Ukrainian FM signs treaty to bolster ties with Southeast Asian bloc
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, on Thursday signed a treaty at the sidelines of the Southeast Asian summit as Kyiv seeks to strengthen ties with the regional bloc, which had joined international condemnation of Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine became the 50th country to sign the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). TAC is a peace treaty established in 1976 on cooperation, peace, non-interferant on affairs and solving problems by peaceful mean.
Cambodia is hosting the Asean leaders’ summit and also the East Asia Summit over the next few days in Phnom Penh, with some meetings due to include Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as being attended by US President Joe Biden.
Cambodia has been more outspoken than most of the members of the 10-member Asean bloc over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The world’s population is going to reach a massive 8 billion on this November 15, according to United Nations projections.
The global population has increased sharply in the last few decades. The number reached 1 billion in the early 1800s, and it took until 1928 for it reach 2 billion.
Since then, the population has doubled twice, reaching 4 billion in 1975 and now 8 billion in 2022.
The UN says this rise is “due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine
It is also the result of high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries”.
The UN website has started a countdown clock to November 15, which it calls the “Day of Eight Billion”
Karaoke venues, nightclubs, car and motorcycle parking lots as well as parking on the roadsides will be banned by Phnom Penh authorities during the upcoming Asean Summits and related meetings. The use of sirens by all public and private hospitals will be banned during the same period by the technical director-general of the Ministry of health.
Ahead of the November 10-13 meetings, Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng held November 7 final meeting to review progress of strengthening security and public order, as well as protecting the aesthetics and environment of the capital.
He instructed the governors of the city’s 14 districts to closely examine any business locations that might pose a risk to the image and great honour of the Kingdom, and suspend their operations for the duration of the summit.
“On the main roads that delegates will pass along, especially the Russian Federation Boulevard, all gas stations, car dealerships and construction sites, etc. have been temporarily suspended as are KTVs and entertainment clubs. The parking of cars or motorcycles along these main thoroughfares is also forbidden,” he said.
Sreng added that during the Asean Summit, any gatherings at guest houses, protests or actions that disturb the procession of delegates are strictly prohibited.
According to Article 81 of the Road Traffic Law, “Anyone who disobeys the orders of the competent officers to protect the procession of delegates or senior leaders or causes damage to a convoy vehicle shall be punished by imprisonment for one to six months and a fqine of 800,000 to 4 million riel.”
On November 8, Hok Kim Cheng, the health ministry’s technical director-general, issued a letter to the directors of all public and private health services and clinics, explaining that ambulances were banned from using sirens.
“From November 8 to 14, during the Asean Summit, it is strictly forbidden for ambulances to use sirens on the streets, even while transporting patients,” he said.
He added that the sirens were a nuisance to security and public order, and a distraction for the traffic police who were preparing to welcome the guests of the summit.
Phnom Penh governor Sreng stated that the Asean Summit, which Cambodia is chairing, will be attended by the heads of state and government of 28 countries as well as a number of NGOs along with many dialogue partners. During these important meetings, there will be traffic jams on some roads as the high-level national and international delegations pass through to attend the meetings.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Authority on November 4 announced to temporarily block all types of vehicles from entering Phnom Penh via the Boulevard of the Russian Federation. Drivers must divert their travel via the Chom Chao flyover towards Chom Chao Boulevard.
Vehicles entering and exiting Norodom Blvd. must divert via Street 63 and Sisowath Quay. Vehicles entering and exiting Monivong Blvd. will be diverted at the intersection of Kbal Thnal Road to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Boulevard, Street 271 and at the Kouch Kanong Roundabout and turn to Oknha Khleang Moeung Street or Street 70.
Theng Sothol, governor of 7 Makara district, told The Post on November 9 that district authorities had stepped up measures to protect security, beauty, the environment and public order from November 5, when international guests began entering Cambodia. He said that several important roads in the district were already prepared, including Russian Federation Blvd., Monivong Blvd., Sihanoukville Blvd. and Kampuchea Krom Blvd.
“In my district, most of our measures have been taken around the Council of Ministers building, as well as Monivong Blvd. None of the international visitors have chosen accommodation in my district. People’s businesses and daily lives should not be unduly affected, but they must remember to play their part in maintaining order and a clean environment,” he said.
Yoon to announce Indo-Pacific strategy at the Asean Summit
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend the upcoming Asean and G20 summits to strengthen economic and security ties with the region and present the nation’s new Indo-Pacific and Asean strategies. During the six-day journey, he could have multilateral talks with the US and Japan, but the chance of bilateral meetings with Japan and China appears low.
The president will depart for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday to attend the Asean summit and then leave for Bali, Indonesia on Monday to join the G20 summit. This is his first journey to Southeast Asia since taking office.
Yoon will attend the Asean summit on Friday upon arrival to present the government’s new Indo-Pacific strategies and Asean policy, called the Korea- Asean solidarity initiative.
Then, he will attend Asean Plus Three the next day. The meeting is regional cooperation launched for a joint response in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. It consists of ten Asean member states, South Korea, Japan and China.
On Sunday, the Korean president will attend the East Asia Summit, attended by 10 Asean countries along with South Korea, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and the US.
“The East Asia Summit is a strategic forum for discussing key regional and international security issues at the summit level,” Kim said. “President Yoon will explain our basic position on regional and international issues and emphasize Korea’s willingness to contribute actively to freedom, peace and prosperity.”
Yoon will later move to Bali, Indonesia, where the G20 will be held, and attend the B20 Summit — an event designed to give voice to international business community’s views — on Monday, which will involve representatives of economic organizations and companies that are members of the G20. On Tuesday, he will attend the G20 summit and speak at the food, energy, security and health sessions.
As Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping will also attend the G20 summit, attention is being paid to whether the Korea-Japan and Korea-China summits will be held. But the presidential office saw a slim chance of the bilateral talks.
Regarding the possibility of holding the Korea-Japan summit, a senior presidential official said on the condition of anonymity, “Nothing has been decided yet.”
Regarding a possible meeting with Xi, the official said there would be an opportunity to meet with the Chinese president naturally at the conference, without having official talks. “President Xi is very busy because he has just succeeded in serving his third consecutive term.”
The possibility of a summit with US President Joe Biden remains open. “Bilateral talks with President Biden are under discussion,” the senior official said, adding, “The Korea-US-Japan summit is under discussion.”
As for the concerns about North Korea’s possible seventh nuclear test during President Yoon’s trip, the presidential office said the US, Japan and China leaders would respond to the matter virtually.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was widely expected to test the nation’s seventh nuclear test ahead of the US midterm elections held on Tuesday, but he did not. South Korea and the US authorities are closely monitoring the North’s moves, judging that the regime could carry out a nuclear test at any time.
Yoon will return home around 12 p.m. on Tuesday and arrive in Seoul on Wednesday morning. He is scheduled to hold a Korea-Dutch summit on Thursday and a Korea-Spain summit the next day. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reported to meet with Yoon on Thursday, but the presidential office declined to confirm it.
Tourists dazzled by sight of thousands of jumping fish on a Krabi island
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
Thousands of fish jumping onto a bridge on Ko Lanta, a tourist island in Krabi province, left hordes of tourists dazzled.
While docking his boat at a pier at Lanta Yai Island on Wednesday afternoon, Sunan Madsaron, a Krabi local, said he saw thousands of small fish jumping on a concrete bridge connecting the pier to the land, prompting him to take a video with his phone.
Sunan said locals called these fish “Ta Maew”, or cat-eye fish, that usually live in shallow waters near the shore. They occasionally jump on land and locals would pick them up, sometimes enough to fill a fertiliser sack, and cook them as food.
An official at Krabi provincial fishery office said that the cat-eye fish is native to Ko Lanta’s shore and would sometimes jump on land during its egg-laying season, which is around March and November.
It is still unclear as to why they would jump out of the water, although some sources said fish might jump out of the water simultaneously when oxygen is inadequate, according to the official.
Ko Lanta Yai is part of Mu Ko Lanta National Park, a famous marine tourist destination about 20km off the coast of Krabi.
Provincial agencies and locals in the area reportedly attended the ceremony.
Mae Hong Son deputy governor Prasert Jitpleecheep, who presided over the event, said police and medical teams are ready to ensure safety and provide any assistance to visitors.
All tourist attractions in Mae Hong Son are now ready to welcome tourists, he said.
“Visitors are increasingly coming to Bua Tong Field,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mae U-kho Subdistrict Administrative Organisation president Tara Chomsamonglert said the tourist attraction has accommodations, campsites and parking lots.
Echoing Prasert, he said many tourists have been flocking to Bua Tong Field to see the sunset and experience cold weather in the morning.
“The weather at the field is cold even at noon,” he said, confident that visitors will not be disappointed.
Panuwat Katnak, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand office in Mae Hong Son, advised tourists to visit Doi Pui Co Peak in Sop Moei district, Kaew Komol Cave in Mae La Noi district and Pang Ung Reservoir in Muang district.
According to him, Bua Tong is the largest marigold field in the country.
Chuwit ready to fight Santhana in the ring as conflict threatens to get out of hand
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
A conflict between two firebrands who have become the Thai media’s darlings — Chuwit Kamolvisit and Santhana Prayoonrat — is threatening to take an ugly turn as Chuwit on Thursday challenged the latter to a fight in the ring.
In response to an offer by a boxing promoter to organise a special fight between him and Santhana, Chuwit said on Thursday that he was ready for such an encounter if notified in advance. “I’ll just push him lightly and he will fall down. If he can stand longer than one minute, I will kowtow before him,” Chuwit said. He also offered a cash reward of 100,000 baht to anyone who comes forward to him with a piece of evidence, including a video clip, that could implicate Santhana for his alleged wrongdoing.
Chuwit admitted that he could be criticised for resorting to violence. “My response is that sometimes violence fits someone,” he said.
Chuwit and Santhana had confronted publicly at least twice over the recent days. They were involved in a war of words before a large group of reporters and cameramen — first outside Chuwit’s Davis Hotel and again at Bangkok’s Thong Lo Police Station. Santhana filed a police complaint claiming drug abuse at an entertainment venue inside Chuwit’s hotel. Chuwit said Santhana was coming after him because he had exposed illegal activities involving a Chinese syndicate. Chuwit has often made headlines with claims of knowledge about underground business in Thailand. He recently claimed that unnamed powerful Thai figures were involved with questionable Chinese businesses. A former MP and the leader of a political party, Chuwit once owned a number of massage parlours in Bangkok before entering politics. In January 2016, he was sentenced to two years in prison for knocking down bars and shops on a Bangkok night strip in 2003. He was freed in December of that year under a royal pardon.
Santhana had served in the Royal Thai Police’s Special Branch before his dismissal from the police force in 2002 for obstructing a police raid on an illegal gambling den in Bangkok. He recently came out in defence of some Chinese businessmen linked to Bangkok entertainment venues catering mainly to Chinese nationals. Illicit drugs and illegal gambling were found during a recent police raid on such a venue.
Democrat MP calls for probe into alleged bribery in selecting House caterer
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
Democrat MP Rangsima Rodrasamee on Thursday called on Parliament President Chuan Leekpai to order an investigation into alleged bribery against a House committee tasked with selecting the food caterer for parliamentarians on their meeting days.
Rangsima said that if the allegation was true, anyone involved with bribery must be punished because they are damaging Parliament’s image. A member of the selection committee, Rangsima maintained that she had never been lobbied and she did not know who had been lobbied. She said the caterer should be selected based on the quality and taste of food and hygiene. The MP was responding to an allegation by fellow-Democrat, Watchara Petthong, who had claimed that the selection of food caterer was mired in lobbying and kickbacks. Rangsima, a representative from Samut Songkhram province, voiced her opposition to calling a new round of bidding to get a new caterer. She said that if bribery was found, catering service for parliamentarians should be completely cancelled as it was “a big waste of the state budget”.
The MP suggested that MPs should instead be given cash cards to buy their meals at the Parliament’s food court. “They can select any food they like, and no particular food shop is favoured. Also, unspent money can be returned to the state,” she said. Rangsima noted that using catering services costs 1,000 baht for each MP, or about 500,000 baht for each of their meeting days, whether all of the MPs attend the meeting or not. On the days when House meetings were abruptly adjourned due to a lack of quorum, the prepared dinner was often given away to charity, she said. “House meetings collapse more often now as the House of Representatives is approaching the end of its term,” the MP added.
Thailand’s oldest political party reeling from possible defections of MPs
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
A Democrat Party deputy leader on Thursday said the party might be hit by mass defections of its MPs ahead of the general election next year.
Speaking to reporters at Parliament, Satit Pitutacha admitted that speculation about many Democrat MPs bolting the party had eroded public confidence in Thailand’s oldest political party.
He said the Democrat executive board must take urgent measures to address the speculation on mass defections.
Asked whether the executive board would hold meetings with MPs to prevent them from resigning, Satit replied: “If our people leave, the executives must ponder why.”
But Satit declined to confirm the speculation that Democrat MPs would quit to join the newly-established Ruam Thai Sang Chart (RTSC) Party, which was reportedly formed as a political vehicle for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to retain his PM’s seat after the next general election.
“The information is still not clear,” Satit said.
On Thursday, during a House meeting, Boonthida Somchai (Democrat-Ubon Ratchathani) was seen walking from seats of Democrat MPs to stand among Bhumjaithai MPs when she debated on the flood situation in Ubon Ratchathani province.
Boonthida was among MPs who, it is being speculated, will leave the party, reportedly to join the Bhumjaithai.
When she walked to stand among Bhumjaithai MPs before she debated, a parliamentary official walked after her and placed the Democrat sign in front of her. She laughed seeing the act but did not introduce herself as a Democrat MP when she started the debate.
As per the law, MPs cannot leave their parties without losing House seats, so it is expected that those who plan to switch parties would quit shortly before the election and join a new party to be eligible to run as the new party’s candidates.
The Election Commission has tentatively selected May 7 next year as the election date if the House is not dissolved earlier and it completes its term as scheduled in March.
While active MPs have not quit the Democrat, over 20 former MPs have left the party since the 2019 election. The latest resignation was of veteran Democrat member Trairong Suwannakhiri, who was reported to join the RRSC later. Trairong quit the Democrat on October 27.
RTSC leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga himself quit the Democrat in April before he was elected RTSC leader in early August.
Doctor joins forces with opposition MPs to seek court ruling against decriminalising marijuana
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
A leading doctor and MPs from five opposition parties on Thursday filed a lawsuit with the Central Administrative Court seeking to nullify a directive of the Public Health Ministry that decriminalises marijuana.
The lawsuit filed by Smith Srisont, a member of the Medical Council and president of the Forensic Physician Association of Thailand, named Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) as co-defendants.
The lawsuit was co-filed by Pheu Thai party-list MP Sutin Klungsang, Tawe Sodsong, secretary-general of Prachachart Party, Move Forward party-list MP Nattawut Buaprathum, Virt Varotsirin, deputy Seri Ruam Thai Party leader, Nikhom Boonvises, leader of Palang Puangchon Chao Thai party.
The lawsuit asked the court to nullify the Public Health Ministry’s directive dated February 8, 2022 that removed marijuana from the list of Category 5 Narcotics.
The lawsuit urged the court to revoke the directive with retroactive effect and also asked the court to put marijuana back on the list of Category 5 Narcotics in accordance with the ministry’s directive dated December 8, 2020.
The February 8 directive took effect from early September and decriminalised marijuana despite criticism by doctors who feared youths would abuse the plant as a drug in the absence of any law to govern its use.
Anutin issued the directive in accordance with his party’s 2019 election manifesto that the Bhumjaithai would decriminalise marijuana so that ganja could be used for medical and economic purposes.
The lawsuit also asked the court to issue an junction suspending the enforcement of the February 8 directive pending a court ruling.
The lawsuit alleged that the public health minister and the NCB had acted with dishonesty and without prudence to remove marijuana from the narcotics list.
The lawsuit reasoned that the directive was announced without any law in place to control the use of marijuana and to protect consumers from abuse of the plant.
The suit alleged that the directive violated the government’s platforms delivered to Parliament that it would seriously address drug issues by strictly enforcing the law and cracking down on narcotics production and suppressing drug traffickers.
The plaintiffs said in the lawsuit that the directive failed to state clearly that the decriminalising of marijuana was for medical purpose so the directive was unlawful and added too much burden on the people to protect themselves.
Speaking to reporters after filing the suit, Smith said he and opposition MPs were not against the use of marijuana for medical purpose.
He said marijuana could still be used for medical purpose without the February 8 directive.
“We simply want the directive to be revoked until the Public Health Ministry and government agencies concerned have a law in place to control marijuana and protect consumers from the use of the plant,” Smith said.
“Now, the government cannot control the abuse of marijuana by children and youths and several communities have abused it openly, causing long-term issues for the Thai society.”
So far, the Public Health Ministry’s bill on hemp and marijuana has not passed the second and third readings in the House because the opposition and coalition partner Democrat Party voted to send the draft back to be reviewed by a special panel that has vetted the bill.
Speaking to reporters after filing the suit, Smith said he and opposition MPs were not against the use of marijuana for medical purpose.
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