<p dir="ltr">In a bid to lure investors, Thailand’s junta plans to evict some 300 citizens from their homes to construct a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the southern province of Songkhla. While the military’s development plans could boost a stalled economy, the country’s poor are paying the price.</p> <p></p>

<p>As the sun rose on October 25, 2004, the 12th day of the Ramadan fast, the people of Tak Bai District began their normal routines. But this day was to be different. In the morning, a group gathered in a demonstration calling for justice for six Village Security Team members who had been detained. A large number of people who lived nearby went to watch the demonstration, and when those farther away heard what was happening many came in cars and trucks to watch. They had no idea that the events of the day would change their lives forever.</p> <div> </div>

<div>Buku FC, a football club in the Deep South with the slogan “football for peace and equality,” has created a space for women and girls to exercise and express themselves. The team is made up of Muslim women, men, and LGBT individuals.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p>Pvt Somchai Si-ueangdoi&nbsp;is from the Karen ethnic group and from Chiang Mai. He decided to serve in the military to earn money to support his mom and sister after his dad passed away. &nbsp;About two years of conscription, Pvt Somchai was allegedly beaten to death. Like many other cases related to torture in the barracks, the court dismissed the case.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<div> <div>Deep South opinion leaders share their views on the draft constitution and the controversial referendum scheduled on August 7. Apart from concerns about the succession of power by the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) shared by the general public in the rest of the country, they think that the draft is not conducive to the peace process, and may even impinge on religious rights.</div> </div>

<div>Prejudices surrounding the physically disabled abound, not least society’s view of them as nonsexual beings. Ironically, while the disabled are often barred from sexual education, disabled women are 1.5–10 times more likely than abled women to be sexually abused. What’s more, disabled women are often forcibly sterilized, raising the issue of the degree of “rights” they have concerning their own bodies.</div> <p></p>

<p>Following the announcement of the NCPO that the Constitutional Referendum is to be held on August 7, various groups have expressed their views on Thailand’s draft constitution. Both pro- and anti-draft groups have been running campaigns and expressing their views in public. Unfortunately, however, the NCPO has not been welcoming of the views of both groups.<br /></p>

<div><em>Thailand’s assimilation policy in the past 80 years on the Muslim Malay in Thailand’s three southern border provinces, known as Patani, has been repeatedly cited as one of the main reasons for the armed struggle, claiming almost 6500 lives already. Due to this uncompromising assimilation policy, the state of the Malay language in Patani has become very weak and marginalized. As the peace process has progressed, concerns about the linguistic rights of the local people have been raised and will be included in discussions at the dialogue table.&nbsp;</em></div> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr">Local people are to be evicted in the name of development, as the Thai junta invokes its absolute power to clear land for the benefit of big businesses.</p> <p></p>

<div>While Europe worries about trafficking and the so-called refugee crisis, Thai villagers are still building their hopes on women’s migration and labor abroad.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><span><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7080/28011964415_736455a444_o.jpg" /></span></div> <div><span>Isaan-natives Sommai, Basit, Kae and Mong are married to Danish men and are all living in Denmark where they work as cleaners, in the fishing industry or other </span></div>

<div>Burin Intin, a 28-year-old welder from northern Thailand, was arrested during an anti-coup “Stand Still” protest, held on 27 April 2016, at the Victory Monument in Bangkok. Unlike other group members who were arrested and subsequently released, Burin was promptly charged with two counts of lèse majesté. He was denied bail, has been detained until today and is now on his third custody order, without much public knowledge. &nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p><em>To commemorate the first year of the the New Democracy Movement, the up and coming anti-junta youth activists, Prachatai reviewed the development and achievements of the movement during the past year. Talking to the prominent members of the group on the future direction of the movement, a co-leader claims that they are currently the national opposer of the junta.</em></p> <div> </div>