<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana">This morning, Israel started a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip, leaving behind death, destruction and intense suffering. Medical teams, fire fighters and civilians have been working all day to safe those buried under the rubble of destroyed houses, to transport the injured and death to the hospitals, to extinguish the fires, to protect the children, whilst fearing for the lives of their loved ones in the face of renewed attacks. </span></font></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="color: gray">The 19 September 2006 coup d&#39;etat has led to government violation of Internet users&#39; rights, blockage of information, and abridgment of freedom of expression. Authorities have enforced cyber laws in order to achieve political ends, without clear, fair, and unbiased guidelines.</span></font></p>

<p><font size="2" face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Police Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee filed a third criminal complaint this year against Head on December 23, alleging he had insulted the Thai monarchy in his reporting.</font></p>

<p>Zeng Jinyan, the wife of jailed human rights activist Hu Jia, thanked European parliamentarians for their support in a video message played on 17 December 2008 to a plenary session of the European parliament during the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought award ceremony. Hu is this year&#39;s winner of the prize, awarded by the European Parliament (<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/rsf_internet/video/13024651" target="_blank">http://www.dailymotion.com/rsf_internet/video/13024651</a> ).</p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">According to a news report on December 11, 2008, Maj. Gen. Verachai Nakvanich, commander of the Narathiwat Task Force Unit, chaired an event to receive &lsquo;misled people&rsquo; who had decided to attend the People Cooperating to Do Good for the Realm project (Pracharuamjai Thamkuamdeepueapaendin project).</font></p>

<p><font size="2">How did the international media report about new Thai Prime Minister? Prachatai selected some to re-present here.</font></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">On 8 December 2008, Mr. Tharit Charungvat, Director-General of Department of Information and Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, sent a letter to the Editor-in-Chief of The Economist to&nbsp;express concerns and displeasure of the people of Thailand over the contents of two articles, &ldquo;A right royal mess&rdquo; and &ldquo;The king and them,&rdquo; published in the 6&ndash;12 December 2008 issue of The Economist magazine. In the letter, Mr. Tharit also pointed out and clarified the inaccuracies in the articles and called for measures to rectify the situation.</font></p> <p> <font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><br /> </font></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">We, the Laureates of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Award, uphold the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirm its 60th Anniversary call for dignity and justice for all.</font></p>

<p>&nbsp;Malaysian human rights group SUARAM released its Overview Report on the situation of human rights in Malaysia in 2008 today, in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day, which also marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.</p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Excessive use of defamation and lese majeste charges by opposing political groups and authorities in Thailand to curb free expression on the Internet has forced a coalition of Internet users comprising media reformers, human rights campaigners, webmasters, bloggers and operators of online news publications, to form a civic network called the Thai Netizens Network, designed to promote and protect cyber liberty.</font></p>

<p><span class="texte-11"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">Reporters Without Borders repeated its call for the release of Australian author <strong class="spip">Harry Nicolaides</strong>, facing a charge of the crime of lese-majesty, after he was yesterday refused bail by the Bangkok criminal court for the fourth time.</font></span></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">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. </font></p>