PSPD in English Peace/Disarmament 2004-11-15   938

ASIAN PEACE ALLIANCE STATEMENT AND CALL TO ACTION

No to Impunity in Thailand, No to Impunity in the World

 

The Asian Peace Alliance (APA) strongly condemns the indefensibly brutal dispersal and arrest of protesters which has killed 85 people and injured hundreds on October 25 in southern Thailand.

The APA is a broad coalition of peace activists, human rights organizations, political parties, religious, women¹s and youth organizations in Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong(Special Administrative Region of China), Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India.

Six were killed after the Thai military deliberately and indiscriminately fired at demonstrators after using tear gas and water cannon to disperse the unarmed crowds; 78 died from suffocation, heatstroke, and beatings after 1,300 arrested protesters were piled up on top of each other in up to three layers and forced to fit into just four trucks. This has been the most vicious use of state violence in Thailand and in the region in years.

An atmosphere of impunity and brutality has descended upon the country: Up to 2,800 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed under the government-sponsored ³war on drugs.² Seventeen activists have been murdered or “disappeared” and the government has done little to pursue the cases.

Exacerbating the climate of fear and repression has been the Prime Minister’s assault on Thais’ freedom of expression as well as his unrelenting tirades against Thai civil society. Under the current government, Thailand has lapsed into a nominally democratic state with an increasingly unchecked authoritarian and repressive streak.

With over 350 now dead since March, the outbreak of violence in southern Thailand now threatens to escalate into a full-blown conflict. Should that happen, the responsibility would fall squarely on the Thai government. Instead of addressing the marginalization of people in the south, Thaksin and the Thai military have instead chosen to unleash the full force of the military to quell people¹s demand for respect and equality.

This blatant disregard for human rights in Thailand is not isolated. Around the world, a culture of impunity and contempt for law is being entrenched, as most clearly manifested by the ease and ruthlessness with which international law has been violated by the United States in its illegal occupation of Iraq as well as Israel¹s illegal occupation of Palestine. The picture of piles of half-naked men, hands tied at the back and lying on top of each other, is reminiscent of yet another scandalous case of human rights violation that remains unpunished: Abu Ghraib. The shooting of innocent civilians in Narathiwat is all too reminiscent of another place: Fallujah.

We call for the full accountability for the intended or unintended killings and support calls for the establishment of a truly independent commission to look into and establish responsibility for the incident.

We call on our own government to take a stand and register its criticism of the actions of the Thai government.

We demand an immediate end to repression in southern Thailand.

We call on the Thai government to seek peaceful means to end the conflict so that ethnic, cultural and religious differences can be respected.

We stand in solidarity with all those who call for an end to impunity ­ be it by Bush or Thaksin.

We call for an end to the escalation of war, repression, and militarization ­ be it in Iraq, Palestine, or Thailand.

CALL TO ACTION

We call on all those committed to peace, justice, and human rights across Asia and around the world to show global condemnation of the killings in southern Thailand and oppose escalation of war and repression in the country.

We call for mass actions in front of Thai embassies in countries around the world.

We call for statements of condemnation to be sent to Thai authorities expressing global outrage at the killings.

We call for actions demanding that our own governments take a stand to denounce the killings. ASIAN PEACE ALLIANCE November 2004

Endorsed by: (as of 13 November 2004) Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development Asian Peace Alliance – Japan Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives (Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China) Focus on the Global South (India, Philippines, Thailand) Gathering for Peace (Philippines) Peace Camp (Philippines) People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy – Korea Simorgh Women’s Collective (Lahore, Pakistan)

 

Asian Peace Alliance(APA)

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