The authority intimidated rights groups and NGOs during a conference on human rights and Constitution in Khon Kaen.
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.
Police and military officers negotiate with the meeting organisers in front of the conference room
The organizers of the meeting reported that two police officers in plain clothes came to monitor the discussion at around 9:50 am and asked the organizers to clarify the discussion’s content. They were joined by three military officers about 15 minutes later.
At around noon, five police officers and three soldiers came into the meeting to photocopy documents collected from the meeting for further investigation. They also inspected the rosters of participants.
The event organizer believed that the authority came to the meeting to check whether 17 human rights activists and NGOs workers who have signed an open letter, ‘No Reform Under Military Top Boots’, were presented at the discussion.
The discussion was organized by the Northeast’s Natural Resource Protection and Management Network and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with approximately 30 participants.
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