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POLITICS
Recent political developments
From May 1992 to September 2006, Thailand enjoyed uninterrupted democratic governments and significant political reform, including the adoption of a new progressively worded Constitution in 1997. Implementation of the new provisions did not always live up to expectations, but the overall impact on Thailand's political landscape was significant. Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai ('Thais Love Thais') Party had held power from January 2001. Mr Thaksin, a former police officer who made his fortune in the mobile phone business before entering politics in his early 40s, dominated the domestic political landscape. However despite being re-elected with an increased parliamentary majority in February 2005, opposition to his government in Bangkok led to the dissolution of Parliament in February 2006. New elections were held on 2 April 2006, but were boycotted by the main opposition parties. In early May 2006 the Constitutional Court ruled the elections unconstitutional and ordered a new round of elections to take place. These were scheduled to take place in October, but on 19 September 2006 Thaksin was deposed by the military in a coup led by the Commander in Chief of the Army, General Sonthi Boonyarathklin.
Following the coup, the 1997 Constitution was suspended and martial law was declared. The coup leaders formed a governing council called the Council for National Security (CNS). The CNS appointed a Privy Counsellor, retired General Surayud Chulanond, as Prime Minister, tasked with heading an interim administration to draft a new constitution and hold elections by the end of 2007. The draft constitution was approved in a national referendum in August 2007 and democratic elections were held on 23 December 2007. The pro-Thaksin People’s Power Party (PPP) won with a slight majority and formed a coalition government, with Samak Sundaravej, a former TV chef and former Mayor of Bangkok, elected as Prime Minister.
Political uncertainty continued, however, and in May 2008 the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) started demonstrating against the government. In August 2008 these demonstrations grew and violent clashes took place between pro and anti government groups. These led to Prime Minister Samak declaring a State of Emergency in Bangkok on 2 September 2008. On 9 September the Constitutional Court ruled that Samak had violated the constitution due to a conflict of interest. He was removed from office. The State of Emergency was then lifted, and a new government, headed by Prime Minister Somchai, took office in mid-September.
Protests by anti-government groups continued and culminated in the forced closure of Bangkok’s two main airports in November 2008. In December, the Thai Constitutional Court ruled that the three main parties of the coalition government were guilty of election fraud. The parties were dissolved and their executives banned from politics for 5 years. A new government was formed and headed by the Leader of the Democrat Party Abhisit Vejjajiva.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Thailand has a generally good human rights record. Prior to the coup, it was one of the liveliest democracies in the region. The media is relatively free by regional standards, although government interference, issues surrounding freedom of expression and self-censorship have increased in recent years. Public demonstrations are common and usually peaceful. Several regional human rights NGOs are based in Bangkok and Thailand is a popular venue for international human rights meetings. Despite this some recent events have damaged Thailand's reputation on human rights.
The Thai Government's 'War against Drugs' in 2003 attracted adverse international attention. Although official figures record the deaths of over 2,600 people, the Thai authorities claimed that only a small number of these individuals were killed by the police, who were acting in self-defence, and that the remainder were killed by rival drug gangs or their own gang-leaders. Few if any of these deaths have been satisfactorily investigated. In August 2007 the interim government established a Commission to investigate the deaths but the findings were never made public.
Since January 2004, violence in the predominantly Muslim far south of Thailand has killed over 3,000 people. On 28 April 2004 there were attacks on security forces at 10 locations in the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla. Over 100 militants were killed, as well as 5 members of the security forces. 32 people were killed in the Krue Se mosque in Pattani. An independent commission set up to investigate the mosque incident reported that Thai security forces had used disproportionate force, but cited certain mitigating factors.
Following a demonstration in Tak Bai, Narathiwat, on 25 October 2004 seven demonstrators were shot by members of the security forces and a further 78 people died while being transported by truck to an army camp. The official report into the Tak Bai demonstration named several officials as responsible for mishandling crowd control and the anti-riot operation. Three Army commanders were transferred but no further disciplinary action was taken.
The Thai Government has a good history of offering safe haven to Burmese – and other -refugees (currently over 160,000 Burmese live in Thailand), though the UNHCR has expressed concern about Thailand’s handling of recent groups of Hmong migrants arriving from Laos and the Rohingya people arriving from Burma.
The Thai Government has used the death penalty as part of its fight against drugs. In 2002, there were 11 executions, mostly for drugs related offences. There were four executions in 2003 for murder and drugs related offences. In October 2003 lethal injection replaced shooting as Thailand's method of execution. There have been no executions since December 2003.
Of the six core UN human rights treaties, Thailand has ratified all except the UN Convention against Torture. Thailand has not signed up to the International Criminal Court.
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