Thailand parliament approves legislation giving military political influence News
Thailand parliament approves legislation giving military political influence

Thailand’s parliament unanimously approved national strategy legislation on Thursday which will provide the military with political influence for at least 20 years. The National Strategy Act will create a committee [Reuters report], led by coup leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha [BBC profile], that will collaborate with future cabinet members to revise national strategy plans every five years. The committee will also consist of military leaders, business and industries representatives, and other experts. Critics of the legislation say it is a way for the military to maintain influence over future governments. The military seized power in May 2014 through a coup, which it declared necessary to end the months of civil protests and an unstable government.

Human rights groups worldwide have expressed growing concern over violations in Thailand since the military junta came to power in May 2014. In April Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn [BBC profile] signed a military-backed constitution [JURIST report] into law. In January Thailand’s National Reform Steering Committee proposed a new law that Thai officials convicted of corruption involving more than 1 billion baht would be eligible for the death penalty [JURIST report]. The Thailand Parliament unanimously approved [JURIST report] a controversial amendment to its Computer Crime Act of 2007 (CCA) in December, which rights groups fear will give the government unrestricted power to police the web and suppress criticism. In September Amnesty International released a report [JURIST report] detailing the prevalence of torture employed by Thai authorities and claiming the military government has led to a “culture of torture.” In May Thai human right lawyer Prawet Prapanukul was charged with allegedly insulting members of the royal family [JURIST report].

THIS DAY @ LAW

Thomas Becket, former Chancellor of England, murdered by Henry II's knights

On December 29, 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket, former Chancellor of England, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights acting in the name of Henry II.

Becket and Henry had been entangled in a power struggle over, among other things, criminal jurisdiction over clergy. Read a contemporary account of the murder of Thomas Becket.

Texas attains US statehood

On December 29, 1845, Texas became the twenty-eighth state to join the United States of America when US President James K. Polk signed the Ordinance of Annexation. Texas had a complicated path to statehood because it had formerly been part of Mexico and then an independent republic. The US Congress passed the Annexation of the Republic of Texas Joint Resolution on March 1, 1845. Voters in Texas then approved the Ordinance of Annexation in October, before it was approved by the US Congress and signed into law by President Polk on this day in 1845. The US Supreme Court later ruled in Texas v. White that, despite its unique path to statehood, Texas did not have the right to secede from the union.