Narathiwat Provincial Court has dismissed the case of Imam Yapha Kaseng on the grounds that it is not under its jurisdiction, and told his wife to turn to the military courts instead.  However, individuals cannot bring cases to a military court; only the authorities can do so.

The scale of the flooding in Pakistan is difficult to grasp. An area equal to that of the United Kingdom has disappeared under water. Mercifully the number of fatalities (estimated at over 200,000 and still rising, with the threat of epidemics and starvation on the horizon) is so far lower than other recent disasters. But the number of people made homeless, and consequently more or less resource-less, is already greater than that of the 2004 tsunami and the earthquakes in Kashmir in 2005 and Haiti earlier this year, combined. Estimates of the damage to infrastructure – bridges, roads, railways, schools, hospitals and other public services – run to over $4 billion. The cost in lost output, crucially including food crops, is still too large to count.

Amnesty International is calling on the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution ensuring the urgent establishment of an international commission of inquiry into serious human rights violations committed in Myanmar, including crimes against humanity and possible war crimes.

Conor David Purcell, an Australian national who was arrested and convicted for his involvement in the red-shirt rallies in April and May and was ordered to be released on 20 Aug, is still being detained at the Police Immigration Division at Soi Suan Phlu because he has no money for the air fare home.

Purcell went on stage and gave speeches during the red-shirt rallies in Ratchaprasong, and was arrested on 27 May.    

A Malaysian editor was charged on 2 September 2010 with publishing false information on his satirical blog, media reports said.

The Associated Press said Irwan Abdul Rahman, better known as blogger "Hassan Skodeng," and editor of the "Malay Mail" newspaper's lifestyle section was accused of publishing online content deemed "obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with malicious intent."

The Burma Army continues to launch deliberate military attacks that target civilians and undermine humanitarian conditions in upland areas of Karen State, according to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), which today released the report Self-protection under strain: Targeting of civilians and local responses in northern Karen State.  Drawing on over 212 interviews and 85 field documents submitted by KHRG field researchers since January 2009, the report makes clear that civilians contending with attacks need increased humanitarian support.  This support must be designed to strength

The CRES spokesperson told a press conference that certain print media have distorted information causing anxiety and rifts among the public, and presented news affronting the monarchy.  The CRES will take legal action against them or close them down if necessary.

A grenade believed to have been fired from an M79 grenade launcher exploded in front of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand in Bangkok on 31 August 2010, media reports said.

I first joined the Pattani Peace Walk on 26 July 2010, and covered a distance of 28 kilometers from Prachuab Khiri Khan town to Tab-sakae district over the course of one day. I surprised myself with how much I could actually walk in a day. Life in Bangkok is different. I leave home every morning with my car key to start the engine. Then, after driving to work, I walk not even 20 steps to my office from the car.

The Network of Volunteer Citizens to Protect the Monarchy on Facebook has met the DSI Director, and provided a video clip of Tom Dundee speaking at a red-shirt rally, which they say constitutes lèse majesté.

In a submission to the 14th session of the Human Rights Council, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) described the use of arbitrary orders for interrogation of civilians in army camps and other facilities under emergency regulations during the violence between state forces and antigovernment protestors in Thailand in April-May 2010 (A/HRC/14/NGO/42, 17 May 2010).

In barely two months time elections will be held in Burma generating significant attention worldwide. The Union Election Commission (UEC) has announced on 13th August that the “multiparty elections in Burma will be held on November 7, 2010.” There have been a number of developments in the days preceding the announcement of the Election date, which deserves serious attention from all democracy supporting citizens of the world.
 

There have been several cases of enforced disappearance in the southern border provinces, with the latest case being that of Doromae Laelae, 46, in March 2010 in Pattani.  The case of Mayateng Marano, a janitor at Bang Lang village school, Bannang Sata district, Yala, was brought to court after he had been missing for two years, in accordance with Section 61 of the Civil and Commercial Code, and the provincial court declared him to be a missing person.

Pathum Wanaram Temple has cancelled the booking by a group of red shirts to hold a religious ceremony to mark 100 days since the crackdown in May.  The abbot claims to have been pressured and criticized for siding with the red shirts.

This week’s prize for twisted logic goes to Nipon Poapongsakorn, President of the Thailand Development Research Institute think-tank and member of the Prawase Reform Committee. The committee, tasked with reducing injustice and inequity in the wake of the red shirt protests, is looking at the tax system.

And that is a jolly good place to look.

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.

Sometimes, a short phone conversation can say volumes about the state a society is in.

"Please don't mention my name because I might not be able to graduate," this writer heard a female voice pleading.

The voice on the other end of the line was that of a red-shirt Chulalongkorn University student. She did not want to be identified, even though she had earlier called to report the incident when she and seven other fellow students ended up having their placards confiscated as soon as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva arrived at the university to deliver a speech.

A member of Prawase Wasi’s reform committee has proposed tax increases, in VAT in particular, to implement the government’s welfare programme.

The Promises

Despite the continuing state crackdown on some political websites and on-line political posters, the internet has become the most open public space for political debate and discussion about the institution of the monarchy in Thailand. The mainstream print media, often regarded as more open and independent compared to the broadcast media, pale by comparison with the nascent internet news websites, blogs and online political-posting. Increasingly, the hegemonic control by the state and the mainstream media over the idealized portrayal and discourse of the monarchy is slipping and no longer tenable due to the differing portrayals and critical discussions online that simply by-pass traditional media outlets.