On February 25th 2010, in Pak Nam sub-district, Ranong province, soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division fired on a pickup truck carrying 13 undocumented migrant workers from Burma, resulting in the deaths of three migrant children. Those killed were a three or four year old, six or seven year old girl, and a 16-year-old boy. Five others were also injured during the shooting .

The mainstream mass media has been so busy blasting Thaksin Shinawatra for being the cause of all political evil that it has failed to see the seeds of the class struggle that have been germinating since the 2006 coup. Nevertheless, the attacks on the old elite have been unprecedented.

BANGKOK, Mar 14, 2010 (IPS) - An unprecedented show of force by men and women from Thailand’s rural hinterland was on display over the weekend as they poured into Bangkok in the tens of thousands to stake a claim on having a voice in shaping this South-east Asian kingdom’s national agenda.

As speculated by the international community, the Burmese military regime has promulgated the election law in an exclusive, undemocratic manner. It is now expected that the referees of the electoral competition, or so called Union Election Commission (UEC), will be handpicked by the regime to ensure regime nominees gain office.

BANGKOK, Mar 11 — Anyone who is still trying to look for neutrality or balance in the Thai media in these days of political ferment, ahead of large anti-government protests expected in the capital, has a pretty tough job.

Two more workers’ strikes are set to take place in Rangoon as calls for the legal formation of labour unions in Burma gather momentum.

Amnesty International urges Myanmar to overturn a new law that bars all political prisoners, including detained Nobel Peace-prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, from belonging to a political party before upcoming national elections. 

Of late, a lot of number-crunching has been going on, especially before and after the court decided to confiscate Bt46 billion of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's Bt76-billion frozen assets. A lot of people, be they trained in economics, law or even fields that are not remotely related to this subject, came up with different figures. In fact, some even said that Thaksin's greed and corruption had cost the country more than Bt100 billion in damages.

Reporters Without Borders will celebrate World Day Against Cyber Censorship on 12 March. This event is intended to rally everyone in support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all. It is also meant to draw attention to the fact that, by creating new spaces for exchanging ideas and information, the Internet is a force for freedom. However, more and more governments have realised this and are reacting by trying to control the Internet.

Thailand's Ministry of Labor warned Thai employers not to bring any migrant workers to join ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra's supporters, who are scheduled to launch a major anti-government protest in Bangkok this weekend.

In the latest escalation of labor tensions in Burma, around 4,000 factory workers at an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rangoon staged a sit-in on Saturday to demand better pay, according to sources in the area.

Today the world is looking to women for change in what remains a situation that offends human rights on a daily basis. In its work as a listener and voice to claims of human rights violations, the Asian Human Rights Commission regularly quotes statistics such as in Madhya Pradesh, India, 67% of the people live below the poverty line and 60% of the children are undernourished while 73.9% of tribal women are anaemic.

Following is the statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, which is commemorated on 8 March 2010:

"It has been estimated that as many as one in three women across the world has been beaten, raped or otherwise abused during the course of her lifetime. And the most common source of such violence comes from within the family. Amongst the most extreme forms of abuse is what is known as ‘honour killing’.

Chiang Mai, Thailand - On the 99th anniversary of International Women’s Day, APWLD urges the international community to become involved in what has the potential to be Southeast Asia’s most powerful tool for the protection and promotion of women’s human rights. This April at the ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) will be established.

Survivors of rape in Cambodia face limited access to justice, medical services and counselling, Amnesty International said in a report issued today, as rapes of women and girls appear to be increasing. 

The disconnect between the mainstream media and the red shirts has become even starker after the February 26 court ruling on former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's so-called ill-gotten wealth, leading to the seizure of Bt46 billion of his assets.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has strongly criticised the Royal Thai Government (RTG) for its treatment of migrant workers. Just a week after the United Nation’s Special Rapportuer on the Human Rights of Migrants publically issued a statement of concern on RTG’s migrant worker policies, Thailand’s human rights reputation falls into question as it vies for membership of the UN’s Human Rights Council. 

Today [26 Feb] has marked a history of Thailand’s justice system. The seized asset of more than 40,000 millions was done on a claim that I benefited from higher stock prices due to my being Prime Minister. The surplus was interpreted as wrongdoings, and was entirely seized. This must be a joke to the world. Stock rising as a result of my being Prime Minister? When stocks rise, the entire market does.

Three persons were killed and five were wounded after being shot by Thailand's security forces in the southern part of the country. All the victims were identified as Burmese who were trying to enter Thailand illegally. Two of the dead were children aged two and four, according to Burmese workers living in the area.

What should be done if the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders find ousted and convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to be guilty of corruptions on Friday February 26? The court should then returns the Bt76 billion assets frozen since Septmeber 2006 coup to Thaksin and his family because the whole process from the staging of the coup on the eve of 19 September 2006, the appointment of the Asset Examination Committee (AEC) by the military junta and so on, was illegitimate - disregard of whether-Thaksin may in fact be corrupt or not.