Dear friends,
The head of the army in Thailand is reported as having admitted that the security forces in the south of the country are using “blacklists” to hunt down alleged insurgents in the south. He has also admitted that there are names of persons on the lists who are not genuine suspects. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is making a general appeal for urgent investigations following this admission.
?lt;br />An article in The Nation newspaper of April 25 (“Army chief admits that agencies are using ‘blacklists’ in the south”), reported that the Royal Thai Army commander, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, had said that blacklists were being used. It said:
“General Sonthi went as far as saying that the way individuals came to be listed was questionable and personal grudges might be the underlying motive, but did not accuse any agency of using the list for illegal killings.”
In a statement following the report (AS-085-2006), the AHRC said that it is obvious that blacklists are the same thing as death lists, saying, “Everywhere in the world that large-scale extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances have occurred they have been accompanied by the use of lists.” It identifies the 2004 killings of over 2500 alleged drug dealers in Thailand as an example.
The AHRC has contacted sources on the ground and confirmed the basic details of the report, and that at least one list of some 300 names has been leaked. Many of the persons on the list are said to be already dead or disappeared.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
The AHRC is extremely concerned that as Thailand is currently facing an unprecedented political crisis, attention may be turned away from these incredibly important remarks by the army commander. Also, many key positions or agencies–such as the parliamentary committees on human rights–are not functioning due to the impasse. The AHRC is therefore today making urgent calls to key independent bodies, especially the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and the Lawyers Council of Thailand, for immediate action. Outside of the country, it has contacted a number of key UN officials.
Please join these calls. A sample letter and contact details are given below. As the Working Group on enforced disappearances is meeting in Geneva at the moment, please send your message to it without delay.?
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
THAILAND: Army commander admits to using "blacklists" in the south
I am bringing to your attention a report in The Nation newspaper of 26 April 2006 that the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army General Sonthi Boonyaratglin admitted on April 25 that the authorities in the south of Thailand are using blacklists to hunt alleged insurgents there. He has also reportedly admitted that many names on the blacklists may be there due to personal grudges and not because the persons are suspected insurgents. I am told that this report has been confirmed by independent sources.
Blacklists are the same as death lists. They are criminal. They legitimate murder. 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.
I therefore urge you to take immediate steps in accordance with your mandate to seek further information and, as much as possible, investigate this admission by the army general. There must be special public inquiries called into the use of these blacklists, accompanied by widespread discussion and demands for action. Once the parliament of Thailand 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. From there, judicial inquiries must follow.
In view of the fact that Thailand has just announced its candidacy for the new UN Human Rights Council I expect that this matter will be taken extremely seriously. The Government of Thailand must expect that the use of blacklists in the south will seriously affect its candidacy.
Thank you for your urgent intervention.
Yours sincerely
---
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1, Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathum Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 2219 2980
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th or saneh@nhrc.or.th
2. Mr. Dej-Udom Krairit
President
The Lawyers Council of Thailand
7/89 Rajdamnoen Klang Avenue
Pranakorn District
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 629 1430
Fax: +662 282 9907-8
Email: president@lawyerscouncil.or.th
3. Prof. Stephen J. Toope
Chairperson
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Attn: Tanya Smith
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: + 41 22 917 9176
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: WORKING GROUP EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS)
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org
4. Prof. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)
Email: lventre@ohchr.org or urgent-action@ohchr.org
5. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Att: Melinda Ching Simon
Room 1-040
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)
E-mail: MChingSimon@ohchr.org or urgent-action@ohchr.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
