State Of Emergency In Thailand:
The government of Thailand resorted to declaring a state of emergency this week in a response to the Red Shirt protests. The Red Shirts is an informal name for a disparate collection of protesters in support of the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, a group composed mostly of Thailand’s urban and rural poor. Over 1000 protesters barricaded themselves in a fortified camp in central Bangkok. The protesters have now dissipated. It is believed over 800 people were injured and 82 people killed in the recent unrest. Malanee Boongen, a Red Shirt supporter, told a Daily Telegraph reporter, “Red shirt members are still all over the country in every province. Nothing has changed. It’s going to continue. I will go on fighting because in my heart I want democracy, and this government isn’t democratic.”

Austerity Protests In Romania:
Protesters from across Romania have held demonstrations in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, reacting to their governments latest economic polices. 50,000 protesters ignored police blockades and stormed through the city, bringing it to a standstill; Economy ministry official Marcel Hoara was booed and sprayed with stones and water after joining a live televised debate in the middle of the protest. The government has proposed wage cuts of 25% and pension cuts of 15% in order to reduce the country’s budget deficit; Romania’s economy shrunk more than 7% last year, requiring an IMF bail-out to stabilise its economy. The government has also stated that it intends to slash 70,000 state jobs, one third of the public sector workforce. Bogdan Hossu, leader of the Cartel Alfa trade union, said, “We will not leave until the government quits.”

Pressure To Free Child Detainees:
Campaigners have renewed pressure to immediately halt the detention of children held at Yarl Wood’s immigration removal centre. Writing for the Guardian, Sir Al Aynsley-Green, ex-Children’s Commissioner for England and family doctor, called on the government to act on the “overwhelming evidence” of harm that children suffer at the removal centre. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Malcolm Stevens, Director of JusticeCare solutions, said, “For a country which rightly takes pride in safeguarding its children, it is indefensible to force a small group of them to live in a place where they are known to be at risk.” A report in February found that children held at Yarl Wood’s faced “extremely distressing” arrests, also finding serious concerns over “significant areas” of healthcare. Dave Wood, head of criminality and detention at the UKBA, claimed the report contained “factual inaccuracies.”

Pressure Grows To Release Detained Iranian Film Director:
Tehran’s prosecutor general has asked the Islamic revolutionary court to reconsider the detention of Jafar Panahi, an internationally recognised director. Panahi was detained on March 1 for allegedly planning to make a film about the controversial - and allegedly rigged - recent election that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office. Panahi has announced he plans to join fellow Iranian director and detainee Mohmmad Nourizad on a hunger strike, in protest of their detention. Speaking about censorship, Panahi said, “I never censor myself, I don’t make compromises. It’s very dangerous; if you censor yourself, it’s worse than if the government censors you.” Panahi was to be on the Cannes Film Festival jury; USA director Tim Burton, the head of the jury, left Panahi’s seat vacant.

Irish Protesters Continue To Rally Against Banks:
Over 1000 protesters have demonstrated against the Irish government’s bank bailouts by rallying outside the Anglo Irish Bank in Dublin. ‘The Right To Work’ demonstration last Tuesday (May 18) was the third such protest in eight days. Four protests, chained together, managed to climb on to the roof of the Anglo Irish Bank on Saturday; the protesters, along with three others, were arrested. Brian Leeson, the chairperson of Irish socialist Republican Party Eirigi said, “The time for polite debate has passed. We believe that the only way that NAMA, the bank bailout and the cutbacks can be defeated is through a campaign of mass civil disobedience.”

Words: Richard Lemmer
 

Photos: First pic - Flickr user Sixtoedcat, of the Red Shirt protest in Thailand
Second pic - Flickr user BolognaNotizie.com|BolognaTg24.it, of Jafar Panahi