<p>Current and former National Human Rights Commissioners are concerned about changes made by the Council of State to a new law governing the independent body. &nbsp;The Commission will be prohibited from revealing any information about cases under ongoing investigation, while it will be authorized to pursue court cases on behalf of those whose rights are violated.</p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><font>&quot;The massacre of journalists in Maguindanao staggers our community. It is a crime of such scale and horror that is incomparable to anything we have seen.&quot; </font></span></p>

<p>(26 November 2009, Bangkok) The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a regional human rights organisation with 46 members across Asia, strongly condemns the recent massacre of civilians and journalists in Maguindanao, southern Philippines. We call on the government of the Philippines to conduct an independent investigation into this crime and hold its perpetrators accountable.</p>

<p>The Ministry of Labour will seek a court order to remove Triumph workers from the ground floor of its building, citing a complaint from a citizen, after it previously claimed the need to use the space for an exhibition to celebrate the King&rsquo;s birthday. &nbsp;Products under the workers&rsquo; own brand name &lsquo;Try Arm&rsquo; have been made and sold, and a labour organization in Switzerland has placed an order for 400 pairs of underwear.</p>

<p>Villagers of Pak Bang village in Satun expressed concern over their homes and livelihoods in the face of a huge government fuel depot project that will require 5,000 rai (2,000 acres) of land in their area. &nbsp;No one has told them anything or given them any information, they complained.</p>

<p>A total of 26 journalists were among those killed in the 23 November massacre in Maguindanao province (on the southern island of Mindanao) by alleged supporters of the province&rsquo;s governor, Andal Ampatuan Sr, according to journalists who have gone to the massacre site.</p>

<p>Statement of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility on the Maguindanao Massacre in the Philippines. The following is a statement by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), a SEAPA member based in Manila</p>

<p>Sawatree Suksri, a lecturer of the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, who has studied computer-related law in Germany, talked to Prachatai about the 2007 Computer Crimes Act which she finds too ambiguous in many points, including, for example, national security, which has been subject to arbitrary interpretations by the authorities.</p>

<p>Two leaders of the Triumph labour union, who were charged with inciting unrest and blocking roads during their protests at Government House and Parliament in late August, have been granted bail with academics from Chulalongkorn University as guarantors.</p>

<p>The People&rsquo;s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) took to the stage at Sanam Luang with intense nationalism. &nbsp;Fiery nationalist rhetoric was stressed and repeated, while decades-old nationalist anti-communist songs were played throughout. The &lsquo;Hun Sen Model&rsquo; was the latest term introduced to characterize the Cambodian leader. A larger rally was called for 5 Dec.</p>

<p>Since December 2008, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) has increasingly stressed its policy that migrant workers from Burma currently in Thailand must enter a nationality verification process (NV). NV is apparently required to change migrant&rsquo;s status from persons who illegally entered Thailand to persons who are legally resident here, as well as to allow migrants to legally work and receive legal protection equal to Thai persons.</p>

<p>The Appeal Court has reduced Boonyuen Prasertying&rsquo;s sentence to 2 years, after she appealed the original 6-year term. &nbsp;She is to be released in August 2010.</p>