Big fish that was overlooked

Big fish that was overlooked

I couldn’t agree more with former senator Somchai Sawaengkarn who said on his Facebook page last week that the mainstream media has downplayed the Saraburi military court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Lt Gen Manas Paorik, former deputy commander of the 3rd Army Region and a senior member of the Pheu Thai party.

Instead, he wrote, the media has played up the military court’s order for the arrest of Jakrapob Penkair, former Prime Minister’s Office minister and secretary of the in-exile anti-coup movement the Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy. Jakrapob is accused of involvement in the illegal stockpiling of firearms, including many war weapons, seized by troops in the past month.

It is not surprising the arrest warrant for Lt Gen Manas was under-reported. There was no mention of his rank in the court’s announcement. Just a "Mr Manas Paorik". So any news editor who was not familiar with the name would easily have overlooked his importance and treated him as just a nobody facing arrest in connection with the weapons haul seized by the army.

Manas Paorik

Whether the absence of his rank from the court’s announcement was intentional or an error, it has raised the question -- has he been stripped of his rank?

Former senator Somchai said the arrest of Lt Gen Manas – if he has not already fled the country and actually can be arrested – may provide a clue to the mystery surrounding the "Men in Black" – a group of unidentified gunmen who emerged out of nowhere and battled with army troops at Kok Wua intersection on April 10, 2010. Several soldiers, including Col Romklao Puvatham, were killed and others injured because they were strictly told not to use arms against the red-shirt protesters.

Somchai said that the Men in Black were not amateur warriors trained by Seh Daeng, Maj Gen Kattiya Sawatdiphol, but ex-soldiers and mercenaries in the pay of somebody.

With his military background, Lt-Gen Manas would pose a greater security threat to the junta than Jakrapob, who is good mostly at mouthing off and getting publicity.

Lt-Gen Manas’ arrest warrant came three days before the Bangkok military issued a warrant for the arrest of Jakrapob on June 28. Earlier, on May 23, he had reported to the National Council for Peace and Order as ordered for questioning and was eventually released.

But some of the key suspects arrested by troops, along with the war weapon hauls, have implicated the former deputy commander of the 3rd Army Region, which led to the police request for his arrest.

Former deputy army commander-in-chief Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong was reported to have said that Lt-Gen Manas might have a role in the so-called Khon Kaen Model – a volunteer army to fight against the coup.

A classmate of self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - they were together at Class 10 of the armed forces preparatory school - Lt Gen Manas told Red News, a pro-government radio station, in January that he suspected the army had a plan for the overthrow of the government of then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, but was reluctant to take action for fear of the strong reaction it would generate.

The army, he said, used the People’s Democratic Reform Committee as its proxy to create troubles in Bangkok that the government was unable to control, and thus justify its intervention.

It will be interesting whether Lt Gen Manas turns himself in to face the stockpiling of arms charges or not. This may not be a good option from the point of view of others, especially the big boss, involved in the armed struggle against the junta. If the general spills the beans it would open a veritable Pandora’s box.

The alternative forhim is to run and join the likes of former interior minister Charupong Ruangsuwan, Jakrapob Penkair, former Pheu Thai MP Sunai Julapongsathorn and a few others who have taken refuge abroad to escape arrest.

Veera Prateepchaikul

Former Editor

Former Bangkok Post Editor, political commentator and a regular columnist at Post Publishing.

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