GHOSTS OF 2003 WAR ON DRUGS RETURN TO HAUNT THAKSIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 007061 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV SNAR TH SUBJECT: GHOSTS OF 2003 WAR ON DRUGS RETURN TO HAUNT THAKSIN BANGKOK 00007061 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Alex A. Arvizu for reason 1.4 (d ) ¶1. (C) Summary. A prominent group of human rights activists and justice advocates is mounting a fresh campaign to re-open investigations into killings that occurred during former Prime Minister Thaksin's 2003 "War on Drugs." The interim government appears to be responding to this campaign and is initiating efforts to re-examine some cases of extra-judicial killings (EJKs) that took place during that period. A source within the core group of activists directing this campaign informed us that he initiated this effort in the days immediately before the coup. He said that Privy Council President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda recently gave them and the interim government the green light to proceed once Prem was assured that none of the cases they plan to present will implicate the military. One of the stated goals of the activist group (which includes members of the National Human Rights Commission) is to persuade the interim government to establish a tribunal that would investigate Thaksin and other key policy-makers for their role in designing and implementing the War on Drugs policy which they claim led to the systematic EJK of thousands of individuals. End Summary. Background on the War on Drugs -------------- ¶2. (U) In February 2003, Thaksin launched a national campaign targeting drug dealers and traffickers as a threat to society and national security. Over the next several months hundreds of alleged drug offenders were killed. Estimates of the number of people killed vary. Post estimates the number killed as a result of this policy to be approximately 1,300. Other estimates range as high as 2,600. More than one thousand investigations into these killings were launched, but most were closed due to lack of evidence. The Thaksin government maintained that most deaths resulted from disputes between those involved in the drug trade. Human rights groups, including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Law Society of Thailand, disputed this claim. In addition, prosecutors and NGO legal associations claimed that most cases against police or military officers accused of EJKs were dismissed because regulations outlined in the criminal code require public prosecutors to rely exclusively upon the recommendations of the police when determining whether to bring a case for criminal prosecution. Activists Renew Pursuit of Justice -------------- ¶3. (C) A prominent group of human rights activists and justice advocates is mounting a fresh campaign to re-open investigations into EJKs that occurred during the War on Drugs. The group includes Human Rights Watch consultant Sunai Phasuk, former senator Kraisak Choonhavan, National Human Rights Commissioner Wasan Panich, and Chairman of the Thai Lawyer's Council Human Rights Committee, Somchai Homlaor. The group is currently focusing on over 40 cases that have been investigated by the National Human Rights Commission. On November 21, the group presented its campaign at a special event arranged at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT). According to the group, many of 40 cases they are focusing on involve killings of individuals who were not involved in the drug trade and were either innocent by-standers, or falsely accused victims. ¶4. (C) During a private conversation at the FCCT event, Sunai informed Poloffs that he initiated this effort in the days immediately before the September 19 coup by informing persons close to Privy Council President Prem that, if Thaksin were to be removed from power, a group of activists intended to push for re-examination of EJKs during the War on Drugs. Sunai said that this information was "received positively." He said that he was surprised when the coup leaders did not list 'gross human rights abuses' as one of the official reasons for ousting Thaksin. (Note: Gen. Prem has considerable influence that stems in large part from his formal position as the head of the council advising the king. Although he has no official role in the government, his advice clearly carries significant weight. End note.) ¶5. (C) Poloff asked why the group waited two months before publicly moving forward with its campaign. Sunai responded that Prem only recently signaled his approval for the interim government to move forward with re-opening investigations after making certain that none of the proposed cases will implicate the military. (Note: The police - some national but mostly provincial - are widely believed to have perpetrated the vast majority of EJKs. End note.) According to Sunai, all 40 cases currently with the NHRC involve abuses allegedly committed by the police. BANGKOK 00007061 002.2 OF 002 Ministry of Justice Joins the Effort -------------- ¶6. (C) On November 14, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) requested relatives of victims to submit requests to have their cases re-examined. Sunai said that his group is coordinating with MOJ officials in this effort. In fact, in their presentations to the FCCT, Kraisak, Wasan, and Somchai all offered high praise for the new leadership at the Ministry of Justice, particularly new Permanent Secretary Jaran Pukditanakul, who they singled out as "sincere" and "dedicated" not only to seeking justice in these cases, but to improving the overall criminal justice system in Thailand. ¶7. (C) Note: In a separate meeting at MOJ on November 9, Jaran told Polcouns his top priority as Permanent Secretary is to improve the basic principles of the criminal justice process in Thailand and bring them in line with international standards. Jaran specifically highlighted the issue of EJKs during the War on Drugs as a problem that "is destroying our credibility." End Note. A Tribunal to Investigate Thaksin's role in EJKs? -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Aside from investigating individual cases, one of the stated goals of the activist group is to persuade the interim government to establish a tribunal that would directly investigate Thaksin and other key policy-makers for their role in the rash of EJKs that resulted from the War on Drugs. The rationale for this approach was offered by Somchai and Wasan during the FCCT event. The group maintains that the policy designed by Thaksin and implemented by his administration led directly to the systematic EJKs. ¶9. (C) According to Somchai and Wasan, Thaksin and his administration ordered provincial authorities to develop "black lists" of suspected drug traffickers and dealers. Once a suspect was placed on a list, according to the group, the government's directive allowed only three alternatives for closing an individual case: (1) the suspect was convicted and put in jail; (2) the suspect was killed; (3) the suspect died by some other means. Further, according to the group, provincial authorities were under orders to close cases at an accelerated pace: 25 percent in the first month, 50 percent in the second month, etc. The group says that it is prepared to use official letters, orders and the text of speeches delivered by Thaksin to demonstrate his approval and endorsement of the violent methods that led to the dramatic spike in killings in early 2003. ¶10. (C) According to Somchai, under Thai criminal law, Thaksin cannot be brought to trial unless specific charges are filed against him for his direct role in a particular killing. As such, the group plans to lobby the government to set up an independent tribunal to investigate crimes that resulted directly from the implementation of Thaksin's War on Drugs policy, as opposed to searching for a direct link to Thaksin through a specific case. They likened their proposed tribunal to similar bodies established in Cambodia and Bosnia aimed at investigating crimes against humanity. Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) The interim government is under increasing pressure to justify the coup by producing evidence of wrong-doings under the Thaksin administration. As the multitude of investigations into cases of alleged corruption lurch slowly forward, the interim government appears to be turning to unresolved cases of human rights abuses such as EJKs, and the disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit to discredit Thaksin. The War on Drugs was (and still is) a popular initiative among much of the Thai population. As such, any concerted action by the interim government to set up an independent tribunal to look into that policy carries some attendant risks. The government may be more likely to limit the scope of its examination into EJKs by pursuing a limited number of "solid" cases where it can be demonstrated convincingly that innocent people were caught up in the crossfire, and the victims were denied justice by the Thaksin government. BOYCE