Money Is Not The Answer In Cases Of Grave Injustice: Thai Opinion

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EDITORIAL

Money is not the answer in cases of grave injustice

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Once again, the Thai authorities try to throw cash at an embarrassing problem to make it disappear without any recourse to the legal system

The manner in which the authorities have handled the recent shooting deaths of four villagers in Pattani's Nong Chik district is somewhat disturbing because money, again, is being used as the sole instrument to bring about "justice". No one has the courage to even think about bringing the responsible parties involved in the incident to legal justice.

The pictures and footage floating around in cyberspace reinforce that this incident was not a typical gunfight with insurgents, as top officials had earlier claimed. Indeed, many observers of the conflict in the Malay-speaking South see this as a straightforward massacre, not a gunfight.

Whatever triggered the paramilitary Rangers to open fire on a pickup truck full of villagers heading to a funeral should be the focal point of an investigation, not how much money is needed to reach a settlement with the family members of the dead and injured.

If we are to use financial compensation to address the long-standing culture of impunity in the security forces operating in the southernmost provinces, then a fair question is how far back do we go? And where does all of it end?

Just as pathetic was the statement from the so-called peace-building advisory council, chaired by Aziz Benhawan, under the supervision of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC). The council called for financial compensation without a reference to legal due process to ensure justice on all sides. Doesn't the term "human dignity" exist in their vocabulary?

One thing that needs to be assessed is the special treatment the Emergency Law provides the security forces, as well as the culture of impunity among officials. These are the very things that continue to drive a wedge between the Malay Muslims of the deep South and the rest of the Thai state. And if the SBPAC and its advisory council members are too scared to admit that, they should have the courage to step down and let other people with better insight and courage take over.

Instead of calling for an inquiry into the rules of engagement, this council suggested that the local administrative bodies - like itself and the SBPAC, perhaps? - be strengthened.

Excuse us, but is somebody taking advantage of the situation here?

We often talk about the Krue Se standoff and the Tak Bai massacre but we all know that there are many other incidents that involve individual suspects being beaten or tortured to death. Do any officials remember Mahkoseng Pohtae, 39, who died in Yala Central Prison in August 2010 while he was awaiting trial on charges related to the southern insurgency? After months of going in and out of hospital, he finally succumbed to injuries sustained from beatings the police inflicted upon him months earlier. Perhaps that incident was too far from their meeting hall for the council members to notice.

The council was set up to keep an eye on officials. But if it is too hot, they should get out of the kitchen.

The Thai top brass often refers to the Rangers as "ambassadors" for the state, as their job is to win the hearts and minds of the local Malay-Muslim people - who have more in common with, and sympathise with, the insurgents. But if the January 29 killings in Nong Chik are an indication, these men still have a lot to learn about diplomacy.

Moreover, the appalling public relations disaster in the aftermath of the shootings reflects the pathetic attitude of top officials. In most countries, men like Yuthasak Sasiprapha would have been fired for jumping the gun. "Moreover, any decent politician who had erred so comprehensively on such a highly sensitive issue, even though misinformed by subordinates, would do the decent thing and take responsibility and resign," one letter to The Nation pointed out recently.

The writer was also correct to point out that few Thai politicians have any sense of responsibility or shame. The problem with the Thai government's handling of the southern insurgency is that no matter how bad things may get down there, there is an understanding in Bangkok that whatever wrongs are committed by state officials, it will cost nothing in political terms because Thai society is largely indifferent to the plight and grievances of the Malays in the southernmost border provinces.

-- The Nation 2012-02-07

[Reasonableman]

From the dearth of comment, I guess it is, after all.