Week 20 (14 April 2012 – 20 May 2012)
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Week 20 (14 April 2012 – 20 May 2012) ASEAN Newspapers Issues pertaining to Thailand/politics Number of article(s): 9 Keywords/criteria used for search: Thailand, Thai Online newspapers included in search: Borneo Bulletin (Brunei) Brunei Times (Brunei) Phnom Penh Post (Cambodia) Cambodia Daily (Cambodia) Jakarta Post (Indonesia) Jakarta Globe (Indonesia) Vientiane Times (Laos) Vietnam Net (Vietnam) Nhan Dan (Vietnam) The Star (Malaysia) The New Straits Times (Malaysia) The Philippine Inquirer (Philippines) The Straits Times (Singapore) Table of Contents BRUNEI TIMES 4 15 / MAY / 2012 17 WOUNDED IN THAILAND ROADSIDE BOMBING (APF – ALSO FEATURED IN THE STRAIT TIMES) 4 • This article relates to the Southern insurgency. • 17 people including paramilitary troops and a civilian were injured in a roadside bombing in Southern Thailand, local police said • Local news reported of the blast on the 14 May. The blast targeted Thai security personnel on their way back from guard duties at an annual fair in Pattani town just after midnight. 20 / MAY / 2012 40,000 RED SHIRT SUPPORTERS GATHER IN CENTRAL BANGKOK (APF ALSO FEACTURED IN THE STRAIT TIMES) 4 • This article relates to the gather of Red Shirt supporters at Rajaprasong area on the 19 of May for the second anniversary since the clashes in 2010. • It was estimated that approx. 40,000 "Red Shirt" supporters converged on central Bangkok • According to the report the rally highlight was a live video link with Red Shirt hero Thaksin at around 6:00 PM 20 / MAY / 2012 SHARED PASSIONS ARE BRIDGING THE DIVIDE IN THAILAND'S SOUTH (AFP) 5 • This article relates to the conflict in the South. • According to the article, there exists a common interest for sports, among southerners particularly for football. This common factor, it is argued, is where Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand's restive south can find common ground, where grassroots efforts to find elusive peace are gaining ground after years of bloodshed. The case is made in terms of the Pattani football team where people of different background and culture • It is stated that Thailand's obsession with football comes second only to Thai boxing, except in the deep south where football is even more popular and provides a rare space for often‐divided communities to come together. THE PHNOM PENH POST 7 17 / MAY / 2012 AGREEMENT REACHED AT THAI SEAFOOD FACTORY 7 • This article relates to the working situation and possible human rights violation at the Phattana Seafood factory which is own by PTN. According to the Phnom Penh Post, a conclusive settlement seem to have been reached between the factory and its Cambodian employees, Cambodian ambassador to Thailand You Ay said on the 16 / May. • The ambassador was quoted for stating that she had helped strike an agreement that ensured the workers received free housing, This comes after a string of allegations of contractual breaches as well a the seizure fo passports from the Cambodia employee by the factory and CDM Trading Manpower in Cambodia. JAKARTA POST 8 19 / MAY / 2012 DIVIDED BUT PEACEFUL 2 YEARS AFTER THAI VIOLENCE 8 • This article is an opinion piece and summary of the past events and the current situation with regards to the domestic political situation (Red shirts/government and the Democrats/opposition). • According to the article, there seems to exist a temporary acceptance of the situation from both sides, yet this can only be seen as temporary. Issues of Thaksin's return and amnesty are seen as potential factors that could destabilize the truce between the two groups. JAKARTA GLOBE 10 20 / MAY / 2012 RED SHIRTS SEND WARNING TO THAI ELITE (AP) 10 • This article relates to the gather of Red Shirt supporters at Rajaprasong area on the 19 of May for the second anniversary since the clashes in 2010. • Furthermore, according to the article, Red Shirts supporters are demanding accountability from the political elites for the deaths of some 91 people during the violent clashes in March‐May 2010. NEW STRAIT TIMES 12 14 / MAY / 2012 17 INJURED IN SOUTHERN THAI BOMB BLAST 12 • This article relates to the Southern insurgency. • 17 people including paramilitary troops and a civilian were injured in a roadside bombing in Southern Thailand, local police said • Local news reported of the blast on the 14 May. The blast targeted Thai security personnel on their way back from guard duties at an annual fair in Pattani town just after midnight. • Also in a separate incident seven people made up of a police officer, a paramilitary volunteer and five civilians were injured in a hand grenade attack late last night in downtown Narathiwat province. A suspect has been detained in relations to this incident 18 / MAY / 2012 – YINGLUCK ANNOUNCES STRATEGIES FOR FIGHT CORRUPTION 13 • This articles relates to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra recent announcement on the government's anti‐corruption strategies • Relevant law amendments as well as hotline to receive corruption complaints as been opened. 20 / MAY / 2012 IMPATIENT THAI RED SHIRTS WANT JUSTICE FROM PM YINGLUCK (REUTERS) 14 • This article relates to the gather of Red Shirt supporters at Rajaprasong area on the 19 of May for the second anniversary since the clashes in 2010. • According to the article, many red shirts are angry at the failure of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to bring to account those responsible for the 91 deaths during the 2010 events. Some are threatening action that could destabilise her government and start another period of political upheaval, after months of relative calm. Brunei Times 15 / May / 2012 ‐ 17 wounded in Thailand roadside bombing (APF – Also featured in the Strait Times) SEVENTEEN people including 10 women paramilitary troops and a civilian were injured in a roadside bombing in Thailand's insurgency‐plagued south, local police said yesterday. The blast targeted Thai security personnel on their way back from guard duties at an annual fair in Pattani town just after midnight. The device, which was concealed in a gas canister, was detonated when the military vehicle stopped at traffic lights, injuring 15 troops and a security volunteer. A local man travelling in a pick‐up truck was also hurt. Police said none of the victims were seriously injured. A shadowy insurgency, without clearly stated aims, has raged in Thailand's three southernmost provinces — Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala — since 2004.AFP http://www.bt.com.bn/news‐asia/2012/05/15/17‐wounded‐thailand‐ roadside‐bombing 20 / May / 2012 ‐ 40,000 Red Shirt supporters gather in central Bangkok (APF) UP TO 40,000 "Red Shirt" supporters from across Thailand converged on central Bangkok yesterday to mark the second anniversary of a deadly crackdown on street protests, city police said. A carnival of flag‐waving Red Shirts, food vendors and the occasional monk, took over the retail heart of the city, where the 2010 protests in support of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra descended into the kingdom's worst violence in decades. Police blocked traffic at the Ratchaprasong intersection, one of Bangkok's busiest junctions, as mainly rural working‐class Red Shirts arrived en masse in coaches laid on by the movement. "At 6pm (1100 GMT) there were around 40,000 people at Ratchaprasong," a Bangkok police spokesman said as the rally highlight — a live video link with Red Shirt hero Thaksin — approached. Red Shirt leaders had anticipated between 100,000 and 200,000 people would attend the rally, which began with Buddhist prayers for those killed in the 2010 unrest and will end early today. More than 90 people, mostly civilians, died in the 2010 violence, which marked the culmination of a series of rival protests since a 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin, who now lives overseas to avoid arrest in Thailand. The Red Shirts have called on the new government, led by Thaksin's sister Yingluck, to prosecute soldiers and officials responsible for causing the deaths and injuries, many to unarmed demonstrators. So far no cases have been brought in connection with the violence and Yingluck's government has raised the prospect of an amnesty for those involved, prompting an outcry from human rights groups. Red Shirt leader Thida Thavornseth stood on the stage — framed by a banner proclaiming in Thai 'Our friends must not die in vain' — and thanked the crowd for coming. "Your numbers are a testament to the fact that our movement still exists and is getting stronger and stronger," she said. The city's vast Central World shopping mall, which was set alight in the chaotic and bloody endgame to the 2010 protests, closed early as the crowd packed into the courtyard outside waiting for Thaksin's address. AFP http://www.bt.com.bn/news‐asia/2012/05/20/40‐000‐red‐shirt‐supporters‐ gather‐central‐bangkok 20 / May / 2012 ‐ Shared passions are bridging the divide in Thailand's South (AFP) A SHARED passion for football is uniting Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand's restive south, where grassroots efforts to find elusive peace are gaining ground after years of bloodshed. Unmissable in their bright orange shirts, the players of local side Pattani FC exchange banter almost as fast as their passes around the training pitch. It is a scene familiar to football clubs across the world. But Pattani play in far from ordinary circumstances. The Division Two team's hometown is in the heart of an area riven by a raging insurgency that has claimed more than 5,000 lives since 2004 in near‐daily bomb or gun attacks against both Buddhists and Muslims. Despite the violence off the pitch, for Pattani's players all that matters is scoring goals. "We are not divided, whether Muslim, Buddhist or Christian. We are all friends," said Samae Samak, a young Muslim.