Asean Contemplates Requesting Pardon for Aung San Suu Kyi

15 August 2009

Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya stated yesterday that Asean is considering submitting a request to the Burmese head of state Than Shwe for the pardon of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Burmese court sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to a further 18 months of house arrest following the unexpected visit by American John Yettaw who swam across Inya Lake to her residence in May.

As Asean chair, Thailand has circulated a letter to Asean members, including Burma, to secure a consensus on the request for pardon. If members are in agreement, the request will be officially submitted to the Burmese leader.

Malaysia has called for Asean to hold an urgent meeting to discuss a plan for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. However, Kasit Piromya said that few Asean members agreed to the meeting, and that some members felt that Asean had clearly expressed their concerns in this regard.

Delayed Consent for Rayong Projects

14 August 2009

Approval by the Industry Ministry for petrochemical, power, and industrial projects worth a combined 60 billion baht has been delayed due to uncertainty regarding environmental regulations.

A decision to approve or disapprove the projects will be made at the public-private partnership meeting next Wednesday, with assistance by the Industrial Works Department.

The issuing of project licenses in Rayong and surrounding areas by the Industry Ministry was scheduled for this week. Nevertheless, the implementation of a recent Royal Decree, which authorizes the Ministry to issue a license for projects that have passes an environmental impact assessment, was unclear to government authorities. 

Trade Growth Expected After Signing of Indian-Asean FTA

14 August 2009

Growth in goods trading between India and Asean is anticipated after the signing of the Indian-Asean Free Trade Agreement in Bangkok yesterday. The FTA will come into effect next year.

Import tariffs between Asean and India will be reduced to zero on 71 percent of trade in goods by 2013, and zero for another 9 percent by 2016.

Around 500 to 600 items on sensitive lists will have import duties lowered to 5 percent by 2016. A further five highly sensitive items such as palm oil, refined palm oil, tea, coffee, and pepper will have tariffs reduced from 70 percent to 45 percent by 2019.

Tariffs will remain unchanged for 489 items.

Trade in goods reached 47 billion USD last year, although the implementation of the FTA is expected to increase trade to 60 billion USD by 2016.

A proposal for liberalization of services should be more distinct in October and subsequently lead to an agreement.

Public Prosecutor to Appeal Viktor Bout’s Judgement

14 August 2009

The public prosecutor will appeal the lower court’s decision to reject the extradition request by the US government of alleged Russian arms dealer Bout and dismiss his case.

In an undercover operation with US agents posing as Colombian rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Bout was arrested in a Bangkok hotel after claims that he allegedly agreed to provide arms to Colombian rebels.

The Thai judge declined the request for extradition on the basis that the FARC is not considered to be a terrorist organization under Thai law, unlike its current inclusion in the list of terrorist organizations of the US government. Thailand considers FARC more a political movement which would exclude extradition under the Thailand and US treaty.  

Bout will remain in prison during the 30-day period for lodging an appeal. He was arrested in March 2008.

The US has charged Bout with allegedly shipping arms to support numerous violent conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, and South America. He has denied the charges.