Kasit, PAD leaders charged

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Kasit, PAD leaders charged

AIRPORT CLOSURE CASE TO GO TO COURT; PROTEST GROUP WILL DENY COUNTS

Published: 5/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

People's Alliance for Democracy leaders and other key supporters have been charged with aviation law breaches for closing the city's two airports, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi, during their drive to oust the government last year.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya

Among those charged with closing Suvarnabhumi airport is Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.

According to the Manager Online website, 16 people, including PAD leaders Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang, Somsak Kosaisuk, Somkiat Pongpaibul and Pibhop Dhongchai have been charged with criminal offences in relation to the airport blockades, the most serious carrying the death penalty.

Mr Somsak is now leader of the New Politics Party, the political arm of the PAD.

Retired Gen Prathompong Kesornsuk has been charged in relation to blockades at both airports.

Eleven other people have been charged in relation to the Don Mueang airport occupation, and nine face charges in relation to the protest at Suvarnabhumi.

On July 1, Don Muang police and police from Rajathewa station in charge of Suvarnabhumi in Samut Prakan's Bang Phli district, asked those facing charges to report to authorities on July 16.

Protesters at Don Mueang airport have been charged with four criminal offences including attempting to instigate unrest despite warnings from authorities.

The severest punishment is seven years in jail.

Demonstrators at Suvarnabhumi have been charged with seven offences including obstructing aviation, which can result in the death penalty if convicted.

Protesters at Suvarnabhumi also face terrorism charges, under Article 135 of the Criminal Code, for damaging relations with other countries. The maximum penalty on that charge is life imprisonment and a 1 million baht fine.

PAD lawyer Suwat Apipak said his clients would deny all charges. "The PAD rally was held in line with the constitution which allows public gatherings. All who face charges will report to authorities in accordance with the summons and will deny all charges," he said.

Mr Kasit, who is in Qatar, could not be reached for comment. He returns to Bangkok today. An official close to him said the minister would not make any decision about his future until charges are filed against him in court.

The closure of the two airports was part of what the PAD called its "final war" against the government led by then prime minister Somchai Wongsawat.

It included the occupation of Government House which forced his cabinet to work elsewhere, including Don Mueang.

The PAD argued Mr Somchai was a proxy for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose influence it has tried to expel.

PAD supporters occupied Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports soon after they started a mass rally on Nov 23 last year.

Airports of Thailand, the agency in charge, closed the airports for safety reasons.

The airport closure and all rallies ended on Dec 2 when the Constitution Court disbanded Mr Somchai's People Power Party, and coalition partners Matchimathipataya and Chart Thai for poll fraud. The Bank of Thailand estimates the damage from the airport closure cost the country 210 billion baht.

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Arturo

Discussion 32 : 05/07/2009 at 10:55 PM32
DFT
You were saying : (Discussion 18 : 05/07/2009 at 11:44 AM18) "No excuses, they (members of the PAD) are as guilty as guilty can be as its all recorded on video."
I don't know what video you saw, I saw difereent videos. I saw the hate and the will to destroy on the faces of the Red-Clad Thaksin servants. Encouraged by the 'master' and top-felon himself per phone.

I've lived under BOKASSA for 6 weeks. People finally got rid of him and his golden throne.
We got rid of Thaksin, and for good.

Thanks (also !) to the PAD.
Lets leave it at that ------
let's build up a democratic Thailand together now.
elep

Discussion 31 : 05/07/2009 at 07:32 PM31
Ram#25 is right. It is all for show only. Eventually nothing will happen to the PAD yellow-shirted people.
Rob van Gelder

Discussion 30 : 05/07/2009 at 07:02 PM30
I agree totally with Joan Reyes here, without saying who is wrong or right.

The main issue at hand here is Law enforcement:
At these days of the airport take-over, there was NO, I repeat NO law enforcement.

In any other country there would be a cordon of police and even military around sensitive places like the main airport.
But not in Thailand! That means that there was most likely support from the forces that were supposed to protect these sensitive places.

The same forces have shown their true face later at the Pattaya debacle.

People have the right to demonstrate peacefully, and that is exactly what they did. The government has the DUTY to protect those places that are of vital importance to the country, leading protesters away from those places and that is exactly what the government DID NOT DO.

The people in the government and in the police and military forces that were in charge at that moment should be prosecuted, for neglect of their duties and for endangering the vital infrastructure of the country.

But then we should go after those who are at this moment still in power, behind the scenes, in the military, etc....... we all know that that will not happen!

Let's get some legitimate demonstrators and charge them, much easier!
BangkokDan

Discussion 29 : 05/07/2009 at 05:38 PM29
Funny thing is there are always loopholes in Thailand.

In any other sane society the blockaders would long be in jail.

It's a clear-cut case, a hand-full of laws is applicable.

But when there's no will, there goes the law.
Joan Reyes

Discussion 28 : 05/07/2009 at 05:19 PM28
Bangkok Post has spent too little lines explaining the reasons of the PAD protest.
PAD has been more and more killed and injured every day with military weapons without police/government protection while PAD may not let this proxy government of Thaksin to continue!
Don Muang is an airport with no or very little air traffic. On 24 Nov 2008 there was government cabinet meeting in this place. (Bangkok Post said correctly). So, the first reason to go to this airport was to demonstrate and to pressure on the government to resign, and not for to close a no significant airport. At this time, Somchai was in Peru. He missed this meeting because his flight was delayed, due to technical problems.
On 25 Nov 2008, PAD moved to Savarnabhumi airport, for waiting Somchai, who was expected to arrive from Peru.
So, where is the logic to go to Savarnabhumi, for waiting the arrival of Somchai’s flight, and to close the air traffic????
A possible explanation is that the airport manager, who is good friend (family) of Thaksin, Somchai and UDD-DAAD red shirts, decided to close the airport for to facilitate the Somchai’s flight to be diverted to Chiang-Mai, and so avoiding the PAD peaceful demonstration!!!!
If it was not the PAD who instructed to close the airport, then, it was probably the AIRPORT AUTORITY who had to take the responsibility!!! And we had listening bizarrely very little from them…The airport authority is possibly not very clear in this story, and wanted to report every things on PAD!
PAD was demonstrating peacefully at the airports without crossing in the safety zones. They went to the tower with authorization, after the airport was closed on management's order. Also, no degradation had been reported done on the buildings by the PAD. Only broken glasses reported at Don Muang, done by a grenade lunched by pro-Thakin side, which killed and injured PAD peaceful demonstrators.
David Harrison

Discussion 27 : 05/07/2009 at 04:42 PM27
The charge of obstructing aviation will not stick since the demonstrators did not enter the airside operational areas of the Airports. They did not obstruct aprons or runways and therefore posed no impediment to aviation safety.

The PAD demonstations were political protests and the participents did not cause serious injury or death.

Neither was there martial law or a state of emergency in place at the time and there were no real attempts by the Authorities disperse the Protestors.

The charges are merely an attempt by the Thai Government to be seen to act with even handiness.
George

Discussion 26 : 05/07/2009 at 04:14 PM26
This was political dissent, a democratic action that should be permitted. How can the courts hold the PAD leaders liable for the actions of those who physically occupied the airport? People should be permitted to assemble peacefully for the purpose of political dissent, though I do not support those who went into the airport and caused trouble.
RAM

Discussion 25 : 05/07/2009 at 04:09 PM25
On the face of it, this seems like the most sensible thing that the Thai authorities have achieved since before the military coup.
Sadly everyone who as an interest in Thai affairs knows it will be all show and no substance, the chance of anyone actually having to take responsibility for the blatent act of mass terrorism last year at the airports is nil to non-excistant.
I know Thai's don't care what the rest of the world thinks of Thailand, but just look at the number of tourists who aren't visiting Thailand this year. The closure of the airports is one reason for this.
Edwina

Discussion 24 : 05/07/2009 at 04:07 PM24
The rest of the world would like to know why on earth it has taken so long for this crime to be identified and for suspects to be brought before the courts.

No whitewash, please. This was in breach of Thai and international law and those responsible (whoever they were) should receive heavy jail sentences.
roongrote krongthaew

Discussion 23 : 05/07/2009 at 04:05 PM23
Dismiss him and replace clean sheet as more ability as than him.

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Kasit, PAD leaders charged