LIFE

Getting away with it

Life, Chris Baker, Published on 23/11/2018

» From 1977 to 1988, there were at least 1,436 alleged cases of arbitrary detention, 58 forced disappearances, 148 torture, and 345 extrajudicial killings in Thailand. We know these figures because an NGO investigated and reported these cases at a time when the idea of human rights excited optimism about justice and the rule of law. Amnesty International encouraged international activists to protest individual cases. Thai authorities investigated and whitewashed each case. This became standard procedure. After a time the NGO gave up. Nobody was punished.