Thai crisis 'may have increased bird flu'

[T. Modesto,PhD]

Thai crisis ?may have increased bird flu?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/6c36a096-4671-11db-ac52-0000779e2340.html

By Shawn Donnan in Jakarta

Published: September 17 2006 22:13 | Last updated: September 17 2006 22:13

Thailand?s continuing political crisis may have contributed to a resurgence of bird flu in the country, according to the United Nations official co-ordinating the global fight against the disease.

Both Thailand and Vietnam have been praised for their stringent efforts to fight the H5N1 virus in poultry and until July neither had reported a single human case this year, even as the virus has in the past nine months killed 37 people in nearby Indonesia.

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Authorities in Thailand, however, have since July reported two human fatalities from the virus, while Vietnam last month reported its first outbreaks in poultry this year.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Dr David Nabarro, the UN?s senior co-ordinator for avian influenza, said that Vietnam?s response remained admirable. But he was concerned that the political crisis in Thailand might have weakened the country?s response.

It remained unclear, he said, how or why the H5N1 virus resurfaced in a Thai province along the Mekong River border with Laos in July and August.

But he said: ?You don?t maintain control over this disease unless there is regular top-level direction from a committed senior political figure that wants to be sure that the necessary activities are being undertaken.?

Thailand has been without a fully functioning government since February, when Thaksin Shinawatra, prime minister, dissolved parliament, hoping to end the controversy over his family?s tax-free $1.9bn (?1.5bn, ?1bn) sale of their 49 per cent stake in Shin Corp, the telecoms empire, to Singapore?s Temasek Holdings.

Indonesia ? which has suffered more human fatalities (49) than any other country in the world, according to the WHO ? appears to be making progress in its fight against the disease, although it continued to be a ?major problem? in the archipelago, Dr Nabarro said.

On Friday the government told the visiting UN official it was looking to increase its contribution to the fight against bird flu next year following complaints last month from the World Bank and international donors that it was reducing its bird flu budget in 2007.

Dr Nabarro said he hoped that would draw increased commitments from international donors for Jakarta, which is now facing a $100m-plus shortfall for next year on the $250m experts say it needs annually to mount an effective fight against H5N1.

Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in Hanoi

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006

[Theresa42]

Re: Thai crisis 'may have increased bird flu'

Some folks in Thailand were worried that a military coup was in the works in Bangkok the other day...

Thailand's army still looms large in politics
Tue Sep 19, 2006 03:31 AM ET

By Nopporn Wong-Anan BANGKOK (Reuters) - Even though Thailand's last military coup was 15 years ago, when Bangkok motorists spotted tanks rolling down the street last week, many thought the army was up to its old tricks once again.

"I received more than 10 calls from people saying they had seen several tanks on the street and asking in a shaky voice if there was a coup," said Jakrapan Kunanyatirakul of FM 91 traffic radio.

"We called the army for an explanation and the answer was it was troops returning from up-country exercises."

With Thailand mired in a political crisis now in its ninth month and tensions escalating between the army, police, palace and government, the callers could not be accused of being paranoid.

Military chiefs vow the army will stay out of the mess left by April's annulled election, but with 23 coups or attempted coups during 74 years of on-off democracy, many view their protestations with skepticism.

"Although the chances of success now are much less, it's almost impossible to dismiss fears of a coup here since we still have many politically active soldiers," said security analyst Panitan Wattanayakorn at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

IN UNIFORM, IN POLITICS

While Thailand may have moved on from the time when men in uniform sat squarely in Government House, army meddling in politics -- and politicians meddling in the army -- remains the order of the day.

In a clear attack on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in June, top royal adviser Prem Tinsulanonda, one of many former generals turned prime minister, donned his old cavalry uniform to tell cadets their duty was to serve the crown, not the government.

The previous month, shortly after April's inconclusive election, army commander-in-chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin waded into the fray by letting it be known publicly that revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej was upset by the political mess.

In late August, after police arrested a junior army officer near Thaksin's home in a car packed with explosives, Thaksin immediately sacked General Pallop Pinmanee as deputy director of the shadowy Internal Security Operations Command.

Pallop contemptuously dismissed any involvement in the plot, saying: "If I had wanted to kill him, the Prime Minister would not have escaped."

Critics accuse Thaksin of staging the attempt to win sympathy from voters.

The alleged bomb plot followed the surprise reassignment in July of more than 100 middle-ranking officers -- many of them seen as Thaksin allies -- from key infantry posts in the capital.

Some analysts saw the army commander-in-chief's reshuffle as a pre-emptive move against a pro-Thaksin putsch, given the increasingly high stakes shadow boxing between the army/palace establishment and Thaksin, a populist politician and former policeman who made a fortune in the telecoms industry.

Others read the opposite: the military was clearing the way for intervention against Thaksin.

"There is no unity among the armed forces now," political scientist Prayad Hongtongkhum said. "But many unit commanders realize coups are outdated and will only make matters worse."

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=13527754&src=rss/worldNews

[Theresa42]

Re: Thai crisis 'may have increased bird flu'

Oops. Looks like it might be a genuine coup attempt...

Thailand Premier Declares State of Emergency, Fires Army Chief

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aVAsoMrOuu8w&refer=home

Thai military declares launch of coup

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-09/19/content_5112053.htm

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Thai crisis 'may have increased bird flu'

First we have interruptions in observation in Indonesia and now it seems we are going to have more in Thailand. One more brick to add to the wall obscuring the viruses progression.

I do not feel it is appropriate on this thread to make comments on a possible coup except as how it affects the virus. Please remember we have Thais who come here to check out the progress of the disease. Sensitivity is therefore requested.

[Niko]

Re: Thai crisis 'may have increased bird flu'

Thai premier moves up UN speech as coup unfolds at home

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Tuesday September 19, 2006

New York- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawtara has moved up his speech to the United Nations General Assembly to Tuesday evening as an apparent coup was unfolding at home. But it was not clear if Thaksin would deliver the speech or head home earlier. All the phone lines to the Thai mission at the United Nations have been busy through the morning, local time.

Marie Okabe, a UN spokesperson, confirmed that Thaksin had swapped places on the speaking schedule with the Montenegrin leader, who will take Thaksin's place at the podium later this week during the annual gathering of leaders of UN members.

UN security officials said the prime minister had not yet entered the UN buildings.

Thaksin on Tuesday night Bangkok time declared a state of emergency amid rumours that the military had staged a coup d'etat, and called on the military to respect the authority of his deputy prime minister Chidchai Wanathasin.

But the broadcast was cut off in mid-sentence. It has been common in past military coups - Thailand has experienced 19 since 1932 - for the military to seize control of the airwaves as their first step to seizing power.

The premier has been under pressure to resign since January, when his family sold its share in the Thaksin-founded Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holding in a 1.9 billion tax-free deal that irked Bangkok's tax-paying middle classes and elite.

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Thai_premier_moves_up_UN_speech_as__09192006.html

[Theresa42]

Re: Thai crisis 'may have increased bird flu'

Media clampdown in operation
posted by Daniel at 11:54 PM on September 21, 2006

Thailand could be facing serious media clampdowns in new rules proposed today.

Starting tomorrow, all media operators, including Internet media companies, face immediate closure if any news articles or comments, which could be deemed a threat to Thailands national security and monarchy, are published.

The Information Ministry invited all companies and operators to discuss cooperation methods in helping the government "to restrict, control, stop or destroy information deemed to affect the constitutional monarchy".

Chief internet inspector Kritpong Rimcharonepak told reporters: "We seek their cooperation not to present articles, remarks, or information that will infringe the democratic reform under the constitutional monarchy. They can still present political comments on their media, but if anything goes wrong, the caretakers of those media must take responsibility."

What is unusual about this is that the Thai people are immensely patriotic people. It is almost unheard of people making dismissive comments about the monarchy.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out and also what changes are ahead for free speech in Thailand. If a website like Bangkok Metblogs has a comment which is deemed "unpatriotic" by the Ministry of Information, will all access to the site be blocked by the ISP's content filtering systems?

http://bangkok.metblogs.com/archives/2006/09/media_clampdown.phtml

[Theresa42]

New visa rules confirmed

From what I gather, this has been coming on for several weeks/months now in Thailand -- the threat that the government would place greater restrictions on travellers to the country. It's not immediately related to the coup, I think, although the move to restrict foreigners from re-entering the country (i.e. staying a long time in the country) did seem to gain momentum in the weeks before the coup -- might've been a good indicator that a coup was in the works if anyone knew to look for it.

I've, of course, been wondering if this has anything to do with bf. Perhaps the country doesn't want to have too many foreigners around if a pandemic should start. Or, maybe they're just getting tired of too many 'farangs.'

By way of background, Thailand has had a quite laid-back visa policy for years. Folks from many Western countries live there de facto even though they are not technically residents -- one just had to have a 90 or 120 day visa and/or a multiple re-entry visa whereby you could stay in the country for years, only having to exit & re-enter every few months or so to renew one's "tourist" status. Not so easy anymore.


Thursday, September 21, 2006
New visa rules confirmed

PHUKET: New rules limiting stays in Thailand on ?visas on arrival? to 90 days over any six month period were confirmed at a September 15 meeting of Immigration Department Chiefs in Bangkok. The new policy will go into effect on October 1.

In a related development, the Royal Thai Consulate in Penang, Malaysia, has stopped issuing double-entry tourist visas.

Pol Lt Col Pipat Pongpan, an Inspector at Phuket Immigration Office, told the Gazette, ?Anyone who has already stayed 90 days on visa-on-arrival permits does not need to worry. We will start counting the days from October 1.

?[Foreigners from countries qualifying for visas on arrival] can come in and out of the country as many times as they like with a visa on arrival, but can stay for a maximum of 90 days in any six month period. If they stay 90 days then they must leave for 90 days before they are entitled to another visa on arrival. They can, however, go and request a tourist visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate abroad and come back into the country,? he said.

?Extensions above the 90-day limit may be granted in exceptional cases, such as if the tourist is suffering from an illness or involved in a lawsuit,? he added.

?No new investment visas will be issued after October 1. However, existing visas in this category may be extended if the holder still has funds of 3 million baht and is still doing business in Thailand,? Col Pipat said.

Tourist visas are still available, for a fee, at Thai embassies and consulates in neighboring countries. The Royal Thai Consulate in Penang, however, will now issue only single-entry 60-day tourist visas. An official at the consulate said that an order had been sent down from Consul Pramote Pramoonsab to cease issuance of double-entry tourist visas, which allow a total stay of up to 120 days.

Double-entry tourist visas are at present still available in the Thai Consulate in Kota Bharu and Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, however.

A source in the Visa and Travel Document Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), said that the move by the consulate in Penang is not due to any sweeping changes in MFA policy.

The decision whether or not to issue double-entry tourist visas rests solely at the discretion of each diplomatic mission, the source explained.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?Id=5240