Thailand: Two Years On, No Justice for Political Violence
Failure to Prosecute Undermines Reconciliation
(New York, April 10, 2012) – The Thai government’s new “political reconciliation” proposals will undermine justice by giving immunity to those responsible for human rights abuses during bloody confrontations in Bangkok in 2010, Human Rights Watch said today.
Lack of accountability for politically motivated violence will persist in Thailand unless perpetrators are brought to justice regardless of their status and affiliation, Human Rights Watch said.
“The violent clashes that rocked Thailand two years ago continue to affect the lives of many Thais,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Those harmed in the upheavals and their families are still waiting for justice because successive governments haven’t kept their promises to hold the abusers accountable.”
On April 10, 2010, violent street battles broke out in Bangkok after the government of then-Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva attempted to forcibly disperse anti-government protests organized by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), commonly known as “Red Shirts.” Gunfire and blasts from bombs and grenades killed 19 protesters, six soldiers, and a journalist. At least 569 participants and bystanders, 265 soldiers, and 8 police officers were injured the same day from teargas inhalation, beatings, gunshots, and shrapnel from explosions.
The violence continued for weeks. By the end of the Red Shirt protests on May 19, more than 90 people had been killed and over 2,000 wounded from excessive or unnecessary use of lethal force by security forces and attacks by “Black Shirts,” armed elements within the UDD. Arson attacks in and outside Bangkok also caused billions of dollars in damage.
The current government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in office since 2011, has attempted to downplay the need for accountability for the 2010 violence, Human Rights Watch said. On March 27, 2012, the parliamentary Committee on National Reconciliation, dominated by the ruling Pheu Thai Party, presented a report submitted by the King Prajadhipok’s Institute to a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Institute recommended releasing the fact-finding report of the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand “when the time and conditions are suitable” and with the names of those implicated in the violence removed. The report also proposed a broad amnesty for leaders and supporters of all political movements, politicians, government officials, and members of the security forces involved in the violence.
The political aims of rival political parties are trumping accountability, Human Rights Watch said. The Pheu Thai Party, together with its coalition partners and a majority of senators, voted on April 5, to forward the Committee on National Reconciliation’s proposal based on the King Prajadhipok’s Institute report to the government for consideration.
Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung said a bill for reconciliation based on similar principles will soon be submitted to parliament by the Pheu Thai Party and its coalition partners. This reconciliation proposal would undermine hopes for justice, particularly among the many rank-and-file members of the UDD, including Pheu Thai Party supporters, who were the main victims of the violence, Human Rights Watch said.
“The reconciliation proposal is about enabling powerful people on all sides to get away with grievous crimes,” Sifton said. “Everyone wins, except the victims.”
The families of victims from all sides welcomed a recent government decision to provide reparations to those harmed by political violence, but told Human Rights Watch that they feared the proposed parliamentary actions would block accountability and keep the truth buried. They also expressed concern about further politicization of the judicial process.
The Abhisit government charged hundreds of UDD protesters with serious criminal offenses without any basis, but did not file charges against any government officials or soldiers. Since the Yingluck government took office in August 2011, the focus of criminal investigations has shifted entirely to cases in which soldiers were implicated while those involving UDD violence have been ignored. The government claims, despite considerable evidence to the contrary, that there were no armed elements within the UDD.
Impunity for politically motivated violence has very deep roots in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said. In the name of “reconciliation” no independent investigations were undertaken into the crackdowns on students and pro-democracy protesters in 1973 and 1976, which led to the deaths of over 100 people. The complete findings of a government inquiry into a violent crackdown in 1992 on protesters calling for an end to military rule have never been released. In each of these cases, in the name of “reconciliation,” amnesty was given to those responsible for the violence.
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and the government-appointed Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand are still unable to complete their inquiries into the 2010 incidents due to insufficient support from the government, as well as mistrust and lack of cooperation from participants in the events. The work of the two agencies has also suffered from internal bureaucratic obstruction and a critical lack of political will to investigate government officials and UDD leaders fully and credibly.
“To end Thailand’s cycle of impunity, the Yingluck government should act now to bring charges against perpetrators of crimes committed during the 2010 violence, whatever their political affiliation or official position,” Sifton said. “No amnesty should be given for serious human rights abuses.”
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HRW in Thailand are liars and
HRW in Thailand are liars and hypocrites of the highest order.
HRW's key researcher in Thailand Sunai Phasuk secretly supported the 2006 coup and refuses to answer questions regarding that support despite overwhelming evidence that points directly to his collusion with the overthrow of a democratically elected government.
I've also heard from several reliable sources that one senior Bangkok-based HRW staffer was seen wearing a yellow shirt on a number of occasions and particularly during key, political moments (am hoping for a photograph to emerge - if anyone has one please email to asiaprovocateur@gmail.com and I will publish it).
Yet HRW are absolutely unaccountable. Phasuk has also made numerous pro-Army comments, all of which also remain unaccounted for.
Then we have HRW's bullshit
Then we have HRW's bullshit statement today.
Lets start with this - "Since the Yingluck government took office in August 2011, the focus of criminal investigations has shifted entirely to cases in which soldiers were implicated while those involving UDD violence have been ignored."
What complete garbage. Dozens of Red Shirts/UDD are in prison, some with very lengthy prison sentences and often based on the kind of highly dubious evidence HRW state is "considerable". On the day that one group of UDD were receiving 20+ year sentences Phasuk was commenting about toilets.
Can HRW point me to one single soldier who is in prison or who has been convicted of anything, ever in regards to 2010? No. HRW's false equivalences continue, guided, no doubt, by the Army stooge Phasuk.
Now this "The government-appointed Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand are still unable to complete their inquiries into the 2010 incidents due to insufficient support from the government"
If HRW know anything about this situation they would know that the TRCT was set up with no powers of summons. It was deliberately set up in this way by Abhisit and the Dems to avoid proper examination and HRW were made fully aware at the time when it was set-up that it would lack sufficient powers. Yet HRW remained silent on this. Completely and utterly silent. Now they complain TRCT can't do its job properly because the present government won't allow it.
HRW have zero credibility in Thailand. They have lied consistently about who started the violence on April 10th, secretly backed the most undemocratic elements in Thai society, failed to do operate in a professional, objective fashion and have become deeply politicised with strong links to the neo-fascists in the PAD.
The Institute recommended
That's about it. The powerful remain able to kill the Thai people whenever it suits them, and subsequently to grant themselves 'amnesty'.
Not an amnesty, a travesty.
Since the courts will not be involved, unless it's to rule the travesty lawful, the so-called Human Rights Watch ought to be looking to the rights of those imprisoned already.
To my knowledge there are zero Royal Thai Army personnel in prison.
There are still many ordinary Thais imprisoned, political prisoners charged with 'terrorism' - the only terrorists in Bangkok two years ago were Royal Thai Army, wearing brown or black - or charged with thought crimes and summarily imprisoned when charged and held without bail, some yet to be
triedjudged guilty.HRW is intent on making empty gestures, in going through the motions of being an organization interested in human beings and their rights.
HRW is a public relations organization, funded to go after the enemies of the US Government and to do PR work on behalf of the US Government's 'friends'; in this case the Royal Thai Army, with its talk of violent elements among the UDD.
The Phuea Thai Government is about to betray the people who literally died to put it in office.
I pray that the red shirts, the salt of the Thai earth, finally open their eyes and see the Shinawatra organization for the opportunistic, parasitic, traitorous machine that it is.
No one in Thailand or in this world is going to look out for the interests of the Thai people but themselves. Organize, and take over your country.
I would still like to know if
I would still like to know if it's possible for HRW to share with us the id of the "two photo journalists" that provided them with "testimony" about the 2010 crackdown,and whom they have quoted in their earlier reports.Also can HRW share with us their thoughts on who the "mysterious" plain clothes guys might have been,who were filmed dismounting from military vehicles then apparently "play fighting"with each other.I will provide the film if they haven't already seen it.I did phone Brad Adams office in London about this and a few other details I was concerned with some months back,but after a few panicky sounding seconds and whispers the american receptionist lady there discovered Brad Adams was "unobtainable for the forseeable future".
Darren, It has become
Darren,
It has become increasingly clear that Brad Adams is a straight-out liar, who, if his organisation was under proper scrutiny and accountability, would've been fired years ago. The same goes for Sunai Phasuk.
Both have continually lied, over and over again, about what happened in April/May 2010 and about their own personal support for the illegal military coup, which usurped a democratically elected government, in 2006.
Any questions to them will be ignored. Any evidence shown to them will be dismissed. They are paid 100s of 1000s US$ a year so why should they care what someone as meaningless as you thinks?
What we do know is that Phasuk visited the US Embassy in Bangkok on 58 occasions in 5years. That's once a month. You don't have to be a genius to work this out. Those visits are recorded in the Wikileaks cables and in them Phasuk secretly states his support for the coup, the Thai Army and the junta government. We can only speculate on the number of other conversations Phasuk had with his bosses... sorry... his "friends" at the US Embassy.
The biggest give away on all this for me, even beyond HRW's appalling collusions on 2010 and 2006 is this - they refused to condemn in 2011 the Thai Army's use of cluster munitions against Cambodia, despite several governments, including the British, doing so.
HRW's silence was astonishing as they, as an organisation, have been central in the global fight to get cluster munitions banned. When Gaddafi used them in Libya in 2011 HRW were on every major Western media outlet condemning their use (it was later shown that HRW had very very thin evidence to make that claim).
But when the Thai Army used them and the evidence was absolute and overwhelming? Silence from Phasuk and Adams.
Why? They won't and haven't said.
What we do know is that Phasuk was very close to the US Embassy and that the Thai Army is a key ally of the US in SE Asia. As they refuse to answer any further questions all we can then do is speculate.
Andrew: There is a logic to
Andrew: There is a logic to dealing with this problem.
The problem with HRW and AI staff acting in this way is that they have likely been suborned or are peddling some agenda other than the one people expect from their organisations. The question is - 'why?'.
The answer to the question 'why?' is likely never to be known, but fortunately, there is a better question - 'how can they get away with it?' The answer to this question is straightforward - 'because they can' ie, 'because they have been allowed to'.
So the solution to the Phasuks, Adams and Zawacki's of the world is not to grumble and complain, but to act.
Now... supposing there is a course of action that bloggers and commentators like you and me could follow, which would end up unmasking these scoundrels and getting them fired. What would that action have to look like? How could the likes of you and me do something about outing these schemers and plotters and reducing their credibility to zero - which must result in their organisations not requiring their services further?
I am not one for gnashing my teeth and beating my breast, surely it is better to set out to change the situation? These people are disreputable and must go. So. How can this be done by the likes of you and me? How can we make life intolerably embarrassing for their organisations? We will not prevail by using common sense since they have likely been suborned and are not amenable to common sense. They must be kicked in the bollocks, and with organisations like these, that means they must be kicked in the credibility bollocks, since that is the only thing that is likely to influence them.
So, I ask again, how can the likes of you and me do something to fix it so they no longer get away with what you, me and others have complained about for a long time? Complaints alone are food and drink to them, they suck it all up and ignore it all. The exercise is surely to present their (presumably willingly) duped organisations with an option: continue or change. Pain is the differentiator here as it is with the Thais themselves - figure out where their bollocks are and kick them.
Just a thought.
Demonizing Gunter Grass At
Demonizing Gunter Grass
HRW will never fall into the error of “moral equivalence” - they will never apply a common human rights standard to pro-U.S. and anti-U.S. regimes.
And as a result, their funding is rock-solid and secure. Funding is the slippery-slope of moral degeneracy. It is not only in Thailand that life is organized around systems of patronage.
I seems that HRW was
I seems that HRW was coordinating its little missive with the PAD/Royal Thai Army/Democrat's celebration of their Bangkok Massacre of 2010, all together claiming now that the elected Govt 'tries to forget deaths of soldiers'.
"The government claims,
"The government claims, despite considerable evidence to the contrary, that there were no armed elements within the UDD."
Evidence to the contrary? Where?
The black shirts were not part of the UDD, even if they were on the same side. Them and the protesters were not the same people, and the protesters had no part of their violence.
The only weapons protesters had weere sling shots, petrol, sticks and knives, whatever common things are about. Of course some people had pistols. But I don't think there's any evidence of shooting them at soldiers. Pistols are common in Thailand. People just carry them.
This is a shame from HRW. They had some good pieces of work on the conflict, such as Descent Into Chaos. Pity that they seem to retarded now.
It is good someone took the
It is good someone took the time to point this out, yet again. Thank you for doing so. Lies left unrefuted work their way into the popular imagination as folk-truths.
This is undoubtedly the 'input' of HRW's Yellow connection here in Thailand.
The Royal Thai Army and the Royal Thai Police are the authors of violence in Thailand. Each are 'issued' alternative, black uniforms when it's time to terrorize the Thai populace. To murder, to torture, to disappear. To appear as the completely unmysterious and clearly visible 'invisible hand'.
PPT has a link to an essay they had published themselves in 2009, that's been republished again today.. on 7 April rather. It is at least as true today as it was in 2009.
The soldiers are being
The soldiers are being punished now and the red shirts are punished less because all the red shirt were already in jail by the time the government took office. The soldiers had not been prosecuted at all. It's pretty obvious.
HRW need fear not, anyhow - no one in the military will end up in jail. No one who "matters" at the least.
"This is undoubtedly the
"This is undoubtedly the 'input' of HRW's Yellow connection here in Thailand."
Very clear who that is - Sunai Phasuk and Phil Robertson.
But then the entirety of the Thai human rights community knows of the politicisation of the human rights NGOs in Thailand.
When this subject has been discussed with them - including prominent editorial staff involved with Prachatai - their reaction has been -
a) I don't want to say anything because it will affect my career as a human rights worker
b) They don't need to be held to account.
I kid you not. I have some of that in writing.
Well... you've spoken up. All
Well... you've spoken up. All those who care to know what's going on do know. Many folks do not, and so don't.
That doesn't mean that they are not interested in human rights, their own not least of all, it just... may... mean that they assume all organizations are corrupt, have noted the human rights NGOs are organizations, and are not counting on help from their self-designated fairy godmother.
Maybe some hope that some spare change from Thaksin will fall in their laps. People buy lottery tickets too. It's an inexpensive source of pleasant daydreams. And with the odds they way they... can easily furnish a lifetime's supply of same.
The disrepair of the Potemkin front is a topic of small talk... or not... but is inconsequential. People who are actually employed to decry human rights abuses... by people of a certain description... are not going to eliminate their source of income. They count on the continued existence of human rights abuses... at least on those of interest to their employers... just as the US/Thai military counts on the existence of 'terrorists'... and work hard every day to create and/or 'discover' more.
The entirety of the 'human rights community'... AHRC seems like a possible exception... is politicized. They are playing a game all right, but it's not the one we are interested in, not the one advertised. They're in the humin rites bidnez!
Nothing is going to change until we... you, I , and he/she/or it... pick up the tools and change it. Personally.