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Re: Protests update
Will Thailand's Military Be Held Accountable for the Country's Economic Woes?
Luke Hunt
December 11, 2015
Since they took power in a coup last May, Thai generals have been quick to use their countryтАЩs courts to hold ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra responsible for losses incurred through her governmentтАЩs disastrous rice-pledging scheme. By that same standard, they should be held accountable for the countryтАЩs economic woes during their rule thus far.
Thai exports are taking a significant hit as the world digests the Chinese share market collapse and subsequent devaluation of the yuan as well as is impact on neighboring manufacturers and currencies. That is testing the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)..... (read more).... http://thediplomat.com/2015/12/will-tha ... omic-woes/
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Re: Protests update
Well..... pressing Like on Facebook is always a stupid thing to do.
But then again even having a Facebook account is a stupid thing to do.
And....
Why does that name, "the NCPO, the National Council for Peace and Order" ......make me laugh every time I hear it. ......until I remember that it's not a joke.
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Re: Protests update
human trafficking
Paween's allegations infuriate his ex-bosses
The Nation, Agencies December 12, 2015
Police chief says former human-trafficking investigator's accusations harm the country's reputation, considering libel case; NCPO 'focused on tackling trafficking'
SUPERVISORS OF the former chief investigator probing a high-profile human smuggling case reacted angrily yesterday to his accusation that he got no protection from them despite death threats faced by him..... (read more)... http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 74756.html
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Re: Protests update
Rising Political Movement in the Northeast Defies Military Rule
2015 December 10
by The Isaan Record
KHON KAEN тАУ Today, about 80 activists, academics, and villagers from the Northeast and Bangkok pushed the boundaries of the military governmentтАЩs restrictions on political gatherings by attending a political seminar in Khon Kaen City, despite efforts by the authorities to block the event.
Activists, lawyers, and academics gathered together with Northeastern villagers at a political seminar under the name тАЬUnsettling IsaanтАЩs Lands тАУ The PeopleтАЩs Fate after the CoupтАЭ in Khon Kaen City.
On Thursday morning, student activists from Khon Kaen UniversityтАЩs Dao Din group opened the doors to their meeting house to host an ad hoc seminar under the title тАЬUnsettling IsaanтАЩs Lands тАУ The PeopleтАЩs Fate after the Coup,тАЭ organized by the тАЬNeo E-Saan Movement,тАЭ or the New Isaan Movement..... (read more).... http://isaanrecord.com/2015/12/10/risin ... tary-rule/
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Re: Protests update
Oh God. I hope things don't get violent.
Tell anyone you know who has university age kids.... to stay away from such things. Clashes could be *very* dangerous and have a very sad outcome.
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Re: Protests update
Thai park exposes corruption claims and murky politics
By Jonathan Head South East Asia correspondent
11 December 2015
When the Thai army decided last November to use a plot of land it owns near the royal resort town of Hua Hin, to construct a park containing 14 metre-high bronze statues of seven past kings, it must have seemed an ideal way for the military to demonstrate its abiding loyalty to the monarchy.
A year later, Rajabhakti Park has become a millstone around the neck of the military government, and a symbol of how their efforts to promote the monarchy - at an awkward moment as Thailand faces its first royal succession in nearly 70 years - can go wrong.
The project has been tarnished by allegations of corruption - a scourge General Prayuth promised to tackle when he seized power last year..... (read more).... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35069188?SThisFB
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Re: Protests update
CDC insists crisis panel not on cards
Published: 12/12/2015
Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has affirmed it has no intention of providing room in the charter for the establishment of the controversial crisis panel.
The CDC is currently studying ways to initiate the reconciliation process, which must be acceptable to all parties, but the CDC said it has no desire to have a National Strategic Reform and Reconciliation Committee, or тАЬcrisis committeeтАЭ, to deal with a critical deadlock of national administration, CDC spokesman Udom Ratammarit said on Friday.
The crisis panel was originally proposed by the now-defunct charter drafting committee led by Borwornsak Uwanno.
Members of the crisis panel would have comprised the top military brass, and would have had the power to override the elected government of the day if they considered it unable to govern by constitutional constraints during a time of intense political conflict..... (read more)... http://m.bangkokpost.com/news/792137
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Re: Protests update
December 11, 2015
Thailand: Junta Critic Feared тАШDisappearedтАЩ
Lese Majeste Charge for Facebook тАШLikeтАЩ
(New York) тАУ Thai authorities should immediately disclose the whereabouts of Thanakorn Siripaiboon, a critic of ThailandтАЩs junta who has reportedly been held in secret military custody since December 8, 2015, Human Rights Watch said today.
On December 8, soldiers and police arrested Thanakorn, a 27-year-old factory worker, at his house in Samutprakarn provinceтАЩs Muang district and took him for questioning about alleged sedition and lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) at an undisclosed location. Since then, the police, the military, and the corrections department have all denied knowledge of ThanakornтАЩs whereabouts to his family and lawyers, raising grave concerns for his safety.... (read more).... https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/11/tha ... isappeared
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Re: Protests update
Student activists give 3-fingered salute to National Human Rights Commission
Submitted by editor1 on Fri, 12/12/2015
Thai police on Friday afternoon detained two of five student activists who gave the anti-coup three-fingered salute to the heavily criticized head of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). They were released after signing the military-draft agreement.
Five student activists from the Thai Students Centre for Democracy (TSCD) and Dao Din were stopped by police after they interrupted a speech by NRC Chairperson Amara Pongsapich and gave her the three-fingered salute late on Friday morning..... (read more).... http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/4597
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Re: Protests update
13 December 2015
ActivistтАЩs Mother Catapulted into Political Fame and Fray
By Pravit Rojanaphruk
Senior Staff Writer
BANGKOK тАФ Being the mother of a prominent student activist is tough. You get calls from the junta using carrot and stick to ask about his whereabouts, you get summoned, and when those tactics donтАЩt work, youтАЩre accused of being paid off by some politician or another.
This is what 39-year-old Patnaree Arunyapun has faced since her son, 23-year-old Sirawith Seritiwat, announced Dec. 4 he would lead a group to visit a scandal-plagued park built by the army. And despite her insistence she is apolitical and too busy making ends meet, the sudden pressure has pushed her to defend her son, criticize the junta and becoming a political player and public figure in her own right..... (read more).... http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.ph ... 6§ion=