August 2008 : State of Emergency declared in Bangkok State of Emergency declared in Bangkok after deadly clash. Election Commission voted to dissolve PPP Administrative Court rejected on-line lottery petition Economic Ministers Committee to recommend policy Thai-Cambodia confrontation reduced Arrest warrant for Thaksin and wife Ten-year jail for Wattana Recommendation to reduce to 4,000 NGV buses TOT gets 3-G mobile phone network Bombs exploded in front of Narathiwat police station Additional 4.8 billion baht for SML project District scholarships to continue Alcohol-tobacco Acts amended Inmates to get more food allowance State of Emergency declared in Bangkok after deadly clash On 2nd September 2008, the Prime Minister, Samak Sundaravej, declared a State of Emergency in the Bangkok Metropolitan area. He also appointed Gen. Anuphong Phaochinda, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, as the Chief Official responsible for resolving the emergency situation. This followed the clash between the pro-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship of Thailand (UDDT) and the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which killed one and injured dozens. PAD’s demonstration against the Prime Minister started on 25th May 2008 at Ratchadamnern Avenue. It escalated pressure on 26th August when demonstrators went on to seize 6 state offices including Government House and the National Broadcasting Station (NBT). Though 82 people who invaded NBT were captured and detained, the majority occupied Government House and set up a stage for their anti-government campaign. The demonstrators demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation and called for a “new democracy”. On 28th August, following a government’s petition, the Court issued warrants for the arrest of 9 PAD leaders. The extreme charge under the warrants could lead to executions, so PAD supporters in Southern provinces, including Phuket, started to protest by blocking roads to airports. That was later cancelled, and protestors moved to the provincial headquarters instead. On 29th August at 14.40 hours, a clash between the police and anti-government protestors took place at Makawan Rangsan Bridge, causing 4 injuries. Later that evening, protestors surrounded the Metropolitan Police headquarter. Tear gas was used to disband the mob, but criticism from the public resulted in the police being ordered to go on duty unarmed- equipped with shields only. On 31st August, Parliament held a special session of the House of Representatives and Senate in an attempt to resolve the problem by listening to recommendations without actual voting. Proposals for a parliamentary dissolution and for the Prime Minister to resign, by the Opposition and Senate, were ignored. That further sparked a protest from the State Enterprise Unions whose members later joined PAD at Government House. On 1st September, a few thousand pro-government supporters from the provinces gathered in Sanam Luang, and after midnight they broke police barricades on Ratchadamnern Avenue and headed towards Government House. They clashed with PAD guards, resulting in troops being sent in to control the situation. The Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations was declared early next morning. The State of Emergency prohibits any gathering of more than five people. The authorized agency can evict anybody from any place or prohibit them from entering any place. Moreover, news reports in a way that terrifies the public can also be prohibited. The authority can detain suspects for seven days and can prohibit people from making illegal entries into government offices. During the press conference following the declaration of the State of Emergency, Gen. Anuphong stated he will use his authority within a non-violent framework, and will return the situation to normal as soon as possible. He emphasized that political disputes must be resolved politically and the Army will never use force to resolve this kind of dispute. Election Commission voted to dissolve PPP On 2nd September, five members of the Election Commission voted unanimously to dissolve the governing Palang Prachachon or People Power Party (PPP). In accordance with the Election Act, the matter will now be sent to the Attorney-General who is responsible for petitioning the Constitution Court. Chart Thai and Matchima parties are also facing similar dissolution prospect arising out of the 23rd December 2007 general election. However, their cases are different since the Election Division of the Supreme Court had already stripped electoral rights for 5 years of Yongyut Thiyapairat, PPP’s deputy leader and party list MP. Administrative Court rejected on-line lottery petition On 26th August, the Central Administrative Court rejected a petition concerning the 2-3 digit on-line lottery case, submitted by Manas Pruengcheeve, against the Finance Ministry, its ministers and the state-run Lottery Bureau. On-line lottery is scheduled to be launched on 17th September 2008. Economic Ministers Committee to recommend policy On 19th August, the Cabinet approved the appointment of the Economic Ministers Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, with authority to evaluate, propose, supervise and monitor measures to drive national economy to sustainable growth. However the Committee cannot make any decision since decisions must be approved by the Cabinet. Thai-Cambodia confrontation reduced On 19th August, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tej Bunnag, revealed the result of the second meeting with Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister, Hor Num Hong. The two countries agreed to hold a joint meeting in October to discuss survey and boundary demarcation. The Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister said that following their last meeting on 28th July, there was progress towards cooperation between the two countries. Cambodia will withdraw all troops, except police and military police, from the dispute area. He was personally confident that Cambodia will soon withdraw her petition from the UN Security Council. Arrest warrant for Thaksin and wife On 11th August, the Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in the Supreme Court issued a 2nd arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Khunying Pojaman. The two had failed to present themselves at court in the hearing of the land purchase, worth 772 million baht, on Ratchadapisek Road. The case was filed by the Attorney-General; the two offenders having been granted bails of 8 and 5 million baht respectively. Thaksin and his wife left the country early August shortly after the Court of First Instance, on 31st July, sentenced Khunying Pojaman to a 3-year jail term in the Shin Corporation share tax avoidance scheme. She was released on bail and was due to report to Court on 11th August. Ten-year jail for Wattana On 11th August, the Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to sentence Wattana Asavahem, former Minister of Interior and leader of Paue Pandin Party, to a 10-year jail term for the issuance of 1900 rai land title deeds on public land. The land was to be sold to the Pollution Control Department for construction of waste water treatment plant in Klong Dan sub-district, Samut Prakarn Province. The Court had previously issued a warrant for Wattana when, on 19th July, he failed to present himself for the verdict. The warrant is valid for 15 years from the date the offender fled. Recommendation to reduce number of NGV buses On 20th August, the fact finding committee on NGV bus rental recommended a 30 percent reduction in the number of buses required, from 6,000 to 4,000 vehicles. The committee said that 2,000 buses are not needed except during rush hours when 1,700 BMTA air-conditioned buses could be used instead. The budget for the NGV bus rental will therefore be reduced from 110 to 67 billion baht. The daily rate of 5,100 baht per bus makes a total for whole 10-year rental period equals to 18.615 million baht per bus. The committee’s recommendation must be approved by the Cabinet. TOT gets 3-G mobile phone network On 5th August, the Cabinet approved in principle a proposal of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ICT) to give the Telecommunication of Thailand (TOT) the right to provide a 3rd Generation (3G) mobile network. Total investment cost of the project is estimated at 29 billion baht, which will be funded by a 2.4 billion baht starting loan to TOT and a 26.6 billion baht G-to-G loan. TOT will set up 5,200 base stations to create a country-wide network scheduled to be completed in 2009. It is expecting that there will be more than 4 million users within the first 5 years. Two agencies, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) and the Office of Public Debt Policy and Administration Board will be responsible for project’s details and loan management respectively. 3G phones can transmit faster and better quality images, video clips and voices than current 2nd generation phones. Hand-held units will have similar functions as personal computers in storing data as well as serving as a tool for video conferencing and TV viewing. Bombs exploded in front of Narathiwat police station On 21st August at 21.08 hours, motor-cycle bombs exploded in front of a police station in Su-ngai Kolok District of Narathiwat Province. Immediately after the first explosion, responsible agencies and reporters rushed to the scene and the second bomb went off, instantly killing a reporter and injuring more than 20 people including military and civilian officers. The whole town also suffered a black-out for a period of time. Additional 4.8 billion baht for SML project On 20th August, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Surapong Suebwonglee, disclosed Cabinet’s approval for the transfer of 4,800 million baht from 2008 fiscal budget to 21,000 villages in the small-medium-large (SML) project. This means that now more than 90 percent of the target of 40,000 villages has been achieved. District scholarships to continue On 5th August, the Cabinet approved the Ministry of Education’s proposal to allocate 5,460 million baht from the 2009-2017 fiscal budgets, to provide 926 scholarships for study at university and higher education levels. This project had continued for 3 consecutive years to provide scholarships to secondary and vocational school students in every district. In order to qualify, a student must come from a family with a total income of not more than 150,000 baht per year, and has an average grade of not less than 3.00 and 2.75 in general and vocational education respectively. Moreover, vocational study must be in the designated industrial sector in accordance with national needs. The Cabinet also approved a plan costing 673 million baht, to develop the ability of 440,000 remote and border area students to live in and to preserve their environment. The project is to run from 2008 to 2011. Alcohol-tobacco Acts amended On 5th August, the Cabinet approved amendments to four Acts, namely 1) The Alcohol Act, 2) The Tobacco Act, 3) The Excise Duty Act, and 4) The Excise Duty Rates Act in order to include definitions for “factory prices” of alcohol, tobacco and other industrial products and to raise alcohol and tobacco taxes and duties. The lack of definition in existing Acts causes not only uncertainty but also under-reporting which leads to lower taxes being collected. Inmates to get more food allowance On 5th August, the Cabinet approved a raise in the daily food allowance for detained juveniles from 58 to 90 baht per person due to increased costs of raw materials and fuel. Adult inmate allowances are also raised from 42 to 68 baht. The Department of Corrections said that juveniles get a higher allowance because they are provided with milk daily.