Human Rights Watch has a new statement out on Thailand’s south (1 December 2009: “Thailand: Prosecute Rights Violators in the South”).
It begins: “Thailand’s prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, needs to demonstrate progress in prosecuting security personnel for serious rights violations in the southern border provinces…”. PPT agrees entirely and recommends this statement to our readers.
At the same time, PPT wants to take up one issue.
HRW says that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva should deliver on the promises he made a year ago about accountability on crimes and human rights abuses by the security forces in the south. It then says: “there has been no serious effort to hold perpetrators of abuses in the southern border provinces to account,” and “… Abhisit’s promises about justice ring hollow…”.
It adds: “The Abhisit government has made no progress in other serious cases of human rights violations involving Thai security forces.” Finally, HRW’s deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson states: “Abhisit is famous for saying the right things…. But it is now time for action, not words, if he really wants to improve situation in the south.”
Here’s the point. Abhisit does indeed say the words that international observers want to hear. He forever talks of the rule of law and the like. Western journalists and governments continue to report on Abhisit’s statements as if they carried meaning. In fact, one of the reasons Abhisit is prime minister is because he is considered an able communicator.
The truth, as HRW has been slow to notice, is that what Abhisit says and what he and his government does are disconnected. PPT has pointed this out several times in the cases of lese majeste and the Computer Crimes Act.
We have also pointed to the politicized actions and double standards of the judiciary, and we have repeatedly pointed to the double standards applied by the Democrat Party-led government when dealing with its critics.
There is no point in listening to the the words Abhisit speaks. He and his government can only be judged by their actions. If that is the measure, then they don’t at all look like a government that is interested in human rights and rule of law. Rather, they are looking increasingly repressive.
Update: The Bangkok Post (2 December 2009: “Airport fiasco”) has an opinion piece which speaks to these issues. Exactly one year ago, the People’s Alliance for Democracy called off its occupation of Bangkok’s airports, recognizing that the courts had gotten rid of the government they hated through a hasty party dissolution decision. But that invasion of the airports was illegal.
What did the Democrats do when they achieved power with the help of PAD, the military and the palace? As the article says, “In July, there was an attempt by the police to indict 36 ‘terrorist’ suspects, including Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who incited the mob to lay siege to
the two airports. But the action, which at least showed that the rule of law does exist in this country and that justice would be served, quickly lost momentum and has been in mute mode since.”
The author adds: “It is quite clear that very little, if any, has been done by authorities so far to make those who committed the serious crime against the whole nation during Nov 25-Dec 2, 2008, accountable.” He adds: “The lack of progress to find the culprits of the airport blockade
and the fact that Mr Kasit, himself a major PAD supporter, remains as Foreign Minister despite calls to remove him, has only cemented suggestions that PM Abhisit was siding with the yellow-shirt movement.
Just because Mr Abhisit’s Democrat Party opposed the two previous Thaksin-backed regimes should not mean the current government can turn a blind eye on the issue.”
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