!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Human Rights Watch /div /div /div pemSafeguards Needed Before Allowing Investment, Financial Services /em/p p(Washington, DC, May 15, 2012) ndash; The US government should not ease sanctions on business activities in Burma until adequate safeguards are in place to prevent new investment from fueling human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. A US presidential order imposing a ban on investment and financial services in Burma is scheduled to expire on May 20, 2012, unless it is renewed or revised./p pIn early April, in response to Burmese government pledges of reform and electoral gains by Burmarsquo;s main opposition party, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the US government was prepared to relax certain business-related sanctions. A new presidential order easing business restrictions is expected to be issued soon./p p ldquo;The US government should not reward the Burmese governmentrsquo;s nascent and untested changes by allowing an unregulated business bonanza,rdquo; said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. ldquo;Tough rules are needed to ensure that new investments benefit the people of Burma and donrsquo;t fuel human rights abuses and corruption, or end up strengthening the militaryrsquo;s control over civilian authorities.rdquo;/p pIn two recent joint letters to a href="http://www.hrw.org/node/106721"President Barack Obama/a and his a href="http://www.hrw.org/node/107230"senior advisers/a, Human Rights Watch and other organizations expressed concern that the administration would lift business-related sanctions before progress was made on key reform efforts. The groups noted that a current US Treasury Department list of ldquo;Special Designated Nationalsrdquo;shy;ndash; people and companies implicated in human rights abuses in Burma with whom American companies are banned from doing business ndash; had not been updated for at least three years, and needed to be corrected based on new developments./p pldquo;The US government shouldnrsquo;t lift investment restrictions unless it first updates the Treasury Department list,rdquo; Sifton said. ldquo;Otherwise US companies could end up going into business with human rights abusers.rdquo;/p pSecretary Clinton, when she announced plans for a ldquo;targeted easingrdquo; of sanctions in early April, a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/04/187439.htm"pledged/a that, ldquo;Sanctions and prohibitions will stay in place on individuals and institutions that remain on the wrong side of [Burmarsquo;s] historic reform efforts.rdquo;/p pUndertaking business in Burma raises a variety of human rights related risk factors, Human Rights Watch said. These include: weak rule of law and a judiciary lacking independence, the militaryrsquo;s extensive involvement in the economy as well as its use of forced labor and other abusive practices in connection with providing security for business operations, poor regulation and enforcement of labor and environmental laws, widespread corruption, and the mismanagement of public funds. The Burmese government is dominated by the military, which under Burmarsquo;s constitution enjoys legal supremacy over civilian authorities./p pHuman Rights Watch called on the US government to develop and impose binding, enforceable rules prior to permitting new business activities by American companies. In developing appropriate safeguards, the government should hold more extensive consultations with nongovernmental groups inside and outside Burma./p pIn April, the European Union announced a ldquo;suspensionrdquo; of sanctions for one year. The suspension is likely to be permanent since reimposing sanctions would require consensus from every EU member country, which is highly unlikely given the new business opportunities, Human Rights Watch said. Other governments, including Australia, Canada, and Switzerland, have also announced in recent weeks that they would remove sanctions. Some governments have called for businesses to engage responsibly but none have mandated binding standards./p pldquo;Itrsquo;s not sound policy to relax sanctions just because other countries are doing so,rdquo; Sifton said. ldquo;The U.S. has led the international community in pressuring Burma to reform and it should continue to do so./p pstrongSpecific recommendations to the US Government/strong/p pHuman Rights Watch identified several key elements for business standards in Burma that should be featured in any US decision to relax sanctions:/p ul liA careful, calibrated approach featuring the gradual and select easing of sanctions tied to concrete progress on reform in Burma and based on close consultation with nongovernmental groups inside and outside Burma./li liScreening of investment and other business activities. Prior to allowing any American company to invest or otherwise engage in business in Burma, the US government should undertake pre-screening processes to review and approve proposed US business activity, taking into consideration its potential impact on human rights and armed conflict. Scrutiny should include activities that companies may carry out under contract for foreign or Burmese companies. Activities that entail a considerable risk of harmful impacts should not be permitted to proceed./li liA prohibition on any business engaging directly or indirectly, with individuals or entities linked to human rights abuses, including the Burmese military and militias, the militaryrsquo;s private-sector allies, and state-owned businesses./li liA prohibition on involvement in any activity that entails large-scale appropriation or leasing of land, whether from private or public entities./li liAn explicit requirement that companies respect human rights and undertake thorough due diligence procedures to prevent rights abuses and remedy them if they arise. Such requirements are consistent with accepted international standards reflected, for example, in the 2011 OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, and should be made binding for Burma. Among other elements, required procedures should include independent and transparent human rights impact assessments that address all relevant social and environmental concerns, as well as the preparation of human rights implementation or mitigation plans./li liImposition of binding measures to enforce all applicable obligations, subject to verification and with tough penalties for non-compliance, including fines and withdrawal of permission to invest in Burma./li liMandatory public reporting requirements for all companies permitted to do business in Burma, including the publication of social and environmental impact assessments, full contract transparency, and the timely and detailed disclosure of all payments made to the government of Burma./li liAn effective complaints mechanism accessible to individuals and communities in Burma and those representing them who allege harmful conduct or impacts by US companies investing or doing business in Burma, with findings and decisions binding on companies./li liA requirement that companies affirm that they submit their activities in Burma to the legal jurisdiction of US courts, including activities involving subsidiaries or sub-contractors, or activities companies carry out as a contractor for another party. In addition, the US government should take all necessary steps to ensure that judicial avenues are available to provide recourse to victims and accountability for human rights violations./li /ul pHuman Rights Watch highlighted several human rights-related risk factors for business in Burma, include the following:/p ul liThe extensive role of the military and its closest business allies, who dominate many sectors of the economy and are more likely to benefit from new business deals than ordinary Burmese citizens./li liThe abysmal human rights record and absence of accountability of Burmarsquo;s security forces, which continue to carry out serious abuses in Kachin state and repression in other parts of the country. The military has a track record of using forced labor and engaging in illegal land confiscation, forced displacement, and unlawful use of force against villagers, among other serious abuses, in the context of clearing land and providing security for business projects./li liInadequate domestic regulation and enforcement on key issues such as environmental protection, resulting in business activity that has harmful consequences for human rights./li liPersistent labor rights problems. Despite recent legislative reform efforts, serious labor rights problems persist in Burma, including forced labor in ethnic and conflict zones and sweatshop labor conditions in factories, including excessive hours, low wages, and health and safety violations./li liMajor tensions over the acquisition and use of land, which has been a flashpoint for forced evictions and other human rights abuses. Such problems are especially likely to arise in connection with extractives industries (oil, gas, and mining), major infrastructure projects (e.g., hydroelectric dams), timber, agribusiness and large-scale tourism projects./li liLack of community consultation, consent, or benefit in government-approved projects. Local communities in Burma have little or no say in how land and natural resources are used by businesses. Although these communities bear the costs of such projects, for example in terms of displacement and lost livelihoods, they have no effective means to secure adequate compensation or to ensure that the government channels the proceeds to promote socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. Recently passed laws such as the Farmland Bill, and the Vacant and Fallow Land Bill, fail to guarantee rights to land./li liOpaque and unaccountable management of government revenues. The immense revenues Burma has generated from exports of natural gas, which are slated to rise dramatically once twin oil and gas pipelines to China are completed, have bypassed the national budget and fueled outsized spending on the military. Recent moves to bring those revenues on-budget and adjust spending priorities have been insufficient. Despite modest increases in social spending, health and education still receive a minimal share of the budget, while spending on the military, down as a percentage, is up overall./li liRampant corruption. The country is tied with Afghanistan for the second-worst ranking in the 2011 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Only North Korea and Somalia fared worse./li /ul !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/Bd-pFU0bAdY" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Human Rights Watch /div /div /div pemVictims Would Bear Brunt of Proposed Amnesty/em/p p(Bangkok, May 15, 2012) ndash; The Thai government has not arrested or charged a single soldier or official for any of the scores of deaths and hundreds of injuries during the political violence in Bangkok two years ago, Human Rights Watch said today. The Thai government should withdraw an amnesty bill submitted to parliament that would shield all those involved in abuses during the 2010 violence from prosecution, Human Rights Watch said./p pIn a a href="http://youtu.be/WwIqUixNI_g"video/a released on May 15, victims and their family members from both sides demand justice and tell Human Rights Watch that the failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for abuses during the 2010 violence would lead to a cycle of violence and impunity./p pldquo;Despite well-documented atrocities that took place in the full view of cameras and witnesses, no Thai soldier or official has been held accountable,rdquo; said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. ldquo;The military should not be above the law. The government needs to prosecute all those responsible for crimes, whatever their political affiliation or official position, to provide justice for the victims and end the cycle of violence and impunity.rdquo;/p pFrom March to May 2010, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), known as the ldquo;Red Shirts,rdquo; held a mass protest against the government. In Thailandrsquo;s most violent political confrontations since pro-democracy protests against military rule in 1992, at least 90 people died and more than 2,000 were injured. Arson attacks in and outside Bangkok also caused billions of dollars in damage. Human Rights Watchrsquo;s May 2011 report ldquo;a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/05/03/descent-chaos"Descent into Chaos/ardquo; concluded that the military used excessive and unnecessary lethal force and that armed elements within the UDD called ldquo;Black Shirtsrdquo; engaged in attacks./p pThe previous government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva established the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand to investigate and report on the 2010 violence. The Abhisit government charged UDD leaders and hundreds of UDD protesters with serious criminal offenses, but did not file charges against any government officials or military personnel. Since the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra took office in August 2011, the focus of criminal investigations has shifted entirely to cases in which soldiers were implicated, while ignoring those involving UDD violence./p pAccording to the Justice Ministry, more than 600 people have been charged for alleged violence and other crimes in connection to the UDD protests. Of those charged, 290 were arrested and 53 of them remain in prison. The Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand found that the charges against many of the UDD protesters were summary and excessive. No soldiers or governments officials have been arrested or charged by either the Abhisit or Yingluck governments./p pThe investigation by the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) has progressed slowly. Of the more than 90 known deaths, only 16 cases have been sent by the DSI to the prosecutor to launch post-mortem inquests. The Truth for Reconciliation Commission has missed a series of reporting deadlines and has not been given sufficient resources and powers to fulfill its mandate, Human Rights Watch said. Another inquiry conducted by the National Human Rights Commission has suffered from mistrust and lack of cooperation from participants in the events./p pFamilies of victims from all sides told Human Rights Watch they welcome the decision by the Yingluck government to provide reparations to those harmed by the 2010 violence. However, many families fear that financial compensation will be offered as a substitute for a full investigation and a process for bringing perpetrators of violence to justice./p pHuman Rights Watch expressed grave concern about the March 27 proposal by the ruling Pheu Thai Party and coalition partners in the parliament for a broad amnesty for leaders and supporters of all political movements, politicians, government officials, and members of the security forces involved in the 2010 violence./p pFormer prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on April 15 responded to those opposing the proposal for amnesty and political reconciliation that, ldquo;Mother of Katekamol Akhard, volunteer nurse who died during the dispersal at Ratchaprasong, is still angry that her daughter was shot by soldiers and does not want to have amnesty hellip; But we have to listen to [what is] the greater good. And the minority [voice] should make a sacrifice.rdquo;/p pldquo;The Yingluck government came to power promising justice to the victims of political violence. It should resist pressures to engage in a whitewash,rdquo; Adams said. ldquo;Current efforts to pass an amnesty law for serious abuses committed by government forces and armed protesters would be an affront to victims, who seek and deserve justice.rdquo;/p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/Z_OTojytA0c" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Free Somyot Campaign /div /div /div pHearings ended on 3 May in the trial of Thai journalist and labour organiser Somyot Pruksakasemsuk. Already held for over a year on remand, he could face up to 30 years' jail for the publication of two articles that allegedly breach Thailand's draconian legrave;se majesteacute; law. At the time, he was the acting editor-in-chief of the magazine in which the articles appeared. He did not write them, and neither of them even mentions the King of Thailand. Lawyers for the defence have asked the Thai Constitutional Court to determine whether the legrave;se majesteacute; law is constitutional and meets international standards. br / nbsp;br / The verdict on Somyot's case will not be delivered until the constitutional issue is settled. This means that a verdict is unlikely before late September. So Somyot's supporters are emphasising the need to maintain the international pressure for his release on bail. He has already spent more than a year in jail on remand, and the difficult conditions have worsened his existing health problems. Nine successive bail applications have been denied. br / nbsp;br / This month saw the tragic death of Uncle SMS, Amphon Tangnoppakul, the 62 year old man being held on Lese Majeste charges. He was suffering for cancer and because of the lack of medical provision and the repeated denial of bail he was unable to receive much needed treatment. This is a brutal reminder of the human cost of having several hundred people held in prison over these charges. br / nbsp;br / The campaign demands the immediate bail of Somyot whose next bail request will be submitted on the 16th June.br / nbsp;br / The online ActNow campaign for Somyot launched by the LabourStart site on 30 April gained more than 5,000 supporters within its first week. International human rights organisations, journalists' federations and trade unions are among those calling for Somyot's release and the repeal or overhaul of the legrave;se majesteacute; law. The ActNow campaign for Somyot is now online in seven languages, in a format that lets users send a message to the Thai Prime Minister with just a click of the mouse. br / nbsp;br / There are signs that the international pressure around the legrave;se majesteacute; law is working. On 30 April, the verdict in the controversial trial of Thai webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn was unexpectedly put off for a month. She could be sentenced to up to 20 years' imprisonment on legrave;se majesteacute;-related computer crimes charges. According to the Bangkok Post, quot;Some human rights activists said the court's decision to postpone the verdict reflected unease among the authorities, the judiciary included, about how to handle such a high-profile lawsuit.quot;br / nbsp;br / emSign the petition today a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1383" title="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1383"http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c.../abr / nbsp;br / a href="http://www.freesomyot.wordpress.com" title="www.freesomyot.wordpress.com"www.freesomyot.wordpress.com/abr / a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Somyot/122999694453000" title="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Somyot/122999694453000"http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Somyot/122999694453000/abr / http://twitter.com/#!/somyotbangkokpr/em/p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/2S7lDAQDfQk" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Pravit Rojanaphruk /div /div /div pYears of mainstream mass media self-censorship on any information and news critical about the Thai monarchy and their incessant supply of mostly one-sided and positive-only information about the royal institution is unlikely to change anytime soon since therersquo;s no outrage or even public introspection by major media associations and corporations./p pIt is likely that after five decades of one-sided information and self-censorship, such things have become something rather normal and natural for media associations and organizations. When the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), the kingdomrsquo;s leading media association, recently held a symposium to marked the annual World Press Freedom Day, the issue of the lese majeste law, self-censorship of anything critical of the monarchy and the one-sided positive-only information about the monarchy was not on even the agenda./p pThe growing cry for basic freedom of expression after the death in custody of 61-year-old lese majeste detainee Amphon ldquo;Akongrdquo; Tangnoppakul also seems to means little and itrsquo;s business as usual for Thai media./p pThe Thai mainstream mass media can come up with a number of off-the-record justifications for why they cannot and will not adhere to the notion of press freedom when it comes to anything critical of the monarchy./p pFirst, therersquo;s the lese majeste law itself, with its 15-year maximum imprisonment term, coupled with the Computer Crimes Act - easy excuses for the media to censor, self-censor and say they are just observing the law./p pThey say advertisements on newspapers and commercials on television can also be severely affected if a media corporation developed a reputation of being critical of the monarchy./p pOne newspaper editor also once told me of the fearful spectre of big media corporation facing stock price crash due to ultra-royalistrsquo;s backlash if they dare to try to be persistently critical of the monarchy institution./p pTo make the matter worse, some in the media say they believed that most Thais are not educated enough to be able to differentiate fact from fiction, right from wrong./p pIf we, journalists, failed to recognize the abnormality and negative repercussion of the lese majeste law and the prevailing climate of fear, censorship and self-censorship, then we fail to live up to the ideal of informing the public with fear or favour, about an institution which is at the heart of Thai society./p pJournalists who failed to see the abnormality and to speak out are first to be blamed because they have effectively acted as a willing and active partner in the censorship process as well as the supply of one-sided positive-only news and information about the Thai monarchy./p pTo be honest, it is hard to imagine the prevailing stance changing anytime soon. Perhaps the burden of pointing out the abnormality of the situation falls upon the growing number of ordinary citizens who recognize the magnitude of the problem./p pPerhaps it all will have to start with a few journalists daring enough to call spade a spade, and for the public to demand transparency and accountability from both media corporations and the royal institution./p pOn Twitter, I have onerously tried to open up the debate on the lese majeste law and the need to discuss critically about Thai monarchy./p pOn Monday (May 14) one Twitter user by the Twitter account of @Shar_Thonglor argued with me stating in English: ldquo;Thailand is not ready for freedom of speech. Therersquo;s lot of maturing which needs to be done before they can handle it.rdquo;/p pAnother Thai Twitter user (@polasit) replied in English: ldquo;The same old thing ndash; Thais are not ready cuz of being [sic] uneducated. Freedom of speech has nothing to do with that!rdquo;/p pEven a Westerner, by the name of Rob von Gelder (@steadirob), joined this particular thread of debate by tweeting back to @Shar_Thonglor and myself saying: ldquo;And who are you to preach and tell the people that THEY are not ready? You must think very highly of yourself.rdquo;/p pPerhaps there is some hope after all, even though itrsquo;s not to be found on mainstream mass media in general.nbsp; /p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/nixgGc7DuoM" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Phiengkham Pradabkhwam /div /div /div pIn the end, freedom is slower to arrive than deathbr / Justice can waitnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; can make way for a tranquil homelandbr / They honeymooned on a day of lovenbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; a trucenbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; br / The war is not over yetnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; However many corpses, let it be!/p !--break--!--break--pldquo;Come back to us, they have finally let you go.rdquo;br / Citizens at the end of the linenbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; once dead, catch a scent of dreamsbr / The freedom of the poornbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; grit your teeth when it becomes too difficult to bearbr / Or is death the only way to make an exchange with them?/p pAsk the insensate: what is your heart for?br / Whose flesh is wounded by these words? Where are you hurt, o my lord?br / Or is an SMS a sharpened sword, piercing the heart and bringing forth tears?br / How many drops of blood have fallen? Enough that he must be killed./p pA developing countrynbsp;nbsp;nbsp; liberty is less swift than the God of Deathbr / Death drifts in the air, it is behind the pictures in every housebr / The door of the prison is opennbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; devouring people every daybr / This perverse homeland does not wantnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; to see the phraisup1/sup become people/p pAh Kong is deadnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; He was only an elderly manbr / An ordinary citizennbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Making a living, walking the streetsbr / His head stooped in a covenantnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; less human than in universal standardsbr / As you are a person, I am also a person/p pAh Kong is deadnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; He died in prisonbr / This is not the democratic age of which I dreamtbr / Our governmentnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; pours the blood of our friends on the traysup2/supbr / Crouch on one's kneesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; present it to the dictator to eat and drink/p pAh Kong is deadnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Who killed an elderly man?br / Justice delayednbsp;nbsp;nbsp; is an utter crimebr / Human life is cheapnbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; they are in plentiful numbers across the landbr / Breathe gentlynbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; every day, the scent of death is present/p pem1 Phrai (ไพร่), which means ldquo;serf,rdquo; is the word used by the Red Shirts to refer to themselves and to signal the profound gap between themselves and the elites ruling Thai society, or the อามาตย์.mdash;translatorbr / 2nbsp; The word used for ldquo;trayrdquo; here is ldquo;พาน,rdquo; which is the tray on which the successive Constitutions rest.-- translator/em/p pemTranslated by Tyrell Haberkorn/em/p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/a_kWWqJyRZ4" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Harrison George /div /div /div pThe Thai Immigration Officers were being trained in spotting false documents. There were counterfeit passports, where the entire documents are fakes; and forged passports, which are genuine passports that have been illegally tampered with./p !--break--!--break--pAnd then there are lsquo;fantasyrsquo; passports. The foreign trainer showed an example of a Rhodesian passport and asked what was suspicious about it. An embarrassed silence./p plsquo;Well,rsquo; said the trainer, lsquo;the problem with a Rhodesian passport is that Rhodesia no longer exists.rsquo; The audience gave that rueful smile that is supposed to mean lsquo;Silly me, I knew that.rsquo; Thai university students are past masters of this./p pThe trainer gave them a chance to recover their fumble. lsquo;So what is Rhodesia called now?rsquo;/p pAn even more embarrassed silence. No one knew./p p* * * * * * * * * * * */p pThe ammat-phrai discussion had turned to other severely fissured societies. I offered apartheid as an example and immediately realized that many of the Thai listeners were too young to remember this as a live issue. So I started on a brief explanation of how South African society was structured around the pass laws and Bantustans and so on./p pOne listener had clearly never heard of this and wanted to know more. Which country was this? Africa Tai. Yes, but which country in Africa Tai? No, thatrsquo;s the countryrsquo;s name. Oh, he said; hersquo;d always thought South Africa was the other half of the continent from North Africa./p pLogical. Ignorant, but perfectly logical./p p* * * * * * * * * * * */p pThe tourist was trying to report the loss of her i-Phone at a Bangkok Police Station and the officer was taking down the preliminary particulars. He got as far as sanchat./p plsquo;Nationality?rsquo; ndash; lsquo;Guinea-Bissau.rsquo;/p plsquo;No, I need your nationality.rsquo;/p plsquo;Guinea-Bissaursquo; she said again and offered him her passport./p pHe peered at this in some puzzlement. lsquo;What country is this?rsquo;/p pShe pointed to the name on the cover. lsquo;Guinea-Bissaursquo;./p plsquo;What? Whatrsquo;s that?rsquo;/p plsquo;A country, in Africa.rsquo;/p pThe light seemed to dawn. A false dawn, however. The report gave her the nationality of lsquo;Africanrsquo;./p pWell, he got the passport number right./p p* * * * * * * * * * * */p pNow far be it for me to bemoan the general ignorance in Thailand of picayune details of African geography. Citizens of many other countries have shown themselves to have equally poor levels of awareness of foreign parts (the US of George Bush springs to mind)./p pBut these cases, involving immigration and police officers and graduate students, betray a worrying lack of knowledge among segments of the population where you might expect better./p pI once raised this issue with a Thai university professor. She agreed and immediately blamed it on the school curriculum for failing to include such information./p pI shudder to think that even more rote learning could be the answer. More bored kids mis-remembering facts that may soon be out-of-date anyway. Besides, this is not the kind of thing you learn from formal education./p pMy own school curriculum was no help. Apartheid was far too sensitive an issue for teachers to touch. Guinea-Bissau wasnrsquo;t invented until after I left school (and never having been part of the British Empire would be unworthy of inclusion anyway). And my schooling ended before Rhodesia did./p pThis is learning you get from the university of life. But Thai immigration officers, policemen and graduate students have lives. Why donrsquo;t they learn?/p pPerhaps we could solve this puzzle using the police method of solving crimes (well, perhaps not the Thai police). Opportunity, motive and means./p pTo learn, either someone has to sit you down and teach you (which we know hardly ever works and certainly wonrsquo;t work here) or there has to be an opportunity to learn lsquo;out therersquo;, in the general environment./p pNow many foreigners in Thailand, accustomed to an English-language press that has about as much foreign news as national, mistakenly assume that the Thai media is the same. Not so. Foreign coverage is normally very thin, including many lsquo;arenrsquo;t foreigners strangersquo; stories, and a nationalist bias harps on about the centuries-old Burmese sacking of Ayutthaya as if it were yesterdayrsquo;s news./p pInterest in, and information about, foreign countries (apart from things like betting on the Premier Division) is simply not very visible in Thai society./p pNor does the average Thai have many examples of well-informed individuals to motivate emulation. In fact, wilful ignorance, as long as it is eloquently expressed, is often valued and copied. And if, through ignorance of foreign parts, you believe that Thailand is the best of all possible countries, then why bother learning about lesser breeds without the law?/p pAnd the means. Two things are needed here. The first is curiosity, something that the Prathom 1 children I meet seem to have in abundance but which gets knocked out of them by the time they leave school./p pAnd second is the ability to look at all sources of information with a healthy and impartial scepticism, to search out and weigh evidence, and to live with the uncertainty that ever more information brings. Something that Hemingway called lsquo;a built-in, shock-proof, shit detectorrsquo;./p pNow that would be something worth the schoolsrsquo; while./p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/ITbs-0AcGhg" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --pNational Human Rights Commissioner Niran Phithakwatchara and members of an NHRC subcommittee have been accused of legrave;se majesteacute; by the head of Kaeng Krachan National Park after they intervened in a project, which the park claims was implemented in honour of the King./p pOn 11 May, Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn, head of the National Park in Phetchaburi in upper southern Thailand, filed a legrave;se majesteacute; complaint with local police against Niran and members of the NHRC subcommittee on the rights of ethnic minority groups and migrants. He reportedly went to the police station with over 100 supporters including National Park officials and villagers. /p pNiran and the NHRC subcommittee, in response to a complaint filed by local residents, had intervened in projects, implemented by the National Park, to cut down forest vines and grow plants to feed wild elephants and other wildlife in honour of the King./p pThe subcommittee had resolved to order the National Park to cancel the projects and review its plan to expand the park in preparation for declaring it a world heritage site and to allow the participation of local and indigenous people for the protection of their rights. /p pChaiwat accused the NHRC members of, among others, supporting the destruction of forest reserves in the National Park and legrave;se majesteacute; by ordering the project to be cancelled, thereby not respecting the Kingrsquo;s and Queenrsquo;s addresses to government officials to protect watershed areas and to prevent illegal logging in the province./p pHe claimed that over 400 rai of the forest area along the border in the National Park had already been destroyed, with damage worth over 400 million baht./p pThe National Park has reportedly been in conflict with Karen communities who have lived in the forest area in the national park near the Thailand-Burma border.nbsp; Officially non-Thai, they, together with other ethnic minority groups along the Thai border with Burma and Laos, have constantly been accused of destroying forests, and are being evicted, with their houses allegedly burnt down by National Park officials. /p pPhetchaburi local activist and former Pheu Thai candidate a href="http://www.prachatai.com/journal/2011/09/36869"Thatkamon Ob-om/a, 55, was shot dead in his home province on 10 Sept 2011.nbsp; He had been active in helping the Karen people who were evicted, and as a result had been officially banned from entering the National Park for causing unrest and impeding development for the minority communities./p pChaiwat, implicated in the murder, turned himself in to local police and was granted bail by the court in Oct 2011 with a guarantee of 1.1 million baht worth of assets./p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/wY9FsixkWcA" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --pThe a href="http://www.ccaa112.org/web/"Campaign Committee to Amend Article 112/a (CCAA) has already collected over 10,000 signatures to propose the a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/2997"Nitirat bill/a to Parliament to amend the legrave;se majesteacute; law./p !--break--!--break--pThe group, which consists of academics, activists and writers, will hold an activity on 27 May to conclude the signature-collection campaign, which started earlier this year, and discuss the issue./p pThe activity will take place at the Sriburapha Auditorium at the Tha Prachan campus of Thammasat University./p p class="rtecenter"a href="http://www.tu.ac.th/intro/about/tumap/map_tu_51/prachan_eng_b.jpg"img width="450" height="322" src="/english/sites/default/files/u3/2012-05-11%20sriburapha%20auditorium_0.jpg" alt="" //a/p p class="rteleft" strongProgramme /strong/p p1 ndash; 1.15 pm: Press Conferencebr / -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Wad Rawee, member of Sang Sumnuek Writers groupbr / -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Yukti Mukdawijit, Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology, Thammasat University/p p1.15 ndash; 1.45 pm: lsquo;Voices of 112 victimsrsquo;/p p1.45 -2 pm: Poem reading/p p2 ndash; 3 pm: Discussion on the Campaignbr / -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Wad Rawee, member of Sang Sumnuek Writers groupbr / -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Suda Rangkuphan, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn Universitybr / -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, Nitiratbr / Moderated by Wiangrat Netipho, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University/p p3 ndash; 3.15: Music by the Middle Finger/p p3.15 ndash; 5 pm: Discussion lsquo;112 Richter Phenomenonrsquo; br / - Charnvit Kasetsiri, historianbr / - Nidhi Eawsriwong, historianbr / - Worachet Pakeerut, Nitiratbr / Moderated by Puangthong Pawakapan, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University/p pOn 10 May, the second day of funeral rites for Amphon Tangnoppakul was held at Wat Dan Samrong in Samut Prakan province, where he lived with his family, after the first day in front of the Criminal Court in Bangkok.nbsp; It was attended by about 500 red shirts and sympathizers, including Thida Thavornset and other leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship and some Pheu Thai MPs./p pThe UDD leaders and Phue Thai Party have been strongly criticized by some factions of the red shirts, including Thammasat lecturer Somsak Jeamteerasakul, for having done nothing on the legrave;se majesteacute; issue./p pThe funeral rites for Amphon will continue at the temple until 16 May./p pToday, a red shirt group led by a href="http://www.facebook.com/nithiwat.wannasiri"Nithiwat Wannasiri/a went to Parliament to extend an invitation to attend Amphonrsquo;s funeral to Abhisit Vejjajivarsquo;s personal secretary a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/Somkiat Krongwattanasuk"Somkiat Krongwattanasuk/a, who had filed charges against Amphon./p pA representative of the Democrat Party was sent to receive the invitation, telling Nithiwat and his friends that Somkiat had not come to Parliament today./p p class="rtecenter"img width="320" height="254" alt="" src="/english/sites/default/files/u3/2012-05-11%20nithiwat%2001.jpg" /br / emNithiwat and Democrat Party's representative at Parliament/em/p pLater, the group of red shirts went to the Criminal Court to extend the same invitation to three court personnel: Sitthisak Wanachakij, the spokesperson for the Court of Justice who had written a newspaper article condemning Amphon for his alleged offenses; a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/Chanathip%20Muangpawong"Chanathip Muanpawong/a, head of the panel of judges sentencing Amphon; and Criminal Court Chief Justice Thawee Prachuablarp, who recently misleadingly told the press after Amphonrsquo;s death that Amphon had been ineligible for bail because he had withdrawn his appeal and been in the process of seeking a royal pardon./p pIn fact, Amphon was denied bail eight times before giving up his appeal and deciding to seek a royal pardon instead.nbsp;/p p class="rtecenter"img width="320" height="240" alt="" src="/english/sites/default/files/u3/2012-05-11%20nithiwat%2002.jpg" /br / emInvitation received by Criminal Court PR official Suchada Kaewsongprasit/em/p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/giggT_qduC8" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation /div /div /div pThe death of lese majeste detainee Amphon quot;Akongquot; Tangnoppakul, also known as quot;Uncle SMSquot;, inside Bangkok Remand Prison Hospital on Monday has re-ignited hopes of amending the draconian lese majeste law./p !--break--!--break--pSome 300 people attended the controversial placing of his body in front of the Bangkok Criminal Court on Wednesday and vented their anger against the law they perceived as an obstacle preventing them from attaining a basic right to freedom of expression./p pWell-known red-shirt writer Wat Wayangoon asked the gathering if Thais were not being treated like humans when it came to freedom of expression about anything critical of the monarchy./p pAt the same venue, red-shirt Pheu Thai MP Jaruphan Kuldiloke talked about legally protected rights in England and how Thailand has yet to achieve anything similar. And political scientist Paungthong Pawakapan, a key member of the Public Campaign Committee to Amend the lese majeste law, announced in front of Amphon's body that enough signatures had been collected to push the proposed amendment before Parliament./p pIt must not be forgotten, however, that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has insisted repeatedly her administration will not touch the lese majeste law./p pEven Jaruphan was soft, almost apologetic on Wednesday, in front of the crowd of angry mourners wondering why this government was not doing anything - meekly suggesting they should try again to convince government MPs./p pIt's no secret a large percentage of the red-shirt movement is opposed to the draconian law, ever since the military coup on September 19, 2006, which ousted Thaksin Shinawatra. Many Thaksin supporters who subsequently became red shirts question the role of Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanond in the coup, and more./p pIn private conversations, some-red shirt leaders try to defend Yingluck's position that the government won't touch the law - saying the government can't start a war on too many fronts, or by saying the government doesn't really have the power to push for such change and it could risk a military coup by insisting on it./p pIn public,however, there's a visible attempt to forge a truce between the old and new elites as well./p pNevertheless, yesterday, the red-shirt movement, the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship, sponsored the first night of the funeral rite for Amphon at Wat Dan Samrong in Samut Prakarn province. And at least two key red-shirt members, Somyos Prueksakasemsuk and Surachai Sae-Dan, remain in prison under the lese majeste law./p pThe continued vocal opposition to the law by a small but significant and active section of the red-shirt movement could be used by the Yingluck administration to remind the established elites that some form of accommodation might be needed./p pBut if the government will not touch the law, the loyalty of progressive red shirts to Yingluck (and Thaksin) - and the loyalty of Yingluck and Thaksin to these red shirts - will be severely tested./p pThe government cannot indefinitely buy time and expect no backlash or a meltdown in trust and expectation among the so-called progressive reds who oppose the law./p pIf no progress is seen in the near future, the time will come when these progressive red shirts must choose whether to continue to accommodate a government which does nothing to make the law less draconian./p pMany reds will face the question whether they continue to support a government that allowed to Amphon die under their watch, a government privately telling them it would have loved to do more but just simply couldn't afford to./p pWith prisoners of conscience like Somyos and Surachai still in jail and the Public Campaign to Amend the law seemingly ready, that time is approaching sooner than later. And if the death of Amphon cannot make a difference, nothing will./p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/6XETKS3vfaw" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --pThe utterly sad thing about being human is to mistake wrong for right, seeing evil deeds as maintaining justice because one is so misguided as to see oneself as superior to others/p pA man was accused of offending the honour of the King, the Queen, and the Heir-apparent without any clear evidence. He was judged based on the hypothesis that he was guilty. He was sentenced according to the law decreed by the coup group in 1976 and imprisoned for three to five years for an offence that was merely verbal. The penalty was even greater than offences against life or offences relating to sexuality.br / nbsp;br / He requested eight times to be bailed, and, even though he was sick, all requests were refused by the court, claiming that the offence was acute despite the fact that it was a libel case. The court acted as if granting him temporary bail according to his right would result in Thailand being shattered once he was released.br / nbsp;br / This is the way that judicial discretion works in the interests of monarchist ideology.br / nbsp;br / Time after time, Thailand has witnessed a lack of humanity in the implementation of Article 112 of the Criminal Code. Not to mention the fact that a just state, one that observed the rule of law, would respect the right and freedom of the people under the democratic regimehellip;br / nbsp;br / this barbaric state has ruled without the slightest mercy.br / nbsp;br / From the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand,br / nbsp;br / Section 4 states that human dignity, rights, liberty, and equality of the people shall be protected.br / nbsp;br / Section 26 states that in exercising powers of all state authorities, regard shall be given to human dignity, rights, and liberties in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.br / nbsp;br / Section 30, the first clause, states that all persons are equal before the law and shall enjoy equal protection under the law.br / nbsp;br / Section 39, the second clause, states that the suspect or the accused in a criminal case shall be presumed innocent.br / nbsp;br / And, the third clause states that before the passing of a final judgment convicting a person for committing an offence, such a person shall be not be treated as a convict.br / nbsp;br / Section 40, the second clause, states that basic rights in judicial process which must at least guarantee an open court hearing; right to factual information and sufficient cross-examination of documents; right to present facts, witness or evidence, and express his or her dissent or disagreement with judges or arbitrators; right to require full quorum of judges or arbitrators in the hearing of his or her case; and right to hear the clarification of court decision, judgment, or order.br / nbsp;br / And, the seventh clause states that an alleged offender and the accused in criminal case shall have the right to correct, prompt and fair investigation or trial with an adequate opportunity in defending his case, the right to examine or to be informed of evidence, right to defend himself through counsel and the right to bail.br / nbsp;br / Or perhaps these provisions exist only to deceive the people that Thailand is a civilised country?br / nbsp;br / Why did the court not act in accordance with the law? Should the judges continue to hold their jobs despite this?br / nbsp;br / At present, those who support amendment of Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code feel ashamed as citizens of a country that lets injustice appear naked in front of its citizens.br / nbsp;br / A man has died in prison without being granted the right that belongs to him. It is the right not only of a citizen under a democratic regime, but the right of a human being.br / nbsp;br / Although, unfortunately, his death still fails to awaken the human side in many people in this country, the Sang Sumnuek Writers are determined to push for the amendment of this law, and other matters pertaining to it, for a better society.br / nbsp;br / In whatever way the parliament will turn down the proposal to amend the Article 112 of the Criminal Code, we will keep finding ways to campaign and to campaign permanently.br / nbsp;br / Until the day that the people have their true representatives,br / nbsp;br / that day courage will resurrect from mortality./p pnbsp;br / Sang Sumnuek Writersbr / Thailand/p pnbsp;/p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/_1ViSV2I6yM" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --pa href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/Amphon%20tangnoppakul"Amphon Tangnoppakul/a sent a letter to his lawyer Anon Nampha from Bangkok Remand Prison on 11 April.nbsp; The letter was published on the lawyerrsquo;s a href="http://rli.in.th/2012/05/01/%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%87-%E0%B8%9C%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2/"Rassadornprasong Law Office/a website on 1 May./p !--break--!--break--p11 April 2012/p pDear Mr Anon/p pFirst of all, I have to apologize for never having written to you before, because Irsquo;m not good at writing, not quite knowing what to think and with poor eyesight, so Irsquo;ve not been keen on writing.nbsp; To my grandchildren, Irsquo;ve rarely written to them, although Irsquo;m missing them so much.nbsp; That may be because Khun Num [a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/thanthawut"Thanthawut Thaweewarodomkul/a] has taken over this duty from me.nbsp; He has always written to my grandchildren, telling them about me, so Irsquo;ve not had to write to them myself. What Khun Num has written would be the same as what Irsquo;d write myself./p pIrsquo;m now well, particularly during this time when I know that Khun Anon will seek a royal pardon for all 11 individuals convicted under Section 112.nbsp; Irsquo;m glad and very hopeful to be given freedom soon, together with other friends who together have endured and struggled. And I believe that this is the best option, because my kind of case has no way of ever being granted an amnesty like others. Now I take exercise every morning.nbsp; Sometimes I do it alone, but sometimes I do it with Khun Num. As for our living, we [lese majeste convicts and defendants] eat together in Zone 8.nbsp; We enjoy our company all right, which includes Num, Mee [a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/search/node/Suriyan Kokpuey"Suriyan Kokpuey/a] and other fellows who admire the red shirts.nbsp; We have taken care of each other, so Khun Anon does not need to worry.nbsp; So far, I have to admit that Irsquo;ve been very tired, of staying alive, of fighting for justice for myself and family.nbsp; Irsquo;ve been desperate many times, missing my wife, children and grandchildren.nbsp; Itrsquo;s only been Khun Num who has always kept my batteries charged. Hersquo;s always complained that Irsquo;m an exhausted battery, which has to keep being recharged.nbsp; I feel for him, but Irsquo;m really downhearted.nbsp; Each day I wait for Oo [his wife Rosmalin] to come visit me.nbsp; Sometimes, she brought my grandchildren along, and that made me smile.nbsp; That was happiness which I have been able to find so far./p pKhun Anon, donrsquo;t worry about me.nbsp; I will try to endure and fight on, only hoping that Khun Anon and the Yingluck government will push for our royal pardon so that I can go back to stay with my wife, children and grandchildren.nbsp; Frankly, I want to say that Irsquo;m now missing my grandchildren the most.nbsp; Whenever I wrote to them, I had to cry, so I donrsquo;t want to write to them./p pKhun Anon, please thank on my behalf the people who have come to visit me and other convicts under Section 112.nbsp; I really hope that I will hear good news soon./p pThank you so much/p pAmphon Tangnoppakul/p p class="rtecenter"a href="http://rli.in.th/law/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2.jpg"rli.in.th/law/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2.jpg/aimg width="550" height="778" src="/english/sites/default/files/u3/2012-05-09%20amphon%27s%20letter_0.jpg" alt="" //p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/AkRfNhEv2zA" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Asian Human Rights Commission /div /div /div pThe Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to express our grief and extend our deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Amphon Tangnoppakul, who was found dead in prison custody on 8 May 2012. Amphon (also known to his family as quot;Ah Kongquot; or quot;grandfather,quot; and to the public at quot;Uncle SMSquot;), a 61-year-old man, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 23 November 2011 in Black Case No. 311/2554. The Criminal Court convicted him of four violations under section 112 of the Criminal Code and under the 2007 Computer Crimes Act for allegedly sending four SMS messages to Mr. Somkiat Klongwattanasak, personal secretary of the former prime minister, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva. These four SMS messages allegedly contained vulgar language defaming the Thai queen and insulting the honour of the monarchy./p pAs the AHRC noted at the time of Amphon's conviction (a href="http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-180-2011"AHRC-STM-180-2011/a), the prosecution's actions raised serious questions about the validity of evidence in cases of this sort, and pointed to lacunae in the 2007 Computer Crimes Act, which is in fact broad enough to cover all forms of electronic communication; not only those on computer. The prosecution argument rested on the assertion that the mobile phone that sent the four allegedly criminal SMS messages had the same IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identifying) number as the mobile phone which Amphon had used to call his children. Despite Amphon's assertion that he did not send the SMS messages in question, and did not even know how to send an SMS message, the court sentenced him to a lengthy term in prison./p pYet Amphon Tangnoppakul's death in custody raises an additional layer of questions and concerns about the Thai justice system. Amphon had been in detention since being formally charged on 18 January 2011. At the time he was charged, he was already suffering from oral cancer for which he had already been receiving regular treatment, and his counsel immediately requested bail while awaiting trial on this basis. The court denied this request, as it did seven subsequent requests made before his trial, at the time of his conviction, and up until several months before his death./p pThe repeated denial of Amphon's requests for bail itself raises serious questions about the obscure process by which a prisoner awaiting trial--or awaiting the consideration of a Court of First Instance decision by the Appeal Court--is granted or denied bail in Thailand. At the time of Amphon's last request for bail, in February 2012, the Appeal Court ruled that his illness, which constituted one of the grounds for the request, did quot;not appear to be life-threateningquot;. On the same reasoning, the courts in Thailand have denied bail in other cases where it would seem to be justified on medical grounds, such as the case of Ms. Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul who suffers from severe jaw disease. Coupled with known deficiencies in the prison healthcare system in Thailand, the repeated refusal of bail to Amphon seems to reflect a manifest disregard among members of the judiciary for the wellbeing of detainees in the country's jails./p pGiven that the tragic death of Amphon in prison has followed repeated refusals of bail while his appeal was under consideration, and in view of the custodial responsibility for him that the state undertook in denying bail, including responsibility to provide him with the necessary healthcare, the Asian Human Rights Commission calls on the government of Thailand to ensure that an autopsy and post-mortem inquest in line with the Criminal Procedure Code are carried out fully and transparently. Preliminary information in this case indicates that Amphon entered the prison hospital on Friday, but that unavailability of laboratory services meant that he could not be treated over the weekend. We also call for the government to provide much more open and complete accounting of the prison healthcare system in Thailand than what is currently available publicly, and to do so with reference to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. With regards to the death of Amphon we wish in particular to highlight and call on the government to respond in detail to section 22(2) of the rules, that:/p pquot;Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officersquot;; and, to section 25(2), that:/p pquot;The medical officer shall report to the director whenever he considers that a prisoner's physical or mental health has been or will be injuriously affected by continued imprisonment or by any condition of imprisonment.quot;/p pFinally, the AHRC wishes to underscore its insistence, set out in previous public statements, that the government of Thailand repeal section 112 of the Criminal Code--which provides penalties of three to fifteen years for any alleged insult, defamation, or threat against the king, queen, heir-apparent, and regent; and thereby demands unquestioned allegiance to the monarchy in Thailand--and release all remaining individuals facing charges or convicted of violating the section, and related provisions of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. In the years since the 19 September 2006 coup, many people have paid a high price for alleged disloyalty to the monarchy, with sentences whose length is comparable to those for persons convicted of drug trafficking and murder. The death in custody of Amphon Tangnoppakul indicates that the price of loyalty is too high: a man has paid for four SMS messages with his life, and his family has paid with the loss of their husband, father and grandfather./p pRead this a href="http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-101-2012"statement /aonline/p pnbsp;/p pem# # #/em/p pAbout AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984./p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/B65kQGPQLzw" height="1" width="1"/

!-- google_ad_section_start --div class="field field-type-text field-field-byline" div class="field-items" div class="field-item odd" Pravit Rojanaphruk /div /div /div pLess than 24 hours after the death while in detention of Lese Majeste convict and prisoner of conscience Amphon ldquo;Akongrdquo; Tangnoppakul, better known as Uncle SMS in English, this writer has observed how some ultra-royalists make sense of the first death of Thailandrsquo;s prisoners of conscience, and it became clear that they will blame it on anything or anyone but the draconian and undemocratic law and themselves./p pThey can blame Amphonrsquo;s lawyers for having initially persisted in fighting the case in the Appeal Court and not immediately sought a royal pardon so Aphom could have been properly cared for. (It must be noted that prior to the death of Amphon on May 8, many ultra-royalists expressed satisfaction that Aphon and other prisoners of conscience are locked behind bars)./p pTherersquo;s also a conspiracy theory being floated to help them see the death and prior arrest of Amphon as something engineered by red politicians and the current Yingluck Shinawatra administration, in order to undermine the monarchy institution./p pSome of these ultra-royalists say people should not exploit the body of Amphon by parading it on the streets or place the coffin in front of Bangkok Criminal Court although these ultra-royalists have never expressed any concerns for the well-being of prisoners of conscience, but supported the incarceration./p pThey also showed the lack of understanding on what criminalization of speech means, or what the notion of prisoner of conscience is all about. One even tweeted to me saying these people have the right to think, so they are definitely not prisoners of conscience. I reminded the person that they are in jail precisely because they expressed what they thought ndash; and in the case of Amphon, who had allegedly expressed it to just one man who happened to be a personal secretary to then prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, during and right after the bloody crackdown on red shirts in 2010./p pThey seemed not to understand how the lese majeste law and the criminalization of speech is affecting fundamental freedom of expression and appeared determined to treat the monarchy institution above any criticism ndash; like blasphemy against God in some religions./p pThey also appeared unable to differentiate between criticism against the lese majeste law from that of criticism against the monarchy, and tended to automatically conclude that anyone who criticize the law are outright republicans wanting to overthrow the institution. They think those who oppose the law are also on the payroll of the ousted and fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and must be red shirts./p pAnd while they whine about why some kept attacking the lese majeste law and whether such activity is tantamount to giving one-sided information and propaganda, they donrsquo;t seem to quite know how to describe the one-sided positive-only information about the monarchy fed to the whole nation through all mainstream mass media and educational institutions over the past 50 years. To them itrsquo;s lsquo;normalrsquo;./p pThey want to support the draconian lese majeste law which ensures self-censorship and censorship by mainstream mass media and want to insist that therersquo;s no censorship on matters critical to the monarchy institution./p pWhen I raised the issue as to why books like The King Never Smiles are not being discussed by the Thai mainstream mass media, why WikiLeaks and works based on it, like the one by Andrew Marshall, are not being debated publicly by the media or why Australian Broadcasting Corporationrsquo;s documentary on the monarchy are not being shared legally (with one man, Aekchai Hongkangwan, being briefly arrested and detained under lese majeste law for peddling CD copies of the ABC news and now fighting the case while on bail) they have no answer but to say all the information about the monarchy is false so it deserves to be banned or censored./p pDo Thais have the right to decide and debate about the validity of the information publicly by themselves without risking almost certain imprisonment? Why?/p pThese ultra-royalists, Irsquo;m afraid, are in a state of deep denial./p !-- google_ad_section_end --img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/prachataienglish/~4/S4ZZsKr3938" height="1" width="1"/