<p>18 July 2010 [Vienna, Austria]&ndash;Encouraged by recent progress but wary of signs of possible retrenchment, an estimated 20,000 participants from more than 185 countries have assembled in Vienna for the start of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) today. Under the theme of Rights Here, Right Now, experts described the state of the epidemic, noting the central role of human right protections to success, and outlined the critical choices facing world leaders in the year ahead.<br /> &nbsp;</p>

<p>Southeast Asian nations should press the Myanmar government to protect the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association throughout the elections period and beyond, Amnesty International said today [18 July] on the eve of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Ha Noi.</p>

<p>The old saying that the winning side gets to write history might be partially true because bookshelves are suddenly overflowing with tomes written ostensibly about an &quot;evil red movement&quot; and why they met a bad ending in May.</p>

<p>Former Leaders Urge Alternatives to &ldquo;War on Drugs&rdquo; in Lead Up to XVIII International AIDS Conference</p> <p>13 July 2010 [Vienna, Austria]&ndash; Former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), Ernesto Zedillo (M&eacute;xico) and C&eacute;sar Gaviria (Colombia) today announced their endorsement of the Vienna Declaration, the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010, www.aids2010.org) taking place from 18 to 23 July 2010.</p>

<p>Thai academics are well-known voices on television and radio as analysts and commentators providing lively debate on politics. But broadcasting freely is no longer a simple and safe matter since the government crackdown against Red Shirt protesters in May.</p> <p>Many radio stations where academics have spoken in support of anti-government Red Shirt demonstrators have been shut down and academics warned by their own universities against openly broadcasting their opinions.</p>

<p class="rteleft">Some 50 red shirts converged at Rajprasong intersection late yesterday [11 July] afternoon in defiance of the emergency decree and created a small commotion - repeatedly shouting &quot;People have been killed here!&quot; and &quot;The military shot people!&quot;</p>

<p>The purpose of reforms should be to eradicate the defects that exist at present, in the police. The main defects are that the system of criminal investigations is based on primitive methodologies and the use of torture is an inherent part of such investigations, therefore the elimination of the use of torture and the development of modern techniques of criminal investigation should be the major priority in any reform; corruption is rampant within the police and the eradication of corruption should also be a priority in police reforms; The police often have to serve political masters and powerful persons and this prevents the police from serving the law as their king; Thus, bringing the police within the rule of law by eradicating their control by politicians and other powerful persons should also be a priority in police reforms.</p>

<p>The space on the Internet for dissenting political views is on the decline following the announcement by Prachatai, an online newspaper, that it will shut down its Web board by the end of this month, rights and media reform activists say. </p> <p>The decision &quot;is indicative of the shutdown of free speech in Thailand under the ongoing state of emergency&quot;, the Hong-Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) stated on Thursday.</p>

<p class="para">As a commission specially created by the Thai government will be investigating the violent clashes between the security forces and Red Shirts in April and May 2010, Reporters Without Borders is releasing a report on 10 serious violations of press freedom and the safety of journalists.</p>

<p>(Hong Kong, July 8, 2010) The decision of an independent online news site to shut down its web board is indicative of the shut down of free speech in Thailand under the ongoing state of emergency, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said on Thursday.</p> <p>In an announcement posted on its website, www.prachatai.com, Prachatai said that as the government was hunting for people making comments online, it had decided to close the web board for the safety of users.</p>

<p>Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that the red-shirts and the yellow-shirts have a great deal in common, far more than any differences that might ostensibly set them apart. Both camps are nationalistic, patriarchal, pro-military, capitalist, and consumerist. Both demonstrate a deep subservience to the bearers of wealth and power, exhibit a fundamental intolerance in both thought and deed, and exploit totally misconceived notions of democracy and human rights, notions that have already been fatally distorted by their leaders.</p>

<p>Bangkok/Brussels, 5 July 2010: The Thai government should immediately lift the state of emergency to create conditions for national reconciliation that would allow the building of a new political consensus and the holding of peaceful elections if the country is to return to stability.</p>