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<div>The military and police on Sunday detained at least four activists after they held a silent press briefing on the forced cancellation of a cultural event on land reform. </div>
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<div>At about 2 pm the activists were detained and taken to Chanasongkram Police Station. At around 4.30pm they were released with no charges.</div>
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<div>Earlier on Sunday the activists held a silent press briefing named “No Talk Show under the Military Boot: When the military violates our rights to hold the talk show ‘Our land . . .
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By European Union Delegation and EU Heads of Mission in Thailand |
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<div>Apart from repeatedly denying bail requests from lèse majesté suspects, the military court in Bangkok on Thursday ruled to try another lèse majesté case in camera despite the presence of UN officials.
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<div>Despite the junta’s rhetoric about initiating a national reform debate for a ‘functioning democracy’, the junta’s interference in a Thai PBS programme which allowed people to voice opinions on reform ironically shows how the junta is doing the opposite, according to civil society groups. </div>
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<div>According to Isara News Agency, executives of Thailand’s Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) obeyed the junta by removing Nattaya Wawweerakhup from the programme “Voices of the People that must be heard before the Reform” after the military pressured the TV channel
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<div>Thailand’s Public Broadcasting Service, Thai PBS, reportedly removed the host of a programme which allowed people to voice opinions on the junta’s reform plans after junta representatives met with the channel’s executives, <a href="http://www.isranews.org/%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99-%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%82%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2/item/34375-news07_34375.html#.VGVhv8Ymbvk.facebook">Isara News Agency </a>reported on Friday.</div>
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<div>The Thai military government has invited editors of mainstream media to a few meetings.
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<div>The authority intimidated rights groups and NGOs during a conference on human rights and Constitution in Khon Kaen.</div>
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<div>Military and police officers on Wednesday morning tried to monitor a discussion called ‘Human rights and the Constitution’ in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen in a bid to harass North East-based NGOs and activists, many of whom believed to be taking part in issuing a courageous statement, ‘No Reform Under Military Top Boots’, denouncing the military government on Sunday.</div>
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<div>Human rights groups and NGOs based in Thailand’s North East denounced the legitimacy of the coup makers and the authoritarian regime of the military government, arguing that reform cannot be carried out without public participation.</div>
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<div>Many human rights groups and environmental activists based in the North East region, such as the Human Rights and Peace Information Centre and Isan human rights media groups on Sunday, denounced the legitimacy of the junta’s cabinet led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the appointed National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and Nationa
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<div>For almost five months, the Thai military has used the draconian century-old martial law to detain anti-coup protesters and academics. Recently, however, it has also used the martial law to arrest and detain suspects without charge in cases related to general crimes and informal debts. Human rights lawyers say the military’s use of the law is arbitrary and unnecessary and contradicts the spirit of the law. </div>
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<div>In the past ten days, the military has used martial law in at least five cases to detain people and search the houses of activists.
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<div>The military has harassed Boonyuen Siritum, a consumer rights and energy reform activist and former senator at her house in a bid to suppress rallies on energy reform. </div>
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<div>Eight military officers on Wednesday morning raided the house of the former elected senator for Samut Songkhram Province and accused her of inciting people to stage rallies and being unusually rich. </div>
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<div>The officers searched the house in Samut Songkhram’s Muang District without warrant, claiming that they can search any house under martial law.
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By Pravit Rojanaphruk |
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<div>The cancellation and breaking up of talks believed to be critical of coup-makers in recent days have sent shock waves beyond the academic community here in Thailand.</div>
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<div>This was yet another signal from the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) that it will not tolerate any form of dissent - not even inside university walls. </div>
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<div>Perhaps this offers an insight into the junta's deep-rooted insecurity four months after the May 22 coup.</div>
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<div>A few weeks after taking over, the junta began ce
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By Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) |
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<div>The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to express grave concern about the arrest, interrogation, and harassment of four academics and three students during a public lecture on 17 September 2014 at Thammasat University in Bangkok. This is the latest in a series of actions by the authorities in the four months since the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) overturned the civilian government in a coup on 22 May 2014.
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