http://robertamsterdam.com/thailand/?p=864

Open Letter to PM Abhisit on Election Concerns

Hon. Abhisit Vejjajiva
Prime Minister of Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand
(By email: Abhisit@abhisit.org)

Dear Mr. Abhisit,

As you are aware, I act on behalf of the United National Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD). Our members have sacrificed beyond all measure to ensure that Thais from all political persuasions would have the opportunity to freely cast their ballots in a fair and competitive environment in the upcoming July 3rd general elections. Many fear that the pre-election polling results present a threat to the current leadership, the Democrat Party and elements of the Royal Thai Army, and that, consequently, the legitimacy of the election is now at risk.

Of critical importance to the pro-democracy movement in Thailand are a number of actions undertaken by your government that undermine the democratic process:

1. The accelerated criminalization of free speech
2. Instrumentalization of the border dispute with Cambodia
3. The disenfranchisement of voters' rights
4. Manipulations of ballot forms and other administrative details

The ability of Thai citizens to speak freely without fear of punishment is essential to the democratic process, however in Thailand, the opposition is under siege. Almost 500 lese majeste cases were prosecuted over the past year. Major international news organizations have been pressured into self-censorship. A recent statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission commented that "free expression has become an even more dangerous endeavour in Thailand than it was earlier, as highlighted here by three cases which signal the gravity of the threat not only to the freedom of expression in the short term, but also to human rights more broadly. The first is the case of Mr. Aekkechai Hongkangwan, who has been released on bail; and, the others are the cases of Mr. Joe Gordon and Mr. Somyos Preuksakasemsuk, who remain under detention."

In addition to Thailand's attack on free speech, the Democrat Party has not hesitated to instrumentalize the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, including the provocative withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention, and statements from the Election Commission that the poll could be suspended in the event of an "emergency situation." We are also very concerned by the belligerent and inflammatory statements you made on June 23, promising that he would not hesitate to "to order the army to defend our territory." This rhetoric of unnecessary war has no place in a civil democratic process.

This "militarization" of the process arises in the context of massive military intervention in the pre-election process, which includes statements from General Prayuth Chan-Ocha indirectly expressing the army's preferences to the voters, and implying consequences if they did not vote as instructed.

I need not remind you that your government won power not through the democratic choice of voters, but rather through the manipulations of pliant courts. Ahead of this election, it appears that many voters won't even have the opportunity to cast their ballots. It was recently reported in the Thai press that the Election Commission had failed to notify as many as 500,000 voters who had registered for advance voting outside their home constituencies in the 2007 election that they would be considered ineligible to vote on July 3, 2011 unless they notified the authorities that they intended to vote elsewhere in this election. Because these voters unwittingly failed to vote last Sunday in the areas where they had previously registered, they have now been disenfranchised. While this decision by the Election Commission has been attributed to "poor public relations," such a characterization strains credulity and, at minimum, undermines the legitimacy of the electoral process.

There are also well documented investigations into the mysterious "misprinting" of the ballot form, in which the logo of the Pheu Thai Party is printed in an extremely small size, making it difficult to read for elderly voters. Out of 40 competing parties, of course this is the only one whose logo is incorrectly printed, and the Electoral Commission has refused to correct the issue. This is just one outstanding issue among many other complaints regarding the ballot forms, including issues with the ink, pressures against PTP canvassers, and other extra-administrative efforts that impinge upon the fairness of the process.

These interferences with the right of the voters to a free and fair election flagrantly violate Thailand's international obligations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights requires that elections must be "genuine," while the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mandates that elections must guarantee the "free expression of the will of the electors." Where voters are persecuted for expressing their political views, massively disenfranchised, and subjected to military intimidation and ballot manipulations, no resulting election can be deemed either genuine or free.

Be under no illusions that the end point of your subversion of the democratic will of the Thai people has been reached. If democracy is derailed yet again in Thailand, then it would be legally incumbent upon those persons standing for election, who would have almost certainly been elected as leaders by those same citizens, to form an effective government to combat your unconstitutional and prosecutable actions. We demand, on behalf of our clients in the UDD and more than 67 million Thai citizens, that the July 3rd general election is held and its results fully respected.

Govern yourselves accordingly.

Sincerely
Robert Amsterdam
Amsterdam & Peroff LLP
International Counsel to the UDD
London, United Kingdom

CC:

Apichart Sukhagganond
Chairman
Election Commission of Thailand
Government Complex (Building B)
120, Chaeng Wattana Road
Thung Song Hong, Laksi Bangkok 10210 THAILAND