Week 47 (19th November 2012 – 25th November 2012) ASEAN Newspapers Issues pertaining to Thailand ‐ politics Number of article(s): 11 Keywords/criteria used for search: Thailand, Thai Search Engine: www.google.com Online newspapers included in search: Borneo Bulletin (Brunei) Brunei Times (Brunei) Phnom Penh Post (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 Strait Times (Singapore) The Philippine Inquirer (Philippines) The Japan Times (Japan) China Daily (China) The China Post (China) Headlines and Summaries BRUNEI TIMES 6 25 /N OV. / 2012 ­ TEAR GAS FIRED TO DISPERSE PROTESTERS SEEKING TO OVERTHROW THAI GOV’T (REUTERS – ALSO PUBLISHED IN THE STAR) 6 ‐ Royalist Pitak Siam group, who has attracted the support of yellow‐ shirted members of the PAD, held demonstrations last Saturday. ‐ Authorities had deployed 17,000 police at the rally site and the government invoked the Internal Security Act that allowed police to detain protesters and carry out security checks and set up roadblocks. ‐ Thailand has seen frequent bloody street protests in recent years including a rally that lasted more than two months by supporters of the present government in 2010. Those protests sparked a military crackdown that left at least 91 people dead and more than 1,700 injured. 23 /N OV. / 2012 ­ SECURITY TIGHTENED IN THAI CAPITAL FOR ANTI­GOV’T RALLY (REUTERS) 7 ‐ Thailand’s police chief stated yesterday that he would deploy approx. 17,000 officers to prevent violence at an anti‐government rally schedule for the weekend. ‐ The rally could lead to another period of unrest in Thailand, which has seen bloody street protests in recent years. ‐ Some 50,000 protesters were expected to gather near the Thai parliament in Bangkok. ‐ The Internal Security Act has been invoked in areas where the protest will take place. PM Yingluck said that in invoking the law, she had acted to protect democracy. THE BORNEO BULLETIN 8 23 /N OV. / 2012 ­ THAILAND STEPS UP SECURITY FOR BANGKOK DEMO (AFP) 8 ‐ Thai government has invoked ISA in order to cope with political rally organized by Pitak Siam, set for the weekend. The security law enables the government to prevent the use of certain routes or vehicles, impose a curfew, ban gatherings, carry out searches of buildings and censor the media. ‐ According to National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut, “Based on our intelligence, the rally will be intense with a huge turnout of protesters,". ‐ Politically turbulent Thailand has been rocked by a series of sometimes violent rival street protests in recent years, although an uneasy calm has returned after national elections in 2011. ‐ In 2010, two months of mass opposition protests by "Red Shirt" supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra sparked a deadly military crackdown that left about 90 people dead and nearly 1,900 wounded. 2 THE PHNOM PENH POST 9 25 /N OV. / 2012 ­ CAMBODIA’S GOVERNMENT SLAMS THAI MEDIA 9 ‐ A quote on ASTV online from activist Somkiet Phongphaiboon, a supporter of the “yellow‐shirt movement” that opposes the current Thai administration, said there were thousands of Cambodians who are receiving money from the Cambodian government to act as anti‐ demonstration brawlers. ‐ This sparked a response from Cambodia’s Press and Quick Reaction Unit who rejected the quote in the Thai media report. THE JAKARTA POST 10 24 /N OV. / 2012 – THAI ANTI­GOVERNMENT PROTESTERS RALLY IN BANGKOK (AP) 10 ‐ The rally was mostly peaceful in its early stages. However police fired tear gas to disperse some 50‐100 people who tried to break through a line of concrete barricades erected on a street near the protest site. ‐ Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered nearly 17,000 officers to deploy and special security law to be invoked, citing concerns that the rally could turn violent. ‐ Saturday's protest was organized by a royalist group calling itself "Pitak Siam" ‐ or "Protect Thailand." Led by retired army Gen. Boonlert Kaewprasit, the group accuses Yingluck's administration of corruption, ignoring insults to the revered monarchy and being a puppet of Thaksin. ‐ Analysts said they did not view the protest as an immediate threat to Yingluck's government, but were watching it closely. THE STRAIT TIMES 12 25 /N OV. / 2012 – THAI PM FACES NO CONFIDENCE MOTION AMID POLITICIAL PROTESTS (AFP – ALSO PUBLISHED IN THE BRUNEI TIMES AND THE INQUIRER) 12 ‐ The motions, which also targets three other government ministers, appeared to have little chance of being passed by a legislature dominated by Yingluck's Puea Thai party and its coalition partners. ‐ Criticizing the Prime Minister, Democrat Party opposition MP, Jurin Laksanavisit, said "The prime minister has failed to govern this country as promised. She allows corruption," and added "She also allows outside people to influence her and control her administration," in a thinly veiled reference to the PM’s brother, ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. THE NEW STRAITS TIMES 12 22 /N OV. / 2012 ­ THAI GOVT IMPOSES ISA FOR NOV 24 RALLY IN BANGKOK 12 ‐ According to PM’s Office Minister, Warathep Rattanakorn, the ISA would cover Pranakorn, Dusit an d Pomprabsattrupai districts which are close to the Royal Plaza, venue for the rally. ‐ At a previous rally on 28th Oct., organizer Pitak Siam, led by Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit, claimed 20,000 protesters attended that rally but police estimated the figure close to 7,000 only, still more than the government's initial projection. 3 THE STAR 13 25 /N OV. / 2012 – SUMMITS MORE THAN JUST PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES 13 ‐ According to the article, the Thai PM remains very photogenic, maybe too photogenic. Recent summit in Phnom Penh has proved that summits are not about photo‐ops alone. According to the article, they are about substance, policies, the future of the region. To this, Thailand’s recent contribution to the summit held in Phnom Penh was not discernible. ‐ Furthermore, PM Yingluck is criticized for turning international conferences and summits into a session of reading English text and fails to be able to articulate her points in English. The Pheu Thai Party has previously stated that it is not necessary for the Thai leader to speak English because it is the quality of leadership and the substance that counts. However, the previous summits and conferences has not showed any of these qualities. ‐ As leader of Thailand, her role is to ensure that the country can benefit from bilateral or multilateral talks. However her articulations and comments at international conferences and summits have for the most part been throwaway ones. Unfortunately, according to this particularly article, the most memorable quote turned out to be her wish to bring “a woman’s touch to addressing” the South China Sea disputes.” ‐ The article ends by stating that a leader does not always have to be serious. However the PM has been too “playful” for too long. She has to get serious now, or Thailand should get the right person to fill the void. THE JAPAN TIMES 14 21 /N OV. / 2012 ­ NO END IN SIGHT TO THAILAND'S POST­THAKSIN CRISIS 14 ‐ According to Pavin Chachavalpongpun, the recent cabinet reshuffle (for the third time in a year) showed more Thaksinites than the previous reshuffles, signifying a growing confidence on the part of Thaksin who is believed to be the real mover behind the current government. ‐ In the past year, the government has been effective in implementing its electoral promises while lifting the nation’s economy. This has given way to the possibility of the Yingluck administration to be able to serve its full term, thus infuriating its opponents. ‐ To weaken the government, opponents have launched the tactics of street protests to discredit Yingluck while calling for military intervention. ‐ The relationship between the government and the military has been uneasy one. Under pressure by its supporters to bring to justice those responsible for deaths of red shirts during the clashes in 2010, the government first sought to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court yet has shelved it to avoid confrontation with the military. ‐ The military has also been silent on the recent antigovernment demonstrations. According to Pavin, the shrewd position of the army is understandable. While the Yingluck government still poses a threat to the military and the political position of the monarchy, staging another coup would be too devastating. ‐ In the end, Pavin speculates if the military has assumed two roles. One is to cooperate with the government on key issues, ranging from reconciliation, amnesty and even the improvement of Thai‐Cambodian 4 relations. The other is to discreetly endorse the moves by the antigovernment forces in undermining the Yingluck regime. CHINA DAILY 16 24 /N OV. / 2012 ­ THAI ANTI­GOVT PROTESTS CLASH WITH POLICE 16 ‐ In the recent antigovernment demonstration organized by Pitak Siam, Opposition Democrat Party on Saturday condemned the government for having police fire tear gas at anti‐government demonstrators. ‐ More than 100 anti‐government protesters have been detained for interrogation after the clash with police Saturday morning, authority said. ‐ About 500 anti‐government protesters clashed with police Saturday morning, cut barbed wires and drive truck to hit barricade and riot police, causing the injuries to 10 people, including police and protesters. 22 /N OV. / 2012 – CHINA, THAILAND SIGN RICE DEAL 17 ‐ A rice deal signed during Premier Wen Jiabao's official visit to Thailand took immediate effect, as the Chinese private sector bought 260,000 tons of rice worth about 7 billion baht ($228 million) from Thailand. ‐ The memorandum was not a government‐to‐government contract on rice purchasing as widely understood, but an intergovernmental instrument to boost the rice trade, a senior official said.