Thread: Many red shirts 'abandoned' by their leaders: human rights activist

Many red shirts 'abandoned' by their leaders: human rights activist


By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation on Sunday
Published on August 8, 2010

Dozens of impoverished red shirts detained since the May 19 dispersal of the red shirts' protest have been "virtually abandoned" with no visitors and some without defence lawyers, revealed Nitirat Sapsoomboon, a member of the National Human Rights Commission's subcommittee on citizen and political rights.





At least 10 of them are women and Nitirat said red-shirt leaders and members should visit them and afford them with legal assistance.

"They should first get them lawyers. They should visit them," said Nitirat, adding that people may accuse him of slandering red shirts because he was formerly an active yellow-shirt member but he believes there exists a double standard as detained red-shirt leaders have received a lot of support but many ordinary red shirts do not.

"I think the disparity exists. I understand that there may be some disparity. But this is too much. Providing moral support to those who fought along with you needs to be consistent."

One tragic case discovered by the subcommittee, said Nitirat, is a couple who are both detained while their children are really suffering as a consequence. Another received a visit by a red-shirt lawyer only once so far.

"It's like they have been abandoned. Especially those 100 people or so in provinces like Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen and Mukdahan. Whether these people are guilty or not they deserve due process of the law. Some are elderly people or suffering from tumours. These people deserve lawyers and the right to bail'. Otherwise it would lead to more hatred on their part. If the judicial system cannot be relied upon then don't even think about how we can achieve reconciliation," he said, adding some received no visits from their relatives while one couldn't even afford a sleeping gown.

Nitirat admitted that the situation in the northern region was better than in the northeast. He criticised the case in Mukdahan, where 16 red shirts were badly beaten up and kept in a mobile detention vehicle for two days until their blood dried up and the local soldiers could bear the sight of these injured people no longer. In Bangkok, at least one person was believed to have been lynched by soldier. A construction worker was beaten up and arrested while sleeping in his construction compound near the protest site in Bangkok simply because he possessed a Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) ID card and some weapons. "This is too much!"

The subcommittee recently signed an memorandum of understanding with the Law Society of Thailand to provide legal assistance to poor red shirts who have no legal representative.

Admitting that many detained red shirts are not looked after, key red shirt member Sombat Boon-ngam-anong, who is in touch with Nitirat, said the red-shirt movement is too disorganised and in too much disarray to handle the matter.

"There is no single organ handling the matter directly."

Sombat said he would try to gather other red shirts to visit these nameless ordinary red shirts in jail soon. He said it was futile to expect the Pheu Thai Party to help. Sombat doubts the willing of the Law Society of Thailand to assist red shirts, adding that they have a well-documented history of being biased against red shirts.

In a related development, Sombat yesterday staged a symbolic protest by tying a red banner at the City Tower Clock of Chiang Rai province in order to denounce the authorities' harassment against five students who earlier staged a protest against the emergency decree in Chiang Rai.

One of the five students is just 16 years old. He was forced to have a mental check-up at a mental hospital by the authorities.

"This is a severe violation of political rights," Sombat told The Nation. "Millions of people are against this law, including Anand Panyarachun, chairman of the Committee on National Reform. Does this mean millions of Thais are crazy?"

This is really quite amazing. A member of the so-called Human Rights Commission is criticizing the redshirts for the fact that their supporters are in jail and being beaten up by soldiers and possibly lynched.

Would it be this Human Rights commisssioners job to check the allegations that he himself has made about the mistreatment of detainees rather than criticizing the UDD, most of whose leaders are in jail and whose supporters are fearful and demoralized.

The double standards just keep piling up. First, so the story goes the Reds shot 85 supporters at Ratchaprasong and Phan Fa and now they're letting themselves get beaten up in detention.

Originally Posted by tomta

This is really quite amazing. A member of the so-called Human Rights Commission is criticizing the redshirts for the fact that their supporters are in jail and being beaten up by soldiers and possibly lynched.

Would it be this Human Rights commisssioners job to check the allegations that he himself has made about the mistreatment of detainees rather than criticizing the UDD, most of whose leaders are in jail and whose supporters are fearful and demoralized.

The double standards just keep piling up. First, so the story goes the Reds shot 85 supporters at Ratchaprasong and Phan Fa and now they're letting themselves get beaten up in detention.

This is an interesting construction placed on the report above. I thought that it was more about the parlous plight of the "less entitled" as opposed to the "notorious."

Ah, well.

The typical brown red shirt demonstrators from the Northeast were hired and used used to support the false image that the red shirt movement represented the "poor" rising up against the elite of Bangkok. In reality, this is 2 groups of wealthy Thai elite that are fighting each other for power.
These abandoned people never were part of the movement, they just did not realize they were not anything but a disguise for their wealthy leaders to hide behind. Maybe some of them will realize it now, and I hope the Courts show those who do some mercy for their mistake.

Originally Posted by BobR

This is an interesting construction placed on the report above. I thought that it was more about the parlous plight of the "less entitled" as opposed to the "notorious."

Whoever they are, they have been detained by the government and the government is responsible for ensuring that their human rights are preserved while in detention.

The message that Nirat is putting out is that the UDD is somehow responsible for their mistreatment while in detention. They are all "entitled" to proper treatment, protection against the commission of crimes against them while held in detention, procedural fairness and freedom from assault. Has the government investigated Nirat's allegations of criminal assault, possible lynchings, unlawful detention, unfair denial of bail, lack of legal services and other offences against their rights? If so I have not seen any reports of this. In fact I have not seen any newspaper reports of Nirat's allegations at all which speaks to the irresponsibility of the Thai press.

This is an entirely justifiable construction. The government, not the UDD , is responsible for the proper treatment of its prisoners.

The nation is pure government/army/PAD propaganda/spin, so it's no surprise that PAD folk write articles like this on their media 'tools'...