2003 WRONGS MUST BE RIGHTED

Despite prohibitive measures laid down by the Constitution, violation of
human rights was rampant last year, thanks to the government's war on
drugs. This observation was made by Mr Wasant Panich, a member of the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), during a lecture he gave to
university students in my hometown of Maha Sarakham last Sunday.

As a human rights lawyer myself, I was greatly concerned by Mr Wasant's
revelations, as they reflect the entrenched culture of impunity among our
law enforcement officers.

According to Mr Wasant, the NHRC received more than 300 complaints from
people whose immediate family members or other relatives were killed during
the war on drugs. Most of these cases involved the blacklisting of
suspected drug traders, which was allegedly done in a questionable manner.

For example, provincial authorities called a meeting of villagers and asked
them to identify drug traders in their village. This caused uneasiness
among the villagers, and conflicts ensued over the names that appeared on
the blacklist.

Convicted drug traffickers who had served their time were automatically
listed, as were their close relatives. This "witch-hunt" resulted in
tragedy for a number innocent people, said Mr Wasant, citing the case of
Mrs Tong.

The woman had a relative who was arrested on a drug trafficking charge.
When government officials came to question her, Mrs Tong allegedly said: "I
am a trafficker. Look! I have gold weighing 80 kilogrammes."

Actually she made the remark in jest, using her own body weight of 80
kilogrammes to make a play on words. But the officials did not get the
joke. Mrs Tong was later found shot dead. Not a single ya ba tablet was
found on her body.

A poor married couple were also shot dead after jealous neighbours accused
them of dealing in drugs. The couple won a six-million-baht lottery prize
and used the money to build a new house and open a grocery store. Some
neighbours became jealous and spread word that they obtained the money from
selling ya ba. The couple denied the accusation and produced a receipt from
the Government Lottery Organisation as proof of their innocence, but the
vicious rumour continued.

Finally, the couple were found shot dead, leaving behind two orphaned
children aged six and seven, according to Mr Wasant. "Who's going to take
care of these children?" he asked.

Of course there could be some other factors behind the deaths of the three
people mentioned above, and I hope the truth will come out after the NHRC
has completed its investigations into the complaints.

Mr Wasant also voiced his concern over the seizure of assets of some
suspected drug traders. In one case, he claimed, the suspect's television
set, radio, electric fan and rice cooker were taken by government
officials, claiming they were acquired with ill-gotten money. But Mr Wasant
contended that these items used in daily household maintenance could not be
seized under the assets seizure law.

Citing another case of human rights violation, Mr Wasant said many children
accused of committing a crime do not enjoy the legal protection they are
entitled to. Under the law, juvenile crime suspects must be tried in a
juvenile court. But only 31 provinces _ out of the total 76 provinces _ now
have juvenile courts.

What happens in the 45 provinces that have no juvenile court? The young
suspects are jailed among adult suspects while awaiting trial, said Mr
Wasant, and tried in the Criminal Court. This is a violation of their rights.

There is also a double standard in the granting of bail for suspects, Mr
Wasant noted. MPs and senior civil servants may use their own position to
request bail, but ordinary people must put up a land title deed or cash.

As Mr Wasant noted, the government must give compensation to the families
of those killed wrongfully in the war on drugs. Those who abused their
power must also be brought to justice.