31st March 2007

Protesters turned out at City Hall and Sanam Luang despite Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's new bid to defuse tension by hinting that a ban on political activities may be lifted in September. About 4,000 people converged at City Hall's Lan Khon Muang public ground for a rally led by PTV, the satellite-based television station launched by former members of the Thai Rak Thai party founded by deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Chatuporn Prompan, Nattavuth Saigua and Veera Musikhapong took turns criticising the Council for National Security (CNS) for its handling of southern unrest and appointment of the new board of the Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) chaired by CNS deputy secretary-general Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr.
Korkaew Pikulthong, a rally leader, told the crowds that distorted facts are behind the problems at Suvarnabhumi airport. He said the AoT board made the problems out to be corruption when they were actually physical flaws.
''The board is out to destroy Mr Thaksin with Suvarnabhumi airport as the symbol of its mission,'' Mr Korkaew said.
Mr Natthavuth said the CNS could not solve the southern insurgency and instead had decided to blame it on the Wada political group, which was formerly affiliated to Thai Rak Thai.
Chakkrapob Penkair, another speaker, said that on the day democracy returns, the people who usurped power will have to face the music.
The demonstrators at City Hall were urged to sign a petition urging Gen Prem Tinsulanonda be removed as president of the Privy Council, and to boycott a public referendum on a new charter now being drafted. They dispersed without incident at about 11pm.
PTV speakers had suggested at the rally last Friday that Gen Prem may have been the main backer of the Sept 19 military coup.
The rally participants were largely the same group as those who joined the PTV rally at Sanam Luang on March 23, and landless farmers who had earlier camped out at the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.
Off stage, Mr Chatuporn said PTV would not suspend its rallies even though the station obtained a licence to go on air.
Meanwhile, some 100 coup opponents, under the leadership of the Pirap Khao group, turned out at Sanam Luang, defying a ban on use of amplification equipment and make-shift stages at the public ground. Authorities made not attempt to intervene.
The rally leaders criticised the CNS and Gen Prem's involvement in politics.
Both the rallies at Lan Khon Muang and Sanam Luang proceeded under tight security.
Political parties felt Gen Surayud's proposal to lift the ban on activities conducted by political parties would come too late.
They said if the ban was lifted in September as proposed, they would be left with too little time to prepare for the general election, expected to be held in the middle of December.
Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said the ban effectively kept politicians from receiving public input, which was the key to shaping up national administration policies.
''We are not the kind of people who wait for a bell to ring before we jump into the ring. We have a job to do,'' said Mr Abhisit.
Acting Thai Rak Thai leader Chaturon Chaisaeng said the elections would not be an effective democratic process if each party simply told voters to vote for their candidates.
''You did not come from elections, so you do not care and do not understand that parties have to talk with academics and other groups and explain their policy platforms to people. We do not just go out and tell them to vote for this party,'' he said.
Somsak Thepsuthin, leader of the Matchima political group, said lifting the ban in September could result in the polls being deferred, as new parties would not be able to finish registering in time.
Akapol Sorasuchart, deputy leader of the Mahachon party, said each political party should have at least 180 days or six months to prepare for the general election.
Somsak Prisanananthakul, a deputy Chat Thai party leader, said the government had decided to return the mandate to the people and so it should not worry about party activities. Besides, parties could help the government and the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA), educating people about the charter, he said.
The CDA anticipated that the public referendum could be held in September and the general election some time in late-December.
Gen Surayud said the CDA chairman, Noranit Sethabutr, had suggested the most appropriate date for the general election was either Sunday, Dec 16 or Dec 23.
''We did not discuss [the prospect of] lifting the ban in September. But we talked about a time-frame which parties should have to prepare for elections,'' he said.
''We will give them enough time.''
Gen Surayud's move was seen as an attempt to pre-empt confrontation.
On Wednesday, he talked about setting Dec 16 or Dec 23 as election day, after refusing to invoke emergency powers.
In the face of mounting protests, acting national police chief Pol Gen Seripisuth Temiyavej yesterday laid down extra security precautions and guidelines for handling of demonstrations.
In an order issued to senior commanding officers, he put Pol Gen Sombat Amornwiwat, deputy police chief for security, in charge of handling protests, with Pol Gen Vichian Potphosi and Pol Lt-Gen Adul Saengsingkeow as his assistants.

30th March 2007

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday opted against declaring a state of emergency, while setting a tentative timeframe for the general election in a move aimed at pre-empting anti-coup protests at Sanam Luang this evening.
''Let me tell you that [the government] has not yet imposed emergency rule because we do not have an emergency situation,'' Gen Surayud said at Government House.
He said the government would talk with every party concerned to prevent the situation from reaching such a critical point.
''I do not want to see confrontations and clashes between Thais. We will do our best to prevent the situation from reaching that stage,'' he said.
''If there is any incident, this executive decree [on Public Administration in Emergency Situations] empowers me as the prime minister to implement it,'' he said.
Gen Surayud said the general election was likely to be held in December with the most likely polling day being Dec 16 or Dec 23.
A referendum on the new constitution would probably be held in September.
Gen Surayud's announcement followed a meeting with the Council for National Security (CNS) and relevant authorities including Constitution Drafting Assembly president Noranit Setthabutr, Election Commission chairman Apichart Sukhakkanant and Interior Minister Aree Wongarya.
The meeting was called after CNS chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin suggested the government impose emergency rule to thwart a planned anti-coup rally today by executives of the satellite television channel PTV.
A source close to the meeting said the prime minister considered this a political rather than a military problem and wanted to use available mechanisms to deal with it.
''If military force is used to handle a political problem, the problem will get out of hand and [we'll be] playing into their hands,'' the source quoted Gen Surayud as saying.
Gen Sonthi was not satisfied with Gen Surayud's decision but accepted it.
The CNS chairman was said to have lobbied hard in support of emergency rule. He dined with ifMatichon newspaper executives on Tuesday and reportedly asked his close aide to take a photograph of a group of people to the publisher.
The photo was published in Matichon and Khao Sod dailies yesterday. Khao Sod identified people in the picture, reportedly taken in Beijing, as PTV executives and deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
''It is an unusual attempt by Gen Sonthi to block the rally. He is worried by accusations that he has married two women,'' said the source. The general, a Muslim, is seen as wanting to maintain a clean image to fulfil his political ambitions.
The emergency rule proposal drew a barrage of criticism from pro-democracy and human rights groups, including the National Human Rights Commission, which saw it as a violation of basic rights.
Authorities are gearing up for anti-coup demonstrations at Sanam Luang amid reports that people are being mobilised in the provinces and sent to the capital to join the rallies.
Police and the military in the provinces, especially those in the North, have set up checkpoints and stepped up vehicle searches. They have been told to talk people into staying home.
In Bangkok, police and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have decided to close Sanam Luang for activities at night on March 29-April 5.
They also imposed a 24-hour ban on the use of amplification equipment, any attempts to set up make-shift stages at the public ground, and stepped up security.
Pol Lt-Gen Adisorn Nonsi, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said authorities did not prohibit public gatherings as long as they were peaceful and in line with regulations.
PTV executives yesterday decided to shift the venue of their rally from Sanam Luang to Lan Khon Muang plaza in front of City Hall. Nattawut Sai-kua, the station director, said Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin would provide amenities at the PTV-led rally. Protesters would not march to other venues, he said.
PTV executive Jatuporn Prompan admitted that he and Chakkraprob Penkair were in the picture, saying they were there to inform Mr Thaksin, the founder of Thai Rak Thai, of their resignation.
He said he hoped the CNS did not use this to justify its attempt to impose the emergency rule.
''It is not worth it. And people will say the CNS and the government are narrow-minded,'' he said.
Campaign for Human Rights yesterday called on the police and the BMA to review restrictions on use of Sanam Luang.
Metha Maskhao, group coordinator, claimed the rules, which target pro-Thaksin groups, affected other people's fundamental rights.

29th March 2007

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday stopped short of signing an order to invoke the decree for a national emergency in order to head off a mass anti-government rally looming tomorrow.
Speaking to reporters last night, he said the government would not rush to declare an emergency situation as advised by the Council for National Security.
The government would discuss the matter with the coup makers today and assess the situation before making a decision, Gen Surayud said. ''We need to talk first,'' the prime minister said.
According to Gen Surayud, CNS chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin cited national security and fears of confrontation when suggesting the emergency decree be invoked.
Gen Sonthi met the prime minister on Tuesday to express concern about planned rallies and recommended he use emergency powers to handle mass gatherings in Bangkok and other cities.
Pornchai Matangkhasombat, rector of Mahidol University and the premier's adviser, said Gen Surayud discussed the matter with his advisory team for more than three hours yesterday.
He said Gen Surayud insisted that the government would not resort to violence to clamp down on protests.
Gen Sonthi yesterday said he informed Gen Surayud of the possibility that violence might erupt during upcoming rallies.
He noted that some protest leaders were trying by every means to discredit the CNS and the government, and to show that the Sept 19 coup was unjustified.
These protest leaders want to provoke the CNS to resort to violence, and the CNS hopes the decree will discourage people who are paid to join, he said.
Gen Sonthi said if protesters succeeded in provoking violence this would backfire on the constitution drafting process.
''If the situation gets out of hand, we are ready to declare an emergency situation in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces to control the situation,'' he said.
Gen Sonthi said he is not worried about protests by farmers as they do not have a political agenda. But he suggested they send representatives and hold talks with the government or authorities.
He said the decree empowers police to maintain order with the help of troops.
Gen Sonthi said he understood invoking emergency powers would affect the economic climate. But he added that without security and peace then investments would also be stalled.
''Security is a deciding factor. If people understand this, they should consider what is proper or not,'' he said.
However, the CNS chairman said the final say on the emergency decree rests with the government, not the CNS.
A source close to the CNS said yesterday Gen Sonthi called for ''tough action'' to ensure law and order. ''If we allow groups of people to disturb law and order, it will affect the public referendum on the constitution,'' said the source. Groups most likely to be affected by the decree, if invoked, are those linked to the former ruling Thai Rak Thai party, he added.
Anti-coup protests, such as those led by academic Giles Ungphakorn, have been allowed to proceed over the past six months because they are seen to be acting on principle, the source said.
''We cannot allow politicians from Thai Rak Thai to campaign in this way. They have no legitimacy to do so. They are the reason we staged the coup,'' he said.
Democrat deputy leader Surin Pitsuwan yesterday voiced concerns about any invocation of emergency powers.
He said the emergency decree would hamper efforts by various parties who have been working to prop up the country's image in the international community.
He suggested the government and the CNS find appropriate measures that would minimise the negative impact if they were to declare an emergency situation.
The emergency decree was first put into effect by the previous Thaksin Shinawatra administration in 2005 to deal with violence in the deep South.
The prime minister is empowered to apply the decree in other parts of the country as he deems fit.
A military source said Gen Sonthi has evidence to prove that an executive of the PTV station, which staged a rally last Friday, had received what is believed to be payment from Mr Thaksin in China.
Veera Musikapong, an executive of the satellite-based station, said the station would proceed with its planned rally at Sanam Luang tomorrow.
He said the rally, dubbed ''Confiding in the People'', would be conducted in a peaceful manner. It would be a forum for PTV to deplore injustice.
In Songkhla, the mayor of Songkhla municipality, Uthit Chuchuay, said people in the province will keep a close watch on tomorrow's rally by PTV executives.
He said that some 3,000 people are ready to head up to Bangkok to protest against the station if it offends Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda.

28th March 2007

1,700 new rangers are to be sent in to battle insurgency in the south. The new troops will get extra combat pay, and bring the strength of paramilitary forces in the deep South to around 10,000.
About 1,700 freshly-trained rangers have been deployed in the three southernmost provinces.
The beefing up of the paramilitary force, in addition to some 30,000 regular troops already deployed, has led to insurgents claiming on their illegal websites that the rangers are out to kill Muslims in the three provinces.
Lt-Gen Viroj Buacharoon, chief of the Fourth Army Region, said the separatist groups spread the rumour to boost public hostility against the military authorities because they were terrified of the ranger reinforcements.
The new rangers will form a rapid deployment force specially trained in counter-insurgency tactics.
The rangers' arrival coincided with an assertion in Singapore that Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is threatening to open a new front in southern Thailand.
Terrorism researcher Rohan Gunaratna said JI remains Southeast Asia's most potent extremist group even though its network in Malaysia and Singapore has been dismantled, AFP reported.
JI in Indonesia and the Philippines have shown "great interest" in sending fighters and explosives experts to southern Thailand, the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research told a security conference.
"The jihadists in Southeast Asia ... want to create a new front" he added.
In Yala, Mahamamaseh Noh, 30, a newly-trained ranger, said he was excited to "bring peace to the South", especially to return to serve in his home town in Raman district.
But Col Tim Ruengto, the 41st ranger force chief, appealed to the government for more hi-tech combat equipment to be made available to rangers.
Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, adviser to the prime minister, said soldiers needed to exercise more restraint in counter-insurgency work, or the rebels would win international attention and gain the upper hand.
A peace advocacy group called the Working Group on Justice for Peace opposed the government's proposal to equip local people with weapons to defend themselves.
The group, headed by Angkhana Neelaphaijit, wife of missing lawyer Somchai, said the proposal to supply 62 villagers in Songkhla's Saba Yoi district with 1,240 guns for self-defence could derail the peace effort.
"The gun is a symbol of violence, so any conflict cannot be resolved by the gun," she said.
In Narathiwat's Sungai Padi district, two Buddhist women were killed by two drive-by shooters yesterday afternoon.
In Yaha and Bannang Sata districts of Yala, the curfew was changed from 8pm-4am to 9pm-4am to allow Muslims time to attend their evening prayers.
The cabinet approved a special pay rise - and morale-boosting risk allowance - for military personnel based in the South working under the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc).

Provincial governors have refused to declare their provinces disaster zones again for fear this will affect Songkran festival tourism. But the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation are to give northern farmers an ultimatum: Stop "mobile farming", the polite term for slash-and-burn - or face legal action.
Chiang Mai governor Wichai Srikwan said the dust is a minor problem and it can be brought under control.
Thick smog set in on Sunday - two days after the Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai governors lifted their disaster zone status.
The Pollution Control Department yesterday instructed people in the North, particularly those with respiratory problems and the elderly, to avoid outdoor activities.
The level of dust particles smaller than 10 microns was measured at 128 microgrammes per cubic metre (ug/cu m) in Chiang Mai, 142 in Chiang Rai and 160 in Mae Hong Son, which exceeds the accepted safety standard of 120 ug/cu m.
Junnapong Saranak, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Northern Region 1, conceded that air pollution has affected tourism in the region, as some tourists had cancelled travel plans.
However, his office had assured tour agents and travellers that the situation had improved and he expected a huge number of visitors during the Songkran festival from April 13 to 15.
Duangchan Charoenmuang of Chiang Mai University blamed the authorities for a short-sighted approach to air pollution, which has recurred each year.
She called for systemic management and public participation in dealing with all sources of pollution.
Her view contradicts those of state officials who have only focused on forest fires and slash-and-burn farming as the causes of the problem.
The chief of the public health office in Chiang Rai, Thepnaruemit Methawin, said 20,085 residents were treated for respiratory ailments and sore eyes over the past two weeks.
So-called mobile plantations are an agricultural practice widely used by farmers living in the mountainous areas in the North, especially those from ethnic minorities who traditionally moved from place to place, from valley to valley, clearing highland areas for plantation, and leaving fields fallow for a season or two to regain nutrients.
Such slash and burn agriculture is deemed as a major cause of the smoke and haze engulfing the northern region at present.
Flying by helicopter to inspect the forest fire raging across the mountainous northern province of Mae Hon Son on Tuesday, the department's Deputy Director General, Samran Rakchart, said a few
hot spots were seen in some areas of Mae Hong Son and nearby Chiang Mai.
The forest fires in the region are mostly caused by farmers who encroach and burn the reserved forests to clear land for crops. If such mobile plantation is stopped, forestry officials say, the forest fires will decline.
In an effort to minimise the forest fire problem, he said, department officials will first ask for cooperation from farmers to refrain from burning. But if they fail to cooperate and continue their slash and burn practices, the department will take harsh legal action against them.
Meanwhile, Chiang Mai governor Vichai Srikwan said provincial authorities meet to assess the haze situation every morning. Tuesday registered a slightly improved situation, but the province will continue daily monitoring until the problem is fully resolved.
Judging from the improving situation, the governor said there is no need for Chiang Mai to be declared as environmental disaster zone again. He assured the public that the smoke and haze problem will be completely resolved before the Songkran festival in mid-April.
The annual water festival celebration draws millions of tourists from around the world to the northern capital city, he said, promising that attendees will not be affected by the haze or otherwise disappointed this year.

27th March 2007

Potjaman Shinawatra, wife of ousted prime minister Thaksin, her stepbrother and her secretary were yesterday charged in the Criminal Court with tax evasion in the transfer of Shin Corp shares in 1997.
Khunying Potjaman, Bannapot Damapong and Karnchanapa Honghern were released on bail of five million baht each in what was the first case processed by the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) to reach the Criminal Court.
Public prosecutor Seksan Bangsombun, of the Office of the Attorney-General's special case division, and his team filed the case at 10.30am.
Khunying Potjaman and Mr Bannapot were charged with conspiring to evade taxes amounting to 546.12 million baht in the 1997 transfer of Shin Corp shares and of lying to authorities when questioned about it four years later.
Ms Karnchanapa faces one count of conspiring to evade taxes.
If found guilty, Khunying Potjaman and Mr Bannapot could each face up to 14 years in jail and a fine of 400,000 baht.
Ms Karnchanapa could face a jail term of up to seven years and a 200,000-baht fine.
The three denied all the charges and the Criminal Court scheduled May 14 as the date for reviewing the evidence of witnesses for both sides.
The defendants put down six million baht each as surety for bail. The court agreed to their temporary release on bail of five million baht each on the condition that they, their representatives and lawyers, not talk to the media in ways that could affect the trial or violate the court's orders.
Khunying Potjaman did not speak to the media after leaving the courtroom.
Noppadol Pattama, the Shinawatra family's lawyer, said he was not part of the team of lawyers appointed to study the case. It was also not the same team who represented Mr Thaksin when he stood trial on asset concealment charges in 2001.
About 20 people turned up at court yesterday to show their support for Khunying Potjaman.
They included Mr Thaksin's youngest sister Yingluck Shinawatra, brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat, Mr Thaksin's secretary Phadung Limcharoenrat, socialite Darunee Kritboonyalai, and former Thai Rak Thai party deputy leader Pongthep Thepkanchana.
The ASC did not consider the share transfer in 1997 real because Khunying Potjaman was found to have acted as both the buyer and seller _ by paying for the shares for her stepbrother Bannapot via her maid and then getting the money back. In its report, the ASC referred to a number of bank accounts and cashier's cheques issued by Siam Commercial Bank as the financial trail. To add weight, the ASC investigators quoted the maid, Duangta Wongpakdee, as saying she was a nominee for Khunying Potjaman and only followed her boss' orders.
The ASC decided the transaction was set up with the intention of evading tax as the two could have been eligible for tax exemption if they had traded the shares on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
In 2001, when authorities found out that the trade was not real, Khunying Potjaman informed tax officials that she gave the shares to her stepbrother as a gift. The ASC said this stopped the Revenue Department from ordering them to pay tax, and charged the two with lying to authorities to evade tax.
Although the ASC late last year ordered the department to demand tax from Mr Bannapot, the fact that the agency had not done so for almost six years could be used by Khunying Potjaman and Mr Bannapot as part of their defence in court.
Tithipan Chueboonchai, a tax law lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said it was crucial to prove the defendants' motives in the case. He said the two could claim they did not intend to evade tax by referring to the Revenue Department's acknowledgment that the deal was a gift.
But it would be difficult for them to defend in court that the shares transferred via the stock market were a "gift" and tax-exempt.
The ASC report says a broker who handled the deal for them told the probe team that a sum of 7.38 million baht was paid as a broker's fee and value added tax. The broker said the fee and VAT were not required for transferring shares as a gift via the stock market.

Thailand will seek official cooperation from Burma and Laos to alleviate the haze in the North, Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham said yesterday.
Mr Paiboon, who heads the government team tasked with solving the haze problem, said international cooperation was needed.
Both Burma and Laos pledged to look into the problem when the haze crisis was discussed during a meeting of Asean ministers responsible for the environment in Brunei earlier this month.
His comments came after the northern haze worsened over the weekend and air quality in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces deteriorated.
He said it was up to the provincial governors to decide whether to declare the provinces disaster zones.
He said that his committee has agreed that the global positioning system (GPS) along with rain-making aircraft should be used to detect burning activities and forest fires.
He said this would help authorities contain the fires before they spread and worsen the haze in the region.
About 3,620 officials have been dispatched to help combat the forest fires in the North.
He said the committee will meet on April 2 to evaluate the situation.
Deputy Chiang Mai governor Wilas Rujiwattanaphong said he will call an urgent meeting of officials today if the haze situation does not improve.
The haze is primarily the result of forest fires in Mae Hong Son province and northern Burma. Residents have continued burning dry brush on their farms, worsening the situation.
The Pollution Control Department said yesterday dust particles smaller than 10 microns in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son exceeded the safe level of 120 microgrammes per cubic metre, with levels measured of 156, 163 and 217 microgrammes per cubic metre, respectively.

Chiang Mai Zoo will try artificial insemination if giant pandas Xuang Xuang and Lin Hui fail to produce their young through natural mating this year, said zoo director Sopon Damnui.
The pandas are being prepared for natural mating next month when the female, Lin Hui, is expected to ovulate.
Beijing has sent two experts to observe the pandas and give Xuang Xuang lessons in sex education.
And next week it will send an expert in panda mating and artificial insemination, Mr Sopon said.
The zoo is keeping the pair apart. Xuang Xuang is being shown video clips of pandas mating, while zoo staff are monitoring Lin Hui's hormone levels, urine and excrement for signs of ovulation.
Mr Sopon said Xuang Xuang has shown interest in the video clips played for him to watch daily over the past weeks.
Prasertsak Boontrakulboonthawee, chief of the panda research project, is confident natural mating between the pair will be successful this year.

26th March 2007

Demonstrations by pressure groups at Sanam Luang to oppose the government and the Council for National Security (CNS) had only minority support in Bangkok, an Abac poll found.
The pollsters surveyed 1,226 eligible voters in the capital and surrounding areas from March 22 to 24.
Just over 43% of respondents felt the interim Surayud government and the CNS should be given the opportunity to prove their worth.
They also felt that the old powers were behind the protests.
The 22% who favoured the anti-coup rallies said they wanted elections called very soon.
They were dissatisfied with the government's slow performance.
The poll found 12.5% support for the government's political stance, significantly down from 31.3% on March 3 and 4.
But the number who did not support the government's position only increased from 4% to 5%.
The great majority, 82%, had no opinion one way or the other _ up from 64%.
The survey found that 22% thought the demonstrations were politically motivated.
Around the same percentage believed some demonstrators were hired to attend the gatherings.
While 70% felt the demonstrators had ulterior motives, 29.8% believed the protesters upheld the democratic spirit.
About 43% said it was possible that the protests had the backing of political parties, but 17% ruled out such a possibility.
A total of 41.4% said the the coup makers should stay away from politics and should not become cabinet ministers or the prime minister, who should be elected by the people. Only 11.8% agreed with the CNS taking political power.

The reopening of Don Muang airport for domestic flights yesterday generally ran smoothly, although there were some flight delays.
A passenger also claimed she was misled by taxi drivers who told her that all domestic flights had been moved from Suvarnabhumi airport to Don Muang _ causing her great inconvenience and added expense.
The atmosphere at Don Muang was lively, with many passengers arriving around 4am to check in.
One Thai passenger who had just returned from Germany with her kin and was booked on a flight to her home province of Sakon Nakhon said taxi drivers at Suvarnabhumi told her that all domestic flights had been moved to Don Muang.
They wanted to charge her 1,500 baht for the 60km journey. But she realised the fare was too high, and took another taxi to Don Muang for 500 baht.
But on arrival there she found that PB Air, which flies to Sakon Nakhon, is still operating from Suvarnabhumi airport, so she had to return to Suvarnabhumi.
THAI, Nok Air and One-Two-Go are operating from Don Muang.
Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said he was satisfied with the smooth operation at Don Muang airport. He praised Airports of Thailand (AoT) for its efficient management and readiness.
The deputy minister, who visited the airport on Saturday night, said he would accompany Transport Minister Theera Haocharoen to check the readiness of the Air City Terminal, a multi-purpose check-in terminal at Lat Phrao subway station today.
THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni said the airline has added five more domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi airport to Krabi, Chiang Mai and Phuket, to facilitate the travel of passengers from overseas who wanted to connect to flights to those provinces.
He said THAI has set up a transport service counter at Suvarnabhumi airport to arrange shuttle buses for passengers to Don Muang.
As of 4pm yesterday, THAI operated a total of 19 outbound flights and 14 in-bound flights at Don Muang.
There were three flight delays due to aircraft rotation problems. About 3,000 passengers used THAI services at Don Muang yesterday.
AoT acting president Kulya Pakakrong said a study of the use of Don Muang was expected to be concluded in September.
If there was a new policy for airlines to move their international flights to Don Muang, AoT would ask the operators to move on a voluntary basis, she said.
Airport director Pinit Saraithong said AoT had coordinated with the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority to provide 10 Euro 2 buses to operate between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi.
The buses, which will charge a flat 34 baht, will leave the airport every 30 minutes. THAI will also provide shuttle services from Don Muang to the Lat Phrao subway station.

25th March 2007

Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda yesterday expressed confidence that anti-coup protests by diverse groups would not get out of hand. Gen Prem said he believed the protesters had the country's interest at heart and knew what to do and not to do. The statesman was a target of verbal attacks on Friday at a rally organised by PTV satellite television executives, who plan another demonstration next Friday.
Council for National Security (CNS) chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin yesterday shrugged off the planned protest.
''The Privy Council president, who is widely regarded as an unblemished figure, was even rebuked. I think society has learned a thing or two [from the protest],'' he said.
He would do his best to prevent a clash between CNS supporters and opponents.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva suggested the CNS and the government stay put and resist any form of provocation. ''If the protests are peaceful, [the CNS and the government] should not bother to do anything that might create a conflict,'' he said.
Mr Abhisit advised against mobilising crowds to confront each other.
Three anti-coup groups will use Sanam Luang to rally against the CNS and the government. They are Pirap Khao (White Dove), PTV executives, and the Saturday Opposition Group Against the Coup.
Six members of Pirap Khao have been charged with obstructing work by authorities, after trying to stop municipal officials dismantling a make-shift stage at Sanam Luang, police said.
Led by Noparuj Vorachitwutthikul, the men threatened city officials with bottles, sticks and rocks when they started demolishing the structure.
The district office of Phra Nakhon sent 40 municipal officials to dismantle the stage yesterday. The district failed to pull down the PTV group's stage on Friday.
The men were taken for questioning to Nang Lerng police station rather than Chanasongkhram station, for crowd control reasons, police said.
Police feared supporters would be mobilised to pressure them. Chanasongkhram station, which supervises Sanam Luang, is small.
The suspects were arrested last weekend for obstructing authorities, but were not charged, said Pol Maj-Gen Manit Wongsomboon, chief of Metropolitan Police Division 1.
Mr Noparuj returned to the rally venue to join 70 group members who gathered at Sanam Luang after his detention. The members had been alerted by mobile phone message about his detention.
Pirap Khao has been camping out at Sanam Luang since March 1, without permission, to protest against the coup-makers. It was formed on Nov 1 last year after a taxi driver crashed his cab into a tank at Royal Plaza.
Mr Noparuj, 36, has admitted knowing people with close links to the Thai Rak Thai party. He is a friend of former party spokesman Chatuporn Promphan and a nephew of Somchai Wongsawat, who is married to deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra's sister Yaowapa.
He denies receiving TRT funding.
Mr Chatuporn said yesterday he would work with Pirap Khao to protest against the CNS and the government.
Meanwhile, the Democrat party will propose next week that a general election be held on Nov 4 to ease social tension.
Democrat deputy leader Alongkorn Polabutr said the party would approach Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, the Election Commission and the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) to sound them out on the proposed poll date.
If the general election were held on Nov 4, a new government could be formed as early as December. The country would then have a chance to recover from political, security and economic stagnation.
Protracted political instability had slowed investments and hurt consumer confidence, he said.
Mr Alongkorn said setting an election date would give the country a greater sense of direction. The CDA will have to arrange for a referendum on the new charter by September to allow time for an election by the end of the year.
''There'll be benefits from this clarity. Confidence will be restored and the country can move past the crisis,'' he said.
Mr Alongkorn, however, said some factors remained which could touch off a political crisis. They are proposals to extend the term of army chief and coup leader Gen Sonthi, an idea of incorporating an amnesty for coup-makers in the charter and a suggestion that a prime minister must not be an MP.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont made clear during a public gathering yesterday to promote the new constitution that he felt that any future prime ministers should be elected members of parliament. Gen Surayud presided over the opening of the event in Lumpini park yesterday where 2,000 people participated and joined in a pledge to see the new charter through.
The prime minister wrote his expectations of the charter on a piece of paper. His four wishes were that he wanted to see a prime minister selected from among MPs, effective checks and balances within the executive, legislative and judicial branches, greater public participation in politics, and people protecting their own rights. Gen Surayud, who is a former privy councillor, said his wishes were personal expressions of opinion, which as a 64-year-old ''retiree'' he was entitled to express.
He denied his views would influence the ongoing process of writing the new charter.
Gen Surayud told the crowd that they should band together to make sure the new constitution becomes a reality.
He said society needed reconciliation and peace, which all people should strive for, and the new constitution would guarantee future governments would be selected through transparent elections.
The first charter draft will be finished on April 19, after which the referendum process would start.
If voters rejected the charter in the referendum, the Council for National Security is able to pick and adjust one of the 17 previous charters, before asking for royal endorsement and declaring it the new constitution.

24th March 2007

Operators and supporters of satellite-based People's Television (PTV) staged a rally at Sanam Luang yesterday amid extra tight security to attack the Council for National Security (CNS) and the government for banning its broadcasts.
The rally attracted around 3,000 people, including visitors who planned to take part in the Traditional Thai Sports Festival at Sanam Luang, which was later cancelled.
Some 1,800 fully kitted out riot police from the Metropolitan Police Bureau and Crime Suppression Division along with city municipal officials moved in on the rally-goers at about 5.30 pm to maintain law and order.
Some angry demonstrators reportedly threw bottles at the officers.
PTV executives asked the demonstrators not to attack the police as they said it might be used as an excuse to break up the protest.
A middle-aged woman was seen taking off her pha-tung wrap-around tubeskirt and waving it to chase away the police.
Early in the day, a brief scuffle broke out between the rally supporters and some 80 city municipal officials who tried to dismantle the stage. The two groups briefly clashed before police were called in to control the situation. Municipal officials were then pulled out to reduce tensions. No one was hurt in the scuffles.
City police commissioner Pol Maj-Gen Adisorn Nonsi yesterday led senior police to inspect the venue.
Phra Nakhon district director Roengsak Horaruang said the stage had been set up without permission. The venue was reserved for the sports festival which was to run until April 7. He said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) filed a complaint with police against PTV's organisers for encroachment.
The rally organisers arrived at Sanam Luang at around 3am yesterday and completed the makeshift stage at 5am.
PTV executives Veera Musikapong, Chatuporn Prompan, Jakrapob Penkair and Natthawut Saikua, took turns criticising the Council for National Security (CNS) and the government for earlier blocking the station's broadcasts.
They said they would dismantle the stage after the rally ended at about 10pm.
Meanwhile, Suriyasai Katasila, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy, urged the PTV organisers to clearly state that their rally was part of political activities of the Thai Rak Thai party.
He said no one was convinced by acting Thai Rak Thai party leader Chaturon Chaisaeng's earlier remarks that his party had nothing to do with PTV.
The station was set up by a group of former Thai Rak Thai executives.
Copies of Mr Thaksin's photo with a message "We can wait" were distributed to the participants. One protester was seen holding a Shinawatra family photo.
CNS chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin yesterday put soldiers on high alert and enforced the Pathapee 149 (Protect the Land 149) riot control plan.

23rd March 2007

Half of Thai voters told a poll they want the general election to be held before September, and would vote "yes" on the new constitution just to end the uncertainty.
Around 50 per cent of people would prefer the general election to be held before September, though they have not decided which party to vote for, an Abac poll revealed yesterday.
The survey, conducted between Feb 28-March 21 in 17 provinces, including Bangkok, found that half felt the next elections should be organised before September while the rest thought the polls should be scheduled for some time between September and December. A quarter of respondents said the polls should come at the start of next year.
When asked what party they would vote for, 57% said they had no favourite. Thai Rak Thai, however, was chosen by 22%, then the Democrats (17%) and Chart Thai (3%).
The survey also showed just over 38% no longer had faith in former Thai Rak Thai leader and ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra whereas a similar percentage refused to comment. Around 23% still trusted Mr Thaksin.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, on the other hand, gained the support of 56% of respondents who admired his honesty, leadership and moral integrity. As for Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, chairman of the Council for National Security, 51% thought he could be relied on while 38% thought not.
He was praised for his decisiveness and strong character.
As for the new constitution, 62% said they would vote to accept the new charter if a referendum were held today. The respondents, however, said they would approve the charter so the lingering political uncertainty would end, not necessarily because they agreed with content of the new charter.
The poll also found the results of a separate survey in Bangkok and the surrounding areas with 73% feeling society remains divided. Also, 48% think the country is highly democratic in terms of freedom of speech.

22nd March 2007

Don Muang airport appears set for the return of scheduled domestic flights on Sunday, taking the pressure off Suvarnabhumi, which needs to fix its cracked runways, taxiways and other problems.
''Everything has been tested, including the terminal, airline offices, parking space, security and other facilities,'' said Don Muang director Pinit Saraithong yesterday.
Facilities at the airport include restaurants, snack bars, souvenir shops and taxi services, which will levy a 50-baht extra charge.
Taxis would be under the supervision of the Land Transport Department. They would be subject to random checks for vehicle and passenger safety.
Don Muang will handle about 140 flights a day operated by One-Two-Go, Nok Air and Thai Airways International (THAI). The three airlines will move almost 20,000 passengers a day through the airport, which now provides services only for chartered flights.
Its airport code is DMK, while Suvarnabhumi uses BKK. Passengers should note the codes on their tickets to avoid confusion, acting president of Airports of Thailand Kulya Pakakrong said.
All THAI flights moving to Don Muang will do so on Sunday.
The two low-cost airlines, One-Two-Go and Nok Air, will divert some of their evening inbound flights from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang on Saturday to test the services at the old airpor.
Thai Airways tested its check-in and ticketing systems at Don Muang yesterday, so ensure they could handle the change of the airport's code and the use of four digits on flight numbers in and out of Don Muang, an airline staffer said. THAI flights to Suvarnabhumi have three digits.
Ms Kulya did not rule out the possibility of Don Muang again accepting international flights in the future, given its capacity of 11 million passengers a year.
If so, she indicated a preference for limiting its international services to flights within the region.
AoT would evaluate the use of Don Muang after six months, she said.
After the relocation of flights to Don Muang, repairs at Suvarnabhumi will get fully under way.
The government's decision to reopen Don Muang is intended to save the money needed to expand Suvarnabhumi, which is already close to its full capacity of 45 million passengers a year due to the large number of travellers attracted by low-cost carriers.
An AoT official said security will be strict at Don Muang with bomb experts from the air force and police sniffer dogs on duty. He said 422 security cameras have been installed.
Ms Kulya said since all regular flights were moved to Suvarnabhumi on Sept 28 Don Muang has been operating in the red, with monthly expenses 88 million baht above income.
She said reopening of the old airport will boost revenue by about 90 million baht from 40 million baht a month.
Losses on the balance sheet will be slashed to 38 million baht, she said.

21st March 2007

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is among 150 people facing the prospect of prosecution for alleged corruption or malfeasance, the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) said yesterday. The list includes the Thaksin cabinet which approved the digit lottery in July 2003, former and active senior government officials, and executives of firms doing business with the Thaksin administration, the ASC added.
The ASC was among several bodies which reported their progress to the Council for National Security (CNS) six months after the Sept 19 coup. Others included the National Counter Corruption Commission, the Royal Thai Police, the Office of the Attorney-General and the National Legislative Assembly.
Of 14 corruption scandals, the ASC has concluded and forwarded to the prosecution one involving tax evasion charges relating to the 1997 transfer of Shin Corp shares worth 738 million baht. Three people _ Mr Thaksin's wife Khunying Potjaman, her stepbrother Bannapot Damapong and their close aide Karnchanapha Honghern _ have been implicated.
Besides Mr Thaksin and the cabinet ministers who passed a resolution on the two-digit and three-digit lottery scheme, 17 staff members of the Government Lottery Office have been implicated.
State officials facing charges include former transport permanent secretary Srisook Chandrangsu, over alleged corruption in the cable-laying project at Suvarnabhumi airport, and former chief of the Agriculture Department Chakan Sangraksawong over irregularities in the rubber saplings distribution scheme.
ASC spokesman Sak Korsaengruang insisted during the press conference that the ASC can conclude all the cases by the end of this year.
Attorney-General Pachara Yutidhammadamrong assured that the prosecution would bring the ''cheats'' to justice.
''As the attorney-general, I promise to look into facts from both agencies [the ASC and the National Counter Corruption Commission], and take prompt and proper actions ... Please be assured that the cheats will be brought to justice,'' he said.
Mr Pachara said the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) is likely to decide this month whether or not to indict the former Revenue Department chief for negligence of duty in his failure to collect taxes in the Shin Corp share transfer.
Mr Thaksin faces five charges of lese majeste, said acting national police chief Seripisuth Temiyavej. The OAG has gone back to the police requesting more evidence in three of the cases, including use of ''Long Live the King'' flags.
He said the two other cases involved Mr Thaksin's speech to a gathering of senior government officials about an extra-constitutional figure and his recent interview on CNN from Singapore.
Pol Gen Seripisuth said former deputy agriculture minister Newin Chidchob faces three cases of land encroachment and unlawful issuance of land deeds.
CNS chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said he believed the public would see how determined the CNS was to achieve its goals. He added the general election was likely to be held within this year as initially scheduled.
Campaign for Popular Democracy secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila said the CNS and the government have yet to show the ''fruits'' of their work. The press conference appeared to tell the general public ''who was doing what'' and ''what they were about to do'', he added.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government needs to do more about economic policy, media and political reforms, while the CNS should concentrate on resolving the southern unrest.

20th March 2007

Council for National Security chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin last night raised the possibility of widening the curfew in Yala to include Than To district after returning from chairing a security meeting in the province.
The most difficult areas to control were the hills and jungles, especially those in Than To district, Gen Sonthi said.
It was the first pinpointing of a district that might be put under curfew, although the idea of extending it has been talked about for some days now.
The Fourth Army declared a curfew in Yala's Yaha and Bannang Sata districts on Thursday _ 24 hours after eight people were slain in an attack on a passenger van on a road linking the two districts.
Police said they had investigated 28 local teenagers suspected of involvement in the van ambush and other recent attacks.
In Pattani, three women working for a royal project were killed and three others wounded when they were fired upon at Tha Ku Bo village in tambon Pulohpuyoh of Nong Chik district yesterday morning.
Six heavily-armed assailants on three motorcycles opened fire into the back of a pickup truck in which a total of 19 people were travelling to the royally-sponsored model farm in tambon Nam Dam village.
The workers were travelling without their normal escort of two military men who were said to have been eating at the time of the van's departure.
The attack came after Her Majesty the Queen was reported, by her deputy aide-de-camp Gen Napol Boonthap, to have voiced concern over the killings of innocent people in the deep South and vowed to do whatever it took to protect them from insurgent attacks.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday noted that Her Majesty initiated an arms training programme to enable people to defend themselves some time ago. The government had launched a similar project and the Interior Ministry, he added, was expediting efforts to encourage self-help by local people.
Gen Surayud believed the deteriorating situation in the deep South was an effort by provocateurs to sow divisions between Buddhists and Muslims.
Gen Sonthi said the meeting in Yala discussed ways to curb this development. He called the meeting in a bid to strengthen cooperation between civilians, soldiers and police, and to ensure that there would be sufficient forces to maintain security in the southernmost provinces.
He said he had provided guidelines for investigations into the 300 demonstrators at Songkhla's Saba Yoi district, who turned out after gunmen attacked a Muslim school on Sunday, killing two students.
Gen Sonthi said he still did not believe rebels were linked to foreign groups as their tactics could be taught internally.
Gen Surayud said a close watch is being kept on 20 Thai Muslims who fled to Malaysia on Saturday, to try to establish their intentions.

19th March 2007

About 800 anti-coup activists rallied near the residence of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda yesterday, demanding he stop supporting the coup makers and that democracy be restored as quickly as possible.
Several groups took part in the demonstration, including the Saturday Opposition Group Against the Coup, the Sept 19 Network Against the Military Coup, and the Confederation for Democracy.
The demonstrators marched from Sanam Luang to Gen Prem's residence in the Theves area, where activists slashed four mock-up pillars to symbolise the removal of "dictatorship props".
"The people have to join forces in destroying these four pillars, which help bolster the military dictatorship," said Chanakarn Pandermwong, leader of the Sept 19 Network. The four pillars represented the army and the Council for National Security (CNS), the military-appointed cabinet, pro-coup intellectuals, and the independent organisations, Ms Chanakarn said.
The activists believed that the military coup d'etat on Sept 19 last year was orchestrated by Gen Prem.
"We don't understand exactly why Gen Prem, as president of the Privy Council, let the military coup happen despite the fact that it would be a setback for democracy," said Sudchai Boonchai, a leader of the Saturday Opposition Group Against the Coup. He said the rally was held to mark the six months anniversary of the coup d'etat.
He said that his group did not support the deposed Thai Rak Thai party, and said it was made up of students, businessmen, social thinkers and ordinary people who did not support the coup.
"Over the past six months, we have not seen any action that could justify the coup," said Mr Sudchai.
The CNS had accused ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his cabinet members of corruption, but no one has been brought to justice so far.
The anti-coup rally was held in parallel with the launch of a Council for National Security-sponsored campaign for a moral society, held at Ratchadamnoen Nok road yesterday.
Mr Sudchai said CNS chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin and the military-appointed government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont were plunging the country into an abyss.
More problems resulting from the interim government's poor administration have emerged, he said, especially problems involving the violence in the deep South. The group demanded that the ongoing charter drafting process, supervised by the CNS, be terminated and that the 1997 constitution be re-enforced because it was drafted under democratic circumstances.
Meanwhile, Suriyasai Katasila, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy, called on state officials to refrain from using violence against anti-coup activists holding peaceful demonstrations.
He also warned the anti-coup groups against criticising Gen Prem, saying the situation could escalate into a violent confrontation like the Oct 6, 1976 massacre, when a conflict erupted between right-wing and left-wing elements.
"Mr Thaksin used to criticise Gen Prem before. Thus, the anti-coup groups' targeting of the Privy Council president could mislead the people [into thinking that they are supporters of Mr Thaksin]. It will also create more political tension," said Mr Suriyasai.
Around 10,000 people attended the CNS-sponsored campaign on morality on Ratchadamnoen Nok road, which was closed to traffic.
Gen Sonthi, who presided over the gathering, said the assembly marked the beginning of unity among Thais.
"Today's gathering will lead our beloved country to glory," Gen Sonthi told the crowd.

18th March 2007

Chiang Mai residents were overjoyed yesterday to catch the first sight of a clear blue sky in a week.
However a few hundred kilometers north in the small district of Mae Sariang located in a deep valley close to the Thai-Burmese border, more and more residents are beginning to be struck down by health problems from the haze that has been choking the region for more than a week.
Though it is common for this valley area to be hit by haze due to the local practice of slash-and-burn farming, residents say the situation this year is far worse than usual.
Locals feel that there is something about the weather that is making this year's haze thicker and more persistent.
Some locals said Mae Sariang was being inundated with smoke from places as far away as the other side of the Salween River, which marks the border between Burma and Thailand in this northwestern province.

Masks are being prepared to distribute to residents and all doctors were teaching people ways to deal with the unusually thick haze.
The Public Health Ministry has estimated that up to 500,000 people have been affected by the smoke and haze.
The problem first intensified in the North around Chiang Mai in early March, with the amount of dust exceeding the acceptable standard of 120 microgrammes per cubic metre.

Retail prices of gasohol are now even cheaper than gasoline after levies from sales of regular and premium grades of the fuel for the state oil fund were cut by 50 satang to one baht per litre. The cut was designed to encourage motorists to switch to gasohol, an alternative fuel comprising 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol, in light of high oil prices and a local ethanol supply glut, said Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand.

17th March 2007

Four helicopters flew over Chiang Mai province Saturday morning in a mission to help create artificial rain to clear away the choking haze hanging over the northern provinces.
Aircraft from the Royal Thai Air Force sprayed thousands of litres of clean water in the sky to increase humidity in order to make the rain-making operation possible.
Then, light aircraft from the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry under the Royal Rainmaking Operation Centre were to spray rain-making chemicals in the skies over the western part of Chiang Mai to help increase chances of rain.
It is hoped that the cloud-seeding would bring rain to the North next week.
The Meteorological Department expected thundershowers to cover the northern part from Sunday to Thursday. The showers would help ease the smoke that has been choking the region for more than two weeks.

Fourteen suspects, mostly young men, are being detained at an army camp in Pattani for questioning in connection with the ambush of a passenger van in Yala on Wednesday in which eight civilians were brutally murdered, army and police sources said yesterday. The 14 were rounded up by police and army ranger units in raids on 17 locations in Yaha district after a curfew was slapped on Yaha and Bannang Sata districts on Thursday night, the source said. The curfew is in effect from 8pm to 4am.
They were transported to the Ingkayutthaboriharn army camp in Pattani for questioning.
Army spokesman Col Akkara Tipparoj confirmed the detention of six suspects. A senior police source said the total number of detainees had reached 14 last night.
Army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said the army would declare more curfew zones if insurgent violence escalates in areas outside the current curfew, now imposed in Yala and Bannang Sata.
''It depends on the gravity of the situation,'' said Gen Sonthi, who is also chairman of the Council for National Security.
He insisted the army would take all factors into consideration before deciding to extend the curfew. The army is fully aware the restrictions will affect local people's way of life, Gen Sonthi said.
''People have to travel and make a living. So, we're trying to minimise any inconveniences we might cause,'' he said.
A military source said if the curfew was to be widened, it could cover Rangae and Rueso districts in neighbouring Narathiwat where insurgent attacks are particularly frequent.
Gen Sonthi confirmed specific areas of Narathiwat would be brought under the curfew blanket if flare-ups in the province worsened.
He also said the army was dispatching 20 additional ranger companies to the deep South. They are expected to arrive in the strife-torn region by April 1.
The van ambush has pushed the number of insurgent-related killings in the deep South to 2,135 since separatist violence resurfaced with a raid on a military arms depot in Narathiwat's Cho Airong district on Jan 4, 2004.
Meanwhile, several local academics and residents welcomed the Fourth Army's decision to impose the curfew, although some local Muslims felt that their religious activities were disrupted because of it.
Srisompop Jitpiromsri, a political science lecturer at Prince of Songkla University, said he agreed that a curfew should be in place where authorities did not have complete control of the security environment.
However, the academic cautioned the authorities to keep in mind that the curfew should not adversely impact people's everyday lives, especially with regards to Muslim people's religious activities.
Mae Jae-ngoh, a 54-year-old imam in Yaha district, said the curfew should be curtailed because the violence did not affect the entire district.
''It makes people think all residents of Yaha district are criminals,'' he said.
The curfew runs from 8pm to 4 am, so Muslims were not going to evening prayers at their local mosques, he said.
Para rubber farmers who usually leave home to tap rubber trees at 2am will have to delay their rubber tapping until after 4am due to the curfew.
Despite the limited curfew, daily attacks continued yesterday as a 53-year-old Buddhist man was shot and wounded in Narathiwat's Rueso district.
In Yala's Raman district, four customers were injured when four assailants fired shots into a tea shop.
And in Pattani's Sai Buri district, a 57-year-old retired policeman was wounded in a gun attack.
Meanwhile, Mansour Salleh, a Yala-based project officer of the Media and Justice for Peace Programme, warned that the planned increase in troops to be mobilised to the deep South early next month would only make matters worse.
Mr Mansour insisted that more soldiers was no guarantee of peace and cautioned that rangers under extreme pressure might not be reliable in doing their job.
Among other reactions, the Malaysian newspaper The Star quoted Abu Najhan, who claimed to be an executive member of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), blaming undisciplined rangers for the escalating violence.
The Pulo representative said he was disappointed by unbalanced reporting which could push neutral Muslims into taking sides, possibly fuelling rifts between Buddhists and Muslims.
The International Crisis Group welcomed a change from the heavy-handedness of the Thaksin Shinawatra regime but noted that the reconciliatory gestures are unpopular outside the South.

16th March 2007

Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram assured the EU and Asean that the military-appointed government will not hold on to power.
The European Union wants Thailand to proceed rapidly towards a return to democracy, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Thursday at the close of an EU- Asean meeting of foreign ministers in Nuremberg.
The message delivered at the end of the Asean-EU meeting here was intended to dispel doubts, especially on the European side. The EU has strongly opposed the Sept 19 coup and called for democracy to be quickly restored.
The EU has strongly opposed the Sept 19 coup and called for democracy to be quickly restored.
During the session on political development in Asean, Mr Nitya was the first minister to give a briefing about the political situation in the country, including the process underway to write a new charter which will need public approval through a referendum.
"Mr Nitya told his Asean and EU counterparts that the government has no intention to continue in office after the election, and he will step down from the position," Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.
The EU, led by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said it understood the situation in Thailand better now.
Steinmeier expressed broad support for the programme and voiced "the hope that Thailand will find the road back to democracy quickly."
Steinmeier rejected any comparison between Thailand and Burma, saying the situations in the two countries were "very different."
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner called on Asean to pressure Burma to improve its human rights record and to release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
"The EU believes the process of public hearings and referenda is not an easy task because the EU has done it before, but we want to give moral support to Thailand," Mr Steinmeier was quoted as saying.
On Wednesday, Mr Nitya had bilateral talks with foreign ministers from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, where he defended the need for the coup to oust then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"The country was heavily polarised and the bloodless coup was a benign intervention," said Mr Nitya.
He also told Denmark that peaceful measures would be the best step to end the southern unrest. Sweden and the Netherlands also expressed interest in the political situation in Thailand and wanted the government to stick to its timeline in drafting the constitution.

15th March 2007

A savage attack by insurgents on a passenger van in the deep South, in which eight people were executed with shots to the head, sparked angry condemnation across the country yesterday. Demonstrators took to the streets in the provincial capitals of Ayutthaya, Rayong, Chumphon, Krabi, Si Sa Ket and Chiang Rai, with more protests expected today.
The displays of outrage came soon after the public learned from news reports of the atrocity, which occurred in Yala's Yaha district.
Police said eight passengers were found dead, with gunshot wounds in their heads and chests, inside a bullet-riddled van which had run off the Yaha-Bannang Sata road and hit a tree after it came under a hail of gunfire about 8.20am.
The dead were initially identified as Pvt 1st Class Kitipong Nunoi, Prawit Chomputhong, Prawit's 16-year-old daughter Vilasinee, Prachuap sae Lim, Supawan sae Lu, and Supawan's daughter Kirati. The other two bodies belonged to a male and female believed to be in their 40s.
Two other people were wounded and admitted to Yala Central hospital.
One of the wounded was the van driver, Abdulraman Kodae, 41. The other was an unknown woman in her 30s, who was in a critical condition.
Police said the assailants also made off with the passengers' wallets.
The rescue team took time reaching the crime scene as they were hindered by felled trees and metal spikes on the road.
Police said the van belonged to Betong Tour 2001 Co Ltd, which runs a regular shuttle service between Yala's Betong district and Songkhla's Hat Yai district.
The van left Betong with nine passengers about 7am.
It was headed for Yaha district to pick up another passenger who had made an advance booking.
Mr Abdulraman said he knew something was wrong when he saw a tree trunk lying on the road.
He made a U-turn, at which point ambushers armed with AK and M16 assault rifles, emerged from concealment and sprayed the vehicle with bullets.
The van skidded off the road and hit a tree.
The gunmen then surrounded the van and started shooting the passengers one by one in the head at close range. They also stole the victims' wallets.
Mr Abdulraman said he heard the gunmen being ordered to shoot everyone inside the van.
Fifteen minutes later, a roadside bomb exploded as a group of rangers going to the attack scene was passing, but no one was hurt.
An intelligence source said the attack occurred in an area infiltrated by the Gerekan Mujahidin Islam Patani group.
Betong Tour 2001 Co Ltd immediately suspended its service. Some people opted to take a detour through Malaysia instead.
Army spokesman Col Akara Thip-piroj said the insurgents appeared to have deliberately gone for a soft target and the ambushers might include youths who had been brainwashed.
They were bent on creating fear among the public so people would stop cooperating with the authorities, he said.
Yala governor Theera Minthrasak condemned the attack as barbaric and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
Security will be tightened, with regular patrols on roads prone to attacks.
Chidchanok Rahimbula of the Prince of Songkla University's Pattani campus said more attacks on Buddhists could touch off a serious rift between Buddhists and Muslims.
In Chumphon, a large number of people converged at the provincial hall to write messages condemning the killers.
A similar activity was reported in Rayong, and effigies of southern separatists were burnt in Si Sa Ket.
In Chiang Rai, residents took to the streets to condemn the attack.
A security source said the escalating violence, which appeared in some cases to be directed at Buddhists, may provoke confrontation between Buddhist and Muslim communities.
Later yesterday, there was an explosion in Yaha district outside a mosque after people had gathered there after evening prayers. Eleven people were injured, two of them seriousley.
The bomb was hurled from a passing car, a sedan.
Later last night, two people were killed and 10 others injured when armed men fired at a tea shop in the same district.
In Pattani's Khok Pho district, a married couple were wounded in a drive-by shooting yesterday morning.
In Narathiwat, a policeman remained in a critical condition last night after being attacked in Bacho district yesterday morning.

The six member countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) will conclude the final chapters of an agreement to facilitate overland trade and transport at a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday. The GMS members are Burma, Cambodia, China's Yunnan province, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

14th March 2007

Alcoholic-beverage producers, entertainment operators and media companies remain frustrated by the government's refusal to accept arguments that a 24-hour blanket ban on ads is not the way to curb the problems of alcohol abuse and drunk-driving in Thailand. The Public Health Ministry yesterday won cabinet endorsement of its draft on liquor-consumption control. It would likely set the minimum age for new drinkers at 20 and impose an around-the-clock ban on ads, except for commercials that come with foreign sports programmes.
Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla said a committee would be set up to consider zoning for pubs and restaurants that sell alcoholic beverages so that they won't be found near schools, universities, hospitals and temples.
The draft will go to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for final approval.
Late last year, the ministry failed to have the Food and Drug Administration issue a similar promotional ban after the Council of State ruled that the agency had no mandate to control alcohol advertisements in the media.
The advertising industry earlier said the ad ban would cost the industry two billion baht annually. Beer sales are expected to shrink by 5% to 10% next year while the 400-million-baht Thai wine industry would be hurt as well.
Brewers have maintained that the draft is unfair and would favour low-priced white spirits. Beer producers also argue that the excise tax structure further benefits low-cost spirits, resulting in greater alcohol consumption, particularly in the provinces and among low-income groups.
In their view, white liquor should share most of the blame for alcohol-related accidents nationwide.
Prin Malakul, corporate affairs director for Thai Asia Pacific Brewery Co (TAPB), the producer of Heineken, said the private sector had tried hard to explain to the government that legal measures were not the answer as long as the government did not address the problem at its root.
''Authorities would be better off strengthening the enforcement of existing regulations on the sales and consumption of alcohol. Also, authorities need to do more to educate the public about the dangers of excessive drinking,'' said Mr Prin.
He said the government had ignored the private sector's attempts to offer a broader perspective on the impact to the industry and various proposed solutions.
Mr Prin agreed with Chatchai Wiratyosin, Singha's marketing manager, who insisted that the blanket ad ban would trigger a price war among alcohol makers for lack of any other means to compete. Under such a circumstance, product quality will be compromised and consumers will be the ultimate losers.
''Singha will not be the first to jump into the price war. But [the producers of] white spirits will and they will drag in small and medium-sized operators,'' said Mr Chatchai.
Regarding the unfair tax structure of alcoholic beverages, Mr Chatchai said no state officials had dared touch the problem. Those who tried would find themselves transferred to other jobs, he noted.
Visooth Lohitnavy, president of the Thai Wine Association, also was disappointed.
''I'm so fed up with this. I won't join the conference [to be held today] on the new alcohol-consumption law because the ministry won't listen to us,'' said Mr Visooth, who also is the CEO of Gramonte Co, a local wine producer.
He said earlier that the strict measures would hurt not only the 400-million-baht Thai wine industry, but also the emerging agricultural-tourism industry, which focuses on vineyards. Twelve hundred farmers would also be hurt, he claimed.
Chaipranin Visudhipol, a former president of the Advertising Association of Thailand, hopes the NLA will understand that the problem has more to do with poor law enforcement than anything else.
''A total ad ban cannot reduce consumption. White liquor accounts for 80% to total alcohol sales although it has never been advertised,'' he said.

13th March 2007

Chiang Mai, Chai Prakan and Phrao districts of Chiang Mai have been declared haze disaster areas after thick smoke shrouded northern provinces and raised fears of increasing levels of harmful dust.
Chiang Mai, together with nearby Chiang Rai, Lampang and Mae Hong Son provinces, has been encountering haze resulting from forest fires and slash-and-burn farming practices among northern villagers. The smoke also comes from bush fires in the Burmese town of Tachilek opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai, officials said.
"The thick smoke is seen all over the sky," said Chai Prakan district chief Chokedee Amornwat.
The disaster zone announcement follows bad weather conditions caused by the haze for the past two weeks.
The smoke has hindered the visibility of airplane pilots and caused flight delays and cancellations.
Poor visibility has also blocked an effort to make artificial rain aimed at reducing the amount of dust, which is posing serious health risks to people.
The dust particles, technically called particulate matter (PM-10), have a diameter of not more than 10 microns, around one-seventh the width of a human hair. The tiny size allows them to easily lodge in lungs and cause respiratory problems.
To reduce their exposure to the harmful dust, the Public Health Ministry has distributed 130,000 masks to people in eight northern provinces _ Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Lamphun, Phrae, Nan and Phayao.
"The ministry has also given out leaflets telling people how to take care of their health in the face of thick smoke from burning activities," said permanent secretary for public health Prat Boonyawongvirote.
Yesterday, the level of PM-10 dust in Chiang Mai and Lampang was found to be beyond an acceptable standard. It was measured at 250.9 microgrammes per cubic metre in Chiang Mai and 154.8 in Lampang, against a health standard of 120 ug/cu m, according to the Pollution Control Department.
Chalermsak Vanitsombat, chief of the Natural Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, said forest fires were not only to blame for the air pollution.
"The haze largely comes from weed-burning in farms," said Mr Chalermsak, who supervises forest fire control operations.
Mr Chalermsak said his department has no power to stop the farmers and could only ask for their cooperation in stopping the burning.
The high price of maize has driven some farmers to encroach on forest and set fire to it to clear land for farming.
Mr Chalermsak said this was a "main cause of thick smoke" in Chiang Mai. This has intensified air pollution in the province, where household bonfires are also common.
The level of humidity in the air is also less than that of last year, causing more severe fires this year, according to the department.
Officials yesterday started making artificial rain in Chiang Mai. The mission aims to increase humidity in the forest, thus reducing the chance of forest fires.
Meanwhile, Thai Airways International (THAI) cancelled flights between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son for the second day yesterday due to poor weather conditions. However, Weerapong Kranlert, THAI manager for Chiang Mai airport, said it was common practice to do so due to haze in the dry season and mist in the cold season.
The thick smoke has also caused flight delays between Bangkok and Chiang Rai, but there have been no reports of flight cancellations on this route.
In Chiang Rai, 700 officials and volunteers have been ordered to be on alert for forest fires in areas near the border with Burma. Farmers are also prohibited from burning farm residues. Violators will be fined 2,000 baht, according to the Environmental Quality Act.

Civilians, not soldiers, were behind the New Year bombings in Bangkok and Nonthaburi, acting national police chief Pol Gen Seripisuth Temiyavej said yesterday.
He said he already knew the motive for the bombings.
He was speaking after convening a meeting lasting more than an hour to discuss progress in the inquiry into the bombings that killed three people and injured about 40 others.
The evidence did not point to soldiers, but rather to civilians, he said.
"I know the cause of the bombings but now is not the time to reveal it. Please wait for more progress.
"When the time is right, I'll let it be known. This week I have demanded the accounts of investigation heads at the operational level and will give the orders myself," he said.
He told his deputy Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan, who heads the investigation, to report the investigative findings to the armed forces chiefs.
The investigation has borne little fruit after nearly three months except for an arrest warrant issued for an unidentified man caught on a surveillance camera tape at Saphan Khwai junction.
The lack of progress was widely believed to be a reason why the government transferred police chief Pol Gen Kowit Wattana to an inactive post at the PM's Office in early February and appointed Pol Gen Seripisuth.
The acting police chief said tape analyses in the US and Canada led to conclusions on three of four bombing locations. The arrest warrant issued so far related to the tape from Saphan Khwai. He would seek court orders for more arrest warrants related to two other locations when there was enough evidence.
"The evidence must be 80-90% clear so suspects can be charged right after they are arrested," he said, but declined to reveal the two other bombing locations.
Pol Gen Seripisuth confirmed that security authorities were on full alert as the anniversary of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Pattani (BRN) separatist movement falls today.

12th March 2007

Thick smoke from forest fires forced several airlines to cancel or postpone domestic flights to Chiang Mai and neighbouring Mae Hong Son provinces yesterday.
Several flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai were cancelled due to thick smoke shrouding northern provinces. Some Mae Hong Son-bound flights from Bangkok were delayed.
Sansanee Chaichiangpin, of the Chiang Mai-based Northern Meteorological Centre, said the situation in several northern provinces was getting worse. Visibility was down to 1,500 metres in Chiang Mai, 1,000 metres in Chiang Rai and only 900 metres in Mae Hong Son. Such poor visibility posed a risk to flights in and out of the affected provinces, she said.
Satellite images showed thick smoke has blanketed wide areas in the North, especially Chiang Mai where bushfires and weed-burning have been blamed for causing the haze. Forest fires have also been spotted near remote northern areas bordering Laos and Burma.
Ms Sansanee called on residents to stop burning garbage or weeds as the smoke would hamper artificial rain-making operations, set to start this week, which it is hoped will help tackle the haze.
Some residents of these northern provinces have complained of respiratory problems from the smoke.
In Chiang Rai, residents have been staying indoors as much as possible, due to thick haze that has been covering large parts of the province for the past week. People living in municipal areas have complained of sore eyes due to the smoke.
Kamolroj Chiangwong, chief of Chiang Rai's Mae Lao district, yesterday joined 500 residents and local leaders in an oath-taking ceremony swearing they would not cause bushfires.
Forest fires were yesterday reported near the Burmese town of Tachilek opposite Mae Sai in Chiang Rai district.
People living along the border have sought medical treatment for smoke-inflicted ailments
Vichai Thaweepvoradet, mayor of Mae Sai tambon municipality, said the thick smoke has badly affected tourism and cross-border trade between Tachilek and Mae Sai.
Chiang Rai authorities have threatened to get tough on anyone found lighting forest fires, with the situation in the province becoming critical. So far this year, Chiang Rai has seen the highest number of forest fires in the country.

11th March 2007

Aerial surveys conducted over Chiang Mai, including the downtown area, showed it was necessary to begin the artificial rain process as smoke from brushfires was increasing air pollution.
Preparation is underway to artificially trigger rain over parts of Chiang Mai blanketed by smoke from raging brushfires, according to the artificial rain centre for the Upper North, centre director Somchai Ruengsuthinaruparb said.
Mr Somchai said a helicopter is expected to be flown over the areas tomorrow to produce the artificial rain, although humidity, an essential element in the artificial rain-making process, is low. The smoke could also hamper the helicopter flight, he said.
The Pollution Control Department also warned residents to take precautions as the density of small dust particles in the air, which could prove a health hazard, is also rising.
To make matters worse, the Chiang Mai air pollution hotline last week received almost 200 complaints, the highest number in a single week, of villagers who continued to slash and burn weeds by the roadside.
Residents engaging in outdoor activities could be seen covering their noses and mouths and there were reports of babies and children at a nursery in the Wiang Ping area suffering with heavy coughs and sore eyes from the smoke.
In Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai local authorities have mobilised water trucks close to the border with Burma where a bushfire is raging and causing a thick haze.
The authorities are keeping a close watch on the fire around the clock. The haze is already reducing visibility in large areas of the district and Mae Sai Hospital has warned people to take care when going outdoors.
The northern meteorological office said a weather system from China has trapped the smoke, preventing it from dissipating. However, the office expects finer weather with stronger winds next week, which could improve the situation.
In a related development, the chief of the Royal Irrigation Department, Samart Chokkanapitark, said that dams around the country were 78% full, 6% higher than at the same time last year.
He said there would be enough water for the nine million rai of farmland within the irrigation-accessible areas. Pumps and other drought-alleviation equipment will be made available to owners of the four million rai of farmland outside of the irrigation zones, he said.
The department's director-general said, however, that key reservoirs in Buri Ram and Uthai Thani were less than 40% full.
However, problems are not only confined to the North.
Lower-than-usual rainfall across the South over the past three months is causing a water shortage in provinces along the Andaman coast, such as Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi and Ranong.
But it is a different story for parts of the East where heavy rains early this month have given a much-needed boost of water supply in the industry-intensive region.
Mr Samart said drought problems this year would not be as critical as many anticipated because of sufficient water reserves.
However, Third Fleet commander Vice Admiral Supoj Prueksa said he was not taking any chances. Two boats will shuttle water to islands in case of a water shortage.

10th March 2007

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said progress has been made by the authorities in dealing with unrest in Thailand southernmost provinces, and the violence has so far not attracted international terrorists.
Though governments of foreign countries might have alerted their nationals of possible peril while they are in Thailand, Gen Surayud maintained that the unrest in the turbulent provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani had not involved al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah or other international terrorist gangs as once feared.
Tourists could go anywhere except for areas declared unsafe by the Thai authorities, Gen Surayud said, apparently responding to the Australian government's reaction to speculation relating to possible terrorism in Thailand.
Events in Thailand's southernmost region should not be compared with those in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to the prime minister.
Gen Surayud downplayed speculation that untoward incidents would occur on March 13, the date which marks the establishment of the so-called State of Pattani, and said the authorities have been taking varied steps to assure the safety of local villagers and officials assigned to the southern tier of provinces
Cooperation between Thailand and Malaysia in a bid to contain regional unrest is being carried out in satisfactory fashion, especially regarding resolution of the the dual-nationality status of some Muslim residents.
Evidence such as fingerprints and pictures of suspected militants, who may have shuttled themselves between the two neighbouring countries and carried both Thai and Malaysian nationality identification, had been made fully available to the authorities of both countries, the prime minister said.
Meanwhile, Gen, Surayud said government units would adjust the tactics of patrols and search for suspected insurgents throughout the region. Understanding between government officials and local villagers would improve as well .
Government officials would give clear explanations to the pre-dominantly Muslim villagers, including veiled women and youngsters, if any of their neighbours were detained for police questioning, after an untoward incident had taken place. Gen Surayud quoted ISOC officials and the Navy chief of staff as saying the ethnic Malay Muslim villagers had recently been more cooperative with the authorities.
More funding would be shortly provided for local units in charge of security affairs and under the care of the Internal Security Operations Command and Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre, Gen Surayud said.
The prime minister added that he intended to conduct a meeting between the National Security Council and other government agencies to discuss the Deep South issue on a monthly basis and to closely follow up implementations of the government policy and schemes by government officials in a tele-conference mode.

9th March 2007

The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has agreed that senators should be appointed through a selection process, while the prime minister should be an elected Member of Parliament.
Deputy spokesman Pisit Leeahtam said most charter drafters agreed that senators should be selected and serve just one six-year term.
A constitution drafting sub-panel had been assigned to find a suitable method of selecting senators from people of all possible professions.
The CDC yesterday held its fourth day of discussions in Phetchaburi province. The committee reached a consensus on the origins and qualifications of senators and the prime minister, and on measures to ensure fair and clean elections.
Mr Pisit said there should be fewer than the 200 senators of the last upper house.
The number may be reduced to 160, or one-third of the lower house members under the new structure. If the senators were chosen, a clause giving them authority to remove political office holders may have to be deleted, he said.
Jarun Pukditanakul, head of the constitution drafting sub-panel, said senators, unlike MPs, should not represent constituencies but be representatives of professional groups. Past senate elections failed to produce senators who could perform their duty to scrutinise the actions of MPs, he said.
The CDC agreed that the prime minister should be an elected MP. He or she must be barred from serving more than two terms or eight consecutive years in office.
Cabinet ministers could be MPs, but would not be allowed to vote on issues where they had possible conflicts of interest.
On measures to ensure fair and clean elections, the CDC agreed to impose punishment on political parties involved in vote-buying or poll fraud. Political parties should not be allowed any control of the media.
The CDC called for the charter to specify criminal penalties for vote-buyers, including those seen to be preparing to buy votes. Party executives must also be held responsible for vote-buying.
The anti-money laundering law should be applied to vote-buyers.
CDC chairman Prasong Soonsiri said none of the 35 charter drafters should run for Senate or House seats as they might be viewed as having a conflict of interest.
Under the 2006 interim charter, the 35 charter writers must refrain from standing for election for two years after the new constitution takes effect. However, this prohibition would automatically lapse when the new charter becomes effective.
"By protocol, those who write the rules should not play (run in elections), as they will be viewed as reaping the profits," Sqn-Ldr Prasong said.
Mr Jarun agreed that a clause barring the charter writers from contesting House or Senate elections should be added to the new charter to put the public at ease. In his view, although such a clause had not been added, the 35 drafters had to abide by protocol and principle.
He said the 75 members of the Constitution Drafting Assembly should not be barred from running for lower or upper house seats, as the 35 CDC members were the ones in charge of writing the charter.

8th March 2007

Economist and adviser to the prime minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn was confirmed as the new finance minister yesterday in a cabinet reshuffle endorsed by His Majesty the King. Government spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarb also said Social Development and Human Security Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham will take on the additional post of deputy prime minister.
His secretary, Poldej Pinprateep, is the new deputy minister for social development and human security, while Morakot Pornkasem, formerly adviser to the public health minister, has been promoted to deputy public health minister.
The third adjustment of the cabinet since Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was appointed in October 2006 followed the abrupt resignation of M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula as finance minister last week.
Sommai Phasi was named deputy finance minister and Prasit Kovilaikool PM's Office minister on Nov 21 last year.
On Feb 2, Varakorn Samkoses became deputy education minister and Oranuj Osathananda deputy commerce minister.
Gen Surayud said he decided against having Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Kosit Panpiemras oversee the Finance Ministry to keep the options open for Mr Kosit after his term ends.
''He could not work in the finance field for two years [if he took the post]. He has already foregone millions of baht for a monthly salary of 100,000 baht,'' Gen Surayud said. Mr Kosit was previously executive chairman of Bangkok Bank.

A military coup should never be ruled out, assistant army chief Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr said yesterday. The Council for National Security's assistant secretary-general said a military takeover is about cause and effect.
''Everything falls under the [law] of cause and effect. A coup will take place if there is a cause and that cause is justified,'' he said, responding to rampant speculation about a second coup.
Gen Saprang said the national interest stood above everything else.
''If the country plunges into a crisis, a coup can always happen. I don't say this because I want to stage a coup,'' he said.
Gen Saprang also yesterday dismissed the plan of acting Thai Rak Thai leader Chaturon Chaisaeng to seek a probe into his recent overseas trip as a desperate attempt to turn the tables.
The CNS member has come under strong criticism for spending 7.2 million baht on a trip to Germany and England. The expenses were covered by Airports of Thailand (AoT), which Gen Saprang serves as president. He refused to clarify details of the week-long trip, saying any questions about it should be directed to AoT.
Gen Saprang insisted there was no rift in the CNS because its members had no vested interests. His relations with CNS chief and army commander Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin had never been better.
''I'd say 'goodbye' and seek a transfer if he was not happy with me. I won't give him a hard time,'' he said.

7th March 2007

Domestic and foreign fund managers along with economists welcomed the likelihood of Chalongphob Sussangkarn becoming the country's new finance minister, although they cautioned that he faces a tough job keeping the economy on track. Speculation about Mr Chalongphob's appointment grew after Deputy Prime Minister Kosit Panpiemras met Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday.

The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has outlined key issues, including the protection of media freedoms, to be augmented and made clearer in the drafting of the new charter. The CDC yesterday debated issues regarding fundamental rights and freedoms, public participation and the decentralisation of power, during the second day of its meetings in Phetchaburi's Cha-am district. The committee decided on issues of press freedom, such as prohibiting the closure of newspapers and the manipulation of media outlets by the state and private sectors. Politicians are to be banned from being owners of media outlets or holding shares in media companies.

A bird presumed to have been extinct for well over 100 years has been rediscovered in a pristine coastal wetland in Petchaburi, on the Gulf of Thailand. The large-billed reed warbler (Acrocephalus orinus) had not been seen since 1867, when a single bird of the species was reported in the northwest of India, a prominent ornithologist said yesterday.
Philip Round, a lecturer from Mahidol University's department of biology, said his team spotted and trapped the bird on March 27 last year at the royally-initiated Laem Phak Bia Environment Research and Development Project in Petchaburi province.
It took about a year to confirm that the bird was the large-billed reed warbler.
''We collected two feathers from the bird for DNA tests and the result showed that it perfectly matched the DNA of the 139-year-old specimen kept at the British Museum,'' said Mr Round.
The large-billed reed warbler was found nesting in grass filter beds used for sewage treatment.
The bird is small, brown and mostly unmarked. It weighs 9.5 grammes, and is 18 centimetres in length. The bird was released unharmed after the ornithological team finished the examination.
''We never dreamed for a minute that we would rediscover a presumed-extinct species,'' said Mr Round, who has worked in bird conservation and research in Thailand for decades.
He called on the government to protect the ecological system of the inner Gulf, which is recognised as one of the world's most important bird habitats.

6th March 2007

Chiang Mai residents, especially the elderly, children and people with respiratory problems, have been advised to avoid outdoor activities as the city's air pollution has reached a dangerous level. The Pollution Control Department yesterday issued an air pollution warning after its air quality gauging stations in downtown Chiang Mai detected a harmful level of small dust particles.
The level of dust particles smaller than 10 microns was measured at 197.7 microgrammes per cubic metre (ug/cu m) in the city yesterday, against an acceptable level of 120 ug/cu m.
''Chiang Mai's air quality has reached a critical level since last Thursday. We recommend that residents stay home to avoid exposing themselves to small dust particles. All burning activities are also prohibited to reduce the volume of dust released into the air,'' said the warning.
Residents of Lampang province should also protect themselves from the air pollution as the province also has a very high level of small dust particles, which was measured at 207.7 ug/cu m yesterday.
Other provinces with high dust levels include Chon Buri (159) and Samut Prakan (121), according to the department.
Dust particles smaller than 10 microns could enter sensitive internal breathing organs and cause respiratory ailments.
''The increasing dust level is a result of widespread forest fires in the northern provinces and in neighbouring countries including Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia,'' said Duangchai Duangthip, a specialist at the Chiang Mai-based northern environmental office.
Ms Duangchai said Thailand is currently in the peak period for forest fires, resulting in rising levels of small dust particles across the country, but Chiang Mai is worst hit because it is surrounded by mountain ranges.
The situation has been aggravated by farming activities as many farmers still use the slash-and-burn technique to prepare their land for new crops, said Ms Duangchai.
The air pollution crisis in the northern city of 1.66 million people is predicted to continue for at least three months.
In response to the problem, the environmental office opened a call centre to update local air quality reports for residents and concerned agencies. Tambon-level emergency response units have also been set up to crack down on burning activities, which could worsen Chiang Mai's air pollution.

5th March 2007

Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas yesterday said counter-insurgency efforts in the South were failing because security forces were too defensive and vowed to switch to more hard-line tactics to keep militants at bay. "The reconciliation signals we have been sending out were ill-received. We have made little progress because we stuck with defensive tactics," he said. "We need to play it the hard way. From now on, we will seek access to the grassroots and strengthen local communities," said Gen Boonrawd.
His comments came after his visit to Pattani on Friday to offer moral support to security forces and discuss ongoing operation with the Internal Security Operations Command and the civilian-military-police task force.
He said his first priority was to crack down on drugs. "The alarming spread of narcotics in the deep South contributes greatly to the violence. The separatists trick the youths into using drugs and the addicts are then sent out to cause trouble," Gen Boonrawd said.
In Narathiwat, security forces yesterday rounded up a suspect believed to have escaped from Friday's clash between militants and army rangers on Jao Ta We mountain, which left eight militants dead.
Women and children banded together to prevent the arrest of Dueramae Mudoh-asae, 30, from Ban Isadia village in Cho Airong district. But they gave way after a village headman promised the suspect would be taken for interrogation only.
An ongoing manhunt searching for rebels continued yesterday after rangers on Friday tracked 20 heavily-armed men up the mountain and found them engaged in weapons training. No rangers were hurt in the battle.
Relatives of the dead militants turned up at Narathiwat Ratchanakarin Hospital yesterday to collect their bodies.
Rundi Kumpulan Kecil (RKK), an armed insurgent group, yesterday denied any involvement in Friday's battle. They said the rangers ran into illegal loggers, not insurgents.
The RKK also blamed authorities for excessive use of force.
A rubber tapper was shot dead in Yala's Raman district yesterday. The body of Wilas Panamae, 43, was found peppered with bullets on a road to a plantation, with his motorcycle nearby.
In Narathiwat's Si Sakhon district, two university students were shot dead as they were riding a motorcycle to Rajabhat University in Yala, police said. Witnesses said two men had ridden a motorbike after them and gunned them down.
In Pattani's Khok Pho district, doctors at the hospital at Ingkayuthboriharn military camp were fighting to save a seriously injured man. A ranger found Dueronueng Golae, 53, covered in blood on Pattani-Khok Pho road with two bullet wounds in the chest.
On Maka Bucha Day yesterday, the turnout at temples for morning alms-giving was light throughout Yala. All temples in the province were tightly guarded by military personnel.

4th March 2007

People should ''say no'' to the military-engineered constitution as it is a legacy of the coup d'etat and could lead to an extension of military power in the country, pro-democracy activists said yesterday. Around 10 campaigners marched from the Siam Centre shopping mall to the Onnuj skytrain station yesterday, calling on the public not to accept what they said was an undemocratic constitution. The new charter is scheduled to be put to a national referendum in September.
The activity was the first in a series of events against the new charter planned by the ''Thai Say NO''campaign.
It came as drafters prepared to gather in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi tomorrow to begin writing the new constitution.
Campaign leader Sombat Boonngamanong of the new Pro-democracy Citizen Group said the charter drafting process was undemocratic due to the lack of public participation.
''The coup makers tore down the most democratic 1997 constitution and selected a group of people to draft a new version. So how can we accept this military-sponsored charter?'' asked Mr Sombat.
Yesterday's march was a lead-up to a planned mass protest against the military-backed constitution at Sanam Luang on Mar 17.
The group has also launched an online protest against what they called the ''coup constitution'' at www.ThaiSayNo.com. Almost 700 people, including leading academics have signed up for the campaign so far.
A female office worker agreed with the campaign, saying it was impossible for the new constitution to shape a brighter future for the country because it was drafted under military instruction. ''The previous constitution, which earned much input and support from people, still contains many shortcomings that eventually led to the Sept 19 coup d'etat. ''So what will this military-engineered charter bring?'' she asked.
Arachon Paladtuam, a 43 year-old housewife, also criticised the charter drafting process for its lack of public participation.
But another passer-by who came across the protest disapproved of the anti-constitution activity.
''They should see the complete draft first before saying 'yes' or 'no'. Instead of condemning the whole text, the group should point out the parts of the drafted charter they disagree with and how the clauses should be fixed,'' he said.
Democrat Party deputy leader Alongkorn Ponlabutr said the new constitution should not empower parliament to impeach members of independent organisations as politicians could use the avenue to take revenge against officials who investigate them of wrongdoing.
Mr Alongkorn joined a discussion on Friday on the new charter's powers to investigate government authority at a forum organised by a subcommittee of the National Legislative Assembly.
He said if independent organisations intensified their investigations into politicians, especially those in the government, those politicians could abuse the government's majority vote in the House to retaliate.
Auditor-General Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka said independent organisations were not really independent and had insufficient power to carry out their work effectively. She said such organisations were not really empowered to acquire information, which hampered their performance.
Members of independent organisations were limited both in power and number while those who exercised government authority were very powerful, she said. She suggested an audit court b