Angkhana could give rights watchdog real bite

The announcement this week that Angkhana Neelaphaijit, wife of missing Muslim human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, has been nominated to the National Human Rights Commission is a ray of hope amid the gloom shrouding civil liberties in Thailand.

Angkhana joins Chatsuda Chandeeying, director of Chatsuda School in Samut Prakan; Boworn Yasinthorn, president of the Volunteer Network to Protect the Three Institutions; Prakairat Toonteerawong, a lawyer; Wat Tingamitr, a former judge; Dr Supachai Thanomsap, a physician; and Dr Sura-chet Sathitniramai, a physician and former acting permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, as candidates to fill the seven-seat independent rights watchdog.

They were selected from among 121 applicants to replace the outgoing team, led by Professor Amara Pongsapich.

Several of the nominees have risen to prominence in the justice system, but it is perhaps the inclusion of political activist and royalist Boworn that is most surprising. Boworn has in the past evinced a negative attitude towards the principle of human rights. 

Angkhana, who is chairwoman of the Working Group for Peace and Justice, is probably the best known among the seven, thanks to her activism over the past decade or so.

Angkhana was thrust into the national and international spotlight when her husband, Somchai, went missing in 2004 and has since waged a relentless campaign to against human rights violations, including abductions and forced disappearances.

A police officer was charged and convicted for involvement in Somchai’s abduction, but he was later acquitted on appeal. Angkhana, however, refuses to give up the fight for justice for her husband.

Her appointment to the national rights watchdog will no doubt disturb elements among the military and the security agencies. Angkhana has been outspoken about ongoing rights violations amid a culture of impunity that exists among security officials, especially those working in the Muslim-majority southernmost provinces, where more than 6,000 have been killed since the insurgency flared up in January 2004.

Though she enjoys little support from the majority of Thais, who do not sympathise with the distinct cultural and historical narrative of the deep South’s ethnic-Malay majority, Angkhana has consistently stood her ground and maintained her integrity in the face of hostile opinion. 

A professional nurse and housewife up until the time her husband was abducted, she was then quick to pick up the art of public speaking and social activism. It wasn’t long before she became a leading authority on rights issues in Thailand, not to mention the insurgency in the South. She succeeded in putting a human face on the conflict, thus discrediting state agencies’ shallow analyses that depicted the militants as a bunch of drug-crazed youths indoctrinated by distorted history and Islamic teachings.

For Angkhana, the southern conflict is about two narratives – that of the Thai state and that of the Patani-Malays. Each has to be respected and understood if sustainable peace is to be restored and Thais are to move forward as one nation with a sense of a shared destiny.

In this regard, Angkhana is the perfect candidate to help heal the historical mistrust between the Thai state and the Malays of Patani. While there can be no doubt about her loyalty to the nation, Angkhana’s track record on upholding human rights in the deep South speaks for itself. 

Her acknowledgement of  the distinct culture and history of Patani Malays has won her tremendous respect among the residents of the deep South, at a time when their sons and nephews face constant harassment by Thai security forces.