OVER 90 per cent of the human rights violations in Thailand were committed by state officials, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) revealed yesterday, adding that it is getting worse.

Human-rights activists said that violations by Thai authorities are increasing as government opponents are regularly prosecuted, arrested and even tortured.

What Tingsamitr, NHRC chairman, said yesterday that despite being one of the first nations to ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and having a Constitution and laws that guarantee the protection of the rights, liberty and dignity of all persons, human-rights violation still remains a problem in Thailand.

He was speaking at an event held in Bangkok yesterday to mark International Human Rights Day.

He said rights violations in the country continue because the five key stakeholders – the authorities, citizens, civil-society organisations, NHRC and international human-rights agencies – all have different definitions.

He said that even though state officials commit 90 per cent of human rights violations against citizens, each of the five primary stakeholders have violated the rights of other stakeholders and created conflicts due to a lack of mutual understanding about where rights end and duties begin.

What said all stakeholders should refrain from violating the rights of others, so the country can go down the path of sustainable development in harmony.

However, Cross Cultural Foundation director Pornpen Khongkachonkiet argued that the root of the problem did not lie in misunderstandings, but came from the abuse of power and an absence of the rule of law.

“It is clear that most of the rights violations in Thailand occur in the same pattern – officials violating the rights of people. We have witnessed that again and again. When someone opposes the government and their policies, state officials turn on these people,” Pornpen said.

She cited the oppression of environmental and political activists as the clearest examples of human-rights violation by the state. For instance, she said, forest communities were forcibly evicted by the military because they opposed the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s reclamation operation. Also many political activists who campaigned against the junta have been arrested and taken into military custody without charges.

Disappearances

She further noted that rights violations against those who oppose the authorities are far more severe in cases related to the stability of the state and the monarchy.

“We have found that several suspected insurgents in the South have been arrested, detained in a military camp and even tortured, while many prominent rights defenders, such as Somchai Neelapaijit who worked as lawyer for those accused of southern insurgency, were forcibly abducted and disappeared,” Pornpen said.

She emphasised that the key problems include a lack of proper investigation, court litigation and punishment against officers who commit these crimes.

She put this down to a partisan culture within the justice system, which allows so many offending officers to walk free and even keep their job in official agencies.

“The not-so-free atmosphere under the NCPO dictatorship, the problem of human rights violation by the state, is worse than ever,” she said. “I only hope the upcoming election will bring us a more open society and freedom, and fix this grave issue.”

Hakeem al-Araibi, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on November 27 at the request of Bahraini authorities. He was on a stopover in Bangkok on his way back to Australia after a holiday with his wife.

Hakeem Alaraibi (C), a former Bahrain national team footballer with refugee status in Australia, is escorted by immigration police to a court in Bangkok on December 11, 2018. // AFP PHOTO

“I don’t want to go back to Bahrain – I want to go back to Australia. I didn’t do anything in Bahrain,” the 25-year-old said before being escorted to court. The extradition process could be lengthy and complicated – al-Araibi could be detained in Thailand for a longer period than anticipated and the trial verdict is unpredictable. The court, meanwhile, said the arrest was legitimate because it had been requested by its Bahraini counterpart, which accused the footballer of crimes involving arson, illegal gathering and possession of inflammable objects in 2012.

Al-Araibi fled to Australia and was granted refugee status last year. However, he was convicted in absentia in 2014 on charges of vandalising a police station in the Gulf state, even though al-Araibi insists he was playing a match overseas at the time of the alleged offence.

The Australian government and human rights organisations have, meanwhile, called for his release, with the Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne calling for his “immediate return”. The Australian ambassador to Thailand has also raised the issue with the Thai immigration bureau, demanding that al-Araibi be released immediately as he is protected under the United Nations refugee treaty. They fear that he may suffer torture if he is extradited to Bahrain. The footballer has said that he was arrested and beaten at the start of the Arab Spring protests in Bahrain in 2012 and was granted refugee status in Australia five years later. He now plays for the semi-professional club Pascoe Vale FC in Melbourne.

Bahraini soccer player with Australian refugee status Hakeem Al-Araibi (L) speask to the media as he is escorted into the Criminal Court by authorities in Bangkok, Thailand, 11 December 2018.// EPA-EFE PHOTO

According to AFP, al-Araibi begged for the court proceedings to be halted before entering the court building yesterday.

“Immigration Thailand and immigration Bahrain are working together to send me back to Bahrain. But Australia is stopping them. Please stop them!” al-Araibi was quoted as saying. “I don’t want to go back to Bahrain – I want to go back to Australia. I didn’t do anything in Bahrain. I’m a refugee in Australia.”

Officials from the Australian Embassy were also present at court yesterday.

His lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman told reporters she believes there is a good chance he will not be extradited because she has evidence he will face abuses back in his home country.

As she countered the public prosecutors’ request to detain her client for another two months, Bergman told the court that al-Araibi’s arrest was illegal and there was no justification for his detention.

She added that even though the court had ruled that his arrest was legitimate and the next step would be an extradition trial, she would certainly take steps to fight the extradition.

She is also seeking bail for the footballer. The Department of International Affairs at the Office of the Attorney-General has requested al-Araibi’s detention for 60 days in line with the extradition law.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his capacity as junta chief, signed an order amending Article 4, so it is no longer mandatory for top executives or board members at some state organisations to declare their assets/liabilities to the anti-graft agency.

The order, published in the Royal Gazette yesterday, became effective immediately.

Under this order, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will have the authority to decide exactly who should declare their assets.

Before this, the NACC refused to relax its asset-declaration requirements despite loud protests from state universities’ council members. The agency claimed the new anti-graft law required holders of important posts at all state organisations to declare their assets.

The NACC also insisted that the scope of persons required to declare their assets extended far beyond political office holders, such as Cabinet members, senators, MPs, local administrative bodies’ executives, Bangkok governor, the attorney-general and presidents of the Constitutional, Supreme and Supreme Administrative courts.

It also claimed that presidents of state universities, their council members, as well as top executives of public organisations and state funds, as well as chiefs of the Armed Forces, including the police, had to declare their assets.

At the height of the protests, Prayut assigned his deputy, Wissanu Krea-ngam, to unofficially look for solutions with the NACC.

Meechai Ruchuphan, former chair of the Constitution Drafting Committee, is one of the many high-profile figures who have signalled their intention to quit their post. Meechai is planning to leave the Rajabhat Rajanagarindra University’s Council.

Meanwhile, at least four members of National Health Security Office (NHSO) board have quit, while many members of the National Institute for Emergency Medicine, the Health Systems Research Institute and the Healthcare Accreditation Institute boards have said they will follow suit. Dr Jiruth Sriratanaban, a medical lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said he has decided to quit the board of HAI because he does not want his finances to become public knowledge.

After listening to complaints and discussing the matter with Wissanu, NACC wrote to the government, saying that getting asset-declarations exactly in line with the new anti-graft law was causing problems. Hence, the NACC suggested that it be allowed to decide who should be required to declare their assets and liabilities.

It was in response to this letter that the junta chief decided to exercise his special powers to amend the law.

The amendment does not affect the requirement that the permanent secretary for Defence, the chief of the Armed Forces, chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as the head of the Royal Thai Police declare their assets to the NACC.

The teak pavilion, built by a team under the helm of celebrated artist Somluk Pantiboon and funded by a Bt10-million personal donation from national artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, is now 95 per cent complete.

“The Heroes”, an oil-on-canvas painting jointly created by Chiang Rai native Chalermchai and artists from across the northern provinces, will be moved along with two 4m-x-3m paintings titled “Nang Non” – one created by Chalermchai and the other by various artists – to be installed at the pavilion, said artist and Art Bridge Chiang Rai centre president Suwit Jaipom.

Also on Thursday, the statue of former Navy seal Lt-Commander Saman Gunan, who died during the rescue mission, will be moved to the pavilion in a parade led by Chalermchai, the head of the centre said.

The parade will march past the King Mengrai Monument, Ban Du Market and Suksasongkhro Mae Chan School before reaching the pavilion in front of the cave in Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Nong Forest Park, Suwit added.

The prosecution’s three witnesses were Kanchanaburi forensic police chief investigator Pol Colonel Sommai Chotikanawin, Thong Pha Phum precinct deputy superintendent Pol Lt-Colonel Prachoom Nontharak, and Natural Resources And Environmental Crime Division inspector Pol Major Sarayuth Srimanjaburi.

With the court having set aside 10 sessions for the prosecution witnesses to take the stand, 15 witnesses had testified in the previous six sessions, leaving 17 to testify in the remaining four sessions on Tuesday to Thursday this week, and then on December 18.

After that, 17 defence witnesses will testify during six sessions from December 19-21 and December 25-27.

Premchai, president of listed construction giant Italian-Thai Development, was arrested and charged with poaching in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in February, along with three associates – Yong Dodkrua, Thanee Thummat and Nathee Riamsaen.

Six allegations, including illegally carrying firearms in public, hunting protected wildlife, and poaching inside the wildlife reserve, have been laid against Premchai, while Thanee, Yong and Nathee are facing eight, seven and five allegations, respectively.

Thanee, Yong and Nathee were present along with their lawyers for Tuesday’s seventh prosecution-witness session, but Premchai did not attend.

As per the court’s approval of his request for absence from the prosecution’s witness hearings, Premchai will not attend the court until the defence-witness hearings commence.

Conservation Area 3 Office (Ban Pong) director Yutthachai Pattamasonthi on Tuesday quoted Wichien’s explanation to the media by way of explanation about a recent Facebook post, by Thi Lai Pa Border Patrol Police School headmaster Pol Captain Anek Khampimoon, criticising Thung Yai forestry officials’ refusal to let his group enter the forest to deliver lunches to students.

The people driving the 43 trucks, which had used the Three Pagodas Pass-Chong Samakkee-Ban Pang Sanook route, told Langka Forest Unit checkpoint officials that they wished to enter the forest to join the Thi Lai Pa forest-dwelling Karen community’s rice-threshing ceremony on December 9, but only one truck had been able to present a proper permit to enter the forest.

As the rest could not show the required permits, officials took a lenient approach and said they could camp at the Langka Forest Unit compound, which made Anek – who led a group of six trucks – unhappy.

He scolded the officials for obstructing his group, which he said merely aimed to deliver meals to students.

The officials later agreed to let Anek’s group, as well as related officials and locals, pass through, but did not permit other tourists claiming to be accompanying Anek to enter the forest, because that could leave them open to criticism of double standards, Yutthachai quoted Wichien as saying.

This led to the people’s anger being expressed via social media, resulting in news reports of what had happened.

Wichien affirmed that the organisers of trips to deliver donated items or undertake activities for schools within Thung Yai territory must submit a written request and obtain a permit to enter the forest beforehand, in order to prevent tourists from using that as an excuse to gain admission to the area, Yutthachai said.

After the Thai Forest Rangers’ Facebook page (facebook.com/siamforestranger/) shared a news link about Anek’s complaint with a caption asking whether it represented the truth, nearly 60 people commented, including a Thai man with the screen name “Aek Atom WJ”, who raised several interesting points and got 130 “likes”.

Citing that border patrol police schools normally have a budget to provide lunches for students, hence they do not need to wait for food donations, he suggested an asset investigation could help clarify why the school would require donations of lunches and other items.

“Aek Atom WJ” also asked whether the headmaster’s threat via social media was a breach of his profession’s ethical code and why he had not properly coordinated with the sanctuary in advance and provided a list of names, and of the vehicles of those wishing to make donations.

He said the authority allowed people’s entry to the forest for nature education with the condition that they obtain permits and pay an entrance fee, which was not too difficult to adhere to, and that Karen villagers in the conservation area were dignified and did not only wait to depend on donations.

“Aek Atom WJ” also said that it had been known among off-road truck drivers for five decades that the forest area was “a place to test vehicles’ performance”, and that many used donation-making as an excuse to access the area.

He also offered moral support to Wichien and officials for properly performing their duties.