25 May 2012

On 24 May 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Yongyoot Wichaidit presided over a ceremony to mark the first lot of payments of financial assistance made for cases of loss of life and injury to those affected by the incidents of political violence.  Nearly 6,000 applications for financial assistance have been submitted out of which 524 cases have been found to be eligible for the first lot of payments amounting to a total of approximately 578 million Baht.  As for some of the other remaining cases, they are still under consideration of the authorities to ensure that all requirements and procedures for the payment of financial assistance are met.

Meanwhile, in another development, the Committee to Coordinate and Follow-up on Actions Taken to Implement the Recommendations of the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (ITRCT) resolved in its meeting on 20 April 2012 that public discussions on the issue of the root causes of the conflict and ways to achieve reconciliation be held nationwide.  The organizing sub-committee is to report the results of the public discussions to ITRCT within 60 days so that the results could be forwarded on to the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.  In a subsequent meeting of the ITRCT on 22 May 2012, the organizing sub-committee informed the meeting that the public discussions on reconciliation would be held at the district-level and the outcome of those discussions would then be further discussed at provincial-level meetings alongside the research findings of King Prajadhipok's Institute’s (KPI) Report on National Reconciliation for the House Subcommittee on National Reconciliation.  The organizing sub-committee will also be consulting with KPI and Mahidol University on how to conduct the public discussions effectively and ensure genuine public participation.

-Excerpt from article on Thailand Today on 25 May 2012-