Missing the target: Firearm Policy & Practice in Thai Society

Tassanee Tanakornsombut Chutimas Suksai Chayanit Poonyarat Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan

Firearm policy and practice in Thai society:

Missing the Target

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

ISBN Bangkok 2005 Published by: Reduction of Armed Violence Project Nonviolence International Southeast Asia office 104/20 Soi 124 Latprao, Wangtonglang, Bangkok 10310 SIAM tel/fax +662934 3289 rav@nonviolenceinternational.net www.nonviolenceinternational.net/rav Cover Photo Credits: Internal Photos: Page

Š Nonviolence International

| Use of material is encouraged with acknowledgement

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

Firearm policy and practice in Thai society:

Missing the Target

Tassanee Tanakornsombut Chutimas Suksai Chayanit Poonyarat Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society

by Nonviolence International

1

2

At Pak Phanang School two students were shot to death and three others were injured by a seventeen yearold student, who stole a 9 mm pistol from his father. The incident has sparked concern and worry in Thai society.

According to the media, the young man shot a classmate with whom he had lost a fight. He began firing once he saw his father approaching, who had discovered that the gun was missing. The bullets hit two female classmates and two male classmates, including his rival peer. One schoolgirl died during the transfer to hospital and the rival student died a few days later after being admitted in critical care unit. (The Nation, 7 June 2003) Only a day later, a Bangkok high school boy went to his ex-girlfriend house and demanded to see her. As the girl refused to talk to him, the boy got furious and shot the girl’s uncle with a .38 calibre handgun he had taken from his father. (The Nation, 9 June 2003) According to their parents, neither young man displayed any previous delinquency or violent behavior, nor had they witnessed or experienced domestic abuse. The guns used in both shootings were legally registered, in both cases by the the boys’ fathers, who obtained the guns for self-defense. The father of the first student who shot his classmates revealed that he had taught the boy how to shoot, and encourage his son to practice sport shooting.

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

The two incidents on the previous page highlight the impact of widespread gun possession in Thai society. This report is based on data collected from firearms-related news in Thai daily newspapers, supplemented with Royal Thai Police data. Our findings challenge common beliefs about firearms in Thai society and propose policy changes regarding possession of firearms.

One of the beliefs that this report challenges is the ordinary assumption that only illegal firearms are used in crimes. Along with this assumption is another that believes firearm-related violence occurs mostly, if not only, by criminals and between strangers. Most importantly, society truly believes that obtaining a firearm will increase personal security or a person’s ability to defend himself and his property. Re-examining these beliefs and myths, this report argues that far from making people safer, firearms are a root cause of violence in our society.

This report is based on newspaper reporting, and methodically recorded 529 stories on firearm violence from the two national newspapers with the broadest circulation, Daily News and Khao Sot, over a 2 year period from January 2000 to December 2001. Our newsbase does not provide a comprehensive statistic on firearm casualties, since it contains only events which were considered newsworthy by editors. Hospital and police records are capable of providing an accurate record of firearm incidents by type of injury, or law broken. However, by making an analysis based on data within news stories we can reveal the social dimension of firearm incidents.

Our news analysis does not pretend to be a complete survey of gun violence in Thailand, but does reveal patterns of gun violence and use in society which challenge popular assumptions. The information within our survey provides a strong argument for the implementation of an absolute ban on possession by ordinary citizens of lethal firearms.

Data collection and data base development for this report were completed by Tassanee Tanakornsombut. The initial analysis of the newsbase was done by Chutimas Suksai, and final analysis and editing by Chayanit Poonyarat. Conceptualization, continuity and and overall project direction were by Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan. This project ran from 2001 to 2004, and received generous support from the Small Arms Survey, Geneva Switzerland, and Nonviolence International.

3

4

Firearm violence: the role of legally registered firearms Regulations on private possession, carrying, and use of firearms in Thailand are more permissive than in neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region.1 Two organizations are responsible for firearm statistics of the national level in Thailand – the Department of Local Administration who register and issue permits to possess and carry firearms, and the Royal Thai Police who issue permits to transfer firearms. Civilians are allowed to possess only certain types of pistols and rifles. In Thailand, one may only apply for a firearm license for the following reasons: the defense of person or property, hunting, sports, or collection. The applicants of such license must be at least 20 years of age.2 Firearm possession licenses in Thailand have no expiry time, but permits to carry a firearm are valid for only one year, and need to be renewed annually.3 Minimal restrictions have allowed approximately 4 million firearms to be legally purchased and registered by the year 2000. However, experts admit that no one really knows how many firearms, legal or illegal, are actually in the country, and it is assumed to be substantially more. Many legally produced and/or imported weapons are, at some point, diverted to illicit circuits.4 As reflected in our newsbase, the end users of firearms – people who use firearms to kill or injure others – are not limited only those with licenses but can be anyone who can access a firearm.

60 handguns were hijacked by armed men from a warehouse at Don Muang airport and were later intended for gun shops in Hat Yai. The action was caught on tape by a security video camera.

The crime is suspected to be a conspiracy between soldiers and gunshop owners. Gun shop could each legally import only 30 firearms a year and some operators resorted to legal loopholes to acquire more. They had government import extra guns for them, under the cover of programs subsidizing the purchase of weapons for use by police and military officers.

(Bangkok Post, 14 April 2001)

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

The Weapon Handguns are the most common, and most commonly used, weapon in firearm violence in Thailand.

According to our newsbase, handguns account 75 per cent for all firearms-related violence.

It is pistols and revolvers, not war weapons as commonly suggested by the current Thai government, which are used in firearm violence, and which civilians are allowed to possess and are correspondingly easily accessible.

There were 158,983 permits issued for private possession handguns during 2000 to 2002, by the Department of Local Administration.

Easy and widespread availability of firearms for the common citizens in Thailand has not been accompanied by lower crime and death rates, and it is time that this policy is reviewed.

Conflict resolution- through firearms In Thailand, law allows a citizen to apply for a license for private possession of firearms where the purpose is ‘defense of person or property.’5 This emphasis on private protection is a result of the fact that the state is popularly perceived to fail to provide security for society. When arms acquisitions are driven by popular perception of security sector failure, “privatization of security”6 is talking place.

Thailand has some of the most permissive laws for firearm possession in Southeast Asia. It also has the highest homicide rate in the region according to police statistics registered with the international police agency, Interpol.7 Analysis of firearm use in Thai news reports on firearm violence reveal that in Thailand, guns are used mostly for dispute resolution, not for security, nor for self-defense.

Disputes comprise the majority of all firearm use and account for 41 per cent, including common disputes, domestic disputes and business arguments. A further 8 per cent are revenge (unresolved disputes), fol-

5

6

lowed by only 16 per cent attributed to crime.

Suicide comprises a further 8 per cent, followed by 7 per cent during police operations- many of them in narcotics related conflicts.8 The remain incidents were for unknown motivation, but only 1 per cent were considered self-defense.9 Our newsbase reveals that people can beInter-personal 41% Conflict come victims of fireRevenge 8% arms even though they Suicide 8% are not the party of conSelf-defense 1% flict. News of uninPolice Action 7% tended victimization and C r i m e 1 6 % self inflicted accidents were common.

Other 19% Accidental shooting in 2001 accounts for 2.9 per cent and is expected to increase given the increasing numbers of citizens obtaining firearms every year, the lack of any restrictions on obtaining a firearm by the state and uncontrollable and unaccountable weapon check system.

According to Health Information Division, Ministry of Public Health, during 2000 and 2001, homicides were the second leading cause of non-disease deaths in Thailand (traffic accidents were first).10 The fact that some private citizens arm themselves against crime is a symbol of a popular perception that there has been a failure to build safe and secure society, a lack of confidence in the police to provide personal security, or both. However our analysis of real events as reported by the media reveal that the private acquisition of firearms actually threatens the safety of society at large, as well as the individual gun owner.

We challenge the assumption that “guns equal safety” because: ·Having a gun suggests the owner is already prepared for a violent and potentially lethal response to a any perceived threat, and may be less likely to explore alternatives. The gun becomes the first, rather than the last, resort. ·Guns are a machine designed to kill human beings. Having them instantly accessable significantly increases the chances of a fatality occurA media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

ring in the home. If it is ‘readily available’ how do the owners prevent children or other family members from reaching it? Keeping them without ammunition, or locking them in a safe conflicts with their perceived ‘security enhancing’ function. ·While having a gun may make the carrier feel safer, it does not translate into actual security. Data reveals that defensive gun use increases the risk of injury or death, both to the gun carrier and innocent bystanders, as armed attackers are virtually certain to open fire. ·Available firearms are in danger of being used, and as media reports reveal are commonly used, by ordinary people, who are temporarily under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or while they are overcome by anger or depression.

The ‘intimate enemy’ Unlike the common belief that people become victims of firearms only by criminals or strangers, our news analysis reveals most victims are injured or killed by person with whom they have pre-existing relationships, or whom they even know well. Family members, friends and spouses together account for 34 per cent of the total 529 injuries and homicide cases committed, compared to criminals and strangers who together account for 16 per cent of the database. 11 These figures reflect the fact that the risk of being victimized by firearms is not likely to need a ‘criminal’, it only needs someone who can access to a firearm.

Focusing on the female victim group in particular, the data shows that 48 per cent of these women are victimized by 62% 38% their spouse; 18 per cent by Victim Previously Victim may not have been previously their friends and acquaint- Known known or unknown ance; and 8 per cent by famStrang e rs 57 Se lf 66 ily members.

13 per cent of all fePo lic e 41 Frie nd 50 male firearm victims are Family Me mb e r 38 Criminal 29 killed by strangers and only Sp o us e 38 3 per cent are killed as Co wo rk e rs 9 crime-related violence.

Very few women in Busine ss asso ciate 2

7

8

Thailand are perpetrators of firearm violence, which is common when compared to firearm violence in other countries.

10% 13% 8% 12% 7% Family Frie nd / Rival Acq uaintance

12%

18% 12%

Sp o use Crime Po lice Strang e r Victim Op e ratio n

S e lf

8% Busine ss Asso c., Co wo rke r, Cre d ito r, De b to r, Emp lo ye e , Emp lo ye r, Military, Po lice

Handguns: weapon of choice in Thailand Our newsbase indicates that handguns are the most widely accessible and the most widely used firearm in Thailand, accounting for 75 per cent of all firearm use. Rifles/shotguns (13 per cent) and assault rifles (4 per cent) are not common. The latter are used mainly by organized crime, while handguns can, and are, accessed by people of all occupations. Anybody who can access a gun, regardless of who “legally” owns it, can become a potential perpetrator.

Handguns are not limited only to the criminal class and police. Students, businesspeople, farmers, even Buddhist monks do access handguns, both legally or illegally. Handguns are also the “firearm of choice” among civilians for the resolution of disputes and interpersonal conflicts.

Despite the clear ‘professional’ access to firearms the police and military personnel have, civilians compete for virtually equal status of access to handguns (44 to 43 per cent).

Police officers comprise the single largest category of handgun users (32 per cent), other occupations who use handguns include criminal (13 per cent), businessperson (10 per cent), manual laborer (7 per cent), government officer (6 per cent), military personnel (5 per cent), student (5 per cent) and vendors (3 per cent). Robbers, Buddhist monks and other occupations each account for 2 per cent of all handgun users.

In the case of injury or the case of death, handguns are the leading cause, when compared to all other types of firearm injuries and deaths (69 per cent and 72 per cent respectively). Other types of firearms, excluding grenades, account for less than 30 per cent of deaths and injuries.

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

Victim-based analyses of media reUSERS ports challenges the assumption that P o lic e 2 8 % elimination of only war weapons, as the current government has proposed, is Criminal 13% enough to curb firearm-related casualties.

Manual Lab o re r 12% Although a proposal to address the currently almost uncontrolled spread of Bus ine s s man 11% handguns was made by Prime Minister Go ve rnme nt Emp lo ye e 6% Taksin to close down all gun shops within Military 6% 5 years, no serious follow up of the proposal is known to be taking place. NeiStud e nt 5% ther have any measures been revealed as Ro b b e r 4% to how it would be effectively rendered.

Most importantly, apart from curbing Ag ric ultural Wo rke r 4% crimes and murders, a general firearm ban Ve nd o r 3% on civilians must be accompanied by security sector reform to provide real secuVe hic le Drive r 3% rity in Thai society.

Mo nk 1% According to our newsbase riflesUne mp lo ye d p e rs o n 1% shotgun users included farmers, fishermen, criminal, manual laborers, govern- 63% of the media reports do not mention the ment officers, police, students and ven- orecpcreupseantitosnthoosf ethceasfierse awrhmeruestheer, otchci suptaatbiol en dors respectively, while assault rifles us- was noted ers were a mixture of farmers, fishermen, businessperson, military personnel and criminals.

Handguns

72%

69%

Rifle s

14%

13%

Assault We ap o ns

4%

8%

Gre nad e s

1%

5%

We ap o n no t id e ntifie d in ne ws article

9%

5%

Deaths

Injur y

9

10

Firearms are every place, everywhere Many people would believe that their home is a safe haven; however, our newsbase analysis reveals that place of accommodation and the domestic sphere is a significant place of firearm victimization in Thailand.

According to media reports in our newsbase, 35 per cent of firearms victimization takes place in a person’s accommodation or residence. 37 per cent occur in public areas, and a disturbing 17 per cent take place in supposedly “gun free zones”12 – places where it is not expected that weapons should be carried, or where weapons are to be inspected and confiscated before entering, such as airport (1 case), Cafés (1), clinics (1), detention camps (1), election unit (1), government offices (7), government clinics (2) and hospitasl (3).

Of the 37% which took place in public areas, such as public roads, walk ways, bus stops, shopping centers, these incidents had the potential to injure or kill other people in addition to the conflicting parties, and in several cases, did. The detailed analysis of victimization landscape of female victims in particular reveals that it is more likely for women to be victimized at their own homes rather than public areas (see section on women).

The only way to ensure more safety against firearm-related violence in public places- without militarizing an entire society -is to restrict widespread access to weapons while simultaneously building confidence in the security sector to responsibly protect society for the cases a weapons ban will not prohibit.

Gun-culture Consumption Gun-related consumption refers to the purchase and/or use of products that mirror and strengthen gun culture. They can be graded accordA media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

11

ing to how actively involved the consumer is as follows: ·Low levels of participation such as gun magazines ·Intermediate levels of participation including computer, play station and arcade games, in which the firing of a weapon is simulated. ·High levels of participation such as toy guns, paintball and shooting authentic guns for sport.

Despite differences in the levels of player involvement, all these consumables reinforce gun culture in Thailand, teaching consumers that aggression, violence and the use of guns are normal or acceptable. Such consumer activity maybe viewed as harmless or emphasize their ‘entertainment value.’ Nonetheless, purchase and/or use of gun-related products encourages a social attitude that guns are integral to life, increasing the demand for guns by portraying them as normal or glamorous and by belittling the reality of firearm violence and its physical, psychological, social and economic costs.13 A study End Youth Violence documents how video games and violent behavior in motion pictures play a role in educating youth to assume violence as an acceptable form of social behavior, and can be a contributing factor in the decision to use violence as a conflict resolution tool.

As children and youth play these video games, they become less understanding of the real consequences of violence upon others. In the video games, it is all right to use a weapon, shoot people and take their lives. The consequence of being shot in these games is OK, because you’re brought back to life at the click of a button.

The study also revealed the utilization by the U.S. military of video games as a tool in training soldiers in preparation for combat. (James Miller, Youth Violence: An International Crisis.

Inspired Parenting.)

12

Firearm violence and Women Although women victims comprise a minority in this newsbase, they reveal a consistent pattern of being victimized 71% Known by someone with whom they Sp o use 28% Family Me mb e r 5% have a pre-existing relationFrie nd 12% 71% unid e ntifie d b ut kno wn p e rso ns 24% ships – inclusive, but not limSe lf 2% ited to, their spouses, family 18% Not Known member, friends or acquaint18% ance, employees and colleagues.

11% me d ia re p o rt uncle ar re latio nship status 2 per cent of women committed suicide and 1 per cent are victims of kidnapping where a relationship with the perpetrator was likely.

Homicides against women are surrounded by mythology and sensationalism that suggests women are typically murdered by a depraved rapist or mugger who jumps from a dark alley or breaks into a home. The data shows that most women are shot at home in domestic violence situations (55 per cent) than on the streets, and rarely at the hands of intruders. Women are also victims of accidental shootings or by perpetrators who are under the influence of drugs who sieze an accessible firearm.

Often, threats of use of a firearm within a household, virtually always by their known aggressors, are overlooked or unreported in the media, until the aggression escalates to serious physical injury or death this In Bangkok, a 32 year-old man shot his type of domestic terrorism goes wife to death after she asked him for unacknowledged. divorce. He then killed himself with the Contrary to what people weapon. (Khoa Sod, 27 October 2000) believe of home as a protected place, or that a house equipped with a gun is a safer residence, our analysis indicates the presence of a gun increases the risk of homicide or suicide for women in a home. In short, Firearms in home do not make Thailand safer for women.

Female Victim to P e r p e tra to r Relationship

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

Despite many publicized attempts to make streets and public areas ‘safer’ for women, home, the private arena and the threat from ‘intimate Victimization perpetrators’ are left unaddressed.

Landscape A history of domestic violence is not assessed when a permit to own a gun is applied for. While a domestic firearm ban will not stop domestic abuse, the likelihood of women 55% Accomodation victims of domestic violence escaping their tormentors diminishes where there is the presence of a gun.

Having been continuously abused by her boyfriend, a Bangkok female singer “accidentally” shot him dead.

(Daily News, 29 March 2001)

38% Public Spaces

4% Gun Free Zones 2% Wild o r uninhab ite d p lace s, 1% Unkno wn

Firearm violence and Youth 32 per cent youth14 in our news survey died in gun-related homicides, suicide and accidents. Victims range from 6 to 20 years old. Perpetrators were between 15 and 20. The majority of the perpetrators, as well as the victims, are male, and are a result of male-to-male random violence.

Lives cut short 3 cases of children killed by firearms in the newsbase are 6, 8 and 8 years old respectively; the first 2 were killed by handguns and the last killed by shotgun. 2 children playing with their fathers’ gun accidentally shot themselves in their residence; the other one was playing with his father’s gun in a restaurant and shot himself. One gun owner is a police officer, the other is civilian.

13

14

According to the newsbase, no children under 10 were killed as victims of crimes. They were victims of firearm proliferation in a home where firearms were kept to ensure protection and security. In both cases, the firearms were not On 25 December 2003, 10 days after the kept in a secure or government’s amnesty program ended, a senior unreachable place for female student of Thammasat University was killed by stray bullets, fired from the handgun of a children, nor handled in a safe manner.

17-year-old male student who claimed to be “annoyed” by a vocational school rumble.

(Bangkok Post, 26 December 2003)

Suicides: During the period of our survey, 5 youths between 18-25 were reported to have committed suicide with firearms, most of which were found in their households.

They comprise 2 per cent of all 40 suicide cases in this newsbase. Most suicide occurred in the home, and with handguns.

Arguments and Revenge(unresolved argument): The majority of young perpetrators, of both genders, used their firearms during arguments (46 per cent; 40 per cent in male and 27 per cent in female). Among young male perpetrators, motives for arguments range from school rivals to disputes with family members and friends.

While female of 22-24 years old mainly use firearms against their spouses in domestic disputes. Firearms used in youths’ arguments occur as early as 15 years of age (male perpetrator against a rival student).

Apart from ordinary arguments, another major motive for firearm use is “unresolved arguments” - revenge. All perpetrators of revenge cases are males. Men of 19-21 years old contribute to 60 per cent of all young perpetrators, while those of 22-24 years old and 16-18 years olds each contribute to 20 per cent of all perpetrators.

Crimes and Robbery: Young people comprise 10 per cent of all crime perpetrators whose age range between 13-24 years old. 10 per cent of recorded robbers are youth; most of them are male. No female armed robbers or criminals are found in the newsbase. Unlike other type of firearm-related violence, perpetrators of crime and robbery usually attack strangers rather than those whom they know.

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

According to the newsbase, a gun in the home obviously increases the chance of “accidents” due to unsafe storage or a domestic argument.

Children have a natural curiosity, and when encountering a loaded handgun, many will mimic shooting actions learned by endless exposure to images of violence in the media, both from TV news programs, movies and dramas, and the now widespread availability of violent (shooting) computer games and 94 per cent of young replica toy guns. Most perpetrators use handguns. dispute cases a m o n g adolescents take place at home or in the residential areas of the perpetrators.

In cases of revenge, perpetrators usually attack their victims in public areas such as the roadside, buses or supermarket, or where rival parties gather. These perpetrators sometimes carry weapons into supposedly “gun free zone” or through weapon checkpoints, such as schools.

This indicates that the “gun free zone” and weapon checkpoint as well as overall security measures in such areas (schools and supermarket as well as on buses) are inadequate. However, since most of the firearms youths carry are ‘domestically sourced’ a civil gun ban would prohibit access in the majority of cases.

Firearm violence and Police There has been debate internationally about the importance of police carrying firearms. Many types of police work, such as traffic control and crime investigation do not require arms to be carried. The norm in Thailand of officers carrying their guns off-duty are extremely questionable, and several cases of “accidental” shootings by off-duty police suggest that a station lockup policy needs to be implemented for the safety of their family members and the public.

It is, therefore, important to address the safe storage of police officers’ firearms

15

16

whilst off duty. It is also necessary also require testing for competency of people who possess firearms in their occupation such as security guards and police officers, which includes both technical and emotional competency, to decrease their risk of becoming a target of violence. A fireA policeman accused his ex-wife of arm lockup policy for off duty pohaving affair with his colleague. He lice would decrease police involvelater shot her and her new boyfriend to death. (Daily News, 23 ment in domestic shootings, and decrease “accidents” and suicides in the home due to guns left lying around.

Police are at some moments under stress, where they are responsible for abuse and suicides. Stress counseling and training conflict resolution are crucial for police officers to ensure their emotional stability.

Firearm violence and Religion Members of religious groups in Thailand are as much prey to fear and violence of firearms as anyone else in the society.

Buddhists are 95 per cent of the country’s 65 million population, but it is still surprising to find that Buddhist monks account for 2 per cent of all perpetrators of gun violence in this country.

With 3.8 per cent of all the population, Muslims make up the largest religious minority group in Thailand, but are the local majority in 3 Southern provinces. Groups such as the Pattani United Liberation OrIn 2002, A Buddhist monk Phra Maha Sayan Jirasutho wielded an AK47 assault rifle at the parliament building to draw attention to his personal experience of police brutality. (Bangkok Post, 31 December 2002) A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

17

ganization (PULO) and Mujahideen Islam Pattani (MIP) have waged armed struggle against the Thai state to obtain a separate Islamic state.

They are alledged to be responsible for injuries and deaths of police, governmental officials, and civilians in the area. Both militants and local politicians are allegedly involved in regional arms trade.

Since this report was compiled, religion has become an element in increasing social and armed conflict in the deep South. Some Buddhist temples have been turned into Army barracks. Many others were abandoned and, as a result, ‘soldier monks’ were dispatched to replace the fleeing ordinary monks. These soldier/ monks collect alms in the morning fully armed. (The Nation, 20 October 2004, report attributed to a soldier who spoke annonymously).

But despite the fact that violence has periodically overflowed into religious sphere, the religious community can play a role in analyzing the causes and effects of violence and contributing to the improvement of conditions for security and peace in a country. These positive contributions may include to a call for social policies and personal lifestyles that brings an end to senseless gun violence, and also to call for gun conAs a response of Thai authority to trol and less violence exposures firearms proliferation in the South, solin society. For example, one of the diers and police officers flock to Sathit 5 precepts of a Buddhist practi- Chonlatan temple in Pattani to obtain tioner is both not to kill, and not temple tattoos and receive a swift kick to allow others to kill. Of the live- from the head monk to become invullihoods permitable to Buddhists, nerable. The temple also dispenses antithe selling or trading of arms is violence bullets, the cartridges filled with specifically prohibited, as are live- 108 herbs and invisible spiritual power lihoods which require killing. for protection. (Far Eastern Economic Review, 30 September 2004)

18

Recommendations We believe that a national ban of firearm possession, especially for self-defense purpose, should be implemented immediately.

Meanwhile, as the legislation is being created and debated, the three following intermediate steps should be undertaken to reduce firearm caused deaths and injuries: 1.

Recommendations for immediate implementation: ·Procedures and criteria to issue permit for firearms possession should be tightened; more contexts such as emotional competency and records of domestic violence as well as evaluation from spouse/family members should also be included to consider. ·Immediate cancellation of all permits to carry firearms in public places, and severe penalties for those who violate such regulations.

2.

Recommendations to be implemented while a firearm ban is being discussed, legislated and implemented ·Those who already have a firearm possessed in the home be required that it be kept in a safe manner, especially for the protection of children. It should be kept in a locked location, and ammunition and firearm should be kept in separate places.

Severe penalties for thos who violate this preventative regulation. ·Public advocacy for “gun-free homes” on personal and community level. A gun in the home does not mean guarenteed protection from external intruders. The public should be educated that a gun that was meant to protect the home is very likely to bring harm to it. This should be mobilized by the health sector as a preventative health program.

3.

Recommendations suitable to a firearm ban ·Recognize a broader view of firearm-related violence A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

rather than that narrow scope of only death and injuries. The presence of a firearm can coerce and lead to serious consequences, apart from death and injury. ·A simultaneous, or complementary ban on replica (life like toy) guns. Not only does their sale and use legitimize and glorify guns, they also pose a danger by mimicking authentic firearms. ·More research needs to be undertaken on the circumstances within which people are injured and killed, on the impact of gun violence, on the health and criminal justice systems, as well as on the economy. ·A culture of education needs to replace the culture of violence currently existing. For instance, the media and education system should promote educational as opposed to gunrelated toys. Children also need to be taught creative responses to conflict, in contrast to the current message that guns and violence are a solution. ·Public campaigns need to be developed by both government and civil society, which convey to people, particularly the youth, the dangers of guns in society. ·One way to decrease the number of firearms is to reduce the demand for firearms. It is critical that the criminal justice system be strengthened to challenge the current culture of crime, violence and impunity. ·Security sector reform must be undertaken to encourage popular confidence in the capacity of the state to protect human security, not just security of the state. ·Review of all firearms policies applicable to police and the armed forces so that only competent officers, on a mission which requires lethal force, carry a firearm.

In conclusion, not having gun does not mean an end to conflict. However, it does reduce both the likelihood of conflict escalating to violence, and will reduce the lethality of any violence which might occur.

19

20

Endnotes 1

In Burma and Singapore, individuals who apply for s license for selfprotection must prove that they justifiably fear their security is threatened. Malaysia restricts the application process to those individual s who can show ‘very good reasons’ for possessing a firearm. In Indonesia, licenses are granted for private possession only to individuals who have reached a high-level position within their occupation. In Cambodia, no civilians are allowed to possess arms for any reason. In Brunei, private possession licenses are only granted to members of the military or police for ‘good reason.’ (Katherine Kramer, Legal Controls on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Southeast Asia. Geneva: The Small Arms Survey and Nonviolence International Southeast Asia, 2001).

2 Thailand Act Controlling Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks and Imitation of Firearms ( 1947), section 9.

3 Ibid., Section 23(3) and 23(7).

4 Gift Motaung, The Physical, Social and Economic Costs of Gun Violence: Interviews with Survivors Living in Soweto. South Africa: Gun Free South Africa, 1999, page 8.

5 Other reasons for a person to apply for a license to private possession of small arms include hunting, sports or collection. Applicant for such license must be at least 20 years of age. (Thailand, 1947a, secs. 9, 11; 2001)6 Klare, M., cited in Cock, J. “A Sociological Account of Light Weapons in Southern Africa”, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, British American Council, Indian Pugwash Society and Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, 1995.

7 Homicides per year are registered with Interpol, but not all countries are current, and some like Lao PDR do not report. ASEAN as a whole does not participate in the United Nations Criminal Justice Information Network or the World Health Organizations Mortality Database. Please also consider a comparative homicide rates in Southeast Asia in Robert Muggah and Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan (eds), Whose Security Counts? (Bangkok: Small Arms Survey and Nonviolence International, 2003), p. 7.

8 The narcotic-related murders significantly increased under the government’s “war on drug” campaign in 2003.

9 Out of the total 529 firearms-related violence cases in our newsbase, there are 215 disputes, 84 crimes, 44 revenge, 41 suicide, 38 police operation and 5 cases of self-defense.

A media survey of the impact of firearms on Thai Society by Nonviolence International

Firearm policies and practice in Thai Society: Missing the Target?

10

Non-disease death is the death that is not caused by diseases such as cancers or heart diseases.

11 Of all the 529 firearms-related violence cases in our newsbase, 126 of them are committed by victims’ family members, friends and spouses; 86 cases are committed by criminals and strangers. There are 254 cases in the database that relationships of victims to perpetrators could not be established from the news reports.

12 Of all the 289 relevant firearms-related violence cases in our newsbase, 101 them take place in accommodation or residential area; 107 cases occurs in public area and 49 cases in “gun free zone.” Others 32 cases cannot identify places of victimization from news reports.

13 Excerpt from Claire Taylor, The Link between South Africa’s Gun Culture and Consumption Patterns. South Africa: Gun Free South Africa.

14 By youth, we refer to those under age of 20 years old. The minimum age of youth perpetrator, according to our newsbase, is 15 years old while the one of self-inflicted perpetrators is 6 years old.

21