 2012. Cambodia has demanded that Thailand tear down a fence it says Thai forces erected last week on disputed border land near the 11th-century temple. EPA/MAK REMISSA

PHNOM PENH (DPA) — Cambodia has demanded that Thailand tear down a fence it says Thai forces erected last week on disputed border land near an 11th-Century temple, local media reported Monday.

The fence was erected on Wednesday and "violated the MOU (memorandum of understanding) from 2000" over the Preah Vihear temple site, foreign affairs spokesman Koy Kuong told The Cambodia Daily.

The 2000 agreement "says that the area has to remain status quo, meaning that there can be no development in that area," he was reported as saying.

Thailand's ambassador to Cambodia could not be reached for comment Monday.

While the temple complex falls inside Cambodia, there has long been a dispute with Thailand over ownership of an area of border land adjacent to it.

In November, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Cambodia's sovereignty extended to all of the natural promontory bearing the monument, but rejected Cambodia's claim to a nearby hill.

But the ruling did not map out what it meant by natural promontory, essentially leaving it to Thailand and Cambodia to decide on the ownership of most of a 4.6-square-kilometre plot of land adjacent to the temple that was the source of clashes in 2008.

Both countries accepted the court's decision peacefully as the sometimes fractious relations had improved since Yingluck Shinawatra became Thailand's premier. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is close friends with her brother Thaksin.

The fence was allegedly erected shortly after the ousting of Yingluck and a military coup in Thailand in May.

Phuket Expat Spends 77 Hours in Dinghy, Breaks Record

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2 June 2014, 14:01

(The Phuket News)

PHUKET — A local expat has completed a gruelling sailing trip alone in a Laser dinghy, spending 77 hours on board the tiny boat and battling storms and severe pain.

Yassine Darkaoui, originally from Morocco, has been planning to beat the Guinness World Record for the longest distance sailed in a Laser dinghy for about two years.

Read the rest of the story here.

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China Slams US, Japan for "Provocative Action"

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2 June 2014, 14:01

Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army of China, speaks on the third day of The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) 13th Asia Security Summit in Singapore, 01 June 2014. Wang accused the US and Japan of having coordinated with each other in "targeting China" in speeches made the previous day. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

Singapore (DPA) — China hit back at the US and Japan Sunday for initiating "dispute and trouble" through "provocative action" in speeches made at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army, deviated off-script to respond to speeches by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel earlier during the security summit this weekend.

Wang accused the two countries of having coordinated with each other in "targeting China."

"They supported each other, they encouraged each other and they took the advantage of speaking first at the Shangri-La Dialogue and staged provocative action and challenges against China," he said.

Abe had given the opening keynote address on Friday night, while Hagel spoke Saturday morning on the US contribution to regional security. Both criticized China, accusing it of "destabilizing unilateral action" and not abiding by the "rule of law."

Wang criticized Abe for not living up to the "spirit of this dialogue," and described Hagel's speech as "full of hegemony, full of words of threat and intimidation."

China is embroiled in territorial disputes in both the East and South China Seas with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Tensions with Hanoi reached a high point following the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat last week. Both sides blamed each other for the incident.

Wang also accused Japan and the US of stoking tensions.

"On bilateral and multilateral occasions and at the Shangri-La Dialogue, China has never been the first to provoke dispute and trouble," he said. "I think everyone understands who actually initiated dispute and trouble."

Activists, Politicians, Prachatai Journalist Summoned by Junta

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2 June 2014, 14:01

(Prachatai English)

BANGKOK — On Sunday night the military junta ordered 38 people, including a Prachatai journalist, to report to the military on Monday and Tuesday at the Thai Army Club in Bangkok.

Read more and see the list of those summoned here.

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300,000 Trucks Idle After Economic Slowdown

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2 June 2014, 14:01

Soldiers outside of King Taksin Monument in Bangkok, 1 June 2014.

BANGKOK — Transportation companies in Thailand are taking a serious hit from the economic slowdown caused by the country’s ongoing political crisis, said the President of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand (LTFT).

A contraction in the demand for transportation has left approximately 30% of Thailand’s trucks — around 300,000 vehicles — sitting idle in parking lots, LFTF President Mr. Yoo Jienyuenyongpong said on Sunday.

“Since the protests broke out at the end of 2013, the demand for good transportation has shrunk to no less than 5-10%, particularly after the Songkran Festival” said Mr. Yoo. “Rainy season is typically low season for transport, and the demand has sharply dropped 30%, even less than last year’s 20%.”

According to Mr. Yoo, the political situation has also caused a decrease in the number of newly purchased vehicles.

“Companies have purchased only 8,000 vehicles so far this year,” Mr. Yoo said. “The number has not made it up to 50% of last year’s figure at approximately 40,000 newly-purchased trucks. It is expected that the number will drop further throughout the year.”

The political situation in Thailand has affected the country’s balance of exports and imports, which is now in deficit. Investor and consumer confidence have also taken a dive because of uncertainty about the country’s future.

Many transportation companies lack policies to lay off drivers because they are accustomed to the recent years of labour shortage, Mr. Yoo said. He predicted that the companies will have no choice but to sustain their businesses until the political crisis is solved and the economic is revived.

“However, if the economy does not improve, small transport companies may be forced to shut down”, said Mr. Yoo.

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Authorities Silent on Abducted Anti-Coup Protester

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2 June 2014, 12:25

A 71-year-old woman was mobbed and escorted away by police at Ratchaprasong Intersection in central Bangkok for wearing a mask with an anti-coup message, 1 June 2014.

BANGKOK — Few details have emerged about the anti-coup protester who was abducted in plain view yesterday.

The woman was forcefully shoved into a taxi by a group of suspected plain-clothed policemen in front of Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit on Sukhumvit Road at around 2:10 pm on Sunday.

The men who abducted her were heard saying they were taking the woman to "a police station." It is not clear whether the taxi driver was member of the security forces, although a black-clad man was seen sitting in the back of the car.

Authorities have yet to publicly disclose any information about the incident or where the woman was taken.

A wallet left behind by the woman contained two ID cards. One belongs to Pailin Puangsiri, a resident of Suan Luang district in Bangkok, while the other belongs to Sunantha Puangsiri, a resident of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi province.

The woman appeared to be a lone protester nearby the larger anti-coup demonstration outside Terminal 21 shopping mall. Shortly before her abduction, she was seen flashing the "three-finger salute” that has become a symbol of opposition to the military junta to security forces who were containing the flash anti-coup protest nearby.

No relative or friend of the woman could be found at the protest site.

The incident was captured on camera by the Bangkok Post and has raised concerns that authorities are taking an increasingly heavy-handed approach to cracking down on protesters.

Another lone protester, a woman in her 70s, was also mobbed and escorted away by police at Ratchaprasong Intersection in central Bangkok yesterday for wearing a mask with an anti-coup message.

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Authorities Silent on Abducted Anti-Coup Protester

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2 June 2014, 12:22

A 71-year-old woman was mobbed and escorted away by police for wearing a mask with an anti-coup message, 1 June 2014.

BANGKOK — Few details have emerged about the anti-coup protester who was abducted in plain view yesterday.

The woman was forcefully shoved into a taxi by a group of suspected plain-clothed policemen in front of Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit on Sukhumvit Road at around 2:10 pm on Sunday.

The men who abducted her were heard saying they were taking the woman to "a police station." It is not clear whether the taxi driver was member of the security forces, although a black-clad man was seen sitting in the back of the car.

Authorities have yet to publicly disclose any information about the incident or where the woman was taken.

A wallet left behind by the woman contained two ID cards. One belongs to Pailin Puangsiri, a resident of Suan Luang district in Bangkok, while the other belongs to Sunantha Puangsiri, a resident of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi province.

The woman appeared to be a lone protester nearby the larger anti-coup demonstration at Terminal 21 shopping mall. Shortly before her abduction, she was seen flashing the "three-finger salute” that has become a symbol of opposition to the military junta to security forces who were containing the anti-coup protest nearby.

No relative or friend of the woman could be found at the protest site.

The incident was captured on camera by the Bangkok Post and has raised concerns that authorities are taking an increasingly heavy-handed approach to cracking down on protesters.

Another lone protester, a woman in her 70s, was also mobbed and escorted away by police at Ratchaprasong Intersection in central Bangkok yesterday for wearing a mask with an anti-coup message.

For comments, or corrections to this article please contact:[email protected]

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