The discovery of a remote camp containing the graves of what are thought to be the remains of human rights has sent shockwaves throughout the nation and beyond.  The site contained 32 shallow graves but human rights remains have been found in only 26, indicating that it was expected that there would be more victims.

The camp site, in remote Dusit District, was raided after a tip-off by local residents, who reported witnessing suspicious activity repeatedly over the past few months.  They had feared to speak out before because of the large presence of security forces in the area.

It has long been suspected that unscrupulous ‘brokers’, masquerading as members of the legislature and bureaucracy, have for years violated human rights with impunity, and almost no legal action had been taken against these abuses.  The fact that the camp appears to have been operating for many months in the midst of such a large security presence has only fuelled speculation of official involvement in the persecution of human rights.

When the camp was raided, a single survivor was found.  Named as the Right to Freedom of Assembly, it was in a severely debilitated condition and barely able to speak or walk.  It is believed that the camp operators responsible for its brutal treatment had left it for dead.

Speaking in a hoarse whisper to reporters from its bedside, the Right to Freedom of Assembly recounted weeks of brutality that left it barely able to function.  ‘Many activists tried to protest at my treatment,’ it said, ‘but the blows still rained down on me. 

‘The final straw came last Friday when I was tortured by what is known as the third reading of the Public Assembly Bill.  It has left me almost completely incapacitated, a shadow of my former self.  Some of my friends still tried to protest, but I feared that the end was near.’

Experts reviewing the condition of the Right to Freedom of Assembly expressed concern that without radical surgery, which is currently unavailable in Thailand, the best that can be hoped for is an extremely limited existence, constantly vulnerable to further deterioration in its condition. 

‘The attitude of police station commanders across the country will be crucial to the Right’s ability to survive,’ commented one expert.  ‘If they continue treat the Right as they have in the past, following the example of leading figures in the country, it is unlikely that it will be able to carry on a normal life.’

Experts are conducting detailed forensic lexicological tests on the contents of the shallow graves, with results expected in the coming days, but first indications are that these contain the remains of long-extinct Rights. 

The Right to Freedom of Assembly claims to have witnessed the most recent burial.  ‘My friend, the Right to Freedom of Expression, had been repressed and mistreated for months.  But last week’s sudden shutdown of the Peace TV station proved a mortal blow.  It was soon clear that Freedom of Expression was well and truly dead.’ 

The ultimate fate of Freedom of Expression came as no surprise.  The camp commandant, a misguided but garrulous figure known as Nai Yok, had made numerous threats against it, once clearly calling for its ‘execution’.

The Freedom of Expression corpse was summarily thrown into a prepared grave without any ceremony according to Freedom of Assembly.  ‘These people treated us worse than you treat animals’, said the survivor, tears welling in its eyes.  This may in fact be an exaggeration, since one of the early graves is thought to contain the emaciated remains of Animal Rights.

Investigators are eager to identify the network behind the ‘camp of Rights death’ as the media has come to know it.  According to the few witnesses prepared to talk, this is a shadowy organization, known to insiders as ‘Ayakan Suek’, although some believe that it was recently replaced, or maybe just renamed, as ‘Organization 44’.  Both organizations are thought to be well-connected, which would explain how they have been able to get away with these atrocities for so long.

Although this camp has been abandoned and the criminals running it have disappeared without trace, it is feared that there are similar camps and more graves in the vicinity.  The violation of human rights in Thailand is therefore not expected to end soon.

About author:  Bangkokians with long memories may remember his irreverent column in The Nation in the 1980's. During his period of enforced silence since then, he was variously reported as participating in a 999-day meditation retreat in a hill-top monastery in Mae Hong Son (he gave up after 998 days), as the Special Rapporteur for Satire of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and as understudy for the male lead in the long-running ‘Pussies -not the Musical' at the Neasden International Palladium (formerly Park Lane Empire).