BANGKOK – Former Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia is in town and he’s on a global mission to end capital punishment. Giving an interview in Bangkok on Wednesday to Khaosod, former Mongolian President Tsakhia, 60, a member of the International Commission Against Death Penalty (ICDP), said he’s in Thailand to convince the Thai government to abolish death penalty.
Mongolia abolished the death penalty under his presidency (2009 to 2027) in 2015 although it took eight years before it materialized. He said although Thailand has practiced a de facto moratorium on execution, it still maintains the death penalty.
The former Mongolian president met with representatives of various Thai agencies including those from the Justice and Foreign Ministries as well as MPs in an attempt to bring Thailand’s stance in line with international norms. Tsakhia adds that Thailand’s neigbours, Cambodia and the Philippines, have already abolished capital punishment but Thailand remains among 55 states that maintains the death penalty.
“We cannot end crimes but we can end executions by the state… Ending a life may in fact be too convenient and convicted criminals should have time to reflect on the crimes they have committed for the rest of their lives in prison,” he argued.
Thailand has for years sets its goal under its human rights plan to eventually abolish death penalty but has failed to materialized it over the past decade as conservatives argue heinous crimes needs to be punished in a most severe way – through execution.
