JAKARTA – More than 50  lawmakers from Southeast Asia today urged the Thai military junta to lift all remaining restrictions on freedom of expression to ensure a genuinely free and fair campaign for the general election on 24 March.

In the statement, the 52 democratically elected lawmakers from four countries* – including 24 members of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) – also called on the military to let the next civilian government exercise its mandate free from interference.

“While Thailand is in the midst of an election campaign, parties, candidates and voters still have to watch what they say carefully. A true democracy depends on people being able to form an opinion without fear of retaliation or repercussion, something that is just not possible in Thailand today. If the election is to have any legitimacy or credibility, the junta must immediately remove all remaining restrictions on freedom of expression and ensure the release of all those imprisoned solely for their peaceful political views,” said Charles Santiago, Chair of APHR and a member of the Malaysian parliament.

“It is also concerning that, regardless of the vote’s outcome, the military has cemented a dominant role for itself in Thai politics for years to come through a rather anti-democratic constitution. This will seriously affect the ability of any future government to make independent decisions and carve out its own policy agenda – and prevent Thailand from digging itself out of the destructive cycle of political unrest and coup d’état.”

Thailand is set to go to the polls to elect a new government on 24 March, ending almost five years of all-out military rule since a coup d’état in May 2014. The years under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the military government, have been marked by a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation.

Authorities have relied on a range of repressive laws and decrees – such as the lèse majesté law, the Computer Crimes Act, and the Criminal Code – to quell dissent and jail those opposing the military government.

While the government has lifted some restrictions on political parties’ ability to campaign, many of the most egregious laws and decrees remain in place. These include Article 44 of the 2014 interim constitution that grants NCPO leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha unlimited powers to unilaterally issue orders that could further threaten human rights.

The election campaign has already seen several concerning developments. On 28 February, the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly passed a new Cyber Security Act that hands authorities sweeping powers to access computer data and networks, or to summon individuals for questioning without warrants in case of “serious cyber threats.” On 7 March, the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of political party Thai Raksa Chart and banned its executive board members from politics for ten years.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the new Future Forward party, could also face up to five years in jail on charges under the Computer Crimes Act for a speech critical of the military that was broadcast on Facebook. Authorities have said they will decide if they will pursue the charges after the election.

“Threatening a politician with jail time for expressing peaceful political opinions on Facebook not only flouts international law, it will also send a chilling message to other candidates not to speak their minds. The Thai authorities must immediately drop all politically-motivated charges against lawmakers, journalists, activists and others who have done nothing but express peaceful opinions,” said Teddy Baguilat, APHR Board Member and a Member of the House of Representatives in the Philippines.

The regional lawmakers further raised concerns about how the military has guaranteed itself an influential role in politics after the election. The 250-member Senate will be entirely handpicked by the military, while a 20-year national strategy enacted last year binds future elected leaders to a political framework. Government or officials that violate it could face expulsion from office.

“In Indonesia we have painful memories of what it’s like to live under military rule, as do people in many other Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand. The Thai people and civilian leaders must finally be allowed to chart their own future without military interference. We call on the army to step aside and ensure that the next government will be truly civilian, and not a form of quasi-military rule,” Eva Sundari, APHR Board Member and MP from Indonesia.

* The signatories are currently sitting lawmakers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines.

Click here to read the MP statement in English, Bahasa Indonesia, or Thai.

Click here to read this press release in Bahasa Indonesia, or Thai.