SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: FEWER CASES OF ABUSE REPORTED,

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 002410

SIPDIS

NSC FOR PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL PTER TH
SUBJECT: SOUTHERN VIOLENCE: FEWER CASES OF ABUSE REPORTED,
BUT PROBLEMS REMAIN

REF: A. BANGKOK 02255 (THAI OFFICIALS BRIEF DIPLOMATS)

B. BANGKOK 00957 (RTA COMMANDER ANUPONG COMMITTED
TO RULE OF LAW)

C. BANGKOK 00941 (PROMINENT THAI NGOS RELEASE
REPORTS ON ABUSES)

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Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission, James F. Entwistle, reason 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and comment: Thai security officials who are
working to curb alleged human rights abuses committed by
members of security units fighting the insurgency in
Thailand's deep south may be seeing some success; embassy
contacts working with victims of abuse reported in July that
the number of abuse cases brought to their attention has
dropped significantly. While this development in no way
signals an end to possible human rights violations in the
deep south, and NGOs are continuing to investigate
allegations of torture and abuse, it is a hopeful sign that
senior military officials are serious about dealing with this
problem.


2. (C) Comment: We have repeatedly brought our concerns about
human rights abuses to the attention of the highest levels of
the Thai military and will continue to do so; we are
currently waiting on a response from the Thai government on a
request for information about the investigation into the
death of Muslim cleric Yapa Koseng, who died in March while
in military custody. Although General Anupong has been
assuring us for sometime that he would rein in perceived
human rights abuses in the South, it was only after Yapa,s
death that attorneys who work with alleged abuse victims
began to see a drop in the number of cases reported to them.
As in most conflicts of this nature, however, it is
impossible to understand the violence in the South without
taking into account the cycles of attack and reprisal that
are driven as much by anger as by ideology or nationalism.
Although the Thai military leadership appears to be working
to end alleged human rights abuses, we should not be
surprised by reports of army and paramilitary units
responding with harsh tactics when faced with gruesome
provocations by the insurgents. End Summary and comment.

The Good News: Fewer Reported Cases



3. (C) In July, we conducted a series of meetings with NGOs
working on human rights issues in southern Thailand to talk
about allegations of torture and abuse in army and police
detention facilities. Giving us unexpected good news,
contacts working with the Muslim Attorneys Center (MAC) told
us that the number of cases of abuse reported to them had
dropped off markedly over the past several months. (Note:
MAC is an association of Muslim attorneys who provide legal
assistance to residents of southern Thailand in cases
relating to national security. End note.) MAC told us that
at the beginning of the year they were receiving on average
25 reports of abuses a month. In April, they said, the
number dropped off to just two. They alleged abuse still
happens, but now it takes place at the "special task force
level and during village sweep operations," before suspects
reach official detention facilities such as Ingkayut Borihan
Camp in Pattani. According to MAC, transfer to Ingkayut
Borihan can sometimes take several days, leaving suspects at
the mercy of units directly involved in the fighting. MAC
said they are not receiving any reports of abuses occurring
in Ingkayut Borihan.


4. (C) Preeda Thingchumnum (protect),an attorney who works
with MAC, believes the primary reason there are fewer cases
of alleged torture and abuse is that human rights NGOs have
been successful in pressuring the government to take better
control of security forces operating in the South,
particularly paramilitary units. According to Preeda, a
senior Ministry of Justice official told MAC that the NGO
community has been very effective in exerting pressure on the
security establishment through Thai NGOs, civil society
groups, and representatives of the international community.

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Preeda also gave credit to MAC. She said the military is now
more aware that its operations are being scrutinized because
of MAC,s victim advocacy work, and its ability to contest
cases of illegal detention and abuse in court. The issue
now, according to Preeda, is keeping track of suspects once
they are detained, and obtaining information about their
arrest and detention. Preeda also said MAC continues to be
extremely concerned over reports of extrajudicial killings.

The Bad News: Problem Continues



5. (C) While MAC,s positive assessment of progress on the
issue of abuse in detention facilities is good news, Benjamin
Zawacki (protect througQut),an Amnesty International
representative investigating allegations of torture and abuse
in the South, gave a more sobering assessment. Zawacki, who
had just returned from the South in June, said he had
reviewed 23 cases of alleged torture and abuse involving 25
persons. He said he met with the individuals involved,
interviewed security officials, and looked for evidence of
systematic abuse or torture. He said all the incidents he
investigated took place in 2008, between January and June.
Acknowledging the difficulty of looking into cases of human
rights abuse in southern Thailand, he said many of the
alleged victims were afraid to speak to him. He also said he
believed that at least some of the victims he interviewed
were active participants in the insurgency.


6. (C) Zawacki, while being careful to caveat his statements,
said his impression was that the torture and abuse Amnesty is
documenting in the South was not part of any official policy,
but nonetheless a deep seated and widespread problem. He
said he was surprised at the consistent descriptions victims
gave him about the alleged torture and abuse, particularly
since the victims came from different parts of the South and
were detained by different units. He said that in a minority
of cases, the abuse only took the form of beatings. Most
cases involved use of electric shocks, needles in genitalia,
and a technique involving placing a plastic bag over the head
of the suspect and submerging the suspect in water. Zawacki
said most people he interviewed believed their tormentors
were from ranger units, but offered no proof. He said the
abuse usually took place during the first three days of
detention and sometimes lasted until day seven. Once a
suspect was transferred to Ingkayut Borihan camp, the abuse
would stop, and they would occasionally be offered medical
attention in exchange for signing paperwork alleging the
abuse never took place. Zawacki said the victims he
interviewed told him that once someone confessed, the abuse
would immediately end.


7. (C) According to Zawacki, the most senior military officer
he spoke with, a colonel, acknowledged that the military was
having trouble controlling abuse. He told the representative
that many of the confessions obtained by security forces were
false.

Turning Point: Death of Imam Yapa in March



8. (C) The death in Army custody of Imam Yapa Koseng in March
may have been a turning point for senior officials working on
controlling the excesses of troops in the South. Imam Yapa
was a Muslim cleric who was detained, allegedly abused, and
died while in army custody in March. (Note: See reftel C.
According to Sunai Phasuk (protect) from Human Rights Watch
(HRW),Yapa was an insurgent leader responsible for leading
and carrying out attacks against government and civilian
targets in Narathiwat's Rangae and Ruso districts. Thai and
international NGOs have reported that he was detained by
Royal Thai Army Task Force 39 and beaten repeatedly.
According to the NGO,s the final beating occurred in full
view of other detained suspects who watched soldiers stomping
him to death. End note.) After Yapa,s death, both Army
Commander-in-Chief Anupong and the Deputy Commander of the
Region 4 ISOC, Major General Jumlong Kunsong, made forceful
public statements that torture and abuse would not be

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tolerated (reftel B).


9. (C) In response to the death of Imam Yapa, on July 24 we
delivered a letter to the Thai Ministry of Defense and to the
Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters (RTARF) from the DCM
emphasizing USG concerns over the incident and requesting
information about an official investigation into the death.
In the meeting in which the letter was delivered, General
Attaporn Charoenpanich, Judge Advocate General at the
Ministry of Defense, explained to us that the case was now a
police matter, in the Narathiwat judicial system. He said
the civilian criminal courts had jurisdiction over the case
because of the possibility that the death could be ruled an
extra judicial killing. The Narathiwat police were currently
reviewing the autopsy inquiry. If the case were found to
have sufficient merit, the police would refer it to the
public prosecutor. General Attaporn predicted that the case
would likely land in the jurisdiction of the National
Counter-Corruption Commission because it involved the actions
of government officials.


10. (S) In a separate meeting about Yapa,s death, Lieutenant
General Surapong SuwQ-adth (protect),Director of Joint
Intelligence, RTARF Headquarters, told us that the Royal Thai
Army (RTA) had concluded its own investigation into Yapa,s
death and had punished five soldiers whom the RTA had found
to be involved in "actions contrary to regulations."
Surapong explained that three non-commissioned officers had
served sixty days and a lieutenant had served thirty days in
military prison. In addition, a captain had received other
punishment that our contact was unwilling to specify. The
five soldiers, the commander, and deputy commander of the
unit had been transferred away from the South. The contact
confirmed that the RTA punishment was separate from anything
that could result from a criminal prosecution in the civilian
courts. (Note: Although the RTARF has not disclosed to us
the make-up of Special Task Force 39, our HRW contact, Sunai
Phasuk (protect),told us that the unit has been transferred
to Yala province. Sunai claimed Special Task Force 39 is
composed of personnel from the 18th Cavalry Battalion, 3rd
Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, of the 3rd Army Area.
End note.)

JOHN