<p>A Thai military officer has filed a lèse majesté complaint against Sulak Sivaraksa, a renowned royalist and political science scholar known for his firm stand against the lèse majesté law, for allegedly criticising Thai monarchs of the early 20th century, King Rama V and Rama VII. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Thai police summoned a human rights activist for interrogation over an academic seminar involving discussion of the Thai monarchy. &nbsp;</p> <p>On Wednesday, 1 July 2015, Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, a human rights activist known for her work with slum dwellers in Bangkok, told media that police officers from Pak Khlong Rangsit Police Station in Pathum Thani Province had summoned her for questioning over a seminar entitled ‘83 Years of Thailand’s Development after the 1932 Revolution of Siam’.</p>

<p>The junta cabinet has approved a bill on religion which can be used to prosecute, with jail terms, people who propagate ‘incorrect’ versions of Buddhist doctrines or cause harm to Buddhism. The bill also posts jail terms specifically for homosexual monks.</p> <p></p>

<p>Two student activists and a lecturer from Thammasat University testified to police over a lèse majesté accusation against the renowned royalist and lèse majesté law critic Sulak Sivaraksa in relation to Sulak’s speech on an ancient king during the seminar. The student activists, who were the organizers of the seminar, told the police that the seminar was intended for educational purposes only. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<div> <div>Thai police summoned a Thammasat University history lecturer and two student activists to testify on the lèse majesté accusation against the renowned royalist and lèse majesté law critic Sulak Sivaraksa in relation to Sulak’s speech on an ancient king, saying the use of lèse majesté in Thailand is an obstacle to Thai history lessons.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Phiphat Krachaechan, a history lecturer at Thammasat University, on Wednesday revealed to Prachatai that he had refused to cooperate with the police in testifying on the lèse majesté complaint against Sulak after the police sum </div></div>

<div> <div>Anuwat Tinarat, a local politician and red-shirt leader from northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima Province (commonly known as ‘Khorat’) has been charged with lèse majesté under Article 112. </div></div>

<div>Sulak talked about lèse majesté cases involved former kings, analyzed the ultra-royalists who hold narrow and nationalistic views of Thai history, the planned education reform, with more nationalistic, and royalist elements, the coup and succession.</div> <div> </div>

<div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Two men have filed a lèse majesté complaint against Sulak Sivaraksa, a renowned royalist and lèse majesté critic, for a public speech about King Naresuan, who ruled the Ayutthaya Kingdom 400 years ago.</div> <p></p>

<div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Sulak Sivaraksa, a renowned loyalist and critic of the lèse majesté law, has condemned the suppression of freedom of expression, especially the use of the lèse majesté law to arrest and threaten civilians, academics and artists, saying the more despotic the regime is, the more people are being hunted for expressing their thoughts, while the junta leader on Friday defended the use of the draconian law.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Sulak said the recent coup affected the monarchy and that the coup junta is using Article 112 or the lèse majesté law to suppress freedom fo </div>

<p>Many Thais are not quite sure of what to make of Sulak Sivaraksa. One day the noted social critic appeared to be on the Democrat Party's side by supporting MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra for Bangkok governor. Then, just two weeks later, he appeared on national television, Thai PBS, harshly criticising the Democrats and others who supported the current form of lese majeste law.</p>

<p>A pioneering initiative to discuss the sensitive issue of the Thai monarchy on public television hit a snag when an episode of the political talk show was abruptly cancelled on 15 March, prompting a heated debate on the how such issues should be tackled, or if it should be discussed at all.</p> <p></p>

<p>Censorship was blatantly at work for all to see at Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) last Friday night when it abruptly cancelled the promised airing of the fifth and last episode of a much-anticipated debate on the monarchy.</p> <p></p>