ILO makes case for migrant workers

General News - Saturday December 22, 2007

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

ILO makes case for migrant workers

Thailand's estimated 1.8 million migrant workers earned $2 billion in wages last year, but may have contributed $11 billion, or 6.2%, to the gross domestic product, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) revealed.

According to the ILO report - "Thailand Economic Contribution of Migrant Workers" - the Kingdom is getting a better deal from its migrant workers than it is giving them.

The total number of migrants in Thailand rose from about 700,000 in 1995 to 1.8 million in 2006, according to the report.

Last year about 75% of the migrant labourers came from neighbouring Burma. This now represent 5% of Thailand's total labour force of 36 million. The remaining migrants mostly come from Laos and Cambodia.

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EC denies record turnout was 'fixed'

The Election Commission has denied allegations that the record turnout of nearly three million voters in the advance voting over last weekend was fixed.

EC secretary-general Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn said the record high turnout represented people's strong wishes to return the country to democracy. In addition, it reflects the people's response to widespread rumours that attempts by some groups were being made to derail and postpone the long-awaited general election.

Commissioner Praphan Naikowit said on Monday that more than 2.96 million people turned out to vote in advance on the weekend. This amounted to 87.75% of the 2.09 million people who registered to cast advance ballots. Mr Praphan agreed that the turnout was high because voters were eager for democracy to return to the country as soon as possible following the military coup on Sept 19 last year which ousted then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

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Juthamas quits politics over film fest scandal

The former head of Thailand's state-run tourism authority has resigned as deputy leader of a political party contesting tomorrow's polls amid accusations she received $1.7 million in bribes from an American couple.

Juthamas Siriwan, who was Tourism Authortity of Thailand (TAT) governor from 2002 to 2006, handed in her resignation as deputy leader of the Puea Pandin Party after being fingered on Tuesday by the US Justice Department as the recipient of 1.7 million dollars in bribes from US film executive Gerald Green and his wife Patricia.

"Juthamas has resigned in a show of responsibility," said Puea Pandin party spokesman Wachiramon Kanakasemthanawat. "Her resignation will facilitate a transparent investigation into her case." He said Ms Juthamas' resignation assures there is no impact on the Puea Pandin party.

The Greens were arrested in Los Angeles on Tuesday on federal charges that they conspired to bribe a TAT official to obtain a contract worth more than 10 million dollars to run the Bangkok International Film Festival.

A complaint filed by the Justice Department alleges that from 2003 until 2007, the Greens conspired with others to bribe Ms Juthamas, who is also president of the film festival.

"As a result of her position at the TAT, the governor was able to influence the awarding of the Bangkok International Film Festival contracts as well as other TAT contracts.

"More than 1.7 million dollars in payments were allegedly made for the benefit of the governor," the US Justice Department said. Thailand's National Counter Corruption Commission has sought further information on the case from the US to determine whether it will launch its own investigation.

Ms Juthamas denied any wrongdoing at a press conference in Bangkok on Wednesday.

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Abhisit reaffirms alliance with Chart Thai

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva reaffirmed his political alliance with Banharn Silpa-archa on Wednesday by announcing his party's intention to team up with Chart Thai to form the next government after the election.

He made the announcement during a debate among key politicians from five political parties amid speculation that Chart Thai is being courted by the People Power party (PPP).

The debate was organised by the Bangkok Post and its partners, including Post Today, Channel 11, the National Institute of Development Administration, Business Radio and TITV.

The speakers were posed various questions, one of them focusing on the make-up of the next government.

"I won't beat around the bush. The first party I'll phone will be Chart Thai because we have stuck together through thick and thin," Mr Abhisit said, drawing a cheer from Chart Thai supporters in the conference room of the Centara Grand Hotel in the CentralWorld shopping complex.

Mr Abhisit also confirmed that the Democrats could not join with the PPP because of their different stances.

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NLA passes security bill and 30 other draft laws

The internal security bill sailed through the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday with some changes as military-appointed legislators passed a total of 31 bills in just one day.

One hundred and five NLA members voted to pass the bill, while eight members voted against. There were two abstentions.

A key change in the bill involved Article 21, which says that disputes related to security operations and orders should be subject to a judicial review by the Courts of Justice.

Under the original version, security officials were exempted from administrative litigation.

The NLA's speedy passage of the bills went on amid a noisy protest by civic groups outside Parliament trying to stop lawmakers from passing new bills.

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AoT will withdraw defamation suit

The board of Airports of Thailand (AoT) on Thursday resolved to withdraw a criminal defamation lawsuit filed against Post Publishing Plc over news reports about cracks in the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport published in the Bangkok Post two years ago, AoT spokesman Chirmsak Pinthong said.

However, since the AoT's court complaint against Post Publishing was made on the instruction of then transport minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal, AoT must seek approval from the Transport Ministry prior to withdrawing the suit.

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INTERNATIONAL

Russian nuclear fuel arrives

Iran received its first nuclear fuel from Russia on Monday, paving the way for the startup of its reactor in 2008.

But Iran said it would continue its enrichment activities at a separate facility, in the central city of Natanz, to provide fuel for another nuclear reactor. Not only that, it indicated that construction had begun on just such a reactor, in Darkhovin in southwestern Iran.

It will take several more years for Iran to install 50,000 centrifuges in Natanz to produce the fuel needed for Darkhovin. Teheran says the enrichment programme is part of an effort to generate electricity, but the United States fears it will lead to weapons development. After initial opposition, the US now publicly supports Russia providing uranium fuel to Iran so long as Moscow retrieves the used reactor fuel for reprocessing.

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Japan shoots down test missile in space

Japan said Tuesday it had shot down a ballistic missile in space high above the Pacific Ocean as part of joint efforts with the United States to erect a shield against a possible North Korean attack.

Japan tested the US-developed Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) interceptor from a warship in waters off Hawaii, becoming the first US ally to intercept a target using the system.

Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the successful test as "extremely significant."

The naval destroyer Kongou launched the SM-3 which, at 7.12am Tuesday in Japan, intercepted the missile fired from onshore earlier, the navy said in a statement.

The test was "a major milestone in the growing cooperation between Japan and the US," Japanese Rear Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano and Lieutenant General Henry Obering, director of the US Missile Defence Agency, said in a joint statement.

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Lee wins in South Korea

Lee Myung-bak, a conservative politician famous for his success in business but dogged by questions about his character, swept to a huge victory on Wednesday in a presidential election dominated by economic concerns.

Voters cast aside widespread misgivings about Mr Lee's ethics, betting that he would fulfill his pledge to whip the economy to the heady levels of the 1990s, when growth averaged around 7% a year.

But Mr Lee's landslide was tempered by a new investigation directed at him; an indictment would raise questions about the legitimacy of his administration.

The results on Wednesday reflected voters' deep dissatisfaction with the liberal administration of President Roh Moo-hyun and his handling of the economy.

By turning to Mr Lee, the candidate of the opposition conservative Grand National Party, South Koreans put bread-and-butter issues ahead of the larger themes of social equality, political change and reconciliation with North Korea.

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Deadly train accident in Pakistan

A train crowded with 900 people heading from Karachi to Lahore came off the rails early Wednesday morning near Mehrabpur, about 400 kilometres north of Karachi, killing at least 58 people.

"The train was going at full speed. Then there was a sudden jerk and we felt the train sinking into the earth. There was chaos everywhere," said 25-year-old Shahid Khan. He had been traveling with six relatives whose condition was not immediately known.

Another passenger, Mohammed Yusuf, sat on a pink blanket next to a pile of discarded shoes and clothes, wailing in grief at the death of his younger brother.

Mohammed Khalid, a railway official who was traveling in one of the rear coaches which stayed on the rails, said he suspected a problem with the track.

An army officer in charge of the relief operation said an initial inspection of the track found no sign of sabotage. He said excessive speed coupled with poor maintenance might have been to blame.

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Putin named 'Person of the Year'

Time magazine on Wednesday named Russian President Vladimir Putin its "Person of the Year."

The 2007 honour went to the Russian leader because of the 55-year-old Putin's "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability," said Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor.

"He's the new czar of Russia and he's dangerous in the sense that he doesn't care about civil liberties, he doesn't care about free speech," added Stengel.

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US supports Israel's right to self-defence

Tom Casey, deputy spokesman at the US State Department, said on Wednesday that the US backed Israel's right to defend itself, but added incursions into Gaza could carry obvious consequences.

Mr Casey was responding to a question about Israel's recent military actions in Gaza. Israeli soldiers killed 11 militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, mostly from the Islamic Jihad group, on Monday night and Tuesday, in reaction to rockets fired into Israeli territory.

Bangkok Post