Students at one of the nation’s most prestigious universities said this morning that the honorary degree they are seeking for a cop driven into exile for investigating human trafficking is only the beginning.
The Student Union of Chulalongkorn University asked yesterday that an honorary doctoral degree be conferred to Maj. Gen. Paveen Pongsirin, who fled the country in fear of his life after leading an investigation into the trafficking of Rohingya. Today, student body president Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal said Chulalongkorn should be just the first institution to recognize the former police officer for his exceptional contributions.
“The university has given the honorary titles to billionaires of Charoen Pokphand Group and Chang beer, so it should do the same for [Paveen], an upright cop with a backbone who fought for justice and human rights,” Netiwit said.
‘Are you Thai?’: Cops question police chief fleeing to Australia in fear of life
In its statement yesterday, the student body singled out Paveen as a singularly honest and principled cop.
“[Paveen] is an example of police who perform their duty with dignity and integrity,” the statement read. “He relentlessly demanded justice for the Rohingya people without discouragement nor fear of illegitimate power, even when his life was threatened.”
Netiwit told Coconuts that he and his colleagues would petition other universities abroad to follow suit and recognize Paveen’s deeds.
On Friday, activist-turned-MP Rangsiman Rome of Move Forward Party talked about Paveen and his plight during a general debate in the parliament.
Paveen was leading an investigation into human trafficking after a barbaric death camp was discovered in the Deep South where enslaved Rohingya were executed by the dozens. His investigation led to the arrest and prosecution of more than 70 suspects – including army and navy officers. The probe led by Paveen uncovered hundreds of Rohingya victims being held for ransom in 2015; 26 bodies were found on the grounds of the camp in Songkhla province near the border with Malaysia.
In 2015, police brass transferred Paveen to the Deep South, putting him in reach of the powerful people he was investigating. Paveen quit the Royal Thai Police and fled to Australia.
Upon his arrival in Melbourne in December 2015, Paveen told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that he feared for his life because “influential figures” in the Thai government, military, and police implicated in the illicit trade wanted him dead.
The police force played down his flight as a “relaxing holiday.”
On Saturday, progressive lawmakers spoke to Paveen about his travails in an interview streamed online.
“Today is one of my happiest days … I did not get any justice since I escaped Thailand six years, three months and three days ago,” Paveen told them by video link. “[E]verything was uncovered transparently for every Thai and the world to know.”
The highest-ranking official to be convicted was army Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpan, who made an untold fortune protecting the trafficking network.
Were he allowed to continue his investigation, Paveen said, he would have caught and prosecuted “more big fish.”
#HumanTrafficking was trending on Twitter in Thailand over the weekend, praising Paveen and also Thai reporter Thapanee Eadsrichai, whose gripping firsthand accounts of Thai-run slave camps saw her branded a “traitor” in 2015.
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