PM lashes out over 'red card' suggestion
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PRIME Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha lashed out yesterday at a proposal from a European parliamentary committee to "red card" Thailand for illegal fishing practices, saying his government had taken better action than many other countries.
Gabriel Mato, from the European parliament committee on fisheries, had said earlier he would support a red card for Thailand, banning the import of Thai fishery products, if the Kingdom failed to curb illegal fishing and abandon the use of slave labour.
Prayut retorted by saying his government had done its best in tackling the problem. “Today we are sincere about addressing the problem that many countries have not tried to solve it. Why haven’t they been [punished]?” he asked.
In April, the European Commission gave Thailand a yellow card, warning that authorities must improve conditions in the fishery industry, which exports its products mainly to Europe. Thailand was given six months to solve the problems.
“Thailand is a party to the United Nations conventions and also has an agreement with the EU. We are sincere in addressing the issue,” PM said.
Prayut was also furious with the National Human Right Commission (NHRC) for its comments earlier on the poor living and working conditions of fishery workers.
“I agree that the NHRC has to protect individuals, but it should look after everyone – be they abused or not. Also, officials should be treated with fairness. Instead, the NHRC has created misunderstanding in the country. Is creating conflict good for the country?” Prayut said.
The NHRC must think about humanity, international society and their country while exercising their duty, he said.
Prayut exercised absolute power under Article 44 of the interim charter to halt the operation of illegal fishing trawlers and installed port-in-port-out measures to inspect them, and reported to authority on their operation.
Rear Admiral Jumpol Lumpiganon, spokesperson of the Command Centre for Combating Illegal Fishing (CCCIF), said the remaining problems on the Thai side had to do with the equipment used for fishing.
“We have tried to inform local fishermen and relevant industries about the impact of the use of certain fishing nets and practices. Operators have agreed to comply with regulations. Local people have been very cooperative, but they need time to adopt new practices,” he said.
Jumpol confirmed that Thai authorities and relevant agencies were working closely with EU agencies. All the measures applied by the government were in line with international regulations and norms, he said.
“Mato’s remark should be considered more of a personal opinion,” he said.
