THAI HUMAN RIGHTS BODY BLAMES POLICE FOR OCTOBER 7

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 003236

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP, DRL, IO; NSC FOR PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV TH
SUBJECT: THAI HUMAN RIGHTS BODY BLAMES POLICE FOR OCTOBER 7
VIOLENCE; LATER INDEPENDENT REPORT EXPECTED TO BLAME PAD

REF: BANGKOK 3143 (SOMCHAI WON'T RESIGN)

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Classified By: DCM JAMES F. ENTWISTLE, REASON 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
released a report on October 17 blaming the RTG for excessive
use of force during the October 7 clash between People's
Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protestors and the police. The
clash resulted in two fatalities and numerous injuries,
including, according to the NHRC report, lost limbs due to
tear gas canister explosions. The report, produced with
unprecedented speed, concluded that the Bangkok Metropolitan
Police, acting on government orders, used excessive force to
disperse PAD protestors with tear gas and that this
constituted a human rights violation. Meanwhile, an
independent fact-finding committee appointed by the RTG
commenced a separate investigation of the incident. The
committee's findings are not expected anytime soon, but it is
anticipated to blame PAD for the violence. The exploding
Chinese-made teargas canisters used by the police on
protestors launched a Human Rights Watch project to track
worldwide sales of the canisters in an effort to warn
security officials about the potential for fatalities and
injuries based on the Thai experience.


2. (C) Comment: Few Thais, aside from politicians, place
much weight, if any, on reports issued from the NHRC or the
government-appointed fact-finding committee. Politics
hijacked any moral authority held by either group since the
NHRC is perceived to support PAD and the fact-finding
committee is thought to favor the RTG. Meanwhile, human
rights activists lament the lost chance for a neutral body to
address the events of October 7. End Summary and Comment.

NHRC REPORT RELEASED IN RECORD TIME
--------------


3. (C) The NHRC, an ostensibly neutral body mandated by the
Thai constitution to review human rights abuses, issued a
five-page report on October 17 that placed blame on the
Bangkok Metropolitan Police and the RTG for the violence and
fatalities during the October 7 clash between PAD supporters
and the police. Democrat Party (DP) leader Abhisit Vejjajiva
petitioned the NHRC to investigate the incident on October 9.
NHRC member, and co-author of the report, Kamol Kamoltrakul
told us that the NHRC reached rapid consensus about RTG use
of excessive force, and explained that NHRC wanted to issue a
report to the public as fast as possible. In the past, he
explained, "the NHRC didn't do enough, fast enough, in
investigating extra-judicial killings during the War on
Drugs, and we regret that." Kamol told us that NHRC members
interviewed victims in hospitals, accompanied leading
forensics expert Porntip Rojanasunan during her investigation
into the causes of the deaths and injuries, and visited
police headquarters to inspect the tear-gas canisters and
crowd-control methods used by the police. Kamol said that
the NHRC plans to release two additional reports on the
incident.


4. (C) Former NHRC advisor and present Human Rights Watch
employee Sunai Phasuk privately told us the one-week time
frame to produce the report was unprecedented and contrary to
typical NHCR procedures. He pointed out that the NHRC's
report on the Krue Sae Mosque incident in 2004 took 90 days
to complete, and included multiple fact-checking exercises
and cross examinations of witnesses. "They chose to release
what should have been considered preliminary findings, and
tainted the integrity of the report," he added. Sunai told
us that the NHRC released the report to provide leverage for
PAD and the Army to pressure PM Somchai Wongsawat to resign.
He added that he was shocked to see NHRC commissioner Sunee
Chaiyarose hold a press conference to release the report, as
the commissioner previously avoided major media events.

NHRC Views Report as Legal Support to Victims
--------------


6. (C) Kamol anticipated that the NHRC report would assist
those impacted by the violence of October 7 to file lawsuits
against the RTG. According to an employee of the NGO
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ),the Thai courts

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could consider the NHRC report as supporting evidence, but
judges likely would not consider it prima facie evidence of
government wrongdoing. Family members of victims of the Krue
Sae Mosque and Tak Bai incidents from 2004 used NHRC reports
to support their charges against the RTG, and NHRC
correspondence with the Internal Security Operations Command
was used in another recent trial regarding alleged abuses.


7. (C) Our ICJ contact privately dismissed the significance
of the latest NHRC report, saying the Commission appeared
politically biased. She added, "NHRC is not functioning
properly at the moment, and we're all waiting for the new
commissioner to be appointed." Sunai, from Human Rights
Watch, echoed this view, claiming that the NHRC as a whole,
and the Commissioner in particular, were staunchly
anti-Thaksin.

NHRC'S Mandate: Monitor RTG, Not PAD
--------------


7. (C) A former NHRC Commissioner, Charan Ditthaphichai
published a letter to a newspaper labeling the report as
politically biased. Charan cited the omission of any
discussion of PAD action that may have contributed to the
day's violence, questioned the neutrality of NHRC members,
and accused the NHRC of not following internal procedure,
which required them to present the report to the petitioners,
the accused, the PM and the National Assembly before making
it public. Kamol dismissed Charan's accusations and told us
that the NHRC's mandate is to examine human rights violations
by the authorities, not those of the PAD. He added that
PAD's actions may have violated certain criminal laws, but
police use of force on unarmed citizens violated human rights.

RTG Fact-Finding Committee Expected to Blame PAD
-------------- ---


8. (C) The RTG has approved the establishment of an
independent, 11-member fact-finding committee to investigate
the October 7 clash. In his October 17 press conference
(reftel),PM Somchai stressed the importance of awaiting this
committee's report. The committee's first meeting took place
on October 17, and a second meeting is scheduled for November

3. The committee does not have a deadline for issuing a
report, and the investigation appears to be moving at a much
slower pace than the NHRC's. Committee Chairman Preecha
Panichwong is a retired Vice President of the Supreme Court,
and according to credible contacts, has little to no
forensics training.


9. (C) Sunai and Kamol advised privately that the committee
would likely take many months to issue a report because the
RTG will use the committee to prolong the investigation.
Both agreed that the committee would inevitably blame PAD for
the October 7 violence. "Everyone knows the independent body
is a joke," Sunai added, "and, that the NHRC lost a chance to
issue a balanced report when it was needed most." Kamol
suspected that the committee's report would blame former
Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and could be
fought over by feuding factions within the Metropolitan
Police.

Effort Started to Track Tear Gas Model Worldwide
-------------- ---


10. (C) Based on videotapes of the police use of teargas on
October 7, and forensic evidence of the injuries caused by
the Chinese-made teargas canisters exploding, Human Rights
Watch started a worldwide investigation to detect other
countries that purchased the same Chinese model of teargas
used in Bangkok. According to Sunai, HRW is concerned
because of the apparent explosive force of the canisters.
HRW hopes to prevent future use of this tear gas model and
plans to warn other governments about the potential for death
or severe injuries if the canisters are fired directly into
crowds. (We note that, while the canisters may be unusually
powerful, the Thai police appeared not to understand the
proper way to fire them; misuse by the police, in addition to
the canisters' unusual explosive force, may have contributed
to the protestors' excessive injuries.)


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JOHN