BANGKOK: Phuket's authorities must be brave enough to tell Thailand's coup commander that the holiday island faced a disaster ''worse than the tsunami'' unless the 10pm curfew is lifted, the President of the Entertainment Association of Patong, Weerawit Kuresombut, said last night.
''The governor and others on Phuket need to show courage to tell Bangkok that enormous damage will be done to Thailand's tourism revenue stream if this is not sorted quickly.''
Khun Weerawit said the coup leaders should be made to understand that there has never been a serious protest on Phuket, and that ordering ''lights out at 10pm'' simply means a big drop in revenue for Thailand as tourists cancel their bookings and decide to go to other destinations.
''There is no logic in maintaining a curfew in places where there has never been a real protest,'' he said.
''It's not just the Soi Bangla walking street but resorts, restaurants, taxis - all the businesses associated with tourism. Keep up the curfew and everyone will soon be suffering.''
If no relief was given to Phuket, life was going to get ''very, very tough'' on the holiday island, he said.
Economics and international relations were the big issues in Bangkok yesterday.
Coup commander General Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered the Finance Ministry to repay rice farmers, burned by the failed rice subsidy scheme, all of the 80 billion baht owing to them - within the next 20 days.
There was no hint of what might happen if the money was not repaid to deadline.
The general also gave a 20-day deadline for repayment of billions of baht owed under the former government's populist ''first car'' scheme.
Acknowledging that there were probably people better at handling Thailand's economy, the general handed over responsibility for financial issues to the Air Force commander, Air Commodore Prajin Juntong..
General Prayuth met yesterday afternoon with Bangkok-based ambassadors and other officials from more than 20 countries. He told them that reforms were definitely needed before the next national election.
''We have to do it, and the military will work like a government,'' he said. ''But we will not take charge for a long time.''
General Prayuth said that he did not want to take charge, but all the other stakeholders had entrenched positions and ''had no intention of taking a step backwards.''
When the key participants called to the Army Club this week to determine Thailand's future could not reach agreement on the way ahead, General Prayuth knew it was time to act.
While he asked the key players to ''do their homework'' overnight between meeting sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, he also did his own homework.
He realised on Thursday that compromise was impossible, so he opted to apprehend everyone present and stage a coup.
While it might seem outrageous to people used to more conventional democracies, the coup is a historical gambit in Thailand once all other options are exhausted.
And many observers believe bloodshed would have been inevitable this weekend if the Army had not interceded.
The only question was how many people might have been killed, and whether the conflict would ignite wider tension throughout the country.
''We did not want this in the Army's hands but the rationale for acting could not be ignored,'' the general said.
According to people who were at the Army Club meetings, the key players showed no signs of compromising in the national interests.
Having faced off as rivals with each other for six months, that was hardly surprising.
The general said he now intended to ''move Thailand forward.''
''We will solve the problems together,'' he said. His immediate aims are to make the country harmonious and to introduce reforms before the next election.
The general is due to retire in September. He says he will only stay on if he needs more time to complete the task.
''The governor and others on Phuket need to show courage to tell Bangkok that enormous damage will be done to Thailand's tourism revenue stream if this is not sorted quickly.''
Khun Weerawit said the coup leaders should be made to understand that there has never been a serious protest on Phuket, and that ordering ''lights out at 10pm'' simply means a big drop in revenue for Thailand as tourists cancel their bookings and decide to go to other destinations.
''There is no logic in maintaining a curfew in places where there has never been a real protest,'' he said.
''It's not just the Soi Bangla walking street but resorts, restaurants, taxis - all the businesses associated with tourism. Keep up the curfew and everyone will soon be suffering.''
If no relief was given to Phuket, life was going to get ''very, very tough'' on the holiday island, he said.
Economics and international relations were the big issues in Bangkok yesterday.
Coup commander General Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered the Finance Ministry to repay rice farmers, burned by the failed rice subsidy scheme, all of the 80 billion baht owing to them - within the next 20 days.
There was no hint of what might happen if the money was not repaid to deadline.
The general also gave a 20-day deadline for repayment of billions of baht owed under the former government's populist ''first car'' scheme.
Acknowledging that there were probably people better at handling Thailand's economy, the general handed over responsibility for financial issues to the Air Force commander, Air Commodore Prajin Juntong..
General Prayuth met yesterday afternoon with Bangkok-based ambassadors and other officials from more than 20 countries. He told them that reforms were definitely needed before the next national election.
''We have to do it, and the military will work like a government,'' he said. ''But we will not take charge for a long time.''
General Prayuth said that he did not want to take charge, but all the other stakeholders had entrenched positions and ''had no intention of taking a step backwards.''
When the key participants called to the Army Club this week to determine Thailand's future could not reach agreement on the way ahead, General Prayuth knew it was time to act.
While he asked the key players to ''do their homework'' overnight between meeting sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, he also did his own homework.
He realised on Thursday that compromise was impossible, so he opted to apprehend everyone present and stage a coup.
While it might seem outrageous to people used to more conventional democracies, the coup is a historical gambit in Thailand once all other options are exhausted.
And many observers believe bloodshed would have been inevitable this weekend if the Army had not interceded.
The only question was how many people might have been killed, and whether the conflict would ignite wider tension throughout the country.
''We did not want this in the Army's hands but the rationale for acting could not be ignored,'' the general said.
According to people who were at the Army Club meetings, the key players showed no signs of compromising in the national interests.
Having faced off as rivals with each other for six months, that was hardly surprising.
The general said he now intended to ''move Thailand forward.''
''We will solve the problems together,'' he said. His immediate aims are to make the country harmonious and to introduce reforms before the next election.
The general is due to retire in September. He says he will only stay on if he needs more time to complete the task.
Actually, by shutting down Phuket, maybe the government will then realise what a money maker Phuket actually is and treat it better in the future.
Of course, businesses are now suffering but as I mentioned, this could be beneficial in the long term when Bangkok Coffers are not filled any more.
One other good thing, no one needs to pay money to keep their venue open late. So the corrupt suffer.
Posted by Tbs on May 24, 2014 10:19