Thailand: Open letter to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Thailand: Open letter to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

In this open letter, Amnesty International welcomes the establishment of a commission to investigate events of 25 October 2004 that led to the deaths of at least 87 protestors in Tak Bai, Narathiwat Province. The organisation urges that internationally established principles for the independent, impartial, competent and effective investigation of alleged human rights violations are used and the victims of alleged violations are guaranteed access to judicial remedies. The letter also renews calls for independent investigations into the significantly high number of killings during the "war on drugs" in 2003, and into deaths that resulted from security forces' suppression of suspected insurgents in 2004.