BANGKOK, (MILLAT/APP/AFP) – Three people
leading protests against the construction of a coal-fired power plant in southern Thailand were detained by the army on Saturday, as activists voiced alarm that the trio were being held in a notorious barracks prison.
Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside government offices in Bangkok
since Friday to demonstrate against the junta’s decision to green-light a
800-megawatt coal plant on the coast of Krabi, a region renowned for its
popular tropical beaches and steep limestone hills.
The gathering is a rare act of defiance of the junta’s ban on public
protests. Generals seized power in 2014 and have severely clamped down on
dissent.
The three protest leaders — Prasitthichai Noonuan, Akkradet Chakjinda and
Rungkhun Kittiyakara — were initially detained by police on Saturday morning
before being handed over to the military.
Junta spokesman Lieutenant General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the trio were
“invited for talks” because they did not ask for permission to protest.
“They must seek official permission beforehand and not just inform the
media before holding a rally,” he said in a statement.
Thailand’s junta often describes periods of compulsory detention as being
an invitation to talk.
Both the Save Krabi protest group and Suni Phasuk, a local researcher with
Human Rights Watch, said the men had been taken to the 11th Army Circle, a
barracks in Bangkok with a controversial reputation.
The military have used the barracks to hold suspects involved in national
security cases, often barring access to lawyers.
Detainees have previously accused authorities of physical abuse inside the
facility while two men who allegedly improperly used their links to then Crown