The military forced a public seminar on martial law in northern Thailand to be cancelled due to its sensitive political content.
Military officers from the 3rd Army in the northern province of Chiang Mai on Wednesday contacted the organizers of a public seminar entitled “Directions of Civil Society Organisations under the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO)” to cancel the seminar.
The military claimed that they are concerned because the seminar was related to the political situation under the junta’s NCPO as the seminar title suggested.
The organisers decided to comply with the military’s order by cancelling the event.
The seminar was organised by the NGO Coordinating Committee on Development-North (NGO-COD), an organisation which provides a coordinating platform for NGOs in northern Thailand. It was scheduled on Friday at the Northern Development Foundation (NDF).
The seminar was planned to be led by Bamrung Kayotha, a well-known community rights and agrarian activist.