He was speaking as deputy chairman of the National Identity Committee, which yesterday backed a proposal of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry’s Fishery Department that the world-famous colourful fish become a national emblem.

Suwaphan said department representatives and academics had presented information on the proposal at the meeting, chaired by the committee’s chief Deputy Prime Ministr Wissanu Krea-Ngam.

“Our culture and history offer proof that the Siamese fighting fish has existed in Thai history, literature and records for a long time,” he added.

The information also showed that the source of the fighting fish is the Chao Phraya River, Suwaphan said, adding that the fish’s name also justified forwarding the proposal to Cabinet.

The idea was first put forward last year by director general of the Fishery Department Adisorn Promthep, who said the recognition would help preserve Siamese fighting fish in Thailand.

The fish is mentioned in records dating back to the Ayutthaya period. Historically it was bred for sports but nowadays most people raise the fish as a hobby.

Growing trade in Siamese fighting fish generates about Bt1 billion per year globally, with that figure projected to reach Bt3 billion in the next few years.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL Court has agreed to look into whether the criminal law barring most abortions is a violation of women’s rights.

“Pending the review by the Constitutional Court, police should not take action against anyone involved in safe abortions,” Assoc Professor Kritaya Archavanitkul, representing the Choices Forum, said yesterday.

Together with the organisation Referral System for Safe Abortion (RSA), Choices Forum held a press conference on the court’s decision, saying women have the right to decide whether to go proceed with or terminate a pregnancy.

At present, the law prescribes punishments against women who abort their pregnancies or receive abortion services. Exemptions are granted only when pregnancy threatens the woman’s health or results from sexual attack.

However, pro-choice groups point out that unwanted pregnancy, which can also result from contraceptive error, can be too difficult for women who are not yet ready for motherhood or have had problems in their lives.

Children born from unwanted pregnancies also have less chance of a good upbringing and happy later life, they say.

Thammasat University law lecturer Ronnakorn Bunmee said women should have ultimate control over their own bodies and legally allowed to make key choices, such as having an abortion.

“Don’t negatively judge a woman who’s had an unwanted pregnancy,” he said. “Sometimes mistakes can happen.”

Unable to cope

Single mother of two Nim (not her real name) worked at odd jobs and was unable to cope with a third child, so she sought out an abortion service. Age 25, she had just split from her philandering husband, only to discover she was pregnant again. When she couldn’t contact him, she sought an abortion.

She insisted that she used contraception and couldn’t understand how she’d become pregnant.

“Women don’t become pregnant on their own,” Kritaya of Choices Forum pointed out. “How can the man be let off the hook? The Constitution stipulates that men and women are equal and accorded the same dignity, rights and liberties.”

She lamented that, because a woman’s right to abortion was not officially recognised in Thailand, many women were forced to put their lives at risk getting a risky illegal abortion or even self-aborting.

“Illegal abortion services are 300 times more dangerous than what doctors provide,” RSA coordinator Dr Amorn Kaewsai said.

He said it would be better if police cracked down on illegal abortionists rather than persecuting doctors who help the RSA provide women with safe services.

At the same time, he encouraged medical workers at all levels to have the courage to provide services to women in need, even though the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on the matter.

RSA and Choices Forum are not alone in their efforts to give pregnant women choices. The Public Health Ministry and Medical Council have already lent a hand.

“We played a role in establishing the RSA,” Health Department deputy director general Dr Bancha Khakhong said.

He added that his department had also developed a chatbot to provide free counselling to women who need advice on what to do about their pregnancies.

Bancha also intended to raise the issue with the national police chief in a bid to make police more understanding of women’s plight.

According to the World Health Organisation, 45 million women have abortions each year. Of these, 25 million used unsafe services, of whom 97 per cent live in developing nations such as Thailand.

Amorn said that, when Thailand first banned abortion, the social and technological context was far different than it is today.

Ronnakorn said he hoped political parties would declare their stance on abortion ahead of the February election.

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) voted 167:3 yesterday to pass the first reading of the bill that criminalises torture and forced disappearance. It will take another 45 days for it to become law.

“As matter of urgency, we implore legislators to enact a strong law that fully complies with international standards set out in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [CAT] and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance [ICPPED],” Southeast Asia representative of the Office of Human Right Commissioner for Human Rights Cynthia Veliko said.

“It is vital that this national legislation be adopted so victims and their families have judicial recourse for these heinous crimes,” she said.

The UN working group on enforced disappearance has handled 85 cases of such crimes since 1980.

One well-known local case recently involved prominent Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, who went missing in 2004 in the wake of suppression of insurgency in the deep South. It was widely understood that he had been targeted for his work on defending suspected insurgents in relation to violence in the predominantly Muslim region.

Thailand has taken a number of steps to implement its obligations under CAT since its ratification more than a decade ago. The country ratified the ICPPED in March last year.

“A number of obligations laid out in these treaties are non-derogable, notably protection from torture, ill treatment or refoulement of any kind for cases where people could be at risk of these acts,” Veliko said.

“It is essential that these elements are fully articulated and incorporated into the domestic legislation and that the definition of all crimes be in the line with international standards.”

The government agency is previewing “New Year 2019 Gifts” for the 48 million people covered by the universal healthcare scheme.

Other “gifts” include 180 video-call booths around the country where hearing-impaired people will be able to call the 1330 hotline for advice and help, and a Facebook chatbot that can answer frequently asked questions.

Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn yesterday said the NHSO would implement these five projects next year.

The NHSO and Thai Telecommunication Relay Service will first collaborate on a scheme to let hearing-impaired people access the 1330 hotline via the latter’s booths, website and the phone application “mymmx ttrs video”. Calls to the NHSO centre will be relayed with a help of a TTRS sign-language translator.

Beginning in January, people calling 1330 via a landline will be charged just Bt1 per call, with no limits on the length of the call, down from the current Bt3. Calls from cell phones will be charged Bt1 for every 15 minutes, down from the current 42 satang per minute.

Big savings

Piyasakol said savings would amount to Bt776,642, calculated as 53 per cent of the amount people are currently spending on the service. About 686,000 calls come in each year, generating Bt1.46 million in phone charges.

The NHSO is a public organisation and cannot waive all phone charges, the minister said, but the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission agreed in November that the charges could be reduced.

Next, the NHSO Facebook page, which currently has 770,000 posts and 110,000 followers, will soon have a chatbot handling questions most frequently asked about healthcare benefits and switching medical facilities.

Colostomy bags worn post-surgery by colon-cancer patients and the hormonal suppressants Leuprorelin and Triptorelin used to slow precocious puberty were made available under the health scheme in October, the beginning of 2019 fiscal year.

Piyasakol said colostomy bags made from rubber, an invention that won an award in 2017 for a Prince of Songkla University research team, would make life easier for the 54,000 users in the health scheme.

The NHSO will add at least two more locations to the 19 places where citizens can register for the health scheme, he said.

The current 19 points are in Bangkok district offices that maintain weekday office hours.

Registration will be possible at two branch offices of the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

A registration point at the BACC’s branch at Mor Chit Bus Terminal is already operating, and a branch at Ying Charoen Market will open on January 17.

However, civil groups, including those at a recent forest governance forum, pointed out that many forest residents were still uncertain if the new policy will maintain their land rights.

On November 26, the government decided to, in principle, change its policy along the lines of a proposal made by the national land policy committee and the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

Conflicts over the right of land between the state and millions of forest residents have dragged on for decades now. The land under dispute is the nearly 6 million rai (1 million hectares) earmarked as protected forest areas, namely national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, and 1 million rai marked off as forest reserves and watersheds.

Previous governments tried to solve this issue by freezing any moves being made on rights verification or by issuing individual land-use rights documents. However, the authorities often found this land being sold to rich people, creating an endless cycle of encroachment into forested land.

Under the new policy, simply known as Khor Tor Chor, the rights on forested land will be redefined and large communal plots called Plaeng Ruam will be introduced. These communal plots will then be split among valid residents.

Nobody will be given any right other than the “right to use the land to make a living as authorised by the law”, Raweewan Bhuridej, secretary-general of the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, said at a press conference held at the ministry yesterday.

“This means they will be allowed to live in forested land legally and earn their livelihoods with help from officials and the state budget.

“For us, we will get our encroached forested land back because forest residents can lead a more sustainable life and will no longer need to sell their land to rich or influential people.”

Raweewan added that thanks to this new land-rights and management approach, forest residents will become more secure and will be able to pass their newly defined rights to their children.

Also, the disputed forested land will be re-managed with different land-use and protection conditions, based on the area’s ecological fragility, ranging from watersheds numbered 1 to 5 to protected areas and mangroves.

So far, work has progressed in watersheds numbered 3 to 5, which are the least fragile, with over 100 areas in 52 provinces having received land-use authorisation.

Some civil groups, however, said they found the policy confusing and were uncertain about their land rights, and wanted the government to clarify these points.

They were speaking at a forest governance forum organised by the Centre for People and Forests.

Warangkana Rattanarat, the centre’s programme director for Thailand, said the incumbent government has demonstrated good intentions and a clearer policy to help resolve problems, especially in relation to overlapping land rights.

However, she expects there to be trouble ahead because the next step – planning and implementation – remain problematic, prompting distrust in some pilot areas.

“Fundamentally, participation seems to be lacking in all processes and the state is setting the course all alone,” she said.

Every day road accidents have claimed an average of 60 lives in Thailand, the 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety shows. No Asean nation has a higher road fatality rate.

“Of those perishing in Thai road accidents, 74 per cent are motorcycle or tricycle users,” Daniel Kertesz, WHO representative to Thailand, said yesterday.

He also lamented that most victims were between 15 and 29 years old – so young to face such an untimely death, especially considering that road accidents are preventable.

According to statistics from Thai authorities, drunk driving, speeding and failure to wear crash helmets are among the common causes of accidents and related deaths.

File photo

Ninth worst in the world

In the latest report by WHO, Thailand ranks ninth among 175 nations in terms of road fatalities – down from second in the 2015 report. The 2018 report says road accidents killed 22,491 people in Thailand – putting the road traffic fatality rate at 32.7 per 100,000 people.

This improves on the 2015 rate of 36.2 rate, or 24,237 recorded deaths.

Road Safety Centre manager Dr Thanapong Jinvong believes the better ranking reflected public concern that led to actions that put Thailand on a good track towards the goal of curbing road accidents.

“People recognise that road accidents pose big problems and demand urgent solutions from the government,” he said.

Dr Wittaya Chartbunchachai heads the centre for trauma and critical care, a collaboration between the WHO and Khon Kaen University.

Though noting the improved ranking, he says the country needs to take notice of Thailand’s third place in world rankings when only motorcycle-related deaths are counted.

“And if we remove countries with fewer than 500,000 residents, Thailand is No 1,” he said. The number of motorcycles in Thailand has surpassed 20 million.”

Kertesz wants to see the government, motorcycle manufacturers, road builders, law enforcers, research institutes, media and the civil sector join forces to address the problem of too many fatal road accidents.

“The deaths of some 60 people a day is unacceptable,” he insisted.

National Legislative Assembly vice president Surachai Liengboonlertchai expects “integrated efforts”, including campaigns for safe driving behaviour, to help significantly lower road accidents.

Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) officers, Anti Money-Laundering Office officials, local police and administrators as well as soldiers searched 11 locations in Tak’s Mae Sot district and 14 others sites in Bangkok, Lop Buri, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, to crack a transnational “ice” (crystal methamphetamine) trafficking ring allegedly led by Myanmar national Sua “Chang the Dragon” Songkittikul.

Although 48-year-old Sua, who reportedly also has a Thai passport and a residence in Mae Sot, was absent, a team led by national police deputy chief Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakan discovered a 100-metre-long tunnel from his home within a 22-rai (3.5-hectare) compound in Mae Sot that also contained a jewellery factory still under construction, a company office and cargo warehouse.

Police suspect that the passage, which provides a route from the house to an outdoor spot 100 metres away, was created to transport drugs and other illegal items, and evade police arrest.

A chemical lab, whose purpose police suspect was to make “ice”, was also found on the premises. Officers impounded the property for further inspection, while two male caretakers insisted they were just hired to guard the place.

The operation stemmed from a police investigation that secured arrest warrants over money-laundering charges for Sua, his jewellery business partner Prapat Saetuang, 27 and Prapat’s mother-in-law Nathor Yodmahawan. During another police raid of Prapat’s house 10 kilometres away, officers apprehended Prapat, who denied any involvement with, or knowledge of, Sua’s alleged drug trafficking and claimed he hadn’t been able to contact Sua for nearly two years. Police also arrested Prapat’s mother-in-law during the raid.

Back in September to November 2016, the NSB joined forces with their counterparts from the US and Australia to monitor Sua’s alleged transnational drug activities.

Two gang members were arrested in November 2016 while trying to transport 1,100 kilograms of “ice” in a car in Myanmar to a ship in order to smuggle the load to a third country.

A search at a Yangon warehouse yielded a further 621 kilograms of “ice” and two Taiwanese men were arrested.

As the chief suspects had fled from Yangon to Mae Sot, Myanmar police asked officers in Thailand to apprehend Sua, who was believed to be the owner of the drugs, plus his wife and accomplices.

NSB deputy superintendent Pol Colonel Pisal Erb-arb said the police investigation over the past year had led to the seizure of assets worth Bt150 million from Sua’s gang.

Sua’s group was also suspected of links to the jailed Lao drug kingpin Xaysana Keophimpa’s ring that led to the jailing of actress Naphapa Tantrakul’s motorcycle racer ex-husband Akarakit “Benz Racing” Worarojcharoendet. A primary court in September sentenced Akarakit, 31, to eight years in prison – and later granted him a Bt1-million bail – after finding him guilty of laundering money by leasing a Bt20-million Lamborghini on behalf of Natthapol Nakkham, an alleged accomplice of Xaysana.

Chalermkiat said Sua’s group used Chiang Rai’s Wiang Kaen district-based Hmong traffickers to move drugs into Thailand while Natthapol served as a liaison for the drugs to be sent to other countries, including Taiwan and Australia. He alleged Sua’s group had trafficked drugs for at least 10 years before opening the Tak jewellery company as a front for money-laundering.

“The relics and statues will be given a cultural procession on December 29 and be on display at Sanam Luang until January 1, then at the National Museum in Bangkok until January 15,” Vira said.

The artefacts are coming from Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Thai pieces will also be included in the blessing ceremony.

The ceremony is one of a dozen cultural activities scheduled for Sanam Luang, temples and museums across the country. More than 500 temples here and overseas will host New Year prayers from December 29 to January 1.

The ministry will provide free transportation to devotees wishing to make merit from December 30 to January 1. Shuttle buses will operate each day from 8am to 6.30pm among Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Wat Rachaoros, Wat Rachapradit, Wat Benjamaborphit, Wat Borwornniwet, Wat Rachaborpit, Wat Suthat, Wat Phraramkao and Wat Wachirathamsathit.

The National Museum will separately display nine prominent Buddha statues for blessing from December 29 to January 27, matched by activities at branches of the national museum around the Kingdom, with no admission fees charged.

Cultural performances are to be staged at the National Theatre in Bangkok and upcountry from late this month through mid-January.

Meanwhile the Thailand Biennale of contemporary art is continuing in Krabi through February and the fourth Bangkok Art Festival through next July.

The government is also encouraging people to buy books as New Year gifts by waiving the purchase tax.

The PCD on Thursday reported that air quality in at least two areas of the capital has dropped so much that it will adversely affect health.

“People are advised to avoid staying outdoors. If they need to go out, they should wear a face mask,” it announced.

The PCD has issued a warning based on the amount of PM2.5 or particulate matters smaller than 2.5 microns.

According to the PCD, air quality has also dropped in 17 other areas of Bangkok and it will start affecting health.

The PCD added that air pollution would worsen on Friday.