BKK Post / 15 November 1998 ACCIDENT THAI jet skids off runway in Laos A Thai Airways International jet skidded off the runway on landing at Vientiane airport yesterday morning apparently due to a burst tyre, company officials said yesterday. There were no injuries among the 148 passengers and eight crew members of flight TG690 from Bangkok to Vientiane which landed at 9.27 a.m. Passengers who had been waiting to take the return flight back to Bangkok were transported aboard a special Boeing 737-400 that was dispatched from Bangkok to pick them up. The incident is being investigated by a special THAI team that has been dispatched to the Laotian capital. BKK Post / 15 November 1998 Nations pledge support on crucial issues Aphaluck Bhatiasevi High-level government officials from 20 countries attending the Fourth East Asia and Pacific Ministerial Consultation on Children and Development were made to sign a "contract" drafted by children's representatives, promising them full support for education, participation, protection against HIV/Aids, child abuse and environmental pollution. The contract, drafted by children's representatives from China, Laos, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, includes promises to involve children in planning and action that directly affects their lives, to help children to know and enjoy their rights and to continue to work towards a better world for children beyond the year 2000. The officials, more used to making long policy statements and explanations, received an unusual request from children to be more precise and straightforward with their answers when asked about what they were doing on issues like HIV/Aids, child abuse, environmental pollution, child participation and lack of access to education, especially for the children of minority groups. "We're children ... we want clear, short and straightforward answers," Chezare Panyayong, a Mathayom Six student from Bangkok, asked some 150 participants after receiving long answers on government policies from Chinese and Indonesian officials. Yee Singhalath, a Mathayom Five student from Laos, said children in rural areas should be given equal education opportunities. Thanongsak Suthasart, a 12-year-old from Chiang Mai who was forced out of school due to family problems two years ago urged governments to pay more attention to street children. He said to solve problems of street children, governments should offer them education by encouraging more "roadside teachers." It is estimated that there are over 2,000 street children in Thailand, in addition to the 700,000 children who are currently out of their formal education, said Saisuree Chutikul, who chairs the Senate Committee on Children, Women and the Elderly. Mrs Saisuree said she did not think the government's educational loans programme alone would be sufficient to support an estimated 200,000 children who were recently forced out of school due to the economic crisis. "Financial support alone is not sufficient. We also need increased effort in kind from the business sector and the NGOs," she said. Mrs Saisuree also criticised the excessive publicity for the upcoming Asian Games, stating that the government should pay as much attention in informing the public about social programmes available for those affected by the economic crisis. The Nation / 15 November 1998 Politics Street children push for greater role in shaping their futures BY MUKDAWAN SAKBOON STREET children in Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, China and Vietnam all want their voices to be heard, and this is the message that their supporters tried to convey to policy-makers here at the regional meeting of the United Nations Children's Fund, which continued for a second day on Nov 13. "We want childrens' voices to be heard and our dreams to be fulfilled," said 17-year-old Chezari Panyayong. Her friend, Ananya Lohakitja, dreams of a day when children will have more say in the plans and policies that directly affect them. Young Yee Singhalath, who is from Laos, and Thanongsak Suthasart, who comes from Chiang Mai, both dream of a day when poor children, especially those living in remote areas and in difficult circumstances, will have better access to education. Chezari, along with her friends from the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and China on Nov 13 asked representatives from 20 countries in the East Asia and Pacific regions to address the issues street children and other children in difficult circumstances face on a daily basis, the most important being a lack of access to primary education and a safe living environment in which to grow up. There are many other questions that these children long for immediate, decisive, clear and effective answers to. The representatives responded by signing the contract, prepared by Chezari and her friends, and promising that they would renew their commitment to meeting the goals of the World Summit for Children, set out eight years ago, to continue to work towards a better world for children beyond 2000 and to increase children's participation in the plans and actions that directly affect them. Even though delegates reported substantial progress in social-sector programmes concerning the development of women and the well-being of children, they stressed that there was still room for improvement and this would require a sustained effort as well as greater cooperation between aid agencies. In Thailand, where an estimated 200,000 children have dropped out of school, there is an urgent need for some sort of survey to identify these children and ensure that government assistance programmes actually reach them, said Sen Saisuree Chutikul, who also chairs the Senate committee on children, women and the elderly. "The government dedicated air time and newspaper ads to the Asian Games, so why not do the same with measures to help children, such as lunch programmes and places that children in need of money can contact?" she asked. Elsewhere, despite increased awareness and commitment, plans to help children are still slow in developing, limited by lack of law enforcement and human resources that are crucial to the protection of children, said Margaret de Monchy, Unicef's project officer for child protection. With the growing menace of HIV/Aids, which now afflicts four to six million people in East Asia and the Pacific Region, the gains made in children's health and nutrition are being threatened, according to Leonard de Vos, Unicef representative for Cambodia. "Thailand alone has more HIV-infected pregnant women than the United States and Europe combined," he said. There are also many other issues to be addressed, including an estimated 40 million children born every year. East Asia and the Pacific accounts for 24 million, or 60 per cent of this figure.