A(n exceedingly) brief comment on the Thaksin verdict
Rich people don’t deserve much credit or respect. Mostly they’re just puffed up with their own power over others, another Benz, another Rolex, another mia noi. It’s not censorship so we’re not so interested. However, if all this money suddenly belongs to all of us, now that’s worth considering.
It would be unfair to characterise the confiscation of some of our fugitive convict prime minister’ billions as an impartial judgement.
Unfortunately, the courts in Thailand are swayed by the political will of the power elite and, historically, always have been.
With that singular caveat, the Dika Court’s decision seems a fair compromise.
No person, no family, no group needs all those billions. Without a deep discussion of the nature of differences in class, suffice it to say that the rich have always become rich because they have been nurtured in the blood and sweat of the poor and working class.
If we elect businessmen to be bureaucrats, we cannot expect them to change their character. Businessmen are trained to make all the money stick to them and their cronies and that’s exactly what happened to Thaksin. Perhaps Thai voters, fully-informed without censorship, will think about what voting means next time…(sheesh—if there ever is a next election!)…but we won’t hold our breath.
That the court only confiscated those billions, whether stolen or earned, which fell into Thaksin’s pockets after he became a politician is fair. The accrual of wealth as a politician always has the taint of corruption so these funds returning to the public purse will negate any conflict of interest while our PM was serving the public (some might say, on a plate).
What remains to be seen is how Thai government will use those funds. Will the elite waste this money on submarines and fighter jets, bomb detectors and drug wars and prisons?
This enormous amount, equal to the GDP of several countries, might best be used to create a fund for village development and His Majesty’s self-sufficiency with an emphasis on education and health care that Thailand might one day become a real democracy.
English news sites blocked
CJ Hinke
February 26, 2010
Why anyone would consider using the ISP of the Telephone Organisation of Thailand (TOT) is anyone’s guess. TOT is always the quickest to block, either pre-emptively or at MICT’s “requests”.
Note that independent blocking by an ISP is illegal in the absence of a court order.
The powers-that-be must be getting anxious over the Thaksin verdict today. LiberalThai has been blocked for quite awhile. Thailand Crisis fades in and out of blocking. Absolutely Bangkok has been blocked an unblocked.
And FACT was blocked on February 24, though only for several hours and only for TOT customers. TOT’s explanation was an incompatibility between their software and the Unicode font embedded in MICT’s blocklist. Which, of course, begs the question, why was FACT in TOT’s or MICT’s records in the first place?
FACT signer John Francis Lee reports McClatchy Newspapers, a Washington-based chain, was blocked yesterday.
And Asia Sentinel, based in Hong Kong, is being blocked today at TOT as well as CAT which FACT uses. Perhaps the block relates to the February 22 article, “A Deal in Thailand Over Thaksin’s Wealth?” by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, though it certainly doesn’t say anything more than the local rags are saying.
It’s also interesting that MICT’s strategy is to block root homepages rather than just articles they find questionable.
Here’s a little advice for the Thai censors. You don’t stand a chance keeping any information secret. And what do you need to hide from Thailand’s citizens anyway? There’s a lesson here—dinosaurs go extinct!
Of course, savvy FACT readers can simply ignore MICT’s censorship and use anonymous proxies, VPN, psiphon, TOR, Vaultletsoft, UltraSurf, FreeGate and numerous others to read what you want to.
Any other Websites you’ve noticed blocked? Paranoia rulez!
[CJ Hinke of FACT comments: Just after we posted FACT’s No Shirts Declaration and commented on the blocking of Absolutely Bangkok, and now the blocking of Thai Crisis and Le Monde (as in, MICT blocks The World!). FACT signer John Francis Lee reports that FACT is blocked at TOT as of February 24. Go figure. This likely means the other ISPs will follow so we politely requested unblocking to MICT and TOT. It would appear FACT was only blocked at TOT with a transparent redirect to MICT.
This has given us good a good opportunity to update MICT’s phone numbers below for when you need them! Looks like FACT was unblocked within just a few hours—we want to see the court order or…we’ll see them in court. The key is never let them get away with this shit! Hear me, LiberalThai??? They must be getting edgy before Thaksin’s day in court!]
How to unblock your website in Thailand
We have never before been privy to the mechanism of censorship in Thailand. If your website is blocked, here are some steps to follow.
Chances are, your website has been blocked by order of the Royal Thai Police High-Tech Crimes Centre. First contact HTCC’s chief, Yanaphon Yungyuen 02-913-6699 <htcc@police.go.th> and <yanaphon@dsi.go.th>. Your primary questions here are when and why your site was blocked.
The order to block a website then passes to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s IT Regulation Bureau. The Bureau’s chief is Aree Jivorarak 02-141-6950 <aree.mict@yahoo.co.th>. Aree actually sends the blocklists to the ISPs.
Under the requirements of the Computer Crimes Act 2007, there must be a court order to block a website, unless government has declared martial law or is under the provisions of an emergency decree issued by the prime minister. Therefore, you may request a copy of this court order and the reasons for blocking. Court orders must be public. Be polite but firm. Remember, these are civil servants and you pay for their kids’ school and wife’s hair perm–you are the boss here.
If Khun Aree is unresponsive, his superior is Deputy Permanent Secretary Angsuman Sunarai <angsumal@mictmail.go.th> 02-399-1425. If the deputy permanent secretary does not offer you satisfaction, his superior at MICT is Su Lo-utai, Permanent Secretary 02-141-6644 <sue.l@mict.mail.go.th>. If you still have no success with the permanent secretary, you must appeal directly to the ICT Minister, Ranongruk Suwanachee <bowbo43@gmail.com> tel. 02-141-6602.
The Ministry also has a handy complaint form for you to fill out: http://www.mict.go.th/main.php?filename=index_complaint and MICT’s Call Centre number is 02-141-6747. No more specific numbers are listed on MICT’s official website but their switchboard will provide you up-to-date numbers.
Internet censorship is only made possible with the cooperation of Thailand’s more than 100 ISPs. Your business is important to your ISP. Remember that many of the ISPs are publicly traded companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET); some are even subsidiaries of foreign companies trading on international stock exchanges. They will be inclined toward not offending their shareholders if you start to make a fuss. Use this as leverage when dealing with them. You only need buy a single share to be a shareholder; this is your ticket to ISPs’ annual general meetings to fight censorship policy. Private companies are also more easily sued for damages than government.
Always talk to the top person, someone who is capable of making decisions. CEOs and executive vice-presidents. Hassling office workers makes them feel bad because they can’t help, are afraid of losing their jobs, and a waste of your time. you pay these people’s salaries with your custom so remember who is in charge. Use these phone calls for patient education and consciousness-raising.
You will notice that some of the ISP censors are mobile telephone services, which provide access to GPRS and WiFi. Mobile phone companies are even more responsive than ISPs to losing your business.
Every ISP also has a helpdesk or other phone contact for technical support. Open a complaint with them, too. If your ISP is a university or other academic institution, call its computer centre and talk to the administrators.
Follows a list of the contacts MICT uses at each ISP to effect blocking. Your ISP should have a copy of the court order blocking your website to ensure it is acting legally, know the reasons for the block, and be able to tell you the exact date and time of MICT’s order and the precise date and time the ISP blocked.
101 Global Co. Ltd. <support@101g.com>;
Advanced Datanetwork Communications [Buddy Broadband] <noc@adc.co.th>, <ktnrg@adc.co.th>, <nattapong@adc.co.th>, top kab <top.kab@hotmail.com>;
Advanced Info Service [AIS] <naruepoi@ais.co.th>, <krits@ais.co.th>;
Alltelecom Co. <cindy@alltelecom.co.th>, <BIOICE1981@hotmail.com>, <nocworldweb@hotmail.com>;
ANET Internet <psanti@anet.net.th>, <system@anet.net.th>, <uaichai@anet.net.th>, <premchai@anet.net.th>;
BB Broadband Co. Ltd. [Beenet Broadband Internet] <apinan_k@beenets.com>;
CAT Telecom (CAT Public Co. Ltd., CAT Internet Data Center) “kittipong m” <kittipong.m@cattelecom.com>, <admin-thix@cat.net.th>, <schaka@cat.net.th>, varin c <varin.c@cattelecom.com>, <noc@cat.net.th>, <bkriengsak@cat.net.th>, <suchok@cat.net.th>, <suchok@bulbul.cat.net.th>, suttiporn y <suttiporn.y@cattelecom.com>, wasan s <wasan.s@cattelecom.com>, <support@idc.cattelecom.com>;
CS Loxinfo <webblacklist@csloxinfo.net>, <phup@csloxinfo.net>;
Far East Internet Co. Ltd. <admin@fareast.net.th>, <surasak@fareast.net.th>;
Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia Ltd. [formerly Tawan Mobile Telephone Co.] <sariya.s@hcwml.com>, rommuk p <rommuk.p@hcwml.com>;
Infonet Thailand <sarayuth@infonetthailand.com>;
Internet Thailand <chakrit@inet.co.th>, <noc@inet.co.th>;
Inter University Network [UniNet--are these the people responsible for the censorship at Kasetsart University, Mahidol University and others?] <noc@uni.net.th>;
ISP-Thailand (Internet Solution & Service Provider Co. Ltd.) <thaweesak@isp-thailand.com>, <support@isp-thailand.com>, <csupport@isp-thailand.com>, admin issp <admin_issp@isp-thailand.com>, <helpdesk@isp-thailand.com>, <chatree@isp-thailand.com>, <EAK@ISP-THAILAND.COM>;
IT.co.th <kung@it.co.th>;
Jasmine International Net [JI-net] (Jasmine International Public Co. Ltd.) <sathinut@ji-net.com>, <boonma1222@yahoo.com>, <nprattha@jasmine.com>, <noc@ji-net.com>, <taewa.k@jasmine.com>, duangjai s <duangjai.s@jasmine.com>, jirawan c <jirawan.c@jasmine.com>, Nongluck p <Nongluck.p@jasmine.com>, <tsutee@jasmine.com>, <uraiporn.s@jasmine.com>, <mubooh@gmail.com>;
Kirz Communications <thana@kirz.com>, <sarayut@kirz.com>;
KSC Commercial Internet <ictcensor@ksc.net>;
Milcom Systems [WLANNet] <patcharabuls@milcom.co.th>, <tomesiam@hotmail.com>;
NTT Communications (Thailand) Co. Ltd. <channira.no@ntt.co.th>, <kalant@ntt.co.th>, <uthai@ntt.co.th>, <jaroonchai@ntt.co.th>;
Otaro Internet [you may remember they were the first company to delete the website of Same Sky Books/Fah Diew Kan] <noc@otaro.com>;
Pacnet Thailand <noc@pacific.net.th>, <noc.th@pacnet.com>, neeyada sirisampandh <neeyada.sirisampandh@pacnet.com>;
Proen Internet <noc@proen.co.th>, <suvinit@proen.co.th>, <mars2551@yahoo.com>;
Samart Infonet Co. Ltd. [Samtel] prasitchai v <prasitchai.v@samtel.samartcorp.com>, <se@samart.co.th>;
SIPphone Unlimited Communication <info@sipphone.co.th>;
Telephone Organisation of Thailand [TOT] Public Co. Ltd. (TOT ISP, TOT International Gateway) <boonmak@tot.co.th>, <totnoc@tot.co.th>, <noc@totisp.net>, <blockweb@totisp.net>, sittiraj tot <sittiraj.tot@gmail.com>, <noc@totiig.net>;
Total Access [DTAC] <Parinyar@dtac.co.th>;
True Internet ictcensor@trueinternet.co.th, network@trueinternet.co.th, watanyu chu <watanyu_chu@trueinternet.co.th>, Surparsorn Run <Surparsorn_Run@truecorp.co.th>;
TT&T Public Co. Ltd. [Maxnet] narits ss <narits_ss@ttt.co.th>, ekkarachu ss <ekkarachu_ss@ttt.co.th>, surachaiji ss <surachaiji_ss@ttt.co.th>, <matisa@ttt.co.th>, issn ss <issn_ss@ttt.co.th>, <ict@tttmaxnet.com>;
Upload Today, True Corporation Public Co. Ltd. <info@uploadtoday.com>,
World Internetwork Co. Ltd. [INTERNET Thai] <support@internetthai.com>;
Be patient–jai yen yen! But be persistent. Expect this process to take some time.
FIGHT BACK! Take back the power! Freedom NOW!
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT)
Le Monde blocked!-Marcel Barang
25-02-10
The plot thickens…
Marcel Barang
the written wor(l)d en deux langues: February 24, 2010
http://marcelbarang.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/the-plot-thickens/
…and sickens me. The latest I find about the benevolent activities of the ministry of (dis)information and (mis)communication technology is that same charming gadget (w3.mict.go.th) used for thaicrisis.com (see ‘A dirty trick from Big Brother’, 12 February) being applied to … a Le Monde blog, ‘Gags et Facéties’ (Jokes and farcical remarks)!
Every Monday, Gags et Facéties comes up with a few jokes, dirty or silly depending, a few cartoons, the occasional daft video – enough to make you start the week on a laugh or two.
But not this week, not here. The MICT gadget times out access to the blog.
Gags & F is being gagged! No laughing matter, that.
Of course I made it my business to alert whoever runs that blog. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t: I expect a kind soul did relay my message, though.
And of course I made it my business to find out what was in that innocuous blog this week: I asked a friend, who sent me a copy of a cute cartoon and the words ‘Followed by cute broads at the Rio Carnival and other things unsuitable to a person my age’ – in other words, nothing whatsoever remotely concerning Thailand.
So what the blazes are they up to? And who’s next?
PS: 6pm: Gags et Facéties is back again. Thaicrisis.com isn’t, though.
PPS: Since I am a former journalist used to presenting the flip side of the coin, here is what might put things into a different perspective, as sent by a well-meaning reader:
Networking Guy 19 February 2010 at 11:27 am
I’d like to post some correction here. I work as a network engineer. By seeing this in your Status Bar doesn’t necessary mean government monitors you.
My ISP for example filters this page completely and I am redirected to w3.mict.go.th – they use transparent proxy caches to filter sites. Our ISP is not too big and they have tens of Net-Cache machines doing the filtering. All traffic on port 80 (http) is redirected through cluster of machines running every request via black list. These proxies can easily save log files for later analysis. Nobody knows…
What is more likely is that the page included image from site which your ISP blocked. The image was then redirected to w3.mict.go.th and that’s why you could see this in your browser.
With today’s technology government can monitor anything going on the network without you even knowing it! You always make sure at least you open your emails and enter passwords over https secured connection. Transparent proxies cannot see inside and this traffic is not filtered.
But then why is thaicrisis.com still being timed out?
A dirty trick from Big Brother
Marcel Barang
the wor(l)d en deux langues: February 12, 2010
http://marcelbarang.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/a-thai-ministry-of-culture-dirty-trick/
Among the websites and logs in English I like to read regularly to keep abreast of social and political developments in Thailand and the region, whether or not I agree with their contents and comments, it seems that at least one has run afoul of Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology: thaicrisis.com.
Thaicrisis.com is perhaps the most informative website available on the state of the Thai economy, with a definitely pessimistic approach from what I remember reading.
The site apparently hasn’t be banned, not quite: if you go to the wide-encompassing and crafty absolutelybangkok.com website, you will see midway through the rightmost column its headlines appearing day after day. Right now, the headline is: ‘Thailand: the Permanent Coup d’Etat’.
But if you click on that headline, you will eventually see in Explorer a window saying ‘The connection has timed out’. At the bottom of the screen is the mention ‘Done’.
If you click on those headlines, you will eventually see in Firefox a window saying ‘The connection has timed out’. At the bottom of the screen is the mention ‘http://w3.mict.go.th/’.
Oh? What does ‘mict’ of ‘go.th’ stand for if not Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of the Government of Thailand?
If you click on http://w3.mict.go.th/, you will see eventually a window saying ‘The connection has timed out’.
Isn’t that a beautiful dirty trick?
Thank you very much, Big Brother.
[FACT comments: The frustration, by web owners and web readers alike, is evident in this saga. First of all, a website owner doesn’t know he’s blocked until some kind reader tells him. Then he needs to determine how the block is being effected, e.g., a redirect page to w3.mict.go.th, splash-screen, or (the sneaky one) browser error. It then needs be examined which ISPs are blocking and which govt agency, from MICT to the Royal Thai Police are effecting the block.
We know a lot about this at FACT, as we were blocked along with 71 red-shirt sites during the Songkran rebellion last April. We got some good and unintended intel to help others: “How to unblock your website in Thailand” http://facthai.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/how-to-unblock-your-website-in-thailand/ and “How Thailand censors the Internet” http://facthai.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/how-thailand-censors-the-internet-2/ (Keep these handy!)
The trick, folks, is to be completely fearless and determined in confronting the censors in govt and ISPs. And to never give up—we were fully prepared to stage a nonviolent sit-in at the ICT ministry until we were unblocked.
Always make these efforts completely transparent and public. Get as much media attention in every venue. to your blocking as possible.
This year, to pre-empt the censors in advance of the Thaksin court decision, FACT posted a notice to the censors that we don’t wear any shirts! http://facthai.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/fact-wears-no-shirt/
The interesting part is that websites are always blocked for obscure reasons. We have certainly thought that certain posts might result in our censorship but it wasn’t for those!
Thai Hotline http://www.thaihotline.org/about.php is the do-gooder group passed along a block request for Absolutely Bangkok. We maintain that it is both proper and polite for readers, ISPs and govt to first request a website remove content they find offensive.
Wear being censored as a badge of honour even if it’s a pain in the ass. If they don’t block us, we win—our information gets out to the public. If they block us, we still win—more people know about us.]
Of This Site’s Blocking & Unblocking
Absolutely Bangkok: February 23, 2010
http://absolutelybangkok.com/of-this-sites-blocking-unblocking/
The Thai cyber patrol can actually be quite responsive and kudos to LoxInfo. Last week I got messages from readers that this site was blocked by their ISP LoxInfo. Instead of absolutelyBangkok.com a familiar frame showed up: “This URL has been blocked by a court order OR it could have an affect on or be against the security of the kingdom, public order or good morals. CS LoxInfo Plc.” This being mainly a lifestyle and cultural blog.
aB.com respects the kingdom’s laws and is well aware that the illegal content they are looking for is related to terrorism, child pornography, defamatory material and material which is an infringement on individuals. Not really stuff you read on aB.com. Well, a loyal reader contacted LoxInfo. Within 24 hours he was reassured there is no inappropriate content on aB.com and they undid the blocking promptly. Here is what had happened:
A reader complained to LoxInfo via email and an exchange of emails ensued which he was kind enough to forward me. It remains unclear what exactly the “inappropriate content” was that led to the blocking of this site, but it is encouraging to see that the concerned parties responded quickly, professionally and efficiently.
The first reply reader T. received from LoxInfo was the following – he had wondered why this inconspicuous site was blocked:
Dear Mr (…)
Thank you for your email and we apologize for the inconvenience.
We have passed the problem to the relevant department for invesitgation.
Once we have received their findings we will contact you immediately.
(…)
The finding was the following, explained in an email received a few hours later:
Dear Mr (…)
Thank you for your email of February 20, 2010.
Please be informed that CS LoxInfo PCL have associated with Thai Hot Line Organization which is the organization to inspect the content on internet network.
Regarding your concern, we have considered that there are inappropriate contents on this website; therefore, we have to block this website accordingly.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
(…)
Meaning, LoxInfo said they had received a report by Thaihotline.org and they were acting accordingly. Thaihotline.org is an online project sponsored by Thailand’s major ISPs to achieve “creative internet usage and safe internet society in Thailand.” Meaning someone had reported illegal content on aB.com. That’s very easy to do. Anyone can. Just fill out a standard form. And they reacted.
So the reader contacted Thaihotline.org directly – again by email – and within hours he got this reply:
Dear Sir,
I’m sorry to know that you are facing an inconvienion situation. We are going to check if we have reported the http://absolutelybangkok.com/ trought ISP or not.
Usually we have officers to check all of the reported website before send notifications to ISP, therefore it’s also a doubt for us that this case has happened.
I’ll see what I can do and respond for you guys soon
Best Regards,
Thaihotline.org
A few hours later a second email by Thaihotline.org:
Dear Sir,
Usually whenever we have gotten the report, we send notification to ISP to consider if there is inappropriate content and should be blocked or not. Therefore, there are some other ISP like Inet or True that doesn’t block the website. However, we are going to coordinate with LoxInfo to reconsider blocking the website since the inappropriate content we notified has been removed from the website, so it’s up to their consideration.
Best Regards,
(…)
Thaihotline.org
I’m not aware of what “inappropriate content we notified has been removed from the website,” but not even an hour later an email by LoxInfo confirmed that the site was unblocked already:
Dear Mr (…)
Regarding your concern, we were informed that http://absolutelybangkok.com/ is unblocked already.
Please try to open again.
(…)
That’s basically it, but it goes without saying that it remains unclear who reported the site for what reason.
Well I have my ideas, but that’s pure speculation without having access to the data.
You all know these are not easy times in Thailand, but it came as more as a surprise that this comparatively tame lifestyle and politics blog was targeted while a ton of sleazy and outright dangerous and malicious stuff out there is most easily accessible by the click of a button.
It actually shattered my trust in the work of the Thai cyber police so much that you think this has become a place where anyone can accuse anyone of anything. This being the “open” “pluralist” Thailand of the Democrats. This Thailand is not the Thailand it used to be, I thought, and me, back then most critical of Thaksin, saw myself longing for the much less censorship and more open society back then.
When out of the blue you’re on par with treason, that’s kind of absurd or not. Anyone could be a next target. No one would be safe in such a society. Even though, as our dear deputy prime minister recently said, the Thai judicial process was the best in the world.
Yes, there is some kind of transparency. I was positively surprised by how quickly the contacted officers responded to the reader’s inquiry and a big thanks to this reader, I owe you.
From now on I take especial care.
Much online content is highly subjective. A good intention may easily look bad.
How can you know?
Read more: http://absolutelybangkok.com/of-this-sites-blocking-unblocking/
FACT wears no shirt!
23-02-10
We’re not
NO! NO! NO!
Redshirts Yellowshirts Blueshirts
and
not
NO! NO!
Brownshirts Blackshirts
In April 2009, Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology blocked FACT’s website along with more than 70 presumed red-shirt websites. The websites were not blocked legally by court order using the Computer Crimes Act. They were censored under the emergency decree provisions of the Internal Security Act which circumvents all laws.
Just so MICT doesn’t make the same mistake again, we’ll make it clear: FACT wears no shirts of any colour.
On February 26, red-shirts will again hold mass demonstrations against Thailand’s unelected government.
Should martial law again be used, we’ll make it clear: FACT is against all censorship no matter who holds power.
It’s an easy slide from Yellow-, Red- and Blue-shirts to becoming history’s Brown- and Black-shirts of fascist tyranny.
NO COMPROMISE! NO CENSORSHIP!
What part of NO don’t you understand?
freedom
[FACT comments: It is a completely unprecedented act to have a lèse majesté court decision made public in this land of secret arrests, secret trials, secret convictions. Of course, it wasn’t the govt or judiciary which made the court’s decision public, it was Same Sky, in both Thai and English translation. If we intend Thailand to ever become a real democracy, we need to stop govt concealing its actions as if it had something to hide.]
Da’s Court Decision/คำพิพากษาของคุณดา
Political Prisoners in Thailand: February 18, 2010
http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/das-court-decisionคำพิพากษาของคุณดา/
A few months ago, PPT reported that the Thai-language magazine Under the Same Sky/ฟ้าเดียวกัน had published the full text of the court decision against Darunee Charnchoengsilpakul, also known as ‘Da Torpedo.’ In recent weeks, parts of the court decision have been translated and disseminated by the blog New Mandala (see Aladdin, 20 January 2010, “On the Judgment of Da Torpedo” and Elizabeth Fitzgerald, 29 January 2010, “The Evidence of Intention”).
Today, Under the Same Sky/ฟ้าเดียวกัน posted an English-language translation of the court decision. It is currently available by going to their homepage, and clicking on the images of the court decision http://www.sameskybooks.org/pdf/DARANEE.pdf. Should this be inaccessible, the English version is also available in PDF form here. The Thai-language version/ฉบับภาษาไทย is available in PDF form here http://thaipoliticalprisoners.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/da-torpedo-thai.pdf.
Read. Disseminate. Protest.
Rights body urges govt to stop using GT200 to make arrests
The Nation: February 19, 2010
A statement sent by Human Rights Watch yesterday advised the government to stop making arrests using the GT200 bomb detectors.
The controversial device, which has been used to detain a large number of alleged insurgents, cannot accurately detect explosive substances, scientific studies have proved.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced that a governmentcommissioned test had found the device only detected explosives 20 per cent of the time. The government responded to these dismal results by calling for a review on the use of GT200 by government agencies and said it would stop ordering the devices, though it did not ban their use. Yet, the armed forces insist the devices are infallible.
“The Thai government has concluded that the GT200 performs worse than a roll of the dice, yet the Thai security forces haven’t agreed to stop using it,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“The GT200 has been the basis for large numbers of wrongful arrests, followed by mistreatment, in the southern border provinces.
“All arrests based on the use of the GT200 should be urgently reviewed,” he said. “In cases where this was the only evidence for detention, compensation should be paid and an apology issued.”
Meanwhile, LtGeneral Wiroj Buajaroon, former commander of the Four Army Area, denied the device had ever been used to identify suspects or make arrests. “There could have been misunderstandings over the role of the GT200 scanners and the allegations of abuse of human rights,” he added. “Those arrested had previously been suspected of possessing weapons or explosive substances.”
The general added 427 people had voluntarily gone to reeducation centres in 2007 while he was commander.
Thailand emerges as extreme risk nation for terrorism
Bangkok Pundit: February 20, 2010
| The Terrorism Risk Index (TRI) has been developed by Maplecroft for companies to assess terrorism risks to their international assets. The index measures not only the risks of an attack, but also the chances of mass casualties occurring.
Iraq (1), Afghanistan (2), Pakistan (3) and Somalia (4) top the ranking of 196 countries and are rated, along with Lebanon (5), India (6), Algeria (7), Colombia (8) and Thailand (9), as the only extreme risk nations. The Bangkok Post has Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s response: The prime minister has rejected a British risk consultancy’s ranking of Thailand as No.9 on its list of countries most at risk of terrorist attack. Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday the southern unrest, which was assigned the highest risk weighting by the agency, had abated. Unlike the management consultancy, his government did not base its evaluation on how many violent incidents there were. Rather, it looked at the positive responses from local people towards the government’s development policy over the past few months. BP: There is a reason why the violence in the Deep South has been on the White House’s radar. Actually, BP finds Abhisit answer interesting because previously he has stated that the violence had decreased whereas now, he says the violence has abated, but seems to be focusing more on the extremely subjective answer of “positive responses” from locals (how does one measure such positive responses?). Is Abhisit’s answer a reflection of the increase in violence in the second half of 2009? |
