<p></p><p>On Aug 8, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the press that the government would sponsor &lsquo;Naresuan&rsquo;, an epic movie about the ancient Ayutthayan king who saved the kingdom from Burma four hundred years ago. &nbsp;The movie is directed by Mom Chao Chatrichalerm Yukol, who made &lsquo;Suriyothai&rsquo; in 2001.</p>

<p>A PAD lawyer said that the red shirts&rsquo; petition campaign was a violation of the Criminal Code, subject to many years in jail on charges of assisting a culprit and contempt of court.<span>&nbsp; </span>He provided a complaint form for people to download from Manager website to press charges against red shirt leaders and others throughout the country.</p>

<p>The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) condemns the guilty verdict and 18-month extended house arrest meted out to Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 11 August 2009. SEAPA joins the international community in rejecting this judgment, and in demanding the immediate release of Suu Kyi, a democracy icon in Burma and for the rest of the world.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">A police IT task force has been set up to monitor websites and track down those who offend the monarchy.<span>&nbsp; </span>Police find it difficult to deal with websites whose servers are located abroad.<span>&nbsp; </span>The Crime Suppression Division is investigating Thaksin&rsquo;s phone-ins, and charges are likely to be made. <span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) views with concern plans afoot to filter the Internet to block so-called undesirable websites, as reported in the local media. This is a clear violation of the commitment made in the promotion of the Multimedia Super Corridor and the Bill of Guarantees that ensures no censorship of the Internet. Any form of control or filtering is a violation of freedom of speech, as enshrined in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.</p>

<p>Matichon columnist <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/1244">Prasong Wisute</a> devoted <a href="http://www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1249641126&amp;grpid=no&amp;catid=02">his column</a> on Aug 7 to a graft allegation against one of Thailand&rsquo;s top auditors for having taken a sister and daughter on an official trip to Europe using free THAI tickets. &nbsp;</p>

<p>On Aug 6, about 300 members of the Triumph Labour Union rallied at Government House to petition the Prime Minister and call on the government to intervene in their dispute with the company which has laid off 1,959 workers.</p>

<p>On Aug 6, a letter from a local educational office in Buriram ordering schools to collect the signatures of staff and students against the red shirts&rsquo; petition was posted on the <a href="http://www.pantip.com/cafe/rajdumnern/topic/P8170010/P8170010.html">Pantip webboard</a> by a poster named Mati Khon.</p>

<p>On Aug 5, the Criminal Court held its final hearing in the case of Daranee Charnchoengsilapakul. &nbsp;Suwit Lertkraimethi, a postgraduate student at Thammasat&rsquo;s Political Sicence Faculty and an anti-coup activist testified as a defence witness, followed by Daranee herself.</p>

<p>A Open Letter from the Human Rights for Development Foundation (HRDF), Bangkok Clinic for Rights and Legal Personality Legal Counseling (Bangkok Clinic) and Stateless Watch for Research and Development Institute of Thailand (SWIT) and Legal opinion and proposal forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)</p>

<p>Vasin Teeravechyan, the Chair of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), insisted that Koh Kud belonged to Thailand, and the line on the map drawn by Cambodia to take in half the sea area around Koh Kud, but leave out the island itself, as alleged by the People&rsquo;s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), was a breach of international law. &nbsp;Thailand and Cambodia ceased negotiations on overlapping maritime claims in 2006, after fruitless talks.</p>

<p>According to the Public Health Minister, copies of the 2009 flu prevention manual have already been distributed, but most people do not read them in detail; so they don&rsquo;t know how to protect themselves from the disease. &nbsp;Physicians also do not study the treatment manual provided to them.</p>