Shake up Froc-Hesco Bastion

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra slipped through the legislative version of a back door when Parliament took up the flood crisis too briefly on Sunday and Monday. Because of a matter of parliamentary procedure, the opposition Democrat Party was unable to put the premier’s name on the censure motion.

Prime Minister Yingluck,钢格板, who played no role in the defence of Froc and her government, insists everyone should be giving moral support to those who fight the floods and organise aid. However, it is possible to do this and still examine the problems. It remains questionable whether the head of Froc has earned the confidence of the nation. After the vote on Monday, the prime minister said a major reshuffle is not likely. But it is always a good time to make adjustments. The performance of the Froc could be much better, and Ms Yingluck must bear this in mind in coming days.

In the event, there never was doubt about the outcome. The Pheu Thai Party and its allies mustered votes to beat the censure attempt. The numbers stated that 273 government and coalition MPs have high confidence in the handling of the flood disaster, while 188 do not.

Arguably,Govt urged to build B200bn flood tunnel-welded mesh, being flooded out of the flood headquarters was remarkably bad luck. It didn’t help when the second Froc headquarters on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road also flooded. The sight of an anti-flood aid agency perched in the midst of the floods hardly inspired confidence.

Generally, the public agrees with the charge by Democrat MPs that the anti-flood agency is “a mess”. At the moment, Pol Gen Pracha is a very unpopular person, because he did a poor job managing Froc and its public communications. Had a random group of 500 citizens voted instead of disciplined members of parliament, Pol Gen Pracha would likely have lost the censure debate.

Specification

Democrat critics scored several strong points in their attacks on Pol Gen Pracha and the Froc. They deserve a follow-up in the court of public disclosure. The charges of corruption within Froc are particularly disturbing. The accusation that any politician or public official pocketed even one satang of the public’s donations must be carefully investigated.

For a body that was designed to lead the national fight against floods, the Froc made terrible blunders in the eyes of the country. Its very location became the butt of jokes. So-called experts told the Froc that Don Mueang Airport would be a good location as a base: big, pretty quiet, lots of work space, able to fly anywhere by helicopter or airplane, and enormous storage room for aid. The experts were wrong, and it was the Froc that became the butt of flood jokes and derision even before its major aid and rehabilitation efforts got going.

The debate, which lasted barely more than a day, centred on Justice Minister Pracha Promnok and his Flood Relief Operations Command. And rightly so. To say the Froc was “controversial” during the past couple of months would be a vast understatement. As defenders during the censure debate noted,foot ball fence, Froc did distribute some goods to some flood victims, some of the time. But the Froc’s operations were often flawed and now that the main crisis is over and the floods are receding, the flood relief body deserves a close, careful examination.

The QIAOSHI’s Military Barriers or Hesco Bastions is a modern gabion used for flood control and military fortification. It is made of a collapsible wire mesh container and heavy duty fabric liner, and used as a temporary to semi-permanent dike or barrier against blast or small-arms. One of the less heralded life- and labor-saving devices of war, it is used on nearly every United States Military base in Iraq as well as on NATO bases in Afghanistan.

Originally designed for use on beaches and marshes for erosion and flood control, the Hesco Bastion quickly became a popular security device in the 1990s.

Military Barriers/Hesco Bastions

Information

标签：HESCO, Hesco Barrier