(Phuket Gazette)
PHUKET: Officers are ready to go to war when serving the arrest warrants issued for the “untouchables” of Patong, Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Police Region 8 division Paween Pongsirin, told the Phuket Gazette today.
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SYDNEY (DPA) — Australia is paying refugees thousands of dollars to stop applying for asylum and return to their home nations, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday.
The amount offered depends on the country, with Lebanese reportedly receiving the maximum 10,000 Australian dollars (9,338 US dollars). Iranians reportedly receive 7,000 while Afghans are offered 4,000. Pakistanis and Sri Lankans are offered less.
Morrison said it had been standard practice for the past 10 years to offer asylum seekers incentives to return home. He did not reveal the amounts being offered, but it has been reported the Abbott government has more than tripled amounts previously offered.
"The packages are tailored individually to each and every person who decides to voluntarily return home," Morrison said.
The packages can include housing or training once they reach their home country.
Morrison said the number of people accepting the offer had more than tripled once it became clear they would not get permanent residency in Australia.
Since the Abbott government was elected in September, 283 asylum seekers have voluntarily returned home, the government said. Morrison would not reveal the maximum payments.
It costs about 45,000 Australian dollars a year to support refugees on temporary visas during which they are not allowed to work.
Morrison repeated his vow that "no one who has come illegally to Australia by boat will get a permanent visa from this government."
On Saturday, after the United Nations High Commission for Refugees revealed the number of people forcibly displaced people worldwide had passed 51 million, Morrison refused to lift the number of refugees Australia accepts from the current annual limit of 13,750.
"We are in the top three of resettlement providers for people who are refugees and who need special humanitarian assistance. The fact that we are stopping the boats has freed up 4,000 more places within our programme," he said.
Greens leader Christine Milne said paying people to return home to face torture and abuse was disgraceful. She said refugees were faced with indefinite detention in a "hellhole" like Manus Island or taking money to return to another hell.
BANGKOK — The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed "disappointment" over the United States' decision to downgrade Thailand in its latest report on human trafficking worldwide.
Thailand has been moved down to “Tier 3,” the lowest ranking, In the United States' 2014 Trafficking in Person Report (TIP) released on Friday. In other words, Thailand is now considered by the US government to be one of the worst places on earth for victims of human trafficking, alongside countries such as North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
Tens of thousands of migrants from neighboring countries are trafficked across Thailand’s borders every year and many of them are forced into slavery or exploited in the sex industry. The 2014 TIP report said that Thai authorities have failed to provide basic welfare, legal protection, and safety to victims of human trafficking due to "corruption in all levels.”
Sihasak Puangketkaew, permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded angrily to the TIP report today, calling the downgrade unfair.
"It's very sad that Thailand has been downgraded to Tier 3, which is the lowest level," Mr. Sihasak said, "I feel very disappointed and strongly disagree with it."
Earlier this week, the MFA announced that Thailand deserves an upgrade in the annual TIP report for its "significant progress" in combatting human trafficking.
Mr. Sihasak, who has been serving as de facto head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the military staged the coup on 22 May, explained today that Thailand has been prosecuting human traffickers, coordinating with US authorities to combat the issue, and upholding all international treaties concerning human trafficking.
"I insist that Thailand upholds the principles of human rights," said Mr. Sihasak.
He told reporters that Thailand will respond to the TIP report by intensifying efforts to prosecute human traffickers in Thailand and increase public relations efforts to improve Thailand's image abroad.
"I also would like to ask, why doesn't the US allow Thailand to evaluate our own situation? Why is the US always in Tier 1 all the time?" Mr. Sihasak added.
Recent reports by Reuters and British newspaper The Guardian have thrust a global spotlight on the tragic fate of many trafficking victims in Thailand, as well as the complicity of some Thai officials.
The Guardian investigation, published earlier this month, revealed that several hundred thousand Burmese migrants have been trafficked into Thailand to work as slaves in the Thai seafood and fishing industry. According to the report, Burmese migrants pay brokers to help them cross the border and find work in Thailand, but are instead sold on to "slave vessels" and subject to deplorable working conditions and abuse. The report also alleged that the conglomerate CP Food, considered to be one of the richest businesses in Thailand, is complicit in the slave labour.
Days later, Thailand was the only country to vote against a U.N. treaty requiring countries to punish perpetrators of forced labor, inviting a fresh wave of criticism from human rights groups. The Thai delegates later reversed their decision.
The military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has announced plans to harshly punish human traffickers and protect migrant workers from abuse. As Mr. Kerry was unveiling the latest TIP report last night, NCPO chairman Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha went on national television to stressthat the junta will prosecute human smugglers and related human rights violators.
Gen. Prayuth also partially blamed the country's rampant abuse of migrant workers on the previous government's push to increase minimum wage to 300 baht per day.
"The fact is that entrepreneurs were unable to hire domestic workers due to the high daily wage of 300 baht and the problem of workers unwilling to do difficult work," Gen. Prayuth told the nation. "Therefore, businesses turned to hiring foreign, unregulated and illegal workers with lower wages."
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BANGKOK — The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed "disappointment" over the United States' decision to downgrade Thailand in its latest report on human trafficking worldwide.
Thailand has been moved down to lowest ranking of “Tier 3" the United States' 2014 Trafficking in Person Report (TIP) released on Friday. In other words, Thailand is now considered by the US government to be one of the worst places on earth for victims of human trafficking, alongside countries such as North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
Tens of thousands of migrants from neighboring countries are trafficked across Thailand’s borders every year and many of them are forced into slavery or exploited in the sex industry. The 2014 TIP report said that Thai authorities have failed to provide basic welfare, legal protection, and safety to victims of human trafficking due to "corruption in all levels.”
Sihasak Puangketkaew, permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded angrily to the TIP report today, calling the downgrade unfair.
"It's very sad that Thailand has been downgraded to Tier 3, which is the lowest level," Mr. Sihasak said, "I feel very disappointed and strongly disagree with it."
Earlier this week, the MFA announced that Thailand deserves an upgrade in the annual TIP report for its "significant progress" in combatting human trafficking.
Mr. Sihasak, who has been serving as de facto head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the military staged the coup on 22 May, explained today that Thailand has been prosecuting human traffickers, coordinating with US authorities to combat the issue, and upholding all international treaties concerning human trafficking.
"I insist that Thailand upholds the principles of human rights," said Mr. Sihasak.
He told reporters that Thailand will respond to the TIP report by intensifying efforts to prosecute human traffickers in Thailand and increase public relations efforts to improve Thailand's image abroad.
"I also would like to ask, why doesn't the US allow Thailand to evaluate our own situation? Why is the US always in Tier 1 all the time?" Mr. Sihasak added.
Recent reports by Reuters and British newspaper The Guardian have thrust a global spotlight on the tragic fate of many trafficking victims in Thailand, as well as the complicity of some Thai officials.
The Guardian investigation, published earlier this month, revealed that several hundred thousand Burmese migrants have been trafficked into Thailand to work as slaves in the Thai seafood and fishing industry. According to the report, Burmese migrants pay brokers to help them cross the border and find work in Thailand, but are instead sold on to "slave vessels" and subject to deplorable working conditions and abuse. The report also alleged that the conglomerate CP Food, considered to be one of the richest businesses in Thailand, is complicit in the slave labour.
Days later, Thailand was the only country to vote against a U.N. treaty requiring countries to punish perpetrators of forced labor, inviting a fresh wave of criticism from human rights groups. The Thai delegates later reversed their decision.
The military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has announced plans to harshly punish human traffickers and protect migrant workers from abuse. As Mr. Kerry was unveiling the latest TIP report last night, NCPO chairman Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha went on national television to stress that the junta will prosecute human smugglers and related human rights violators.
Gen. Prayuth also partially blamed the country's rampant abuse of migrant workers on the previous government's push to increase minimum wage to 300 baht per day.
"The fact is that entrepreneurs were unable to hire domestic workers due to the high daily wage of 300 baht and the problem of workers unwilling to do difficult work," Gen. Prayuth told the nation. "Therefore, businesses turned to hiring foreign, unregulated and illegal workers with lower wages."
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YANGON (DPA) — Myanmar's presidential spokesman personally apologized to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for his wife's personal attack on Facebook, local media reported Saturday.
The wife of deputy information minister Ye Htut shared a post with a faked photo of Suu Kyi wearing a Muslim headscarf under the title "Woman of the Week."
"I apologized to Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi when we met in parliament, and she said it was not a problem. I thank her for understanding me," Ye Htut said.
Ye Htut had earlier issued an apology on Facebook, saying, "We have to take care with the posts that we 'like' and share, for there may be hateful posts and defamation. Apologies to those who respect and support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to those who visit my Facebook for my failure."
The British Broadcasting Corporation has dubbed Ye Htut as "Facebook minister" for his enthusiasm for social media.
Suu Kyi was kept under house arrest for nearly 15 years until her release in late 2010, becoming one of the world's most prominent political prisoners.
BANGKOK — A military spokesperson has reportedly claimed the army is detaining a Redshirt activist at an undisclosed location so she can meditate without any distractions from the outside world.
Kritsuda Khunasen, 27, was arrested by soldiers on 28 May in Chonburi province, according to a number of activists. She has been missing for three weeks, which exceeds the seven-day limit under martial law on detaining individuals without charges.
The military's silence up until now has invited criticism from international rights groups such as the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), which released a statement on 18 June urging the authorities to clarify Ms. Kritsuda's whereabouts.
Col. Winthai Suwaree, a spokesperson of the military junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said yesterday that HRW does not need to worry because the military has merely provided Ms. Kritsuda with a safe haven "away from all the chaos and distraction," according to a Facebook post by Bangkok Post's self-styled "military reporter" Wassana Nanuam.
In the Facebook post, Ms. Wassana quotes Col. Winthai as saying that the military has detained Ms. Kritsuda to help her "meditate, restore consciousness, and reconsider many things, so that we can adjust [her] understanding."
Col. Winthai did not say how long Ms. Kritsuda will be held in detention, but perplexingly said the military does not detain people for more than seven days, despite Ms. Kritsuda's three-week absence.
Ms. Kritsuda does need access to a lawyer because the military has not charged her with any crimes, Col. Winthai added, according to the Facebook post by Ms. Wassana. Nevertheless, Col. Winthai said Ms. Kritsuda was detained out of suspicion that she may have incited unrest and violated the Computer Crime Acts during her tenure as a Redshirt activist.
Col. Winthai's statement is the first public acknowledgement by an NCPO official that the military has detained Ms. Kritsuda. Previous efforts by Khaosod to secure comments from military officers concerning her whereabouts have failed, as all of the officers have refused to speak about the case.
Prior to her detention, Ms. Kritsuda was a public advocate of the Redshirt movement, which supported the government overthrown in a military coup on 22 May. For the past several years, Ms. Kritsuda has been providing humanitarian and legal support to other Redshirt activists that have been charged and detained for their alleged involvement in violent Redshirt political protests in 2010.
Since it staged the coup against the elected government on 22 May, the NCPO has summoned and detained more than 300 politicians, activists, and academics. A vast majority of those summoned are allied to the Redshirt movement.
Most of the detainees have been released shortly after they turned themselves in. So far, Ms. Kritsuda is the only known case of a detainee that has not been released after seven days.
Despite concerns raised by human rights groups, Col. Winthai reportedly urged the public to rest assured that the NCPO's detention of individuals without charges is in accordance with international human rights standards.
"We want to stress again that the summoning procedure does not treat these individuals as someone who committed a crime. Please rest assured. This procedure still upholds the principle of human rights. If you have been following the news, you will discover that no one has felt anything negative toward to the officials' treatment. There is no nature of suffering. Everyone understands and is willing to cooperate with the NCPO."
"The invitations [summons] are not meant to create an atmosphere of fear as understood [by some people]," Col. Winthai added.
So far, there have been no reports of detainees being physically mistreated by NCPO officials, but a number of people have cited being subject to intimidation and aggressive interrogation while held in military custody.
In addition, before being released most detainees are required to sign a document promising to say they were "well-treated” and “not harmed or intimidated, coerced, misled, tortured, or forced to give promise or commit any inappropriate act" by security officers during their time in detention.
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(Chiang Rai Times)
CHIANG MAI – Burmese migrant workers in Thailand are living in fear, with some of their fellow laborers having been arrested in recent weeks and an unknown number of others returning to Burma as the Thai junta intensifies its crackdown on illegal foreign workers.
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(Prachatai English)
By Takato Mitsunaga
Kristie A. Kenney, the United States Ambassador to Thailand, commemorated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month together with people in the LGBT community and those who support diversity in Thailand. The reception was held at the Ambassador’s Residence in Bangkok on Thursday evening.
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CHIANG RAI — Over 500 people participated in a mass Buddhist prayer ceremony in Chiang Rai province to ward off widespread rumours that yet another earthquake will hit the northern region this week.
Several hundred people joined the mass chanting of Buddhist incantations, led by 199 monks in the province's ecclesiastic college yesterday. The academy's rector, Phra Rattanamunee, chaired ceremony.
Phra Rattanamunee said the two hour prayer session was held to prevent a repeat of the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Chiang Rai on 5 May.
"The prayers will cause blessing and peace, and prevent all kinds of calamity," said Phra Rattanamunee.
Last month’s earthquake, which was the strongest quake in years, killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes, historic sites, temples, schools, and hospitals.
According to rumor, a hermit in the mountains of Chiang Mai has predicted that another earthquake which will strike the province on 24 June.
The hermit, who is known as Kruba Boonchoom, has instructed his followers through a handwritten note to conduct a series of rituals to prevent the earthquake on 24 June.
According to Boonchoom's instruction, each home owner is required to plant a banana leaf in one corner of his or her residence, then pray to local spirits with 19 wild olive leaves, incense, 19 candles, and two boiled eggs.
Boonchoom’s instructions end with the well-known Thai saying, "If you don't believe this, don't disrespect it. There is no harm in trying this."
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BANGKOK — A top government official has disputed the central bank of Thailand's estimation of the country's post-coup economic trajectory, arguing that the projection is too low.
"The Ministry of Finance expects 2-3% growth in GDP this year," said Somchai Satjapong, director of the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO). "Which is close to FPO's estimation of 2.6% growth."
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) previously announced that Thailand would only experience 1.5% increase in GDP, fueling fears that the military coup on 22 May may worsen the country's economy, which has already suffered from months of political turmoil.
Rung Mallikamas, a spokesperson of the BoT, said the Bank originally predicted a GDP growth of 2.7% but later decided to revise it.
Mr. Somchai insisted that the BoT got it wrong. "The estimation is too low … we believe that the economy will improve in the latter half of this year."
He explained that consumer confidence has been growing steadily while exports, consumption, and spending have seen a significant boost in recent weeks. According to Mr. Somchai, the economic "roadmap" announced by the junta's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will also restore foreign investors' confidence in Thailand.
"I can guarantee that we won't see a growth that is less than 2% this year," Mr. Somchai said.
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