About 100 red-shirt supporters of the Rak Chiang Mai 51 group, led by Worawut Rujanapinand, AKA DJ Daeng Song Kwae, on Tuesday gathered in front of Varoros Grand Palace hotel in Chiang Mai to show their rejection of the report released by the Truth for Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
Mr Worawut said the TRC report on the political violence in 2010 was biased, particularly the TRC’s conclusions on the root cause of political unrest and social division over the past seven years.
The group issued a statement calling on the government and the TRC to comply with six demands:
1) The TRC explain the principles and methodology in the selection of its members, because close aides of the People’s Alliance for Democracy were selected, but not a single member of the red-shirt United front for Democracy against Dictatorship was chosen.
2) The TRC must show the general public the evidence to support its conclusion that fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the red-shirts were the root causes of the problem.
3) The government should not endorse the TRC report at this time because it was unacceptable to several parties, as its content deviated from the actual facts.
4) A new truth panel comprising representatives from all parties, including education institutions and world-level human rights organisations be set up to find out the facts in connection with the 2010 crackdown.
5) For now, the TRC report must not be used for any legal or political benefit.
6) The TRC must publicly clarify its expenditure.
Mr Worawut said after reading out the statement that his group will launch a campaign to collect at least 50,000 signatures of people to support the submission of open-letters calling on all parties to refrain from accepting the TRC report, and submit them to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont and TRC chairman Kanit na Nakorn.