With Jatuporn Promphan still jailed by the military dictatorship, it seems the junta is still pressuring red shirts. It still sees a threat from “political groups” and is desperate to stub this out.
Prachatai reports that a “military prosecutor in … Thailand’s northeast, has indicted 20 villagers accused of breaking the junta’s ban on political gatherings.”
The military prosecutor in Udon Thani “formally indicted 20 anti-establishment red shirts” for “violating the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) [the junta] Head’s [The Dictator] Order 3/2015, the junta’s ban on political gatherings of five or more persons…”.
The villagers had met to discuss the “red-shirt referendum watch campaign on 19 June 2016 in neighboring Sakon Nakhon Province.” Some of them wore “black shirts with the message, ‘Referendum must not be stolen, cancelled, or shamed by Myanmar’.”
Most of those accused are described as “senior citizens.” These aged activists are a threat to the well-armed and funded military and its regime. The trembling regime reckons the “red shirt villagers were attempting to discredit the military government and the controversial referendum on the junta-sponsored draft constitution that was held on 7 August 2016.”
The regime does a pretty good job of discrediting itself.
Aged villagers don’t need to do very much to frighten the regime. The regime fears that the villagers will set an example to others in opposing the horrid regime.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 