Good morning,

Thang Tun, Burmese Ambassador to the Philippines, has argued that the removal of fuel subsidies was not a political act but an economic one (http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8363). He argues that the number of vehicles on the roads has made it too expensive for the junta to continue with the policy. Irrespective of the truth of this, the military government has taken the opportunity of the demonstrations to take action against suspected or indeed actual democracy activists and other dissidents (http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8361). Ethnic minority groups have added their voices to those calling for the release of those arrested in connection with the demonstrations and for other reasons (http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8364).

The People’s Power Party is set to have a rival in the Isan region as scores of political hacks and their pals are thinking of setting up a rival party (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/27Aug2007_news01.php). The PPP is composed of a fair number of former Thai Rak Thai party members and is expected to score heavily in the poorer parts of Thailand which benefited so greatly from the redistributive policies of Thaksin Shinawatra’s government. Super-rich mob rabble-roused Sonthi Limthongkul was yesterday reported as planning to open his pockets again to bring the anti-democracy movement back into play to prevent any more pro-poor policies being enacted (http://www.bangkokpost.com/260807_News/26Aug2007_news01.php). PAD leader Suriyasai Katasila has been complaining that former Thai Rak Thai members (the party was dissolved and its leadership banned from politics by a court decision which exonerated every other party from the crimes they were supposed to have committed) were meddling with the junta’s courts (http://www.bangkokpost.com/260807_News/26Aug2007_news01.php). I am not making this up.

This is an interesting story from the Bangkok Post about the effects of the Pak Moon Dam on the lives of villagers (http://www.bangkokpost.com/Outlook/27Aug2007_out50.php).

Back tomorrow.