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UPDATE (Thailand): Wife of missing human rights lawyer intimidated

April 19, 2005

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Update on Urgent Appeal

19 April 2005

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing; UA-94-2004: THAILAND: Severe torture victims still in custody while police torturers remain in posts; UP-14-2004: THAILAND: Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit is still missing and the police may be involved in his disappearance; UP-26-2004: THAILAND: 5 suspects in the alleged abduction of missing human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit bailed out; 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: THAILAND: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears of torture]
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UP-45-2005: THAILAND: Wife of missing human rights lawyer intimidated

THAILAND: Disappearances; Attacks on and threats to human rights defenders; Impunity; Government inaction; Torture
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Dear friends,

Further to our last update on the case of the human rights lawyer Mr Somchai Neelaphaijit, who was abducted over one year ago (UP-37-2005), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply disturbed to report that his wife has been intimidated by suspected intelligence officers or other state agents.

According to the information we have received, yesterday morning, April 18, Ms Angkana Wongkrachain (a.k.a. Angkana Neelaphaijit) had a telephone call from a man whose voice she recognised as that of a government intelligence officer. He asked about her interventions in the United Nations on the case of her missing husband. Additionally, two weeks ago an unidentified man came to talk to her and warn her against high-profile advocacy on her husband's case, such as going on television or making other public statements.

The AHRC is very concerned by these incidents, which are clearly directed towards intimidating Ms Angkana from continuing with her initiatives to hold the government of Thailand accountable for the disappearance of her husband. We urge you to send a letter to the Minister of Justice of Thailand calling on him to make a public commitment to the protection of Ms Angkana and her family. A sample letter follows.


ADDITIONAL NEWS AND COMMENTS
 
Last week Ms Angkana submitted a formal complaint about her husband to the UN Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, with the assistance of the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), the AHRC's sister organisation, and the Thai Working Group on Human Rights Defenders (ALRC-PL-37-2005). Yesterday the ALRC also read a statement on her behalf to the UN Commission on Human Rights (ALRC-PL-39-2005). Earlier it submitted a written statement on the case to the Commission (E/CN.4/2005/NGO/34) and referred to the case in detail in a significant report to the UN Human Rights Committee, 'Institutionalised torture, extrajudicial killings and uneven application of law in Thailand'. It is clear that together these and other initiatives are making the authorities of Thailand uncomfortable, as they are usually concerned to protect their international image. At present an important UN conference on crime prevention is also going on in Bangkok, and this will have added to the discomfort of the authorities.

Meanwhile, there has been no further progress reported in the case of Mr Somchai, despite the fact that the prime minister of Thailand appointed two of his deputies to follow the case.


OTHER RESOURCES ON THE CASE AND FORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN THAILAND

Together with the Thai Working Group on Human Rights Defenders, the AHRC released a Thai-language booklet on the disappearance of Mr Somchai marking 365 days since he went missing. A postcard can be downloaded and sent to the Prime Minister also, in English and Thai. Copies of the booklet and postcard can be obtained by contacting the working group or the AHRC.

To see our previous appeals on this case please visit FA-06-2004, UP-14-2004, UP-26-2004, UP-20-2005, UP-24-2005, and UP-37-2005.

Please also see a recent statement on a new proposed centre for missing persons in Thailand: AS-33-2005.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter without delay to the Minister of Justice of the government of Thailand calling for guarantees of protection to be given to Ms Angkana and her family.

Sample letter:

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Dear Mr Suwat

RE: Wife of missing Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit intimidated
 
I am deeply disturbed to hear that the wife of missing Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit has been intimidated by suspected government intelligence officers.

According to the information I have received, yesterday morning, April 18, Ms Angkana had a telephone call from a man whose voice she recognised as that of a government intelligence officer. He asked about her interventions in the United Nations on the case of her missing husband. Additionally, two weeks ago an unidentified man came to talk to her and warn her against high-profile advocacy on her husband's case, such as going on television or making other public statements.

It can only be concluded that these actions were aimed at intimidating Ms Angkana from continuing with her initiatives to hold the government of Thailand accountable for the disappearance of her husband.

Accordingly, I urge you to take all necessary steps to guarantee the safety of Ms Angkana, by giving public assurances of her safety and by assigning the Department of Rights and Liberties Protection under your ministry to protect her and her family. 

Finally, I again urge you to address fully and immediately the case of her missing husband. It is now well over one year since he was abducted and despite enormous publicity given to his case the government of Thailand has completely failed in its obligations to him and his family to account for his disappearance.

Yours truly


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

Mr Suwat Liptapanlop
Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
Email: ommoj@moj.go.th


PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Dr Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime Minister
Government House
Pissanulok Road, Dusit
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
Fax: +66 2 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
Email: thaksin@thaigov.go.th, govspkman@mozart.inet.co.th

2. Professor Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathurn Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
Email: commission@nhrc.or.th

3. Pol. Gen. Sombat Amonwiwat
Director-General
Department of Special Investigation
Ministry of Justice Building
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 913 7777
Email: dir.gen@sid.go.th

4. Mr. Diego Garcia-Sayan,
Chairperson
UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10,
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org

5. Ms Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights defenders
Att: Ben Majekodunmi
Room 1-040
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
E-mail: bmajekodunmi@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-45-2005
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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.