THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Junta wins praise for plan to lift travel ban

Junta wins praise for plan to lift travel ban

THE GOVERNMENT’S plan to lift a travel ban on a select group of politicians and activists was praised yesterday as a sign of a relaxing of political tensions.

The junta said yesterday that the lifting of the ban reflected an improved political situation and it was not concerned the move would result in political turmoil.
The National Council for Peace and Order will soon release a name list of politicians and political activists whose travel ban will be lifted on Wednesday, NCPO spokesman Colonel Piyapong Klinpan said yesterday.
The travel ban however will remain for politicians who have court trials, including ex-PM Yingluck Shinawatra and Pheu Thai Party core leaders Chaturon Chaisang and Wattana Muangsuk.
Pheu Thai Party politicians welcomed the junta’s decision to revoke the travel ban.
“I’m so glad that I get my right [to travel abroad without seeking permission from the junta] back,” Pichai Naripthaphan, a Pheu Thai key figure, said.
Shortly after the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) staged a coup two years ago, they imposed the ban that prohibits a select group of politicians and activists from leaving the country without permission.
Pichai, who has sought permission to leave the country many times, said over the past two years he had faced difficulty in travelling overseas and sometimes he was not permitted to leave the country, even when he was invited by well-known organisations from the United States and Europe. 
He said the NCPO should comply with relevant United Nations charters in order to avoid damaging the country’s image and reputation and to avert the risk of being sanctioned by the United Nations and the world community.
Somkid Chua-kong, a former Pheu Thai MP for Ubon Ratchathani, said it was good that the junta had lifted the ban because it was not justified. The politician said he believed the junta’s decision to lift the ban resulted from pressure by the international community.
Banjerd Singkaneti, dean of the National Institute Development Administration’s Faculty of Law said the lifting of the ban was a good sign.
“It is good news and a good sign that will help relax political tensions,” he said. 
He suggested that the upcoming referendum on the charter draft would be useful if it were carried out with liberty and freedom of expression.
“Compared with the 2007 [Constitution] referendum, this August referendum faces restrictions more than the previous one,’’ he said.
He said that if the charter draft did not pass the referendum, the government was likely to have a backup plan. 
“Judging from its announcement that the election will be held in 2017, the new charter would be concise and written within a short time,’’ he added.
NCPO spokesman Piyapong said the junta was scrutinising its orders issued earlier to ban politicians and political activists from leaving the country such as order 1/2557, 2/2557, 3/2557 and order 80/2557.
He said after staging the coup the NCPO summoned groups of politicians and activists to seek their cooperation and asked them not to leave the country without permission. 
Piyapong said the NCPO lifted the travel ban to reflect the improved political situation and to ease political tensions ahead of the referendum.
He added that the council had considered the matter thoroughly and did not believe revoking the ban would not result in political turmoil. 
“We did not ease all the rules as we need to maintain tight grips on some issues. We relaxed the rules because we believe we are Thais alike,’’ he said.
Piyapong denied media reports the council had called an urgent meeting to discuss security issues, saying the meeting held on Friday covered regular agenda matters and nothing special. 
“We discussed identifying works to be carried out by the council and the government as we need to clearly separate our work and responsibilities so that these tasks can be handed over to related state agencies when the council steps down,’’ he said.
The work includes the civil aviation and illegal fishing problems, he said.
 
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