Report charges Thai government ignores torture allegations

[webfact]

Report charges Thai government ignores torture allegations

BANGKOK (AP) — A group of human rights organizations in southern Thailand said in a report Wednesday that complaints of torture by security forces have not been addressed by authorities.

The Cross Cultural Foundation, the Patani Human Rights Network and the Duay Jai Group looked at 54 cases of alleged psychological and physical torture in Thailand's deep south, where the government has been battling a Muslim separatist insurgency since 2004. The conflict has taken about 6,000 lives.

The report describes acts of torture in the region as systematic and says that in spite of complaints and campaigns by victims, relatives and rights organizations, "the state has not taken any significant action to prevent and address torture." It said no perpetrator has ever been punished, although in a handful of cases, courts have ordered some financial restitution to victims or their families.

Methods of torture listed in the report include waterboarding, sleep deprivation, prolonged exposure to cold, beating and humiliation through being forced to strip naked.

"Such malpractice continues unabated," the report says.

Government spokesman Winthai Suvaree said there is no evidence to back allegations of torture.

Similar reports of alleged torture have been issued previously, including one earlier this month by the Muslim Attorney Center Foundation that an army spokesman dismissed as a product of the imagination.

Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch, in an email that the Thai government is obligated under international law to investigate allegations of abuse such as torture and take action where appropriate, regardless of what security situation it faces.

"No one doubts that the Thai government is fighting a brutal insurgency in the deep south, but that does not justify giving a blank check to troops to commit abuses with impunity. This is not a case of rogue soldiers, but a counterinsurgency strategy that encourages abuses and then fails to provide effective redress for victims," he said.

"The Thai government should wake up to the fact that attempts to cover up misconduct of its security units and protect them from criminal responsibility have created a fertile ground for the insurgency to expand."


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-12

[Reigntax]

They should charge them in the international courts where evidence of these crimes can no longer be hidden from the Thai people and the rest of the world.

[leeneeds]

Amazing that the problems surface from the conflict are turned around to make out the government / soldiers / police are so inhuman .

hello there is a war going on !

A part of war is sometimes the innocent get caught up in situations , where fear for ones life is a constant daily heighten awareness, trust and compassion levels get eroded away, Can the government now put a levy on all the people who live within the conflict zone to make compensation to all the soldiers , police , and teachers killed,

Killing the innocent to gain your perceived right. Being able to Communicate in the first instance is also about being able to Listen, failure on that part by one side has led the conflict to where we are today." New York based human rights watch " i love people who throw stones from their safe environments".

[never me]

complaints of torture by security forces have not been addressed by authorities.

And never will be.

[craigt3365]

Amazing that the problems surface from the conflict are turned around to make out the government / soldiers / police are so inhuman .

hello there is a war going on !

A part of war is sometimes the innocent get caught up in situations , where fear for ones life is a constant daily heighten awareness, trust and compassion levels get eroded away, Can the government now put a levy on all the people who live within the conflict zone to make compensation to all the soldiers , police , and teachers killed,

Killing the innocent to gain your perceived right. Being able to Communicate in the first instance is also about being able to Listen, failure on that part by one side has led the conflict to where we are today." New York based human rights watch " i love people who throw stones from their safe environments".

The problems in the south are very complicated. And a lot of it due to money and ineptitude.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Thailand_insurgency

The Thai response to the insurgency has been hampered by clumsy methods, a lack of training in counter-insurgency, a lack of understanding of local culture, and rivalries between the police and the army. Many local policemen are allegedly involved in the local drug trade and other criminal activities, and army commanders from Bangkok treat them with disdain. Often the army responds to the attacks with heavy-handed raids to search Muslim villages, which only results in reprisals. Insurgents routinely provoke the inexperienced Thai government into disproportionate responses, generating sympathy among the Muslim populace.

[futsukayoi]

As long as it is the right people they are torturing to prevent these murderers pushing the list of their victims even higher good on them. They are torturing innocent bystanders for the fun of it. They are doing it to gain actionable intelligence to oppose enemies who will sink to unbelievable levels of evil and brutality.

[Always18]

"Govt. spokesman Winthai Suvaree said there is no evidence to back allegations of torture"

" ......courts have ordered some financial restitution to victims or their families"

????

[FloridaExport]

They've failed to address the charges... No worries. Their lawyers will be along before you know it to bring the activists up on charges of defamation.

[Hawk]

Next a crackdown on torture allegations.

[NCC1701A]

"No one doubts that the Thai government is fighting a brutal insurgency in the deep south..."

oh this is about the M word...

i thought this story was about something important. but it is not.

[arrowsdawdle]

They should charge them in the international courts where evidence of these crimes can no longer be hidden from the Thai people and the rest of the world.

Not necessary...no Thai would do such a thing.

[arrowsdawdle]

They've failed to address the charges... No worries. Their lawyers will be along before you know it to bring the activists up on charges of defamation.

You nailed it, as Andy Hall will confirm.

[davidstipek]

They should charge them in the international courts where evidence of these crimes can no longer be hidden from the Thai people and the rest of the world.

Then and only then can they be protected from defamation charges. Also at this point will have to respond. It will be their job to disprove the charges. If cannot then the Courts will find Thai Government Guilty of Torture Allegations. This would be a total lose of face in the International Community, with no grounds for any repercussions against the Human Rights Groups!

Human Rights Groups need to realize that filing charges in Thai Courts has no merit, 95% chance to be ignored or counter sued for Defamation charges....

Get on the right page!

[davidstipek]

They should charge them in the international courts where evidence of these crimes can no longer be hidden from the Thai people and the rest of the world.

Not necessary...no Thai would do such a thing.

Ha! File charges in correct Court System...

Then force their hand! Make them prove "No Thai Would Do Such A Thing".

Then its either positively Disprove... Or eat your words!

If charges filed correctly you would stop being Bullied by those who have something to hide to keep their Posts.....

[Strangebrew]

Now that is the pot calling the kettle black I guess beheading's are Muslims greeting's to people of different cultures, killing of teachers are perks? Maybe the Muslims human rights should clean there own backyard first. People who live in glass houses should avoid throwing stones.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Do I smell another defamation suit in the making?

[hawker9000]

Torture you say? With all these dangerous bridge-players on the loose, who can blame them?!

[ratcatcher]

Now that is the pot calling the kettle black I guess beheading's are Muslims greeting's to people of different cultures, killing of teachers are perks? Maybe the Muslims human rights should clean there own backyard first. People who live in glass houses should avoid throwing stones.

"People who live in glass houses should avoid throwing stones."

Unless, of course, there is an adulterous woman they can aim at.

[tbthailand]

A group of human rights organizations in southern Thailand said in a report Wednesday that complaints of torture by security forces have not been addressed by authorities.

It's been addressed...

They just imagined being tortured...

Army Denounces Deep South Torture Report as Product of ‘Imagination’

[tbthailand]

Do I smell another defamation suit in the making?

yes, sir, you do....

THAILAND: Rights defenders threatened for documenting army torture

Major General Banpot Poonpien, ... accused the human rights groups of fabricating accounts of torture to obtain funding from abroad. He also asked whether or not the groups had the mandate to investigate the work of state officers. He ended with the threat that they could be committing defamation by issuing a report referring to international law.

[jerojero]

Of course they will ignore. Really expect them to admit anything? This is not an open democratic govt!

[impulse]

Of course they will ignore. Really expect them to admit anything? This is not an open democratic govt!

Wanna see how it was under open democratic governments? Click here:

http://pantheon.hrw.org/reports/2007/thailand0807/thailand0807webwcover.pdf

[tbthailand]

Of course they will ignore. Really expect them to admit anything? This is not an open democratic govt!

Wanna see how it was under open democratic governments? Click here:

http://pantheon.hrw.org/reports/2007/thailand0807/thailand0807webwcover.pdf

let's have a look at that ... shall we?

After the January 4, 2004 armed raid on an army depot in Narathiwat province, which marked the renewal of an insurgency, government forces have responded by committing serious and widespread abuses against suspected militants and their supporters. State-sanctioned abuses have most clearly been evidenced by the Krue Se (April 28, 2004) and Tak Bai (October 25, 2004) killings. These incidents, along with numerous cases of arbitrary arrests, torture, “disappearances,” and extrajudicial killings, have served to pour fuel on the fire and ensure the spread of insurgency. Human Rights Watch documented one aspect of the government’s abusive security operations in the south in a March 2007 report, “It Was Like Suddenly My Son No Longer Existed,” which demonstrated a pattern of enforced disappearances and other illegal measures by the security forces.1

Now, quiz time.

Do you know which "government forces" and "security forces" are being referenced in this article?

Here is a hint, ...

Impunity has reigned for government abuses. The army and police have not pursued criminal prosecutions of their forces—either under the criminal law or military law.

so it's the same group of morons who are currently in charge of the entire country now...

As a side note, the report you reference happened to be published the last time the military openly took control of the country...

[tuanku]

There is a well documented case recently of two Burmese defendants whose confession to murder was obtained through torture.......What happened there? One can see why these allegations in the south get little attention; no-one who matters enough cares enough.