Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you of two recent killings of the human rights defenders in the south of Thailand. Both had worked for justice to assist victims of state violence in the area. Their deaths come at a time of worsening violence in the south that is set to continue in the absence of civilian government in Thailand. One of our major concerns is that civil society’s ability to respond to such violations is very limited under the military junta’s suppression of freedom of expression and assembly since the military coup in this September.??
DETAILS OF CASES:
On 20 October 2006, Mr. Muhammad Dunai Tanyeeno was shot dead near his house in Village no. 1, Jaroh, Paiwan sub-district, Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province. According to his family, Mr. Muhammad Dunai was killed soon after he went out on his bicycle after receiving a phone call.?
Mr. Muhammad Dunai was the village headman, and had been closely working with the coordinator of the Tak Bai case (name withheld for the security reasons) in assisting villagers who have been persecuted by the state since the 25 October 2004 killing of 84 persons by soldiers and police after a protest outside the Tak Bai police station, 78 of them while in custody (See further: UA-143-2004, UP-65-2004, AS-43-2004, AS-44-2004 and AS-265-2006). He was also assisting 58 Takbai protesters who are facing trial (See further: UP-094-2006, UP-126-2006 and UP-178-2006).
Before his killing, Mr. Muhammad Dunai was reportedly contacted by two unknown military officials who wanted to meet with the coordinator of the Tak Bai case and the affected families. He was also involved in organizing a meeting on October 3 between the villagers who were affected by violence in south and the newly-appointed army commander of region.?
In another case, on 16 October 2006, Mr. Hassan Yamalae (35), the village headman of Village no.3, Talo of Yata sub-district in Raman district, Yala province, and his colleague Euramae Lehmoh (39) were shot dead while returning on a motorcycle on the main road from shopping in Raman district. On September 13 between 12:30pm and 2:00pm, over 100 police and army forces had raided his village to search for suspects and materials for making bombs. Five villagers were arrested after being brutally assaulted, while the security forces fired live ammunition into village houses.
Before his killing, Mr. Hassan attended a meeting with staff of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and local human rights group, the Working Group on Justice for Peace and his villagers reportedly complained about the brutality of the security personnel during the raid on September 13.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The AHRC is gravely concerned by the increasing attacks on human rights defenders in southern Thailand. According to the Working Group on Justice for Peace, other two human rights defenders have been injured within the last month in the same area. We are concerned that these brutal killings and attacks are a threat to all victims of state violence in the south who are calling for justice.
October 25, 2006 will be the two-year anniversary of the Tak Bai tragedy. There are many calls to withdraw the charges against the 58 accused. In contrast, there has been no reduction of violence in the south since the takeover by the military junta on September 19 and the military government has also extended emergency regulations that have been condemned by a UN human rights expert (AHRC-PL-056-2006). The AHRC is gravely concerned that under martial law imposed on the whole nation, violence can be stirred up by the security forces in the absence of measures to counterbalance them. This is exactly opposite to what they military junta has falsely claimed (See further: AS-258-2006).
The AHRC is particularly concerned that civil society’s ability to respond to such violence is now very limited as people’s fundamental rights including the freedom of expression, media freedom and freedom of assembly have been restricted since the 1997 Constitution was abolished after the coup. To know more about this issue, please refer to earlier AHRC statements and urgent appeals:
UP-194-2006: THAILAND: Join protest for media freedom and 1997 Constitution
UP-190-2006: THAILAND: Websites and radio stations shut down by military junta
AS-246-2006: THAILAND: 1997 CONSTITUTION – Celebrating 11 October 1997
AS-242-2006: THAILAND: MILITARY COUP–Constitutional fictions
AS-238-2006: THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – How to make courts independent?
AS-229-2006: THAILAND: MILITARY COUP – Misunderstanding the coup
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the interim Government of Thailand and call for its immediate intervene into the incidents. Please also urge it to restore the 1997 Constitution, withdraw martial law and other emergency regulations and step down to return political power to the real civilian government.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
THAILAND: Two killings of human rights defenders in the south
CASE 1:
Name of the victim: Mr. Muhammad Dunai Tanyeeno; aged 40; village headman of Village no. 1, Jaroh, Paiwan sub-district, Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province; married with 8 children
Date of killing: 20 October 2006
Place of killing: Near his house in Village no. 1, Jaroh
CASE 2:
Name of the victim: Mr. Hassan Yamalae; aged 35; village headman of Village no.3, Talo, Yata sub-district, Raman district, Yala province
Date of killing: 16 October 2006
Place of killing: the main road in Raman district
I am deeply concerned by the increasing attacks on human rights defenders in southern Thailand. The two cases aforementioned are the latest incidents that I was informed.
To briefly speak about the cases, Mr. Muhammad Dunai Tanyeeno was shot dead near his house in Village no. 1, Jaroh of Paiwan sub-district, Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province on 20 October 2006, soon after he went out on his bicycle after receiving a phone call. He was the village headman and had been actively involved in assisting villagers who have been persecuted by the state since the 25 October 2004 killing of 84 persons by soldiers and police. He was also assisting 58 Tak Bai protesters who are facing trial. I was informed that before his killing, Mr. Muhammad Dunai was reportedly contacted by two unknown military officials who wanted to meet with the coordinator of the Tak Bai case and the affected families.
I was also informed that on 16 October 2006, Mr. Hassan Yamalae, the village headman of Village no.3, Talo of Yata sub-district in Raman district, Yala province, was shot dead together with his colleague Euramae Lehmoh (39) while returning on a motorcycle on the main road from shopping in Raman district. He and his villagers had reportedly complained during a meeting with staff of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand about the brutality of the security personnel during the raid on his village on September 13. It is reported that 5 villagers were arrested after being brutally assaulted, while the security forces fired live ammunition into village houses.
I was further informed that two more human rights defenders have been injured within the last month in the same area. I am deeply concerned that these brutal killings and attacks are a threat to all the victims of state violence in the south who are calling for justice.
October 25, 2006 will be the two-year anniversary of the Tak Bai tragedy. However, there has been no reduction of violence in the south since the takeover by the military junta on September 19.?In contrast, the government has also extended emergency regulations, while martial law imposed on the whole nation. I am deeply concerned that violence can be stirred up by the security forces in the absence of measures to counterbalance them.
I am also particularly concerned that civil society’s ability to respond to such violence is now very limited as people’s fundamental rights, including the freedom of expression and assembly have been restricted since the 1997 Constitution was abolished after the coup.
Under the circumstances, I strongly urge you to order an immediate, impartial and thorough investigation into these cases, find out the actual circumstances of the incidents and bring those responsible to justice as soon as possible. I also urge you to take all possible measures to prevent further killings and attacks of human rights defenders in the southern Thailand as well as to reduce violence continued in the same area.
I further urge the interim Government of Thailand to restore the 1997 Constitution so that people’s fundamental rights, including the freedom of expression and assembly can be fully exercised. Martial law and other emergency regulations must be withdrawn immediately and the real civilian government should be established without delay. The violence in the south and other human rights violations will only become worse in the absence of a civilian government in Thailand.?
Yours truly,
———————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. General Surayud Chulanont
Interim Prime Minister
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th?
2. Mr. Charnchai Likitjitta
Interim Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
Email: ommoj@moj.go.th
3. Mr. Pachara Yutidhammadamrong
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Lukmuang Building
Nahuppei Road
Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224 1563/ 222 8121-30
Fax: +662 224 0162/ 1448/ 221 0858
E-mail: ag@ago.go.th or oag@ago.go.th
4. Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathum Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 2219 2980
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th
5. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Att: Melinda Ching Simon
Room 1-040
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)
6. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
