Showing 1 - 10 of 38
Pull police into line
News, Editorial, Published on 10/09/2015
» When police chief Somyot Poompunmuang met a group of 259 high- and middle-ranking immigration police officers on Monday, he gave them a document entitled: "Behaviour unbecoming of immigration officers which threatens the security and honour of the police".
Sanity absent in terror hunt
News, Editorial, Published on 09/12/2015
» Last week's revelation from Russian authorities of a terror threat to Thailand has the potential to get totally out of hand. The government has failed to show real backbone on this issue while police went off on a wild and unhelpful tangent.
Securing the tourism sector
News, Editorial, Published on 19/01/2016
» In an under-achieving and worrying economy, there has been one clear success. The statistics are impressive from every angle. Last year, 29.88 million tourists put 2.21 trillion baht into the economy.
Immigration gets overhaul
News, Editorial, Published on 26/01/2016
» In just under two months, the Immigration Bureau will officially begin arrests and tough new penalties against foreign law-breakers. The programme is in the hands of Pol Lt Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, one of the most experienced immigration officers.
Media visas battle 'unreal'
News, Editorial, Published on 29/02/2016
» The Foreign Ministry has begun a troubling campaign that focusses on the foreign media. Technically, it involves re-defining the requirements needed for journalists and media workers to obtain and extend M-class visas to enter and reside in Thailand. But while the changes are described as technical, even the foreign minister admits the real aim is to make it harder for the foreign press to work in Thailand. This is not acceptable.
The human exploiters
News, Editorial, Published on 22/06/2016
» Within a matter of weeks, the US State Department will once again be rating and ranking itself and the world on human trafficking. All eyes in Thailand will once again be on whether this so-called "gold standard" has promoted the nation from its recent position at the bottom of the barrel. The country was moved two years ago from Tier 2 to Tier 3, a list of shame that includes nations with actual slave labour like North Korea, and long-term violators without any intention to improve. This was an appropriate ranking for "the old Thailand". But the country now appears to fare much better.
Reverse the visa price hike
News, Editorial, Published on 23/08/2016
» If there has been a decision more off-key than last week's announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we missed it. It was during the seventh day of investigations into the murderous and high-profile bombings in the South that the ministry's Department of Consular Affairs posted a notice on its website. Effective from Sept 27, the fee for tourists applying for a visa on arrival will double to 2,000 baht.
Foolish move with Amnesty
News, Editorial, Published on 30/09/2016
» An attempt by the Labour Ministry and police to stop representatives of international human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) from releasing a report on the culture of torture and ill-treatment that has allegedly prevailed since the 2014 coup offers absolutely no benefit to the country.
Myanmar must open up
News, Editorial, Published on 04/07/2017
» Myanmar authorities continue to take actions that ultimately harm both the country and its image. Last week, the army, which is behind the times in helping the country to democracy, arrested three journalists for doing their jobs. Then the government, which should know better, issued a defiant statement that it was banning all United Nations investigators. There was no good reason for either action, and they are black marks on democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi's government.
Gimmicks won't win over tourists
News, Editorial, Published on 27/01/2019
» State authorities over past weeks have made big efforts to attract more Chinese tourists to come to Thailand.