FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2007
AHRC-OL-009-2007
An Open Letter to the Editor of The Nation by the Asian Human Rights Commission
The Editor
The Nation
44 Moo 10 Bang Na-Trat KM 4.5
Bang Na, Bangkok 10260
THAILAND
Fax: +662 751 4446
Dear Sir
THAILAND: Denial of reality won’t restore human rights
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) completely rejects the assertion in your editorial of March 6 that the human rights record of Thailand has improved since the interim government took power through a military coup on September 19 last year (“Human rights record improves“). In it you show a deep misunderstanding of the meaning of human rights and a bizarre denial of reality.
Human rights are not obtained by the establishing of special committees and apologies for abuses, or by subscribing to the establishment of a new regional human rights mechanism, as you appear to believe. Such formal commitments to human rights are popular with authoritarian governments these days. They mean nothing unless accompanied by genuine public participation.
Participation depends upon internal communication. By communicating among themselves, people obtain voices with which to speak out against coercion. Where people speak out loudly about their problems, they obtain confidence. Where they have confidence, institutions that previously enforced inequality are obliged to change. By contrast, where the means for participating and communicating are blocked, people are demoralised. Where they are demoralised, the role of institutions ostensibly for justice and human rights is of little significance.
People in Thailand have fought for many decades to overcome heavy feudal traditions and centuries of enforced silence. A great landmark was reached with the constitution of 1997. The subsequent years saw many new difficulties and challenges, but these were accompanied by increasingly vigorous debate from all parts of the country and all quarters of society.
September 19 put an end to all that. Whereas before the coup there were more intense exchanges on the wrongs of the former government, now political party activity is banned, the media remains closely monitored and restricted, and soldiers have been sent into the provinces to explain the good intentions of the military regime to the people; communication is “divisive”. Whereas the 1997 Constitution was written with widespread public participation, people have been invited to join in giving opinions about a new constitution under a rigged process, culminating in a referendum: yet another popular ruse among autocrats. Whereas before the coup the prime minister and his administration were under intense scrutiny over alleged corruption, the enormous increased budget that the armed forces awarded itself after taking power has also gone almost entirely undiscussed.
Meanwhile, the AHRC has watched with alarm the re-emergence of cold-war era institutions and measures to ensure long-term reasserted military control over administration in Thailand. These include the appointment of military officers and members of the coup leaders’ entourage to positions of authority previously occupied by the police and members of the former prime minister’s entourage: no improvement; restoration of the Internal Security Operations Command, which reportedly now has authority over all investigative agencies, including those under the justice ministry such as the Department of Special Investigation, as well as nationalist militias, including the Village Scouts, which have been asked to monitor supposed threats to the society; and, most recently, the proposed appointment of military officers as “deputy governors for security” in all of the 76 provinces. This is to say nothing of martial law and the Emergency Decree over the south. And the list could go on.
Thailand today is characterised by non-public participation, institutional recidivism, sharp reverses in the rule of law and declining prospects for human rights. The attempted fraud perpetrated by the coup group and its appointees is in their claim to be working for democratic change, the rule of law and human rights while being radically opposed to all of these values. Someone who has been defrauded may attempt to deny it in order to feel better; but denial of reality will not alter the nature of the fraud, only serve to perpetuate it. The first step to dealing with a fraud is to acknowledge it, and call it for what it is.
Yours sincerely
Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong
