Thai govt eyes legal options to keep Tak Bai case alive
With the case set to expire on Friday, legal experts have been tasked with studying the possibility of amending the law, so suspects can be brought to justice
The Thai government is looking into the possibility of amending the law so the statute of limitations of the 20-year-old Tak Bai massacre case can be extended, the defence minister said.
Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who doubles as deputy PM, said on Tuesday that the government has assigned its legal experts to study whether the statute of limitations can be extended as proposed by academics.
“But everything must proceed in line with the law,” Phumtham said.
At a seminar held on Sunday at Thammasat University, Asst Prof Prinya Thaewanarumitkul from the university’s Faculty of Law suggested that the Cabinet exercise its authority under the Constitution’s Article 172 to issue a royal decree to amend the Criminal Court. This amendment will prevent the statute of limitations from being applied to cases where the defendant has fled.
He said this measure aims to ensure the security of the people in the three southern border provinces, as the legislative process for passing an act can take time.
Phumtham added that the government was not dragging its feet, waiting for the case to expire. He said police have obtained arrest and search warrants, and have been searching the homes of all suspects.
So far, 14 persons have been named defendants in two lawsuits filed by the public prosecutors and relatives of protesters killed in the Tak Bai crackdown on October 25, 2004.
However, not a single suspect has been taken to the Narathiwat Court where the lawsuits were filed. The case, meanwhile, is due to expire on Friday.
As for the academics’ prediction that insurgents would step up violence if the case expires, Phumtham said violent attacks are already taking place in the South.
He added that violence in the deep South affected national security, not the government’s stability. Hence, he said, nobody should politicise the Tak Bai case, as it will affect national stability.
He said the government was not ignoring the plight of the 85 slain protesters’ relatives, and previous governments have spent over 600 million baht on remedial measures.
“Nobody should say that the government has done nothing in the case. Now the society in the four southern border provinces is pluralistic, with people of all faiths living alongside each other in peace,” Phumtham said.
He added that the government has been in contact with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, so the Tak Bai case should not affect Thailand’s ties with OIC member nations.
