Opinion | The Case of Thailand’s Disappearing Dissidents

Even as the government continues to stay in power, though, judging by its tactics against activists, it seems anything but secure.

In mid-December 2018, news came that three more dissidents in Laos had disappeared. One of them was the prominent ex-communist and anti-monarchist Surachai Danwattananusorn. He went missing with two of his assistants, Kraidej Leulert and Chatchan Bubpawan. Mr. Surachai had joined Mr. Thaksin’s party in 2006 and set up the Red Siam group, a militant faction of the red-shirt movement. In early 2012, he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for lèse-majesté. He received a royal pardon in late 2013. He fled Thailand after the coup.

In late December, two bodies, cut open and stuffed with concrete, were found in the Mekong River at the Thai-Lao border. The Thai Institute of Forensic Medicine confirmed the identities of Mr. Kraidej and Mr. Chatchan. The whereabouts of Mr. Surachai are unknown.

Then in May, three dissidents reportedly were arrested by the Vietnamese authorities and secretly extradited to Thailand. They are Chucheep Chiwasut, widely known as Uncle Sanam Luang, Siam Theerawut and Kritsana Thapthai. Mr. Chucheep is among the exiles charged with lèse-majesté who were the most wanted by the Thai authorities. He regularly broadcast underground internet shows against the monarchy from Laos, until, fearing assassination, he tried to move to Vietnam.

The fate of the three men is unknown. Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan of Thailand has denied they were ever extradited by Vietnam.

After this spate of cases, the four members of the folk band Faiyen, known for its lyrics mocking the Thai monarchy, sought to urgently leave Laos, where they have lived in exile since 2014. They said they feared the Thai state would come after them next — a claim that the Thai Defense Ministry has denied and shrugged off. (In August, the band managed to fly to Paris, to seek asylum in France.)

The Thai government consistently rejects any accusation that it may be involved in any such repression abroad. (And it denies any responsibility to do with instances of brazen assaults against activists in Thailand — such as Sirawith “Ja New” Seritiwat — after which the police fail to make any arrests or, it seems, to do much investigating.) Laos, for its part, typically refuses to acknowledge the disappearance of Thai dissidents.