Govt to rebut human right violation accusation

BANGKOK, 23 January 2010 (NNT) – Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, Satit Wonghnongtaey, assigned the Foreign Ministry to make an understanding with the International Organization Human Rights Watch about its annual report alleging the Thai government of extreme human right violations.

The report by the Human Rights Watch group claims that the current government has seriously breached human rights especially during political turmoil by anti-government protesters in April 2009. Mr Satit stated that such accusation could seriously harm the reputation of Thailand.

The minister said the Human Rights Watch might have received false information from some ill-intended people working with ousted ex-PM Thaksin Shinnawatra and the anti-government group United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD). There was no death from the government’s dispersing of the UDD protests last April, he confirmed.

Mr Satit said he believed this issue would not affect the government’s security measures to control the upcoming UDD rallies.