By Human Rights and Development Foundation |
<p>On 20 October 2009, Nang Noom Mae Seng, a disabled migrant work accident victim, and two other Shan migrants petitioned the Supreme Court of Thailand to overturn a Social Security Office’s (SSO) circular (RS 0711/W751, issued on 25th October 2001) they claim discriminates against over 2 million migrant workers in Thailand. </p>
By Reporters Without Borders |
<p>Political power grabs dealt press freedom a great disservice again this year. In Thailand, the endless clashes between “yellow shirts” and “red shirts” had a very negative impact on the press’s ability to work. As a result, the kingdom is now 130th.</p>
By Salween Watch |
<p>Fifty one civil society organizations from Burma today submitted a petition to the Thai government at the ASEAN People’s Forum demanding an immediate halt to dam plans on the Salween River to avoid being drawn into Burma’s escalating civil war.</p>
<p>A delegation of Burma civil society actors organized by the Task Force on ASEAN and Burma (TFAB) are attending the ASEAN People’s Forum/ASEAN Civil Society Conference in Cha-am, Thailand, on October 18-20, days before the ASEAN Summit. The APF/ACSC has been reformatted to create greater opportunities for interaction between civil society and ASEAN senior officials. Burma’s civil society groups are calling on ASEAN to address the SPDC’s violations of the regional body’s Charter. </p>
By Bennett Haynes, Alternative Agriculture Network – Esan |
<p>Yasothon, Thailand, 18 October 2009 (AAN) – There is currently 41 tons of Furadan (Carbofuran) sitting in the Kudchum district agriculture office storage silo. Local government officials claim that farmers are demanding the free distribution of Furadan and have enlisted village headmen to sign up local rice and cassava farmers to immediately receive Furadan and other chemicals, in order to address what they are calling a “natural disaster” created by plant disease in both crops.</p>
<p>The Criminal Court has agreed to a request by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to detain Nat Sattayapornpisut, 27, who has been charged under the 2007 Computer Crimes Act after he was found to have sent offensive clips to a blog called ‘StopLeseMajeste’. </p>
<p>According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the case of Kiettisak Thitboonkrong was sent to the Criminal Court in Bangkok in September 2009. Six police officers have been accused of premeditated murder and of concealing Kiettisak's corpse to hide the cause of death. The first trial will be opened on 19 October 2009 in the Criminal Court, Bangkok, Thailand. The AHRC asks supporters in Bangkok to attend the trial as observers. </p>
By Network to Assist Thai Workers Abroad (NATA) |
<p>Over 2 years ago, a group of Thai workers went to work in Libya with CKG Company and other companies. These workers signed employment agreements with these companies as a result of assistance from employment brokers certified by the Thai Ministry of Labour. Related costs for this assistance ranged from 150, 000 to 200, 000 baht. However, once workers completed their 2 years work, the employing companies refused to send the workers back to Thailand in breach of the employment agreements. As a result, 151 Thai workers currently remain stranded in Libya.</p>
<p>Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, a Thammasat University lecturer in history, told a public forum that in order to get rid of the so-called ‘Amat’ regime (traditional elitist rule), it was necessary to change the constitutional clause on the royal prerogatives to conform to the principles of democracy. This included two main points: the appointment of Privy Councillors and the succession, with the latter being changed after the 1991 coup.</p>
By Harrison George |
<p>In a bizarre reversal of the normal publishing practices of Thai politicians, Thaksin Shinawatra has very quietly published his ‘Tackling Poverty’ in English and says it will soon appear in Thai. (By contrast, his replacement as head of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai party, Chaturon Chaisang, published his latest book first in Thai with an English translation soon to be launched at the FCCT.)</p>
<p>On 5 Oct, PM’s Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey denied as untrue criticism by the Pheua Thai Party and some newspapers that his ‘Thais United, Thais Strong Project’ had squandered Bt60 million of public money.</p>
<p>The Cabinet has approved in principle a bill on public gatherings proposed by the police.</p>