Thailand must investigate Malay Muslim human rights defender’s death: Amnesty International News
viarami / Pixabay
Thailand must investigate Malay Muslim human rights defender’s death: Amnesty International

Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an immediate investigation into the death of Malay Muslim human rights defender Roning Dolah, who was fatally shot in Thailand on Tuesday night. Human Rights Watch also added its voice to the call for accountability.

Roning was stationed in Pattani as a coordinator working with Duay Jai Group, providing rehabilitation support for torture survivors. According to Amnesty International’s press release, Roning was shot by two unidentified men in front of his home in Pattani province. While the men remain unidentified, they are suspected to be members of an armed Malay Muslim group. Duay Jai Group have since released a statement commemorating the powerful work Roning has done in helping victims of the insurgency, a contribution backed by his own tremendous personal resilience.

Amnesty International’s Thailand researcher Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong says, “This tragic incident highlights the dangers faced by human rights defenders in Thailand’s southern border region.” Thailand’s southern borders have been plagued by attacks and human rights violations at the hands of insurgent Malay Muslim groups since 2004. Dolah’s death is another tragic loss added to the list of fatalities in the region. His death came just a day before the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

While the Thai government’s Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 has issued a statement asking for witnesses to come forward, the silence of any concrete commitment to pursuing justice for Roning rings loud. As stated by Human Rights Watch, “During 20 years of armed insurgency in Thailand’s southern border provinces, not a single soldier or other security personnel member has been prosecuted for unlawfully detaining, torturing, or extrajudicially killing suspected insurgents.”

Amnesty International has long pushed for Thai authorities to deliver justice. Now, Tatiyakaroonwong calls on Thai authorities to pursue justice for Roning by “carrying out a prompt, transparent, independent and effective investigation into his death and bring the perpetrators to justice according to international human rights law.” Absent such an investigation, Tatiyakaroonwong fears chilling effects on human rights activism in the region.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Twenty-sixth Amendment made US voting age 18

On June 30, 1971, the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, making the legal voting age 18. Learn more about the history surrounding the passage of the 26th Amendment.

DRC gains independence, Congo crisis begins shortly thereafter

On June 30, 1960, the Congo gained independence from Belgium. Soon afterwards, the Congolese military mutinied, touching off the Congo Crisis that would compel UN and Belgian intervention and concluded with the installation of Mobutu Sese Seko as dictator of the country, which was renamed Zaire. Learn more about the Congo Crisis from the Internet Archive.