By Jaran Ditapichai |
<p>Three months after the Army’s crackdown on May 19th, 2010 which caused 91 deaths and almost 2,000 injured, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has not yet come to terms with the fact that his soldiers killed people.</p>
<p>Chulalongkorn political science lecturer dismisses what happened as petty nonsense, and believes that the students have someone behind them, while university administrators have refused to be interviewed.</p>
<p>An attempt of a group of Chula students to protest against Abhisit Vejjajiva inside the university was thwarted by a lecturer and university security guards. The students called on the PM to call an early election, and take legal action against those responsible for the April-May massacre.</p>
<p>28 red shirts, including a 15-year-old boy, have been arrested and prosecuted for burning down Mukdahan provincial hall on 19 May. 24 have been denied bail and are being held on remand at the provincial prison.</p>
<p>The People’s Centre for Information on the April – May 2010 Crackdowns (PCI) has reported the arrest and prosecution of 28 people, including one woman and a 15-year-old boy, for burning down the provincial hall during the unrest on 19 May.</p>
<p>The mother of the high school student has been told by the Provincial Juvenile Centre not to send her son for psychotherapy scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday, as her son has been found to be normal. The Director of the Centre insists that the agency has followed procedures without discrimination. The Centre’s findings from its examination of the student will be sent to police to be forwarded to the prosecution.</p>
<p>On 9 Aug, a local red-shirt leader and three students from Chiang Rai who had been charged by local police with violating the Emergency Decree went to the Office of the National Human Rights Commission in Bangkok, in response to an invitation to provide information to the Commission.</p>
By Marianna Brungs, Chatham House |
<p>While Thailand’s reputation as ‘the land of smiles’ is a cliché, the recent images of violence and unrest in Bangkok have been a shocking contrast to its reputation as a stable regional travel and business hub.</p>
<p>Sakon Nakhon court has sentenced Sakrapee Phromchat, who as a Brahman led the red shirts’ blood-pouring ritual in front of Government House in March, to 8 months in jail for blocking traffic and instigating unrest during a protest in the province.</p>
<p>A high school student, one of five students who have been persecuted for their minor protest against the Emergency Decree in Chiang Rai, reported to the Juvenile Observation and Protection Centre for questioning, and has been advised to confess to the crime and ask the court for leniency.</p>
<p>5 students in Chiang Rai have been persecuted by the authorities after they staged a small protest calling for the lifting of the Emergency Decree and reminding the public of the killings in Ratchaprasong. </p>
<p>Activists and red shirts have continued to converge at Ratchaprasong on Sundays to commemorate the loss of lives in the area. Last Sunday an activist was arrested and fined for making a loud noise.</p>
By Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation |
<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 "evil red movement" and why they met a bad ending in May.</p>