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Paris delivers Seine swimming, but some still skeptical

A GENERAL VIEW of Paris and the River Seine, Aug. 1, 2024. — MAJA HITIJ/POOL VIA REUTERS

PARIS — Parisians will swim in the River Seine by the foot of the Eiffel Tower next year, Paris City Hall has pledged, although the high bacteria levels that delayed Olympic triathlon events this summer have left some residents and tourists hesitant over diving in.

France spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) turning a river frequently laden with sewage into one clean enough to swim in. Holding outdoor swimming events in the Seine would demonstrate its transformation to a global audience, Paris had hoped.

The triathlon events did go ahead. But earlier torrential rains led to a spike in bacteria in the river beyond safe levels, forcing the cancelation of training sessions and a days-long delay to the men’s race.

That and Be lgium’s decision to withdraw its team from the mixed triathlon relay after an athlete fell ill — even if there was no proof the river water was to blame — have not helped convince doubters of the Seine’s cleanliness.

“I don’t think we would swim in the river after all the coverage,” said British tourist Jack Wolper after his young daughter and wife took a dip in Paris’ Ourcq canal.

“This felt a bit more acceptable, but I don’t think we’ll be jumping in the Seine. If they delay an elite race by two days, that’s reason enough for us not to go swimming,” he added.

Paris resident Pedro Couri, 29, said he would wait for President Emmanuel Macron to fulfil his promise of swimming in the Seine before having a go himself.

“That might reassure me,” he told Reuters.

Others were more trusting in the Paris authorities.

“It’s reassuring that they postponed some races, it shows they don’t take any risk with quality water,” Jade Goasguen, 34, from the Paris suburb of Clichy said, adding she would happily try swimming in the Seine next year.

‘PLAN A WORKED’
The green light to hold the triathlon events hung on whether the concentration of the E.Coli and Enterococcus faecalis bacteria had fallen below European safe limit thresholds.

However, some scientists have said a broader range of bacteria should be tested to be certain the river is safe.

“E. coli doesn’t reliably tell you when the water quality has recovered to a safe level, and I think that’s the mistake that authorities in Paris have been making,” said Professor Stuart Khan of the University of Sydney.

Paris authorities say they comply with European safety guidelines and have been testing water in the Seine and other swimming facilities for years rigorously.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo and her team remain sanguine about their plans to open three swimming facilities along the Seine, including near the Notre-Dame cathedral and Eiffel Tower.

“I’ve been asked 777 times whether we had a plan B, plan C, plan E. We had just plan A, we stuck to it and it worked,” Pierre Rabadan, the official in charge of the Seine program at City Hall told reporters.

Funded by the government and Paris City Hall, the ambitious project to modernize the capital’s sanitation system included digging new pipes to houses and houseboats that once pumped raw sewage into the river, additional treatment plants and a cavernous reservoir underneath the capital’s Gare d’Austerlitz.

More work will be done upstream by 2025 to ensure other houseboats and towns outside Paris do not pollute water going through the capital, Mr. Rabadan said.

He added that Paris had faced a barrage of skepticism when it opened the Ourcq canal bathing facility, just outside the city center, seven years ago, but that it had been a huge success in the end.

“We’ll soon have the same issue we had with other facilities: we won’t have enough space for all the people who want to swim in the Seine next year,” he added. — Reuters

Chinese academic convicted of acting as foreign agent in US

ALEJANDRO LUENGO-UNSPLASH

NEW YORK — A Chinese academic was convicted on Tuesday of illegally acting as a foreign agent in the United States by collecting information about New York-based activists supporting democracy in China and sharing his findings with Beijing.

A jury found Wang Shujun guilty on four counts including acting as a foreign agent without notifying the US attorney general and lying to US authorities, following a week-long trial in Brooklyn federal court.

Mr. Wang could face up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 9, 2025.

Federal prosecutors said Mr. Wang, a naturalized US citizen, portrayed himself as a fierce opponent of the ruling Chinese Communist Party to gain the trust of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, advocates for Taiwanese independence and campaigners for Uyghur and Tibetan rights.

Prosecutors said Mr. Wang was actually spying on the activists and sharing his findings with four officials in China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), an intelligence service.

“The indictment could have been the plot of a spy novel, but the evidence is shockingly real,” Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said in a statement. “Wang was willing to betray those who respected and trusted him.”

Mr. Wang, who emigrated to the United States in 1994, was arrested in March 2022.

Defense lawyer Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma said Mr. Wang spoke to the intelligence officials about the pro-democracy movement to win their support and promote social change, and was not acting as their agent.

Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma said he respected the jury’s verdict and would request a sentence that spares Mr. Wang the “agony” of prison.

“We look forward to sentencing,” Margulis-Ohnuma told reporters after the verdict. “He’s a 76-year-old man. He certainly didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He’s spent his life fighting the communist regime.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has in recent years cracked down on what it calls “transnational repression” by U.S. adversaries such as China and Iran.

That term refers to the surveillance, intimidation and in some cases attempted repatriation or murder of activists against those governments.

Last year, a former New York City police sergeant was convicted of acting as a Chinese agent by intimidating a U.S.-based fugitive to return to his homeland and face charges.

U.S. prosecutors have also charged four Chinese intelligence officers who allegedly acted as Wang’s handlers. Those officers are at large and believed to be in China. — Reuters

Bluey coins worth $400,000 stolen by Australian warehouse worker  police say

ESHOP.RAMINT.GOV.AU

SYDNEY — An Australian man is set to appear in court on Wednesday after being arrested for the alleged theft of more than A$600,000 ($393,000) worth of commemorative coins linked to the popular children’s television show Bluey, police said.

The 47-year-old is accused of stealing 64,000 unreleased, limited-edition A$1 coins from a warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Wetherill Park in June, according to “Strike Force Bandit,” a special unit police set up to investigate the theft.

One of last year’s most streamed television shows in the United States, the Australian animated show targeted at children is widely loved by adults and was the 14th highest rated show of all time, the movie tracker website IMDB.com shows.

The coins, produced by the Australian mint, look like A$1 coins and would be legal tender. Police say they are selling online for ten times their face value

A similar run of special commemorative coins sell for A$20 each on the mint’s website. One eBay seller was charging almost A$600 for a pack of three.

Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi told reporters at a news conference he was not initially aware of the show’s popularity.

“The theft of these coins have deprived a lot of young children and members of the community from having access to these coins, so we’re doing our absolute best to try to recover these coins and put them back into circulation.”

Police say the man worked at the warehouse and stole the coins, which weighed 500 kilograms (1102 lb), from the back of a truck, before selling them online within hours. Police are looking for two male accomplices.

A raid on a Sydney house in June recovered 189 coins and Doueihi said the vast bulk of coins are already in circulation. Those who receive one do not need to surrender it to police, he added.

He appealed for anyone with information about large stashes of coins to contact the police. — Reuters

China arrests woman suspected of ‘defaming’ Olympic table tennis players

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Лечение наркомании from Pixabay

 – Beijing police have arrested a woman suspected of posting defamatory comments on social media about Chinese athletes and coaches following the table tennis women’s singles final at the Paris Olympics, the police said.

The suspect, a 29-year-old surnamed He, “maliciously fabricated information and blatantly defamed others, resulting in an adverse impact on society”, the police at Daxing district said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The case was being investigated, the police said, although specific details about the defamatory comments were not disclosed.

In the Aug. 3 match, China’s defending champion Chen Meng defeated teammate Sun Yingsha, also world No.1, 4-2, in a replay of their previous encounter in Tokyo three years ago.

Throughout the game, there were audible cheers for Sun and boos directed at Chen whenever she scored, according to a broadcast of the event.

After the game, many people took to social media to criticize the crowd’s behavior.

“If this kind of fan culture is allowed to permeate in sports, it can ultimately undermine even the most talented athletes, like Sun Yingsha,” a user on Weibo said.

Weibo, China’s popular X-like microblogging site, said it had deleted over 12,000 posts and banned more than 300 accounts over what it called “illegal” comments.

Many people also took to social media to express their joy and national pride after Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle smashed his own 100 meters freestyle world record, even as China was plunged backed into the doping spotlight after media reports that two swimmers in 2022 had tested positive for a banned steroid. – Reuters

Processed soybean workers in Argentina launch strike over wage dispute

AN ARGENTINIAN FLAG waves at the Presidential Palace Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct. 29, 2019. — REUTERS

 – Two unions representing soybean oil factory workers in Argentina announced a strike over wages on Tuesday, halting activity in one of the world’s largest exporting hubs for processed soybeans.

Agricultural powerhouse Argentina is a top global supplier of the oilseed derivative, widely used across industries for products ranging from foods to biodiesel.

“A joint strike has been initiated at all soybean oil plants in the country… due to the lack of agreement in collective bargaining over wages,” the SOEA and the Federation of Oilseed Industry Workers said in the statement.

The two unions launched the strike early on Tuesday after meeting with sector companies, including oilseed industry chamber CIARA, to demand higher salaries for their workers. But the parties were not able to reach an agreement.

Later in the day, SOEA secretary Martin Morales told Reuters that the workers would continue the strike on Wednesday and discuss whether to prolong it later.

“We have not had any contact with the companies and we are maintaining the measure,” Mr. Morales said.

Although triple-digit inflation has been slowing in Argentina as the country grapples with a prolonged economic crisis, official data shows that consumer prices still rose 80% in just the first half of this year.

The head of CIARA, Gustavo Idigoras, said in an interview that the strike has paralyzed activity at all soybean processing plants in the South American country. – Reuters

Mexico invites Putin to presidential inauguration, Russia’s Izvestia newspaper says

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN — KREMLIN.RU-COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

Mexico has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Oct. 1 inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, Russia’s Izvestia newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing Mexico’s embassy to Russia.

“Russia’s invitation to take part in the inauguration of President Sheinbaum was sent to President Putin,” a representative of the Mexican embassy said, according to Izvestia.

“The Russian President will decide whether he will participate in the ceremony himself or appoint another high-ranking official to do so on his behalf.”

Mexico’s foreign ministry later told Reuters the government had sent diplomatic notes to all nations with which it had relations, as well as international organizations of which it is a member, inviting them to Ms. Sheinbaum’s inauguration.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin in 2023, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour in February 2022.

While Russia is not a member of the ICC, Mexico is. But the two countries have been forging close ties, with Putin congratulating Sheinbaum on her June win, saying that Mexico is Russia’s “historically friendly partner in Latin America.”

The foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a question regarding how Mexico’s ICC membership would affect Putin’s possible attendance at Ms. Sheinbaum’s inauguration.

A Russian military unit took part in September 2023 in a parade marking Mexico’s independence day, spurring sharp criticism of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that his country gave a platform to forces that invaded Ukraine. – Reuters

Philippines upwardly revises Q1 GDP to 5.8%

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

MANILA – The Philippines has revised up annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter to 5.8% from the previously reported 5.7%, the statistics agency said on Wednesday.

The government will release second-quarter GDP data at around 0200 GMT on Thursday. — Reuters

US has communicated need to not escalate conflict to Iran and Israel, says Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Official White House — CAMERON SMITH VIA FLICKR

 – The United States has communicated to Iran and Israel that conflict in the Middle East must not escalate, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, even as the Pentagon warned that it would not tolerate attacks against its forces in the region.

The Middle East is bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week’s killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Five U.S. troops and two contractors were injured in an attack on a base in Iraq on Monday, which US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin blamed on Iran-backed groups.

Officials had been in constant contact with allies and partners in the region and there was a “clear consensus” that no one should escalate the situation, the top US diplomat said.

“We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We’ve communicated that message directly to Israel,” Mr. Blinken said.

The United States will continue to defend Israel against attacks, Mr. Blinken said, but noted that everyone in the region should understand the risks of escalation and miscalculation.

“Further attacks only raise the risk of dangerous outcomes that no one can predict and no one can fully control.”

The Pentagon has said it will deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to bolster defenses in the region.

“What I’ve been focused on is making sure that we’re doing everything we can to put measures in place to protect our troops and also make sure that we’re in a good position to aid in the in the defense of Israel, if called upon to do that,” Mr. said.

Mr. Blinken, following a meeting involving Mr. Austin and their Australian counterparts, also said talks to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal on the war in Gaza had reached their final stage and should end very soon. – Reuters

 

WILL NOT TOLERATE ATTACK ON TROOPS

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran last week. The attack drew threats of revenge by Iran on Israel, which has not claimed responsibility.

Coupled with the killing of the senior military commander of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, by Israel in a strike on Beirut last week, concern has intensified that the conflict in Gaza is turning into a wider Middle East war.

Iran has said the US bears responsibility in the assassination of Mr. Haniyeh because of its support for Israel.

On Monday, a rocket attack on al Asad airbase in western Iraq injured seven US personnel.

Mr. Austin said the United States “will not tolerate” attacks on its personnel.

Asked if he knew who was behind the attack, Mr. Austin added the US was sure it was an Iran-backed militia, but had not determined which one.

“We’re still investigating to determine that,” he said.

Iraq’s military condemned on Tuesday what it called “reckless” actions against bases on its soil and said it had captured a truck with a rocket launcher.

A small truck was seized with a rocket launcher fixed on the back. Eight unfired rockets were dismantled, the statement said.

A rare ally of both the US and Iran, Iraq hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October. – Reuters

 

Philippines Q2 farm output value down 3.3% yr/yr

PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

MANILA – The Philippines’ agricultural and fisheries output value dropped an annual 3.3% in the second quarter of the year, led by decreases in the crops and livestock sector, the statistics agency said on Wednesday.

The Southeast Asian nation’s crop output, which accounted for 53% of the agriculture sector’s total production, sank 8.6% from a year earlier while livestock output contracted by 0.3%, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Poultry output rose 8.7% and fisheries production increased by 2.2%.

The government will release second-quarter gross domestic product figures on Thursday, giving the central bank more data ahead of their Aug. 15 rate-setting meeting. — Reuters

Democrats Harris, Walz campaign together for first time as White House ticket

KAMALA HARRIS — GAGE SKIDMORE/WIKIMEDIA.ORG

 – Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her newly selected vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, campaigned for the first time together on Tuesday in Philadelphia, kicking off a multi-day tour of battleground states aimed at introducing Mr. Walz to the national stage.

In his remarks to a raucous crowd of more than 10,000 at Temple University, Mr. described his upbringing in a small Nebraska town, his 24 years serving in the Army National Guard and his prior career as a high school social studies teacher and football coach.

“It was my students who encouraged me to run for office,” he said. “They saw in me what I was hoping to instill in them: a commitment of common good, a belief that one person can make a difference.”

He also went after the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, an early demonstration of how Mr. Walz will approach the traditional “attack dog” role of the vice presidential candidate despite his affable, folksy style.

“He mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division, and that’s to say nothing of his record as president,” Mr. Walz said of Mr. Trump. “He froze in the face of the COVID crisis, he drove our economy into the ground, and make no mistake, violent crime was up under Donald Trump. That’s not even counting the crimes he committed.”

Ms. Harris’ entry into the race after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid just over two weeks ago has rapidly upended the election campaign, with polls showing she has erased the lead Trump had built.

Mr. Walz criticized Republicans for pursuing restrictions on women’s reproductive rights, an issue that has plagued Republicans since the US Supreme Court in 2022 ended women’s constitutional right to abortion.

“Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: mind your own damn business!” he said, drawing a huge ovation.

Ms. Harris, speaking before Mr. Walz, listed his titles – husband, father, teacher, coach, veteran, congressman, governor – before predicting he would earn a new one in the Nov. 5 election: vice president of the United States.

“He’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big,” she said.

Ms. Harris, the US vice president, announced her choice of Mr. Walz earlier in the day, opting for a vice presidential running mate with executive experience, military service and a track record of winning over the rural, white voters who have gravitated to Mr. Trump over the years.

The Harris campaign said it had raised more than $20 million after the announcement of Mr. Walz as the vice presidential pick.

Pennsylvania, the site of their first rally, is seen as perhaps the most critical state in what is expected to be a close election between the Democrats and their Republican rivals.

 

TRUMP, VANCE CALL WALZ ‘RADICAL’

Mr. Walz was elected to a Republican-leaning district in the US House of Representatives in 2006 and served 12 years before being elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and again in 2022.

He has pushed a progressive agenda that includes free school meals, goals for tackling climate change, tax cuts for the middle class and expanded paid leave for workers.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance were quick to criticize the new competition as too liberal.

“This is the most Radical Left duo in American history,” Mr. Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Mr. Vance knocked Mr. Walz for his handling of protests after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer in 2020, with the Republican saying Walz was not assertive enough in combating the rioters.

“The biggest problem with the Tim Walz pick – it’s not Tim Walz himself. It’s what it says about Kamala Harris, that when given the opportunity she will bend the knee to the most radical elements of her party,” Mr. Vance told reporters in Philadelphia earlier in the day.

Americans typically focus on the person at the top of the ticket when choosing whom to vote for, but vice presidential candidates can help or hurt their running mates based on their backgrounds, home state popularity and ability to sway important constituencies or independent voters.

“She went with her gut on this one and chose the option that won’t alienate young folks,” said Republican strategist Rina Shah.

Mr. Walz beat out Pennsylvania’s popular governor, Josh Shapiro, for the No. 2 role. Shapiro had faced sharp criticism from the left, especially progressive groups and pro-Palestinian activists, over his support for Israel and his handling of college protests sparked by the war in Gaza.

Mr. Shapiro delivered a fiery speech at the Tuesday evening rally in his home state, attacking Republicans and promising to “work my tail off” to get Harris elected. He also offered a strong endorsement of Mr. Walz, telling the crowd that he is an “outstanding governor” and a “great patriot.”

Some Trump advisers were glad Ms. Harris did not pick Mr. Shapiro because of concerns he could help deliver all-important Pennsylvania if he was on the ticket, one adviser said.

After their joint appearance in Philadelphia, Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz plan a multi-city tour of critical swing states including Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. Mr. Vance is doing a similar tour, with stops in Michigan and Wisconsin planned on Wednesday. – Reuters

Boeing to make design changes to prevent future 737 MAX 9 door panel blowout

REUTERS

 – Boeing said on Tuesday it plans to make design changes to prevent a future mid-air cabin panel blowout like the one in an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 flight in January that spun the planemaker into its second major crisis in recent years.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing said officials still have not determined who removed and reinstalled that plane’s door plug during production.

NTSB completed the first of two days of hearings Tuesday that lasted nearly 10 hours into the mid-air emergency that badly damaged Boeing’s reputation, led to the MAX 9 grounding for two weeks, a ban by the Federal Aviation Administration on expanding production, a criminal investigation and the departure of several key executives.

Investigators have said the door plug in the new Alaska MAX 9 was missing four key bolts.

Boeing, which has vowed to make key quality improvement, faced extensive questions about the production of the accident MAX 9 and lack of paperwork documenting the removal of the door plug.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy on Tuesday criticized the planemaker’s safety culture, asking why it had not made improvements earlier and said it must takes steps to improve. “The safety culture needs a lot of work,” Ms. Homendy said.

Boeing’s senior vice president for quality Elizabeth Lund said the planemaker is working on design changes that it hopes to implement within the year and then to retrofit across the fleet.

“They are working on some design changes that will allow the door plug to not be closed if there’s any issue until it’s firmly secured,” Ms. Lund said.

Ms. Lund said two Boeing employees who were likely involved in the opening of the door plug have been placed on paid administrative leave.

The board also released 3,800 pages of factual reports and interviews from the ongoing investigation.

Boeing has said no paperwork exists to document the removal of four key missing bolts. Lund said Boeing has now put a bright blue and yellow sign on the door plug when it arrives at the factory that says in big letters: “Do not open” and adds a redundancy “to ensure that the plug is not inadvertently opened.

A flight attendant described a moment of terror when the door plug blew out. “And then, just all of a sudden, there was just a really loud bang and lots of whooshing air, like the door burst open,” the flight attendant said. “Masks came down, I saw the galley curtain get sucked towards the cabin.”

Doug Ackerman, vice president of supplier quality for Boeing said Boeing has 1,200 active suppliers for its commercial airplanes and 200 supplier quality auditors.

Ms. Lund said Tuesday Boeing is still building “in the 20s” for monthly MAX production – far fewer MAXs than the 38 per month it is allowed to produce. “We are working our way back up. But at one point I think we were as low as eight,” Ms. Lund told the NTSB.

Last month, Boeing agreed to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, whose core plants it spun off in 2005, for $4.7 billion in stock.

The hearings are reviewing key issues, including 737 manufacturing and inspections, safety management and quality management systems, FAA oversight, and issues surrounding the opening and closing of the door plug.

 

FUSELAGE DEFECTS

Jonathan Arnold, Aviation Safety Inspector at the FAA, said a systemic issue he witnessed at Boeing’s factory was employees not following the instructions.

“That seems to be systemic where they deviate from their instructions. And typically, tool control is what I see most,” Mr. Arnold said.

Ms. Lund said before the Jan. 5 accident, every 737 fuselage delivered to Boeing by Spirit AeroSystems had defects. “What we don’t want is the really big defects that are impactful to the production system,” Ms. Lund said. “We were starting to see more and more of those kinds of issues, I will tell you, right around the time of the accident.”

Ms. Homendy at one point expressed frustration with Boeing. “The safety culture needs a lot of work (at Boeing),” she said. “There’s not a lot of trust, there’s a lot of distrust within the workforce.”

Boeing executive Carole Murray described various problems with fuselages coming from Spirit AeroSystems in the run-up to the accident. “We had defects. Sealant was one of our biggest defects that we had write-ups on,” she said. “We had multiple escapements around the window frame, skin defects.”

Michelle Delgado, a structures mechanic who worked as a contractor at Boeing and did the rework on the Alaska MAX 9 aircraft, told NTSB the workload is heavy and requires working long hours.

“In order for me to not have to deal with a worse situation tomorrow, I’d rather work a 12 to 13-hour shift to get it all done, for my sake, so I don’t have to deal with people the next day,” he told NTSB.

Also in June, the NTSB said Boeing violated investigation rules when Lund provided non-public information to media and speculated about possible causes.

Last month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of at least $243.6 million to resolve a Justice Department investigation into two 737 MAX fatal crashes. – Reuters

Thai politics on edge as court decides fate of anti-establishment party

BANGKOK’s skyline is photographed during sunset in Bangkok, Thailand, July 3, 2023. — REUTERS

 – A court in Thailand will decide on Wednesday the fate of the progressive opposition party, Move Forward, in a case that has compounded fears of a re-igniting of a power struggle between influential conservatives and popularly elected parties.

The Constitutional Court will rule on the poll body’s request to dissolve the 2023 election winner Move Forward after the same court in January found its campaign to amend a law protecting the monarchy from criticism risked undermining Thailand’s system of governance with the king as head of state.

Move Forward’s anti-establishment agenda won huge support among voters but it clashed with Thailand’s powerful nexus of old money families, conservatives and the military, to which reforming the lese-majeste law is a step too far in a country where royalists regard the monarchy as sacrosanct.

Move Forward’s influential rivals coalesced to block the party from forming a government last year but it remains the biggest force in parliament with an agenda that includes military reform and undoing big business monopolies.

The party denies wrongdoing and was ordered to drop its campaign on the royal insults law. It is hopeful it will escape dissolution, arguing the election commission’s complaint did not follow proper procedures.

The verdict comes as cracks appear in an uneasy truce between the royalist establishment and another longtime rival, the populist ruling party, Pheu Thai, with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin facing possible dismissal by the same court next week over a cabinet appointment. He denies wrongdoing.

 

‘REACHING A CRESCENDO’

“Once again, political risk and uncertainty is reaching a crescendo,” said Nattabhorn Buamahakul, Managing Partner at government affairs consultancy, Vero Advocacy.

“These highly consequential decisions, the fate of parliament’s biggest party and the PM’s seat could lead to lawmakers switching parties, more bargaining and – as we have previously seen – street demonstrations,” she added.

Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, has been locked in a two-decade cycle of coups, judicial interventions and dissolutions that have toppled elected governments and major parties, at times leading to violent street demonstrations.

Protests ensued in 2020 after Move Forward’s predecessor, Future Forward, was disbanded over a campaign funding violation, with anti-government protests leading to some taboo-breaking calls to reform the monarchy, which landed several activists in jail.

The palace typically does not comment on the lese-majeste law.

Move Forward figurehead Pita Limjaroenrat, who is among 11 party executives who face bans from politics for a decade, last month told Reuters it was time to “stop this vicious cycle”.

“I want to prove to the establishment, and also to the world, that dissolving parties is futile,” he added.

He could be right, with expectations that if disbanded, the party’s surviving 143 legislators will keep their seats and reorganise under a new party that could become even more popular.

“They are they only option for progressive voters,” said Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok’s Institute,

“Orange, no matter the name, will always vote orange,” he said, referring to the party’s signature color. – Reuters