Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information on the postmortem inquest into the deaths of 78 persons in 2004 at Tak Bai, Narathiwat, Thailand. The commander of the dispersal operation testified that he stayed inside the police station for most of the time during the dispersal; and when more than a thousand protesters were being transferred to the army camp, he was dining with the then-prime minister instead of overseeing the transfer. His testimony also confirmed that the protesters were unarmed and some of them were injured during the dispersal.
TESTIMONY OF LT. GEN. CHALERMCHAI
Lieutenant General Chalermchai Wirunpeth was one of the three army officers which were named as responsible for the deaths by an independent commission appointed by the former government (See: Tak Bai and Krue Se Report). He was the commander of the Fifth Infantry Division when the killings took place on 25 October 2004.
He gave testimony on 1 August 2007 in Songkhla Provincial Court. He recalled that he was ordered by General Pisarn Wattanawongkiri, the chief of Fourth Army Region, to arrange the dispersal. However, he stayed in the meeting room of the Tak Bai police station during most of the time of the dispersal. And instead of directing the transfer of protesters to the Inkayuthaboriharn Army Camp, he left the scene and went to dinner with the then-prime minister in the royal palace in the south. He also did not prepare water for the detainees during the transfer, despite of the hot weather.
He confirmed some injuries of the dead could have been caused during the dispersal, as pictures show serious injuries like broken teeth and swollen eyes.
Lt. Gen. Chalermchai did not instruct his officers to use rubber bullets instead of live bullets during the dispersal, although he repeatedly emphasized he had asked his officers to restrain from using firearms. Because he was inside of the police station, he said that he did not know who fired first. He did not indicate whether or not there had been an internal army inquiry into this matter. He also confirmed that the protesters did not carry any firearms or knives.
He accused the protesters of being drug addicts. However, this allegation is not supported by the drug tests conducted on the detainees in Inkayuthaboriharn Army Camp, in which only 13 out of the 1093 detainees tested positive for drugs (See: Tak Bai and Krue Se Report).
TESTIMONIES FROM OTHER WITNESSES
Suriya Mama, owner of a teashop near the Tak Bai Police station, testified on 29 June 2007. During the dispersal, he was 50m away from the protest area. He did not see any protesters carrying arms or under influence of drugs. He believed the gunshots were fired by the police and military because the sound first came out from the direction of the police station.
On 2 August 2007, Sergeant Major First Class Ritthirong Promrit gave evidence in court. He was the driver of a military truck on which five protesters were found dead. He testified that the truck he drove could contain only 25 people, but about 50 persons were on his truck on the date of incident. When he reached the Inkayuthaboriharn Army Camp, five people were found unconscious on the truck.
Several other officers who drove the trucks to the army camp told the court that they were warned about burning tyres and scattered nails on the road, and were told to drive slowly. It was also dark and raining, therefore, the trip was longer than usual and took three to four hours. However, there were in fact no obstacles on the road.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The testimony of Lt. Gen. Chalermchai illustrates the absence of command responsibility in the Thai military. As a commander of the dispersal, he spent most of his time inside the police station and dining with the prime minister instead of carrying out his duty. The culture of impunity and lack of command responsibility persisted even after the truth of the incident became known. Lt. Gen. Chalermchai, together with two other army officers, former Fourth Army Region Commander Gen. Pisarn Wattanawongkiri and his former deputy his former deputy Maj. Gen. Sinchai Nutsathit, were named by the independent commission as responsible for the deaths. Yet, they continued to serve in the army and no disciplinary or criminal action has been launched against them other than to be transferred temporarily (AHRC-OL-060-2006; AHRC-OL-008-2007). Gen. Pisarn and Lt. Gen Chalermchai were in fact promoted after the incident from the position of lieutenant general and major general respectively.
FURTHER INQUEST DATES:
The rest of the hearings will be held in Songkhla Provincial Court. The AHRC urges all human rights defenders and concerned persons in Thailand to please attend. The details are as the follows:
Dates:
August 28, 29, 30
September 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27
October 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 24, 25
Time: 9am to 4.00pm daily
Venue: Songkhla Provincial Court, Platha Road, Boyang Subdistrict, A. Muang, Songkhla
Case No.: Chor 2/2548
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
