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UPDATE (Thailand): Illegal detention of former government ministers

September 27, 2006

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

28 September 2006

[RE: UG-018-2006: THAILAND: UN rights bodies must act urgently to address junta]
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UP-189-2006: THAILAND: Illegal detention of former government ministers

THAILAND: Illegal arrest & detention; military rule; martial law; threats to human rights defenders; restrictions on freedom of assembly & expression
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Dear friends,

Further to our appeal of September 22 about the military coup in Thailand (UG-018-2006), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you that according to the information publicly available, four former government ministers who have been detained by the army but not charged with any wrongdoing have not yet been released. Even under martial law provisions commonly used in Thailand, detainees should be released after one week. We urge you to write to the concerned authorities in Thailand to demand that the law be applied properly and the detainees be formally charged or freed. We also draw your attention to other serious developments against human rights in Thailand since the new junta took power. 

As the AHRC informed last week, after the army took power in Thailand on September 19 it placed a number of former ministers and protesters under arrest without charge. The protesters are known to have been released. But the four former ministers are reported to be still in detention. The four are Dr Pommin Lertsuridej, former caretaker deputy prime minister; Pol. Gen. Chidchai Wannasatidya, former caretaker deputy prime minister & caretaker justice minister; Yongyuth Tiyapairat, former caretaker natural resources & environment minister; and, Newin Chidchob, former prime minister's office minister.

Even under martial law provisions conventionally used in Thailand, which have been in force since the army took power, the military can only hold someone for up to seven days, with the purpose of interrogating them or otherwise. But in this case two are believed to have been held for nine days and now two for seven days.

According to an article in the Bangkok Post of September 27, one of the coup group members, General Winai Phattiyakul, said that the ex-ministers have not been charged and would be released "at an appropriate time".


ADDITIONAL COMMENT:

The four detained persons are all known to have been close colleagues of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and all face allegations of involvement in corruption and human rights abuses. The AHRC has itself identified Pol. Gen. Chidchai as partly behind the failure of the government to establish a missing-persons centre when it had the opportunity (AS-133-2006). However, by keeping the ministers under detention without charge in violation of its own military code, the junta is demonstrating the same contempt for human rights and the rule of law as the former government had shown. If these persons have in fact committed some wrongdoing, they must be transferred to police custody, charged, prosecuted and entitled to a legal defence in a court of law.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Some other recent steps by the junta to curtail fundamental civil rights include the following:

1. Monitoring and closure of some websites.

2. Closure of local radio stations.

3. Banning of radio talk shows and SMS messaging broadcasts.

4. Warning the media and other persons to "cooperate" in news production and distribution.

5. Banning political gatherings.

6. Restricting the movements of government officials.

The junta has also clearly indicated that it will not surrender power after two weeks as it had promised, but merely transfer some power to selected persons.

Statements by the AHRC on the coup can be read here:
AS-227-2006 "No way forward but backward"
AS-224-2006 "Someone had to do something?"
AS-222-2006 "What is benign?"
AS-221-2006 "Junta poses grave dangers to lives and liberties"
AS-219-2006 "Restore civilian government immediately"

Press releases, including statements by groups in Thailand, can be read here:
AHRC-PL-086-2006 "AHRC marks 'one week of dictatorship' by celebrating people's constitution"
AHRC-PL-085-2006 "Resistance to junta growing inside Thailand; media blackout 'impossible'"
AHRC-PL-084-2006 "Media group calls for defence of free speech, end of martial law"
AHRC-PL-082-2006 "AHRC supports call of prominent senator for immediate return to constitutional rule"
AHRC-PL-081-2005 "Rights groups demand return to constitutional rule"


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the head of the coup group and other concerned persons to call for these four ministers to be released or charged in accordance with the conventions of law. Please also raise your concerns about the situation of human rights in Thailand under the military regime.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear ____________,

THAILAND: Four ex-ministers remain in detention after one week

I am writing to you to express my persistent serious concern over the situation of human rights in Thailand since the Royal Thai Army took control of the government on 19 September 2006, and in particular to raise questions concerning the status of four former ministers who are believed still held in detention.

According to media reports, four persons remain in detention without charge after one week or more, namely:

1. Dr Pommin Lertsuridej, former caretaker deputy prime minister; detained September 19;

2. Pol. Gen. Chidchai Wannasatidya, former caretaker deputy prime minister & caretaker justice minister; detained September 19;

3. Mr Yongyuth Tiyapairat, former caretaker natural resources & environment minister; detained since September 21; and,

4. Mr Newin Chidchob, former prime minister's office minister; detained since September 21.

I am informed that the grounds for their detention may relate to corruption and allegations of other illegal activities in the months prior to the takeover of power by the army.

However, I am also informed that under martial law provisions ordinarily used in Thailand it is not possible to detain someone without charge for more than one week. Specifically, section 15bis of the often cited martial law provisions under the Announcement of the Coup d'Etat Group issue 303 of 13 December BE 2515 (1972) enables detention under military authority not exceeding seven days when someone violates the provisions of martial law or does something potentially harmful to the kingdom.

Accordingly, I urge you to clarify the circumstances of the detention of these four persons. It is not appropriate to state simply that they will be released "at an appropriate time", as General Winai Phattiyakul is cited as having said. If they have committed wrongdoing, they must be charged and prosecuted in accordance with the law. Otherwise, they must be released.

I also wish to take this opportunity to stress my serious concern about the overall situation of human rights in Thailand at this time. It is known that the army has abrogated the 1997 Constitution, disbanded the Constitutional Court, placed all government ministries under senior bureaucrats, and made a raft of orders restricting civil liberties. It is also reported that the interim constitution will give enormous powers to the military in the coming period, which will effectively return the country to the era of the last dictatorship in 1991.

Like many, I had hoped and expected that the era of military dictatorships in Thailand was over. The fact that the army has again taken control in a country that was otherwise a hope for the advancement of the rule of law and human rights in Asia is an enormous disappointment. I urge the immediate complete withdrawal of the military and return to constitutional rule. In the event that this is not done I fear that within a short time the country will descend into serious conflict such as occurred in 1991-92 and from which it will take many more years to recover.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin
Chairperson
Council for Democratic Reform
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
E-mail: govspkman@mozart.inet.co.th

2. Mr. Charupong Reungsawan
Permanent Secretary
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
Email: ommoj@moj.go.th

3. Mr. Pachara Yutidhammadamrong
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Lukmuang Building
Nahuppei Road
Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224 1563/ 222 8121-30
Fax: +662 224 0162/ 1448/ 221 0858
E-mail: ag@ago.go.th or oag@ago.go.th

4. Mr. Luis Alfonso de Alba
President
UN Human Rights Council
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9012 (ATTN: PRESIDENT HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL)
E-mail: hrc@ohchr.org, jdiaz@ohchr.org 

5. Ms. Louise Arbour
High Commissioner for Human Rights
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax:  +41 22 917-9012 (ATTN: HIGH COMMISSIONER)
E-mail: larbour@ohchr.org, hchr@ohchr.org

6. Ms. Leila Zerrougui
Working Group on arbitrary detention
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: WORKING GROUP ARBITRARY DETENTION)
Email: wgad@ohchr.org, urgent-action@ohchr.org 

7. Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
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 


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-189-2006
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.