The human rights campaigners of the “We Walk” long march may have won a legal battle for the rest of their protest, but it is still not a guaranteed protection against the National Council for Peace and Order’s (NCPO) ban on political demonstration.

The Administrative Court issued an order on Friday night granting legal protection for the People GO Network to continue their long march from Thammasat University to Khon Kaen and also ordered the police to perform their duty according to the Public Gathering Act to provide the security the demonstrators needed until the march ends on February 17.

Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for Wants Foundation (EnLaw) secretary-general Surachai Throngngam said yesterday that the court order helped to reduce pressure on the campaigners, as they had earlier faced frequent intimidation and obstructionist behaviour by police officers since the start of the long march on January 20.

“Not only does the Administrative Court’s order obligate the Royal Thai Police and the regional police on the way to Khon Kaen to facilitate the marchers, but it is also legal assurance that the march is legal as per the Public Gathering Act,” Surachai said.

The court ordered the police to follow their duty as per Article 19 of the Public Gathering Act to provide security, manage traffic and ensure the protest follows the law and is peacefully arranged.

However, police still reserve the right to ask the court to cancel the protest and to issue other enforcement if the protesters violate the laws.

Despite the court verdict being of great relief to many of those involved in the march, Surachai cautioned that it only ordered the police, who were the defendants in the case, to follow court instructions. It did not, he said, provide the protesters with protection from military officers, who may accuse the protesters of violating the NCPO order 3/2558.

Earlier, a military officer had filed a complaint against eight participants of the march for breaching the junta’s order by gathering more than five people to stage a political protest and they were summoned to report to Klong Luang Police today.

“Nevertheless, this court’s order can be an important proof that our demonstration is the rightful exercise of our freedom of expression and is legally staged as per the Public Gathering Act. I believe that the military officers also respect this court’s order,” Surachai noted.

Pol Maj-General Thakoon Natthisri, Provincial Police Region 4 deputy commander, said the police acknowledged the court’s order and gave assurances that officers would provide good care and security for the protesters when they reach the area under his responsibility.

“Nevertheless, we want to ask the protesters to refrain from disturbing other people and breaking the law, and we will make sure that the protest has minimal effect on other people and that there will be no interference from any third party to cause chaos,” Thakoon said.

As of yesterday, People GO Network had stopped their march in Nakhon Ratchasima to arrange a public discussion about the state welfare system and the problems with the Universal Health Coverage scheme.

Meanwhile, at Songkhla’s Hat Yai District, public organisations in the South gathered in a parallel demonstration under the same name, “We Walk”, from the Hat Yai clock tower to Sena Narong military camp.

Dr Suphat Hasuwankit, one of the marchers in the South, reported that a large police force had been deployed to stop the march, but they successfully negotiated for it to continue to Sena Narong military camp to hand the military a petition urging support for freedom of expression.

In Bangkok, the People Go Network Forum led by Kasetsart University lecturer Decharut Sukkumnoed will arrange a march at Lumphini Park every evening from today until February 17 to show support for the main campaign to Khon Kaen.

People GO Network was the consolidation of various public organisations and launched the We Walk campaign to walk the 450 kilometres from Pathum Thani to Khon Kaen in order to raise public awareness on state welfare, universal healthcare, food security, community rights and environment protection, and political rights and democracy.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the entire Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) study of the 870-megawatt coal-fired power plant project in Krabi to restart in February last year.

In response, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) and its consultant company, Air Save Co Ltd, are scheduled today to conduct the first of public hearing. The meeting, to be held at the Tambon Khlong Khanan Administration Organisation in Nuea Khlong district, will inform those who attend about the scope of the EHIA study and then gather feedback from stakeholders.

However, Prasitchai Nu-nuan, a prominent member of Save Andaman from Coal, yesterday said the group rejected the “unjust” EHIA study process and hence would not attend the first public hearing by Egat.

“Just as the prime minister ordered the entire EHIA process of Krabi coal-fired power plant to restart, we also need reform of the EHIA process, too, in order to make sure that the study is trustworthy and fair,” Prasitchai said.

“But we see that Egat will still do the same thing. As there is no improvement in the EHIA studying process, we see no point in participating in this problematic study.”

Save Andaman from Coal also released a statement outlining its stance on locating a coal-fired energy plant in the region. People from around the world cherish Krabi and the entire Andaman Coast, viewing it among the world’s top tourist destinations, which boasts some of the finest wetlands. And so, as local people, they could not take part in any project that will harm the pristine environment of their locality.

Moreover, they opposed the use of coal as fuel for generating power, as it will worsen climate change and contribute to endangering all life on earth.

The opposition group’s statement also cautioned that the public hearing forum could intensify conflict among the local people in Krabi. The forum’s venue is located in an area with stronger support for the coal-fired power plant, the statement noted, and the consultant company that conducted the EHIA study was also hired by Egat, thus prejudicing the EHIA report.

Chairman of the Krabi Tourism Council, Amrit Siriphonjutakul, said that there was no need to build a coal-fired power plant in Krabi, as the province can rely solely on renewable energy. It was very important to preserve a clean environment to ensure sustainability of the tourism industry, from which large numbers of local people derive their income, he said.

But Egat’s assistant governor on project community relations and environment, Lieutenant Anuchart Palakawongse na Ayudhya, encouraged all people to attend the first public hearing, regardless of their opinion about the coal-fired power plant project.

“This public hearing will be the forum for all stakeholders to listen to the scope of the Krabi coal-fired power plant project EHIA study and offer their opinions, suggestions, or concerns to the study team,” Anuchart said. “We welcome the opposition group to attend the forum as well.

“The people can submit their comment on the project to us for 15 days and we will gather the opinions from all stakeholders and publicise them later. We will move on to the second public hearing in the next couple of months.”

The announcement was made on the occasion of the 69th Republic Day of India.

Somdet is the first personality from Thailand to be given this honour, a press release issued by the Embassy of India Bangkok said on Friday.

The investiture ceremony will be held soon in New Delhi.

The award is seen as further affirming the deepening relations between India and Thailand.

Thailand country director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Tara Buakamsri, on Thursday said the Pollution Control Department (PCD) had failed to warn the public about the threat to their health from air pollution despite having real-time data on the pollution in Bangkok and other major cities – especially particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller (PM2.5).

“We need a proper air-quality warning system in order to protect the peoples’ well being and give them a chance to protect themselves from harmful air pollution. The recent PM2.5 surge in Bangkok shows the authorities had failed to warn and protect the people’s health,” Tara said.

He said Greenpeace had been campaigning to raise awareness of air pollution and PM2.5 for more than seven years, but Thai authorities had still not included PM2.5 in the national Air Quality Index (AQI) calculation as the nationwide installation of PM2.5 monitoring devices was not yet complete.

He said that Thai AQI does not represent the real air quality and it deprives people the chance to get ready and prepare for poor air quality, which could cause many illnesses such as respiratory diseases and heart disease.

“One of the few good things that we saw from the recent surge in Bangkok is that more people have realised the danger of PM2.5. They have more awareness about air pollution. Previously, the public and also the authorities did not have proper awareness on the threat of air pollution and PM2.5,” Tara said.

However, he stated that the authorities had failed to appropriately react to the growing concern about the poor air quality in Bangkok. Instead of issuing a warning about the dangerously high PM2.5 level, and urging people to protect themselves from air pollution, they played down the severity of the issue.

“It was disappointing that even though the PCD had real-time pollution information in its hands and the threat to people’s health was imminent, it chose to inform the public that the air quality level was just orange and not red – the highest air quality warning level,” he said.

He also suggested that the authorities come out with a policy to promote the use of public transport and encourage people to use their private cars less, because traffic was a major source of air pollution in Bangkok and other big cities.

Meanwhile, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Deputy Governor Suwanna Jungrungruang revealed that the BMA had initiated clean air zones with a pilot project in Pathumwan district to deter the air pollution problem, by growing more trees to purify the air and regularly cleaning the streets to reduce dust.

“We acknowledge that the traffic is the main source of air pollution, but the BMA is not directly responsible for regulating traffic. So, what we can do is encourage commuters to use more public transport and regularly check their car engine to reduce emission of pollutants,” Suwanna said.

“We are now undergoing major public transport system development in Bangkok. We assure that by 2029, Bangkok’s public transport system will be completed and interconnected, which can greatly reduce traffic in the streets and air pollution.”

EIGHT PROMINENT members of the “We Walk” march for human rights protection will not report to the police tomorrow despite being summoned for alleged violation of a National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) order.

Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for Wants Foundation (EnLaw) manager Supaporn Malailoi said yesterday that the lawyers representing the eight |participants of the “We Walk” long march will go to Khlong Luang Police Station tomorrow and seek a postponement |until next Wednesday for unspecified reasons.

On January 20, Lt-Colonel Pusit Klaihirun, the NCPO representative, filed a complaint against eight “We Walk” marchers for allegedly breaching NCPO Order 3/2558 by gathering more than five persons for a political protest.

Thammasat University’s Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology dean Anusorn Unno and many prominent human rights activists were among those who faced charges of violating the junta’s order. They were summoned to report to the police and listen to the charge at Khlong Luang Police Station at 9am tomorrow.

Supaporn said that the eight activists would continue their march to Khon Kaen province as scheduled and they would |disclose today their reasons to postpone the meeting with police during a forum about the right to healthcare and Universal health coverage in Nakhon Ratchasima.

She emphasised that no matter what, the protesters will continue their march to the end, as all citizens have the right to take part in peaceful protests and have freedom of expression, which was guaranteed by the Constitution. Supaporn also said that participants faced intimidation from officers in uniform and in plainclothes every day of the march.

The intimidation by the authorities was not limited to “We Walk” marchers. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) reported that the signatories to the statement condemning the litigation against eight activists of the long march also faced close monitoring by both police and military officers, which made them feel threatened and uncomfortable.

The TLHR said that when soldiers came to meet with Network of People Living with HIV/Aids in Si Saket province they questioned them about their links to the “We Walk” long march, as the organisation was one of the signatories to the statement.

In a related update on the march, Surachai Throngngam, secretary-general of EnLaw Foundation, said that the People Go Network had filed a complaint in the Administrative Court seeking an order to facilitate the march and stop any suppression of freedom of expression. The court has finished questioning of both sides and will soon deliver its order.

Surachai also said that three additional defendants were added to the case, including the commanders of Provincial Police regions 5, 6 and 7, because the protesters have to pass through the areas under their responsibility to reach their destination in Khon Kaen.

The number of defendants in the case now numbers seven.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also been asked to investigate the funds flow from the business to the country’s stock market.

“We have already alerted the SEC secretary-general,” DSI chief Pol Colonel Paisit Wongmuang said yesterday.

The de-facto owner of Victoria’s was identified as Kampol Weerathepsuporn. He and his wife, Nipa, have gone into hiding after they were implicated and arrest warrants for them were issued last week.

Kampol has been a major shareholder of several listed companies.

Paisit said the DSI had the mandate to investigate ill-gotten gains from human trafficking.

According to police, there is no record that Kampol and Nipa have left Thailand.

Victoria’s had long been a major massage parlour in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district. On January 12, the DSI and the military raided the night-time entertainment venue and uncovered multiple alleged illegal activities.

At present, seven suspects including Kampol’s younger sister Sasithorn Weerathepsuporn, are being detained.

Following the raid, five senior policemen at the Wang Thong Lang Police Station – whose jurisdiction includes the place – were transferred.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt-General Chanthep Sesavej has also ordered a probe against the officers and tried to find out which of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s superintendents received services at Victoria’s on the night of January 10.

Pictures of all superintendents at the bureau were shown to the seven suspects in detention yesterday. But the suspects insisted that they did not know anyone in the pictures.

“We have also asked staff at Victoria’s as to whether they know the superintendent who used the services at the place but they, too, said they knew nothing,” Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Maj-General Krittapon Yeesakhon said.

Assigned to nail down this superintendent, Krittapon said he would next week specifically ask staff who worked on the nightshift on January 10.

There are now 82 approved massage parlours in Bangkok. After the Victoria’s scandal broke out, police checked all other massage parlours.

Deputy national police Commissioner Pol General Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said almost every parlour had violated building control laws as the number of their rooms did not match what was approved in the permits.

Moreover, evidence suggested that many of these parlours had illegally used groundwater too.

Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division deputy commander Pol Colonel Suwat Intasit, meanwhile, specifically led a team to inspect The Lord massage parlour after receiving a tip-off that it was related to Victoria’s.

“We believe just like Victoria’s, it might have violated groundwater laws,” he said.

During police searches, at least two groups of foreigners showed up in the hope of receiving services from The Lord. They were turned away.

Suwit Srichai, acting chief of the northeastern province’s Education Office, ordered the suspension and probe after a Nakhon Ratchasima Primary Education Service Area Office 6 fact-finding committee found grounds substantiating charges of wrongdoing.

Suwit acknowledged this was a serious accusation against a school director, who is supposed to set a good example for teachers.

He said he wanted the public to understand the case involves one individual and not condemn educators as a whole, so as to not discourage good teachers.

Besides facing the possibility of dismissal from the civil service without pension, the Bua Yai district

school director, Nathapop Boonthongtho, has been summoned by police to appear in person by the end of Friday to hear a charge of “taking away” a minor under 15 for lewd act.

If he fails to do so, an arrest warrant will be sought.

Ban Nong Ploung School director Parinya Prajong, another executive under Office 6, said the accused should have known better and refrained from having an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student, which is a serious breach of discipline.

Parinya said he was disappointed and saddened that the allegation had tarnished the image of school directors in general.

Should Nathapop be found guilty, Parinya said, he should be severely punished.

A MONITORING system for air pollution-related sicknesses will be set up in the Bangkok area after residents suffered poor air quality conditions, including hazardous levels of particles 2.5 microns (PM2.5) or less, during recent weeks.

The Department of Disease Control (DDC) yesterday announced a plan to work with the Pollution Control Department (PCD) and Health Department of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to monitor air pollution, especially PM2.5 levels, in Bangkok. The effort will also focus on health problems in the capital in order to understand and tackle the air pollution problem in the future.

The DDC’s Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Diseases director Dr Chantana Padungtod said there were still no reports of increased sickness from air pollution amid the recent surge in PM2.5 levels, which has affected Bangkok for an extended period of time, because it would take 12 to 72 hours for people’s bodies to react to inhaled air pollution.

“We have contacted hospitals in Bangkok and the BMA’s Health Department to monitor diseases from exposure to air pollution and to take care of sick people,” Chantana said.

“In the meantime, we also advise people who have respiratory diseases, heart disease, heavy smokers, the elderly and children to avoid outdoor activities during this period, because these groups of people are sensitive to air pollution and can get sick from bad air quality easily.”

She admitted that the harmful levels of PM2.5 in Bangkok were a new problem for authorities, so there were no measures to monitor and warn people about related health threats.

She added that the DDC would work with the PCD and BMA to gather information about PM2.5 levels and air pollution in Bangkok year round, which would be compared with records about air pollution-related diseases to understand the nature of the problem.

“There is no data collection on air pollution and sickness relating to this environmental problem before in Bangkok, but our new health monitoring system will be comparable to the health monitoring system in Northern provinces during the hazy season,” Chantana said.

Meanwhile, PCD Air Quality and Noise Management Division director Thalearngsak Petchsuwan said the worst air pollution in the capital had already passed, as the rain on Wednesday had washed dust particles from the air and caused PM2.5 levels yesterday to drop below safe averages, while hotter weather would bring winds carrying pollution away from the city.

According to the PCD, PM2.5 daily average levels in Phaya Thai district had fallen from 86.17 micrograms per cubic metre of air on Wednesday to 14.06mg, while the country’s safe standard was at 50mg.

“This phenomenon occurs every year during the change of seasons, as calm wind conditions trap air pollution within the city and it accumulates over time until it reaches dangerous levels,” Thalearngsak said.

“We would like to encourage people to drive their cars less and use public transport instead, as the main source of air pollution in Bangkok is the heavy traffic.”