The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) or "Red Shirt" demonstrators sacrificed blood during their protest in Bangkok on March 16, 2010. They vowed to collect one million cubic centimetres of blood to pour outside Government House in Bangkok.  Protest leaders said this campaign is a symbolic move to protest against the government and call for fresh elections.

Nai In stores have stopped selling Khabuankan Lom Chao (Movement to Topple the Monarchy), part of the ASTV/Manager network.  The yellow camp media argue on academic grounds that the book has not been spiced up as a smear.  

Amidst the political polarization that has created deep-rooted divisions in Thai society, the mass media is one factor that has difficulty in denying any responsibility and has been asked serious questions about its role and how it has performed its duty by people who have chosen political sides. At the same time, new media has appeared and individuals’ preferences in following the news change according to their political stance and access to technology.  Pravit Rojanaphruk, senior journalist at The Nation, is one mainstream journalist who has long asked questions about his own professional conduct and criticized the media culture.  Prachatai talked to him on the day when every single branch of the media gave space to expressing the importance of the profession, especially the duty of the media in the run-up to an eye-catching day in Thai politics, the day of the red shirt rally on 12 March.

A group of about 100 people, mostly belonging to the middle class in Bangkok, have signed a petition to the Thammasat University administration to open the campus and allow demonstrators and the public to use basic facilities such as toilets.  They say the university is ignoring the political struggle of the people.

Frank G Anderson, an American expat in Nakhon Ratchasima and the editor of the Korat Post, has been sued for what he wrote on his website in Dec 2008 about Pol Lt Col Watthanasak's legal actions against people who he deemed guilty of the crime of lèse majesté.

A clip of red shirts in Nakhon Phanom receiving money has been posted on the ASTV-Manager, The Nation and YouTube websites, and has been shared and discussed through the Facebook network and on webboards.  A local red-shirt leader says that the money was from donations they had received from their fund-raising activities, and was distributed as petrol expenses for the red shirts to come to Bangkok.

Jaran Ditta-apichai insists on non-violence, and his non-violence requires mobilizing as many people as possible.

‘Why do we expect a million? Because we use non-violence.  A fight with non-violence is decided by the number of people.  Even with over 200,000 people in April [2009], it was not successful.  The number is the deciding factor of victory.  If the UDD didn’t use non-violence, we wouldn’t need a lot of people.  20,000 well-trained people would be enough.’

A letter from the Army’s Directorate of Civil Affairs asking Modern 9 TV to air running news messages concerning the red shirts’ upcoming rally has appeared on the Facebook social network.  It has been confirmed by a military official that the Directorate has sent such letters to Channel 11 and the Army’s Channel 5, and all TV channels under unusual circumstances, once a day.

After they heard from rangers guarding the Nong Bua temporary shelter that refugees would be relocated to another temporary shelter at Usutha on 8 March, 29 refugee families have fled the shelter.

Prof. Sikke Hempenius is counted as a great benefactor to Thailand because he initiated the systematic study of coastal erosion in Thailand by bringing students from Delft University of Technology over 10 years ago to conduct research on major causes of erosion. He has tried to interest Thai researchers in this problem but has not received as much interest as there should be. Erosion has become more severe.

‘Don’t use a coup to solve the problems of corruption. That will destroy the legitimacy of the whole justice system. It’s really a high price to pay,’ Kasian Techaphira, political science lecturer at Thammasat University, told Matichon reporters in an interview after the court ruled on the Thaksin assets case. 

Laid-off Triumph workers have decided to end their 8-month-long rally, but continue to produce their own Try Arm underwear with 250 sewing machines donated by the Ministry of Labour.

Walking Amongst Sharp Knives reveals previously unreported abuses taking place against ethnic Karen women in Burma.

The practice of the Burmese Army to execute village heads has led to traditional Karen culture being turned upside-down, with women now being appointed village chiefs as they are seen as less likely to be killed

NGOs and human rights activists have called on the military to halt the repatriation of Karen refugees from temporary shelters in Ban Nong Bua and Ban Mae Usu, Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province.

(Bangkok) - The Thai government should swiftly act to end police abuse and discriminatory laws and policies against migrant workers and their families, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The February deadline for more than a million migrant workers to enter the "nationality verification" process or face immediate deportation creates the risk of further abuses and should be postponed until it can be carried out in a fair manner.

(AJI/IFEX) - The Indonesian government rejected a controversial draft regulation on multimedia content which had sparked protests by both journalists and online users, media reports said.

The enjoyment of the right to food remains elusive for many across the Asian region. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) will concentrate on specific concerns with regard to the right to food in India and Indonesia in this written submission to the Human Rights Council (HRC), although these problems are replicated in many other countries in South and South East Asia in particular. 

Burmese migrant workers, together with Thai labour activists and unionists, have petitioned the Thai government and the UN to extend the 28 Feb deadline for nationality verification.

The Karen Women Organization is urgently appealing to the Royal Thai Government not to forcibly repatriate over 3,000 Karen refugees staying in Tha Song Yang, Tak Province, back to a heavily land-mined war-zone in Burma. The majority of the refugees are women and children.