Search Results for: thailand coup

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Thai authorities Monday to halt the deportation of ethnic Karen villagers from Thailand’s Phetchaburi province to Myanmar, citing grave risks to their safety if returned, and urging their immediate release from immigration detention. HRW reported that Thai security forces on Aug. 10 raided the Karen community living within Phetchaburi’s [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on Southeast Asian and global leaders gathering for the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur later this month to take a firm stand against Myanmar’s military junta and its plan to hold national elections in December, describing the process as a “sham” that would further [...]

Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a one-year prison term for convictions on corruption and abuse of power charges. The decision follows a judicial inquiry into whether corrections officials mishandled his return to the country in 2023. Thaksin was convicted in absentia in three corruption cases between 2008 [...]

A Thai student protester was arrested in Bangkok on Friday for calling Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing a “murderer,” as well as for criticizing the Thai government over its support for the visiting leader during the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit. Hlaing’s visit to the Thai capital [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International on Tuesday called on the military junta of Myanmar to facilitate relief efforts and join opposition groups in a partial ceasefire. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand last Friday, devastating the Sagaing region. The official death toll is at 2,065 although experts warn the number could [...]

Thailand’s attorney general decided on Wednesday to indict former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for allegedly insulting the monarchy in an interview he conducted in 2015 with a foreign media outlet, the attorney general’s spokesman told reporters in a press conference. The case against Thaksin Shinawatra started in 2015 when Deputy Defence Minister Gen Udomdej Sitabutr [...]

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers issued a statement on Thursday, expressing deep concern for the wellbeing of civilians in the border regions of Myanmar and Thailand. The statement specifically mentioned the areas of Myawaddy, Kayin State and Rakhine State, and urged an immediate ceasefire in the region. The ASEAN called upon [...]

For many of the world’s nations, domestic warfare is thought of as a thing of the past. Battlefields, mass killings, hostilities, guerrilla warfare, and wartime brutalities are little more than words in a textbook for much of the global population — a theoretical possibility that only currently affects distant populations. Sadly, this is not the [...]

Civil society is facing unprecedented challenges globally due to escalating conflicts and crises. In 2023, groups that were pivotal in advocating for human rights, offering humanitarian aid and giving a voice to the marginalized encountered increasing difficulties. Their work has become more challenging due to growing repression and conflict, yet they remain beacons of hope [...]

Thailand’s attorney general’s office announced that it is still considering prosecuting former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra over an alleged insult to the monarchy, an official said on Tuesday. This comes just as Shinawatra is considered for release under parole. The announcement relates to a 2015 interview he gave while in South Korea. Shinawatra suggested that [...]