Volume 12 Issue 19 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555 May 7 - 13, 2005 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 20 Baht The Gazette is published in association with High anxiety Mixed reviews for as Dulwich talks come IN THIS ISSUE evacuation drill to a close NEWS: Phuket City mayor ducks dismissal debate; La- By Gazette Staff bor Office aims for faster By Anongnat Sartpisut work permits. Pages 2 & 3 & Stephen Fein PHUKET: Teachers and parents of students at Dulwich Interna- INSIDE STORY: Continuing the PATONG: The evacuation drill tional College (DIC) were wait- account of Patong’s first of the southern half of Patong ing anxiously as the Gazette went evacuation drill. Pages 4 & 5 Beach on Friday, April 29 re- to press to learn the outcome of AROUND THE ISLAND: Love on ceived mixed reviews, from both a May 3 meeting of the board of the lagoon, not the rocks, at tourists and the many govern- Dulwich College in London Laguna. Page 6 ment officials who attended. (DCL) which could decide, af- Arriving by helicopter ter weeks of intense negotiations, AROUND THE REGION: Getting shortly after 10 am, Prime Min- whether DIC is allowed to keep the picture in Khao Lak. ister Thaksin Shinawatra met a the “Dulwich” in its name. Page 8 crowd of some 2,000 volunteer Negotiating on behalf of PHUKET PEOPLE: Lisa Loud: evacuees, many of them chil- DCL in talks in Phuket and superstar DJ. Here we go! dren, wearing T-shirts made spe- Bangkok was Ralph Mainard, Pages 10 & 11 cially for the event. DCL’s Deputy Master with re- Also on hand were diplo- sponsibility for external rela- LIFESTYLE: Pleasant items for mats from 22 countries, includ- tions. pleasant gardens. Page 12 ing the ambassadors of Germany, On April 28, frustrated par- GOOD LIVING: Mussels – and Austria, the UAE, Greece, Kaz- ents gave a bumpy ride to Mr more – from Brussels. akhstan and Qatar, as well as rep- Mainard when they met him at Page 14 resentatives of international the Sheraton Grande Laguna relief agencies, including the Run for your lives! ‘Evacuees’ wearing T-shirts printed specially Phuket. FIRST PERSON: A motorcycle taxi driver asks, ‘What about Red Cross. for the occasion, lead the charge away from the beach. The parents were particu- us?’ Page 19 They were seated, along larly irked by consistently polite with other dignitaries, in a tent vacation at Mai Khao Beach was from the three siren towers, each refusals by Mr Mainard to reveal BUSINESS: Land price bubble on the beach at the foot of Soi able to save her family and oth- of about one-second duration precisely what the two sides dis- not bursting yet; Money Talks. Bangla, from where they could ers because she had learned and with an eerie, falling ca- agreed on, although he did tell Page 21 view the evacuation from differ- about tsunamis in her geography dence. The volunteers began to them he hoped decisions would SPORT: B7m feasibility study ent angles by watching large- class. run off the sand, along the beach reached very soon. for ‘disgraceful monument’; screen televisions. “Foreigners know about road to Soi Bangla, and then out- “No final resolution has ITF tourney in Phuket; PEGS In his speech, PM Thaksin tsunamis,” he stated. “Here in side the “risk zone”, defined as been reached,” Mr Mainard said, championship. said the drill was an important Thailand, we didn’t learn about anything on the beach side of “but I think all parties are now Pages 22 & 23 way to prevent loss of life should them until December 26,” he Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, which very aware of the big issues. I there be another natural disaster said, pausing to let the ramifica- was as far as the December 26 hope decisions will be made in PROPERTY: Home of the and also to show the world that tions of the statement sink in. tsunami waves reached. the next few days.” Week: Patong; Bloomin’ Bert; it is safe for tourists to return to PM Thaksin also com- The drill was based on the Pressed as to what the “big Construction update: Phuket Thailand’s Andaman coastline. mented that there were not assumption that future tsunamis issues” are, he said, “I am con- Private Lagoon; Why Doven The Prime Minister added enough signs indicating the would resemble the December strained in what I can and can- never walks alone. that the government would push evacuation routes. He later pre- 26 disaster in terms of force, not say.” Pages 24-27 ahead with its plan to install an sented one such sign to Patong wave height and progress inland. Asked what he thought early warning system using a Mayor Pian Keesin, who bowed The volunteers, photo- were the chances of an agree- PLUS network of offshore buoys, re- deeply and gave a big wai upon graphed and filmed by the hun- ment being reached that will al- gardless of whether other coun- acceptance. dreds of local, national and in- low DIC to keep “Dulwich” in AROUND THE NATION 7; HAPPEN- tries chose to join in, because the After speeches by Deputy ternational media present, were its name, he said, “I’m optimis- INGS 9, KIDS 15; HOROSCOPES, safety of residents and tourists Interior Minister Somsak Thep- directed toward “safety” and en- tic – 80%”. When this was EARTH WATCH, BOOKS 16 & was its top priority. sutin, Phuket Governor Udom- couraged to move faster by res- greeted with collective horror, he 17; EDITORIAL, LETTERS 18; IS- He said he was glad that sak Usawarangkura and then cue workers and police, many of swiftly revised the number up to SUES & ANSWERS 19; COMPUT- information about tsunamis was himself, PM Thaksin pushed the whom were blowing whistles. A 90%. ERS, ON THE MOVE 20; CLASSI- now being included in school button at about 10:30 am to be- TV cameraman was seated in a “We are much, much closer FIEDS 28-35. curricula, recalling how a 10- gin the drill. cherrypicker above Soi Bangla, than we were when I arrived 10 year-old British schoolgirl on A series of loud calls began Continued on page 4 Continued on page 2 2 PHUKET GAZETTE NEWS May 7 - 13, 2005 High anxiety for all at DIC From page 1 the headmaster should have Mayor ducks out of days ago. I hope by next week we “more overall control”, while Dr will all know,” he stressed. Arthit Ourairat’s thinking ap- Mr Mainard also told the pears to run in the opposite di- meeting that both “sides” had rection. Following the sacking of agreed the previous week that Mr Cook, he hired four directors, dismissals debate unless a deal could be struck, the one of them being the Academic Dulwich franchise will end on Director, or headmaster. By Anongnat Sartpisut called for the mayor herself to June 24. Also under discussion is the resign within three days – or face The row initially erupted make-up of the school’s board, PHUKET CITY: Phuket City a petition aimed at forcing her after Mr Mainard visited the which currently consists of Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana from office. school in March to make an an- people appointed by Dr Arthit. has insisted it is back to business However, Mayor Somjai nual inspection. His report, DCL would like to see a wider as usual following her sudden told the Gazette on May 1, “This though it expressed satisfaction representation. Talks have also sacking of her three deputies on is an internal matter, within the with the academic aspects and centered, Mr Mainard said, on April 8. Khon Noom party. “ethos” of the school, was criti- “how far a board of governors is Mayor Somjai denied that “I just want to put this situ- cal of its management. able to govern the management she was locked in any kind of ation behind me and get on with Criticisms included the of the school”. dispute with the former deputies my work. They could say some- state of the school’s refectory Central to this is the word- – Ayuth Tansiriroj, Niwas Aroon- thing, I could say something (canteen) and the fact that teach- ing of the franchise agreement. rat and Piya Siamhan, all mem- back, then they could say some- bers of the Kohn Noom (“Young thing back to that, and so on – it ers’ morale was low, partly be- The current agreement, Mr Main- Mayor Somjai: ‘I’m going to put cause some did not have con- ard said by way of example, men- Turks”) party which had ruled the a stop to the bickering.’ could drag on forever. tracts and therefore felt insecure, tions that DCL should have a say city for around three decades. “I’m not going to let that and partly because teachers on in the appointment of a headmas- K. Niwas was appointed a Young Turks, held a meeting on happen. I’m going to put a stop expatriate packages face having ter, but does not address the topic consultant to the mayor, but K. April 22 at which he claimed to to the bickering, and get back to to pay more tax. of his dismissal. Ayuth, whose cousin founded the have been unfairly dismissed and my work,” she said. But the situation reached Despite Mr Mainard’s pro- crisis point last month, when fessed optimism, it was clear that Headmaster David Cook was pe- the two sides are still some way Woman Disasters seminar held remptorily sacked by DIC, with- from being the best of friends. out reference to DCL.