Paradoxical Reactions Greet 2010 Victims Families' Amnesty Bill

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18 July 2013, 14:26

Ms. Payao Akhard (center) leading her group on a march to the Government House in June 2013

(18 July) The draft of
amnesty bill proposed by families of some victims killed during the 2010 military crackdown in
Bangkok has been met with rather strange reactions: the opposition party welcomed it while
high-profile Redshirts figures alleged that the draft would benefit the military.

Previously,
Families of April-May 2010 Martyrs announced that they had come with their version of the amnesty
bill which would grant amnesty to all protesters involved in the 2010 Redshirts? mass protests –
except those that had been charged with serious crimes such as committing arson attacks on state and
private properties.

The bill would also exempt leaders of the Redshirts, the authorities at
the time, and members of the security forces ?who employed unnecessary violence? from legal
immunity.

Currently, only former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his former Deputy Prime
Minister are facing charges of murders and attempted murders related to the crackdown; the military
personnel have been left virtually untouched.

The group was led mainly by Ms. Payao Akhard
and Mr. Pansak Srithep. They each lost a child in the crackdown.

Their draft is the 5th
version of amnesty bill on the table so far. It also differs greatly from the version proposed by
former Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung and supported by many prominent Redshirts, which
calls for amnesty to everyone involved in the crackdown.

Mr. Weng Tojirakarn, an MP of the
ruling Pheu Thai Party and one of the leaders in 2010 mass protests, said the draft written by the
victims? families have glaring problem because it does not grant amnesty to Redshirts protesters
currently detained and charged with arson attacks and serious crimes – which he said were falsified
charges put forth by the former government to discredit the Redshirts.

He noted that
Redshirts leaders would still have to face terrorism charge under this version of amnesty
bill.

In an article published on his website, Mr. Weng also voiced his concern that the
military and former PM Abhisit could simply claim they did not act with unnecessary violence as
they had to sue deadly force to counter with armed elements of the protesters – the so-called
Blackshirts – and therefore escape from legal prosecution under the proposed bill.

The
Redshirts leadership has always insisted that the protesters were not associated with the
Blackshirts in any way.

Is this amnesty bill intended to help Abhisit … and the soldiers
who participated in the killing of the people, and simultaneously punish the Redshirts and their
leaders? Mr. Weng asked sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vorachai Hema, a Pheu Thai MP who has
also proposed his own amnesty bill, said that the victims families? draft would slow down the
process to free Redshirts protesters currently detained or imprisoned, which should be the priority
of any amnesty bill.

The draft would create endless troubles, Mr. Vorachai was quoted as
saying.

Nevertheless, the controversial draft gains support from an unlikely source: the
opposition Democrat Party. Mr. Chawanon Intarakomalyasut, spokesman of the party, said the bill
proposed by Ms. Akhard and Mr. Pansak fits with his party′s stance as the bill would not give
immunity to protesters who committed violent and criminal acts.

In a press conference, Mr.
Chawanon urged the government to abandon all other versions of amnesty bill being debated and
proceed with the draft suggested by the 2010 victims? families.

However, in a curious mark,
Mr. Chawanon warned that his party will not support the bill if it includes amnesty for lese majeste
prisoners – those that have been found guilty for allegedly insulting the Royal
Family.

Khon Kaen 'Stone-Throwing Gang' Rampage Terrorises Motorists

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Khaosod English

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17 July 2013, 18:54

(17 July) 9 motorists
complained to police in Kon Khaen province over the course of a single night about unidentified
assailants throwing stones into their windshields as they drove along the interprovincial Mittaparp
Road.

The vehicles, mostly ten-wheeler trucks with some cars and smaller trucks, suffered
damage in the front windshields and side windows. The incidents took place around 250-251 Kilometre
Mark in Muang District.

The drivers told police they saw group of individuals in the
darkness near of their moving vehicles, and moments later their vehicles would be attacked with
stones – some of which moved at very high velocity due to the momentum of the moving vehicles toward
the objects.

Despite the potentially lethal nature of the incidents, no injury was
reported.

When highway police patrols inspect the crime scene after receiving such reports,
the officers spotted a group of suspicious individuals in the wooded area near the main road.
However, upon seeing the officers, the group quickly fled on their motorcycles.

Our
correspondent reported that a bus driver also came forward to report about a similar incident that
took place earlier in the same vicinity. The driver, who was driving a private headed for Bangkok on
13 July, said his windshield was smashed by a piece rock around 21.00, but the glass managed to
absorb the impact.

He said that if the glass did not hold, he would have been hit by the
stone and subsequently lose control of the bus. However, he did not make formal report to the
police, and the police urged him to do so in order to proceed with criminal charge against the
suspects.

A senior police officer told our correspondent that the police detectives are
keeping close eyes on local youths who might be the potential troublemakers.

?Stone-throwing
gangs? are known to attack motorists in some major interprovincial highways at night, using cover of
darkness to get away quickly. Police believe that the individuals simply copycat behaviour from
other cases and committed the crime out of fun.

Some cases led to tragic consequences. Few
months ago, a university student was smashed with a brick as she drove along the highway west of
Bangkok. She was admitted to hospital with grave injuries, and the doctors were uncertain whether
she would ever fully recover. A suspect was later arrested; he confessed that he did it out of
frustration because he got in fight with his lover earlier.

Rangsit University Apologizes For ‘Naked’ Beachside Hazing

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Khaosod English

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17 July 2013, 17:21

PATHUM THANI — The Thai social network has been buzzing with controversial photo purportedly showing group of freshmen at a university standing naked in the sea – with their private parts barely covered by their hands – during a hazing session supervised by senior students.

A woman, believed to be one of thesenior students, was also seen walking by the group of male students, seemingly oblivious of their stark nakedness.

The photo appears to be a reminder that the rituals of hazing (rub nong), in which senior students forcing the freshmen into series of humiliating activities to earn respect from the older students, are still widely practiced despite campaigns by some progressive students and human rights activists against the culture.

After much speculation and discussion, Rangsit University, which is based in northern suburb of Bangkok, issued an apology, acknowledging that the students who appeared in the photo study at its Faculty of Engineering.

The statement says the students organised the trip to the sea on their own way, and the university is not involved in any way.

It also insisted that the university has strict regulations over students’ activities. They are required to respect dignity of fellow humans and refrain from lewd acts or alcohol consumption, according to the statement.

Rub nong trips outside Bangkok are common for many university students. There has been constant complaints of sexual harassment, forced alcohol consumption, and excessive violence during some of these trips. Injuries or even deaths in rub nong trips have been previously reported by Thai media.

Supporters of rub nong culture claimed that it reinforces the principles of SOTUS – a short term for seniority, obedience, tradition, unity, and spirit – among the students, while civil rights activists argue that it amounts to dictatorship and inhumane treatment of younger students in universities.

Editorial 16 July 2013 : Takeoff Or Nosedive?

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Khaosod English

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17 July 2013, 16:29

Weeks ago, Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra called for various responsible for the county’s economic policies to discuss
about the economic downturn in the first half of 2013, after statistic showed that Thailand’s
economy grew less than expected.

What the statistic revealed was not very surprising, because
earlier this year, many factors have already shown signs of the economic stagnation. However, what
important is the government’s next step to improve the economic growth in the latter half of the
year.

The implication is that the government spending must be invested into long term and
sustainable developments, rather than on something less productive.

According to
fundamental economic theory, factors controlling the expansion or the stagnation of the nation
economy are household spending, investment from private sector, government spending, export and
import.

In the first half of the year, Thailand faced much international influx, causing
over-valued currency and export shrinkage. Meanwhile, declining household spending, in comparison
with last quarter of 2012, along with insufficient investment from private sector, failed to sustain
the growth.

Now the country’s economic recovery is relying excessively on government
spending.

The path to the recovery marks the importance of the 2-trillion Baht campaign on
public transport, and the 350-billion-Baht Water Management programme, as short term economic
stimulus packages to create confidence among private investors.

Moreover, these programmes
come with hefty political implication because the policies, if they succeed, could establish the
much-needed political stability for the current government.

And perhaps, the reason some
parties are arguing against the multi-millions decrees intensely was that the programmes were
against their political agenda, not their concern of the economy.

Man Films Women Upskirts ‘Because His Girlfriend Cannot Satisfy Him’

By

Khaosod English

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17 July 2013, 15:34

BANGKOK — Police at Bangkok Noi Police Station in Bangkok have arrested a man as he was using film under women′s skirts in a crowded market.

The police were initially alerted by a report that a man was recording videos under women′s skirts in Wang Lang flea market near Siriraj Hospital, a popular shopping spot.

At the scene, police spotted a man recording a video footage of a woman who was wearing a short skirt. The officers then stopped the suspect and checked his belongings. In his digital camera and mobiles, the police found photographs and video clips of women upskirts.

The man was promptly arrested and identified as Suwit Laisema,
44, a resident of Bang Krasor District, Nonthaburi province. He admitted to police that he usually uses his camera to take photographs and videos of women wearing short skirts.

He had committed these acts in crowded area such as Major Cineplex Pinklao, Central Pinklao, Wan Lang market, and Taling Chan market.

Suwit told police that he would use the series of videos and photographs to masturbate, but he insisted that he did not distribute the footages by any means.

He claimed that his girlfriend does not have time for him, so he need other sources to help him release his sexual needs.

The police found 39 video clips on Suwit camera, and one video was a TV footage of Pitchyathan “Bright” Chandraputhi, a famous TV talk show host from Channel 3. Suwit confessed that he likes her a lot so he recorded footage of her from TV, particularly when she wore short skirts.

The police charged Suwit for public nuisance. If found guilty, he will serve 1 month in prison and pay 1,000 bahts fine maximum.

Disabled Elderly Woman Falls From Wheelchair Into Fire

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Khaosod English

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17 July 2013, 15:11

(16 July) A 64 year old
woman was burned to death in Pracheenburi province after she reportedly fell from her wheelchair
into the fire she had lit for burning her dirtied diapers.

The police found the body of
Ms. Pranee
Puangcha-um in the front yard of her house in Muang District,
which is used as a garbage disposal area. Her wheelchair was found next to her charred
body.

A son of Ms. Pranee, Mr. Banpot Puangcha-um, 30, told our correspondent
that Mr. Pranee has been relying on wheelchair for 10 years after she had gone through neurosurgery
to cure an ischemic stroke. She was also forced to rely on wearing diapers ever since the surgery,
he said.

Mr. Banpot told police that his mother likes to sneak out on her wheelchair to burn
the fouled diapers at the small fire pit in the yard, as she was afraid of being a burden to her
children who might be disgusted by the task of disposing her diapers.

As she was burning the
diapers today, Mr. Banpot said, she must have fallen into the fire pit either by accident or a
sudden epilepsy. She apparently could not save herself from the flame because of her disability.
According to Mr. Banpot, no one else was home at the time of the incident.

Police say the
autopsy showed that Ms. Pranee had blood system failures and suffered severe burn.

All family
members accepted the case as an accident, and will proceed with Ms. Pranee′s funeral at the local
temple later this week.

Southeast Asian 'Thrash Metal' Lovers To Converge In Bangkok

By

Khaosod English

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16 July 2013, 20:34

(16 July) As Thailand and
the rest of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are headed toward a closer integration as
an economic community a the end of 2015, many shared cultures and customs have been much highlighted
as signs of solidarity in the region.

Here′s something you might have missed from all the
state-sponsored pamphlets and educational media about Asean cultures: thrash metal music.

The upcoming music event called Bangkok Thrash 2013 : Five Years, Five Beers is billed as
the convergence of 6 domestic and 3 foreign thrash bands.

The 3 visiting bands are
Australia-based Hidden Intent; Oracle from Indonesia – which was acknowledged by some as one of
the best thrash metal bands in Southeast Asia; and the Laotian thrashers Dictator, said to be the
only thrash metal band from the Communist state so far.

Mr. Athip Jittarerk, one of the
organisers of Bangkok Thrash 2013, told Khaosod that the annual event – the 5th since its
inception – is expected to draw many fans of the thrash metal music from other countries in Asean,
especially Malaysia and Indonesia.

Religious and socially conservative atmosphere in the 2
largely-Muslim state made it very difficult for musicians and fans of metal music to organize
musical events there, he said, as the authorities frown on symbols associated with the metal
community such as black t shirts, rebellious attitude, and Satanic symbols.

Indeed, there are
news reports from Indonesia that documented the arrests of punks in the conservative region of Aceh on the
ground of displaying ?inappropriate? behaviour. Although large parts of Indonesia are generally tolerant toward the metal music, the news understandably made some
Indonesian thrash metal fans uneasy.

Meanwhile,
Malaysian authorities keep very strict regulation on metal music events, according to Mr. Athip, who
also regularly plays in a band himself. The police would even reportedly raid the events. That′s a
real shame because there is actually a large thrash metal community in Malaysia, Mr. Athip
said.

Compared with other continental neighbours, therefore, Mr. Athip said that Bangkok is
an ideal place for fans and musicians from Asean countries, and beyond, to meet up. The venue, The
Rock Pub, is also very close to Ratchathewi Skytrain (BTS) station, a relatively convenient way to
travel in the busy capital city.

Mr. Athip said that except for Myanmar and Cambodia, local
thrash metal bands in the 7-member Asean countries have kept close contacts with one another. Such
personal contacts, he said, would always bring in large crowds at the music events (like the one
scheduled to take place in Bangkok) as fans of each visiting band would show up at the
venue.

In previous 4 events organised in Bangkok, 10-20% of the audiences are foreigners. In
some events it′s as much as 50% the co-organiser said, adding that he′s also seen many foreign
expats living in Bangkok attended the events.

Mr. Athip acknowledged that thrash metal is
still a
iche in Asean cultural background, as reflected in the fact that much of the thrash
community′s activities rely heavily on personal network and self-financing (he said the bands
appearing in the event are not paid for travel fees or live performances), but he said the current system works well enough.

Nonetheless, he hoped the community would take further step soon in term of activities. He told our correspondent that he and his friends are
already talking about a large-scale concert that would feature thrash metal band from every Asean
country.

I mean, it′s been our 5th year since we started Bangkok Thrash already, it′s time
we do something bigger, Mr. Athip said.

More information on Bangkok Trash 2013 :
Five Years, Five Beers can be found at http://www.facebook.com/BangkokThrash

Pitsanulok 'Thief' Falls Asleep During House Burglary

By

Khaosod English

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16 July 2013, 16:14

(16 July) Police arrested
a suspect as he was sleeping in a building that was reportedly the target of his burglary attempt in
Pitsanulok province.

Mr. Somsak Sangchandra, 47, the owner of the building in Muang District, which
he operated as a One Tambon One Product (OTOP) store, said he went up to the rooftop to feed the
cats in the morning and found a man sleeping in the corridor, so he called the police to investigate
the scene.

The police arrested the man and later identified him as Mr. Saksithi
Suwiset, 27. When they told Mr. Saksithi he was under arrest, he
was still half asleep and did not recognise what was happening.

Later, Mr. Saksithi
told police he had broken into the building earlier. That time, he said, he went into Mr. Somsak′s
bedroom, lied on his bed and watched TV before stealing two money boxes and spent the money on
computer games at an internet cafe.

In his latest
incursion, according to the suspect, he suddenly fell asleep as he entered Mr. Somsak′s store via
the rooftop from the next building.

Mr. Saksithi said that he had been drinking before
the burglary attempt, which was why he fell asleep in the building.

Families of 2010 Crackdown Victims Push Their Own Amnesty Bill

By

Khaosod English

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16 July 2013, 13:52

Ms. Payao Akhard and Mr. Pansak Srithep handing their open letter to Vice PM Pongthep Thepkanchana

BANGKOK — The relatives of victims caught in deadly crossfire during the 2010 military crackdown on Redshirt protesters are urging the government to accept their own version of an amnesty bill.

The group, which calls itself "Families of April-May 2010 Martyrs," was led by Payao Akhard, the mother of a volunteer medic shot dead inside a temple on 19 May 2010, and Pansak Srithep, the father of a schoolboy killed in central Bangkok on 16 May 2010.

Pansak and Payao, accompanied by supporters, met with Vice PM Pongthep Thepkanchana at the Government House today to submit an open letter addressed to PM Yingluck Shinawatra.

The letter urges Yingluck to accept the draft of their amnesty bill, which calls for immediate amnesty to all protesters involved in political incidents from 19 September 2006 to May 2010, regardless of their political affiliation.

However, the bill would not exempt leaders of the Redshirt protests or those responsible for the deaths of protesters in the 2010 military crackdown, which left over 90 people dead.

The operation was authorized by Former PM Abhisit Vejjajeeva and Former Vice PM Suthep Thaugsuban. Both are facing charges of murder and attempted murder for their roles in the crackdown.

The group proposed their version of the bill as an alternative to the draft written by Pheu Thai MPs that would grant amnesty to everyone facing charges in connection with the crackdown, including the government, military commanders, and Redshirts leaders.

Pansak called any draft of the amnesty bill that exempts the military from legal prosecution “unacceptable.”

Pansak argued that ordinary protesters from both Redshirt and Yellowshirt camps deserve amnesty because their political protests were the result of conflicting opinions, which is normal in a democratic system. However, he said the military must be held accountable for its excessive use of force, which resulted in deaths and injuries.

He also said that protesters who damaged private or public property should answer to the laws.

Speaking at the Government House today, Payao urged Yingluck to publicly comment on which amnesty bill her government would pursue, as the issue is a very important and being closely watched by society.

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Whiskey Bottle Fight At Karaoke Restro Leaves 1 Dead

By

Khaosod English

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16 July 2013, 13:29

(15 July) A man was shot
dead after he reportedly smashed a whiskey bottle into the head of another patron at a karaoke bar
in Trad province. Another man was also shot in the face but survived.

The incident took place
at a restaurant, which also serves alcohol and offers karaoke services, called U-turn Karaoke, in
Mueng District.

Ms. Nid Nimsan, 30, the owner of the place, told our correspondent that the
shooting took place after midnight. The victim reportedly arrived with a group of 5 friends, sitting
on a table on one side, while the suspect was with his 3 friends and sitting on the other
table.

Later that night, Ms. Nid said, the victim walked around a lot, shirtless and drunk.
The suspect reportedly warned a friend of a victim that he should look after his drunken companion
more carefully.

After a while, Ms. Nid said, the victim suddenly smashed a whiskey bottle on
the head of the suspect, causing him to pull out his gun and shot the victim in the head. As the
victim’s friends rushed in to help, the suspect allegedly shot at the group, hitting the cheekbone
of Mr. Thapakorn Kol-rean, 21.

The suspect later fled the scene on a black Toyota pick-up
truck.

Ms. Sunaree Tansomboon, a waiting staff at the restaurant, told the police that the
suspect is a dark and skinny man and approximately 178 cm tall. The police suspect that the gun used
in the scene was a .32 mm pistol.

The police are still searching for the suspect.

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