Thai human rights group presses PM to drop security decree News
Thai human rights group presses PM to drop security decree

[JURIST] Thailand's National Human Rights Commission [official website] said Wednesday that a security decree passed by the Cabinet Tuesday giving Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [profile] new power to deal with an insurgency in the country's Muslim south should be abolished. The group argues that the law violates United Nations human rights covenants and infringes on rights and liberties secured by Thailand's constitution. Under the decree, three southern, primarily Muslim provinces – Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat – were declared "severe emergency zones," allowing the government to impose curfews, censor news, ban public gatherings, tap phones, and hold suspects without bringing charges. Former Prime Minister and current head of the National Reconciliation Commission [organization backgrounder], Anand Panyarachun [profile] cautioned that "giving the government broader power could lead to increased violence and eventually a real crisis." Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

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On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.