Thai forces using torture in restive south: Amnesty International

"All the victims were Muslim, all but one were male, and 20 were under the age of 30; the youngest was a boy of six, the oldest 46," said the AI report entitled "Thailand: Torture in the Southern Counter-Insurgency".

Local human rights activist, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, of the Cross Cultural Foundation, pointed to a January 6, 2009, posting on the Youtube website. It purportedly showed a group of armed Thai soldiers slapping and kicking a teenage boy who appeared to be from the Malay-speaking South.

"We called for a full and open investigation. If wrongful conduct is determined, there must be some sort of disciplinary or legal action, as well as compensation for the detainee," Pornpen said.

"There have been many other suspects who faced similar experiences," Pornpen added.

Deputy Interior Minister Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam, the government's point man for the deep South, said he has yet to see the video but vowed to examine it.

AI said torture had been carried out in security agency installations, including the Inkayuthborihan Camp in Pattani and the Ninth Police Forward Command headquarters - home to the policy academy - as well as remote detention centres.

The report was based on testimony compiled between mid-2007 and mid-2008.

 "The insurgents in southern Thailand have engaged in brutal acts, but nothing justifies the security forces' reliance on torture," said Donna Guest, deputy director of AI's Asia-Pacific programme.

Guest said the best way to confront the torture is to end the issue of immunity to security officials assigned to the restive region, where 3,500 people have died since January 2004.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Tuegsuband told reporters today that the insurgents has about 1,000 active militants operating on the ground.

Guest said Thailand has sufficient legal grounds to prosecute perpetrators, in spite of the controversial Emergency Decree that provides immunity to officials in the line of duty. She referred to Article 32 in Thailand's Constitution, which prohibits torture, and the government's ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture.

"What we're pointing out is this inconsistency," said Benjamin Zawacki, the main researcher of the report.

  Zawacki said while the government officially condemned use of torture, there is nevertheless a culture of  "wilful blindness" among officials.

AI's report came on the day Cabinet endorsed the formation of a "mini" Cabinet made up of 16 ministers tasked with overseeing problems in the deep South.

Thaworn said all 16 ministers will travel with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to Yala on a one-day familiarisation trip on January 17.

The mini Cabinet, to be chaired by the prime minister, will meet regularly to provide guidance on the deep South while the government and Parliament work out legislation to consolidate existing agencies under one administrative body to tackle problems in the region.

Sources in the government said it is concerned the new civilian-led administrative body will take away much of the local power that for the past five years has been the main driving force behind development and security.

Thaworn said the security community in Thailand would no longer have the luxury of passing the controversial Emergency Decree, subject to review every three months. He said the military, National Security Council and others must justify future requests by assessing the effectiveness of the law, as well as gauging responses from the local community.