By Prachatai |
Students at Chiang Mai University and local activists gathered on 10 April to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the 10 April 2010 crackdown on Red Shirt protesters in Bangkok, which killed 26 people and injured over 800.
By Prachatai |
Members of the general public and political figures gathered on Ratchadamnoen Road in memory of those who died during the 2010 crackdown on Red Shirt protests. Fourteen years on, the victims have yet to receive justice.
By Prachatai |
The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) is filing a petition with the Constitutional Court seeking the disqualification of former Move Forward Party (MFP) MP Nakornchai Khunnarong on the grounds that he ran in the 2023 general election knowing that he was ineligible.
Highlight
By Thanapat Pekanan |
Can the return of exiled politicians ignite hope for Thai democracy and reshape its political landscape? Thanapat Pekanan argues that Jakrapob Penkair, who recently returned to Thailand after 15 years in exile, could pave the way for the return of political refugees if he could reconcile with the establishment and ensure that the plight of those prosecuted by the royal defamation law is addressed.
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) |
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organizations Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) and Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) call on Thailand’s Constitutional Court to dismiss the petition to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP) to ensure compliance with the country’s obligations under international human rights law.
By Prachatai |
Students at Chiang Mai University and local activists gathered on 10 April to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the 10 April 2010 crackdown on Red Shirt protesters in Bangkok, which killed 26 people and injured over 800.
By Atthaphon Sichitsanuwaranon |
Under the 2007 Empowerment of Persons Disability Act, each holder of a Disability Card is entitled to receive 40,000 baht from the government for home renovation. But in the country's rural areas, like Surin's Rattanaburi and Kap Choeng districts, people are having issues accessing their welfare. Families who do not have the land deed to their houses are not paid for renovation, while others may have to wait at least 3 months for the budget to be approved.
By Patrice Victor |
Last May, the Malaysian police seized 172 rainbow watches from 11 Swatch shops across the country. The Malaysian Home Minister said that the brand's Pride collection are "detrimental to morality" and threatened anyone caught wearing one of the watches with fine and jail time. Although noone has yet to be jailed for wearing rainbow and a variety of gay venues in Kuala Lumpur, LGBTQ people are facing more repression due to rising Islamic fundamentalism.
By Samanachan Buddhajak and Donlawat Sunsuk |
Due to unseasonal water level fluctuation in the Mekong River, a result of upstream dams, many species of migratory birds that use to lay eggs along the riverbank in Bueng Kan City are disappearing. Meanwhile, tourism and riverbank development is also causing traditional lifestyles and natural habitats to disappear.
By Prachatai |
<p>A monarchy supporter with a large online following was arrested on Saturday, hours after he claimed to have raised nearly 700,000 baht to cover the cost of what he described as a ritual to extend the life of King Vajiralongkorn’s eldest child.</p>
By Anna Lawattanatrakul |
<p>Thailand is currently hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, taking place between 14 – 19 November at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC), with the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on 18-19 November. Meanwhile, activist groups and civil society organizations are planning series of protests over the week against what they see as an attempt by the government to boost its legitimacy and greenwash the country’s major polluters.</p>
By Prachatai |
<p>A week has passed since the Northeastern massacre that left 37 dead. In the wake of the heartbreaking carnage, authorities and the media have begun to reflect on past errors and look for a way forward.</p>
By Anna Lawattanatrakul |
Left without answers following the disappearance of her husband, human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, Angkhana Neelapaijit has not only spearheaded the search for him but also campaigned for the criminalization of enforced disappearance in Thailand. Today, 20 years later, Angkhana is a member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. We speak to Angkhana 20 years after Somchai’s disappearance about her life since her husband went missing and her hope for Thailand after the enforcement of the new anti-torture and enforced disappearance law.
By Sasitorn Aksornwilai |
Having spent a decade of her life promoting gender diversity. Natakamon “Priest” Siwasilp, an intersex person and a co-founder of Intersex Thailand, discovered that being intersex is a natural variation of being human. Now, she uses her voice to expand awareness about intersex people, striving for a future where intersex people are wholeheartedly accepted and granted the rights to live the lives they truly desire.
By Thanapat Pekanan |
Can the return of exiled politicians ignite hope for Thai democracy and reshape its political landscape? Thanapat Pekanan argues that Jakrapob Penkair, who recently returned to Thailand after 15 years in exile, could pave the way for the return of political refugees if he could reconcile with the establishment and ensure that the plight of those prosecuted by the royal defamation law is addressed.
By Yukti Mukdawijitra |
Yukti Mukdawijitra, associate professor of anthropology at Thammasat University, writes about his experience in the arraignment room at the South Bangkok Criminal Court after he was indicted on a royal defamation charge filed against him over a tweet from two years ago.
By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) |
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organizations Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) and Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) call on Thailand’s Constitutional Court to dismiss the petition to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP) to ensure compliance with the country’s obligations under international human rights law.
RSF representative deported from Hong Kong on attempt to monitor Jimmy Lai’s national security trial
By Reporters Without Borders (RSF) |
A representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been detained for six hours and deported on arrival from Hong Kong to monitor the trial of publisher Jimmy Lai, who is currently facing possible life imprisonment for "endangering national security," and meet with local journalists. RSF noted that this action by the Hong Kong authorities is unprecedented for its representatives and marks a new decline in press freedom in Hong Kong.
By Human Rights Watch |
Following the Thai government's decision not to deport 19 children from Myanmar who were taken from Wat Sawang Arom School in Lopburi and brought without their parents to the Thai-Myanmar border in Chiang Rai, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Thai government to allow all Myanmar refugees to remain in Thailand as long as the human rights situation in Myanmar remains dire. Thailand should also provide protection and support to all refugees, including by permitting UNHCR to undertake refugee status determination.