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Thailand: 2 new corruption charges for ex-PM:
Thai anti-graft body files 2 new corruption charges against ex-PM Thaksin

An anti-graft body whose mandate to probe the government of Thailands ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra expires in a few days recommended Friday that he be prosecuted for two cases of alleged corruption.

A lawyer for the Assets Examination Committee, established after Thaksin was deposed by a September 2006 military coup, said the two cases involve a government loan to Myanmar for communications satellite services, and the procurement of rubber tree saplings.

Sitichok Sricharaen said the agency has filed lawsuits with the Supreme Court and that the court would decide whether to accept the cases.

Thaksins legal representatives could not be reached for comment Friday, but Thaksin has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The former premier already faces several other corruption-related charges.

Sitichok said the committee was filing a new lawsuit because it determined a 2004 loan to Myanmar by the state-controlled Export-Import Bank of Thailand was meant to benefit the Shin Satellite company, which was then owned by Thaksins family.

The committees charges against Thaksin in the loan case cover both conflict of interest and abuse of his official powers, committee spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said.

The committee alleges that Thaksin used his power as prime minister to instruct the Export-Import Bank to extend the US$127 million loan.

In the second case, the committee filed a lawsuit against Thaksin for alleged corruption in connection with the 2003 procurement of 90 million rubber saplings worth 1.44 billion baht $42.9 million, Sak said.

Thaksin is already facing conflict of interest and malfeasance charges related to his wifes purchase of a piece of prime Bangkok real estate in 2003. She bought the land from a state agency despite an anti-corruption law barring politicians and their spouses from doing business with government agencies.

In another court case, Thaksin is accused of concealing his ownership of shares in a company in violation of stock market regulations.

Thaksin was deposed in 2006 after months of street demonstrations in Bangkok demanding he step down because of alleged corruption and abuse of power. He returned to Thailand earlier this year after his political allies in the Peoples Power Party took office.

The mandate of the Assets Examination Committee will end on Monday, after which its work is expected to be taken up by the National Counter Corruption Commission, a permanent body.

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Food Institute chief sees need to restructure farm sector

Thailand should restructure its agricultural sector for the overall improvement of production in preparation for an expected heightening of the global food crisis, according to the food industry executive.

Food Institute director Yutthasak Supasorn said the severity of the food crisis was predicted by scientists and economists, who based their calculations on various factors, but on energy prices in particular.

They believed food prices would increase 20-50 times in the next decade.

He said Thailand, unlike many other countries, might not be adversely affected by the crisis because it is a major food producing country

However, the country must restructure its agricultural sector, invest in its production bases to give easier access to the farm sector, and improve the value-added of raw materials used for food production.

Mr. Yutthasak said he believed Thailand would not be affected by the world food price crisis during the next three to five years.

Still, food prices in the country might increase by three to five times in the next decade.

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Thailand: The Temple Of Gloom | My Sinchew
BANGKOK, THAILAND: Thailands “active support” for the proposed inscription of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site is strongly highlighted in both words and pictures in Cambodias main application document to Unesco.

The document, a copy of which was received Monday 23 June by The Nation, features photos of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama engaged in bilateral activities proclaimed to be progress towards reconciliation after decades of territorial dispute.

Disclosure of the document is likely to inflame the ongoing controversy, in which the besieged Samak government is accused of bypassing Parliament and the public alike in making crucial moves that carry possible effects on national sovereignty.

The documents key sections include Cambodias insistence that the temple is under its sovereignty, the temples cultural and historical value, international support for the temples inscription and Thailands virtual support for the nomination.

Whereas the controversy has centred on a joint communique between Thailand and Cambodia signed by Noppadon, the application document is likely to galvanise critics accusing the Samak government of either being naive and exploited by Phnom Penh or conspiring with the neighbouring government in exchange for political vested interests.

While critics have said the joint communique would put Thailand at a legal disadvantage if new territorial disputes arose in the area, the application document to Unesco could be perceived by some as a diplomatic embarrassment for Bangkok.

The Unesco document devotes considerable space to Cambodias legal victory over Thailand in the International Court of Justice, detailing the courts rulings on why the contentious temple belongs to Cambodia. Then, only a few pages apart, the document goes on to highlight Thailands “active support” for inscription.

Samak, whose photo taken during a visit to Phnom Penh in March was played up in the document, was cited as “confirming” Thailands intention to support the inscription, as was Noppadon, whose photo was also given prominence in the document.

The Preah Vihear controversy will place the Samak government under fire in Parliament today, as the opposition Democrats are set to grill the decision virtually to give up Thailands long-lasting sovereignty claims, which persisted even after the world courts ruling.

Key points in Tuesdays 24 June debate will likely include questions on whether the Samak government violated the Constitution in supporting the World Heritage-site push without consulting Parliament and whether it instead should have, for the inscriptions sake, proposed a joint effort in which Thailand and Cambodia approached Unesco on more equal grounds.

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Thailand prime minister vows to go to work through blockade amid no confidence motion

BANGKOK, Thailand - Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej faced a no-confidence motion in parliament Monday as thousands of anti-government protesters ringed his office in the capital.

The motion has been brought by the opposition Democrat Party in the wake of weeks of street protests calling for the government’s resignation.

Demonstrators, led by activists of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, occupied the area around Government House, the seat of Thailand’s government, on Friday after breaking through a police cordon.

In a nationwide address on government television, Samak said he would resign if the vote _ expected after a three-day debate _ went against him.

Samak’s People’s Power Party, whose members include many allies of military coup-ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, heads a six-party government coalition that controls about two-thirds of the 480 seats in the lower house of Parliament.

Samak’s partners would have to desert him for any non-confidence motion in the lower house to succeed. The Senate does not take part in the voting.

The demonstrators, who began street protests more than three weeks ago, claim that Samak and his party are mere proxies of Thaksin, who was dismissed in a 2006 military takeover.

“I will not bow to your pressure. I will pull out only if I am defeated by a vote in Parliament,” Samak told the protesters.

But alliance spokesman Suriyasai Katasila said Samak’s resignation alone would not satisfy their demands.

“The People’s Alliance for Democracy believes that the government’s decision to allow a no-confidence motion in Parliament is a political game to lessen tension,” Suriyasai said.

The alliance led mass demonstrations before the 2006 coup demanding Thaksin step down for alleged corruption and abuse of power. They now accuse Samak’s government of interfering with corruption charges against Thaksin and trying to change the constitution for its own self-interest.

Rumors have swept Bangkok since the protests began that the country’s powerful military would stage another coup, something the top brass has repeatedly denied.

Samak’s People’s Power Party won general elections last December.

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D-Day approaches for Nok Air, High fuel prices may sink budget carrier

Far-reaching implications of any drastic decision are holding back leaders of Nok Airlines from determining the fate of the budget carrier, which has been hit hard by high fuel prices and falling traffic.

Top management executives representing the airline and major shareholder Thai Airways International (THAI) are due to meet again early next week to make a final decision, following up on earlier talks held on June 10.

Last week’s discussions included Apinan Sumanaseni, the president of THAI which holds 39% in Nok Air, and were shrouded in secrecy.

However, an insider who asked to remain anonymous said: ”There aren’t many options left for Nok Air’s future. A very drastic decision has to be made very soon.”

With jet fuel prices above US$160 a barrel, it did not make economic sense for four-year-old Nok Air to continue, he said, indicating that a shutdown could be imminent.

The low-cost carrier (LCC) business model simply did not work with oil prices at such high levels, he said.

For reasons that were not made clear, THAI was not currently at liberty to dispose of its shares in Nok Air, he added.

The national carrier is Nok Air’s largest shareholder and shares resources, offering preferential aircraft leasing rates and aircraft maintenance fees. THAI has been worried about the no-frills carrier’s financial status for the past few years.

Some executives have also expressed unhappiness over Nok pursuing strategies that did not complement THAI’s operations, and in some cases seemed to represent direct competition.

Demand for domestic air travel, to which Nok Air is confined to operate following its exit from the Bangalore and Hanoi routes, is also slowing.

THAI itself was having its own difficulties with prohibitive fuel prices and slowing traffic demand, the source added. Mr Apinan himself admitted in an interview this week that the national carrier’s near-term focus was on survival, rather than growth, as it was struggling to break even.

THAI is scaling down its 10-year business growth plan including a major fleet modernisation that was to include the procurement of 65 new aircraft.

One of the consequences arising from any drastic decision involves Nok Air’s 100-plus pilots and more than 200 cabin staff.

Nok Air operates 52 flights a day, with nine Boeing 737 series jetliners, four of them leased from THAI, and one ATR propeller plane.

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