<div>The draft constitution is a written attempt by the junta to take Thai politics and society back to the pre-Thaksin era. The draft not only aims to prevent the emergence of a Thaksin-like government, but also the emergence of Thaksin-like policies, which were tangible and ‘edible’ for the poor.</div> <div> </div>

<div>Not only Pheu Thai’s red bowls, but medical kits from the Democrats are also a threat to national security.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Monday, 11 April 2016, the state authorities confiscated 1,271 medical kits from a Democrat Party politician’s house in the central province of Kamphaeng Phet, saying that it is a symbolic political act which could threaten national security, <a href="http://manager.co.th/Local/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9590000037148">reported</a> ASTV Manager Online. </div>

<div>The junta is attempting to abandon the universal healthcare scheme, one of the most acclaimed policies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and replace it with a co-payment system. Analysts say under the draft constitution, healthcare will be no longer a state obligation, but state assistance to the poor. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Amid news that the junta plans to reduce the budget for the universal healthcare scheme, formerly known as 30-baht policy, and ultimately abolish it, the equal right to healthcare has been removed from the draft constitution. </div>

<p><em>Election? Another coup? People’s uprising? Where is Thailand heading? Academics have said that if the military decides to prolong its regime, a people’s uprising is inevitable.&nbsp;</em></p> <p></p>

<p>The junta has exempted the construction of coal-fired power plants in Songkhla and Krabi provinces from city planning laws in a bid to push forward controversial projects despite strong local opposition.&nbsp;</p> <p>The exemption was published in the Royal Thai Gazette on Thursday 31 March 2016. It was issued after NCPO Order No. 4/2016, signed on 20 March 2016 by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as the Chair of the National Energy Policy Committee.&nbsp;</p>

<div>In an attempt to censor voices against the draft constitution, the junta threatened the Pheu Thai Party after it issued a statement denouncing the draft constitution as undemocratic.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Wednesday, 30 March 2016, the Pheu Thai Party issued a statement condemning the final draft of the constitution and urging people to turn it down in the referendum, scheduled in August.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>In response to Pheu Thai’s move, Col Piyapong Klinphan, a spokesperson for the junta, said the junta thanks Pheu Thai for having a clear stance on the draft, but t </div>

<div>The anti-Thaksin civil society has condemned the junta government for issuing orders that intentionally benefit big construction projects which affect locals, and has urged people to use the upcoming referendum as a bargaining chip against the junta.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Academics and civil society state that NCPO Orders 3/2016, 4/2016 and 9/2016, which were issued using the power of Article 44 of 2014 interim charter, are turning Thailand into a capitalists’ paradise. </div>

<p>Pro-coup ultra-nationalists have attacked the Facebook page of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/usembassybkk">US Embassy in Bangkok</a>&nbsp;after the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific criticized the junta’s martial law, with some comments going as far as calling the US terrorists.</p>

<p>The junta leader threatened to step up the use of martial law, warning that people who still engage in anti-junta activities, especially the media and the anti-establishment red shirts, will be detained and barred from making financial transactions.</p> <p>Moreover, the junta Premier revealed that another ex-Pheu Thai politician has been summoned for taking an anti-junta stance.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The Appeal Court granted bail to an ex-lese majeste convict, sentenced to jail for failing to report himself to the junta after the coup.</p> <p>The Appeal Court on Monday granted bail to Nat S., a former lese majeste convict who was first to be sentenced to prison without suspension for defying junta’s order, after the defence lawyer submitted 40,000 bail request. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p dir="ltr">The network of Thai poor people pressed the junta to rethink about its forest protection policies and come up with strategies to reduce prevalent socio-economic inequity in Thai society at the first official meeting between the group and the junta. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><span>Yukti Mukdawijitra is one of the dissidents who fled the country right after the coup. The Thammasat anthropologist said his role as an anti-coup, pro-democracy activist</span><span>&nbsp;and campaigner against Article 112 or the lèse majesté law made him feel it was unsafe to stay in the country.&nbsp;</span><span>Yukti, who is now a fellow at U of Wisconsin at Madison discusses the junta’s campaign to crack down on lèse majesté and the outlook for the country after the coup.</span></p> <p></p>