On April 25, as the second anniversary of the 28 April 2004 killing of 106 young men in the south of Thailand approached, army commander Sonthi Boonyaratglin reportedly made a remarkable admission. There are, he said, “blacklists” of wanted persons in the south. The blacklists, he also reportedly admitted, are perhaps being used by some persons to settle grudges, rather than for national security purposes.
Although the existence of blacklists in the south of Thailand has long been widely known, this is the first time that an officer of seniority has publicly admitted to their use. This admission is of incredible importance to Thailand, at a critical moment in its history, and demands an immediate response.
The army chief did not admit to people being killed due to the use of lists. But this is the practical implication. Blacklists are death lists. Everywhere in the world that large-scale extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances have occurred they have been accompanied by the use of lists. In Sri Lanka, the commissions of inquiry into the mass disappearances and killings of the late 1980s established this fact. In Argentina and other parts of South America, the same has been proven. In Thailand, blacklists were openly used during 2004 to eradicate alleged drug dealers. Then, as now, it was later admitted that there were no objective criteria for the lists, which were devised by police and their allies to kill, jail or otherwise intimidate their enemies. Over 2500 persons died for nothing.
That the security forces in the south of Thailand are abducting, torturing and killing with impunity is not in doubt. The April 28 mass killings were just one instance. Those killed on that day were not innocents; however, they did not deserve to die. Most of the 32 at the Krue Se mosque were almost certainly executed after laying down their handful of old weapons. The method of their brutal killing followed similar practices used by the security forces right across Thailand for many decades. That the perpetrators were assured of impunity went without question.
In his April 25 addresses to the Supreme Court and Administrative Court judges, the King of Thailand stressed that the country would only survive if the courts exercise their authority and uphold the rule of law. This statement goes far beyond the immediate question of whether or not a new election must be called to break the current parliamentary impasse. It goes to the heart of the Thai state, and its institutions for human rights and the rule of law. It goes directly to the problems of the south of Thailand as well as the freedom to kill, maim and coerce ordinary people as yet enjoyed by state agents there.
Blacklists are criminal. They are illegal. They are the opposite of the vision for Thailand articulated by the King. Blacklists embody lawlessness. They legitimate murder. They threaten, not protect, the country. They create fear and spread mistrust. They silence voices. They displace the judiciary, and demonstrate that the armed wings of the executive are beyond the control of other parts of government. They are in every respect hostile to the rule of law and survival of a society. They are in every way inimical to respect for human rights and civilised life.
The Asian Human Rights Commission is today calling for an urgent response to the blacklists admission of the Thai army commander. The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand should immediately establish a special public inquiry into the use of blacklists. The Lawyers Council of Thailand should also take a strong lead in raising public discussion and demanding action. Once the parliament has been re-established, committees must be formed to make investigations without delay. These bodies should concentrate on opening avenues for persons who have information on the use of blacklists to come forward and tell what they know in safety. There will be many persons with detailed information who would be willing to provide it on assurances that they will not themselves end up on a list as a result. And from there, judicial inquiries must follow.
For its part, the AHRC is immediately notifying the UN Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances of this admission, which is meeting in Geneva this week, as well as other human rights officials in the international system, to request that they seek further information from the government of Thailand. The government should also understand the very serious implications of the use of blacklists for its recently-announced candidacy to the new UN Human Rights Council.
Blacklists are a vehicle for the worst human rights abuses. They are the essence of the threat to the rule of law that a country today faces. For the sake not only of the victims and their families in the south of Thailand, but the survival of the entire country, the use of blacklists must be documented, described and eliminated. If not, Thailand may well sink, as His Majesty has put it, far deeper than 4000 metres under the sea.
