Despite the National Human Rights Development Plan to abolish the death penalty by 2013, Thai society needs to engage in frank debate about the merits of the death penalty for those convicted of drugrelated crimes as many still believe capital punishment is the solution, a seminar concluded yesterday.
"We need meaningful debate and in the meantime, a moratorium [for the death penalty] is the best solution," Pairoj Polpeth, secretarygeneral of the Union of Civil Liberty (UCL), said at a seminar organised by the union and the Swiss Embassy.
Pairoj said many Thais still believed violence was the solution for all crimes, but this was giving some people the licence to kill. He said this would not solve the problem with drugs because the dilemma stemmed from poverty and social alienation. Pairoj said that out of the 2 million people arrested for various crimes, 60,000 had failed to apply for bail due to poverty, a proof that many people in jail are simply poor.
"These people are dehumanised and we allow [the state] to commit violence on them. Some people still believe that drug trafficking is like murder, which is not accurate," he said.
Chulalongkorn University law professor Vithit Muntrabhorn said that according to the United Nations, drug trafficking was not one of "the most serious offences" and capital punishment should not be applicable to it.
Vithit said it was unfortunate and bad for Thailand's reputation that it had executed two drug traffickers last year despite a sixyear de facto moratorium on capital punishment.
"What was it for? It wasn't worth it. It goes against the global trend," he said.
At present, 179 countries have abolished capital punishment, while Thailand is one of the 20 countries that still practises legal execution.
The professor said whether it likes it or not, Thailand would have to follow its master plan on humanrights development and abolish the death penalty in four years.
Meanwhile, Swiss Ambassador Christine Schraner Burgener said she wondered why a Buddhist country like Thailand would continue to condone capital punishment. She said Switzerland had abolished the penalty back in 1973.
One participant from the Justice Ministry said Thailand should not be forced to abolish capital punishment, adding that many Thais supported the penalty and warned that if the punishment were lifted, drug trafficking would only increase. He also added that Thailand was in a unique location, considering it was surrounded by drugproducing nations.
Pairoj opposed the hypothesis that the abolition of capital punishment would lead to a proliferation of drugs, saying research in other countries had proven otherwise.
Kobkoon Chantawaro, legal adviser to the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) said it was too early to debate the issue in Parliament. "If we send the matter there we will fail to communicate," he said, adding that more debate was definitely needed.
Danthong Breen, chairman of UCL, said it was cruel for people, such as the two who were executed last year, to be told one hour in advance that they were to be put to death. In this case, the convicts were playing chess in prison.