The use of torture is ingrained in Thailand's law enforcement system, but hope is building for a movement to end the inhuman practice, writes ERIKA FRY

It is no secret that torture is used in Thailand; that some rogue police in search of a confession will electrocute a suspect's testicles, or put a plastic bag over their head, or beat them senselessly, or make them drink urine like it's some sort of truth serum.

It is no secret that prisons and law enforcement methods here are strict; that shackles are used on prisoners convicted of violent crime.

It is no secret that some human rights defenders, environmentalists and people believed to be political dissidents go missing. It is no secret 78 people died in the deep South last year after security officials packed them into trucks with not enough air to breathe.

And it is no secret that these are all in violation of international human rights laws (and Article 31 of Thailand's own Constitution), nor that Thailand has a backsliding human rights record. While Thailand agreed to ratify the UN's Convention Against Torture two years ago, it has dodged signing it ever since.

Domestically, there is no law making torture a criminal offence.

"These cases are not exceptional. Given that complaints come from a number of places, we know that these practices are routine, happening daily, and at police stations around the country," says Basil Fernando, Executive Director of the Asian Human Rights Council.

Fernando says that in Thailand, torture is so entrenched in law enforcement methods that, "despite the development of law, despite the Constitution, despite relationships with the UN and other such organisations that speak against torture, and despite religious traditions that would frown upon such practices, the tradition of it persists. The state hasn't taken responsibility to initiate transformation and police people humanely."

At the heart of the issue is the lack of understanding of the law-based society, he says. Torture, while prohibited in the Constitution and the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Thailand has signed, is practised nonetheless.

"There is still reluctance on part of Thai elite to eliminate torture," he says, adding that deep down, those in power fear that "police will no longer be an instrument in their hand. They have to accept that police can investigate everyone and that the police will become friend of the ordinary man."

With Thailand's current system, it is the ordinary man that suffers. Victims of torture are often those that are least powerful in fighting it. For this reason, refugees are the most likely to face such practices, and the least likely to find redress for them.

Lack of money, a responsible agency and a government consensus, as well as a hesitancy over a provision that allows for surprise inspections at detention facilities, have all been blamed for Thailand's delay in ratifying the convention against torture.

A recent report in the Bangkok Post revealed that, until two years ago when the convention was transferred from the Foreign Ministry to the Ministry of Justice, "no government agency would take responsibility for it."

The better news is that there are slow signs that Thailand is moving towards more democratic methods of law enforcement and ratifying the Convention Against Torture.

A change in sight?

"More important than asking why the Convention hasn't been signed, is asking why it is up for discussion now," says Fernando. The discussion is promising, he says, because it indicates politicians are thinking about the issue and future change.

Boonthan Verawongse, the Director in Amnesty International's Thailand office, says the Ministry of Justice has just recently set up a subcommittee, with participation from military, police, NGOs and various government ministries, to provide recommendations on torture and ratification of the Convention.

Just as troubling as torture's existence, here is the inexistence of support or safe legal recourse for its victims.

Fernando says it is impossible to get numbers on torture victims because of the shame, distrust, fear, or psychological paralysis that often stop victims from speaking about the crime.

Boonthan says most victims remain silent because they are afraid to take action. He says that while sometimes this fear comes from a belief in fate and the idea of getting something in return, "others just don't want to have any more problems with the police."

When people do raise issues, Boonthan says, investigations are often very slow and sometimes worsen the victim's situation because of the crime and suspects they are exposing.

"Government-wise there is no responsibility taken for torture victims," says Fernando. While the recently established National Human Rights Commission is making headway, the organisation's necessary independence is often thwarted, he adds. "It is trying do do something, but is not being allowed to do its job. Law enforcement is more powerful."

And unlike most countries, Thailand doesn't have an NGO devoted to the prevention of torture, nor a torture victim support organisation to give therapy, psychiatric counseling or other services needed by victims.

"At present, not many people pay attention to this. There is a need for expert organisations and NGOs to jump-start the effort here," says Boonthan.

Fernando echoes him, saying civil society needs to lead the way on torture prevention and torture rehabilitation issues. "It is one of the things civil society people in Thailand should do. The government also has obligations, but that will happen only if given the push by a civil society group pursuing it."

This type of organisation, along with an active media are critical for torture to be eradicated, he says.

Link: http://www.bangkokpost.com/160706_Perspective/16Jul2006_pers012.php

July 16, 2006