Opinion: Call for Thai general to be investigated by ICC

Lieutenant General Boonsin Padklang, the Commander of Thailand’s Second Army Region, was in charge of border operations with Cambodia. Khaosod English

I support the idea that Cambodia should sue the Thai general who at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the damages caused by the recent Thai invasion which he commanded. This is because Cambodia should not restrain itself from pursuing lawful and peaceful avenues of redress, which are always preferable to war.

Cambodia must single out Lieutenant General Boonsin Padklang, the Commander of Thailand’s Second Army Region, who was in charge of recent border operations with Cambodia.

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. It is considered a crime under international law and involves specific acts with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, one of these protected groups. These acts include killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births within the group or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The crime of genocide or any violations of the laws of armed conflict should not be thrown around for ideological, political or personal purposes; rather, these must be terms informed by a consideration of the facts on the ground and objectivity.

Notwithstanding, we should not be afraid to discuss the subject of genocide or other crimes when concerns are legitimately raised about the deliberate acts by a uniformed military officer relative to a civilian population or other protected persons.

Based on the evidence currently available, there are significant concerns with Boonsin Padklang, who appears to have issued the command to close the borders with Cambodia and allegedly ordered the killing of an unarmed Cambodian soldier and the torture of prisoners of war.

Furthermore, he has allegedly stated his intention to attempt to seize the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. The doctrine of command responsibility in the law of armed conflict applies to superiors when their subordinates have committed unlawful acts, and particularly in this clear situation of an international armed conflict.

There must be an investigation of these matters.

Youk Chhang is director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam). The views and opinions expressed are his own.