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BENARNEWS- With less than two months left until Thailand holds a controversial constitutional referendum, a spokesman for the Thai junta Wednesday defended its move to prevent the political opposition from monitoring the Aug. 7 vote.
“The NCPO needs to keep the peace and take care of the people, therefore the former politicians and other political parties must be careful to not stir up the already calm situation,” Col. Piyapong Klinpan, a spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order – the junta’s formal name – told BenarNews.
“Despite comments from international bodies, the NCPO still needs to keep [strict] measures,” he said in a phone interview.
Piyapong was referring to a statement issued late Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which criticized  Thailand’s military-controlled government for “forcibly blocking” efforts by the opposition to scrutinize the upcoming vote through establishing referendum-monitoring centers nationwide.
The U.S.-based global rights watchdog cited a recent public comment by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, who warned that anybody monitoring support for the proposed charter could be arrested or tried before a military court.
Prayuth’s government this week stopped a plan by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) to set up referendum-monitoring centers across the country. On Sunday, Thai police raided the UDD’s headquarters in Bangkok and cancelled a ceremony to inaugurate the monitoring campaign, according to media reports.
The UDD is a political faction associated with the Red Shirts, who are aligned with the Pheu Thai party of former prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra. Thaksin was deposed in a military coup in 2006, and his sister Yingluck was toppled by a coup led by Prayuth two years ago.
In its statement, HRW called on Thailand to put an immediate stop to “arbitrary restrictions on free expression, permit open discussion of the draft constitution, and ensure a fair referendum.”
“The Thai junta is using threats and intimidation to bludgeon people into supporting a constitution that would prolong military rule,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The generals expect the Thai people to just shut up, obey their orders, and approve their draft constitution without any discussion or debate.”
Human Rights Watch also urged the United Nations and Thailand’s allies to intervene over the issue.
“The U.N. and Thailand’s friends around the world should publicly make clear to Bangkok that they will only recognize a referendum that meets international standards,” Adams said. “A free and fair referendum affecting Thailand’s future can’t be held when the rights of people to speak and exchange their views is suppressed.”
In the run-up to the referendum, the junta has also imposed a ban on criticism of the proposed charter through a new law that prohibits “misleading or rude speech” related to the issue. On June 1, the office of the Thai Ombudsman announced that it was asking Thailand’s Constitutional Court to rule whether the new law – Section 61 in particular – was unconstitutional. The court has yet to issue a ruling on the matter.
The referendum in early August will be the first time that Thais will be going to the polls since the military seized power in May 2014.
They will be voting on a proposed constitution, which has drawn criticism from at home and aboard, because a “yes” vote in the referendum would allow the junta to hand-pick all 250 members of the Thai Senate, including six officers from the military’s top brass – thus consolidating its control over government in Thailand, according to critics.


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