Tsunami Money Corruption

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in THE NATION:

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Where Did Our Tsunami Cash Go?

 

Western Countries Send Complaint to Police after Loss of Money Donated to Identify Victims

 

Seven major Western countries recently submitted a joint complaint to the Royal Police Headquarters alleging that money intended to help identify tsunami victims had been stolen, according to informed sources.

 

The sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, said funds contributed by Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and France amounted to almost Bt60 million.

 

The money was donated by the citizens of those countries, who wanted to help victims of the tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people in the Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi areas.

 

The source said more than 60 per cent of the funds were wasted and disguised as travelling and other miscellaneous costs. "To be frank, someone has stolen our citizens' money," said one of the sources, who has followed the victim identification process from the beginning.

 

Thailand Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI) was established by the international community in January 2005. With its disaster victim identification (DVI) operation, TTVI is considered the largest such multinational operation ever conducted. At one point there were at least 600 officials from Thailand and 30 other countries to help the victims.

 

In a joint letter dated November 22 addressed to General Kowit Watana of the Royal Thai Police, diplomats raised two pivotal issues: the status of DNA data of over 400 bodies and the bodies of over 400 missing victims which have not been located.

 

"Without any additional new information or discoveries of further bodies (now very unlikely), these last remaining bodies and missing people are sadly unlikely to be reconciled," the letter read.

 

The source said the Public Health Ministry had constantly refused to hand back DNA data.

 

"We want the data to be returned to the centre for further testing and matching," said the source.

 

The issue was raised in the letter in a more polite way. It said that during the first 10 days after the tsunami, approximately 2,000 bodies were released to relatives. Among them, the diplomats believed, were some misidentified bodies. At the time, nobody wanted to raise any questions as efforts were concentrated on helping the tsunami victims.

 

The diplomats also urged the Royal Thai Police to help ensure that DNA analysis is completed by tomorrow, the second anniversary of the tsunami. Since the letter's submission, there has been no response from the police or the Foreign Ministry, which was given a copy of the complaint.

 

The most damaging part of the letter was the request to have an internal audit concerning the funds. The sources claim to have reliable information that the funds contributed by the seven countries were misused. It requested an internal auditing by "a reputable and qualified private accountancy company" covering the period from January 2005 until the present time.

 

The sources said the US government had agreed to meet the costs of the audit using the funds available in the tsunami-related cooperative agreement with the TTVI and DVI, which began in January 2005.

 

The letter said that "any such misuse would be an especially sensitive and distressing matter for us all, given the generous-spirited and cooperative nature of the whole DVI operation".

 

According to General Amarin Niumsakul, assistant police commissioner-general, the letter from the envoys alleging misuse of funds was a serious allegation, which he said could be a misunderstanding.

 

Deputy police commissioner-general General Achiravit Suwanphesad said the funds were used not only by Thai officials but foreign experts as well.

 

The joint letter, which was also addressed to Foreign Minister Nitya Phibulsonggram, was signed by Sweden's Lars Erik Backstrom, German Ambassador Dr Christoph Bruemmer, Dutch Ambassador Pieter Marres, Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafstrom, British Ambassador David Fall, US Ambassador Ralph Boyce and France's charge d'affaires Pascal le Deunff.

 

This is the first time that such a large group of Western countries has questioned the integrity of Thai police in an official letter.

 

The Nation

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To view the letter, click the following link: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/monday_letter.gif

[Guest stef]

The following appears in THE NATION:

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Where Did Our Tsunami Cash Go?

 

Western Countries Send Complaint to Police after Loss of Money Donated to Identify Victims

 

 

That really sucks if something like that did happen.......

 

[Guest aot87]

That really sucks if something like that did happen.......

I would assume that there was some prove ,other wise you would not get the dipolmats signing a letter that was releasted to a newspaper

[Smiles]

" ... That really sucks if something like that did happen ..."

Good god man, where on earth have you been hanging out?

Corruption ~ the petty variety & the Big Money stuff ~ is as endemic, and as much a part of Thailand's social "workings" as is eating and sanook. It's so pervasive it's almost quaint.

 

There are two ways for Thai people to 'get things done' ... the slow way and the fast way: the latter being Baht under the table.

My old man received his driver's licence the same day (as opposed to taking a drivers test and a longer wait): He bought it.

 

It's the massively corrupt underbelly of the beast . . . and it's bigger than you or me.

 

Cheers ...

 

[Guest stef]

Good god man, where on earth have you been hanging out?

Corruption ~ the petty variety & the Big Money stuff ~ is as endemic, and as much a part of Thailand's social "workings" as is eating and sanook. It's so pervasive it's almost quaint.

 

There are two ways for Thai people to 'get things done' ... the slow way and the fast way: the latter being Baht under the table.

My old man received his driver's licence the same day (as opposed to taking a drivers test and a longer wait): He bought it.

 

It's the massively corrupt underbelly of the beast . . . and it's bigger than you or me.

 

Cheers ...

 

always trying something unusual Mister Smiles. Well let's say that " Obviously ", I haven't been hanging out in the same places as you did, and quite very happy of the places I did hang around.

 

Being such an expert as you are my Dear Smiles, I will take it that you are just telling the thruth.

 

Anything else Sir ?

 

 

 

 

[Guest wowpow]

I watched a distressing BBC report on Tsunami funds.

 

 

 

1) The promised funds from countries around the World largely did not materialize or were vastly reduced on what was promised. I remember China had promised 300 million dollars and eventually paid 5 million.

 

 

 

2) The Charities who received money are still sitting on large sums - including the International Red Cross.

 

 

 

3) There was no mention in that report that I remember of Thailand's money going astray.

 

 

 

There are still many homeless families and destitute survivors - particularly in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

 

 

 

Sometimes one despairs of humanity.