Seven student activists, released from detention at the Bangkok
Remand Prison
Wednesday for campaigning against the draft
charter ahead of the Aug 7 referendum,
have vowed to press on
with their campaign.
cheers and hugs of smiling friends and family. Mr Rangsiman
said the Aug 7 referendum is not only about a vote for or
against the draft charter,
but also the people's choice between democracy and dictatorship.
Nanthapong Panmat, a Ramkhamhaeng University political
science master's student, thanked prison officials for taking care
of the detained students but said the harsh conditions inside the jail
had worsened their health.
"We've agreed to continue our campaign
against the problematic
draft constitution as this is about our own future. We
just can't let
it pass," said Mr Nanthapong.
Appalling sight: Students in shackles Yuthana
Dasri, another
Ramkhamhaeng University student released from the prison,
said
prison officials had pleaded with them to leave the premises
after the court
order to release them.
A seventh activist, Korakot Saengyenphan, a
graduate from
Kasetsart University, was also released in the evening.
However,
officers at Thon Buri police station sought to detain him
further as he is among 11 activists wanted for rallying against the
Rajabhakti
Park project in defiance of the National Council for
Peace and Order's order
banning political rallies.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Administrative Court
will rule on Monday
on the petition filed by 12 scholars and activists seeking
to annul
the Election Commission's announcement of the regulations
which
petitioners insist restrict freedom of expression in
the referendum.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has issued the
transcript of a
June 29 meeting between Jan Eliasson, the UN deputy
secretary-general, and Virasakdi Futrakul, vice-minister for
foreign affairs,
in New York to clarify media reports quoting
Constitution Drafting Committee
spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni
saying that the UN was not bothered by the Public
Referendum Act.
"The deputy secretary-general expressed concerns about the
recent reports of restrictions on the freedoms of expression and
assembly ahead
of the referendum on the draft constitution,"
said the text published on
the UN website.
Also Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and
Defence Minister
Prawit Wongsuwon said it was probably inappropriate to shackle
the young activists during detention.
Personally, he thought rules pertaining to
such practices could
possibly be adjusted for student detainees.
Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya, however,
said the shackle
issue should not be judged harshly by the human rights
defenders
as the corrections officials had to do their job.
"If those officials fail to strictly
follow the shackling rule and
detainees escape, it will be they who will face
legal action or
even get fired, not those human rights activists. Above all,
it's a rule," he said.
Gen Prawit downplayed concerns raised by the
likelihood that
the movement spearheaded by student activists at various
universities would escalate, saying the students participating in
the political
movement were only a tiny portion of the entire
university student population.
These
students are actually allowed to express their political
opinions at their own
educational institutions, he said.
News,Politics,Bangkok Post, 7 July 2016.
These student were only charged for
campaigning against the
draft charter ,they are not
criminals but as they were shackled,
it made bad image for the government.
In my opinion,if they want to do it let them
do,don’t give credit
to them because if they are not in the news no one even
interest
in their activity.
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