Freedom cannot be bestowed to the people, but must be fought and achieved. Freedom is much more than a right.  It entails some responsibilities of doing what people think is good not only for themselves but for society in general. It is a state when one realizes their duties and starts respecting other’s freedom.

Twenty-three years ago, the Phruetsapha Thamin, or Black May popular protest participated in by 200,000 people, happened in Central Bangkok against the military government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon. In the four-day military crackdown, the popular uprising was met with brutal and violent suppression, resulting in 52 deaths, thousands arrested, hundreds injured. In the immediate aftermath of the shootings, more than a thousand people were reported missing by friends and relatives.

On the occasion of the commemoration of the Black May gruesome massacre, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) joins human rights and civil society organizations the world over for the Government of Thailand to adhere to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and stop impunity.   It also links its arms in solidarity with the Relatives Committee of the May 1992 Heroes who, till date, continues to reconstruct the historical memory of those who were killed and disappeared during the gruesome massacre.

The AFAD reminds the Government of Thailand of its moral obligation to respect, protect and promote the rights and freedoms of its peoples. Despite being a signatory and party to seven core human rights treaties, the Government of Thailand, past and present, fails to make human rights a reality on the ground.

The human rights situation continues to deteriorate with the invocation of Article 44 of the Interim Constitution which is found harsher than the recently lifted Martial Law.  It ensures the entrenchment of military power in Thai society that has resulted in the commission of unabated serious violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms. Actually, Article 44 is much worse than Martial Law as it allows the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) headed by General Prayuth Chan-ocha to execute key decisions without the oversight of a military court.

Article 44 of the Interim Constitution empowers the military to conduct warrantless search and arrest, and detain people for seven days without charge. The right to peaceful assembly and the freedoms of speech and expression are banned, and suspected dissidents can be tried in military courts are but a few of the draconian measures imposed by the NCPO.

The NCPO has brazenly violated the civil and political rights and freedoms of the people. Article 44 provides absolute power to the NCPO and poses a real and serious threat to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha must learn the valuable lessons of the Black May Uprising that turned into a macabre bloodbath.  The NCPO should resign from the government to whom it should be relinquished to – the Peoples of Thailand. The usurpation of power and the abridgement of freedoms and suppression of fundamental human rights can surely lead to more bloody political violence. The NCPO should learn lessons from history that using military might to crush popular dissent would lead them to their downfall and shame.

As the peoples of Thailand and the world commemorate the 1992 Black May, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances calls on General Prayuth Chan-ocha and the National Council for Peace and Order to peacefully relinquish the government to the people. As Thailand is among the states parties to seven out of the ten international human rights treaties on civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights, it must fulfill its international legal obligations.

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances expresses its commitment to stand in solidarity with the community of nations for the victims of human rights impunity in Thailand.  For the sake of national reconciliation and peace, past crimes perpetrated against the peoples of Thailand should be seriously investigated and bring all those responsible to justice to prevent recurrence of such.

AFAD calls on the Government of Thailand to fulfill its promise to ratify the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to recognize the competence of the UN Committee Against Enforced Disappearance. It should also enact domestic legislation criminalizing Aand putting a stop the impunity of enforced disappearance.

On this occasion, as we commemorate the 1992 Black May Uprising, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances reiterates its call to surface human rights defenders Atty. Somchai Neelapaijit and Porlagee Rakcharoen and return them to their respective families safe, and to release the 17 Malay Muslim students who were arbitrarily arrested, detained and disappeared by Thai authorities in Narathiwat Province last April.  It calls on the Government of Thailand to release all other disappeared persons in 1992 and during the succeeding periods of Thai history.

Peace and reconciliation can never be achieved without truth and justice.

Signed by:

KHURRAM PARVEZ

Chairperson

MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO

Secretary-General