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GENERAL APPEAL (Thailand): Slow progress to investigate over 400 unidentified bodies in south

July 5, 2006

URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

5 July 2006
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UG-010-2006: THAILAND: Slow progress to investigate over 400 unidentified bodies in south

THAILAND: Extrajudicial killings; disappearances; challenges to the integrity of forensic science; impediments to impartial investigation
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is greatly concerned about the apparent lack of progress in investigating over 400 unidentified bodies found in southern Thailand. Despite the months that have elapsed since news of the bodies became public, government authorities appear unwilling to allow for them to be properly exhumed and identified as it may lead to questions about the role of state agents in alleged extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances. The AHRC is calling for the government to make clear the current status of the process and give full support to independent investigators, including the Central Institute of Forensic Science. It is also urging continued strong public attention to the case to ensure that attempts are not made to tamper with the remains and destroy the possibility of proper identification in the future.

The existence of hundreds of unidentified bodies in the southern three provinces, buried in a number of graveyards, has been known to various authorities since 2005. In 2006 Dr Porntip Rojanasunant, acting director-general of the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS), reported on the bodies in a number of meetings with police, soldiers and administrative officers. She also reported on the case to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and was accompanied in subsequent preliminary investigations by a member of the commission, Vasant Panich, who on June 28 was the target of a suspected abduction attempt due to his work on this issue (UA-210-2006).

However, the authorities, including the justice and interior ministers, played down the accounts of the bodies and said that they were probably those of migrant workers, as a way to diminish public interest. When Dr Porntip said that she would seek international assistance with the project, she was told that it would not be necessary to involve any foreigners (see comments in AS-133-2006). Then at the end of May, an outgoing senator, the former head of the foreign affairs subcommittee Kraisak Choonhavan, said in a television interview that there were many more bodies than earlier reported and he didn't think that they were of migrants. He was roundly attacked by members of the government.

According to information available to the AHRC, there are 389 confirmed unidentified bodies that need to be exhumed. However, there are other sites with remaining bodies that have not yet been properly examined. Therefore the total number of bodies can be reliably estimated at over 400.

The first exhumation of some bodies was on June 5, after earlier plans were postponed repeatedly due to lack of funding and impetus. Although Dr Porntip was expected to have control of the investigation, she was deputed to a senior bureaucrat in the justice ministry, who is answerable to the minister: a former police officer who as noted has himself expressed scepticism about the need for the search. The AHRC is not aware of any significant progress in the investigation since, and meanwhile media and public interest in the dead bodies has dropped off.?

There has been a great deal of speculation about the identities of the bodies, and from the government side most of it has been directed at trying to dismiss the need for full investigations. Whatever their identities, it is clear that the bodies need to be exhumed and full tests conducted to answer the serious questions that are hanging over them.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

More than 1300 people are estimated to have been killed in the south since 2004 when the government launched a crackdown in the region following a raid on an ammunitions depot by suspected insurgents. There are also believed to have been significant numbers of disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other abuses committed by police, soldiers and government officers in the area. (See for instance UA-186-2006). However, it has not been possible to reliably document human rights abuses in the area due to overwhelming fear and serious security concerns. It is believed that resistance by the authorities to the planned exhumation of bodies is because they would provide evidence of atrocities committed by state officers stationed in the region, who have been operating with guaranteed impunity under special emergency regulations.

The resistance of government and investigation authorities to open inquiries that may lead to criminal cases involving state officials is not new to Thailand. The AHRC has recently joined with local human rights defenders and groups in strongly criticising the Department of Special Investigation for its failed inquiries in human rights cases (see petition: Need to reform the DSI for human rights in Thailand). For a wider discussion of the obstacles to due process and effective criminal investigation in Thailand see: Rule of law versus rule of lords in Thailand, article 2, vol. 4, no. 2, April 2005.?

The police and other state authorities in Thailand also deeply resent the work of Dr Porntip at the helm of the CIFS, and typically try to undermine the efforts of both she and her staff in public and through other channels. For instance, Dr Porntip has been made the target of spurious criminal defamation charges by the police (see UA-107-2005; AS-65-2005; and UP-038-2006). Dr Porntip's repeated attempts to get a full missing persons centre established also have been repeatedly thwarted by powerful persons in government (see AS-62-2005).


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write a letter to the Caretaker Minister of Justice to request immediate clarification of the status of the inquiries into the unidentified corpses in the south of Thailand. Please urge him to give full public support for the investigation organs, including the CIFS, and for a missing-persons centre to be established to properly address cases of disappearance in Thailand. A sample letter and contact details are given below.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

THAILAND: Progress of investigation into at least 389 unidentified corpses in the south

I am writing to you to express my deepest concern over reports that the progress of investigations into at least 389 unidentified corpses in southern Thailand has been extremely slow, and to seek clarification of the current status of those inquiries.

According to the information that I have received, although the concerned authorities in Thailand have known about these unidentified bodies since 2005, and they have been publicly reported since May 2006, the planned exhumation and DNA testing of the bodies has been hampered by resistance from certain government authorities. Even though Dr. Porntip Rojanasunant, the acting director-general of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, is known to have exhumed some bodies on June 5, there has been little reported of the progress of these investigations since. Also, other persons involved have been threatened, in particular, a National Human Rights Commissioner of Thailand, Vasant Panich, who escaped an apparent abduction attempt on June 28. There has been no known reaction to that incident by the government of Thailand.

Despite recognition and agreement on the establishment of a missing-persons centre under the Ministry of Justice in 2005, there has also been no known progress. This centre could do much towards addressing the practice of forced disappearance in Thailand and the delay also in its establishment is a cause for serious disappointment.

Ongoing speculation about the actual identities of the over 389 unidentified bodies is fruitless. There is only one way to address this situation, and that is through immediate, credible and independent exhumations and forensic examinations. The longer the time taken to conduct such an operation, the more likely that evidence can be destroyed or lost.

Therefore, I request that the government of Thailand immediately clarify the current circumstances of the investigation of the over 389 unidentified bodies, and urge that the concerned agencies give full support for all responsible investigators, including the CIFS. As international experts and organisations may be willing to assist, their support should be freely encouraged and invited. I also urge that steps be taken to establish the missing-persons centre without further delay.

Finally, I would like to remind you of the recommendation of the United Nations Human Rights Committee to the government of Thailand with reference of the state’s obligation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

“The Committee is concerned at the persistent allegations of serious human rights violations, including widespread instances of extrajudicial killings and ill-treatment by the police and members of armed forces?The Committee further notes with concern that this situation reflects a lack of effective remedies available to victims of human rights violations, which is incompatible with article 2, paragraph 3, of the Covenant (arts. 2, 6, 7). The State party should conduct full and impartial investigations into these and such other events and should, depending on the findings of the investigations, institute proceedings against the perpetrators. The State party should also ensure that victims and their families, including the relatives of missing and disappeared persons, receive adequate redress...?[CCPR/CO/84/THA, 8 July 2005, para.10]

In view of the fact that the UN Human Rights Council has now brought into law the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance I submit that these recommendations have a special urgency and importance.

Yours sincerely,

---

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Pol. Gen. Chidchai Wanasatidya
Caretaker Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734/ 6884
E-mail (care of): chamlong@thaigov.go.th or ekkaphap@thaigov.go.th

PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Pol. Lt. Col. Dr Thaksin Shinawatra
Caretaker Prime Minister
Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
E-mail: thaksin@thaigov.go.th 

2. ACM Kongsak Wantana
Caretaker Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224-6320/ 6341
Fax: +662 226 4371/ 222 8866
E-mail: ommoi@moi.go.th 

3. Pracha Terat
Governor, Narathiwat
Narathiwat Provincial Office
Pichitbamrung Road
A. Muang, Narathiwat 96000
THAILAND
Tel: +66 73 514 320 ext. 76027
Fax: +66 73 514 320 ext. 76029
E-mail: pocnara@pocnara.go.th or narathiwat@moi.go.th 

4. Mr. Panu U-thairat
Governor, Pattani Province
Decha Road
Muang District
Pattani Province 94000
THAILAND
E-mail: pattani@moi.go.th

5. Mr. Boonyasit Suwannarat
Governor, Yala Province
Muang District
Yala 95000
THAILAND
E-mail: yala@moi.go.th

6. 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?

7. 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)
E-mail: lventre@ohchr.org or urgent-action@ohchr.org

8. Mr. Stephen J. Toope
Chairperson
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Attn: Tanya Smith
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


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal General
Document ID :
UG-010-2006
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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.