<p>On 25 April, the Democracy Network made a public call for the abolition of Article 112 of the Criminal Code and an end to restricting the people&rsquo;s freedom of expression.&nbsp; The call was made at the office of Red Power magazine at the red-shirt headquarters, Imperial Lad Phrao, in Bangkok.</p>

<p>On 26 April, Thai army spokesperson Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd spoke on a Channel 3 news programme about military clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border in Surin, saying that the Thai army was not on the defensive, and it hit back harder every time Cambodian troops fired at Thai soldiers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>

<p>On 27 April, the Military Court arranged the dates for the trial of a squadron leader who has been charged with l&egrave;se majest&eacute;.&nbsp; The trial will start on 14 July, and will be held in secret, allowing only the defendant and his lawyers to attend.&nbsp; </p>

<p>On 27 April, Fah Diew Kan editor Thanapol Eawsakul was summoned by the Crime Suppression Division as a witness to possible l&egrave;se majest&eacute; cases against over 50 people who posted messages on the magazine&rsquo;s webboard about a couple of years ago. </p>

<p>Amnesty International has responded to its members' query regarding the cancellation of Robert Amsterdam's talk in Malaysia a few days ago.&nbsp; Thai Political Prisoners has interesting posts on this issue (<a href="http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/ai-restricts-free-speech/">here</a> and<a href="http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/ais-jaundiced-claims-of-political-neutrality/"> here</a>).</p>

<p>On 26 April, 13 red-shirt community radio stations in Bangkok and surrounding areas were raided and searched by the authorities.</p>

<p>On 24 April, Maj Gen Kasem Thanaporn, Commander of the Naresuan Taskforce, visited the 4th Infantry Regiment Taskforce Command in Mae Sot district of Tak province and spoke to about 500 troops including soldiers, rangers and border patrol police.</p>

<p>Red Shirt lawyer held a one-person dialogue in Kuala Lumpur after cancellation of an event to be hosted by Amnesty International Malaysia after advice from the Amnesty International Secretariat.</p>

<p>As scholars of Thai Studies located outside the country, we have watched with deepening apprehension as the space for the free exchange of ideas has dwindled in Thailand since the 19 September 2006 coup. This constriction of thought and speech has intensified since the violence of April-May 2010, with the notable examples of the detention of Dr. Suthachai Yimprasert, assistant professor of history at Chulalongkorn University, by the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation in April 2010, the charges filed against Mr.</p>

<p>Amid political conflicts which have increasingly grown intense since the coup in 2006, people who hold differing political views from the powers that be have been subject to ever more threats to their rights and freedoms.&nbsp; The threat has also extended to academia, with Assoc Prof Dr Somsak Jeamtheerasakul being the latest victim, as a result of his expression of opinions about the role and status of the monarchy in Thai society in several academic forums. </p>

<p>Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, a staunch critic of the monarchy, has been threatened with lese majeste charges.&nbsp; He and other academics will hold a press conference tomorrow at Thammasat University.</p>

<p>A new computer law has been drafted and sent to the cabinet on 20 April for consideration.&nbsp; <a href="http://ilaw.or.th/">iLaw</a>, an organization which promotes public participation in the formulation and amendment of laws, has urged the public to stop this new version of the law.</p> <p></p>