Thailand Travel News

The Thai government has banned demonstrations and other types of gatherings during the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting from July 17^th to 23^rd. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the government would not allow even peaceful demonstrations although it was granted under the constitution.

Prawit expressed confidence that the meetings would run smoothly without any untoward incidents after the Cabinet Thursday approved enforcement of the Internal Security Act. Under the rules endorsed by the Cabinet, unauthorized people are not allowed to carry weapons outside their residences, and the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) director is empowered to impose a ban on use of electronic devices in certain areas.

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton will be among those attending the July 17-23 meetings, along with counterparts from the European Union, China, Japan, Australia, Russia, New Zealand, India, South Korea, Canada and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The cancellation of the summit in Pattaya caused huge embarrassment to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose country holds the rotating chair of ASEAN. While there were no major street protests in the capital since the April 13 rioting, the red shirted protesters aligned to oust Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra kept their pressure on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government.

Thailand has invited North Korean foreign minister Pak Ui Chun to attend regional security talks to be held this month on a Thai island. Panich Vikitset, a Beijing based foreign ministry official traveled to Pyongyang Monday to invite Pak to the July 19-23 Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum on security on Phuket, 600 kilometers south of Bangkok.

Panich, a special assistant to Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, said that Thailand as a host to ASEAN meeting to held this week would like to invite North Korean foreign minister or his deputy to come to Thailand and discuss the problems of the North Korean peninsula.

Among the leaders scheduled to attend the ASEAN meeting are US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton along with foreign ministers from South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and North Korea.

Tensions with North Korea have risen this year as it carried out its second nuclear test, a series of missile launches and threatened South Korea and UNO if sanctions are applied to North Korea.

The forum is deemed Asia’s most important annual gathering on regional

security issues, such as the

North Korean nuclear threat and Myanmar’s ongoing political instability. Phuket was picked as the forum’s host because Thailand’s largest island is deemed a safe haven for the Democrat Party, which leads the current coalition government.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has refused to resign after police questioned his involvement in last year’s Bangkok airport siege. He reported to a police station on 06-July evening to hear charges which include illegal assembly, invasion, breaches of aviation law and terrorism following the rallies by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). He was among more than 30 leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) summoned by the police this week.

“I am not a terrorist” said Kasit whose involvement in the last year’s airport siege has made him a major target for the opposition, led by allies of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Kasit was seen speaking at several rallies by the Yellow Shirt protesters, who occupied the prime minister’s office compound for three months and shut down Bangkok’s airports.

The PAD is an ardent royalist group that helped topple tycoon Thaksin with mass rallies in 2006 and then took to the streets again last year to drive his allies out of government.

Their campaign peaked with the seizure of Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi international and Don Mueang domestic airports, which left hundreds of thousands of travelers, stranded and caused huge economic damage.

They abandoned the airport siege after the Constitutional Court disbanded the former ruling pro-Thaksin party in December. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva won a parliamentary vote to become prime minister later that month.

Facing one of its worst crisis in years, Thailand’s tourism industry is going to great guns to drum up business that has plunged thanks to political upheaval, the global recession and now swine flu fears.

Foreign traveler arrivals have fallen 16% so far this year, while hotel occupancy across the country has dropped to 44%, down from 66% last year. Luxury hotels in Bangkok have even lower occupancy rates.

To offset the drop-off in visitors from abroad, Thailand is promoting domestic tourism and hotels are offering rock-bottom discounts to Thai residents. The government is extending a holiday in early July to get Thais on the road. It also has offered low-interest loans to small businesses catering to tourists.

On the other hand, Thai Airways is trying to lure passengers from outside Asia with free domestic flights. Hotels on Thailand’s resort island of Phuket are offering a fourth night free. And mountain lodges up north are offering free golf and spa pampering.

But many fear recovery is a long way off for the industry that employs 2.5 million people and is a pillar of the economy, which already has slid into a recession.

So far, the slump has not led to big job losses, but many hotels have put employees on temporary leave without pay. Thai hotels and restaurants had 100,000 fewer seasonal workers in March than they did in February.

Thailand foreign minister Kasit Piromya and leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been summoned by the police for their alleged involvement in the shock closure of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang international airports, late last year.

Media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, retired general Chamlong Srimuang and Somsak Kosaisuk, leaders of the People’s Alliance of Democracy were also among those asked to report to police on July 16^th.

The siege of the airport which was carried out between Nov 26^th and Dec 3^rd stranded more than 350,000 travelers, disrupted trade flows and caused massive damage to Thailand’s vital tourism industry.

The summons came at a critical time for Thailand as it tries to redeem its battered pride by hosting the ASEAN Ministerial meeting and the ASEAN regional forum in Phuket from July 17^th and 23^rd, where Kasit Piromya will chair meetings involving 26 countries, with dignitaries, including United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The PAD, which led massive rallies in the capital, that led to the military ouster of then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September, 2006, took to the streets again in May, last year, after Thaksin’s allies won the December, 2007 general election.

The Thailand police are investigating an alleged insult to the revered monarchy by the board of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT). The “lese majeste” complaint if proved could be punishable by 15 years in jail.

Lese-majeste is a serious offence in Thailand, where many people regard 81 year old King Bhumibol Adulyadej as semi divine.

The complaint was filed by a freelance translator Laksana Kornsil against the 13 member board of the club over the distribution of a DVD that included a controversial speech made at the club in 2007. The FCCT’s 13 member board includes journalists from the BBC, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal.

The DVD included a controversial speech by pro-Thaksin politician Jakrapob Penkair in 2007 about the coup against Thaksin the year before, for which Jakrapob was accused of Lese-majeste and quit his cabinet post in May 2008.

The latest complaint has drawn criticism from activists saying that it underscores the threat that the law poses to press freedom in Thailand. The Paris based International Federation for Human Rights said that it was deeply concerned by the abusive use of the law, in particular the filing of complaints by any Thai citizen rather than by the person targeted.

The Thai cabinet has approved the use of a law that will put the army in charge of security at a regional summit in Thailand in July. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said that the Internal Security Act was being invoked in Phuket and the surrounding area to ensure the safety of all delegates at the ASEAN forum on the resort Island.

This act allows the army to order curfews and restrict freedom of movements in situations deemed harmful to national security. It also allows the army to detain suspects without trial and restrict access to electronic equipment – a clause that critics say will allow censorship of Internet and tapping of phone.

The Prime Minister has said that the cabinet has agreed to declare the internal security act on Phuket and 5 KM around the tourist island from July 10 to 24^th for the ASEAN forum.

The previous meeting for the summit was supposed to have been in April but was cancelled at the lat moment when anti government protestors forced an embarrassing, premature end to the summit. Two days of deadly rioting ensued in Bangkok and a state of emergency was declared in the capital. The leaders’ meeting has now been postponed until October.

The ministerial meeting in Phuket runs from July 16 to 24, although ministers will not arrive until July 19.

Thai government is going out of the way to promote tourism which has fallen deeply in recent years owing to political upheaval, global recession and now swine flu. Thai airways is trying to win more passengers with free domestic flights. On one hand, hotels on the resort island of Phuket are offering a fourth night free whereas on the other hand, mountain lodges in the north are offering free golf and spa pampering.

Facing its worst crisis in last few years, Thai tourism is taking a number of steps to pep up tourist visits to Thailand. The tourism authority of Thailand has unveiled a strategic marketing campaign for 2009-10 that will build on Thailand strengths such as its geographical location, good image and excellent range of products and services.

These strategies and campaigns were unveiled at the end of Tourism authority of Thailand’s annual marketing plan meeting on June 29^th. The coming year would be very crucial for TAT as it will be celebrating the 50^th anniversary of its founding in 2010.

TAT expects 14 million foreign tourists to visit Thailand next year. If this number is achieved, it will represent a 5.6% increase over 2009’s expected 13.2 million visitors. Foreign tourists are expected to generate revenue of 540 billion baht next year, up 6.4% from this year’s target.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has demonstrated that he is still a force to reckon with in national politics. With two consecutive victories in local elections by allies, his followers have raised their hopes for his resurrection of their disgraced leader who continues to exercise his influence over Thai politics while remaining in self imposed exile to avoid a jail term back home.

Thaksin who was ousted from power in 2006 military coup after being accused of abuse of power had been written off by his foes and rivals after his supporters rioted in April and seemed to discredit his movement.

On 27^th June, he addressed more than 25,000 of his supporters via a telephone link and said that he was really lonely living overseas and sang a song about the discomfort of life in Dubai, where he had been living on and off since the 2006 coup.

The recent election triggered by the resignation of an incumbent member of parliament, is widely viewed as a barometer of how Mr.Thaksin and his followers are faring in the vote-rich rural areas of north and north east Thailand.

Supporters of the ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra rallied in Bangkok in their biggest protest since sparking clashes two months ago. More than 20,000 of them packed in a ground around the size of two football grounds raving heavy rain.

Nearly 2000 policemen and soldiers were on standby but they maintained discreet presence at the rally. The government had warned the red shirts that any attempt to lock government house or instigate any violence would not be tolerated and hard action would be taken.

The rally was carried out in order to send the signal that the movement is still a force to reckon with and further to lift the morale of the supporters.

The ex Prime Minster, Thaksin who was blamed for instigating riots by “red shirt” demonstrators in April, addressed the crowd by telephone and accused the present government of mismanaging the economy, raising the taxes and plunging the poor into debt.

He pledged his loyalty to his supporters and called for all Thai’s to put aside their differences. The “red shirts” are diehard supporters of Thaksin and Puea Thai party that he backs from outside the country.

Puea Thai’s power base is mainly drawn from millions of rural and urban poor who loved Thaksin’s populist policies and gave him two landslide election victories.