Faithful mark Buddhist All Saints Day with rituals steeped in tradition
Buddhist faithful attend a religious ceremony
at Wat Nong
Yai on Makha Bucha day.
Staff reporters
Crowds of Buddhist faithful visited temples throughout the
kingdom and abroad on February 28 to worship and make merit on Makha Bucha
Day (Buddhist All Saints Day). This important occasion for Buddhists marks
the first sermon of the Lord Buddha to 1250 monks.
Locally, Wat Chaimongkol, Wat Sawang Fa, Wat Photisamphan,
Wat Boonkanjanaram and Wat Nong Yai were filled to capacity when thousands
of devout Buddhists turned out to conduct ceremonies that have been
performed throughout Buddhist history, and make merit for themselves and
their families.
Many also prayed for His Majesty the King’s health and
quick recovery.
Anan, 59, who turned to religion and the temple to
meditate for inner peace on this most holy day said, “Making merit is
considered the most holy act of benevolence. On Makha Bucha Day, I hope and
I pray for peace in our country and may all that is sacred grant His Majesty
the King good health.”
The morning ceremonies were filled with people presenting
alms to monks (“tak baht”) and listening to monks preach the Dharma, or
teachings, of the Buddha.
Ceremonies were continued in the evening, with many
people performing the “Wien Thien” whereby believers light candles and
circle the temple’s prayer room three times, paying homage to the “Triple
Gem” or the Buddha, Dharma (Buddhist teachings) and Sangha (monks).
This holy day commemorates the miraculous event when
1,250 disciples of the Buddha, Gautama Sakayamuni, traveled to Weluwan
Mahawiharn Temple in the area of Rachakhryha, India to meet with the Buddha
with no prearranged agreement.
Worshipping or ‘Bucha’ occurs on the 15th Day of the
waning moon of the third lunar month, or ‘Makha’. This year the event fell
on Sunday, February 28.
Somying, 52, said, “I am a vegetarian and uphold the
precepts of Buddha Dharma in my daily life. I feel that because of the
unstable social and economic situation in Thailand, the Thai people can take
solace in Buddhism by making merit on Makha Bucha Day which we hope and pray
will bring peace and prosperity to our people and our country.”
Banks, government offices and some businesses were closed
on Monday, March 1 in observance of the holy day. Many bars were closed on
Sunday, February 28 as a sign of respect for the nation’s religion.
The day gained official recognition in Thailand during
the reign of King Rama IV and became a nationally observed day with all
government institutions closing down and observing the rituals associated
with Buddhist commandments.
Other countries where the Buddhist faith is predominant
and where Makha Bucha Day is officially observed as a national day include
Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and India. Other countries with
populations observing the day but in limited numbers include China, Korea
and Vietnam.
Disseminating the Buddha’s teachings and the journey to
meet with the Buddha on the 15th night of the 3rd lunar month are part of
the historical events that include the sermons and truths spoken by the
Buddha.
Having good intentions, not harming others, avoiding evil
actions and making the heart and mind pure in thought were among the truths
spoken by the Buddha. Additionally, other truths spoken by the Buddha
cautioned individual restraint in all that attracts one’s attention, to
include desiring possessions belonging to others, and exploiting others for
personal gain.
Before departing, the Buddha also referred to the
people’s interest in making merit, gaining self-esteem and a comfortable
reassurance that moral integrity exists. More importantly, having faith in
the “Triple Gem” (Phraratanatrai) was illustrated by emphasizing the
importance of avoiding drunken, irresponsible and immoral behavior, and
maintaining focus on supporting loved ones while being content in one’s
existence with friends and without selfish greed.
HM the King returns to hospital after short palace visit
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej returned to Siriraj
Hospital early Sunday after a brief visit to his home at Chitralada Palace.
HM the King left Siriraj Hospital Saturday night for the
first time after being admitted for treatment of a lung inflammation on
September 19 last year.
Wearing a pink shirt, the monarch sat in a wheelchair
with his pet dog at his side on Saturday night. His van arrived at the
palace, passing rows of his subjects, sitting along the way, shouting
encouragement by voicing “Long Live the King’.
The 82-year-old monarch has appeared in the public only
twice during his hospital stay, on two special occasions - Chulalongkorn Day
on October 23 and in November for the Loy Krathong festival.
The disappearance from the public eye of the world’s
longest-reigning monarch has caused great concern among the Thai public and
was linked to the largest decline in some two months in the Stock Exchange
of Thailand in October after rumors circulated among investors of a
deterioration in HM the King’s health. (TNA)
Thai court orders assets seized from ex-PM Thaksin
Grant Peck
Bangkok (AP) - Thailand’s highest court ruled Friday that
ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra abused his power to enrich himself and his
family while in office and ordered that $1.4 billion of his
telecommunications fortune be seized.
The ruling likely disappoints, if not angers, Thaksin’s
millions of partisans, boding ill for mending the rifts in Thai society
after four years of political unrest centered around him.
However, some analysts suggested the court’s decision not
to seize all 76 billion baht ($2.3 billion) at stake was a compromise that
could foster reconciliation.
Thaksin was deposed by a September 2006 military coup
after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. The action was meant
to quell tensions sparked by months of anti-Thaksin protests, but instead
polarized the country.
“The conflict won’t go away immediately. This verdict
will simply allow the Thai people to cautiously carry on their lives the
same way they have for the past two years,” said Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a
law professor at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. “I think we need to wait
until the next general election to learn if the conflict will end.”
The country had increased security leading up to the
verdict, but no major violent reaction was immediately reported. Thaksin,
speaking by video link from exile, told his supporters to continue to fight
for what he terms justice and democracy, but to do so nonviolently.
The passions Thaksin sparked led to the occupation of the
seat of government for several months and seizure of the capital’s two
airports for a week by his opponents in 2008, and rioting and disruption of
a conference of Asian heads of government by his supporters last year.
His so-called Red Shirt supporters continue to rally on
his behalf, and have promised a “million-man march” for later this month.
They seek to force the government of current Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva, a Thaksin opponent, to call new elections.
Thaksin and his followers insist he was ousted because
Thailand’s traditional ruling class - the military, the bureaucracy and
circles close the royal palace - felt threatened by his political
popularity. He and his party won two sweeping election victories based on
populist policies that benefited the country’s poor rural majority.
Speaking Friday night, Thaksin told his followers that
unless they continued to struggle, “the country will remain in the hands of
the elite forever.”
He also insisted, with a vow that he be struck dead if he
were lying, that he never committed a corrupt act.
The Supreme Court ruled that in four of five cases
presented to it, the 60-year-old billionaire politician had used his
authority as the country’s leader in 2001-2006 to implement policies that
benefited him, sometimes at the expense of the state.
As a small consolation, the court said that only 46
billion baht ($1.4 billion) of 76 billion baht ($2.3 billion) of his
family’s assets that were frozen in Thai accounts after the coup should be
seized. With other cases pending against him and his family, it is unclear
when the remainder might be released. An unknown amount of Thaksin’s fortune
is banked overseas.
The Supreme Court said seizing all the assets “would be
unfair as some of it was made before Thaksin became prime minister.”
The most straightforward case of what is termed “policy
corruption” involved a US$127 million low-interest government loan to
Myanmar in 2004, which the court ruled Thaksin had promoted with the
intention of securing its purchase of satellite services from Shin
Satellite, then controlled by Thaksin’s family.
The other rulings charged that telecommunications
policies had resulted in benefits for companies he controlled.
“Had they ordered to seize all assets, people would think
Thaksin was not being treated fairly,” said law professor Prinya. “Now the
friction has decreased, but we still need to watch Thaksin’s next move.”
Audio of the judges reading the 7 1/2 hour verdict was
broadcast on several local television stations. Hundreds of people gathered
at the headquarters of the opposition Puea Thai party - allied to Thaksin -
booed as the final judgments were read. Some women began crying and one man
jumped up on a chair and started screaming at a television screen
broadcasting the proceedings.
“There is no justice in Thailand anymore,” said Krongtong
Phuengsang, a 65-year-old housewife. “The Red Shirt people will continue
fighting. But we will not create violence.”
Some chanted “Thaksin fight, fight” while others cursed
the court.
Thaksin struck a familiar mix of self-pity and defiance
in his video address from Dubai, his home in exile.
“Today’s lesson for businessmen, do not enter politics.
If something happens, they will confiscate your money,” he said. “Let me be
the last victim.” He was convicted in absentia in 2008 for a conflict of
interest violation and sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Suriyasai Katasila, a leader of the People’s Alliance for
Democracy movement that has spearheaded protests against Thaksin since 2006,
expressed satisfaction with the court’s decisions.
“I don’t think the amount of assets to be seized is more
significant than Thaksin’s wrongdoing being dissected and explained to the
people,” he said. “This verdict will set up standards for future governments
and politicians by letting them know the outcomes of abuse of power.”
Thanet Charoenmuang, a political science lecturer at
Chiang Mai University, said he felt the verdict “eases worries among the
public and could easily win the hearts of those in the middle.” He said it
“could be viewed as an attempt at compromise by the judges who considered
Thaksin’s actions unlawful.”
“The path to peace in Thai society depends on three
things: the Red Shirts’ movement, economic and social circumstances and the
government’s sincerity in solving the political conflict,” he said.
CARAT 2010 expected to begin mid-year
Patcharapol Panrak
The annual Thailand and United States-led CARAT multinational
naval exercise is expected to take place sometime in the middle of the year.
Rear Admiral Chaiyot Sunthonnak (left), commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Frigate Squadron 2 and Rear Admiral Nora W. Tyson (right), commander of the U.S. Logistics Group for the Western Pacific pose for an official photograph during their final CARAT organizational meeting in Sattahip.
Rear Admiral Chaiyot Sunthonnak, commander of the Royal
Thai Navy’s Frigate Squadron 2 and Rear Admiral Nora W. Tyson, commander of
the U.S. Logistics Group for the Western Pacific held their final
organizational meeting Feb. 23 in Sattahip, but no date for the exercise has
been released. It traditionally was held in June, following May’s annual
Cobra Gold war games. But the latter exercise’s move to February last year
has also affected the schedule for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and
Training.
Frigate Squadron 2 Rear Adm. Chaiyot Sunthonnak said that
the CARAT exercise gives Southeast Asian countries - including Thailand, the
Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia - the chance to
exchange information and expertise with their counterparts in the U.S. Navy
and Marine Corps.
The exercise will focus on increasing experience levels
for gunships, amphibious attack units and focus on marine security and
target practice in Thai territorial waters.
Frigate Squadron 2 will lead the Thai side of the
exercise, with the Royal Thai Fleet, Royal Thai Marine Corps Command, Air
and Coastal Defense Command, Naval Armament Department and Naval Medical
Department joining in. The U.S. will task Special Operational Naval Forces
712 and the Logistics Group with the responsibility of running their side of
the operation.
Mekong River countries work
together to help disabled citizens
Representatives from countries in the Mekong River
Basin begin working together to improve the lives of their disabled
citizens.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The five countries in the Mekong River Basin have begun
working together to improve the lives of their disabled citizens.
During a week-long sensitivity training session at
the Redemptorist Foundation for People with Disabilities for those
working with the disabled, government and private-sector officials from
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and host country Thailand discussed
programs to increase knowledge and understanding for the rights of
people with disabilities among organizations associated with their
welfare.
Suporntham Mongkolsawat, director of the Redemptorist
Vocational School for the Disabled, said the project - overseen in
Thailand by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and
National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities - is the
Mekong River Basin countries’ effort at complying with the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which calls on governments to
reduce barriers and discrimination against the disabled and give them
more power and independence in their lives.
Training programs outlined at the Feb. 21-27 seminar
call for creation of “power groups” to push for disabled rights,
recognize obstacles to member countries reaching international training
standards and creation of a training handbook. This also will serve as a
foundation for better networking among the five countries, Suporntham
said.
Free dog vaccinations,
sterilizations at Nong Yai Temple
Veterinarians and helpers conduct vaccinations and
sterilizations on dogs and cats at Nong Yai Temple.
Phasakorn Channgam
Pattaya and Chonburi veterinary surgeons will be offering free dog
vaccinations and sterilizations at Nong Yai Temple through April 20.
Services offered during morning hours include rabies
vaccinations, sterilization and anti-flea and worm medications. Owners
seeking sterilization are warned to not give their pet any food or water for
six hours prior to the injection.
The program comes as the government tries to corral the
growing number of stray dogs in the area, many of which start life as
household pets but are abandoned by their owners.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay said the treatments help not only the
animals, but people as well, which are kept safe from transmitted diseases.
4-meter python
swims to safety
Police and rescue workers wrestle with the monster snake after saving it from drowning in a local well.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
Animal rescue officials pulled a 4-meter-long python out of a
garbage-filled well by getting the snake to swim.
Sawang Boriboon Rescue Foundation officers were called to
the Pacific Park Village on Soi A.R. in North Pattaya after city worker
Nopadon Pankaew said he encountered a frazzled telephone line repairman who
saw the 20 kg. snake fall into the disused well.
A professional snake catcher was called in to corral the
slithery suspect, but couldn’t reach it due to a low water level and piles
of garbage that kept the snake mostly below surface level. So the technician
decided to fill up the well with water from a fire engine and the snake swam
to the surface and was easily snared.
All ended well for the snake as it was released into the
wild again later.
Ko Chan residents rally military, police to uphold peace
Residents of the Ko Chan district in Chonburi, dressed in
pink, march through the streets in their district to promote peace and
unity.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
About 200 residents of the Ko Chan district in Chonburi
presented bouquets of flowers to police and military personnel in front of
the Army Support Command in Chonburi to boost their morale in fighting crime
and unrest in the country.
Kittipong Chantanawiwat, president of the Ko Chan Village
Scouts, led the Feb. 24 delegation and was met by Col. Siriwat Tabtimtes,
chief of staff the 1st Army Support Command, and Col. Wiroj Noodsorn, chief
of the Combat Division.
Kittipong said the residents that participated value
love, peace and harmony, wish to see peace in the country, a good economy,
happy people and people being united. They wish to see the military and
police remain supporters of the people.
Kittipong also submitted a letter urging the military and
police to fight against all evil in society and create faith and trust in
the people. He also asked that they respect the monarchy and preserve
democracy.
Police breakup schoolgirl
prostitution ring
Police arrested Cholthicha Thapmanee and detained 4 school girls for
prostitution.
Boonlua Chatree
Police have broken up a ring of school girls who sold sexual
services to pay for their educations.
Acting on an informant’s tip, police arrested 18-year-old
Cholthicha Thapmanee, who admitted she ran an escort service for about 10
school-age girls. Customers called her on her mobile phone and she arranged
appointments for 1,500 baht, with her taking 500 baht of that as a
commission.
Police made the arrest Feb. 21 after using an undercover
officer to meet four teen girls at a Third Road restaurant. Once they paid
Cholthicha the 6,000 baht in marked notes, they took her into custody. Two
of the girls brought to the restaurant were under 18 and all four were from
Roi-Et Province.
Cholthicha told police she arranged the appointments at
the requests of the girls, who said they needed money to pay for their
schooling.
Another week brings another
Russian couple caught in the act
Boonlua Chatree
Another week, another Russian couple were caught having sex
on Pattaya Beach.
Seemingly not bothered by others looking on and taking photos, this Russian couple finally put their clothes on when police arrived.
In what has become an embarrassing regular event, police
converged on the sand near Bali Hai Pier in the wee hours of Feb. 22 to find
a crowd looking on and shooting pictures as two partially nude Russian
lovers engaged in intimate acts better left in the bedroom.
The couple was fined on the spot and simply got dressed and strolled back
on to Walking Street in search of a more-private venue.
Exorcism miraculously ‘cures’ poor Bang Saray girl supposedly possessed
after visit to haunted drug den
Kritsada Saenkhot (left) performs his ritual exorcism on
a 16-year-old as the girl’s father looks on.
Patcharapol Panrak
The parents of an apparently mentally disturbed girl blamed
ghosts and called in an exorcist to “cure” their daughter after her visit to
a supposedly haunted Bang Saray beach house often used as a drug den.
Rather than consult doctors, impoverished Pia and
Bunchouy Sornchanwong brought in a monk, an Indian-faith mystic and the
media to witness the alleged mental illness and strange behavior of their
16-year-old daughter. They said the girl has been ill since she wandered off
on Bang Saray Beach near their home and was found inside an abandoned
building portrayed on film and television as a haunted house and a site that
has seen a rape and frequent drug use by locals.
The girl’s parents, however, appealed to the media,
claiming their daughter was possessed, but they had no money to take her to
a doctor. They claimed she alternated between being nearly catatonic and
raving, couldn’t sleep, wouldn’t eat and is quickly distracted. She often
would speak in a man’s voice or not at all, and her parents expressed
concern that she acts more like a boy than a girl and often tries to run
away.
Neighbors believe the girl suffers from attention-deficit
disorder or other mental illness and urged them to seek professional help.
Instead, however, they took her to a local temple, where they had her
baptized by a monk in hopes it would bring her peace. To an extent it did,
as she slept more.
After their initial plea to the media brought attention,
but little cash, to their case, they called in reporters again to witness an
“exorcism” by a practitioner of Indian-style spiritual healing. Kritsada
“Ajarn Robert” Saenkhot laid the girl out on a sofa in the couple’s
dilapidated shack, used a twig to sprinkle allegedly “holy” water over the
girl and, miraculously, she suddenly awoke from her catatonic state,
professed to feel fine and asked to return to school.
Thais love a good ghost story, especially one with a
happy ending. But, just to be sure, father Pia plans to keep the girl at
home for a while to track her recovery.
Naklua karaoke manager
arrested for human trafficking
Kee Sukserm (left) has been arrested
for trafficking
three underage Laotian girls (right).
Boonlua Chatree
Chonburi Immigration Police arrested a Thai man and are seeking another
for running a brothel that employed underage Laotian girls.
Six immigration officers raided Chuanchom Karaoke in
South Naklua Feb. 13 after two undercover officers purchased the sexual
services of two 15-year-old girls from karaoke bar manager Kee Sukserm. The
27-year-old Loei native was arrested and police are looking for his
employer, a 50-year-old identified only as “Somkhuan.”
During the raid, investigators found three underage
Laotian girls, a ledger detailing the brothel’s operations and a book of
rental coupons for the hotel 20 meters from the karaoke bar officers were
told to meet the girls.
The girls told police they had entered Thailand on
Laotian passports and were taken to an associate of Kee’s in Loei. They were
then transported to Pattaya where their services were sold for 2,000 baht
per customer, of which they received only 400 baht.
Kee was charged with human trafficking and his case was
featured during last week’s presentation to Thailand’s deputy prime minister
in Bangkok as proof of the Immigration Police’s efforts to stamp out human
trafficking.
Raving Russian floored by Fairtex boxer after attacking hotel staff
Boonlua Chatree
A raving Russian took a knockout blow from a foreign boxer
after he allegedly hit a hotel security guard with a bottle and locked an
electrician in his room.
Police take in a handcuffed Baksa Zoltan for a stay in the local monkey house.
Police and Sawang Boriboon Foundation were called to the
Fairtex Hotel in North Pattaya around 4:30 a.m. Feb. 24 on a report that a
Russian man, who acted either drunk or high, had attacked hotel staff and
was in a standoff with guests while threatening them with a sharp piece of
metal.
Officers found Baksa Zoltan, 28, in a second floor
corridor where another guest, who was also training as a boxer at the
Fairtex sports complex, facing down each other as Thai staff and guests
looked on.
The standoff continued for nearly an hour until the boxer
managed to floor Zoltan with a punch to the face. Once the Russian was down,
the Thais too scared to approach him before set upon him in a pack, until
they could be pulled off by officers.
Injured security guard Phumirate Sangban, 28, said Zoltan
had checked into the hotel on Feb. 18, but was rarely seen with other people
and spent most of his time in his room. While patrolling the hotel that
night, Phumirate said he heard noise coming from the second floor and, upon
investigating, saw Zoltan had injured his hand somehow.
The guard said he and a hotel electrician went to tend to
the Russian’s bleeding hand and were attacked, with Zoltan allegedly hitting
Phumirate in the head with a bottle and locking the electrician in his room.
It was then he called police.
Medics treated Phumirate for his injury at the scene and
urged him to file charges against the rowdy Russian.
Navy launches annual
training exercise
Patcharapol Panrak
With the six-nation Cobra Gold exercise behind it, the Royal
Thai Navy continued its field training with a day of training exercises.
Thai forces storm a boat as part of their day of military training exercises.
Navy Commander in Chief Adm. Kamthorn Pumhiran opened the
exercise from the desk of the RTN Naraesuan at Laemtien Pier in Sattahip
Feb. 18. During the exercises, naval forces honed their battle-readiness,
including troop deployment, logistics, power usage and target practice.
Kamthorn said the war games emphasize making troops
combat-ready and covers all the steps of battle preparedness, from
pre-planning to field work to seminars on abstract concepts. A post-exercise
presentation will be developed to illustrate training for those who did not
participate.
The training ties in to the Eastern Seaboard’s emergency
preparedness plans and aims to improve the navy’s ability to position ships,
evacuate the public and counter terrorism.
|