PRESS RELEASE
AHRC-PL-039-2006

THAILAND: Angkhana leads appeal on disappeared persons 

(Hong Kong, June 5, 2006) Angkhana Neelaphaijit on Monday led an appeal to a newly-formed justice commission on behalf of forcibly disappeared persons and their families in southern Thailand, asking it to restore confidence in the justice system among people in the south. 

Angkhana, a leading human rights defender and wife of abducted Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, submitted an open letter calling for the Independent Commission on Justice and Civil Liberties for the Southern Border Provinces to give priority to the victims of disappearances and their families.

Four local groups, including the Thai NGO Coalition on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and two Muslim associations, also signed the letter.

The letter said that suspicion, violence and injustice were eating away at the people in the Thailand's southernmost provinces due to "unlawful practices and excessive force used by some state authorities and insurgents".

It said that forced disappearances are a particularly "grave problem" in the south.

"Especially if the perpetrators are state authorities, the facts are closed and suppressed. The bodies are destroyed in order to conceal the evidence which may bind the perpetrators," it noted.

Many families of disappeared persons are living in fear and those that come forward can only expect compensation for their losses, it said.

"The state authorities do not place importance on finding the truth and trying to search for those victims of disappearances. Nor do they try to come up with answers for the families," the letter said.

"This is one important reason that the government has been unable to obtain public trust," it added. 

The authors called on the commission to acknowledge the scale of disappearances in the south, give protection and support to affected families, take firm action to search for disappeared persons and "the real perpetrators" of abductions, and promote the role of independent agencies, including the National Human Rights Commission, in dealing with the problems in the south.

Angkhana presented the open letter in person at a meeting of the commission today.

The commission was established in January with a view to picking up on the work of the National Reconciliation Commission on the violence in the south, which has also announced that it would present its findings to the government on Monday.

It is headed by the former senate president Professor Ukrit Mongkolnavin.

"We strongly endorse all of the calls made by Angkhana and the other signatories to the open letter that has been submitted to the independent commission today," Basil Fernando, executive director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, said.

"It is clear that there will be no solution to the problems in the south until the question of forced disappearances has been openly and fully addressed," Fernando said.

"The commission should begin by documenting all prima facie cases of disappearance there, and setting up avenues through which families feel safe to come forward and complain," he said.

"If the scale of the abductions and killings can first be documented, it will be possible to address other aspects of the tragedy in due course," Fernando added.

The director of the Hong Kong-based regional rights group also expressed support for the work of the Central Institute of Forensic Science in the south, and for the initiative taken to get experts from outside the country to assist with the work.

"Forensic professionals from other countries offering their time and expertise to work in this incredibly difficult part of Thailand should be very warmly welcomed," Fernando said.

"They will not only make a great contribution but also add immensely to the credibility of any findings," he concluded. 

The Thai army commander in April admitted that "blacklists" had been compiled to target suspected insurgents, but had also been used to settle personal scores. 

A translation of the full text of the open letter follows.

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON JUSTICE AND CIVIL LIBERTIES FOR THE SOUTHERN BORDER PROVINCES

5 June 2006

Subject: To solve the problem of missing persons in the deep south

To: President of the Independent Commission on Justice and Civil Liberties for the Southern Border Provinces (ICJC)

As the problem of injustice has continued since the past it has caused continuing suspicion, violence, and a lack of trust among the people in the three provinces of the deep south, including lack of trust in the state authorities and the feeling of lost confidence in the justice system. The fact is that innocent people are victims of violence every day in every area but the justice system has been unable to punish the perpetrators. The violence has happened because of unlawful practices and excessive force used by some state authorities and insurgents. There is evidence of many human right violation cases and sometimes rumours are spread to create mistrust. At the same time, the number of innocent people who are the victims is increasing. Such kinds of violence bring loss of life, property and mind that are difficult to estimate. It is a circle of endless violence.

Forced disappearance is a grave problem and it is a grave human rights violation. Especially if the perpetrators are state authorities, the facts are closed and suppressed. The bodies are destroyed in order to conceal the evidence which may bind the perpetrators. Such kinds of problems create a wound in the hearts of innocent people that is most difficult to remedy.

It is appreciated when the government has recognised a loss and taken responsibility to compensate the families of disappeared persons who have been willing to appear and seek justice for the disappeared. However, there is wide acknowledgment that plenty of the families of the disappeared are still in fear and are not brave to open themselves to the public. Even the families of the disappeared who have received compensation from the government still lack access to justice under the rule of law. There are many families of the disappeared who are afraid to complain because they are concerned at power and wide influence [of the perpetrators of abuse]. Above all, they have lost confidence in the justice system. Moreover, the state authorities do not place importance on finding the truth and trying to search for those victims of disappearances. Nor do they try to come up with answers for the families. This is one important reason that the government has been unable to obtain public trust.

The organisations and individual below have signed this letter in order to call on the Independent Commission on Justice and Civil Liberties for the Southern Border Provinces (ICJC) as follows:
1. Realise the importance of the problem by returning justice to the public, especially to the persons who have been forcibly disappeared; also provide protection to the families of the disappeared and support and promote every person to gain access to justice equally.
2. Urge the government agencies responsible for justice to operate in their capacity in order to search for disappeared persons and the real perpetrators.
3. Promote independent agencies, especially the National Human Rights Commission, which are checking and identifying the unidentified bodies in the three provinces of the deep south; allow them to work with independence, transparency and fairness in order to bring justice and reconciliation to Thai society.

Yours respectfully

Co-signed:
1. Mrs. Angkana Neelaphaijit, a person affected by the lack of peace in the three provinces
2. Thai NGO Coalition on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
3. Cross Cultural foundation
4. Youth Network for Peace in the Southern Border Provinces
5. Youth Muslim Association of Thailand

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About AHRC The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.