NARATHIWAT (Southern Thailand): All seven defendants ordered to testify regarding the ‘Tak Bai Bloody Incident of 2004’ failed to appear at the Narathiwat Provincial Court today (12 September 2024).

As a result, the court issued arrest warrants for six of them.

The defendants are:

1. Wichom Thongsong, 78, who was the Governor of Narathiwat Province at the time of the incident;
2. Former Commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Thai Army, Lt General Sinchai Nutasathit;
3. Former Director of the Forward Operations Center of the Royal Thai Police, Pol General Wongkot Maneerin;
4. Former Commander of Police Region 9, Pol General Manoch Kraiwong;
5. Former Superintendent of Narathiwat Provincial Police Station (Tak Bai District), Pol Maj General Saksommai Puttakul; and
6. Former Deputy Director of the Southern Border Peace Promotion Division and former Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Siwa Saengmanee.

However, the court sent an urgent letter to the Speaker of the Thai Parliament, Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, requesting permission to arrest the first defendant, General Pisan Wattanawongkiri, 74, who is currently a Member of Parliament (MP).

The letter also requested the Speaker to issue a statement waiving the immunity held by the MP, who at the time of the incident was the Commander of the 4th Army Region responsible for Southern Thailand, so that he can appear in court for a hearing on 15 October.

Among the privileges granted to Thai MPs under the Constitution is the provision that:

“During a parliamentary session, no member of the House of Representatives or the Senate can be arrested, detained, or summoned for investigation as a suspect in a criminal case unless permission is granted by the House to which they belong.”

On 23 August 2024, the Narathiwat Provincial Court ruled that criminal actions were committed by Thai government officials during the tragedy, which led to the deaths of 78 people from suffocation while in custody, and eight more were shot dead during efforts to disperse a protest.

Since the defendants have not yet appeared in court to file their defense claims, the statute of limitations for the Tak Bai case continues.

Although the court acknowledges that the defense claims must be submitted before the statute of limitations expires on 25 October, no further cases related to the incident can be brought to court after that date.

General Pisan Wattanawongkiri is an MP from the Pheu Thai Party, which currently governs Thailand, and has immunity during the ongoing parliamentary session.

Thailand’s parliamentary session will end at the end of October, beyond the statute of limitations for the Tak Bai case. If General Pisan uses his immunity and does not appear in court, the statute of limitations for him as the first defendant may expire.

As a result, many MPs have come forward to demand that all the defendants be brought to court so that the case can be tried and the truth uncovered, a truth that has been a source of pain for some Southern Thai residents for nearly 20 years.

For the first defendant, who holds parliamentary immunity, the court cannot immediately issue an arrest warrant. If he fails to appear for questioning, the court will send a letter requesting the Speaker of the House to consider sending the defendant to court, which is ultimately the Speaker’s decision.

The Speaker of the House will then ask General Pisan whether he will invoke his immunity. If General Pisan seeks to use his immunity, it will be up to the Speaker to make a decision and convene a meeting of MPs to vote.

If the meeting decides to allow the extradition, the court will be able to issue an arrest warrant for General Pisan and bring him under the court’s jurisdiction before the statute of limitations expires.

However, if the meeting decides not to extradite General Pisan, he will retain his immunity until the end of the parliamentary session. After that, the court can issue an arrest warrant within the statute of limitations (until 25 October 2024).

The ‘Tak Bai Bloody Incident of 2004’ occurred during the tenure of Thaksin Shinawatra, the 23rd Prime Minister of Thailand. Now, his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, serves as the country’s Prime Minister.