November 23, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News The country is likely to see more political tension and now with rumours of a possible coup that was spread by pro-democracy activists. Pro-democracy Khana Ratsadon activist Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, came out to defy embattled Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s threat to use Section 112 of the criminal code against him during his speech at a political demonstration at Aksa-Utthayarn Soi 13 road yesterday. The rally saw a large number of anti- establishment protesters including red shirt members. Parit got up on stage and told the crowd that he did not feel threatened by the law and told anti-establishment protesters that their feeling of threat will change into anger and hatred. He insisted to continue to talk about the royal institution and called on supporters to join the planned rally in front of the Crown Property Bureau to “smash” the “Sakdina system (social hierarchy)” and state coffers on November 25. Parit also praised a large crowd red shirt supporters who turned up to give support to pro-democracy rallies on Aksa road where Bangkok’s Thawi Watthana district and Nakhon Pathom’s Buddha Monthon district adjoin. Aksa road used to be the site of mass protests by the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) in April 2014. During his speech, Parit has raised issues about budgets set aside for the monarchy and asked yellow-shirt royalists if the royal institution gave anything in return to them. He also told police to take a video clip of his offensive speech as evidence. Later Parit posted on his Facebook that he could “smell” a strong scent of another military coup as the current political atmosphere started to resemble the atmosphere prior to the 2006 coup that toppled the Thaksin Shinawatra administration. He accused former army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong, who is now deputy director of the Crown Property Bureau, of lobbying fellow military officers to help him stage a coup. Parit urged people to show the power of masses to resist a possible coup. His call was echoed by the Human rights lawyer and another pro-democracy protest co-leader Anon Nampa, who also claimed on his Facebook page that army snipers have now been shipped to the capital while a high-ranking military officer was lobbying support for his plan to stage a coup. Meanwhile, Suvinai Pornavilai, strategic chairman of the Thai Direction Institute and a former lecturer from the Economics Faculty at Thammasat University, announced on his Facebook page that the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) plans to seek court orders to arrest “masterminds” behind the Khana Ratsadon rallies today. Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai, deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB), admitted that the MPB is planning to issue police summons against protest leaders who staged rallies at Kiak Kai intersection and the Royal Thai Police Office. Currently Bang Pho, Tao Poon and Pathumwan police are looking into evidence and could identify protest leaders and protesters who committed wrongdoing, Pol Maj Gen Piya said. When asked if there are more than 30 wrongdoers, the deputy chief of the MPB only said the number keep rising. As rumors of possible coup starts to circulate, talks are focusing on December 2, 2020 and other days through the month of December. December 2, 2020 is the day that the Constitutional Court is set to give its verdict on the case filed against embattled Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has been residing in army assigned house ever since he retired from the position in 2014. December 14 and December 20-30 are other days that are likely to be crucial for the survival of the government of coup leader Prayut. A classified document was leaked out showing National Security Council (NSC) director-general Gen Natthapon Nakpanich’s order to the Ministry of Interior to find measures to block the mobilisation of the masses from upcountry regions. The same document also showed the NSC chief’s instruction to provincial governors nationwide to organise activities show loyalty to the country’s key pillars in regional areas during November 23-27. Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri came out to deny knowledge of the leaked document. Over the weekend there was another anti-government protesters from the Bad Student, which held their protest on Saturday called ‘Mob Fest’ in front of Siam Square shopping mall under the BTS station after heavy rain forced them to relocate rally from Ratchaprasong intersection. The groups named their rally a “Bye-bye Dinosaur” protest as the Bad Student group used the word “dinosaur” to describe Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan, fellow MPs and senators who voted against a charter amendment motion filed by the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw). The group said they would become “meteors” to wipe out these dinosaurs. However, another big issue arisen from this rally is when a female high school student put up a placard that says, “I am a victim of sexual harassment, school is not a safe place during the Saturday rally. The scene drew criticism from Phalang Pracharat Party (PPRP) MP Pareena Kraikupt who put up a Facebook comment that, “the person that came out to hold up the sign is not a student. When you are not a student, you can spread rumours on social media. It is now time for you to be held accountable for your action,” Pareena said she is preparing to take legal action against the person in question at Pathumwan Police Station today. Nong Urn, the university student in the center of this pictures talk, came out to say that she more than welcomes the case that Pareena is looking to file. Panya Sisan, a core leader of activist monks, has now been slapped with a charge of violating the Computer Crime Act and Section 112 of the Criminal Code. Panya, one of leading activist monks got up on the Khana Ratsadon rally stage, said he was abused by the state system and said he is planning to seek political asylum abroad. He posted a message to thank political activist Nuttaa Mahattana for seeking donations to fund a monk targeted for violating the lese majeste law sought a donation to build a temple for political exiles in Europe. Natta also announced on her Facebook page that 151,578.5 baht has been donated to her account to secure the monk’s political asylum. Nattaa’s attempt to seek a donation was slammed by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a political exile and anti-establishment academic, who said building a temple could not be a reason for seeking asylum in other countries. Senator Wanchai Sornsiri, as speaker of the Senate’s committee on religious, ethical and moral practices, slammed activist monks for participating in political activities. He said these monks should be defrocked before joining political demonstrations as their actions are deemed extremely inappropriate. There are reports that Phalang Pracharat Party (PPRP) list MP Virat Rattanaset is set to vie against Pheu Thai MP for Nan Cholnan Srikaew for the post of the chairman of a 45- member committee set up to scrutinise the charter amendment drafts before their 2nd and 3rd readings. However, Chart Thai Pattana party-list MP Nikorn Chamnon, as a member of the committee, came out to deny knowledge of the report and said he expected government whips to hold a meeting on November 23 to discuss the issue. He said Pheu Thai’s push for Cholnan to compete for the post is not unusual. Fire broke out in front of Thai Summit Building near the Pheu Thai Party’s headquarters yesterday. Authorities said short-circuit sets off blaze in tangle of cables which spread to a tree nearby on New Petchaburi Road. Economic News The private sector has hailed the Bank of Thailand (BoT)’s new measures to tame the baht rise. The Central Bank announced at its meeting on Friday new measures to mitigate pressures on the currency and to address structural issues in the Thai foreign exchange market. The BoT’s 3 measures to liberalise Thai investments in foreign securities and the holding of foreign currencies in a bid to rein in the strengthening baht are for Thais to freely open foreign currency deposit accounts (FCD), freely make transactions between FCD accounts and enable exporters to effectively manage liquidity and foreign exchange risk, according to BOT assistant governor Vachira Arromdee. Visit Limlurcha, vice-chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC), said although these measures might not yield result instantly, he is happy that the BoT take some action, rather than allowing the baht to keep rising further and do nothing while allowing an influx of foreign capital inflows to enter the capital market. He said conventional methods might no longer work in intervening the baht’s strength. He said these new policies to liberalise investments should yield positive results for Thai exports along with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s decision to hold its key interest rate unchanged. The TNSC suggests maintaining the exchange rate at a level of 34 baht per US dollar. The Ministry of Finance confirmed plans to roll out the 2nd phase of the half-half co- payment scheme early next year with clearer details to be announced in December. The announcement came after Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s instruction to extend the scheme in a 2nd round following positive response from the public. The co-payment scheme, which started on October 23, had total spending of 23.023 billion baht as of November 21. A total of 782,169 stores have registered to participate in the scheme, Pornchai Theeravet, adviser on financial of the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), as the Finance Ministry’s spokesman, revealed.