BANGKOK  –  A Thai court has ordered the dissolution of the reformist party which won the most seats and votes in last year’s election – but was blocked from forming a government.

The ruling also banned Move Forward’s charismatic, young former leader Pita Limjaroenrat and 10 other senior figures from politics for 10 years. The verdict from the Constitutional Court was expected, after its ruling in January that Move Forward’s campaign promise to change royal defamation laws was unconstitutional.

The court had said changes to the notoriously harsh lese majeste law was tantamount to calling for the destruction of the constitutional monarchy.  Wednesday’s verdict again serves as a stark reminder of how far unelected institutions are willing to go to preserve the power and status of the monarchy.  But the ruling does not mean an end to the reformist movement in Thai politics.

The surviving 142 Move Forward MPs are expected to transfer to another registered party and continue their role as the main opposition in parliament. “A new journey has begun. Let’s keep walking together, people,” the party said in a message accompanied by a video on its social media platforms.

Chaithawat Tulathon, the leader of the opposition and one of the MPs barred from politics, stood up in the chamber and bid farewell to his colleagues, saying it was an “honor” to work with them.  This verdict “may raise the question whether Thailand is a constitutional monarchy or an absolute monarchy”, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University.

He said it was “deja vu on one hand, and uncharted territory, on the other”. This is more or less a repeat of what happened in 2020 when the then Future Forward Party, which had also done unexpectedly well in an election, was also dissolved, and transformed itself into the Move Forward Party. That verdict four years ago ignited huge street protests, led by a new generation of student activists, which lasted for six months and voiced unprecedented demands for the monarchy to be made more accountable.

The authorities have since made extensive use of the lese majeste law to prosecute hundreds of protest leaders, including some Move Forward MPs.The law has been widely criticised as stifling freedom of expression in Thailand, and in its manifesto Move Forward had proposed less severe punishments – jail sentences have been as high as 50 years – and a more rigorous process for filing charges.

Fears among reformists that Move Forward would not do as well in last year’s election as Future Forward had in 2019 proved unfounded. The party defied expectations to outperform every other party and become the largest in parliament, revealing a strong yearning for change among Thai voters. (BBC)

Photo: Former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat speaks to the members of the media. (Reuters) …[+]

PARAMARIBO – Things have been anything but peaceful in the Nickerie District these past couple of days because of the rice farmers’ protest. Last Saturday tires, lumber and other things were deliberately set on fire on a street in the Henar and Prins Bernhardpolder. Last Sunday morning a moped was set ablaze in the vicinity of the market at Nieuw Nickerie.

 The police of the Nickerie District have urged everybody to remain calm. “Everybody has the right to protest but must do so in the right manner. Rules must be followed to maintain law and order,” said the Police Force Suriname (KPS). The police also made it clear that problems are solved through dialogue and not by committing arson. Dozens of tourists who were in the Nickerie District last weekend were shocked by the events that took place. Police Commissioner Bryan Isaacs has instructed the police officers to maintain law and order in the Nickerie District…[+]

MOSCOW  –  President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of launching “another major provocation”, after defense officials said around 300 Ukrainian troops crossed into Russia’s Kursk region.

Fighting is reportedly ongoing in the area, as Moscow said troops supported by 11 tanks and more than 20 armoured combat vehicles, crossed the border near the town of Sudzha, 10km (six miles) from the frontline. Thousands of people have left their homes in the region, officials said. Ukraine has yet to comment on the Russian allegations.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Security Council in Moscow, Mr Putin accused Ukrainian forces of “firing indiscriminately” at civilian buildings and residences. Fighting reportedly took place in various villages on Russian territory throughout Tuesday. It was followed by Ukrainian air attacks which killed three civilians and continued into the night, Russian authorities said.

Twenty-four people, including six children, have been wounded in Ukrainian shelling of the border region, Moscow said. On Wednesday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed it prevented the Ukrainian Armed Forces from advancing “deep into Russian territory” in the Kursk region and said it had destroyed several Ukrainian drones overnight.

However, a number of air alerts continued to be issued in Kursk, where local authorities urged residents to limit their movements and all public events were cancelled.  Footage posted online – and verified by the BBC – showed fighter jets flying low overhead in the region on Tuesday, with smoke rising from areas on the ground.

The acting regional governor, Alexei Smirnov, said he had briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation, which he said was under control. Mr Smirnov also said several thousand people had left areas of the region that were under attack and added doctors from Moscow and St Petersburg were on their way to offer assistance. Kyiv has not yet commented on any of the reports about events in Kursk.

One colonel in Ukraine’s military, Vladislav Seleznyov, told the prominent Nexta channel the attack was “preventative” with an estimated 75,000 Russian troops continuing to gather close to the border.  After a major cross-border incursion by Russia into the north-eastern Kharkiv region in May, there had been fears Moscow would attempt the same into the Sumy region further north. With Ukraine now apparently capturing several settlements and highways the other way, those ambitions may well have been frustrated, for now.

But with Ukrainian forces already overstretched and outmanned, some military analysts are questioning the wisdom of such cross-border raids. This isn’t the first incursion into Russia by fighters based in Ukraine. Some groups of anti-Kremlin Russians launched raids last year, which were repelled. The forces crossed into the Belgorod and Kursk regions again in March, where they engaged in clashes with Russian security forces. (BBC)

Photo: A damaged house following what Russian authorities called a Ukrainian military strike on the town of Sudzha. (Reuters) …[+]

PARAMARIBO – A man on Tuesday confessed in court that he started selling XTC pills and asked the judge to have him released from jail because his two children must go to school soon. He explained that his wife earns SRD 7,000 which is not enough to buy school supplies for their children. The defendant wants to be released so that he could also pitch in and make sure that his children can have a bright future. He was arrested with more than 4,000 XTC pills in his possession after the police had received a tip. The defendant claimed that his cousin who lives in the Netherlands had sent the pills. He had asked another man to help him sell these pills. Meanwhile his accomplice has already been released from jail…[+]