Pheu
Thai Party Statement

End
the Intimidation and Violation of the Rights and Freedom of the People

Since
the coup on May 22, 2014, it became apparent that the National Council for
Peace and Order (NCPO) had used its power to issue its own announcements and
the announcements by the NCPO leader that curb the rights and freedom of the
people, the academia and the media. This
continues even after the Thai Constitution B.E. 2560 (A.D. 2017) was promulgated.  Such actions have not been relaxed, but in fact, more complexities
were added through the use of legal instruments to curb the rights and freedom of
the people and other parties, time and again. 
Through the use of the NCPO’s and its leader’s orders and announcements,
arrests and prosecutions were made against those with different political views
and those who criticized the government and the NCPO, even though it is within
the law and the basic rights of the people, according to the constitution.  These actions are to muffle the voice of the
people in expressing their opinions. 

Pheu Thai deems that the
government and the NCPO have obligations to the international convention and
the constitution to protect and respect the people’s rights to freedom of
expression, and as such, they must not take any actions that will violate this
right. In order for the administration of the government and the NCPO
be made transparent and have accountability, in the same way as that of an
elected government, which is an important factor that will lead to the national
reconciliation and create confidence for other countries, the NCPO must end
actions that violate the  freedom of the people, especially
the freedom of expression for the people, the academia and the media.  These rights have been continually violated in
various ways.  When taking legal actions
against any persons, consideration should be given to the criminal intentions,
the rights in the judicial process and the rights of the suspects and plaintiffs
in the code of criminal procedure.  All
procedures must be done with fairness and without discrimination and must
strictly be in accordance with  the rule
of law.

Pheu
Thai Party
August
9, 2017