January 25, 2010
The Nation
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday defended his government's record on human rights, saying it was determined to uphold universal principles.
He dismissed criticism of his government's record in Human Rights Watch's annual report as lopsided and not consistent with the facts.
The New York-based group blamed the prime minister for failing to honour his pledges to make human rights a priority.
Abhisit countered that he had consistently pushed to advance freedom of expression and the rule of law. He said his performance was judged through a distorted perception.
"I am confident in my government's record on human rights - it is not as bad as being portrayed in the HRW report," he said in his weekly address.
He rejected allegations by HRW, saying his government did not condone harsh suppression of opponents or double standards in law enforcement.
In regard to HRW citing two deaths during the Songkran mayhem, he said the deaths occurred because of clashes between rival crowds and were not a result of the anti-riot crackdown.
The enforcement of emergency rule in 2008 was deemed necessary to restore normalcy after the crowds turned unruly, he said, adding that crowd control measures enforced under the emergency rule and internal security law were designed to deter violence and did not block peaceful protests.
He said the strife-torn South had shown signs of improvement with a downward trend in the numbers of violent incidents.
Commenting on cases related to lese majeste and computer crimes, he said his government had initiated a review mechanism to ensure fairness.
"My government intend to bring culprits to justice based on their motives rather than the politicisation of these cases," he said.
The HRW report may have hastily voiced concern about gagging critics before it was aware of new mechanisms, he added.
"If my government had a poor human rights record as alleged, then we certainly would not have the audacity to join the race for a position in charge of human rights at the United Nations," he said.
Meanwhile, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra had no involvement in the HRW report, as speculated by certain figures in the government, his legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said.
"The government should heed the criticism and quicky address human rights problems instead of hitting back at Human Rights Watch," he said.
Government leaders were obligated to safeguard the country's reputation and should not try to attribute their poor performance to Thaksin, he said.
HRW coordinator for Thailand Sunai Phasuk said the government should have read the full text of the report instead of making hasty reactions.
The full report had just been submitted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, noting the text was not as critical as had been made out. It had been misunderstood by the government.
He said the angry rebuttals were unjustified and might have been based on a distorted translation of a summary of the report. The HRW did not fault the government for having "poorer record on human rights", he said.
The report just presented a well-rounded assessment of human rights complaince without apportioning blame, he said, noting a key conclusion was although the government came to power under high expectations, it had yet to show tangible achievements in advancing human rights, as pledged.
He dismissed criticism of his government's record in Human Rights Watch's annual report as lopsided and not consistent with the facts.
The New York-based group blamed the prime minister for failing to honour his pledges to make human rights a priority.
Abhisit countered that he had consistently pushed to advance freedom of expression and the rule of law. He said his performance was judged through a distorted perception.
"I am confident in my government's record on human rights - it is not as bad as being portrayed in the HRW report," he said in his weekly address.
He rejected allegations by HRW, saying his government did not condone harsh suppression of opponents or double standards in law enforcement.
In regard to HRW citing two deaths during the Songkran mayhem, he said the deaths occurred because of clashes between rival crowds and were not a result of the anti-riot crackdown.
The enforcement of emergency rule in 2008 was deemed necessary to restore normalcy after the crowds turned unruly, he said, adding that crowd control measures enforced under the emergency rule and internal security law were designed to deter violence and did not block peaceful protests.
He said the strife-torn South had shown signs of improvement with a downward trend in the numbers of violent incidents.
Commenting on cases related to lese majeste and computer crimes, he said his government had initiated a review mechanism to ensure fairness.
"My government intend to bring culprits to justice based on their motives rather than the politicisation of these cases," he said.
The HRW report may have hastily voiced concern about gagging critics before it was aware of new mechanisms, he added.
"If my government had a poor human rights record as alleged, then we certainly would not have the audacity to join the race for a position in charge of human rights at the United Nations," he said.
Meanwhile, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra had no involvement in the HRW report, as speculated by certain figures in the government, his legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said.
"The government should heed the criticism and quicky address human rights problems instead of hitting back at Human Rights Watch," he said.
Government leaders were obligated to safeguard the country's reputation and should not try to attribute their poor performance to Thaksin, he said.
HRW coordinator for Thailand Sunai Phasuk said the government should have read the full text of the report instead of making hasty reactions.
The full report had just been submitted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, noting the text was not as critical as had been made out. It had been misunderstood by the government.
He said the angry rebuttals were unjustified and might have been based on a distorted translation of a summary of the report. The HRW did not fault the government for having "poorer record on human rights", he said.
The report just presented a well-rounded assessment of human rights complaince without apportioning blame, he said, noting a key conclusion was although the government came to power under high expectations, it had yet to show tangible achievements in advancing human rights, as pledged.
2 comments:
SRP and SRP supporters must not criticise Thai Prime Minister Abhisit because his Democratic party has alliance with SRP.
Sam Rainsy Party (Candle light)
SRP and SRP supporters must criticize anyone who steals Khmer lands, who jails Khmer victims, who wants to be dictator.
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