The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand has expressed regret for cancelling a discussion on Article 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, following a National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) verbal order not to host it.
According to the club, the forum was scheduled for tomorrow but it has been cancelled to comply with the NCPO's order, which was passed on via the police.
"The FCCT has now been told that if the event goes ahead, the military will come and seal off access to the Maneeya Centre, where the club is located.
"This is an unacceptable imposition on the many other tenants in the building, and it is with great regret that we have decided to cancel it," it said.
"We received a letter last week from the police asking for cooperation in cancelling the event, saying the Article 112 meeting would sow disunity in Thai society, and encourage people to break the law and stir unrest."
The club told the police there were no regulations barring the club from proceeding. So it asked for a written order from the NCPO before it could justify cancelling the event. The NCPO declined to give one.
NCPO spokesman Winthai Suvaree said he did not know the details of the case. However, he said, if authorities sought cooperation from event organisers, it would mainly be because the event's theme was deemed to affect peace and order.