<p>Map Ta Phut in Rayong district is a long-standing major industrial and manufacturing area along the eastern seaboard of Thailand. In June 2009, Map Ta Phut villagers and the Stop Global Warming Association sued eight Thai state agencies in relation to the ongoing health and environmental effects caused by heavy industry and manufacturing.</p>

<p>The First International Conference on Human Rights in Southeast Asia will be held on October 14 and 15, 2010 at the Royal River Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.</p> <p>Dr. Sriprapha Petcharamesree, Thailand's Representative to the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) comments: &quot;This conference on human rights in Southeast Asia is historic as it challenges the existing norms in Southeast Asia. And it does this by providing a platform to contribute to righting the wrongs.&quot;</p>

<p>On the third anniversary of the violent crackdown on the &ldquo;Saffron Revolution&rdquo;, Amnesty International calls on the Myanmar government to immediately and unconditionally free all political prisoners arrested for their peaceful activism.</p>

<p>Friday 24 September 2010, 9.30 am. The Criminal Court is scheduled to read the verdict of Somchai Neelapaijit reached by the Appeal Court.</p> <p><strong>Background</strong></p> <p>After seven months of court hearings into the disappearance of Mr. Somchai from August 2005 onward on the offences regarding coercion and robber, the Bangkok Criminal Court read out the verdict in Black Case no. 1952/2547 and Red Case no. Or 4/2549 on 12 January 2006. In sum, the Court holds that:</p>

<p>Debating Vietnam's human rights record under its ASEAN Chairmanship is more than ever impossible</p> <p>Paris, 12 September 2010: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) announced today that it has been under pressure by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cancel a press conference on human rights in Vietnam, organized by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR).<br /> &nbsp;</p>

<p>(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of Pham Minh Hoang, a blogger with French nationality who teaches mathematics at the Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic School. He has been held incommunicado since his arrest on 13 August 2010 for allegedly violating article 79 of the criminal code, which refers to attempts to overthrow the government.</p>

<p>Narathiwat Provincial Court has dismissed the case of Imam Yapha Kaseng on the grounds that it is not under its jurisdiction, and told his wife to turn to the military courts instead.&nbsp; However, individuals cannot bring cases to a military court; only the authorities can do so.</p>

<p>Amnesty International is calling on the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution ensuring the urgent establishment of an international commission of inquiry into serious human rights violations committed in Myanmar, including crimes against humanity and possible war crimes. </p>

<p>The Burma Army continues to launch deliberate military attacks that target civilians and undermine humanitarian conditions in upland areas of Karen State, according to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), which today released the report Self-protection under strain: Targeting of civilians and local responses in northern Karen State.&nbsp; Drawing on over 212 interviews and 85 field documents submitted by KHRG field researchers since January 2009, the report makes clear that civilians contending with attacks need increased humanitarian support.&nbsp; This support must be designed to strength</p>

<p>In a submission to the 14th session of the Human Rights Council, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) described the use of arbitrary orders for interrogation of civilians in army camps and other facilities under emergency regulations during the violence between state forces and antigovernment protestors in Thailand in April-May 2010 (A/HRC/14/NGO/42, 17 May 2010).</p>

<p align="justify">(Hong Kong, July 30, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Friday launched a new webpage on the state of emergency in Thailand. </p> <p>The webpage, Thailand State of Emergency 2010, features a map showing provinces where the emergency remains in effect, and carries links to AHRC material as well as outside resources on the emergency decree. </p> <p>The webpage can be accessed at: <a target="_blank" href="http://thailand.ahrchk.net/emergency2010/">http://thailand.ahrchk.net/<wbr></wbr>emergency2010/</a> &nbsp;</p>

<p>Despite being under emergency rule for four months, many Bangkokians still believe their lives are &quot;normal.&quot; </p> <p>However, there's nothing normal about living under the emergency decree.</p> <p>The &quot;silent majority&quot; should not complacently accept the emergency law as status quo because it not only violates their rights, but is also bad for democracy. Unless they want Thailand to become another Burma, they should seriously stop and think about the merits of this law.</p>