Rights activists are calling on Thai authorities to impartially investigate the killing in Ubon Ratchathani of an exiled Lao political activist who held UN refugee status.
The body of Bounsuan Kitiyano was found with three gunshot wounds in the forest in Sri Muang Mai district of the northeastern province bordering Laos on May 17, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. The initial police investigation indicated that he was shot while riding alone on his motorcycle through the forest.
Police said Bounsuan had been living in Thailand for the past four or five years, Radio Free Asia reported.
He reportedly had plans to go to Bangkok in the near future to file documents so that he could go to Australia as an asylum seeker.
His body was transported to a nearby hospital for further investigation, but by May 19 it had already been collected by a friend for ceremonial burial purposes, police said.
“This cold-blooded killing of a prominent exiled Lao political activist demands an immediate response from the Thai authorities,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at HRW. “The Thai government should urgently conduct a credible and impartial investigation into Bounsuan’s death and bring to justice all those responsible.”
Bounsuan, 56, was a former member of the Free Laos group and was recognised as a refugee by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He had been involved in several protests in front of the Lao Embassy in Bangkok calling for respect for human rights.
The killing of Bounsuan in Thailand sends a spine-chilling message that nowhere is safe for critics of the Lao government, said HRW.
On April 29, an unidentified gunman shot and seriously wounded Anousa Luangsuphom, an activist and online critic of the Lao government, in the capital, Vientiane. His family initially reported he was dead as they feared retribution. It later emerged that he was alive and supporters subsequently managed to get him out of Laos for further medical treatment.
Even activists who have fled persecution in Laos to neighbouring countries have not been safe, said HRW. Od Sayavong, a Lao human rights and democracy activist living in Bangkok, has been missing since August 2019.
The Thai government has consistently failed to prevent or adequately respond to attacks against political critics of repressive governments in neighbouring Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar, HRW said.
“The Thai government’s unacceptable deference to abusive neighbours is once again taking priority over its international human rights and legal obligations,” said Ms Pearson said.
“The new government … has an urgent agenda to reestablish Thailand as a place where refugees are protected.”
