APEC 2022: Protestors clash with riot police in Bangkok, Thailand

Riot police clashed with protestors at Asoke Intersection in Bangkok this afternoon as world leaders gather in the Thai capital for the APEC Summit 2022.

Due to road closures, the intersection is the closest the public can get to the summit which is being held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from November 16-19.

Police ramped up security in the city in preparation for the meeting and riot police were deployed in anticipation of protests.

The demonstration held in Asoke outside the entrance of Sukhumvit MRT Station today was entitled, “What’s Happening In Thailand?”

Demonstrators made various demands, holding placards that read…
“Expel Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha”

“Stop APEC 2022”

“Release all political prisoners in Thailand”

“Abolish lese majeste laws”

“Free Hong Kong”

“Hang Xi Jinping”

The protest was largely peaceful until the police allegedly confiscated signs and other equipment from demonstrators, which is when some scuffles broke out between protestors and riot police.

A demonstrator told the Thaiger that, “earlier in the day, some protestors were arrested.”

Why are different protest groups coming together and raising all these issues at once?
Demonstrators see the APEC Summit 2022 as the perfect time to raise Thailand’s issues on the global stage.

Not only that, but demonstrators feel safe to come out and protest during the summit, knowing that police wouldn’t dare use brutality or water cannons against protestors – as they did during the pro-democracy protests of 2020 – with world leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice President of the US Kamala Harris just a stone’s throw away.

One demonstrator told the Thaiger she was protesting against foreign land ownership in Thailand…

“The government said they will allow foreigners to buy land in Thailand for 40 million baht… If land costs 40 million baht, how will Thai people buy it? How will farmers afford it?”

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#Thailand - Soldiers and bomb squads to patrol #Bangkok during #APEC

Authorities are now finalizing security measures and protocols for next week’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
The police chief has indicated around 30,000 police officers backed by soldiers will be deployed around Bangkok on the meeting days.

Explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) police have carried out a major bomb response demonstration at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, the venue for the leaders’ meeting.

A demonstration of searches for suspicious objects at the main venue for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting was carried out. Police canines and remote-controlled explosive ordinance response robots were used in the demonstration.

The robots are able to capture x-ray images of suspicious objects so the operator may determine whether an object is indeed an explosive ordinance.

Upon confirmation of an explosive ordinance, the robot can move the object into a collection vehicle that will then move the object to a safe area for disposal.

Anti-drone vehicles equipped with radar will secure the meeting venue against aerial drones. Radio jammers will activate when a drone threat is detected by radar.

Rapid response units will track down the drone controller and seize the drone in question. The controller will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

Royal Thai Police Commissioner Damrongsak Kittipraphat indicated the police have full confidence over more than 80% of security measures for the APEC leaders’ meeting. He explained that confidence will reach 100% upon adjustments and additional drills and this will be accomplished before the meeting day.

The police will deploy almost 30,000 personnel in Bangkok who will be supported by some 2,000 soldiers. In addition to providing security, the police will be facilitating traffic around Bangkok during the APEC leaders’ week.

The police chief said vantage points around the meeting venue will be monitored by security officials, including those in plainclothes. Rigorous security will also be provided at the residences and travel routes that will be used by APEC leaders.

Pol. Gen. Damrongsak said the movements of various groups, including those which may perpetrate violence, are being closely monitored. However, no movements of concern have been detected.

Lessons learned from the unrest in 2019 have also been applied to security measures for next week’s meeting.

The police chief asked that the public avoid areas around the meeting venue if they can, as regular traffic may be impacted next week

Source - Bangkok Jack

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Phones with outdated operating systems to lose mobile-banking access

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has stepped up measures to ensure mobile-banking security, assistant governor Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya said on Friday (December 20).

The central bank has issued guiding principles for mobile-banking security, which will not allow obsolete operating systems of smartphones to access banking services.She said currently mobile banking has grown rapidly. 

 

There are about 55 million accounts registered to use mobile banking in the first nine months of this year, up from 41 million accounts last year, while financial transactions reached 3.2 billion items via mobile banking, up from 2.7 billion last year.

 

Mobile phones have become a more-important tool for financial transactions, she said.

 

However, risks stemming from malwares or fake applications also posed a threat to the system, she warned. Therefore, the central bank will require financial institutions to be more careful about the security of the system.

 

Banks will have to inform customers that they cannot use mobile phones with obsolete operating systems, such as Android software prior to version 4, and iOS of iPhone prior to version 8. 

 

These outdated operating systems are vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

 

“Mobile phones run by an obsolete operating system would have limited access to mobile-banking services or could be totally banned in the future; mobile devices that have been jailbroken or rooted would also be prohibited,” she said. 

 

The iOS latest operating version is 13.3. Mobile phones run by the obsolete Android system is less than one per cent. An estimated 10,000 mobile phones have been jail-broken and currently are used to access banking services.

 

Banks would also be required to have more complicated settings for PIN codes and passwords in order to reduce the risk of being hacked.

 

The central bank would allow banks four months to make the necessary changes before the guiding principles are enforced in May next year, she added.

Source - TheNation

#Thailand - Police set up team to hunt Yingluck after ‘easy’ escape.

Interpol to assist as anti-corruption activist accuses authorities of negligence.

AMID a flurry of blame, accusations and speculation, authorities remain unable to explain how former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was so easily able to escape justice.

Anti-corruption activist Srisuwan Junya yesterday lodged a petition with the National Anti-Corruption Commission, asking it to investigate the failure of top security officers to prevent Yingluck from fleeing the country.

 Srisuwan focused on Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees security matters, and police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda, accusing them of being negligent in their duties. 

Prawit, who is also Defence Minister, said the activist has the right to do so, but reiterated that the authorities had no way to prevent Yingluck from fleeing the country.

“How could the authorities know when and where she would flee? Who would know it?” Prawit said at the Defence Ministry, in response to a reporter who pointed out that the authorities had closely monitored Yingluck’s movements even when she went to temples to make merit. The former premier had always complained that security officials and spies followed her everywhere.

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 “Yingluck’s escape was unexpected because she earlier always insisted that she would not flee. And there were police in front of her house all the time,” Prawit said. 

The authorities still have no official explanation as to how Yingluck failed to show up at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions last Friday. Her whereabouts since have been the subject of intense speculation by the media, activists and observers. 

The court has postponed the verdict delivery to late next month, and has issued an arrest warrant, but nobody has a clear answer as to whether she will return to Thailand. 

Police have set up a team to track her, and the relevant agencies have been closely following movements around border areas, including natural land borders. Officers had been instructed to report the results of the operation every five days, deputy national police chief Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said.

Police in Lat Phrao have been instructed to check all the surveillance cameras around Yingluck’s house as well as her other residences in Bangkok and her hometown of Chiang Mai, but they have failed to find her, Srivara said.

Speculation denied

According to Srivara, Yingluck was last seen in her Bangkok home at 2pm on Wednesday. Officers from Lat Phrao Police Station, who were responsible for supervising Yingluck’s residence, said other people in the house had confirmed that she no longer lived there. 

Royal Thai Police will now seek the cooperation of Interpol to alert police forces in 190 countries around the world about Yingluck’s current legal status. 

Media citing unnamed sources reported that she had fled via Cambodia and Singapore to Dubai to join her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who has a home there. The government in Phnom Penh dismissed the report, and authorities in Dubai also said they know nothing about Yingluck’s whereabouts.

Pol Maj-General Apichart Suriboonya, head of the police foreign affairs division, said the police had contacted officials in Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates but had received no information. 

Apichart told reporters about normal procedures, saying that Interpol could take “quite some time”. If any member of Interpol located Yingluck, Thai police could seek an international arrest warrant to have her apprehended. However, it would be up to Interpol how the case was conducted. 

Like everybody else, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday denied speculation that the National Council for Peace and Order deliberately let Yingluck slip out of the country, saying it was beyond his expectation that she would flee.

“I didn’t think it would happen. In the morning [of the verdict], I still thought that she would go to court, following the procedure. I respected her,” Prayut said. 

Bombarded with questions about the incident, Prayut said furiously: “Who would let her flee? How come, why did you think like this?”

Prayut said he had instructed security officers to find out how the former premier left the country. They would also look at flaws in the process in order to prevent it happening again.

Prayut, who is also the head of the junta, said it was difficult for the authorities to follow Yingluck |before the court had made its judgment because they respected her privacy. 

Officers had been criticised over their possible violation of human rights, Prayut noted, adding that that had made everything difficult.

Prayut said he didn’t want people to blame the security officers, saying that the media should tone down its criticism. It would be “insane” if officers intentionally let her flee, he said.

Source - TheNation

 

Yingluck's Judgement Day (Live updates)

(Click on link ) LIVE UPDATES

 

Please stay tuned for our live update throughout the day.

9:45 am: Nation TV reports the Supreme Court issues an arrest warrant against Yingluck. The court postponed the verdict reading to September 27. Her lawyers told the court at 9:37 am that Yingluck is  not well and cannot come to the court but the court does not believe the claim at is not backed by a medical certificate. The court ordered the seizure of the bail guarantee of Bt30 million.

 

9.40 am: if Yingluck is in the court room right now here are what she will be heard  

 

10:00 am: Nation TV reports that the Supreme Court has started reading the verdict in the case against Boonsong.

 

10:35 am: Nation TV reports most supporters of Yingluck remain at the Government Complex. The supporters say they would stay put until police are witndrawn from the court because they believe Yingluck might later show up. The people remain calm and peaceful.

 

Nobody can confirm the whereabouts of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra since 9 am so we decided to suspend our live update for now. If there is an urgent movement, the live report will be resumed.

#Thailand - Massive security force to be fielded for Yingluck verdict.

4,000 officers to be stationed at court as 3,500 supporters of ex-pm expected.

ABOUT 4,000 security officers will be deployed to maintain order at the Supreme Court on Friday, when up to 3,500 people are expected to gather in a show of support for former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

On that day, the high court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders is scheduled to deliver its verdict in the case, in which Yingluck is accused of negligence in connection with her government’s corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme.

Security measures will also include 40 more surveillance cameras and three walk-through metal detectors installed in the area, in addition to three patrolling helicopters, 20 riot trucks and four ambulances, according to Metropolitan Police deputy chief Pol Maj-General Panurat Lakboon.

Of the nearly 16,000-square-metre court premises, 1,500 square metres would be allocated for Yingluck’s supporters, Panurat said yesterday. 

Barricades would also be erected and officers posted to prevent Yingluck’s supporters – or “third parties with bad intent” – from trespassing in restricted court areas, he said. 

Authorities have repeatedly warned of unidentified “third parties” that could try to create chaos during the event.

The crowd will be monitored using CCTV, the Bangkok deputy police chief said, adding that anyone who violated the law or provoked the crowd would be recorded by the cameras and could expect to face an arrest warrant. 

Supreme Court officials yesterday also told the media planning to cover the verdict that security measures had been laid out including a plan to set up checkpoints at every gate at the Chaeng Wattana government complex, with free access only at the main gate near the Administrative Court.

News reporters were advised to submit their car licence numbers in advance to avoid any difficulties.

A police source said security checkpoints would also be set up in various areas across the country starting from tomorrow ahead of “judgment day”. Any suspicious movements would be blocked and the people involved could be detained, he said.

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