Barkar Nash (Page 1,084)

The House of Representatives will convene on July 4 to select a speaker and two deputies, according to Senate Speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai.

He said His Majesty the King will preside over the state opening of parliament on July 3, and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and cabinet ministers, newly elected MPs, senators and foreign diplomats will attend the ceremony.

The following day from 9–9.30am, MPs will select a House speaker, who will also serve as president of parliament and two deputies, Mr Pornpetch said.

Each House speaker candidate will be given a chance to share their vision for the development of the Thai parliament before the vote, he said, adding that the session will be held behind closed doors while voting will be carried out via secret ballots.

A joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate is expected to convene on July 13 to select a new prime minister, and the appointment of new cabinet ministers and the swearing-in ceremony for new ministers should be complete in August, according to sources.

Pheu Thai secretary-general Prasert Chantararuangthong previously said the party would finalise its stance on who should get the House speaker role during an internal meeting today before discussing the matter with prospective coalition partner the Move Forward Party, ahead of a planned meeting between all eight prospective coalition parties.

Both parties are expected to settle their differences over the speaker post before the opening of parliament.

MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon on Monday reiterated that the new House speaker should be from the MFP, which won the most House seats in the May 14 election.

“We should give Pheu Thai some time to reach a conclusion among its members,” he said. “The MFP has not [pressured] Pheu Thai to let us take the House speaker position.”

“It is a matter of general principle in the parliamentary system,” he said.

He also said he believes the MFP and Pheu Thai would act in line with the mandate of voters and work together to form a coalition government successfully.

Asked about talks with senators to secure their support for MFP prime minister candidate Pita Limjaroenrat, Mr Chaithawat said most senators will wait for the outcome of the selection of the House speaker first. “We expect the senators to vote for a candidate nominated by a party that can gather the support of a majority in the House,” he said.

Continue Reading

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon on Monday called on all relevant authorities to ramp up their efforts to combat human trafficking in a bid to get Thailand reclassified as a Tier 1 country in the United States’ Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report next year.

According to the 2023 TIP report released by the US Department of State on June 15, Thailand remains a Tier 2 country — meaning it has yet to fully comply with internationally-agreed standards meant to prevent human trafficking but is making “significant effort” to that effect.

At a meeting of the national committee on human trafficking, Gen Prawit said the issue is at the top of the government’s agenda, before stressing the government’s commitment to getting Thailand elevated to a Tier 1 country on the list.

He instructed all agencies concerned to ramp up their efforts to ensure compliance, especially with regard to the 12 recommendations made by the US in the report.

The deputy prime minister stressed the need for police and the Interior Ministry to fully implement the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which was designed to enable anti-trafficking agencies to share information related to human trafficking or forced labour cases.

The national committee on human trafficking on Monday acknowledged and approved the proposal to support joint efforts between Thailand and Australia against human trafficking.

Thailand and Australia had agreed to establish the Counter Trafficking in Persons Centre of Excellence, the first training facility in the region with a dedicated focus on combatting human trafficking.

Separately, nine Indonesian citizens who were rescued from a human trafficking ring in Myanmar have been repatriated back to Indonesia, said deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn.

Pol Gen Surachate, as director-general of the Royal Thai Police’s Child and Woman Protection and Anti-Human Trafficking Centre, said the Indonesians were tricked into working for a cryptocurrency scam gang in Myanmar. The victims fled to Thailand with help from the Anti-Human Trafficking Centre, officers in Provincial Police Region 6, and the Immigration Bureau (IB).

Twenty-five Indonesians were rescued in May, and another 22 were rescued this month.

Continue Reading

Thai Pakdee Party leader Warong Dechgitvigrom said yesterday he will accept the court’s decision on the 24-million-baht defamation lawsuit brought against him by the Move Forward Party.

On Sunday, Dr Warong posted on his Facebook page, saying, “Move Forward Party’s Pita Limjaroenrat sued me for defamation, demanding 24 million baht in compensation. The Criminal Court at Ratchada has chosen [June] 28, 9am, to deliver its judgement.”

The post drew comments from his supporters, to which he responded in a separate post yesterday.

“Thank you all for the moral support. If I were to be jailed or declared bankrupt because of my fight against [the charges of] insurrection and separatism, I won’t say a word but will continue to fight. See you at the Criminal Court at Ratchada on [June] 28,” he wrote on Facebook.

On Feb 11, 2021, Nathawut Buaprathum, a deputy leader of the Move Forward Party and now a list MP, filed two lawsuits on behalf of the party with the Criminal Court on Ratchadapisek Road.

One lawsuit was against Dr Warong, and the other against Nathaporn Toprayoon, a former adviser to the Ombudsman.

The pair have been charged with defaming and making false accusations against the party in violation of Section 101 of the Political Party Act of 2017.

The Thai Pakdee Party leader was accused of damaging the Move Forward Party’s reputation during a media interview and through Facebook posts dated Jan 20, 2021 and Feb 3, 2021.

In addition to asking for a 24-million-baht compensation, the party also asked the court to order Dr Warong to stop engaging in actions which damage the party’s reputation.

The court will deliver its ruling on the case tomorrow at 9am.

Continue Reading

Almost 4,800 Myanmar nationals are taking shelter in border districts in Mae Hong Son as fighting between the military and ethnic groups continues, according to local officials.

Clashes are reported along the Thai-Myanmar border opposite tambon Sao Hin of Mae Sariang district and tambon Mae Ngao of Khun Yuam district. The number of people taking refuge in four shelters in the two districts stands at 4,798.

Humanitarian assistance is being provided to the refugees through local officials and the Thai Red Cross Society with food, with water and other essential supplies being donated by residents of Mae Hong Son.

Authorities said the latest batch of donations arrived on Monday and the supplies will be distributed to the refugees at the four shelters, adding there are adequate supplies of food, water and clothing.

Local offices of the Thai Red Cross Society in the two districts are also calling for donations which can be dropped at the offices of Mae Sariang and Khun Yuam district everyday.

Chartchai Noisakul, founder of Saphan Boon Khru Nueng charity group, said the group plans to deliver essential supplies to the shelters every week until the situation is resolved.

Meanwhile, the Thai-Myanmar border administration centre has dispatched teams to build and manage sanitation systems at the four shelters and deployed security teams at the shelter areas.

Soldiers from the 36th mobile development under the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters have been assigned to dig wells and build garbage dump sites while volunteers from the non-government sector work on the water system.

Security checkpoints have also been set up and teams assigned to hold daily meetings to monitor and assess the situation.

Continue Reading

Thai Pakdee Party leader Warong Dechgitvigrom says he will accept the court’s scheduled decision in a 24 million baht defamation lawsuit brought against him by the Move Forward Party, even though he may end up being jailed or bankrupted.

On Sunday, Dr Warong posted on his Facebook page saying, “Move Forward Party’s Pita Limjaroenrat sued me for defamation, demanding 24 million baht compensation for the damage. The Criminal Court at Ratchada has set (June) 28, 9am, to deliver its judgement.”

Many people posted comments giving him their support.

On Monday, Dr Warong again posted, saying: “Thank you all for the moral support. If I were to be jailed or declared bankrupt because I have fought against insurrection and separatism, I would not say a word but would continue to fight. See you at the Criminal Court at Ratchada on (June) 28.”

On Feb 11, 2021, Nathawut Buaprathum, a deputy leader of the Move Forward Party and now a list MP, filed two lawsuits in the name of the party with the Criminal Court on Ratchadapisek road. One lawsuit was against Dr Warong and the other against Nathaporn Toprayoon, a former adviser to the Ombudsman. The two were charged with defaming and making false accusations against the party in violation of Section 101 of the Political Party Act of 2017.

In the case against Dr Warong, the Thai Pakdee Party leader was accused of causing damage to the Move Forward Party during a media interview and in a posting on Facebook on Jan 20, 2021 and Feb 3, 2021.  The party demanded from him 24 million baht in compensation. The court was also asked to order Dr Warong to stop causing further damage.

The court set this Wednesday, June 28, at 9am, to pass judgement in Dr Warong’s case.

Continue Reading

Veteran politician Nipit Intarasombat has asked if the Move Forward Party really plans to change the date of National Day from Dec 5 to June 24 if it attains government.

Mr Nipit, 66, who represented the southern province of Phatthalung from 1992 to 2013, posed his question on Facebook on Sunday. He referred to a remark by MFP MP and spokesman Rangsiman Rome in a public discussion on June 24, the 91st anniversary of the Siamese revolution in 1932.

Mr Nipit wrote that Mr Rangsiman said during the discussion at Thammasat University’s Tha Phra Chan campus on Saturday that he expected a new parliament president with MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister and that June 24 would become the National Day.

Mr Nipit, a member of the Palang Pracharath Party which still leads the caretaker government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, said that he was saddened by the remark.

The National Day of Thailand was on Dec 5 and June 24, 1932, was the day when the king was deprived of absolute power and the system of government changed to being a democracy.

Dec 5 was the birthday of King Rama IX.

“Normally, countries with monarchs as their head of state set their national day on the birthday of their monarch,” Mr Nipit wrote. He pointed to the UK as following this practice.

The MFP usually referred to the UK, France and the United States as models of democracy, but the party surprisingly wanted to declare as National Day the day when the monarch was deprived of power, instead of the birthday of the monarch.

Mr Nipit said he disliked the MFP for failing to show due respect for the institution.

During Saturday’s discussion, Mr Rangsiman said the Future Forward Party had proposed to former parliament president Chuan Leekpai that June 24 become a national holiday, but the proposal was not realised.

MFP is the reincarnation of the disbanded Future Forward Party.(continues below)

Rangsiman Rome

Srettha Thavisin, a prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party, wrote on his Twitter account that whether June 24 became a holiday or not did not matter. What did matter was that the people must not accept a coup or a dictatorship.

Pheu Thai and MFP were to the two winning political parties at the general election and agreed to form the new coalition government with six other small parties.

Mongkolkit Susintharanong, former leader of the Thai Civilized Party, wrote on Facebook that he disagreed with the idea of changing National Day from Dec 5 to June 24.

Continue Reading

NAKHON SAWAN: A drinks waitress has complained that an elderly male customer slapped and kicked her and wrongly accused her of groping his groin in a local restaurant-bar.

Susita Rachakit, 20, filed her complaint with local police in Muang district. She said that a male customer hit her in the face while she was serving him beer, admitting that both of them were drunk.

The incident happened at a restaurant-bar early on Saturday morning. The woman said she worked as a beer waitress at several local eateries and the man was a familiar customer. 

The man had called her to his table and told her that he was ordering three bottles of beer as a favour to her.

She was serving his beer and talking to him. She said she had patted his belly in a friendly manner because he was a frequent customer. The man reacted by slapping her face and accusing her of groping his crotch.

Ms Susita denied his charge, and said that her mouth had bled after being hit.

Security camera footage showed the waitress moved away from the table and sat down nearby after being slapped. The man then walked over and kicked her to the floor, police said.

Police initially identified the man only as a 63-year-old retiree.

Continue Reading