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Thailand’s oil palm industry is leading the way for regional biopower projects and is more sustainable than operations in Indonesia and Malaysia which have faced global pressure for devastating old-growth forest and taking a wrecking ball to farming communities, experts say.

But while the local sector is breaking ground with its renewable energy projects, inefficiency, drought and poor farming methods are dragging on output. Read more…

By Greg Lowe

Asia-Pacific nations must renew their efforts to form a coherent and collaborative response to the region’s complex security risks and its inherent potential for instability, senior delegates at a high-level regional forum say.

Food and energy security, ethnic conflicts, insurgencies and rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula were key issues discussed at the 9th International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore last weekend. Some 320 delegates from 28 nations — including defense ministers, military and intelligence chiefs, and prominent figures from the private sector — attended the summit. Read more…

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

BUSINESSES that have been hit hard by months of protests and deadly clashes on the capital’s streets say that it is too early to assess the full impact of the recent violence on their operations.

Protesters rampaged across Bangkok on Wednesday, torching more than 30 buildings, after leaders of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship surrendered to police, ending more than two months of anti-government rallies in the city. [Read more →]

Armed clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters in Bangkok left 16 people dead and more than 100 injured, including three journalists.

This timely safety advice for reporters working in this increasingly dangerous city is based on consultation with a local security expert.

1. Consider if you really need to put yourself in the fire-zone for your story. Really do this, there are a lot of people running around covering the issue but without any commissions to actually get paid for it. So ask yourself again and again if you are being wise risking death or serious injury without actually being paid to cover the event for a news organisation. Remember a lot of the soldiers are young, inexperienced, hot, tired and scared. After 12 hours on the streets they may not be able to make very sound judgments in a confilict situation.

2. Wear light clothes, e.g. white top, light brown trousers. Avoid wearing black which is intimidating, especially when the UDD guards wear black and there have been incidents of men-in-black with AK47s shooting at soldiers. Don’t make yourself anymore of a target.

3. Carry first-aid kit, spare mobile batteries. Wear Kevlar if you have it. Under a top is better as you look less official. Bicycle helmets are good for head protection as they are thick and shrapnel will have further to travel through it.

4. If you hear a blast TURN AWAY FROM IT crouch with your back to it cover your head and stay that way for several seconds. Shrapnel can travel for hundreds of metres. If you can take cover do so, but be aware that secondary bombs are often placed at the most obvious cover.

5. Keep to the footpaths. Avoid open places and shops with plate glass windows.

6. If there is gunfire take cover and observe where the line of fire is travelling. E.g., is it random, sniper fire, travelling towards you (in which case you could be the target), or near to a person who is.

7. You have more safety in crowds. They absorb blasts and shrapnel.

8. If you see something happening, people shooting, etc., and want to take a look, be sure to look behind first otherwise you may inadvertently put yourself in the line of fire of someone who is behind you.

9. Do as much as you can to make yourself look neutral. Wear a flower. Make a point of smiling at the soldiers, protesters, etc.

10. If a hand grenade lands near you (which is possible) they normally have a 3-5 second fuse. Throw yourself on the ground face-down with the soles of your feet pointing towards the blast. Wear shoes with thick soles as these will prevent the shrapnel from traveling too far up your legs. Tuck in your chin, stick your fingers in your ears and open your mouth – this will help prevent your eardrums from bursting. Wear a small rucksack. Stick a few A4 pads in it. This will help stop shrapnel.

11. Avoid wearing jewellery. If you’re near a blast, it gets turned into shrapnel and gets embedded in you.

Again. These comments are to help give you some safety guidance if you HAVE to go and report on the situation. They are not guranateed to help you. Do not for an instance believe that by simply reading and acting on this list you will be safe. The situation is highly volatile and it has been proven to be deadly for too many people already. Question everything you are doing, especially the most important point – why am I putting myself at risk right now?

Much is made of Thailand’s economic fundamentals but the fact remains that the current political turmoil will only dampen economic activity, chase away tourists and investors and weaken the country’s overall performance.

Here are a few comments on the likely impact on the economy, these have all been made very recently, but not in response to last night’s clashes and the shooting of Seh Daeng. [Read more →]

by Greg Lowe

BANGKOK — Red Shirt anti-government protesters have conditionally accepted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s roadmap for national reconciliation in a move that is expected to end the rallies that have paralyzed parts of the capital for months.

Opinions are mixed over whether the plan can bring lasting peace to a country whose unity has become increasingly fractured along lines of wealth, development and the urban/rural divide. But many analysts believe the proposed dissolution of Parliament in the second half of September followed by a general election on Nov. 14 will see the Red-Shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) bring an end to its protests, which have lasted for more than two months now. Read more…

Last night the atmosphere on Silom Road was a far cry from the clashes between security forces and red shirt supporters on Viphawadi-Rangsit Road earlier that afternoon, which left one soldier dead and 18 people injured.

There were a few lines of police and soldiers dressed in riot gear, standing next to razor-wire cordons and guarding places such as the entrances to the BTS skytrain. Soldiers were holding shotguns or M16, but the magazines were not loaded. There was no sign of tension, no tinder box waiting to explode, and most of the security forces looked bored if anything. [Read more →]

Foreign Office says protests in Bangkok and beyond mean Britons should avoid all but essential visits to Thailand

Greg Lowe in Bangkok and Mark Tran

ONE THAI SOLDIER has died in clashes north of Bangkok between troops and red-shirted anti-government protesters agitating for the dissolution of parliament.

A Reuters photographer said the soldier was shot through his helmet as troops and riot police tried to stop a convoy of up to 2,000 red-shirts on pickup trucks and motorcycles who had left central Bangkok in to stage protests outside the capital. Read more…

The state of emergency declared in Bangkok late on Wednesday night has done little if anything to calm Thailand’s escalating political tensions.

The Emergency Decree issued by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva gives security forces extended powers to clear thousands of anti-government demonstrators from the heart of Bangkok’s luxury retail district. The protesters had been camped out there, at a cost of up to $430 million in losses to the country’s economy. Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the decree was issued to “return normalcy” as well as “safety and security” to Bangkok. But it has so far failed to accomplish those ends. Read more…

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THE Thai government’s declaration of a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding provinces will not significantly affect investor confidence in the country, says Thailand Trade Representative president Kiat Sittheeamorn.

The business community supports the government’s efforts to clear so-called Red-Shirt anti- government protesters from their rally point at Ratchaprasong intersection in the heart of Bangkok’s retail district, he said. [Read more →]