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UPDATE (Thailand): Please sign petition to remove head of special investigation from post

June 19, 2006

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

19 June 2006

[RE: UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case; UP-37-2005: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears of torture; UP-45-2005: Wife of missing human rights lawyer intimidated; UP-77-2005: THAILAND: Department of Special Investigation fails to bring justice to Charoen Wat-aksorn case; UP-89-2005: THAILAND: Repeated failed commitment to assign Department of Special Investigation to Somchai case... UA-112-2005: THAILAND: Murder of Thai monk following an environmental and land dispute with local influential business figures; UP-028-2006: THAILAND: Protection withdrawn from monk who continues to receive death threats... UP-78-2004: THAILAND: Torture cases transferred to special investigators, but police still free; UP-157-2005: THAILAND: Alleged tortured victim withdraws his complaint against the police; UP-061-2006: THAILAND: First call for special investigation chief to resign over Somchai case; UP-107-2006: THAILAND: Second call for special investigation chief to resign; EU expresses concern in Somchai case; UP-124-2006: THAILAND: Important programme to commemorate human rights defenders and discuss failed investigations]
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UP-128-2006: THAILAND: Please sign petition to remove head of special investigation from post

THAILAND: Attacks on human rights defenders; negligence; impunity; unaccountability
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PETITION - PETITION - PETITION - PETITION
REFORM THE DSI FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN THAILAND
http://thailand.ahrchk.net/dsi_petition

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Dear friends,

Please sign the online petition calling for the head of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in Thailand to be taken out of his post and a new person with a genuine commitment to human rights be given his job. Please also encourage active efforts to reform the DSI so that it will work for the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Thailand.

The DSI is a new department that was set up under the Ministry of Justice. It is separate from the police. It is the only agency in Thailand that is not under the police department with powers to investigate cases and launch prosecutions. So it has the possibility to investigate cases where the police and government officials are the alleged perpetrators.

But in fact, the director and senior staff of the DSI are police officers, although the law does not stipulate that they should be. And as the minister of justice and prime minister are also former police officers, at this time the entire chain of command over the DSI also is dominated by police or ex-police.

Not one human rights case has been solved by the DSI. On the other hand, it has said that it has done a good job on financial crimes and terrorism. The three cases of human rights defenders highlighted in the petition--those of murdered environmentalists Charoen Wat-aksorn (UP-077-2005) and Phra Supoj Suwagano (UA-112-2005) and abducted lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit (http://www.ahrchk.net/somchai) are among many others that the DSI has failed to investigate properly. There are also many other human rights cases about which it has been informed but not taken up. A grave torture victim whose case was being handled by the DSI also withdrew his plaint after more than one year (UP-157-2005).

The petition is in Thai and English. The English text below, with a link direct to the signature page.

The petition will later be submitted to the Ministry of Justice in person by the families and colleagues of victims.

Please take a moment to sign and express your support for the victims of killings, disappearances, torture and other gross abuses of human rights in Thailand who have been neglected by the DSI.


PETITION: NEED TO REFORM THE DSI FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN THAILAND

Dear Minister of Justice

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI), established under the Ministry of Justice and authorized by the Special Investigation Act 2004 with aspirations to be "an interdisplinary organization that prevents, suppresses, and controls crimes that critically affects the economy, society, and security of state, as well as the international relations, to attain justice through expertise, transparency and public trust" has raised high public expectations for justice.

Thus far, we have found that--with the exception of the vigorous pursuit of justice for the sake of ruling politicians--several cases which have been deemed "unusual crimes that are complicated, and critically affect the social stability and public morals, masterminded by influential figures" as stated in article 21 of the act, have completely failed, including the following:

1. The disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit since 12 March 2004. With the Royal Police Commission 's indictment, only one of the defendants, who were police officers, was convicted of coercion to three years in prison (and released on bail during the appeal process), while the remaining four accomplices were acquitted. The DSI has accepted the case as a special case since July 2005 but no further attempts have been made to find other accomplices and the masterminds. Above all, up till now, the DSI has never been able to officially identify the status of the missing lawyer, even though the case has received strong attention and as solution to the disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai would have a great impact on the violence in the south.

2. The murder of environmentalist and community leader Charoen Wat-aksorn on 21 June 2004. Two gunmen and three accomplices were arrested. The DSI rushed to conclude that it was merely due to a personal conflict. The villagers of Bo Nok very much doubt if the existing evidence and indictment ever will get the accused convicted. Moreover, no further investigation was conducted to find the masterminds, despite a litany of material evidence and witnesses pointing to the real cause of the murder, to which even the DSI once admitted: the campaign against a coal-fired power plant, and protection of the community's common land.

3. The murder of the conservationist monk Phra Supoj Suwajo in Fang district, Chiang Mai. He was brutally slashed to death on 17 June 2005. For one year, the DSI has not been able to come up with any leads: no suspects, no witnesses, no weapons and no material evidence, as a result of its initial inadequate investigation. Of late, the DSI's investigation team has called the relatives and involved persons for re-interrogation, claiming that it is reviving the case.

One of the common aspects of the three cases is that the missing and murdered were all prominent persons devoted to the common good and bravely fighting for justice, whose deeds invariably got in the way of those with vested interests, be they government officers, politicians and influential figures, local and national alike.

The failure of the DSI to quell organised crimes and terrorising acts inevitably disturbs the public confidence in the country's justice system. That may lead to ever more unrest and violence in the society, of which the government cannot deny the responsibility.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, ask the Government of Thailand through the Minister of Justice to:

1. Immediately relieve Pol. Gen. Sombat Amornvivat from the post of director general of the Department of Special Investigation, due to a lack of efficiency, incompetence, and his actions against the judicial process; and,

2. Appoint a new director general to the Department of Special Investigation through a transparent selection process with broader qualification criteria,

With the aim of improving the DSI to be independent, free from any influence and domination, so that it will be a vital part of attaining justice for people in Thailand.

Your consideration and action are appreciated.

To sign please go to: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/dsi_petition/signature.php.


Thank you.?

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-128-2006
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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.