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THAILAND: Harassment and Threat to Woman Human Rights Defender in Tak Bai

April 20, 2011

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-081-2011



20 April 2011
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THAILAND: Harassment and Threat to Woman Human Rights Defender in Tak Bai

ISSUES: Human rights defenders; Threats and intimidation
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Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw your attention to the harassment and threats faced by Ms. Yaena Salaemae, a long-time Woman Human Rights Defender (WHRD) in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province in southern Thailand. The state authorities used an attack on a police checkpoint near her house to search her house and intimidate her. The AHRC believes that this is an outright attempt to intimidate Ms. Yaena and cause her to cease her work calling for justice in the case of the Tak Bai massacre and other cases of human rights violations in southern Thailand. The Asian Human Rights Commission is particularly concerned about the relationship between the threats to Ms. Yaena Salaemae and the ongoing status of the Tak Bai case, and is concerned that this recent harassment may be an attempt by the state to halt progress on the case.

CASE DETAILS: (According to the information received from the Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF))

At 1.30 p.m. on 19 April 2011, unidentified men dressed in clothing similar to army uniforms robbed a vegetable delivery truck and used that truck to attack a police checkpoint in Paiwan subdistrict on the Narathiwat-Tak Bai Road. The checkpoint is located at Salachuak, Moo 6, Salamai, Tak Bai district, Narathiwat. Although there was some damage to the checkpoint from the bullets used during the attack, there were no injuries.

Three hours later, at 4.30 p.m. on 19 April 2011, approximately 20 armed police and army officers surrounded and searched the house of Ms. Yaena Salaemae in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province. The officers did not present an arrest warrant from the court and only informed Ma. Yaena that they chose to conduct the search based on information from an informant who claimed that Ma. Yaena Salaemae might have been involved in the attack on Paiwan checkpoint. The officers only searched Ms. Yaena’s house – her neighbors’ houses were not searched and they were not questions. No illegal items were found and no suspects were arrested. A record of search confirming this was made and Ms. Yaena signed it. At the conclusion of the search, one of the officers told Ms. Yaena that she should not share information about this incident with Ms. Angkhana Neelaphaijit, chairperson of the Justice for Peace Foundation. By mentioned Ms. Angkhana Neelaphaijit, the state security officials were also indirectly threatening her.

ABOUT MS. YAENA SALAEMAE:

Ms. Yaena Salaemae is a prominent human rights defender in southern Thailand. She has worked closely with the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and has joined international human rights meetings organized by Frontline International in Dublin in 2009 and the Asian Human Rights Commission in Kwangju, South Korea in 2010.

In particular, she has consistently worked to end impunity in the case of the 25 October 2004 Tak Bai massacre, in which state officials have not yet been held to account and the victims and families of victims have not yet received justice. On 25 October 2004, approximately 1500 citizens were protesting what they believed was the unjust arrest of six Village Defense Volunteers on charges of allegedly stealing guns from the local armory in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province. Seven civilians were shot and killed during the fighting in front of the Tak Bai police station. At the conclusion of fighting, all remaining protestors were arrested and security forces prepared to transport them to Ingkayuthboriharn Army Camp in neighboring Pattani province, as there was not a facility large enough in Narathiwat to detain 1500 people.

The 1500 protestors were transported the roughly 140 kilometers from Tak Bai district to Inkayuthboriharn Camp in military trucks. There were only twenty-eight trucks available, and so the arrested protestors were handcuffed and then stacked, in four or five horizontal layers in the back of the trucks. An additional 78 people died on the way or shortly after arrival at Inkayuthboriharn. The post-mortem examinations, which were carried out on 26 October 2004, concluded that the causes of death included the following, at times in combination: asphyxiation, pressure on one’s chest, blunt object injuries, and seizures. In May 2009, the Songkhla provincial court ruled that although the 78 people died while in state custody, state officials had not improperly carried out their duties. [See http://thailand.ahrchk.net/takbai/ for more information].

In early 2011, Ms. Yaena led the victims and families of victims to submit a motion urging the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand to file a criminal lawsuit on behalf of the victims for truth and justice in the case of Tak Bai. Technically, this is the duty of the NHRC, but they have not yet taken it up. Since engaging in this action, Ms. Yaena has been interrogated and intimidated by a range of army officers in relation to the potential criminal lawsuit. In addition to this work, she has also assisted Thai PBS in producing a documentary of the Tak Bai massacre.

Ms. Yaena Salaemae does not have any personal disputes with anyone inside or outside the government. In 2007, her husband was assassinated in their village. The assassin is still at-large. She feels as though the current threats to her are related to her role as a human rights activist.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Thai authorities and request that they cease their intimidation and harassment of Ms. Yaena Salaemae.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample Letter:

Dear _________,

Name of the person facing threats: Ms. Yaena Salaemae
Date and place of incident: O19 April 2011 at 1:30pm in her home in in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province
Alleged perpetrators: approximately 20 armed police and army officers

I am deeply disturbed about the news of the harassment, threats, and arbitrary house search of Ms. Yaena Salaemae, a long-time Woman Human Rights Defender (WHRD) in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province in southern Thailand. According to the information that I have received, it appears that the state authorities used an attack on a police checkpoint near her house to search her house and intimidate her. This appears to be an outright attempt to intimidate Ms. Yaena and cause her to cease her work calling for justice in the case of the Tak Bai massacre and other cases of human rights violations in southern Thailand. Particularly concerning, these threats have come after Ms. Yaena urged the National Human Rights Commission to take up the case of the ongoing lack of resolution in the Tak Bai massacre.

I urge you to investigate the logic and justification for the police and army search of Ms. Yaena’s house. No warrant was presented and Ms. Yaena was told that the search was based on information from an informant. While this is technically legal under martial law and the Emergency Decree, for the purposes of protecting citizens and national security, I am concerned that this arbitrary search has had the opposite effect. In this case, the search has created fear and insecurity for Ms. Yaena and her family.

After the conclusion of the search, Ms. Yaena Salaemae was told by the security officers not to tell Ms. Angkhana Neelaphaijit about the search. Ms. Angkhana is the chairperson of the Justice for Peace Foundation and one of Ms. Yaena’s colleagues working to redress human rights violations in southern Thailand.

Finally, I am particularly concerned about the relationship between the threats to Ms. Yaena Salaemae and the ongoing status of the Tak Bai case, and is concerned that this recent harassment may be an attempt by the state to halt progress on the case. I urge you to put the weight of your office both behind the protection of Ms. Yaena and other human rights defenders and in securing accountability in the case of the Tak Bai massacre.


Yours Sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND 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
E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th or abhisit@abhisit.org

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: secretary@moi.go.th or om@moi.go.th

3. General Prawit Wongsuwan
Minister of De fence
Office of the Ministry of Defence
Sanamchai Road,
Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 225 8262
Tel.: + 66 2 222 3121
E-mail: secretary@mod.go.th or om@mod.go.th

4. Mr. Peeraphan Saleeratwipak
Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +662 502 6734 / 6884
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223
E-mail: secretary@moj.go.th or om@moj.go.th

5. Pol.Gen. Wichean Potephosree
Royal Thai Police
1st Bldg, 7th Floor
Rama I, Patumwan
Bkk 10330
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 251 5956/ 205 3738/ 255 1975-8
E-mail: feedback@police.go.th

6. Professor Amara Pongsapich
Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
The Government Complex Commemorating His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary 5th December, B.E.2550 (2007), Building B
120 Moo 3, Chaengwattana Road
Thoongsonghong, Laksi
Bangkok 10210
THAILAND
Fax: +662 143 9546, +662 143 9575
Tel: +662 141 3800, +662 141 3900
E-mail: amara@nhrc.or.th


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-081-2011
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.