The latest in a growing number of open threats and attacks directed at human rights defenders and social activists in Thailand occurred in the early hours of last Thursday, August 18, when a grenade was lobbed at Wiwat Thamee’s parked car in Mae Fah Luang district of Chiang Rai province. Although nobody was in the car at the time, the message sent by the grenade was clear: stop your work. Others who have been forcibly disappeared or killed in recent times had received similar warnings before losing their lives, so there can be little doubt that the threat is serious.
Wiwat and his colleagues at the Ethnic and Indigenous People’s Network of Thailand are perceived as inimical to the interests of local authorities and influential persons in the north of Thailand because they are assisting non-ethnic Thai villagers to get documents proving citizenship and to assert their civil rights. They are weakening corrupt government officials who obtain income by demanding that villagers pay for services which should have been freely provided. They are undermining powerful persons in the locality who manipulate and mislead the local populace towards their own ends.
Wiwat was also among the human rights defenders who deposed to the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva this July, when it considered Thailand’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is particularly disturbing that this first direct attack on he or his colleagues due to their work occurred shortly after his return from abroad, and it is not without reason that he suspects that the attack was directly linked to his vocal criticism of the government at the UN.
In its concluding observations at that session in July, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern “at the number of incidents against human rights defenders and community leaders, including intimidation and verbal and physical attacks” and stated that:
“[Thailand] must take measures to immediately halt and protect against the harassment and attacks against human rights defenders and community leaders [and] must systematically investigate all reported instances of intimidation, harassment and attacks and guarantee effective remedies to victims and their families. [CCPR/CO/84/THA, 28 July 2005, para. 19]
Thailand joined the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1997. In so doing, it committed itself to comply with the Covenant’s provisions. The concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance, are the best guide available to the government on areas in which work is required to meet its obligations. They are not cooked up by a group of foreigners and dropped on the country from a distance. On the contrary, they have been reached through a detailed process of documenting and communicating with various parts of the government, and other concerned groups in Thailand as well as abroad, over a lengthy period which culminated in July.
Having voluntarily joined the Covenant and participated fully in the reporting process to the Committee, the government of Thailand is now beholden to its concluding observations. Understandably, some might take more time and resources to fulfil than others. However, the Committee’s stress on immediate measures being required to halt and protect human rights defenders indicates that the above recommendation is not one of these. There is nothing to stop the government taking the necessary steps to ensure that each and every such attack is properly and quickly investigated, and where necessary, protection given to the targeted person or persons. And there is no time to lose either.
The need for swift intervention in each and every attack on a human rights defender in Thailand cannot be overemphasised. It is typical of government officials to ignore such incidents until it is too late. In the latest instance, the grenade exploded just a few metres from a Border Patrol Police post. However, after visiting the scene the officers reportedly did nothing and advised the witnesses not to lodge a police report as it “wouldn’t lead to anything”. Early calls to attract the attention of the regular police and district administration also fell on deaf ears.
Abstract commitments to human rights mean nothing if not accompanied by direct action to address violations. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) suggests that rather than making further vague promises to respect human rights and multiply the numbers of ineffectual ‘rights-protection’ agencies, the government of Thailand would do better to begin by working its way through the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee, and demonstrate that many of these can be readily applied via existing bodies and laws. The government should also publicly announce that the ongoing pattern of attacks on human rights defenders–which it is yet to acknowledge–will not be tolerated, and that a concerted effort will be taken to confront the perpetrators and protect their targets.
Human rights defenders, environmentalists and other social activists who are the subjects of attacks in Thailand must also themselves be better prepared for fast and concerted responses as soon as threats are detected. These should be accompanied by maximum publicity. Too often the reaction to threats is too little too late. Between the time that it takes for a threat to be made and to be realized there exists the opportunity to save a life, or lives. Quick thinking and acting from all concerned parties can make the difference. The AHRC for one stands ready to intervene at the earliest possible moment and in every way possible and necessary in each case of which it is informed, and urges others to be prepared to do the same.
