The lawless regime

PPT has long pointed to the lawlessness of the military dictatorship. It was an illegal and subversive act – a military coup – that brought it to power. The junta then enacted its own decrees and made itself and its illegal actions “legal.” Since then, the junta has regularly ruled by decree and martial law, used military courts for civilians, acted against its own constitution, failed to provide evidence in murder and torture cases, used the dubious and draconian lese majeste as a weapon against political opponents, concocting cases, arrested people on bogus charges, abducted others and much more.

As the regime digs in against political opponents (and even some supporters gone bad) it is now ignoring the courts it has previously able to direct as puppets. All in the cause of maintaining the military dictatorship and covering-up General Prawit Wongsuwan’s corruption on luxury watches.

Prachatai reports that “[d]espite a recent ruling from the Administrative Court ordering the authorities to facilitate the civil rights march, local authorities in Nakhon Ratchasima have pressured the civil rights march to leave the area two days earlier than planned.”

On 1 February 2018, about 10 local government officials visited participants in We Walk, A Walk for Friendship at a temple in Nakhon Ratchasima and asked them to leave the temple earlier than planned.

According to Eakachai Issaratha, one of the marchers, the participants planned to stay for three nights at Wat Non Makok temple in Non Sung District before continuing their journey to Khon Kaen and the abbot of the temple had agreed to shelter them. However, about 10 local government officials visited the temple and told the march organisers that they could stay for only one night.

The officials claimed that there was a resolution from a meeting of soldiers, police officers, district officials, village heads and subdistrict heads, to allow them to stay for only one night. The marchers could not stay in the area for 3 nights, because the district and provincial officials felt uncomfortable.  The decision to let them stay in the area was not for the abbot alone to make, but rested also with the local administration.

It seems the junta and its minions can just ignore the Administrative Court and its ruling that the We Walk march should continue under a notion of the right to freedom of assembly and its order that the authorities should not to obstruct the march.

Lawless regimes are dangerous.