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.

Surapon Nitikraipot, Rector of Thammasat University, has spoken in a public forum in defence of the 2006 coup and its resulting constitution.  He argued that anti-coup activists should have also opposed the 1997 Constitution, as it resulted from a coup in 1991.  As a law professor himself, he said that there were no double standards in prosecuting the red and yellow shirts, except that the cases were being handled sooner or later.  

On 22 Jan, Kittichai Charnchoengsilpakul, Da Torpedo’s brother, together with some 30 activists, red shirts and monks, presented a petition to the Corrections Department, requesting the agency to provide medical treatment for Daranee.

On 18 Jan, the Mekong Migration Network (MMN) sent a letter to the government and relevant agencies to oppose the recent deportation of Cambodian beggars and call on the Thai Government to immediately put in place effective and appropriate screening processes to prevent the deportation of migrants who have the right to protection.

On 18 Jan, human rights organizations and activists send a letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for concerns over the issue of migrant workers in Thailand, the Burmese in particular, as their permits will expire in January and February, while the nationality verification process has proved to be ineffective and risky for the migrants.

The Defence Minister has ordered all military units to monitor and subdue any subversive actions against the monarchy in cyber space and at political rallies.  But months before this order, Provincial Army ROTC Training Centre 33, based in Chiang Mai, had already had high school students vow their loyalty on YouTube, and recently set up a web service for any citizen to report offensive websites.

On 12 January 2010, the Thai News Agency reported that the Prime Minister ordered the establishment of an Advisory Committee on National Security Cases Involving the Monarchy, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice as chair. The Committee has the responsibility of advising the police, DSI and ICT Ministry on the careful, appropriate and fair conduct of lèse majesté cases

Readers have sent e-mails to Smart Buy magazine, criticizing a column written by a dentist who talks of Da Torpedo’s molar abscess as bad karma resulting from speaking ill of the monarchy.