After having imposed its political ban for more than four years, the continued reluctance of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to restore full political rights and freedom of expression to the Thai people and political parties has raised grave concerns about a hidden agenda.
On Tuesday, senior NCPO leaders revealed that by next month political parties will be allowed to conduct certain activities to facilitate administrative procedures needed to prepare for a Feb 24 general election.
But permission will not be granted for other meaningful activities such as holding executive meetings to set policy platforms and running election campaigns. Likewise, public political gatherings of five people or more will still be forbidden.
