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RTH10260
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Thailand

#1

Post by RTH10260 »

no smiles in the Land Of Smiles
Prisoners forced to make fishing nets under threat of violence
PUBLISHED : 23 DEC 2021 AT 14:51
WRITER: THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION

Prisoners in Thailand are being forced to make fishing nets for private companies under threat of punishment including beatings and delayed release, a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation has found.

Jails around the country are using inmates to fulfil high-value contracts with Thai manufacturers, including one that exports nets to the United States, according to documents obtained under freedom of information (FOI) rules.

Former prisoners interviewed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation said prison officers threatened to beat them with batons, withdraw the right to wash or push back their release date if they did not meet stringent targets.

The work was compulsory, but paid only a fraction of Thailand's minimum wage and some workers were not paid at all, they said.

"(The officers) would say that if we didn't make five nets a week, we would be punished," said one former inmate at Surin Central Prison in a phone interview.

"It was 2pm one day and I wasn't able to finish the nets in time, so I was forced to lie down in the sun and roll over in the dirt," said Ta, who was released last year after serving two years and asked to be identified only by his nickname.

The Corrections Department did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.



https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... f-violence
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RTH10260
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#2

Post by RTH10260 »

Thailand election 2023: opposition delivers crushing blow to military rule
The liberal Move Forward party and the Pheu Thai Party face a challenge to forming government with parliamentary rules favouring army-backed parties

Guardian staff and agencies
Mon 15 May 2023 00.12 BST

Thailand’s opposition parties secured by far the largest number of votes in national elections, trouncing parties allied with the military and setting the stage for a flurry of deal-making in a bid to end nearly a decade of conservative, army-backed rule.

The liberal Move Forward party and the populist Pheu Thai Party were far out in front with 99% of votes counted, but it’s far from certain either will form the next government, with parliamentary rules written by the military after the 2014 coup skewed in its favour.

To rule, the opposition parties will need to gain support from members of the junta-appointed Senate that has sided with military parties and gets to vote on who becomes prime minister and form the next administration.

Sunday’s election saw the Move Forward party, which wants to reform Thailand’s strict royal insult laws, ride a wave of support from young voters to come close to a clean sweep of the capital Bangkok on a platform of institutional reform and dismantling monopolies.

The election commission is not expected to officially confirm the final number of seats won by each party for several weeks, but forecast early on Monday that Move Forward would win 113 out of a total of 400 constituency seats, just ahead of Pheu Thai on 112. A further 100 seats will be allocated to parties on a proportional basis.

A Reuters calculation showed both opposition parties set to win more than triple the number of seats of Palang Pracharat, the political vehicle of the junta, and the army-backed United Thai Nation party. The turnout was about 39.5 million, or 75% of registered voters.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... rule-junta
somerset
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Thailand

#3

Post by somerset »

https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/05/ ... s-election

Asia | A tepid taste of freedom
The opposition looks set to win Thailand’s election
But the army and the monarchy will remain in control
n 2021 thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, was asked what he thought of a rising star in the country’s largest opposition party, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. “Who?” he replied. Less than two years later, Ms Paetongtarn leads Mr Prayuth in opinion polls ahead of a general election due on May 14th.

Ms Paetongtarn is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon-turned-prime minister, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Parties linked to Mr Thaksin have won every Thai election since 2001, running on populist platforms. The impending one looks likely to go the same way. This time the party vehicle is called Pheu Thai, with Ms Paetongtarn as its candidate for prime minister. It is expected to sweep to victory.

:snippity:

Pheu Thai and Move Forward are expected to win, respectively, the largest and second-highest number of votes at the election. But they are unlikely to be able to form a government. Under the constitution, which the junta forced through in 2016, Thailand’s senate, which is packed with military loyalists, has an outsized say in selecting the prime minister. To overcome this bias, an opposition prime-ministerial candidate would need to win three times as many seats in the lower house as a pro-military one.

Making matters worse, the country’s constitutional court, electoral commission and anti-corruption commission are crammed with loyal appointees of the military government. Rumours are swirling that, having been thwarted twice before, Pheu Thai is now in conversation with the army establishment over a possible power-sharing agreement. That might be palatable to the army and monarchy. It would sit less well with Thailand’s voters.
I have a gift article available if anyone wants the full article
Dave from down under
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Thailand

#4

Post by Dave from down under »

there is also this link if interested

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-15/ ... /102345426

Thailand's opposition secured a stunning election outcome on Sunday after trouncing parties allied with the military, setting the stage for a flurry of deal-making over the formation of a coalition government in a bid to end nearly a decade of conservative, army-backed rule.

Key points:
The surge in support for opposition parties paves the way for a challenge to the military-backed government
Parliamentary rules written by the military after its 2014 coup are skewed in its favour
Move Forward had 113 constituency seats and 38 party-list seats, to Pheu Thai's 112 and 29 respectively

The liberal Move Forward party and the populist Pheu Thai Party were far out in front, with 99 per cent of votes counted, but it was far from certain that either would form the next government, with parliamentary rules written by the military after its 2014 coup skewed in its favour.

To rule, the opposition parties will need to strike deals and muster support from multiple camps, including members of a junta-appointed Senate that has sided with military parties and gets to vote on who becomes prime minister and form the next administration.

etc
Dave from down under
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Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:50 pm
Location: Down here!

Thailand

#5

Post by Dave from down under »

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-16/ ... /102349766

Thailand's two main opposition parties have agreed to form a ruling coalition after they trounced military-backed rivals that have controlled government for nearly a decade.

Key points:
The Move Forward party and Pheu Thai must try to form a new government and not be stymied by a junta-appointed Senate
Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward's 42-year-old leader proposed an alliance of six parties that would command 309 seats
He said all sides must respect the election outcome and there was no use going against it

The Move Forward party and opposition heavyweight Pheu Thai dominated Sunday's election, but could face challenges in mustering enough support to vote in a prime minister, with parliamentary rules drafted by the military after a 2014 coup skewed in favour of its allies.

Their alliance would need to ensure its efforts to form a new government would not be stymied by a junta-appointed Senate, which gets to vote on a prime minister in a bicameral sitting of the 750-member legislature, and has a record of favouring conservative parties led by generals.
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