(New York) - The Thai government must prosecute and discipline those responsible for the use of illegal lethal force in April’s violent clashes in southern Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today.
Yesterday, a government-appointed commission released the conclusions of a lengthy report into the killings of more than 100 people by the Thai security forces. Human Rights Watch called for the immediate release of the full report, which has not yet been made publicly available.
“This report is a good first step, but the process cannot end there,” said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch. “A fully independent judicial inquiry is now necessary to ensure the prosecution and discipline of those responsible for the killings.”
The commission’s report found that in many instances, Thai security forces acted appropriately to protect public safety and to defend themselves. However, the commission also concluded that the level of force and type of weapons used in the April 28 attack on the Kruesie Mosque was “disproportionate to the threat posed by the militants” and “the tactic of laying siege to the Mosque, surrounding it with security personnel, in tandem with the use of negotiation with the militants, could have ultimately led to their surrender.” The commission said that resolving the standoff at the mosque “through peaceful means would have been more appropriate and better served the interests of the security personnel than the use of force.”
The day after the April attack, Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation, concluding that, “The response of the security forces appears to have been disproportionate and may have harmed civilians or put them at risk, especially when heavily armed security forces stormed into the Kruesie Mosque in Pattani.”
Human Rights Watch today renewed its call for independent and transparent investigations into these incidents to prevent an atmosphere of impunity.
“If illegal force is found to have been used, all officials, no matter at what level, should be prosecuted or disciplined in an appropriate manner,” said Adams. “Anything less will simply feed fears in the Muslim community that they are being treated as second-class citizens.”
The events of April 28 still remain murky. Thai authorities claimed that unidentified armed Islamic groups launched simultaneous pre-dawn attacks on police bases and checkpoints in several districts of Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces in southern Thailand. Thai officials reported that 107 suspected assailants, most between 15 and 20 years of age, and five security officers were killed after nine hours of violent clashes. Army and police sources unofficially put the number of dead assailants at more than 120. Approximately 15 people were arrested.
The report of the commission concluded that many young males were deceived into participating in the initial attacks on spurious religious grounds and under the belief that spells would protect them from bullets fired at their bodies.
Human Rights Watch urged the government and the commission to immediately release the full report, reportedly over 100 pages. Only a four page summary was released yesterday.
“Until the full report is made public it will be impossible to know what the commission has learned about why these attacks took place, who instigated them, and how the authorities reacted,” said Adams.
Human Rights Watch said the Thai government should properly compensate victims, but that compensation should not be seen as a substitute for appropriate criminal prosecutions or administrative discipline.
Human Rights Watch also urged the Thai government to immediately allow all remaining detainees access to legal counsel and to family members. This measure would ensure their safety and restore public confidence that they are not being mistreated.
While the deaths of some police officers make it clear that, in at least some cases, Thai security forces had the right to use lethal force in self defense, Human Rights Watch said that each encounter has to be assessed on its own merits. In all cases, security forces must abide by the U.N. Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The Basic Principles require that law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall as far as possible apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force. Whenever the use of force is unavoidable, law enforcement officials must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. The legitimate objective should be achieved with minimal damage and injury, and with respect for the preservation of human life.
After violence broke out in the south in January, Prime Minister Thaksin admitted that more had to be done to address underlying social problems in the region. He committed his government to large-scale development projects in the region. Human Rights Watch urged the Thai government to move as quickly as possible to demonstrate its good faith.
Human Rights Watch expressed concern about the general degradation in respect for human rights in Thailand and the government’s willingness to resort to force to solve legal or social problems since Prime Minister Thaksin’s high profile “war on drugs” was launched two years ago. The government’s own figures show that more than 2,000 people have been killed during the war on drugs in 2003. No serious government investigation has been conducted into these deaths.
