The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand refers to the continued political demonstration, particularly the rallies yesterday evening (21 October 2020) that people gathered at the Victory Monument and marched to the Government House, then submitted a letter demanding the resignation of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister. Worriedly, other groups of protesters synchronously gathered in many areas in Bangkok and haphazard clashes with other dissent groups occurred. During the increasingly stressful situation, the Prime Minister was televised to announce the government’s willingness to resolve the national conflict through the parliamentary process resulting in the subsequent revocation of the declaration of serious emergency situation in the area of Bangkok today.
          The National Human Rights Commission (NHRCT) welcomes the move to revoke the decree since it imposed greater restrictions on people’s fundamental freedoms than in normal situation, and also the government’s gesture to use the parliamentary process to resolve disputes.
          In such light, the NHRCT has proposals to all parties the following:
          1. The government and the legislature should seriously consider the national conflicts to be resolved during the special parliamentary session to be held between 26-27 October 2020 in order to achieve the concrete solution;
          2. The government has to facilitate people of all parties in exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The government has to ensure their safety by preventing and lessening the risk of confrontation among dissent groups that may lead to violence as they can hold and constructively express their opinions, which are fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
          3. All parties i.e. the government, any different group of demonstrators, and people in general public should listen to and respect different opinions, to lower demanding conditions, and to avoid the use of verbal expression or any means of communication that would hinder the negotiations to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
 

17/10/2020