PRESS RELEASE
AHRC-PL-048-2006

THAILAND: Support from around world for call to reform DSI

(Hong Kong, July 6, 2006) Hundreds of people from Thailand and around the world have joined calls for reform of Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the removal of its director.  

Over 400 people from all walks of life and countries have so far signed a petition to the justice minister calling for the changes, adding comments in Thai and English.

"Like many other institutions, the DSI has become a political tool... [that] urgently needs to be reformed so it can be trusted by the Thai public to uphold the rule of law and expose wrong-doing by state officials," Jens Franz, of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, says.

"The current [DSI] group is unreliable, like the current government," Chatpassorn Kruesiriyong of Lumpini, Bangkok, writes.

"Changing the DSI personnel who are connected to police or were formerly police is needed to ensure the impartiality and proper functioning of the DSI," Brahm Press, from the Raks Thai Foundation, says.

"The Government of Thailand has the duty to protect its people and anyone [who] does not uphold this vision should be asked to make way for other people who will be able to build Thailand [into] a better place," Joseph T Dube, a member of the International Action Network on Small Arms, writes from South Africa.

"I wish Thailand will be the real dream country which it seems to be when you're there as a visitor... you can do so much better," Elvin de Regt, of Vlissingen, the Netherlands, urges.

"DSI get out!" Chanpen Silawongsawat, of Chiang Mai University, cries.

The petition was initiated by the families and colleagues of slain human rights defenders Somchai Neelaphaijit, Phra Supoj Suwajo and Charoen Wat-aksorn, who will present it to the Ministry of Justice before July 19, the first anniversary of Phra Supoj's case being transferred to the DSI.

"We are calling for at least one thousand signatories before July 19," Kim Soo A, urgent appeals coordinator with the Asian Human Rights Commission, said.

The Hong Kong-based regional group is hosting the petition on its website: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/dsi_petition/

"To encourage more signatories and interest in the issue from around the world, the petition, which was originally in Thai, has so far been translated into English, Korean, Japanese, Dutch and Spanish," Kim said.

"Readers of those languages just need to click on the part of the bar on the left hand side of the petition with the word 'sign' in their language," she explained.  

"So far the signatories include staff and members of the National Human Rights Commission and Union for Civil Liberty in Thailand, the Legal Aid Institute of Jakarta and Commission on the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Indonesia, Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and the Gwangju International Center in Korea, Nonviolence International, Amnesty International, Forum-Asia, the United Nations and many universities in Thailand and abroad," Kim said.

"It's very encouraging to see such strong support and we know that this petition is having an effect in Thailand, together with other efforts by local groups to push for reforms of the DSI and the removal of its director," she added.

Journalists, businesspersons, members of charitable foundations and religious groups, students and teachers, artists, refugees, farmers, public servants, lawyers and human rights defenders all over Thailand and the world also have joined the call, including from Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Korea, Japan, Georgia, Germany, UK, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, USA, Canada, Australia, Egypt and Brazil.

Interested persons can also sign the petition and add their comments online: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/dsi_petition/signature.php

Full text of the petition is repeated below.


NEED TO REFORM THE DSI FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN THAILAND

Dear Minister of Justice

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI), established under the Ministry of Justice and authorized by the Special Investigation Act 2004 with aspirations to be "an interdisplinary organization that prevents, suppresses, and controls crimes that critically affects the economy, society, and security of state, as well as the international relations, to attain justice through expertise, transparency and public trust" has raised high public expectations for justice.

Thus far, we have found that--with the exception of the vigorous pursuit of justice for the sake of ruling politicians--several cases which have been deemed "unusual crimes that are complicated, and critically affect the social stability and public morals, masterminded by influential figures" as stated in article 21 of the act, have completely failed, including the following:

1. The disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit since 12 March 2004. With the Royal Police Commission 's indictment, only one of the defendants, who were police officers, was convicted of coercion to three years in prison (and released on bail during the appeal process), while the remaining four accomplices were acquitted. The DSI has accepted the case as a special case since July 2005 but no further attempts have been made to find other accomplices and the masterminds. Above all, up till now, the DSI has never been able to officially identify the status of the missing lawyer, even though the case has received strong attention and as solution to the disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai would have a great impact on the violence in the south.

2. The murder of environmentalist and community leader Charoen Wat-aksorn on 21 June 2004. Two gunmen and three accomplices were arrested. The DSI rushed to conclude that it was merely due to a personal conflict. The villagers of Bo Nok very much doubt if the existing evidence and indictment ever will get the accused convicted. Moreover, no further investigation was conducted to find the masterminds, despite a litany of material evidence and witnesses pointing to the real cause of the murder, to which even the DSI once admitted: the campaign against a coal-fired power plant, and protection of the community's common land.

3. The murder of the conservationist monk Phra Supoj Suwajo in Fang district, Chiang Mai. He was brutally slashed to death on 17 June 2005. For one year, the DSI has not been able to come up with any leads: no suspects, no witnesses, no weapons and no material evidence, as a result of its initial inadequate investigation. Of late, the DSI's investigation team has called the relatives and involved persons for re-interrogation, claiming that it is reviving the case.

One of the common aspects of the three cases is that the missing and murdered were all prominent persons devoted to the common good and bravely fighting for justice, whose deeds invariably got in the way of those with vested interests, be they government officers, politicians and influential figures, local and national alike.

The failure of the DSI to quell organised crimes and terrorising acts inevitably disturbs the public confidence in the country's justice system. That may lead to ever more unrest and violence in the society, of which the government cannot deny the responsibility.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, ask the Government of Thailand through the Minister of Justice to:

1. Immediately relieve Pol. Gen. Sombat Amornvivat from the post of director general of the Department of Special Investigation, due to a lack of efficiency, incompetence, and his actions against the judicial process; and,

2. Appoint a new director general to the Department of Special Investigation through a transparent selection process with broader qualification criteria,

With the aim of improving the DSI to be independent, free from any influence and domination, so that it will be a vital part of attaining justice for people in Thailand.

Your consideration and action are appreciated.

To sign please go to: http://thailand.ahrchk.net/dsi_petition/signature.php.

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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.