Thai Forces Using Torture In Restive South: Amnesty

[george]

Thai forces using torture in restive south: Amnesty International

Amnesty International (AI) has called on the government to end the "culture of impunity" in the deep South where the London-based organisation has documented at least 34 cases of authorities torturing suspected Malay Muslim insurgents, four of whom died.

"All the victims were Muslim, all but one were male, and 20 were under the age of 30; the youngest was a boy of six, the oldest 46," said the AI report entitled "Thailand: Torture in the Southern Counter-Insurgency".

Local human rights activist, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, of the Cross Cultural Foundation, pointed to a January 6, 2009, posting on the Youtube website. It purportedly showed a group of armed Thai soldiers slapping and kicking a teenage boy who appeared to be from the Malay-speaking South.

"We called for a full and open investigation. If wrongful conduct is determined, there must be some sort of disciplinary or legal action, as well as compensation for the detainee," Pornpen said.

"There have been many other suspects who faced similar experiences," Pornpen added.

-- The Nation 2009-01-13

[dotcom]

Most of these libs consider "torture" to be not giving them cable TV.

[splodger]

why don't these people (amnesty)get a life or even a job.never hear complaints about non muslims human rights.

[beejoir]

why don't these people (amnesty)get a life or even a job.never hear complaints about non muslims human rights.

Yes you do.

[oceano]

why don't these people (amnesty)get a life or even a job.never hear complaints about non muslims human rights.

you are right...but a 6yrs old( that a GROUP of soldiers, like 7 thai and one farang :-)) what kind of dangerous muslim terrorist can be?

Same a 1 yrs old babies that die now in gaza...very hamas dangerous terrorist...they can kill you whit them baby bottles.

opss you can see now the organization for non muslim human rights...israelian whit white phosphorus....

PS: not all muslim people are terrorist or you dont have a fuel for your car now.

ciao

Edited January 13, 2009 by oceano

[wasabi]

Isn't it time there was a North Thailand and South Thailand as two separate countries?

[venturalaw]

Isn't it time there was a North Thailand and South Thailand as two separate countries?

Then what would stop the new So. Thailand Muslim terrorists from attacking the new No. Thailand?

[pumpuiman]

I'd like to see one of these activists reaction if one of their sons or daughters were beheaded, for being a Buddhist.

Would they pamper the culprit? Make sure he's comfy?

Would they suggest being nice to associates of the murderer, even if information gleaned from them may save another innocent life?

Violence against children is deplorable and inexcusable.

But taking out the pliers and a blowtorch on these animals warms my heart.

[Prasert]

why don't these people (amnesty)get a life or even a job.never hear complaints about non muslims human rights.

you are right...but a 6yrs old( that a GROUP of soldiers, like 7 thai and one farang :-)) what kind of dangerous muslim terrorist can be?

Same a 1 yrs old babies that die now in gaza...very hamas dangerous terrorist...they can kill you whit them baby bottles.

opss you can see now the organization for non muslim human rights...israelian whit white phosphorus....

PS: not all muslim people are terrorist or you dont have a fuel for your car now.

ciao

Off topic to mention the Qassam people. This is about Thailand.

[samgrowth]

Isn't it time there was a North Thailand and South Thailand as two separate countries?

Then what would stop the new So. Thailand Muslim terrorists from attacking the new No. Thailand?

UDD can then rule North, and PAD the South.

[southerndown]

why don't these people (amnesty)get a life or even a job.never hear complaints about non muslims human rights.

get your facts right. amnesty do a lot for non muslims, including in thailand

i wish there was a forum rule about inaccurate reporting

just check your source, report it, comment on it but don't embellish or just give out the "facts" as you personally want them to be

[Steve2UK]

why don't these people (amnesty)get a life or even a job.never hear complaints about non muslims human rights.

get your facts right. amnesty do a lot for non muslims, including in thailand

i wish there was a forum rule about inaccurate reporting

just check your source, report it, comment on it but don't embellish or just give out the "facts" as you personally want them to be

[my bold emphasis]

If only! Way too many people on so many subjects dressing up their want-it-to-be-true opinions as "facts".

[jamesjdaly]

I lived through the 30 years of terror in Northern Ireland. Most posters here haven't a clue about living in a divided land. It's not nice. Back to your armchairs, generals.

[BSJ]

Hi George, I wonder sometimes if what we hear from some organizations is fact or fiction. A lot of groups have a "modus operandi" whereby the truth is used sparingly so as not to interfere with a good story. But then I am a skeptic so I find it hard to believe a lot of the drivel I read in the news.

[Jai Dee]

Thai military blasted for 'systematic torture'

The Thai army and police 'systematically' torture suspected Muslim insurgents in their attempts to curb the separatist movement in the south, Amnesty International said yesterday.

The security forces use everything from beatings to electric shocks to simulated suffocation, it said in a report called 'Thailand: Torture in the Southern Counter-Insurgency'.

The London-based human rights watchdog said that torture appeared to have increased under the military government which ran Thailand from September 2006 to December 2007.

The report documents 34 cases of alleged torture during that period, resulting in four deaths - mostly at the hands of the paramilitary rangers.

The practice is carried out in the three southern-most, Muslim-majority provinces, where 3,500 people have been killed in the five-year separatist rebellion, the group said.

Perpetrators worked both in official military and police facilities as well as several "secret detention centres".

There, suspects could be held incommunicado, away from visits by any external agency including the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Victims were beaten, drenched with water and then given electric shocks, suffocated with plastic bags, and had their heads held under water until they almost drowned.

In one case, a young man was stripped naked and lit candles were placed on his body until they burned down into his flesh.

Most of the victims were young men; one was a woman.

Amnesty International's deputy director for Asia and the Pacific Donna Guest told journalists yesterday the use of torture was "not a new phenomenon".

"What is new is the extent of it (and) it is too widespread to be attributed just to errant individuals," she said.

The group acknowledged the brutality of the insurgents as well.

Thai security forces were under severe pressure in the south, it said, where the current stage of the separatist insurgency ignited in early 2004.

Amnesty said torture was being used as a short-cut tactic, both mirroring frustration on the part of the security forces, and as a tool to extract information, confessions, and to intimidate insurgents.

But torture fuelled the cycle of violence in the south, spawning resentment among local ethnic Malay Muslims and creating angry young men ripe for recruitment into the insurgency.

"Torture runs counter to the government's interest," said Amnesty investigator Benjamin Zawacki.

He added that military officers in the south acknowledged that torture was wrong and contributed to the conflict in the south.

But there were also signs of 'wilful blindness' on the part of the government which amounted to condoning the use of torture, mostly by low-level security men even as they were fully aware that torture is prohibited under Thai law.

"Insurgents in southern Thailand have engaged in brutal acts, but nothing justifies the security forces' reliance on torture," Guest said.

"Torture is absolutely illegal and, as the situation in southern Thailand proves, alienates the local population."

Thailand's Constitution expressly forbids torture. Bangkok also ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in November 2007.

Also coming under fire is a clause in the emergency decree which has been in force in the south since 2004 that provides security officials who violate the law in the course of their duties immunity from prosecution.

"Not a single individual has ever been prosecuted" for torture, Guest said. "Yet the best way to tackle the problem of torture is to address the issue of impunity."

A court in Narathiwat recently ruled that an imam had been tortured to death last March, in a test case for the government's ability to prosecute perpetrators, Amnesty International said.

Source: Straits Times - 14 January 2009

[hansnl]

Thai military blasted for 'systematic torture'

The Thai army and police 'systematically' torture suspected Muslim insurgents in their attempts to curb the separatist movement in the south, Amnesty International said yesterday.

The security forces use everything from beatings to electric shocks to simulated suffocation, it said in a report called 'Thailand: Torture in the Southern Counter-Insurgency'.

The London-based human rights watchdog said that torture appeared to have increased under the military government which ran Thailand from September 2006 to December 2007.

The report documents 34 cases of alleged torture during that period, resulting in four deaths - mostly at the hands of the paramilitary rangers.

The practice is carried out in the three southern-most, Muslim-majority provinces, where 3,500 people have been killed in the five-year separatist rebellion, the group said.

Perpetrators worked both in official military and police facilities as well as several "secret detention centres".

There, suspects could be held incommunicado, away from visits by any external agency including the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Victims were beaten, drenched with water and then given electric shocks, suffocated with plastic bags, and had their heads held under water until they almost drowned.

In one case, a young man was stripped naked and lit candles were placed on his body until they burned down into his flesh.

Most of the victims were young men; one was a woman.

Amnesty International's deputy director for Asia and the Pacific Donna Guest told journalists yesterday the use of torture was "not a new phenomenon".

"What is new is the extent of it (and) it is too widespread to be attributed just to errant individuals," she said.

The group acknowledged the brutality of the insurgents as well.

Thai security forces were under severe pressure in the south, it said, where the current stage of the separatist insurgency ignited in early 2004.

Amnesty said torture was being used as a short-cut tactic, both mirroring frustration on the part of the security forces, and as a tool to extract information, confessions, and to intimidate insurgents.

But torture fuelled the cycle of violence in the south, spawning resentment among local ethnic Malay Muslims and creating angry young men ripe for recruitment into the insurgency.

"Torture runs counter to the government's interest," said Amnesty investigator Benjamin Zawacki.

He added that military officers in the south acknowledged that torture was wrong and contributed to the conflict in the south.

But there were also signs of 'wilful blindness' on the part of the government which amounted to condoning the use of torture, mostly by low-level security men even as they were fully aware that torture is prohibited under Thai law.

"Insurgents in southern Thailand have engaged in brutal acts, but nothing justifies the security forces' reliance on torture," Guest said.

"Torture is absolutely illegal and, as the situation in southern Thailand proves, alienates the local population."

Thailand's Constitution expressly forbids torture. Bangkok also ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in November 2007.

Also coming under fire is a clause in the emergency decree which has been in force in the south since 2004 that provides security officials who violate the law in the course of their duties immunity from prosecution.

"Not a single individual has ever been prosecuted" for torture, Guest said. "Yet the best way to tackle the problem of torture is to address the issue of impunity."

A court in Narathiwat recently ruled that an imam had been tortured to death last March, in a test case for the government's ability to prosecute perpetrators, Amnesty International said.

Source: Straits Times - 14 January 2009

And of course this newspaper, is completely objective and devoid of any Islamic preferences.

And yes, without doubt, A.I. is not biased to or of anything and completely, utterly free of preferences.

And Mrs Guest & Mr Zawacki are also very well known for their objectivity.

And so, this must be the truth.

[munirkn]

1. Amnesty International covers all humans but now-a-days muslims are under crises around the globe so maybe more promenant.

2. Terrorists have no religion because no religion like, promote or allow terrorism. Muslim cannot be terrorists. Yeh these terroirst may call themselves muslim but they are not.

3. Dividing Thailand is not the solution. Solution is JUSTICE.

and solution to all crises of the world is JUSTICE and interest free banking.

[Jai Dee]

The full Amnesty International article can be found here.

[Sabum]

Most of these libs consider "torture" to be not giving them cable TV.

why don't these people (amnesty)get a life or even a job.never hear complaints about non muslims human rights.

What the heck? This IS Thailand we are talking about right? In other words they are doing it all arsebackwards and wrong and are torturing and killing the wrong people along with a few real terrorists.... still think this is all ok? Or is any muslim a valid target for torture and murder? Not to mention that more torture makes more terorists and more attacks... totally stupid.

[Scott]

Thank God for organizations like Amnesty International. They be protecting people I don't like, but in so doing, they are also protecting people like you and I.

People reading some of these threads should realize that Thailand needs to have some focus put on their treatment of people.

[basjke]

I lived through the 30 years of terror in Northern Ireland. Most posters here haven't a clue about living in a divided land. It's not nice. Back to your armchairs, generals.

Why almost every country in the world by now which has a minority of Muslim population or where the Muslims have immigrated needs to be divided because they want their own state.

Maybe we as farangs could also demand to have our own state within Thailand.

[Kan Win]

Thai military blasted for 'systematic torture'

The Thai army and police 'systematically' torture suspected Muslim insurgents in their attempts to curb the separatist movement in the south, Amnesty International said yesterday.

The London-based human rights watchdog said that torture appeared to have increased under the military government which ran Thailand from September 2006 to December 2007.

The report documents 34 cases of alleged torture during that period, resulting in four deaths - mostly at the hands of the paramilitary rangers.

The practice is carried out in the three southern-most, Muslim-majority provinces, where 3,500 people have been killed in the five-year separatist rebellion, the group said.

<snip>

"Insurgents in southern Thailand have engaged in brutal acts, but nothing justifies the security forces' reliance on torture," Guest said.

<snip>

Thailand's Constitution expressly forbids torture. Bangkok also ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in November 2007.

Also coming under fire is a clause in the emergency decree which has been in force in the south since 2004 that provides security officials who violate the law in the course of their duties immunity from prosecution.

<sinp>

Source: Straits Times - 14 January 2009

The London-based human rights watchdog said that torture appeared to have increased under the military government which ran Thailand from September 2006 to December 2007.

Thailand's Constitution expressly forbids torture.

There was no "Constitution" as the Military Government which ran Thailand from September 2006 to December 2007 took it away and made a new one.

Insurgents in southern Thailand have engaged in brutal acts and , where 3,500 people have been killed in the five-year separatist rebellion,

Very Sad, but how many of the Royal Thai Military where killed or injured and other folks as well during that period ?

To: Amnesty International, publish all the facts and not just your headlines. Thank you.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[Jai Dee]

We don't condone torture: Abhisit

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday rejected accusations by Amnesty International that security forces engaged in systematic torture in the deep South.

The Londonbased AI released a report on Tuesday that alleged Thai security forces "systematically" relied on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in a bid to obtain information.

The report was based on testimonies from torture victims compiled between mid2007 and mid2008.

But Abhisit said: "I want to reassure you that [torture] is not government policy and it was not carried out systematically. The Thai government does not support extrajudicial power," he told reporters.

The PM said he would investigate if there were extra-judicial practices by security forces fighting the insurgency, but he also questioned the accuracy of the report.

He also cited the case of an inquest last month, which ruled that a Muslim leader died after a beating by soldiers while being interrogated, as an example that showed the authorities did not tolerate or cover up torture.

Abhisit is due to make his first visit to the South on Saturday since becoming PM. He has already called for an increase in economic and cultural solutions to try to end the unrest.

"We must win the hearts and the cooperation of locals, otherwise we will merely stay with the same situation," he said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said the report, complied by Benjamin Zawacki, failed to establish all cases to make the claim that torture was conducted systematically.

"The government does not condone in any way, any acts that constitute the use of torture in violation of our law and Constitution," he said.

Thailand has been a party to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment since 2007. That was an international obligation which required the authorities to investigate all reported cases [of torture], he said.

Last month, a Narathiwat court ruled that soldiers torฌtured Imam Yapa Kaseng to death during interrogation. That ruling suggested the authorities did not support a "culture of impunity", Tharit said.

Source: The Nation - 15 January 2009

[Jai Dee]

PM to call off Emergency Decree in the southern provinces

Prime Minister expresses readiness to immediately call off the emergency decree that has been previously announced in 5 southern provinces of Thailand once the new Security Acts have been enacted.

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva revealed yesterday (January 14) that the Cabinet had agreed to extend the period of administrative tasks of the emergency decree announced in 5 southern provinces for another 3 years. However, prior to the next renewal of the emergency decree, all responsible government bodies would need to discuss over the effectiveness and mechanism of the decree, as well as martial laws and the new security measures in order to decide which laws would be the most effective ones in dealing with the southern situation.

Meanwhile, the PM affirmed that he would be ready to call off the use of Emergency Decree immediately one the new Security Acts were enacted and enabled to tackle the ongoing crises in those provinces in the South. The PM further asserted that no violence would be used in conflict resolution methods in the southern border provinces.

Source: National News Bureau of Thailand - 15 January 2009

[Jai Dee]

Thai PM launches review of emergency law in South

Thailand's new government has launched a thorough review of the use of martial law in the country's conflict-ridden deep South where some 3,500 have been killed over the past four years and will decide on its extension within three months.

"I will ask the people involved to now run a systematic review of the various laws, so the next time they ask for an extension it will not be automatic," said Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, addressing an audience at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand Wednesday night.

Thailand's three southernmost provinces - Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala - have been under emergency decree since October 2005, allowing authorities to seize suspected separatists and keep them under dentition without charges, and providing immunity to security personnel engaged in such operations.

The decree has been extended 14 times, coming up for parliamentary approval every three months.

"My hope is that we will soon not have to rely on emergency decree to bring peace to the South," said Abhisit, who will visit the region over the weekend.

The decree has come under increasing criticism from human rights groups, such as London-based Amnesty International (AI) and New York-based Human Rights Watch, for creating an environment in which torture and abuses can be carried out without punishment.

AI on Tuesday exposed at least 34 documented cases of authorities torturing Muslim insurgents in Thailand's conflict-ridden south, four of whom died, and called on the government to clarify its legal stance on the practice.

"All the victims were Muslim, all but one were male, and 20 of them were under the age of 30; the youngest was a boy of six, the oldest 46," said the AI report titled Thailand: Torture in the Southern Counter-Insurgency, based on testimony compiled between mid-2007 and mid-2008.

Thailand has been waging a counterinsurgency campaign in the deep South since January 4, 2004, when a group of Muslim militants raided an army depot in the region, stealing more than 300 weapons and killing four soldiers.

The incident led to a series of government crackdowns on the region's long-simmering separatist movement that further alienated the local population from Thailand's Bangkok-based governments.

The majority of people in the deep south, once known as the independent Islamic sultanate of Pattani, are Muslim and have a long history of alienation from predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

Although the region was conquered by Bangkok about 200 years ago, it has never wholly submitted to Thai rule.

Over the past five years the intensified separatist struggle has led to at least 3,500 deaths.

With nearly 45 per cent of Thailand's armed forces based in the three provinces there is a perception that the military have added to the problem, especially as they enjoy immunity under the emergency decree.

Abhisit, the leader of the Democrat Party that is popular in Thailand's southern provinces but has been in the opposition for eight years, has made a priority of restoring peace to the region.

The Oxford-educated politician, who was named prime minister last month, has vowed to bring reconciliation to Thailand, which has been torn by a deep political divide for the past three years, through an emphasis on rule of law.

"My basic assumption is that you will never have reconciliation unless there is justice," said Abhisit. "The same principle applies to the South."

Source: The Nation - 15 January 2009

[samgrowth]

Thai forces using torture in restive south: Amnesty International

Amnesty International (AI) has called on the government to end the "culture of impunity" in the deep South where the London-based organisation has documented at least 34 cases of authorities torturing suspected Malay Muslim insurgents, four of whom died.

All I will say is that AI is lying. Thai people are peaceful people and will never torture. Take a look at PAD for an example.

Unlike America, there is no offshore prison in Thailand. Not even in the South.

[Miserere]

Its a shame isn't it that Muslims aren't a more peaceful people.

[Jai Dee]

PM insists on govt’s concentration on both security. development for restive south

The premier insisted the government would adopt both security and development to be more effective resolve restive south problem, adding both local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) could file grievance directly to him in regard to local athorities’ abuse of power in the south to ensure of non-human rights’ violation.

Prime Minister Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Sunday (January 18) that relevant ministers, and not military alone, must be jointly responsible for incidents in the south.

The council of ministers to help developing special areas in five southern provinces chaired by the premier is aimed at accelerating works in the south which needed cooperation between ministries with fast policy decision making.

Mr. Abhisit on Saturday (January 17) led a group of high ranking officials to visit southern Pattani province to assign policy and works’ direction to restive southern province’s officials concentration on wooing local people to participate in tackling southern unrest problem with adoption of forensic science to solve local legal cases.

Upon arrival at the Operations Centre for the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 (ISOC), Army Commander in Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda and National Police Office Commissioner Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan jointly briefed Mr. Abhisit and his group on situation in the restive southern area.

Mr. Abhisit told reporters at the site that apart from being briefed of the situation in the restive south, he also convened with relevant agencies’ officials to ensure them of the government’s policy and directions on tackling the restive south problems.

The government, he said, has had a clear policy that it would try to tackle the problems without having to rely on military forces and special law forever. It would concentrate on tackling security problem in the area simultaneously with efficient development of the area and people.

He also assigned a policy calling for full implementation of security law promulgated since 2008. Following policies were assigned:

1. Wooing local people to participate in security issue via watching, creating networks, especially expanding existing communities.

2. Adopting technology, including forensic science in legal cases, to be more efficient in problems’ solving for overall situation. In the past, bureaucratic procedure’s problem has retarded efficiency of problems’ solution in this regard. Closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras must be more swiftly installed in the area.

The most important thing, said Mr. Abhisit, was for officials to take into account human rights for their operation to avoid insurgents to cite the case as argument to stir endless violences in the area.

Army Commander in Chief, Gen Anupong Paojinda, has abided by this policy, said Mr. Abhisit, adding if officials defied the policy, they must be held accountable for the untowards incidents and must be taken legal action and subject to punishment.

The works in the restive south, he added, must be more swift with concerted cooperation. Coordination between ministries of defence, interior, foreign affairs and Government House must be more systematic to clarify restive south’s incident to increase confidence among concerned parties.

Mr. Abhisit added that he was prepared to receive grievances filed by both local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to ensure of non-human rights violation.

The government, he stressed, would abide by international standard’s practice in regards to human rights and humanitarian.

Regarding council of ministers to help developing special areas in five southern provinces chaired by the premier, Mr. Abhisit said that the council was aimed at accelerating works in the south which needed cooperation between ministries with fast decision making.

“My government is determined to implement systematic resolution to the restive south’s problem. Ministers must be clearly responsible to resolve the problems. Security and development in the region must be coherent with freedom. The works must meet international standard. No violence condition can be claimed by insurgence. We will fully work to resolve the problem,’’ said Mr. Abhisit.

Source: National News Bureau of Thailand - 19 January 2009

[DaleBlue]

Its a shame isn't it that Muslims aren't a more peaceful people.

This is not a very nice comment.

All men ever think about are sex, torture, or both at the same time.

Edited January 21, 2009 by DaleBlue

[venturalaw]

Its a shame isn't it that Muslims aren't a more peaceful people.

This is not a very nice comment.

All men ever think about are sex, torture, or both at the same time.

And your comment is nice? Are you serious? Perhaps your experiences with men have been extremely limited, and/or, you're just not very bright.