Weekly Roundup March 10

 
Donation account opened to help man tortured by PDRC guards
 
The sister of Yuem Minlah, a man who was tortured by the PDRC guards on February 24th, has opened a bank account to receive donations to support his medical costs.
 
Yuem, a 33-year-old security guard from Uttaradit, walked by the anti-government PDRC protest site at Lumpini Park and was searched by the PDRC guards. After they found a red-shirt UDD membership card in his belongings, they tortured him and locked him up in the protest site.
 

Yuem Minlah
 
After a week, he said the PDRC guards tied his hands and feet, and threw him in the Bang Pakong River near the Bangna-Trat Hghway. Yuem was however able to untie the knots and tried to swim ashore. A passer-by on a boat saw him and later took him to hospital. 
 
The Chachoengsao Provincial Court on Friday issued arrest warrants against Issara Somchai, a PDRC leader, and other six members for premeditated assault, torture and theft. 
 
Yuem is now being treated at the Police Hospital and has been visited by a representative from the National Human Rights Commission. 
 
 
 
“Sor Por Por Lanna” slams media, denies supporting separatism
 
Sor Por Por Lanna, northern Thailand supporters of the Assembly for the Defence of Democracy (AFDD), said they did not intend to secede from the country as widely misunderstood by the media and the anti-government protests. 
 
The group was founded and named after AFDD, a group of academics advocating the Feb 2 election, and comprises red-shirt supporters as well as academics. They insist the name “People’s Republic of Lanna” is wrongly used by the media and the opposition and creates a grave misunderstanding about the group.
 

Sor Por Por Lanna group held press conference in Chiangmai
 
PDRC leader Chitpas Kridakorn na Ayutthaya on Thursday went to Army headquarters to thank the Army for pressing charges of sedition against the red shirt group in northern Phayao province. The army last week used posters of Sor Por Por Lanna and banners with a statement encouraging separatism on the grounds of prejudice as evidence for the charges.
 
While media like Thai PBS, which later retracted the article, and the Bangkok Post label Sor Por Por Lanna as a rebel group of red shirts who advocate republicanism, the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) denied the accusation and insisted they have never supported separatism.  
 
 
 
Man badly beaten by PDRC guards at Chaeng Wattana
 
A man who drove by the PDRC protest site at Chaeng Wattana was beaten unconsciousness on Sunday night after he tried to remove the protest barriers to drive through the road. He was robbed of cash, a gold necklace, an iPhone and other valuables.
 
Marut Channual, a 35-year-old engineer, is now in Siriraj hospital with broken bones, bleeding eyes and ears and a bullet in his leg from the incident.
 

Marut Channual
 
Marut’s brother said the victim is politically neutral, but was recently accused of being on the red-shirt side and a lackey of the red-shirt leaders, an accusation which they both denied. 
 
The brother said the family only found out about the incident from media reports on Sunday night that Marut’s car was found with bombs near the PDRC rally site at Chaeng Wattana shortly after shootings took place. He said his brother had no bomb in the car and was not aware of the shooting incident. 
 
The PDRC guards said they found the bomb in Marut's car, after two men in the car shot gunfire to attack the PDRC rally. 
 
 
 
Pheu Thai members file to impeach Constitutional Court judges
 
Pheu Thai Party members filed an impeachment charge against six judges of the Constitutional Court for exercising power unconstitutionally.
 
The party members led by Sunai Chulpongsathorn filed a complaint with the Senate President, stating that the judges abused their power by obstructing the constitutional amendment of the article allowing parliament to decide on foreign treaties, the amendment to allow the whole constitution to be amended and the amendment providing for an all-elected senate.  
 
Meanwhile Pairoj Isaraseripong, another Pheu Thai member, submitted a petition with 21,224 signatures to the Senate President calling for the impeachment of Vicha Mahakhun, a member of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, for prejudice in the probe of the rice price guarantee project under former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. 
 
Pheu Thai party said the NACC’s probe of the rice project under Abhisit has been stalled since 2010, while that of Pheu Thai party was processed unusually quickly to undermine the government.    
 
 

Since 2007, Prachatai English has been covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite the risk and pressure from the law and the authorities. However, with only 2 full-time reporters and increasing annual operating costs, keeping our work going is a challenge. Your support will ensure we stay a professional media source and be able to expand our team to meet the challenges and deliver timely and in-depth reporting.

• Simple steps to support Prachatai English

1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank

2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”