Military intimidates anti-junta activist

Soldiers have paid visit to the house of a well-known anti-junta activist, demanding her to cease all political activities.

At about 2 pm on 7 June 2017, soldiers visited a house of Chonticha Jaeng-rew, an activist from Democracy Restoration Group (DRG), in Lat Lum Kaeo District of Pathum Thani Province.

Chonticha told Prachatai that 4-5 soldiers visited the house when she was away, so they had a discussion with her mother.

They told her mother that Chonticha should not participate in any political activity because she had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the authorities promising not to do so in the past and asked why was she able to travel overseas, claiming that the MoU does not permit it.

“I just talked to friends why did they talked about the MoU [signed since 2014] because it is strange. They never talked about it before. For me, it has no longer has any effect because [political] roadmap of the National Council for Peace and Order has already passed,” said Chonticha.

She added that soldiers visited her house at least 30 times in the past, adding that the officers said they will visit the house again to talk to her.

After the coup d’état, many high-profiles democracy activists were forced to sign the similar MoU with the authorities as a precondition for their release. Most, however, chose to ignore it.

Soldiers visiting the house of Chonticha Jaeng-rew on 7 June 2017

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