sorry for crossposting...
things are moving fast...
----- Original Message -----
From: Sunai Phasuk <phasuks@hrw.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 8:42 AM
Subject: Thailand: Coup Threatens Human Rights
For more information, please contact:
In Lahore, Brad Adams: +92-300-842-5125 (mobile)
In New York, Sam Zarifi: +1-212-216-1213; or +1-646-662-7750 (mobile)
In New York, Sophie Richardson: +1-212-216-1257; or +1-917-721-7473
(mobile)
For Immediate Release
Thailand: Coup Threatens Human Rights
(Bangkok, September 19, 2006) - Military forces responsible for a coup
d'etat in Thailand today should immediately restore fundamental human
rights and protect those exercising their rights to free expression,
association and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today.
Thai army officers opposing the administration of Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra took over government institutions in Bangkok today, pledging
to reform government and fight corruption. In their public announcement,
the coup leaders suspended Thailand's constitution as well as the
country's parliament and senate.
"Thaksin's rule had seriously eroded respect for human rights in
Thailand, but suspending basic rights under the constitution is not the
answer," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "Thailand
needs to solve its problems through the rule of law and the people
exercising their right to choose their own leaders."
Thailand has been in a political crisis since the rise of massive
political opposition in Bangkok to Thaksin Shinawatra and his crackdown
on the country's media and dissenting voices. Thaksin had been acting as
a caretaker prime minister after the Constitutional Court nullified the
results of the April 2 general elections because of electoral
irregularities and improper intrusion by political groups allied with
the Thaksin's party.
Thaksin's five-year rule has been marked by serious human rights abuses.
Thaksin launched a "war on drugs" in 2003 that resulted in dozens of
extrajudicial executions of alleged drug dealers, none of which have
been properly investigated. Security forces responded to an insurgency
in the country's mostly Muslim southern provinces by committing
widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and
"disappearances" of many people.
The takeover last night was the first coup attempt in Thailand in 15
years. But before that, Thailand had suffered through dozens of military
coups, many of them marked by bloody purges and serious human rights
violations.
"The return of tanks to the streets of Bangkok is clear evidence that
the rights of all Thais are in jeopardy," said Adams. "So, too, is
Thailand's position in the region as a leading democracy with a strong
civil society."
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