By Andrew Spooner

Amnesty International’s Secretary General today paid a visit to that lovable defender of human rights, due process, democracy and accountability, Thailand’s very own PM Abhisit.
At the moment, the only version of what went on at that meeting is available from a Thai government website.

Doubtless, given the rumoured sources that Amnesty’s Thailand-based researcher Benjamin Zawacki uses to ascertain whether or not those imprisoned under Thailand’s draconian lese majeste laws are prisoners of conscience or not, Amnesty will likely be quick to sign up to the Thai government’s press release. Let’s hope we’re proved wrong.

However, one question that must be asked, and is absolutely crucial if Amnesty International are deemed to still have any credibility left in Thailand, is did their Secretary General meet or request to meet with any UDD or Red Shirt leaders or any persons who have been or who are imprisoned since the State of Emergency was declared?

I’ve put this question to Amnesty’s London press office and hope to get a response soon (but don’t count your chickens – Amnesty routinely refuse to answer any queries or criticism relating to their position on Thailand).

If the Secretary General did not even attempt to meet with UDD/Red Shirt activists and leaders then serious questions must be raised about Amnesty’s lack of impartiality in Thailand. Just taking the government’s line on Thailand’s present state of affairs would be a shocking indictment of Amnesty’s perceived and widely documented failings in Thailand.

What I’d like to know is did Amnesty’s Secretary General ask why Da Torpedo is still being refused medical care? When will the government end its present State of Emergency? What timetable do the government have for up and coming elections? When will the government investigate the credible allegations of torture of UDD/Red Shirt prisoners? When will the government release full details of all the political prisoners they are holding?

If the Secretary General didn’t fully interrogate PM Abhisit on any of these issues one must wonder what he was actually doing in Bangkok.