Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP) that a group of soldiers and police raided the branch office of WGJP in Pattani province in the South. It took place after the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) made a report, which in fact invited security forces in southern Thailand to target human rights defenders as suspected terrorists.
CASE DETAILS:
According to information received, about 20 persons under the command of Lt. Col Pravej Sudhiprapha arrived in three pick-up trucks early in the morning of February 8 and searched the office for three hours. They went through data in the computers and files and interrogated the two volunteers present on the premises. Nothing was confiscated.
The commander stated that the area is under martial law. This means that the authorities do not need search warrants from the courts to search private property. However, he failed to show any reasonable doubt or any clear evidence on the reason for the raid.
Noteworthy is the fact that the raid took place two days after the military warned in Bangkok Post Newspaper, 7 February 2009 that “southern militants may take the opportunity to disguise themselves as rights activists, in order to incite hatred against officials or distort information to create misunderstanding about security operations among locals”.
The WGJP is one of a handful of groups in Thailand in recent years that has systematically documented and reported abuses in the south of the country. And there can be no doubt that this is a shabby attempt at intimidation on the part of the security forces, in keeping with the ISOC’s open invitation to target human rights defenders.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below, urging them to investigate the raid on the office of WGJP and stop threats against human rights defenders.
Please be informed that the AHRC has written separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights defenders calling for intervention in this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
THAILAND: Threats to human rights defenders in the South
Name of raided organization: the office of the Working Group on Justice for Peace, Pattani province
Name of officials involved: Lt. Col Pravej Sudhiprapha with approximately 20 personnel under his command.
Date of incident: 5am on 8 February 2009
I am writing to express my deep concern about a raid led by an army commander on a human rights office in Pattani province which took place early in the morning of February 8, 2009.
According to information received, about 20 army and police personnel led by Lt. Col Pravej Sudhiprapha arrived at 5am in three pick-up trucks. They searched the office of the Working Group on Justice for Peace in pattani province in southern Thailand for three hours. They went through data in the computers and files and interrogated the two volunteers present on the premises.
I am informed that this raid was conducted two days after the Internal Security Operations Command warned of militant plots. The commander of Region 4, stationed in the south of Thailand, granted an interview to the Bangkok Post newspaper on February 7. In effect he stated that “southern militants may take the opportunity to disguise themselves as rights activists in order to incite hatred against officials or to distort information to create misunderstanding about security among locals”.
If this information is correct, it amounts to an open invitation to the security forces in southern Thailand to target human rights defenders as suspected terrorists. In short, it announces a policy for army, police and other personnel, already operating under conditions of almost total impunity, to target human rights organizations, their staff and volunteers.
In fact, such raids have been a part of a routine intimidation and coercion of human rights and legal aid groups in Thailand for many years. But this particular raid is of special concern because of the extraordinary conditions in the south together with the expansive powers available to the security forces there above and beyond those in other parts of the country.
I therefore urge you to make a special inquiry into the report published in the Bangkok Post that the ISOC has taken aim at human rights defenders and agencies in southern Thailand and on the office of the WGJP. I demand that the Prime Minister make an unequivocal public statement to the effect that there will be no future attacks or intimidation, physical or otherwise, of human rights defenders working in southern Thailand. Furthermore, any security force personnel found responsible for such acts will face legal action. A notice to this effect should be issued to commanders at all levels and distributed to all branches of the security forces in the south.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
—-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva
Prime Minister
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 288 4000 ext. 4025
Tel: +66 2 288 4000
2. Mr. Chaowarat Chanweerakul
Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road, Ratchabophit
Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 226 4371/ 222 8866
Tel: +66 2 224 6320/ 6341
E-mail: om@moi.go.th
3. Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th or saneh@nhrc.or.th
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
