ACADEMIC URGES PROBE AFTER RIGHTS REPORT

Allegations of state sanctioned murder of human rights defenders have
prompted Chulalongkorn law professor Vitit Muntarbhorn to call for the
establishment of special committees to follow up on a rights report by Hina
Jilani, the special representative of UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

Jilani's assessment of human rights in Thailand was heavily critical of the
government.

She suggested human rights violations had occurred during the government's
war on drugs and levelled new allegations of unmitigated surveillance and
harassment of nongovernmental workers.

She highlighted alleged violence against human rights defenders during the
gas pipeline protest in Songkhla, alleged or attempted murder of various
human rights defenders addressing environmental, labour and land rights
concerns, lax implementation of the Constitution and a "widespread sense of
insecurity" among human rights workers, the general community and journalists.

Vitit yesterday told Foreign Ministry staff the government should not
dismiss the report, but instead should be proactive about the matter. He
said the government's credibility was at stake.

Thailand's permanent representative to the United Nations, Chaiyong
Satjipanon, last week said the government would not accept generalised
statements and unsubstantiated information.

But Vitit said: "The United Nations may not be a father to some Thais, but
it can certainly be a mother to others," in reference to Thaksin's comment
about Jilani's visit and subsequent report.

In Geneva, Jilani said "the current environment is no longer conducive for
activities of defenders working from Thailand on human rights and democracy
concerns in other countries in the region, including Myanmar [Burma]."

Former foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan was pessimistic about the
government's stance, and expressed doubt the parliament would be interested
in the 25page report.

He warned that Thaksin administration's "misconception" of human rights and
the role of civil society would lead to the eventual replacement of the
rule of law.

All that would be left was naked power - in which the end justified the
means, such as the alleged abduction of human rights lawyer Somchai
Neelaphaijit, he said.

"Our great leader held a meeting in the South with governors recently and
asked them how many people were armed and resorting to violence [in the
name of] separatism. A governor told him 60, said Surin.

He said police and the military needed to be educated about human rights,
as they were the most likely to commit human rights violations.

Surin said much had changed for the worse in Thailand during the past three
years, a period that corresponds with Thaksin's hold on power.