Thailand's human rights record in question two years after military coup

Record ID: 102578

  • Title: Thailand's human rights record in question two years after military coup
  • Date: 20th May 2016
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (FILE - MAY 22, 2014) (REUTERS) MILITARY LINED UP OUTSIDE ARMY CLUB ON DAY OF MILITARY COUP MILITARY TRUCKS VARIOUS OF MILITARY PUSHING MEDIA BACK
  • Embargoed: 4th June 2016 02:16
  • Keywords: coup Thailand coup anniversary anniversary preview military human rights economy
  • Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
  • City: BANGKOK, THAILAND
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0034IM2QF9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: In May 2014, Thailand's military seized power in a bloodless coup that sought to end a bitter cycle of political unrest and restore peace to the country.
    But two years on, as the anniversary of the coup approaches, the military is facing increasingly tough questions about its human rights record.
    Rights groups say the military junta has tightened its grip on power and severely repressed rights in the process; it has jailed critics, introduced new laws aimed at curbing freedom of speech, censored the media and restricted political debate.
    "All major concerns of the international community have been responded with empty promises," said Human Rights Watch researcher, Sunai Phasuk. "Clearly the situation in Thailand has come to the point of being a human rights crisis with no end insight under military rule."
    Recently, the military government has also stepped up prosecutions of those accused of defamation, handing down harsher sentences.
    Phasuk added that the number of people who have now been arrested, interrogated and sentenced to "attitude adjustment" is "staggering", and the military tribunals they are being taken to do not meet international standards. Since the coup, at least 712 people have been summoned by the military for "attitude adjustment" and 159 have been charged with political offences, according to iLaw, a legal monitoring organisation.
    The latest crackdown comes as the junta prepares to put a widely criticised military-written constitution to the public in August. They have imposed restrictions on even debating the draft constitution, which critics say could enshrine military power for years to come.
    But amidst the ramped up effort to, as the government says, stop "those who stir up violence", many of those arrested are also being released.
    Just last week, eight activists arrested in April over Facebook comments critical of the junta and the draft constitution were released on bail.
    One of the activists, Noppakao Kongsuwan, vowed to continue his fight for freedom of expression. "We have to fight for our rights. Everybody has a right to comment and criticize the government or any body, as long as it is within the law," he said.
    Analysts such as Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, the Vice Rector of Thammasat University, say such releases show that the government remains partly accountable for their actions.
    "I think, at the moment, the government is not yet fully authoritarian. You can see that from them arresting and then letting go (of activists). If they freed them right then (at the point of arrest), they were afraid they couldn't control the situation, while if they actually kept these people under arrest, it could flare out," said Prinya.
    Although Thailand's economy outpaced expectations in the first quarter to expand at the fastest annual rate in three years, providing some relief for the military government that has struggled to stimulate growth since it seized power, some analysts say the worsening human rights situation could negate this in the long-term.
    "In other civilized countries, people can criticize their government, they can express themselves freely. But now we are becoming a country where people cannot criticize the government at all," Prinya said. "Other civilized countries will feel that they don't want anything to do with us, then they might consider sanctions. After a while, the economy will definitely go downhill, despite the recent economic recovery."
    Following the coup, the U.S. responded by freezing $4.7 million of security-related aid, and the European Union delayed the signing of an agreement on closer economic and political ties. Economists say the junta may have to inject more fiscal stimulus to prevent economic momentum from stalling.
    But despite the economic struggles, many on the streets of Bangkok are optimistic, and retain faith in the military government's ability to "discipline" the country and improve the economy.
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