The government violated international human rights principles by endorsing the military's indiscriminate and excessive use of force against red shirt protesters, a forum has concluded.
At Saturday's event at Thammasat University, which marked the one-month anniversary of security forces' dispersal of United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) protesters, rights advocates and academics also slammed the state for using propaganda to whitewash its unjust actions and the emergency decree to eliminate dissidents.
"What the state has done is in violation of the United Nations' principles on human rights" said Krittiya Archavanikul of Mahidol University's Human Rights Centre.
She was referring to the military's dispersal operations carried out on April 10 and from May 14 to 19, which resulted in 90 deaths and over 1,800 injuries.
The Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation has been unable to substantiate its claims that the military used live rounds against protesters and bystanders only in self-defence, she said.
The state had not employed force to disperse the crowd on a proportional basis as stipulated by the Universal Declaration for Human Rights ratified by Thailand, she said.
"The state has used the term 'terrorism' to clean the dirt it is hiding," said Mrs Krittiya.
Peace advocate Kwanravee Wang-udom said the CRES had violated international rights principles by allowing soldiers to use live rounds without close supervision.
The CRES's orders gave authorities legal immunity to commit unjust actions, Ms Kwanravee said.
Kasem Penpinant of Chulalongkorn University's arts faculty said the use of over 50,000 heavily armed security forces
personnel to disperse a political gathering should not have happened in a democratic country.
"It was like a military operation during a war," he said, adding the government has failed to provide clear evidence to substantiate its claim that terrorists had mingled among the protesters.
A key issue at the forum was the state's use of propaganda to justify the military operation.
Chulalongkorn University political scientist Jakkrit Sangkhamanee said the government's use of propaganda has been successful because it was well planned.
"Propaganda has been used to make the public trust the government, and fear and hate protestors, as well as to bring debate to a swift conclusion," he said.
During its daily televised announcements, the CRES had used terms like "law breakers" to refer to the protesters, creating a bias against them that helped justify the state's actions.
"The state has been selective in telling the truth and has distracted public attention from core issues," he said, citing the CRES's refusal to clarify whether the army had used snipers during dispersal operations.
Human rights advocate Sarawut Prathumrat urged the government to lift the emergency decree, saying it has led to more abuses of authority.
Red shirt supporters and leaders, as well as their family members, have been brought in for interrogation by security forces since the decree was put into effect, he said. Many have also been threatened and arrested, he said.
Pruek Thaothawin, a lecturer with Ubon Ratchathani University's arts faculty, said the decree "is a tool for the state to administer its fear of dissidents".
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