The Wire

Australia is not the only country debating the worth of anti-terrorism powers given to security forces. In Thailand questions have been raised over the effectiveness of a state of emergency which gives the military controversial powers over civilians like the right to detain someone without charge for up to 30 days. The detained person can be held for as little as being suspected of sympathizing with outlawed groups. The powers were introduced by the Thai government to fight a civil war which has claimed over 1,000 lives since January 2004 and were justified as necessary to tackle violent insurgent groups. However, a new report by the International Crisis Group has questioned whether the extra powers are making the civil war worse due to military abuse and recommend major changes to assist the peace process.