RED-SHIRT leaders yesterday filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), asking for an investigation into the shutting down of their referendum anti-fraud monitoring centres.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leaders, including Jatuporn Prompan, Nattawut Saikua and Korkaew Pikulthong, filed the petition with NHRC’s Angkana Neelapaijit.

Angkana said the commission had previously expressed concerns about the regulations for the referendum set by the Election Commission, as they were far too strict and did not allow open debate.

She said the NHRC would call on relevant individuals to explain the issue, which may take a while. “We will complete this case as quickly as possible,” she added.

Some 50 police officers were present at the NHRC office when the UDD leaders visited to hand in the petition.

‘Atmosphere of fear’

Jatuporn said yesterday that the government was creating an “atmosphere of fear” by arresting UDD members who wanted to scrutinise the referendum.

Nattawut, meanwhile, said the human rights situation in Thailand was in a crisis. “People’s rights have been restricted and many of them got arrested or detained. In a crisis like this, under this post-coup government, what can the NHRC do?” he asked.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said yesterday that no matter how the Constitutional Court rules next week on a controversial clause in the referendum law, the referendum on the draft charter would not be affected.

He insisted that the August 7 referendum would go ahead uninterrupted even if the court finds the second paragraph of Article 61 unconstitutional.

“Even if the entire paragraph is lost, Article 61 will remain. In fact, paragraph two is just an addition to paragraph one in the article,” Wissanu pointed out.

The Constitutional Court is scheduled to issue a verdict on the issue next Wednesday.

The Ombudsman’s Office had called on the court to determine if the second paragraph of Article 61 of the Referendum Act was constitutional.

The clause in question prohibits the dissemination of untrue, provocative, vulgar and aggressive messages through the media, while the post-coup interim charter guarantees human dignity, rights, liberties and equality.

Wissanu, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, told reporters at Government House yesterday that with just the first paragraph left, Article 61 could be interpreted by relevant authorities “in a wider and more dangerous manner”.

He also warned people to avoid the risk of violating the referendum law. “There’s a group of people who want to take risks and they will have to accept the consequences,” he said.

Wissanu maintained that the government did not prohibit criticism of the draft charter provided it is done honestly, citing some critical newspaper columns.

Separately, in a Facebook post yesterday, Suthep Thaugsuban, leader of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, said he would vote “yes” in the referendum and will hold a live Facebook broadcast on the subject at 2pm every day from today onwards.