Junta bars red shirts from running referendum watch campaign

The deputy junta head has said the red shirt’s referendum watch campaign is not allowed since it is the responsibility of existing government agencies. He also demanded that the red shirts stop inviting international organizations to participate in monitoring the August referendum. 
 
On Monday, 13 June 2016, Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, the deputy junta head, said that he will not allow the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), aka the red shirts, to run a referendum watch campaign, saying that the government already has organizations including the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) and the National Anti-Corruption Commission in charge of the issue. 
 
Gen Prawit also asked the UDD to stop inviting the United Nations and the European Union to participate in the referendum watch since it was a domestic issue. 
 
“Those who are not involved should not mess up things and should not drag foreign organizations into the country. It is a domestic issue. The country is moving forward so we should not impede each other,” said Gen Prawit. “Stop it, I beg you. No more. If you’re stubborn, you might face legal prosecution.”
 

 

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