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2B THE NATION Monday, April 27, 2009
NATIONAL AFFAIRS P U B L I C H E A LT H
STORM HAVOC
Ministry calls for calm; dangerous strain of virus ‘not found in Thailand’ THE NATION
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hulalongkorn Hospital has said it is ready to cope with the possible spread of swine flu in Thailand and could treat people sickened by it. Meanwhile, an emergency watch has been ordered following the deadly swine-flu outbreak which is now spreading in Mexico and threatening to turn into a pandemic, the Public Health Ministry said yesterday. Pubic Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai urged people to stay calm, saying the H1N1 viral breed which had caused the disease in Mexico had never been reported here. However, anyone travelling to the US or Mexico should monitor health advisories issued by both Thai and foreign authorities, he said. Dr Praj Bunyawongviroj, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said he would not recommend that people stop eating pork, but noted that human-to-human transmission was possible through direct contact of body fluids or mucus through sneezing and coughing. People down with the common flu should stay away from public and keep themselves in good health until the flu is gone, he said. Chulalongkorn medical lecturer Yong Phooworrawan said swine flu could spread faster than bird flu, but it was much less fatal. Citing a comparative study, the doctor said 80 out of 1,000 people
Citing a comparative study, the doctor said 80 out of 1,000 people infected with swine flu had died, but 250 out of 400 of those sickened with bird flu had succumbed. infected with swine flu had died, but 250 out of 400 of those sickened with bird flu had succumbed. Swine flu can attack both wild hogs and farm pigs, or other types of swine, he said, adding that the H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2 strains possibly found in Thailand could not be transferred to humans. In Chiang Mai, no order has been given at the international airport to quarantine Mexicans who might arrive, although there are no direct flights landing there, airport director Juturongkhaphol Sodmanee said. Under regular procedures, medical assistance was on standby and would be provided to any sick foreign visitor, but those with apparent flu would be on the A-list for treatment upon their request, he said. The outbreak in Mexico has claimed at least 81 lives, according to the World Health Organisation, which declared the virus a public health emergency of “pandemic potential”. In New Zealand, 22 students and three teachers have been quarantined amid fears they may have been infected by swine influenza during a language trip to Mexico.
Teaching novice monks manners Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedhi, director of the Vimuttayalaya Institute, will launch the country’s first “good manners” curriculum for novice monks next month. The curriculum, to be introduced at the Novice Demonstration School founded by the monk in Chiang Rai’s Chiang Khong district, was aimed at educating novices so that they would have more appropriate manners and solving the problem of homosexual novices and monks. The good manner curriculum comprises 75 dharma principles focusing on the proper behaviour of monks and novices as taught by the Lord Buddha in Buddhism’s 227 precepts. “When the Lord Buddha was a prince, he was educated by his royal household. As a result, he had really good manners and was admired by Buddhists. “The school has decided to introduce the curriculum to teach novices because he did not want people to lose their faith in novices and monks due to unbecoming conduct,” said Wudhijaya, also known as W Vajiramedhi. “Every novice studying at the school will be taught the curriculum. We’ll also evaluate how much the curriculum can help inculcate good manners in novices. If it succeeds in improving their manners, I’ll expand the curriculum to other novice schools nationwide.” THE NATION
T H E N AT I O N / C H O M P I T P I N M UA N G
CHULA HOSPITAL PREPARED TO TACKLE CASES OF SWINE FLU PUBLIC-ASSEMBLY LAW MUST RESPECT RIGHTS: ACADEMIC THE NATION
Thailand should not rush into passing a public-assembly law like other countries as the people and civic groups here have a custom of protesting to publicise their demands, a human-rights defender said yesterday. Most street protests are peaceful, but huge demonstrations and violence as in previous gatherings of the red and yellow groups are rare, Paijot Polpet told a seminar on the possibility for Thailand to have such a law to control street protests. Various governments since the military coup of 2006 have tried to enact a public-assembly law as people and politicians staged demonstrations to make political demands. Thammasat University academic Chanthachira Aiammayura supported the idea of having the law since
protests in recent years have tended to degenerate into violence and violated the basic rights of other people. The law needs to protect the rights of protesters and the public at large, she said. The Constitution, which guarantees the right of assembly, allows authorities to rein in protests when they go beyond legal restrictions, she added. The law would need to balance three elements – effectiveness, necessity and proportional protection between the protesters and public interest, she said. Administrative Court official Wasunee Wattanapraser said some democratic countries have laws on public assembly. In France, any public assembly must have a permit from the authorities. The protesters must set up a committee to supervise the rally. The gov-
VILLAGERS PETITION OVER MEKONG EROSION SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEE THE NATION
A group of villagers yesterday signed a petition to lodge with the United Nations, the Thai and Chinese governments demanding that China take responsibility for the erosion of banks along the Mekong River because of its dams. Some 200 villagers who live along the Mekong River, including residents of Chiang Rai’s Chiang Khong district and Ubon Ratchathani’s Pho Chai district, helped build sandbag walls to prevent further erosion in Chiang Khong yesterday. Villagers believe that China’s dams on the mainstream of the Mekong, including the Jinghong and Manwan dams in Yunnan province, were responsible for the rapid erosion of the river’s banks. “After the completion of the Chinese dam in the Mekong, people downstream could not predict the water levels in the river,” said Bounkong Bounvas, village head of Ban Pak Ing Tai. The disappearance of reefs is another cause for concern. To make the Mekong more navigable, China had to blast all the reefs from Jinghong down to the Golden Triangle, causing the flows of the river to change considerably, said Mekong conservationist Niwat Roikaew. Heavy floods in August last year, after a huge amount of water was released from the dams, caused damage to agricultural areas in Thailand worth more than Bt85 million.
ernment has the authority to limit the assembly if it stirs up trouble or social disorder, she said. However, French authorities have limited power to declare a state of emergency and can ban public assembly for only 12 days, she added. The United States has no publicassembly law but uses normal criminal law to keep violence in check, she said. Lt-General Chet Mongkolhatthi from the National Police Office said the law was needed to authorise police to issue permits to people for public meetings. If police refused applications for a permit, the organisers should have the right to petition the Administration Court, he said. The law should state clear rules of engagement so police know when they can employ force to subdue protests, he said.
FACT website blocked The Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) yesterday claimed that its blogsite has been blocked since Saturday noon, apparently on orders of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)Ministry. “This is typical of a censorship regime in that over-blocking always occurs,” FACT founder and coordinator CJ Hinke told The Nation. “There are always innocent websites that are swept up in the general censorship.” The free-speech advocacy group will file a complaint with the ICT Ministry today, as ministry officials were not available to take a petition over the weekend. Hinke, a Canadian citizen based in Bangkok, said his group is non-political and non-partisan and the website contained no illegal content. Hinke urged FACT readers to use bypass software to access the site, which provides detailed information on censorship in Thailand including measures to avoid lese-majeste charges. Hinke claims the ICT Ministry has admitted to restricting access to 6,218 websites deemed a threat to national security and the monarchy. Last Friday, the ministry said it has allowed the anti-government Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship’s 71 websites to go back online. PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK THE NATION
THE ROOF of a house in Tambon Huai Pho in Kalasin’s Muang district is destroyed by a storm on Saturday night. The house was among 73 destroyed homes. The storm injured two people. The Meteorological Department yesterday issued a warning of summer thunderstorms caused by a moderate high-pressure system from China. Residents should be wary of “dangerous” weather until tomorrow by staying indoors, keeping buildings secured and avoid using communication tools during thunderstorms.
SONDHI CASE: ARRESTS NOT LIKELY SOON THE NATION
Police have made good progress in their investigation into the assassination attempt on Sondhi Limthongkul but would not likely make any arrests within a week. A complete trajectory study would take seven days, Pol MajGeneral Suraphol Phinijchob, commander of the Science Records Division, said yesterday. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had earlier dismissed a bold estimate by Pol Lt-General Assawin Khwanmueng, the chief investigator, that police could arrest within seven days those who ordered the execution of the core leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and founder of the ASTV-Manager media group. Abhisit said police should look further into recent discoveries of war weapons at various locations in Bangkok and Si Sa Ket. Measures to keep war weapons in control should be put on the national agenda, he said. Metropolitan Police chief LtGeneral Worraphong Chewpreecha said police would release the names of suspects only when they had obtained sufficient evidence against them. Chamlong Srimuang, a PAD leader, said Sondhi was marked for elimination because of the huge support given to him by PAD followers, as well as of the success of his ASTV station. Chamlong said he and other core PAD leaders, including Suriyasai Katasila, were also targets. “They have set a Bt3-million bounty for our heads, which makes us not too careless, while we don’t want be to be too anxious either,” he said. The government had the duty to take action against people who constantly violated the lesemajeste law or those with an antimonarchy stance regardless of their roles in the red-shirt movement, he said. The chances that the yellow and red shirts could one day become allies if they had mutual enemies could not be predicted, he added.
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