[Tlc] T-article

[justinm at ucr.edu]

Forwarded from Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri.
Thanks,
justin

For Immediate Release

Thailand: End of Protests Is Time for Accountability
Investigate Abusive Protesters, Soldiers and Their Superiors

(New York, April 15, 2009) – The Thai government should set up an independent commission to carry out a prompt, effective, and impartial investigation into the politically motivated violence by all sides during the recent protests and hold those responsible accountable, Human Rights Watch said today. The commission should also investigate abuses related to other violent protests in the past year, including those by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

Anti-government protests organized by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), backed by the deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, began on March 26, 2009. During street battles involving these protesters, Thai security forces, and other groups, at least 123 people were injured, according to the Public Health Ministry. On April 14, two members of neighborhood watch groups were shot dead in a clash with protesters. Four soldiers were wounded by gunshot. The rest of the injured suffered from teargas inhalation, bone fractures, and gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

“Now that the protests are over, it is time for the government and protest leaders to make public commitments to end abuses and ensure that those committing violence are properly investigated and prosecuted,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The many casualties during the protests cannot simply be forgotten or ignored.”

The protests in late March began with a virtual siege of Government House, the Bangkok compound that is the prime minister’s office. The protests turned violent on April 7, when protesters attacked Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s motorcade in Pattaya as he headed back to Bangkok after a cabinet meeting. The red-shirted protesters then clashed with pro-government groups in Pattaya on April 10 and 11. After UDD protesters broke into the meeting site of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the summit was canceled and ASEAN and other national leaders attending the meeting were evacuated by helicopter. In response, the government declared a state of emergency in Pattaya on April 11 and in Bangkok and surrounding provinces on April 12.

On April 12, about 50 UDD members protesting the state of emergency and the arrest of one of their leaders, Arisman Pongruangrong, forced their way into the Interior Ministry in Bangkok, where Abhisit was meeting with senior government officials. They attacked the prime minister’s motorcade as he tried to leave the compound. Live news coverage showed protesters smashing the windshields with concrete blocks and flagpoles. The protesters dragged passengers out of cars and beat them, and injured and briefly detained a number of officials, including the prime minister’s secretary-general, Niphon Prompan.

Human Rights Watch investigations have found that street fighting began in Bangkok on April 13 at about 4:30 a.m. when protesters, who had been blocking main intersections in the Din Daeng area with buses and taxis, attacked approaching soldiers with guns, Molotov bombs, improvised grenades, slingshots, and rocks. Soldiers used teargas and live ammunition to disperse the protesters and clear the blockades. News footage and accounts by witnesses show that while most of the guns were fired into the air, some soldiers fired their assault rifles directly at the protesters.

The protesters seized more than 50 passenger buses and tried to run over soldiers. Some buses were burned and used as barricades. The protesters also threatened to blow up trucks with liquefied petroleum gas near residential areas and hospitals. Clashes spilled into other parts of Bangkok through the next morning. The tactics used by the protesters enraged many Bangkok residents, who then formed neighborhood watch groups and sided with the soldiers.

On April 14, hundreds of heavily armed soldiers moved in on the UDD stronghold in front of Government House. Just before 11 a.m. the protest leaders, saying they were concerned for the safety of the protesters, announced an end to the protests and told their members to disperse. Veera Musikhapong and other UDD leaders then surrendered to the police.

“Whatever its legitimate grievances, the UDD under Thaksin’s leadership tried for weeks to provoke a violent government response to advance its political goals,” said Adams. “The UDD should understand that it can’t both commit violent attacks and claim to be a peaceful political movement.”

Human Rights Watch said that Thai law enforcement personnel and military forces often showed great restraint in the face of provocation. The civilian authorities and the army issued orders to troops to avoid using lethal force except in self-defense. But in its preliminary investigations, Human Rights Watch concluded that soldiers in some cases unnecessarily used live ammunition to disperse protesters.

Human Rights Watch called for an investigation to determine who gave orders to fire live ammunition and under what circumstances. In protecting public safety, Thai authorities are obligated to use lawful means, including force proportionate to the level of threat or legitimate objective. The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials provide that authorities shall, as far as possible, apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, the authorities must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. The Basic Principles also call for an effective reporting and review process, especially in cases of death and serious injury.

“Officials who gave orders to use only lawful force during the protests deserve praise,” said Adams. “But soldiers and police who used force beyond what was needed should not escape investigation and prosecution. The government cannot only prosecute protest leaders or they will make a mockery of Thai law.”

Human Rights Watch called for lifting the state of emergency put in place on April 12, because of its overbroad limitation of basic rights. The decree remains in force in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, allowing Thai authorities to activate the following emergency powers:

·                     Prohibiting any person from leaving a dwelling place during the prescribed period;

·                     Prohibiting the assembly or gathering of persons at any place or any conduct that may incite or lead to unrest;

·                     Prohibiting the publication, distribution or dissemination of letters, print materials or any means of communications that may cause fear among the people or are intended to distort information to cause misunderstanding of the emergency situation affecting security or public morality, both in the area or locality where a state of emergency had been declared or in the whole country;

·                     Prohibiting the use of communications routes or vehicles or prescribing conditions on the use of communications routes or vehicles;

·                     Prohibiting the use of buildings or barring entry or exit;

·                     Evacuating people from a designated area for the safety of civilians or prohibiting any person from entering a designated area.


The emergency decree is valid for 30 days. There is no limit to how many times it can be extended by cabinet approval.

“The sweeping powers under the emergency decree are susceptible to abuse,” said Adams. “This creates the risk of indefinite, arbitrary and disproportionate limitations on rights and freedoms protected under international law.”

Under an emergency decree put in place by Thaksin in 2005, which is still in effect, the authorities can use undisclosed or inaccessible places of detention where regular monitoring is impossible, increasing the likelihood of torture and other mistreatment. Instead of using these powers, Human Rights Watch urged the government to follow the Criminal Procedure Code, which follows international due process standards by requiring detainees to be brought before a judge within 48 hours, provides for access to legal assistance, and establishes rights to habeas corpus. The Criminal Procedure Code also specifically prohibits torture and mistreatment.

Human Rights Watch also expressed concern over the broad-based immunity provision in the 2005 decree. Section 17 states that anyone holding official power to carry out emergency powers is not subject to civil, criminal, or disciplinary liabilities if the act is performed in good faith, is non-discriminatory, and is not unreasonable in the circumstances. Extending as it does to all police actions, including those that may violate such basic rights as the right to life and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment, section 17 breaches Thailand’s international obligations, including those under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to investigate all such violations regardless of circumstances, and hold perpetrators to account.

Human Rights Watch also called for investigations to include abuses related to demonstrations led in 2008 by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The PAD staged protracted protests in Bangkok and other cities to express opposition to the governments of Prime Ministers Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat, which it accused of being surrogates for Thaksin, as well as corruption, abuse of power, and being unpatriotic. Its protests led to the fall of those governments and the creation of the Abhisit coalition government.

PAD protesters besieged international airports and government buildings in Bangkok. They also engaged in a number of deadly clashes with the UDD in Bangkok and other provinces. On October 7, 2008, thousands of PAD protesters surrounded the parliament in an attempt to block Somchai, who was then the prime minister, from delivering a policy statement. To clear the area, police riot units and Border Patrol Police units used tear gas and rubber bullets, in some cases firing tear gas from close range directly at the protesters.

PAD protesters responded by firing guns, shooting slingshots, throwing bricks and metal pipes, trying to run over police officers with pickup trucks, and stabbing police with flagpoles. According to the Public Health Ministry, two PAD supporters died and 443 were injured. About 20 police were injured. To date, there has been no independent and impartial investigation into politically motivated violence and human rights abuses related to the PAD protests.

“While the end of violent protests is welcome, political violence may resume anytime in Thailand,” said Adams. “Now is the time to end this cycle of violence. The way to do it is for this government to hold abusers accountable, no matter what their political affiliation.”

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Thailand, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/en/asia/thailand

For more information, please contact:
In London, Brad Adams (English): +44-20-7713-2767; or +44-790-872-8333 (mobile)
In New York, Elaine Pearson (English): +1-212-216-1213; or +1-646-291-7169 (mobile)
In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile)

 
______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu