The Prime Minister is over-confident. Just another self-pep talk. What is 'done' so far with thai involment in slavery and trafficking? A few arrest warrents. Not yet a single conviction in court with overwhelming evidence!! A Lt general, protected by the PM until evidence could not denied any longer.
As long Thailand is not pro-active and proof the world how the high thai official criminals go to serve years in the monkey house, that long Thailand will remain in Tier 3! Not getting out of Tier 3 with just a bit bla bla.

Posted by Kurt on June 7, 2015 13:24

"He (General Prayuth) has said that he does not expect the international community to fully understand the situation in a short period of time ..."

I expect that some people in the international community might find those words just a bit condescending.

The PM has made a good start. It took nearly a year but he has made a good start.

However his words, which are clearly directed at a domestic audience, won't endear him too much to the international community while there is still much to be done and while heavy constraints remain upon the media.

Posted by Frank on June 7, 2015 14:00

Thailand might need a special unit of police who are incorruptible.

The US brought down Al Capone with a special FBI unit and their Internal Revenue Service.

I would like too see a special unit of Thai police be given ultimate command of Navy ships that could be used to make spot checks of Thai fishing vessels that are notorious for using slave laborers from Burma, Cambodia and Thailand.

It would also give the Royal Thai Navy something useful to do instead of instigating dodgy defamation actions against journalists.

Posted by Matt on June 7, 2015 16:17

Hi Editor
Your comment in reply to me was very interesting.

Maybe the Navy simply inspected those ships that were in Thai waters (?). If the slaves are kept in international waters for years at a time being passed from ship to ship then the slave owners can escape detection.

It might really disrupt the slave ship business plan if the Navy inspected those Thai fishing vessels flying a Thai flag in international waters. Thailand would have jurisdiction over ships flying a Thai flag.

If the Navy has a policy of keeping inspections close to Thailand then that plays straight into the hands of the slave owners.

I am sure the Navy is capable of venturing into international waters.

Posted by Matt on June 7, 2015 16:59

Mr Editor, I did react on your comment on my writing. I did explain that I respect the present PM for all what he is doing. It is a hell of a job for him to make Thailand free of corrupt government officials and all others. The PM has just 24 hours a day, there are limits in what he can establish time wise. True. I wrote you about corrupt thai Phuket officials and high influential people with more than 10 arrest warrants each. Out on bail!

Posted by Kurt on June 7, 2015 20:11

Dear Ed

Prime Minister Prayuth seems to be sending mixed messages if an AP report published in the Tapai Times is anything to go by.

According to AP, he has honored a journalist, police and officials who have helped expose the human trafficking problem.

As it turns out the journalist had focused on trafficking in the north of the country and not the south which is the region of the current crisis. I suppose it is a fair guess that the journalist was not with Phuketwan.

The article went on to say that Prayuth obliquely referred to another journalist as a troublemaker. That TV journalist from Bangkok had gone to shoot video weeks earlier on a migrant boat.

A consistent, consistent, consistent anti-trafficking message is what is needed.

Like some of your other readers I think Phuketwan should receive praise from the government rather than these terrible defamation charges from the Navy.

Posted by Ian Yarwood on June 8, 2015 00:32