Waen: Witness to a crime and prosecuted for harassment
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In early 2010, the Red Shirts occupied central Bangkok for weeks, demanding the resignation of the Abhisit government, which had failed to come to power democratically. Eventually, the government deployed the army to clear the streets, killing more than XNUMX people. One of the witnesses to this was Natthathida Meewangpla, better known as Waen (แหวน). Waen was not a Red Shirt protester but a volunteer nurse who operated from a neutral temple. This is her story.
Waen witnessed soldiers opening deadly fire at Wat Pathum Wanaram from the BTS Skytrain on May 19, 2010. Waen saw with his own eyes how two of the six victims were shot dead. Her testimony, other testimonies and other evidence convinced the court that the six victims had been killed by the military and not by the infamous 'men in black'. But now 6 years later she stands in the dock of a military court as an alleged terrorist. She and others allegedly threw a hand grenade at a courthouse in Bangkok on March 7, 2015. The only evidence against her: that she was a member of a Redshirt Line chat group. Shortly afterwards, the charge of lèse-majeste was also added, presumably to keep her longer. She was held in custody for 3 years and 8 months before being released on bail pending completion of her case.
Wat Pathum Wanaram
Wayne tells
Before my arrest by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) of General Prayut, I have never been called to make a statement at the police station. However, officials - with or without uniform - regularly came to my door asking for information about the Red Shirts or the 'men in black'. They also called me to make an appointment, but I didn't want to do that without a lawyer present. I was scared, they threatened me: they knew all sorts of personal things about me like how many children I had and where they went to school.
On March 11, 2015, six or seven soldiers took me in a van. They invoked martial law and arrested me. They asked if I knew anything about the attack on the court, I said I had only heard about it on the news. They asked me to cooperate but showed no arrest warrant or anything, she just kidnapped me! They also confiscated all my phones and demanded the passwords. In the van she blindfolded me very tightly, I had no idea where we were going. One of the men sitting next to me rolled up my sleeves. I told him he couldn't do that but he countered that I shouldn't pretend I never had a man and he wanted to see my tattoos. I was nothing but a utensil to them, they did what they wanted with me.
1000 Words / Shutterstock.com
I ended up in a detention center, in a small cell with no daylight. To go to the toilet I had to knock on the door and then was taken to the toilet blindfolded. The interrogations also took place in the same room. Four or five men sat down with me, blindfolded me and told me to know more about the attack. 'Don't deny it, if you say you don't know, something will happen to your parents, your children… watch out!'. She threatened and intimidated me. They said they couldn't even guarantee I would see their dead bodies.
The interrogations, which lasted for hours, took place at various times, day and night. I got no rest. Their physical violence was not intended to kill me. They tapped me, put their hand on their gun, put the barrel of their gun on my neck, told me 'just give us the information, who are they? How much does Thaksin pay you?'. After four days I was transferred to another cell, the interrogations became less but continued. Later I was transferred from the military base to the police station and formally charged. My request to see my lawyer was denied.
The sequel
Waen was only released on September 4, 2018, on bail of almost one million baht. She tells how she can hardly sleep since her pre-trial release, traumatized by everything that has been done to her. You can read the rest of her sad story, which unfortunately has not yet come to an end, on the website of Thai Human Rights Lawyers: www.tlhr2014.com
And those who opened fire on the temple, what happened to them?
General Prayut said that the soldiers who caused the deaths in 2010 were merely trying to maintain order, and it was inappropriate and incorrect to portray them as murderers. The head of the Thai FBI, the DSI, said that the soldiers were operating under the force instructions issued by Prime Minister Abhisit and could therefore not be prosecuted.
Although the court had started a case against Prime Minister Abhisit, among others, no member of the government or military was ever found guilty. In August 2017, the judges ruled that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to prosecute them, power resting with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), meaning no prosecution will take place.
Sources:
- www.tlhr2014.com
- www.theguardian.com
- www.khaosodenglish.com/
- www.hrw.org/
- www.nationmultimedia.com/
Every government, see history, is prepared to terrorize its own population in order to stay in power. Also, unfortunately, the Netherlands is no exception. See murders of Van Traa, Fortuijn, see the deliveries of means of transport to Isis and other scum in Syria that have now become known.
In Thailand, too, the people who pull the strings and thus earn their enormous fortunes want to continue to do so. Come back in 50 years and you will see that (unfortunately) nothing has changed.
Nice story!! Maybe it's wise to make this known to the world!
When reading such stories I am only glad that I am a Dutch resident. Of course not everything is cake and egg here, enough to mention, but that is actually nothing compared to what can happen to a Thai citizen. In this case a witness who made a statement in court that was unwelcome to the current rulers. I wish her a lot of strength.
Unfortunately, this is also Thailand, only September 4, 2018 that Waen will be released!
Dear Rob,
A touching story indeed. I want to make a few comments about some inaccuracies and what I believe are wrong suggestions in your story.
1. There are several stories to be told about what individuals experienced during the demonstrations/occupation and afterwards. Waen survived, but many others did not. And not all of these victims have been counted, let alone the perpetrators of the murders have been caught. A police officer, the father of one of my students, was murdered by red shirts or people who pretended to be red shirts. No one has ever been arrested for that. Two people, probably innocent passers-by, were murdered at Victory Monument by a gang of red shirts. This was seen by my colleague from his condo on the 4th floor, and who had to stay inside for days because of the police. No one has ever been arrested, let alone convicted, for these murders. Not to mention the burning of buildings in Bangkok and elsewhere called for by some red leaders;
2. During that period there was a lot of violence, on the part of the red shirts and their supporters/gangs and on the part of the government. A major difference is that the government (any government) has the monopoly on the use of force to maintain order and authority within the applicable international rules. It is clear to me that the Thai government had to put an end to the occupation of Rachaprasong. The question may be asked whether a disproportionate amount of force was used. I know that during that period the government was in daily contact with experts in the field of international regulations for dealing with demonstrations. I personally believe that the violence used against a gang that itself had heavy weapons and actually used them (such as M79 grenades that were fired at the BTS) and was supported by a heavily armed private army under the name 'black men' ( after 6 weeks) was not disproportionate. In many other countries these people would be called terrorists and would have no claim to proper treatment by a government. I strongly sympathized with the Red Shirts, but in the weeks of the occupation and the 'war' they lost a lot of credit with me, especially when they entered a hospital armed in search of wounded Yellow Shirts. The Red Shirt leaders said that this should never have happened and admitted that they could not control everyone. That should have been the moment to end the actions;
3. The demonstrations were not intended to be nonviolent or non-violent in advance. From my wife's native village but also from surrounding villages, pick-ups left with young men with weapons (from sticks to pistols) shouting that they were going to kill the yellow shirts in Bangkok;
4. In my opinion, a government that receives a mandate from a majority of the elected parliament (as was the case with Abhisit) works according to democratic principles. How this coalition came about is not so important. If they had wanted to punish the 'guilty' they should have gone to Buriram, to Newin Chidchob, and not to Bangkok.
Dear Chris, yes, even among the reds there were people with bloodlust, just like among some people in yellow, green, etc. A lot of dirty things have happened. I cannot justify or accept violence by anyone. The rule of law and basic human rights have been severely violated. And I wanted to focus on that last aspect now, the suffering of people like Waen have undergone, still undergo. It is time that the country I love so much really puts its affairs in order and that the sick things described here come to an end.
Completely agree, but yes: equal monks, equal hoods.
So the leaders of the airport occupation in court, Nattawut and Jatuporn as well.
My compliments to the editors of thailandblog who are involved in the political debate in Thailand with this story, which is a sensitive issue there.
Of course, things have happened that cannot be tolerated. However, I have always admired the restraint of the army during 3 months when key intersections were permanently occupied in Bangkok. Prayut, who was then head of the army, has repeatedly claimed that he was not acting on his own. people are shooting. Meanwhile, the traffic chaos could continue without military intervention. I am convinced that in many (non-)Western countries the army would have deployed the major resources at a much earlier stage to clear those intersections for traffic and would have forced the demonstrators to dismantle their stages and tent camps by force.
I sometimes agreed with the goals of the Reds, but at the same time I have always had a deep distrust of that club, because they have never distanced themselves from the corrupt Thaksin family, which was in charge of the Reds.
Dear Niek, that sweeping of the streets is also just up to who carries out the occupation. For example, the government that was in power in 2008 called for the army to occupy the international airports (Swampie and Don Muang), but the military did not respond. And no, during those yellow protests, just like in 2010 with the red protests, there were not only peaceful citizens trying to disrupt unarmed Bangkok in order to bring down the government. Weapons such as bats, sticks, pistols and heavier caliber have been found at both red and yellow protests. There were injuries and deaths. Those yellow protests also only stopped after the yellow ones declared victory when the Constitutional Court had three political parties dissolved for electoral fraud (votes were allegedly bought).
In my view, double standards by various power parties. The 'Thaksin' governments simply had to disappear and that is what happened. But instead of new elections, Thailand had a uhm 'remarkable' parliament and a government coalition that therefore did not stem from the democratic voice of the people. We also know that all this was not an unfortunate or coincidental coincidence, writing a protest letter to 1 or other desk of people at the top of the tower would have done little. All this could have been prevented if the government had called new elections in the event of great dissatisfaction and unrest.
I see protests as a last resort, if the normal paths to justice by international standards don't work. After all, protests easily get out of hand, cause damage, and almost every time there are injuries and deaths. Then you will indeed get yelled at from someone with color X that color Y is a 'dirty dog and needs to be cut down'. Escalation, violence... I don't want that. Thai citizens deserve nothing but those in power who respect, pursue, defend and hold dear to the democratic rule of law, the separation of powers and essential human rights. I strongly support those principles. In Thailand there is just a sticker 'red' on it… Even though it may be clear that it is a repository of everything from the anti-prehistoric establishment. I can't stand Thaksin like that either, he is not a democrat and a human rights fighter either.
But what was done to those unarmed people on the temple grounds is unacceptable. For real reconciliation after everything that happened under red and yellow in the period 2006-2014, there is only one solution: a decent constitution and calling all bigwigs of all stripes to account for what happened under their leadership. Justice, putting things in order, protecting democracy and human rights. That and nothing less.
2008 crisis in a nutshell:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Thai_political_crisis