Senate Passes Emergency Law

Senate passes emergency law

BANGKOK: -- The Senate yesterday approved the State of Emergency Decree following a two-day debate that saw many senators express reservations over what they consider excessive provisions curbing rights and liberties.

With 121 votes in favour, 38 against, and five abstentions, the decree sailed through its last hurdle in Parliament after the House gave the green light last week.

Senator Kraisak Chonhavan said the decree was a black mark on Thai history, prompting international concerns about the government’s attitude towards human rights.

Senator Sopon Supapong warned that the draconian provisions might escalate violence rather than restore peace. “The southern violence was spawned by the bitterness of local residents who saw injustice inflicted by authorities, and the empowering of unjust officials might worsen the situation,” he said.

Senator Manoonkrit Roopkachorn said he was concerned that the number of extrajudicial killings might increase along with the decree’s enforcement.

Since 2001, there have been 19 cases of wrongful abduction involving 27 victims in the South, he said. The government has never given a clear explanation on these cases, in which eight victims returned unharmed, five were believed dead, and 14 still unaccounted for.

--The Nation 2005-08-30