Truth commission readies its final report

THINK PRAGMATIC

Truth commission readies its final report

Published: 17 Sep 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Unless there is an abrupt change of schedule, the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) will today release its final report on the political protests by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, the red shirts, during April and May 2010 which descended into violence and a military crackdown, leaving 92 people dead, including two protesters in Udon Thani and one in Khon Kaen.

Manop Charnchangthong, 48, at a press conference in January last year at the Department of Special Investigation. Presented as one of the men in black, the arrested red shirt activist denied harming soldiers on April 10, 2010 during the battles at Kok Wua intersection.

Among the 89 dead in Bangkok were at least six soldiers, the most prominent one being Col Romklao Thuwatham who was killed while attempting to contain a mob of red-shirt protesters at Kok Wua intersection on April 10.

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johninbkk
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Discussion 17 : 18 Sep 2012 at 21.4617
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jacksprat 5 - FYI, manop was holding the M16s for the press to be photographed - intentionally. The weapons, which were reportedly taken from the army, were then brought on stage to prove that the military brought weapons and live ammunition to disperse the protesters. The DSI released manop within days, after they realized the misunderstanding.
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brilliant
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Discussion 16 : 18 Sep 2012 at 03.0516
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ringmaster - "There was no violence until the Thai army arrived on the scene."

Wrong. Period. The red shirt encampments were preventing normal Thai people from running their businesses, getting to work and were using threats and bullying to prevent that from happening. It went on for weeks before the army became involved.
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ringmaster
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Discussion 15 : 18 Sep 2012 at 00.2015
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There was no violence until the Thai army arrived on the scene. Given that the Thai Army has a very long and well documented record of slaughtering unarmed civilians who peacefully protest - it is not too surprising that a legitimate protest movement, seeking democracy, would be ready to act defensively. I'm not surprised at the presence of MIB.

And if there were armed MIB among the unarmed protesters and the well-trained and disciplined Thai Army, were using the utmost restraint, how then did nurses, children and flag wavers get killed? The use of snipers is a practice that requires the precise targeting of individuals not the random spraying of machine gun fire into a group of people. With over 90 people killed with not one single victim proven to be a member of any MIB, how and why were they all killed?
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brilliant
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Discussion 14 : 17 Sep 2012 at 22.1214
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I think most of us realize that there were MIB despite the denial of many red shirt apologists. There is tons of evidence. I think the other thing most of us realize is that TS will stop short of nothing, including murder to get his way, i.e. see the war on drugs, Tak Bai, Krue Se and the attorney Somchai as well as the 2010 protests. It's too bad people are willing to be his pawns for a few baht(or maybe not a few).
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domdunnn
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Discussion 13 : 17 Sep 2012 at 17.2113
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whatajoke D8

There is a further problem for investigators (and this is NOT a defence of Thaksin)that makes uncovering the whole truth an almost impossible task.

Governments have standard operating rules and can be expected to have documentation, minutes of meetings, signed orders, written reports etc covering events and a failure to produce those when requested would lead to a presumption of guilt.

In the case of an anti-government group no such rules apply and the failure to establish a paper trail would lead to a presumption of innocence.
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GeriatricG
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Discussion 12 : 17 Sep 2012 at 12.5812
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One problem is human nature. NONE of us - Thai or Farang - is good about admitting we thought the wrong thing, we said the wrong thing, we did the wrong thing. But Yingluck is in power: if any of "her" people are proved to be involved she needs to cut the infection from her government. (She might even need to look at the DSI whose Director seems to have undergone a "Damascus Road" conversion - because of God or Big Brother?) But she will still have a problem with the Man Abroad, her brother, who only wants to escape from his part in the debacle - and preferably with his money.
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khunbj
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Discussion 11 : 17 Sep 2012 at 12.0211
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Haha, so that was the man in black, the regimes WMD excuse for employing soldiers and use live ammunition. snipers, whatever....I am sooooo impressed.
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Eric
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Discussion 10 : 17 Sep 2012 at 11.4310
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The odds are pretty bad for Ahbisit & Suterp. Even that the Man in black are Implicated as party to the violence, without physical arrest and identification, it will be circumstantial evidence. Incitements by the UDD leaders and I admit there are, are trial evidences but not necessarily can be directly implicated compare with signed papers authorizing the military to use live ammo and snipers.
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bern1005
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Discussion 9 : 17 Sep 2012 at 11.369
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D2: Says it very well.
As long as all parties are denying everything, publishing the truth will not make anybody happy and will not be accepted.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 8 : 17 Sep 2012 at 11.208
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Further to my previous comment, one essential consideration here is the that the DSI can call the former prime minister to account, since he was a public servant and is expected to act within certain protocols, but the TRC nor the TRCT will really get an opportunity to call Thaksin in for questioning in his potential role, since he's an outsider and bound by no-one's rules. And that may well remain the unanswered question that denies closure to the investigation. We will always remain suspicious of the motives and hidden agenda behind the Ratchaprasong incident.
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