reader Posted April 30 Posted April 30 From Thai PBS World The Air Force is demanding 3 billion baht in compensation from Airports of Thailand (AOT) for the proposed use of the Kantarat Golf Course, which is located between the airport’s two main runways, for the expansion of Don Mueang international airport, said Jirayu Huangsap, spokesman for the Defence Ministry today. The House committee on the transfer of military business today invited representatives of the AOT, the Air Force, the Airports Authority of Thailand and the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand for a discussion today about AOT taking over the golf course land in Don Mueang for expansion of the airport, said Jirayu, who is also chairman of the House committee. Kirati Kitmanawat, AOT president, told the meeting that, for the sake of aviation safety, the takeover of the golf course is necessary. Even though the International Civil Aviation Organisation had declared that the risk posed to aviation operations at the airport by the golf course was acceptable, Kirati noted that, on several occasions, golfers have breached restrictions by driving golf carts across the taxi ways, despite the warning signals. ================= From Thai PBS World Cutting through the tangled web of Thai military’s business interests While it has been widely known for a long time that the Thai military is heavily involved in business and commercial interests, the anatomy of businesses under the control of the armed forces is hardly known, as most of them have been concealed. The House of Representatives set up an ad hoc committee in late January to explore the possibilities of freeing the military from involvement in businesses in a bid to rid the armed forces of corruption and conflict of interest, so they could stay focused on their primary responsibility: national defense. The public in Thailand got a glimpse of the dark side of the military’s business activities in early 2020 when a junior army officer went on a shooting rampage, killing 30 people including himself, in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province in a rage over a business deal involving a housing welfare scheme. In a move to regulate business-related welfare schemes within the barracks, then Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Finance Ministry’s Treasury Department in February 2020 to classify the types of business from which the Army needed to share revenue with the department. The Navy and the Air Force also have numerous business interests in various sectors, but they did not toe the Army line. They argued that they were involved in many businesses for the internal welfare of troops and their families, rather than making profit for commercial purposes. https://www.thaipbsworld.com/cutting-through-the-tangled-web-of-thai-militarys-business-interests/ vinapu 1 Quote
