On Thursday April 10, scores of people gathered at different places in Bangkok, Thailand to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the April-May killings of pro-democracy protesters by the security forces. The gatherings demanded justice for the people who were killed during the protests and amnesty for all peaceful political expressions in the country.
A deadly crackdown on the Red Shirts
In April and May, 2010 dozens of pro-democracy protesters led by the United Front for the Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as the Red Shirts, were killed and hundreds others were injured by the security forces in Bangkok.
The protesters were opposed to the then government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva claiming it had ties with the military and was part of the 2006 coup against the democratically elected Thaksin Shinawatra government. They were demanding dissolution of the parliament and fresh elections in the country.
Thursday’s gatherings also expressed their support for bills being discussed in the Thai parliament now proposing amnesty for all peaceful political expressions in the country. One of the bills also proposes to amend the infamous lese-majeste or royal defamation law.
“Justice for the dead, amnesty for the living”
In one such meeting several UDD leaders spoke about the political hardships they had to face for standing for democracy in the country. They expressed their determination to keep their fight for justice for the victims of April-May and extended their support to the amnesty bills in the parliament under the slogan “justice for the dead, amnesty for the living.”
The Workers’ Union issued a statement on the occasion, reiterating its commitment to ensure accountability in the killings of pro-democracy protesters. “It’s been 15 years, and we are still demanding justice,” it said. The union underlined its determination to make sure all those responsible for the killings of pro-democracy protesters are not allowed to walk free.
“The gunshots fired that day only aimed to silence a call for the dissolution of parliament and fresh elections. Red-shirt protesters, along with the families of the victims, still carry the wounds—both physical and emotional—and the painful memories, waiting for justice to finally arrive,” the Workers’ Union added.
Calling the Red Shirts “the foundation of this nation,” it underlined that “true healing cannot happen without justice. And the greatest form of justice is for the state to hold the perpetrators [of April May 2010 killings] accountable.”
Peoples Amnesty Bill
The Thai parliament was expected to deliberate on the four draft amnesty bills presented by political formations and civil society groups on April 9. However, at the last moment the deliberation was postponed.
All the draft bills propose protection for political dissent. However, only one version of these bills, proposed by the civil society groups, talks about amendments to the royal defamation law. This version of the bill has been signed by around 36,000 voters, around three times more than required under the Thai constitution for such initiatives.
However, the lack of support from the political parties in the parliament has raised concerns among the progressive and pro-democracy movements in the country. They fear that the amnesty law might pass without including Section 112 or royal defamation making it meaningless.
Section 122 of Thailand’s Criminal Codes deals with royal defamation, also known as lèse-majesté. Under the law, criticism of the government can be termed as criticism of the king and the person can be sent to jail for three to 15 years. The royal defamation has been termed draconian by the opposition groups. Calling it an assault on freedom of speech and expression, pro-democracy groups have long demanded its complete repeal.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), a member of the civil society groups which has submitted the draft bill to parliament, claimed that the bill, if accepted, would provide relief to over 5,000 citizens persecuted for exercising their rights to freedom of speech and expression since the 2006 coup.
Analyzing the overall situation, the Workers’ Union, in its statement on Tuesday, claimed that “the votes in parliament might not be enough” hinting at a larger fight.
