THAILAND: AHRC condemns renewal of emergency rule in south, revival of cold war “death squad” command
(Hong Kong, January 12, 2007) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Friday condemned the announcement that Thailand’s military regime will again renew emergency rule over the southern provinces on January 20.
“The worsening violence in the south of Thailand is a direct consequence of emergency regulations that permit wanton killings, abductions, torture and other gross abuses of human rights by state security forces there,” Basil Fernando, executive director of the Hong Kong-based regional rights group, said.
“That the September 19 coup group is planning to extend emergency regulations for a second time while claiming to be working to end the conflict in the south exposes its gigantic hypocrisy,” Fernando said.
The emergency regulations, which were passed in July 2005 by the former prime minister, Pol. Lt. Col. Thaksin Shinawatra, must be extended every three months to remain in effect.
They include provisions to allow ordinary government officials to order house arrests; ban gatherings, publications and movement; search without a warrant, and arrest and detain persons without charge and deny them access to lawyers.
Government agents are exempt from prosecution for any acts committed under the decree, prompting a UN expert who has been denied access to the country to describe it as making it possible “for soldiers and police officers to get away with murder”.
“While pretending to be reformers of the previous administration, the current rulers of Thailand are in every respect worse,” Fernando said.
“They have since the moment of takeover been intent upon dragging the political and social progress of the country back by decades,” he said.
The AHRC director pointed to the strengthening of the notorious Internal Security Operations Command under the head of the regime, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, as indicative of the direction in which the junta is pulling the country.
“Both the management and rhetorical styles of the Thai state during the cold war are being revived through this body, which was responsible for the running of death squads and anti-communist indoctrination programmes,” Fernando said.
“Policing agencies and other quasi-independent investigative bodies such as the Department of Special Investigation under the justice ministry are again being made subservient to the military through this unit,” he said.
“The authority in Thailand today is far removed from the interim prime minister and the phoney councils, committees and other pointless gatherings set up as a front for the junta while it reorganises the agencies of real power behind the scenes,” Fernando commented.
“These are very ominous and extremely regressive steps that spell dark days for human rights and democracy in Thailand in the weeks and months ahead,” he added.
Fernando reiterated that the emergency decree on the south should be lifted, not extended.
“The AHRC has repeatedly said that this government would do nothing to solve the conflict in the south, and the fact that these regulations are being extended is proof of that,” Fernando said.
“The attempts by the interim prime minister to appear conciliatory towards people in the region have not been matched by legal or administrative action of any kind against state officers responsible for gross abuses and injustices,” he said.?
“There will be no let up in the violence there until the emergency decree is withdrawn and people see meaningful commitments by the government to protect their lives and security and to punish officials responsible for wrongdoing,” Fernando concluded.
The AHRC has consistently opposed the September 19 coup.
One month after the takeover it released a 27-page dossier of statements condemning it as a fraud and a disaster for human rights and the rule of law both in Thailand and the region.
The dossier is available online: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/docs/AHRC_Thailand_Coup_2006.pdf.
In November it launched a webpage listing “fictions vs. facts” about the coup, at http://thailand.ahrchk.net/fiction-fact.
In December it accused local media of heavy self-censorship about the actions of the military government, and warned that the room for journalists from which to report would be steadily diminished unless they fight to protect freedom of expression more strongly and report on the regime more critically.
