Issarachon Foundation: Bangkok Homeless Increase 10%

There are 3,140 homeless people living in Bangkok, an increase of about 10 per cent from 2012, according to the latest survey by Issarachon Foundation.

Issarachon (Freeman) Foundation released a survey on the homeless in Bangkok on Wednesday March 12. The survey was conducted at the end of 2013.  
 
Of the 3,140 homeless persons, 1,944 are men and 1,196 are women.

Although there are 284 more homeless people, the number is relatively low considering that there are six million people living in Bangkok, said Sopon Pornchokchai, the founding president of the Foundation.

18 per cent of the homeless people are found in Phra Nakhon district, eight per cent in Bang Sue, seven per cent in Chatuchak, seven per cent in Pathumwan, and six per cent in Samphanthawong. Homeless people in these five districts account for about 46 per cent of all the homeless in Bangkok. These areas are either tourist areas or areas with public parks or markets.

The survey also found that 29 per cent are regularly homeless, 26 per cent temporarily spend nights in public areas, and 22 per cent suffer from mental illness.  

Two per cent are of foreign nationals.

The political rally by the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) has significantly affected the homeless in several areas in Bangkok. For example, some protesters, especially from the South, decided to stay in public areas in Bangkok, even though their fellow protesters returned back home. Moreover, some homeless were allegedly assaulted by PDRC guards because the guards did not understand the way of life of the homeless.

Issarachon Foundation concluded that the number of homeless people in Bangkok is relatively low, compared to other big cities. This is due to the high efficiency of the private housing sector.

Red shirts rally in Ayutthaya

More than ten thousand pro-government red-shirt supporters gathered on Saturday, March 16, in the central province of Ayutthaya, about 130 kilometres north of Bangkok, to show support for the interim Pheu Thai government amid tension from anti-government protesters in Bangkok

The rally was held by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the main red-shirt faction affiliated with Pheu Thai.

Red shirts gathered in Ayuthaya on March 16, 2014

Labour rights activist receives Somchai Neelapaijit Award

Booyuen Sukmai, a vocal labour rights activist in the northeast region and a full-time labourer in the automobile industry in Rayong Province, received the 2014 Somchai Neelapaijit Award for human rights on Wednesday March 12.

Booyuen Sukmai receives the award from Charnvit Kasetsiri, renowned Thai historian
 

The award was given by the Somchai Neelapaijit Memorial Fund, founded by well-known activist Jon Ungpakorn in 2004, in honour of Somchai Neelapaijit, who was disappeared 10 years ago. He was honoured for his long-time dedication in helping to found labour unions in industrial estates in the northeast region and giving legal advice to workers who wished to file lawsuits against or negotiate with employers.

On the same occasion, two honourable mentions were given to Yaowalak Anupan, a human rights lawyer who has conducted cases on violence against women, conflict in the restive Deep South, and Article 112 or lèse majesté cases, and to the Missing Persons Information Centre of the Mirror Foundation, which has helped the families of missing persons, campaigned against human trafficking and advocated greater efficiency in police policy.  


Police reveal murders by PDRC guards.

Police investigation reveals that recent three murder cases during anti-government protest violence were covered up to make it appear that anti-government PDRC protesters were the victims.

The victims in the three cases, all male, were attacked and their hands and feet tied, said Pol Maj Gen Thitiraj Nonghanpitak, Deputy Police Commissioner. The bodies were clothed in PDRC t-shirts and symbols before being thrown away in deserted areas, he said.

In one case, a body was found near a railway line on Kamphaeng Phet Road in Bangkok, while another body was found in a sack in the Chao Phraya River.

In another related case of attempted murder, a security guard was beaten and thrown into the Bang Pakong River after PDRC guards found a red-shirt ID card in his belongings.
 
Two of the three victims were red-shirt UDD guards, according to the investigation.