Govt indifference haunts Tak Bai deaths

The Paetongtarn Shinawatra government may be relieved that the Tak Bai lawsuit is over after the case was dismissed by a court following the expiry of the statute of limitations at midnight on Oct 25. But this could restart difficulties in the restive deep South.
Undeniably, failed justice effectively deepens the grievances of the victims and their families of those killed 20 years ago when the military cracked down on a demonstration in front of Tak Bai police station.
Now, all those indicted in the case and who escaped arrest warrants are free men. One of them is Wissanu Lertsongkram, district assistant chief of the Tha Uthen district office in Nakhon Phanom. He returned to work the following day after the case expired as if nothing had happened.
Back in 2004, Mr Wissanu was a soldier assigned to drive a military truck transporting Muslim protesters and on-lookers from the protest site to a camp in Pattani, 150km away. Under harsh conditions, reportedly five layers of men piled on top of each other, 78 of them died from suffocation or internal organ failure.
When the court issued him an arrest warrant on Oct 5, along with other defendants, Mr Wissanu requested a leave of absence from Oct 16 to 18.
According to local news reports, the Tha Uthen district chief, upon learning of the arrest warrant, rejected Mr Wissanu’s leave request, ordering him to return to work, but he just disappeared. The timing of his leave request gives the impression that he had known the court order beforehand. A police officer tasked with locating him arrived at his workplace on Oct 18 only to find an empty office.
The Office of the Attorney General noted that Mr Wissanu had been charged in September, and a subsequent arrest warrant was issued, but no action was taken against him until the deadline approached.
In short, his escape and return to work would not have been possible without help from state authorities in his circle.
Having said that, the government’s claims that it had tried to locate the defendants are anything but a laughing matter. It’s apparent that search attempts, as mentioned by Ms Paetongtarn, were just for show.
Only after the media highlighted his reappearance did those involved, from Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul downward, react. In an about-face, the Interior Ministry ordered a probe for Mr Wissanu’s absence. As he came back to work before 15 days, the ministry ruled out dismissing him from his job.
The Tak Bai tragedy will be a dark spot for the Pheu Thai Party. Its sluggish, ostentatious reactions to the defendants’ escape speak volumes about its insincerity in upholding justice.
More than a few escapees, particularly Gen Pisal Wattanawongkiri, Pheu Thai listed MP, and Pol Gen Wongkot Maneerin, are those with connection to Thaksin Shinawatra, the PM’s father and Pheu Thai de facto leader.
Gen Pisal was then commander of the 4th region army at the time of the Tak Bai atrocity. He was a student of the Military Cadet School’s Class 9, while Thaksin was from Class 10. Both are alumni of the Chiang Mai-based Mongford School.
In a media interview released on Nov 2, 2004, Gen Pisal said what happened in Tak Bai was his sole responsibility, as he ordered the crackdown. The decision came after seven-hour attempts to persuade the protesters — some of them armed and raucous — to disband failed.
While his decision 20 years ago remains debatable, he failed to show responsibility by fighting in court to clear his name and tell the story from his side.
The circumstances under which Gen Pisal submitted his leave of absence form are equally unusual. He claimed he had to seek medical treatment abroad, with an initial plan to resume his parliamentary role on Oct 30. Deputy House Speaker Pichet Chuamuangpan of Pheu Thai approved his leave request without details about his illness or the place where he was to seek treatment.
Public outcry for his mysterious absence forced him to quit the party.
Another two defendants are Gen Chalermchai Wirunpeth and Pol Gen Wongkot Maneerin. The former was Thaksin’s ex-classmate at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School who then served as the 5th Infantry Regiment’s commander when the Tak Bai violence flared up. The latter was Thaksin’s classmate at the Royal Police Cadet Academy and husband of Sirikorn Maneerin, deputy education minister in the Thaksin cabinet.
The Tak Bai case was about extrajudicial killings on a massive scale. The OAG pointed out that those involved in the Oct 25 crackdown should have been fully aware that piling the demonstrators, with hands fastened, in layers upon layers, could have resulted in deaths. The agency then indicted those involved in the operation with murder.
From the first day since the Narathiwat provincial court accepted the case until the expiry of the statute of limitation, the Pheu Thai Party failed to convince the public that it intended to see justice run its course.
The government cannot deny its responsibility for allowing the case to expire without taking serious action. It ignored the call for a royal decree to extend the deadline. It’s crystal clear that those at the top, ie, Ms Paetongtarn and Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who oversees the Royal Thai Police, are not doing enough.
In addition, the government has rebuffed victims’ families’ demands that it rip the pensions from the ex-defendants who were formerly state officials. Meanwhile, Mr Phumtham has made no attempt to hide his frustration. He said he felt uncomfortable with the pressure against the government, which is being portrayed as the villain. He instead feels that the government has become a victim.
Indeed, the government should not underestimate public sentiment over its failure to ensure justice for Tak Bai victims and their families. Its indifference and lack of sincerity, which resulted in failed justice in such a tragic case, will deal a heavy blow not only to the Pheu Thai Party but also to the judicial system. This is an absolute shame.