Emergency Rule Extended In South

[Jai Dee]

Emergency rule extended in South

The government says emergency rule is needed in the deep South to protect lives and property, but it has had little effect in curbing violence.

The caretaker government extended emergency rule for another 90 days in the strife-torn southern border provinces yesterday, saying the additional powers are still a vital part of its counterinsurgency efforts.

“Emergency rule is still needed to protect public lives and property,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit.

“Officials have agreed that emergency rule is required as the unrest continues unabated.”

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra imposed the emergency powers in the three southernmost border provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in July 2005, prompting criticism from human rights observers.

The powers give security forces immunity from prosecution, and the right to detain suspects for 30 days without charge, conduct searches and make arrests without a warrant and to tap phones.

The extension of the emergency decree every 90 days has become a formality during the past year. Observers say there is no sign the government is considering reining in emergency rule or even amending aspects that have raised concerns.

“I think the government should sit down and take a look at all sorts of things, and one would be reviewing the emergency decree so it can ameliorate the human rights concerns and try to rebuild relations between the community and the government and the armed forces operating in the area,” said Francesca Lawe-Davies, who monitors the insurgency for the International Crisis Group.

“Immunity from prosecution is one of the major problems. Being able to arrest people without any evidence is also a major problem as it is used as an alternative to proper investigations, which doesn’t actually help to build up a more detailed picture of the insurgency.”

Despite the sweeping powers the government has failed to arrest or prosecute any key militants and critics say the supposed intelligence and operational gains of the emergency decree do not outweigh its negatives.

Lawe-Davies argued that the military already had the powers it needed to deal with the insurgency, and suggested other measures that would help counterinsurgency efforts.

“I don’t think [the security forces] need extraordinary powers,” she said. “In order to tackle an insurgency the armed forces are already legally equipped to do what they need to do and there’s no need to loosen human rights protections in order for them to do their jobs effectively.

“What is perhaps needed to bolster the effectiveness of the forces is to improve the forensic capacity of the police, and to improve the languages skills of all the officers deployed to the area and to improve things like cultural awareness.”

Observers say arrests made under the emergency powers have helped the security forces to gain basic information about the structure of the militant movement and its recruitment patterns. However, it is unclear how much of these minimal gains are attributable to the emergency decree.

Martial law has also been in place in four districts of Songkhla since a decades old separatist insurgency resurfaced in the region in January 2004.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in the region in the past two and a half years and the government has admitted that it is no closer to reining in militants behind the almost daily bombings and shootings.

Source: ThaiDay - 19 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

Enforcement of the Executive Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situation in the deep South is extended for another three months

The caretaker cabinet has resolved to extend the enforcement of the Executive Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situation in the far South for another three months, beginning tomorrow.

Government Spokesman Surapong Seubwonglee (สุรพงษ์ สืบวงศ์ลี) said the extension followed success of the legislation in controlling the violence in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and some districts of Songkhla.

Dr. Surapong said that during the past three months, officials could arrest 604 people suspected of having involvement in staging violence in those provinces and could also prove that 122 of those suspects were guilty.

He said he arrest warrants also were issued for another 150 suspects while the number of violent attacks reduced from 500 to 100 a month. Local villagers had cooperated more with officials by giving information useful for settling the southern unrest, the spokesman added.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 19 July 2006

[Jai Dee]

DPM Chitchai: the govt must use more mass psychological methods for dealing with consequences in the Deep South

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Chitchai Wannasathit admitted that the government must use more mass psychological methods in dealing with the unrest in the deep South.

Pol. Gen. Chitchai talked about the recent shooting in Saiburi District of Pattani Province, saying that three officials have died from the confrontation. He also referred to the chaos in Narathiwat Province and said that a number of residents yesterday blockaded police officers from Reu Sao Police Station in order to pressurize them to release the suspects. However, Pol. Gen. Chitchai does not blame the officials as he considers that they area always prepared for possible violent situations.

He said that the government will use more mass psychological measures so that local residents will contribute more cooperation with the government officials.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 21 July 2006

[Losangels]

It puzzles me, its been over a year with daily killings and frequent bombings, however the security forces are not able to find who is really behind this and go after them. Are they totally incompetent or are they afraid to tell us the truth?