JURIST - Paper Chase: Thailand truth commission releases report about 2010 unrest

[JURIST] The Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) [official website, in Thai] on Tuesday released a report [materials, in Thai] detailing the unrest and deaths caused by the 2010 anti-government protests [JURIST news archive] led by the "red shirt" [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] movement. The protests were said to have killed 92 people and injured around 1,700. The report renounced the military tactics used to engage the protesters, but also pointed out that at times, protesters attempted to blend into civilian crowds to avoid detection. The report also called for the guarantee of fundamental rights for demonstrators in the justice system and warned of the possibility of continued unrest if conciliatory measures are not the top priority of all stake holders.

Investigations have been ongoing since the unrest. In February 2011, the red shirts petitioned [JURIST report] the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST backgrounder] to launch a preliminary investigation into whether the government committed crimes against humanity during the 2010 protests. The application for petition [text, PDF] cited specific evidence developing a substantial basis to show that international crimes of murder, imprisonment and other severe deprivations of physical liberty, other inhumane acts and persecution were committed in conjunction with the suppression of red shirt protest. In 2010 the red shirts initiated the protests [JURIST report] against the Thai government calling for elections. The protests ended two months later when protesters surrendered [JURIST report] to the police.