US STANDS BY REPORT, BUT REMOVES ERROR

Claim About UN Cut, No Apology Offered

The United States stands by its assessment of Thailand's human rights
problems but concedes it made an error in a report, since removed after
Bangkok objected, US embassy spokesman Mark Larsen said.

The spokesman made it clear President George W Bush or Secretary of State
Colin Powell had not apologised to the government for the error in the 2003
human rights report, launched last month.

Thailand objected to the report, which said its human rights record had
worsened with extra-judicial killings and arbitrary arrests common during
the government's three-month war on drugs.

However, the spokesman said the report was wrong to say the Thai government
had stopped a United Nations human rights official from investigating the
matter.

Lorne Craner, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and
labour, wrote to former ambassador to the US Sakthip Krairiksh telling him
the sentence had been removed.

That was the only error found in the report. "We stand by the report that
the human rights record in Thailand worsened last year, especially in terms
of the extra-judicial killings," he said.

A spokesman said Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai has briefed
cabinet. Mr Surakiart's adviser, Nitya Pibulsonggram, recently met US
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and discussed the report.