<p dir="ltr">This may be the first play attended at every show by Thai military officers. Not that the Thai military is impressed with the play, but because its content touches on the climate of fear, imposed superficial Thainess, and lèse majesté prisoners. The presence of the military officers, who were assigned to record the performance and audience every night, merely reinforces the message in the restaged Bang-La-Merd: the Land I Do Not Own. It sounds surreal but true that Ornanong Thaisriwong, the director and solo actress in the play, stages a performance about the climate of fear while being watched and taped by real military officers.</p> <p></p>

<p>The Thai police have been notorious for their use of torture to force confessions and the arrest of scapegoats. The two Myanmar suspects accused of killing two British backpackers on Thailand’s Koh Tao Island are good examples. In the restive Deep South, lawyers say that security officers regularly torture insurgent suspects to get confessions since the Thai police do not have enough evidence to issue arrest warrants by normal means. The Thai police are now aiming to optimize investigations by pushing for a law which will allow police from all divisions to intercept suspects’ communications. However, experts say the bill could ironically end up aggravating police abuses.</p> <p></p>

<div> <div>Different from the anti-coup movement in May and June, the latest anti-coup wave is from frustration than reaction. The frustration mainly comes from the junta's strict censorship policy which applies equally to all groups -- even on people who originally supported the coup.&nbsp;</div> <div> </div></div>

<div>Prachatai looked into record of those who just campagined for the media freedom -- six months after the coup.</div> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr">Although the junta promised to eradicate the alleged corruption of the former civilian government which served the capitalists, the new Mining Bill is designed to give mining businesses easy access to more land without the need for mitigation of environmental and social impacts in most areas. &nbsp;Meanwhile marginalised people affected by mines will find it difficult under martial law to oppose the bill.</p> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">After the coup d’état in May, the junta promised to return happiness to the Thai people. One of the policies that the junta has announced to deliver on this promise is an order to increase Thailand’s forest cover and tighten measures for land resource protection. Although the policy might seem ecologically sensible to many conservationists, the green-grabbing policy of the junta harms many of Thailand’s marginalised communities.</p> <p></p>

<p>On 7 September, the Pattani Provincial Court rejected an appeal by Rohima Huseng, who alleged that security officers in Pattani tortured her brother, Hasan Huseng, during interrogation at a detention centre in a military camp in southern Pattani Province.</p>

<div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Since the coup d’état on 22 May, the junta has threatened and detained academics and students in many tertiary educational institutions. It even sent soldiers to storm on-going academic seminars and force them to stop. Despite the climate of fear, Thai academics are now protesting against the junta and the suppression of free speech by using a metal box. Yes, a metal box -- or ‘<em>Peep</em>’ in Thai.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p>

<div>Prayuth Chan-Ocha, the head of the junta and Prime Minister, has revealed the eleven policies of his administration, one of which is a plan to improve Thailand’s health system; however, the conservative junta might set Thailand’s health policies back by ten years.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Prayuth stated that they would facilitate a health insurance system accessible to all, prioritize preventive medicine to reduce costs, and redistribute health personnel to rural areas in accordance to the fifth policy of his government.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This, however, contradicted his words i </div>

<div> <p>Despite threats and intimidation from state authorities, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a human rights lawyer and director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) of Thailand, stands firm on her claims about alleged torture and enforced disappearances committed by the Thai authorities in the restive Deep South of Thailand.</p> </div>

<div>Two months after the coup d’état in May, the Thai junta vowed to reform the Thai education system, which is one of the worst in the region. But instead of paying attention to structural problems, the junta’s policy for the Ministry of Education aims to focus on indefinable ‘merit’ and more nationalistic history classes. </div>

<p>The conflict over the mine in Loei is the first test of the junta’s policy to create reconciliation. The villagers say they have lost trust after the military intervened.</p> <p></p>