Thailand’s parliament has said that it will investigate veteran politician and former army chief Prawit Wongsuwon after he was filmed slapping a journalist as she tried to ask him questions. According to the BBC, Mr Wongsuwon, the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) leader, struck a ThaiPBS reporter on the head after she asked him a question about the new prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The incident took place on Friday and it prompted the reporter to file a formal complaint against the senior politician, following which the Thai parliament said it would investigate the case. 

In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter), the senior politician, 79, was seen hitting Duangthip Yiamphop several times around the head as he left a building, demanding, “What are you asking? What? What?” Sharing the clip, a user wrote, “A politician is surrounded by journalists while walking down a corridor when one of them asks him a question. Instead of answering it, he raises his hand and slaps her in the head several times before climbing into his vehicle and driving away.” 

Take a look at the video below: 

A politician is surrounded by journalists while walking down a corridor when one of them asks him a question.
■ Instead of answering it, he raises his hand and slaps her in the head several times before climbing into his vehicle and driving away.
■ Videos of this interaction in… pic.twitter.com/WjYw7CZtWa

— Stephen Mutoro (@smutoro) August 21, 2024

Mr Wongsuwon was Thailand’s army chief in the early 2000s. According to The Guardian, he was one of the architects of the 2014 coup that ousted the then PM, Yingluck Shinawatra. He then went on to serve as deputy prime minister under the military-backed government that ruled until last year. 

After the incident started gaining traction on social media, a PPRP party spokesman said that the 79-year-old knew the journalist well and had apologised, saying he was “teasing her as someone who he is close to” and that he “did not have any bad intention”. 

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However, the Thai parliament said it would investigate the slapping after the reporter made a formal complaint. The Thai Journalists Association also condemned Mr Wongsuwon for using “violence against a journalist”. It said it “considers his actions to be threatening and harassing toward the rights and freedom of the press”.

Separately, Thai PBS has demanded that Mr Wongsuwon “take responsibility for his alleged attempts to intimidate a reporter”. Noppadol Srihatai, the executive editor of ThaiPBS, said that the politician’s actions “threaten journalism”. “He was seen hurting a reporter and we cannot accept it. As a public organisation, we must protect journalists’ rights so that media work won’t be affected in the future,” Mr Srihatai said.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra attends a press conference at the Pheu Thai party headquarters. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Monday (August 19, 2024) thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his greetings and said she looked forward to working closely with him to build upon the existing ties and explore untapped potentials to create even greater opportunities for the two countries.

Ms. Shinawatra, the 37-year-old former business executive, became Thailand’s youngest Prime Minister after receiving a royal letter of endorsement on Sunday, two days after she was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed her predecessor.

“I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade and investment, culture, people-to-people contact, and tourism, in particular to increase air travel between both countries,” Ms. Shinawatra said in a post on X.

“I am confident that we can build upon our existing ties and explore untapped potentials to create even greater opportunities for our two countries, peoples and beyond,” she said further in the post that was in response to Prime Minister Modi’s post congratulating her.

“Congratulations @ingshin on your election as the Prime Minister of Thailand. Best wishes for a very successful tenure. Look forward to working with you to further strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Thailand that are based on the strong foundations of civilisational, cultural and people to people connect,” Mr. Modi said earlier in the day in a post on X.

Ms Paetongtarn became the Prime Minister days after the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin within a year of his assuming charge after the court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach.

She belongs to a political dynasty founded by her billionaire father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006. He returned to Thailand last year when his party formed the government.

Former leader of the Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, center, leaves from the Constitutional Court that ordered the dissolution of the party in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 7, 2024
| Photo Credit: AP

A court in Thailand on August 7 ordered the dissolution of the progressive Move Forward Party, which finished first in last year’s general election, saying it violated the constitution by proposing an amendment of a law against defaming the country’s royal family.

The Constitutional Court said it voted unanimously to dissolve the party because its campaign to amend the law was considered an attempt to overthrow the nation’s constitutional monarchy.

Editorial | Subverting the mandate: On the Thai elections and the military establishment

The Move Forward Party was unable to form a government after topping the polls because members of the Senate, at that time a conservative military-appointed body, declined to endorse its candidate for Prime Minister.

The Election Commission had filed a petition against the Move Forward Party after the Constitutional Court ruled in January that it must stop advocating changes to the law, known as Article 112, which protects the monarchy from criticism with penalties of up to 15 years in jail per offense.

The ruling also imposed a 10-year ban on political activity on those who held the party’s executive positions while it campaigned for the proposed amendment. Among them are its charismatic former leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, and current chief Chaithawat Tulathon.

It remained unclear what will happen to the rest of its non-executive lawmakers, although Pita said in an interview with The Associated Press that the party will ensure they have a “smooth transition into a new house,” or a new party.

Lawmakers of a dissolved political party can keep their seats in Parliament if they move to a new party within 60 days.

Move Forward and its reform agenda shook up Thai politics by winning the most seats in the 2023 elections even though afteward it was blocked from taking power. The latest legal action is one of many that have drawn widespread criticism and are seen as part of a yearslong attack on the country’s progressive movement by conservative forces trying to keep their grip on power.

The party was denied power after the Senate refused to accept its then-leader Pita’s nomination as prime minister. Senators, who were given power to veto prime ministerial candidates by the constitution adopted in 2017 under a military government, said they opposed Pita because of his intention to reform the royal defamation law. Move Forward was later removed from a coalition formed with the now-governing Pheu Thai party and became head of the opposition.

In its arguments submitted to the court, Move Forward said the Constitutional Court does not have jurisdiction to rule on the case and the petition filed by the Election Commission did not follow due process because Move Forward was not given an opportunity to defend itself before it was submitted to the court. The court said in its ruling that it has the authority to rule on the case, and that its previous ruling in January was enough of an evidence for the Election Commission to file the case without having to hear more evidence from the party.

Human rights organizations have expressed concern about the case. Amy Smith, executive director of the human rights group Fortify Rights, ahead of the ruling called the attempt to disband Move Forward “a direct attack on democratic principles” that “severely undermines Thailand’s commitment to human rights.”

The chairperson of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin, sent a letter to Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa to express his concern. He said that dissolving a party that “secured a significant victory” in the 2023 elections would “disenfranchise millions of voters who called for progressive change and democratic reform.”

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has maintained that the Thai justice system is fair and impartial, and that the government cannot interfere with the judicial process.

Move Forward’s predecessor, the Future Forward party, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020 on charges of violating election laws on donations to political parties.

Thailand’s courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are considered a bulwark of the country’s royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent state agencies such as the Election Commission to issue rulings to cripple or sink political opponents.

The dissolution of Future Forward, whose promises of reforms were particularly attractive for younger people disillusioned after years of military rule, further highlighted the struggle between the progressive movement and conservative forces in Thailand. It was one of the triggers for youth-led pro-democracy protests that sprang up across the country in 2020. The protests openly criticized the monarchy, an institution previously considered untouchable and a linchpin of Thai society.

The protests led to vigorous prosecutions under Article 112, which previously had been relatively rarely employed. Critics say the law is often wielded as a tool to quash political dissent.

Move Forward, formed as a new home for lawmakers from the dissolved Future Forward party, campaigned for an amendment of the article and other democratic reforms in the 2023 elections. It won first place in the balloting, a surprise victory indicating that many Thai voters were ready for change.

Move Forward has insisted that it wants to keep the monarchy above politics and not be exploited as a political tool.

Representational image of man standing on top of a skyscraper view of the Bangkok city skyline.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Thailand may have to consider relocating its capital Bangkok because of rising sea levels, a senior official in the country’s climate change office said on May 15.

Projections consistently show that low-lying Bangkok risks being inundated by the ocean before the end of the century.

Pavich Kesavawong, Deputy Director-general of the Government’s department of climate change and environment, warned that the city might not be able to adapt with the world on its current warming pathway.

“I think we are beyond the 1.5 (C) already,” he said, referring to the increase in global temperatures from pre-industrial levels.

“I imagine Bangkok will be under water already, if we stay in our (current) circumstance.”

Bangkok’s city Government is exploring measures that include building dikes, along the lines of those used in the Netherlands, he said.

But “we have been thinking about moving”, Mr. Pavich said, noting that the discussions were still hypothetical and the issue was “very complex”.

“Personally I think it’s a good choice, so we can separate the capital, the Government areas, and business areas,” he said.

“Bangkok (would) still be the Government capital, but move the business.”

While a move is still a long way from being adopted as policy, it would not be unprecedented in the region.

Indonesia will inaugurate this year its new capital Nusantara, which will replace sinking and polluted Jakarta as the country’s political centre.

A disgruntled British tourist in Thailand finds himself in hot water over alleged online revenge. 21-year-old Alexander was arrested for supposedly posting fake negative reviews about a Phuket restaurant, according to The Metro.

The trouble began when Alexander, according to reports, tried to use the restaurant as a shortcut to his home but was refused entry for not being a customer. Seeking payback, Alexander is accused of enlisting his friends to flood the restaurant with one-star reviews, causing its rating to plunge from a respectable 4.8 to a concerning 3.1 out of 5 stars, as per the news outlet.

The restaurant owner, understandably upset by the sudden influx of negativity and the potential impact on their business, filed a complaint. This led to Alexander’s arrest by the Central Investigation Bureau at his new Bangkok apartment. The arrest warrant, issued last August, accuses him of a crime with a surprising name: “entering false computer data likely to cause damage to the general public.”

Alexander maintains his innocence but is now facing legal proceedings in Phuket after being transferred to the Sakhu Police Station there.

This isn’t an isolated incident. In 2020, an American tourist in Phuket learned the hard way about Thailand’s strict defamation laws. He was arrested for a negative TripAdvisor review accusing a hotel of “modern-day slavery.” The tourist was eventually released after an apology, but the case serves as a cautionary tale for online critics visiting Thailand, where even seemingly harmless reviews can have serious consequences.

Defamation is a criminal offence in Thailand and carries a punishment of up to two years in prison.

The body of a Thailand model, who went missing a year ago, has been found in a morgue in Bahrain. According to China Times, 31-year-old Kaikan Kaennakam looked for opportunities outside her country after the work dried up. She found a job at a restaurant in Bahrain and moved there three years ago to support her family in northern Thailand, the outlet further said. She used to regularly post on social media and told her family that she had met and started living with her Bahraini boyfriend.

However, she suddenly stopped posting in April 2023, leaving her family concerned. They were not able to reach her on phone.

Kaikan’s family then sought help from the Thai embassy in January this year but they couldn’t find her.

On April 18, the Thai embassy told the family that the body of an unidentified Southeast Asian woman has been parked at in the morgue of the Salmaniya Medical Complex. A tattoo on her leg helped her family identify Kaikan Kaennakam, said China Times.

The cause of death was acute cardiopulmonary failure due to alcohol poisoning.

According to Daily Star, Kaikan’s family is now seeking help to repatriate her body and believes her death was suspicious.

As per the outlet, Kaikan’s sister Suthida Ngernthaworn said in an online post on April 19: “My sister started working in Bahrain around two or three years ago and found an Arab boyfriend there.”

“However, we have not been able to contact her since April last year. Our family contacted the Thai Embassy in Bahrain and learned on April 18 this month that she had passed away,” the post further said.

Bangkok:

Thailand will waive visa requirements for arrivals from India and Taiwan from next month to May 2024, a government official said on Tuesday, in a bid to draw in more tourists as the high season approaches.

Thailand in September scrapped visa requirements for Chinese tourists, the country’s top pre-pandemic tourism market with 11 million of the record 39 million arrivals in 2019.

From January to October 29, there were 22 million visitors to Thailand, generating 927.5 billion baht ($25.67 billion), according to the latest government data.

“Arrivals from India and Taiwan can enter Thailand for 30 days,” spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said.

India has been Thailand’s fourth largest source market for tourism so far this year with about 1.2 million arrivals after Malaysia, China and South Korea.

Inbound tourism from India showed signs of growth as more airlines and hospitality chains targeted that market.

Thailand is targeting about 28 million arrivals this year, with the new government hoping the travel sector can offset continued weak exports that have constrained economic growth.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reads the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin vowed to act quickly to relieve the country’s economic problems in his inaugural speech to Parliament on September 11, following four months of political uncertainty while parliamentarians were unable to agree on a government.

Mr. Srettha entered politics after a career as a major real estate developer, and his government is facing high expectations and pressing demands to address a range of economic, political, social and environmental problems in its four-year term.

Thailand’s economy has slumped after the COVID-19 pandemic all but crippled its lucrative tourism industry. Public debt rose to more than 60% of GDP in 2023, while household debt spiked to over 90% of the GDP this year, he said.

Thailand’s post-pandemic economy is like “a sick person,” with a sluggish recovery that puts the nation “at risk of entering a recession,” Srettha said.

He vowed to quickly take measures to relieve debt problems, mitigate rising energy costs and boost tourism, without going into detail.

He also said the government would work immediately to implement a campaign promise — a 10,000-baht ($280) handout for all Thais 16 and older to stimulate the economy by boosting short-term spending. Details were not given, though he’s previously said it would cost up to 560 billion baht ($15.8 billion) and will be ready to deliver by the first quarter of next year.

The promise drew major interest in the election campaign, but critics have questioned whether it would have a sustainable effect.

Long-term goals cited by Mr. Srettha include boosting international trade, supporting start-up businesses, investing more in transport infrastructure, improving agricultural production, empowering local government and increasing access to land ownership. The government would also seek to amend the current military-installed constitution through a process that allows public participation.

These steps would allow the economy to grow and its people to be able to “live with dignity,” he said.

The results of Thailand’s elections in May revealed a strong mandate for change after nearly a decade under military control.

But Parliament failed to endorse a coalition formed by the progressive Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the May polls, because members in the appointed and conservative Senate were alienated by its calls for minor reforms to the monarchy.

Mr. Srettha’s Pheu Thai party, which ran a close second in the election, then formed a broader coalition without Move Forward and was able to win Senate support. But it succeeded only by including pro-military parties and several parties that were part of the previous government, reneging on a campaign pledge not to do so. The deal raised skepticism over Pheu Thai’s ability to fulfill its election campaign promises while having to accommodate its allies that come from all along the political spectrum.

Reforms to the military — a powerful political player that has staged two coups since 2006 — were part of the platforms of both Move Forward and Pheu Thai, Srettha addressed the point diplomatically in his speech, promising “co-development” with the military to end mandatory conscription, reduce the excessive number of generals and ensure transparency in defense ministry procurement procedures. The ministry is headed by Pheu Thai’s Sutin Klangsang, one of the few civilians to hold the portfolio, usually controlled by veteran senior military officers.

Thailand’s king has formally endorsed members of a new Cabinet, paving the way for a government headed by PM Srettha Thavisin, in picture, to take office more than three months after the general election. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s King has formally endorsed members of a new Cabinet, paving the way for a government headed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to take office more than three months after the general election.

Mr. Srettha, representing the Pheu Thai party, was named Prime Minister by Parliament on August 22. A prominent real estate developer until officially entering politics last year, he will also hold the Finance Minister’s post.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued his royal approval on Friday.

Also Read: Thai king cuts ex-PM Thaksin’s jail term to one year

The delay in forming a new government was caused by Parliament’s failure to endorse a coalition formed by the party that won the most seats in the May polls, the Move Forward party. It could not win a majority in a combined vote of the House of Representatives and the Senate because its progressive platform alienated members of the conservative Senate, who singled out its support for minor reforms to the monarchy as the reason for rejecting it.

The Pheu Thai Party, which placed second in the election, then formed a broader coalition without Move Forward and was able to win Senate support. But it succeeded only by including pro-military parties from the last government to join its coalition, reneging on a promise during its election campaign.

Pheu Thai is backed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006. Mr. Thaksin, a billionaire populist, fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid prison on charges he said were politically motivated, but returned to Thailand on August 22 to serve an eight-year prison term. It was announced on Friday that the King has commuted his sentence to one year.

Six members of the new Cabinet hold the prestigious deputy Prime Minister jobs, three of them Mr. Srettha’s colleagues in the Pheu Thai party. Three Deputy Prime Ministers also hold major second portfolios.

Also Read: New Thai PM takes office, vows four years of change

Phumtham Wechayachai and Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara of Pheu Thai were appointed the ministers of commerce and foreign affairs, respectively. Anutin Charnvirakul of the Bhumjaithai Party, which holds the third highest numbers of seats in the lower house, was named interior minister.

Anutin was public health minister in the previous military-backed government of Prayuth Chan-ocha and is best known for spearheading the decriminalization of cannabis.

The new agriculture minister is Thammanat Prompao. of the Palang Pracharath Party, who served as deputy agriculture minister in the last government. He is an influential political figure in northern Thailand who was convicted and jailed in Australia in 1994 in connection with heroin smuggling.

Thailand’s former PM Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at Don Muang airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 22, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s jailed former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra had his prison sentence cut from eight years to one by the King on Friday, just days after he returned from a decade and a half in exile.

The move came a day after the billionaire ex-Prime Minister, 74, applied for a royal pardon over graft and abuse of office convictions amid widespread speculation about a backroom deal to allow him clemency.

Mr. Thaksin, twice elected Prime Minister and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was sent to prison last week immediately after returning to the kingdom for the first time since 2008.

The partial pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn was confirmed by the official Royal Gazette, with the announcement pointing to his service to the country as prime minister.

“He is loyal to the institution of monarchy. When prosecuted, he respected the justice system,” the statement said, noting that Mr. Thaksin also suffers numerous health problems.

“His Majesty the King has granted him amnesty and reduced the sentence on Thaksin Shinawatra, the prisoner, to one year in prison, so that he could use his expertise and experience to develop the country further.”

His homecoming on Tuesday last week coincided with his Pheu Thai party returning to government in alliance with pro-military parties, leading many to conclude that an agreement had been struck to cut his jail time.

“I congratulate Thaksin’s family for the news,” new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, of Pheu Thai, told reporters.

“His family must be happy. I heard he suffers from high blood pressure. They must be at ease.”

Former telecoms tycoon and Manchester City owner Mr. Thaksin is one of the most influential but divisive figures in modern Thai history.

Loved by millions of rural Thais for his populist policies in the early 2000s, he has long been reviled by the country’s royalist and pro-military establishment.

Much of Thai politics over the last two decades has been coloured by the establishment’s efforts to keep Mr. Thaksin and his allies out of power.

His supporters gave him a hero’s welcome on landing in Bangkok and his first public act was to prostrate himself in homage before a portrait of the king at the airport.

Hours later Mr. Thavisin was confirmed as Prime Minister — the party’s first premier since Mr. Thaksin’s sister Yingluck was thrown out in a coup in 2014.

On his first night back in Thailand, Mr. Thaksin was moved from jail to a police hospital, with prison medical officers saying he needed close monitoring for various health problems, including heart trouble.

Parties linked to Mr. Thaksin dominated every Thai election since 2001 — until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.

But the new coalition government has shut MFP out while bringing in parties linked to the coup-maker generals who ousted Thaksin and Yingluck, leading to anger from many Thais.