New York-based Human Rights Watch has called the arrest of a Thai magazine editor for posting comments critical of the military on his Facebook page a “disregard for fundamental rights and freedoms.”
The NGO said in a statement released Wednesday that the junta should stop arbitrarily arresting and detaining peaceful critics of the May 22 coup and of martial law.
Thanapol Eawsakul, the editor of Fah Diew Khan - Same Sky - magazine, was detained by undercover officers after he posted a Facebook message July 4 indicating that the military junta - the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) - had ordered him to stop making comments critical of the authorities.
HRW said that Eawsakul had told colleagues that he received a phone call from an unidentified military officer asking for a private meeting July 5 at a Bangkok coffee shop.
It said that the officer had assured Eawsakul that the meeting was only to exchange opinions and he would not be arrested.
However, on arriving at the appointment, the NGO said Eawsakul talked for 10 minutes with a man in civilian clothes who was later identified as Lt. Col. Pasakorn Kulraviwarn. Shortly after, soldiers in civilian clothes escorted him to a car.
“Arresting an editor for a Facebook criticism of military rule shows just how far the junta will go to silence critics,” said Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.
“The military can neither arrest all critics nor wish them out of existence.”
The military had previously detained Eawsakul on May 24, after he was summoned under a martial law order.
On release May 30, Eawsakul was told by the NCPO to sign an agreement stating he would not make political comments, become involved in political activities, or travel overseas without permission. Failure to comply could result in a sentence of two years in prison or a fine of 40,000 baht ($1,250), it said.
Adams said that such arrests are symbolic of the "wider human rights crackdown under military rule in Thailand.”
Since the May 22 coup, the military has forbidden dissent of any kind citing the need for unity and national security. It has placed severe restriction on freedom of expression and assembly and clamped down on unfavorable reporting in local media.
Last month, Police General Adul Saengsingkaew, the deputy-chief of the NCPO, announced the establishment of a series of panels that will “monitor the media content” of radio, TV and print media and websites – including foreign news outlets.
“Any media found spreading inappropriate content will face criminal charges,” he told local newspapers.
Fuadi Pitsuwan, a fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center called the arrests "kneejerk” but also says that this is due to a tense period of political polarization.
“I expect this curtailing of media freedom to ease up soon. We are seeing a space opening up - e.g. less frequency of anti-coup journalists being 'invited' for a talk, more op-eds criticizing the ruling NCPO, among others,” Fuadi told the Anadolou Agency on Wednesday.
Human Rights Watch called on concerned governments to “take a strong stand and demand the military authorities fully abide by international obligations.”
“Arbitrary arrests of dissidents and critics are part of a wider human rights crackdown under military rule in Thailand,” Adams said.
“Concerned governments should take a strong stand and demand that the military authorities fully abide by Thailand’s international obligations and build a road map for the restoration of a democratic government based on human rights.”
www.aa.com.tr/en
