Bangkok Post : Weekly highlights

A new twist in the long-running drama prompted the Royal Thai Police board to again postpone the selection of the new police chief, and the government again invoked the Internal Security Act(ISA) ahead of the the UDD's planned protest this Saturday.

And with the public spared another episode in the police chief drama for a while at least,  public attention has shifted to two planned mass protests this Saturday in Bangkok and in Si Sa Ket province.

In Bangkok, the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) seemed determined to go ahead with its anti-government protest despite the government’s decision to invoke the security law in Dusit district as a precautionary measure, just in case the protest turns violent.  

The UDD protesters will converge at the Royal Plaza and later move on to Si sao Theves near the residence of Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council.  UDD leaders have given assurances the protest will be peaceful and will end around midnight after an expected phone-in address by exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from abroad.  

To avoid being trapped in his Bangkok residence, and also to discourage the protesters from gathering there,   General Prem decided to leave for his other home in Nakhon Ratchasima for the weekend, arriving there around 11.30am Friday.

By virtue of the security law, which allows the deployment of troops to assist police in dealing with civil unrest, soldiers have been deployed around Government House. Several roads adjacent to the Government House and Si Sao Theves were also declared off-limits to the red-shirted protesters.

Meanwhile, in Si Sa Ket’s Kantharalak district bordering Cambodia, the People’s Alliance for Demcoracy (PAD) plans a major protest on Saturday to demand the government reclaim the 4.6 square kilometres of disputed land they say has been occupied by Cambodians.

The PAD protesters led by Veera Somkwamkid have threatened to march to the disputed area adjacent to the centuries-old Preah Vihear ruins.  But troops have been instructed to stop the protesters entering the disputed zone, which is inside Phra Viharn National Park,  for fear it could spark retaliation from Cambodian soldiers.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva leaves this weekend to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York  next week, so the responsibility to oversee the protests will rest with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban who has threatened to declare a state of emergency if the protest in Bangkok spins out of control.

Security authorities, however, predicted the red-shirt protest would be non-violent.  In his Twitter message, Thaksin himself told his supporters to keep the peace. He also mocked the government for over-reacting and invoking the ISA.

The abrupt indefinite postponement of the selection of the new police chief by the Royal Thai Police board on Wednesday came as a big surprise.  Even the prime minister was caught off guard when he was informed about “new information”, This prompted him, as ex officio chairman of the board, to cut short the meeting. There is no indication when  the board will next meet to select the new police chief.

It seems cldear  the new police boss will not be picked by Sept 30.  A new acting chief will have to be appointed to replace Pol Gen Thanee Somboonsap who, like the embattled former chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon, is due to retire at the end of this month.

So far, there have been two favoured candidates for the top job:  Pol Gen Pateep Tanprasert, an inspector-general, who is backed by Mr Abhisit, and Pol Gen Chumpol Munmai, a deputy police chief, who is supported by the Bhumjaithai Party.

The attempt to amend the 2007 constitution has started with a two-day debate during a joint session of the Senate and the House. The proposed amendments are concerned with making constituencies smaller with just just one MP each, the election of senators, dissolution of political parties and the requirement of parliamentary approval for all international agreements.

The proposed changes are opposed by critics who argue that they are meant to benefit politicians and have nothing to do with the public interest. The lack of broad-based participation in the amendment process has led to a call by a group of senators for the setting up of an independent body to rewrite the charter. The idea of a  charter drafting assembly has also been floated, but this is strongly opposed by some coalition parties, especially the Chart Thai Pattana and Bhumjaithai parties.

Suddenly, the Ratchadaphisek land controversy bounced back into the public limelight when it was reported that the Bank of Thailand’s Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) plans to sue Khunying Potjaman, Thaksin  Shinawatra's ex wife, to return the 33 rai of land  as the statue of limitations on recovering  the land will  expire on Oct 21.

The Office of the Attorney-General has said the land's sale was invalid, because Thaksin was convicted of abuse of authority in helping his wife buy it. The FIDF has demanded the return of the land. Khunying Potjaman has refused to handover the title deed and demanded the return of the 772 million baht she handed over for the land -  plus interest she could have earned on the money. She says 800 million baht should cover this.

However, the lawyer of for the Shinawatra family, Pichit Chuenbarn, has insisted that the land deal is not invalid and has vowed to fight the case in the courts.

 Welcome news for the poor is the Finance Ministry’s initiative to help poor people who are indebted to private  money lenders or loan sharks.  Two state-run banks, the Government Savings Bank and the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, have been assigned to draw up a list of those deemed to be poor and deeply in debt to these sharks.

Under this initiative, which was earlier undertaken by the Thaksin government, these money lenders will be invited to register for the refinancing programme. Doubters wonder how many of these loan sharks will be willing to come forward and bare their illegal activities for all to see.