<p>Since the three-month occupation of Government House and week-long occupation of the two main airports in Bangkok ended on 3 December 2008 following the dissolution of three parties in Thailand&rsquo;s ruling coalition, the extent of destruction that the occupiers have caused is now becoming clear. Leaving aside the indirect damage that the invasion caused to all people and institutions in Thailand, parts of these public buildings have reportedly been completely ransacked and vandalised. </p>

<p>With the end of the occupation of airports and government buildings in Bangkok, the Thai government, its proxies, and anti-government groups should commit to ending political violence, which in recent months has caused numerous deaths and injuries, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. The organizations called on the Thai government to create an independent commission to carry out a prompt, effective, and impartial investigation into the politically motivated violence by all sides in recent months and hold those responsible to account.</p>

<p>Given the incessant escalation of violence in Thailand which has pushed down the society into a deep political polarization of the people and the use of weapons to hurt each other, media of all branches--be they newspapers, radios or televisions--face difficulties in performing their duties in the areas where demonstration of various groups take place.</p>

<p>The siege of Bangkok&#39;s airports that is into its sixth day is being accompanied by increasing lawlessness. On Saturday a convoy of armed occupiers attacked a police checkpoint, causing the officers to flee, smashing vehicles and making off with shields and other equipment. One policeman has been taken hostage. Armed thugs set upon a local photographer for a major daily who was taking shots of them assaulting another person.</p>

<p>Reporters Without Borders today called on both sides in the unrest in Thailand to stop physical attacks on the media and urged journalists to resist the temptation to fall into propaganda in their reports.</p>

<p>Unidentified suspects fired two 40mm grenades at the head office of satellite TV services provider ASTV in Thailand early morning o&nbsp; November 28, in an apparent attempt to destroy the satellit&nbsp; transponder dishes on the building&#39;s roof, media reports said.</p>

<p><span>The takeover of the main international airport in Bangkok by protestors going under the banner of the People&#39;s Alliance for Democracy is a watershed moment for democracy and the rule of law in Thailand. It follows some months of increasingly aggressive strategies to get the current government to resign and to block it from making amendments to the 2008 Constitution, which was prepared under the watch of the 2006 military coup leaders and their supporters and pushed through via a deeply flawed referendum.<span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span>Prachatai apologizes to the readers of its Prachatai in English page for the difficulties in presenting a coherent picture of the current situation in Thailand.<span>&nbsp; </span>Prachatai&#39;s limited resources are concentrated on serving its base constituency via its Thai-language reports, which unfortunately leaves little capacity for sustained coverage in English.<span>&nbsp; </span>We will continue to post articles as and when we can, but we also recommend to our English-language readers the sites of Bangkok Pundit at <a href="http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/">http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/</a>, and of New Mandala at <a href="http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/">http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/newmandala/</a>, both of which provide excellent reporting and commentary.</span></p>

<p>Sports journalist Zaw Thet Htwe gets 15 years, comedian and blogger Zarganar gets 45 years</p>

<p>The relatives of the April 28th, 2004 incident will submit a complaint letter to the president of the Lawyer&#39;s Council of Thailand on Saturday 22nd, 2008 at CS Pattani Hotel. </p>

<p>A draft legislation aimed at penalizing people making online defamatory remarks against the monarchy has been proposed by a group of MPs from the opposition Democrat Party on November 18, media reports said.</p>

<p>The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges Taiwan&#39;s National Police Agency (NPA) to stop asking media personnel for information about protesters at a recent public demonstration.</p>