The Nation on Sunday’s front page (source: Facebook)

Below is my translation of parts of a short Thai-language article by former Senator Jon Ungpakorn (source: Prachatai).

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Two days after the Tak Bai incident — where more than 70 protesters died after army men arrested them, tied them up, stacked them in several layers on army trucks, and left them in that state for hours as they were transported to an army camp — Thaksin Shinawatra, the Prime Minister, explained this incident to the Senate. I was listening to him. Thaksin began by expressing regrets about the tragedy but later proceeded to give a long-winded explanation of the causes of the incident and to insist that the government was doing the best it could, etc etc. There was absolutely no offer to take responsibility, either personally or collectively as a government, for the consequences.

(หลังจากเกิดเหตุการณ์ตากใบที่มี ผู้ชุมนุมเสียชีวิตกว่า 70 คนจากฝีมือของทหารที่ได้กวาดจับ ผู้ชุมนุม มัดตัว แล้วเอามาวางนอนทับกันหลายชั้นในรถทหารขณะขนย้ายไปยังค่ายทหารเป็นระยะเวลาหลายชั่วโมงจนเกิดการเสียชีวิตดังกล่าว ถัดไปอีกสองวันนายทักษิณ ชินวัตร ในฐานะนายกรัฐมนตรีได้มาชี้แจง เรื่องนี้ต่อวุฒิสภาซึ่งตอน นั้นผมนั่งฟังอยู่ นายทักษิณเริ่มต้นด้วยการกล่าวความเสียใจต่อเหตุการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้น แต่หลังจากนั้นก็ร่ายยาวอธิบายความเป็นมาของสถานการณ์ รัฐบาลทำดีที่สุดแล้ว ฯลฯ ไม่มีการแสดงถึงความรับผิดชอบของตนหรือรัฐบาลของตนต่อผลที่เกิดขึ้นแต่อย่างใด)

Last night, at least eleven UDD protesters, low-ranking soldiers and foreign correspondents died and hundreds of protesters and soldiers were injured after the government had ordered the army to crack down on the protesters. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke to the country live on television. He began by expressing regrets about the incident and saying sorry to the families of the deceased and the wounded, but later proceeded to give a long-winded explanation of the causes of the incident and the reasons for the government’s actions, etc etc. There was absolutely no offer to take responsibility, either personally or collectively as a government, for the consequences.

(เมื่อคืนนี้หลังจากที่มีผู้ชุมนุม ฝ่ายนปช.และทหารชั้นผู้น้อย รวมทั้งนักข่าวต่างประเทศ เสียชีวิตไปไม่น้อยกว่า 11 คน ผู้ชุมนุมและทหารบาดเจ็บเป็นร้อย จากผลการปราบผู้ชุมนุมโดย ทหารที่ได้รับคำสั่งจากรัฐบาล ปรากฎว่านายอภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะในฐานะนายกรัฐมนตรีได้มาแถลงต่อประชาชนทางโทรทัศน์ทุกช่อง นายอภิสิทธิ์ได้เริ่มต้นด้วยการกล่าวความเสียใจต่อเหตุการณ์ที่เกิดขึ้นและต่อครอบครัวผู้ตายและบาดเจ็บ และหลังจากนั้นก็ร่ายยาวอธิบาย ถึงความเป็นมาของสถานการณ์ และความจำเป็นของรัฐบาล ฯลฯ โดยไม่มีการแสดงถึงความรับผิดชอบของตนหรือรัฐบาลของตนต่อผลที่เกิดขึ้นแต่อย่างใด)

[...]

From now on, every time Abhisit looks in the mirror, he will see the face of Thaksin.

(ต่อไปนี้ทุกครั้งที่นายอภิสิทธิ์ มองหน้าตัวเองในกระจกก็ย่อมจะเห็นหน้าของนายทักษิณ)

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. Petition to Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, Regarding the Violence in Thailand
2. The Economist: Collapse of Talks Was ‘Tragic’
3. The UN Speaks

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva on his internet Q&A programme, talking about the GT200

If anyone wants an indicator of how low our government has sunk in recent months, there is probably no better one than the fact that The Nation is now talking more sense than the Oxford-educated PM Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The BBC recently conducted an investigation into one of the many types of so-called hand-held “substance detectors” being used by government agencies in a handful of Third World countries including Thailand. The Iraqis are using them at checkpoints to thwart suicide bombers. Thai police forces have them in hand when looking for illegal drugs. Thai troops in the deep south also use them to save people from bombs, for example.

The investigation concluded that the device is completely bogus, consisting of nothing more than cheaply-made plastic and unsophisticated parts. While the model of the detector examined (ADE-651) was different from the ones being used in Thailand (GT200), the UK government has issued a ban on the ADE-651 “and other similar devices” and also arrested the man behind the ADE-651 detector. The BBC makes it clear that no Western government uses these types of detectors. For more information see Bangkok Pundit’s posts here, here and here.

(Click “read the rest of this entry” below to see Thailand’s response.)

In Thailand, netizens and university lecturers have been campaigning against the use of the GT200 for quite a while, but their efforts have proved largely fruitless, with the authorities insisting that the detectors do work reliably and help cut violence in the deep south. The media-friendly Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand has challenged sceptics to observe her team use the device in their daily forensic job.

Now, after the BBC’s revelation, one would expect that the Thai authorities would have seen the truth and stopped using the GT200 by now.  Yet, their responses have been absolutely astonishing, even by the standard of our beloved Thailand.

First we have Anupong the army chief:

In response to reporters’ angry questions about the British-made scanner, Army chief Anupong Paochinda shot back: “Is the company using you to ask these questions?” (The Nation)

Then, another one in the military top brass:

Joint Military Police Civilian Taskforce commander Lt-General Kasikorn Kirisri said the GT200 scanner was very useful in detecting and preventing explosions in the deep South, where violent incidents on an almost daily basis have killed more than 3,900 people to date.

“Not using the bomb detector may affect efforts to restore peace in the deep South,” he warned, adding that there might have been some problems with the detector, but they mostly involved human error. (The Nation)

Then this, a bit more promising but still under the illusion that the GT200 is a real functioning detector:

However, the police believe the bomb detector is not effective enough, with only a 30-40-per-cent reliability factor, which means the chance of it failing is higher than succeeding.

“It is not accurate. If the operator is too close to the target – less than 3 metres – it will not work,” said Pol Senior Sgt-Major Chan Warongpaisit, who regularly operates the equipment in the South. (The Nation)

But what about Dr Pornthip? :

Meanwhile, Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, director of the Forensic Science Institute and who always uses the GT200, said the UK had only banned the ADE651.

She said the detector was effective when searching for bombs and even nails under water. (The Nation)

Not to be outdone, our dear Prime Minister in his internet broadcast (Thai language):

[My translation]:

In the past these detectors were purchased. If you ask me whether they have been of any use, I’d say “yes, they have.” But a weakness has been found. As far as I know from talking to people familiar with it, a limit of this device is that it relies on static charges within the body of the user. Hence, sometimes if the user hasn’t had enough rest or is not well-prepared, the detector’s effectiveness will be reduced. So, at the moment, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board is asking for similar detectors, maybe with different names or brands, but which  are battery-operated. They will replace the GT200.

[Original quotation in Thai]:

“ในอดีตเนี่ยมีการซื้ออุปกรณ์ตัวนี้มา ถามว่าได้ประโยชน์มั้ย ก็ได้ประโยชน์ครับ แต่ว่ามีการพบครับว่า มันมีจุดอ่อน คือเครื่องนี้เนี่ย เท่าที่ผมได้มีโอกาสพูดคุยกับผู้ที่เกี่ยวข้อง ก็คือว่า มีจุดอ่อนตรงที่ว่า ยังต้องอาศัยเรื่องของกระแสไฟฟ้าในตัวคนที่ใช้ เพราะฉะนั้นบางทีสภาพของตัวบุคคลที่ไปตรวจนะครับ ถ้า อาจจะพักผ่อนน้อยไป ไม่มีความพร้อมเนี่ย ก็จะทำให้เครื่องนี้เนี่ย ขาดประสิทธิภาพ เพราะฉะนั้นขณะนี้เนี่ย แนวที่ ปปส. ขอดำเนินงาน ก็คืออุปกรณ์ในแบบเดียวกันครับ แต่ว่า อาจจะเรียกว่าคนละยี่ห้อหรือคนละชื่อ ที่มีพลังงานในตัวเอง จะถูกนำมาใช้แทน”

Perhaps the PM had been briefed by some security officials before the programme, and that was probably his only source of information. He should be pretty embarrassed to know that even The Nation sounds more sensible than him. From the same report:

Just like the ADE651, no tests have proved the GT200 to be totally effective.

[...]

Yet, the GT200 failed to detect many bombs in the deep South, which led to several tragic incidents. Last October, two bombs killed two people and injured dozens of others in Yala and Narathiwat provinces after the so-called bomb detector failed to detect any explosive devices in the area. However, military officials say the operators were in an excited state, which prevented the equipment from working properly.

In reality though, bomb detectors like the GT200 have never succeeded in double-blind tests. A test of the equipment conducted for Thai authorities by a sales agent resulted in a “random chance” finding, which meant a sniffer dog would be better at detecting explosives.

A 1999 guideline from the US Justice Department regarding commercial explosive-detection systems said so far, there were no devices that could successfully detect specific materials like explosives as part of controlled double-blind tests.

[...]

An Chulalongkorn University engineer said the bomb detector was being used in the deep South as if it were a magic dowsing rod.

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. GT200 Conclusion: Big Names Exposed
2. GT200 Dowsing Rod Update: Gen Anupong Bans Further Purchases Pending Investigation
3. GT200: The Only Remaining Obstacle

Political pundits are in agreement that PM Abhisit’s failure to get his nominee for the police chief position, Pol Gen Prateep Tunprasert, endorsed by the Royal Thai Police board was a slap in the face. Actually, make it a total of five smacks if you count the five votes against his one and only choice, including one insider strike from his own interior minister.

…

Is our Oxford-educated, upper class, cultured PM suffering from the same trap of being “too nice” to win a cut-throat game like Wimbledon’s Colt?

Well, is he really?

If we focus only on the Police Chief debacle, it indeed looks like a major embarrassment for Abhisit. His failure to push through the appointment of his preferred candidate as the new Police Chief can be viewed as a sign of weakness. Had it happened in the early months of his premiership, we could have already written him off as another pretty face whose lack of experience and decisiveness made him crumble under the pressure of the cut-throat world of politics.

Yet, if we take into account the April red-shirt riot, then in my opinion Abhisit has already proved that he is more than just a pretty face. For all his other flaws, it cannot be denied that in such a tough situation the PM showed the ability to make swift decisions to put down the insurgency. True, the government itself was partly to blame for underestimating the red shirts’ capability and allowing the situation to escalate, but Abhisit thoroughly deserved credit as he managed to get the Army firmly on his side as part of the government’s effort to restore order. While I do not entirely agree with the crackdown, the fact that Abhisit was able to be in command, having survived an (alleged) attempt on his life, is enough to prove that he has the necessary leadership quality to lead the country.

For Atiya and others who still doubt Abhisit’s ability to lead as he struggles to impose his authority over the police top brass, rather than asking whether he is too nice to be a leader, a more appropriate question would be “Where is the Abhisit of old, the man who prevailed over the Song Kran riot?”

Related posts (automatically generated):

1. “When Abhisit Looks in the Mirror, He Will See Thaksin.”
2. Abhisit Faces Foreign Diplomats
3. ‘Watermelon’ Soldiers