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Government is warned about associating ‘Kotee’ with Dhammakaya A UN report on the rights situation in Thailand is being awaited with keen interest Dubious overseas study trips have come under the CDC’s microscope
Connecting the dots
I t was said in a popular Hollywood movie a few decades ago that there are rewards to having enemies as they make one stronger. But too much animosity can prove disastrous.
The discovery this week of a large cache of weapons and ammunition allegedly belonging to Wuthipong Kochathamakun, alias Kotee, leader of a red-shirt chapter based in Pathum Thani, has sparked renewed interest in unity.
The weapons were retrieved from a house as the authorities were initiating proceedings to secure Mr Wuthipong’s extradition from Cambodia where the hardline fugitive — wanted on charges connected to the colour-coded street violence waged against anti-Yingluck Shinwatra protesters prior to the military coup in May 2014 — is believed to have fled.
The weapons haul seized public attention just as the weeks-long Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple stand-off with the authorities ended. The authorities had scoured every inch of the temple grounds with the permission of the court in the search for the elusive former abbot of the temple, Phra Dhammajayo. The search turned out to be a futile exercise.
Instantly, political speculators sprang into action and connected the dots to find support for a theory that the temple and Mr Wuthipong may not be strangers.
In fact, police have worked for some time to piece together the puzzle and have collected some compelling clues that the temple and the former red-shirt core leader were closer than originally thought.
According to police, the weapons uncovered in Pathum Thani may have been intended for use against the authorities laying siege to Wat Phra Dhammakaya.
A political source said no one should dismiss the fact that Mr Wuthipong was known as a dominant figure during his heyday as a red-shirt stalwart. He had a large following in Pathum Thani where the temple is located.
The source noted social media messages, allegedly posted by the temple faithful several weeks ago, bemoaned the lack of help from a certain “ally” fighter and his network when the temple was in a desperate state.
Although some current affairs analysts are not completely convinced, in the absence of hard evidence, Mr Wuthipong and the temple are on the same side. Observers say some of the temple’s top-tier disciples were either red-shirt sympathisers or former members of a political party affiliated to the redshirt movement.
The Department of Special Investigation also said intelligence reports were received about armed individuals involved in street violence prior to the 2014 coup mingling with crowds of people resisting the authorities during the temple siege.
However, the analysts have voiced caution, saying the government should be mindful of a potential political backlash from casually typifying and generalising.
They explained that if an association between the temple and Mr Wuthipong is suggested, the temple’s disciples could be “mislabelled” as red shirts, and that would unnecessarily create further anti-government sentiment.
The analysts felt such a blanket description would not be helpful, particularly to the government’s reconciliation campaign.
Taking his cue is deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, who led the raid on the weapons cache. He has refrained from describing Mr Wuthipong and his group as red shirts but were rather a sub-group sharing the red-shirt ideology which operated a local radio broadcast unit.
The police general was obviously trying to limit the focus to a pocket of alleged trouble makers so as not to upset the wider movement.
Freedoms in focus
N ational Human Rights commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit is now waiting for the UN Human Rights Committee’s concluding observation report after a delegation from Thailand gave an oral presentation on the country’s human rights situation in Geneva earlier this month.
She is very keen to know what is in the report, expected to be released at the end of this month, after taking note of the differing views expressed about the country’s human rights situation by the government, the NHRC and civil society organisations.
During the sessions, the committee listened to the various presentations before opening the floor to questions.
The committee held separate sessions for the government’s delegation, national human rights commissioners and civil society organisations.
The delegation was asked to clarify wideranging issues related to the interim constitution, including child trafficking, domestic violence, migrant workers, gender equality, arbitrary detention of human rights defenders, stateless persons, the independence of the National Human Rights Commission, asylum seekers and, in particular, the alleged repatriation of Rohingya and Uighur asylum seekers.
Also, the experts voiced concern at the use of force, and instances of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances since 2014 when the military government came to power.
The experts also asked about the sharp increase in the number of proceedings and detentions under the lese majeste and state of emergency laws, as well as under provisions on sedition, defamation, the Public Assembly Act, the Computer Crime Act, the Referendum Act and orders imposed by the National Council for Peace and Order.
In his concluding remarks, Ahmad Amin Fathalla, the committee vice chair, said some of the questions that still required answers included freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and child labour.
The Thai delegation said it gave a written reply to clarify the queries within 48 hours of the presentation having been concluded as allowed by the committee.
The delegation insisted it had done a fairly good job.
Justice permanent secretary Charnchao Chaiyanukij, who headed the delegation, took stock of the recommendations and issues raised, which would be used for human rights improvement.
Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai also was apparently satisfied with the delegation’s performance.
“It was a very academic and constructive consultation,” he said. The committee had deep insight into Thailand’s problems and praised it for answering questions and giving information.
“Not every country has adopted the ICCPR [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]. Twenty-eight countries are signatories but have not ratified [the covenant].
“Thailand joined in 1997. It means that Thailand is transparent and is ready to let the international community see the human rights situation in our country [has evolved],” he said.
Thailand is one of 169 countries to ratify the ICCPR and is required to present a progress report once every four years.
Meanwhile, local and international civil societies attacked Thailand over human rights issues, especially the invocation of the powerful Section 44 of the interim constitution.
Ms Angkhana, who works closely with NGOs, also keeps an eye on the government’s progress in dealing with the problems of enforced disappearances after her husband went missing 13 years ago.
Ms Angkhana said she was confident the committee members had worked hard and looked into every detail of the human rights issues.
When Thailand says it promotes gender equality, the committee experts asked how many female officers are in the Royal Thai Police and the National Legislative Assembly, and asked if there are any LGBT officers in the military, according to the human rights commissioner.
The experts also wondered why many orders were issued under Section 44 when ordinary law could adequately address issues, she added.
She admitted that the government and NGOs hold different views about the progress of human rights in Thailand. Therefore, she looked forward to hearing the committee’s feedback before the month is out.
Crackdown on junkets
O verseas study trips funded by the state are considered a special perk by politicians and state officials.
But the junkets often spark criticism for yielding no tangible benefits for the country as many of those involved acquire little knowledge to help national progress, not to mention allegations of family members riding along at the expense of the public purse.
Foreign study trips are regarded as training programmes, and participants either pay some of the costs or have the lot paid for out of state budgets. Whatever the case, they are drawing the attention of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC).
A CDC meeting recently discussed whether it would be appropriate for independent bodies and those involved in the judiciary system such as judges to hold any training courses designed to establish “connections” with non-member outsiders, a source said.
CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan had said previously the CDC was drafting organic bills governing independent bodies to ban them from holding special training programmes.
The ban is included in the draft bill governing the Election Commission (EC), Mr Meechai said, adding the CDC will consider similar bans be included in organic laws governing other independent bodies.
However, he said independent bodies would not be prohibited from organising training courses to improve the skills of their personnel.
“The CDC thinks that those who are selected to work [for independent bodies] are supposed to have knowledge and expertise. Therefore, there is no need for them to undergo any further training,” he said.
He added that foreign study trips will have to be considered carefully. “The EC has been around for almost 20 years. Is there still any need to go on such foreign trips?’’ Mr Meechai said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha recently also announced a policy to strictly control state agencies’ foreign trips and instructed the Office of the Auditor-General to examine the expenses.
The EC’s advanced political and electoral development programme is among the much-criticised training programmes.
Apart from scholars, media representatives and executives from private companies, politicians take part in the programmes, and foreign study trips are a key feature.
EC member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn recently denied reports of a study trip to Europe in May.
He said the EC has been told to give trip preference to countries in Asean plus three (China, Japan, and South Korea).