Junta under fire over detention of woman

By Kas Chanwanpen 
The Nation

 

Angkhana Neelapaichit, commissioner of National Human Rights, visits the detained woman Monday.

 

Activists warn Thailand becoming A ‘ROGUE STATE’ while Prawit hints at separatist activity

 

Right advocates have condemned the Thai military for its arbitrary detention of a woman in military barracks without any formal legal charges for possessing T-shirts allegedly connected with separatists. Three other individuals are also reported to have been detained and charged in the same case. 

 

Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said yesterday that the arbitrary use of arrests, combined with a contempt for human rights and the rule of law, was turning Thailand into a rogue state.

 

“The government should immediately remove Wannapha [the woman arrested] from military custody, give her access to a lawyer and release her unless she is credibly charged,” Adams said after the woman’s plight came to light.

 

His comment was in response to the recent detention of Wannapha, whose last name has been withheld, over a vague allegation that she was somehow connected to the so-called “Federation of Thai States” with evidence of some of her T-shirts bearing a small red-and-white emblem, which is reportedly the group’s flag. Wannapha is currently being detained at the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok.

 

The military has the authority to arrest and detain people for up to seven days without charge, as well as to interrogate them without access to lawyers or any guarantee about their treatment, according to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s Order No 3/2558.

 

Human rights lawyer Pawinee Chumsri told The Nation yesterday that the military had informed lawyers to prepare a bail application for Wannapha, although it remains unclear whether she would still face charges.

 

However, Pawinee feared the woman would be charged with instigation of an offence under Article 116 of the Thai Criminal Code.

 

Initially, her family insisted that Wannapha, who is a motorcycle-taxi rider, had never joined any political movement, according to the lawyer. “She’s just living hand to mouth,” said Pawinee. 

 

In a related development, the lawyer said three other individuals had already been charged with instigation and detained in Bangkok Remand Prison in connection with possession of similar T-shirts. One of them had been freed on bail, she said. 

 

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who is in charge of security matters, said yesterday that the T-shirt belonged to a political party and symbolised the hopes of separatists.

 

“I want to ask do we need to arrest [her] when that’s the case?” Prawit asked rhetorically.

 

Rights advocates have been lining up to condemn the woman’s detention as a violation of her rights.

 

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) demanded the immediate release of Wannapha, claiming her arrest equated to the junta’s disrespect for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

 

“All these irregular incidents have become regular, which is unacceptable. The state is obliged to uphold people’s rights and freedoms,” said TLHR chairperson Yaowalak Anuphan. “If the state finds any act culpable, they should proceed to act according to what is provided for in the Criminal Procedure Code.”

 

What Tingsmith, president of the National Human Rights Commission, said yesterday that the agency would discuss the issue this week.

 

“We’ll see if the use of such a special law is reasonable during the lead-up to the election. The atmosphere should be more relaxed so as to reduce conflict,” he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30354181

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-09-11

'separatist activity' for selling a T-Shirt?  you gotta be kidding?

4 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

'separatist activity' for selling a T-Shirt?  you gotta be kidding?

The junta can don suits, talk about 4.0 and grimace for the camera, but stories such as these show them in their true light. Thai voters please take note.

It's an illegal, not chosen government, that can do whatever they want to do, this "junta" is nothing more or less then just a bunch of people that took over the legal chosen government by coup and now are even worse then what was before.

I have sometimes raged at the cowardly and selfish Thai urban middle class who have acquiesced in/ actively encouraged the current political regime.

 

But perhaps I'm too critical because I also have become desensitized over the last few years with one excess or outrage following another resulting in a kind of anesthesia , rather like a lobster being slowly cooked.

 

But then I read an article like this which wakes me up - the stupidity, the criminality and the contempt for basic freedoms.What kind of country has Thailand become?

32 minutes ago, webfact said:

Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said yesterday that the arbitrary use of arrests, combined with a contempt for human rights and the rule of law, was turning Thailand into a rogue state.

how much more motivation will it take to get the thai people to wake up ?

Well at least the women have not "disappeared",  so that is something to be thankful for.

4 minutes ago, Esso49 said:

Well at least the women have not "disappeared",  so that is something to be thankful for.

I find that's something which happens while I'm asleep after a heavy night in a bar: I woke up, and there she was - gone.

 

Can this article be shared without threat of retribution? Difficult to know in these times.

These human rights activists both Thai and foreigners are risking life and limbs issuing warning and lamenting and the government handling of its citizens, many have disappeared without a trace for much less...

I think if you're in Thailand (I thankfully am not), commenting on any story like this is extremely dangerous.

My God you can get locked up for a 'like' on a facebook page.

Anyone in Thailand if you have any sense posts nothing in any way critical of the junta, State, Monarchy, Ammart or anything else for that matter, unless you are doing it through a VPN.

A country forcibly lead by soldiers. It is that simple.

 

In my, low life farang, opinion, the status quo will worsen. 

 

They call it Dictatorship, in civilised and democratic countries.

 

Placing an individual in custody for open expression concerning human rights, is outrageous!

 

All humans must have the right to constructive opinion, especially when human rights are compromised.

 

Thailand, meaning: land of the free, or should it mean, hypocrites?

 

 

Prawit should check his watches to ensure he is in the correct century, before condemning minute symbol as separatist propaganda.

1 hour ago, BobBKK said:

'separatist activity' for selling a T-Shirt?  you gotta be kidding?

Pure paranoia !

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The military has the authority to arrest and detain people for up to seven days without charge, as well as to interrogate them without access to lawyers or any guarantee about their treatment, according to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s Order No 3/2558.

Remember this!

7 hours ago, webfact said:

“I want to ask do we need to arrest [her] when that’s the case?”

Yes.

Hope is against junta rule of law currently.

7 hours ago, BobBKK said:

'separatist activity' for selling a T-Shirt?  you gotta be kidding?

It is not clear that she was selling a T-Shirt:  "some of her T-shirts bearing a small red-and-white emblem" and "Wannapha, who is a motorcycle-taxi rider". The question is, did she even know what the emblem on the T-shirt meant? Many people buy a T-shirt just because it is cheap and looks nice. So many times I have asked a Thai person, "Do you know what the words on your T-shirt mean?" (as it is English), and they have no clue. It is entirely possible she had no idea what the emblem was about.

3 hours ago, timendres said:

It is not clear that she was selling a T-Shirt:  "some of her T-shirts bearing a small red-and-white emblem" and "Wannapha, who is a motorcycle-taxi rider". The question is, did she even know what the emblem on the T-shirt meant? Many people buy a T-shirt just because it is cheap and looks nice. So many times I have asked a Thai person, "Do you know what the words on your T-shirt mean?" (as it is English), and they have no clue. It is entirely possible she had no idea what the emblem was about.

i would be suprised if the motif was visible if she was wearing her taxi jacket

11 hours ago, RotMahKid said:

It's an illegal, not chosen government, that can do whatever they want to do, this "junta" is nothing more or less then just a bunch of people that took over the legal chosen government by coup and now are even worse then what was before.

Perhaps. Or not. 

Seems to be quite moot to the general population.

 

Most enjoy an independent free lifestyle without the suppression that many speak of, yet really don't understand the everyday Thai's life.

12 hours ago, BobBKK said:

'separatist activity' for selling a T-Shirt?  you gotta be kidding?

A new level of paranoia for Thailand's leadership? Or just a new low?

3 minutes ago, chama said:

12 hours ago, BobBKK said:

'separatist activity' for selling a T-Shirt?  you gotta be kidding?

A new level of paranoia for Thailand's leadership? Or just a new low?

If they were selling underpants, I'd see that as a real low - especially if they were the 'separatist' design.

 

If she was wearing and selling a T-shirt with "I hate the military junta" on it then I could understand.

She would be probably killed in the rush by customers and make a fortune.

Pathetic insecure little creatures they are.

Thailand should be treated same as Myanmar, an oppressive military regime that needs to be sanctioned heavily by any trading partners. For some reason they're still getting away with it.

There are no rights in Thailand, and it is a rogue country. It does as it pleases, when it pleases.

14 hours ago, webfact said:

advocates have condemned the Thai military for its arbitrary detention of a woman in military barracks without any formal legal charges

It is called a military coup folks.  The only real law in Thailand is whatever the military so called leaders say it is.  everything else is just paper that is routinely tossed out or ignored or not enforced by any civilian authority.  That's just the lay of the land

I thought we couldn't call it a junta or a potatorship on TV

15 hours ago, BobBKK said:

'separatist activity' for selling a T-Shirt?  you gotta be kidding?

It's not a T shirt. It's an idea

get pretty hot under the collar for seeing a white tshirt with a red square on it, eh!

 

maybe she could have gotten away with a white tShirt, that has a red square pocket... oh wait! no... that's what happened...

For the Brits then, half of Scotland should be banged up for wearing those pro independence t shirts.

....then again it that such a bad idea? Saves the world from deep fried mars bars LOL

15 hours ago, tomta said:

It's not a T shirt. It's an idea

She had no idea dude