A meeting of the country’s cultural world heritage site sub-committee resolved to ask the United Nations agency for inclusion on a tentative list by February 1 next year, as the famous temple was deemed to have outstanding universal value and met three out of the 10 of Unesco’s selection criteria.
The sub-committee asked the Fine Arts Department to gather evidence of the site’s importance.

DEPUTY PRIME Minister Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday praised Laos’ decision to block the activities of Thai dissidents and lese-majeste offenders as requested by the Thai government, but admitted that |getting them extradited to the Kingdom for punishment remained unclear.
“It is a pleasure to know that our neighbour has provided good cooperation for the matter by not allowing those people to create trouble for us,” Prawit told reporters.
The government recently made a request for a number of lese-majeste offenders to be extradited from several states including Laos, where many Thai dissidents are believed to be hiding.
The Lao Embassy in Bangkok did not reply to a request from The Nation for comment on the matter yesterday.
Prawit, who is also the defence minister, said he had made another request to his Lao counterpart Lt-General Chansamone Chan-yalath when he was in Vientiane for the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting last week.
However, Prawit said he did not make a formal extradition request to Laos since he did not know where the fugitives were. “But that depends on our neighbour. If they can arrest them, they could be deported to us,” he said.
“But I made it clear [to my counterpart] that these people have insulted our King, so the neighbour should not allow them to do such a thing anymore,” he said.
Thailand and Laos signed an extradition treaty in 1999 but the pact cannot be enforced for the junta’s purposes due to the political nature of the lese-majeste offence. Laos is a socialist republic where insulting the monarchy is not a crime. The extradition treaty does not allow offenders to be sent home for political crime or crimes that are not listed by the contracting parties.
A source close to the matter said the Thai government did not make an extradition request in accordance with the treaty but the junta used political influence to block the movement of dissidents in a neighbouring country.

Post-2014 opponents
The authorities believe there are several groups of Thai dissidents in Laos who fled the Kingdom since the coup in 2014. They are mostly members of the red-shirt group and some are ex-communist insurgents.
Their political activities in Laos mostly centre on producing and publicising criticism of the junta and the monarchy via the Internet, notably YouTube. Programmes such as “Faiyen Channel”, “Yammy Revolution” and “Media Force” are famous among red-shirt groups.
It is said the dissidents live and work in Laos under the protection of senior local officials who have strong connections with Thai politicians.
Upon the request to Laos after the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in October, Lao authorities warned the Thai dissidents about risky activities and asked them to keep a low profile, at least during the grieving period. Some YouTube channels such as “Media Force” disappeared early this month, according to a viewer who closely monitors the dissident programmes.
Last week, authorities gave an ultimatum to Thai dissidents – stop the programmes and channels on social media or face extradition back to Thailand.
On Saturday, the “Yammy gozzip yam” webpage posted a statement saying the situation in and outside the Kingdom was not stable and many relevant parties urged the dissidents to refrain from publicising any material or criticism via the Internet and social media, which caused the channel to “switch off”.

The release of the aquarium-bred thorny seahorses, aged three months to one year old, is in dedication to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The aquarium is based at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources’ Andaman Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Centre.

Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiropas told The Nation yesterday that the investigation followed reports that Orapim might have received payments from the Army at much higher a rate that was suggested by the Budget Bureau.
According to the bureau’s regulations, government agencies are required to spend no more than Bt1,600 per hour for the services of private lecturers at training events.
“We will see if she really received Bt30,000 per hour from agencies under the Defence Ministry,” Pisit said. “We will determine the objectives behind the payments and also whether they followed the regulations.”
Pisit said designated rates were low when hiring well-known figures for events organised by government agencies. As a result, state agencies often paid celebrity speakers in the form of gifts in order to not break the budget regulations.
The auditor-general’s move came after Army personnel denied making any payments to the 30-year-old orator.
Video clips showing her speaking at Army compounds can be seen on YouTube.
“The Army never asked for such approval,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday.
“I don’t know her [Orapim]. But I think she has good intentions for the country so please be fair to all sides,” he added.
Army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said yesterday that Orapim had frequently been invited to speak before military personnel because of her ability to convey heartfelt stories about His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. But the spokesman maintained that the Army never paid her.
Online criticism of Orapim has grown since last week when a video clip surfaced of her seemingly criticising people in the Northeast. Critics questioned the appropriateness of her comments because the speech was related to the late King.

In grief we have joined forces and shown the world that sorrow and weakness can be transformed into strength and solidarity with one another.

Since the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in his 89th year on October 13, millions of loyal subjects have travelled to the main site of mourning, Sanam Luang, to pay homage.
More than one million people have managed to pay their respects in front of the Royal Urn inside the Grand Palace’s Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall since it was opened to the public on October 29.
Despite the huge numbers, things have gone smoothly barring the inconvenience of long queues and piles of garbage.
Even foreign tourists are respecting the mood, dressing in sombre-coloured clothing to visit the Temple of Emerald Buddha inside the Grand Palace compound.
At first, it seemed the government struggled to strike the right balance between mourning and “business-as-usual”. But the mood has eased since the ban on entertainment activities was lifted on November 14 after a month of national mourning.
The schedule of traditional festivals, festivities, concerts and cultural and sporting events resumed last Monday, though in a more muted atmosphere.
The first traditional festival since the King’s passing was Loy Kratong. The celebrations last week on Monday were quiet and the mood was sombre as Thais marked the end of the first month of the official year-long mourning period. No fireworks or sky lanterns were allowed in Bangkok.
The gentle nature of the revelry extended to concern shown for the environment.  More than 93 per cent of nearly 662,000 floats collected last week from Bangkok waterways were made of natural materials and the number of krathong was substantially lower than last year.
Thais have demonstrated an intuitive awareness of what they should or should not do during the mourning period. But that sensitivity will face a challenge when the country celebrates the New Year in 40 days time.
The January 1 celebration will no doubt be different this year, but Thai authorities will also want to send the message that “life goes on”.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is consulting the public and businesses about how to promote tourism at this pivotal time of the year.
The TAT has proposed an event called the “Candlelight of Siam”, which would replace fireworks and other garish festivities with the lighting of candles and prayers for the passing of the old year and arrival of the new. And of course HM the late King would form the emotional focus for the national event, which will centre on a ceremony at Sanam Luang where the TAT predicts at least 100,000 will gather. Foreign tourists will also be invited.
The tourism authority will also propose that those who normally organise countdown events across the country should join the Sanam Luang spirit.
The change of approach to celebrations is also designed to assure foreign visitors that festivities continue despite the mourning period, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul.
Last year over 13 million people participated in New Year’s prayer ceremonies, according to Kobkarn, who predicted the figure would rise to around 20 million people this year.
It will be heartening to see the country soften its modern-day raucous celebrations and greet the New Year in traditional Thai style: simple and moderate, in line with the King’s philosophy of sufficiency. The public, businesses and the tourism sector should support this idea of returning to our cultural roots at this significant moment. Prayers will be directed to the future, but also towards our past, and His Majesty the King, who did so much to form it.

Netizens took to social media to mourn his death, with people admiring the academic for being a genuine pro-democracy political scientist.
The professor had been receiving cancer treatment at Phramongkutklao Hospital since late last month. His funeral bathing ceremony was held yesterday at Wat That Thong in Bangkok.
Recognised as a great contemporary political scientist, Likhit was born on May 11, 1941. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University in 1966 and finished three master’s of arts degrees in international relations, law, and political science as well as earned a PhD in political science from renowned universities in the United States. The professor was popularly recognised as a fellow of the Royal Institute and as a political science lecturer at Thammasat University where he had served as a vice rector for Research and External Relations in 1988 and as dean of the university’s Political Science Faculty in 1983.
His works include the classic Thai political science book “Political Development in Thailand”, first published in 1976, among many other works. It is still studied by many political science students today.
Apart from academic roles, Likhit was also one of the most active technocrats from late 1980s to the early 2000s. The political scientist served in adviser roles to a prime minister, several ministers, and scores of government committees.
Years after his government service, Likhit made an entry into politics. He became a deputy minister of interior in 1997 under the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh’s administration and became a member of the House of Representative from 2001 to 2006 as a party-list member of the Thai Rak Thai Party.
After parliament was dissolved in February 2006, Likhit left Thai Rak Thai and with other politicians and founded the Palang Pandin Thai party, of which he was the leader. The veteran political scientist retired a year after that but was constantly invited to give lectures as a guest lecturer in many universities across the country.
During the final phase of his life, Likhit was recognised as a trenchant critic of the current coup-installed regime. He was invited to speak on many news programmes and at numerous public seminars and he often heavily criticised the National Council for Peace and Order and its government.
Scholars, politicians, and political activists, some of whom were his students at Thammasat University, took to social media to express their condolences and share their impressions of Likhit.
Satithorn Thananithichot, an expert on political institutions from King Prajadhipok’s Institute, wrote on his Facebook page that he had great respect for Likhit, labelling him a “genuine political scientist”.
He said Likhit’s remarks had always proved that political science was underpinned by principles that all political scientists should uphold.
Pheu Thai politician Pichai Naripthaphan wrote: “My deepest condolences at the loss of Ajarn Likhit Dhiravegin, a teacher and an academic who had truly sided with democracy.”
Pro-democracy journalist Atukkit Sawangsuk wrote on Facebook that Likhit had proved himself to be a sane political scientist amid all the insanity in society today.
Fugitive red-shirt activist Jaran Ditapichai wrote on Facebook that he mourned Likhit’s death. He said he had been on the same stage as Likhit in a seminar marking the fifth anniversary of the Constitutional Court.
Jaran said Likhit had been on the pro-democracy side during the political crisis of the past 10 years.
Netizens widely shared banners featuring Likhit’s remark that everything was ruined since the coup in 2006.
Virot Ali, a political scientist at Thammasat University, quoted Likhit as saying: “Everything is screwed up today because people my age have not upheld the principles. I hope people your age won’t do that to the country.”