Freedom in the World 1999 - Thailand

1999 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 2.5
Civil Liberties: 3
Political Rights: 2

Overview

With Thailand's economy emerging from a deep financial crisis, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai announced in October 1999 that he would probably hold elections, due by November 2000, several months early.

Thailand, known as Siam until 1939, is the only Southeast Asian nation never colonized by a European country. In 1932 a bloodless coup, the first of 17 coups or attempted coups in the twentieth century, curbed the king's powers and established a constitutional monarchy. Today, King Bhumibol Alduyadej's duties are limited to approving the prime minister, but he is widely revered and exerts informal political influence.

In 1991, the army overthrew a hugely corrupt elected government. Following elections in April 1992 the new parliament appointed the coup leader, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, prime minister even though he had not contested the vote. Bangkok's middle class organized massive demonstrations that climaxed in May, when soldiers killed more than 50 protesters. Suchinda resigned, Thailand returned to civilian rule, and parliament amended the constitution to require prime ministers to be members of parliament.

The 1996 elections brought to power a coalition headed by Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a former army commander. Chavalit inherited an economy that had recorded the world's fastest growth between 1984 and 1995, but was now weakened by slowing exports, $63 billion in mostly short-term foreign debt, and a poorly supervised banking system burdened by bad property loans. The government floated the baht on July 2, 1997, after spending billions of dollars in a fruitless defense against speculators, and in August agreed to a $17.2 billion loan package led by the International Monetary Fund conditioned on financial austerity. Middle-class Thais, blaming the financial crisis on a political system dominated by corrupt rural politicians, organized large anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok. In September, parliament approved a reformist constitution that included tough anticorruption provisions and redesigned the electoral system. The constitution created a directly elected house of representatives, with 400 single-member constituencies and 100 party-list seats, which serves a four-year term, and a 200-seat, directly elected senate. In November 1997, Chuan Leekpai of the Democratic Party formed a new six-party coalition.

In 1998, Chuan's economic policies drew international praise and domestic criticism. As the country endured its worst recession in decades, the government suspended 56 bankrupt financial institutions and maintained high interest rates. The opposition blamed the tight monetary policy for pushing the economy into recession and argued that privatization and other proposed liberalization measures would allow foreigners to dominate the economy and lead to even greater job losses. With the number of unemployed Thais rising from one million to three million and the economy contracting an estimated 7 to 8 percent, the urban poor, farmers, and other vulnerable groups accused the government of ignoring their plight.

In 1999, critics accused the government of failing to adequately confront the problem of nonperforming bank loans, which amounted to nearly half of total loans in the financial system. In late 1999, economists estimated that gross domestic product had grown 4 to 6 percent in 1999, although unemployment remained at record-high levels.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens of Thailand can change their government through elections, although voting is marred by fraud and irregularities. In the 1996 elections candidates spent an estimated $1 billion buying votes and reportedly hired off-duty police and soldiers to intimidate voters and stuff ballots. Partisan attacks killed seven people in the most violent campaign ever.

Individual freedoms are generally respected, but police impunity, official corruption, limited bureaucratic transparency, mistreatment of refugees, discrimination against women and minorities, and trafficking of women for prostitution continue to be problems. The 1997 constitution is the sixteenth since 1932, but the first to be drafted with public consultation. It includes strong human rights guarantees and anticorruption provisions. However, according to the Far Eastern Economic Review, in 1998 and 1999 conservative lawmakers sought to restrict the interpretation of the constitution's human rights bill. Since the 1991 coup, the military has reduced its political role, although it still maintains substantial illicit business interests.

The judiciary is independent but is rife with corruption. In criminal cases, due process safeguards are generally adequate, but indigent defendants are not guaranteed an attorney. A constitutional court authorized by the 1997 constitution began operating in 1998. Sharia (Islamic law) courts hear civil cases concerning members of the Muslim minority. According to the U. S. Department of State, the sole political prisoner is a Muslim cleric who was sentenced in 1994 to a 12-year term for leading a 1990 political protest.

The police force is highly corrupt and inadequately trained, and operates with relative impunity. Police commit dozens of extrajudicial executions of drug traffickers and other criminal suspects each year with virtual impunity in the context of an increasingly violent narcotics trade. Police occasionally torture and rape detainees. Prison conditions are poor, and officials routinely beat and shackle inmates. Conditions at immigration detention centers, where female detainees say rape is common, worsened in 1998 after the government ordered a crackdown on illegal immigrants in response to the economic crisis.

The constitution and several laws restrict freedom of expression in specific areas, including advocating a Communist government and inciting disturbances. The government has not arrested anyone under laws against defaming the monarchy (lese majeste) since 1991, but citizens strictly adhere to lese majeste provisions.

The 1997 constitution prohibits the government from censoring, banning, or otherwise restricting the media, except by legislation during a crisis. The press criticizes government policies and publicizes corruption and human rights abuses, but journalists face occasional intimidation and exercise self-censorship regarding the military, monarchy, judiciary, and other sensitive issues. Each year the police issue several warnings to publications under the 1941 Printing and Advertisement Act, which broadly prohibits the media from disturbing the peace, interfering with public safety, or offending public morals. The government or the military controls all five national television networks, and the army owns most radio stations. The broadcast media generally offer pluralist views.

Police occasionally use excessive force in containing public demonstrations. Nongovernmental organizations are active but face some police harassment and intimidation. The government is establishing an independent National Human Rights Commission, as called for by the 1997 constitution.

Thailand's financial crisis has exacerbated unemployment and other social problems in a country with a minimal welfare system. Prostitution is illegal but widespread, in part because many local officials, police, and soldiers have a financial interest in its continuation and because the government barely enforces relevant laws. Many prostitutes, particularly women and girls from hill tribes and those trafficked from neighboring countries, are forcibly brought into the trade and are subjected to physical abuse and confinement. Girls sold into prostitution by their families become bonded laborers. Rape and domestic violence continue to be problems.

Women are increasingly entering the professions. However, overall, women generally receive lower pay for equal work, are concentrated in lower paying jobs, and are frequently denied the minimum wage.

Religious freedom is respected, with Theravada Buddhism claiming the most adherents. Muslim Malays constitute a 10 percent minority and face unofficial social and employment discrimination. Roughly half of the 500,000 to 600,000 members of hill tribes are not registered citizens and therefore cannot vote or own land, have difficulty in obtaining social services, and are not protected by labor laws.

Thailand has for years sheltered hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asian refugees, including currently some 125,000 Burmese refugees. The government generally provides first asylum to Burmese fleeing fighting, but often bars Burmese seeking asylum on broader grounds of persecution. Authorities frequently arbitrarily arrested and detained Burmese refugees and asylum seekers outside refugee camps as illegal aliens. In 1998 and 1999, the government deported tens of thousands of Burmese migrant workers in the context of the regional financial crisis, without protecting genuine asylum seekers.

Unions are independent. The lack of antidiscrimination legislation hampers organizing. Collective bargaining is legal in the private sector, but in practice employers maintain considerable leverage and generally set wages unilaterally. State workers can only join "associations," which cannot negotiate wages or hold strikes. The International Labor Organization has criticized seldom-used legislation permitting the government to restrict private sector strikes on national security or public welfare grounds or in essential services. Child labor is common. Working conditions in private factories are often poor and dangerous.