PCT Thailand's Thai News and Information

Thailand tightens security ahead of Thaksin ruling

Thailand has started deploying about 20,000 security forces to brace for protests ahead of a widely anticipated court ruling on the $2.2 billion fortune of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra, a spokesman said Monday.

Supporters of Thaksin have stepped up anti-government demonstrations ahead of the Feb. 26 Supreme Court ruling on whether to seize Thaksin’s assets. The former tycoon’s riches were frozen after he was ousted by a coup in 2006.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said more than 13,000 army, police and civilian security officers will be deployed across Thailand’s 38 provinces. About 6,000 additional security will be deployed in the capital, where 200 checkpoints will be set up at “every entrance into Bangkok,” he said.

“We started to deploy forces earlier this month, but it will increase after Feb. 15,” Panitan told reporters. “This is to prevent any uncertain situation from arising.”

Thaksin was removed from power after being accused of massive corruption while in office but remains a politically divisive figure in Thailand, where his supporters say he was unjustly treated and are demanding fresh elections.

The Supreme Court will decide whether Thaksin’s assets in Thailand were obtained through corrupt means and should be confiscated by authorities

Thailand has been gripped by pro-Thaksin and anti-Thaksin protests for more than three years. Thaksin supporters staged rallies in April that turned violent and the army had to be called in to restore order.

“We don’t want a repeat of what happened last April when the troops came out a little late,” Panitan said, adding authorities hoped to avoid invoking stringent security laws to keep order. “For now, we will use the normal laws. It depends on the situation.”

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This Information will Protect You:

In CB-United we feel it’s important to help other people
gain awareness in all avenues of life, for this reason let me
forward some very helpful lines about identity theft right here:

A close friend of mine has a corporate attorney
friend who sent the following out to the employees in
his company.

It’s worth reading and doing.

1. The next time you order cheques have only your
initials (instead of first name) and last name put on
them. If someone takes your chequebook, they will not
know if you sign your checks with just your initials or
your first name, but your bank will know how you sign
your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards.
Instead, put “PHOTO ID REQUIRED.”

3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit
card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number
on the “For” line. Instead, just put the last four
numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the
number, and anyone who might be handling your check as
it passes through all the check-processing channels
will not have access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your
home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of
your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use
your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your
checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary.
However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy
machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card,
etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all
of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and
cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry
a photocopy of your passport when travelling either here
or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud
that is committed on us in stealing a name, address,
Social Security number, credit cards.

6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for
keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn
the “keys” in. Take them with you and destroy them.
Those little cards have on them all of the information
you gave the hotel, including address and credit card
numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card
reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that
information with no problem whatsoever.

Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand
knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month.
Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive
monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit
card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway
computer and received a PIN number from DMV to change
my driving record information online. Here is some
critical information to limit the damage in case this
happens to you or someone you know:

1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards
immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers
and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call.
Keep those where you can find them.

2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction
where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves
to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a
first step toward an investigation (if there ever is
one). However, here is what is perhaps most important
of all (I never even thought to do this.)

3. Call the three national credit reporting
organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on
your name and Social Security number. I had never heard
of doing that until advised by a bank that called to
tell me an application for credit was made over the
Internet in my name. The alert means any company that
checks your credit knows your information was stolen,
and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new
credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost
two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been
done. There are records of all the credit checks
initiated by the thieves’ purchases, none of which I
knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no
additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw
my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It
seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact
about your wallet and contents being stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):
1-800-269-0271

writer,

Brian F. di Caprio

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Credibility gap now too wide for Chavalit to bridge

Retired general has only himself to blame if events have overtaken his stated intentions

BANGKOK — If anything, a political leader having to come out and deny that he will be leading a “People’s Army” just shows how absurd Thai politics has become. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a retired general, didn’t have a choice, though, because claims that he was about to lead an armed offshoot of the red-shirted movement were not made by his enemies, but rather those close to Thaksin Shinawatra. Chavalit simply had to douse the fire before it destroyed his whole reputation.

He had been playing with that fire. It remains fresh in everyone’s mind that the Thai-Cambodian diplomatic row over Thaksin was sparked by Chavalit’s meeting with Cambodian leader Hun Sen. The tension that was created and lasts until today has eroded Thaksin’s popularity but Chavalit largely got away with it. It wouldn’t have been the case if Chavalit hadn’t come out so quickly to deny the shocking claims made by obscure red-shirt agitators Panlop Pinmanee and Maj-General Khattiya “Seh Daeng” Sawasdipol.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Panlop said that the red shirts, with Thaksin’s blessing, had agreed to form the new armed wing and that Chavalit would lead the red shirts to victory. In the same interview, Khattiya said the organisational structure of the opposition movement was now complete with Pheu Thai as the party, the red shirts as its front and the new unit as its armed force. Many are reminded by that structure of the communist insurgency during the Cold War.

Panlop and Khattiya both warned that the government had until the end of this month to negotiate a settlement with Thaksin or risk facing an eruption of violence that even Thaksin could not control. In another interview on Thursday, Khattiya, when asked if Thaksin had a timeframe in mind for a political comeback, replied: “He gave Big Jiew [Chavalit] one year”.

So, despite Chavalit’s insistence that he agreed to take on the top advisory role at the Pheu Thai Party in order to prevent violence from happening, he ended up having to defend himself against criticism that his political comeback has brought about anything but peace and confidence. And while he can blame Panlop and Khattiya for the “People’s Army” controversy, he could not fault anyone but himself for the Cambodian shame.

If “peace” was actually his main mission when he agreed to return to politics, he has failed. In fact, all his other stated objectives have either faded away or met little progress – to help solve the deep South problem, to help improve Thailand’s relations with its neighbours, and to prove that Thaksin and his hardcore followers were loyal to the monarchy.

Such a noble agenda, if it ever existed, slipped away from Chavalit a long time ago. He is at best a befuddled veteran losing control left and right and playing into the hands of political rivals, or at worst a man on an obscure mission whose trustworthiness is unravelling.

The Democrats have jumped on the “People’s Army” issue as well amid speculation that Thaksin might join Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on a tour of the Preah Vihear Temple yesterday. Both issues were far-fetched to differing degrees, but the ruling party managed to capitalise on them thanks to Chavalit’s credibility problems and Thais’ distrust of Cambodia that Thaksin and Chavalit helped provoke.

In the end, Chavalit knows best why he has to come out to deny ridiculous allegations. He’s paying not for his failure to live up to his promises but for being largely responsible for his roles in events that mocked his pledges. And he can’t blame the public if it chose to believe the improbable stories more than him.

TOT and AIS agree to hold talks on roaming

BANGKOK: — TOT and its concession holder, Advanced Info Service, have agreed to discuss an AIS request to roam on the state agency’s third-generation network in the greater Bangkok area. The move ends a week-long row that prompted AIS to threaten to disconnect TOT’s 3G subscribers from voice roaming on its own network.

TOT senior executive vice president Wichien Naksrinual yesterday said the two companies would soon meet to discuss details of the AIS request.

He said the two sides understood each other and promised there would be no disconnection of TOT’s 3G subscribers from roaming for voice services on the AIS network.

Also yesterday, the National Telecommunications Commission summoned both parties to provide more information on AIS’s request.

NTC deputy secretary-general Prasert Apipunya said the request appeared to involve only data roaming, and thus both parties could seek an agreement themselves. However, after reaching a deal, they must submit the details for NTC consideration.

Last week, AIS threatened to disconnect TOT’s 3G subscribers travelling upcountry from accessing voice services on its network.

This move followed TOT’s declining to approve AIS’s data-roaming request.

TOT reasoned it needed the NTC to consider first whether the state agency could even grant the request before making any decision.

AIS chief executive Wichian Mektrakarn said AIS and TOT had agreed it would be best for all concerned if the two sides supported each other and that they would soon discuss a data-roaming deal, including when roaming could begin.

In the initial phase, AIS intends to roam 50,000 subscribers on TOT’s 3G network.

TOT and AIS reached an agreement many years ago to allow TOT’s 3G subscribers to roam on AIS’s network for voice services, since the state agency’s 3G network was still a conventional cellular one.

AIS said there had been a verbal agreement that in return, TOT would allow AIS to roam on its 3G network.

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Thai authorities cannot arrest Thaksin on disputed soil: justice minister

BANGKOK: — Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga Friday admitted that the Thai authorities could not enter the disputed area near Preah Vihear Temple to arrest former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra if he goes there.

He was commenting on reports that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen would take Thaksin to tour the disputed area.

Pirapan said although the area is still under dispute, the Cambodian troops have taken control and Thai troops could not enter the area without coordinating with the Cambodian side first.

He said if the Thai authorities rush in to arrest Thaksin, the relation with Cambodia could further deteriorate.

No more free Thai tourist visas from March 5, 2010

BANGKOK: — (THAIVISA.COM) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, who oversees the Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates worldwide, today confirms to Thaivisa.com that visa fees will be levied for all visa classes from March 5, 2010. Tourist visas are valid for a 60 days stay and may be extended at local Thai Immigration offices.

Foreigners entering Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption category (free of charge) must possess return or onward ticket plus adequate finances for the duration of stay in Thailand (i.e., cash 10,000 Baht per person and 20,000 Baht per family). The permitted length of stay given is 30 days when entering via an International airport, or 15 days if entering through land border crossing or sea border.

Tourist Visa Exemption countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Vietnam.

Thailand holds bilateral agreements on visa exemption for holders of passports from Brazil, South Korea and Peru, and these passport holders are given a 90 days stay.

Citizens of Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan and Ukraine who need to apply for a 15 day Visa on Arrival at designated checkpoints and Airports will again be charged from March 5, 2010.

Tourist visas has been issued free of charge since June 25, 2009 in an effort to revive the Thai travel and tourism industry.

As mentioned above, all Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates will start charging again for Tourist visas from March 5, 2010.