Human rights campaigners yesterday urged the government to devote more resources to investigating the enforced disappearances of high profile figures as Thai society is becoming alarmed by the number of unsolved cases.
They said concern about such cases had risen after the death of Akeyuth Anchanbutr, the former pyramid scheme operator. Although police have concluded that theft was behind his death, many remain sceptical.
Boontan Tansuthep-veravong, of the Peace and Human Rights Resource Centre (PHRC), said authorities appear to take a half-hearted approach when handling enforced disappearances or any killings in which state officials or influential figures are implicated.
He said that in such cases witnesses are reluctant to come forward, giving the impression that investigations are lacking in seriousness or are ineffective.
"It is a shame that state officials are not committed to their job. This affects an investigation and evidence may be neglected," Mr Boontan said.
"The government must ensure the security of the people. Enforced disappearance is not a typical crime, but a human rights violation."
According to Mr Boontan, human rights activists are alarmed by the number of cases in which enforced disappearance is suspected.
Since 2001, a total of 35 people have vanished without a trace. Most of them are activists, he said.
Among them is human-rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, who disappeared in 2005. Others missing include labour leader Thanong Pho-an who has not been seen since 1991.
Phra Supoj Suwajano, an environmentalist monk, was stabbed to death in June 2005 when he was leading a protest against illegal logging in Chiang Mai. Environmental activist Charoen Wat-aksorn was shot dead on June 21, 2004 while campaigning against a power plant project in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Mr Boontan called on the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
By ratifying the convention, the government is required to submit a report on cases of enforced disappearance, he said.
For the Akeyuth case, he noted that it remained unclear if it was an enforced disappearance. He said the public expected the authorities to fully disclose all information.
Meanwhile, a seminar yesterday was told enforced disappearance had become a tool to suppress political opponents. Pol Lt Gen Santhana Prayurarat, former deputy chief of the Special Branch Police, said enforced disappearance has long existed but its purpose has changed.
"The abduction and killing by state officials is real. In the past they didn't have the tools to keep criminals at bay and they couldn't wait for justice to take its course.
"These days enforced disappearance is a service in exchange for benefits," he told the seminar which focused on enforced disappearance by state authorities and the Akeyuth murder.
Pol Gen Vasit Dejkunjorn, founder of the Thai Spring movement, told the seminar that enforced disappearance is a tool by the corrupt state power to eliminate individuals deemed a threat.
"When power corrupts, there will be resistance. And what follows is elimination of such resistance.
"One way to do it is to make those deemed a threat disappear, which is a quicker solution than others," he said.
Pol Gen Vasit also criticised Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung for his "interference" in the Akeyuth case.
He said Mr Chalerm was quick to conclude that Akeyuth was killed for money, which could have deterred police investigators from pursuing other leads.
"It can't be concluded if state officials are involved. But there are suspicions that make people linger on the possibility," he said.
Angkhana Neelapaijit, wife of missing lawyer Somchai, said the government's policies against drug trafficking and the southern insurgency had contributed to incidents of enforced disappearance.