On Sept 17, the Truth for Reconciliation Commission (TRC) chaired by former attorney-general Kanit na Nakorn issued its complete report on the events of April-May 2010, one of the bloodiest episodes in Thai history with 92 deaths and hundreds of injuries, noted Thai Rath.
The report comprised 276 pages over five sections.
1.Background of the TRC and its mission.
2.Summarise the events and rights violations.
3.Origin and factors leading to divisiveness.
4.Victims and rehabilitation.
5.TRC's recommendations.
The TRC stated that one of the main reasons leading to the political conflicts was power abuse on certain occasions by former premier Thaksin Shinawatra which finally led to violence and losses on both sides. TRC report noted that the government and the red-shirt leaders must jointly bear responsibility.
The report accepted that there were "men in black" who employed war weapons to attack government forces on several occasions and none could be brought to justice yet.
The report found that men in black were close to Maj Gen Khattiya Sawatdiphol and received help and cooperation from UDD guards who allowed them to mingle with the demonstrators and attack the security forces. There was no evidence that the men in black were close to UDD leaders.
The report cited the failure of the police to control the crowd, necessitating the involvement of the military. It was found that military did use weapons against the demonstrators with the justification that "men in black" mingled with the mob. The Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation did not have any oversight mechanism for security forces, and thus could not prevent any loss of life.
The report detailed each incident that led to the death of 92 people in April and May 2010. It was speculated that Maj Gen Khattiya was killed by a sniper from Silom Plaza building, which was under the control of the military.
The TRC offered reconciliation recommendations for the short, medium and long term, noting that the government and all sides must urgently and seriously implement all the recommendations without any prejudice or selection of only certain recommendations that are beneficial to their side.
If there is to be an amnesty bill, it must not be rushed, must consider the appropriateness of time, circumstance, process and creating understanding with society about the causes of the conflicts and the facts surrounding the violence.
As for constitutional amendment, the government must not rush and must take into account people's participation in the process.
All sides must refrain from citing the monarchy for political purposes and the military must not meddle in politics. The media must stop presenting news and opinions that incite hatred and divisiveness.
The TRC was appointed on June 8, 2010 during the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration.
When Pheu Thai won the general election in 2011 with Yingluck Shinawatra as the first female prime minister of Thailand, the new government supported the TRC's investigation. This was made clear from Ms Yingluck's policy statement in parliament on Aug 23, 2011.
"This government supports the Truth for Reconciliation Commission in carrying out its independent investigation with full cooperation by all sides to find the truth of the political violence leading to human rights violations, loss of life, physical and psychological suffering as well as damage to properties."
Once the TRC presented its final report, the reactions varied, ranging from praise and acceptance to outright rejection.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights praised the work of the TRC and called on the Thai government to implement its recommendations.
Mr Abhisit, now the opposition leader, accepted the TRC's report and suggested the government do likewise and act on recommendations leading to national reconciliation.
Ms Yingluck did not reject the report outright but assigned Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit to study the report first.
It was not surprising that UDD leaders and some Pheu Thai executives blasted the report, saying it was biased and unacceptable. Former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, Pheu Thai's strategy committee chairman, did not agree with the report pointing to Thaksin as the culprit in causing damage to the country.
He argued that Thaksin's guilt in the Ratchadaphisek land deal was not about corruption or terrorism. The TRC's recommendation that Thaksin stay out of the country and not meddle in local politics was a violation of an individual's rights.
Several UDD leaders rejected the comment that the red shirts sheltered men in black. They did not accept the notion that the unrest since 2009 was caused partly by Thaksin's abuse of power.
Thaksin also sent a letter to the red shirts, saying that those who died in the crackdown were not terrorists and those who killed innocent people must be brought to justice.
Thai Rath conjectured that Thaksin needed to send the letter to rally his red shirts and continue to support Pheu Thai much more than to defend himself against being regarded as a terrorist. The main reason was a Suan Dusit Poll revealed that most respondents (53.7%) agreed with the TRC's report and recommendations which could lead to genuine national reconciliation.
Thai Rath concluded nobody accepts the truth if it places them in a disadvantageous position.
National reconciliation is far, far away, it says.
Convenient amnesia
Red-shirt leaders reacted strongly to the TRC's report, blasting it as biased or siding with the Abhisit administration, reported Post Today.
Even though the commission was appointed by the Abhisit government, Prime Minister Yingluck declared in parliament that her government supported the commission's investigation.
Not only that, practically all the red-shirt leaders, including Tida Tawornseth and Jatuporn Prompan frequently visited TRC chairman Mr Kanit to give their version of the events and to ask him to help bail out imprisoned red shirts. They seemed to be receptive to the commission's ongoing work.
The government was also satisfied with the TRC's work. It appointed a committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth to follow up and implement the TRC's suggestions on national reconciliation, including speeding up the payment of 7.75 million baht to relatives of those killed in the April-May crackdowns, citing the TRC's reconciliatory tone.
This suddenly changed when the TRC's final report confirmed the existence of men in black under the command of a certain red-shirt leader who engaged in acts of violence which led to the deaths of innocent people and military personnel.
The red-shirt leaders seemed to conveniently forget that they urged their followers to torch Bangkok if the soldiers tried to retake the CentralWorld area. Some told red-shirt supporters in the provinces to come to Bangkok with bottles to be filled with kerosene.
Post Today wondered how the red-shirt leaders could claim there were no en in black and that soldiers torched CentralWorld when the leaders had already surrendered to the police?
The accounts of police on duty and CentralWorld security personnel pointed to the red-shirt mob as the culprits.
Reporters from various media verified this. It is incredible that the red-shirt leaders could conveniently forget their actions and speeches.
If the red-shirt leaders claim the TRC is biased, the report would not have mentioned the government's failure to control both the mob and soldiers who might have acted aggressively.
Viagra faces rival
Phiphat Yingcharoen, secretary-general of the Food and Drug Administration, revealed that the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) has applied to register generic sildenafil to treat impotence (erectile dysfunction - ED) under the trade name "Sidegra".
The pill is diamond-shaped with a blue colour. There are four pills per set. The 50mg price is 25 baht per pill or 100 baht per set. The 500mg pill price is 45 baht or 180 baht per set.
To maintain its market share, Pfizer has notified the FDA that it has reduced the price of Viagra by 30% for the 100mg pill and 20% for the 50mg pill.
Mr Phiphat noted that with Viagra's price reduction and the cheaper Sidegra, the problem of fake Viagra being sold in Thailand will be solved in five years.
Lower exports hit GDP
Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakun noted that the value of exports in August was less than US$20 billion (620 billion baht), a decline of 6.95% from the previous month, and would affect the country's GDP growth. If the trend continued, it would affect local consumption and domestic investment.
However, the central bank maintained its projected GDP growth this year at 5.7%. A new and final forecast for GDP growth would be given on Oct 26, he said.