Dear friends in the AEPF circle,

Thai group is planing to protest Thai junta at ASEM Summit.

On 2^nd October, we met with a senior officer in the EU who responsible for Thailand and had delivered the letter addressing Donald TUSK President of the European Council, Antonio Tajani President of the European Parliament, Lee Hsien Loong Chair of ASEAN, Dato Lim Jock Hoi Secretary-General of ASEAN, Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany. He promised that the letter will be delivered to respected names mentioned in the letter.

Thank you very much to friends who jointly sign this letter in support of our struggle to Free Thailand from military dictator.

Please see the letter below:

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Donald TUSK, President of the European Council
Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament
Lee Hsien Loong, Chair of ASEAN
Dato Lim Jock Hoi Secretary-General of ASEAN
Angela Merkel, Ch,ancellor of Germany

28 September 2018

Your Excellencies,

The 12^th ASEM Summit in Brussels (18-19 October) will be attended by General Prayuth Chan-Ocha who, as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, led the military coup that terminated the democratically elected Government of Thailand in 2014 (the 12^th military coup against democracy since the abolition of Absolute Monarchy in 1932.)

From 22 May 2014 the population of Thailand has been forced to live under the oppression of General Prayuth’s military junta - his ‘National Council for Peace and Order’ (NCPO).

In Article 44 of his 2015 so-called Interim Constitution, Prayuth granted himself supreme power and immunity from prosecution - also immunity to all who had played a part in his military coup.

The 2017 Constitution produced by his completely non-elect NCPO has ruled that Thailand’s future Upper House shall be comprised of 250 ‘senators’ (appointed by an NCPO-appointed NCPO committee) and have the right to appoint the Prime Minister, thereby ensuring that the workings of any future Lower House, elected or otherwise, can be blocked.

For the last 4 years the Prayuth junta has been doing all it can to squash all opposition through the issuance of more than 500 unlawful, totalitarian orders and edicts, through the banning of political meetings and assemblies, and through detention and life-threatening harassment of many hundreds of civil society leaders, politicians, academics and students.

Alongside Article 44 of the junta’s 2017 Constitution, the junta has employed Article 116 of the Thai Criminal Code, which covers ‘threats to national security’, and the stand-alone but junta-amended Computer Crime Act to crack-down ruthlessly on Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly.
All these orders, edicts and articles have been and are being used by Prayuth to block and persecute public debate on the future of Thailand and to postpone free and fair elections and the return to parliamentary democracy ad infinitum. Prayuth’s junta has also taken ruthless advantage of Thailand’s anachronous and infamous lèse-majesté laws (Article 112 of the Criminal Code), using military courts to convict record numbers of people on trumped-up charges of lèse-majesté with sentences reaching 70 years of imprisonment.

Since 2014 the junta has claimed the right to send soldiers and police into people’s homes (usually 10 -12 armed personnel) without warning or warrant, to detain citizens and remove them to military bases for so-called ‘attitude adjustment’.

After four years without democracy the suppressive and oppressive policies of the Prayuth regime have been able to penetrate and impact upon every corner of the Kingdom, leaving the regular citizenry in a state of humiliating despair with regard to the political future of their country.

Not only is the Prayuth regime undermining the health and well-being of Thailand, his regime weakens the ability of the ASEAN to serve the ASEAN Community. It is thus of central importance to all parties to recognise and not abandon recognition of the fact that the Prayuth regime is not a legitimate government.

We request that the EU and Member States do not abandon recognition of the illegitimacy of General Prayuth’s attempt to represent the people of Thailand and the illegitimacy of the regime he is attempting to establish.
We request that the EU and member states do not entertain negotiating with Prayuth on any matter other than that of the removal his junta and armed forces from all forms of interference in the democratic development of Thailand.

With greatest respect

Name organisation/party

Judy A. Pasimio, LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Right), Philippines

Atama Katama, Vorned Dayak Forum International, Malaysia

Marthin Hadininata, Kesatuan Nelayan Tradisional, Indonesia

Glomis Balangne, IBON Europe (Belgium)

Rayyan Hassan, NGO Forum on ADB (Asia Region, Philippines, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India)

Pierre Rousset, ESSF (France)

Tom Kuchrz, Podemos, Spain

Balram Banskota, NCP, Nepal

May Wong, Globalisation Monitor (HKSAR)

Anselmo Lee, ADN, Asia Democracy Network, Korea

Junya Yimprasert, Action for People’s Democracy, Thailand

Tur-od Lkhagvaja, Transparency Int., Malaysia

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We are planing to post posters around Brussels in four languages, Thai/English/Dutch/French. And to protest Thai dictator on 18 and 19 Oct.

Please, do let us know if there is any protest ASEM leaders plan during the summit. We Thai group would like to join the action - For Thailand and to Free ASEAN from Dictatorship/authoritarian regime.

Thank you.

In solidarity,

Junya Lek

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DICTATORSHIP in THAILAND

The military junta of the Thai Monarchy
threatens democracy across the ASEAN -
the aspirations of 600 million people.

Political discussion is prohibited.
Social media is viciously monitored.
People calling for elections are arrested.
Soldiers are raiding people’s homes.
People face vicious, prison sentencing.

For 70 years the same tragic story.

The leader of the 12^th royal military coup against democracy,
General Prayuth Chan-Ocha, Thailand’s self-appointed Prime Minister
will attend the ASEM Summit in Brussels, October 18-19.
Leaders of 50 countries will be present.

JOIN THE CALL TO

ABOLISH THAI DICTATORSHIP
JOIN THE PROTEST

SOLIDARITY with the PEOPLES of the ASEAN

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