Good evening,

More repressive measures from the Abhisit regime? Well, Prachatai is reporting that the Cabinet has approved in principle a new draft law from the police to regulate demonstrations: provisions include: “Section 3 states that ‘in order to facilitate and maintain security for public gatherings’, organizers must report in writing to local police at least 5 days in advance, providing details including the objectives, means, place and date, duration, approximate number of participants, and names and addresses of the organizers. 

Section 4 prohibits gatherings within 500 meters of royal palaces or 200 meters of hospitals, places for religious rites and schools during school time, blockading government and state enterprise offices, and carrying weapons in gatherings.

Section 5 authorizes police to order demonstrators to disperse and leave the site, provided the gathering violates the law or is likely to harm the lives and properties of demonstrators, other persons or the state.

If demonstrators do not follow the order to disperse, Section 6 allows police to use as much force as necessary in accordance with ministerial guidelines.” Of course, this being Thailand, the proof of the pudding will be in the interpretation and, specifically, whether the law will be applied equally to all part of the political spectrum (which, generally, it is not).

Speaking of repressive (and rather absurd) measures, the police are apparently planning to prosecute four people identified as spreading rumours concerning the health of HM the King and thereby causing losses on the stock market (which, in reality, was reacting to rumours that were travelling all over the world and not from any particular people). Then again, this was only an Abhisit announcement.* The SET index was down 1.97% today – police plan to arrest the whole of CNN for reporting that the recession isn’t over yet.

Speaking of the super-privileged, integrity-challenged one, his new wheeze is to persecute the striking train drivers. The SRT has apparently sacked six workers immediately and has made application to sack two union leaders. More vindictive perfectly justified sackings of union members are expected. This is 2009 after all.

Back tomorrow.

* What is the question to which the answer is: ‘his lips are moving’?

Hunt out for the season. Physio out forever. Rats and sinking ship time?