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Re: Protests update
PDRC acquitted of disrupting Feb 2 election
10 Jul 2015 at 18:37
WRITER: ONLINE REPORTERS
The Criminal Court has dismissed a case in which a number of People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protesters were accused of obstructing the Feb 2, 2014 election.
Public prosecutors filed the charge against the PDRC members who had surrounded Bangkok's Din Daeng district office on the election date. They successfully prevented officials from bringing ballots to the district's 175 election units.
The result was all units were closed and no voters in the district could exercise their right on that day.
The court ruled on Friday the PDRC demonstration was legitimate based on a judgement by the Constitutional Court.
The protest at the district office was also peaceful and unarmed. Besides, there was no proof all the suspects padlocked the gate of the office as accused by the prosecutors, the court said...... (read more)......
http://bangkokpost.com/news/politics/61 ... 2-election
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Re: Protests update
Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voices
Facebook and Thai politics: Press тАШLikeтАЩ, and hope for the best
By Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voices Jul 07, 2015
By Thitipol Panyalimpanun
On the night of June 26 in Bangkok, the Thai police arrested 14 student activists for staging a non-violent demonstration against the junta. They were then charged with sedition and are now being detained. Following the incident, videos, live reports and political statements flooded Facebook. The New Democracy Movement emerged as a new page, demanding that the junta unconditionally release the students. Meanwhile, on the same social network, the juntaтАЩs supporters justified the arrests, claiming there were vested political interests behind the student protest.
Amid the juntaтАЩs ban on political gatherings, people are turning to Facebook as a platform for political discussion. Since the coup last year, the media space for critical political reportage has been shrinking...... (read more).....
http://asiancorrespondent.com/133891/fa ... -the-best/
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Re: Protests update
ThailandтАЩs Junta Ignores Southern Thai Insurgency
Posted on July 9, 2015 By Our Correspondent Headline, Politics, Thailand
ThailandтАЩs Junta Ignores Southern Thai Insurgency
Initiatives begun by Yingluck government have been allowed to gather dust
Despite a commitment by the Thai junta that took power in 2014 to pursue talks with Muslim separatists in the far south of the country, the junta тАЬhas focused on preserving bureaucratic and military prerogativesтАЭ without any effort to resolve the long-running insurrection, according to the International Crisis Group.
Since the confrontation blew up in 2004, more than 6,000 people have died, both Muslims and Buddhists, and more than 10,000 have been injured. There are concerns that the insurgency, formerly an ethnic struggle for more autonomy, has been taken over by hardline Jihadis who have declared war on both the Buddhist minority and local Malay Muslim moderates.
The insurgency has grown less lethal over the past year, according to the ICG, but there are worrying indications militants may have expanded operations beyond the traditional conflict zone of the four southernmost provinces..... (read more)....
http://www.asiasentinel.com/politics/th ... nsurgency/
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Re: Protests update
Academic blames military for weakening democracy
KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN
THE SUNDAY NATION July 12, 2015
THE MILITARY is the primary cause of the retreat of democracy in Thailand and Southeast Asia, and the extensive power obtained by coup-makers encourages more putsches in the future, a Thai studies scholar says.
Tyrell Haberkorn from Australian National University said granting amnesty to those launching military coups and passing laws like Article 44 of the provisional charter granting the junta leader absolute power could lead to more coups.
Haberkorn stressed the repercussions from creating a history of coups..... (read more)....
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politic ... 64278.html
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Re: Protests update
Southern Thailand: Dialogue in Doubt
8 Jul 2015
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
The south Thailand insurgency has grown less lethal over the past year, but there are worrying indications militants may have expanded operations beyond the traditional conflict zone of the four southernmost provinces. Malay-Muslim rebels have been fighting against Thai rule for more than a decade in what they see as a national-liberation struggle. An official dialogue process between Bangkok and separatist leaders that began in 2013 was doomed by divisions on both sides. Since the 22 May 2014 coup in Bangkok, the junta has focused on preserving bureaucratic and military prerogatives. Although it has vowed to pursue talks, the junta rejects pluralism and political debate, promoting тАЬThainessтАЭ and тАЬunityтАЭ concepts that are unlikely to reduce tensions in the south. Resolution of the conflict demands a new relationship between the state and society in the region, which will most likely require greater political decentralisation. All sides should now work to prepare infrastructure for future talks, including dedicated dialogue teams, communications procedures and means for popular participation.
In February 2013, the Yingluck Shinawatra government initiated a dialogue process, facilitated by Malaysia, with representatives of Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani (Patani-Malay National Revolutionary Front, BRN), the principal insurgent group...... (read more).....
http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/a ... doubt.aspx
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Re: Protests update
Thai Chinese Sub Buy Challenges US Pivot
By Wendell Minnick1 day ago
TAIPEI тАФ Thailand's move to purchase Chinese submarines has exacerbated tensions with the US and poses a challenge to Washington's "pivot" to the Pacific.
The military junta, which declared a coup in May 2014 and created the National Council for Peace and Order, could turn to China for political and military support and cooperation, analysts said. The junta-led Cabinet approved the purchase of three Type 039A (Yuan) attack submarines in early July.
After the coup, the US reduced its presence at the annual Cobra Gold military exercises held with Thailand, and postponed further discussion on planning 2016 exercises.
There are fears in the region that US sanctions are pushing Thailand into China's political sphere, said Martin Sebastian, head of the Centre for Maritime Security and Diplomacy, Maritime Institute of Malaysia..... (read more)......
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /29904545/
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Re: Protests update
CDC bows to key judiciary demands
OJC outsiders, judge appeals rules dropped
14 Jul 2015
NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS | WRITER: MONGKOL BANGPRAPA
The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has bowed to judiciary demands and axed two controversial proposals from the draft charter.
The proposals concerned the composition of the Office of the Judicial Commission (OJC) and allowing judges facing disciplinary action from the OJC to appeal to the Supreme Court.
CDC spokesman Borwornsak Uwanno said the decision to drop the provisions followed growing opposition from judges who reportedly planned to gather and hand an open letter to the CDC to voice their disagreement with the proposals.
One proposal required at least one-thirds of OJC members to be non-judges, as opposed to the current set-up which allows only two outsiders тАФ screened and appointed by the Senate тАФ to sit on the commission...... (read more).....
http://bangkokpost.com/news/politics/62 ... ry-demands
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Re: Protests update
French envoy gets list of lese majeste suspects in exile
The Nation July 14, 2015
Justice Minister General Paiboon Khumchaya yesterday handed a list of suspects facing lese majeste charges to French Ambassador to Thailand Thierry Viteau for acknowledgement.
At the meeting, Paiboon said that Thailand did not want France to take action against these individuals, but just wanted France to learn about facts and understand Thailand's point of view. It is reported that some of these suspects have fled to Franc.
The minister said Thailand understood the question of rights and freedom of expression if cases are politically based, but those related to security offences concerning the monarchy were different and the state gave more importance to these.
Though still unconfirmed, it is believed that at least three names were handed to the ambassador.
Paiboon will also be chairing a meeting with the Foreign Ministry;s high-ranking officials today to follow up on lese majeste cases.
http://linkis.com/nationmultimedia.com/z68hc
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Re: Protests update
Thailand approves $1.8 billion in loans for farmers hit by drought
BANGKOK | Mon Jul 13, 2015
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has approved loans of up to 60 billion baht ($1.77 billion) to support farmers affected by drought, the finance minister said on Monday.
The wet season is under way, but Thailand is contending with drought conditions in seven out of 67 provinces, the National Disaster Warning Center said, and water rationing is taking place in almost a third of the country.
Thailand's state-owned Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has approved loans for 1 million farmers, following a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Sommai Phasee...... (read more).....
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSK ... 3?irpc=932
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Re: Protests update
10 Jailed for Running Anti-Monarchy Broadcasting Network
July 14, 2015
BANGKOK тАФ A martial court in Bangkok has handed down jail terms to ten alleged members of an anti-monarchy network that produced nearly 400 online video clips criticizing Thailand's royal family.
Police cracked down on the group, known collectively as the "Banpodj Network," in February and arrested a total of 14 suspects.
The 64-year-old man accused of leading of the network, Hasadin Uraipraiwan, aka Banpodj, was arrested at a hotel in Bangkok on 9 February.
The group was sent to face trial in military court on charges of violating Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Codes, which outlaws criticizing the monarch and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, and violating the Computer Crime Act, which bans circulating defamatory content and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
Hasadin and seven others were sentenced to five years in prison today, while his wife and a motorcycle taxi driver were sentenced to three years in jail for "providing assistance" to the network. The judge said their jail terms were halved from the original 10-year and 6-year sentences because the defendants plead guilty.
Four other suspects have decided to contest their charges in martial court. They are Ngernkhoon Udomkunakorn, Sivaporn Panya, Thara Wanichpongpan, and Anchan Preelert.
According to the court briefing, the Banpodj Network had produced nearly 400 video and audio clips since 2009 that defame the Thai monarchy. The segments were published on the internet, mostly through Youtube.
Banpodj was well known among a radical wing of the Redshirt movement for constructing complex conspiracy theories about the Royal Family.
http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.ph ... 06§ion