The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you further to our open letter to the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand of July 4 because we are deeply concerned over the apparent lack of a firm public and civil society response to the alleged attempted abduction on 28 June 2006 of NHRC member Vasant Panich, who is also the head of the Subcommittee on Legislation and Administration of Justice.
To recap the facts, on June 27 and 28, Mr. Vasant received a series of strange calls on all available phones. On the morning of June 28 his car was followed. He and his wife took a number of taxis to reach the NHRC office, one of which was also followed by a silver minivan later parked at the front of the office. As you are aware, Mr. Vasant has worked on the case of abducted human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit in detail and he was aware of how phone calls and vehicles are used to track a target. He has surmised that there was a plan to kidnap and perhaps kill him also.
Apart from being a member of Thailand’s official human rights body, Mr. Vasant is as you know himself a senior human rights lawyer of high standing and reputation in Thailand. It should therefore be a matter of special concern to the Lawyers Council that he may have apparently have by now ended up the same way as Mr. Somchai but for the fact that he was alert to the danger signs. It should also be a matter of special concern to your council that those parts of the state apparatus allegedly responsible for forced disappearances in no way appear to have been deterred since Mr. Somchai was abducted in 2004. In fact, it can be said that the success with which the perpetrators of that crime have covered up the truth and perverted justice will ensure their confidence in carrying out further forced disappearances and killings of even the most senior persons.
The Lawyers Council is a statutory body which owes a special obligation not only to its own members but to all persons in Thailand. It has an essential and irreplaceable role in the promotion of the rule of law and human rights in Thailand, and is respected for performing this role with integrity and merit. It follows that in instances such as this, which follow a pattern of systematic intimidation and gross violation of human rights by state agents, the council should take the lead in raising concerns with senior officials in Thailand and in the public, and in demanding that action be taken.
In this specific instance, it is vital that there be a full investigation to uncover the circumstances of the alleged attempted abduction and the persons involved. Telephone records, witnesses and other evidence will exist to be able to do this, if a credible and serious investigation is begun within a short time. The Lawyers Council should take the lead in making the necessary demands to the government, on behalf of a senior lawyer, on behalf of all of your members, and on behalf of all human rights defenders in Thailand. It should also be raising strong concerns with the media and in other circles, in order to raise public attention, concern and support.
Those who threaten human rights commissioners threaten the foundations of the rule of law and the very foundations upon which your organisation stands. The Asian Human Rights Commission urges you to respond accordingly and demand that Mr. Vasant and all members of the National Human Rights Commission be guaranteed the protection that they deserve, in their interests and those of all persons struggling for justice and human rights in Thailand.
Yours sincerely
Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong
