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.

Marwaan Macan-Markar, president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, has denied being forced by the government to withdraw permission for the red shirts to hold a symposium at the clubhouse.

BANGKOK, Aug 31 (IPS) - Thailand’s draconian lese majeste law is steadily emerging as a testing ground for the principles that renowned international human rights lobbies stand for.