October 19, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News The protest against the government of embattled Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has intensified to a degree that it is likely to be impossible for him to dig himself out of this hole. The watershed moment was on Friday evening when high powered watercannons were used to disperse the protestors around Siam Paragon area. The move by the government to use excessive force to control the situation is likely to have an impact on the capital markets which are set to open today To read more details see the ‘Economic News’ section of our News Summary. The crackdown on the protestors on Friday evening prompted more than just a resentment against the current regime but it also triggered the coalition partners to come out with statements yesterday (Sunday) Parliament Speaker (President) Chuan Leekpai has come out to say that Today at 09:00 hrs he would call for a meeting with all parties to find a way out for the country He said that all sides should be ready for a possible ‘emergency’ convening of the parliament. The parliament is formally set to convene on November 1 Democrat party’s incumbent leader - Jurin Laksanawisit, came out to say that the government should take the lead to find a way out of this situation Chuan will call an internal meeting with leaders of all political parties today (October 19) to discuss on whether an extraordinary House session is needed. Initially, Chuan said he had ordered authorities to prepare for an extraordinary House session. However, Chuan said he had yet to receive any requests from any parliamentarians. He said he had no authority to call an extraordinary House session himself unless the government or lawmakers submit a petition calling for an extraordinary session Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin, speaking as the Democrat Party leader, supported the idea of resolving the current political crisis through parliament. The party wants the government to take the initiative in requesting a joint House-Senate sitting for a general debate without a vote under Section 165. Jurin said the parliament can speed up the charter amendment process in the 1st reading without setting any conditions that made society believe that the government is trying to buy time. Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul is adamant that his party supports an amendment to Section 256 of the constitution as the first step to pave the way for the formation of a new charter drafting assembly (CDA) to allow the people to take part in the rewriting of the whole charter and leave the first 2 chapters of the constitution untouched. Meanwhile, the opposition Pheu Thai Party supports a call for an extraordinary parliamentary session to discuss the political conflict, says Pheu Thai’s secretary- general Prasert Chanruagnthong but noted that some coalition parties showed resistance against the idea. Prasert said Chuan had contacted his party for its core leaders to convene an internal meeting with leaders of the coalition parties and parliamentarians at Parliament to discuss the political conflict today (October 19). Prasert insisted that Pheu Thai remains firm with its calls for 1) embattled Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to scrap the state of emergency to deal with protesters in Bangkok and 2) the government to release protest leaders who had been detained. Pheu Thai plans to send Prasert and Somkid Chueakhong, a deputy opposition whip and Pheu Thai MP, to attend the planned talk at Parliament today. Lt Gen Paradon Pattanathaboot, secretary of Pheu Thai’s committee on special affairs, called on the coalition parties to withdraw from the government as soon as possible if they wished to be forgiven by the younger generation. The former deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC) warned that the coalition parties will have to be held accountable for the government’s decision to impose the emergency law. While all this haggling among politicians continues, students have continued to go out in droves all across the country not just in Bangkok. The weekend saw protest continue with State official numbers for the protest on Saturday being around 15,000 Sunday being around 25,000 One should remember that the official numbers are usually half or 1/3 of the actual numbers Protest were held all across the country not just in Bangkok 1. Chiang Mai 2. Nakorn Pathom 3. Nothaburi 4. Khon Kaen 5. Samut Prakarn 6. Pathum Thani 7. Kamphaengphet 8. Rayong 9. Saraburi 10. Singburi 11. Suphanburi 12. Prachinburi 13. Yasothorn 14. Phuket 15. Udon Thani 16. Nakhon Ratchasima 17. Sisaket 18. Chonburi 19. Songkla 20. Kalasin 21. Samut Sakhon 22. Chachoengsao 23. Chanthaburi The Free Youth group and the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) said they believed that the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry would soon close their websites in an attempt to block their communication channels. The 2 groups told protesters to use encrypted messaging service Telegram instead. Following the announcement, the UFTD and Free Youth reported that 50,000 people had signed up to use Telegram within 1 hour. Telegram allows users to exchange encrypted text messages, photos and videos, and also create “channels”. For as many as 200,000 people. Reports are already emerging that ‘Declaration of a Serious Emergency Situation in Bangkok’ has given the authorities the right to close many media outlet’s online platform such as Facebook and/or Twitter. The authenticity of the document is still being questioned. Among the media named in a letter that is circulating this morning on Social Media are The Standard (vernacular Thai language online platform) The Reporter (another vernacular Thai language online platform) Prachathai (a mostly Thai language but also some English content portal) Voice TV (another Thai language online platform backed by the Shinawatra family) FreeYouth movement’s online platform o Free Youth is the loose alliance of the student leaders that are reportedly the leaders of the current ongoing protest movement. Pheu Thai’s call for Gen Prayut to scrap the emergency law is in line with legal experts. The Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) announced a petition by 452 legal experts who signed their names to oppose the imposition of the serious state of emergency. The group of legal experts also opposed the use of the emergency law to disperse the protest and called for authorities to unconditionally release pro-democracy activists and drop charges of causing harm to Her Majesty the Queen which they perceived to be too severe. Meanwhile Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, as leader of the Phalang Pracharat Party (PPRP), came out to announce the party’s stand to protect a democratic system under the Monarchy. He stressed that the PPRP is adamant with its role to protect the nation, religions and the Monarchy. The party is committed to the push for constitutional amendments through parliamentary mechanisms without touching the constitution’s chapters 1 and 2 which contain general principles and sections associated with the Monarchy. Dr Thossaporn Sereerak, a former MP candidate of the Pheu Thai Party and a close aide of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, reportedly travelled to the Pathumwan Police Station at 16.00 hrs yesterday (October 18) to answer the police’s charge for defying the severe state of emergency law. The charge was brought against Thossaporn by Pathumwan Police after he attended the pro-democracy rally in Ratchaprasong Intersection on October 15. Pathumwan Police brought the charge against Thossaporn along with Chinawat Chankrachang, key leader of a Youth group in Nonthaburi, Atthaphol Buapat, leader of the Free People group in the northeast, and Panupong “Mike Rayong” Jadnok with the same charge for defying the state of emergency. Economic News The crackdown on Friday is likely to have an impact on the investor’s sentiments and expectations are that the current standoff in Thailand is likely to continue for a few months ahead. This is likely to keep investors at bay and may even scare some investors who are already invested in the market as fears of possible bloodshed in this protest starts to rise. The good news though is that the bond markets opened flat this morning with yields remaining stable The Thai baht opened slightly weaker It yet to be seen what the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is going to react Industry bodies have come out to say that they want the government to look at ways of resolving the current problems in the country before looking at any more stimulus or other measures. The various industry bodies have come out to warn the government not to impose ‘curfew’ in order to control the crowd because that could kill the already ailing economy which is already suffering from mismanagement and the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) impact. Business leaders came out to echo their views on the government’s decision to disperse the anti-government rallies during the weekend in which they said caused jitters among local and foreign investors. Kalin Sarasin, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, sees foreign investment fleeing to Vietnam in the wake of current political crisis. He warned that rallies that spread across various business locations would have a severe impact on the Thai economy. He says what worries him most is the possibility of “third hands”, warning that Thailand could lose business opportunities in many aspects as Thailand’s political instability dampen confidence among foreign investors. Sanan Angubolkul, also a vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the chaotic scene of protesters clashing with authorities, dimmed hopes that the Thai economy will be on course to a recovery from October after the government eased lockdown restrictions to allow economic activities to resume.