Thai shenanigans and bullying for the past week as recounted by the Bangkok Post

Weekly highlights

11/02/2011
Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post

For now, it appears diplomacy has replaced guns in the war between Thailand and Cambodia over the old Preah Vihear temple, or Khao Phra Viharn, and its disputed surrounding area. The PAD, meanwhile, decided to travel to the border area instead of intensifying its rally in Bangkok. And, suddenly, the mother of all corruption cases, involving the Klong Dan waste water project, is back to haunt the Pollution Control Department.

The battleground over the 4.6 square kilometres of “overlapping” land around the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear has shifted from the Thai-Cambodian border to the international arena.

In essence, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appears to have won his fight to internationalise the border issue, over Thailand’s insistence that the issue be resolved bilaterally through negotiation.

The United Nations Security Council has scheduled a meeting on Monday for a briefing on the Thai-Cambodian situation. The Asean chairman, currently Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Hamhong have been invited to attend.

Cambodia earlier asked that a UN peace-keeping force be deployed to create a buffer zone in the disputed border area, but this was strongly rejected by the Thai government.

The government also turned down a proposal by Unesco to send in a team to inspect the Preah Vihear temple, which was damaged during the Feb 4-6 fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces -- clashes which have, so far, left three Thais dead, two soldiers and a civilian, and 22 others injured, 14 soldiers and eight civilians.

Eight houses in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket were destroyed and 28 others damaged. The casualties on the Cambodian side were not clear, with conflicting statements.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva demanded that Unesco de-list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site. He said the unilateral listing of the ancient temple with Camboldia as sole manager was the origin of the conflict and border skirmishes between the two countries.

Thailand’s joint boundary committee chief, Asda Jayanama, is now in Paris to explain Thailand’s position regarding the ancient temple to the chairman of Unesco’s World Heritage Committee, which is due to meet in June in Bahrain to consider Cambodia’s management plan for the temple area.

Although a shaky ceasefire is being observed at the border close to the ancient temple, both Thai and Cambodian forces deployed at the border remain on high alert.

In Bangkok, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and its ultra-nationalist ally, the Thai Patriots Network, which have been calling the Thai government to take a decisive stance against Cambodia, have decided to send some of their men and women to Kantharalak district to distribute supplies to villagers and soldiers there, instead of “upgrading” their anti-government protest in Bangkok.

However, many residents of Kantharalak have voiced their clear opposition to the PAD's presence there.

To deal with the PAD-TPN protest and protests planned by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the cabinet on Tuesday invoked the Internal Security Act in seven districts in the capital. Also, the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO), which was set up under the ISA to deal with red-shirted protesters during the March-May protest last year, was revived.

Roads around Government House and the parliament have been closed to traffic by the police exercising powers under the ISA. Police may use force to reclaim roads occupied by yellow-shirt protesters after their requests that they re-open at least some lanes to traffic were rejected by PAD leaders.

The amendment of the existing constitution is also to the fore again, with a joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives scheduled today to vote on the charter amendment bills. Political observers expected the bills to sail through the third, and final, reading.

The government side, Democrats in particular, has in the past several days lobbied support from senators to vote in support of the amendment bills, which needed at least 313 votes to pass. Critics have charged that several senators have been “bribed” to vote for the bills, without saying how.

The key point of the charter changes is the number of constituency and list MPs in the lower House, which will be changed to 375 elected constituency MPs and 125 appointed list MPs instead, of 400 and 80 respectively as currently stipulated in the charter.

Once the charter amendments are passed, pressure on the prime minister for an early House dissolution and a general election is expected to increase. The prime minister said he wants an early election in the first half of this year but did not specify the exact timing. It was reported that Mr Abhisit wants, at the least, the mid-year budget to be passed before the House is dissolved.

The controversial Klong Dan waste water treatment project is back in the spotlight after a report emerged on Thursday that an arbitration committee has ordered the Pollution Control Department to pay compensation amounting to six billion baht, plus 7.5% annual interest, to the consortium which built the waste water treatment facility in Samut Prakan province.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who oversees the Pollution Control Department, said the department would appeal the committee’s ruling in the Civil Court.

The 23-billion baht project was riddled with corruption scandals, especially the highly-inflated prices of land bought by the department for the project - much of it public land sold with forged papers.

Several politicians and officials were implicated in the scandals and prosecuted. Prominent among the most corrupt was former deputy interior minister Vatana Asavahame, who fled the country before he was sentenced in absentia to 10 years imprisonment by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

Vatana, who was for long regarded at the untouchable "god father" of Samut Prakan, has not served a single day in prison, and is believed to have taken refuge in Cambodia. His sons remain active in local politics and business.