Support human rights and the quest for freedom of speech in Thailand

We want to urge support for freedom of speech and a quest to stop the violation of human rights by the Thai government.

December 2, 2013

To the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
To the President of the General Assembly,
To the Security Council and the related agencies in charge of human rights, anti-corruption and crimes against humanity of the United Nations,
To Mr. President of the United States of America,
To the United States Senators,
To the Members of the United States House of representatives,

We, United States Citizens of Thai heritage and Thai Citizens who are United States Permanent Residents, as well as United States Citizens of all walks, declare our intent to monitor, peacefully protest and stand firmly against the current illegitimate government of Thailand led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

We call for the upholding of the basic rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression under the universal principles of democracy. And further, we condemn the actions of the Yingluck Shinawatra government – which has systematically violated human rights by using political dirty tricks of deception, lies and violence in its attempts to disperse legitimate anti-government protesters.

Since Yingluck Shinawatra became Prime Minister of Thailand in August 2011, there have been numerous incidents of faulty management, outrageous mistakes, obvious corruption, and corruption-inducing policies that have spread systematically through all Thai government agencies. Most Thai people and diligent observers of Thai politics see her as the puppet of her criminal older brother – the deposed former prime minister of Thailand, Taksin Shinawatra. Since 2011, the crime wave led by Yingluck Shinawatra has heightened Thai political discontent, increased suffering and forced the Thai people to peacefully demonstrate to restore their honest and ethical government. Sadly, the Yingluck government has responded harshly by infringing upon basic freedom of expression and by limiting access to the media and information, which is contrary to the universal principles of democracy. Importantly, the immoral and delinquent Yingluck Shinawatra government has also used violence in violation of universal human rights in the following ways:

The Yingluck government has enforced brutal and illegal restrictions on freedom of expression and access to media and information for the Thai people. The government has controlled and infiltrated the businesses of radio and television to create one-sided presentations of news and information that only support the corrupt status quo of the current government. Media outlets which provide information and news on government scams have been concealed, twisted, and manipulated for the nefarious purposes of trying to crush any legitimate dissent. Further, many radio and television stations have chosen to censor themselves out of fear of the government’s power to benefit or penalize in the awarding of ongoing contracts and censoring and the retribution of banning their programs from airing. One popular TV show that depicts the current corruption practices of politicians and high-level civil servants – the serial Thai TV drama “Neur Mek,” was abruptly cancelled in the middle of the series. Similarly, the “Khon Khon Khon” program’s documentary film against the government’s Mae Wong Dam project was ordered to stop and forbidden from releasing this important and truthful documentary. When a large group of citizens strongly demonstrated their opposition of the government’s oppressive tactics, the government censored the film and allowed only partial release. Furthering the manipulation of ethical and honest media programming, the government and its financial networks have invested heavily in newspaper and print media businesses. The government has also granted business favors to newspapers that advertise the benefits of governmental and quasi-governmental projects – making legitimate newspapers afraid to express opinions or reveal the government’s deceptions, machinations and wrongdoing.

The Yingluck government has systematically oppressed legitimate online social news networks. The Yingluck government’s Minister of Technology and Communications has threatened frequently to take to court those who make anti-government posts online. In June 2013, this ongoing atmosphere of threats and intimidations greatly intensified with the abduction, torture and murder of Mr. Ekkayut Anchanbutr, a freelance journalist and founder of the website “Thai Insider” which had consistently presented strong anti-government reporting. Instead of a legitimate murder investigation, the government’s lack of transparency in the investigation of Mr. Anchanbutr’s political assassination was improbably determined to be a petty theft murder. This improbable handling of this obvious assassination was seen as highly suspicious and created great fear and intimidation for members of Thai online media. It is also considered the use of force and violation of human rights.

The Yingluck government has systematically harassed peaceful non-violent protesters. The Yingluck government has continually harassed peaceful anti-government demonstrations in order to prevent Thai people from expressing their opinions. The Yingluck government has sent in partisan groups in to create trouble and threaten the safety and welfare of the demonstrators. Some of these “independent” thugs have thrown itchy and poisonous “ma mui” plants at protestors and released poisonous snake into crowds of demonstrators. In the most recent round of demonstrations, the government has threatened and stopped people who were trying to travel to join the peaceful and non-violent demonstrations. For example, the Department of Special Investigations announced it would take to court truth and freedom loving citizens who try to blow the whistle in protest against government-biased politicians and high-sitting corrupt government bureaucrats. These evil tactics are only a part of the dirty tricks which Yingluck Shinawatra and her corrupt cronies have used to suppress the universal rights of freedom of expression and open media access – all of these criminal tactics greatly violate the basic principles of democracy in Thailand and worldwide.

The Yingluck government has systematically used force against peaceful protesters. In violation of human rights, the government has continue to used force in putting down anti-government protests. The Yingluck government has systematically used the police to violently crackdown on the problems of political unrest in three Southern provinces. These gestapo-like tactics have resulted in a great number of deaths without any legitimate fact-finding and legal proof of serious wrongdoing by the people accused.

In one well-known case, on November 22, 2011, the government ordered the police to use force to violently clash with peaceful anti-government demonstrators at the esplanade near the King Rama V memorial statue by willfully throwing, tear gas bombs, and assaulting the nonviolent protestors (Most of them are Buddhist monks and vegetarian). These violent police tactics encouraged by the Yingluck government which did not follow safer conventional crowd dispersal practices of gradually increasing the level of force as it should have done. These declarations are supported by thousands of witnesses who see that Thailand has become a police state that threatens and undermines the safety and life of Thai citizens in huge violations of basic human rights.

More dirty politics have recently surfaced. Shockingly, during a closed door 4:00 a.m. meeting on Thursday, October 31, 2013, the Yingluck government pushed through an amnesty bill in one meeting in the House of Representatives (violating due process and legitimate debate – which ordinarily requires three open chamber meetings). This amnesty bill voted to absolve all past political wrongdoing – including persons convicted of corruption such as politicians and high-level civil servants and wrongdoing involving the justice system. This scam essentially absolves all perpetrators currently involved with cases in the justice system and eliminates all possible future penalties. Using these illegal actions, the Yingluck government and its cronies have violated basic universal human rights and have destroyed the fundamental rules of law, morality, and virtue.

As a consequence of these dirty political actions, several million people in and outside of Thailand have protested in November 2013. Unfortunately, the Yingluck government continues to violate universal human rights, infringes upon the Thai people’s freedom of expression and thwarts the Thai people’s access to news and information.

In more government violence, the thugs of the Yingluck government further exacerbated the situation by throwing bombs of tear gas into a crowd of peaceful non-violent protesters in the Makkawanrangsan Bridge area.

In addition, bent nails were thrown on Highway No. 4 in Prajuabkirikhan Province in an attempt to burst the tires of nearly a hundred buses containing Thai protesters from every province in the South. These dirty tactics were used to prevent protestors on the bus from successfully joining anti-government protesters in Bangkok. Such an attempt could have resulted in a large number of deaths by innocent people who were only trying to exercise their right to protest peacefully against the government. The government also ordered the police to detain, delay, search, and forbid Thai citizens from the provinces from joining the political protest in Bangkok.

Using human shields. On November 28, 2013, the Minister of Social development and Human Welfare, Paveena Hongsakul, ordered to to bring over around one hundred girl orphans from Rajavithi Home for Girls at the Minister just right before an arrival of protestor who want to occupy her office. Some insiders immediately called Wallop Tangkananuraksa, famous Non-government organization officer on child and child abuse, to invade and rescue those orphans. However, this big groups of orphan has already been a human shield whether Paveena Hongsakul purposively plan to do so or not, since protestors had arrived the Ministers . Such behavior is a violation of human rights and an inexcusable treatment of children and youths.

The Yingluck government has refused to accept the decision of Constitutional Court. On November 23, 2013, the Thai Constitution Court ruled as unconstitutional the Thai government’s attempt to amend the Constitution. The Court found that Parliament’s failure to use proper procedures, such as (i) secretly altering the content of the bill being approved , and (ii) the ruling Pheu Thai Party MPs’ voting for the draft amendment by using electronic ID cards of absent members that is clearly violated both moral and legal principles. The Court also found the amendment substantively in contravention of the intention of the Constitution.

The Thai government responded by vehemently rejecting this ruling and filing suit against the majority of justices who ruled against the government. The government announced that it refused to accept the court’s decision or to subject itself to the power of the court. The government’s claim that the Constitution Court has no right to intrude into the power of parliament to act as its majority wishes is an unprecedented attempt to violate rules of law and fundamental principles of checks and balances of power in a democracy. The government repeatedly violates morality, rules of law, and principles of democracy, and thus declares itself above the law.

Government’s use of violence against peaceful protesters resulted in deaths and injuries:

On December 1, 2013, in the Chamai Maruchet Bridge area (in front of the government house), the police threw tear gases and unknown purple chemical water (which causes severe skin irritation) at unarmed crowds of anti-governmental protesters. This went on for several hours.

On December 2, 2013, the police used real bullets and shot an army medical assistant in the leg while he was trying to provide first aid to protesters hurt by tear gas.

As of December 2, the total number of deaths and injuries are reported to be at least 4 deaths and 58 critically injured.

Failure of police to respond to pleas to protect trapped student protesters; [possible] police involvement in shooting violence killed protesters.

On November 30, 2013, student protesters at Ramkhamhaeng University were attacked by pro-government redshirt protesters while the police declined to help. Video clips taken by a witness at the university showed police involvement. In one clip taken by a witness at the university, instructions to “change from red shirt to black shirt” could be heard, followed by sounds of bullets. Channel 7 reported photos of at least two men in black shooting. Students were trapped inside by both the police and redshirts and subject to shooting and bomb attacks.

At least one student has since died from his injuries. The students were denied access to medical care, food, and water. The President of the university, Wutthisak Larpchareonsab, said he saw two students shot in the head, and his pleas to the police for protection fell on deaf ears. For the entire night and throughout the next day, there was no help for the students trapped inside. Finally the students had to be rescued by the Governor of Bangkok and a group of soldiers.

Currently severely pressured politically, the government has taken a tough stance in dealing with the nearly a million demonstrators who have protested without violence. This has led us, Thai citizens with permanent residence in the US and American citizens of Thai heritage, to feel the gravest concern for the welfare and safety of our fellow Thai relatives, siblings, friends and countrymen.

We call for your attention, strong support, and strongly condemn the crimes of the government of Yingluck Shinawatra.

We the Thai people respectfully call for help in stopping every type of use of force by police and unidentified forces supported by the government’s Pheu Thai Party, which currently obstructs, opposes, and attacks the peaceful, weaponless movement of the Thai people in Bangkok and throughout the country during such political crisis. The impetus of such movement is the people’s desire to bring down an unlawful and unjust governing system, which is the rightful and sacred duty of Thais to their beloved nation.

United States Citizens of Thai heritage and Thai Citizens who are United States Permanent Residents.

November 29, 2013