Prachatai English

Provincial court dismisses case of murdered Imam, saying it belongs to military court

prachatai — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:21:59 +0000

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.

On 2 Sept, Narathiwat Provincial Court ruled on a criminal case brought by Yapha Kaseng’s wife Nima against 5 military officers and one policeman for detaining and torturing her husband to death while in their custody.

The court dismissed all charges against the police officer who the plaintiff alleged to have breached police regulations and Yapha’s constitutional rights by bringing him and others to a press conference while they were merely suspects. The court ruled that the regulations were not law, and the constitution has no penalty provisions. The fact that the police officer brought a police detention vehicle for the military to use to detain Yapha and others inside the 39th ad hoc unit base was in accordance with the orders of the military under Martial Law.

And the court also dismissed all charges against the other 5 defendants, all military officers, on the grounds that the case falls under the jurisdiction of the military courts.

Narathiwat Provincial Court then ordered the case to be removed from the case-list and told the plaintiff that if she wanted to prosecute the 5 defendants, she could bring the case to the military courts. It instructed her, in doing so, to inform the military court in her indictment that this case had been lodged and dismissed by this court, and also to attach copies of the verdict and the report on the trial process.

According to the Cross Cultural Foundation and the Muslim Lawyers Centre, this was the first lawsuit in the Southern border provinces to be brought against the authorities by an affected individual. Citizens cannot bring cases to military courts by themselves, but only through the military attorney-general. Currently, the case has been forwarded by the police to the National Counter Corruption Committee, but no progress has yet been made as to when the NCCC will finish its investigation and submit the case to the military attorney-general.

The plaintiff will appeal against the provincial court’s ruling in favour of the police officer, on the grounds that no law or regulation can contradict the constitution, which is the country’s highest law, and state agencies, including the courts, are obliged to enact, enforce and interpret the law in accordance with the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. The act of the sixth defendant in bringing suspects to a press conference was in breach of police regulations and the constitution, and is punishable under the Criminal Code.

Yapha Kaseng, an Imam at Koto village mosque, Rueso District, Narathiwat, was arrested by military and police personnel on 19 March 2008. He and other suspects were brought to a press conference and presented as allies of insurgents.

He died on 21 March 2008 at the base of the 39th Narathiwat ad hoc unit in Rueso District.

After filing a complaint with police and seeing slow progress, his wife brought a lawsuit herself at the Provincial Court on 20 Aug 2009.

It could never happen here, of course

prachatai — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:59:31 +0000

Harrison George

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.

Help from around the world has been inadequate and slow, which may be partially excused by the size of the disaster. But it has been coming in from all over, even if Thailand’s $75,000 doesn’t quite match the contributions of technically bankrupt countries like Greece and Iceland and is even less than Angelina Jolie’s individual donation of $100,000 to the UN.

And what of the Pakistani government itself?

Well, as the floodwaters threatened the 1.6 million residents of Hyderabad, President Asif Ali Zardari was taking a helicopter ride to visit a 16th century chateau in Normandy. Sightseeing? No, his family owns it.

He also spent 4 days in the UK, and was booked in at The Churchill hotel where ‘royal suites’ cost £7000 a night. (And it should be mentioned in fairness that his predecessor, Gen Pervez Musharraf, normally stayed at the even more expensive Dorchester.) This is not a bed and breakfast so meal packs were ordered from an Asian restaurant at £18 a pop. Then the Pakistani High Commission in London announced that the President would forgo the royal suite in favour of ‘the cheapest 5-star hotel in central London’.

Now a cheap 5-star hotel still costs but perhaps this lavish slumming could be justified if the trip had a clear and urgent purpose in alleviating the misery of the ordinary folk of Pakistan. Unfortunately, this does not seem to have been the case.

The highlight of the trip seems to have been a meeting in Birmingham of the Pakistani People’s Party (the Bhutto/Zardari political brand), to which leading members of the Pakistani community in the UK were invited. And provided with buses to take them there, paid for by the Pakistani government. As was the conference centre, at a reported cost of £40,000.

A fund-raiser for unfortunate fellow Pakistanis? Not quite. It was arranged well before the monsoons and seems to have been the latest step in the choreography by which Bilawal, the son of President Zardari and the late President Benazir Bhutto will eventually waltz into possession of the family inheritance – the presidency of Pakistan. He’s just finished his degree at Oxford and is all of 22, so the time is obviously ripe.

While President Zardari’s trip seems to have been an extended Marie Antoinette moment, his trip to Birmingham involved a George Bush moment. An outraged Pakistani tried to throw his shoes at him.

But could the President have been doing more if he’d stayed at home, putting assistance to his compatriots ahead of tawdry personal political ambition?

I’m not sure. The media pictures of Ban Ki-Moon looking like a distraught Canute may attract the world’s attention, and consequently more assistance. But phu yai are never much use in filling sandbags or piggy-backing the elderly and infirm out of the rising waters. And Bush seems to have been more hindrance than help in the Katrina debacle.

There are arguments that even the appearance of concern by national leaders is valuable, but perhaps President Zardari could help in a more direct way.

He is reported to be the second wealthiest individual in Pakistan with a personal net worth of 1.8 billion dollars. In a country where a few are impressively wealthy while millions are impressively poor (and just made poorer), a personal gesture, like a cheque for a few millions, could be very welcome. It might even provoke generosity among his fellow plutocrats.

But then again.

About author: Bangkokians with long memories may remember his irreverent column in The Nation in the 1980's. During his period of enforced silence since then, he was variously reported as participating in a 999-day meditation retreat in a hill-top monastery in Mae Hong Son (he gave up after 998 days), as the Special Rapporteur for Satire of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and as understudy for the male lead in the long-running ‘Pussies -not the Musical' at the Neasden International Palladium (formerly Park Lane Empire).

Myanmar: UN General Assembly should call for commission of inquiry

prachatai — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:38:42 +0000

Amnesty International

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.

The establishment of such a commission was recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar in March. Australia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK and the USA have since voiced their support.

The General Assembly should request the UN Secretary-General to rapidly establish a commission to investigate reports of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Myanmar by all parties, and to identify the perpetrators of such violations with a view to ensuring that those responsible for the crimes are brought to justice.

In particular, the inquiry should focus on reports of widespread and systematic persecution of civilian populations by government security forces, especially against the largely Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority in Rakhine State; the ethnic minority Shan in Shan State; and the ethnic minority Karen in eastern Myanmar. The commission should also investigate reports of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by armed groups in the Shan State and in eastern Myanmar.

A June 2008 Amnesty International report, Crimes against humanity in eastern Myanmar, documented unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, forced labour, arbitrary arrests, and various forms of collective punishment, committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population in northern Kayin State and eastern Bago Division starting in late 2005. Amnesty International continues to receive reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, committed with impunity in Myanmar.

The report also highlighted the Myanmar government’s persistent failure to implement the recommendations of the General Assembly, which has adopted 19 resolutions on Myanmar.

The government has signalled its intention to maintain this impunity for its officials accused of past human rights violations. Article 445 of its 2008 Constitution—which will come into force via Myanmar’s first national elections since 1990 set for 7 November 2010—grants present and past officials complete impunity, providing that “no proceeding” may be instituted against officials of the military governments since 1988 “in respect of any act done in the execution of their respective duties.”

With no possibility of justice, truth and reparations for victims at the national level, the international community must take action now.

Background

In his March 2010 report to the UN Human Rights Council (A/HRC/13/48), Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana stated that, “According to consistent reports, the possibility exists that some of these human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. […] Given this lack of accountability, United Nations institutions may consider the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry with a specific fact-finding mandate to address the question of international crimes.”

A UN commission of inquiry into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide can be established by the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council or the Secretary-General.

Red-shirt Australian still held at immigration, no money for air fare home

prachatai — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:35:30 +0000

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.

He was convicted of violating the Emergency Decree and sentenced to 3 months in jail. But as he pleaded guilty, the sentence was commuted to one month and 15 days, and as he had already been detained for 89 days since the arrest, the court ordered his release.

In the ruling, the court said that apart from violating the Emergency Decree, the defendant had not carried or used weapons, or carried out any other action meant to harm life or public property; therefore, the defendant had not committed a serious crime. The court took into account the fact the defendant’s motive in joining the protesters and committing the offence was the result of his belief that his actions constituted legitimate expression in accordance with democracy where people can have differing views. The court then gave him a light punishment.

However, Purcell is still currently being held at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre as he cannot afford the air fare and other expenses, which the Australian Embassy has refused to help with.

His family in Australia has been notified of this, but no progress has yet been made.

A friend of his in Thailand told Prachatai that he was going to get in touch with the Australian Embassy for help in a couple of days, while he was trying to collect money from others for the air fare. Purcell might promise to repay the embassy later for other expenses, the source said.

Malaysian editor charged over satirical blog post

prachatai — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:39:07 +0000

Southeast Asian Press Alliance

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."

Irwan pleaded not guilty before the court in Petaling Jaya to charges that he violated section 233 (1) (a) Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Act.

News portal www.themalaysianinsider.com said that "if convicted, Irwan can be fined up to RM5,000 or jailed up to a year, or both." He was later released after posting a bail of RM4,000.

AP said the case stemmed from Irwan's blog article, "TNB to sue WWF over earth hour" posted in March this year in which he claimed that the head of Malaysia's main electricity firm, Tenaga Nasional, would allegedly sue the environmental group World Wildlife Fund "for urging people to switch off their lights for the annual Earth Hour initiative."

Irwan said the "fake jokes" he posts in his blogs are meant as "stress relief". He said he removed the article two days after he posted it after he noticed a sudden increase in traffic in his blog, noting that "the reaction to [the] joke has gone out of control."

Malaysian media group Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), a SEAPA associate member based in Kuala Lumpur, noted that with Irwan's case, authorities are telling the public what are the "no-go areas" for Malaysian bloggers, hence "instilling self-censorship."

Supporting civilians that face ongoing military attacks

prachatai — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:31:12 +0000

Karen Human Rights Group

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 strengthen local communities existing capacities for protection of human rights.

Self-protection under strain focuses on one particularly affected area of northern Karen State, where a displaced population of more than 27,000 villagers continue to face attacks. “The situation remains urgent,” said Saw Poe Shan K. Phan, KHRG’s Field Director. “In just the weeks since we printed this report, more than 1,000 people were displaced when the Burma Army shelled, attacked and then burned another village in the report’s research area. Soldiers destroyed homes, a school and a church – and then they left landmines in the village, making it dangerous for the villagers to return or rebuild.”

Even in the face of these attacks, however, tens of thousands of villagers continue to survive – through coordinated, creative and brave community attempts to protect their human rights. Burma Army practices targeting civilians and their livelihoods, however, have gravely undermined food security and health for communities in upland areas. This has created new protection concerns and seriously challenged established local self-protection strategies, prompting some individuals and communities to seek alternative means of addressing their needs.

Local capacities for, and limits to, self-protection, and the concerns and priorities that inform villagers’ choices of protection strategies, indicate potential entry points for practical attempts to improve human rights conditions across conflict areas in eastern Burma. “Anyone wishing to help villagers in these areas should start by understanding the local dynamics of abuse and community responses,” said Naw Eh Paw Htoo, KHRG spokesperson for the report. “Only such a detailed understanding can enable programmes and policies that broaden villagers’ range of feasible options for protecting their human rights, today.”

The report is available online at www.khrg.org and hard copies can be obtained by emailing khrg@khrg.org. Print-quality photos for inclusion in news articles and video footage of villagers in Karen State are also available on request.

About KHRG

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) was founded in 1992 and documents the situation of villagers and townspeople in rural Burma through their direct testimonies, supported by photographic and other evidence. KHRG operates independently and is not affiliated with any political or other organisation. Examples of our work can be seen online at www.khrg.org.

CRES warns of closing print media which distort facts and affront the monarchy

prachatai — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:23:19 +0000

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.

According to Matichon, on 31 Aug, Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd, spokesperson for the CRES, spoke to the press after a CRES meeting which was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban.

At the meeting, the firing of an M79 grenade into the National Broadcasting Television (NBT) station was discussed. It was assumed to be an attempt to create turmoil and make the public feel insecure in their lives and property, but not to harm anyone.

The Deputy Prime Minister instructed personnel to intensify intelligence work, to check the surveillance cameras at the NBT station, as well as those of the Expressway Authority of Thailand and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and to increase police and military forces in areas which are at risk, including, for example, transportation systems, TV stations, communities, and shopping malls, the colonel said.

It was reported at the meeting that certain print media had distorted information and presented news which bordered on offending the monarchy. The CRES has kept tabs on them, and will take legal action or close them if necessary, he said.

He mentioned as an example a ‘colour-headed’ newspaper which reported that ‘people in colours [or in uniforms] are hunting down red shirts and threatening them to stop their activities.’ Common sense tells you the ‘people in colours’ means police and military officers, and this misleads the public into thinking that the authorities are persecuting the red shirts, he said.

He said the CRES would first warn them about such reporting, and would take further legal measures if they still did not comply.

When asked whether the frequent bombings which had happened recently would affect the decision to revoke the Emergency Decree or not, Col Sansern said that currently there was no discussion about this issue, as it was under the authority of the Prime Minister.

Many have tried to accuse the authorities of being responsible for the bombings in order to create a situation to prolong the Emergency Decree, but no authorities would have done so, the colonel insisted. He dismissed such speculation as impossible.

Regarding the red shirts who have been regrouping and organizing activities, he said, ‘We’ve kept an eye on them all the time, monitoring their meetings and movements in areas where the Emergency Decree has been lifted. But we have to consider whether they act within the scope of law. If they don’t violate the law, they can [carry out their activities].’

Grenade explodes in Thai government's TV station

prachatai — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:19:28 +0000

Southeast Asian Press Alliance

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.

Agence France Presse quoted witnesses as saying that the grenade hit a tree before exploding, damaging six cars parked nearby. No one was hurt.

It was the second grenade attack in the capital within a week's time. Another grenade, which authorities also suspected to have been fired from a similar launcher, exploded in the King Power Duty Free shop on 26 August, seriously injuring a security guard.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said, "Based on circumstantial evidence, it's likely to have been caused by an M-79 (grenade)."

"The attack was an attempt to create disturbance and to panic people and show there are loopholes in the government's measures," he added. Bangkok remains under emergency rule.

As of press time, no one has claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Rattana Jarernsak, executive director of NBT, said there was no plan to evacuate. "The explosion has not really affected the journalists, and we'll continue our operation," Rattana said.

Power of Walking, Power of Minds: Why Are We Walking to Pattani?

prachatai — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:09:13 +0000

Pornpen Khongkachonkiet

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.

With regards to short distances in Bangkok, even between bus stops, my response is “No way, I’d rather not.”

In addition, I was amazed by the power of the steps and minds of the members of the Pattani Peace Walk team. I have followed the teams committed to walking peacefully to Pattani beginning on 11 July 2010. I am convinced that the power of the steps and minds of the teams will help make peace real in Pattani.

Pattani is the destination of the Peace Walk. Not all teams perceive the complexity of the problem in Pattani, but everyone believes that peace can happen. Everyone knows that in order to end the conflict, they will have to stop killing each other and respect each other. They all believe that they will deliver their last steps to the people of Pattani and this will become the first step for peace in Pattani.

This will be a spark that will cause all parties to realize the importance of ending violence and creating peace together. But how can we reach this goal when some cannot see clearly? I think that as the Peace Walk teams grow closer to Pattani, each step will bring this goal closer.

The first day of the walk was the first time that I had walked such a long distance. I was advised to walk with mindfulness, to do a “Dhama Yatra” (Peace March). This way, it is possible to easily walk tens of kilometers. Someone explained that in doing a “Dhama Yatra”, it makes it possible for a group of people who are walking together to share life and principles larger than private, daily usual life. For sharing life and living, eating, and resting together as a community for one period of time makes it possible to practice mindfulness. It is simultaneously aimed to create peace in one’s heart. It is meant to create friendship and also peacefulness which can indirectly reach society.

But my heart was not at peace. All I could think about was a 16-year-old child who was detained for more than 7 days. Why have young people become the target of using and creating violence as a cycle of brutality? Isn’t this a child who should be protected? In my mind, I felt anger towards those who used children to create violence, and felt anger towards the authorities involved in suppression who want to use children as witnesses and informants, and who arrest and detain them for interrogation. Later I learned that the 16-year-old child was released after being detained and interrogated for an additional three days. That day I traveled back to Bangkok to work. But I also decided to join the walk, and to try to do so with a calmer heart.

I joined the Peace Walk for the second time for almost 200 km between the provinces of Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat. From 11 to19 August 2010 during the walk I announced (by sending SMS) that I had joined the team of Ajarn Gothom. But I didn’t hear from anyone in Pattani what they thought about the initiative. The peace walk covered more than 1100 kilometers over 50 days. There were people from the central, northern, and northeastern regions, and news of the walk was even broadcast on television a few times. There were villagers along the route who gave encouragement to the walkers and even gave us food and water. But we heard very few voices from the people in Pattani.

We did not have even one person from Pattani walking with us … We don’t let this slip through our minds.

While I was walking I heard a story via telephone that made me sad for the entire journey. A detainee died in jail of unknown causes. He was from Pa Thae sub-district, in Yaha district, in Yala province. He was arrested and had been detained for a year. When he was arrested and interrogated, he was tortured and was unconscious for two days. When he woke up, he was in a police station. After that, he was sent to jail and a case was being made against him.

As time went by, this detainee’s condition improved, but he still had to seek treatment from the hospital inside and outside the jail. When he died, his family did not give permission for the coroner to perform an autopsy, so we will never know what really killed him. It is said that he went into shock and died while alone on the day before the first day of Ramadan

Even during the month of Ramadan, which began on August 12, one continues to hear the sound of bombs and guns. We also heard the news of bombs and guns continuously while we were walking.

On the third day of the walk, I received a telephone call from Narathiwat, telling me that a suspect who was fleeing an arrest warrant had been shot dead. Previously, we had tried to help him surrender, but were unsuccessful. Many suspects lack confidence in the judicial process. There are also other factors which may cause them to choose paths other than the Thai legal system.

Every person who joins the Peace Walk will have his or her own detailed and different stories. For me, I have long been aware of the violence in the southern-most three provinces. It causes me to think about what can be done for each side to have mercy and compassion for the other sides, so they will choose nonviolence and respect for one another. Detainees in jails should receive better healthcare. The people and the authorities should have faith in peace as a way to call for what they want. How can each side become more tolerant than they are not? This is needed to make the sound of the guns and the sound of the bombs die down.

As we grew closer and closer to Pattani, brothers and sisters from Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat began to send us encouragement to keep going and keep struggling. Some said, “When you are almost here, we will walk with you also.” I received a phone call from a soldier in the area who said that he was going to join the walk to Pattani also. He sent us snacks and said to tell him if we needed People send us snacks along the way, and said to tell him if we needed anything.

This encouragement helped soothe our blistered feet, and it made us feel glad that those outside the Walk had such good wishes for us. We recognize that the Muslim brothers and sisters and the soldiers who have been in the area for 6-7 years also call for peace … although we are still working to figure out how to make this real, rather than an imagined dream.

During the walk from the Surat Thani province to Nakhon Si Thammarat, we walked on Highway 401. For much of the trip, we walked through Thai Buddhist and Muslim villagers along toast of the Gulf of Thailand. This caused us to recognize and understand the problems of the area of southern Thai referred to southern development economic plan as the Southern Seaboard, and the problems of environmental degradation, those caused by man and the nature, these problems have greatly affected the way of the life of people living along the coast. This is also made us realize that there is contention everywhere in Thailand, but in many places people can still live together without violence.

Are there paths to ending violence? And what must we do? This Peace Walk to Pattani helped spread the message of peace. Yet while we were walking, Ajarn Gothom Arya told the people we met all along the path that the Walk was only a “process.” Now, Ajarn Pramuan Phengchan (former Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Mai University) who walked from Chiang Mai province to his hometown in Ko Samui, Surat Thani province, and wrote a book called Walk for Freedom) has used the word “tactic.”

But the way of reaching peace of each side must be done with hands, or feet, together.

Whether it is “process” or “tactic,” and whether it succeeds this time or not … How much longer will the sound of bullets of guns and bombs be louder than the call for peace? The final signal that I heard the last night was a friend from Narathiwat was going to travel to meet the Peace Walk team in Pattani on 1 September at the Pattani Central Mosque.

We hope the call for peace will truly drown out the sound of bombs, with the determination and steps of every peace-loving person in this world.
--------

Read more information of Dhama Yatra to Pattani, please click here.

Royalist group on Facebook urges DSI to prosecute a Thai singer for lèse majesté

prachatai — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:23:51 +0000

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.

On 30 Aug, Boworn Yasinthorn, President of the Network of Volunteer Citizens to Protect the Monarchy on Facebook met Tharit Pengdit, Director-General of the Department for Special Investigation (DSI), urging him to prosecute singer and actor Tom Dundee for his public speech at a red-shirt rally in Ratchaburi province on 8 Aug 2010.

Boworn said that Tom’s speech constituted lèse majesté and treason under Sections 112 and 116 of the Criminal Code.

The group submitted as evidence a clip of Tom Dundee’s speech which had been posted on the Youtube website.

They also asked the DSI to prosecute those who had disseminated the clip.

Tharit told them that the DSI would accept the case and investigate whether this can be construed as a conspiracy or not.

The information will be added to the database of the DSI team investigating the plot to overthrow the monarchy, Tharit said.

The clip on Youtube has been removed.