Thai Foreign Minister has been shamed when the US Ambassador has publicly confirmed that the statement expressing Washington’s “concerns” on Thailand’s human rights situation is real after the minister has recently claimed that the statement was not issued by the US Department of State.
On Tuesday, 10 May 2016, AFP reported that a spokesperson of the US Department of the State “condemned” Thailand for arresting activist's mother, which happened on 6 May. However, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rebutted that it was just a ‘concerning’, not a ‘condemning’, statement and it was quoted from a low-ranking staff, not a spokesperson, of the department,.
On Thursday, 12 May 2016, Glyn T. Davies, the US Ambassador to Thailand, confirmed to the media that the statement is indeed authorized by the the Department of State, saying that the US was deeply concerned by the recent intimidation against the junta opposers, just like what of Katina Adams, the State Department's spokeswoman for East Asia and the Pacific, has already said, Matichon Online reported.
Don Pramudwinai (left) and Glyn T. Davies (Right) (source: Thai TV 3)
According to Matichon Online, It is right after a one-and-half-hour long meeting between Davies and Don Pramudwinai, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. After confirming so, Davies then read the statement to the media word by word.
The statement includes various concerns of the US government such as, intimidation against junta’s opposers, suppression of freedom of expression, and free and fairness of the August referendum.
“The United States was troubled by the recent arrests of individuals in connection with online postings, and the detention of Patnaree Charnkij,” Davies read the statement. “These actions create a climate of intimidation and self-censorship.”
While reading, Don was apparently dissatisfied with Davies’ action in a sense that he deeply sighed several times and the papers in his hand were a little bit shaking.
When Davies finished reading the statement, Don briefly interrupted him and said “Pardon me. When we discussed upstair, they might be too gracious to bring up all this points, the points that he just raised out to you.”
Don interrupting Davies' speech (source: Thai TV 3)
Don added that all the public need to know is that the US never use a word or connotation which could be interpreted as a “condemnation”.
“Again, I don’t want to keep you too long here. But please, when you want to interpret it. Whatever you had, there’s no word which is signified condemnation. I want you heard correctly. There was no single word which is equipped a connotation to condemnation,” Don spoken to the media.
Then Davies replied “I can confirm that. You did not hear me use the word condemnation in what I just spoke”.
