Thailand’s PM vote faces delay as Pita’s exclusion challenged

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat & Pathom Sangwongwanich

“to engage responsibly is strong, is clear, is loud from around the world,” he said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday at a regular press briefing in Beijing her nation hoped “the US will work with us to bring bilateral relations back to the right track of sound and steady growth.”

“This not only serves the interests of both peoples, but it’s also the shared expectation of the international community,” she added. With assistance from Martin Ritchie/Bloomberg

Protests rock India’s Parliament for 3rd day over ethnic violence in remote state

NEW DELHI—India’s Parliament was disrupted for a third day Monday by opposition protests over ethnic clashes in a remote northeastern state in which more than 130 people have been killed since May.

Opposition lawmakers carried placards and chanted slogans outside the Parliament building, as they demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the violence in Manipur state before a debate on the issue.

Last week, Modi broke more than two months of public silence over the ethnic clashes, telling reporters that mob assaults on two women who were paraded naked were unforgivable, but he did not refer directly to the larger violence. His comments came after a video showing the assaults sparked widespread outrage on social media despite the Internet being largely blocked and journalists being locked out in the state. It shows two naked women surrounded by scores of young men who grope their genitals and drag them to a field. The video was emblematic of the near-civil war in Manipur, where mobs have rampaged through villages and torched houses. The conflict was sparked by an affirmative action controversy in which Christian Kukis protested a demand by mostly Hindu Meiteis for a special status that would let them buy land in the hills populated by Kukis and other tribal groups and get a share of government jobs.

Indian Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government is ready to discuss the situation in Manipur. “I request the opposition to let a discussion take place on this issue. It is important that the country gets to know the truth on this sensitive matter,” he said in the lower house of Parliament.

Both houses of Parliament were adjourned various times as the opposition stopped proceedings with their demand for a statement from Modi. Sessions were also disrupted on Thursday and Friday.

The main opposition Congress party’s president, Mallikarjun Kharge, tweeted it was Modi’s “duty to make a comprehensive statement inside the Parliament on Manipur violence.”

Violence in Manipur and the harrowing video have triggered protests across the country. On Monday, scores of people gathered in Indian-controlled Kashmir and protesters carrying placards took to the streets of the eastern city of Kolkata. AP

THAILAND’S wait for a new prime minister after the May general election may get longer as the nation’s ombudsman plans to challenge a parliament move to deny renomination of pro-democracy leader Pita Limjaroenrat.

The Office of the Ombudsman plans to petition the constitutional court to delay a fresh vote to select a prime minister until it rules on the legality of the parliament’s decision against Pita, Secretary-General Keirov Kritteranon told a briefing on Monday. The move follows a clutch of petitions from lawmakers and legal experts seeking the ombudsman’s help in approaching the court, he said.

A majority of Thai lawmakers voted against Pita’s bid to be nominated as the prime ministerial candidate for a second time after he lost a vote a week earlier.

The leader of Move Forward Party lost his first premier vote after proroyalist parties and members of the conservative Senate voted against him, citing their opposition to his party’s pledge to amend the royal insult law which penalizes criticisms against the monarchs.

The parliament decision, slammed by Pita’s camp as unconstitutional, forced Move Forward to make way for its alliance partner Pheu Thai to take the lead in government formation. But the ally, linked to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is under pressure to snap ties with Pita’s party in exchange for support from the Senate and the conservative parties.

The delay in government formation has weighed on Thailand’s stocks with foreign investors pulling out more than $3.3 billion this year. The political gridlock is a key reason for souring business outlook over the next three months, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Monday.

Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha said on Monday that members of the upper house may support Pheu Thai’s efforts to form the government, provided it doesn’t involve Move Forward.

The pro-democracy alliance is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, and the ombudsman’s move to seek a charter ruling may prevent an immediate implosion of the coalition.

While parliament has scheduled the next prime minister vote on July 27, Pheu Thai has yet to announce who it would pick as its nominee from prime minister from among its three candidates that include property tycoon Srettha Thavisin and Thaksin’s youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Leaders of conservative parties— Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation—told Pheu Thai executives at the weekend that they will not support its candidate as long as Pita’s party remains part of the alliance.