Abhisit gears up to battle murder rap

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Abhisit gears up to battle murder rap

Former PM says charges are politically motivated

Published: 8 Dec 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva says he would be ready to accept the death sentence if it was handed down to him as a result of the investigation into his government's crackdown on red-shirt protesters in 2010.

He was speaking after he and Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban were charged on Thursday by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) with authorising the killing of anti-government protesters during the April-May 2010 political violence in Bangkok.

Mr Suthep was deputy prime minister under the Abhisit government and headed the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES), which was set up to handle the protests.

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kasper
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Discussion 53 : 08 Dec 2012 at 16.2253
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It seems to me that the government completely skipped a step in it's eagerness to prosecute Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep.

Has any court ruled yet that a crime was committed? If not, then how can anybody be charged with anything?

Governments, mostly the police, shoot people daily all over the world, but these are not considered criminal acts, and the officers doing the shooting are not prosecuted, as their actions are generally considered necessary in order to protect themselves and/or the public, and are therefore completely legal.

Did I miss the court ruling (not red shirt opinion) that declared the governments actions illegal?
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domdunnn
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Discussion 52 : 08 Dec 2012 at 16.1652
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shopwow D48

The purpose of a trial is for society to examine the actions of those charged and pass judgement on them. The chances of a conviction in this case are almost nil but a trial has benefits for the development of a civil society in Thailand.
Furthermore, in their defence at the trial AV and TS may be forced to provide details of exactly what they did and didn't do, something that they have not done so far, again, good for society. The military may also be forced into disclosures, only this week the army chief ordered further details of the army role to be 'explained' to the public.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 51 : 08 Dec 2012 at 16.0851
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Let the whole thing go to court. If it was a stunt to draw The democrats to the negotiating table for an amnesty bill support, it's already failed. Let this (apparently biased ) court explain their verdict wisely, in relation to the circumstances and future precedent. Frankly, with more than 90 deaths and 10 cases already ascribed to the army ( under PM orders) if this is the best they can come up with ( one bystander taxi man) it clearly is a politically motivated case destined to flop.
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domdunnn
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Discussion 50 : 08 Dec 2012 at 15.5950
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bikeme D43

It is the courts that decide who gets bail not the government and the courts certainly do not act on the instructions of this government.
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naomi
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Discussion 49 : 08 Dec 2012 at 15.2549
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Thai people need to wake up. Why are Thais so obsessed with these 2 - Abisit ('10)and Thaksin ('06)??
They are former PM's. Even if they want to get back in the ring, they no longer clean. People give both of them too much credit. They're in the past. They are not that great, they are not god. Please stop the worship attitude. Thais need to focus on other things, other people, new people. C'mon folks, you Bangkok people have degrees from abroad. Remember what it's like to think...by yourself.
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shopwow
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Discussion 48 : 08 Dec 2012 at 15.2448
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With months of research, I can tell you that this case is bound to flop in the courts. The kind of background information provided by the democrats and the military to various fact finding commissions will form an integral part of the judicial process. The court will not view each of these cases in isolation and that is unfortunate for the P.T. The whole game is to pacify the reds, show them that the P.T still wants to draw the blood of Abhisit and Suthep. Unfortunately as senior members of the P.T privately express - a court decision to convict either Suthep or Abhisit is far from reality. So the reds can then sing the double standard song.
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nui
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Discussion 47 : 08 Dec 2012 at 14.2947
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It seems to be difficult for many people to see the difference between a coward and a hero. But blind and brainwashed people, who do not know the real history and disregards the facts, can only see what they want to see.
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lek
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Discussion 46 : 08 Dec 2012 at 14.2546
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D42. Thaksin is also rich and he still lost.
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topcat_bk
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Discussion 45 : 08 Dec 2012 at 14.0645
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D39/ Renaissance:
I appreciate and agree with your sentiments. Unfortunately I have come to wonder whether your reasoning applies in a society where "getting away with it" is more likely to be admired and rewarded, than personal integrity and courage.

In any event, based on my completely irrelevant western values, I have nothing but respect for Abhisit and Suthep, for putting their fate into the hands of a legal process, no matter how flawed and biased it may be.
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geoffo
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Discussion 44 : 08 Dec 2012 at 13.5744
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D39 Mr T's lawyer and assistant are serving time for trying to bribe officers of the court.

Better to stay away from the blarney stone before talking about Mr T.
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Abhisit gears up to battle murder rap | Bangkok Post: news