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Activist's death opens door to impunity
By David Fullbrook

BANGKOK - Unlike others who have gunned down activists in Thailand over the last few years, the killers of Charoen Wat-aksorn, the country's latest victim, may not escape justice. Killing with impunity, however, will likely remain a part of Thai society alongside chilli and smiles until the government gets serious about law enforcement and the public gets serious about human rights.

Charoen, a humble, popular 38-year-old man returned home to the breezy palm trees and tranquil paddy fields of coastal Prachuap Khiri Khan province on the night of June 22 after telling senators in Bangkok how local officials were colluding to transfer 53 rai (8.5 hectares) of public land in Bo Nok to a local strongman. That night, for investigating this attempted theft it is presumed, assassins pulled triggers and Charoen fell dead.

Uproar followed, all the more surprising for a public pre-occupied with cheering on European football teams during Euro 2004. Such vigor says much about this case. Charoen was fighting to save public land. Whereas most protestors represent minority groups, all too often branded troublemakers, protesting against government or corporate development plans that will ruin their environment or livelihood.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has since ordered police to apprehend the killers without fear or favor, an unusual move for a protestor's murder. Outrage demands action, but the murder also hints that despite popular perception to the contrary, Thaksin's power is not almighty. "This seriously challenges the rule of law in Thailand. The dynamics are very worrisome. It is nothing short of a challenge to the government," says Dr Surachai Wangaew, chairman of the Campaign for Popular Democracy.

Police, poorly paid, resourced and trained, often find pay-offs and the whims of wealthy businessmen or crime bosses hard to avoid. After all, fuel is not free, school fees are not cheap, and everyone likes to buy nice things occasionally. While corruption is never justifiable, neither is expecting a difficult job to be done well on the cheap. If people want clean, honest police, then they must demand education and budget reforms along with salaries required for a modern police service.

Still, arrests in the Charoen murder do seem likely given that regional, national and, rumor has it, Justice Ministry investigators are on the case. Heavy sentences will serve the government's reputation well in what is essentially a private transaction divorced from government policy.

There is little succor for families and friends of the 15 protestors killed since Thaksin entered the Government House in January 2001, however. That their killers remain at large is blamed on the apathy of the police, whose battered reputation took another hit when five officers were arrested in connection with the disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelhaphaijit, missing since March. So far they face theft charges only.

Figures for the number of activists killed during the previous Chuan government's tenure are hard to find, so it's difficult to determine if the death toll has gone up. Observers, however, often point to differences between Thaksin's and Chuan's governing style. "The Democrats, when in power, did not encourage extra-judicial killings, they did not have a war on drugs," says Professor Giles Ungpakorn, a social scientist at Chulalongkorn University researching social movements.

More killings are feared. "I'm afraid we are returning to an era like the 1970s, of killing of people in conflict with the state, especially over natural resources," says Senator Dr Nirun Phitakwatchara, chairman of the Senate social development and human security committee.

Police brutally assaulted activists protesting against a pipeline in southern Thailand in December 2002, drawing the wrath of a respected police general serving in the Senate. During 2003's war on drugs and in the ongoing turmoil along the country's southern border provinces, there have been thousands of killings and disappearances. Gangsters, thugs and separatists are the culprits, says the government. Many beg to differ. "It is government policy to use violence against people," says Nirun.

Most cases remain unsolved, gathering dust in manila files as police focus their meager resources on areas of greater government and public concern. Criticism locally and nationally, even from the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, has not provoked a review. "I don't think there is the political will. Extra-judicial killings are considered acceptable," says Giles.

This government disinterest encourages the settling of scores by bullets rather than dialogue or through the courts. "It makes people everywhere try to solve problems by violence," says Nirun.

Not that this is anything new. Murder, in part because pay-offs often throw court verdicts, has long been a feature of business life in Thailand. But as Thailand develops and civil society grows, awareness of rights and related killings rises, leading to more protests and demands for justice. But it seems there is still a long way to go.

"[Charoen's murder] happened because a culture of impunity is still widespread in Thailand. Influential people believe police will not enforce the law. The mafia believe that they will not be brought to justice," says Somchai Homla-or, the Law Society of Thailand's human rights committee chairman.

Thaksin's government charged into power, promising to accelerate development, spread wealth and eliminate poverty. Noble aims that deserve applause. In some respects it is one of the most proactive governments in Thailand's history. "In many ways, Thaksin tackles the right issues such as poverty, but he seems too often to choose the wrong way," says Dr Sunai Pasuk, Senate foreign affairs committee adviser.

Its economic focus, however, leaves little room for the parallel development of civil society and human rights, which are integral to successful, stable, just democracies.

While money may well have played a part in handing victory to Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party, voting played a crucial role, reflecting people's concerns. Jobs, education and health are more than enough for tens of millions of poor Thais to grapple with.

There is little room for fuzzier, harder to grasp concepts such as human rights and minority rights, which do not figure largely into daily life. "Human rights issues are not part of the issues of concern to mainstream society. Hence it is not a concern for the government," says Sunai.

Signs exist that a just society in which the law is paramount is emerging slowly. Thai civil society, not just groups of people fighting to protect local resources from a rapacious state, has blossomed over the last two decades. Given another decade or two, education and campaigning will change public minds and force politicians to take such issues seriously.

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Jun 26, 2004

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