EDITORIAL Emergency rule a failure
The court decision on the Tak Bai incident shows that security forces truly need to reconsider their actions in the troubled area of the South. The wide attention given to the inquest proves that the southern violence is the nation's most pressing security problem.
The hearings at the Songkhla Provincial Court revealed serious shortcomings in how successive governments, police and army have approached the issues in the four southernmost provinces. The follow-up to the inquest shows that officials still do not "get it" about the deep South and the Thais who live there.
The two-judge panel at Songkhla considered the actions of security forces at the district town of Tak Bai on Oct 25, 2004. There is no serious dispute about the main events of that tragic day. Police and the army used tear gas, batons and then live ammunition to put down an anti-government demonstration in the Narathiwat province town. Officers on the scene, backed by their superiors at various headquarters, insist deadly force was never employed.
Military officers trussed up 1,292 male protesters and loaded hundreds in the back of army trucks for transport to Ingkayuthaborihaan Army Camp in Pattani province. During the long trip, because they were packed so tightly into the trucks, and because they could not move due to their wrist shackles, at least 78 young men suffocated to death. Another seven died, allegedly by beatings and drownings by security forces, although no charges have been filed.
Some of the victims were not even involved in the protest. All had not eaten and were weaker than usual because they were observing the Ramadan fast. To put it another way, all were Muslim. The Thaksin government, and all subsequent governments, have refused to bring charges, or to make any political or security official accountable for the deaths of 85 unarmed, young Thai men. In 2007, the Surayud Chulanont government, under military rule, apologised for the deaths, dropped legal charges against 56 surviving protesters, and gave compensation that amounted to an average of 500,000 baht to each bereaved family.
Last Friday's inquest ruled that security officials were carrying out their duty, and could not be blamed. One of the main points considered by the panel was an emergency law in effect at the time, which protected state officials from any civil, criminal or disciplinary liabilities while carrying out their official duties. Similar emergency laws protect police, army and other security officers today.
But such laws and martial declarations are out of tune with democracy and public expectation. The government or security forces cannot credibly absolve themselves to avoid responsibility. Certainly, people in the South do not intend to live with such a sweeping pre-judgement. Survivors and relatives of the Tak Bai violence likely will file criminal lawsuits, as they have the right to do so in a democratic society, and seek accountability.
The government constantly tries to soothe the public by saying the unrest in the South will soon end. Public reaction seems to give the lie to that.
The region has many problems, and peace is elusive. But southerners continuously perceive a lack of justice by officials in Bangkok, and their local appointees. The recent decision by the government to end all martial law and emergency rule except in the deep South is a case in point. The Democrats promised to examine policy in the South. A rethink of emergency rule should be the first item on that agenda.
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