Editorial

Bangkok Post, General news, Thursday November 27, 2008

EDITORIAL

Justice for the 'disappeared'

The political drama playing out in the streets and at airports has grabbed the headlines, but there are other serious issues which also affect the country directly. Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was out of Thailand at a critical meeting of Pacific-area nations in Peru, where the world economy was discussed. Another, even more more serious, issue is the ongoing strife in the South. In the very midst of the country's political crisis, the United Nations has reopened the issue of illegal arrests and disappearances in the southernmost provinces.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported early this week that it was concerned about the disappearances. In the past 16 years, the UN office claimed, there have been 93 "enforced disappearances" in the three southern provinces where the army, police and government have fought a separatist insurgency. By this, the UN office's Working Group on Justice for Peace means that the missing people were last seen with members of the security forces.

Unfortunately - in Thailand as in many other countries - the police, paramilitary and military forces are the chief suspects in such cases of disappearance. Last March, the family of imam Yapa Kaseng recovered his body after he was taken into custody by a military unit, which is suspected of having beaten him to death. He had nine cracked ribs, among other injuries, apparently suffered when he was being "interrogated" by regular army soldiers, who should both know and act better.

There are two particularly disturbing sections in the new UN report, released to the world on Monday. The first is an interview with Wasan Panich, a member of the Thailand National Human Rights Commission. Mr Wasan says that he fears many cases of disappearances have gone unreported because rural villagers, in particular, have been intimidated into silence by the security forces involved. The second is that despite the heavy emphasis on training, despite the intervention of government civil authorities, the UN still has documented four more cases of disappearances this year.

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Edited November 27, 200817 yr by marshbags