<p>Who are the yellow shirts? This question is hard to answer, but the scant information provided by economist Abhichart Sthitniramai and political scientist Anek Laothammathat of Thammasat University, shows that on average they have higher incomes than the red shirts.&nbsp; There are more yellow shirts in the social security system, for example, meaning that they work in the formal sector.&nbsp; Even though they may be just employees, they are &lsquo;inside the system&rsquo;, while the red shirts are probably working &lsquo;outside the system&rsquo; as, for example, daily wage earners.</p>

<p><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14px; font-size: 11px;">BANGKOK &ndash; it has almost become rhetorical these days when people talk about reconciliation. In part, they do not really mean what they preach; the government&rsquo;s genuine intention to bring about peace and unity has been questioned as its proposal was announced while the emergency law is still being enforced.</span></span></p>

<p>First of all, I must congratulate Thailand on being chosen to chair the UN Human Rights Council for one year (2010-2011).&nbsp; According to the 15th annual meeting of the Council on 22 June 2010, Thailand&rsquo;s permanent ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Sihasak Phuangkatekaew will chair the Council.&nbsp; Although the chairmanship lasts only one year, while the membership of the Council is for three years, this opens a window of opportunity for crisis-ridden Thailand.</p>

<p>At last, we have seen the full package of the Abhisit regime&rsquo;s reconciliation kit, including the fact-finding committee on the May killings, the committee on constitutional amendments, and the committees on national reform by the Anand and <a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/node/1898">Prawase</a> duo.</p> <p>So, is this reconciliation with the 90 deaths?&nbsp; Impossible.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s just an attempt to convince na&iuml;ve people into believing that there&rsquo;s reconciliation to isolate the red shirts and others who want true democracy.</p>

<p>The Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) expresses grave concern over the failure of certain governments in Asia to appoint members of their national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in accordance with the Paris Principles. The ANNI believes that this illustrates the lack of political will by these governments to strengthen their NHRIs so that these institutions can effectively discharge their mandates of promoting and protecting human rights in their countries.&nbsp;</p> <p>To date, there are at least two (2) NHRIs in Asia that still do not have commissioners: the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and the Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission. While these NHRIs carry on without commissioners at the helm, human rights violations continue to take place in these countries. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) was without commissioners for more than one month.</p>

<p>The article &ldquo;<a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/38162/is-this-govt-violating-human-rights-think-again">Is this government violating human rights? Think again</a>&rdquo; by Arie Bloed published in the Bangkok Post on 3 June 2010 raises many important points.</p>

<p>(23-05-10) I was informed that today police from the Crime Suppression Division led by Pol. Maj. Gen. Chakthip Chaijinda, searched my residence in Don Muang bringing with them an Emergency Decree arrest warrant. The warrant was issued pursuant to an incident on 21 May 2010 at 13.00, when I and Acharn Suthachai Yimprasert, in the name of the 24th of June Democracy Group, held a press conference in front of House No. 111 office. There, we made the following five demands:&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to Mr. Sarayuth Ampan who was shot by firearm into his arm while hiding himself in the rear part of the white medic van with clear signs, some demonstrators who had started to gather around Bon Kai area on Rama IV Road were running away into Soi Ngam Du Plee, off Rama IV Road. The army officials were chasing after them. As the demonstrators had gone into other smaller lanes, the army officials approached the Pinnacle Hotel&rsquo;s parking lot where the medic van was parked with its head facing the road.</p>

<p>The following is an eyewitness account of the demonstrations in downtown Bangkok over the past several days. In the wake of lost lives and massive damage done to infrastructure and buildings in the area, the government has claimed success in &ldquo;taking back the area&rdquo; from the Red Shirts demonstrators. Much attention has been diverted to the property damage, often overshadowing the human cost of the clearing operation.</p>

<p>Uncle Noi is a mobile fruit vendor. He peddles his fruits on a pick-up&nbsp;truck which has a small loud speaker attached to it. Dogs would bark&nbsp;at his arrival as unmistakable sign of his presence.</p>

<p><strong>An open letter to the Thai Government and UDD</strong></p> <p>On May 14,2010, &nbsp;just one day after Thailand was elected with land slide majority of 182 votes out of 192 members of the United Nations to sit in the UN Human Rights Council (of which the total number of members is 47) the Thai Government seriously breached its own commitments and pledges made during the campaign for the seat. In the campaign, the PM.Abhisit Vejjajiva has committed that &ldquo;<em>&hellip;I can &nbsp;reaffirm that this Government will address problems relating to freedom and liberty and human rights on the basis of accepting them as reality. This is the first crucial step so that every agency, including civil society, recognizes the need to cooperate in seriously solving the problems&hellip;if the Government or state officials do not learn how to respect human rights themselves, problems will never end. What I would like to see from now on is right understanding and right perspective, and to push ahead in the promotion and protection of human rights&hellip;</em>&rdquo;. The Prime Minister further confirmed that &ldquo;<em>I am confident that even if obstacles still remain in the economic, social, political or legal aspects, but if people are ready to reach out to one another as fellow human beings, that will be the beginning of our success in ensuring the effective enjoyment and safeguard of human and freedom and liberty</em>&rdquo;.</p>

<p><em>Samaphan Srithep or Cher, 17, was fatally shot at Soi Rang Nam on 15 May. &nbsp;His elder sister wrote about him on her Facebook.</em></p> <p>I often thought of him as a &ldquo;badly brought up&rdquo; kid. He was annoying, impertinent, had a gift of bad timing. He was also provocative, and a bit unhinged.&nbsp;</p> <p>I had even thought that if he carried on this way, he would probably &ldquo;die before he has lived.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>