Amnesty International Thailand and the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) last week arranged for a discussion about the way the legal system handles such cases and it concluded that the victim’s relatives still do not get the justice they deserve.

Pinnapa Prueksapan, the wife of a missing Karen activist, said she faced several obstacles just seeking a legally qualified person to help her. She had so far failed to make any progress, despite requests to the police, Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the courts.

Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen went missing three years ago after being arrested by Kaeng Krachan National Park officers for illegally taking honey from the forest.

He has not been seen again while Pinnapa has worked non-stop for an inquiry into his disappearance but hit a wall and has not heard any news for some time.

“Since the early days after Billy went missing, I have not had proper assistance from police,” she said.

“Then I asked the court to order that the national park chief leave the area for the good of the investigation and this was denied.

“I also asked the DSI to take this on as a special case but they turned down my request and used the excuse that I was not his legal wife.”

She said that trying to see justice done had been very troublesome and she felt no one wanted to help out of fear that they would get in trouble too.

Angkhana Neelaphaijit, whose husband Somchai Neelapaijit was abducted in March 2004, also expressed frustration with the system.

“Neither the court nor the DSI helped our family find out the truth behind my husband’s disappearance or brought those responsible for this crime to justice,” she said.

“I admit that my fight to seek justice for my husband has failed. This is a tragedy that forever pains our family and undermines the rule of law of our country as a whole.”

She said the grief of not knowing their loved ones’ fate was made worse by the fact the authorities also branded missing people as the “bad guys” to justify their disappearance.

“I am ashamed that the government lets this serious crime happen again and again. Moreover, the law to deter enforced disappearance also faces obstructions in our law-making system,” she said.

“I only wish that the government would show its sincerity and tackle this problem by passing the Torture and Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Prosecution Bill.”

It is five years since Thailand signed an international agreement vowing to prevent enforced disappearances.

However, the Torture and Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Prosecution Bill is still at the Justice Ministry after the National Legislative Assembly sent it back to be revised.

A spokesperson for the Rights and Liberties Protection Department, Nareeluck Phaechaiyaphum, said the law would define exactly what “an enforced disappearance” was, set up preventative measures and punishments, and give power to the DSI to investigate such cases.

“We are trying hard to push forward this law but the bill has still not been enforced,” Nareeluck said.

“The prime minister has already set up the committee to receive complaints of torture and enforced disappearance, and this would be useful for those who need help.”

Angkhana, however, added that even financial compensation could not heal the broken hearts of relatives of enforced disappearance victims.

The only thing that could truly help was to bring justice to the missing people and find those responsible so they could be punished for their crimes, she said.