Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha suggested that Thai people should learn how to swim, exercise and study two languages during his visit to the southern province of Krabi to attend a mobile cabinet meeting, among other duties. While Prayut and other ministers were at an opening ceremony for Krabi’s Hat Nopparat Thara-Mu Koh Phi National Park,
Five members of an anti-Prayut group were temporarily detained for questioning by police this afternoon (Monday), after they rallied at Ao Nang beach, in the southern coastal province of Krabi, to protest the visit of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Those detained held up banners, which read “Krabi people do not want Prayuth”, “Krabi is dying”
The Thai police have not resorted to the use of lethal weapons including live rounds in dealing with anti-establishment protesters, and that only rubber bullets were used, according to Deputy Commissioner and spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) Pol Maj-Gen Jirasant Kaewsang-ek today (Monday). At a press conference this morning, he was responding to
Former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn has predicted that there is only a slim chance that the People’s Constitution draft, scheduled to be debated in a joint session of parliament on Tuesday, will be approved by the majority of the appointed senators. According to the existing Constitution, the amendments draft will require the support of more
Anti-establishment protest leader Thatchapong Kaedam announced an end of today’s protest at about 7pm (Sunday) after three of their representatives submitted a letter to an official of the German Embassy in Bangkok. The representatives were met with rousing applause as they left the embassy, after handing over the letter. One of them told the protesters
Some amendments to Thailand’s controversial lèse majesté law may be needed, but there is no need to repeal it, said a legal scholar amid growing calls, both at home and abroad, to revise some parts of the law which seek to punish those deemed to have defamed or insulted senior members of the royal family.
Protest organisers have changed the meeting location for today’s rally to the Pathumwan intersection in Bangkok. Protesters began to gather in front of the Bangkok Arts and Culture centre by 2pm. Organizers had previously announced, via social media, that protesters would gather at the Democracy Monument at 3pm today, before moving to Sanam Luang to
A group of anti-establishment protesters under the umbrella name “Ratsadon” (the people) gathered in front of the Criminal Court in Bangkok on Friday to push their demands for reform of Thailand’s monarchy, following a controversial ruling by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday. In the decision on Wednesday, the court found that three core Ratsadon leaders
A lawsuit was filed with the Civil Court today (Friday), against the Royal Thai Police and the national police chief, by nine human rights defenders who claim they were injured by the use of allegedly excessive force by the police to break up protesters in front of parliament on November 17th last year. Representing the
The timing of the enactment of Thailand’s law against torture and enforced disappearance and whether Thailand will ratify the Optional Protocols of the Convention against Torture were questioned at Thailand’s third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycle in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday. Concerns have also been raised over the current implementation of the Kingdom’s lèse majesté law. Sweden
Leader of the opposition Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, said that the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Wednesday is more than just a judgment, because it has charted “a risky and narrow path for Thailand’s future.” In his Facebook post, Pita said that the charter court’s ruling contradicts the defence of the country’s lèse majesté law,
Thailand’s Constitutional Court turned down the request, by the three anti-establishment leaders, for the submission of additional oral evidence because it has already completed a year-long investigation under the inquisitorial court system. An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts
