iLaw had requested the information seven months ago, but the Office of the Army Secretary had not disclosed the names of the committee which had recruited the senators until November 7, when iLaw received the 63-page statement.

The documents stated that the NCPO appointed Prawit Wongsuwan, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, Thanasak Patimaprakorn, Narong Pipatanasai, Adul Saengsingkaew, Prajin Juntong, Somkid Jatusripitak, Wissanu Krea-ngam, Chatchai Sarikulya and Anupong Paochinda as members of the committee that recruited the senators.

Most members have worked with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s cabinet or are members of the NCPO. Wissanu, who is currently deputy prime minister, was the head of the committee.

The information has led to the question of nepotism as the prime minister’s brother, Preecha Chan-o-cha, Somkid’s brother Som Jatusripitak and Wissanu’s brother Chalermchai Krea-ngam were previously recruited as senators.

According to the documents, the committee was established to facilitate the process of senator recruitment, but the NCPO did not disclose the list of nominees to the public.

+++

The three men had dinner together on December 2 and Sulak had posted on his Facebook page on December 3 a picture of the three sitting together in a restaurant.

Sulak’s move comes after the Constitutional Court disqualified Thanathorn as a member of the House of Representatives on the grounds of holding a stake in a media company.

Sulak said that there was nothing special about the meeting and that he just wanted to offer moral support to the two men.

He also said that Thailand was still under the control of the military despite the country holding a general election in March.

“Thai political form is democracy but the essence is dictatorship,” he wrote.

He suggested that Thanathorn and Piyabutr remain patient and use peaceful means to fight the military’s meddling in politics.

Another prominent political figure of the past also came into the limelight: former prime minister Anand Panyarachun came to listen to Thanathorn give a talk on Thai politics at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand on December 2.

Sulak’s and Anand’s moves have been interpreted by many as an important political signal.

Anand had long distanced himself from politics, while Sulak has often come out to voice his support for Thanathorn, Piyabutr and pro-democracy activists at crucial events.

The Election Commission will meet on Wednesday to look into whether Thanathorn had violated the law by lending Bt191 million to his party. Some have speculated that the latest case could lead to the banning of his party and its executives being banned from politics for 10 years.

Those ‘cobras’ a term used for politicians who defy their party’s orders, are Khachit Chainikom, Pornpimon Tummasarn, and Phonphum Wiphatphumiprathet and represent Udon Thani, Pathum Thani, and Bangkok respectively.

The committee will start with an investigation into their actions before calling on the three to provide further information then present conclusions for consideration by party leader Sompong Amornvivat.

The whole investigation will take around 7 to 10 days. “If the three members are found guilty, they will be dismissed and prohibited from registering in the next election” said the party’s leader. “If they were found to have taken bribes, the party will forward their case for legal action.”

Khachit said that his vote was accidental. “I did not want to votedown the government’s motion or go against the party’s opinion” added he. “My voting ticket was stuck to the voting point. Staffs collected it and counted it as a supporting voice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister, Somsak Thapsutin said that those who supported the government’s motion should not be called cobras, adding they may have chosen to vote that way because it was advantageous to the government.”

In addition to the three members of Pheu Thai Party, seven other opposition representatives voted in favour of the government, namely including two members of Future Forward Party (FWP), four of New Economics Party, and one fromf Prachachart Party.

Secretary-general of the FWP Piyabutr Saengkanokkul said that the cobras in his party should resign because FWP will not allow them to register in a next election. Moreover, the party’s executive committee will hold a meeting to consider this matter.

There were 244 votes against the motion, five in favour and six abstentions.

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PM threatens to reshuffle the cabinet or dissolve parliament

In recent years, Srivara served as a member of the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) and Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Court turns thumbs down on Thanathorn

Thanathorn, the leader of the Future Forward Party (FFP), was found guilty of violating Section 98(3) of the Constitution by holding shares in a media firm while registering as a candidate in Thailand’s general election in March. ‪On May 23‬, the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended him of his MP duties pending an investigation, but his parliamentary status has now been stripped. Thanathorn says he had sold the shares in January 2019.

“Today’s ruling is another indication that despite the holding of elections this year, Thai authorities are not ready for an open and free democracy,” said Charles Santiago, Malaysian MP and Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Chair.

“This case must be looked at in a wider context whereby opposition MPs and parties, and specifically the Future Forward Party, have been singled out by Thailand’s so-called independent institutions. All signs point to a coordinated attempt to silence a party that has threatened the status quo in its pursuit of constitutional reform.”

The FFP came third in Thailand’s ‪March‬ 24 general election winning 80 seats in the House of Representatives. As an opposition party, it has been repeatedly questioning the role played by the military within Thailand’s politics. Since, the authorities have been launching a judicial campaign against FFP and his members.

There are currently a total of 27 cases against FFP members. This includes cases against Pannika Wanich, FFP Spokesperson, and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, Secretary-General of the party. The pending lawsuits include, among others, charges of contempt of court, under the Computer Crimes Act, and of sedition. One of these cases, could trigger the party’s dissolution.

The case at the Constitutional Court follows a request made by the highly criticised Election Commission for its handling of the March national election. Civil society organizations have also questioned the independence of the Constitutional Court since most of its judges had their tenures extended by order of the former military junta. Many of its recent decisions have also been perceived as bias towards the military and its allies, including the fact that when FFP filed a petition against 41 MPs for a similar breach of holding shares in media companies, none were suspended from their duties as MPs.

Despite the alleged end of formal junta rule, the enormous number of cases against opposition members shows the continued restrictions on freedom of expression and intolerance for any criticism against the government and military influence, the APHR wrote in its statement.

“Under a guise of democracy, Thailand’s repressive regime continues battering opposition members with legal cases. It is clear that the FFP is being targeted because of their surprising good score in the elections and their opposition to the powerful military. By depriving the leader of FFP of his seat, Thailand is depriving voters of their voices. Attacking any opposition party is a direct attack on free speech and democracy,” noted Eva Sundari, former Indonesian MP and APHR Board Member.

In August, APHR issued a set of recommendations to the Government of Thailand calling on authorities to restore democracy and respect fundamental freedoms.

APHR is concerned that today’s decision is another illustration of a broader worrying regional trend where authorities try to silence opposition lawmakers through judicial harassment and other forms of reprisals. Today, November 20, also marks the 1,000 days in detention of Senator Leila de Lima.

“The charges against Senator de Lima are politically motivated and the sole result of her work to stop Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. All charges should be dropped and she should be released immediately and allowed to carry out her duties as an elected senator in the national Congress,” said Mu Sochua, former Cambodian Member of Parliament and APHR Board Member.

“Lawmakers are being hounded and jailed just for doing their job as a check and balance on the executive and it’s a danger to everyone. As fellow parliamentarians, we will continue to advocate at all levels to ensure that our colleagues in the region can exercise their work free from fear and reprisals.”

Manop Kiri-Phuwadol, the 51st party-list candidate of Future Forward party, will take the place of Thanathornas a MP.

Manop, a member of a Karen hill-tribe community, is a key figure of a ethnic group in the north of Thailand which helps improve the livelihood of ethnic people through higher produce prices and finding plots for farming.

The law prohibits the donation of money, assets or any benefits to a political party exceeding Bt10 million per year.

The Election Commission’s meeting ,which was attended by investigating officers and members of the complaint-handling subcommittee, unanimously agreed that there are grounds for investigation and therefore demanded Future Forward Party to submit any evidence and documents pertaining to the abovementioned transaction to the complaint-handling subcommittee as soon as possible so that the investigation can start with transparency and with justice to all parties.

Somchai Meesen, chief executive officer of Nation Multimedia Group Public Co Ltd, said on Monday (November 18) that the statement is misleading and aims to distort public understanding towards Nation Group as well as FPP’s actions. These include:

1. Thanathorn’s transfer of V-Luck Media’s shares which occurred after his promise to transfer his shares in various companies to a blind trust on March 18. However, Issara News Agency later learnt from the Department of Business Development’s database that he had not transferred V-Luck Media’s shares before the election (March 24), which is in violation of election law regarding Member of the House of Representative candidate’s qualifications. Thanathorn, Piyabutr and FFP have been trying to cover up this fact ever since.

2. Thanathorn’s lending of money to the FFP, which was unveiled in his own statement to foreign news agencies on May 15, is also in violation of article 62 of the Political Party Act.

3. Pannika’s donation of Bt1 million to the FFP: Issara News Agency revealed on October 29 that the source of money was suspicious since the asset information she presented to National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) covered only Bt90,000.

Nation Group’s chief executive said that the news reported by the group is based on the truth as revealed by careful checking. Thanks to the quality and efficiency of its news team, those truths have become evidence that bind FFP and its personnel to the accusations, causing FFP to feel that Nation Group has become its enemy.

Somchai also said that the relationship of Nation Group personnel with the Thai Move Institute is a personal and public one based on their responsibility to society. Thai Move Institute is a non-profit organisation whose membership includes many academics among them Dr Banjob Chunhasawasdikul, Dr Suwinai Pronwalai, Asst Prof Dr Anont Sakworawich, Dr Nakrob Rawangkarn, Dr Saengthian Yuthao, Dr Weerapoj Leuprasitsakul, Dr Kittitat Chaiprasit, Teeya Phaosawas and Harnsak Harnsomwong.

Nation Group is now considering pursuing legal action against Pannika and FFP based on her earlier statement.

Related Story: Future Forward mounts offensive ‘Against the Tide’

Related Story: Thanathorn suspects ‘political motivation’ in media ownership case

In order to achieve the objectives of the “Digital Court 2020” policy, the Thai Arbitration Institute (TAI) of the Office of the Judiciary has developed e-Arbitration – an electronic arbitration system, which was put into operation on 18 July 2019. This digital platform comes with an end-to-end function to provide the comprehensive management of arbitrations from the beginning of a case to its awarding.

TAI’s e-Arbitration system offers one-stop service with worldwide accessibility for the fast, effective and standardised management of arbitral proceedings in Thailand. The system was developed with the aim of solving arbitration problems in every respect, including cost and time savings, convenience and efficiency. The e-Arbitration system also ensures that disputes submitted through the system are administered under the electronic information security standard.

Following the introduction of TAI’s e-Arbitration, the system has been utilized as an important tool in promoting TAI’s administration standards as well as dealing with the accelerated development of technology and communications.

With the help of this digital platform, arbitral proceedings in Thailand are now more modernised and becoming more widely accepted at both the domestic and international levels.

In the past four months, the e-Arbitration system has been registered by 69 individuals and 10 juristic persons. From July 18 to 25 October, the percentage of arbitration filed through TAI’s e-Arbitration system is 100 per cent with the total arbitration costs of Bt845,503,833.15. These statistics demonstrate the success of TAI’s efforts to enhance its service in order to tackle the increasing pace of technology growth and comply with the “Digital Court 2020” policy devised by the Office of the Judiciary.

TAI’s mission is to foster the administration of arbitral proceedings in Thailand with speed and efficiency.

TAI pledges to keep improving its e-Arbitration platform in order to empower the system’s capacity, to facilitate access to the system by dispute parties and related persons and to guarantee the legitimacy of all TAI-administered arbitrations throughout the arbitration process.