New Zealand trade unionist talks about his experience with imprisoned Thai ex-YCW fulltimer Somyot Pruksakasemsuk.

Thai human rights activist and worker Somyot Prueksakasemsuk has faced a provincial court in Phetchabun, Thailand, for the hearing of the second prosecution witness, a former employee of his magazine, Voice of Taksin, in his trial on charges of lese majeste.

Benja Homwan, currently a company employee, testified in court that she had been a member of the administrative staff for the magazine since the executive editor was Prasaeng Mongkhonsiri who was later replaced by Somyot. She was responsible for membership subscriptions and the distribution of the magazine to almost 1,000 members.

She also had to check emails, and save and print articles which were sent to Somyot for him to read, but she did not know whether Somyot ever edited those articles. She saw that a sender named ‘Jitr Pollachan’ sent articles, which were the grounds for this prosecution against Somyot, and heard her colleagues saying that it was a pen name of Jakraphob Penkair.

Jakraphob, a politician allied with Thaksin Shinawatra, was charged with lèse majesté for his speech on Thailand’s patronage system at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in August 2007, and he fled the country after the red shirt demonstrations were dispersed by the Abhisit Vejjajiva government in April 2009.

‘Jitr Pollachan’ is a mix of the names of two legendary Thai Marxist revolutionaries: Jitr Bhumisak and Assanee Pollachan.

The prosecution witness, in answer to defence questions, said that she did not know whether Jakraphob was really ‘Jitr Pollachan’, and she had never seen him visiting the office. She saw several articles by Jitr Pollachan published in the magazine, but did not know whether they had been published after Prasaeng was the executive editor.

She said that Somyot had contributed to the magazine using his real name.

The first hearing in Somyot’s case was held in Sa Kaew province in eastern Thailand on 21 Nov. He was brought to Phetchabun on 28 Nov. He will be transferred further north to Nakhon Sawan and then down to Songkhla in the south for the next prosecution witness hearings on 16 Jan and 13 Feb 2012, respectively.

Earlier, eight international human rights NGOs have launched an appeal to Thailand's Yingluck Shinawatra government calling for charges against Somyot Pruksakasemsuk to be dropped and for the nation's harsh lese majeste laws to be repealed.

The Asian Forum on Human Rights and Development, Clean Clothes Campaign, Front Line Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, Lawyers' Rights Watch – Canada, Protection International, Southeast Asia Press Alliance, and World Organisation against Torture launched the appeal last month.

Somyot is a former fulltime worker for the Thailand YCW.

SOURCE

Second hearing of Somyot’s case in Phetchabun (Pratachai)

Joint Appeal by eight international human rights NGOs on the case of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk (Prachatai)

Thailand's lèse majeste laws have been "used as a repressive tool to deprive the right to freedom of expression," writes imprisoned labour activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk.

"In addition, those charged with violating the law are mostly denied bails, an act of which is in breach of international human rights standards. As a political prisoner, the incarceration deprives me of all my rights and liberties."

Here is Somyot's latest letter written from the Bangkok Remand Prison.

Bangkok Remand Prison
33 Ngamwongwan Rd., Lay Yao
Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900
Email : b_remand@hotmail.com
From : Somyot Pruksakasemsuk

20 August 2011

To whom it may concern,
I have been detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison since April 30, 2011 for violating Section 112 of the Penal Code.

I wish to express my gratitude to those concerned both internationally as well as domestically regarding their demand upon the Thai government to release political prisoners.

For more than twenty years, I have been involved in the struggle of Thai workers to ensure that they live with dignity and are free from poverty.

Some aspects that I have helped to bring to them have been the right to 90 days maternity leave, the right to work in a safe working environment (1996), social security act (1990). I have also helped with labour issues including employment compensation as well as unemployment benefit (2003).

The above mentioned achievements have been a result of the Thai labour movement. It is in my experience that these rights emerge only from a democratic process forth by elections. Military government in the past have always violated workers rights and freedoms.

One instance of this is that during the coup of 23 February 1991, the labour leader, Thanong Pho-aan was abducted and made disappeared.

State enterprise trade unions were abolished and banned, as well as the collective bargaining agreement of the private sector deteriorated.

During the coup of 19 September 2006, the military government amended the labour protection law to legitimize contract labour employment and freeze minimum wages.

After the 2006 coup, I began to participate in the pro-democracy movement against movement behind the coup d’état and military junta.

I wanted to publish a magazine that strongly criticized the coup. People rallied to form the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or red shirt movement, which organized demonstrations and rallies, until the Aphisit government used military force to suppress them in May 2010, 91 individuals lost their lives. During this period my magazine was also shut down, and I was arrested and detained at military camp though I have not committed an offence for 21 days.

Upon my release, I founded the ‘Red Power’ magazine that strongly criticized the government and its policies. One of the key issues was the government promising to increase minimum wage to 250 Baht but not being able deliver the promise.

Red Power also seeks to investigate incidents behind and the causes of the death of the 91 deaths and other causalities. Nevertheless, its printing house was shut down in October 2010. To continue the printing of Red Power, we had to move our base to Cambodia.

After the 19 September 2006 coup, a number of activists, journalists and red shirt sympathizers were rounded up and put in jail invoking the lèse majesté law.

Foreign journalists were not allowed to exercise their right to freedom of expression and investigative journalism. Individuals detained pending the trials were subject to torture and denied bails depriving their right to self-defence.

Three labour activists were accused on violating lèse majesté law. Mr. Giles Ungpakorn and his wife were forced to live in exile in the UK; Junya Yimprasert, director of Thai Labour Campaign is unable to return to Thailand; Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, former director of Centre for Labour Information Service and Training, is currently being detained without bail under lèse majesté.

The majority of the Thai population are indoctrinated to believe in “democracy with the King as Head of State” and any individual expressing different views or deemed a threat to the institution are treated as enemies of the state.

Red Power is the only platform to enable individuals to express their thoughts and belief among like minded individuals. It was because of this that I was arrested and remanded under lèse majesté.

The law has been used as a repressive tool to deprive the right to freedom of expression. In addition, those charged with violating the law are mostly denied bails, an act of which is in breach of international human rights standards.

As a political prisoner, the incarceration deprives me of all my rights and liberties. I find my life being wretched to merely “a domesticated animal in a cage”. The physical and mental traumas hurt me gravely. Many fellow political prisoners like me have unnecessarily lost their family life and career.

I have been informed by visitors that human rights activists and unionists worldwide have demanded the Royal Thai Government release all political prisoners. Your movement means much to Thai people. It reflects how international community strives to achieve the common goal of forging a peaceful society in which everyone is genuinely entitled to the right to equality, freedom and democracy.

I fervently believe in the collective power and solidarity of all labour unions and justice concerned people. Your struggle to demand the release of all political prisoners in Thailand is an initial step toward democratization.

In solidarity,

Somyot Pruksakasemsuk

Thai prosecutors have formally charged labor activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk with lese majeste after a magazine he edited carried two articles that allegedly insulted the nation's king.

Somyot, who is a former Thailand YCW fulltimer, was charged after he had been already imprisoned for 84 days, the maximum number of days that a prisoner can be held without charge under Thai law, the Bangkok Post reports.

Somyot told the paper that the incoming government to be led by Yingluck Shinawatra  seemed content  to work under existing draconian legal and social settings.

“We all hope that  civil liberty will be cherished and will prosper,  as it must be the highest priority of  society along with reconciliation.

"To reconcile does not mean just between Thaksin and the elite, but also mutual understanding and tolerance between various groups in society.

"Reconciliation must reach-out to the victims and the damaged parties and must include humane and adequate remedial procedures for those injured and affected by last year's crackdown,” Somyot said.

In a statement, Cardijn Community International president Stefan Gigacz called for Somyot's release and for the dropping of charges.

"Whether of not we agree with Somyot's political options, it is time for Thailand to heal the divisions of recent years.

"Somyot has worked tirelessly for the benefit of Thai workers for many years. It is deeply regrettable that he should now face many years in jail for his commitment," Mr Gigacz said.