<div> <div>Human Rights Watch has condemned the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) for filing a complaint against three human rights defenders in the Deep South for exposing torture by the military of Muslim Malay minority members. </div></div>

<div>The Election Commission has released a new song campaigning for the August referendum, which has content that has triggered public outrage on social media since it allegedly reflects the commission’s prejudice against the northerners and northeasterners, which are allegedly the main supporters of the red shirt movement.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The Election Commision of Thailand (ECT) has released a song called ‘7 August’, Together in Referendum for Democratic Consolidation.’ The song mainly aims to persuade people to go to vote in the charter draft referendum. </div>

<div>Following a meeting with the Election Commission of Thailand, on 18 May, Damaso G. Magbual, chairperson and co-founder of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), met with Prachatai English for an interview to discuss what the presence of an election monitoring group may mean for the upcoming referendum vote.&nbsp;</div> <div> </div>

<p dir="ltr"><em>To commemorate the second anniversary of the 2014 coup d’état, Prachatai presents interviews with some of those who had protested against the government and against elections, aka the PDRC, whose lives and political ideas have been changed under the junta. Branded as the ones who paved the way for the coup two years ago, they have now learned that it is better to have an elected government, even a ‘bad’ one, than a dictatorship.</em></p> <p></p>

<div>Weakening elected government officials, enhancing bureaucracy, and increasing relations with influential capitalists is what the military is trying to do to secure its legitimacy after “the transition”, says Prajak Kongkirati, a political scientist from Thammasat University.</div> <p></p>

<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>

<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>

<div> <div>China has controlled the water level in the Mekong for more than two decades and it is ruining local people’s way of life in the downstream countries, says civil society.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>China released water from a dam in Yunnan inside China claiming that this policy aims to ease drought among Mekong downstream countries <a href="http://thediplomat.com/2016/03/facing-mekong-drought-china-to-release-water-from-yunnan-dam/">(further detail)</a>. </div></div>

<div><em>Even though the disabled have long been seen in Thai dramas, the representation of them is problematic and unrealistic, which leads to misperceptions. Movie directors state that disabled characters should be seen as ordinary human beings.&nbsp;</em></div> <p></p>

<div>The draft charter is intended to bonsai Thailand’s democracy by weakening the majority voice in the House, academic said, adding that it is unlikely to pass in the referendum.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p>To question “What’s the point of having a military?” will certainly cause a problem. The problem, however, does not belong to those who are high-ranking soldiers. They might have a problem but it is minor. Even if we consider bribes from weapons transactions, it’s still a minor problem. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>