Tak Bai verdict: legally correct
- Published: 31/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
In October 2004, seven people were killed in a mosque during a crack-down against insurgents.
Following the incident, six village defence volunteers were arrested by the military and held at the Tak Bai police station in Narathiwat on suspicion of conspiracy and collaboration.
More than 1,000 people rallied to demand the release of those they believed to have been unfairly detained.
On Oct 25, 2004, soldiers cracked down on the demonstrators with tear-gas, water-cannon and batons. Some 1,292 people were arrested. The jlNational Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said many protesters were beaten while being tied down on the ground.
The prisoners were loaded into trucks, piled on top of each other, layers of human bodies, to be transported to Ingkayuthaborihaan army camp in Pattani.
Several hours later, 78 people were found dead from suffocation due to the conditions in which they were transported.
Last Friday, May 29, the Songkhla Provincial Court cleared security jlofficials of any misconduct on the grounds that the security forces were acting under an emergency law at the time, which protected them from civil, criminal or disciplinary liability arising from their actions while performing their duty.
In Thailand it is illegal to criticise a court's decision, but this is a commentary - it is not a criticism. Rather, it is an explanation as to why such a verdict was the only one that the court could possibly have reached.
Security officials involved in the Tak Bai incident are innocent in the same way as those involved in the crackdowns of Oct 14, 1973; Oct 6, 1976; and Black May 1992 - because emergency laws protect security forces from any civil, criminal or disciplinary liability.
Whether we agree with the law or not is a different issue.
The details of those and other episodes in Thai history involving alleged military brutality - or any form of complicity or conspiracy - are not taught in the classroom; are not made into films or documentaries; are not preserved in public records; and are not registered on the conscience of the Thai nation.
As such, an average Thai may not have a clue of what happened in 1973, 1976 or Black May, which was only in the last decade - and perhaps thinks that Tak Bai is a new Korean soap star.
Hence, the verdict returned by Judge Yingyut Tanor-Rachin and Judge Jutarath Santisevee is as it has always been, and will continue to be in the foreseeable future, in the Kingdom of Thailand.
It is consistent with the precedents of our history, our traditions and our national psyche. It is the correct verdict, according to the law. Families of the victims, if they so choose, may seek justice via the International Court of Human Rights.
However, it is not illegal to make a plea to the military, therefore I would like to make one.
Dear generals, privates and all those in between, I applaud you for defending us courageously against foreign enemies; for protecting the integrity and sovereignty of our nation against alien incursions so well; and for standing on a wall guarding us while we sleep.
With that said, I beg that in the future you would look after the interests of the people of Thailand in your dealings with us; with our rights and liberties as your priority, as you did so well in your handling of this year's riots during Songkran.
Email: voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th
About the author
- Writer: Voranai Vanijaka
